Storiesonline.net ------- Maxine Stone's New Life by carniegirl Copyright© 2011 by carniegirl ------- Description: Maxine stone is a retired Air Force Noncom trying to get by in a small town. Her new life is filled with small characters and minor adventures. Codes: MF FF Ff MM cons reluc coer gay bi het myst oral anal mastrb fist trans prost ------- ------- Chapter 1 "Max, I'm going for a coffee want me to bring you one?" Ed Martin, aka the bondsman, asked as he walked toward the door of our small office. "No thanks, Ed," I replied. "The coffee from my Mr. Coffee is fine with me. I'm not really a big fan of designer coffee. Too many years of bad coffee," I replied. "Yeah, you haven't been out long enough to develop a taste for the finer things in life." Finer things in life I wasn't sure about, but I hadn't been out of the Air Force very long, that was true. I had done most of my twenty two years in the Air Police. During that time I had done everything from ride in a patrol car patrolling the base housing area, to guarding convoys in Afghanistan. It had been a long and eventful 22 years. Unfortunately I got frozen in rank at master sergeant. I had been told by my last commanding officer, that I would never rise above my rank at the time. According to him, I was not a team player That being the case, I pulled the plug at 22 years. That little conversation came while I was recovering from a piece of shrapnel in my belly. Compared to most of the wounds from that stupid war, it wasn't even worth mentioning. If it had not been for the conversation with Captain Hartman, I wouldn't have bothered. By the way don't let anyone tell you that you are safe in an armored Humvee. My life was probably saved more by the shortage of explosives in Afghanistan, than by the Kevlar. Fortunately the IED wasn't as big as it might have been the year before. The Vee was a total loss, but thankfully I wasn't. I had planned to retire at thirty and do very little, if anything afterward. When I went out at 22years, I had to look for something to fill my time and to supplement my pension. I was fortunate. If I could stand the long lines, I had free medical coverage from the VA. I probably would go with the co-pay and use the private coverage available to me. I found myself back in Aster because I had this old high school friend named Jennifer. She had gone on to the state university and become a lawyer. Jen and I had stayed in touch over the years. Mostly it had been Christmas cards and a wedding invitation every few years. There had been 22 Christmas cards and five wedding invitations to be exact. Two of the invitations were mine and three were hers. Her third marriage was still intact, while my second husband had been killed in Iraq. It was only a couple of weeks after the end of combat operations there. Somebody forgot to tell the rag heads to stop sending rockets into the American compounds. Even then I was still a reasonably attractive 41 year old woman, even so I didn't date much. All my old friends were far away and I hadn't made many new ones. The only unattached man I knew well was Ed, and he was about seventy. Even though we shared an office Ed and I didn't really work together. My friend, the lawyer, convinced me to open a process server business. She hooked me up with all her lawyer friends. Jen also helped me place advertisements in the most well read lawyer rags. I had been at it about six months and business was picking up slowly. I didn't spend much time in the office, so the desk space in Ed's little converted filling station was more than enough for me. Other than sleeping, I didn't spend much time at home either. The one room garage apartment was also enough space for me. The small space was located over Jen's two car garage. Her current husband didn't seem to mind me living there. They certainly didn't need my paltry rent, so it had to be the fact that I don't close my blinds when I dress. There was only one window in the apartment and it faced the house. I can only be seen from the upstairs windows of the main house. Jen's husband never mentioned seeing me naked, but he always had a wolfish look when we passed in the hallway. I didn't mind that he probably saw me, Hell, I didn't mind that Jen might have seen me as well. It has been a lot of years since I was shy about such things. I lost my virginity when I was fifteen. I lost it to a grown man, who managed the mall's video arcade. He was cute, and I liked to hang out there after school, and on weekends. He showed me the right amount of attention, and he said the right things. I was young and full of raging hormones, so it was a natural thing that happened. I wasn't legal, I knew it even then, but neither of us cared. After a few months he moved on to a new teenager, so I moved on to boys my own age. Twenty five years ago oral sex wasn't so common, so it was mostly hugging, kissing, and hand jobs until I graduated high school. Upon graduation I signed up for the Air Force, just to get away from home. I was probably smart enough for college, but I came from a fatherless home. My mom was divorced and working her butt off to keep me and my brother fed. There was just no money for college. Twenty years ago there were far fewer college loans available. Probably a good thing, since I didn't start my adult life in debt, like so many kids do these days. I found myself at forty one living on a tiny pension, in a tiny apartment, trying to get a tiny business started. It was going to be a struggle for a while, but I honestly didn't mind. It was more fun to live without stuff. In the end you don't own stuff, it owns you. I drive a stupid minivan only because Jen had one she wanted to sell. It proved to be a good decision, even if it had been an accidental one. Most days I run around town in jeans and tee shirts. I dress younger than I probably should, but people don't seem to mind. At least if they have a problem with it, they keep it to themselves. The minivan allowed me to carry a dress and fancy shoes. Now and then I needed to dress up a little. It had only happened a couple of times, but there are places I can't get into wearing jeans. They keep me out of the country club, even if I do have my boobs hanging out. Since I never had kids I can wear a thin bra without having them at my knees. It seemed that sometimes people just wanted me to pretend to be ladylike. Hey I can pretend with the best of them. "At Your Service," I said into the phone after I stopped it ringing. "Hey Max, it's me Milton Price," said the metallic voice. "Hello Mr Price," I replied. Price was a lawyer I had gladly added to my slowly growing client list. "Got a tricky one for you. By the way call me Milt or Milton at least." "Sorry Mr. Price, too many years in the military." "Oh okay, anyway the husband wants to be sure his wife doesn't grab everything, so we are freezing the bank accounts. I want her served first, then I want you to call me immediately so we can freeze the assets right after." "You know that is going to cost extra. I have never made a notification like that before. How about ten bucks added to the bill for the call." "You are a hard hearted money hungry lady, but I like that about you. Sure I'm just going to pass it on to him anyway." "Good I'll swing by for the paper after lunch, unless you want to pay the emergency service price?" "How much more is that?" "Instead of the twenty five it is double to fifty then there is the ten return notice expedite fee." I just made up the term 'expedited notice fee' on the spot... "Think fast, and be flexible airman", I remembered that advice from my time on the line. "So sixty bucks and you will do it now?" "Yes, just hand me the check, and the address to serve it, when you hand me the papers." Except for the rush it was a typical transaction. I waited for Ed to come back, before I left for the office of Price and Sloan Attorneys at law. When I walked into the door of the office, I found myself in a room that could have been in a hundred year old building. It was actually in a building no more than five years old. Lawyers liked to look as though they had been in business for generations it seemed. "Can I help you?" the receptionist asked. I didn't comment on the young woman's grammar. Instead I replied, "I'm Maxine Stone, from At Your Service. You should have a document for me to serve." "Yes Ms Stone, Mr Price said you would be right over. In your case that meant right over. Some people take hours to get here." She was a chatty little thing. She was certainly cute enough. She was definitely young and I expected firm bodied as well. Any other time I might have chated a few moments with her, but at that moment I was in the work mode. Over the years I had learned to separate my private life from my work life. I expect that is really what bugged my bosses over the years. In the military not many people seem to manage that consistently. She did smile sweetly as she handed me the large brown envelope. I looked inside to be sure that the check was with the folded blue wrapped papers. The envelope contained the legal paper I needed to hand to the lady named on the attached index card. I also needed to ask her to sign the fake form on my clipboard. If she refused, I simply made a note of it. I also took a quick shot with my digital camera whenever it was possible. It helped, if I ever had to go to court. The camera I used was a poor quality thing about the size of a credit card case. It could shoot inside without flash, which was a big plus, otherwise it was just a small low quality digital camera. "Thank you," I said as I turned to leave the office. The fact that I found the receptionist cute might have bothered me once upon a time. Those days were long gone. I was always reading in women's magazines that all women were probably biologically bisexual, but chose to suppress the inclination. I just choose not to do that anymore. After a few weeks into my first enlistment I found that I could enjoy both men and women, pretty much on the same level,. Men and women were segregated in the early part of my career, so any surplus sexual feelings had to be taken care of in a different way. Lots and lots of masturbation went on in those first weeks. All the women in my training flight were young and healthy, so it was pretty normal. The girl/girl hookups began with the few women who were pure lesbians finding each other. From there it spread to those of us who had been experimenting with open masturbation. That kind of worked it's way into girl/girl sex. Yes, I was right there trying it all. I was young and not all that moral, so it was no real problem for me to justify it. I don't think I ever considered myself homosexual, just open minded. I'm not sure my commanding officers would have felt the same. That's why don't ask, don't tell worked. We could all pretend, just like I did when I wore a dress and high heels to get into the country club lounge after six pm. I pretended to be a hi class, high maintenance lady instead of the no class, wrong side of the tracks, bisexual bitch that I really am. Hey I know what I am and it works just fine for me. Enough of my miserable life, I thought as I climbed into the minivan for the drive to Crestview Estates. Crestview was one of those over priced, over decorated, housing developments. Of the fifty houses probably only two were occupied by real Aster residence. All the rest of the home owners drove from the larger city next door each night just to sleep in the country. Why the hell they bothered was beyond me. Crestview and the more heavily populated, cheaper but still similar developments around it were driving the cost of everything higher. I knew that only because Jen and her Husband were one of the few Aster families living in an only slightly downscale Crestview type development. In that one maybe five percent of the residents were really from Aster. The rest of them even called Tryon for their plumbers. The thought of doing anything or using any service from Aster was dreadfully pedestrian. It was no wonder the Aster kids hated the Crestview kids. Oh the Crestview residents loved the Aster schools, even with the open animosity of the locals. They got to send their kids to school in a system with much less crime than the schools in Tryon. The got better schools without paying high taxes or private school tuition. What was not to like about that. A very few of the businesses in Aster did business with the Crestview types. Judging from the address on the card inside my folder, divorce lawyers seemed to be among them. The drive to Crestview only took a few minutes but it was really a world away. The grass seemed greener in the yards of the million dollar houses. Crestview was the highest level of prosperity, but the lower level subdivisions got lumped in with Crestview. Ones like the development where Jen and her husband lived. I was headed for Crestview proper that morning. The house looked like a small stone castle. There were round stone parts that looked like mini watch towers. They looked as though there should be archers standing by to fight off the locals. It was all just an illusion though, the stone walls were most likely made from fiberglass panels. I knew it was no castle because there was no moat. What is a castle without a moat? I took my brown envelope with the folded sheath of papers, wrapped in the blue cover sheet, inside to the front door. I knocked on the wooden storm door with what had to be the most expensive door knocker made. It was heavy and could have been gold for all I knew. I banged it softly at firs, but after a few minutes of waiting in the sun, I banged hell out of it. Still no one came to the door. I opened the outer door to put a card with my phone number and a message inside. The message was that I urgently needed to speak with the occupant. I even checked the index card and then wrote Mrs. Porter, in the blank space. It wasn't very personal, but it had worked once. When the huge wooden storm door opened, I noted that the house door had been splintered. Someone had kicked the hell out of that big assed door. Since I had been a cop, even if it was a military cop, I used my knuckles to push on the door. I had no interest in leaving my finger prints on it. The door opened so I shouted, "Mrs. Porter, its Maxine Stone are you home. I need to speak with you." I was afraid that something bad had happened to Mrs Porter, but I sure as hell didn't plan to enter that house without more reason than I had at that moment. Instead of going inside, I backed into the yard where I dialed 911 on my cell phone... "911 What is your emergency?" the female voice asked. "I found a door kicked in when I tried to get in touch with the resident at 200 Crestview Circle. I think you need to send the police or sheriff out. I think someone has broken in." "Are there any injured people inside?" the operator asked. "I have no idea, I don't want to walk into a house with the door kicked in. Do you want me to go look around?" "No stay where you are, I have the sheriff's deputies on the way. Stay on the line please." "Not a problem, I'll be in the front yard so tell them not to ride in with guns blazing." "We don't do that kind of thing, and they do know yo u are the woman who called it in." "Good," I replied. It actually was a load off my mind. I had no desire to deal with an injured person, or something worse. It took only a few minutes before I heard the first siren. I tried to keep an open mind while I waited. The best case scenario would be a missing plasma TV. "What happened?" the teenage deputy asked. "I was going to leave a card in the door, when I noticed that it was splintered. I pushed it open and called for the homeowner. When I didn't get an answer, I decided to call 911." "Okay, you stay right here while I look around." "Works for me," I replied. I didn't even smile at the kid with a gun. He had no idea that I was more familiar with a firearm than he would most likely ever be. Since I did like younger men now and then, I tried to play nice. When he came out, he was a little green around the gills. "What did you find?" I asked. He took a deep breath, held up his hand for me to shut up, then he keyed his radio. "221 to dispatch. You need to send the homicide detective, an ambulance, and 721 out here." "Was it a middle-age woman?" I asked. "Yes," he replied quietly. "Most likely Mrs Porter," I suggested. "I was here to serve papers on her. She and her husband seem to be going through a divorce." "You need to stay till the detectives arrive," he suggested. "Okay, do you mind if I wait in the van. This is a little upsetting." "Okay, Just don't leave." I nodded. Just as soon as I was in the van, I called the number on the index card for Eddie Price. "Price and Sloan how my I direct your call?" "This is Maxine Stone. I need to talk to Milton Price. It is important." Even though I said was important it took several minutes for Price to answer." "Maxine did you serve the papers?" "No, but I'm not refunding your money. This call is worth every penny. Mrs Porter may have been murdered." I went on to tell him the whole story almost second by second. "Stay were you are and try to find out all you can. I'm going to get Porter in here and see what is what." "When you talk to him, remember somebody kicked in the door. He probably wouldn't have done that, if he did the deed. After all he does still have a key, I assume." "Good point Maxine I'll keep that in mind, when I talk to the cops. I am pretty sure we will be having a chat." "Me too, since I had to tell them about the divorce. I didn't tell them about the frozen assets yet. I don't have any privilege, so I will probably have to tell them that I have no idea what kind of papers I am serving." "That will help. If they ask for them, try to call me before you turn them over. I might be able to invoke privilege." "I can try." I put the phone away, then studied the scene outside the house. There were two marked sheriff's cars, two unmarked cars and an ambulance crew standing by. It was obvious that someone inside the house was very dead. The ambulance crew had not been allowed inside so there was no hope for the victim. Since the detectives were still inside, they were obviously trying to figure something out. I waited until the crime scene van drove up before I attempted to enter the house. When I got stopped at the door, I explained, "I need to go back to work. So are you finished with me." "Stay here, I'll ask someone if you can go." the kid cop suggested. When he turned his back I followed him deeper into the house. I got a glimpse inside the living room door before anyone noticed me. There was a woman on the floor. The absence of any blood convinced me that she had probably been strangled. Just about anything else would leave blood. Even poisoning would most likely leave a puddle of vomit. My guess was strangulation. "Hey, get that woman the hell out of my crime scene," one of the detectives, who happened to be a woman, shouted at the kid cop. "Hey, can I go back to work?" "Leave your number with the patrolman and you can go anywhere you want, Just as long as you don't want to leave this county." While we had our one sentence conversation, I took in as much of the crime scene as I could. She didn't look like she had put up much of a fight, at least her clothes weren't torn and I didn't see any of her clothes laying around her, so I assumed that it was a straight up murder. Nothing screamed sexual assault, but then only a good thorough autopsy could tell for sure. Still that little bit of information was better than nothing. There was also the absence of blood, which suggested strangulation. I drove back to the office but on the way I got calls so I served two more court papers ... I picked them up and delivered them without anything out of the ordinary taking place. I drove toward the office at the end of the day to leave the records box. I didn't want to leave one of the few things of my dad had left behind, when he left mom in the van overnight. I kept my records in his old metal fishing tackle box. Mom said he had used it in the early years of their marriage. I felt like it and my record of deliveries would be better protected in Ed's office. "Max, how far off are you?" Ed asked in an elevated voice. "I'm five minutes out and headed to the office," I replied into the cell phone. "Can you swing by Jake's clinic. He has had an incident." "Sure Max, you gonna' bail me out," I said as I put the pedal to the floor. Max wouldn't have called me, if it was something he could handle himself. It was a short drive to Jake's Aster Clinic. The clinic smelled of strong disinfectant I noticed as I entered the front door. "Hi I'm Maxine Stone, Jake's father asked me to stop bye." The receptionist at the Aster Clinic was not young or chatty. She didn't even speak to me. She announced my presence into the intercom, then motioned me to the single door leading into the clinic proper. A woman in green surgical scrubs opened the door for me. She didn't look friendly, but she did look terrified. I noted the contrast between her and the receptionist. The receptionist had been icy, but this woman was clearly afraid. She didn't speak. She just led me back into the bowels of clinic. I found Jake's son sitting at his desk staring at a bottle of Jack Daniels Black Label "So what's up Jake." "I should have called the cops instead of calling dad first." "Why is that Jake, because he sent a woman?" I said intentionally. I wanted him on the defense. "Nothing like that, It just seems to be who I should call." "Tell me what happened, then we can decide what to do. Cops might be the best thing or maybe not." "Okay, some thugs burst into the clinic. They held us at gunpoint demanding money and drugs. I told them we don't keep drugs here, so they demanded that I write them a scrip. They said that they would be back every week for a new one. They also said that the clinic had a new landlord and the rent to stay in business was a thousand a week." "Did they tell you when they would be back?" "Friday," he replied. "Well you can call the cops and they will do what they can to find the guys. My guess is that they are from Tryon. When they go across jurisdictions. it is harder to get anything done. Or I can hang out here Friday and give them a surprise. Of course your dad can find out who it was, and I can scare pure hell out of them. It's really up to you." "I think I'll call the cops. No offense Ms Stone." "None taken Doc," I said that as I stood to leave. "Could I pay you to come hang out of Friday, just in case." "Call the local police tell them what happened, and see if they want to do that. If not get in touch with me." "Fair enough," he replied. "Do I owe you for stopping by?" "No, I'm going to take it off my rent." I smiled as I walked from his office. "So?" Ed asked as I carried my dad's tackle box to the safe room. The safe room was a concrete block room with double walls and a very secure steel door. Ed used it to store his files and I used it to store my dad's tackle box and my small weapons collection. "I'm sure he told you someone decided to sell him an insurance policy. One that only covers protection from the guys who sold it." "Yeah, but it was also armed robbery, since they stole the prescription at gunpoint." "That's how I see it. He decided to call the cops." "They won't do shit." Ed said scornfully. "I don't know how good your cops are. I haven't dealt with them." "Best he can hope for is that they park an empty squad car in the parking lot. To seem not to fucking be, that's their motto." He said angrily. "I told him I would standby on Friday, if the cops wouldn't." "Good, if he has any sense he will let you. "You might want to tell him that. All he saw was a small woman with even smaller boobs. That image doesn't inspire much confidence with most men." "Yeah well none of them know you, or they wouldn't feel that way." "So if the cops won't give him real protection, tell him he can trust me." "You know he don't make a lot of money at that clinic?" The clinic was for mostly medicade and medicare patients. Private pay, or Private insurance patients tended to prefer appointments and waiting rooms with a better aroma. "If it comes down to it, we can work something out. You do know what I mean." "Yeah, I know what you mean. Let's hope it don't come down to it." I replied. After the conversation with Ed, I took a chance that Price might still be in the office. "Mr. Price," I said into the phone. "I thought I would fill you in on what little I know." I went on to tell him everything I knew and even what I guessed. I also told him to get the police reports if he wanted to know for sure. I explained that I was just guessing. "So what do you think?" he asked when I finished. "I am sort of working for your client and I think he did it. That should tell you something." "Yeah it does, but he has an alibi." "Me and the police would expect no less. I hope his bank accounts have one as well. It looks a lot like murder for hire. If he didn't do it, someone who knew her did, or had it done. I would bet my ass on that. Not that my ass is of much value." I took myself to dinner that night since it was Friday. It was the height of my week. I had always splurged when alone on a Friday night. I had stopped by the piano bar in the restaurant where I had dinner, so I was late getting home. If the guy I was drinking with hadn't had a wife at home, I might not have come home at all. I sorta drew the line there. Okay I had slipped over it a few times, but I always promised myself not to do it again. I even managed to keep my promise that night. At home I lay in bed and wondered how sex would have been with the barroom cowboy. I wondered, if he might be the one to force me to go straight. Probably not, but he might have been the one to get me off tonight, I thought. Since that was not to be, I reached into the night stand for my vibrator. I had been tweaking and rotating my nipples while I replayed the evening in my mind. I had reached a point were more was needed, so I applied the vibrator to my clit. I almost instantly felt the warm slippery feeling as my body lubricated itself. I was preparing myself for the invasion of a cock. Long or short thick or thin my body didn't care at that moment. It didn't even care if the cock was plastic. or whether it was on a belt worn by a woman. My body just screamed for something to fill the emptiness. I wouldn't have denied myself even if I had the willpower to do so. I quickly slipped the vibrator inside and moved it in and out of my slippery, swollen opening. My body was on the edge of an orgasm, when the knock on my door sounded. I came hard to the demanding sound. I couldn't stop even when I heard Jen's husband speak. "Are you alright Max?" It took some time before I could answer him. "I'm fine Bob. Sorry if I was too noisy." I have been told many times that I sounded like an animal rutting. "Do you have someone in there?" "No," I said that pulling on a ratty old robe and moving to the door. "Why not," he said with a laugh. I opened the door. "I found out he was married. Like I told you before, I don't fuck married men." "Or married woman I hope?" he added. "Not them either," I replied. "Well if you are okay, I'll let you get some sleep." Sundays are always a drag for me. That one was no different. I stayed in bed or in front of my small color TV all day. I ate delivery pizza for lunch and left overs for dinner, Monday I had only one service. The man who got served was a used car dealer. He had ducked service when the sheriff tried earlier. I guess he thought he was going to sell me a car. His wife's attorney had given me one of his cards, so when I showed it to the salesman, who had pounced on me like a hungry lion, he reluctantly called his boss. "I got your name from a friend," I suggested. "Really, which friend do we have in common?" he asked. "Your soon to be ex-wife," I replied as I handed him the court order advising him that she was freezing the family and business assets until there was a hearing. I called his ex wife's attorney from my car to verify the service. I made an extra ten bucks doing that. It seems once I mentioned the immediate notification everybody wanted it. I spent the rest of the day watching old TV shows on my laptop at Ed's office. My little desk space was in the old storeroom just outside of the secure room which held Ed's records and my valuables. "Max, my son just spoke with the detectives. It is their opinion that the thugs won't come back. They did offer to send a car by every hour or so. They said they couldn't spare an officer to sit around there all day." "Yeah, they hear a lot of big talk from little thugs," I admitted. "Would you go to the clinic Friday and keep an eye on him.?" "Sure, if we can work out something on my rent." And that's how I came to be sitting in the rear hallway of the clinic armed to the teeth when they came. First of all they opened the locked door meant for staff only. It had a combination lock and they came right in. Someone had provided them with that combination. They weren't expecting me, but I had been more or less expecting them. I got the .30 caliber semiautomatic carbine up before they could get the handguns trained on me. I didn't bother warning them, I simply shot the one in front twice in the chest. He pretty much body blocked the second one as he tried to raise his pistol. I shot him in the face from about 12 feet. The thirty cal. slug made a god awful mess of his face. As he was going down the third one closed the door behind himself as he ran. I had to step over the two dead men as I pushed through the door using the fire bar to bypass the lock. I caught thug three as he was trying to open the car door. I hit him with a set of tazer wires from about five feet. He did the St. Vida's dance for a couple of seconds, then went down in a heap. Only then did I use my cell phone to call 911. "Yes," I replied to the operator. "There has been a shooting at the Aster Medical Clinic on Spruce Street." "Anyone injured." "Three men have been injured." "Wait right there," the operator demanded. "Got nowhere else to go, so I'll be here." About five minutes till the cops get here, I thought. I turned my attention to the tazered man on the concrete of the parking lot. I kicked him in the ribs. "Wake up sleeping beauty. You are the lucky one. Your friends won't be waking up at all. You with me?" He moaned. "Now tell your friends back home that you met the devil, and she's a woman. Also tell them the clinic and the rest of this town buys their protection from me. One more stranger comes to town, and I will hunt you all down and kill you. I will also kill your wives, your kids, your mommy, your daddy, and your fucking dog. You do believe me don't you?" I asked with my foot on his throat. He nodded just as the cops drove into the parking lot. They did their cop thing, which included questioning me, along with everyone else in the clinic. Since there was already a report on file, concerning the men laying pools of there own blood on the hallway floor, I was pretty sure it would be written up as a justified shooting. They hauled thug three off to jail before I was turned over to the homicide detectives. The detectives did their dance before they cut me loose. I was a little nervous about what might happen next, but I didn't dare show it. As the final insult the cops took my rifle and tazer into evidence. I still had the DA to deal with. Then I had to tell Jake that someone in the clinic had given the thugs the combination to the rear door. Since the receptionist was the only one not shaken after the thugs first visit, my money was on her. If she had been nicer to me, I might not have been so sure, but I just had a feeling she was the traitor. It wasn't my problem, so after I told Ed's son that he had a trader, I moved on. It was up to him to ferret her out. As for the DA, he could rubber stamp the justified shooting, or call for a grand jury investigation. Either way I could do nothing to influence him, so I decided to just wait it out. I was too shook up after the shoot out to take myself to dinner that night. I managed to pick up some Chinese takeout on the way home. I am not a gourmet by any means. Simple fried rice with sweet and sour pork was my idea of Chinese food. Jen's husband Bob came knocking on my door around 8 PM. "Jen and I heard on the news about the shootout. Are you okay? I'm sorry that was stupid of course you aren't okay." "Bob, I'm okay." I said trying to smile. "Well, we are having drinks. Jen demanded that I come get you." "I'm fine, but I can always use a drink." We actually had a lot of drinks. I don't remember which of them suggest strip poker, but we were all pretty drunk at the time. I agreed without hesitation. I still have a pretty good body for an old broad. Belly dancer tummy and all. The night ended with one hell of a good night kiss from Bob then one from Jen. I left because we were all drunk. It is a lousy idea to let sex come between friends. Especially the kind of sex Bob obviously had in mind. I hid in my room all day Saturday and again Sunday. Most of the time I refused to answer my phone. I knew who all might be calling and I didn't want to speak to any of them. Then after 6 PM on Sunday I finally answered a call. I explained how I felt to Jen. Then she told me how she felt, then how Bob felt. None of us felt quite the same, so in the end we decided to do nothing for a while and just see what happened. Even though I knew that small town cops moved slowly, I was still surprised that it took until the next Monday before I heard that they had called Milton Price's client in for questioning in his wifes death. According to Milt it had been a pretty aggressive interview. He asked that I stop by his office before lunch on Monday. "So how about you getting an independent verification of Al's alibi?" Price asked as soon as I stepped into his phony antique office. "You might want someone else Mr. Price. I am still being questioned about that shoot out at the clinic. People are going to recognize me. My face is all over the news." "Yeah I know. That's why I want you. The cops and a jury will believe you, when you tell them my client was at the gym, when his wife died. Not to mention people will answer when you ask questions." "If he was, and I don't know that he was, they might believe me. Especially if I get a walk from the cops, and that news makes as big a splash in the media. It would be news, 'The woman who killed two gang bangers is exonerated'. However, I still won't know that he didn't just pay some junkie to do it." "I'll tell you what Stone, we will pay you to do an independent investigation. Your only restriction will be that you don't volunteer anything. You just tell the truth, when asked. You can't lie to the cops or to me. If I ask you, or the cops ask you, just tell them whatever you learn. "I want to be paid in advance. $250 a day and none of that prorated shit. If I work one minute, I get paid for the full day." "Fair enough." Price wrote me a check for five hundred dollars. "Now go talk to the people at the gym and tell me what else you need." "I want all his financial records up to date as of today. I mean banks, brokerage, anything from which money can be withdrawn. Warn your client, I can find all of his accounts, so don't bother trying to hide them. If he has a secret, it is better to fire me, than lie to me." "Fair enough," Price said as he handed me the check, "This card," he added handing me an index card with an address. "Has the address of the Gym where Al was working out." "Will they talk to me?" "I'll have Al call them right now." I left his office right away and headed for Tryon. I made it out of town before my cell phone rang. Since I always wear a jacket with pockets, the cell phone was easy to reach, even as I drove. "At Your Service, Stone," I said into the phone. "Stone, this is Detective Sergeant Blevins." "What can I do for you?" "Nothing really, I'm calling to give you a heads up. Your third thug is out on bail. Your friend Ed posted his bail and we cut him loose." "I'm sure it was just business," I said knowing I was going to have a talk with Ed about that one. "Who knows, but watch yourself. He might want to get rid of the only witness." "Did you find out what his gang affiliations are?" "Best we can tell he doesn't have any. He and his two dead cousins seemed to have been working alone." "Really, well I will be damned. Dress like a banger and talk like and banger and everyone is afraid of you, I suppose that would work." "It seems to have worked pretty well. We found drugs and money in his place." "Well, I'll keep an eye out for him. I'm not sure he wants to find me though." "Me either, you seemed to have scared the shit out of him." He paused a few seconds then went on. "I did some checking on you. If you need anything let me know, but stay out of trouble." I had a pretty good idea what he knew. There was very little about me that couldn't be learned from a quick records check. "Who me? I never get into trouble. Speaking of trouble is the DA going to file on me," "Not a chance, the press has made you a hero," he replied. "By the way if you stop by the Cop Out some night, I'll buy you a drink." "What the hell is the Cop Out?" "It's an old beer bar downtown. You'll be able to find it, just go to the courthouse on main street then drive north two blocks." "I'll stop bye one night." I promised. "Good, well bad guys wait for no man, I got things to do," Blevins said. "Me too, by the way are you working on that killing over in Crestview last week?" "No, that is the Sheriff," he replied. "You know anyone over there I can talk to?" "Try Brenda Williams, she a tough old bird, but she might help you, if you smile sweetly at her." I could hear the insinuation in his voice. I had heard it often enough. Not only did I swing both ways, but for some reason both teams thought I played for them exclusively. I guess people saw what they wanted to see. "Oh hell, I can do that no problem," I replied with a smile in my voice. "I bet you can. You strike me as the kind of woman who knows how to get things done." "I like to think so. Okay I'm getting into traffic, I'll catch you at the bar." With that I turned my attention to the GPS. The gym turned out to be a storefront that could have been a five and dime in the sixties. It had been converted to a brightly lit gym. It just wasn't right to see a gym without a boxing ring. Not only that, it just didn't smell like a gym. Way too many brands of fancy perfume and cologne stank the place up. The manager was also a personal trainer. He really was a cutie, but I really didn't relate to cute boys all that well. "I'm the manager, you wanted to see me?" he asked. "You should have gotten a call from Al Porter or maybe Milton Stone his lawyer." "Yeah Al called. He said to show you anything you wanted to see." "Let's do this the easy way. Are you satisfied that Al Porter was in your gym at 10AM that Friday." "I'd testify to it," he replied. "That's not what I asked you. So tell me how do you know for sure." "I saw him." "How do you know what time it was." "I just know." "That won't do. Did he do anything to make the time stand out in your mind." "Just that he doesn't usually come in before lunch. He is usually in around two." "Okay, so it was unusual for him to be in at that time of day. So did he seek you out or did you just notice him." "He stopped by the office when he first came in to ask about some running shoes. We special order that kind of thing." "So you would say that coming to your office made sure that you would notice him. Did he mention the time or anything like that." "He said he came in early because he had a meeting after lunch." "So he made sure you would remember the time." I didn't say it but he was acting very much like a man setting up his alibi. That made him suspect number one in my mind and probably the sheriff's detectives as well. The money trail was going to be the thing that nailed his ass. I dialed Price from my cell phone before I started the van. "Price please, this is Maxine Stone." "Yes Ma'am, Ms Stone. By the way I saw you on TV. Did you really shoot those two men?" The bubbly little thing sounded like a groupie. "Yes, I had to shoot them. But I need to talk to your boss about something else." I said to remind her that I was making a business call, and not just hunting ass. "Oh course hold please." She sounded like I had hurt her feelings. Rejection is a bitch, I thought, especially if you are cute and bubbly. I might be the first one to say no, even if I hadn't really said no to anything. She didn't exactly come on to me. "Wishful thinking I mumbled to myself." "Okay Max, what do you have?" "He did it. He was doing the, man setting up an alibi, dance. You should suggest he plead out the first chance he gets." "Can you prove he did it. If not, he will probably think he is smarter than the cops." "Of course he thinks that. No, I can't prove it just a gut feeling at the moment. Do you want to waste more money?" "Hell Max it's his money, go for it." "Okay, I'll let you know, if I can find it. Have your assistant get a list of all his financial dealings." What I didn't tell him, was that his client wouldn't give up the real information, but I had an idea how I could find it. When I got back to the office, I had a long talk with Ed. Since I had solved his son's problem, Ed was willing to share a source with me. His source was inside one of the major credit reporting companies. Nobody realizes how much power those people have. You can't buy a piece of gum with a credit, or even debit card, that they don't know about. If you have a bank account in Sri Lanka they know it. I got the real list of Al's accounts. It was just a matter of matching it up with the accounts from Price. Once I had the list, if there were any discrepancies it meant Al was a murderer. Al provided the list that afternoon and I matched the lists. Al had a brokerage account he didn't bother to list. "Mr. Price, tell Al to make a deal. There is a brokerage account in his name from which he withdrew 5k two weeks ago. Your client is guilty as sin. If he gives up the shooter he can probably avoid riding the needle home." "Thanks Max, it's nice to know. I'll do what I can for him. You won't be telling anyone else about this will you." "Only if someone knows enough to ask me directly. If they do, I won't lie and you knew that going in." "Yes, it was our agreement." Things got boring after that. Nothing at all happened other than I delivered court orders to mostly rich people. I hadn't been laid since I left New Jersey. While waiting for the papers to get processed for my discharge, I met a trucker from Alabama, I met him in a bar just a few miles from the base. Instead of drinking on base or near it, I chose to ride along with another female NCO to a club out on the turnpike. There I met the somewhat younger man. He was cute and well educated for a truck driver. Jobs were hard to come by for a country boy, he explained. We hit it off well enough for me to windup in the sleeper of his truck. I can only describe the sex as cramped. He was good enough to touch all the right places and to do a lot of kissing and other things with his mouth. In the end I had a beautiful orgasm. It was more the result of too long celibate I expect, than anything he did. Still I remembered it fondly. Since I arrived in Aster, I hadn't had all that many offers. I had met plenty of people who I would have slept with, both men and women, but it just hadn't worked out. I am attractive enough, but I just hadn't made the connection that screamed, screw me. My body had finally gotten to the point where it had stopped aching for the touch of another human being. As often happens that is when I met the one who made me melt. It all started with my trip to the Cop Out club. I was there just to hang out. I hadn't told Blevins that I was going to visit, because he just didn't do it for me. Still I wanted to get away from Jen and her husband for an evening. The Cop Out seemed as good a place to do so as any other. I have never really been inside a cop bar. I had seen a few on TV but the real thing is never like TV. The Cop Out was no exception. It was a well lit diner, more than a bar. No one met me at the door to ask for my ID, so being a cop wasn't necessary for admission. The bar was far too low for a beer bar. If I didn't want to sit at a table for four, which I didn't, then it was sit on a low bar stool. I hated that thing, it made me feel like a child, but I sat down. I ordered a Bud. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it came in a long neck glass bottle. I shook my head at the offer of a glass. It was 9PM when I made it to the Cop Out, so people were using the postage stamp dance floor. I watched and listened to the music from the jukebox. Mostly it was playing 1960 rock music. Nostalgic to people older than me. To me it was just old folks music. Still there were lots of people. No cops in uniform but women in scrubs, men in jeans, and even a sprinkling of paramedics in uniform. I supposed that the nurses and me were the only none government employees in the place. I guessed that it would be safe to date any of the men or women in the Cop Out, since they probably wouldn't put up with any real deadbeats or thugs. A paramedic with the Tryon EMS was the first to ask me to dance. I gladly danced with the man. The man was probably thirty pounds overweight but I didn't mind. He was thin enough for me to feel his erection laying against my stomach. The feel of it and the knowledge that I was the cause made my knees weak. If women had a penis, mine would have been erect as well. "Come sit with us," he suggested after the dance." As he spoke he looked over to a table of Men and Women. Most of them were in Ems uniforms. There were exactly half a dozen of them, four men and two women. "What the hell, why not?" I followed him to the table. "These are my friends," he said just before he reeled off a handful of names which I promptly forgot. I did remember that he said his name was Tim. "I'm Maxine," I said. "My God, you are that Maxine, I remember you from TV last week." One of the women said gushing at me. "I knew I should not have done that stupid interview," I suggested. "Oh hell, it was a great story, very inspiring," the second woman suggested. "No, what you guys do is inspiring," I suggested trying to move things along. "Regardless, I am so happy to meet you. Wait till I tell my dad. He is your biggest fan," the younger of the two females said. She saw my reaction and added, "That didn't come out like I meant it." "Not to worry, I know how old I'm getting." I said with a huge laugh. I wanted them to know that I was a good sport. "The paper said you were wounded in Afghanistan is that true?" Tim asked. "Let's talk about you guys," I suggested. "What's it like being a paramedic?" "The hours are long and the pay stinks, but otherwise it is great," the younger woman replied. She was trying to make up for her earlier comment. "I think that's true of most real jobs," I replied. "Only bank presidents and the like have good hours and great pay." "So Max are you having a good time?" a voice behind me asked. I looked back and there was Sgt Blevins. "Well Blevins, I'm trying not to stand out like a sore thumb. I mean everyone here works for the city or county. I think I might be the only civilian here." "Nah, we let nurses in and now I guess we let PI's in as well." "I'm no PI. More like a low rent PS." "What is a PS?" the young paramedic chick asked. "Process server, I probably have the worst job of anyone in here." "Oh I doubt that," a woman at the next table demanded. Since she was in green scrubs, I didn't argue. "So sit down Blevins. I think these guys will let a cop join us." "Sure detective have a seat," One of the guys said. "Tell me Max, were you planning to kill those gang bangers all along?" Blevins asked. I knew it wasn't the time or place for the question, but I also know he hoped to get an honest answer. "No not at all," I answered. "Then how the hell did you get that rifle up before they shot you with those pistols. It takes longer to raise a rifle than a pistol." "I was ready for them, not because I wanted to kill them, but because I didn't want them to kill me. They came through the door like old ladies and I went hot the minute the door knob turned." "I see," Blevins replied. The others just stared silently. "It's the same thing I told you at the police station, why do you seem surprised." "I'm surprised because its the same thing you told me then. Most folks add or forget something in the retelling." "Ah yes the old revision of the story trick. Sorry, I just told the truth both times." "Or you are telling the same rehearsed story again." "Or that," I said with a smile. We both knew it didn't matter he wasn't going to break me and mine was the only version of what happened before the thugs opened the door. After that people started to die or run, so mine was still the only version that counted. "How do you feel about killing two men?" Blevins asked. "Not as bad as I would have felt, if they had killed me." It sounded good but the truth is I replayed the day over and over in my mind. I knew it would go away eventually all the others had. Yes I had been in fire fights before and people had died. The medics kept drinking while Blevins and I circled each other. "Hell let's dance," Blevins finally suggested. Just like the paramedic Blevins got an erection. I decided that the Cop Out was great for my self esteem. Unlike the younger paramedic Blevins didn't turn me on. I think before the night was up, I danced with all the guys at our table and three or four more. I love to dance, and I do know how to move my body, even if it isn't perfect. From nine till midnight I had exactly four beers, so I was the most sober one at the table. I was feeling high but it was not the alcohol. I was high on the sexual charge in the air. At that moment I would have slept with any of about ten men in the place. All the dancing and the penis on the belly had me hot for a man. Hell I was hot for almost any man. It looked as thought I was headed home alone again as i walked to the parking lot. A hand suddenly came to rest on my shoulder. "Why don't you come home with me?" a young man in green scrubs asked. "Who the hell are you?" I asked. "Andrew Pace, I'm an intern at County General. I have been watching you all night and I love what I see." "Andrew, I'm forty two years old and you are what twenty five?" "Yes and I have a big dick and a lot of stamina. I haven't had much to drink, so I can get it up easily and often." "Gee that is romantic," I replied sounding snippy I'm sure. I definitely didn't need him checking out my heart rate. "Do you need romance?" "Sometimes," I replied "Tonight?" "No." was my reply in a much softer voice. Andrew lived in a small studio apartment across from the hospital. Once the door was closed he kissed me with his tongue in my mouth and his fingers buried in the cleft of my ass. I could tell he was trying to get his finger inside my anus. Thankfully my clothes prevented it. I didn't just allow his deep kiss I fought to get even closer. I tried to force his hard penis inside me through my clothes. I was gasping for air between bouts of choking on his tongue. My mind was not capable of thought. I had reverted to primitive brain functions. Those functions screamed reproduce, so I gave in to them. I pulled on his shirt trying to get it off. He got the idea and pulled on my top. Mine was knit which was a little more difficult than his much too large green scrub top. I decided to help him with my top. It finally came off even though in my excitement I was as clumsy as he had been. If my bra had been anything less than industrial strength it would have ripped. Since it was more functional than sexy, it took all my concentration to get the hook and eyes latches open. Once my smallish breasts were free he lifted them and bent his head so that he could reach my hard nipples. I felt the pressure of his sucking mouth and I went crazy. I tilted my head back and made a sound more shrill than a moan but it was still a sound unintelligible. It might have been closer to a howl than anything else. I needed his cock in me and I wasn't even able to beg for it. I was too far gone to do anything more than follow his lead. I had to trust him, even though he was barely half my age. When he pulled back slightly I knew what I had to do. I hooked my fingers over the elastic waist band of his scrub bottoms. I knelt pulling them down as I went. I was on my knees with his cock at the same level as my chin. It was fully erect and just about average sized maybe a little smaller, but it was an ample amount for what I needed. I opened my mouth and sucked it inside. I held it in one spot and nursed on it, as he had done for my nipples. I didn't move on his cock at all, I just ran my tongue under it and sucked gently on the head. I could feel him stiffen even more, but I did not increase or change my movements in the least. When he began to push at my face with his hips, I released his cock then rose to kiss him again. I was mad with desire. He pushed me against the dinning room table, then turned me around to face it. I bent over the table not just because he was insistent, but because I needed his cock inside me. I felt his cock work it's way inside me. I opened as he pushed in as deep as he could. I could feel his ball sack against my vulva as he tried to force even more inside me. He held himself perfectly still for a few seconds then began to pump me. He moved slowly at first then increased his speed. He was pistoning inside me when I came. The need had been great but the release wasn't nearly as much as I had expected. I came but it was not with a great intensity I seemed to just slip into it. Even so I felt my own lubricant pour from me. Suddenly he withdrew from me then pushed is rock hard cock against my anus. I tried to object but I couldn't find my voice. His cock tore its way inside me. I hadn't been at all prepared for the pain it caused. He showed me no mercy as he drove deep inside me. My insides seem to be on fire as the pain spread. He was deep inside me when he stopped and whispered in my ear. "Clit, rub your clit." I did as he insisted and felt the world disappear into my sensory overload. I knew he came in me only after I calmed down and felt it leak out. I'm not sure whether I had an orgasm or a convulsion. It was a crazy moment, that I knew for sure. I was exhausted and in pain at the same time. I had no idea what my body was feeling. I thought I might want to kill the intern, but I wasn't sure. In all my 42 years I had never felt anything like it. My legs were wobbly as I staggered to the sofa. I almost collapsed onto it but he stopped me. "Wait, you are bleeding." The son of a bitch was worried about me getting his semen and my blood on his sofa. What a prick, I thought. However, I did let him spread a towel on the sofa before I sat down. I was too exhausted to leave at that moment. We didn't speak for several minutes. I managed to stand and make my way to the bathroom, I sat on the toilet and tried to empty my bowels. Nothing happened, except I felt a burning sensation in my anus again. When I returned from the bathroom, I found my clothes, dressed, and left without even saying goodbye. All the way home I cursed Andrew and then myself for what had happened. 42 and I had taken it up the ass for the first time. Even worse a punk kid had been the one to do it. "I am a stupid bitch," I said aloud as I pulled into the driveway of Jen's house. The next morning I rationalized the pain in my butt was the culmination of six months of things going wrong. Finding myself in a small town, with s small pension and a smaller business, then the shootout all set me up to fall. Add to that the fact that I hadn't found anyone in my day to day life worth screwing, and what you got was a woman ready to lay down for anyone after a drink or two. It was a miracle I hadn't run into a Ted Bundy type. By afternoon I felt better about my lapse in judgment. Still I had to admit that Andrew had been exceptional. Well all except for the painful ending. I went into the office at lunch. I answered a few calls between trips to the bathroom to try to move my bowels. It seems that taking it up the ass is uncomfortable in many ways. It was almost a week before all the uncomfortable side effects faded completely. After that it was another few days before I found the courage to return to the Cop Out. I again sat at the bar. The man who asked me to dance was someone I not previously met. It seemed that getting an erection was common with men. I enjoyed feeling his as much as any of the others. After that dance ended I found myself seated at a table with two other men. I'm not sure what they had in mind but they weren't happy when I left at midnight. "I turn into a pumpkin at midnight," I said as I stood to leave. Life had again become boring. I went to work and straight home for several nights then I went back to the club. Even I realized that I was hoping to see Andrew. I admitted it to myself but I wouldn't to anyone else. I had no luck searching for Andrew so I just gave up after only few nights. I began to stop in the club for a little dancing and even flirting but I never forgot Andrew. It was a few weeks after I was cleared in the shootout thing, when the call came. "Maxine Stone?" the voice on my cell phone asked. "Yes I'm Maxine Stone." "Ms Stone I read about you in the paper, I wonder if I could get you to deliver a package for me?" "I'm not UPS," I replied shortly. I had been getting some strange calls since the newspaper and TV did bits on me. Local news was surely hard to come by, if they made such a big deal out of it. "It isn't the kind of package that I would trust to just anyone. Would you please come talk to me it is very important." "Alright, where are you?" "The Sedgefield Club. I'm staying in their guest house. Ask at the desk for James Sidmore. Please come right away, it is very important." "I can be there in about an hour. I need to make a stop along the way." What I didn't tell him was that the stop was at my gun collection in the safe room in Ed's office. From the collection I removed my .38 five shot concealed hammer pistol. It was not a pretty thing, but it also did not get hung in my clothes when I drew it from the holster at the small of my back. The pistol was small enough for good concealment. After the shoot out the sheriff insisted that I purchase a carry permit. As far as I was concerned it was an imposition on my rights, but since I was likely to get checked after the incident, I bought it. Since I was completely legal, I found that I carried the pistol a lot less often. But I really didn't like the idea of walking into a strange room, to meet a strange man. Sedgefield is the oldest country club in Tryon. It dates back to pre-depression days. Somewhere along the line a few rooms for out of town guests were added. To be have been allowed to check into one of those room, he had to really be somebody. So from the start I assumed James Sidmore was somebody. A quick check on the computer before I left the office confirmed my assumption. James Sidmore, was something of a wall street whiz. He was far past the Whiz Kid tittle and his bank account showed it. Since he lived in New York, I had no idea what he was doing in Tryon. The Sedgefield was so classy that when I asked for his room, they not only called ahead, but they escorted me to the room. I supposed that they didn't want the riff or the raff rubbing elbows with the sweaty golfers. The young man in the cheap suit knocked on a door with the number 8 attached. The number was brass and had to be original to the door. James Sidmore opened the door himself. He looked to be about my age or a little Older, but not much, The young man stepped back after the door opened. "Mr Sidmore, I presume?" I asked in my special smart ass voice. "I see you don't care for my accommodations. To be honest I don't either, but they are discrete here." "Well it is a little stuffy for my taste," I replied. "Yes, I can imagine. You don't strike me as the country club type, and I mean that in a very good way." "Okay. so what exactly is it I can do for you?" "You can have a seat for starters." I sat on the small sofa. The sitting portion of the room was small. "So where is the package?" I asked. "I am the package," he replied with a smile, but there was no humor in it. "I think you need to call a hooker, I'm sure they know someone at the desk," I replied standing to leave. "I'm afraid those are not the talents I need. You see Ms. Stone in three hours my cell phone will ring. When it does a man will give me an address and I hope you will drive me there along with a briefcase filled with cash. At that address I will trade that brief case for another briefcase. Then we shall leave. When we arrive safely at the airport, I will hand you an envelope with one thousand dollars." "And what will be in briefcase number two, the one headed for the airport?" "That is of no concern to you." "Actually it is. If it is drugs, then a thousand bucks it way too cheap. If it is stolen classified documents, there is no price high enough." "Sorry to tell you this, but nothing so glamorous. The briefcase contains the formula for a new cancer drug. What's even less glamorous is that I already own it." "Somebody ripped it off and now they want to sell it back?" "Something like that," he replied. "So you are sure that he has the only copy of the formula. It wouldn't be hard to sell it to you, then sell it to someone else as well." "True, but I'm not buying it from the thief. I am buying it from the person the thief sold it to. That person assures me there are no other copies and he has no interest in selling it to anyone else. He is simply a recovery expert." "Ah like the insurance company that pays the thief to return the painting." "Exactly, the formula would make news if someone else tried to manufacture it. This way the recovery man gets his reward, and I secure the formula." "I see. So why do you need to pay a grand for a cab ride." "Let's say, I'm not a trusting man." "I would say that in this case, it's probably for the best. Now the big question is why me?" "I think a woman would raise fewer eyebrows at the exchange. It is a proven fact that you are capable of defending yourself." "And of defending you and the money, should your expert prove to be a con man." "Yes that to," he admitted. "I'll take my money in advance, and if this goes sideways, I will take a hell of a lot more than a thousand dollars for my trouble." "Sorry, I don't pay in advance," he replied seriously. I didn't answer I just stood to leave. "Don't you trust me?" he asked. "About as much as you seem to trust me, but it's more than that. If this goes sideways, you may not be able to pay me. I could wind up in a jail cell for a couple of days while the cops sort it out, and still end up with nothing." "I see, very well." He opened the brief case. From it he removed a brown postal envelope. After he handed it to me, I looked inside. There were ten $100 bills. "So what would you like to do for the next three hours?" I asked. "Let's go have a drink on the patio and watch the golfers coming in." "If that's what you want?" I agreed. I was on my forth diet coke when the call came in. As I had instructed he wrote the address down. He didn't try to memorize it. The instructions were that we were to leave immediately. Sidmore settled the bill while I got the van. He wasn't impressed with the van, I could tell. It was pretty obvious when he said, "I figured you for a sports car." "A van is a lot more practical for changing clothes, than a two seater with a rag top." "Yes I can see that," he agreed. The address proved to be an abandoned auto sales lot. Not one of those fancy bankrupt dealer things, but a vacant lot with a small frame building used previously as the pressure cooker office. We arrived early so I gave it a quick once over. Then I moved my van to the center of the parking lot. It wasn't a big lot and there was only one entrance from the street. Since my van had blacked out windows, it was going to make the recovery man nervous. When the black Chrysler pulled into the parking lot, I said, "James get behind the wheel, when I get out. If this goes bad, just drive right over us and get the hell out of here." "He is expecting me." James said. "If he is straight up, he will be asked what the hell is going on. If he is not right, he will get hinky as hell. Like I said, if it goes wrong, get out and send the cops back." I stepped from the van and walked between it and the Chrysler. "Nice ride," I said to the man who got out of the car. "Are you carrying?" he asked. "Of course, aren't you?" "Yeah, whose in the van?" "Sidmore, whose in the car?" "Mr. Issac, so you got the money?" "Yeah, you got the merchandise?" "Sure," he replied "Your boss shows me his case then my boss will show you his money." "We are making the rules," the voice in the back of the car shouted. "You are being careful, and so are we. I think you should respect that." "Okay, I'll get out when your boss does," he said. I walked back to the minivan. "He says he will get out of the car when you get out of the van." "You seem to know what you are doing, should I?" "Would you recognize the formula as real?" I asked. "Hell no, I'm the money man not a scientist." "Shit you should have gotten one of the lab coats to come along. There is no need to risk yourself. Just give me the case and I'll get his. When I come back you drive this thing the hell out of here. I don't want to waste any time." "Fair enough," he said handing me the case. "If you don't do this right, I'm going to runyou over." "If it goes bad, trust me you are the least of my worries." Actually it went perfectly. I carried the case to the man in the back of the Chrysler. He took it opened it then opened his case for me to see. There was a thick book with a cover that looked scientific to me. We made the exchange. "You know if this isn't legit, there is no where you can hide. Sidmore has more money than god." "Yeah, it's legit," he assured me. It must have been I got Sidmore on the plane without any incidents and he didn't call asking for his money back. So I considered it case closed. The formula things had been interesting, but it was only a tiny island in a sea of bullshit. I had become a regular at the Cop Out. Most of the people in the club knew me or knew of me, so it didn't require me to be on stage. I liked the laid back atmosphere. Too bad that Andrew the intern, as I began to think of him, never came back. The men began to hit on me right after Andrew, but I said no while I waited to see if he would return. By the time I gave up on him, the men had given up on me. Since no one knew that I was bi, the women all wanted to be my friend. None of them had any interest in me sexually. Yes I could tell just by talking to them. So many straight women in one place. It was depressing. I was in the Cop Out one night in the middle of the week. It was also in the middle of September, when a stranger came in. At least he was a stranger to me. Blevins knew him enough to speak, when the man walked in. The stranger nodded then moved to the bar. The stranger wasn't real big but he was solid. I liked the way he looked. "Hey Blevins who is the kid?" Yes he was younger than me by about twenty years. "Careful Max, you could be messin' with a minor." "I don't think so. He just bought a beer. So give Blevins who is he?" "His name is Jerry something or other. He has been undercover with narcotics. Straight from the academy to buying coke and rock on the street." "Hell there ain't enough drugs in Aster to keep anyone busy. I think the dealers come in on the bus." I laughed. "Sheriff has Aster and Tryon. Kid was on loan to the Sheriff's department." "Then how do you know him?" I asked. "He ain't family is he?" "No Max, he isn't family. I knew him from the academy. I teach out there." "Very good," I said with a smile. "Introduce me." "I had no idea you were a cougar," Blevins said. "I am not really, I just don't rule anything out. He is cute. What's that old saying, waste not, want not." I smiled at Blevins as I said. The kid stood at the low lunch counter with a long neck beer bottle. "Hey Jerry, come here a minute," Blevins said. When the kid arrived he went on, "I want you to meet Max Stone." "It's Maxine and hi." "Hello Ms Stone, I have heard a lot about you." "I know, I'm even more beautiful in real life," I laughed at the sarcasm. "Well that wasn't exactly what I heard. The word is that you need to buy a big life insurance policy." "Why is that?" Blevins asked. "The three bangers she ambushed didn't belong to the 5th Street Rollers, but they were relatives of a couple of them. Also that warning you gave Paco was taken seriously by the Rollers." "Oh really, well I'll head on down to Wallymart for a vest." "Just thought I would pass that along. Kind of showing my goodwill." Jerry suggested. "I appreciate that. I can use all the goodwill and information I can get." "There was a lot of discussion about whether to take a woman seriously or not." "Too bad they decided to take me serious." "Yeah it is. Just keep your eyes open and your head down." Jerry said as he turned to leave. "Guess you don't have to worry about me robbing the cradle." "No, now I have to worry about a gang hit in my town." "I think I'll worry about it a little more than you," I suggested. It looked like a good time to find a new place to live. I decided that Jen and her husband didn't need to be in the line of fire. "Blevins, I need to find a new place to live. If the Rollers are going to play games, I need to get out of my friend's house." "Probably a good idea, you can also make your own place more secure. If you don't pass the address around, you can limit their ability to cause mischief." "So where can I find a little place?" "Try the newspaper," he suggested. I went home alone. In all honesty I always went home alone, since I wouldn't take a stranger into Jen's house. The one time I went wild in town, I went to his place. I hadn't been home long enough to go on weekend sex orgies to the beach. For that I wanted to know the guy better. Hell, I found it hard to believe I had only been laid once in seven months. I had also managed to stay away from women during that time, so my reputation was heterosexual. I had no idea if that was a good thing or not. I waited until the end of business the next day before I talked to Jen. I asked her to come into my one room. "I found out last night that a street gang in Tryon plans to take a shot at me. I do not want you or Bob in the cross fire." "Oh my God you are such a drama queen," Jen said. "One damn shootout and suddenly everything is life or death." "Jen, you have never been in a shoot out. The only gangs you know anything about are the ones you see on TV. When these yo yos do a drive by they just spray lead everywhere. Anyone can be killed. I will not be responsible." "Have it your way. You always do." She said as she stood to leave. "But you better not let anything happen to you, or I will kill you." I could see her eyes glistening. I held her in my arms and said, "Don't worry hon, I'm a lot badder than a bunch of kids." "Jesus Max, I know that." She lifted her head pushed me back, then kissed me. It was not a mother, daughter or best friend's kiss. It was a kiss with a lot of promise. "When you get your place you better invite us over for dinner." She smiled as she left the room. That woman knows how to stage a dramatic exit, I thought. I sat down on the one comfortable chair and then looked around. Most everything in the room belonged to Jen and her husband. The clothes, towels, and bed covers were mine but but hardly anything else. I didn't even own a TV. Fortunately living in my friends house had allowed me to save my separation pay. Not only that the business was actually in the black. I wasn't worried about the cost of the move, I just wanted to get to it before anything happened to Jen. The way things get done in small towns is that someone knows someone, who knows someone, who has what you want. In my case it was Ed, who had a recent client, who had lived in an isolated fishing cabin about five miles from town. The cabin was about seventy years old so I had some evaluating to do. The driveway leading to the cabin was only a little less than half a mile long, and it was dirt. In the bad weather I was going to need a place in town to crash. The cabin itself was hardly bigger than the one room over Jen's garage. Ed, who went with me to inspect it, explained that the exterior walls were board and battens. I had no idea what that meant except that I could see the outside was real wood. I liked that. "The owner is going to be gone a minimum of 2 years even with good behavior. His mother wants to rent it to help with the expenses. Taxes and maintenance on the place plus she put up a lot of money to get him a decent defense. She would sell it but he is adamant that she not sell. Renting, he did agree to though I doubt that anyone would care what he thinks at this point." "Well, I would hate to shoot him, if he just showed up one night. I want him to know I'm staying here, if I decide to take it." ""I'll make sure his mother explains it all. and that she gives you plenty of notice before he is released. I expect your present problems will be gone by then. When that is done, you can live like a real adult." Ed said smiling. The cabin was actually one big room. Larger than the over the garage room, because their were no roof eves. The roof was a steep shed roof, high on one end and lower on the other. To carry the roof load there was a line of 6x6 posts half way inside the room. If that line of posts had ever been a wall, it was long since gone. The floor was covered with an old rug from someone's house no doubt. The furniture wasn't the classy kind of shabby chic, it was just crap. Everything had been discarded from someone's house. Of that I had no doubt. That said, the old refrigerator was cold, There was no range, but I really didn't mind. My plan was microwave all the way. There were no cabinets in the kitchen. The pipes under the sink were even exposed, since it was a plastic utility sink. For storage the house came equipped with metal warehouse type shelving units. Those had started life in some other place no doubt. There was an old ironing board bolted to the wall with one leg on the small end. It served as a breakfast bar, at least that would be its purpose for me. "What happened to the bed?" I asked. "When his mother decided to try to rent this place, she cleaned it. She had the bed taken away. She didn't think anyone else would want to rent the place with that old smelly bed in it." "That was probably a good idea. I'll tell you Ed, I just don't know. This place is pretty dismal." "Max, if the rollers come for you, it will be down that long drive. They won't be walking five miles through the woods, or paddling a boat over that pond. Those city boys will come right down the road. It won't be hard for you to rig a surprise for them. I understand you have had some experience with IEDs. What was it they called the course you taught?" "Cooking with Maxine." I replied. "Well all that is true enough, but I still have to work." "You work from a cell phone, nobody knows where you are more than half the time. The rollers won't know either." "Ed, I'll have to stop coming to the office." "The hell you will, I have bailed out almost every bad guy in the county. They are not going to shoot up my office, unless they have a death wish. None of this will guarantee you a long life, but it's your best shot." "Yeah, you are quite the salesman," I said kissing his cheek. "I owe you, this is just a payment on the debt." "So, let's go pay the woman and buy a bed." And that's exactly what we did. Ed was too old to help, so I fought the bed from the minivan into the house alone. It is the kind of situation where a boyfriend would have come in handy. I also bought myself a shopping cart full of household crap. I had brought my sheets and towels from Jen's house. I knew winter would come soon, so I also bought three blankets. You can never have too many blankets, my dad always said. I had to go to the power company to leave a deposit and sign a contract. I planned to spend one more night at Jen's house. I had not wanted to put them in danger even one more night, but I gave in to her whining. I almost always gave in to her. We came as close as possible to a family dinner that night. We ordered take out spaghetti from a class restaurant. Bob opened a bottle of wine making our last supper even more special. After dinner we sat around drinking even more wine. I got very mellow over the course of that evening. Around midnight Bob walked over to me with the wine bottle, but rather than pour more wine into my glass, he kissed me. It wasn't a best friend of my wife's kind of kiss. It was more of a lets get naked kind of kiss. I could have resisted, but I didn't. All the excuses I had for not getting involved the last time were gone. I didn't have to live with them afterward and they both knew it. Since Jen was sitting there watching, it obviously was okay with her. I had no idea what she was thinking or planning and at that moment I didn't care. I just wanted to float along to a huge orgasm. I just didn't want that to happen for a long long time. I wanted to enjoy the feeling of his tongue in my mouth for a while longer then move on to even more delicious things. I smelled her perfume even before I felt the hands reach around me from the rear. The hands lifted my knit top into a wad under my chin. Then she deftly opened my bra snaps. There must have been a signal of some kind between them because Bob pulled back at the same time that she lifted my top and bra over my head. I was naked to the waist and it was a marvelously free feeling. I was floating on a cloud of lust. Somehow I found myself standing. Bob turned me to Jen and she kissed me with a smaller tongue but it was still marvelously erotic. While she kissed me and cupped my breasts, bob unbuttoned my slacks from behind. Before I even realized it my slacks and panties were around my feet. I stepped out of the rumpled clothing. I was naked sandwiched between two people who were still clothed. That didn't last long Bob pulled away. I was trying to beg him not to leave but Jens tongue was in my mouth and I was gasping for air. My body shivered as though a cold wind had blown into the room, but it wasn't the cold. I shivered at the feel of Bob's naked body against my back, and the sensations created by his erect penis against my butt. Working its way into the cleft of my ass. I reached behind me and guided it so that it rubbed between my legs and across my vulva. As he stroked my vulva the head of his cock hit my clit at the end of each stroke. It add to my arousal. I felt hands push me forward bending me at the waist. My knees gave way, after some pulling and tugging I came to rest on my knees with my head in Jen's lap. I felt Bob's thick cock push into my pussy. It was not a gentle entry, but it was thrilling. I felt his cock force its way deep inside me. I was soaking wet but my pussy wasn't able to stretch fast enough to compensate for the size of his cock without some discomfort. More of a deep burning sensation than actual pain. It was a thrilling sensation as he drove deep into me. I was surprised as I rose toward my first orgasm, that Jen repositioned herself moving my face until it was pressed against her pussy. I had no choice but to do as she wanted. Hell I didn't mind one bit, since I was totally out of control and unable to make any decisions on my own. I had to be led and the two of them were doing it just fine. I came the first time while Bob drove his thick cock in and pulled it out of my pussy in some kind of ancient rhythm. At the same time I was finding a shortage of oxygen with my face pressed hard against Jen's sweet smelling pussy. Whatever she did to deodorize her pussy was choking me. Still I exploded in an orgasm while I fought to survive the experience. It was all about survival as the two of them push and pulled at my body. It took only seconds for the cock moving inside my pussy to awaken my body again. I felt Jen's muscles contract hard and I knew she was in the throws of her own orgasm. Somehow even though I was almost unconscious, I had managed to lick and suck her clit until she was ready to orgasm. At the point where her muscles locked she pulled my face hard against her pussy cutting off all oxygen. I fought against her until she finally released me. By that time I was very near my second orgasm. Jen lifted my body then kissed me deeply. She couldn't press herself against me but she kissed me with just our lips touching. She was like me lost in that moment. I could tell neither of us was thinking clearly. I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the floor. Jen had the sofa and Bob was driving his cock deep and slowly. From his motion I knew that he was about to cum inside me. I was weak at the thought of his cum pouring into me. "Cum in me, please cum in me," I begged. "Yes," he almost screamed as I felt him stiffen, then a warmth spread inside me. I never felt the splash of cum but it did feel different after he came. I fell to the floor exhausted. I almost went to sleep, but Jen helped me to my feet and into their bedroom. We slept off and on that night with a lot of touchy, feely going on between naps. When I awoke in their bed, they were gone. I was thankful. I wanted some time to pass before I came face to face with either of them. I spent very little time in the office, and only a couple of hours delivering court papers, and the rest of the time I tried to make the cabin livable. That meant everything from having the fuel oil tank filled, to learning how to work the kitchen sink and shower facilities. Fortunately it was still mild weather. Since the owner never did get around to installing the pipe insulation needed to keep the pipes from freezing, there were turnoffs at the well head for the worst of the freezing weather. That information along with how to drain the water lines was for nights when the temperature fell below 20 degrees. The instructions also told me not to turn them on again until the outside temperature had risen to at least 30 degrees. The well pump itself was protected by a 75 watt light bulb inside the pump house, which I was told should be changed before the temperature got down to freezing. The information came from the state prison via Ed and the cabin owner's mother. I made a little fancy plaque with the instructions on it and posted it above the kitchen sink as a decoration. In keeping with the industrial theme of the place, I bought a metal work bench to use as an island in the kitchen. After almost a week had past I was ready to venture back out into the world. In my case that meant a drink at the Cop Out. Since I had a long treacherous drive, I chose coffee and diet coke as my beverage of choice. On the very first night I met Blevins friend Jerry. As I matter of fact I spoke to him as he walked in. "Hello Jerry," I said with a smile. "Hello Max, have you seen Sarah?" "You mean the ER nurse?" I asked. He could see that I was curious. "Yeah, now that I'm not undercover, I have a girlfriend." He smiled. Even though I didn't feel like it, I smiled back. A couple of Blevin's friends sat down. It was an older crowd that I attracted. Not long after the older nurses found their way into the bar. I felt safe. I mean I was surrounded by men with guns, why wouldn't I, right? After a week of having a social life again, I felt pretty good. I picked up a handful of frozen dinners a couple of times a week, and I ate out almost every day for lunch. I spent at least part of almost every evening a the Cop Out socializing with the friends I had made there. I was not sure that anyone knew my true sexual orientation, since the rumors about me and Andrew flew around. He never came back to the Cop Out. He might be worried that I would kill him, if he did. All in all it was a pretty good life. Then of course, as life always seem to do, it came tumbling down. Why it took then so long I never really understood, except maybe the cousin was finally headed for trial. It happened on a Wednesday night, two days short of being three months exactly since the clinic incident. Since word got out that the rollers were planning to take me out, someone from the Cop Out seemed to be leaving at the same time I did every night. The someone at times was a group, and it varied each night. That Wednesday it was me, Blevins, Jerry and his chick Sarah. I hadn't really wanted her along, but I wasn't supposed to realize that they were my bodyguards, so I kept my mouth shut. The four of us were on the sidewalk half way between the entrance to the Cop Out and the parking lot when I heard the car Revving up. During my first vacation in the scenic Iraq, while standing guard at check points, I learned that a revving cars always means bad shit is about to happen. Sure enough, when I found the source of the noise, the car was rolling fast toward us. I saw the arm with the pistol hanging out. My only thought was, get your fat ass on the ground. I screamed, "Gun," as I went down. Blevins had been around enough to drop shortly after me. The kid Jerry was trying to protect his chick, so he and Sarah were the only ones standing when the gunmen in the car threw about twenty rounds at us. Blevins was already emptying his pistol at the car before I even started to get mine out. I fired all five rounds at them, but it was a waste of lead, I was pretty sure. I looked back to see blood on the sidewalk. I got to my knees and saw Jerry dragging himself off of Sarah. Jerry had blood over his jacket but it was not nearly as noticeable as the large and growing stain on Sarah's top. The Combat medical training I got before I deployed kicked in. I took my knit top off and quickly folded it into a pressure bandage, I pressed it hard onto Sarah's Chest. "Blevins, get some pressure on Jerry's wound. One of you people standing with your finger up your ass call 911." At that moment I felt hands cover my hands, then other hands pulling me away. Sarah's nurse friends had taken over. I was suddenly sitting on the sidewalk in my jeans and bra. Somebody tapped me on the shoulder. It was a man holding his shirt out to me. He was wearing only a white tee shirt. He had obviously given me the shirt off his back. I began to cry at that point. I was on the verge of hysterics, but managed to barely hold it together. The ambulances came from all over. The attendants took over for the ER nurse, who had been holding my sweater to Sarah's chest. The next one to arrive took over from Blevins. They quickly loaded both of them into the back of their trucks. The third unit's Medics, ordered me and Blevins into the back. Since the Cop Out was downtown, it was a short ride to the hospital. Even so when we arrived, Sarah was in the operating room. They had Jerry in a treatment unit awaiting a second surgeon to remove the slug from his shoulder. Jerry had what we would have called a million dollar wound. It could get one a medical discharge but wouldn't leave them with too much permanent damage. They instantly took Blevins and me to treatment rooms. I got a pill to calm me down. I wasn't anything more than mad as hell, by that time. I could have used a tranq when it first happened, but thirty minutes later, I was just blood red pissed. Minor drama hurts my feelings and I pout, major trauma makes me just want to kill someone. From talking to other afghan vets, it isn't that much different with them. I had some scrapes and bruises from concrete burns on exposes skin, otherwise I was fine. They had me sign a bunch of forms, then I was released. Released from the ER usually meant a ride to the exit in a wheel chair. In my case I walked to the waiting room for the surgery patients. "Are you alright?" one of the patrolmen who had been in the Cop Out asked. "I'm fine what do we know about jimmy and Sarah?" I had put myself right into the family even though I was an outsider. "Jerry's isn't life threatening, but Sarah is real bad Max." He spoke in a whisper because there were close friends of hers in the waiting room. I nodded my understanding. I didn't sit, because I didn't want to talk to anyone. Instead I found my way to the robot room for machine made coffee. It was terrible, but I have had worse. I stood alone in the hallway drinking coffee, when a middle-age woman in a fancy scrub suit approached me. "You should leave," she said. At first I thought she meant I should go home to rest, but then I understood the tone of her words. "Why?" I asked quietly. "Those bullets were meant for you. You shouldn't pretend that you care about her." That time the words were angry. "I am here because that should have been me. I want to be close even though there is nothing I can do. I promise I will stay away from her friends and family." Since the woman didn't leave, I added. "I am sorry this happened." "Slut, we all know about you and Andrew, the freak." With those words she left. So Andrew liked to brag. One day I might try to get even. I couldn't unring the bell, but I could break the damn thing. The middle-aged woman left without me saying another word in my own defense. It wasn't the time or place to argue with Sarah's friends. Blevins approached me from the elevator. "You alright Max," he asked. "Fuck you Blevins," I whispered as I hugged him. My body shook but it wasn't sexual for a change. I was just tired, scared and my feelings were hurt. Blevins seemed to be the only one who cared. "It's okay Max, It isn't your fault." The son of bitch knew what I was thinking. "Just wrong place wrong time, all cops understand that. Now let go of me so I can talk to my men." He left me standing in the hall alone again with my thoughts. The rollers had truly fucked up. I had to wonder, if they knew they had attacked cops on their home turf. Cops are the biggest gang of all, and the most dangerous. They don't do it for the money, they do it for the power. The rollers were going to find out all about that. I just knew it in my soul. I sat in the robot room with cups of bad coffee. Drinking one after another until Blevins came back. "Max they lost Sarah. You need to go. Some of these idiots want to blame someone and you are handy." "Alright," I replied quietly. "Are you alright to drive?" "I'm fine." "Maybe you should stay with friends or check into a motel tonight," he suggested. "I'm fine," I replied. I didn't tell him I was a couple of steps ahead of the rollers. I had already moved to a place no one knew. A place requiring a two mile drive in the country where it was dark as original sin. A drive that showed the headlights of any car following me. The drive on public roads ended at a newly installed cattle gate across my private drive. It was set 30 feet down the drive. If one hadn't been down that drive in daylight, and if that someone was in a hurry to do a drive by, that someone was likely to crash into it. Doing some significant damage to their car, but also giving me a loud heads up. At that point life was would get interesting for us all. I can't think of anything worse than running into a heavily armed and pissed off bitch in the middle of the night. I had even bought a new shotgun for the dance. I got a Mossburg Pump riot 12guage. It was a lot of gun for a woman my size, but it would get someone's attention just by pointing it at them. That and the surplus kevlar vest gave me pretty good odds of making my presence known. Hell I might even be the only one to walk away, if it came to that. I had other plans though. Sitting in a vending machine room of a hospital most of the night had given me plenty of time to think. Since I had prepared for it, nothing happened. I slept until noon. The cell phone was broadcasting some stupid song while I tried to get it before the song ended and the call dropped. "At Your Service, Stone." "Max this is Blevins, we served a search warrant on the rollers about twenty minutes ago. They were so used to nobody calling their hand, that even after shooting a cop and killing Sarah, they didn't even try to hide evidence. Not sure if the guns we recovered were used in the shooting but none of them were purchased legally. We found drugs and money as well as the weapons. The rollers are finished." "They are never finished. You just got a few of the worst of them out of commission for today. Others will come along to take their place," I suggested. "Probably make bail before your shift ends. "Well maybe they will forget about you." "Maybe, thanks for the update." I paused a moment the added. "You do know that they might have been shooting at you. You are head of the gang task force." "Hell Max, I'm the whole task force. We almost never have any gang trouble." "You could have fooled me," I replied. I fully expected the rollers to be out on bail before the sun went down. Hell Ed was probably writing their bail at that very moment. I wasn't angry. If Ed didn't do it, someone else would. It did leave me with a problem though. I had to take their mind off me somehow. "Blevins who are these guys, did they come from some big city? You know move south to avoid those killer winters?" "No these are home grown thugs from Tryon. They started as a skateboard club of sorts. They met at one of their local Parks to skate and smoke a little weed. Then one of them started to supply the others with weed. His name was Simon Russell. Russell was a little more ambitious than the others. Pretty soon he was supplying his group and a bunch of other kids from the high school and university over there. He used the skaters as his delivery and distribution system. He got big enough that he needed muscle, so he brought in a couple of Mexican brothers. From there it became a gang. When they couldn't move enough weed to satisfy everybody's desire for more of everything, they branched out. Then they got to be a real problem." "So how hard core are they?" "Russell is still a reasonable guy, but the Mendez brothers that's a different thing all together. Either the brothers or maybe that last cousin, the one out on bail, did the shooting. I would bet my life on it." You might be doing just that, I thought. "Ah, so how many cousins are there?" "Well after you came to town there were two less, The one out on bail is the last of the ones we know about. There maybe more on the way though. I would say right now they are down to about one cousin. That still leaves three very bad dudes out there." "Do you have them in custody?" "Not yet," he admitted. "Any chance one of the dealers will roll over on the Mendez family? "They are scared to death of the brothers. They won't talk, unless they are more afraid of something or someone else." I stopped asking questions at that point. The rest of the intelligence needed to come from a different source. After Blevins hung up I called Ed. "Hey Ed, can you get me an address for the Roller's enforcers. The Mendez brothers I think it is." "Hold on, are you okay. I heard there was a shootout at the Cop Out last night." "I'm fine, one of the nurses got killed though. I think they were after Blevins." I waited a second while Ed laughed. "So about the address?" "I bailed the one you didn't shoot out of jail a few weeks ago, let me look in the file." All kinds of things ran through my head as I waited for Ed to return. "According to their file, they lived with their Grandmother." "Is that a mail drop of do they really life there?" I couldn't believe that these bad ass brothers lived with there sweet lil granny... "No they may be whoring around, but they always come back to their granny's place to wind down. Regroup I guess you would call it these days." "At two A.M. how would I know if they were home?" "Any car in the drive would be an indication. Granny is blind she doesn't drive." "Ed, we never had this conversation?" "What conversation?" he asked. I pulled the maps and even a satellite picture of the house up on the net. I found a place to leave the minivan just four blocks from the house. Even if the response was large, which it most likely would be, the parking lots wouldn't be checked until after the area was secure. My plan was to leave the van on the edge of the secure area. The plan also called for me to get out of the secure area before the police arrived. At least to get me and the assault vehicle hidden. The city's urban/ghetto park had a parking lot that was unsecured. There might be cameras, that I would need to check. It was far enough away that a 4AM 'thug check' would go unnoticed by the bad guys. Since I was in no great hurry, I made my shopping run. The purchase date of the items should be far enough away from the assault to at least give me plausible deniability. A good story to a jury who in their hearts wanted to spare me anyway, should be enough. I hoped it wouldn't come to that, but I also wanted to have several end game strategies. So off to the thrift store I went. Inside I bought mens work pants and a thick paid shirt. Since it was closing in on fall, there were several knit caps available for purchase. I chose the largest one, even though it was yellow and would stand out. From the outside storage area, I purchased a twenty inch bmx type bicycle. I checked that it worked first, then I put it into the rear of my van. It needed air in the tires at least. I chose to buy a twenty buck compressor rather than be seen on camera in a convenience store pumping up a tire. At the dollar store, I bought a one gallon gas can, a pair of very weak, thick rimmed, reading glasses, a small container of liquid dish washing soap, a pair of cheap cloth gardening gloves, a pair of rubber household cleaning gloves and finally a roll of gauze bandaging cloth. I almost bought a bottle of peroxide but I couldn't remember how the weak solution would react to gasoline. With my purchases in tow, I stopped by a small convenience store on the opposite side of town from the road leading to my new home. I bought one gallon of unleaded gasoline, and three glass quart bottles of beer. I bought the tire compressor from a small do it yourself auto parts store. I had way under a hundred bucks in my homemade assault package. Too bad the army couldn't do it this cheap, I thought. It would sure save on my tax bill. It was late in the afternoon when I returned home. I knew that if I wasn't an instant suspect, I probably would be soon after, the cops might trace a gasoline purchase, but it would be a long shot. I had chosen a mom and pop convenience store, because I didn't see a camera outside. All my other purchases were very deniable. I made all my purchases with cash, so that the trail would be harder to follow. I had bought the most expensive of the thrift store bikes. Twenty five bucks for a one speed kids bike was a lot there. The one I got didn't have any rust. It looked as though it had been well taken care of. Once the tires were inflated and the seat adjusted, I spent an hour learning to ride again. It didn't take long for it all to come back. On the one speed I wasn't going to set any speed records, but it was faster than any guy could run for long. I spent the evening on my computer. My old laptop had nothing of any real value on the hard drive, but even so I made it onto ebay to pick up some thumb drives as a place to move my personal files. The hard drive was about to be a thing of the past. While on ebay I bought a hard drive that would fit in my old computer. The hard drive was an older, smaller model. The older versions of Windows were not being recognized any longer for updating, and it would never hold the larger newer versions, so I had to rethink my options. I had always wanted to use Linux, one of those small versions would work, I thought. It looked like the perfect time to try one out. I slept well that night since I had a plan. It was the being without a plan that kept me up nights. Having a plan made it much easier to sleep. That and a quick masturbation session with my personal vibrator. The orgasm wasn't meant to be mind blowing. It was meant to help me sleep and it worked just fine. For a week I worked exactly like I had before all the crap came down. I went into the office at nine. I waited for a call to come in giving me something to do. Since the clinic thing and the drive by shooting, I had been getting more work. A lot of it was odds and ends work. It was not my staple, process serving. I expected the extra work to end after the notoriety died down, so I enjoyed it while I had it. I played dead until Wednesday of the next week. My one exception was a 4AM drive by on Monday night. Just to get the lay of the land. If anyone was on watch, it was from inside the house. Not likely they would know what was happening until it was too late. I also looked for any signs of police surveillance, but I didn't notice anything. I took a nap Wednesday after work. I even went to the Cop Out and stayed until they closed at 1AM. Jerry was still upset about his friend Sarah. I tried to be no more than concerned. Sure I would have screwed his brains out any other time, but that night I just had too much on my mined. After the Cop Out closed I went to breakfast with Blevins and Jerry, It was 3 AM when I left them in the restaurant parking lot. They surely presumed I was headed home. Since there was a pall over all of them, I didn't have to make a decision about getting laid. Until Sarah's death there had always been a chance, but lately everyone was just too sad to think about such things. It was early in the morning on Thursday when we left the diner. It was early for us but it was possible that the Mendez family was still working, so I waited at home until 4AM. It seemed to me that by that time even the thugs would be sleeping. I loaded the van while wearing rubber surgical gloves. under the brown cloth work gloves. The bicycle with the metal egg basket from the dollar store attached to the handle bars went in first. Then the box containing three quart beer bottles filled with gasoline and liquid soap. The soap was just to make it adhere to the hard surfaces better. Each bottle was capped with the twist top originally used to keep the beer in place. Finally the gauze strips meant to be inserted into the bottles after the caps had been removed. I could have used tampons but I didn't want anything that even vaguely might point to me. The gauze would get soaked with gasoline from the bottle. I knew I needed to be careful after they were primed. There would be gasoline on my gloves and probably the plaid shirt as well. It was eminently possible to set myself ablaze. The reward could be a life free of the Mendez brothers. The risk seemed justified to me at the time. Inside the house I removed all my clothes except my panties. I put on a tight fitting jogging suit first. I put on the over sized jeans, then the brown plaid shirt over the running suit. I pushed my hair into the orange knit cap then I checked my pocket to be sure I had the dollar store glasses. I felt as though everything was right so I was ready to go. I drove the van to the small neighborhood park four and a half blocks from the Mendez house. There I unloaded the bike and then removed the three bottles from the box. Those went into the basket attached to the handle bars. It was a tight fit, but I managed them. The four block ride to the site of my sapper attack was a nightmare. Bottles of homemade napalm rattled around in the homemade basket not two feet from my face. The glasses were so weak that even when I put them on it made very little difference in my vision. I primed the bottle at the corner of their street, then rode quickly to the house. The first of the Molotov Cocktails went onto the trunk of the older, but beautifully restored muscle car in the drive. The next two went onto the porch of the house. I did not wait to see what the damages were. Instead, I pedaled the small bicycle as hard as I could back to my van. I had no idea whether anyone would try to follow or not. My mind was focused on getting out of any area that most certainly be quickly sealed off. I hefted the bicycle into the rear of the van and quickly headed out. Once inside the van, I removed the shirt and jeans. I put them into a black plastic garbage bag. The gloves would stay in place until I dumped everything. The first siren I heard came from a different direction. I slipped easily out of town. I dumped the clothes at a county dump site. The jeans, plaid shirt and orange cap along with the cheap glasses made it into the dumpster. I entered the site a mad bomber and left it as a sweet little process server. I knew the police would be looking at me as well as any others who might have a reason to do in the Mendez clan, so I drove to Aster for an early breakfast I even made sure I was noticed by a waitress there. Doing that was pretty simple, I spoke to her more than just to order. "God I wish I had your body. Enjoy it while you are young. Middle-age might have you out in the middle of the night getting ready for a morning walk." "You don't look as though you need to lose weight," she replied. "I need to lose twenty pounds according to one of those perfect height to weight charts." "So where do you walk?" "Sometimes at the park, but it's getting chilly and frankly I'm not sure walking in the park this early is a good idea. They say it is closed until sunup, but I know better. I'm hanging out waiting for the mall to open. God I do love your body." I said. Yes I was flirting with her, but a woman flirting with a straight woman would be remembered. It was 6AM by the time I finished eating. I dawdled intentionally. After I dropped the bike at the Salvation Army pick up site, I drove to the mall parking lot. I was standing at the door when they opened at 7 AM. I stood with several other mall walkers until the security chief opened the doors. I made sure I was noticed by him as well. A forty year old, reasonably attractive woman, stood out among all the retired people, who usually walked at the mall. It didn't hurt that I had walked there a few morning previously. I really was trying to lose the twenty pounds. "You are early this morning, Max?" The security man suggested. "Just an hour or so. I couldn't sleep." "Yeah, I heard about all the trouble you have been in. Anything I can do." "Well, you could come over and keep watch over me at night," I said that with a big wink. Might as well make sure he remembered me that morning. After my three mile hike around the mall, I went home to shower. After my shower I had time for a nap. I did that, since I didn't have a boss. Even with the sleepless night I was in the office by ten, and in reasonably good condition. "Good morning, Ed," I said walking into the office. "Good morning, Max, did you see the morning news on TV?" "No, I didn't. Is there anything interesting?" "Yeah there was a suspicious fire at the Mendez brothers' grandmother's house. It's a good thing she was in Mexico visiting her brother, or she might have died." He seemed a little upset at the thought of an innocent dying." "You mean like Sarah at the Cop Out." "Yeah, like that I guess," he replied. "So were any members of the family visiting?" "Yeah, her two grandsons and a great nephew. The whole family was visiting. No word yet on their conditions. Most likely minor, if any injuries at all." "Ah oh well," I really hadn't expected to do any more than flush them out. "I guess I need to take some things from the safe room. And you need to be very, very careful." "Sweetie, if those thugs hit me, you won't have to worry about them. There are about a thousand guys worse than them that I have bailed out. Just go through my files and call them all and offer them a grand to off the brothers and it is done." "Well let's hope it doesn't come to that. You really need a vacation." "Let's see how this plays out." "Okay, I'll be operating from the van till you decide to leave." I said with a smile. "Spread the word that I'm not in the office till further notice." I removed the riot length Winchester 1920's style pump shotgun from the safe room. It was the kind with the hammer exposed. It had been used in the federal prison system back in the day. My story was that it was retired at the same time as Alcatraz, but I didn't know that for sure. From the room I also removed the 10mm very modern Glock. I filled a small plastic bag with shells for both as well as the .38 five shot Colt which I wore in a shoulder holster under my jacket that day. When I left Ed's officer for possibly the last time, I felt as though I was going off to war again. I drove the minivan to the closest McDonald's parking lot. I went through the drive through for a large coffee, then sat in the parking lot to drink it and crank up my computer. Every half hour I finished the coffee went inside to pee. While inside I got another cup, then went back to the car. Since the sun was shining the car was warm. The warm car and the comfortable captains chair soon had me nodding off. I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before. I was on the nod when the cell phone rang. I looked at the dash clock before I answer it. The clock told me that I had spent the whole morning doing nothing but avoiding everyone. It was 2PM when I said, "Hello," into the phone. "Max, it's Blevins. We need to talk, where are you?" "On the move, Blevins. After Cop Out and then Ed telling me about the Mendez brothers' house last night, I felt like I needed to get away from him before he became another Sarah." "Yeah, I have been looking over my shoulder as well. Honest, Max, I didn't even know where they lived." "Neither did I, but they just might not know that. So if you didn't do it, and I didn't do it, who did?" "Probably some other dope gang. They have made plenty of enemies. Hell half the cops in two different cities would be happy to hit them. Then there is all the people they have been strong arming as well as the other dopers." Well maybe the dopers are ready to cut the Mendez brothers loose. Someone should suggest that if they give them up, the temperature would go down for a while at least." I said that just to plant an idea. "We have a more immediate problem. Me, you, and Jerry are going to be suspects. I figure we can change the times of our after hours adventure last night and alibi each other." "So what time was the firebombing?" I asked. "Around 4AM," he replied. "So what were we doing till sunup, having a threesome?" "Actually that's about the best alibi we could come up with." "There goes my reputation," I replied. "Tell them I left about six. I was out having breakfast then. They might find the waitress, so make it possible for me to have been there. After that I was at the mall walking." "Good, then we just alibi each other all three of us doing the dirty till sunup. I'll get with Jerry." "Blevins, what if Jerry did it? We will be giving him an alibi for a crime he committed." "You think I'm going to lose any sleep over those assholes?" "I guess not," I answered. So Blevins wouldn't care. He would alibi me, even if he thought that I had done it "I wonder who the rollers think did it?" "My guess, they think it was you. I mean they did try to kill you, and it didn't work. They know you are capable of killing people, since their two cousins are dead." "Ah so I'm going to need that alibi," I replied. "Well, it could have been me or Jerry and neither of us has an alibi either. This will just wrap up the loose ends. Besides no one died, so as far as I'm concerned, it's a no harm, no foul situation." "You know they aren't going to see it that way." "Then when they come, kill them all this time, I sure as hell plan to." After the Blevin's call, I dialed up Jennifer on her direct line. We had been keeping touch again since the shooting outside the Cop Out club. She had set the tone with the first call by completely ignoring the fact that I knew both her and her husband in the biblical sense. For that I was very grateful. I suspected that she just had enough class and guile to wait for a better time to discuss it with me. She did end every call with come see us, you are always welcome. To her credit, it always sounded just as it had before the incident. "Hey, Jen, it's me, Maxine, how would you like to be my mouthpiece?" "God, you know I love when you talk gangsta'," she suggested. "So what fun thing are you up to now." "From a friend at the police department I heard that it looks as though the Tryon cops may want to question me about the Mendez brothers' fire thing." "Let them ask who you are then, invoke your right to counsel. Do not go to Tryon until you call me." "Yes mother," I replied. "If you had listened to your mother I probably wouldn't need to be acting like one. So where the hell are you?" "Sitting in your van outside a McDonald's hijacking their Wi-Fi signal." "Hell, Max, that's probably a felony," "Hey, I bought a cup of coffee. I'm just drinking it in the van." "So anything else right now? I'm headed into a deposition about a bank account, not near as much fun as defending you will be." "Just one thing, I don't want to tell the cops where I live. It isn't the search, it's having the info out there while Granny Mendez's little boys are looking for me." "Tell the cops to fuck off till they get a warrant, then we will take them to your hide out Ms Barker." With that we both broke into laughter. I was surprised she even knew who Ma Barker had been. "You be damn careful, Max, you are my only fun client." Thank god she didn't mention our personal relationship. I continued to work at my little business. That same night I found the hard drive in my mail box. I switched out the computer drives immediately, then tossed my old one in the lake behind the cabin. I also loaded the Puppy Linux live CD into the computer's new hard drive. It was a little hinky but it did everything I expected and more. The day after I spoke to Jennifer Ed called to tell me someone had stopped by his office looking for me. The supposed client didn't leave a number. Ed agreed with me that the Mendez brothers were looking for me. "Blevins it looks as though the Mendez Boys are looking for me. Someone went to Ed's office, Can you get patrol to watch his place till this blows over. You might find one of them staked out watching the place." "No problem, by the way speaking of the Mendez brother, the cousin Pablo decided that he didn't like the temperature here after all. He decided to not take his chances in out courts. He left on a bus yesterday I'm told. Too bad your friend Ed is out his bail." "Yeah, but back to my immediate problem please. Ed said the guy who came to his office was a well dressed Caucasian male about thirty. Could that have been Simon Russell the Roller chief? Do you think he might be trying to make nice." "I wouldn't bet on it, but I can make a couple of calls to see. Who knows; maybe the rollers are looking for new muscle. If they will drop a dime on the Mendez brothers, this could all be over by dark." "It's a blood feud now, it won't be over till I am dead, or they are. I've seen this kind of tribal shit in Afghanistan." "Yeah, knowing you Max, my money is on Mexican funerals for all." "From your mouth to God's ear," I said. "Please see if you can find out if Russell wants to sell out the Mendez brothers." I served a couple of papers, enough to cover the cost of my coffee anyway, before Blevins got back to me. "The word from Tryon's gang unit, is Russell wants to distance himself from the Mendez brothers, but he is afraid of them." "Then why the hell is he looking for me?" "He wants to trade information for his life. He is afraid you are going to target him next." "Next, I didn't target anyone." "Yeah, I know that, remember when that happened I had my dick in your mouth." He said with a laugh at least. "Yes, my poor sore pussy won't let me forget." I showed him I could be just as crude as any man. "You got any idea what his information is?" "Number one: it's that he didn't order the drive by at the Cop Out. Number two: seems to be a warning. The Mendez brothers have ordered that everybody they know keep an eye out for you. They want to take you alive. They don't want any drive by this time." "Ah, they want it up close and personal." I suggested. "Yeah," Blevins said, "And no chance of a miss." I spent two hours thinking about it before I called Blevins back. "Blevins, let's ambush the sons of bitches." "I like it, how?" "Tell them were to find me then, follow me until we can get them in the clear. Then you can arrest them for kidnapping me." "That is way too dangerous, the Captain will never go for it." "Blevins they ain't hunting the Captain. You be there and I'll do it myself." "What do you need. I know a couple of cops who owe me one and a lot more who would love to bust those bastards. We haven't been able to tie them to the Cop Out yet." "I need a tracking device they can't find, and something to tell you they snatched me." "Max you know this could get really rough and go terribly wrong?" "I know, but I also know I'm damn tired of McDonald's coffee." Even though the coffee at McDonald's is good coffee, everything gets old eventually." One of the low life Roller dealers gave the information to the Mendez brothers. They had no reason to doubt it, since they put the word out themselves. Russell had turned on them, but they didn't know it. The tip was that every Friday night I met a woman at one of those cheap Paki motels. We made it a woman to disgust the brothers even more. Also to let them know there wouldn't be much of a threat. I went to the motel alone. I checked into the motel and pretended to wait for my lady love. I was half asleep when they came. When they broke the door, I activated the call for help. The tracker was always turned on. It was just a GPS sending unit the lab boys had fitted it into my ear canal. It was going to take some doing to get that thing out. When they came I resisted, but not a lot. If they had known me better they should have been surprised that I didn't at least shoot at them. They weren't at all gentle when the dragged me from the room in the middle of the night. I took more than one punch and a couple of kicks. I had no idea where they took me, since I had a bag over my head. I figured the bag was a waste, since they were obviously going to kill me. My only hope was that Blevins and company would get to me before they did. I had a lot riding on him. The Mendez brother dragged me into some kind of industrial warehouse. They tied me to a chair with plastic zip ties. Then they took turns bitch slapping and punching me. I expected the cigarette burns at any minute. They loved that I screamed and cried for them. Most of that was not faked. I was in some serious pain and had long since begun to doubt my decision making ability. My clothes had been taken and searched before they tied me to that chair, so the locator in my ear proved to be a blessing. Of course, had they found it, I would have had a quick, merciful death. One of the nasty brothers took his cock out and stuck it in my face. "Suck it, Punta," he demanded. I couldn't bring myself to bite the damn thing off. I was trying to survive until Blevins arrived. That is, if he could get to me in time. I took his cock into my mouth and began to nurse on it. He let me do that for only a few seconds then he drove it into my throat. I tried to relax the muscles but my body fought against the intruding flesh. I took a quick breath when he pulled back. I managed to not gag so badly on his second plunge. I was fighting to remain calm to gasp whenever I could. Finally I knew what he intended. He intended to choke me to death on his cock. I tried to pull away but he held me in place. He laughed as I was gagging and fighting for air. When I could hold out no longer the blackness enveloped me. I knew then that I was dead. Blevins would be too late, if he came at all. I jerked awake in the back of an ambulance. The paramedic was squeezing a bag that forced air into my lungs. Once I woke up and tried to sit up, he stopped pumping. He placed a mask over my face. He also held me down on the gurney. I drifted back to sleep. I knew for sure that I wasn't dead, so sleep sounded good to me. When I next awoke, Blevins and Jerry were in the small cubicle of the ER. "Damn, woman, I never heard of anybody really dying from that. If Jerry hadn't crashed his patrol car through the door, you might have gone down in history. Some asshole lieutenant wanted to wait for a warrant." "Thanks, Jerry, it really would have been embarrassing to have died that way. Not to mention I don't think I like the idea of being dead at all." "No problem, it really was Blevins here who saved you. He had to kill the Mendez asshole to get him off you." "Shit, I missed all the fun?" I said. "He had a gun, that's why I popped him. It wasn't to save you; it was to save my own ass." "Thanks, both of you. So is the other one going to jail now?" "Yes, we finally have something he can't wiggle out of," Blevins said. "I also hear Russell told his crew to stay out of town until he could reorganize the whole dope business thing." "The weed don't bother me none. It's that other shit." I added. "We are going to go, so you can sleep. Call me when you get out and well have a beer or something," Jerry suggested. ------- Chapter 2 "I see you have lost 18 pounds. How are you feeling?" Jake asked. "Hell of a diet you have there, Doc," I croaked. "Well, the voice is a little better, and you are getting even feistier, if that is possible." "I'm sick of soft eggs, Jell-O pudding, and all kinds of soup. I still like ice cream though." Even the small amount of talking I had done since entering Jake's clinic severely strained my voice. "I'm sure you have been experimenting with other foods. You don't strike me as the type to follow orders all that well." "Fresh bread, with peanut butter and jelly is about as solid a food as I've managed to get down. Even then, I have to remove the crust" "Give it time, Max, your esophagus needs to heal. Once the inflammation and swelling go away, it will be as good as new." "I don't want to hear any jokes about a new profession giving blowjobs," I said, with a smile. It always made doctors feel better if the patient could smile. I have no idea what that said about modern medicine, but it was true. "Max, I know you had some emotional trauma as well as physical trauma, have you been seeing anyone?" "Hell no, I'm in no condition to date yet. I sound like a frog and I'm not sure I could manage a blowjob just yet, although semen is probably on the soft food list." "I meant like a therapist," Jake replied, without any indication that he had a sense of humor at all. "Break out that bottle of Jack Daniels you keep in your desk, and I'll talk to you. It would probably do as much good." Jake buried his head in my file for a few more minutes, then began to read off facts as if I didn't know them. "5ft 5inches, 127pounds, that's just about perfect for your body mass." "Then why do I still have the belly dancer's pot?" I asked. "Max, you are over forty, that small belly comes with the territory. You are lucky that there isn't forty more pounds in your rear." "I know, I used to eat all the wrong things and drink beer. God, those were the days," I said wistfully. "That's about as bad as it gets. Switch to black coffee and rice cakes to keep your weight down." "I don't think I can do rice cakes right now," I replied, in my raspy voice. "Yeah, but it won't be long." "When is the voice going to get back to normal?" "Your voice should get some better soon." "Some better? You mean I'm never going to sing opera again." "I didn't know you sang opera?" he said, thoughtfully. "I don't, but I always hoped I would someday." "Well, I'm glad to see you kept your sense of humor." He looked at the stack of papers again, then added; "Tell you what, Max, go by Krispy Kreme and get one donut on the way home. You can even get one of those fancy coffees with a lot of milk. Let the coffee cool down before you drink it. Eat it all slowly and in small bites. See how that goes down." "So do I have to go see that eye, ear, nose, and throat quack again." "Come on, Max, Dr. Edwards did a hell of a job repairing your esophagus." "Yeah, all I had to do was let him continue the throat fucking I got from Pedro." "A small tube with a couple of drops of super glue is not the same as what that asshole did to you." "Yeah, but I still didn't like the flashlight he stuck down my throat." "At least, it wasn't a lantern," Jake said, finally smiling. "Get out of here and make an appointment for a month from now. If the voice doesn't get better, go back and see Edwards." I had been out of the hospital two weeks and back to work for a week. I felt like crap on the soft food diet. I wanted red meat, but they wouldn't let me shove it down my throat yet. It wasn't like I wanted to swallow an Italian sausage without chewing. I just wanted a McDonald's hamburger. I had no reserve energy at all. It was a good thing I was a process server, not an athlete. I was ready to open the door on the minivan when my cell phone started playing that stupid song it always played for incoming calls. The song was so annoying that I just had to answer the phone quickly to shut it up. "At your service, Stone," I got it out without sounding too much like a cancer survivor. "Max, it's Franklin Wilson's office calling, could you stop by the office this afternoon." "Shirley, why are you being so formal? Of course, I'll swing by." "They are recording our calls for some reason." "Probably to be sure you aren't using the office phone for you phone sex business." "I only use the cell phone for that," she said, with a hardy laugh. "Can you give me a hint what Frankie wants with me." "Some papers to serve, I think." "Okay Shirley, I'm leaving the doctor's office. I can come by in about twenty minutes, is that okay?" "Boss won't be here, but I expect that I can give you the information. If it isn't alright, I'll call you back," "Fair enough, I'm off to have a Krispy Kreme donut." "God, get the new triple dark chocolate, it is to die for," Shirley suggested. I had the triple dark chocolate filled donut, with a chocolate frosty. Might as well OD on chocolate, I thought. It was wonderful, as I knew it would be. I never met a donut I didn't like. As for chocolate, there should be no need to explain how chocolate affects women. "Here you go," Shirley said, as she handed me the thick Manila envelope. "It's a good thing I don't charge by the pound," I suggested. "This one isn't a court order. It's some kind of corporate filing, something to do with product liability." "You are kidding, they don't make anything around here." It was common knowledge that all manufacturing was done in third world countries, or in China or Russia. "That's what I thought as well, but we did a product liability research on some kind of new battery technology." Shirley stopped while I watched her mind working. "I did not tell you that. This is all hush, hush." "Who me, I have no idea what it is I'm lugging around today." I smiled as I accepted my check for fifty dollars. It wasn't much, but it was my fee for the local delivery of documents for lawyers. I drove with the envelope on the passenger seat of the van. The GPS unit kept me on track even though I would have known the way even without the directions. It could have just said, deliver to the old recapping plant on Battleground Avenue. There were so few industrial buildings left in Astor that everyone knew exactly where each was located. Not so much from there use at that time, but from back in the day when we still made things there. After all the twists and turns, that's where I found myself. When I knocked on the office door, a buzzer sounded after which the door opened to my push. I found myself in a waiting room with enough room for about four people. After a minute or two, a tall thin man entered. "Can I help you?" he asked. "I hope so, I'm looking for the owner or manger of Simple Energy." I said evenly. "I'm Jed Hyatt, I'm the plant manager. I'm also a partner." "I have some documents from Franklin Wilson's office, can you sign for them?" "Let me get Edward," he suggested. Jed disappeared into what seemed to be the small office section of the building. A few minutes later, a second man came through the inside door. "I'll take that," he said, reaching for the envelope. Instead I handed him my dollar store clipboard. "Sign on the line with the X please." I was very insistent. Once he signed, I handed over the stack of papers. "So what are you guys going to make here?" I asked. "It's not ready to discuss yet," he said flatly. Obviously he had his mind made up, so I just nodded, then turned back to the van. Once outside, I got just a little curious, so I took a couple of pictures of the building and the trucks parked around it. I half expected Edward to rush out and try to take my camera. Instead nothing happened. Maybe I had been hoping that he would. Since it was anti-climatic, I just left. Taking the shots of the startup factory bothered me. I just couldn't figure out what I was thinking. I gained nothing from it, and I had risked a confrontation that could have led to a damaged relationship with a client. It was a no-win situation. All I could figure was that I was just plain bored. I was obviously just out looking for some shit to get into. I promised myself that I would think more before acting. I knew, even as I made it, that it was a hollow promise. On the drive back to the office, I realized that I truly was bored. I also realized that being bored was worse, for me at least, than being terrified. I needed to find something interesting to do. In a town the size of Aster, or even the larger Tryon next door, there just weren't that many things a middle-aged woman could get into. Nothing came into the office for me to be involved with that afternoon, so I watched TV shows on my computer. It was a habit I picked up while avoiding some rather nasty characters from south of the border. Since that was behind me, I watched at my desk in Ed's office, but it was still a good way to pass the time. "At your service, Stone," I said into the cell phone. "Max, what the hell were you doing out there?" Franklin Wilson asked. "I delivered your papers and got a signature the same as always," I replied. I was waiting for the other shoe, since I expected the call was about the photos I shot. It seemed to have been some kind of hush, hush project. "My clients are a little paranoid and when you went out and began shooting pictures of their plant, they we got really nervous." "I don't know what got into me. I guess it was something to do with a new industry coming to town. I was curious I guess." "What you did wasn't illegal or unethical even. I guess it was just ill advised." "Well. I'll try to think a little longer next time before I do anything more than deliver the papers." It was like the fancy dress I carried around in my van, just part of the show now and then. Being contrite was the same, just part of the show. Franklin probably knew it wasn't real. I went home after work. I had been staying with my friend Jen and her husband, so I was extremely glad to be going to my own home after work. I stopped by one of those super grocery stores on the way home for a pre-made pasta salad. They make it fresh, so it wasn't too awful. The store's take out window was on my way home. If I called ahead from the office, even the pizza, which I could no longer eat, would have been waiting by the time I got to the store. The pasta salad was a walk in item, so I parked. Later that night, I debated going to the Cop Out for a drink, but decided that I wasn't ready for that crowd just yet. So instead, I watched television on the television for a change. I had a satellite subscription TV service. It was the smallest plan and was useless. I threatened to cancel every time I wrote the check. I got bored with TV about ten. I got bored with TV even earlier most nights. So being bored, I began to research Simple Energy and the men who owned it. I found that a lot had changed in the state since I was in high school. For one thing, the state ran a think tank at the State Capitol Center. The State Capitol Center was an industrial park developed to nurture new ideas. It was a place with low rents and lower taxes for startup companies. Simple Energy had been one of those. Jed Hyatt and Edward Doser were engineering students at the State's University, specializing in such things. They had an idea and spent their last two years consumed with it. The state had made their educations possible, so when graduation came, they accepted even more grant money to work on the state's project. The problem came when the idea behind Simple Energy came to fruition. The state wanted to turn it over to someone like GE to manufacture, but Ed and Jed wanted to be the new Bill Gates. Ed and Jed moved to Aster and began assembling their plant. Now a lot of this was reading between the lines, but I'm pretty good at reading between the lines. The part that was even more supposition was exactly what Simple Energy was and how it was made. Since the state owned a chunk of the process, some of it was in the patent office records. Some of it was to be found in the trade rags, if you knew where to look. I was also pretty good at media research. Simple Energy was a radically new way to store electrical energy. The storage battery, as we know it, does not store energy, it manufactures it using a chemical process. Charging a battery reverses the effects of creating electricity so that the materials can make more electricity. Okay, that's the storage batteries for dummies explanation. The scientific rags stated flatly that the Simple Energy process was something radically new. Not the device really, but all the things that made the device work. They were radically new because they were simple to manufacture and almost never wore out. Best of all, they did not require cheap labor to create or assemble. In the words of the simplest explanation, the simple energy device is nothing more than a giant storage capacitor. Think of it like the tank on your car, only this tank you fill with cheap electricity. There is a gate at the opening of the capacitor which can be opened in degrees. A throttle if you will. If you have an electronic device the gate is set to allow a steady stream of amps to pass through so that the device is always at the same operating level. However if the device is on an electric motor, the gate can be varied to allow for different levels of power and speed. The storage device is the motor controller so that component of your machine is unnecessary. All that is fine and isn't really all that new. What was really new was that the storage device was made completely of paper. The unit was made from thousands of paper plates sandwiched together. The plates were printed on a simple printing press. The genius was in the ink formula and the construction of the finished stack of plates. One man could run all the machines to make the plates from his climate controlled office. Add a dozen more to haul the chemicals around and mix them and you had the complete work force to make millions and millions of dollars worth of Simple Energy Super Capacitors. After I pieced all the pieces in place, I knew why they were so anal about the pictures I shot. There had not been a lot of financing required for Ted's and Ed's great adventure; but what had been needed was supplied by family members of the two boy geniuses. It was a tight, beautiful, business plan, everyone said. The state's share of the business was on a buy back since it was a secured loan, not a real ownership share. Aster had been chosen for several reasons, not the least of which was that Edward's family had connections to the town. His grandparents still lived in Aster's farm community. His grandfather still sold vegetables at the farmer's market on Wednesday. During the winter, his wife sold fresh bread, so they could always be found in the parking lot of the community center on Wednesday mornings. I expected that it had become their social event of the week, or at least one of them. When Edward had the chance to sell out to the Chinese, he decided to build his own plant instead. So Aster had a chance to become the new Mecca for portable electronics. That was at least the hope of the locals. If the power source worked as predicted, then all kinds of plants would pop up near it, or so the popular thinking went. I suppose with all that at stake, there was reason for the geeks to be concerned. I did all the research to satisfy my curiosity. Yes, I would have bought stock in the company had there been any available. I own stock in several local area companies. I'm no big investor, but I like to own a little stock in the businesses I do business with. For a few months, I pretty much forgot about the two geeks living across town. My main interest was in trying to get my voice back to normal, not to mention return to my normal diet. Even after the months passed, I still sounded like Glynis Johns on a bad microphone. Okay, for those of you who are younger than me even, Glynis was an actress who had a very raspy voice. On her it was sexy; on me it was Kermit the frog with a frog in his throat. I couldn't do the bass voice necessary to make that croaking sound sexy. By that time, I was eating almost anything I wanted though. I just tried not to want anything with sharp edges. I could have done well chewed things like hamburger after the first couple of weeks. It was things that had sharp edges like hard breads and the like that scared the hell out of me. When I got word from the ENT man that my voice would only get a little better, I resigned myself to never singing opera, but I might be able to do gospel. Since I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket with a lid on it, I didn't really mind the singing thing. It was the volume, or lack thereof, that pissed me off. My voice was practically a whisper and everyone thought that it must hurt me to have a conversation. It did indeed cause me pain, but it was emotional pain, not physical. I was still pretty upset about the lack of a good screaming voice, when I got the call from Frank Wilson. Usually it is Shirley, his assistant, who calls. That morning, Frank himself was on the line. "Max, I'm calling about the owners of Smart Energy again." "Good God, Frank, I haven't been back out there since and I haven't done anything with the images I shot out there. What the hell is their problem now?" "I explained about who you where and that they had nothing to worry about, so that is not the issue here. After I told them about you, they did some research themselves. Seems there is a lot of information about you on the net." "Franklin, there is a lot of information about everyone on the net." "Yeah, well anyway, they want to hire you to do a security checkup." "A what?" "I know it's pretty stupid but they want to know how vulnerable they are." "Frankly, have them call Wackenhut, or somebody. I don't know anything at all about building security." "Okay, Max, but would you have lunch with them." "You are kidding?' "Max, it's a free meal and I'll have them pay you for a delivery, so it won't be a loss." "When and where?" I asked, with a sigh. "I'll get back with you," he replied, then hung up. It was almost noon when Franklin Wilson called again. "Come on down to the Banker's Club. We will be there waiting." "What the hell are two punk kids and you doing at the Banker's Club?" I asked. "I thought you had to have been a millionaire before the First World War to be a member of that club." "No, Max, you just have to be worth more than 99% of the other people in town." "So, which one of you is worth that much?" "Not me, their membership is based on the value of their contribution to the community. In other words, the existing members plan to get a lot richer, when all the other industries move into the industrial park. That is the park they are going to build for the Simple Energy spinoffs." "Ah well, I suppose I need to dress for the event?" "Well, you will never get in wearing jeans, or with your boobs hanging out." Franklin informed me. "Can't we just meet at McDonalds?" I asked. "Come on, Max, it's your chance to have lunch at the Banker's," "Big fuckin' deal," I replied. Okay secretly, I admitted to myself that it was indeed a big deal. The dress and shoes I had in the car were not those of a Banker, but they might be those of a banker's hooker. Since I was not going to spend a month's income on a power suit, it was the Banker's hooker for me. I was more than a little uncomfortable in the skimpy dress and high heels. I hoped no one noticed, but of course they did. At least it felt as though everyone was staring at me, and not staring in a good way. I had been careful to be at least twenty minutes late so that I wouldn't have to wait for the others. "There you are, we were beginning to worry," Franklin said. "Ted and Ed, you remember, Max?" They both stood then nodded that they indeed did. The waiter seated me, then left me at the table. Since there were silverware, a plate, and a glass of ice tea, I assumed the three of them had placed at least part of our dinner order. There was some small talk first; it was supposed to set me at ease. It was also meant to impress me with the fact that they had done their homework. They let me know that they felt I was someone they could trust. They seemed to trust me even though at 5'6" and 125 pounds, I was not an imposing figure. Some of those 20 pounds I had lost were in muscle mass. In other words, I might be down to my proper body weight, but I was about twenty pounds below my fighting weight. Even so they seemed to trust me. Ed started the real conversation over some clam and pasta dish. I know it was supposed to be a big deal to eat at the Banker's club, but I would have traded the experience for a double cheeseburger from McDonalds. If it had been the charred T-bone, which required a special oversized plate, I might have felt different, but the pasta and clams just didn't impress me. My guess is the fancy pasta was for me, since they most likely knew I was supposed to stay away from really hot or tough food. Probably thought I would be afraid to try the T-bone. They had a lot to learn. "So tell me, if you wanted to steal our work, how would you do it?" "I really haven't given it any thought, but it wouldn't be hard." "If it wouldn't be hard, how would you do it?" Ted added. "First of all, you are living in a very dangerous world. A world filled with really bad guys who can get some really good things from some really bad governments." "I know that means something, but I don't have a clue what it is," Ed suggested. "Just one quick scenario. I grab you and hold you for ransom. The drop is for the formula and all the required information to make it work. I find a geek to tell me if what you give me is real and I make the payoff quick enough so that you can't fake anything. After I have it, I kill you." "How do you plan to get away with that?" "I hadn't planned anything, remember. Off the top of my head I would have gone to the Chinese or the Israelis in advance. I would give them the formula; they would give me a few million dollars US, and drop my ass in the middle of nowhere. You they would drop in a hole somewhere." Franklin was impressed. Ed and Ted looked over their shoulder. They would never feel completely safe again. "Holy shit, you are one cold bitch," Ted suggested. "Hey, you asked me? Ignorance is not bliss if it gets you killed. If I were you I'd give Blackwater, or whatever they are calling themselves these days, a call." "Are you armed?" Franklin asked. "Do you have a hundred dollar bill on you?" I asked, in return. He nodded. "That's your answer a good workman never leaves his tools at home." I finished my chocolate mousse then said, "Gentlemen, it has been a real experience, but I have work to do." I didn't really, but I was bored. "Max, would you be interested in setting up a security force for us?" Ed asked. "Not in the least, call Blackwater." "Then how about hanging out with us till we get a security operation in place?" "No thanks, I really have all the things on my plate I can handle right now." I didn't have near enough to do, but I didn't want to work for anyone else either. "Please, Maxine we have a meeting with GE on Wednesday in New York. How about you come along as our bodyguard?" Ed asked that. "If you come along they will just think we are studs, not paranoid." Ted said that with a sarcastic look at Ed. "Oh hell I always wanted to be a groupie for nerds," I said smiling. "Five hundred a day and I drive us up there and back." "I'm not sure about that?" Ed suggested. "Those are my requirements, take it or leave it." "Well, I think we need the protection, so I say take it." Ted demanded. "Alright, I guess we drive to New York." "Have the GE rep call me," I handed Ed my card. "Well, if that is all, Gentlemen, I'll be going now." I was standing when I said, "Tuesday morning at 7 AM, we leave your plant. Be ready." "Hey you work for us," Ed said, still trying to take control. "Ed, Tuesday morning at 7AM. I am leaving the parking lot of your plant. I will be headed for New York with you in tow, or I will be headed home. I could care less which." I did smile sweetly. If I was going to be responsible for their lives, they were not going to make it impossible for me to keep them alive. During the time running up till Tuesday morning, I had contact with Ted, Ed, and Lois Mathews from GE. Lois gave me the hotel name and made the reservations for us. It was her opinion that I was Ted's and Ed's den mother or social secretary. I didn't give a damn what she thought. Actually, she was kind of sweet, so I looked forward to meeting her. Ted called on Monday. I reserved a large Ford van for the trip. I made sure it has everything. I thought that just maybe Ed won't be a pain in the ass all the way to New York if he has enough toys. I hope you don't mind driving the larger van." "Well, the biggest thing I have driven up till now was an eighteen wheeler, with a second trailer tagging behind. I think I can manage the custom van." I took a breath while I waited to see if he would make any comment. When he didn't, I went on." I'll pick it up tonight." "Hertz at the airport has it ready anytime," Ted informed me. "You don't really think we are in any danger do you?" "Honestly, I don't know. From what Franklin tells me, your little invention is going to make some serious players very nervous. What they will do is anyone's guess. Then there are the political implications. A lot of countries have the world oil economy as their only political card. Without that, they are going to be eating sand." "Well, let's hope it isn't that much of a threat to the status quo," Ted's voice said, through the phone. "Well, if you are having buyer's remorse, I can still stay home. I'm sure you can still get flight reservations." "Hell no, I'm looking forward to the company and Ed is still paranoid." "Well, I think you need to have a press conference to make it clear to everyone that if you are killed, the project goes on just with different people getting the profits. Some public trust of some kind would make you bulletproof from the people wanting to bury the technology. You still have plenty to worry about, but at least that political sword would be blunted. They are the most dangerous. A guy who wants the formula for himself isn't likely to put a bomb under your car. I cleaned up my house before I picked up the van. The van I picked up from Ryder Truck Rental was a fucking yacht on wheels. The damn thing had every toy imaginable. The Ted's and Ed's excellent adventure was going to be arriving in style. From my point of view, the blacked out windows were the best feature. Well, of course, the 360 degree TV camera was a good thing, as well. I could only imagine where the van came from. It surely wasn't used often in either Tryon or Aster. I packed the legal Mossberg riot shotgun, the Glock 10 mm, and wore the .38 concealed hammer wheel gun. All in all, I had quite a bit of fire power there. I also tossed in a cardboard box of non-lethal weapons. Everything from tasers to pepper gas bombs went into the box, which found its way into the rear of the van. The smallest item in the van when I pulled into the old recapping yard, was the bag containing my clothes. I had packed only a good pair of slacks and a nice sweater for the meeting, and a clean blouse for the drive home. There were spare panties and a bra stuffed into a side pocket on the bag. I could have learned a lot from the number of bags the two men brought. Ted, the more dirty hands type of the geeks, had a half duffel bag packed pretty tight. He might have enough clothes, but they were all going to be wrinkled. Ed on the other hand brought one hanging bag and a small soft side suitcase. He was going to be the fashion whore of the crowd. We were quite the crew that morning. Me in my faded Levis and over sized sweater, Ted in his tight jeans and wrinkled cowboy work shirt, and of course, Ed in his European designer jeans and fancy Italian sweater. Ed wanted to not look pretentious but he failed miserably. I wore driving sunglasses that were not fashionable but were at least Polaroid, while Ted wore thick sunglasses, which no doubt doubled as shatterproof lenses, and Ed wore something from the designer shop in the Tryon Mall, no doubt. Each of us brought a laptop computer and cell phone. Their cell phones did everything, no doubt, while mine made and received phone calls. My laptop had nothing of value on it, while theirs no doubt held state secrets. Well, at least Ed's would have secrets; Ted's probably had some game with a thousand levels. At 7:15 AM we left the parking lot behind. I threaded my way through the city streets until I reached the federally sponsored highway. The six lane road was located a few miles from Aster. Once on the wide ribbon of pavement, I pointed the van more or less north. I settled into what I hoped would be a boring ten to twelve hour drive. Since I planned to be at the fancy hotel in Flushing, New York, by bedtime, the Ted and Ed show should be in good shape for the after lunch meetings on Wednesday. That is assuming everything went as planned. I was less worried about the drive than any other part of the trip. I was armed to the teeth and driving a civilian version of the Bradley fighting vehicle. For the next twelve hours, I drove while my charges worked or played with their toys. They spoke now and then, more to each other than to me, with the exception of Ed's comments to me. Those were not to be confused with conversation. "Hey, what are we going to do for lunch?" "I'm going to stop for gas soon, we can pull into a fast food joint for lunch." "Oh come on, Max, I know you aren't used to nice things, but force yourself this once," Ed suggested. "Ed, it is much harder to grab someone from a busy Mickey D's dining room, than the quiet hallway of a fancy restaurant while you head off to pee. How about we play the odds for a couple of days and save the posturing for someone who cares?" Ted giggled like a schoolgirl. That's pretty much how the drive went, Ed bitching, me explaining, and Ted giggling. At one of the gas stops, we bought a cooler and filled it with Cokes. I allowed it, even though it meant random pee breaks. Even the bypasses around major cities were a nightmare. Somehow, we managed to pull through the check in area of the Flushing, New York, Hilton just before 10 PM. I had put my foot down on the accelerator and on the number and length of stops. By driving with a purpose, as they called it in the Air Force, we had made good time. Check in was simple, since GE had made all the arrangements. The suite was exactly what I had demanded. There was a sitting room and kitchenette with a bedroom for each of the boys on either side. I planned to do my napping on the sofa in the entrance room. I made coffee while they prepared for bed. "So where are you going to sleep?" Ted asked. "I won't be sleeping, but I will be out here in the main room. Unless they have a helicopter, any threat will come through those doors. If it comes through those doors, it is going to come through me." "I can make you a better offer," Ted suggested. "I'm sure you can and I might take you up on it some other time. You know the old thing about work and play?" I asked. "You mean don't screw the boss?" he suggested. "Never shit where you eat," I corrected. "God, you are crude," Ed said, from behind me. "Yeah, my mom would not be happy with me these days." I smiled. "Now you two need your sleep. You have to go out and make the world safe for big business tomorrow." "You make the world safe; we will just try to cut back on some of the rape of resources." "Sounds fair," I suggested. I rigged my burglar alarm first thing. If you plan to stay awake and watch the door, all you need is something to get your attention in case it wanders. In my case, it was a half dozen kitty bells tied to a thin wire, which was rigged to either hang from the door knob, or from a thumb tack in the door. It all depended on what the door hardware looked like. In the case of the Hilton, it was a thumbtack. The door handle was a lever not a knob. I watched TV on the computer, I read on the computer, and I drank gallons of coffee warmed in the microwave. When you have a good plan, things almost always go well. When you don't have a plan is when they go all to hell. The night passed quietly. Partly because I had a plan, and partly because a snatch is best done without a swat type assault in a public place. In other words the worst was yet to come, if it came at all. The 'boys, ' as I thought of them, slept until 9AM. I could hardly wait to turn them over to the GE security people, so that I could get some real sleep. Before the GE security chief came, we went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. I had to admit the restaurant was far superior to the breakfast I usually had. The eggs were cooked right at the table, so they were as fresh as if I had made them myself, plus they tasted a whole lot better. Back in the room, I received the call. "Ms. Stone, this is Rachel at GE. Our Mr. Roberts will be there in about half an hour. He will escort your party to our convention center." Something about the call set off bells in my head. "Why isn't Lois calling? I asked. "Lois, is in the plant. We had an incident last night. That's why the change in plans." "What kind of incident?" I asked. "That isn't relevant," she said, in a tone that wasn't quite right either. "Young lady, everything is relevant to me. Now either tell me what this incident was or I'm taking my party to the nearest police station and you can pick them up there." "Someone broke into the production office at the plant and went through the files. Nothing was taken, but we are assuming that copies were made. Rachael is out there inventorying the files to see what if anything is missing." "Alright, so as a precaution you are moving the meeting to the convention center?" "Yes, our convention center is free standing and very secure." She sounded just a little too rehearsed for my liking. Ted thought that Ed was paranoid. I was about to show him paranoid. I agreed to everything, then hung up the phone. "Get your asses ready to go this minute. Do not waste one fucking second," I almost shouted. "What the fuck?" Ted asked. There was urgency in his voice. "If Ed is right to be paranoid, they are in the hotel. We need to make it very difficult for them to find us for the next twenty minutes." I picked up the phone. "Room Service. I would like a pot of fresh coffee and a tray of Danish. I would like it right away." Then I called the desk. "Could you have a maid come up, I have spilled something in my bed and need it changed immediately." I picked up the phone and then dialed an outside line. I dialed the number I had for the GE contact I had. "Lois Snow," the voice came from the phone. "Lois someone just called to tell me a Mr. Roberts was on the way to collect my party. I am assuming that wasn't you." "No it wasn't. Should I call the police?" "And an ambulance," I suggested, dropping the phone. "You two get in the bathroom. You can get in the tubs, but I'd bet they are fiberglass and useless." There was a knock on the door. "Do it now," I whispered. I was willing to bet all our lives, that the bad guys still believed their con was going to work. I just didn't believe that the bad guys were planning a full assault on the Hilton. I looked out to see the man in a well cut suit. It wasn't too expensive looking, nor did it look too much like a cheap gangster suit. Timing was going to be everything. "You must be Roberts?" I asked, as I opened the door. "Yes, I am," he replied. "Would you mind showing me some ID?" I smiled to convince him it was just a formality. It wasn't, it was a stall. I already knew the ID was fake. He was about to reach under his coat to bring out either his ID or a pistol when the coffee and Danish arrived. I could see the look of confusion on his face, as I signed for the tray. I also managed to trip the waiter so that the coffee pot spilled onto both me and Roberts. "Oh my God, I am so sorry." I said that as I used one of the cloth napkins to blot coffee from Roberts suit. He pushed me away before I could find his pistol's location. My mind was still racing. "Housekeeping," the female Hispanic voice from the hallway said. "In here please, we just spilled coffee. Your timing couldn't be better." I was running around manic as hell. I was trying my best to keep the confusion going until the cops arrived. Everything was getting calm when it was obvious that Roberts had caught on. He was about to turn away when I slipped the hammerless .38 against his spine. "I don't want to blow your spine out in front of all these witnesses, but I can and probably get away with it. You and I both know you are not from GE. Now let the little drama play out as it should." The patrolmen were at the door within minutes. I put the .38 in the pocket of my jeans before I approached them. "You need to make sure the Mr. Roberts there doesn't leave. He is most likely armed. The younger of the patrolmen immediately pulled his weapon. They not only found Roberts' nasty little automatic, they found my .38. To add to the confusion, the real GE security manager who knew everyone in the Police Department showed up. It was a cluster fuck for the next half hour. I personally enjoyed the Flushing Police Keystone Cop act, but Ted and Ed didn't care for it. By the time they made it to their meeting, there were in no mood to deal with GE. I didn't give a crap one way or the other. The meeting went on even though nothing was decided. While they cried, complained, and negotiated, I slept on the sofa. I got a good three hour nap while they jockeyed for negotiating positions. I didn't give a crap how the day ended. I hated that I was going to lose my weapons. It is a bad idea to take weapons into New York State. If they had been heirloom guns, I would have demanded a hearing and probably won. But I planned to just bill Ted and Ed for the replacement cost. I had to stop on the way home that night to purchase a shotgun at a Wal-Mart store in Maryland. We planned to stop for the night in Virginia and I didn't want to sleep naked. Driving from New York to Maryland unarmed had been nerve racking enough, since I never considered either tasers or pepper gas as weapons. "Damn this trip cost us a lot of money to have nothing of any real value come of it," Ed complained, as we neared Aster the next afternoon. "Nothing of any value? Why you little shit, I might have saved your formula, if not your life. I just hope you try to avoid payment of my invoice for those weapons. I would love to get your ass on the stand in Aster. Jennifer can always ask where you were while the 125 pound woman was holding off Mr. Roberts, possibly of the Gambini family." Ed was properly cowered. I just loved playing the little chick card. "Roberts is a reputable private investigator. He was hired to arrange a meeting for a brokerage firm. A firm that wanted to hand us a million dollars," Ted said giggling. "That's his story now. They picked up his secretary, who couldn't wait to roll over on his ass. How do you think we got off so easy?" "Because GE threw their weight around?" Ted suggested, with a giggle. His girlie giggle was getting old quick. "That too," I admitted. Even with all the drama, I got my expense and fee settlement from the boys immediately. I submitted an appraisal for the Mossburg Shotgun and the two pistols. Replacing them wasn't going to be a problem, I was glad that I left all the antique weapons in Ed, the bondsman's, safe room. The Ted and Ed excellent adventure, did give me a lot of confidence. I had eaten real food the whole trip. I had stayed awake and active so I felt I had regained a lot of my strength. All in all, it had been a worthwhile trip. I even felt good enough to plan a trip to the Cop Out. By Friday, I had caught up with my document serves and was looking forward to a night out. I planned to go to the Cop Out to dance a little, flirt a little, and maybe get laid. I didn't plan on any highly gymnastic sex, but some nice old lady type fucking might be in order. ------- Chapter 3 "Max, this is Jen, how are you?" The metallic sounding voice came from the phone. "I'm fine, Jen, I spoke to you yesterday. Not much happens in a day." "Max, with you, God only knows what can happen in a day." "No matter what you say, you are not calling to check on my health. Even if you were, there is nothing new to report. You already knew that I am eating real food again. If you were wondering about my sex life, it has been very empty since my little adventure with extreme deep throat." "I called because I have a job offer for you," Jen finally admitted. "What kind of job?" I asked. "It's a secret, at least for now. I need you to meet me, the client, and his son for lunch." "As long as it's not the Banker's Club," I suggested. "What's wrong with the Banker's Club?" "Oh are you a member now?" "No, I haven't been invited, but if they ever invite me, I will step all over you to accept." There was laughter in her voice. "You social climbing bitch," I said, with a laugh. "Okay, not the Banker's how about the Carolina Grill." "You have to be kidding. That place has nothing in common with a real grill." "They have grilled food," Jen said, trying to defend her choice. "Stir fried vegetable on the grill, does not a grill make," I said, laughing at her again. "Too fucking bad," she said, pretending to be angry. "I have already made the date with the clients so you better be there at 1 PM today." "Jen, that's two hours from now. What would you do if I had an appointment?" "I would be shocked. You never make appointments. You are one of those pull it out of your ass types." "And that's a bad thing?" I asked. "It is for those of us who have to plan our breakfast menu a week in advance." "So what's it about?" "No way I'm going to give you a heads up on this one. This time you have to hear it from the horse's mouth." "Well I hope the horse brushed its teeth." I laughed again. "Okay, Jen, but you or your client is paying." "Of course," she said. I stopped on the way to lunch to make a delivery. The guy worked in a bank, so I did it as quietly as possible. He accepted it and even thanked me. Some people have class and some threaten violence on me. People can really react badly to news from a lawyer. Mostly it's the divorce cases that really set people on fire. Maybe it was because of the banker's reaction, or the fact that I always enjoy seeing Jen, but it was a fight not to lick her face. It's hard, but I always resist. Well, almost always, there was the threesome with she and her husband, but that was just to prove I could. Sometimes I think someone is giving me male hormones without me knowing. The Carolina Grill was one of those knockoffs of a real grill. It had the chrome exterior that made it look like a 1950s giant thermos bottle. The parking lot wasn't filled with real cars. Instead it was filled with modern plastic, gas saving junk. I knew right then, that I was going to find that GTO I wanted. When I found it, I was going to buy it, no matter what Jen and her crowd said. I saw Jen and two men sitting in a booth. The booth was meant for six, but there was only the three of them occupying it. I made my way down the single aisle between the booths and the counter. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long?" I said, to them all, but I was looking at Jen. "Not at all. Max, this is Martin Southerland and his son, Ted." "Ms Stone, I have heard a great deal about you," The older man said. "Well, Mr. Southerland, please believe anything that flatters me and ignore the other." "Call me Marty," he said. "And it was all flattering." "Thank you Marty. Jen said you wanted to hire me, but she was very mysterious about what you needed done." "You cut right to it don't you, Ms Stone?" Ted Southerland suggested. "You appear to be men who value you own time, so I'm sure you don't mind that I value mine." I really didn't value it all that much, but I was sure they valued theirs. I might as well get the bad news over with before I wasted their money on my lunch. "Do you know who my dad is?" Ted asked. "No, but I will when you tell me, and I'm sure you are going to." Marty Southerland chuckled, then said, "I like her." The remark was aimed at Jen. "I'm glad, Marty, so who are you?" "Just a retired farmer. I was a farmer from the age of ten, right up two years ago." "You look to be in really good condition, why did you give it up?" I knew it might be rude if he was sick, but I was curious. "Oh, tobacco farming isn't politically correct, and Ted is going to run for the senate." "Ah," was all I said. Politically correct is bullshit in my opinion. So what are you planning that I can help with?" It was obvious he had something in mind. "He wants to ride a bicycle from Wilmington on the east coast to some nice beach in California." Ted said, a little snippy, I thought. "So where do I fit in?" I asked. "I didn't think you would fit in, when my son and Jennifer demanded that I at least meet with you. Now I think maybe you would fit in after all." "Fit in where?" I asked. "Driving along behind dad to pick up the pieces when he kills himself," Ted said, almost angrily. "It would make Ted happy for some reason to get my body home quickly," Marty said playfully. "Hell, it might be worth a few thousand votes." "No offense, Marty, but that is a long ride and will take a long time. I honestly can't spare that much time." "Max, they aren't telling you everything. The bicycles are motorized and Marty plans to do at least a hundred miles a day. He also plans to quit if it gets too difficult." "That's still a minimum of thirty days. I just can't spare that kind of time." "Yes, you can Max," Jen said. "At least she recognizes that it is a stupid idea," Ted said. He really should not have done that. "Not at all, I think it is a great idea and something I would like to do before I die. It's just that now is a bad time. Also riding along behind in a van is my idea of a shit job." 'Then, by God, I'll build you a bike and you can ride along as part of the adventure." "That would defeat the purpose, Dad." Ted was beginning to piss me off. "Oh hell, Ted, I could call the paramedics on my cell phone or your dad can call them on his, if I'm the one who goes down. As for breakdowns, I have a feeling your dad has a buck or two. If that is that case, we can call someone to come out and drive us to the auto rental place and just drive home." "Actually, Max, I have a list of bike builders all along the way. If it is something that isn't too urgent, they can help me repair the bike and we will just keep on going." "See Max, you are getting caught up in this," Jen said. "If I go, there are rules?" I demanded. "Like what?" Marty asked. "You call your son every night. If some redneck does an easy rider on our asses I want someone to come looking for us. That's just the first one off the top of my head; there will be others, I assure you." "Done," Marty said. "What else?" "Get one of those fancy phones that does everything, and be sure it does GPS. I don't want to take a wrong turn and wind up in Deliveranceville." "Oh, do you play the banjo?" Marty asked, with a wicked smile. "No, and I don't squeal like a pig either." "Too bad," Marty said, with a wicked smile. "Okay you two, we should talk about money," Jen said. "Give her whatever she wants," Marty said. "Two K a week and Pappa Bear picks up all the expenses." "No way," Marty said. "That ain't near enough. At least 12k for the trip. If it's one day or a month, then 3k a week if it goes over a month. "Before we get too wrapped up in this, when do you want to leave?" "Weather is optimal in a month. Will that give you time to make some arrangements for your business." "I have an idea. I'll make some calls and we can set a firm date," I suggested. During the rest of lunch, Marty described his bike to me. He promised to build me one just like it. It sounded like a good solid plan to me, so I felt even less concerned about the trip. Marty and Ted left first. I could sense Jen wanted to talk about something. "So what's the real story on those two?" "Marty was my first real client. That was almost twenty years ago." "So back then he was a tobacco farmer?" "Yeah the biggest farmer in at least five counties. Max, that was back when tobacco made millionaires." "And Marty was one of them?" "And a hell of a man, as well. If you ever tell this, I will kill you," she said. "You were lovers?" I asked laughing. "Not really, Marty and his wife were swingers. Not something that was common around here. He introduced me and Bob to it." "I guess your first orgy is like your first love," I laughed. "It wasn't an orgy. At least not exactly, we kind of swapped for a while, then it was a group thing." "I see how long has Helen been gone?" I asked, watching Jennifer's face for a reaction. "Three years, how did you know?" "This is the kind of trip a man looking for an ending takes. That's usually when they are alone." "You really are a smart bitch, aren't you?" "Happens when see too much, too soon," I replied. "I want you to go, to make damn sure he comes back." "Back or back to you?" I asked "We aren't lovers," she said. "No, but you love him," I replied. "Yes, I won't deny it." "Well, help me get this thing set up and I'll bring him back." "What can I do?" "Something will come to me," I said, with a wicked smile. "I thought that was a one time thing?" she said smiling. "It was a one time thing with Bob." I agreed. "You know I'm not bi," she said, seriously. "Do I really, it's not exactly what I remember." The booth's table was narrow to squeeze the maximum number of booths into the minimum amount of space available. It was close enough so that I could reach under the table and put my hand on her leg. "Please, don't do that." "You don't like it?" I asked, confused. "Don't do it, because I do like it," she said, seriously. "Fair enough, just so you know, Jen, anytime, anyplace," I said. "I already knew," she said, with a sweet little smile. My first chore, when I got back to the office, was to call Blevins on his cell. "What trouble are you into now, Max?" he asked, as a greeting. "Do I have to be in trouble to call a friend?" "No, but you always seem to be. So what's up?" "Jen roped me into a job just now. It's going to take me away from the office for anywhere from a week to two months. I was wondering if you still had contacts out at the community college." "You know, Max, we look the other way on some of the shit you pull, because so far mostly it's the bad guys who get hurt. We would frown on a college kid getting killed because of something you did." "You know Sarah wasn't involved, she was just collateral damage." I hated how cold that sounded. "Yeah, that's why you aren't completely iced down there." Down there was the Cop Out Club. "Yeah, I realize that I'm not the belle of the ball," I replied. "Hell, Max, you never were. Those nurses always hated you cause you have more balls than they do. That young intern, they all wanted to fuck him, they were just afraid of what he might say. Everyone but you knew he liked to brag. He was kind of the Warren Beatty of Aster. Only he was the one who built his own reputation. Then when Sarah got killed, they thought that they had legitimate reason to jump your case. The cops put them straight. They might not like you, but I expect they will be nice regardless. Now if you get some kid killed, they mostly likely will not be cutting you any more slack. You will be Typhoid Mary." "Blevins, the office is not involved in anything. I will make sure whoever I hire can't be mistaken for me. How is that?" "Then I guess you have done all you can to keep him or her out of the line of fire. So what is this job that is going to take you so long that you need to hire a replacement?" "I'm going to babysit Marty Southland on a motor bike trip cross country." "Holy shit, can you get him to take me as well?" "I don't think so. You might have a better ass, but I got better boobs. Besides he doesn't want it to look like he needs a bodyguard." "Let me tell you something, little girl, before Marty got married a hundred years ago, he would kick anybody's ass in this town then drive to Tryon to find more. Helen calmed his ass down right away. First time he came home drunk, she walked out of the house and didn't come back till the next day. When she came home, she was drunk and obviously been out partying. Clothes a mess and the like. 'I'm gonna divorce you?" Marty said to her. 'Which half of the farm you gonna give me?' she asked. He looks at her and says, 'Then I'll just kill you.' Old Helen pulled out a box opener. You know one of those they used on the farm to cut cloth wrappers back then. It was a heavy bladed sumbitch, not this razor blade shit they use now. Anyhow she sliced his arm real good. 'If you gonna kill somebody, you stupid ass, just do it, don't warn them first.' Marty went to the hospital and told the cop who broke me in the story. Then he said, 'I cut my arm working on the farm. If you say any different, I'll call you the biggest liar in this state.'" "That's quite a story, Blevins, one that should be told over a cold beer." "My old partner swore it was true. He said if we ever get a call there, you handle Marty, I'm keeping my eye on Helen." I laughed. "They always said we are the most dangerous sex. So you gonna tell me who to call out there." "Let me make a call for you. If there is anyone who fits your needs, I'll have someone call you." "If I don't hear soon, I'll have to start looking at an off-duty fireman. I hate to do that." "I know they will steal your business right out from under you. Happens all the time with the smoke sniffers." "So they say," I agreed. I knew a college kid, with an eye on being a cop, had no desire to serve court papers or civil summons. It was way beneath a cop to do such bullshit work. For a summer job it might interest someone though. "Ms Stone, my name is Lucas Simpson. They told me at school that you were looking for an apprentice?" It was a question, not a statement. The kid standing in front of my desk was maybe twenty. I had a feeling he was probably 19. I was already sorry I had talked Blevins into sending me students. If this kid got hurt, I would be really upset. Blevins had also warned me that the cops would frown on another innocent body at my door. "So do you have time to work these deliveries into your schedule?" I asked, still wishing I hadn't put out the call. "Sure, piece of cake. The instructor told me no matter what, I was not to play cop out there. Just hand them the paper and get them to sign if possible." "Sounds like she knows the drill," I suggested. "Mrs. Edwards said she had talked to you and promised you that I would not get myself killed while you were gone." I talked to the kid for an hour trying to find some reason not to hire him. Since I couldn't find one, I said, "Okay, Lucas I will give you a try before I leave. Once I am gone, call Ed or my friend, Jen, if you need advice. If there is a problem, turn the papers back in unserved rather than take a chance on getting hurt. You got that?" "Yes Ma'am, I understand." After a couple of days with the kid riding along, I knew he would do just fine. I also knew that he was doing it for the money. He had no desire to make a career of it. He seemed to be a sweet kid, who knows, I thought. He just might get a real bonus when I get back. I giggle inwardly at the thought. Man could I do a lot for labor relations with that attitude. It was two weeks after the lunch meeting when I next met Marty and Ted Southland again. I drove out to the shop Southland used to build his bike and mine. When I drove up, I realized that the bikes were on display for me. They were standard high quality steel bikes. Not the kind the spandex crowd would ride. The bikes Marty used as blanks were real bikes built to last a generation. He had bought them from maybe the last bike maker doing his manufacturing in the United States. Every thing about the bikes screamed big and clunky. That is were the made in the USA ended. The motors were Honda 4 cylinder and mounted on the side of a bike like a tumor. Marty had added his own braces to the unit, so that it was even more secure than the support given by the drive kit offered... "Damn, Marty that is a sweet looking ride," I said. I said because I knew he was waiting for a compliment. I also did it because I just knew that it would piss Teddy boy off. "Climb on the blue one and give it a try," he insisted. "It has been a while, so don't expect too much." "Then wear this," he said, tossing a lightweight motorcycle helmet at me. I put it on with a smile. That damn bike was the most fun I had since I don't remember when. It was like riding in a sports car, only ten times better. I was a dangerous rider and it was wonderfully freeing. "Shit, Marty," I said, when I swung my leg over the bike frame to dismount. "That motherfucker is a blast." Marty broke in a belly laugh, while Ted cringed. "Damn right, it is. That's why I want to take this trip. That and to show the world that these things don't just have to be toys." "Okay, back down to earth. I want to see a detailed plan before I leave on that thing." "I got the plan, but I didn't make it, Jennifer did. She refused to allow you to make the trip without an agreement. She said was to protect me from lawsuits, but I think it is to protect you. Anyway, I read it and I approve. I have already posted the notices on the bicycle forums, so everyone knows we are doing it." "I'll read this over and let you know what I think." "You rode the bike, I don't think there is anything that would stop you now," Marty laughed again. At home after work, I read the plan. Jennifer thought of everything. At least, she thought of more than I would have. I knew it was no more than a guideline, but it was a good one. After the first hour on the road, we would be doing whatever the road dictated. There was no way to plan out a trip like that one. The trip was planned to start at noon, on the Monday two weeks from my shop visit. I used the time to get things done around the office and to ride the bike a few hours before I left on the trip. The bike was easy to start and easy to ride. It was, all in all, a lot of fun. I had a couple of only barely satisfactory sexual experiences since my experience with the Mendez brothers. I decided I would give it one more try, thinking that it might be a month or more before I had another sexual adventure. I tried to stay away from the Cop Out when I was on the prowl. It was one thing to have it just happen, it was quite another to be the predator. I went to a bar close to the university. Even thought it was a college bar, the patrons were older, usually professors and administrator types, probably because the prices there made even me cringe. I chose the last Saturday night before the beginning of our trip for the possible last fling. I mean, hell, I was taking off cross country on a bicycle going thirty miles an hour for God's sake. I was looking for something sexual, but I had no preconceived plans. My only plan was a night to remember, at least for a few days. "Well, hello there," the bartender said. "I haven't seen you here in a long time. What can I get you?" "A glass of white wine, whatever comes in the gallon bottle you pour from," I suggested. "Ah, our world famous Pinot Noir," he said, with a conspirator's smile. "One step above cooking wine," I said, after tasting it. "Actually that is the cooking wine." With that he moved down the bar to service other customers. "You are Max Stone, aren't you?" the woman standing behind me whispered. "Yes, Ma'am," I said in my new raspy voice. "I have read so much about you. My friend and I would love to buy you a drink." She turned and nodded toward a table with a much younger man looking toward us uncomfortably. "I do like your style," I admitted. "Then join us and the next one is on him." "And you don't even have to buy his drinks, my God, you are a marvel." I stood as I said. I got a good look at the woman as I followed her to the table. She was at least three inches taller than me and that would make her 5' 9" at least. She was also the owner of either a well maintained body or a very good foundation garment. She looked fit. Even if she wasn't fit, she at least was close to it. Her breasts were much larger than my 36B. She had to be at least 38D, if not more. If she had a flaw, it was her very fine hair. All the styling and mousse in the world wouldn't ever make that attractive. She was past due for a wig. I should know, I was resisting the urge to buy one myself. I was about to be seated when the woman turned to me and spoke. "Where are my manners, I'm Madelyn Curry, and this is my son, Jeffery." I suppose the confusion was written all over my face because she went on. "It's alright, Max, Jeffery is twenty, he is of legal age to drink." I sat down with my wine glass, took a gulp, then in my usual direct manner, asked, "So are you pimping for Jeffery or is he pimping for you?" "That's what I would have expected from you, Max; direct, no class at all, but very direct. Let's say Jeffery and I share a symbiotic relationship. Do I need to explain what symbiosis means?" "Not in general, but as the night progresses you might need to explain how it applies to you and your son," I admitted. "Just so I know who I'm kissing." "God, I love this woman," she said to Jeff, who only nodded. The kid had not said a single word to me. "So tell me, did a man really try to strangle you with his cock? The papers didn't give that detail, but the rumor is all over." "Actually, that's how I got the rasping sound I use as a voice these days." "God, that makes it even sexier. I love the way you sound when you speak. Tell me, Max, do you moan with a rasp as well?" "I have no idea, I don't listen." "Well, I'll tell you later, won't I?" she asked. "I looked down as I said, "Yes." "Look at me when you speak to me, Max, and you know how to address me." "Yes, Ma'am," I said, looking her in the eye. "So Jeffery, what do you think of Max?" "I think she is quite wonderful, Mother." "Now, Max, tell us, do you still like to use that pretty mouth of yours?" "Yes, Ma'am," I replied. I was playing a part, but somehow it was more than a game. "Good girl," she said. She waited for a reply from me. When I didn't speak she prodded me. "What do you say when someone compliments you?" "Thank you, Ma'am." I knew my part quite well. I had been involved with female superiors during my 22 years in blue. There was a sexual tension anytime I dealt with a sexually dominant personality. I had not been looking for that kind of encounter, but I was certainly open to it. Her tone changed completely as we discussed my everyday life. Her tone was that of a friend and confidant, with just a hint of superiority. Still not at all unpleasant or dominating in nature. The son, Jeffery, spoke almost exclusively to his mother. He never asked me anything. He did comment on what I said, but only now and then. Even when he did, it was with single words exclusively. After an hour and one more glass of wine, Madelyn asked, "Are you ready to leave, Max?" "Yes Ma'am," I replied. "Would you like Jeffery to drive your car or do you want to follow us?" "I think I will follow," I replied. I wanted that one last chance to run like hell. "Very well, you aren't going to disappoint us, are you?" "No Ma'am," I replied, dutifully. "Just for the record, Jeffery and I are not in an incestuous relationship. He helps me and I reward him, that's all." "Very well," I replied. I still didn't have the nuts and bolts of the relationship, but I knew I would in a few hours. The two of them shared a small federal style brick house. On the ground floor was a large living room, a smaller dining room, a parlor, a combination kitchen breakfast room rounded out the first floor. Well, I imagined that there was also a powder room even though I didn't see it upon entering. Madelyn went into the parlor to sit on the one large chair. There was one smaller chair in the corner by the living room. Those were the only two chairs in the parlor. I almost sat in the smaller chair. "No, Dear, that is Jeffrey's chair. There are glasses in the cabinet by the sink and wine in the refrigerator, would you bring us a glass?" I almost told her to go fuck herself, but I figured why not, I wouldn't mind a glass myself. I got the glasses all poured and even found a serving tray. I was getting into the Holly Homemaker role when I walked back into the parlor. I served the two of them, then put the tray on a small table in yet another corner of the room. I was standing there like an idiot, looking for a place to sit when Madelyn motioned for me to move to her. When I stood beside her chair, she whispered quietly, "Kneel." Again I almost told her to fuck off, but it was only slightly more demanding than others had been to me previously. In for a penny in for a pound, I thought, as I lowered myself to my knees. Madelyn nodded her approval. The sexual tension in the room was like a fourth entity. I knew in broad strokes what was going to happen, but not the details or the sequence. "Jeffery, do you find Maxine pleasing?" she asked her son as if I wasn't in the room. "Yes, Mother, she seems to be very attractive and she has good manners," he replied. "Do you have good manners, Maxine?" she asked. "I hope so, Ma'am," I replied. "And are you attractive?" "I like to think so," I replied. "Remove your top and show us your breasts so that we might judge for ourselves," she demanded. My hand actually shook as I removed my blouse. The bra hooks were a nightmare, but I finally managed to free my breasts. "Not very large are they, Jeffery?" Madelyn asked. "Not as large as yours, Mother, but they don't sag very much," he answered. "True on both counts, Son. I think she will do in that department." Madelyn sipped at her wine before adding. "Now girl take off your skirt." I have to admit the sexual tension was at a point as high as I had ever felt. My mind had stopped any reasonable thought. I was just moving on instinct and somehow that instinct was to obey the demanding woman. I unbuttoned then unzipped my skirt and let it fall to the floor. I stood there in a pair of snowy white bikini panties. "Jeffery, do you think she has pubic hair or not?" Madelyn asked her son. "I think no, Mother," he replied, smiling. "Show us, Maxine," she demanded. I slipped the panties off, revealing my thin pubic hair. It was not attractive, but also not distracting from the total appeal of my body. At least that is what I thought all the years I refused to shave it off. "That's just nasty, Jeffery," Madelyn commented. "Jeffery, you know what to do." I stood shivering with anticipation as Jeffery left the room. Madeline smiled at me with that superior, but benevolent, smile I had seen on others before her. It never bothered me when I was naked, but it really pissed me off when it wasn't in a sexual situation. Just goes to show how inconsistent my thinking really was. When Jeffery returned, he was rolling a small tea cart. On the tea cart was what might have been some oriental ceremonial tea setup. Instead, it appeared to be an antique water pitcher and basin set. Something one would find on an antique dry sink in some old fashion movie set. The cart also held an old fashioned shaving mug and brush set. I decided right there that if he came out with straight razor there would be a hell of a fight. I need not have worried; what he had under the towel was an old Gillette safety razor from the forties. I watched as he poured steaming water into the basin, then dipped the brush into the basin. From the basin, the wet brush went into the shaving mug. Jeffery could have been a pharmacist or a master chef, as he worked the soap into a lather. When he had the brush filled with the soapy lather, he looked up to his mother who nodded. I stood perfectly still as he rubbed my pubic hair first with a hot wet cloth, then with the brush filled with soap suds. I stood like a stone statue while he used the razor on my softened pubic hair. I felt much different after he fished slowly shaving off my pubic hair. No, I didn't feel like a little girl, I felt a heightened sensitivity there. The rough towel he used to dry me brought an involuntary gasp from my slackened mouth. Madelyn motioned me over. She bent to inspect Jeffery's work closely before she gave him an approving nod. I stood shivering while Jeffery rolled the cart from the room. It was obvious to me that they had done the ritual often, but I didn't care it was still thrilling. "Now that you are presentable, you may kneel before Jeffery and accept his magic cock." Madelyn watched as I moved to stand in front of Jeffery. I slid to my knees easily as I looked into his eyes. I could feel her eyes on me as I unzipped her son's pants, then struggled to free his cock. It was obvious that shaving my pubic hair had done a number on him as well as me. It was a struggle to free the firm cock from his pants. Once it was free, I could tell that it was just a little larger than most of the men I had slept with. It wasn't enormous by any means, but it was a very respectable size. The most notable thing was that his cock was uncircumcised. The foreskin covered the head of it. I was forced to wrap my hand around his cock behind the head and push back to expose the head. It was a wonderful visual sensation to see the head suddenly appear. My heart pounded as I bent to kiss the exposed head of his cock. I pushed my lips down on his cock, forcing the foreskin to remain open. The head of his cock was naked to the inside of my warm, wet mouth. I could tell he was loving it by the shivers running through his body. I began to nurse on the head of his cock. I used my tongue to flatten it against the roof of my mouth while I sucked gently, but demandingly, on the head of his cock. I could feel him trying to control his urge to stroke my mouth. Remembering the pain of the Mendez cock in my throat, I tried to control his urge to press deep. Finally, he overwhelmed my mouth muscle and drove into my throat. I felt him fuck at my mouth and throat only a few strokes before he stiffened and plunged deep into my throat one last time. I could feel him shudder as he emptied his sperm into my throat. It was past my gag reflex, so I didn't feel panic as he did. Just as soon as I felt him end his forced plunge, I pulled away so that I could breathe. His was the first cock in my throat since the rape. It had terrified me for an instant, then it just felt good to know what I had done to him. I had forced him to lose control for me. He thought he was in control, but I knew better. I kept my eyes closed, enjoying the sensations for a few seconds. When I looked up, Jeffery was slumped in his chair. "Come here, Girl," Madelyn demanded, almost angrily. When I turned, I saw Madelyn with her legs spread and her eyes glazed. I crawled between her spread legs. I managed to get her panties off as she tried to force my mouth down on her pussy. When her pussy was finally naked, I allowed her to pull me to it. I licked and sucked on her lips and generally spread her son's lubricant along with my saliva over her vulva. When I felt she was tense enough, I moved to suck on her clit. I licked it up and down for a long time, then side to side. I knew while I was doing it that she was having many small seizures. I finally felt her trying to force my face inside her. I knew then that she was ready for the one mind blowing orgasm, the one that would go on and on. Nobody can sense that feeling unless you have been on the other end of it as well. It's why men could never provide the same level of oral stimulation as a woman. When she came, Madelyn squirted lubricant from her body just like a man. It was just as satisfying to make her cum as it had been to make her son cum. I felt Jeffery's hand raise my hips as he slipped his hard cock inside me. I felt it bully its way deep into my body. My passage rippled as he moved in and out of me. I was on fire and knew I would not last long. Madelyn was moving while her son fucked me. She managed to get her top open and pull me to her breast. I was sucking on Madelyn's soft saggy boob while her son fucked me with a very hard cock. I was in heaven. I wanted to cum, but I also didn't want the feeling to end. It did go on for a long time, then I began to cum. At first, it was just a huge explosion of sensations, but then my body took over where my mind left off. My body just spasmed over and over and I continued to cum until Jeffery tensed and shot a load deep inside me. Even after he removed his cock, my muscles continued to constrict. I lay in the floor like a snake wriggling. "God, she is a hot fuck," Jeffery told his mother. I didn't see his smile, but I knew he had one. "Next time, cum in her mouth not her throat, you know I love to taste your cum," Madelyn said. "I'm sorry, Mother. She was just so damn good, I couldn't help myself." "Don't worry, Son, she will be back. After the fucking you gave her, the slut won't be able to stay away." When I came to my senses, they had gone to bed, leaving me lying on the parlor floor. I knew my part in the play was over, so I dressed and moved toward the door. As a final gesture of defiance, I slipped upstairs and opened the door to Madelyn's bedroom. I heard the breathing, so I knew where to look. The two of them were naked, cuddling under the covers. She had her back to Jeffery and he had his arms around her. They looked peaceful so I closed the door quietly and left. I had no intention of ever returning to that house, but then the road to hell is paved with those good intentions. I spent Sunday recovering from the night before. I was hungover, but it wasn't from alcohol. I was in a sex induced haze most of the day. I ate soft foods because it hurt deep in my chest when I swallowed. It wasn't a sharp pain and I wasn't spitting up blood, so I wasn't really worried. Everything was as ready for my trip as I could make it when I went to bed Sunday night. ------- Chapter 4 8 AM Monday morning found me in the jump seat of Marty's Ford pickup truck. Ted was driving the truck toward the Atlantic Ocean. Marty sat beside him in the front seat of the truck which was loaded down with motorized bicycles and trailers for our trip. I sat, quietly sipping coffee, while they argued. I wasn't all that concerned, since all families argue. I knew that my best play was to just stay quiet and try to nap while they discussed, whatever it was they planned to fight about as we headed east... It was almost four hours to the minute when we pulled into the parking lot of the Wrightsville Beach fishing pier. The two of them unloaded the bicycles and trailers, while I removed the small plastic trash bags with our personal items from the truck's interior. Marty had done his research. The purpose of the plastic trash bags was to keep our few extra clothes dry; the clothes were just in case of rain. The plastic credit cards would take care of clean clothes along the way. Even there, Marty had done his research. He had purchased and loaded three prepaid Visa cards. He would be carrying the card with the most money. I would be carrying a card with a lesser amount, and a third was to be hidden on his bike just for emergencies. The idea was that if something happened to him, I could use my card to get home. His card would be paying for the expenses of the trip, but if stolen, nothing much would be lost. In his opinion it wasn't much, but in my opinion ten grand was a lot of money. In addition to three pairs of clean panties and a very lightweight jogging suit, I carried my hammerless .38. I also carried a small plastic bag with additional cartridges. Other than those few items, it was a toothbrush and deodorant that filled my bag, Into the trailer's plastic milk carton bed, I placed the plastic bag. Ted put in the filled gallon gas can and a quart of oil. Both Marty and I carried the extra gas and oil, along with a tire and two tubes. The tire pump was placed into Marty's trailer, while I carried a case of peanut butter crackers and a large water bottle. Other than those items, everything was hung on the bike. The cell phone Marty planned to use was one of those fancy things. It allowed him to connect to the Internet, as well as to the cell network. Even more important, the cell phone had an excellent GPS. After the bicycles were packed and ready for the trip, Marty turned to me and handed me a plastic bag from Victoria Secret's. "Put this on, Max. I want a picture of you on the bike with the ocean in the background. It's for the bike forum." Inside the bag, I found a shockingly small bikini. Not only that, it was shockingly red as well. "You have to be kidding?" "Oh, come on, it will look great on you." "This thing is way too small for me." "No, it isn't. Jennifer gave me your sizes. Just give it a try. Put your jeans and top on over it. When we find a spot, you can pose for me." I glanced at Ted who did not look at all happy. I almost told him not to worry, that I didn't want his inheritance, but I then realized that I wouldn't mind having the few million in Marty's estate. I went into the public bathroom at the land end of the pier. When I came out, I looked the same to those who had seen me go in. I knew that I wasn't the same at all. I was wearing the tiny red bikini under the moderately tight jeans and baggy sweat shirt, which had the sleeves chopped off, so it was super comfortable... "Well, let's get this show on the road," Marty said, smiling at me. "Dad, I want you to know this is probably the dumbest thing you have ever done." "It's not too late, Ted, I can send Max home with the truck. You and I can make this trip." Marty knew it was a waste of time, but he was obviously determined to offer his kid one more chance to man up." "I have way too much going on to just take a month off." Ted tried to sound regretful, but it just wasn't working for him. "I'm sorry to hear that, Ted, but Maxine and I are going to be leaving now. I want to get on down the road before we stop for the evening." Marty and Ted parted with an awkward hug. Marty and I left Wrightsville Beach after a quick stop for a cell phone photo of me in my red bikini sitting on the bike that Marty built. That was the high point of the afternoon. We rode south for eighty miles. The idea was to avoid riding the underpowered bikes through the mountains, so we headed along the coastal highway. Four hours later, I found myself following Marty into a mom and pop motel outside of Myrtle Beach, SC. The tourist season hadn't ended by that time, so we could only book one room. The owner and Marty came to an understanding quickly. It was based on Marty's willingness to pay for the overnight storage of our bikes in the motel's utility room. Marty did consult with me before he agreed to accept just the one room. "The room does have two beds, but if you prefer your own room, we can keep going." "Marty, if you wanted to rape me, there were lots of lonely pieces of road between Wrightsville and here. Besides a bodyguard is more effective if they are in the same room." "Okay then, we will stay here tonight and get an early start in the morning." "Fair enough," I replied. While I took a shower, Marty went onto the Internet and uploaded the picture, as well as his account of the day, to the motorbike forum. It was still very much daylight when I came from the shower. "So, Max, what do you want to do for dinner?" "Let's ask someone to recommend a seafood restaurant. I would like some shrimp. Since we have seagulls circling the parking lot, seafood of some kind, seems to be called for." "That sounds perfectly reasonable," Marty said. We rode the bikes to the restaurant about five miles from the motel. It was a decent meal, nothing special; but then it's hard to screw up a batch of deep fried fresh shrimp. After dinner, I had an idea I shared with Marty. Since it was a simple idea which would not take u p any real space in the bikes trailer, he agreed. What I had wanted to do was to find a heating element. One of those rods I could drop into a cup of coffee. Once plugged into the wall it got really hot. Hot enough to reheat coffee. We couldn't find that at the dollar store near the motel, but we did find a small electric coffee pot. We just removed all the inside hardware. It left us with just a heating element at the bottom of the pot. I explained to Marty that I would clean it in the mornings. I could pack things inside the pot before I put it into the trailer, so that the increase in required space would be negligible. Once he agreed, we stopped at a convenience store near the motel. I filled up four very large plastic cups with coffee. There was no way I would survive the trip without coffee. Marty seemed to feel pretty much the same way. Marty stayed on the Internet most of the evening. I watched TV and drank coffee until almost 10 PM. I was surprised to find how tired I was. I went to bed, leaving Marty still banging around the Internet. I fell asleep before Marty came to bed. I guess he technically went to bed, since he used the second bed. ------- Chapter 5 The damn phone rang at 6 AM. I wanted to ignore it, but Marty was all over it. I mean this was an adventure to Marty. He didn't understand that it was just a job to me. I was going to work like hell not to pee on his parade, but there were no guarantees. I doubted that I could ever make myself believe that it was the trip of a lifetime for me. Marty went to arrange for the pickup of the bikes while I took a shower. I spent ten minutes scrubbing my ass and my hair. After that shower, I took a look at my pile of clothes. I had clean panties, but nothing else at all was clean. I had often worn the same fatigues for several days when we were running a convoy in the mountains, but never had I taken a hot shower and put on dirty clothes. It had always been wake up dirty and just start a new day. It was all part of the 'Play It as It Lays' philosophy of the field. I smiled into the mirror and thought I have only been a year away from it, yet here I am turning my nose up at clothes that had only been worn one previous day. I felt as though it was going to be a long way to California. When I opened the bathroom door, Marty was pacing. "Take it easy, Marty, we don't have a schedule to keep." I said with a smile and hoped he understood that it was all in fun. "I know, I just can't wait to get going. This is like my one last great adventure." "Then damn it, don't rush through it. It's going to be over too soon anyway, so just let it happen. Don't try to make it happen. You set it in motion, now let it have a life of its own." He looked out the motel's second story window at the view of the parking lot. "How come I'm twenty years older and you are smarter?" "Because you are really thirty years older, and I'm a woman. That math works out so that I'm still more mature." I broke up laughing and so did Marty. "I'm not seventy yet," he stopped and seemed to be lost in thought a second, then added, "But it won't be long for sure, this is the last great adventure of my life. I just can't wait." "No, there is one more big adventure. You still have to transition." He looked confused but for only a second. "Into what?" he asked. "I have no idea, but it is into something. I have to believe that," I replied. "Yes, I guess we all do." He looked lost again, so I said, "But if we don't get a move on, they might charge us for another day." He smiled broadly and began carrying things to the motel storeroom. From that locked room, the manager/owner allowed us to recover the bikes and small trailers. After all of Marty's rush to get started, I was surprised to see him pull into a roadside diner only a hundred clicks or so from the motel. I pulled into the same automobile parking space he occupied. "What's up?" I asked, once I got the lightweight motorcycle helmet off. "Breakfast. One thing I learned working on the farm all those years was that you pack carbs and protein first thing in the morning. Lunch is light and cool, but breakfast and dinner you have to pack it in to stay energized." "Marty, we ain't plowing, you know." I could see my diet going all to hell. "If you don't do like I tell you, then you are going to be sorry," he flashed that knowing grandfather smile on me. "What'll you have?" the waitress with the really badly bleached hair, asked. "I want eggs, sausage, grits, toast, and lots of coffee," Marty said. "Me, I want eggs, sausage, hash browns, and toast." I smiled over at Marty. Might as well at least start out playing along. It took about twenty minutes to eat and drink three cups of coffee. I went to the ladies room before we left, but I knew that coffee would be coming out for hours. Once we finished breakfast and Marty paid the bill, we went into the parking lot. The bikes started right up, so I followed Marty out of the parking lot. He turned us away from Myrtle Beach proper. We were between towns when I could wait no longer. I squeezed the black rubber forced air powered horn. It was loud enough so that it caught Marty's attention. He slowed enough so that I could pull up beside him. I motioned for him to stop. "What?" he asked. "Wait right here, I have to pee. Too much coffee." I set the kickstand and walked from the highway into the woods. Yes, I know how to pee with my pants more or less on. Too bad women can't pee standing up. I personally have had all kinds of rashes from the nature around me. Everything from flea bites to oily plants that create mild rashes on the skin. We won't even discuss yeast infections. In twenty-two years, I had peed in the woods more than a few times, so I didn't blink an eye when I walked into the woods. Marty just smiled when I returned. He was all pleased as if he personally had something to do with it. Marty's route took us a little inland. We rode about five hours then stopped at a convenience store for microwave sandwiches. There isn't anything that won't kill you, much worse than those damn sandwiches from the refrigerator section, especially after they have been heated in a microwave oven. I knew then what Marty meant about packing in food in the morning and again when we stopped for the night. Food on the road was terrible. I decided right then I was going to try to go with fruit and peanut butter crackers for lunch. Hell, maybe even a candy bar for a treat. During the afternoon, I saw some beautiful scenery as we rode along the back roads of South Carolina. We tried to stay on main roads, but not controlled highways. It was a challenge, but fortunately that's what GPS does best. When we finally pulled into an 80 year old concrete block motel outside Hamptonville, SC, it was after five PM and I was worn to a frazzle. We checked in and then emptied the trailers into our room. The one room had worked out so well, that we decided to just go with it. Marty was so cute trying to talk me into it without sounding like a dirty old man. Hell, if he had been a dirty old man, it might have appealed to me even more. Not that it didn't already appeal to me, since I would be a better bodyguard if I was actually in sight of the body I was supposed to guard. Once the trailers were empty, we rode the bikes to the nearby Wal-Mart store. I bought a clean black knit top. I figured it would fare better than the gray I had been wearing. I also bought a five pack of cheap panties. My biggest item to go into the buggy was not a new pair of jeans, since I figured the ones I had on were good for a couple of more days, but a giant can of spray deodorant. Not very ladylike I know, but alas, I am who I am. That's pretty much how the next week went. Everyday I thought either Marty, or I, was ready to quit, but we somehow managed to stay at it. Marty wanted to stop along the way to visit places he had read about. Most of it was tourist crap, but he also had a list of places recommended by other members of his bike forum on the Internet. We hit a small Louisiana town during some festival or other. There was a giant fair, all the beer one could drink and fish stew one could eat for ten bucks a head. It was great fun, and afterwards, we walked to the motel and fell into bed, actually into the same bed. It was embarrassing to wake up in bed with Marty. Even more so since he had and erection and it was pointed right to my ass. I didn't know what to do at first. I mean, first I had to decide what I wanted him to do with that thing. Before I could decide, he rolled over and away from me, damn it. He had no idea why I was irritable all morning. It was definitely the wrong day for smart ass farm boys to fuck with me. But, unfortunately there was no one to tell them that. It was a quiet back country Louisiana road where it all happened. First of all, it was one fancy sports sedan that pulled up beside us. In a loud voice, the kid behind the wheel yelled, "What the hell you doing on that bicycle. Don't you know you ain't no kid." Now I could have pulled out my piece and shot him in the forehead, or I could have not bothered to look up at all. The first would have been messy, and I would have had to hide the body, at least until we could get out of the area. The second just didn't seem like any fun at all, so what I did was smile pretty and toss him the single digit salute. I also broke into gales of intense laughter at his expense. I realized instantly that I had just screwed up. That farm boy would have gone away harmlessly if I had just ignored him. My job was to protect Marty not get some kid pissed off at us both. "Hey old man, you better get control of your daughter," the strapping blonde teenager said. "She ain't my daughter," Marty said, as he to gave the kid the universal signal for trying to hitchhike with a helicopter. The kid pulled the sports sedan across the road cutting us off. We probably could have ridden around him, but I preferred to face him head on. Head on seemed more advisable than having someone do a bowling alley thing on us from behind. I didn't think Marty and I would fare too well as the pins with that sports sedan being the ball. He jumped out of the sedan and ran around to get in Marty's face. Marty smiled sweetly toward me. He might have tried to fight any other time, but he knew better. He was apt to be shot by mistake, so he backed off. He did point toward me. The roughneck kid turned to look. He found himself staring down the barrel of that snub nosed hammerless .38. "What the hell?" he truly was mystified. He had to be wondering, how in the hell an old man and middle-aged bitch could have gotten the upper hand on him. I mean he was obviously so much smarter and so better looking, and in so much better shape than us, it just made no sense at all. He was still wondering, when Marty said, "Now are we going to have to murder you and hide your body in the woods, or are you going to be a good little boy and head off home?" The kid looked at Marty, then looked at me, then at the .38, and said, "I'll be headed home." "Good for you." Marty turned his attention to me. "Let him go, Max." I nodded, but only because I didn't want to dig a grave in the middle of the day. The kid was in the car and out of there in a matter of minutes. "You know, he is headed home for a shotgun? He is going to be waiting up there to save his boyish pride." I was absolutely sure that I was right about the kid. "Yeah, so what do you suggest?" "Call the local sheriff and have him send us a tow truck. We don't want a deputy, not with me hauling around that .38 and us riding on what might or might not be legal bikes." "Good point." We went to ground and waited thirty minutes for the tow truck. Marty instructed the driver to take us to a motel in town. On the way out of the country lane, I saw the kid's sports sedan parked just off the road in a driveway. He had been waiting for us just like I thought, or maybe not, Marty and I would never know for sure. Marty saw it at the same time I did. "You know we could have been in a world of shit, you and me. Those bikes are probably not legal and that pistol of yours would most likely land you in jail. Calling this tow truck was just brilliant." "No, brilliant would have been calling some bad ass biker gang to kick him in the head. Too bad we don't know anybody like that," I said. "The trip has just begun," Marty said in reply. Marty was also wearing a huge smile. He was having the time of his life and why wouldn't he be. Marty was doing exactly what he wanted to do, and had the company of a woman 25 years younger and of questionable morals. Marty was living every old man's dream. ------- Chapter 6 While you are riding a frail bicycle, you tend to keep your eyes on the road. At least I did, what with the threat of squirrels and rabbits throwing my ass in a ditch filled with water on the side of the road. With that threat removed, I was able to take a better look at the plants growing along the cracked blacktop. There were beautiful old trees with Spanish Moss hanging everywhere. If those trees had been white, they would have looked like a young woman in a bridal gown. That moss was just flat gorgeous. I also noticed the sun, more than just the heat waves rising from the asphalt. The sun was so bright that everything looked clean. It was as if the sun had burned off all the red dirt covering everything. The truth is the dirt was just baked hard like a clay pot, but that's not how it looked at that moment. The two Workman bikes were tied carefully to the tilting flatbed truck. It was the kind of flat bed commonly used to tow cars. The three of us lifted the bikes onto the flatbed, so he had very little work to do. I didn't expect that he would be giving Marty any discount though. I forced the driver to stop on the way out to the main road. We were about to pass a thousand year old country store. It was the kind you see in movies like 'Deliverance'. I wanted to at least buy a Coke in a place like that once more in my life. My dad had been a bird hunter in the south when I was growing up. I was a bit of a tomboy, you reckon, so I had been out with him plenty of times. I didn't realize how much I had missed the rural south until that moment. I don't even know what caused it, but my youth just came crashing down on me. It was like the old crack in the dam trick. It's a trickle, then a flood of memories. I could see my dad, at my age, standing on the sagging porch of that half rotten frame building wearing mustard colored hunting clothes. The big twill pants held up with suspenders and the giant coat with big pockets for the quail he shot. It made me want to cry. And all those sights came pouring in because of an old rundown country store. The woman in the store wasn't nearly old enough to be a good fit with the store; she was just too damn young. Hell, she was younger than me. "This is a neat old place you have here," I said. "Thank you, I have a lot of trouble keeping it this way. My husband wants to fill the place with the latest stuff to try to improve the profits, but I tell him this is my hobby, not my profession." "Good for you," I said. "We need places like this to show the kids how it really was back in the day." I didn't just say it, I meant it. "Me and the old man over there are on a bicycle trip cross country. We had a bit of trouble back there and had to call the wrecker here to get us out." "Could I go look at your bicycles. My son is 11. He is in the house playing video games. I sure would love to show him the bikes to." "I don't see any reason why not," I said, looking across the store at a very restless Marty. He was antsy about something, but I didn't know what. "You run get your son and we will pull the bikes down for him to get a good look at." After she left the store, I walked over to Marty. Come on we are going to give the locals a demonstration of the bikes." "Why?" he asked. "You told me this whole thing wasn't just about your ego; it was about promoting these things as alternate transportation for the poor." "Well, it is," he said. He knew he had been snookered. "Well, I doubt you are going to find anyone any poorer than these folks." "What about him," Marty said, nodding to the driver. "Marty, have you ever seen anyone ride one of these and want to quit?" Marty just smiled. Once we got the bikes down, the driver rode one and Marty rode the other. I talked to the store owner and her son. The exhibition was supposed to be a couple of minutes, but it ran almost thirty because people kept showing up from nowhere. Several of them rode the bikes and got the information on building one themselves. When we were back on the road for town, Marty said, "We need to set up a dealership and have you ride around doing demos." "Hell, Marty, I'll drive her around and help." The tow truck driver was a big, big fan suddenly. Unfortunately, he had to drop us at the Sheriff's office. The bikes bothered me and so did the pistol. "Miss Maxine, if you trust me, you can leave that piece with me. My shop is right down the street. When you finish here, just stop by. Don't worry, I know you can kick my ass, I ain't planning to steal it." "Thanks, Eddie, I'll owe you one." "Max, I would rather you owe me one, than ten other women give me one," he said, with a giggle like a schoolgirl. The man who came from the small brick Sheriff's substation was a sergeant. "Which one of you is Marty Southland?" he asked. "I am," Marty said quietly. "Got somethin' for you," he said handing Marty a box. Once Marty opened the box, he removed a Deputy's hat. He put the hat on then turned to me. "So how do I look, Max?" "You look great, so are you a deputy now?" "He is, Ma'am, anything ya'll need just let us know." There wasn't a lot of hoopla to the ceremony and there wasn't supposed to be. Marty had somehow managed to bribe the local Sheriff without ever meeting him, which was just fine with me. It just amazed me the things one could do with a smart phone, and of course, a boatload of money. "So how long do you want to stay here?" I asked. Once we were checked into the motel. "Oh, I'm ready to go anytime." "Come on, you already paid to stay, we might as well get your money's worth." "Max, you are not going to be a snob with me you bitch. I worked from sunup till sundown in the blazing sun growing tobacco on my daddy's farm till I went to college. In college, when other kids were building bonfires, I was learning to improve the strain of tobacco. Now I am no longer growing that shit, I throw my money around. God knows Teddy don't need my money. I made sure he had his own long ago. So yeah I make my life a little easier," "Little my ass," I interjected. "Okay, a lot easier, I don't see you giving the money back." "Get this straight, big guy. You hire me to do a job, you don't buy me, and you can't pay me enough to do it anything less than my best. You meet my price and you get the best I can do period." "But if I gave you a fifty thousand dollar bonus, would you give it back?" That took the wind out of my sails. I swallowed hard and said, "Don't do that unless you want to have your last illusion shattered." I flashed him a knowing smile that could have meant anything and dropped it. We were back on the road in dirty jeans the next day, just as if nothing had happened. As a matter of fact, we were back on the road four more days just exactly the same. The landscape turned from lush to dry and still we moved west. The bike I rode began to act hinky. I told Marty something was wrong with his toy, but he didn't want to believe it. When the engine died 15 miles outside of Abilene, Texas, he had no choice. First he went off on me with that fucking man thing. Screaming at me that I must have done something to it. I let him blow off steam for what seemed like half an hour, before I said. "Sure, Marty I pissed in the gas tank. The fucking motor is locked up. It ain't like there is some magic touch you have to resurrect it by laying hands on it. That fucking motor is toast. Make a call on your magic phone and let's get the hell out of this Texas sun." After he ranted about me trying to tell him what to do, he made the call. They sent a furniture van to pick us up. "What kind of tow company uses a covered furniture van to move cars?" "One that has the Rolls Royce tow contract," Marty replied. "Why the hell did you call them?" I asked. "The owner builds and rides these bikes. Not the kind I build, but he builds motorized bikes. Come on, I'm sure we will get to see his." Sure enough the unmarked furniture van pulled into what had once been a used car dealer's lot. The driver expertly backed it into on of the bays. "Steve, damn man, you look younger in person." Marty said, with a bigger voice than I had heard in the last couple of days. Meeting Steve was already a positive for him. "Damn, Marty, I have been dying to meet you and see these bikes. This trip of yours is the talk of the forum." He suddenly turned his attention to me. "Geeze, you are beautiful as hell, Max. God, if I sell this place and roll out a couple of bikes, will you make the trip back from California with me." I just grinned. I knew when to keep my mouth shut. I looked around the shop, while they talked about bikes in general. Of course, when Marty told the country store story, it was all his idea. I grinned to myself, since I knew it was just the way men's brains work. By that time, he actually believed that it had been his idea. I walked around looking into everything for almost half an hour while Marty made plans. "Okay, Max, here is the plan. Steve has a rental car on the way for us to use for a few days. We are going to be here until both bikes are redone. In this case, redone means the mounts checked and all the bearings replaced. I have two new motors on the way over from the Honda warehouse. I figures two days downtime, starting tomorrow. So anything you want to do, take the rental car. I'll be here in the shop most of the time." Now even I knew it wasn't going to take two days to switch out those little 50cc motors, but what the hell, I could get a couple of good meals and maybe even get laid. Since we didn't have to worry about storing the bikes, we checked into a really nice motel. Without luggage, we were a little suspect. Once they checked Marty's credit rating that ended quickly. We had the run of the place, which suited me just fine. After I went shopping, I stopped in the lounge for more than one drink that afternoon. Marty and I had a really nice dinner in the lounge after he got everything organized at the shop. Bedtime wasn't as early as usual, but we still went back to the room together. We hadn't gotten past the buddy stage of our relationship, so we slept in separate beds again that night. For a couple of hours on my first full day in Abilene, I lay by the pool drinking fruit things laced with rum. Unfortunately, I bore easily; the wives and kiddie club just didn't do it for me. After lunch, I moved on to the lounge which was just as boring as the pool bar. I was giving serious thought to a nap when I met Mark. "Hello, beautiful lady," he said to me. I didn't even look around. I knew he was about to hustle me, or rather attempt to hustle me. "Oh, I'm sorry, you have me mistaken for my sister. She is the beautiful one, I am the tomboy." Now he couldn't say that he hadn't been warned. "No, no, it is you I see and I see beauty." "That is sweet," I replied. "Would you do me the honor of having lunch with me?" Here is where I really had to make a decision. Was he a kid who hadn't had a meal in a week and truly was in need or was he just a con trying to play me? He was dressed way to slick to be a kid down on his luck, so he was a con man. The trick when one plays with con men, is to one up them. Of course, it also helps if you are physically able to kick their ass. I figured I could do that no problem. Mark was a pretty boy. He most likely had thousands of dollars worth of dental work to protect. "I really shouldn't, but this place is so boring." Well it was boring, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered with Mark at all. "Oh well, if not this restaurant, where would you like to go?" he asked. "I'm a stranger here, so you will have to decide. Something local, I think. I really don't care for cold shrimp in a bowl for lunch." If I left him with a bill he couldn't pay, I wanted some good old boy to rearrange his features, not some judge to slap him on the wrist. "I know just the place," Mark suggested. I smiled demurely. Okay, I smiled as demurely as possible; after all, we are talking about me here. Of course, his car was parked several blocks away. If my car was in the garage, it would be so much easier, according to him. "It's not a problem," I told him. "I actually prefer to drive." If I was going to leave him with the bill, I also wanted to leave him no way to get away. Mark was about 25 years old. Someone had mistakenly told all the worst con men in the world that middle-aged ladies just fell all over young studs. Well, maybe some middle-aged ladies did. Hell, I might if the young stud was a pretty blonde coed who had something I hadn't seen before. Don't get me wrong, I prefer men, but men are so much easier to come by. Any woman can dress slutty and go to any college bar in her hometown and get laid. A stiff prick has no taste. The fancy Tex Mex restaurant had been written up in several magazines. I learned that from the cover of the menu. The owner had also been part of the top chef TV series. All that was supposed to justify fifteen bucks for a bowl of chili. I ordered about a hundred bucks worth of food, and so did Mark. I was looking forward to the end game here. Just before dessert came, I excused myself. "Little girl's room you know," I told Mark. Then I walked to the car and drove away. As I left the parking lot, I wondered if I could get a copy of the surveillance tape. It should be a great show. ------- Chapter 7 I was back at the motel watching TV when Marty and Steve arrived to take me to dinner. I expected to listen to them talk motors and motorbikes for the next four or five hours, but I didn't mind. I had nothing to contribute, there was nothing I wanted to learn, but I did genuinely like both of them. Steve, I knew only slightly, but he really seemed interested in our trip and Marty's welfare. From what I could learn by listening, and what I could remember from riding the beast, the drive system was actually two different parts. One part was the Honda engine, of course. The Honda engine was about three times more expensive than the Chinese knock off of it. Whether it was worth the extra money depended on which one of them you listened to at that moment. Since the Honda had failed on me, I wouldn't have paid for another one and I made my opinion known, not that I expected either of them to listen to me. The second part, and also the part of mine that was undamaged, was the actual drive wheel assembly. The wheel assembly was really a metal box with a pipe inside about an inch in diameter. It was all roughed up to grip the tire better. The reason for that was that the pipe was tensioned against the tire, so that when the motor turned the pipe, the pipe moved the tire forward. It was probably the simplest way to motorize a bicycle. Steve and his friends said was the least efficient and should be outlawed. Then guys like Marty said the system was simple to build, install, and maintain. If you did your research, you quickly found that the system was ideal. At least, that was according to Marty. The argument went round and round for the first hour we were at the private club. It was the club which Steve belonged to, and it was located on the outskirts of Abilene, Texas. It reminded me too much of the Banker's Club back home. I wasn't miserable, but I also wasn't having much fun. At least not until Steve's wife arrived. Steve's wife was the country prosecutor. Since she had a trial going on, we were forced to wait for court to end for the day before she could head our way. I was irritated at the wait until she arrived. Jo Anne Stevens, wife of Edgar Stevens, was a flat out gorgeous chick by anybody's standards. I mean, women who had obviously never had any part of another woman's body in their mouth stopped talking to watch her walk by. If I had been a man, I would not have been able to stand up for at least ten minutes. I had a feeling there probably were plenty of men in that condition. I mean the woman wore a business suit, the kind lawyers wear to court, but she wasn't wearing it like she wore it to court at all. She wore it with a promise like a stripper might wear it. Sure you know it's a business suit, but dear God, the bitch is beautiful and in the spotlight. You just know that damn thing is coming off. The only question is whether the promise her eyes make you will be kept. Will she be as gorgeous as she promises? Suddenly, the night at the stuffy club was looking up. Sure, I knew she would have to be nice in public, but was that private promise real or just wishful thinking. How the hell did a grease monkey get a woman like Jo Anne Stevens, Assistant District Attorney of Abilene, Texas? After our introduction, I listened carefully to get answers so I wouldn't need to ask questions. Edgar Steve Stevens owned half a dozen different grease monkey type businesses. Three of them were those nationally advertised quick lube things. Those bastards are a license for the owner to steal. The poor bastards doing the work are bare minimum wage guys, while the owner pockets the real cash. Since they pump oil from a 55 gallon barrel, the tax bite isn't always as bad as it could be. In addition to the quick lube joints, he owned the building where Marty's bike was being repaired and the tow business associated with it. He towed all the luxury cars in Abilene. Steve also owned two salvage yards. His salvage was more about scrap than recycling. If you wanted a part from anything on his yard, you had to find it and remove it yourself. Somehow, all of his endeavors made money. Oh course, not the kind of money that Marty made watching TV, but then nobody needed the kind of money Marty made. At least Marty knew enough to keep his finances to himself. We spent another hour at the private club the Stevens family belonged to. After that hour, I was more than ready to move on to dinner. Dinner was at a very fashionable restaurant. I really didn't care much for fancy places, but the others seemed to be very much at home, so I just went with it. "Well, since you don't work tomorrow, Jo Anne, what would you like to do tonight?" her husband asked. "Well, these two have never seen a real Texas dance club and I bet Max there would be a big hit with your friends." She smiled sweetly at me, way too sweetly for comfort. For some reason, it looked as though Jo Anne had taken a dislike to me. Ah well, I thought she was gorgeous, but not so gorgeous that I would kiss her ass just to be a handmaiden. I came within a hair of saying, "I'm tired, you guys go on without me." I'm not quite sure why I didn't, but hell, I have a perverse sense of humor, as well as my flexible sense of right and wrong. So after dinner we went out on the highway to a place that can only be described as a cleaned up cattle barn. Yes, it was like lipstick on a pig, but there were a lot of people packed into the place. Jo Anne and Steve were very good at the line dances and even the Texas Two Step, but Marty and I were just awful at everything. I was having fun watching Marty try to dance with some of the ladies hanging out around the bar. As for me, I was old enough to be left alone by everyone, which suited me just fine. At one point, Marty and I were alone outside getting some air, when I asked, "I wonder why the hell Jo Anne doesn't like me. I had not said ten words when she let me know we were not going to be friends, no matter what." "You mean you really don't know?" Marty asked. "If I knew, I would fix it," I replied. "Don't think you can fix it, but I can tell you what it is. Jo Anne is just blind jealous," I laughed. "Marty look at that woman she is flat gorgeous. No man in his right mind could help but step on his dick around her. Why the hell would she be jealous of me?" "Max, you really don't know?" "Know what?" I asked totally baffled. "Sweetie, that woman can't hold a candle to you. If you don't know that, you are the only person, man or woman, who doesn't. She might light up a room when she walks in, but Max you light up lives. She is a beautiful doll, but you are a beautiful woman." "Come on, Marty, my boobs are too small, and I'm old compared to her." "And none of that makes a bit of difference. I know women think men only think with their prick, and it's true sometimes, but we can also see past a woman's boobs now and then." "You could have fooled me," I replied. "Don't let Jo Anne bother you. We will be gone day after tomorrow. Just put up with her tonight and all will be fine." "Since she is the DA, she is bulletproof, so don't worry, I'll put up with her." It was 2 AM when we got back to our motel. Steve and Jo Anne came up to our room for one last drink. Why she agreed was anyone's guess. I would have expected her to run away. The guys were out trying to find more liquor, when she said, "You are just who you seem to be, aren't you? Just an old country girl who shows you what she is all the time," "Pretty much, but I don't usually show the guys that I swing both ways. It makes them nervous." I was a little drunk, so it came out humorous. "Just for the record, I don't." she said. "I didn't think so, you are way too perfect." "What does that mean?" she asked with a laugh. "Most of us who do are less than perfect. It just helps even the odds up for us." "Bullshit, Max, you should hear what people say about you. Hell, I expected you to be a six foot tall Amazon warrior." "You mean I'm not?" I laughed. "You know, Max, I grew up a sharecropper's daughter." "Daddy worked in a cotton mill," I replied. "Well, I went to school and learned what I needed to know so that I wouldn't have to go back there." "I joined the military and got away. I swore I would never go back after my mom and dad died. However, I'm back living within ten miles of where I grew up. My daddy bird hunted all over the land where I live now." "I did a bad thing, Max," Jo Anne said. "What did you do?" "I used my office to investigate you. Steve is just so taken with you that I had to be sure he wasn't going to leave me like he did his first wife." "Don't worry, Jo Anne, I don't hang around with married men, but I have to admit I have spent some quality time with a couple of married women. There are a lot more men out there who are easy to get into bed, than there are women." "Then you really do swing both ways?" she asked, amazed. "Yes, I don't think it is because I'm a bit of a tomboy, but I guess it could be a hormonal thing." I actually laughed at that thought. "I think we are always looking for excuses for why we are different." "More likely it's just the sum of your previous experiences that tends to make it alright for you. It might not be alright for me," Jo Anne said. "Ah, it's like shoes. One size doesn't fit all." "But maybe it's time I tried a different style," she suggested. "Those sling back pumps should look good on you," I suggested kissing her gently. Jo Anne wasn't the first woman I had been with when she first decided to try the dark side. I never thought of it as anything I did. I figured I was just there when the woman made the decision. I felt her much larger, much firmer, breasts pressing against me as my tongue tried to work its way down her throat. Obviously my tongue was not as long as the Mendez brother's cock. Even so it seemed to have the desired effect on Jo Anne. She seemed to be trying desperately to forcer her body inside mine, or maybe to force my body inside hers. With a woman you just never know for sure what she is thinking. She obviously did not know what to do, so I took the lead. I worked my hands under her blouse to massage her back. My hands were rough from the kind of life I lived, but I knew that rough was good when massaging soft skin. "I should stop; your husband and Marty will be back soon," I suggested. "Yes, but not too soon," with that she kissed me. She was demanding as she shifted to sit beside me. I gently spread her legs. I would have spent more time arousing her even though she didn't need it, except that the men would be back soon. I slipped my hand under her skirt all the way to her panties. I moved them out of the way while I kissed her mouth deep. I was choking her on my tongue while I traced her opening with my short nailed finger tips. I could feel how slippery she was. I knew that she was lubricated for me. If I had been a man she might now have turned on me, but she felt that I was no threat to her life, so she gave in to it. I didn't mind the second class status, I just wanted to bury my head in her and get lost in the smells and feelings. I knew better, so I worked my finger in and out of her. I curled my finger and massaged the rough skin behind her pubic bone. Jo Anne was clinging to me for dear life while I kissed and massaged her body. She opened her blouse and raised her bra for me. I felt her hard nipples in my mouth. I felt them deep as she tried to gag me with her boob. It was all so erotic that I came without any stimulation at all. It wasn't the best orgasm I ever had, but it was different. I just slipped over some imaginary line and there it was. It wasn't long after that I felt her muscles ripple. Then they began to clench and release as her body squeezed out the orgasms. It was marvelously empowering to feel. She was emotionally shaken from the experience, so I whispered, "Don't let Steve or Marty know. It is something you need time to reconcile." She nodded then said, "God, that was marvelous, and you don't want anything from me, how wonderful." "Who said I don't want anything." I did laugh after I said. ------- Chapter 8 When Mitch and Steve made it back with the bottle of Bourbon, Jo Anne was almost asleep. I had a hard time believing that her orgasm was as intense as it seemed to be. She was absolutely out of it. The three of us finished our drinks, then Marty and I helped get Jo Anne into the elevator. Marty went down with them to open the car door, while I went back to our room. Yes, when Marty returned, I was wearing a big smile knowing what I had done. I knew exactly how men felt when they were successful in seducing a beautiful woman. I don't think the feeling of sexual conquest is limited to one sex. Of course, I had never had that thought before. Sure there has always been the older woman preying on the younger men, thing going on. It seemed that I wasn't quite the stereotypical female sexual predator type after all. I didn't get off on younger men. No, for me it was the unattainable man or woman who tripped my trigger. Oh sure, there was the occasional scratch my itch screw, but I did prefer the big score. When Marty came back into the room, I was just drunk enough and just aroused enough to consider man rape. I was pretty sure that I would not need my pistol, but hell, I was about ready for that as well. If I acted logically all the time, I would be the only human being in the world who did. I knew that if I went through with screwing Marty, things would never be the same again, but I really didn't give a shit at that moment. I did let him get the door closed before I closed in on him. Now Marty at the time was a robust 68 year old man. He had beautiful white hair and a reasonably fit body. His main problem sexually was a lowered testosterone level. Age typically does that, I'm told. Being the true bisexual woman that I am, I kissed Marty using just as much tongue as I had used on the forty year younger Jo Anne. It didn't have quite the same effect, but it was close. I expect Jo Anne was getting laid more often than Marty, so maybe their arousal threshold was close after all. Regardless of the reason, Marty turned right on. I could feel his erection press hard against my soft belly. My breasts were still sensitive from the arousal I had felt with Jo Anne. When I followed Marty to the bed, kissing him all the while, I could feel the slippery moisture between my thighs. I had lubricated again. I expected the lubricant to be of some use this time. I worked on Marty's clothes before he sat on the bed. I had his shirt open and his pants unbuttoned, before he dropped to the edge of the bed. I felt his penis in my hand. His penis was just an average size, but that was plenty. This obsession with size among men baffles me. Most of the feeling, in my vagina at least, is at the front. One size feels as good as another at that point. The small additional feelings from an over sized prick are usually somewhat uncomfortable. Maybe some women experience it differently; I'm just explaining how I feel. Marty's erection just stayed at the almost hard enough to screw, but not quite, point. I knew from some of the other men I had been with over the years that his cock would just fold up at its current state of arousal. I knew Marty was turned on; his penis just wasn't quite hard enough. I didn't give it a second thought as I lowered my head to capture his penis in my mouth. I began to nurse on the head of his penis as a child nurses on his mother's nipple. I sucked demandingly on it and used the flat of my tongue to massage it. Children mash their mother's nipple with their tongue to express the milk. I did the same with Marty's penis. It took a long time but eventually I felt him stiffen and then begin to drive his penis toward my throat. I was still protective of my throat, so I moved my mouth up and own his shaft, all the while keeping pressure on the head of his penis. I felt him stiffen and knew he was ready. I prepared myself for his semen by relaxing my throat to make it easier to swallow it. When it came it was warm and sticky. Semen covers and coats everything it touches. Some women find that annoying, I find it an excuse for a really stiff drink. By the time I finished that stiff drink, Marty, bless him, was breathing deeply. My body was screaming for release. I know with women it is supposed to be emotional, but now and then it is purely physical. That was one of those times. I needed a cock and didn't really care whose it was. It was probably a good thing that everything was closed. I really didn't want to walk the street or go knocking on doors, so I began looking for something to substitute for cock. I found it in Marty's flashlight. While Marty slept peacefully beside me, I used the flashlight for something I doubt the manufacturer covered in his directions. I was already lubricated, so it took very little additional stimulation to dilate my muscles enough to work the slightly larger flashlight inside me. My public bone had to move just a little to fit the light inside, but I went slowly until I had four or five inches inside. At that point I began to move it in and out. I stopped every few strokes to massage my clit. I was so high that when I saw Marty watching me, I had a screaming orgasm for him to watch. My muscles clamped painfully around the hard plastic flashlight. I felt as though I was screaming, but I don't think the noise was as loud as I imagined. I know it sent my nervous system into overload. I lay on the bed shaking, unable to regain control of myself. I was in awful shape when Marty bent over and kissed me. He wrapped me in his arms and held me until I regained control. "Do you want me to take it out?" he asked. He was referring to the flashlight still embedded in my vagina. "No, I better do it." I expected it to hurt coming out. I was surprised to find that my muscles had dilated enough so that it easily slipped out. I sighed deeply and then just fell sound asleep with no warning. I have no idea what Marty did at that point. When I awoke the next morning, Marty was gone. I was just as glad, I really did not want to have a conversation with any of them. Morning after conversations are always the pits. People are either embarrassed or strutting around like barnyard roosters, both are a pain in my opinion. I walked down to the dining room and had a large breakfast. After breakfast, I went for a long run on the beach. I had been living the good life for a couple of days and felt guilty about it. Since I had bought a new pair of jeans, I had cut my last pair off for shorts. Why not, we were going to be leaving the next day. There wasn't room in the trailer for extra clothes, so it was wear them and toss them. I really didn't mind since they were just Wal-Mart jeans at ten bucks a pop. Even better was the fact that I wasn't paying for them. After my run, I sat around the pool for a while, but I was quickly getting bored with the families there. Since it was Saturday, it was even worse than usual. All those guys who were in town on business were not working, so they were sitting around hitting on every woman out there. It was just a matter of time before one of the women came running back with her linebacker husband. That might be worth hanging around to see, but even that was likely to be nothing but posturing. You know one of those "I'll kick your ass ... No, damn it, I'll kick your ass..." back and forth, until someone comes along to give them a way out. Men are so predictable. Well, they are until they aren't and then someone dies. So I marched my ass up to the room, took a shower, put on my clean jeans and the new black lightweight sweatshirt with the short sleeves, and got a cab to Steve's shop. Marty was watching another man weld when I marched my ass up to him. "Hey you," I said shortly. Screw a girl to death then run out on her. Now that ain't nice." I made sure to say it loud enough for everyone to hear. My only regret was that Steve was not in the area." "Hey, I left you cab fare, what more could you expect." He moved over and kissed me. I let him that one time. It was good for his ego and made me feel like a social worker. "You gonna have these things ready to go by tonight?" "Oh yes and, Max, these are going to scream. I junked those Honda motors and got some really bitchin' motors." "That part is up to you. My part is to keep you alive till we get to California." Then I whispered, "But last night will not happen again." "It doesn't have to, but it did have to happen once. If you know what I mean." "I know," I replied, "So take me to lunch." "Fair enough," he said. After lunch, I hung out by the pool again and watched the men and women all posing for each other. It was interesting only in that I read most of a mystery novel to pass the time. The people at the pool were more like the commercials in a TV show, something to give my mind a rest now and then. "You all rested up, Max?" The question came from the much younger and more beautiful Jo Anne Stevens. She was standing over me with a drink in each hand. "Well, hello," I said, accepting the drink. "Yes, I am all rested and ready to get back on the road. How about you, are you okay?" I didn't need to say that sometimes people got a little crazy about sex with people of the same gender. Not all parts of society were as accepting as where I had been the last several years. "I'm just fine. Don't worry about me, Max, I'm a big girl." "Well, that's good to hear. Of course I'm not sure I believe it, but thanks for letting me off the hook." "Not a problem, as a matter of fact I came to invite you to the club for dinner." "Thanks, but I really don't have anything to wear. Unlike most women, when I say that, I am serious." I did laugh at myself. "Yes, I know. Marty said to tell you to use that credit card he gave you and buy something pretty. He and my husband are up to their eyes in this plot, so you might as well give in." "Alright, but look, you and I are not the same size and whatever I buy, I can't take with me, so no designer crap, OK?" "Oh shit, then we can go to the mall and mingle with the peasants. Remember, Bitch, I am from a sharecropper's shack. I don't have to buy my clothes at a boutique to be satisfied." "And you also don't need to buy designer in order to give every man in the room a hardon," I said, in agreement. "Yeah, that's why I don't live in a sharecropper's cabin today," she smiled sweetly. "If nothing else, I know my strengths. A big brain is nice, but big boobs will always pay the rent." "And here I am with a B cup," I replied sadly. "Yeah, but you got moxie and a gun. You ain't going hungry." She showed me the warmest smile I had seen from her to date. The department store Jo Anne chose was almost a local store. It was one of those Texas chains. I had never heard of it, but the prices weren't completely off the map. I would never have paid almost fifty dollars for a push up bra, but Jo Anne insisted that I do it right. I went along, because after the blowjob, I didn't think Marty would complain. I paid another thirty dollars for a pair of panties not a lot different from those I bought in bulk inside a plastic bag from Wal-Mart. I had to admit that the dress Jo Anne chose for me was a knockout, even on my less that dynamite figure. It was black with a couple of long pleats that added something to my smallish breasts. All in all, I looked very respectable. It looked as though I might be able to fool the country club crowd just that once. Jo Anne dropped me at the room, kissed me goodbye, and said, "Get your skinny ass ready. This is your coming out party, Missy." Marty came home an hour later. Marty and I spent three hours getting ready. "Like it or not, Max, you are going to have one good night out with me." "Marty, all the nights have been great. I could not have has asked for anything better. You are supposed to be enjoying yourself, not entertaining me." "You have got to be an idiot. This is the most fun I have had in many, many years. Day or night, men look at me as if I was the luckiest bastard in the world, and they are right." At exactly 7:30 PM, a limo arrived to take us to the country club. In his fancy tux, Marty was as pretty as a man can be and still be masculine. I loved his medium length white hair. It was almost snow white. It did have some black mixed in, but not much. My black satin evening bag, which cost over a hundred bucks, held lipstick, a couple of other makeup items, and, oh yeah, my hammerless .38. I had it for a reason, but Marty swore it was just to protect myself because I was so sexy. To that I said then it would still say bullshit. Dinner at the Steven's club was fabulous. The beef was probably the best I had ever had up to that point. Everything was just perfect. Even though we were leaving Sunday morning, we stayed for the after dinner dance. "You are coming home with us," Jo Anne said to me. "Like hell, we are going to be on the road again tomorrow." "I know and that's why you are coming home with us. You will be no threat to us, since you will be gone tomorrow and most likely will never come back. Besides, you already are a part of the new me. I have no secrets from you." "How about Marty?" I asked. "According to Steve, Marty was a swinger when we were both in diapers. At least, that's what he told Steve." "Yeah, I heard that too." "The truth is, Max, my husband wants to screw you. I can either go along with this and have some fun in the process, or there will be someone else next week or next month. I know that he knows how to screw around. Hell, he screwed around with me on his first wife." "So this isn't just about you and me?" I admit I was disappointed. "No, Max, it's about not ever going back to a sharecropper's cabin," she said. "Sounds like a good reason to me. Get Marty to agree and I'm down with it." "Are you kidding? He tripped over his dick agreeing." "Sounds about right to me. You do know you are gorgeous?" "Of course, I do," she replied, then turned to go find her husband. As she walked away I thought, why not. I was still in search of that giant orgasm that had been evading me since the trip began. Maybe the orgy, in a minor key, would be the answer. At least, it was something I had never tried before. Yes, Dear, three, but never four. I wasn't even sure how one managed the logistics of it. ------- Chapter 9 I had been drinking a small amount sure, but the other three were screwed up on something more. I had no idea what they were smoking, so when Marty handed me the tube they had been puffing on, I passed it on to Jo Anne without trying it. I figured I had enough problems. I really couldn't afford any more bad habits. "Aren't you even curious?" Jo Anne asked. "Sure, I'm also curious to know what's comes after life, but I'm not in a hurry to find out. Dope is like that for me. One day I will probably try it, but today ain't the day." I did have to admit that they looked very content even before anyone started to do the touchy, feely thing. Once that started, they were absolutely lost in the feelings. I mean it was easy to tell they were floating along on a pink cloud. They just looked beautiful. Yes I was tempted again, but I still resisted. I knew I couldn't afford the kind of money these people could drop on a whim. Being the poor step child was a bitch, but I knew my place. Still I was feeling really nice, probably by osmosis. Whatever they were feeling must have been catching because there just didn't seem to be any cares anywhere in the world. At that moment there weren't any hungry kids in the Middle East, nor were there any kids dying in Africa. The world just seemed beautiful for a few minutes. I went to bed with all of them in the Steven's king sized bed. The heat pump was set so that blankets were unnecessary and people were unlikely to perspire. The house was adjusted for an orgy, and I was perfectly willing to do my part. Jo Anne reached over and killed the lights. When it got dark in that room it was really as dark as original sin. Last time I had seen a night so dark there were tracer bullets filling the air between the black periods. That night nothing broke the dark. It was so dark that the first one to penetrate me took a lot of feeling around to find the spot. Okay I helped guide the hand that preceded the cock. I was pretty sure that it was Steve's Cock, but I wasn't a hundred percent sure. I just guessed that because he didn't know what I felt like, but he did know what Jo Anne felt like. If anyone would want Jo Anne first, I would imagine it to be Marty. Then again Marty hadn't had his penis in me either. I felt like it was Steve, because he seemed a little shorter than Marty. I had no idea if his penis was shorter, I meant his standing height. But then we were all laying down, so I couldn't be sure of anything. What I felt was a finger open me first then a hard penis slip in. Since I had heard whispers about Viagra at the club, I was pretty sure it could be either one of them. Whoever it was slid easily inside me and penetrated me deeply. I felt my body open like glove to the welcome intruder. I could feel my breathing go wild as the penis stroked me. Suddenly I heard the whispered voice, "Tell me." It demanded. I wasn't sure what the voice was demanding but I knew what was on my mind. "I love your cock. Fuck me, please fuck me." It must have been the right thing because he started to pump me even harder. I knew from the voice that it was Steve, but I didn't care. I just wanted to cum hard enough to turn me inside out. I felt him begin to sweat and then his body began to slide on mine as he fucked away at me. I felt his cock drive in me then he changed to a side to side motion as well as the in and out. I was trying to grind at my pussy with his cock. It was maddening to feel him digging his cock into me. I began to cum instantly as soon as I felt him stiffen. I was cuming while he tried to get even deeper into me to shoot his load. I couldn't feel the semen leave his cock, but I knew it was spurting from the jerking movements of his body. I heard Jo Anne moaning and begging while I lay trying to come down from the height to which Steve had driven me. Steve collapsed onto me for a second then rolled off me. We lay there listening until it ended with Marty and Jo Anne. "God Damn, I have slept with a lot of women but I have never felt anyone move inside like you do. Your pussy is like a snake." "Gee, I hope that is a compliment." I said still out of breath. "Oh God yes it is." Steve said. Suddenly there was a soft light. I saw Jo Anne laying in the golden fog of light. She sat up and climbed over Steve. She pushed him out of the way so that she would lay down beside me. When she was flat she pulled me on top of her. I immediately began to kiss her. I will say one thing for Jo Anne, she had good instincts. She immediately assumed the dominant role and pushed my face down. In seconds I had one of her nipples in my mouth, and the other between my fingers. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I was being watched, but I didn't care. She pushed my head again, so I lowered myself yet again. I got to her flat belly, then to the stubble where here pubic hair should have been. Another move brought my lips to the hood covering her clit. My tongue moved that apart so that I could manipulate her clit with my tongue tip. I moved it up and down then side to side. I felt her hips move erratically and knew she was near an orgasm. Then I heard her say, "Suck me clean." Without any hesitation I covered her opening with my mouth and sucked. I felt the semen with my tongue but there was not enough to come out in chains or ropes. The fluid coming out was a very minor amount. I had no idea exactly what happened but hands lifted me up turned me over and I found myself looking into the eyes of Marty. He was still in the grasp of the softening drug whatever it was. He looked to be dreaming as he flipped me around so that he could enter me from the rear. I made sure that I guided his still hard cock into my pussy. I made sure it went where I wanted it, since I was more aware of my surroundings than he was. Marty began to push inside me. He was trying to push his testicles inside me as well as his cock. I didn't mind, I loved the feeling of his cock in me. He wasn't too big or too small in the words of Goldilocks, he was just right. At least, that is how I felt at that moment. I came long before he did. I actually wasn't sure if he came at all and frankly I didn't give a fuck. After Marty finally collapsed for whatever reason, we all fell asleep. I'm not sure, but I expect they all slept better than me. I was a nervous wreck. Every nerve in my body twitched for hours. I was thrilled to see the sun show through the window. I slipped from the bed and went to explore the kitchen. I found orange juice and a huge bread box. In the bread box I found bagels. Not the grocery store kind, but the bagel shop kind. I put an onion bagel in the microwave and reheated day old coffee as well. It definitely wasn't a four star breakfast, but it was better than a lot that came before it. It was 9 AM before the others made it out of bed. After a couple of cups of fresh coffee, Marty and I were antsy. We both wanted to be on the road. I wanted to get away from the Stevens couple. They had seen me do more twisted things than any other couple. Yes, Jen and her husband were close, but Jo Anne and Steve had seen me do it with one more man than Jen had. I know it was splitting hairs, but I am not really a slut. Okay maybe I am sometimes but not always. I just wanted to get away from the scene of my crimes, and in some states I'm sure they still are. At the shop, Marty and I rolled the new improved bikes into the parking lot. Just as I was about to climb on one, Jo Anne pulled me back into the building. She kissed me with enough tongue that I worried she might re-injure me. I left a little lightheaded but I still managed to get the bike started and then to get my ass up on it. I hadn't realized until the bike seat struck me where it did, but I was tender there. I laughed but only I heard it. As Marty and I pulled out of the parking lot, I saw the time and date sign on the drugstore. I realized that we had been on the road two weeks exactly. We had pushed hard during that time and covered 1200 miles. We were about to head into the slower part of the trip, but still we had made really good time. Okay I had no idea whether it was good or not, but Marty said was good time so I believed it. I thought back to the Stevens couple and wondered how many other couples like them were out there. I knew that Marty and I weren't likely to be tripping over a bunch of kinky people at every stop. Still one had to wonder how many couples were out there were just doing whatever it took to hold things together. Jo Anne who probably did love Steve, but who was so marked by her past that it put her present and maybe even her future in doubt. There were likely thousands of other couples just like them along the road west. It was probably a good thing we weren't looking for kinky couples. Marty was just trying to get to the Pacific Ocean and have some fun along the way. Me, I was trying to see to it that he got there in one piece and with all his body parts still working. Getting laid in Abilene was just the cherry on the sundae. ------- Chapter 10 The sun was almost overhead as we headed west from Abilene. The highway turned from side by side buildings, to small buildings with parking lots. Then it turned to buildings with huge spaces between them. We were out on the highway with lots of heat and lots of dust for company. I could tell Marty was suffering. I had a bit of a hangover, but Marty's was much worse. His was a mix of alcohol and God alone knew what else. I didn't like to see him suffer, but I had no sympathy for him. Even worse I was going to have to tell him it was time to reset the relationship gauge to friendship. If he took it poorly, then the trip would disintegrate quickly. We rode the new improved bikes up the very slight inclines seemingly effortlessly. Sure we bled off a little speed, but we didn't get slow enough to pedal the bikes. Even so, the GPS told us we weren't going to make our day's objectives. Of course the trip plan hadn't taken orgy into consideration. Our plan called for us to make 200 miles on Sunday, we made less than 75 miles. We stopped at an adobe knockoff motel compound a few miles from Snyder, Texas. Even though he blamed it on the gathering clouds, Marty needed the downtime. The motel compound had an old style cafe and general store. The selection was crap in the store, but I managed to buy a boy's size white tee shirt. I also snagged a men's size small light blue work shirt. My jeans were still clean enough to wear another day at least. I explained things to Marty when we checked in without confronting him. "We need a room with two beds," I said to the clerk, so that Marty for sure overheard. Since he was doing the actual check in, there was no way he could have missed it. If he asked, I would have explained that I couldn't be his bodyguard and his lover. Funny thing, Marty never asked. He actually seemed almost grateful. "Looks like rain," I commented to the waitress at the cafe. "Probably rain every evening from now till the end of the month. Gonna start turning colder soon, birds are all fluffy," she informed me I nodded my understanding even though I had no real idea what would happen. Marty seemed to be enjoying a discussion with a ranger about grass of all things. "So what's the road like up ahead?" I asked. "All Texas roads is shit," she informed me. "Are there many hills up ahead? Me and the old man there are traveling on small motor scooters." There was no sense trying to explain what a motorized bicycle was to her. I had found that out from the hundred or so other waitresses I had spoken with so far. "If you stay south, you won't have too much trouble, but you are going to run into some foothills. Shouldn't be anything you can't handle. It might be slow going, is all." That advice came from what appeared to be a truck driver. "Good." I said smiling at him. It was just a stranger's smile not an invitation. I had been thoroughly screwed out. We refilled our gas cans before we went to bed that night. We also loaded up on water and crackers, just in case. Everyone said the road would be getting empty, since most of the traffic had been diverted to the interstate highways. The most likely we were to find food and lodging was where the old roads bumped into the federal highways. The old roads did go through the small western towns, so it was possible to find food and lodging in those towns. Some tourist accommodations still operated, but they were far down the scale from modern travel accommodations. Marty and I were better suited to those older places. We were hardly dressed for a high end restaurant. Our clothes were better suited to a country diner. In my case, I preferred it. I couldn't speak for Marty though. Tuesday morning the road was dry, so we had breakfast at the cafe next door and hit the road. By lunchtime, I had developed an itch. The itch was where two weeks new growth of pubic hair was coming in. I thought for a while that the stubble was itching, but I knew deep in my mind that two weeks was too long for stubble to grow before I started to itch. There was something else wrong. In the bathroom of a service station, where we stopped for a water and gas break, I took a good look at my pubic hair. I was really getting concerned because my scalp also itched. It was maddening. "Marty do me a favor/" I asked before we got back on the road. "What you need Max?" he asked. "Take a good look at my scalp, see if you see anything crawling around up there. I have some terrible itching going on." Marty took a long time looking before he said, "Max you got some kind of critters running around up there." He paused a long time then asked, "What you want to do about it?" "I want to stop at a drugstore somewhere and get some poison shampoo and I want to get one of those electric clipper things. You are about to share the ride with a new kind of bird, a bald headed bitch." "I never met a bald lady before. It will be a thrill." "Well you are going to have to do the head shaving," I suggested. The son of a bitch just grinned. It was late in the afternoon when we arrived at a town large enough to have a shopping center. Inside the shopping center was a chain type drugstore. Inside that, I was able to buy the pest kill shampoo and the electric clipper. I needed the clipper in order to cut my hair short enough to satisfy me. "You know you don't really have to cut your hair these days. This new shampoo will work pretty well without taking things that far," the young female pharmacist suggested. To her losing all her hair would be a tragedy of monumental proportions. "If I just shampoo my hair, how long will it take to get them all?" "A couple of days at least," she said. "And if I shave my head first, then shampoo it?" "Gone in twenty minutes, but so is your hair. It will take months for it to return." The girl behind the counter suggested. "Think I'll go with the sure thing," I replied. "What's your boyfriend going to say?" she asked, trying one last time to talk me out of it. "Not a damn thing if he ever wants to get laid again." I said loud enough for Marty to hear. Before we checked into the motel, I had Marty use the outdoor electrical plug to power the electric clippers. He shaved my head in under fifteen minutes. He turned his back and kept watch while I shaved my pubic area with the clippers as well. Lastly I shaved under my arms. I coated my pubic area, my armpits, and my scalp with the shampoo. Then I went immediately inside and showered. I lathered three times to make sure I got the poison everywhere. When I finished I looked at myself in the mirror. I had dressed myself in a white cotton tee shirt in a boy's size and jeans. If I hadn't had my small breasts showing inside the tee, I could have been a teenage boy. I was surprised by how few wrinkles covered my face. I really could have passed as a teenage boy from a distance. Marty could not take his eyes off me. He was fascinated by the new me. I'm sure that middle-aged bald women who didn't have cancer were an anomaly. When I ran my hand over the stubble, I had to admit that my head felt funny. I wasn't sure if it was sexy or not, but it was definitely different feeling. We dropped everything at the motel, then rode the bikes out to dinner. Without the itchy hair patches, I felt much better. I was calm for the first time that day. Marty was really sweet during dinner. It was as if I really was sick and he was trying to be extra nice to me. "Marty, I just look like I'm terminally ill. You do know that lice are not terminal." "I can't believe you are taking this so calm. Most women would but climbing the walls." "Marty, most women wouldn't even consider being in a place that they might get infested. I'm just not very girlie, Hon." "You are plenty girlie. I'm just amazed how real you are. I can't believe you aren't some kind of fantasy." "Hell, Marty, I am a fantasy. I am what you want me to be. Can't you tell, I'm way too perfect?" "You damn sure are too perfect." "I'm not even close to perfect, Marty. I'm not better or worse than any other woman. I'm just different." "You can say that again. You are about as different as night and day from the women I have known. I mean I loved Helen, but you are something totally different." "Don't glamorize it, Marty. I have tons of flaws, they are just not the same flaws as most women. You can trust me though when I say I have more than my share." "Well, Max, I just haven't seen the really bad flaws yet. So if you don't mind, I'll just wait till I do, then make up my own mind." "Well, just don't say that you weren't warned." I laughed as I said. "I will be expecting some terrible things." After dinner, we went back to the motel to watch TV. I wanted to get to bed early since the days were about to get more difficult. Even though we were skirting the Rockies, there were still hills to climb with bikes that were not designed for hill climbing. For the next couple of days, those foothills kept getting closer. I personally was not looking forward to the day's mileage shrinking. We were on schedule to finish the cross country trip in under thirty days, but Marty had warned me that it was very unlikely that we could do it. He had not built extra days into the schedule for unexpected problems. The first unexpected problem was the day after my head got shaved. It rained cats and dogs. We spent the day with the TV and take out food. I was perfectly content that first day. The second day however, began to make both Marty and me a little nuts. As predicted, the morning of the third day broke warm and clear. The sun began to shine right on time, so Marty and I ate breakfast on the way out of town. The foothills were within reach by the end of the day. We made almost three hundred miles that day, but I knew it was the last day for that kind of mileage. I resigned myself to many fewer miles per day starting the very next day. "What are you some kind of lesbian freak?" the half drunken cowboy asked, staring at my lack of hair. "Something like that," I agreed smiling. I really did prefer to defuse the situation if possible. "What all you bitches need is a man with a big dick to straighten you out." Now I knew better. I had been patient for several minutes and it was getting more and more difficult to ignore him. I just finally got tired of it all. "You know I think you are right. The problem is I just never meet them. Instead I meet assholes like you with a big mouth and a little cock." For some reason he took offense. Oh I expected him to make a move, which put me one up on him. I was also sober and he was far from it, which put me two up on him. He expected me to sit there and argue with him like all the women he knew, which meant he was likely to get his ass kicked by a woman. On an average day back home, I might have just ignored him in the Cop Out, but I wasn't among friends in that club. I was there because Marty had wanted a drink and I had gone along against my better judgment. I wanted this to be over before someone got hurt. Okay, I wanted it over before the someone who got hurt was me or Marty. I knew that if I could have gotten him alone, I probably could have talked him into letting it lay. My bald head was just too easy a target for him in front of his friends, so there it was. I just wasn't in the mood to walk away. Marty was an even bigger problem. He was determined to get right in the cowboy's shit. I just could not let that happen. When the drunk started to stand up angrily, I jabbed him stiff knuckled in the Adam's apple. He began gasping for air immediately. His friends looked shocked first, then as if they had plans. "Guys, you don't think I would do that, if I didn't have plans for you as well. Your friend will be okay in a few minutes. Let's drop this while we can all walk away." I was standing so that I had easy access to the .38. They couldn't see the gun, but I think they either recognized my attitude, or the way I was standing as making me someone to avoid. They sat still while Marty and I headed back to the motel. Fortunately for me and Marty, they didn't follow us. ------- Chapter 11 When you consider that three weeks had passed and we were just in New Mexico, it seemed like a very slow trip. Then of course when we hit the foothills it got even slower. We went from an average of 20MPH on a good day to an average of 10MPH. Even worse, Marty had suddenly taken an interest in everything around us. "Look at that view," he said. Marty had stopped his bike on a small rise in the road. From it, I could see the vista he spoke of. It was indeed a beautiful sight. "If's lovely, Marty, so were the other two just like it." "I know, I just can't get enough of that view." "We need to get a move on or we will be out here admiring it in the dark." "Take it easy, Max, it's just a ten minute ride to the next town." "I didn't mean we needed to stop this early. I just meant we needed to keep moving." "Come on, Max, let's stop and smell the roses now and then." "Marty, are you trying to drag this trip out?" "Why would I do that?" "Oh, let's see, this is the adventure you have been planning for what, two years?" "More like three," he answered, "Could it be you don't want it to end?" "Of course, I don't want it to end. I don't want to go back to the world where everything is the same everyday. Can you image a life where golf at the club is the big event of the week?" "Sure, I just can't imagine you being satisfied with that kind of life. If you don't like your real life, change it. God knows you have enough money." "Max, you live in a cabin in the woods, when we get back, come and live with me?" "How the hell did you know where I live? That is a big ass secret." "Like you said, Max, I have more money than God. Truth is, all the money in the world probably couldn't have bought that information. My son also happens to be a nice guy and he wanted to know I wasn't going cross country with an ax murderess." "Sure, little 125 lb me chopping off your head in Tucson," I suggested, with a laugh. "Max, I love you dearly, but you could do just that if you wanted to. Ted just didn't ask the right questions. As it turned out, you are the perfect companion, but he wouldn't have thought so. I'm sure he wanted me to make this trip with a clone of his mother." "From what I hear, you would have enjoyed that." "I would give my own life, if it was possible, but it wouldn't have been the same trip. It would have been a great one, but not the same one." "Marty, it's time we decided to stop wandering in the wilderness and get to the Promised Land." "Gee, Max, I'm no Moses," he said laughing. "Good, I never saw myself as a slave; of course, there might be a few who would disagree." I laughed as well. Part of the laughter was at the bewildered look on Marty's face. "So from now on, we ride all day?" I asked. "Well, most of it," he replied. "Come on, Max, I'm not as young as you." "Marty, Love, you set the pace. I haven't complained until now." I looked at him before I delivered the death blow. "Marty, you have to know the trip is getting to be less exciting as we wander around out here in the desert." "Alright, Max, I get it. Time to move this wagon train west," he said. "Exactly, but at a steady pace. We aren't out to set any records here," I agreed. "Good, get back on the bike and let's move out," he demanded. We still only made 10 MPH, but we did ride eight to ten hours a day. We had dropped down to five or six hours on the road before our little talk. It was still Marty's trip; I just tried to keep him on target. Since I was just an employee, I probably shouldn't even have done that much. Still the trip had begun to drag. I suppose it was bound to at some point. Most things in life get old after a while, no matter how much fun they start out. Marty tried to resist it, but he and I were both bone tired. We were either going to have to push through it, or stop and take a long rest. I didn't mean take the weekend off; I meant a week off or just bite the bullet and push on to California. To make matters even worse, nothing was happening to take our mind off those minor pains that come with age and repetitive movements. I hated that I did, but I was praying for something evil to come along. As my mentor in Afghanistan had said during my first tour, "You can kick me, you can cut me, hell, you can even kill me, just don't bore me to death." I was on the verge of going into one of those cowboy bars and calling somebody a faggot." You know, just to see what would really happen on Brokeback Mountain. A Deputy Sheriff from some county in New Mexico saved me from myself. He pulled around me before I even saw him. He must have spotted Marty up ahead, because he waited until he was close to Marty before he put the light and noisemaker on. Unlike Marty, my only thought was the .38 snub nose concealed hammer pistol in the clip-on holster at the small of my back. It was under my work shirt, so it was pretty well concealed and most likely very illegal. Like a good soldier, I pulled over and stopped the bike behind the deputy's car. While he walked to Marty, I slipped the clip on holster and pistol from my belt and then into the trailer's bed. I didn't figure there would be a problem with it being concealed in the trailer, even if the deputy found a reason to search it. The Deputy was a nice looking young man about thirty or so. He looked almost as bored as I felt. He had to have been bored to tears to stop a bicycle, even if it did have a motor sitting on top of the rear wheel. "Morning, Ma'am," he said as I walked up to them. "Could I see some identification please?" I noticed that he did not have his hand on his weapon. It was a good thing that he didn't see a middle-aged woman on a bicycle as a threat. It just went to prove that the lawmen in the west weren't really paranoid, no matter what those eastern liberals and Hollywood types said. "Of course," I said, as I removed the card case from my jeans. He had to know the jeans were too tight to conceal a weapon of any real size. From the card case I removed my east coast driver's license. "Any particular reason for the traffic stop?" "Oh, just wanted to get a better look at these contraptions." He handed me my license back, then turned to Marty. "So you built these?" "Yes, as I was saying, they fall under the Moped regulations where we are from," Marty said. "Yeah, but the problem is you ain't there any more. I'm gonna have to check the statute for New Mexico. I'm not sure exactly what I have here." The deputy walked away from us while he made his call. "Max, these bikes are just a little too big to be Mopeds, but I don't think he can prove it on the side of the road." "Well, Marty, whatever happens with that is on you. I'm just ferrying it to California for you," I grinned, to show that it wasn't a big thing as far as I was concerned. "Wouldn't have it any other way," Marty said, with a grin. "You know I have never been in jail my entire life. I'm kinda looking forward to it." "Don't push it, Marty; sometimes those arrests come complete with a beat down." "Okay, I'll play nice," Marty said, as the deputy walked back to us. "Well, my Sergeant is on the way out. I think he is more interested in seeing the bikes than anything else. We checked; you two are not in the national criminal data base, so I can't hold you on anything except those bikes. I think I'm going to let the highway patrol worry about that." "Good, since we are clean with you, how about having your sergeant join us for lunch. I think we can convince Marty to buy, since it isn't a bribe. Only thing I ask is that it be a place you ordinarily eat. I'm not exactly dressed for a fancy place." Marty knew that it was a good idea, so he just smiled. "Let me make some calls." A couple of minutes later, he suggested, "You guys go down this road about ten more miles you will come to a little cross roads village. Off to the right about a block is a diner. Me and the Sarge will be there in about a half hour. Since a moped with only do 30MPH tops, you should be there about the same time." "If there are any hills, we might be a little longer. There really are under-powered Mopeds," I suggested. During the ride to the diner, and while we ate, the pistol remained in the trailer. I didn't like it, but it seemed to be the best alternative. Before lunch, the Sergeant took a good look at the bike. He even rode it around the block a couple of times, then he gave Marty his e-mail address. "I want you to send me the detailed plans for that thing. That's the most fun I have had in years," he admitted after we were all seated for lunch. "Why don't you order for me guys? Me and Marty are strangers here." While we waited for the food, the first Deputy asked, "I know this is rude, but Maxine what happened to your hair? You haven't been sick, have you?" I considered lying, but since we had already avoided any charges they might have brought, I told the truth. "We have been staying in motels on these back roads because the bikes don't go fast enough for major highway safety. So in one of them we shared our room with some kind of creepy crawly critters. I shaved my head and other body parts to get rid of them." "Oh really, you don't suppose I could see that do you?" the Sergeant asked. "Guys, now that would be just gross," I said grinning. They drove away from the diner, leaving us standing by the bikes. "I could have made this trip with anyone else and I would not have had lunch with local deputy sheriffs along the way. The biggest part of the fun on this trip has been because of you, Max. I just want you to know that. "Bullshit, you need to stop having beer with lunch. Now what are we going to do about California? That Deputy says these bikes are going to be illegal in California." "We will worry about that when we get there. In the meantime let's get out of New Mexico." "Can we get out of here today? It has been 4 weeks tomorrow and we still have a few days to go." "Not a few, I figure three more will put us through Arizona and on the way to the Pacific Ocean." ------- Chapter 12 "Max, do you realize when the sun goes down today we will be in California. Tomorrow or the next day, the trip will be over." "Well, Marty, it has already been 33 days with rain and the breakdown, just a little more than you planned, but not bad at all." "No, not bad at all," he agreed. "I am going to hate to see it end. Maybe we should pack everything up and just head for Europe." "You have noticed that the mornings are getting chilly. The weather is going to turn to crap soon." "Then we will have to go to Australia next," he said seriously. "Then we will have to hire a production crew and make a TV series. Marty and Max screw their way across whatever," I said. "You know that is a good idea. We could get a pretty young thing to play you," Marty said, with a laugh. "Yeah, one with boobs, so the men will watch," I agreed. "Now pay for the breakfast and let's get the last day in the real world started. Next stop, never, never land." The bikes started on the first try, just as they had every other morning. The tanks were full and the tires were as well, so we headed for California. First, we had several hours of the Arizona hills to climb. I was pretty sure that I was working off some of that excess weight I had been having trouble getting off. Too much of my day back home was spent in a chair or behind the wheel of my minivan. The trip had been a really good experience for my body. The bikes would run like hell downhill, and even do up to thirty on the flat, but climbing any hill more than a block long started to bleed power from the engine. A long rocky mountain foothill ended with me pedaling like hell to keep the bike from stalling. That isn't true either, the pedaling was slow, but had to be steady for up to a mile. I had ended the last couple of days with sore calves. I still felt great at the end of every day. I had since the first week. My worst day on the bike out in the open was better than my best day in the minivan. That morning, Marty and I were just outside Kingman, Arizona, and headed west. The geography was just as it had been the two days before, mostly flat, but with some long uphill grades. Not steep climbs really, but requiring me to pedal now and then. I didn't even mind. There were some great landscapes to take a look at during the gentle climbs. I took my eyes off the road only long enough to see the scenery to the right. It wasn't more than a second, if that. When I looked back, there was an animal that looked like a forty pound dog right in front of me. I knew I was going to take a spill if I hit him, so I tried like hell to avoid him. Instead of hitting the dog like creature, I ran off the hard surface into the soft sand. That change in surface was all it took to throw the bike off balance. I guess I wasn't good enough to recover, because the bike went down like a dead body with a concrete block in the local water supply. When it went down, I flew off it and then back into the road. Marty was way ahead of me and had no idea that I was down. The motor was screaming and there was the smell of exhaust and raw gas. The small gas tank was leaking. I could only hope it wasn't headed for the hot exhaust. The trailer was on its side and even more gas was very close to the bike. If it caught fire, there could be a loud noise. My first job was to get to the kill switch on the bike's handle bars. I realized that I was bleeding, but that it was minor. I also realized that my chest hurt when I moved, that might not be so minor. If I had a broken rib, I could puncture a lung. The pain was real and severe, but I didn't think it was enough to be a broken rib. Either way it didn't matter. I was for sure going to have to move out of the road and get that bike shut down. I fought my way in a painful crawl to the bike. I flipped the switch and nothing happened. I looked down to see wires dangling. Wonderful, I thought. I couldn't wait for it to run out of gas I had to kill that motor. I tried to remember all the ways Marty had told me that the motor could be killed. I wished at that moment I had paid more attention, when he gave me the tour of the new motor. I crawled back to the screaming motor. I crawled through a puddle of gasoline on the way. I could just see me as barbecue if that gas on the ground caught. When I reached the motor, I flipped the choke to full. I did that because I had seen Marty do it once on the Honda. I could only hope that it would work on the Greyhound. I was never so happy to hear silence in my life. I removed the holster from my belt and stashed it in the trailer before I curled into the fetal position. I lay there while I tried to assess the damages. I knew Marty would be back, when he realized I was AWOL. I was pretty sure the rib wasn't broken, but something was sure as hell sprained. The flesh on my arm was scrapped in a large area. That injury was bleeding a bit. The knee of my jeans was ripped, and there was pain behind it. I was pretty sure that I had at least a scrape there as well. All in all, I felt damn lucky. It could have been a lot worse. I worked the lightweight motorcycle helmet off and found it scratched deeply in at least one spot. That could have really left a scar, I thought. I needed to cover that scrape on my arm even though the oozing blood wasn't a huge deal, it looked bad. Right there in front of God and anyone else looking, I removed the blue work shirt, then the white tee shirt. I was topless while I wrapped the tee shirt around my forearm. I replaced the bloody work shirt just to avoid sunburn. At the moment my small exposed boobs were of no concern to me. That would have been obvious to anyone who saw me. I had only buttoned one of the work shirt's five buttons. Actually, I wore it with the top button done gang style. I hadn't meant it that way; it is just what I did in my fog of shock. The fact that there was no shade was going to be a problem, if Marty took too long to come back or if someone didn't happen along. I got my ass painfully back to the trailer and the water bottle. I propped against the overturned trailer and drank the water. I was thrilled when I heard the buzz of Marty's engine several minutes later. Even though my injuries weren't life threatening, they did hurt. Not only that, I needed to get out of the sun. Heatstroke was a possibility for sure. "Are you alright?" Marty asked, standing over me. "I'm more embarrassed than anything." "What the hell happened," Marty asked. He obviously had no idea what to do. "I swerved to avoid something that looked like a dog. Probably a coyote," I said. Marty just stood there still lost in thought. "Marty get on that fancy phone of yours and call AAA." "Of course, do you need an ambulance?" he asked. "No, but I need a place to clean up. They can take me and the bike to a town with a motel." "Motel, my ass, you are going to a doctor at the very least." Since Marty had climbed out of his stupor and began playing 'Man in Charge, ' I let him. "They are just scrapes, but I could use some painkillers, so okay." I said. Even with the fancy phone, Marty had to do some gyrations to get to a tow truck. It took almost an hour for the truck to arrive. We got a ride into El Centro, CA. The bike went to a recovery yard there, and I went to a Doctor's office. "Ms Stone, since I don't have your medical records are there any drug you are allergic to?" the nurse asked. "I can't think of any that I react particularly badly to. Some of the new antibiotics give me the runs." "I noticed that you were having a problem walking, could you tell me the extent of your injuries you are aware of at this time." "I banged up my ribs, but I'm not sure what that is. I have a large scrape on my arm which is covered at the moment. Something is going on with my knee, but I haven't been able to see what it is. Mostly, I expect, I am one giant bruise." "That sounds like a pretty good diagnosis. Let's get those jeans off and see about the leg." "Usually, when people suggest I take my jeans off, they buy me dinner first," I said, trying to smile. "At least you seem to be in good spirits. I'll make a note of dinner just in case," she said smiling. It was not a sexy smile; it was more a co-conspirator smile. She might have fixing me up with her brother in mind. As I had expected the knee was bloody. It too looked like a scrape about the size of a dollar bill. I was going to have some real issues with that scrape under my jeans. "You are one lucky woman," the doctor said, when he examined me. "If I was really lucky, the coyote would be here instead of me." I did smile when I said. "True, but you could be very dead. From what your friend tells me, you were doing about thirty miles an hour on a bicycle. That is risky behavior at best." "Sex with a stranger is probably more risky," I replied. "You could always use condoms," he suggested. "Do you think a condom would have saved any of Ted Bundy's victims?" I asked. The doctor gave me a stern look. Obviously, his sense of humor was weak. Shame, because he really was a cute younger man. I outranked him by well over ten years, and that hurt more than the ribs. God, getting old was a bitch, I thought. I mean I was having sex when he was still sucking his mom's tit, and I was looking to him for drugs. Life was so unfair. Even before they had all my scrapes cleaned and covered, I had Marty out buying me clothes. I left the doctor's office dressed in new jeans and a way oversized sweatshirt with the arms cut off. I had used the nurse's scissors for the amputation of the sweatshirt sleeves. I probably would not have bought a red sweatshirt, but it did look good on me. I was walking reasonably upright as we left the small town clinic. Marty led me to a car. "Crap, Marty, I didn't realize I had been in there long enough for you to find and rent a car." "The towing guy had a friend who sells used cars. He rents them now and then as well. According to the driver, that isn't unusual at all." "Damn," I said, as I had a jab of pain break through the drugs the doctor had shot me up with. "You okay, Max?" "I've been better, but I'm just uncomfortable, not in any danger. I do need to find a drugstore; I have a couple of scripts." "Of course," Marty said. I knew Marty was too decent a guy to bring anything about the trip into the conversation, so I did. "So how's my bike?" "Those things are the tanks of bicycles. It didn't get more than a couple of scratches." "I can't believe that. There were things hanging off of it." "Yeah, the throttle is busted and the kill switch is broken, but that just BS stuff." "So you can have it ready to go tomorrow?" "You aren't getting back on that bike. The trip is over." "My ass, it is," I said, angrily. I had been expecting to hear that from Marty, but I wasn't going to buy it. "We did not travel this far and this long to stop a day short of the end. It's your trip, so if you don't want me to ride your bike to the end that's fine, but you are going to finish and I am going to be there, even if it is driving this car behind you." "Well, I don't trust that bike with you on painkillers piloting it." Marty said thoughtfully. "You could easily kill yourself. Especially since the last day we are going to be in heavy traffic." "Then I'll follow along behind you in this coffin, but we are going to finish this trip together." "Alright, there is a bike builder up in Bakersfield who will come get your bike and ship it back across the country for me." "Did you get my pistol from the trailer?" I asked. "Yes," he replied, simply. "After the drugstore, we need to find a post office." Marty gave me a curious look, so I added, "I need one of those 'if it fits it ships' boxes they advertise on TV. Just before we get on the plane home, I'm going to have to drop the .38 in the mail." ------- Chapter 13 The last day of the coast to coast bicycle tour was shocking and anti-climatic at the same time. It was anti-climatic because everything seemed so ordinary. The whole way from the motel, twenty five miles from the ocean, right to the parking lot of the public beach where Marty wanted to make the photograph to officially end the trip was so routine. There was a lot more traffic, but the GPS routed us through the least traveled streets. It took three hours to go 25 miles, but that was to be expected, we were in California and driving in beach traffic all the way. The day began with what was to be our final breakfast of the trip. Marty wanted to go to the fancy pancake house for breakfast. I didn't have nearly as much pain as I expected to have, so I agreed. My ribs were the only thing that I actually noticed. The scrapes were irritated by my clothing now and then, but mostly they were benign, I pulled the car into the parking lot behind Marty. He found a spot big enough for the bike near the door, but I had to park the car several yards away. I locked the three year old Ford before I walked to the entrance of the nationally advertised pancake house. Marty was waiting at the door for me. He opened it and I walked through just like I had at all the other breakfast restaurants across the country. The fancy pancake house was the first of its kind for the trip though. Generally we stayed where it was more likely a cafe or local diner for breakfast. "Welcome to IHOP," the just past high school age girl said in greeting. "Two in your party?" "Yes two," Marty replied. "There is a ten minute wait for a table. Just have a seat and I'll come get you." she added, smiling as though she had just done us a huge favor. I turned to Marty expecting him to say let's move on. Instead he shrugged and moved to the padded bench. I tried to smile, even though sitting around waiting to give my money to someone for food really galled me, even on special occasions. To wait around for fucking pancakes seemed ridiculous, but it was Marty's money, not mine, so I sat down beside him. Since I had taken my pills, it didn't hurt much at all to sit. It was also the second day after my accident. The first day I slept late and we covered only 60 miles, me in the car and Marty on his bike. Marty pulled into the generic motel parking lot around 4 PM then spent a lot of time running big secret errands in the car. I was in some pain, but not a lot, since I was taking my meds religiously. I had been injured enough times in my life to understand the value of staying on schedule with painkillers. Consequently, I slept a great deal that evening. I had spent enough time sleeping the evening before, so that I was very hungry that last morning. I was way past ready to eat when the teenager came for us. I was ready to suggest that we get up and leave. During the twenty minute wait, Marty stayed on his fancy phone, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I was losing my good mood during that wait. "What the hell are you doing?" I finally asked. "Just telling some friends from the forum that we made it." "Are they going to meet us for lunch or something?" I asked. "I think they might come to the park to greet us." "That's cool," I said. After we finally got seated, the service proved to be just as slow. It took us 90 minutes total to get out of the restaurant. I'm sorry the strawberry pancake syrup was not worth the time and money spent in that bright, clean restaurant. It just didn't appeal to me enough to ever go back. After breakfast, I followed Marty on his winding journey to the ocean. It took us three hours, as I said earlier. Marty got to thirty miles an hour once or twice, but it was mostly twenty or twenty five miles an hour for a few hundred yards then stop and wait for traffic to clear at an intersection. It had to be miserable for Marty; it sure as hell was for me. It was after noon when we pulled into the parking lot of the public beach. I was surprised that the parking lot was full on a weekday. I supposed it was because of the time of day. Marty pulled the bike to the front of the parking lot. Again, I had to park several yards away. I was more than a little surprised to find Marty surrounded when I finally made my way to the beachfront side of the parking lot. Some of the people were obviously reporters, though I had no idea why they would be waiting for us. I stood back watching and trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. An older man with long white hair and a long beard came toward me. If he had approached me at night in a bar, my hand would have gone to the .38. As it was, I just shifted my weight. My mind moved into the fight or flight response mode. "You must be Max?" he said, smiling at me. "Maxine Stone," I said, extending my hand to him. "Marty has told us all about you and, of course, we have been keeping track of you two as you rode across country. We all want to thank you for taking care of the godfather for us." "The Godfather?" I asked. "Yeah, Marty is promoting these bikes. You had to know what this trip was about." "To prove these things were reliable?" I asked, bewildered. "Sure, but Marty and a few of us are going to introduce a model to go retail." "We have met guys along the way who built and sold these things retail, that's nothing new." "Did any of them have showrooms?" "Well no, they were working from their shops and homes," I admitted. "We have a half dozen showrooms that will open on Monday. This trip was to promote them. If anything had happened to Marty, it would have all gone to hell. He insisted on doing the internet promotion live. Every day he would stream footage of you two on the bikes up to the net. You guys are a UTube sensation." "Oh really," I replied, beginning to grasp the significance of what had been going on. "Sure, the one when the tow came to haul you and the bikes out of the redneck's trap went viral." "Oh really?" I asked, trying not to let my irritation show. "Of course, a lot of what you had to say got bleeped out, but you are an Internet Celeb," he insisted. "It would have been nice if someone asked," I mumbled. I moved away to the edge of the crowd to watch the Godfather play the crowd. Fucking snake oil salesman, I thought. I stayed out of the way for almost half an hour, then Marty did the dumbest thing. He made a big deal of calling me to the stage. All the cameras turned on me as I moved through the crowd to the bed of a small flatbed truck. Before that morning, I would have thought how lucky it was that a truck for Marty to stand on to increase the drama was there. After the morning's awakening, I knew Marty had pulled someone's string to get the truck there, just as he had pulled mine all during the trip. "Let me introduce Max Stone," Marty said to the crowd. "Play nice," he whispered to me." "Hello everyone, I'm a little shocked, to be honest. I had no idea I was being filmed and broadcast on the Internet. Anyway nice to meet you all." "Tell us about the bike you rode, where is it?" "Well, to be honest, I'm not sure any more. It was supposed to be headed back to North Carolina, but who knows with all the manipulations going on." "What do you mean?" someone asked. "I thought the trip was an old man's last great adventure, so I came along to be sure he got through it safely. Well, as safely as possible on one of those death traps. Now it turns out that it was a publicity stunt and I was an unwitting accomplice." Marty fell all over himself to get me off the truck. I didn't mind at all. I wouldn't have objected to showing the cuts and bruises from my fall from the bike. I was sure Marty hadn't shown the video of me laying in the fetal position to minimize the pain. I doubted that he showed the video of us sitting in the doctor's office while they waited for the results of the x-rays. At that point I would gladly have explained all that in great bleeping detail. "There are people from the real press here. They are going to want interviews. If I was you, I would be a little kinder when I went into detail." Marty said quietly while some of the other bike builders spoke from the bed of the truck. "And if I don't?" I asked. "I have some very interesting photographs that might interest the press." "I see, so you think you can blackmail me. Marty, I'm surprised. You would have done much better trying to buy me off. I'm going to tell it like it is and as for the pictures, show them if you want. I expect I will make a pretty poor porno star, but if the reality thing works for you and these piece of shit bikes, who knows, it might be a new career for me." I spent the afternoon doing interviews for Internet reporters. There might have been some real news people in the crowd, but I doubted it. I dropped the .38 at a UPS store rather than the post office. I had a feeling Marty might just have a postal inspector opening my mail at home. When I got back, Jennifer was going to have a problem deciding which of us she wanted to represent. I planned to sue Marty for my contract price, of course, but also for reckless endangerment for sending me out on the bike that flipped when it hit the sand. Since he obviously liked to play games, I had one or two of my own. I might even sue for a piece of his business just for spite. I also used his credit card to buy my plane ticket home. He didn't cancel it in time. ------- Chapter 14 Max Stone, the sign read. It was being held by my best friend, Jennifer. Well, she used to be my best friend. She was about to have a real problem. Jennifer hugged me tight and asked, "How are you? Are you still mad at Marty?" "Who me? I'm not mad. I'm just going to sue his ass off. You are going to have to pick your side on this one." "Marty has been my client since I started practicing," Jennifer said. "I have been your friend since grade school. You still have to choose." I was not about to let her off easy. After all, she had gotten me into it in the first place. "Tell me what your position is and I'll pass it along. Maybe there won't be any need for a court fight." "I want the son of a bitch taken out and shot. That's my bottom line position." "Come on, Max, what damage do you think he did to you?" "He lied to me and he used me to promote his stupid bike business. Then, when I fought back, he put those pictures of me on the net." "Now don't get pissed, just listen, then if you still feel the same, I'll deliver your comments. If you two can't come together, I'll recommend good lawyers for you both. I won't represent one of you against the other." "Okay, that's fair. What is it you have to say in his defense?" I asked. "For one thing, he told you he was out to demonstrate that the bike was a dependable means of transportation. Okay, he didn't tell you he was setting up a business, but a trial judge is going to split hairs." "He took pictures of me without my permission and posted them on the net." "Yes, and some of those are in bad taste, but they haven't been doctored. You were dressed or undressed just like the images show. The pornographic ones you might not have posed for, but you knew you weren't alone with the person whose body parts are also in the pictures." "Okay, so I'm complicit, but we both know he didn't have a release for those images. You are supposed to have a release, if you use someone's image in advertising, aren't you?" "Yes and Marty has some culpability for those images used in promoting his business. But, Max, it's going to cost you a ton to sue. Marty can stall this till hell freezes over and your lawyer is going to want to be paid. If the best you can do is ten grand, nobody is going to want to touch your case." "Well, my big plan was to sue him for reckless endangerment. He sent me out on a bike that he knew was overpowered and poorly balanced. He didn't even bother to warn me. I swerved to avoid a collision with a coyote and the bike threw me off." "Yes and what are the permanent damages?" "A couple of scars are about all I can come up with now, but you never know what will show up next year." "Max, you can do that to Marty and ruin his new business venture. That's what you really want to do. You want to castrate him because he didn't tell you everything. Then again his lawyer is going to ask you about the pictures. Just to be sure you aren't doing the woman scorned thing to him. You aren't are you?" "Not scorned, Jen, lied to and used." "Okay, what do you think that is worth?" "I don't know," I replied. "I do. See what he really did was make a half dozen commercials using your image. If he had hired a professional model to make those images, it would have cost him about 75K. He sent you out on that bike, and yes, he knew it was dangerous. It will be up for debate how much you knew, but he had another 25K worth of liability there. He did pay you for everything else, except that sex, and you really don't want to sue for that do you? "Of course not." "Then ask the dirty old man for 100K and walk away from it. That's my advice." The conversation took place in her BMW as she drove me to Marty's shop for my minivan. "I'll give it some thought," I replied. We were still five minutes out, so I just shut up for the rest of the ride. "So, was the trip fun otherwise?" she asked. "It actually was a blast, even the parts that weren't," I suggested with a small smile. "Good, so what are your plans now?" Jen asked. "I'm going to get the van and then go to the office to see what is left of my business." "Well, speaking of that, Lucas has called me a dozen times in forty days. I think that is pretty damn good." "Yes, if that's all it took to keep the place going, it is damn good. Of course, if it's because he didn't do shit, then it isn't so good." "Good point, Max, I don't know which it is." She paused a long moment, then went on. "Ted is going to meet us to open the door so you can get your car. I called ahead and Ted said his dad ordered him to give you the car and write you a check for the balance of the account. That isn't going to include the 100K." "Of course not, it's just five grand." "Good, then that won't be a problem. I'll start working on the other, but Marty probably won't decide for a while. His case will be stronger if the trip didn't light a fire in the public. Your case will be stronger if it did. So both of you should wait to see what the reaction of the public is." "Perfectly logical advice, but I want to hang him by his balls, no matter what it is," I replied. "Guess what, Max? He wants to do the same to you since you ruined his press conference. You called his bike a death trap." "Duh, yeah," I replied laughing. Ted met us at the door to his dad's shop. "Hello, Max," he said, handing me an envelope. Inside was a check for five thousand dollars. "That covers the balance on your contract." He paused a moment, then went on. "Yes, I know there are other issues, but that's between the two of you. I am sorry about those pictures he put up last night. He should not have done that." "Thanks, Ted, I agree about that. Well, I need to get to my office." I turned my attention to Jen. "Call me and we will do lunch," I suggested. When I got to the office, Ed gave me a big hug. I barely recognized Lucas. "My God, Lucas, have you grown a foot or what?" "Nothing like that," he replied. "The kid has matured, not gotten taller, Max. He jumped right in and did a hell of a job for you," Max whispered to me. I don't think he wanted the kid to know how impressed he was. "So anything exciting happen since I've been gone?" I asked loud enough for both of them to hear, then I sat at my desk and turned on the computer. While it came to life, I listened to Ed telling me about his latest woes with the bail jumpers. "Before you ask, I do not want to run down your bail jumpers." I said just loud enough to carry across the room. "What about me?" Lucas asked. "What about you?" I repeated to him. "Now that you are back, there isn't enough work for me even part time. I could run down bail jumpers for Ed." "In spite of his whining, he doesn't have that many," I replied, "Besides which, you don't have any idea how to be a bounty hunter." "You could teach him," Ed suggested. The look I gave him would have made Superman proud. Ed threw up his hands and said, "Just saying, you could show him the ropes." "You want me to open a new can of worms, then Luke here goes back to school and I am stuck working my bony ass off," I said. "You just loved saying that, didn't you?" Ed said, laughing. "Saying what? Telling you no?" I asked. "Hell no, the bony ass thing. Ever since you got here last winter you have been bitching about those few extra pounds. The blown out gullet, and the road trip were all it took for you to get skinny." Ed said firmly. "Hey, I don't mind looking good for a change," I replied. "You always looked good, besides you have lost too much weight now, if you ask me." "Don't worry, they are still making donuts down at Krispy Kreme, it won't take long." "Good, I'm buying the first dozen." Ed was proud of himself for successfully harassing me again. The man treated me as he wished he could treat his own daughter. Her he could not speak to without it turning into WW3. She was ashamed of what he did for a living. The two of them went out of their way to avoid having any real conversations. "Please, Ms. Stone," Lucas begged. "Lucas, surely you can see that I don't want to work that hard. You know you are going to be a cop and I will be left with the work and no help. You really need two people to do bail pickups. If you don't, eventually someone is going to get hurt. I haven't always been the lucky one. Sometimes it me on the bloody end of the stick." "You know I can't promise to never leave you, but there are lots of people who need work. You could always replace me." "Well, it does fit in with the process serving, in a way." "I can get you work from Tryon. I know all those boys over there. I know what kind of service they get from the guy over there who runs jumpers." "What's he like?" I asked. "He's a court sanctioned thug, that's what," he said firmly. "I wish you guys had given me a couple of days to settle back in before you dropped this on me." "So, are you doing to do it?" Ed asked. "Lucas, do you really want to do this?" I asked. If he came up with some pie in the sky bullshit, my answer was going to be hell no." "Ma'am, I want to work, and this job has been good for me so far. Mr. Martin says it won't be a huge amount of work, but he thinks that I can do it. So yes, Ma'am, I want to at least try it." "You do know at least one of the guys you pickup is not going to want to come along peacefully." "Yes Ma'am, I know." "You are prepared to bring down an ass whuppin' on some guy whose only crime is like bank fraud?" "If it's him or me, and I can make it him, yes Ma'am, I'm willing to do that." "Ed next one you get that you can't talk in, give him to me and we will try." "Here you go. You shouldn't have any problem with her, I'm sure she really wants to do the right thing." "You been saving this for me. You just knew you two could talk me into it." "Not at all, Max. I just hadn't got around to calling the thug yet," Ed swore. I looked at the name on the file. 'Lori Simpson' was handwritten in Ed's very neat script. He told me when I asked earlier, that he had learned to print in high school drafting class. His printing was as good as any typewriter I had ever seen. Inside were police reports and court reports. The top item in the file was a bench warrant for Lori. She didn't appear for her DUI trial. "What kind of penny ante bullshit is this Ed, DUI?" "If you read a little more closely, I'm in for a 100K on Lori the Lush. Third offense, and she put a kid in a wheelchair." "You do have all the information to find her, if she isn't in the wind." I said flipping pages. "You know she is gonna be near mama or one of her boyfriends." "How about the boyfriend, is he dangerous?" "Let us say you shouldn't turn your back on him." "Terrific, okay, let me call and up my liability insurance and we will give it a go. But just on Lori the Lush for now." "Oh, welcome back, Max," I mumbled under my breath. ------- Chapter 15 My first night back in the cabin where I lived, I found myself cleaning 40 days worth of dust and grime from the counters and dishes. Open cabinets did that. I managed that while trying to figure out how best to hunt down bail jumpers. I started with some basic assumptions. Neither Lucas, nor I were every going to intimidate the bad guys with our looks. If we intended to do this and be successful, we would have to outsmart the prey. I remembered the story of my friend the Air Policeman who had to pick up a deserter. The man was huge and he had done two tours as a combat air controller in Iraq. After that second tour, he decided he had done his part. I tended to agree with him, but the powers that be sent one of my friends after the giant of a man. The kid they sent was young, and slight of build, but he was from West Virginia. He had grown up hard in and around the coal mines. He knew no fear it seemed, but he was also smart. He waited till the giant went to the bathroom after having several beers in a local beer joint. Then while giant had his hands full so to speak, my friend walked up and stuck a pistol in the back of his neck. The giant zipped up then put his hands behind his back where my friend cuffed them. I asked my friend why he had done such a cowardly thing. He said, "Okay it wasn't the John Wayne thing to do, but it kept me from getting my ass whipped, so it was the Norman Brice thing to do." I decided that I needed to start thinking of the Norman Brice thing to do. If I couldn't be tough enough, then I had to be smart enough. Either that or plan on using my accident insurance often. After my adventure with the bike and the small town doctor, I decided I would give being smarter my best shot. Since there was going to be a chill in the air that night, according to the TV. Yes, before I left, I had satellite TV installed. Mostly it was for the news and weather, since the shows were mostly crap. As I was saying, since there was going to be a chill, I fired up the oil heater which had come with the cabin. I wasn't sure how safe it was, but I had to try it sometime. I followed the directions on the back of the stove and sure enough it began to put out heat. Since it sat in one corner of the one room cabin, I figured I needed some kind of blower for the small heater. A quick search of the one standing cabinet revealed a small plastic box fan. Since it had a carry handle and since there was a big ass nail over the heater, I figured that was the spot. Most likely it was the place the previous tenant had used for it. A half hour after I started the heater, I had to turn it down to its lowest possible setting. While I drank coffee from the Mister Coffee machine, I began asking myself questions, trying to decide how to outsmart the bad guys. If you came to my door, who would you have to be for me to cooperate? Someone I didn't fear for sure. If I was in the wind, I would really be careful who I trusted. That made trying to find a way to con the bad guys even harder. There was no way I could pretend to be a friend, since obviously the bad guys would know their friends. If not a friend, then what kind of stranger would seem harmless? Even better, what kind of stranger would I trust and want to help? I was trying to remember who all I had known that fell into that category. At that point, I remembered the UPS delivery of my pistol from California. It would be due a couple of days down the road. If they showed up at the office with it, I would expect Ed to sign for it, or to tell them where to find me, if the driver insisted. Since I ran a kind of delivery service already, I could use that to my advantage. What I needed to do was to set myself up as a courier service. Something like, "Priority Messenger, when it's that important." Not a bad slogan for the outside of my van. It could also help me deliver my court papers. Not a bad idea, I thought. I did a quick Internet search and found that it wouldn't cost more than a hundred bucks to have signs made for the minivan. Not a bad investment if I helped me with my real business as well. Not only that, but best of all it was deductible. I did not want Lucas running around with a gun, so what should I arm him with. Taser, of course, there was no question about it. And gas, since I couldn't get nerve gas, pepper spray would have to do. A bean bag shotgun would probably be okay. He might get me sued with it, but maybe he wouldn't land me in jail. Then there was the bulletproof vest and radio equipment we would need. I know the thug, as I had come to think of the competition, didn't spend his money on toys, but we were going to be a kinder, gentler, bounty hunting agency. That pretty much gave me a starting plan for the next day. So I could now either put a pot pie in the microwave or go to the Cop Out. "Holy Shit, look who's here," Blevins said. He hugged me with what I felt was genuine warmth. "Hey, Blevins, did you miss me?" I asked, "Or is that a gun in your pocket?" "You bet, it's been way too quiet around here, and it's a gun, but it shoots blanks." "Well, hell, put a dollar in the Juke Box and I'll dance on the table." "Would you really?" he asked. "Yes, but after a couple of minutes you would tell me to get the hell off that table." "Ah, but would you take your clothes off?" "I don't know, Blevins, how does this crowd tip?" "Really awful, not that I know from experience. One of the waitresses told me." I nodded. "So, Blevins, how did that kid you sent me make out?" "He must have done fine; he didn't call me for help." "Do you know much about him?" "Not really; you planning to keep him around?" "Yeah, Ed seems to like him. I thought I might give him some work. You know, while he finishes out at the community college." "That's nice of you, Max, but don't get him into too much. He is just a kid." "Hell, Blevins, he told me he had a ten inch prick. Don't sound like all that much of a kid to me." "He told you that, but you haven't seen it have you?" "No, why, don't tell me you think a man would lie about that." "Of course men lie about that," he said. "Damn it, Blevins, I asked you not to tell me that. Now I will have to keep the kid around and try to sneak a peek to be sure." "Do you have enough work to keep him around?" "Ed wants me to find a couple of his skips. I figured I would use him for that." "Max, I told you not to get that kid involved in anything dangerous." "Come on, it's not like we have Charlie Manson here. Most we have is a wife beater. Even I can kick those guys in the balls." "You have been warned," Blevins said. "Max, when the hell did you get home?" one of the regulars asked. "I got back this morning." "I seen your pictures on the net, nice," he added. "I'm so glad," "No, Max, I mean I really saw you," he was all grins. "Well, I hope you saved them cause there won't be any more up there," I turned away to face Blevins. "I'm going to kill Marty when he gets back," "Don't say that, Max. Something might happen to him, and then I would come looking for you." "Blevins, if something happens to him, please come looking for me. I would feel slighted if you didn't." "Okay, if you insist." "Where's Jerry," I asked. "Jerry doesn't come around like he used to." "Yeah, I guess not," I replied. I was thinking of Sarah and feeling guilty again. I looked around then commented. "There are some new faces, though." "Yeah, they come and they go," he replied, as if it was a piece of Oriental wisdom. "Kind of like my love life," I replied. "Yeah, kinda like that." Blevins had a huge smile. We could be friends because he wasn't one of those guys who had done that. I had exactly two beers and put off two would be lovers before I went home alone. I had forgotten how good it felt to sleep in a familiar bed. Things usually look different after a night's sleep. The things on my mind at that time were no different. I hate boredom, as I have said before, so the thought of chasing people on the run interested me a lot more after a good night's sleep. While in the shower, I decided for sure to take the minivan in for a sign declaring that it belonged to an overnight local courier service. The sign maker consultation would be about what kind of sign. Since the decision to do it was made, I began searching for a name. Believe it or not, hot water mixed with soap rubbed into the hair, is excellent for fostering imaginative thinking. I had called my little process server business 'At Your Service' so that part as a slogan was a natural. I tried out and disregarded several ideas before I settled on. LIGHTNING EXPRESS At Your Service I felt like it had a nice ring and didn't really say anything. In my case that's exactly what I wanted. After my shower, I took a big chance and stepped onto the bathroom scale from Goodwill. I didn't want to know my weight enough to pay retail for one of those lying bastards, but I did spring for five bucks. My weight was still down to 110 lbs which gave me ten pounds before I hit the ideal top weight for my height. I was really pissed that those last ten pounds from the trip came right from my boobs. Oh well, I guess you can't choose where you lose weight any more than you can choose your shoe size. To be perfectly honest, I looked out the window and missed seeing the motorbike. It would be totally useless in my real life, but it had been a blast. I looked around the kitchen area trying to decide what to do about breakfast. I checked the open metal shelves and found something I had bought at the farmer's market, the one behind the recreation center. The old cardboard box read Milky Way candy bars, but it really contained a dozen bags of cereal. Actually it contained a dozen bags of granola. In the case of that granola, it was three kinds of cereal mixed with at least three kinds of dried fruit. The real reason I bought it was that it was that it also contained a good version of dried milk. The directions said to add water and Microwave the mess. Since I hadn't tried it before, I decided that it was time. I was really optimistic, but then I also figured anything with fruit and that much brown sugar couldn't be too awful and I was right. The granola and black coffee was a hit with me. I sat at my metal tool bench and ate my granola, while the TV told me all the national news. One of the things I had learned in the Air Force was that the national news was usually wrong at best. At worst, some intelligence service somewhere was planting it. The best the national news could do for Joe Citizen was scare the hell out of him for no real reason. After breakfast I walked around the minivan trying to decide where to put the signs. I decided that I needed to forget that until I had a consult with a sign maker. ------- Chapter 16 I carried the remains of my coffee pot from home to the office. I sipped on that while the office Mr. Coffee worked its magic. Ed brought his fancy coffee in the designer label cup through the door just before 9 AM. I had already been doing research for the sign project. I had even left a message for Jen asking what I had to do to be legal. The sign was subterfuge, but I didn't want the county tax people to have their noses out of joint. I had no idea when I might hear from her, so I moved on to considering a sign painter. I actually looked in the yellow pages and on line for a contact number. There were two in Aster, so I had a local choice. Nothing about either made a big impression on me. That being the case, I had waited for Ed to arrive. "Hey, Ed," I said, with a hearty smile, "What do you know about sign painters." "Actually nobody really paints signs anymore. Some computer geek prints them or has his computer cut the letters out and he just assembles it." "That's more than I needed to know. What I meant was, who should I call to have a sign made for the Minivan?" "Michael Burke did my sign for me. I guess he did a good job, and if I remember right, the price was okay." "Knowing you, Ed, the price was terrific. You haven't paid the full retail price for anything since I have shared this office with you." "I'm careful," he said smiling. "Okay, Michael Burke it is." I made the call. Burke was actually at his phone. He was the first person who I had found in on the Tuesday morning. "Sure, I can swing by on my way to install a sign for the Plaza Center. I have to meet the electrician there at 11 AM. I can be at your place around 10:30, if that's okay?" "That would be just fine. I need to get a little legal advice, but I would like to be sitting on dead ready when I have it." "Good, see you then." "So you are going to give the thug a run for his money. You have all my business and all my friends' business as well." "Not so fast, let's make sure Lucas and I can do it first. I have a lot of things to get lined up." "If you want to do it, you will do it. I know you, Max. Nothing stops you when you put your mind to it." "Gee, I wish I was the person you all think I am." I smiled when I said. I paused a few minutes to think what I should do next. "Ed, what time does Lucas usually show up?" "About anytime he wants. There wasn't much to do around here. He did carry your cell phone home with him, so he worked about whenever he wanted, or at least whenever he could." "Okay, I'll keep an eye out for him. At least he left me the phone, so I'm back in business." I also found the note with three names attached to a stack of tri-folded, blue wrapped, sheets of papers. Anyone could tell by looking that they were lawyer's papers awaiting service. I took a look at the dates. The oldest was not quite a week old so they weren't too bad. On the note was written the dates of the attempts to serve and the results. After the sign painter leaves, I will have to deal with these, I thought. In the meantime I just sat there in a stupor drinking coffee. I had other things to think about before Lucas and I could really begin to work. I began by making myself a shopping list. It wasn't for a pound of sugar though. The first item was plastic wire ties. Those were a poor man's handcuffs. Best of all you could buy them at Home Depot. Not so the taser that I needed for the kid, or even the pepper spray. Those I had to go at least into Tryon to purchase. There were two possibilities there, an army and navy store, and a gun shop. Both would carry the gas and maybe the stun gun type taser. I wasn't so sure about the taser gun, should I decide to go that route, I had no idea where to look. Even that wasn't the huge issue, because I had to have a couple of bulletproof vests and some radio equipment. Those were the major items. Best I could tell, the vests were going to run about 3 bucks each. I needed two of them. Then there were the walkies. The actual size of the radio was immaterial. I needed to be sure there were blue tooth looking headsets available for them. Enough people had seen the telephones so that they might not to be intimidated by them. It would still allow instant communications between the two of us. Those were going to run at least a buck each, it appeared. Then there were the beanbag firing shotguns for the really bad guys, loaded with beanbag rounds for the take down. I at least would carry a pocket full of buckshot, in case the situation became really intense. Those would run about two more each. It looked as though I was going to need to come up with a grand apiece for us. I had the money and I had already decided to do it, so it was just a matter of biting the bullet and writing the checks. I had a rough plan made when Lucas showed up at the office. "Hello, Ms Stone," he said, as he approached my desk. "Good morning, Lucas, you doing okay?" I asked. "Yes Ma'am, I'm fine." "Good, could you tell me about these papers you didn't get to serve?" "Yes Ma'am. One of them the people doesn't live there and nobody knows where they are. The other two I could never seem to find, but I know they are still living here." "I have a sign painter on the way, so why don't we try to find these three people while we wait?" "Sure, what should we do first?" "Let's start with where they work, if they do?" I reached into the stack and pulled one at random. "Lucille Everston, bad checks, your note says she never comes home according to the neighbors." "Well, they said she doesn't come home for days at a time. I didn't figure it would do much good to wait around for her." "That is good figuring. So where does she go, when she isn't home?" "Honest, I asked, but nobody seemed to know," Lucas informed me. I took the phone directory from Ed's desk. Look up Everston," I said handing it to Lucas. It took him a couple minutes, but he finally said, "L. L. Everston," he advised me along with the address and phone number, "Now find out where she worked when she was arrested. It is in the arrest report." "She worked at The Sub Station at the mall," Lucas said. I dialed the phone number and waited. "Hello," an older female voice said. "Mrs. Everston, this is Mandy at the Sub Station, I got Lucille's settlement check here. She can come get it, or I can send it to her." "Are you at the mall?" the voice on the phone asked. "No Ma'am, I at the business office in Tryon. Would you like that address." "No, you can just send it here. She can get it here." "Great and is that address,,,,,,,,,,, ?" I asked. "Yes, it is." "Fine, I'll send it over by overnight courier. It should be there tomorrow before noon. She will have to sign since it is the settlement check." "Okay, I'll tell her. How much is the check?" she asked. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, I can't give that information over the phone," "Oh okay. I'll tell her to be here tomorrow morning." "That will be fine, thanks." I hung up the phone and said, "Well, let's see if she waits for us." The second one fell for the same scam. It looked as though it would be a winner. Lucas was amazed. "Don't be too excited, it hasn't happened yet." "What about the man who moved?" Lucas asked. "For that, you need to find out who would know where he is. Somebody always knows, Son, even if it's only the man or woman who killed him." "He is being called to court for failure to pay his child support. Start by finding out how old the children are. Call the lawyer who issued the papers, tell him or her that the guy has skipped. Ask if the lawyer wants us to pursue the guy. If so, get all the information you can from her, especially the contact information for the ex-wife." "Excuse me, is one of you Max Stone?" The man who asked was younger than me by at least ten years. He was also gorgeous in that needs a bath and shave kind of way. Some women love that look, and some hate it, but all women have an opinion. I came down on the, if it don't smell, it's good side. "I'm Stone," I answered. "I'm Burke, the sign man. You got a van that you want signed?" "Oh, I do indeed." I waved him over and handed him my preliminary sketch. He looked it over then asked me. "Are you sure you want this just like you have it here?" "Why, what's wrong with it?" "Well, unless you are running a bleaching service, you're spelling lightning wrong." "No, Michael, I want you to do it right." I replied, not at all humbled by my mistake. I make them all the time. "Good enough, you want both sides done, one on the cargo door and one behind the driver's door?" "You should look at the van. It has passenger doors on both sides." "Okay then we're even, I get a point for correcting the spelling on your sign, and you get one because I assumed you ran a cargo van. Let's go measure it out." Once we were outside, Michael said, "Crap, what an awful color for a business van." "I thought burgundy was a good color?" "Not if you have to stick letters on it. Unless you don't care how awful they clash." "Okay, Michael, how about you put on a white rectangular piece of film, then stick the lettering on it?" "That will work, but it's gonna cost more and mess up more of the paint." "What's it gonna look like?" "What I can do is put half the sign on each door. That will give you the biggest sign. LIGHTNING on one door and EXPRESS on the other. Then your slogan on one door and the phone number on the other. Now I usually put a license number on the sign as well." "Yeah, that's what I need to talk to my lawyer about." "Ah I see, then get back with me tomorrow?" "Do you have a price?" I asked. "Simple letters, a hundred bucks a side. If you want me to find that little stick figure with the package that you drew, add thirty bucks. So make it two bills or two thirty, you decide." "Fair enough, will I need to bring the van to your shop?" "No, I can do it right here, this isn't much of a job." "Then why don't we trade it out?" I smiled my best smile for him. "Now what would my wife say to that." "I don't know, want me to ask her?" I laughed. It was hard for me to believe I was making jokes, all things considered. Or was it a joke I wondered. "I think I'll take it in cash money." "Okay, but that's no fun." Lucas and I served a couple of new papers and I had a good idea how to go about serving the other two the next day. Client three canceled when she realized how much trouble and expense it would be and probably still not get it done. Jen called back and told me that regulations required that if I put the word courier or delivery on the van. I had to put a license number as well. I could however call myself anything I liked, as long as I didn't intend to break the law as a part of it. According to her, anything can be express like a dry cleaners, as well as a delivery service. The stick figure didn't designate me as a courier, just a terrible artist. I arranged for Michael to install the signs the very first thing in the morning. Lucas and I might have time to use the van complete with signs for our errands. ------- Chapter 17 "First thing is 8 AM," the voice of Michael Burke coming from my cell phone explained. "Maybe that is true for you, but first thing for me is 8:30 AM and that's about the time I will arrive at the office. So go have a cup of coffee and a donut, and put it on my bill." "Damn woman, I have way more to do than drink coffee. Okay, I do need to run by the drugstore. I'll do that first." I pushed the end key, then got my ass busy. I had managed the morning shower, but I still had wet hair. I knew that I could either dry my almost non-existent hair and do my makeup, or I could drink a cup of coffee. Since I promised not to run over any more kids while they waited for the school bus, I opted for the coffee. When I drove into the parking lot of Ed's converted service station, my hair, if it had been longer, would have been a rat's nest, and my face looked like that of a corpse, but I was on time. It was a good thing too, since Michael drove in right behind me. "There you are, I was beginning to worry," I said, as I climbed down from the van. "Right," he said, with a sarcastic smile. "It's a little chilly this morning. Any chance I can get you to make some coffee while I do this?" "I am going to make coffee. If you want a cup, I can spare it," I replied. Once inside the office, I removed the knit cap, which covered my still almost bald head, then started the coffee pot. I put the small plastic water bottle filled with coffee from home into the microwave. Two and a half minutes later, I poured the coffee into my coffee cup. "That prick outside can wait for his," I mumbled. While Michael worked on the van, I laid out my plan of attack for the day. It included serving our two hard to find people, as well as two new ones who came in late the day before. "I see Michael the sign guy is hard at work," Ed suggested, when he came in around 9 AM. "Yes, damn guy called me at home to ask where the hell I was." I said that with what I am sure was a dark look. "Oh what time was that?" Ed asked. "8 fucking o'clock," I replied. "Really were you alone?" "Ed, that was a rude thing to ask, but yes, I was alone and awake. I was also soaking wet." "Oh, you left home with wet hair from the shower. I didn't know, Max. It could have been wet and tangled from your bedroom gymnastics." "First of all, my hair is too short to be tangled, and secondly, how would you know about my gymnastics?" "Hell, Honey, everyone in town knows," he said, smiling at me. "Not that many know first hand," I replied. "Oh hell, it's even better that way. That way there are not as many who can deny your superhuman exploits." He did at least laugh. "Right, I'm middle-aged. It's a miracle that I can ever find anyone to screw me. They say the odds are better I will be killed in a terrorist attack than get laid." I gave him a sick laugh. "What man wants to screw an almost bald, middle aged, bitchy broad?" "Are you taking applications?" The voice came from the front of the office. It belonged to a young man who was way too clean cut looking to really be interested in me. "Sure, leave your resume, with references, on the desk" "Hey, Joey, do you have my money?" Ed asked. "Yes, Mr. Martin, I have your bloodsucking fee." "Now, Joey, if you keep your daddy out of those bars, then you won't have to pay my bloodsucking fee." "It's easier to pay your fee, than to keep him away from the bars. He did go to two meetings since he got out on bail." "Well, keep him going, you just never know when they might take hold." Ed accepted the check the young man handed him. "Do you need a receipt?" "I never have before." He smiled at Ed then turned to me and said, "As for you, if you combed your fussy hair and put on some makeup, you would be adequate looking. Good enough to take to a dark college bar anyway." "If that is an invitation, how could I turn it down?" "Then meet me on Friday at the 'Dungeon' at 8 PM." He said. "Okay, but damn it, you are paying, I'm sure you can afford the 'Dungeon, ' it's where the winos drink during the daylight," I replied. "Alright, but only if you don't drink too much." "I never drink THAT much," I said with a wicked smile. After he had gone I asked Ed, "What's his story." "His dad is a drunk, one who doesn't know enough to stop driving. He will probably do thirty days on the farm this time. It's a big game, I think. They arrest him whenever they see him. His lawyer gets it reduced to reckless driving or some such bullshit and he does thirty days. Then he comes out and it starts all over again." "I don't have much patience for drunk drivers. They eventually kill or maim someone." I meant it too. "Yes they do, but unlike you, men don't usually have people offering them a place to stay while they sober up." Ed wasn't judging me; he was just stating a fact. I shook my head and went back to the papers on my desk. Since my thin hair was about dry, I went to the bathroom to try to comb it. No matter what I did, it was just an inch long limp mess. Since I shaved my head a couple of weeks before, it had started to grow back, but it wasn't any thicker. I had hoped it would be. I looked like a teenage boy with an inch long crew cut that just laid flat. I had been tempted to go with a dyke look. Hair all spiked up and a leather collar around my neck. I just felt a little old for that look. There wasn't much I could do about the hair, but I could at least put on some makeup. The foundation added some color to my pale face. The tiny bit of rouge on my cheeks reduced the cadaver look to a minimum. I tried to stay away from red lipstick, so I went with a dark rose color. A little eye shadow completed my painted on face look. "My God, Max, you must be in love. That is the most makeup I have seen you wear on a weekday." "Well, Ed, it's all for you, Honey." "I bet," he replied. "Okay. Stone, that is going to be $250 including the tax." "Nice round number," I replied. "Now you are sure it all has to be in cash." "I take credit cards," he replied. I still had the Southland Visa with a lot more than that on it, so yes I was tempted but decided not to do it. "Will you take a check?" "I will take a good check," he replied. "Then a check it is," I said, winking at Ed. I made sure Michael saw the wink. Might as well give him something to think about. The bank called fifteen minutes after Michael left. I seldom used a paper check, so they wanted to be sure I would approve the check. I did of course. I could see how trustworthy Michael thought I was. I got a big smile from his opinion of me. I was impatient when Lucas finally arrived. "Sorry, I'm late, I had to drop a project off at school." "How about this, Luke, if you are going to be here after nine, you give me a call. You don't have office hours, so come in anytime you want, just let me know when it is that you want." "Yes Ma'am, I can do that," he replied. "And about the Ma'am and Ms Stone thing, let's find something you would be comfortable calling me that isn't going to make me feel like your grandmother." "Er, okay," he agreed. "I have been called, Maxine, Max, and Stone, either will do. Why don't you give them a try and see if one works for you." "Could we add Boss?" he asked. "Yes, I think that would be okay." "Then I can find one or more that will work for us both," he agreed. "So do you need coffee, or can we go to work?" I asked. "I'm ready to work, Boss," he said smiling. "Then you drive. You do know how to work the GPS?" "Yes, Boss, everybody has one of those now," he informed me. "Not everyone, but I'm glad you are familiar with it." "Wow, I love the van," he said, at first glance. I took a good look and had to agree with him. Michael Burke had done an excellent job. It was obvious from the stick figure man that it was a delivery van, without ever saying it. "Yes, I think he did a beautiful job. Now let's go see how smart we are." As is usually the case, the two hard to find deliveries were anti-climactic. Both of them were thrilled at the prospect of something for nothing, so the legend of the mooch continued. 'You can lead a mooch to water, and he will drown in it'. I was surprised that even the new ones seemingly went easier. We didn't have to convince any of the new ones to admit to their real identity. Luke just looked on his clipboard, read off the name and said please. Everyone one of them fessed up to their identity right away. I was so very pleased by the change that I could hardly contain myself. Lucas and I served five papers in three hours. It was just after lunch when we pulled away from the last service. Lucas had the rest of the day free, so after I bought his lunch, we went shopping. I drove the van to the Army and Navy surplus store in Tryon twenty odd miles away. There is a lot more new stuff than surplus in those stores these days. Since there was hell of a good salesman working at the store, I ended up buying everything there, including a shotgun for Lucas and a box of beanbag rounds. It cost me $2200 bucks, but I was glad to skip the run all over hell looking for stuff at other places. In the price were half a dozen ID card holders on chains to be worn around the neck. I saw them and on an impulse I bought them. Even the radios were first class. The relay controllers were small enough to fit in a man's shirt pocket or my jeans pocket. The Bluetooth headset was wireless, so it was really a nice piece of equipment. If I hadn't thought we would be more than ten feet apart, I wouldn't have needed the pocket radio units. It was more of a repeater, than a standalone unit. A digital recorder came with the base unit that went in the van. I had not anticipated buying either the recorder or a base unit, but the set came with all the pieces and it was on budget, so why not. The salesman assured me that the mini stun guns would stop a pissed off bull on PCP. I hoped that was true. The model he sold me could be laid on a victim's body and held there without firing, or fired instantly with a the trigger mechanism. It would allow us to threaten a subject. "Stand right were you are asshole or I'm gonna Taser you." It might or might not be necessary to really fire the damn thing. "So we are really going to chase bail jumpers?" Lucas asked, when we were in the van headed back to Aster. "It looks as though we are. I guess our first one is going to be Lori the lush. The first thing we need to do when we get back to the office is find her." "I know, check the police report and find out who might know where she is?" Lucas half asked, and half informed me. "Right, if she isn't really in the wind, we have a shot. She isn't worth enough to chase her outside the area." "I am so going to love this job," the kid said. "You are so going to be sorry you said that," I replied with a laugh. ------- Chapter 18 Ed walked in with his designer coffee just a little before 9 AM that next morning. "That was quite a load of toys you brought in yesterday. I should have stayed to take inventory," he suggested. "Not toys, Ed, those are tools. Blevins warned me that if I got Lucas killed, the cops would not be happy." "They still hold the nurse against you?" "Not the cops so much, but those nurses do, and the cops hold the nurses against them. So to keep peace, they say snarky things about me." "So what did you get to keep the kid safe?" Ed asked. "A bulletproof vest, radios, pepper spray, stun guns, and best of all, a 12 gauge shotguns that shoots beanbags." "So many non-lethal weapons; what if the bad guys don't want to stand still for being shot with a beanbag." "Then I guess, I'll have to kill them," I said, with a little laugh. "That's what I thought. Lucas is going to shout into the radio. 'Quick, Ms Stone, come shoot this bastard.'" "Yeah, that's kind of what I thought too." I waited a reasonable amount of time then said, "Give me everything you have on Lori the lush." "Ah, so I'm going to be the one to get your cherry?" Ed suggested. "Only if you have a time machine," I advised him. Since Lori had been a FTA, failure to appear, Ed's file had a lot of paperwork. He had tried to track her down, but had no success. I took delivery of the file, but I didn't open it. I decided to hold it for Lucas. I had the file on my desk about ten minutes when Lucas came into the room. "Morning, Lucas," I said. "Good morning, Boss and Ed," Lucas answered, "So what's the plan for today?" "I have one process to serve, and we have to find Lori the lush. If you can't find Lori quickly, I can serve the paper while you continue to look for her. First let's go through the file and decide on a plan of action." "Good, because I don't know if I can figure out what to do by myself," he admitted. "Good for you, the first thing to do is to admit that you don't know what to do first. With that I pushed the file over to him. "Get yourself some coffee and let's brainstorm." I gave him a few minutes to read the file while I pretended to check out the order for service on my first mooch of the day. I expected more to be phoned in as the day moved forward. "Make notes and we will tape them to the wall. First write 'Who else wants Lori?"' I watched until he was finished. Then I used a bit of masking tape to attach it to the rear wall of the office. "So figure that out," I demanded. "Do they have to want to put her in jail, or just have a general interest in her?" "Good question, let's go general interest and jail her drunken ass." "Family then," Lucas said. "Why?" I asked. "Because it's what families do?" "Okay, but if you look, you will probably find that one or more of them is a co-signer on the bail bond." Ed stepped over to show him where in the file to look. "The brother co-signed a personal note with Ed." "When he signed that note, I doubt that he understood he could lose his house. We might need to point that out to him. Ed tells me you are a computer whiz?" It was a question. "I can get around on one." Lucas agreed. "Then find out what kind of car is registered to her brother. Not a lease, but an owned vehicle. Also look through the file again to see if there is a boyfriend listed for Lori. Her next of kin might not be the brother, so run that down and get an address for the next of kin and the brother. When you get them, put that on the wall. Anything else you notice that might help us, put it up there too." We went over and over the file until lunch. While we worked the file, two more papers came in to be delivered. I picked those up while Lucas continued to pour through the file. It was 2 PM when I got back to the office. There were several notes on the wall. They appeared to hold valuable information, but I knew most of it would turn into dead ends. "Okay, Lucas, let's go see the brother. You do know where to find him?" "Yes, he owns a small neighborhood convenience store." "Very good, before we go, let's crank out a court order. You can fake one, can't you?" "I don't know if that is legal," Lucas suggested. "Of course, it's not moral, who knows if is it is legal or not. Do it anyway. You will find the blue cover sheets in my desk drawer. I have them in case I damage one of the lawyer's papers, I can repair it. Of course, they are going to come in handy now." I explained exactly what I wanted the court order to say. Lucas looked skeptical, but Ed grinned. If he didn't know the exact plan, he had a damn good idea." When Lucas finished, we took the van and hit the road. The drive to the Red Dot Market took about fifteen minutes. Once inside, I hung around the coffee machine until the place was empty. "Are you Dale Thompson?" I asked. "That's me, what can I do for you?" "You can accept service of this court order." I handed him the fake court order. "What is this all about?" he asked. Like most people he was too lazy to just read the damn thing. "It is an order from the District Court forbidding you to sell your 2009 Chevy pickup truck." "Why would I want to sell my truck?" "In the filing you will see that Ed Martin has put a lien on it. You signed a note with him for a bail he posted for one Lori Evans. I believe she is a relative." "Hold on now, I have nothing to do with that." "You can explain it to the judge on Monday at the hearing. In the meantime don't sell the truck." "Can you at least explain why are you doing this?" "Because Lori didn't appear for her court date and her lawyer can't find her. She has been declared a fugitive. You are signatory on the note guaranteeing her bond, so it's up to you to make the whole bond good." You can take $10K to the clerk of court on Monday, or Ed Martin will have to. If he does that, he will force the sheriff to seize your property, i.e., the truck." I had no idea how much of what I told him was true, and I didn't care. I wanted information, not the truck. "I can't believe Lori would do this to me?" "Yes, you can. People who drink and drive will do just about anything. They have very little regard for anyone else." "Yeah, I guess you are right. Can I make a deal with someone?" "Well, if we can find Lori and serve her with an arrest warrant, you would come out clean, but like I said, no one can find her." "You hold on one minute while I call my mom." "Your mom is not going to want to give her up," I suggested. "Mom will tell me where she is, if I ask her just right," he suggested. I just shrugged. When Dale left Lucas said, "Damn that was slick. I almost believed you myself." "I do believe it. You have to believe it to make the mooches believe it, Hon." I finished the coffee before he came back. "She is staying with her boyfriend. This is his address. Now does this square us?" "Not till I serve her. She can still skip, you can swear you did your part, but Mr. Martin winds up in the quicksand. No, when I have her signature on the paper, you are off the hook." "Be careful," Dale said. "Her boyfriend is one mean son of a bitch." "What now?" Lucas asked. "Now we go sit on the house. I want to see her ass before I crash into the house and get shot. I would rather take her on the street, or in a shopping mall, anywhere would be better than breaking into somebody's house to do it. We are going to remember what Dale said about the boyfriend." We sat on the address Dale gave us until the light went on inside. Over three hours and no one came out of the house. I saw her go to the car just before dark, but she didn't leave, she just removed a sweater from the driver's seat. "Now what?" Lucas asked. He was getting antsy and I didn't blame him. "Let's go make a delivery and a pickup," I suggested. "Cool, what do I do?" "You just hang back but keep that stun gun by your leg ready to use. If the boyfriend moves toward me, do not wait for him to reach me before you hit him with that thing." "Got you," he said. "Lucas, remember, we are just there to deliver an envelope nothing more, nice and friendly. When we get her separated from the boyfriend, I'll grab her and you watch my back. Right?" "Right," he replied. We pulled the van into the drive and went to the door. I had the white envelope, with lots of labels and stuff on it, in my hand. The boyfriend looked over the van real good even before he asked. "What Ya'll want?" "Got an envelope for a Lori Evans." "I'll take it," he said. "Sorry, she has to sign, if she isn't available, I can come back tomorrow. I made is seem important that I get a signature, but not that it be that moment. I hoped it take some of the pressure off. "Hold on," he said, as he disappeared back into the house. He returned a few minutes later, but following behind Lori. "What you go for me?" she asked smiling. I pushed the clipboard to her. She opened the storm door to reach out. I grabbed her arm and pulled, since she was off balance, she stumbled onto the porch. "Bail agents, Lori Evans, you are under arrest for failing to appear." I turned her quickly before she regained her balance enough to struggle. She ended facing the storm door and in effect blocking out the much larger boyfriend, at least temporarily. It was a classic move to use the prisoner as a shield. Even as I did it, I put the flex cuffs on her. Okay, I admit it was not very honorable, it was sort of a sucker punch, but who gives a fuck. Staying alive and healthy is more important. Just ask anyone who has ever been in a truly dangerous situation it comes down to keeping as safe as possible. The door block worked for about a minute. That's how long it took for the boyfriend to realize he needed to go out the back door. I knew what he was going to do because it's what I would have done. I said quietly to Lucas, "Hold onto her." I managed to make it to the corner of the house at the same time the boyfriend came around the corner. First, I tripped him, then I hit him with the stun gun. Yes, it was yet another cheap shot. "Get her into the van," I said to Lucas, "And get it running." I stayed with the boyfriend just long enough to be sure he wasn't going to die instantly. In twenty minutes it might happen, but at least I could swear that he was alive when I left. "You're a real bitch," Lori said to me, when I entered the car. "Yes, I really am a bitch. Now let me explain something to you. You are going to cooperate with me or I am going to hit you with that stun gun for no reason other than you pissed me off. Lucas and I can carry you into the jail and we still get paid. The only reason I haven't done it so far is that it's easier to walk you in, but not that much easier, so be a good girl. She saw the logic in my argument, but she couldn't help herself. She had to say, "Robbie is going to kill you." "I believe Robbie is going to try to kill me." I said smiling. I was not smiling inside. I began to shake as I remembered all the other times I had been terrified during my life, and there were plenty. I am sure as hell not the heroine type. I must be a fear junkie though, because I find myself coming back for more, even when I no longer have to. "Should I be worried?" Lucas asked. "You should be careful. You wanted to be a cop, people are going to threaten you every day you are a cop. They may not say, "I'm gonna kill you," but someone, somewhere, is thinking it every minute. It's like being an American in Iraq. ------- Chapter 19 Friday morning, I arrived at the office first, as usual. I had the coffee cooking when Ed came through the front door. He was all smiles. "I called the jail this morning and they told me my lost little Lori had found her way back to the flock." "Does that make me the good shepherd?" I asked. "It does indeed, my wayward child," he said grinning widely. "Well, you can save your preaching for someone who has a little less colorful past." "Well, regardless, I am grateful for her return." Ed replied. "I imagine that you are, since you were on the hook for ten grand," "Yes, I was going to have a significant loss if she hadn't found her own way back." "I'm not so sure that I would characterize it as finding her own way back." "She just needed a little help. You and Lucas were her guides back to the straight and narrow." "Ed, I hope you don't really believe that," I said, seriously. "Let's say that I would like to believe it, but that I'm going to pay you your bounty because I'm sure there will be others. I would much rather you take my money than the thug." "I would rather take it, than have him take it for sure," I said, with a smile. "Hey, boss lady, did we do good or what?" Lucas asked, walking through the front door with a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. "We did very good, but we were also very lucky," I replied. "Better to be lucky than good," he said, quoting me. "Yes, but better to be stinking rich than either," I added for him. I held up my coffee cup to Lucas, and said, "Here's to us, and those like us, damn few left." "He didn't know what to make of it and I didn't explain." The day turned out to be so routine that it was almost boring. It would have been, had I not spotted Lori's boyfriend Robbie hanging around the park across the street from the office. "So what do you think he wants?" I asked of both men. "You," Ed said, reaching for the phone. "Hold off, Ed, maybe he wants Lucas. If so, we should just deliver him up." "Not funny, Max," Lucas said. "Well, before we call the cops, one of us should walk over and see what he wants." "I'll go," Lucas said. "No, you stay here with your cell phone camera. I want whatever happens on tape, so that there is no question that I killed his ass in self-defense." I took the Glock 10mm from the storage room. It came in a pancake butt holster with a spring clip. It was easy to push on my wide leather belt just above my ass. It was the best place to conceal it. At least, the best one that was easy to get to. I took a long sip of coffee then walked across the street. ""What the fuck you doing stalking me?" I asked, all tensed up. I was in the fight or flight mode and nothing I could do but wait. "No, Ma'am, I'm here working up the courage to go into Mr. Martin's office." "What you want Ed for? Your problem is with me." "It ain't like that. I need to see about bail for Lori." I almost choked trying to swallow my laughter. "Well, come on and get it over with. You are making us all nervous." I walked behind him as we crossed the street. I could hardly contain myself when he stammered his way through begging Ed to go Lori's bond. "Son, you are out of your mind. Your girlfriend is a lying drunk. There is no way I will go her bond. See if you can find somebody with a house to put that up instead." I started to lunch right after Robbie left the office. It was early, but I was bored. I was almost in the car when Lucas rushed out. "Hey, can I come along?" "Long as you pay your own way, you are always welcome." He settled into the passenger seat, then I pulled from the parking space. "So anywhere you want to go?" "Not really, I just wanted to have lunch with you." He smiled one of those mysterious smiles young men have. I am never sure if it's just I don't know what it means, or if it means nothing at all. I think most of the time they don't know either. "Well, I can always use the company, but it's not usual that I have lunch with anyone. So you are going to have to come up with places to go or settle for what I usually have." "Whatever you have is fine," he assured me. "Okay," I said, as I pulled into the parking lot of a super Wal-Mart store. I parked the van as close to the door as I could. "We are going to have lunch at Wal-Mart?" Lucas asked. "Oh hell no, we are going to buy our lunch at Wal-Mart." "Okay, but is there really a difference?" I gave him one of those mysterious smiles that meant absolutely nothing. I walked straight to the deli. "Hello, Maxine, how you doing today?" the badly overweight woman behind the counter asked. "I'm doing just fine, Lucy. Lucy, this is Lucas, he works with me." "Hi Lucas, what can I get you two?" she asked. "Don't know about the kid, but I want a Bacon and Egg Sandwich on one of those fancy rolls you used last time." "Do you want cheese on that?" she asked. "No thanks, but I would like tomato and mayo," I smiled. "Don't look at me like that, Maxine, I ain't your mother. I don't care how many unhealthy things you put in your body." When she finished the sandwich, she turned to Lucas. "Now how about you, Son?" "I see on your sign that you have turkey. Could I have a turkey with lettuce and cheese in a pita?" "Of course you can. Now what to drink, you two?" "Put two cream sodas in with my order." I turned to Lucas, "Kid, both of them are for me ... Just sayin," I replied to his look. We left the Wal-Mart store and drove to the city's reservoir/marina. I led the way to the terrace of the office building. I ate my still warm sandwich and drank my soda while watching the community college's sailing class. There weren't there every time I came, but they were hugely entertaining every time they were. "Do you do this everyday?" he asked. "Lord, no, but I do it often enough. Today is a little chilly, but I'm going to try to squeeze a few more lunches in before the cold gets here. " Aster and Tryon both have a lot of chilly evenings in the winter months, but not too many of the days are really cold. It's a great climate overall and a lot of why I came back. "Can I ask you something, Boss?" "You can ask anything. I just might or might not answer." "Okay, are you really going on a date with that college boy?" "I am really going to the Dungeon for a drink tonight at nine. I have no idea if the kid will be there. I am old enough to be his mother." "I guarantee you that his mother isn't anywhere near as exciting as you." "That's a nice thing to say. I would invite you to come along, but you aren't quite old enough to go to a bar." "I'm twenty," he said. "Yes, and the drinking age is twenty-one. Don't worry, it will come soon enough, then they get closer and closer together as you get older." "You know he is only a year or two older than me." "I know, but I'm just going to have a drink in a college bar. I didn't get to go to college, it will be fun. And Lucas, it will be harmless. I won't let him break my heart." "Good," he said seriously. To be honest I had forgotten about the promise to meet the college boy. I would simply have not shown up if Lucas had not mentioned it. But since he did mention it, I decided to at least dress for it. After work, I went home to wash and set the little bit of hair I had. I tried everything, but it still looked like a squirrel's ass. I gave up on trying to make it look grownup, and went to childish. I just put mousse on it and spiked it up. I looked like a fucking orphan, but it was something more than laying flat on my head. It looked a bit like pubic hair though. I found a very expensive knit top on my metal shelf unit, which I used for folded clothes storage. It was big and bulky, so it would be warm on the chilly night. I probably should have worn jeans, but a first date usually called for something a little nicer. I had a very nice just above the knees skirt I had worn a few times. It was for a dinner now and then with someone special, or a business meeting. I was going all out for a kid half my age. Then again, he was a kid half my age; that in itself was something. I wanted to impress him in that 'Mrs. Robinson' kind of way. I also decided that if Joey was a no show, I would swing by the Cop Out. No sense letting it all go to waste. I need not have worried. When I arrived at the basement beer bar just off campus, Joey was sitting at the bar watching the door carefully. "You did come, I wasn't sure you would." "I told you at the office. I don't date much." "I'm sure that's only because you don't want to date. I can't imagine that men don't ask you out all the time." "Well you really do know how to flatter a woman." I commented. "Thank you. Would you like a beer or a glass of wine?" "Beer. So, Joey, is this typical of a college bar these days?" "Well, they all have a lot in common but the decorations are usually different. Isn't it what you remember from your time?" "I didn't go to college, Joey. That's really why I came. I thought I should see what it was like at least once." I didn't tell him about the professor two months before. "You really want to see what social life at college is like?" he was beaming at me. "Well, if it isn't too dangerous?" "Not at all. The art department is screening Rocky Horror Picture Show tonight at midnight. Would you like to go see it." "Let's see how I feel at midnight. I'm a poor working girl, after all." I was impressed with Joey. Part of the reason I held off agreeing to the movie was that his dad was a drunk. That runs in families, so I wanted to see what he was like after a couple of hours of drinking. To my surprise, he drank very little. Actually, I had a hard time not out drinking him. I really didn't want to do that. By 11 PM we had danced a few times. Just like the men at the Cop Out, I felt his erection. I didn't mention it, and he didn't either. I thought that was also a good sign. Nothing less romantic than a guy whispering in your ear, "Can you feel the size of the hardon you are giving me? Don't you want to suck that, Baby?" I'm sorry, guys, that just doesn't do it for me. At 11 PM we were both reasonably sober, and I for one was having a good time. Joey had a great sense of humor. He was able to laugh at his friends and even himself. That was always a good thing in a man. "So how about that movie?" he asked. "Sure, why not, in for a penny and all that," I said in reply. I rode to the campus with Joey in a very big SUV. "I thought all you college kids were into saving the planet and shit." "Hell no, Max, we are all about telling you to save the planet." "Ah now I see." I smiled, because Joey had a great way of phrasing things, so that it cut to the core. "Here we are at the media arts building. They have a small movie theater here. The large one is in the student union building." "How small is small. I mean this isn't a DVD on you dorm room flat screen, is it?" "Damn, I wish I had thought of that," he said, with a smile. "No, the theater seats 250. I have no idea how many of us there will be since they don't sell tickets." The theater wasn't empty and it wasn't full, it was just sorta full. "It's not exactly a night out kind of event. It's more a teaching event," Joey explained to me. "So no popcorn and Cokes?" I asked. "Exactly." he explained. "Crap, Joey, that's the only reason I came." "And the Juju beads," he suggested. "Those too," I agreed. The movie did start on time, The theater filled up to the point that there was one empty seat between us and the couple beside us. I watched the first five minutes or so and wondered if it would be really rude for me to go to the ladies room and not come back. I was at that point, when I felt Joey kiss my neck and whisper in my ear. "You wanted to know what it was like to be a college student. Well, just relax and enjoy it." I turned me head toward him to ask what he meant, instead I felt his lips on mine and quickly felt his tongue in my mouth. Joey was what I like to call an enthusiastic kisser. He was trying to turn me on with the movement of his tongue over mine. It was a cheap trick, but one that always worked. After the kiss had lasted at least three minutes, I felt his hand lift my sweater so that he could get under it. I felt his warm fingers lift my bra so that my breast sprang free. When I remembered how young Joey was, it sent a shiver through me. He could obviously tell from my breathing, and lack of resistance, that he had me on the ropes. He squeezed my breasts and pinched my nipples. I responded by moaning into his mouth. I could feel the heat between my legs as well as my aching nipples. I had almost no realization that anyone else was in the world, let alone in the theater. Every time I took a deep breath and realized that someone might be watching, it sent a shudder through me. It was new to me and I realized how exciting it all was. "God, you are so sexy," Joey said. "No, you are. God, where did you learn all this." "Lots of practice with older women. Now open your legs and take off your panties." It was a shock to hear a twenty something year old child say those words forcefully. Nonetheless, I did as he said. I felt his hand on my thighs almost immediately. "When you cum, what are you going to do for me?" he asked. "What do you want," I asked in my whiny voice. "I want you to raise your skirt and sit on my dick," he said, in a whisper. "People will see," I said, surprised that he would ask. "Of course, they will see, do you really care?" As he asked, he slipped a finger inside me. My body sucked his finger in. I didn't just open to him, I tried to work it deeper into me. "So, do you care if they see you?" "No, I don't care," I moaned, as he moved his finger in and out of me. "Then do it as you cum. Stand up and come sit in my lap." "Yes," I said, as I rocked against his hand and buried his fingers even deeper in me. Suddenly I was on the verge of an orgasm, so I stood and moved to lower myself onto his exposed cock. He wasn't huge, but he was large enough to give me a nice full feeling when I was as far down as I could go. "God, you are tight as a virgin," he said. "I haven't done this in a while." "I can tell. Now rock on my dick until I cum in you, then you cum for me." I rocked on his cock for about five minutes. I felt him stiffen and try to drive even deeper into me. I began to touch my clit as I continued to rock on his cock. I bit my tongue, trying not to make any noise. I am positive that I didn't succeed. I kept my eyes closed so that I wouldn't have to see them stare at me ... I slipped off the cock that had impaled me and slipped back into the seat I had started the evening occupying. It took me several minutes to recover, then I whispered "Can we leave?" "Of course," he replied. We were in his SUV beside my parked minivan when I said, "Don't ever call me again." "I hadn't planned on it, Max, you aren't that special." I nodded my understanding then left his SUV. Of course, it hurt my feelings, but he was right. I was terrible at relationships. The kind I had were doomed from the beginning. ------- Chapter 20 Doctors at the military hospital said, "You sure do heal fast, Sergeant Stone." They were right, I heal very fast. I was past Joey's not so gentle goodbye before the sun went down on Saturday. It still hurt, but it didn't stop me from planning a trip to the Cop Out. I was enjoying my weekend, since I didn't know when one with nothing to do would come around again. With Lucas pushing me to chase bail jumpers, I might not be able to take too many weekends completely off. "Max, what do you have planned for tonight?" I recognized the tinny voice on my cell phone as my best friend Jennifer. "I thought I might go out for a beer later, why?" "Bob and I are having a party tonight. I know it's late notice, but you don't really need much notice do you?" "Well, it helps if you give a me little, yeah. Who are the other guests?" "Why does that matter?" "Is Marty back in town?" I asked. "As a matter of fact he is, but this isn't really about him." "Oh, then is he going to be at the party?" "Yes, but trust me, it isn't about Marty." "Then why the last minute invitation." "It's about Tommy Thompson. You do remember Tommy." "Tommy Thompson the high school football stud who got your virginity?" I askedm smiling even if she couldn't see it. "Yes Max, the same Tommy Thompson who also got yours." "I always said we shared way too much in high school," I added for her. "At least we didn't share the clap. The bastard gave that to about half the girls in school, but it was after us." "Yeah, we were the lucky ones." I laughed into the phone. "Anyhow, you are throwing this guy a party? What does your husband think of that?" "He thinks it will be fun," Jen said, laughing like a loon. "Well, I don't think it is, so I'm going to pass it up." "You will be sorry. I saw his picture online today. He is some kind of motivational speaker these days. Very distinguished looking you know." "I can imagine. He probably explains how he seduced almost half the females at Aster High. That includes the teachers and office staff as well, I'm told." I was having a grand time laughing at the thought of his motivations speech, "Come on, Max, you know you want to see him." "You have to be kidding. Why would I want to see that jerk?" "So that you can tell him what a jerk he is." "Jen, I really don't have anything to wear." "Wear your jeans over. You know I have clothes in three sizes, just pick something from my skinny wardrobe." "Right." I agreed. "Say you will come, it's for dinner. Helen is coming over to cook for me." Helen was hands down the best cook in town. She was so good that she picked who she wanted to cook for, and they were thrilled that she chose them. It had gotten to be a snob thing. I remembered Helen from back in the day. She was the mother of the town's infamous high school slut. The poor girl ran away over twenty five years before, and no one had heard from her since After her daughter left town, Helen just lost interest in everything. Up until that time she has been a deaconess in one of the local churches. She found God when her husband was killed in a railroad accident. After Sue ran away, she lost her faith, they said. She began cooking just to keep herself fed, the story goes. So after all those years, Helen would be cooking dinner for one of her daughter's few friends, and one of her daughter's many tormentors. I was the friend, and Tommy Thompson was the tormentor. Life takes some really strange twists and turns along the path to the grave. I arrived an hour before the 8 PM official beginning of the party. I did it so that I could raid Jennifer's closet. I found a little black dress that would fit well enough except that I am an inch shorter than Jen. That means that the hem struck me at the knee. Dresses should be above the knee or before the knee, but not on the knee. Not much I could do about it. I definitely did not have time to hem it myself. Since I was at the party early, I helped Jennifer set up the house. Making an upper middle class home into a party house would require a lot more talent that either of us had, so we just faked it. The den furniture got pushed into the living room, which got closed off. The dining room became a buffet of sorts. The terrace was for dancing, even though it was a bit chilly, it would do. Especially after people had a drink or two. "Hello, Helen, how have you been?" I asked, as she brought a big stainless steel pan of chicken wings to the dining room table... "Maxine, I heard you were back. I heard about that thing with the gangsters, how are you now?" "I'm fine, Helen, but you didn't answer my question. How have you been?" "Nothing ever changes with me, Maxine, you should know about loss. I hear you have had some rough times." "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." "Do you really believe that?" Helen asked. "Not really, but it's what people want to hear," I answered. "Yes, it is the kind of empty BS they love," Helen said. "Have you heard anything from Sue?" "No, I keep hoping that one day I will, but so far nothing." "Well, I'll keep a good thought for you." I suggested. "And I'll pray for you?" she said. "Well, what passes for prayer these days." "So, do you want a drink?" Jennifer asked. I think it was more to move Helen back into the work mode, than anything else. "No thanks, Jen, I'm just going to be a coffee drinker tonight. Otherwise, who knows what might happen. I mean me and you in the same room with the man who popped both our cherries. Alcohol does not seem like a good idea somehow." "Certainly not if you came with a gun?" I recognized it was a question. "I left it locked in the car," I reported. "Well, that's a step in the right direction." "If you say so, but you may regret it, if Tommy is as big an ass as he was in school." "We didn't think he was an ass back then." "Well, we also thought dying our hair red was a good idea," I suggested. "It was a good idea; it just didn't help our love lives." "Well, there was always, Tommy, the guy who would screw anyone just to add a name to his list of conquests." "Damn, Max, I thought it was true love." "Yeah right, he truly loved getting laid. He was the first man I ever met who really believed in, 'cull not, want not.'" "Yeah, the man had no taste." "Oh he had taste; he just preferred to ignore it at times. When he screwed me, I was fifty pounds overweight," I said. "Yeah, I had pimples everywhere, but he still did it to me." Jennifer said. "Now look at us, I have had my face sanded more times than a hundred year old kitchen cabinet, and you are thin as hell." "Yeah well, let's see, all I had to do was go live in the desert three times in five years, then take a piece of steel in my belly, and for good measure, have someone rupture my esophagus. Boy, have I taken good care of my wonderful body." "Well you aren't going to call him an asshole in my house, are you? Remember, Max, he is a guest." "I still don't know why you are hosting this party. You weren't anymore special to this jerk than I was." "True, but there is a better than 50/50 chance he is going to be our next senator. I want to be a judge one day. It won't hurt to have him remember me for more than a tight pussy." "I'm sure he doesn't remember you at all," I said, with a laugh. "I bet he will pretend to remember us both now that we are foxes," Jen said. "Jen, you are a fox; I'm a middle-aged spinster." "Not at all," she said. "Jen, I went to a college bar with a 22 year old kid last night." "See, you still have it." "First of all how pathetic would I look with some kid hanging on me. Secondly, after I screwed him in public, he told me I wasn't special at all." "Ouch, you did use one of those Karate moves on him?" "No, I crawled home and cried myself to sleep." "If Tommy is an ass tonight, go on out to the car and get your gun." "If he is fundraising, he will be nice to everyone. Phony as hell, but charming about it," I couldn't help the smile. "I know. By the way, Marty will be here," she said. "You told me he wouldn't be here," I snapped. "No, I said wasn't about him. He is going to contribute to Tommy's campaign." "Let me tell you right now, I am going to eat a plate of Helen's chicken wings, then I'm going to shake the asshole's hand and leave. If you know what's good for you, you will follow me." "Just talk to Marty, he wants to make a settlement." "Why would he do that? Surely it isn't because he is an honorable man, doing the honorable thing." "Damn it, I'm in the middle on this and I hate it." Jennifer really did appear to be in distress. "Max, you are a big hit on the biker circle. Seems Marty was posting more photos than we thought. Not porno, just you and the bike. He wants you to do more commercials for the Internet." "You want my answer, quote me on this," "Fuck off, Marty." I said to the night air, through the patio door. "He is willing to pay." "No thanks," I said. Thompson arrived to save the day. Well, to at least stop the fight that was brewing. His assistant introduced him to Jennifer, who he pretended to remember. With me he didn't even bother to pretend. I decided then, that it really was a good thing that I didn't have my pistol. I spent two of the longest hours of my life at the party. When I could stand it no more, I slipped out. "Blevins, how the hell are you?" I asked, as I sat down at the table with three police officers and a woman I had never met. "I'm fine, Max, how are you?" "Better now that I am in a sleazy beer joint with my friends." "What makes you think that we are your friends?" the woman asked. "Good point, you obviously know my name, so what's yours?" "Anya Brice, Detective Anya Brice," she informed me, curtly. "Well, Detective Brice, where have they been hiding you?" "That is need to know and you don't," she replied. The woman definitely knew how to make an impression, as long as you don't mind it being a negative one. She didn't seem to care what I thought, or maybe she wanted me to thing she was a bitch. I was about ready to tell her not to let her mouth overload her ass, when Blevins jumped in. "Max, you were in the service for a lot of years, do you have any ink?" "I got a couple of small ones," I said. "Oh really, where are they?" Anya asked. "It's need to know and you don't," I replied. "Okay, then what are they?" Blevins asked. "A flag with my enlistment date and the date my husband was killed in Iraq under it. For God and Country over it." "I didn't know you were ever married," Blevins said. "Sometimes, I have problems believing it myself." I admitted, "But actually more than once." "Lucas called me," Blevins said, changing the subject once again, since he noticed that it bothered me. "Oh yeah, what's he complaining about?" "He is so high about that take down you two made last week, he won't be complaining for a while." "Good, everybody hates a whiner," I said. "You seem a little out of it?" Anya commented quietly to me. "It's been a roller coaster week, I just need to get drunk, hit the reset button, and start over on Monday." "So why don't you?" "I don't drive drunk." "Do you know the Hazelwood?" she asked. "That bed and breakfast across the square. I haven't been in it, since it was a railroad hotel. I used to go in for ice cream at their soda shop on Sundays." "It's quite nice. A good friend of mine runs it now. Drink all you want. I'll give her a call and make sure there is room for you. I can make sure you get there safe. "In that case the drinks are on me." "Sorry, I can't do that. It would look twisted to my cop buddies," she said, with a sick smile. "I am way familiar with the old, 'how would it look to my friends' bit." I informed her... ------- Chapter 21 I opened my eyes, then immediately closed them again. I tried to process how I felt and where the hell I was. My mind did not want to work at all. I tried to force it to be rational, but nothing happened. I just lay there in stupor. The first thing I realized was that it was not my bed. It was far too large, soft, and smelled too good to be mine. Then I got this feeling that I wasn't alone. Maybe it was the odd perfume, or after shave, it was hard to tell the difference, that gave it away. Maybe it's the breathing that wasn't coming from me, or maybe it was the feel of skin pressed against my naked ass. That Sunday morning it was definitely skin. Since I didn't feel a penis, or boobs, he or she had to be sleeping turned away from me. I don't really mind being held, and I don't mind not being held, what I mind is not knowing who is holding or not holding me. Before I made an ass of myself, I tried to remember what had happened the night before. I remember Jen's stupid party, and I remember the Cop Out. I even remember the invitation by Anya. So odds were good that I was in the fancy bed and breakfast downtown. Did that mean Anya was beside me, or did she sell me into slavery after she got me drunk. I decided I just had to know, so I turned to the person sharing the bed with me. The person was not Anya or anyone else I knew. I had gotten drunk and gone to bed with a stranger. Very nice, at least odds were the person wasn't a sexual sadist, since it was a middle-aged woman like me. Well, she wasn't exactly like me. She would have been gorgeous, if she were about thirty pounds thinner. I do not mean model gorgeous, I mean movie star gorgeous. Blood hair, full lips, big boobs, complete with big brown nipples, and wider hips than any model. I know all this because she rolled toward me when I rolled to her. She appeared to still be sleeping. I tried to slip from the bed, but she awoke. "Wellm good morning, how do you feel?" she asked, in a warm husky voice. "I would be a lot better, if I knew where I was and how I got here." The woman had a beautiful laugh, as well as a beautiful body. "You are at the Hazelwood Inn. As to how you got here, that was arranged by our mutual friend, Anya." "I must have been terribly drunk not to remember anything." I said. "To be honest, you were pretty out of it, but I also gave you something to help you sleep. Sometimes it causes temporary amnesia. It will only last a few hours, then you will probably remember more than you want." "Oh, why more than I want to remember?" "The tea I made for you also dampens inhibitions. That is not why I gave it to you. I gave it to you because Anya said you needed to rest and clear your mind." "So I did make an ass of myself?" "Not as far as I am concerned, but you might think so when your memory returns." I reassessed how I felt and I had to admit that I felt perfectly fine physically. I wasn't tired or hung over. Except for the gap in my memory, I felt the best I had in weeks. I took a good look at her, she was naked and I was in her bed. I didn't know her, but I knew me. "Did we have sex?" I wasn't smiling. "Yes Dear, but I assure you that it was your idea." "Oh, I don't doubt that for a moment. You are sexy as hell, I can imagine anyone, man or woman, who wouldn't want to have sex with you. I would like to know how it happened though." "Don't worry, I promise you will remember in a few hours. I would really rather you remember it, than for me to tell you." "Okay, but was Anya part of it, or was it just me and you." "You will remember it all I promise, but for now, Anya left you here with me for safekeeping." "Okay, but did she know what would happen?" "She knows me from her work and you by reputation. That's what she told me anyway." "She isn't bi?" "She probably is, but I'm not sure she knows it yet." "She just goes around rescuing drunks and playing matchmaker?" "Something like that," the woman admitted. She gave me a long meaningful look then pulled the sheet back. "Oh one thing I have to tell you, Anya made me promise to tell her all about your tattoo." "Was that the charge for her moonlight gig as a pimp?" I asked. "Well to be honest, even drunk out of your mind, you would have been worth whatever she wanted." "Believe it or not, I have heard that before." "Oh I believe it, now show me your tattoo and then come back to bed." I turned so that she could see the flag on my back just above my ass. "Ah a butt stamp, very nice. Now come to bed." It wasn't a demand, but it was a little more firm than a suggestion. "Don't you have to do the breakfast part of the bed and breakfast?" "I have a couple who run the inn day to day. I'm more the strategy person." "Family money?" "How did you know?" "This place might make enough to pay its own way and to pay the couple, but I doubt that you can pay a mortgage and have enough left for yourself." "Let's say my mom and dad weren't thrilled to have a daughter who had girlfriends instead of boyfriends. They agreed to give me my inheritance early, if I promised to stay away." "Damn, too bad my family was poor. I stayed away for nothing," I said, as I slipped into bed with her. I tried to live up to my abandonment the night before. I kissed her while running my rough hands over her smooth skin. I kissed and licked her neck while my hands wandered over her body. She moved, telling me without words when she was ready for the next caress. Her body was gently vibrating when she pulled my face to her breasts. I licked her nipples and gently sucked them into my mouth. First one, then the other, found its way into my warm wet mouth. I had a finger buried inside her warm wet cavern and my mouth filled with her right nipple, when she said, "You are every bit as good sober. Just as Anya promised, you are quite the whore." Now you would think that would turn me off, but I really wasn't turned on, so there was no mood to break. What I did wonder was how Anya knew I was a good little whore. I didn't think too many women knew that. Sure a couple of her cop buddies had heard the stories about me and the intern no doubt. That wasn't something to recommend me to the bed and breakfast lady. When she was ready, she put a hand on each side of my head and pushed me down her body. I did as she demanded. I found her clit in my mouth, even while two of my fingers were still inside her. When she came, it was with a moan and gasp that was a little frightening. That gasp was similar to the sound some people make when they pass into the next world. I hoped that I hadn't given her a heart attack. "Oh God, you are the best lover I have had since I left Boston," she said. "Thanks," I stood up and started to dress. "Don't you want me to make you cum." "No thanks, I'm not really a morning person." "Then why?" "I pay my debts," I said, with a smile. "By the way, what's your name?" "Oh shit, I never did introduce myself. I'm Margie and I know you are Maxine." "Yes, that's me. Well, Margie, I have to be going. I have things to do today, even though it is Sunday." Margie pouted, then said, "You can come back here anytime you like. I will give you the same special rate." She giggled like a schoolgirl. When I arrived home, it was to find the place just as I had left it, a total mess. No one had magically come in to clean the mess. I swept, mopped, and dusted before I sat down to enjoy my pity party. I relived the last couple of days and saw how out of control my personal life was becoming. Okay, it was my sex life that was out of control. It seemed as though I had forgotten how to say no. When I was in the military, I knew what kind of trouble I would be in if my escapades became common knowledge. I was a lot more circumspect back then. I also knew when to say no thanks. I seemed to have forgotten more than just how to keep things quiet. I was enjoying the sex at the moment it happened alright, but I was paying for it with some kind of regret almost instantly. It was hard for me to lay any of the guilt off on anyone else. I went into each of the situations, if not knowing exactly what would happen, at least knowing what would most likely happen, None of those predictions would have been for a good outcome. Nonetheless, I plowed right ahead with the foolishness and the expected happened. Pity party on a dreary Sunday afternoon, My latest little adventure was very worrisome, indeed. See, I understood Margie. She was a bored little rich girl looking for a distraction in the small town in which she found herself trapped. I could almost believe that she didn't drug me to get laid. She drugged me so that I could get a good night's sleep, sure she did. I could understand and almost forgive myself for doing it. I was drunk. Right, that's a real good excuse and one I didn't use often or anything ... Okay, if we weren't a 100% rational, then were at least half assed rational. All that said, my real concern was Anya and maybe even Blevins. Anya was a cop and she set me up. 'Sure drink all you want, Max, and I'll see that you are safe.' Now if Anya had been in that bed, I wouldn't be a bit worried. If that was the case, her motive would have been simple lust. I could understand that easily. Since she wasn't there, and Margie said Anya wasn't doing women at all, why the hell had she delivered me up to Margie. Was it to control or gain influence with Margie, or to use me for some kind of weird plan of her own. Then the question became, 'What did Blevins know?' It all just ran round and round in my head. I was thinking I should contact Anya and just fucking ask her. The next thought was always it might just all quietly go away. There was another question that kept going round and round in my head. Who was Anya, and what exactly did she know? What made her think that I was willing to go along with her plans, whatever they really were? One other thing that concerned me was Margie's acceptance of my characterization of Anya as a pimp. Her comfort with it seemed a little strange. I would have expected her to contradict me. She seemed to accept that I would do exactly as she wanted without question. It seemed to me that Anya might have promised her just that. Okay, maybe the drunken drugged Maxine wasn't an issue. The problem for me was that the Sunday morning Maxine still wasn't any concern to Margie. I mean she fully expected me to do her bidding, no matter what it was. Why was that, I asked myself? I tried to read them and their motives all afternoon. I finally gave up. I just washed the fuzz that passed for my hair and went to bed early. ------- Chapter 22 Sunday turned into Monday and I was grateful. I opened a new book when I woke alone on Monday. Not only did I heal fast, I also was able to deal honestly with painful things, then forgive myself, and move on. That's what I did before I got out of bed on Monday morning, forgive myself. Bits and pieces of Saturday night came back to me as I showered. I had a memory, true or false I couldn't swear to, of Anya leading me to her car. "Now, Maxine please be nice to this lady. There is more at stake than you know. I know you are pretty plastered, but be nice to her if you want to be my friend." I had no idea what she had meant. I might have known at the time, but it was part of that purple fog. I was drying myself when I remember Margie saying to Anya, "She isn't young, is she?" "No," replied Anya. "I have it on good authority that she is very enthusiastic. You said you didn't want any trouble. The young ones are nothing but trouble." "True, well it's the thought that counts anyway," Margie said. I was pretty shaky and had no idea why. It was possible that Anya had drugged me at the Cop Out. It was just as likely that I drank way too much without any help from anyone. The details of the sex came back while I drove to the office. I hadn't been too worried about the sex itself, since I didn't have an bruises or lash marks. I also didn't have any memories of biting heads off chickens, so by the time I got to the Hardee's drive thru window, I felt pretty good about Saturday night. I still didn't know whether there was anything I needed to forgive Anya for, but time would tell. "Take your order, please?" the clown said to me. Okay, it wasn't really a clown head at the drive thru, but it is a common humor point we can all share. "Two sausage biscuits," I replied. The drive from Hardee's to the office was much shorter, than the time it took the girl to put two pre-made biscuits into a paper bag. When I opened the car door, this huge black and tan dog came from some bushes. I had no idea where the dog slept or where she went the rest of the day. I knew only that she had been waiting for me every morning since my return home from the road trip. The first morning she gave me a, 'Why don't you feed me you fat bitch' look. That first morning I gave her my sausage biscuit. Since then, I had been buying her one of her own. Every morning she would finish the biscuit and be gone before Ed arrived. "Hey, Max, do you sleep here or something," Lucas asked, as he entered the office with a paper cup filled with coffee. "No, I don't sleep here. As a matter of fact, I usually don't sleep well anywhere." "So how was your weekend?" he asked. "It was just fine. How was yours?" "Fine, but I'm not the one who had a date with someone half their age." "It's a good thing. If you did that would make you a pedophile and just begging for a vacation at central prison." "You know what I mean. Did you have fun at the college bar?" "Sure it was fine, but if you want details you are going to have to find what's his name." "Hey, you two, you are in early," Ed commented, when he arrived. "I'm not early and Lucas is just on time for a change." I laughed, since we had agreed that there would be no office hours, so he couldn't have been late. "So who you gonna chase down this week?" Ed asked. "I have no idea. I do know that we are going to be serving papers, since the new court term starts this week." "Oh hear ye, hear ye." Ed said. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood for a Monday morning. I had no idea what hat gotten into them. I did know who had gotten into me. "Yeah, something like that," I replied. "I am going to suggest that you fill out the papers and get a license, then run an advertisement in some of the legal rags." Ed said. "I already run ads there," I replied. "Do it for skip trace, that's what we call it. Bring em' in dead or alive, but that's a little dangerous." "Write up what I should say, meanwhile I'll see if Blevins and Jen will reference me for a license." "How about me?" Lucas asked. "You come in as an intern," I said. "I do know a little about how it all worked," I said, in answer to the questioning looks from them both. "Okay, then you two better get to work. I'm going to call my friends in Tryon." "Ed, you don't have any friends," I suggested. "No, but I'm on speaking terms with my peers, who all happen to hate the thug." "Well, Lucas would appreciate all you can do for him," I said smiling. "By the way did Skeeter show up this morning?" Ed asked. I had mentioned her and Ed was a big time dog lover. He had been an avid hunter when young enough to tramp through the forests. "She did indeed," I replied. "How come I have never seen her," Ed asked. "If you get your lazy ass here ahead of me you would. I don't think she cares who feeds her." 'You might be surprised about that. Dogs can be picky, I don't know about feral ones thought. You still don't know where she sleeps?" "I have no idea, nor do I know where she spends the rest of her days. I hope she has a family, but she doesn't appear to have anyone." "Then damn it, let's get her some help." Lucas said, as if he had a clue about anything. "Sure, let's call the animal control officers. They can hunt her down, capture her, and put her in a shelter cage, where an adult dog has about as much chance of adoption, as I do of getting married again. It's also about the same chance as you being killed by a suicide bomber in downtown Aster, or Ed getting laid." I was on a roll. "Then there is hope," Ed said, smiling. "Then we give her till the end of the month, then one of us adopts her." Lucas said, very defensively. "Come here and look." Lucas, boy wonder, had rigged a security camera over the front door to the office. He had the video of me driving up, Skeeter walking into the picture, then taking her breakfast and disappearing. "She is a big one, even if she is skinny. Did either of you notice a collar?" Ed asked. "I couldn't tell from the video," Lucas suggested. "She doesn't have a collar. Look, let's give it a while. She seems to be doing okay. Sure she is a little skinny but I'm working on that." "Come on, Max, one sausage biscuit a day isn't enough for her," Lucas said. "If she wasn't finding more food, Son, she would be here all the time." Ed said, as he walked back to his desk. I nodded my agreement. For the next two hours, I sat around trying not to talk about my personal life. I got two calls for service. The papers wouldn't be ready for pickup until the afternoon, so it was more trying to avoid talking. Then out of the blue, Helen walked into the office. Yes, Helen the lady who cooked for Jennifer's Party. "Well hello, Helen, what can we do for you," Ed asked. It was his office after all. "I need to see Maxine, if that's okay, Mr. Martin." "Of course it is, Helen," I said, as I stood. "Would like to go somewhere a little quieter?" "That would be good," Helen said, avoiding my eyes. She was guilty about something; I hoped she hadn't drugged me Saturday night as well. If she had, it would be like. 'Murder On The Orient Express'. Who doped Max? Why everyone doped Max, of course. Once we were in the safe room, where we stored papers and my firearms collection, I asked, "What can I do for you, Helen." "Maxine, I feel real bad that I lied to you." "About what?" I asked. I could not imagine anything of consequence which Helen could have lied about. "You asked if I had heard from Sue and I said 'not since she left town.' That isn't exactly true." "Oh do you know where she is and how she is doing?" I asked, a little tentative about the whole thing. "Not really, but I got a letter four years after she left home. She said she was in trouble. When I read that, I just shut down. I read the rest of it, but I just didn't care. She had broken my heart so many times." "What kind of trouble was she in?" I concentrated on what I could help with. I was lousy at personal relationships. "Something about checks and stuff, I didn't really understand. The gist of it was she was going to prison. She wanted me to contact her because she had a baby. She wanted me to take the baby while she was in prison." "I see." I didn't really. It was just that any question I asked was going to sound like an accusation. "I didn't answer her. So I never heard from her again." "Would you mind if I asked why you didn't respond. The child was your grandchild, after all." "She also was the daughter of some black thug. Sue said her daughter was half black and only a thug would refuse to take care of his child. Plus Sue had to be involved with some sleazy people to be going to prison." "Well, those are all valid points and I can't say what I would have done. The question is now, what would you like me to do?" I knew that I was going to regret having asked, but what else could I have done. "I want you to find my daughter and my granddaughter," she said, hopefully. "Helen, I doubt seriously that I can. It's been twenty years." "I know it is asking a lot of you. I know that the odds are against you, but I want someone to try and I want it to be someone I trust. I trust you, Maxine." "I am very glad that you feel you can trust me, Helen, but it is going to take time away from my business and I frankly just can't afford it." I was searching desperately for some excuse to make it all go away. "Oh, I knew that I would have to pay you. My catering business has grown over the years. I am not rich, but I can afford to pay you." I just didn't want to do it at all. "Since the odds are so long, how about this? You pay Lucas for his computer records search. If he can find them, then you can pay me what it is worth to you for me to get them home." "Maxine, I know you are going to find them. This was just meant to be, I know it." "I hope you are right, but please don't get your hopes up." "I trust you to do the right thing," she said. I have no idea why, but at that moment I thought of Skeeter. "Helen, when you cater, do you have food left over now and then?" "My refrigerator is always full of food, I take it to the shelter or throw it out." "What time do you wake up in the mornings?" I asked. "Good Lord, Maxine, I'm always up by 6 AM, why?" "Because I have a deal for you, I also have a friend who needs you." What I didn't say was that Helen might just need Skeeter more. Maybe not, but at least Skeeter could get few better meals than Hardee's sausage biscuits. "Helen, you come here with your leftover food in the mornings at 8 AM and I will fill you in as to where we stand. Any morning you aren't here at eight with food, there will be no briefing. I made sure Helen understood before I said goodbye. I also got a copy of the letter from Sue. Helen had agreed to stop by the office the next morning, and unknown to her, she would be providing Skeeter a free meal. It would save me a buck, but more importantly, it would put one more human in Skeeter's life. I had no expectation that Helen would want to take her home, but every little bit would help socialize Skeeter again. Once our deal was struck, I handed the letter to Lucas. "Find this woman and her child?" I ordered. "How?" he asked. "You are the computer whiz, get to whizzing," I demanded. I served papers and Lucas ran down Sue Atkinson and her daughter, Topaz. Yes, against all odds, he found Sue. Topaz got lost in the foster care system, but we had a place to start. Thanks to the freedom of information act. ------- Chapter 23 I had not slept well the night before, too many things buzzing around inside my head. There was still the Anya thing back there rattling around, and it certainly needed to be settled. There, too, was there the license application, and of course, the good news, bad news conversation that was about to take place with Helen Atkinson. I pulled my minivan into the parking lot of Ed's place. I had expected to wait at least a few minutes for Helen, but her catering van was parked alone in the lot. I shut down my minivan and opened the door. When I stepped down from the van, Skeeter crept cautiously from the shrubs. She was obviously hungrier than she was afraid of the strange van. I considered it a mixed signal. "Helen, come meet your new customer." I said over my shoulder, while I kept eye contact with Skeeter. Skeeter seemed to be sending me messages with her eyes. Mostly it was just one word 'WELL?' "Bring the food, Helen," I demanded, "And move slowly, please." "Do you think he likes ham?" she asked. "Skeeter is a she, and look at her. I think she would even eat liver." I said. "Are you kidding? She would love my chicken livers in red wine sauce. Everyone loves them, even people who hate liver," Helen said, defensively. "Now what do I do, she is drooling." "You speak softly and move slowly forward. Get as close as you can, but when she starts to back away, put the plate on the ground and back away." She got within a few feet of Skeeter before the animal looked panicky. Once she did, Helen sensed it and put the plate on the ground. Helen backed to where I stood and said. "Poor thing, what's happened to her." "I have no idea, she just showed up here. She is only here at this time of the morning. She will eat, then be gone till tomorrow. Maybe she lived near here and her family just moved away, or something like that. I think she started out life with a family. It's just a feeling, I have no proof. Something has happened to make her afraid of people. She is a big dog; you can see how people might be afraid of her." I watched Helen looking at Skeeter and I just knew the time was right to tell her the bad new. "Helen, there is no good time or way to tell you this, so I just have to do it. Sue died in prison two years into her four year sentence. She might have been paroled the same year, but she didn't make it long enough." Helen began to sob. I moved to hug her while she sobbed gently. Then the strangest thing happened. The dog I couldn't bribe to come near me, moved to rub her nasty fur against Helen's leg. Helen's hand fell onto the dog's neck. Skeeter tensed, then relaxed. "What about my granddaughter?" Helen asked. "She went into the foster care system and got lost. Kids from that system don't always do well and she would be over twenty now. Lucas is going to check some more public records today. Then we'll make a new plan." Helen seemed to get a hold on herself with the news that there was some hope. Hope her granddaughter, Topaz, might be traceable. She stopped crying and moved toward her van. She was defeated for sure. Skeeter moved to the bushes with almost the same gait. My own eyes teared up. If I had been a more human person, I would have been balling. I decided then that even if it took ten years, I would find that little girl. Even though she wasn't little any more, she was still lost. I was going to make it my mission in life to at least give her the chance her mother didn't have. The chance to come home again and spit in Thomas Wolfe's eye. Just as soon as he came into the office, Lucas viewed the tapes from the night before. It was his morning routine. When he saw Helen, Skeeter, and me, he said, "This place never ceases to amaze me. Getting chosen to work with you was the most awesome stroke of luck." "Wait till you get to the downside, Lucas. Find the daughter, I don't give a shit if you have to rob graves, just find that kid. Speaking of graves, find where Sue is buried. I mean the exact plot where she is buried, not just the name of some potter's field. One more thing, if you ever say awesome again in my presence, you are fired." "Yes, Boss," he said. "And get that license application ready for me to file. I'll sign the damn thing, but you get all the forms I need printed off. I bought you that fancy printer, now I want to see it working." It was true. Since my first week back, Lucas kept tell me how much better his life would be if only he had a first rate printer for his computer. Neither Ed nor I had any interest in printing things. If we needed something printed, I just copied it to a thumb drive then carried it to an office supply house to have it printed. It was inconvenient, but we didn't do much printing so it was okay with me. Lucas assured me that if he had a laser printer, things would be different. It was true that I didn't drive to the Office Depot as often, otherwise nothing much had changed. Jennifer hadn't been sure that I needed a license for either of my endeavors, but if I did it would be the license from the private protection agency. It was a catch all for every private security business. The requirements were ten years of law enforcement experience and two qualified references. There was a college education trade off for experience, but I had to pass on that one. I reached out to Blevins and Jennifer for the references, so I was on my way. In the meantime, Jennifer said to keep on doing what I was doing. She promised that she would handle any fallout. It was after lunch when Lucas said, "Dead end on Topaz for now." "So what do you have?" "She was in and out of different family situations until she finally landed in a group home. That kind of home is a halfway house for young offenders after they have been taken over by the courts. She has a Juvenile record for sure." "I don't give a shit about her Juvenile record. Is she in the system as an adult? She is old enough now to be in the open records section." "No, whatever it was happened six years ago, didn't happen again. She didn't re-offend as far as I can tell." "So where is she?" "After the group home, she went to live with one last more family." "So?" I asked. "They list them in the records by a code number. I don't have a clue who it is?" "Get me the code and let's see if I can make a trade." The need of a trade gave me the excuse I needed to go back to the Cop Out Club. It was my chance to find out what kind of relationship I had with Detective Anya. I realized at that moment that I was whoring for some pimp whose name I didn't know. Dear God, have I sunk low enough yet or do you have more for depth for me in the slime. The day passed with not much more happening except I did take Lucas on a couple of summons deliveries. I showed him a couple of tricks that made it easier to hand off the papers without a fuss. I first had to convince him that it was just a job, nothing personal. There was no glory in being macho or a wise ass. It was all just GB, general business, not a life changing experience. I slipped on my little vest with the words 'Lightning Courier' embroidered over my right breast and the fake ID penned over my left one. Then I parked my van with the signs and I went into the small retail store owned by our mooch. "I have a delivery for Mr. Evers," I said to the teenage chick behind the cash register. I smiled at her. I hoped it was professional, but it might have had a hint of a flirt there. "Mr. Evers, you have a package," she said, absently. She was bored. Lucas was not dressed in his fake delivery uniform, so that he could just observe without being noticed. "Mr. Evers, I have a registered delivery for you, Sir. Would you sign here?" I pushed the clipboard to him. "Who is it from?" "Sorry Sir, they don't give the drivers that information." "Then I'm not signing." "That's fine, Sir. You can have it anyway and I'll just make a note of it." I handed him the brown envelope. "Have a nice day." I considered the delivery a success because I made it to the door before I heard his enraged voice scream, "BITCH." I wasn't sure if he meant me or his soon to be ex-wife. Either way, it was too late for either of us to care what he thought. "See, Lucas, there is no need to be confrontational. The delivery gag will get him out, even if he still refuses to sign for the package. All you have to do at that point is to put it within his reach and say, "It's yours like it or not." Nine times out of ten they will pick it up. You do have to get it into his hand or onto his person. If you have the balls, you can reach over and slip it into his pocket. "I got you," Lucas said with a smile. On the way home from the office, I stopped by the Super Duper Wal-Mart for dinner. I bypassed the deli, because I ate too much when I ate from it. Instead, I went to the frozen food lockers. I picked up a couple of dinners. One spaghetti and one hamburger steak; both came with fancier names, of course. I also picked up a couple of their house brand cola drinks in the diet version. Those at least didn't taste like nuclear waste. After I paid the bill, I drove home, making sure I wasn't followed. It was a habit I had developed in my days dealing with the 5th Street Rollers and the bad ass brothers. When I got home, I removed my jacket, then quickly realized that it was chilly in the house without my jacket. I used a small piece of toilet paper and a match to light the oil heater. I put my heavy pullover sweater on while it did its thing. I held off heating the frozen dinner until the room was warmer. I didn't think I would like eating in the cold ... While I waited I reheated the leftover morning coffee in the microwave. Even several hours old coffee was better than no coffee. Since I was planning to visit the Cop Out, I decided that I would take a shower in the tiny motor home style bathroom. Two showers in one day meant even more dirty clothes. I hated trips to the Laundromat, but they couldn't be avoided. I had bought a full box of underwear and bras from Wal-Mart, but even so, I eventually got to the end. The shower was another chore I would hold off on till the room got warm. I made the hard decision to have spaghetti for dinner. The frozen dinner went into the microwave for 12 minutes. While it heated, I rounded up the jar of dried peppers, the jar of garlic powder, and of course, the bag of grated cheese. I figured I had to eat that crap from the frozen good case, but it didn't have to taste like it came from there. ------- Chapter 24 Even after the wait for the heat to come up, the shower left me with s slight chill. I was still naked when I walked to one of my few purchases. I had bought one of those old fashioned full mirrors with legs when I first moved into the cabin. I removed the towel and put it on a nearby chair. I took a good look at my body. "Not too bad for an old slut," I said, with a smile. My boobs never were big, so they didn't shrink much when I lost weight. They did begin to sag even more. The sag meant that next time I bought bras; I would have to buy stronger ones. Those little strips of elastic didn't do much to shape them these days. My tummy was almost flat. I had left on the road trip with a belly dancer's tummy, and even that was gone by the time I got to California. I did enough pedaling on that damn bike to tighten up most of the muscles in my body. If it weren't for the fuzzy hair, and my really skinny legs, I would be killer. As it was, I was probably an eight. Okay, old bitch eight, but still an eight. I dressed for the Cop Out. I put on a push up bra and bikini panties. Both were white, since I was sure no one was going to see them. Even so, I wanted clean underwear just in case. On the outside I wore jeans and a top with a scoop neckline. I walked through the door of the Cop Out at exactly 9 PM. The place was pretty empty, even for a weeknight. Jerry sat at the bar, but Blevins was nowhere to be seen. "So, Jerry. I missed you Saturday night. Did you have a date?" "No date, I hear I should have been here though. They say you were really blasted, so drunk that new Detective Bostic put you in a cab." "Yeah, they tell me that too. Speaking of Anya, where is she tonight?" "She and Blevins are working a bootleg bust. They are probably down in booking by now." "Bootlegging huh, I guess there just aren't enough murders here to keep them both busy?" It was a question. "Not many at all since the gangs have been keeping their heads down." "That won't last," I replied. "We all know it. It's just a matter of time before it starts up again." "Jerry, what's the deal on that Anya chick anyway?" "What do you mean?" he asked. "I mean, one day she is just here and as a detective yet." "She isn't just here, Max. She was undercover for a long time. When the gangs went down, she came out." "Oh crap, did all that bullshit ruin a UC investigation?" "Yeah pretty much, but back to your questions, she came here from up north somewhere. Came on the force as a detective, and because she was a fresh face, she went UC." "Well now it makes more sense," I said aloud, but I still wondered what she had in mind for me. "Yeah, but man she is one cold bitch. No offense, Max, you are one bad ass chick and cool as hell, but Bostic is just ice water cold." It was an interesting thought. I'd still want to make my own judgment as to how much passion, if any, she brought to the bed. Jerry and I had two more beers, which we drank very slowly, before Blevins and Anya came in. I got the sense of a big time chill between them. I had a feeling they were never going to gel as a team. "Well, hey there, Max," Blevins said. "Hey, both of you." "Yes, hello, Maxine," Anya added. I gave her a hard look, but I nodded anyway. "So, Max, how was your head Sunday morning? You really tied one on Saturday night." Blevins looked at me closely at me for the answer. "Not great, but I did survive," I replied. It was another 30 minutes before Blevins went to the bathroom. While he was gone, I whispered to Anya, "We need to talk." "What about?" she asked, cautiously. "Rape is a subject that always interested me," I replied. She nodded and led me to a table away from the others. "You know that wasn't rape." "Do I really, you had me drugged and sexually abused. I think, I could make a pretty good case for rape. Judging from the way Blevins looks at you, he would probably be happy to pursue it." "You have no proof, Anya said quietly, but she was also looking all around. "Want me to go down and swear out a complaint against Margie. If they search her place before you can warn her, they likely will find what she used to get my cooperation. Then when she goes into the jackpot, she will roll you up and you know it." "What the fuck do you want?" "First of all, what's your game?" "Look, Margie came on to me. I know she likes girls and I don't go that way. I have heard that you do and you looked like you wanted to get drunk. So it seemed like an easy match up." "But why are you procuring girls for Margie?" "Margie is a CI for me. She hears everything that goes on in town. That place she runs has connections that transcend social classes. As you seem to have figured out, she doesn't need money. What she needs is a lot of sex from discrete women." "So you procure them for her?" "You are the only one. I hope you agree to go back now and then. Margie has been very cooperative since your visit. She gave us the bootlegger we busted tonight." "And you won't tell Blevins who the CI is? That explains his lack of enthusiasm," I said. "So what's it going to be?" Anya asked. "What's the price for your cooperation?" "Tell me why you looked so surprised that I came to have this talk with you?" "I was told that you were the sexual slave type, someone who would go along with anything. I never expected to have a problem with you." "Well, I'm not sure what they call it, but I go along with most anything. But I get something from it and I didn't with Margie. It wasn't because she wasn't willing; it was just that by then I didn't want what she was pushing." "I see, so what do you want to make this stay under wraps." I slipped her the paper with the family code on it. "I don't care how you do it, but I need the name that goes with this family from the Charlestown Social Services office. It's some kind of special foster family." "I'll make some calls tomorrow, but don't get your hopes up. They code these guys for a reason, even if they don't tell people why that is." "If I were you, Bostic, I would make this happen." I smiled, then went to talk to Blevins. I intended to stay on everyone's good side. I ducked any questions about Bostic and me. If she has a story, let her tell it. The next morning at 8 AM, I found Skeeter already having her breakfast. Helen was leaning against her van with a coffee cup in her hand, and a smile on her face just watching. I pulled up on the side of her van away from Skeeter, so as not to frighten her. "Good morning, I quietly said to Helen. You want to come in for some hot coffee. It won't take but a minute to make some." "No thanks, I have some really good thermos bottles. I can give you a cup though, if you like?" "Sure, why not, I never turn down free coffee. By the way what's our girl having for breakfast?" "Miss Skeeter is having Pork Barbecue with carrots. I have been checking on line, did you know that carrots are good for dogs." "I'm sure she appreciates it." "I think she does. She looks sad, but better when she sees me, I think." "I'm sure of it." The two of us stood in the parking lot while Skeeter fished her meal. She was getting better food and more of it from Helen. She didn't show any weight gain in just two days, but he looked more energetic. Okay maybe it was wishful thinking, but it's how I felt. "What have you learned about Topaz?" Helen asked. She was very direct. "Lucas has been running records checks everywhere. She seems to have disappeared a couple of years ago. I have a lead on her, but I'm not at all sure it will pan out, and it's not something I can talk about yet. Skeeter finished her meal and stood looking at us. She had always slunk away before. I was grinning from ear to ear, so much so that Helen asked me, "Why the big grin." "Skeeter didn't leave right after she finished eating. She is staying to socialize with us." "Well, let's see about that," Helen said, as she knelt in the filthy parking lot. Helen wasn't wearing ten dollar jeans like me, she was wearing name brand cotton twill pants. Probably thirty bucks a pop and she was about to ruin them. "Come here, girl," she almost whispered to Skeeter. "Come on, Baby, I just want to touch you. I promise I won't hurt you, or try to grab you. I just want to touch you." Skeeter came within a couple of feet of Helen, then she hung her head and sadly walked away. Helen looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "Maybe tomorrow," she said. "Yes, maybe tomorrow," I agreed. "Don't give up on Topaz," Helen said, as she turned to her van, "And I won't give up on Skeeter." "Fair enough," I whispered to myself, as I unlocked the office door. I had the coffee made and was drinking my first cup when Lucas arrived, He walked to the computer to watch the tapes from the night before. He seemed fascinated again by Helen and Skeeter. "I guess I can forget about taking Skeeter home with me. I can't possibly feed her that well." "None of us can." We both knew the outcome for Skeeter was bright. The two of them just had to figure it out. "Now, Lucas, I want you to find out what kind of kids go into the foster homes with coded files." "How do I do that?" "Just call the director of human services office in Charlestown. Tell him or her that you are doing research for a story to be written by, say Ann Coulter for her on line news site and you need to know why the child services department is hiding the identity of county employees. You know make a big deal of it." "I can try but, I'm not going to be nearly as good a liar as you." "Why thank you, Lucas, that is the nicest thing you ever said to me," I broke into laughter. "Make the call, while they are still dopey. Get them before they have their coffee break." "Will that help?" he asked. "I don't know, but it sure as hell can't hurt. Get all the juju you can on your side, no matter how small it is." Twenty minutes later, he was standing in front of my desk with a big grin. "I lied and I think they believed it. Anyway, they told me that they weren't trying to hide anything. It was just a bookkeeping practice. It made it easier for the computer to keep track of the payments that the state make to the foster parents. That I had gotten hold of the pay code, but that it could easily be interpreted by the payroll department. I said great, if I give them a number, they can give me the name? Her answer was payroll can't, but if you call Children's Services they can. I tried one last time and got nowhere with her. "So what were you so proud of?" I asked. "They bought into my lie." "I probably shouldn't feel proud of you, but I do," I said. "Thanks, Boss," he said, with another grin. "So now what?" "Now we let it cook a bit. I have someone else working on it from a different angle. If that doesn't get it, we think of something else. What we don't do is give up on Topaz." ------- Chapter 25 It was well after lunch before Anya got back with me.‭ ‬She stopped by instead of calling.‭ ‬We drove to the small downtown park in the town square for our show and tell.‭ ‬I could see the Hazelwood B&B from the bench where we sat.‭ ‬I knew that I was in for more than the name of the couple.‭ "‬So, let's have it, Detective Bostic," ‬I said, finally tiring of the suspense. ‎"‏Okay, I called around and found out that your code belongs to the house parent couple of a safe house for teens in foster care, who also need protection.‭ ‬I can't find out a lot more, because it's the US Marshal's shit.‭ ‬They don't like to share and they do have their reasons.‭" "You can reach out to the Deputy Marshal in charge of her case.‎ ‏Find out what you can.‭ ‬I represent the grandmother of a girl named Topaz.‭ ‬Topaz was in regular foster care for several years then went to that coded foster care safe house.‭ ‬That means she had something to do with a criminal case.‭ ‬They don't disappear foster kids without a reason, I'm sure of that.‭" "You are asking a lot.‎" ‏Anya said. ‎"‏I gave you a lot, ‭" ‬I replied. ‎"‏You know you can only play that card so many times‭?" "Then what, ‎it becomes easier to kill me‭?" "Could be," ‏Anya said seriously. ‎"‏Before I made that kind of decision, ‬I would ask around about how difficult that is to actually accomplish.‭" "Well then, I am a cop," ‏she said, with a smile. ‎"‏Ah, thinking of planting some blow on me‭?" ‬I laughed. ‎"‏That would be one monumental mistake, as well.‭ ‬Aster is a small town and I know a lot of people here.‭ ‬But if you think that is your best move go for it.‭"‬ I looked toward the Hazelwood as I spoke, ‭ "‬You might need me again, you know.‭" "Margie was very impressed with you," ‏Anya said seriously. ‎"‏You haven't finished paying for the last time yet.‭"‬ I stood to walk to the van.‭ ‬"Now you let me know what's what.‭ ‬Hell, ‭you might just want to send that Marshal person to see me.‭" It was too early for my after lunch coffee break, ‬so I returned to the office.‭ ‬I poured a cup from the Mister Coffee, ‭‬then looked for Lucas.‭ "‬Hey Ed, ‭where the hell is Lucas‭?" "Why the boy has a date.‎ ‏He took a long lunch hour.‭" "I ought to tie a can to his ass, ‎" ‏I replied, a little miffed. ‎"‏He will be back in a few minutes.‭ ‬Why don't you try doing your own research‭? ‬Maybe you will appreciate him more, ‭" ‬Ed suggested. ‎"‏Oh my, Ed, you are getting awfully snippy with me.‭ ‬Are you and the kid having an affair‭?" "You really are a cunt," ‏Ed said laughing. ‎"‏Now, where in hell did you hear a word like that‭?" "I have been hanging around you too much, ‎" ‏he said.‭ "‬By the way, ‭if you find someone who is interested in taking Skeeter off the street, ‭‬I know a dog guy who can bring her back, ‭I'm sure.‭" "I'll keep that in mind.‎ ‏Just in case I ever find anyone.‭" ‬I said smiling. I pulled up the newspaper files for The Daily News.‭ ‬That was the name of the paper in the town in which the last open foster home for Topaz was located‭ ‬... ‭ ‬I set up an inquiry for the months before the transfer and going all the way back to her release date from Juvenile Hall. In the small town, there were only a few high profile trials.‭ ‬Only one with any federal connections, ‭ ‬and the Grand Jury sat right around the time Topaz got transferred.‭ ‬The case was pretty hush, hush, ‭‬but it centered around a fire department captain accused of manufacturing and distributing child pornography.‭ ‬I knew, ‭just as sure as I sat in that fake leather chair, that Topaz had been a victim in that case.‭ ‬She must have agreed to testify.‭ ‬I suppose the feds agreed to disappear her in exchange. I couldn't see the threat to Topaz at first, but it became obvious as I read the updates on the case.‭ ‬One of the stills shot on the scene showed a man I didn't recognize, ‭but the newspaper identified him as the third in command of a Russian crime syndicate.‭ ‬I did a quick extrapolation and came up with this scenario. Topaz was an actress in the movie.‭ ‬She would have been a little old for kiddie porn, but still she was probably young and fresh.‭ ‬Since she had been in Juvenile detention, ‭‬she wouldn't be hard to recruit for the film. She agreed to testify to stay out of prison.‭ ‬She was young enough and clean enough to be believable.‭ ‬After her testimony convicted the Russian, they needed to keep her on ice for the appeals.‭ ‬Then if they were planning to flip the Russian, ‭which without a doubt they were, ‭they really needed Topaz, ‬and the Russian's bosses really needed her to go away.‭ ‬No Topaz, ‬no pressure on the third in line to roll, ‭ so it was in everyone's interest to see that she disappeared. If the Marshal verified my guesses, ‭‬then I would back off and let Helen know that Topaz was safe.‭ ‬I maybe could arrange a periodic update for the grandmother.‭ ‬If the Marshal chose not to cooperate, ‭‬I had a few more strings to pull. ‎"‏Max, ‭it's Anya.‭ ‬Can you meet me at the Waffle House out by the highway at‭ ‬6 PM‭?" "Sure, ‏what have you got for me‭?" "Just be there, ‎" ‏she snapped and then the line was dead. ‎"‏Touchy, ‭touchy, ‭" ‬I said aloud. ‎""‏What's up, Max‭?" ‬Lucas asked as he stood in front of my desk. ‎"‏Nothing is up.‭ ‬So how was your date‭?" "It was just fine," ‏Lucas said that with a strange look on his face. I was tempted to pressure him for details, ‭but the job came first.‭ "‬Come on kid, ‭we need to make a delivery or three.‭" That is exactly what we did until almost‭ ‬5 PM.‭ ‬I headed back to the office at five.‭ ‬We didn't arrive until‭ ‬5:30‭ ‬so, I was in a rush to drop Lucas and then get out to the Waffle House by the highway. I found Detective Bostic sitting with a man in a suit.‭ ‬Suits aren't unheard of in a waffle house at six in the evening, but they certainly are not the norm either.‭ ‬I took a look around as I always did when I entered a public place.‭ ‬Another holdover from the bad old days.‭ ‬There were a lot of people around, but they all looked pretty harmless.‭ ‬Of course, I would look harmless as well. ‎"‏Good evening, Anya, ‭" ‬I said as I seated myself in the booth beside the man in the suit.‭ "‬Hi, ‬I'm Maxine Stone, ‭who are you‭?" ‬I asked. ‎"‏Bill," ‬He said, ‭"‬Deputy Marshal Bill Mayer.‭" "Nice to meet you Bill," ‏I said. ‎"‏I hope it will be nice to have met you.‭ ‬Tell me about your interest in Topaz Atkinson‭?" "Are you married, Bill‎?" "No why‎?" "If you ever do get married, ‎ ‏you might want to work on your foreplay.‭ ‬You are a young man, ‭what no more than thirty.‭ ‬There is still time for you to learn.‭" "What the hell are you talking about‎?" "She is an ass, ‎‏I warned you, ‭" ‬Anya inserted. ‎"‏Yes, ‭Anya here does know me, ‬not in the biblical sense of course.‭ ‬Well not personally anyway.‭" "I'm lost and that doesn't happen often, ‎but if this is going to be word games, ‬I have somewhere else to be.‭" "That's got to be a sixties rock song, ‏but okay.‭ ‬I am of friend of Topaz's mother.‭ ‬I am also a friend of her grandmother, ‭who is still living.‭ ‬I promised her grandmother that I would find her daughter and granddaughter.‭ ‬I found her daughter in a cemetery ‭outside the state prison in Coopersville.‭ ‬ Now I want to know where Topaz is.‭" "You should know that I'm not going to tell you that," ‏he said. ‎"‏Of course not, ‭tell me why I shouldn't file for a writ of habeas corpus tomorrow.‭" "You do what you have to do, ‎" ‏he said. ‎"‏Fine, ‭we will do this the hard way.‭"‬ I stood to leave.‭ "‬I would have preferred to keep Topaz safe.‭ ‬You know, ‭ just have you tell me it was about the Russian mob in America, ‭assure me that she is safe and send me an update on her status now and then.‭ ‬Maybe with a digital photo now and then, that I can share with granny, ‭‬would have been nice. ‎"‏But instead, ‬we can bring her out of hiding to appear in an open courtroom.‭ ‬Where God only knows how many people will have contact with her.‭ ‬But hey, like you said, ‭I'll just do what I have to do to make sure she is safe.‭ ‬She wouldn't be the first dead body stuck in a window for a bluff, ‭‬now would she‭?" ‬That last was my own bluff, ‭but it had happened. ‎"‏Like you said, ‭she is a real piece of work," ‬he said to Anya.‭ "‬How much do you know‭?" "I know she wasn't always such a great kid.‎ ‏She knew some really nasty people.‭ ‬Ones who make even me look like a prom queen.‭" "To say the least," ‏Bill added. ‎"‏When she did her stint in Juvie, ‭she met a girl named Toy Rufkin.‭ ‬Toy was‭ ‬16‭ ‬and Topaz was‭ ‬14.‭ ‬The older girl befriended Topaz.‭ ‬As you can guess, there was a price for her protection.‭ ‬When Topaz got out, ‭‬she went to a foster home.‭ ‬It was one of those halfway house kind of things.‭ ‬All the girls there were Juvie grads.‭ ‬It was a breeding ground for criminal activity. ‎"‏Topaz was involved in all kinds of petty things.‭ ‬When Toy got out, ‭she got in touch with Topaz.‭ ‬Topaz could get out of the house easily enough, ‭so Toy recruited her for the kiddie porn.‭ ‬Topaz was older, ‭but she is skinny as a snake.‭ ‬They dressed her up in really little girl outfits.‭ ‬You can guess the rest.‭" "Yeah, I can," ‏I replied, with my stomach turning.‭ ‬Yeah for a few seconds, even I didn't like my client very much. ‎"‏That Fire Captain was supposed to keep the cops away.‭ ‬I mean who would suspect a Fire Captain with a daughter Topaz's real age.‭" ‬ He stopped talking when the waitress brought more coffee. ‎"‏His own daughter was his undoing.‭ ‬Like all sixteen year olds, ‭she was curious and a computer genius.‭ ‬She found the stills made at the shoot on his computer.‭ ‬He pissed her off over some minor little thing one day shortly after, ‭so she told her mother about them.‭ ‬That started the ball rolling.‭" "I can imagine there was hell to pay around his house," ‏I added that just so I wouldn't feel like a high school student getting a lecture. ‎"‏Yeah, ‭when it unraveled, Topaz was glad to tell the whole thing.‭ ‬Part of the whole thing was about the Russian who liked to screw the little girls.‭ ‬We had his picture and she verified the ID we made from it.‭ ‬She was our face in court for the victims.‭ ‬We had others, who were snow white, ‭but Topaz was the injured puppy we presented to the jury.‭" He stopped again while a couple passed us on the way to pay their bill.‭ "‬We got the Russian a quarter century in the federal prison in Atlanta.‭ ‬So far we have kept him out of the general population, ‭but he goes in just as soon as his appeals are over.‭ ‬His choice then will be give up the true masters of the universe, ‭or become some guy named Bubba's bitch.‭" "So until the appeal is done, ‎and he rolls on his Masters.‭ ‬Topaz is in hiding as Jane Doe‭?" ‬ It was my guess. ‎"‏Exactly," ‬he took a long drink from his coffee cup then added.‭ "‬And Ms Stone, ‭ ‬if the Russians think you can lead them to the girl, ‭they will not hesitate to torture and kill you.‭" "Thanks for the warning.‎ ‏Bill, ‭‬if I were you, ‬I would sleep real light at night.‭ ‬You can lead them to her.‭" "No, I can't.‎ ‏There are a lot of cutouts up the chain to that little girl.‭" "About the updates‎?"" "I'll see about getting you on the status update list, ‎‏but Max, ‬if that list gets compromised, ‭you will be in really big time shit.‭" "Yeah, ‎I figured that.‭ ‬It's why I'm not pushing for granny to be on it instead of me.‭" "Well when do I get the sanitized version of her current status ‎‏so that I can pass it along‭?" Bill handed me his business card.‭ "‬Send me an e-mail there.‭ ‬I'll send it back heavily redacted, of course.‭" "Wouldn't have it any other way.‎" ------- Chapter 26 I drove straight home from the Waffle House.‭ ‬It was too early for dinner, so ‬I loaded the laundry into the minivan.‭ ‬I drove to one of the two self service Laundromats in our little town.‭ ‬When I arrived, I lugged the two cloth bags into the chrome and glass fronted building filled with washers and dryers. As I walked by I noticed what appeared to be a mother and daughter folding clothes.‭ ‬I don't speak Spanish, so I have no idea what they were saying, ‬but I could read the English lettering on the homemade sign.‭ ‬WILL DO YOUR LAUNDRY... I do not know a soul ‬who likes to sit in a Laundromat for almost two hours ‭while reading old golfing magazines.‭ "‬Excuse me, ‭what do you charge‭?" "What do you have‎?" ‏the young woman asked.‭ ‬I could tell that her mother spoke no English, ‭because she looked at the younger woman even though I was the one speaking. ‎"‏I have a load of white clothes and a load of colored clothes.‭ ‬I use a liquid bleach on the white and a dry bleach on the colored clothes.‭ ‬I have the detergent as well as both kinds of bleach.‭" "Fifteen dollars which includes the cost of the machines.‎" "How long will it take‎?" "You come back in two hours to pick up your clothes.‎" I was in such a hurry to close the deal that I almost dropped my purse getting the money out.‭ ‬After I paid her, I drove to the Wal-Mart store to buy the few groceries I kept on hand.‭ ‬I kept them just in case I got the urge to cook.‭ ‬After Wal-Mart I gave some serious thought to Helen and Topaz, ‭while I drove to the office to send that email to the Marshal. I figured the best way to handle the situation was to just print the attachments from Bill the Marshal.‭ ‬I could just pass them along without any editing.‭ ‬My only concern was to keep Helen's name off any documents flying back and forth between us. I got my grocery shopping done, ‭my e-mail sent, and still had time for a look around the dollar store.‭ ‬I bought a plastic box to store cans of soup on my metal shelves.‭ ‬In other words, other than finding the Mexican ladies to do my laundry, it was a typically boring evening. After I recovered my clothes, I drove home.‭ ‬Once inside the house, I planned to stay right there until the next morning.‭ ‬Even though I never bothered to buy a TV, ‭I watched TV shows on the Net.‭ ‬It took a little searching, but it was possible. I heated the steak dinner while I caught up on the world news.‭ ‬It looked as though Bush's plan to introduce democracy into the Middle East just might work.‭ ‬Of course, it would have its birth in blood, ‭but most governments good and bad were born in blood. After my dose of world news, ‭I ran down the local news by tapping into the local TV station's website.‭ ‬The steak dinner wasn't bad, ‬when served with the world news.‭ ‬Neither left a good taste in my mouth, ‭but neither made me want to throw up either. I settled in with a drink.‭ ‬I just lacked the desire to go out for a drink with the boys.‭ ‬Instead I found the dusty bottle of Canadian Club Liquor.‭ ‬Since all I had in the house was diet soda, I made the drink with that to cut the taste of raw liquor. While I sipped the drink, ‬I dropped into a several adult chat rooms.‭ ‬Men always complained about the number of women who weren't really women.‭ ‬Since I am who I am, I didn't mind at all.‭ ‬I always had a grand time chatting with the other occupants of the sex chats. When another chatter got too pushy, ‬I just moved on.‭ ‬At my age, I was supposed to have children, ‬so I spent a lot of time explaining that even though I had been married, I didn't have kids.‭ ‬It wasn't often, ‬but now and then, a real conversation broke out.‭ ‬On those occasions someone usually asked if I missed not having kids.‭ ‬I never could find a satisfactory answer to that. I always considered sex chats interactive pornography and did what most people do to porn.‭ ‬Yes, I masturbated while chatting.‭ ‬I would try to do all the things I claimed that I was doing.‭ ‬There just didn't seem like much sense in not playing along since no one could see me. On line masturbation was mostly about illusion and mental imagery.‭ ‬It was much easier to have a man shove his nonexistent ten inch penis up my butt there, than to have a man in real life shove his real ten inch penis up my butt.‭ ‬It also hurt a lot less on line. I have to admit a finger to simulate a man or even woman's tongue on my vulva or clit, just wasn't the same, but it still wasn't bad.‭ ‬Especially if the mental image was strong enough.‭ ‬It was also exciting to relive some of the things I had done, through chat.‭ ‬I told one guy about the rocky horror show experience and I think he came before I finished the story, ‬because he disappeared suddenly. It was about midnight when I finally found the man who could do it for me.‭ ‬He managed to project a strong sense of being in control even through the ether.‭ ‬The orgasm I had was almost as satisfying as the ones I had in real life.‭ ‬It took me several minutes to recover.‭ ‬I think he liked that I was still around after.‭ ‬He demanded my phone number so I blew him off in the end.‭ ‬The net is about being anonymous to me.‭ ‬It is about not having to deal with baggage, ‭mine or the guy I am chatting with.‭ ‬If I wanted someone real, ‭I would have gone to the Cop Out Club. I fell onto my small bed and easily slipped into the arms of Morpheus.‭ ‬I should have slept peacefully all night, ‬since I had an orgasm.‭ ‬I usually didn't even turn over after one of those, ‭but the terror came to visit.‭ ‬Now and then I relive events in dreams.‭ ‬Dreams that cause me to wet the bed.‭ ‬Cold sweats that soak the sheets are a price one pays for surviving I suppose. That night, I was standing behind the driver of a Humvee with my hands gripping a M249‭ ‬machine gun.‭ ‬I never planned to use it, since we weren't even going through Indian country.‭ ‬It was just a drive in the country, so they said.‭ ‬My Hummer was running escort for a dry stores convoy from the air field to the forward detachments.‭ ‬None of them were outside the supposed secure area.‭ ‬I wondered who decided what the fuck the definition of secure was on any given day. The first truck in the three truck convoy took the charge of a radio detonated IED.‭ ‬Then rocket grenades started to come in.‭ ‬I tried to do some damage with the SAW, but I didn't even get one complete belt off before the RPG blew my hummer over.‭ ‬I got tossed clear but not without a piece of metal in my belly.‭ ‬I awoke in the bed with wet sheets. I prefer my sheets wet for a different reason.‭ ‬Terror, as well as good sex, literally stinks up the room.‭ ‬I knew there was no sense trying to return to sleep so I didn't.‭ ‬Instead I got out of bed and went over to the kitchen area of my one room cabin.‭ ‬I found the bottle of Benadryl inside a plastic storage box, sitting atop a metal shelf.‭ ‬I took one of the capsules washed down with a swallow of fake orange drink right from the bottle.‭ ‬I kept a bottle of it in the fridge just for that purpose.‭ ‬I took a lot of aspirin and other over the counter meds.‭ ‬I tried to be my own doctor, since I didn't really like the real ones.‭ ‬Even Ed's son was a pain in the ass in my opinion.‭ ‬The Benadryl helped me get back to sleep. I woke up the next morning groggy from the interruption to my sleep.‭ ‬Not to mention the booze and pills.‭ ‬Unlike a true drunk or junkie, I couldn't deal with hangovers, so I drank in moderation, usually. I made the coffee while I searched the Internet news sites.‭ ‬The world seemed to be about the same as it had been when I went to bed the night before.‭ ‬I made a mental note that I needed to go to Wal-Mart to shop for things, not just odds and ends.‭ ‬The last year, during what passed for winter where I lived, I had been at Jen's house.‭ ‬It was always warm in Jen's house.‭ ‬I had a feeling that the cabin was going to be a lot like the barracks in New Jersey.‭ ‬I did a four year stint there during the‭ ‬90‭s.‭ ‬It was cold as hell in the winters there.‭ ‬Coming off a walking tour on the flight line to a drafty barracks was miserable.‭ ‬I was pretty sure the cabin would be drafty when the wind blew cold.‭ ‬I noticed the air movement even though it wasn't really cold just yet. All those thoughts and probably the nightmare earlier were avoidance mechanisms.‭ ‬I didn't want to face up to telling Helen that she was not going to see her granddaughter for a long time, maybe never.‭ ‬The status updates on her life would be of little comfort to her.‭ ‬They would be cold and impersonal.‭ ‬They were meant only to let the bureaucracy know that Topaz was still alive and needed to be included in the budget next year.‭ ‬I had an idea, but I wanted some time to pass before I sprang it on good ole Bill. When I arrived in the parking lot of Ed's office, Helen was there with Skeeter eating at her feet.‭ ‬Skeeter was still a bag of bones, but her eyes were bright.‭ ‬She didn't have the same stance as she had before Helen came into her life.‭ ‬I think she realized that she had met a human, who not only wasn't trying to run her away, but actually wanted her to stay.‭ ‬I say that because she didn't rush off when she finished her Chicken Salad and potatoes in cheese sauce. ‎"‏Damn, Helen, Skeeter eats better than me.‭" "She needs it more than you or me," ‏she said smiling.‭ ‬She reached down to pet Skeeter, but the dog took a step back.‭ ‬However she did not leave, she held her ground.‭ ‬I found that a huge move in the right direction. After a moment, Helen asked, ‭ "‬What's the news on Topaz‭?" "It really isn't good," ‏I replied. ‎"‏After you told me Susan had died and Topaz had gone into the state foster care system, I have not been expecting good news.‭ ‬Is she alive‭?" "That is the good news.‎ ‏She is alive and being cared for.‭ ‬The bad news is I don't know exactly where or any of the details.‭ ‬The worst news is we won't know for a while maybe years.‭" "That is bad news.‎" ‏Helen's eyes, turned glassy. I spent the next ten minutes explaining it all.‭ ‬I even explained the danger to Topaz if we pursued it further at that time.‭ ‬In the end she understood.‭ "‬Helen, this is a long shot at best, but would you like me to try to get a message to her‭?" "I will have to think about that.‎ ‏I don't know what I could say to her after the way I have failed her.‭" "That's up to you, Helen.‎ ‏I can't tell you what to do.‭" Helen looked down at Skeeter with tears in her eyes.‭ "‬What's going to happen to our baby now‭?" "I guess it's back to whatever she did before you came into her life.‎" "Maxine, ‎ ‏I don't have a place to keep her.‭ ‬My house is small.‭ ‬The yard is big but there is no fence.‭" "I understand, Helen.‎ ‏I guess just come visit when you can.‭ ‬I promised Ed and Lucas that at the end of the month, we would try to find her a home somehow.‭" "I want to take her, Maxine, ‎ ‏but I just don't know how I could do it.‭ ‬I don't think she would be a good house dog.‭ ‬She needs to be outside.‭ ‬Even worse, she is still not good with people.‭" "Helen, ‎I can't tell you what to do.‭ ‬The decision, no matter what has to be yours.‭" "If I can find someone to fence in a place for her, ‎‏I want to take her home with me.‭" "Okay, ‎‏I'll tell you what.‭ ‬I am sure Ed knows a fence builder.‭ ‬If I get you a fence up in your yard, you will take care of Skeeter‭?" ‬ I looked her hard in the eye. ‎"‏You know I will," ‬she said earnestly. ‎"‏Alright, I'll have someone pick her up tomorrow morning and clean her up.‭ ‬She might need to stay with him a few days to learn to trust people, but she will be fine, I promise.‭" "I trust you, Maxine.‎" Shortly after she left, Ed showed up.‭ ‬I explained things to him.‭ ‬He called his dog friend first.‭ ‬The dog friend agreed to be at the office at‭ ‬8 AM the next day to have Helen help him load Skeeter.‭ ‬It was going to be traumatic, so I planned to be on hand. The fence builder came to the office so that we could all talk to him.‭ "‬So, Steve, you know what we want‭?" "You want a large dog run built in the woman's yard.‎" ‏he said. ‎"‏So how much, and when you give me the quote, remember I'm the one who shows up first thing to bail you out.‭"‬ Ed gave him the stern grandfather's look. ‎"‏Ed.‭ ‬I took down some gates at the old textile mill on hwy‭ ‬24.‭ ‬Those gates are‭ ‬6‭' ‬high and twenty feet long.‭ ‬There will be a minimum of work to erect them, but I do have to haul them out on the big trailer.‭" "Steve, ‎just give us a price," ‬I demanded. ‎"‏Five hundred bucks for a forty by twenty dog run with walk gate included.‭" I had no idea if it was a good price or not.‭ ‬Ed looked at me then said, "‬Steve, you know that stuff is going to rust away in your storage yard.‭ ‬So let's get real.‭ ‬You are talking about you and your kid spending half a day on the job site.‭ ‬Half that is a fair price.‭" "Ed, ‎‏I can't do it, ‭" ‬he replied. ‎"‏Have it your way five hundred it is, but call A1‭ ‬bonding next time you get picked up.‭" "Ed, you know my wife said if I called him again, she would leave me.‎ ‏The son of a bitch tried to work out a sex for bail trade with her.‭" "Hey, ‎you do what you gotta do, ‭" ‬Ed said. ‎"‏Okay, $300, ‭" ‬Steve said. ‎"‏Deal, ‭" ‬Ed agreed. It was one of the few times in my life that everything worked out for the best after all. ------- Chapter 27 The dog man, whose name was Jack, picked up Skeeter while Helen and I tried to keep her calm. Jack brought a thick plastic case, with no sharp edges, to transport the dog. Helen had words with him right from the start. "What exactly are you going to do to her?" she demanded. "Well, Ma'am, the first thing I'm going to do is to teach her how to be a dog again. I got a run about fifty feet square. Inside the run I have a pack of bird dogs that I train. They all live together and they all get along with each other, and with me and my kids. I have lots of strangers that wander through the kennel. She will get a lot of exposure to people who love dogs." He looked at Helen for second, then he said, "I'm going to teach her what she needs to know to be a good companion for you; how to sit and come when you call her. Those things are important to keep her safe. I'm going to teach her how to walk on a leash and how to be a good citizen." "You aren't one of those trainers who is rough with his dogs are you?" she asked, obviously still not convinced. "No, Ma'am, we train with rewards, not punishment. Anytime you want, you can come and watch." Helen nodded her head. I was sure that she would be keeping an eye on Jack. He might be sorry that he agreed to help Ed. Neither Helen, nor Skeeter, met me in the mornings after that. After Jack took Skeeter, things returned to normal around the office. Lucas was no longer chasing shadows, and I was no longer trying to play humanitarian of the year. About two weeks later, I was bored silly. I was actually glad when I got a call from Anya, "How would you like to do me a favor?" "You mean, since I have gone two weeks without threatening or demanding anything, you think you can trust me?" "Something like that," she replied. "You can't trust me, but what's the favor?" "Margie is arranging a big party for Saturday Night," "What has that to do with me?" I asked. "She wants to invite you, but she knew she should check with your pimp first." I could hear the smile in her voice. "I'm going to do my hair Saturday," I replied. "Do it earlier in the day. It won't take five minutes to do your hair anyway." "That was just plain mean," I said, pretending to be hurt. "Look, Bitch, can I count on you or not?" She paused a moment, then continued, "So how was that for a pimp holler?" "Not very convincing," I replied, smiling. "It would be to anyone else. I have big, old, hairy men back up when I talk like that to them." "Yeah, they back up to get a running start to kick your ass," I said, smiling again. It was a shame she couldn't see me. "Well, it does work sometimes." "Yeah, if Jerry and Blevins are behind you," I commented. "Seriously, why do you need me for a party?" "It's a girlie party, and we don't have a girlie informant." "Margie is throwing a gay bash, and you want me to infiltrate it. Real nice, Bostic," I snapped. "Maxine, they laid in a lot of Russian Vodka. I thought in light of your granny client, you might want to know what that's all about." "Why would they come here for a party?" I asked. "Margie," Bostic answered. "I guess Margie and the B&B would have some appeal. She is from money and the place is pretty far off everyone's radar." "Gonna be kind of like that mob convention in the New York mountains back in the fifties. They took their convention there because nobody was supposed to notice, but they had an informer there as well. The FBI took photos of them all. It was a bonanza of information." "But you said it was a girlie party," I commented. "Yeah, that part we haven't worked out yet." "Maybe it's just a bunch of horny Russians who want to see a girlie show?" "Not according to Margie; she says they want lesbian and bi women available and they would prefer that they not be pros." "And, of course, you thought of me. You have no idea how proud that makes me." "Yeah, I figured you could get into it. You can thank me after the party." "Send me the details, and I'll give it some serious thought." "We aren't quite sure what the details are. I mean we know the time and place, but not what is expected of you. For that you need to talk to Margie. She said she would tell you, but no one else." "Well, that's not a good thing." "It gets worse. You can't wear a wire, and you will have no backup. If it goes wrong, you could really get hurt." "And you expect me to do this?" "Yes, I do." "Why?" I asked, almost ready to say hell no. "Because you love this shit. I heard how they brought down that gang and the two wetback killers. You were dead in the middle of it. You didn't have to do any of that. You just plain love this shit. Me, you, and even Blevins, are alike in that way, if no other. It isn't win or lose, it's just being in the fucking game. It's the 'Put me in, Coach, I'm ready to play syndrome.'" "Have Margie call me." I didn't even try to deny it. I hated that she knew me that well in just a few encounters with me. Those, and the stories that went around about me, were all she needed. I wonder what she thought about Sarah taking a bullet meant for me. That seemed to be a big deal, even if I didn't understand why. Since it was almost a full week until the party, I went back to work on my own shit. I sent Lucas to pick up the court papers we could get before lunch. We had two from the day before and two new ones he could get before lunch. I drove by Jack's Kennel and farm while I waited for Lucas to call. I noticed Helen's van in his drive, so I didn't bother to stop. I knew damn well that she was keeping Jack honest. If Skeeter wasn't improving, she would have been on the phone with me. "Max," it would go, "Bring your shotgun and get over to the kennel, we need to kill that bastard." If you think I'm kidding let me tell you how I see it. Helen was falling apart from the bottled up guilt about her daughter and granddaughter. She desperately wanted to make it right. Since there was no way to help either of them, she transferred all that need to Skeeter. She was going to be one protective mom, even if it was to a street mutt named Skeeter. "Boss, I got all the papers. You want me to stop by and get some food. We can meet at the lake for lunch." "Sure, why not? This time you can choose lunch. Bring me two diet sodas and I don't care what you bring to eat." I was pretty much on the wrong side of town, but I knew I would still be at the lake before Lucas unless he just plain got lucky at a drive thru for lunch. I had been sitting on the terrace of the clubhouse at the city marina for fifteen minutes, when Lucas walked through the door. In his hand he held a large white bag with no lettering on it. Actually, that is a good sign when it is take out. I hoped that it was from something that didn't get cooked fifty items at the same time. "So what did you bring me?" I asked. "I brought Barbecue from Crystal's." He put the large white bag on top of the plastic picnic table, then removed three canned Diet Cokes from his jacket pockets. The jacket was one of those high school jock jackets. "I always wondered, Lucas, why exactly did you get that letter. The jacket always makes me curious." "Track," he said. "Well, that will come in handy when you go on the police department." "Yeah, that's what Detective Blevins says." "Crystal makes the best chopped barbecue sandwich in the state," he said, as he chewed. "State hell, in the country. At least the best pork sandwich. They make the best barbecue beef sandwiches in Texas." I enjoyed the sandwich a while longer, then asked, "So where are we off to this afternoon?" "Two in Aster and two in Tryon," he said. "Do any of them look hinky?" I asked. "Maggie over in Tryon warned me about Lewis Stiles. Mr. Styles is scheduled for a criminal trial in a few weeks. She said he might not want to show up for a property settlement hearing in his divorce case She thinks he might be trying to leverage it for legal services." "Let's do Mr. Stiles last then. Remember, we are not cops, just delivery people." "Yeah, but we don't take crap from anyone, right?" "Wrong, we will take their verbal abuse, we just don't hold nobody's ass whuppin." It was a saying I picked up on a VIP babysitting detail in DC. Between tours in the Middle East, they liked to show off their female Iraq veterans. Yeah, it was bullshit. After lunch, I let Lucas drive the van and do the services. He looked more like a delivery boy than I did. Okay, not really, but the delivery person had to drive. Lucas liked to drive, whereas I was tired of driving. The second delivery went sideways. The woman who was home with a sick kid, just absolutely lost it. She began calling Lucas about every kind of son of a bitch I had ever heard. I listened for about a minute before I decided to help him. If it had been a man raising hell, I would have let Lucas take care of it the best he could. I really didn't want to get sued, so I left the van. "Ma'am, I'm just doing my job. You can keep the paper or throw it in the trash, but either way, you have been served." Just as I expected, she rushed Lucas as he tried to walk away. She took about three steps out of her front door before I said, "Lady, stop right there. Now, the kid is a gentleman, and he would never strike a lady, so that's why I'm along. I have no qualms at all about knocking you on your ass." "Who the fuck are you?" she asked. "I'm the bitch that is going to loosen a couple of your teeth if you try to strike either of us." She took a real good look before she turned to walk into the house. I almost shouted after her not to forget her court order, but I decided to just let it go. She knew where the paper was and would no doubt pick it up after we left. "Would you really have hit her?" "Does a dog lick its ass?" Lucas started to laugh. "I would like to have seen that cat fight. She was four or five inches taller, and weighed at least fifty pounds more than you." "She might be bigger, but I'm faster," I said laughing. Stiles ended up being a pussycat. As we drove away, I said, "It just goes to show you. Sometimes, it's the ones nobody expects who bite you on the ass. It's how Ted Bundy lasted so long. He just wasn't the type to be a serial killer. At least, that's what everyone said for a long time." "What size dress do you wear?" It was Margie's voice on my cell phone. "Why?" I asked. "Just tell me, you need something for Saturday night." "Size 10/12." "There will be a dress delivered to your office tomorrow, try it on. If it fits, keep it; if not send it back, and get the next size up or down. Maxine, it's supposed to be tight." ------- Chapter 28 Edited by Bob Ross I spent that evening at the Cop Out, ‭ ‬well from‭ ‬9‭ ‬PM until about‭ ‬11‭ ‬PM anyway.‭ ‬Blevins never showed, ‭ ‬nor did Anya.‭ ‬Jerry was there, ‭ ‬along with some EMTs from the County Ambulance and Rescue Squad.‭ ‬I danced with all of them at one time or another, ‭ ‬I think. I left for home at‭ ‬11:15.‭ ‬I know because someone asked why I was leaving so early.‭ "‬I am leaving early, ‭ ‬because I need my beauty sleep, ‭" ‬I explained. ‎"‏Do you really think that will help‭?" ‬One of the female EMTs asked. ‎"‏Hell, ‭ ‬it's like the pistol that the cops carry.‭ ‬It might not always help, ‭ ‬but it sure as hell can't hurt.‭" ‬ Everyone laughed. ‎"‏Is that why you carry a gun‭?" ‬the same EMT chick asked. ‎"‏No, ‭ ‬I carry it for ballast.‭ ‬I lost so much weight this year, ‭ ‬I'm afraid I'll blow away.‭" ‬ I resisted the urge to suggest that she try it.‭ ‬She had to be at least fifty pounds overweight.‭ "‬So goodnight one and all.‭" ‬ Since the shootout in front of the club, ‭ ‬no one offered to walk me to my car.‭ ‬I didn't mind at all. I fell asleep that night wondering what kind of dress Margie was going to send.‭ ‬Something tight, ‭ ‬she warned me.‭ ‬So I would probably have to go buy new underwear for the big party.‭ ‬God, ‭ ‬I hadn't bought fancy undies in years.‭ ‬When I broke down and did that, ‭ ‬the bras cost much more than my usual outfits.‭ ‬If I had to buy a lacy, ‭ ‬half cup, ‭ ‬padded, ‭ ‬push up bra‭; ‬I might have to take out a loan.‭ ‬Even with those thoughts rolling around my head, ‭ ‬I finally managed to fall asleep. I woke in the middle of the night for a bathroom run, ‭ ‬as usual.‭ ‬The cabin was extremely warm, ‭ ‬so I turned the heater down before I returned to bed.‭ ‬I must have got it at the height of its cycle, ‭ ‬because the next morning the cabin was too chilly for a shower.‭ ‬I could have hung out and waited for the one large room to warm up, ‭ ‬but I wanted to get moving.‭ ‬I didn't even make coffee‭; ‬I just pulled on some heavy clothes and packed my ass out to the van.‭ ‬I did check to make sure the temperature inside the cabin was above freezing.‭ ‬It was by a few degrees, ‭ ‬so I didn't increase the setting on the oil stove. I stopped by the closest fast food joint for coffee and a biscuit.‭ "‬I miss Skeeter, ‭ ‬damn it, ‭" ‬I said aloud, ‭ ‬as I drove into the office parking lot.‭ ‬I opened the door and staggered to my desk.‭ ‬The Hardee's bag held not only my biscuit, ‭ ‬but two large cups of black coffee also.‭ ‬I would drink both of them before the Mr.‭ ‬Coffee finished brewing.‭ ‬The coffee wasn't as good as what I made, ‭ ‬but it wasn't bad either. I looked at the calendar program on my computer only because the icon was flashing.‭ ‬I found the reminder about an appointment with my bookkeeper.‭ ‬I had a standing‭ ‬10‭ ‬AM meeting with her on the last working day of every month.‭ ‬I carried my checkbook in, ‭ ‬and she told me how broke I was. Actually my finances were not too bad.‭ ‬Ed didn't charge me any rent because of the thing with his son.‭ ‬I had the rent on the cabin and my utilities there, ‭ ‬plus what I spent on food and entertainment.‭ ‬That was substantially less than my retirement check, ‭ ‬so the office money was extra.‭ ‬It was a good thing, ‭ ‬since almost all of the income after expenses went to Lucas.‭ ‬It was expensive to have an employee. I was expecting it to get a little better, ‭ ‬since I had picked up a little computer tracing work.‭ ‬Lucas had proven to be a great researcher with the old ones and zeros machine.‭ ‬The traces were for an insurance group with agents all over hell.‭ ‬Their home office was in Tryon, ‭ ‬so it was a good gig for us.‭ ‬Lucas hated it, ‭ ‬of course.‭ ‬I explained that it would pay his salary, ‭ ‬so he was willing to go along.‭ ‬I expected that he would have revolted if we didn't also do the process services at least twice a week, ‭ ‬and the occasional pick up of bail skips. I hadn't expected the dress to arrive before‭ ‬10‭ ‬AM, ‭ ‬so I wasn't too disappointed when I left for my bookkeeper's office without it.‭ ‬Nothing is very far away in a town the size of Aster, ‭ ‬which made the drive to Thelma's bookkeeping service about five minutes. ‎"‏Maxine, ‭ ‬how you doing girl‭?" ‬The‭ ‬250‭ ‬pound woman with the blond wig asked. ‎"‏I have been worse, ‭ ‬Thelma.‭ ‬How are you doing‭?" "Dieting again and I just fucking hate it, ‎" ‏she said, ‭ ‬while making sure no one was around to hear her choice of words.‭ ‬I was sure that she used that kind of language only with a very few clients. ‎"‏I know that, ‭" ‬I said, ‭ ‬in agreement.‭ "‬So did I have enough money to pay my bills this month‭?" "Yes, ‎ ‏with a couple of hundred left over even.‭ ‬You ought to think about an investment plan.‭ ‬Your money is getting lazy in the bank, ‭ ‬but not fat for sure.‭" "Yeah, ‎ ‏but if you want to see the stock market fall like a rock, ‭ ‬just let me invest in it.‭ ‬I tried once and lost my ass off.‭" "Ah, ‎ ‏so that's why you are so skinny.‭" "No, ‎ ‏I'm skinny because of a ruptured esophagus.‭ ‬If you tried deep throating a giant zucchini, ‭ ‬you could probably wind up in the hospital on clear soup and Jell-O for a month, ‭ ‬too.‭ ‬Then I promise you would lose some serious pounds.‭" ‬I laughed at the thought. ‎"‏Then I'd have to ride cross-country on a bike for a couple of months, ‭ ‬day in and day out, ‭ ‬to get my body in shape, ‭" ‬she added, ‭ "‬I think I'll stick to fucking salads.‭" "Yeah, ‎ ‏that does seem a lot simpler, ‭" ‬I agreed. ‎"‏I got the checks for you to sign right here.‭ ‬Max, ‭ ‬you know you need to get rid of Lucas.‭ ‬You can't really afford him.‭" "Sure I can.‎ ‏I just can't afford him if I want to eat three times a day.‭" "Exactly, ‎" ‏she said, ‭ ‬with a laugh. I had Lucas‭' ‬paycheck when I got back to the office.‭ ‬He got a draw every week, ‭ ‬but once a month there was a settlement check.‭ ‬If he created more income than his draw, ‭ ‬I gave him a bonus check.‭ ‬It was usually a couple of hundred bucks.‭ ‬Since we picked up Ed's skip during the current month, ‭ ‬his check was over five hundred. ‎"‏So how're the traces going‭?" ‬I asked, ‭ ‬when I returned. ‎"‏Slow, ‭ ‬I am going to hate this part of the job, ‭ ‬Boss, ‭" ‬he suggested. I put the check on his desk, ‭ "‬Do you hate it less now‭?" ‬I asked. ‎"‏I can stand it, ‭ ‬but let's not get too much of this kind of work.‭" "We use the Papa Stone business model here, ‎ ‏Lucas, ‭ '‬Cull Not, ‭ ‬Want Not‭'‬.‭" "I keep hearing these little snippets of wisdom about your family, ‎ ‏so what did they do‭?" "You don't know‎?" ‏Ed asked from across the room. ‎"‏No one ever told me.‭ ‬I mean I know most of them are successful, ‭ ‬but I have no idea what they do.‭" "It don't matter, ‎ ‏Lucas‭; ‬I come from the stunted branch of the family tree, ‭" ‬I said.‭ "‬So, ‭ ‬moving right along, ‭ ‬did a package come for me‭?" "No, ‎ ‏what are you expecting‭?" ‬Ed asked. ‎"‏To be honest, ‭ ‬Ed, ‭ ‬I have no idea.‭" We all awaited the package eagerly.‭ ‬I think Ed wanted to see what it was that had me acting mysteriously.‭ ‬Since Lucas and I had served papers the day before, ‭ ‬we stayed in the office.‭ ‬He did his research and I answered the phones. One of the calls that came in was from an entertainment promoter.‭ ‬He was setting up a concert at the City Stage venue.‭ ‬He wanted to know what I would charge to be a bodyguard for his singer.‭ ‬There were some benefits to having been involved in a high profile case or two.‭ ‬It didn't hurt that I was a woman, ‭ ‬so I wouldn't appear to be a bodyguard at all.‭ ‬Some of the people who needed a bodyguard didn't want to appear to need one.‭ ‬That was less true with singers than macho movie stars.‭ ‬I gave him my standard price, ‭ ‬then hung up.‭ ‬I didn't expect to ever hear from him again. The dress finally came a little after‭ ‬2‭ ‬PM.‭ ‬Fifteen minutes later‭; ‬I was on the phone to Margie.‭ ‬I took the cell phone into the parking lot far away from everyone before I called.‭ "‬Are you out of your fucking mind‭?" ‬I asked. ‎"‏Well hello, ‭ ‬Max, ‭ ‬I have been expecting your call.‭ ‬And no, ‭ ‬I'm not out of my fucking mind.‭" "I am not going to wear that dress, ‎" ‏I informed her. ‎"‏If you want to come to the party, ‭ ‬you will wear the dress.‭ ‬It's as simple as that.‭" "Margie, ‎ ‏let me explain.‭ ‬I know you don't care that I can't wear a bra with that halter top.‭ ‬I know you don't care that I can't wear panties with that slit up the side but, ‭ ‬Honey, ‭ ‬I do care.‭" ‬ I ended almost in a shout.‭ ‬There was definitely a stern ending to my comment. ‎"‏Now listen, ‭ ‬Max, ‭ ‬I know you, ‭ ‬that doesn't bother you.‭ ‬If it really does, ‭ ‬I'll fix you a nice cup of tea.‭" "Keep your fucking tea away from me.‎ ‏If for no other reason than my tan line, ‭ ‬I wouldn't wear that thing.‭" "Don't worry, ‎ ‏I knew that when I picked it out for you.‭ ‬I have a few tricks up my sleeve, ‭ ‬but trust me they are going to love you even if you showed up in a potato sack.‭ ‬You, ‭ ‬my Dear, ‭ ‬have presence.‭" "Presence my ass, ‎ ‏if I show up in that I'm going to have goose bumps on my goose bumps.‭" "Don't forget to shave the cutesy little cunt of yours, ‎" ‏she said, ‭ ‬as she hung up on me. ‎"‏I should call Anya and tell her to fuck off, ‭ ‬I thought.‭ ‬I would have, ‭ ‬if I hadn't been so damned turned on.‭ ‬My body was betraying me again, ‭ ‬damn it. ‎"‏So are you going to model it for us‭?" ‬Ed asked. ‎"‏Ed, ‭ ‬you might not work for me, ‭ ‬but I can still kick your ass.‭ ‬As for you, ‭ ‬don't open your mouth, ‭" ‬I said to Lucas. ‎"‏I was just going to say you are going to look so hot in that dress.‭" "I knew I shouldn't have opened it here.‎" I thought about how that dress might look on me, ‭ ‬and I couldn't wait to try it on.‭ ‬I left for the day way earlier than I should have.‭ ‬Both Ed and Lucas knew why. When I got home, ‭ ‬the first thing I did was to turn the heat up.‭ ‬I knew I would be chilled in that dress if I didn't.‭ ‬I didn't want to start out with a bad feeling about it, ‭ ‬so I waited for the cabin to warm up before I tried it on.‭ ‬I drank two cups of coffee while I waited.‭ ‬I couldn't believe it.‭ ‬I was as excited as a schoolgirl over a stupid dress.‭ ‬Okay, ‭ ‬the dress wasn't stupid, ‭ ‬but I didn't get all giddy over clothes. When I tried the dress on, ‭ ‬I realized that Margie had spent some real money on that dress.‭ ‬It fit like a custom made designer piece.‭ ‬Not that I had ever tried on a designer dress.‭ ‬It fit like I imagined a designer dress would fit. I do not have large breasts, ‭ ‬so the halter top could have been baggy, ‭ ‬but it wasn't.‭ ‬It laid flat against my chest, ‭ ‬with small bumps where my boobs were.‭ ‬The fabric was so clingy that even my not erect nipples showed clearly. The dress was mid-calf length, ‭ ‬with a slit that went up to my waist.‭ ‬I mean all the way up to my waist.‭ ‬I was never going to be able to wear panties of any kind.‭ ‬People would not be able to see the crack of my ass or the swell of my labia, ‭ ‬but it was going to be a damn close call. Still, ‭ ‬I had to admit that if I could do something about the tan line, ‭ ‬that dress would be a first round knockout.‭ ‬In the rather disgusting words of Margie, ‭ ‬yes, ‭ ‬I would need to shave my cunt for sure. ------- Chapter 29 Edited byKeith Hartzog & Al Gagne I tried to force myself out of bed on Friday.‭ ‬It was raining as if God was trying to douse the fires of hell.‭ ‬I half expected to find leaks in the roof of the cabin.‭ ‬I heard the drumbeat of the heavy rain on the metal roof‭ ‬instead.‭ ‬I had been told that most roofs leaked around thing like chimneys and dormers.‭ ‬Well, ‭ ‬the cabin had none of those.‭ ‬The vent for the oil stove was through the wall.‭ ‬The metal pipe made a‭ ‬90‭ ‬degree turn up and past the roof.‭ ‬It was strapped to the side of the roof, ‭ ‬so that the wind wouldn't blow it to the ground. As I lay there in my almost warm cave listening to the rain, ‭ ‬I reminded myself yet again that I needed a radio.‭ ‬It would have been nice to listen to some romantic music and masturbate.‭ ‬I laughed at myself for my childish bullshit.‭ ‬I was a day away from some really kinky shit and I was thinking about romantic masturbation.‭ "‬Too weird, ‭" ‬I said aloud, ‭ ‬as I shook my head. ‎"‏I need one of those Mr.‭ ‬Coffee machines with a timer, ‭" ‬I said aloud.‭ ‬Then I thought, ‭ ‬I'm talking to myself‭;‬ I need to watch that shit.‭ ‬If I do that in public, ‭ ‬they just might lock me up, ‭ ‬Then I thought, ‭ ‬hell why not talk to myself, ‭ ‬there is no one I know as interesting as me.‭ ‬I laughed out loud‭ ‬at that thought.‭ ‬Delusions of grandeur as well as senility, ‭ ‬off to the funny farm with you girl. Even as I had the thoughts concerning my weakening mind, ‭ ‬my hand moved to the waistband of my panties.‭ ‬My mind switched from rational mode to masturbation mode.‭ ‬In my masturbation mode, ‭ ‬I thought more like Margie than Maxine. My finger caressed my clit as I remembered the feel of Joey's dick inside my pussy.‭ ‬I remember resting my ass on his pubic bone as I‭ ‬rocked on his dick in front of God and everybody else in that theater.‭ ‬I could imagine them staring as my fingers slipping inside my pussy lips.‭ ‬I rubbed in and out as I remembered the feel of his dick pushing deep inside my birth canal.‭ ‬Right up to the edge of my womb.‭ ‬His dick scratched an itch, ‭ ‬one I couldn't reach with my fingers.‭ ‬I screamed silently at myself, ‭ ‬why didn't you buy a dildo for this‭? ‬You stupid bitch. I moved my hand back to my clit and massaged it vigorously.‭ ‬After a few strokes I felt my tension level climb almost to the orgasmic level.‭ ‬Just as I peaked, ‭ ‬I slipped my fingers into my pussy and worked them feverishly.‭ ‬It took only a moment before I broke into an orgasm. I lay in bed for what seemed like a long time, ‭ ‬but‭ ‬it‭ ‬probably wasn't.‭ ‬At first, ‭ ‬my body shook and spasmed, ‭ ‬then it just vibrated, ‭ ‬and‭ ‬I was warm and mellow.‭ ‬I probably would have lay in bed and napped for an hour longer, ‭ ‬if the phone hadn't played that stupid song. When I traded my burn phone for a real cell phone, ‭ ‬the damn thing played some modern day rock song.‭ ‬It was supposed to be a regular no frills phone, ‭ ‬but it had all this shit I never used.‭ ‬I kept meaning to have Lucas change it to a ringing sound, ‭ ‬but in the meantime, ‭ ‬I got an instrumental version of something that sounded sorta like music. ‎"‏Hello, ‭" ‬I said quietly, ‭ ‬into the phone.‭ ‬I was in no mood for confrontation. ‎"‏Max, ‭ ‬it's Helen.‭ ‬I'm in the parking lot of your office.‭ ‬Are you on your way down‭?" "To be honest, ‎ ‏Helen, ‭" ‬I wasn't going to be honest at all.‭ "‬I'm having trouble getting started this morning, ‭ ‬but I can be there in twenty minutes.‭" ‬If I don't shower, ‭ ‬I thought, ‭ ‬but I really do need a shower. ‎"‏I can come back in an hour, ‭ ‬if that would be better‭?" "Actually, ‎ ‏it would be better.‭" "Okay, ‎ ‏I'll run home and fix you all breakfast.‭" "Before I could stop her, ‎ ‏not that I planned to, ‭ ‬she hung up the phone.‭" I literally dragged myself out of my warm bed and into the chilly shower.‭ ‬One thing about my oil stove, ‭ ‬when I called for heat the damn thing put out heat right away.‭ ‬When I finished my shower, ‭ ‬I went to the stove while still wet.‭ ‬I dried myself and put on my clothes while hovering over it.‭ ‬Most women wouldn't be able to live like this, ‭ ‬I thought.‭ ‬But most women hadn't lived in a tent with‭ ‬9‭ ‬other women, ‭ ‬either.‭ ‬I had‭ ‬hovered over many an oil burner while trying to stay warm during a chilly night in the sandbox. I left the reasonably warm, ‭ ‬dry cabin with wet hair.‭ ‬I didn't think it would matter, ‭ ‬since it was still raining like water pouring from a garden hose with no nozzle.‭ ‬I managed to get to the office and have the coffee on before Helen arrived.‭ ‬I even managed to beat Lucas and Ed in.‭ ‬They must have both stayed home and jacked off as well.‭ ‬In Ed's case, ‭ ‬that might have been a miracle, ‭ ‬right up there with water into wine. When Helen arrived, ‭ ‬she was carrying three large brown paper bags.‭ ‬They looked like school lunches.‭ "‬What are you doing, ‭ ‬Helen, ‭ ‬sending us back to school‭?" ‬I asked, ‭ ‬laughing. ‎"‏It was Jack's idea.‭ ‬I am making brown paper bag breakfasts and taking them to the job sites around town.‭ ‬I have even been invited to stop outside some of the businesses so their employees can run out.‭ ‬Everything in the bag can be microwaved, ‭ ‬or is almost as good cold.‭" ‬She sorted through them and came up with one that had a red star stamped on it.‭ "‬This one is yours, ‭ ‬Maxine.‭" "Is it different, ‎" ‏I asked. ‎"‏It's my deluxe for special clients, ‭" ‬she answered. ‎"‏Oh, ‭ ‬I'm special‭?" ‬Damn I am having a good day, ‭ ‬I thought. ‎"‏Of course, ‭ ‬you are.‭ ‬You found my granddaughter and you brought love into my life.‭" "Skeeter‎?" "Skeeter, ‎ ‏Jack, ‭ ‬and his family.‭ ‬That's why I wanted to see you.‭ ‬Jack has asked me out on a date.‭ ‬I came to ask you what I should do.‭" "Okay, ‎ ‏Honey, ‭ ‬here is my advice.‭ ‬Screw his eyes out.‭" ‬We both broke into laughter. ‎"‏Hell, ‭ ‬that was my plan all along, ‭" ‬she said.‭ "‬Max, ‭ ‬that wasn't the questions.‭ ‬I have been through menopause.‭ ‬I don't produce lubricants like I did before.‭ ‬I wanted to ask you what I should do.‭" "KY is a middle-aged woman's best friend, ‎" ‏I said. ‎"‏I know that, ‭ ‬Honey, ‭ ‬what I wanted to know is when I apply it so‭ ‬that‭ ‬I don't spoil the mood for him‭?‬" "Sweetie, ‎ ‏I don't think incoming rocket fire could spoil a man's mood.‭ ‬However, ‭ ‬if you are worried, ‭ ‬go‭ ‬to the ladies room after dinner if it's to be on the way home.‭ ‬If you are going to do it in your house, ‭ ‬go to the bathroom after things get hot and heavy.‭ ‬Men are used to us going to the bathroom at strange times.‭" ‬I thought about Helen's situation for a minute.‭ ‬"You do know that it might be uncomfortable the first few times‭?" "Yes, ‎ ‏I know, ‭ ‬I'm probably going to be very tight at first.‭" "Yes, ‎ ‏and the bones might have to move.‭ ‬The ligament's elasticity might be compromised and could really be a problem for a while.‭" "Okay, ‎ ‏I won't stop just because it hurts a little.‭ ‬I'll just take some pills for pain‭ ‬first.‭ ‬God knows there are enough around the house for my aches and pains of old age.‭" "Helen, ‎ ‏have you ever given head‭?" ‬I was rushing trying to get it all said before the guys showed up for work. ‎"‏No, ‭ ‬will I have to do that‭?" "You might not have to, ‎ ‏but men do love it.‭ ‬It isn't hard, ‭ ‬and it isn't disgusting at all.‭" "This is embarrassing, ‎" ‏Helen said. ‎"‏Do you want me to shut up‭?" ‬I had a feeling it was why she really came to see me. ‎"‏No, ‭ ‬how will I know when it is time to do it‭?" "Wait for him to put pressure on you to move your head toward his penis.‎ ‏When he does that, ‭ ‬it is decision time.‭ ‬If you aren't going to ruin it for yourself, ‭ ‬go ahead and try.‭ ‬Trust me‭;‬ you will get better the more you do it.‭ ‬Even better, ‭ ‬he won't know that you have never done it before, ‭ ‬unless you choose to tell him.‭ ‬If you do tell him, ‭ ‬then he can help you learn what to do.‭" "I think I will tell him.‎ ‏It might be exciting for him to know he is the first, ‭" ‬she said, ‭ ‬very wisely, ‭ ‬I thought. ‎"‏I think that's an excellent idea.‭" "Now, ‎ ‏how is Skeeter doing‭?" ‬I asked. ‎"‏She is wonderful, ‭ ‬Maxine.‭ ‬I swear she is the most loving animal on the planet.‭ ‬Jack has worked wonders for her, ‭ ‬but you are the one I have to thank for it all.‭" "No, ‎ ‏Helen, ‭ ‬you saved her, ‭" ‬I said. Just then Ed arrived ending any further sex discussion.‭ ‬Helen handed him a bag as he walked by her.‭ ‬It looked as though Helen was on her own Saturday night, ‭ ‬just as much as I was going to be.‭ ‬I was assuming that her big night would be Saturday as well. ‎"‏Well, ‭ ‬Helen, ‭ ‬how are you doing, ‭ ‬Hon‭?" ‬Ed asked, ‭ ‬as he tried her bag-o breakfast. ‎"‏I'm just fine, ‭ ‬Mr.‭ ‬Martin, ‭ ‬how are you‭?" "About as good as an old man can be.‎ ‏So is Skeeter home yet, ‭ ‬or still in boarding school‭?" "She is still with Jack's family, ‎ ‏but she will be home Sunday.‭ ‬I know she is going to miss them, ‭ ‬but probably not the food there.‭ ‬Jack is not a gourmet cook, ‭ ‬you know.‭" "I'm sure he is nowhere near the cook you are.‎ ‏By the way, ‭ ‬this sandwich from the bag is wonderful, ‭" ‬he said, ‭ ‬between bites.‭ "‬Max, ‭ ‬you should take some lessons from Helen.‭" Helen and I both smiled, ‭ ‬since I had been giving her a lesson in a sense.‭ "‬I might just work out a trade, ‭" ‬I said. ‎"‏Well, ‭ ‬I have work to do.‭ ‬I have‭ ‬200‭ ‬lunches to get ready and then make a plan for a wedding reception.‭" ‬Helen left after thanking me yet again.‭ ‬I wasn't sure what it was for that time, ‭ ‬but I was gracious for a change. When Lucas finally came in, ‭ ‬he was soaked.‭ "‬What happened to you‭?" ‬I asked. ‎"‏I stopped to help a lady whose car was broke down.‭" "Did you get it working‎?" ‏I asked. ‎"‏No, ‭ ‬but I did call a wrecker for her.‭ ‬I waited with her so she wouldn't be alone in that neighborhood.‭" "What neighborhood do we have in Aster that isn't safe at‎ ‏8‎ ‏AM‭?" "Okay, ‎ ‏I stayed because I wanted to.‭" "I‎ ‏certainly hope she was grateful, ‭" ‬Ed said, ‭ ‬grinning. ‎"‏Probably not yet, ‭ ‬Ed.‭ ‬I know I can't be really grateful in a‭ ‬cold pouring rain, ‭" ‬I laughed, ‭ ‬and was quickly joined by Ed.‭ ‬Not only did he find the remark humorous, ‭ ‬but the look on Lucas's face was classic. ‎"‏It wasn't like that, ‭" ‬Lucas, ‭ ‬said in his own defense. ‎"‏Lucas, ‭ ‬Love, ‭ ‬it is always about that.‭ ‬If men aren't actually spreading their seed, ‭ ‬they are trying to find ways to spread it.‭" "Amen, ‎ ‏Sister, ‭" ‬Ed agreed, ‭ "‬We can do some really foolish things in the pursuit of what we pretend is love.‭" "Yeah, ‎ ‏like stand in the pouring rain to keep a damsel in distress company.‭ ‬And Lucas, ‭ ‬Honey, ‭ ‬don't think she didn't know what you were doing.‭" Just about that time, ‭ ‬his phone rang.‭ ‬He took his phone and went into the vault room to take the call.‭ ‬Ed and I both smiled knowingly.‭ ‬There was no doubt that it was the Damsel in distress. ‎"‏Young love, ‭ ‬you got to love it, ‭" ‬I said. ‎"‏Hell, ‭ ‬I would just like to remember it, ‭" ‬Ed said with a laugh. It was a day filled with crazy sexually oriented shit, ‭ ‬from the rain keeping me in bed to masturbate, ‭ ‬right up until the‭ ‬5‭ ‬PM call from Joey.‭ ‬It was sheer madness.‭ ‬Oh yeah, ‭ ‬it seemed that Joey had changed his mind and wanted a second try at me.‭ ‬On that note, ‭ ‬my work day ended, ‭ ‬but not my Friday.‭ ‬It just kept on getting worse. After work, ‭ ‬I decided it was time that I paid Skeeter a visit.‭ ‬What could happen to me visiting Skeeter‭? ‬I thought.‭ ‬I pulled into the driveway leading to the parking lot just outside the kennel where Skeeter was staying.‭ ‬The parking lot wasn't really a parking lot at all.‭ ‬It was just an open raw dirt space, ‭ ‬which could hold two cars.‭ ‬Since there were no other cars in the space, ‭ ‬I decided that it was safe to stop. Skeeter came to the gate when my van pulled up.‭ ‬I was glad that she remembered the sound of my van.‭ ‬I was even happier that she remembered me.‭ ‬Her tail wagged and she looked thrilled to see me.‭ "‬No wonder Helen thinks you are the most loving girl in the world, ‭" ‬I said to her.‭ "‬You are so happy to see an old friend, ‭ ‬aren't you, ‭ ‬Baby.‭" "Hi, ‎" ‏a female voice behind me said. I turned to see a teenage girl standing behind me.‭ "‬Hello, ‭ ‬I'm Maxine Stone, ‭ ‬don't worry, ‭ ‬I didn't come to steal your dogs.‭ ‬On second thought you better watch me‭; ‬I just might take this old girl after all.‭" "I know who you are, ‎ ‏Ms.‭ ‬Stone, ‭" ‬the girl said. ‎"‏Really, ‭ ‬how do you know me‭?" ‬I was curious.‭ ‬I was only looking for formation at the moment. ‎"‏Every girl in town knows who you are.‭" "Dear God, ‎ ‏then tell me I'm not some kind of role model.‭" "Just to some of us, ‎ ‏mostly the ones who don't plan to get married the day after graduation.‭" "Well, ‎ ‏there is nothing wrong with getting married.‭ ‬It does seem to work a little better if you wait.‭ ‬Of course, ‭ ‬it didn't in my case.‭" ‬Being the town tramp and a role model didn't seem as though they should go together, ‭ ‬but it was a very small town.‭ ‬Not only that, ‭ ‬teenage girls are weird.‭ ‬I speak from experience. ‎"‏Yes, ‭ ‬I know, ‭ ‬would you mind if I asked you some questions.‭ ‬The kids at school are dying to know about you, ‭ ‬and my dad won't talk about you at all.‭" "Well, ‎ ‏I don't know your dad, ‭ ‬except that he is helping to save my friend there.‭" "Yeah, ‎ ‏he is helping you and his new girlfriend.‭" "Is there anything wrong with the new girlfriend‎?" "No, ‎ ‏she just seems really uptight that's all.‭" "Well she probably is nervous around you, ‎ ‏Hon.‭ ‬You do seem a little intimidating.‭" "Do I intimidate you‎?" ‏she asked, ‭ ‬with a warm smile. I had to stop and think about that.‭ ‬She didn't intimidate me, ‭ ‬but I had to admit that she did arouse feelings in me.‭ ‬I didn't want to analyze them too closely.‭ ‬After all, ‭ ‬she was probably around‭ ‬16‭ ‬years old, ‭ ‬way too young to be causing the warm feeling in my abdomen. ‎"‏No, ‭ ‬you don't intimidate me, ‭ ‬but I can see how you might some people.‭" "I'm glad I don't intimidate you, ‎" ‏she said softly.‭ ‬That was scary, ‭ ‬but I ignored it. ‎"‏So what did you want to ask‭?" "The rumor is that you are bisexual.‎" "That isn't a question, ‎" ‏I replied. ‎"‏So are you‭?" ‬she asked. I decided I should try to slip it.‭ "‬I have been married multiple times, ‭" ‬was my reply. ‎"‏Is that why they didn't work‭?" ‬She had me cornered.‭ ‬It was the old‭ ‬'do you still beat your husband‭'‬ question. ‎"‏No, ‭ ‬I'm a one man woman.‭ ‬Well, ‭ ‬at least one at a time.‭" "One man and how many women‎?" ‏she asked. ‎"‏A relationship is a relationship, ‭ ‬and it's one at a time for me.‭" ‬Okay, ‭ ‬it wasn't true, ‭ ‬but I wasn't about to fill her head with my bad lifestyle choices. ‎"‏Have you ever considered a younger lover‭?" "Not under the legal age of consent, ‎" ‏I replied, ‭ ‬to shut her down. ‎"‏You should think about it, ‭" ‬she suggested, ‭ ‬just as the pickup drove in behind my van. ‎"‏Julie, ‭ ‬have you finished your homework‭?" ‬Jack asked pointedly, ‭ ‬as he walked up. ‎"‏I just wanted to make sure Maxine wasn't some dognapper, ‭" ‬she informed him. ‎"‏Okay, ‭ ‬but get back to the homework now, ‭ ‬I'll handle this.‭" ‬After she left, ‭ ‬he said to me, ‭ "‬I hope you aren't filling her head with nonsense.‭" "Me too, ‎" ‏I said, ‭ ‬ignoring his innuendo.‭ "‬I just came to check on Skeeter and I guess that is your daughter who came out to make sure I wasn't going to liberate her.‭" "Yes, ‎ ‏that's Julie, ‭ ‬my youngest.‭ ‬She is confused right now.‭" "Jack, ‎ ‏that is something you need to discuss with her, ‭ ‬not me, ‭" ‬I said it to make damn sure he wasn't planning to tell me any family secrets.‭ ‬I just didn't want to be involved.‭ ‬I quickly left so as not to get into a discussion about lifestyles.‭ ‬Poor Skeeter didn't get near the amount of attention I had planned for her. I stopped at a turnoff on the way home.‭ ‬It overlooked the same lake used as the marina.‭ ‬I loved to stare at water while I tried to clear my head.‭ ‬It had been a terribly hormonal day for me.‭ ‬I had experiences ranging from my own fingers in me, ‭ ‬right up to teenage girls coming on to me.‭ ‬That was not even counting the sex lives of everyone around me suddenly getting mixed up with mine. It was after seven by the time I finished feeling bad about my failing to resolve anything at all.‭ ‬Instead of going home in the mood that I found myself in, ‭ ‬I decided‭ ‬to stop for Chinese food.‭ ‬When I was a child, ‭ ‬the restaurant building had been a finance company.‭ ‬I know, ‭ ‬because my mom went there every Saturday to pay on my school clothes loan.‭ ‬I always had mixed feelings about eating there.‭ ‬I might not have eaten there at all had it not been the only Chinese restaurant in town. I removed the clip-on holster with the small hammerless‭ ‬ .38‭ ‬revolver.‭ ‬I seldom carried the pistol when not actually working.‭ ‬Usually, ‭ ‬at the best of times, ‭ ‬when you realize you need a firearm, ‭ ‬it is too late to use it.‭ ‬That was how the saying went anyway.‭ ‬It wasn't a true statement at all.‭ ‬It was usually too late for the first victim.‭ ‬If you weren't the first victim, ‭ ‬you had a shot, ‭ ‬so to speak. I didn't think I would need the pistol, ‭ ‬so I locked it in the van's console.‭ ‬I was seated at a postage stamp sized table reserved for a party of one.‭ ‬I didn't like eating alone.‭ ‬I noticed that so early in the evening, ‭ ‬there were others alone as well.‭ ‬That being the case, ‭ ‬I didn't feel too badly. I heard the commotion before I saw the cause of it.‭ ‬There were two young black men with pistols playing gangster.‭ ‬They held the pistols sideways like they had seen in the movies.‭ ‬I would have laughed, ‭ ‬except that they looked really nervous.‭ ‬It was a recipe for disaster, ‭ ‬guns plus kids, ‭ ‬plus drugs, ‭ ‬equals deadly accidents.‭ ‬Still, ‭ ‬it did piss me off. They took the register and should have left.‭ ‬Instead one stood at the entrance to the dining room, ‭ ‬while the other one went table to table demanding the customer's wallets.‭ ‬Since I didn't have a weapon, ‭ ‬I was ready to pony up my wallet.‭ ‬Hell, ‭ ‬I didn't have that much money anyway. Before he got to me, ‭ ‬the kid stopped at a table with a man about sixty, ‭ ‬and said, ‭ "‬Give me your wallet, ‭ ‬old man.‭" The old man looked up at him slowly and said, ‭ "‬No.‭" "What do you mean, ‎ ‏no‭?" ‬The kid asked. ‎"‏Just no, ‭" ‬the old man repeated. ‎"‏Hurry up, ‭ ‬Marvin, ‭" ‬the kid blocking the entrance said. ‎"‏Give me your fucking wallet, ‭" ‬Marvin said, ‭ ‬putting the pistol to the old man's head. The old man must have been running on adrenaline, ‭ ‬because he moved faster than I could follow.‭ ‬He pushed the gun away and at the same time pulled the kid forward.‭ ‬He gave the kid a vicious head butt.‭ ‬He had to know that the kid at the entrance would do something. He would have, ‭ ‬if I hadn't thrown my tea cup at him.‭ ‬After the tea cup landed on his face, ‭ ‬he turned his pistol toward the new threat.‭ ‬That was a mistake.‭ ‬The older man was on him like a fucking bear.‭ ‬I saw him move toward the kid at the entrance, ‭ ‬so I moved to Marvin and picked up his pistol. I was tempted to let the old man just kick the crap out of the kid.‭ ‬I should have, ‭ ‬but instead I pulled the groggy Marvin to his feet.‭ ‬I pointed Marvin's pistol at the two men rolling around on‭ ‬the floor.‭ "‬Hey Guys, ‭ ‬am I going to have to shoot both of you just to get the right one‭?" ‬Both of them stopped to look at me.‭ ‬The old man rolled away, ‭ ‬but he came up with the second pistol. ‎"‏Here, ‭" ‬I said, ‭ ‬handing him Marvin's piece as well, ‭ "‬My egg drop is getting cold.‭" ‬Actually, ‭ ‬I needed to sit down.‭ ‬My knees where threatening to give way. ‎"‏What happened‭?" ‬the patrolman asked.‭ ‬He asked me because I knew him from the Cop Out. ‎"‏That old man is either a hero or a complete idiot, ‭" ‬I said. ‎"‏So which is it‭?" ‬he asked. ‎"‏Damned, ‭ ‬if I know, ‭" ‬I replied. ‎"‏Who the fuck are you‭?" ‬I asked when I got a chance. ‎"‏Archer, ‭ ‬Reverend Archer, ‭ ‬I'm the pastor at the‭ ‬First‭ ‬Galilee‭ ‬Holiness‭ ‬Church.‭" "Well, ‎ ‏Preacher, ‭ ‬you are a piece of work.‭" He smiled, ‭ ‬then said, ‭ "‬Even a preacher had to be something else first.‭" ‬Then he turned to Detective Anya Bostic who had arrived. ‎"‏Can't you stay out of trouble for a minute, ‭" ‬she asked me, ‭ ‬after she finished with Reverend Archer.‭" "Hey, ‎ ‏it wasn't me this time.‭ ‬I was just having dinner.‭" "We need to talk, ‎" ‏she said quietly.‭ "‬I'll call you tomorrow.‭ ‬Get your ass home before you get in more trouble.‭" "Good advice, ‎ ‏you have no idea what a crazy day it‭'‬s been.‭" ------- Chapter 30 I stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home from the Chinese dinner fiasco.‭ ‬I remembered to buy a radio, ‭ ‬before I stopped by the subway sandwich shop inside the store.‭ ‬I bought a huge steak sandwich on the way out. When I got home, ‭ ‬I ate the sandwich while I watched a TV show from two days before‭; ‬I watched it on my computer.‭ ‬I debated going to the Cop Out, ‭ ‬but decided bed alone was more appealing.‭ ‬The Adrenaline had stopped racing so sleep was at least possible. The next time I opened my eyes, ‭ ‬there was sunlight coming through the small high windows of my cabin.‭ ‬I had no idea why the convict/owner had set all his windows with the sills at four and a half feet from the floor.‭ ‬They were only two and a half feet high, ‭ ‬so they ran almost to the bottom of the roof in the front.‭ ‬Since the roof slanted downward from front to rear, ‭ ‬the back roof beams were on top of the windows.‭ ‬It didn't look near as strange as it sounded.‭ ‬It was a cabin after all, ‭ ‬not a family house.‭ ‬The windows had a single pane of glass and opened by swinging out and down.‭ ‬I had seen that configuration before, ‭ ‬but just couldn't place it.‭ ‬I'm sure it was an old movie. The cabin seemed to be warm from inside the bed, ‭ ‬but in fact it still had the night's chill.‭ ‬When I got myself out of bed, ‭ ‬I turned the heater up a notch.‭ ‬I put the coffee maker to work on a fresh pot, ‭ ‬while I heated yesterday's stale coffee in the microwave.‭ ‬I turned on my new radio while I contemplated breakfast. I had the party in the back of my mind, ‭ ‬so it was hard to concentrate on anything else.‭ ‬I was hungry enough so that my empty stomach broke through the sexual anticipation long enough to force me from my lethargy.‭ ‬I decided that it would be a Maxine's microwave version of the Egg McMuffin for breakfast... I had one frozen sausage patty left from a six pack I had bought some time before.‭ ‬I put it in a cereal bowl with a paper napkin on top, ‭ ‬then into the Microwave for a minute.‭ ‬When it dinged, ‭ ‬I removed the sausage patty from the bowl, ‭ ‬then broke and egg into the same bowl.‭ ‬I scrambled it up a little, ‭ ‬added some Texas Pete, ‭ ‬and then shoved it back into the Microwave for thirty seconds.‭ ‬When it was done, ‭ ‬I heated an English muffin that was probably a month old.‭ ‬The combination of everything and a slice of sandwich style American cheese was my breakfast.‭ ‬It wasn't as good as a Helen bag breakfast, ‭ ‬but it wasn't awful either. The radio was kind of nice, ‭ ‬once I found a decent music station‭; ‬one that played oldies of course.‭ ‬I also found a talk radio station, ‭ ‬one with conservative leanings.‭ ‬Then I found one with liberal leanings as well.‭ ‬Both views interested me, ‭ ‬since both had some right thinking views as well as some kooks. For instance, ‭ ‬I am pro choice on abortion, ‭ ‬but only because I am anti government intervention in my life.‭ ‬I don't want them telling me, ‭ ‬I have to join a union, ‭ ‬but I also don't them telling me what to do with my body.‭ ‬To me, ‭ ‬my thinking is not inconsistent.‭ ‬If I let them regulate part of my life, ‭ ‬then I have to let them regulate any part my own life as well. I was having a grand old time calling both talk radio commentators idiots, ‭ ‬when the phone rang.‭ ‬Actually it still didn't ring, ‭ ‬it played that stupid music.‭ "‬Hello, ‭" ‬I said shortly into the thing. ‎"‏My, ‭ ‬aren't you in a mood‭?" ‬the male voice said. ‎"‏I'm in a fine mood, ‭ ‬who are you‭?" ‬I wasn't in the mood for a sales call. ‎"‏It's Reverend Archer, ‭ ‬and I was calling to invite you to church tomorrow.‭ ‬I didn't get a chance to say thank you for the tea cup toss, ‭" ‬he said with a smile in his voice. ‎"‏If I come to your church, ‭ ‬Rev, ‭ ‬will you tell me who you really are‭?" "I have no idea who I really am, ‎ ‏Maxine, ‭ ‬but I will tell you who I have been.‭" "Then give me the address, ‎ ‏and I'll give it some serious thought.‭" "It's on the English Trail out in‎ ‏West End.‭ ‬Do you know it‭?" "I know where‎ ‏West End is, ‭ ‬and I have a Tom Tom‭; ‬I can find it.‭" "It's a little more difficult that that.‎ ‏The church is a store front mission‭; ‬inside a former Union Hall.‭ ‬There is a sign in the window, ‭ ‬but no sign on the outside of the building.‭ ‬It is a new mission.‭" "I promise if you give me a street address I'll find it, ‎ ‏if I decide to show up.‭" "812‎ ‏English Trail, ‭" ‬he said.‭ "‬I'll be expecting you.‭ ‬And Maxine, ‭ ‬bring your check book.‭ ‬Once you see the good work we are doing, ‭ ‬you will want to make a contribution.‭" "I doubt that.‎ ‏Charity begins at home for me.‭" "Well come anyway, ‎" ‏he said, ‭ ‬just as the phone went dead. Now that would be an interesting contradiction, ‭ ‬a night of complete debauchery and then church the next day.‭ ‬I almost laughed, ‭ ‬but it didn't seem all that funny after all. ‎"‏Maxine‭?" ‬the next caller asked. ‎"‏Yes, ‭" ‬I recognized the voice as Detective Bostic.‭ "‬What can I do for you Anya‭?" "We need to talk.‎ ‏This has gone on long enough without a plan.‭ ‬I am going to force a meeting with Marge.‭ ‬Will you be around for a while‭?" "I have no plans for today.‎ ‏It's not like a need a trip to have my hair done.‭" ‬I still had only an inch of hair on my head.‭ ‬At least it was enough so that I didn't look skeletal any more.‭ ‬I just looked like a leather butch Dyke.‭ ‬Maybe that was my sudden appeal to all the women and even girls in town. ‎"‏I'll get back with you after I set it up with Marge, ‭" ‬she said hanging up without a goodbye.‭ ‬She was the second person in a row to do that.‭ ‬People just didn't feel the need to be courteous with me for some reason. I spent the time between calls with music on the radio and a mop in my hand.‭ ‬The floors in my cabin were all salvaged from an old mill I expected.‭ ‬The finish was some kind of varnish but no two boards matched.‭ ‬They had been removed carefully from someplace, ‭ ‬and then reinstalled hap hazardly in the cabin.‭ ‬I didn't mind, ‭ ‬there was a certain charm to it.‭ ‬I could also roll up the large area rug, ‭ ‬obviously rescued from some junk heap, ‭ ‬to clean under it.‭ ‬The throw rug kept the center of the floor from being unbearably cold, ‭ ‬so it was a pretty good compromise. If the cabin was mine I would trash that rug and get a smaller fake oriental rug for the center of the floor, ‭ ‬leaving more of the wood showing.‭ ‬Since I was only a caretaker, ‭ ‬I left things as they were.‭ ‬Well, ‭ ‬I had bought a better bed and the microwave. After the cleaning, ‭ ‬I sat looking out the window.‭ ‬I could see the clouds but nothing else since the windows were so high.‭ ‬I would only have seen trees, ‭ ‬even if they were at eye level.‭ ‬Since I was lost in thought, ‭ ‬it didn't really matter that I couldn't see anything. ‎"‏Hello, ‭" ‬I said to stop the terrible music on my cell phone. ‎"‏Okay the meet is on.‭ ‬Be at the Hazelwood at three this afternoon.‭ ‬Bring the dress.‭ ‬Marge want to see you in it.‭ ‬There is some woman there who can fix it or some such thing... ‭" ‬Anya said. ‎"‏Crap, ‭ ‬I just realized that I don't have any shoes to wear with this dress.‭" "Well Cinderella, ‎ ‏there is a mall you know.‭ ‬After you meet with Marge, ‭ ‬go buy some.‭" "Hey bitch, ‎ ‏you don't spend my money, ‭" ‬I said angrily.‭ "‬I'm not being your whore and paying for the privileged. ‎"‏Alright we will work out something.‭ ‬Just be at the meeting, ‭ ‬so we can figure out what the hell is going on.‭" "Fair enough, ‎" ‏I replied and hung up on her.‭ ‬Turnabout is fair play I thought. The numbers on my new clock radio didn't seem to move at all, ‭ ‬as I waited for the time to pass.‭ ‬Finally at‭ ‬1PM I decided to go to lunch.‭ ‬I had no idea what the rest of the day would be, ‭ ‬so I thought I should get at least one healthy meal in.‭ ‬I drove to the Midway mall even though it meant a trip out of town.‭ ‬The Midway, ‭ ‬like it's name suggested, ‭ ‬was half way between Aster and Tryon.‭ ‬I never shopped there because I'm not a clothes horse.‭ ‬That and the prices are ridiculous.‭ ‬The mall did have a couple of family style restaurants, ‭ ‬even if they were chain things.‭ ‬One advertised itself as a family steak house.‭ ‬I didn't care for their steaks, ‭ ‬but they had the best‭ ‬50‭ ‬item salad bar I had ever seen.‭ ‬For seven bucks I could make my own chef salad.‭ ‬Best of all they had a huge bowl provided by the cashier when you paid for your salad.‭ ‬The bowl seemed to be about the size of a vegetable serving bowl for a family of four. I doubted that the salad I made could be called low cal, ‭ ‬but everything in it was healthy.‭ ‬Well maybe not the country ham, ‭ ‬but everything else was.‭ ‬Okay the dressing was probably filled with fat, ‭ ‬but hey it was like a gift.‭ ‬It was the thought that counts, ‭ ‬right‭? I still found myself early for the meeting so I drove to the park near the Hazelwood to kill the time.‭ ‬Since the day was a little chilly to sit on a bench.‭ ‬I sat in my van.‭ ‬I saw the car when it drove into the parking space beside me.‭ ‬I had no idea who was in the mid sized compact until Bostic opened the door.‭ ‬She walked around and slipped in beside me. ‎"‏You know that you are not my best friend, ‭" ‬she said to me. ‎"‏Ah hell, ‭ ‬you mean we are not going to swap spit in the shower‭?" "I never said that, ‎" ‏she smiled at me.‭ "‬It's just that you are not somebody I would want to go shopping with.‭" "Good, ‎ ‏I can agree with that at least.‭" "The point is I want to warn you to watch out for yourself in there.‎" "You already told me there is no cavalry coming to save my ass from the indians.‎" "Not only that, ‎ ‏you have no immunity.‭ ‬If you get into something illegal, ‭ ‬I can't help you.‭ ‬This is not a police operation.‭" "I always wondered what prison would be like, ‎" ‏I answered. ‎"‏Just watch yourself at all times, ‭" ‬Anya said. ‎"‏Now you listen to me.‭ ‬If I go down for this shit, ‭ ‬you are going with me.‭ ‬If you can't save me, ‭ ‬I doubt that you can save yourself.‭ ‬So do you still want me to walk in there‭?" "Yes, ‎ ‏but I don't want you to kill anyone.‭" "Hell, ‎ ‏I haven't‭ ‬killed anyone in months.‭" "Well try to keep it that way.‎ ‏Most anything else we can work with.‭" Bullshit, ‭ ‬I thought.‭ ‬She would throw me to the wolves in a minute.‭ ‬The only thing I had going for me was a whole bunch of secretly made recordings.‭ ‬I hoped Jen, ‭ ‬my lawyer friend, ‭ ‬wouldn't need to use them.‭ ‬That kind of thing is only good once and who knew when I might need to blackmail Anya. ------- "I love that dress on you.‎ ‏Megs won't need to do a thing to it.‭" ‬Marge said. ‎"‏What about shoes‭?" ‬I asked. ‎"‏Oh hell, ‭ ‬you won't need shoes.‭ ‬Well, ‭ ‬not real ones.‭ ‬You aren't going to be leaving the house in that.‭ ‬I have a closet filled with ballet slippers.‭ ‬We can find something that will do.‭" "So now it is time for you to come clean with me, ‎" ‏I suggested.‭ "‬Who are the guests and what is my part in the play‭?" "Three Russian couples have rented the‎ ‏Inn for the night.‭ ‬From five until tomorrow afternoon, ‭ ‬the Hazelwood is‭ ‬Moscow on the park.‭" "Couples, ‎ ‏huh‭?‬ Well that explains the need for bi sexual women.‭" "Who else is going to be entertaining these couples‎?" ‏Anya asked. ‎"‏I recruited some girls and a young man from Tryon.‭ ‬They are all eighteen, ‭ ‬but look fourteen, ‭" ‬Marge informed us.‭ "‬They aren't pros:‭ ‬that was part of the contract. ‎"‏Do they know what they are getting into‭?" ‬I asked. ‎"‏I told them, ‭ ‬but who knows what they think.‭" "Let me tell you something, ‎ ‏if any of them want to stop, ‭ ‬then it stops.‭ ‬I'm not going to jail as part of a rape conspiracy.‭" "Don't worry Maxine, ‎ ‏this isn't my first time at the dance, ‭" ‬Marge said. ‎"‏I looked over to Anya who avoided my eyes.‭" ‬Oh shit, ‭ ‬I thought, ‭ ‬party my ass.‭ ‬Marge is a fucking madam.‭ ‬The bed and breakfast is just a cover.‭ ‬I had wondered all along how a bed and breakfast in the middle of a dying mill town could be profitable.‭ ‬Marge with her social connections could arrange a discrete weekend for anyone.‭ ‬There had to be plenty of people in her social and business contacts that might need her services now and then.‭ ‬Recruiting fresh talent in an area with over‭ ‬13%‭ ‬unemployment wouldn't be hard.‭ ‬It‭ ‬also‭ ‬looked as though she had Anya in her pocket.‭ ‬No telling what changed hands.‭ ‬It could be money for favors, ‭ ‬or favors for favors.‭ ‬There was a‭ ‬rumor that the FBI ran a brothel in DC, ‭ ‬once upon a time. ‎"‏It is definitely going to be an interesting night, ‭" ‬I said as the meeting ended. ------- Chapter 31 Edited by Bob Ross Don't get me wrong, I don't think prostitution should be a crime. It should just be a business transaction governed by civil law. If a hooker steals your money, then maybe it's a crime. But just for selling her ass on the street; no I can't see it. To waste a couple of hours of a cop's time processing her, then the court's time to take her to trial, and even the cost of keeping her housed and fed for a month is just a waste of my money. Now that said, runaway kids turning tricks is a different thing. They need to be protected too many people are ready to take advantage of them. All that ran through my head while I waited in the lounge. It was early enough so that Marge had a couple of pizzas delivered for the hired help. I was pretty sure the young hookers were in the house somewhere. The Hazelwood had enough rooms to hide a lot more than three hookers. Several years after the Civil war one of the Aster clan, not a recognized member of the Astor family mind you, came to town. There were already a few empty woodworking plants around. Those had been used to make Confederate wagons and cannon carriages, when they were open. The Aster cousin, or whatever, bought them all for a pittance and began making furniture. The poverty, after the failed war of independence, was grinding in the south. That being the case there was plenty of cheap labor. Lots of hardwood forests were available to be raped as well. So all the elements for a new industry were in place. All but the startup capital, which was supplied by Aster. He made a fortune in return. The Aster family had a residence in New England, but the senior Aster needed to put in at least an appearance at the plants now and then, so he built a house in town. At that time travel was difficult, so he built it near the plants, but not so close that he had to actually be bothered by them. Thus his mini mansion was born in what later became downtown Aster. Aster had a lot of kids, so the house had a lot of bedrooms. Some for the children, some for his extended family, and some for entertaining. Then there were the common rooms, which weren't all that common. I found myself in the lounge, which most likely was a parlor, when the Aster's occupied the house. The lounge, where I sat, could comfortable seat a dozen people. Two large sofas and half a dozen over stuffed leather chairs were spread around the room. Marge was adamant that I not leave the room, since the Ruskies were in the building. So of course first chance I got I went exploring. Hazelwood was one big house. On the first floor were all common rooms, but there were also two more floors of bedrooms. There were at least six usable bedrooms on each floor. Marge had explained that after my first visit. The house had been built after the advent of indoor plumbing, so it was filled with bathrooms. Most of them had quaint free standing showers rigged over claw foot tubs. Quite a hit with the guests I'm sure. I was back in the room after exploring the bottom rooms, when the first of the other entertainers arrived. She walked in dressed as a little girl of about twelve. It was a little disconcerting, until I got a really close look at her. The little girl illusion was shattered by the hollow look around her eyes. The kid was a drug user for sure and likely in her late teens. I could easily believe that Marge had found an eighteen year old hooker. It would have been simpler for her to make up the emaciated teen to look twelve. Marge had managed to bleach most of my tan away. Even the tan lines were blended till they seemed to vanish. She promised me the bleaching treatment wouldn't do any real damage to my skin. I had my doubts but decided to play along anyway. When I looked in the mirror, I saw a middle aged woman almost ghostly in appearance. I definitely did not have a health glow, but it was Marge's illusion not mine. We were joined a few minutes later by a young man, who again looked to be a thirteen or fourteen year old kid. On closer inspection he had a few whiskers. Not a lot just a few on his upper lip. He could have been eighteen as Marge promised. It was almost seven, when the last of her entertainers arrived. She looked to be about fourteen. She was dressed exactly like me. I mean she was an exact miniature version of me. But the most striking thing about her was that I recognized her. She was Jack the dog man's teenage daughter. When we spoke at the dog kennel, I had no idea I would ever see her again. Especially not under those circumstances. What the fuck are you doing here?" she asked. "You look like me only older." "I'm going to call the cops and have your little ass in Juvie, " I said to the shocked looking girl. Please don't do that," she begged. So far we had kept the discussion to a whisper held in one corner of the lounge. Why shouldn't I?" "Because I need this, and I don't want to go to jail." "What do you mean you need this?" "I need the money, and I need the sex. I'm not very attractive. I'm flat chested and straight as a stick. The boys my age want to screw me, but I'm gay. I have tried it with boys, but I don't like it, so I get teased badly." "So you are out here selling your ass?" "Yes, I get off on the kink. I also like that the money is good. Marge knows I only like to do women, so she uses me when it is girl/girl sex." "Does Marge know how old you are?" "No, she thinks I'm eighteen. Fake ID's are easy to get on line." "How old are you really?" I asked. Fifteen, but I'm mature for my age," she replied "I just bet you are," my reply dripped with sarcasm. Maxine please, I can't go to jail, it would kill my dad." "Julie, I cannot let you do this," I said. Ms. Stone just this one last time. Then I promise I will never do it again." She seemed truly terrified that her dad would find out. Let me think about it." I said. She did seem sincere in her promise to never do it again. I could also warn Marge, which should keep her out of the Hazelwood anyway ... I decided what I needed to do was to tell Marge right then and get Julie out of the house immediately. Marge would just have to suffer with being one short for the evening. When I opened the lounge door to go find Marge, what I found was a thug. He didn't even smile when he put his hand on my breast to pushed me back into the lounge. What the fuck? I asked myself. You said you had done this before?" I asked Julie. Yes three or four times," she answered. Are there usually guards?" "Sometimes, but they never do anything. They just watch from the doorway. I think it is to make sure nothing happens to the guests." "Well the one tonight is outside this door, to keep us in here," I informed her. Why would they do that, we never go anywhere." "To make sure we don't wander around is all I can figure." "So I am going to do this one more time then?" she asked. For now, we play along. If I find a way, I'm getting you out of here. But that guy looks serious about keeping us in line. If they find out I'm not a hooker, we could all get hurt, if not killed." My mind was racing. "For now we go along." "Cool, she said as if it were a video game or something. Do what they say and keep your mouth shut." I warned her. I always do what they say." She smiled wickedly. She just didn't get how much danger she was in. Unfortunately I knew. If I made a scene, they might feel they needed to kill my skinny ass, and leave no witnesses. That was what Anya really was warning me about the whole time. She knew this wasn't just some Russian business men out to get laid, these were the really bad guys. If I lived through this weekend, I just might kill Anya. I tried to think. What the hell could I do, the answer was simple nothing. I could play along and hope for a chance to save everyone, or I could go along and the bad guys would most likely leave on their own accord come Sunday morning. That seemed like the best course of action. Just go along and see how it played out, but be ready to go redneck at any minute. I switched my thinking to trying to predict what the plan for us was. Judging from the dresses we wore, Julie and I were going to be part of a mother, daughter fantasy. Not something I had any experience with, but I had been told that it was a universal fantasy with middle-aged men, maybe with middle-aged women as well. I was still trying to come up with a plan, when the guard on the door came in with a woman I had not previously met. The woman walked first to the girl dress like a child and handed her a pill and a bottle of water. The girl swallowed it eagerly. Then the woman went to each of the others finally ending in front of me. Take it," she said without any expression on her face at all. I don't do drugs," I replied. It is just to relax you, not make you high. Take it." That time she was very insistent and the guard seemed to be getting ready to slap the hell out of me. I could refuse and probably get my ass beat. Afterward nothing would have changed, so I took the pill. The woman nodded, then walked away. After she left nothing much felt different for a while. It was several minutes later that my thinking got soft. There is no other way to explain it. It was just soft. Julie, who had been keeping her distance from me, came to stand beside me. "Don't you just love these dresses?" she asked in a dreamy voice. I tried to resist but said, "Yes they are quite sexy." "If you just relax, this will be fun. I have always had a blast here. Margie promised this would be the best party yet." She put her hand on my butt then added. "It already is." Yes, I was drugged, and yes I had a certain amount of fear running through me, but her words and the touches of her hand were exciting. "You shouldn't be doing that." "I know, but you like it," she said with that warm glowing look. Her hand massaged my butt cheek with a promise of things to come. She was fifteen years old and already had my number. It was the drug I told myself. The pill lady came back several minutes later. By that time I was seated in a big chair with Julie in my lap. She had leaned back against me, then pulled my hands to her small breasts. Without thinking I began to massage her and tease her nipples. She pushed back against me even harder. Is she ready?" the pill lady asked. Before I could ask what she meant, Julie answered. "Oh yes, she is ready." Pill lady crooked her finger and Julie stood and pulled me to my feet. I went willingly, once I knew what she wanted. I seemed to be in a fog, but unlike the first time with Margie's tea, I had not been drinking before hand. I was quite lucid, just not really myself. Julie led me up the stairs to a bedroom on the second floor. Inside the room we found a man and woman. The woman was standing, when we walked into the room. She motioned me forward, so I took the steps required to stand before her. Present yourself," she demanded. I just stared at her, I had no idea what she meant. Take out your boobs Mom," Julie said to me. I was surprised that she would ask and shocked that she called me mom. Even though I knew that mom and daughter was the fantasy, I had no idea Julie was in on it. I had seen her as a victim, even when she was coming on to me in the lounge. I thought it was just the drug working on her like it was with me. Julie was the one who unsnapped my halter top. She whispered in my ear, "Cup your breasts and hold them up for her to inspect." I did as I was told. The woman said in her heavy Russian accent. "Small for a grown woman. You aren't much to look at, are you?" I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing. Suddenly from out of nowhere she slapped me. I fought back the urge to kick her ass. Partly it was the drugs that dampened my desire, and partly it was good sense. I wanted to survive the evening. "Answer me, you American cunt." "I'm not much to look at." "You will address me as Ma'am or Mistress. My husband as Sir or Master, do you understand me cunt?" "Yes Ma'am. I had played the game before, so I could handle it. I had even been slapped a few times. When I was turned on enough, I sometimes liked it. I hadn't been turned on at all, when the Russian bitch slapped me. She opened her plain white blouse and then unhooked her front clasp bra. Her heavy breasts sprang out. They also drooped almost to her waist. She reached down and squeezed them together and lifted them. "Suck me whore." she demanded. I bent my head and took one of her nipples into my mouth. I sucked it gently at first, then more demandingly. I felt her hand on my head pulling me tighter against her soft breast. Swallow it," she demanded. I tried to do as she asked. I opened my mouth as wide as possible and took as much of her breast inside as I could. I tried to swallow it and found that the nipple did indeed enter my throat. It was a new feeling for me. "Yes my little cunt," she said pulling my face away. "I think we are going to have fun together. Now come with me," she said leading me by the hand to a large overstuffed chair. The damn house was full of them. Why wouldn't it be, the owner made them in his plant no doubt. I had no idea where that thought came from, but it was the thing on my mind as she forced me to my knees between her spread legs. There were no preliminaries at all. She simply forced my face against her pussy. Yes bitch, eat her pussy," I heard a male voice say. He also spoke with a heavy Russian accent. "How does the whore feel to you love?" he asked the woman. She is very talented. Not as good as Lucy, but enthusiastic even with the drug. She was right some feelings were breaking through the drug induced stupor. I was getting lost in the sexual high. I was forgetting everything, but the pleasure I was giving her. I think your Mommy needs to get fucked, what do you think dear?" she asked Julie in her thick accent. I almost didn't understand. Yes Ma'am Mommy needs cock," she replied. Then she obviously was speaking to me, when she said, "Present your ass to me Mommy." I rearranged myself so that my legs were spread and my ass pointed up at Julie. At the same time I continued to lick and suck on the Russian woman's labia. Then I felt a sharp pain on my back as she said, "Clit bitch, suck my clit." It was obvious the Russian bitch was about to get rough with me. I wanted to do something, but I just couldn't. I had felt the pain through the drug haze, so I knew things were going to be getting more real from that point on. The level of sensitivity had risen above the drug's depression level. I felt something pressed against my opening. I thought that it might be the Russian man at first, but then he said, "Yes baby fuck your slut mommy." I realized then that it was Julie trying to force something inside me. Since I was above the threshold of the drug, I forced myself to relax. I felt something cold, slippery, and hard force it's way inside me. I felt my pubic bone move on its hinge as the object passed. I stopped licking the Russian's clit, while Julie forced the object deeper inside me. It was a strange sensation, every time she went deeper it felt as though I was being entered again. There was something strange about the shape of whatever she was using on me. Again there was pain on my back as the Women said, "Don't stop sucking me you lazy cunt." and then she hit me again with the lash. Julie began to move the object in and out creating the most unimaginable sensations as she did. I could feel the orgasm rise even under the influence of the drug. The orgasm was going to break through the drug's effect on my brain. There had to have been a huge amount of stimulation to do that. I was convulsing hard when the woman shouted, "Fuck me. Stop fucking her and fuck me." "Please don't stop," I begged. It didn't matter what I said, Julie removed the object from me and handed it to me. Now fuck her," she demanded. What she handed me appeared to be a dog's chew toy. It was about ten inches long but segmented like a big ass bug. Each time one of those segments passed through the opening, it spread the bones all over again. It was a huge turn on. The chew toy went inside the Russian woman much easier than it had me. She obviously was used to large things inside her on a more regular basis. I had it deep inside her when she pulled my face back to her pussy. I licked and sucked her clit, while she worked the hard rubber appliance all by herself. When she came it was with a screaming orgasm. I kept at it until she begged me to stop and even then Julie had to pull me off her. While she rested the man lifted me, then turned me toward him. "Let me see that talented mouth at work," he demanded. I reached for his penis, then rubbed it over my lips. I parted my lips but kept pressure on them as I forced his hard cock into my mouth. I stopped it half way and began to nurse on it. I knew he was beyond reason when he began to pump my mouth. I helped him fill my mouth with cum. After he came he just dropped like a stone onto the bed. The woman had more or less recovered by the time her companion came in my mouth. "Alright Mommy, it's time to show me what a slut you really are. Present your daughter to me." I still couldn't refuse. Julie even nodded that it was okay. I moved behind her, then opened her halter top clasp. Her top fell and her small breasts were exposed. Beautiful," the woman said. "Isn't she beautiful Mom?" "Yes Ma'am," I replied. Now bring her to me." I led Julie across the room. "I am going to eat your pussy child." "Yes please, " she said. Julie stood in front of the big leather chain and opened her legs. The woman somehow managed to bend low enough to lick Julie's clit. Julie was so turned on she came almost instantly, or she faked it better than anyone I had ever seen. Did you like that girl?" the woman asked. Yes Ma'am," Julie answered in a dreamlike voice. Then now you do me," Julie was instantly on her knees between the older woman's thighs. It took her less time than me to get the older woman off. She held Julie close while she came against her mouth. I thought we were finished but I was wrong. Before they stopped, I had to suck the teenage boy and eat the pretend little girl. I was exhausted and my jaw hurt when they finally told us to leave. You must be exhausted Mom, lay down and rest," Julie said to me. I was too far gone to answer, I just fell asleep on one of the sofas. ------- Chapter 32 Edited by Bob Ross I awoke at 9AM on that damn sofa. My clothes from the day before, appearing to have been washed, folded, and lay in a neat pile on the chair nearest the sofa. I looked around to find that I was the only one in the room. I had no idea where the younger members of our cast were to be found. Even with my sore muscles, the stinging sensation on my back, and a slight drug induced hangover, I managed to get dressed. To my surprise, even my jaw muscles were sore. That had never happened before, but I had also never been so orally active in one night before. All in all I was in some minor pain, but still in pretty good physical shape over all. Once completely dressed, I went looking for the others. What I found was the thug outside the door again. He still looked exactly the same, even though I assumed he got no sleep at all. "‏Where are the others," I demanded. He gave me one of those superior male smirks. I began turning away, but quickly turned back to him, then without any warning of any kind, I kneed him hard in the balls. As he went down, I stripped him of the rather nasty looking Russian made 9mm pistol. "They just don't make you guys like they used to," I said. "One night of sleep deprivation and you are useless." He was still in agony when I asked again, "Where are the others?" "Already gone.‎" "Thanks for the addition to my gun collection.‎ ‏I knew you wanted me to have this all along. I could just tell. If you change your mind, feel free to come for it anytime." It was a stupid thing to do. I was filled with self loathing that morning and suicide appealed to me. Since I lacked the courage to do it myself, Ivan there looked pretty good for it. I stuffed the ugly 9mm into my belt, and then I walked not so calmly from the Hazelwood Inn. I did not expect to have one of my better days. As a matter of fact I was surprised when the minivan started on the first try. Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad after all, I thought. When I saw the address of Reverend Archer's church still clipped to my sun visor, I decided on the spot that I needed church alright, but just not as much as I needed a shower. I drove home quickly, but I was also very careful not to allow anyone to follow me. After all I did have a Russian thug's pistol. Not to mention that I had challenged him to come for it. The more awake I became, the more I realized what a stupid move that had been. I put myself at risk and gained nothing worthwhile for it. Self loathing was a powerful emotion; it caused me to attack that thug, when the night before self preservation kept me from doing the same thing. It seemed to be an emotion strong enough to force one to do terribly stupid things. The shower and the day old coffee helped me with my self esteem issue even more. I still felt worthless, but not quite as suicidal. I knew from experience that by nightfall, I would have justified everything to myself. After that I could start my psychic healings. I wasn't about to dress for a storefront church, but I did put on my best jeans. I drove the minivan to the address clipped to my sun visor. The building was part of three attached buildings each sharing common interior walls. It was typical of the 1920s version of today's strip mall. The church was just as worn out as all the other holdover building from that era. The owner had long since given up trying to hold back the decay caused by the passage of time. The Mission was different only in that the windows had been washed, and the trim looked a little less grimy than the other two buildings. I was impressed that the Reverend actually had a mission, just as he had said. I still didn't believe a man, who had the balls to disarm two men, over the contents of his wallet, was a simple preacher. I opened my purse, for the first time since the day before, to check for cash. I was sure they would be taking an offering. I figured that I was good for at least ten bucks. What I found in my wallet was a thick brown envelope, which had not been there Saturday afternoon. I opened it of course and found a plain brown envelope inside. Inside the paper container were ten $100 bills, and a note. I'll be in touch, Marge. It took me half a second to decide that I would never keep that shit. I planned to take it back and shove it up her ass, just as soon as I was sure the commies were gone. I was still half hour early for the service, but I wasn't the only one. I was surprised to find that almost every one of others had gray hair. The average age had to be well over sixty. There were a few who looked as though they might be just a few years older than my 42years, but it was damn few. It seemed a little odd, since the Reverend could easily have been five to ten years younger than me. I noticed a Sandwich board type sign by the door. 'Today's menu' was lettered across the top in permanent stick on letters. Under it was written in grease pencil. 'Fried Chicken with green beans and corn.' The menu seemed a little sparse. "‏Hey," I said to one of the woman standing just inside the door. "Is there a meal after the service?" "Yes there is always a meal after the service on Sunday.‎ ‏It's kind of a social gathering for us old folks. Most of us stay pretty much cooped up during the week. Many of us have meals on wheels, so this is a real treat." "I bet it is.‎" ‏I should have went right outside to make my call but instead I asked, "How is the preacher here?" "The Lord did a good thing, ‎ ‏when he sent Reverend Archer to us. He is so caring and helpful." "That's very nice.‎ ‏Excuse me please; I need to make a call." "Helen, ‎ ‏what are you doing right this minute?" I said into my cell phone. "‏I'm trying to stop grinning," she said. "‏Oh is Jack still there?" When I thought of Jack, I thought of Julie and my stomach turned. "‏Actually he is." "Then help him load your van with anything you have that could be good for a Sunday dinner.‎ ‏We are going to do another good thing. This time it is a good thing for real people." "You know that I take my leftovers to the shelter, ‎ ‏but I have some cupcakes left from a wedding I did yesterday afternoon. It's all I have left Maxine." "Why hell girl that's perfect.‎ ‏I'm at some long named store front church and mission down on English Trail. Get your cup cakes here by noon." "Maxine I'm not sure I can, ‎" "You don't have to stay and you don't even have to put your clothes on just deliver them to me please.‎ ‏It's something I really need done." I hated to put it that way, but yes I did lay a guilt trip on her ass. "‏Oh alright, Jack is not going to like it." "Too bad, ‎" ‏I said. What I didn't say was that, if he found out what his baby daughter was up to, he was going to like that even less. "He's a man. Do something special for him and he will forget all about it." I went back into the 'Mission in the hood, ' as I had already begun to think of it. The building was indeed located in what had been a rough neighborhood when I was growing up. It hadn't gotten any better over the years. The cops and the lack of mill jobs, had run all the bear joints out, but who knows what had taken their place. Probably crack houses, I thought. I stayed out of sight as much as I could. The whole experience was helping me forget about the night before. It might not take all day for me to forgive myself after all. At 11AM sharp Archer walked into the room. He stepped up on a box and began to speak. Archer was a big man almost a foot taller than me. He was also thirty or so pounds overweight. His cheap suit did nothing to help hide it. His hair was almost as black as a Mexican's but his features were mostly Caucasian. Archer could have been mixed but he was a good looking man regardless. I admit I wondered about the size and shape of his penis, even while I sat in his church. Well I was in my worthless bitch mindset. "‏Good morning brothers and sisters, it is good to see you in God's house this morning. We are here to say thank you to our merciful god for keeping us alive and well for another week. We should be saying thank you every day, but for some of us it is once a week that we remember whose children we really are. For some of us it has been even longer, but it doesn't matter. To God every day is new a beginning. What and who we were the day before does not matter at all. Every day we start with a clean slate. What we do that day doesn't have to be a continuation of the day before, it can be a new us, and God will judge only what we do going forward." There was a lot more of that kind of talk. It was hard to believe that he wasn't speaking to just me, but everyone seemed to respond to the message of redemption. Then he switched gears and told us we could start anew, but we should have learned from yesterday and if possible, make right the wrong we had done. The man managed to say what I believed, but I had never factored God into the equation. It was somehow comforting; his words were the right things to hear, at just the right time. It was a great help in repairing the damage I had done to my self image the night before. His message was simple, stop kicking yourself for what you did yesterday, it's over. If you can fix what you have done wrong, then fix it. If you can't fix it, forgive yourself and move on. If God or man hands you the bill, pay it and move on. I had a feeling that the mission was to be my cosmic payback. It seemed as good a place to make my first restitution for my actions the night before. When they passed the offering plate, I dropped the brown envelop in. It might not be as satisfying as shoving it up Marge's fat ass, but it would do. After the whole thing was finished, I shook hands with the preacher as he wandered among the crowd. Since there was to be a meal served in the rear part of the building, people didn't leave the meeting hall, they just wandered around socializing. Helen and Jack came through the door with stacks of boxes. I introduced her to Reverend Archer. He was thrilled to get the donated cupcakes. I wondered how he would feel when he opened the brown envelop. I watched the collection plate to make sure the money didn't find its way into some old man's pocket. As Archer, Helen, and Jack carried the three flimsy boxes of cupcakes to the rear of the building, there was an excited buzz among the men holding the collection plates. The men in charge of the offering found Archer, all excited, so I felt sure everything went where it was supposed to go. "‏You will be staying for lunch?" Archer asked. "‏I have plans, I don't know about Helen and Jack," I replied. "‏Sorry preacher, I have to go check on my daughter. She spent the night with a friend. I want to make sure she got home alright." It was something I wanted to know as well. "Jack, I think I will go take a look at Skeeter," I said. "How about it Helen; we can both go spend a little time with our girl? Just to make sure she hasn't forgotten us." "Sure, ‎ ‏it sounds like fun. Let me stop by the house first. I have a big old piece of roast beef for her." "Good, ‎ ‏I'll go on over and meet you there." I quickly drove to Jack's house. "Julie are you home?" I shouted through the back door and over the barking dogs. "‏Why hello Max, it's so good to see you. I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away." "I wanted to make sure you got home, ‎ ‏that's all." I said. "‏Oh, now my feelings are hurt." "I'm going to tell Marge about your age.‎ ‏Then you are going to get out of that shit." "I don't think so, ‎ ‏see Marge films everything. How would you like that to get out." "Sweetie, ‎ ‏everybody in town knows I'm a slut. You can't frighten me with the truth." "And with a‎ ‏15‎ ‏year old girl?" "It's all going to come down to what I knew, ‎ ‏and when I knew it. I expect Marge will back me, since she doesn't want to go to jail either. Film of you having sex is kiddie porn and that is a federal crime. Not something Marge is going to want to be down for. That film is going to disappear. You aren't near as smart as you think you are." "You better talk to her before you fuck with me, ‎" ‏Julie said with a smile. "By the way I didn't get to try, but I'm told you eat pussy better than anyone in the world." "The world's a big place, ‎" ‏I said. I walked away, since I didn't want her dad to see me talking to her. Skeeter and I visited through the fence while I waited for Helen and Jack. ------- Chapter 33 Edited by Barney R Yes, I was suicidal on Sunday. But then I always am after that kind of Saturday night. By Monday I was myself again. The only difference was that I had done some good with my ill gotten gains, so I felt a lot better about myself, a lot sooner than usual. I also had lost the death wish by the time I woke up on Monday. Since I no longer wanted to meet with Ivan in the middle of the night, I checked my security system. The wide angle camera I had installed on the post at the entrance to my drive was still working. I hadn't used it for months. It didn't do the job I really needed, but it was still working. I knew that my motion sensor flood lights, the ones hidden in the trees surrounding the cabin, worked as well. I knew it because they lit the small yard like daylight, whenever I came home at night. I decided that it was time, at the very least, to install a gate at the entrance to my place. I also wanted to put more security cameras in place. I had seen the boy wonder's security camera system at the office. He could check them from his laptop anywhere he happened to be. I wanted to be able to check the whole compound, before I went through the nonexistent gate. If Ivan came, I wanted a chance to at least do some serious damage. Once I got to the office, I set Lucas the task of adding a gate and cameras. "I do not want the gate to be a bank vault, just something to keep the average guy out. If they come at it with a blow torch, let them in, but let me know they are there. However if a guy comes to pick me up for a date, I want it to look like a cattle gate." "Nobody is going to pick you up for a date, ‎ ‏because you better not be telling anyone where you live," Ed said from across the room. Also that Monday shortly after noon I finally realized that I didn't get my answer about the Reverend's past. Lucas had the security plan drawn up by 1PM, so I put him on the Reverend's trail. I had given the man a thousand dollars, now I wanted to know exactly who it was that profited from my mouth and ass. "‏You might not like this Boss," Lucas said ten minutes later. "‏Why not Luke?" I asked. "‏Because he doesn't exist," Lucas said to me. "‏Sure he does, I was at his church yesterday," I knew what he meant, but my reaction was that of a normal person, not some kind of jaded bitch. "‏Jason Archer just appeared here last year. He set up that ministry, but his ordainment must be from the back of penthouse or something akin to it." Shit, I have been conned, I thought. "So what's his scam?" "I can't find one.‎ ‏He isn't putting money in the bank anywhere. His income from the church will barely cover his expenses. He actually seems to be dead broke." "Well, ‎ ‏let me do some checking," I suggested. Lucas went back our real work. He got ready to serve papers, while I put in a call to Anya Bostic. "I need some information," I suggested to her. "‏Me first, she demanded." "My ass Bostic, ‎ ‏you don't have the high ground here. I'm not some terrified CI. We trade or you go fuck yourself." "I'm a cop, ‎" ‏she said. "You can't talk to me like that. I'll come over and jack your ass up," she insisted. "‏Well then you might want to expect a visit from internal affairs about ten minutes later." I hung up on her. Two minutes later the phone rang. "You can't prove anything," she said. "‏Want to listen to my amateur recordings? They aren't RCA quality, but you can recognize the voices." "You recorded me‎?" "I might have been born yesterday bitch, ‎ ‏but it was early in the morning." "Alright, ‎ ‏what do you want to know?" she asked "I want the full background on Reverend Jason Archer.‎ ‏I want to know what his scam is." "That could take a while.‎" "Nothing I learned Saturday night requires immediate action, ‎" ‏I suggested. We left it at that. Lucas had taken the time to get the work for the afternoon scheduled. We served papers most of the afternoon. After we finished all the court orders we traveled to the house of one Tyrone Marshall. We didn't want to see Tyrone. We wanted to see Tyrone's girl friend. Tyrone's girlfriend was a fellow named Everette. Everette aka Eve was known to write checks without any money in the bank. Most of the time he/she caught the kite before it fell to the ground. He/she had missed a few kites three months before. She was out on bail thanks to a bondsman in Tryon. He called us earlier that Monday morning with the information download. "‏Tyrone Marshall, my name is Maxine Stone. I'm looking for your friend Everette Thomas." I really should have done the delivery scam but I doubted that it would work. Mostly because I felt like a confrontation. I could never have pulled off the subdued delivery person that day. "‏I ain't seen him," was the reply from Tyrone. "‏Then you won't mind, if I come in and look around?" "You got a warrant‎?" "I don't need a warrant hon, ‎" ‏I said handing him a copy of the Supreme Court ruling. The one that authorized a bondsmen's agents to break and enter to take a fleeing fugitive into custody. "‏Eve ain't here," he said. "‏Tyrone, you seem like a nice enough guy. Everette has been declared a fugitive by the court. Aiding a fugitive is a criminal offense. You could well be doing his time, if you are indeed hiding him. So do you want to rethink that?" I gave him a couple of minutes to think. "Will your boss hold your job for a month, while you are at the farm?" "Come on in, ‎" ‏he finally said. I put the plastic wire tie on Eve's hands. Since Everette was dressed as a woman, Lucas and I called him Eve. It just made things easier. It was after seven when we got through getting Everette into the county lockup. Like using the bathroom, we had to get the paper work done before we were finished with the job. I hadn't had dinner, so I was short tempered by the time we got to the parking lot. "‏Maxine," the loud voice behind me shouted. I turned to see Bostic headed my way. "What you got for me?" "The reason you and Lucas couldn't find Archer is that his name isn't Archer.‎ ‏His real name is Jacob Ashford." I was a little surprised, but not much really shocked me even in those days. "So why the name change." I expected the worst and I got it. "‏How about a voluntary manslaughter beef." "You mean he is on the run‎?" ‏I didn't want to think I had put the cops onto his ass. "‏Not from us. He is on parole. Went into the system at 18 for killing another gangbanger. It seems he found God in the joint. Everybody thought it was a gag to make parole, but on him it took." "So why manslaughter and not murder‎?" "He acted more or less in self defense, ‎ ‏but he did have a gun, so they plead it down. He got ten to twenty and did 12 years." "So how long has he been out‎?" "Three years and before you ask, ‎ ‏he hasn't been in any trouble. He changed his name last year when he opened the mission and church. As for his parole officer's opinion, he is the perfect client. The parole officer says he has a drug abuse outreach program as well as the mission." "Sounds to me like he is the one in a thousand who really is rehabilitated.‎" "Yeah but no telling how he would react to red meat.‎" "What‎?" ‏I asked. "‏He has become a grass eater now, but what would the predator do, if someone were to drag red meat in front of him." "Good point, ‎ ‏but the drug intervention program sounds like he has already come in contact with temptation." "Who knows, ‎ ‏what I'm saying is be careful." She paused to let that sink in. Then she asked, "So what about Saturday night." "How much do you really know about Marge, ‎ ‏and don't bullshit me Bostic." "Her main income is from those parties.‎ ‏I don't want to know the details to be honest." "I personally don't care what your involvement with her is, ‎ ‏but watch yourself. Most people in the south would care. She is going down one of these days, be careful you aren't with her at the time." "Thanks for the advice, ‎ ‏but that isn't an answer." "They were Russians.‎ ‏Three couples, but only one body guard. That tells me they are all in bed together, so to speak. Also the bodyguard was more to protect their privacy than their asses. I think they are more or less legit, but into some sensitive shit. If they were big time mobsters, there would have been ten bodyguards not one." "Marge tells me the one they had wasn't very good, ‎" ‏Bostic suggested. "‏Why because some hooker took his gun away? Don't underestimate your working girl," I said. I still hadn't decided where Bostic fit in the world. She might be good, bad, or most likely somewhere in between. My ace in the hole was that Blevins still hated her. "‏So you don't think they are criminals?" "Oh, ‎ ‏I'm sure they are; I just don't think they are big time criminals. At least not mobster type criminals." "What did she want‎?" ‏ Lucas asked when I was safely back in the van. "‏Just to tell me who our Reverend Archer used to be." "You gonna‎' ‏tell me?" "Maybe later, ‎ ‏right now I'm going to drop you at the office, and then I'm going home." "Okay, ‎ ‏but be very careful. Something has you spooked and I can't get the new security up for a week at least. "‏Not to worry Luke, it is probably all a waste of time and money." In the parking lot while Lucas removed his paperwork from the van, I checked my messages. I had turned the phone off in the jail. Voice mail said, "This is Jen, you really need to call me to set up an appointment." I punched the button to speed dial Jen at home. "What is it you want? More sex already?" I asked it with a grin in my voice. "‏Always, but no it's business this time. Besides Bob has been a lot better, since you showed him how to do it." "See, ‎ ‏I am good for something," I suggested. "‏Oh hell Maxine, you are good for a lot of things. One of them is making money without trying." "Oh how so‎?" "Marty wants to settle for‎ ‏75‎ ‏big ones. It's a good deal for you both. I recommend that you take it." "Are you sure this is ethical.‎ ‏You representing us both." "Oh no hon, ‎ ‏I'm Marty's legal whore. You will have to get someone else, if you want a lawyer. But if you do that, you will be giving them 30% for nothing. I did not tell you that." "Get it ready for me to sign, ‎" ‏I suggested. "By the way, when do the shops start springing up?" "Oh Marty sold a franchise deal to the custom bicycle shops everywhere.‎ ‏He has a group of builders already working on those things." "If anyone can make it work, ‎ ‏it's our boy Marty," I agreed. "‏Yeah, I think he is going to sell them through Walmart once the big factory is going. He already has s deal with the Chinese supplier." "The man is a dynamo, ‎" ‏I suggested. "And not too shabby in bed." "True on both of those statements, ‎" ‏Jen replied. "So call tomorrow and set up a time with the receptionist to come in and sign your rights away. I think there will be an offer on the table from Marty as well." "Our time has gone, ‎" ‏I said. "‏No it's business. You two are still an Internet phenomena. Marty manages to keep the hype going. Every time you do something in real life, he gets it posted to one of the fake news sites he has up there." "Jen, ‎ ‏I don't even want to know about that. I promise I will call your cute little receptionist." "You keep your hands off the hired help.‎ ‏Bye hon." she was laughing when she hung up on me. ------- Chapter 34 Tuesday morning found me carefully leaving my cabin in the woods after a quick shower.‭ ‬Yes I had time for coffee, ‭ ‬a cup at the tool bench and a cup in big ole plastic delta coffee cup.‭ ‬You know the delta cup is shaped like a Mercury space capsule.‭ ‬It's the only kind of cup I can walk across the room with.‭ ‬Well the only kind I can walk with while expecting to have all the coffee remain in the cup.‭ ‬It is also the kind of cup, ‭ ‬which allows me to drive, ‭ ‬drink, ‭ ‬and still arrive without coffee stains. All that to say I left really early in the morning on Tuesday.‭ ‬I had to take my trash to the county dumpster on the way to work.‭ ‬I found that some critter had gone through it again.‭ ‬Whatever it was had to be pretty hungry, ‭ ‬since I seldom threw away anything but empty boxes.‭ ‬I had to spend time cleaning the yard when I really wanted to get to work. I wanted to do some research on the Reverend, ‭ ‬since I finally knew his real name.‭ ‬I wanted to get that done before Lucas or Ed arrived.‭ ‬I made my deposit at the county dumpster site, ‭ ‬then a pickup at Hardee's drive thru before I got to the office.‭ ‬I didn't have as much time as I expected, ‭ ‬but I did manage to pull up the old, ‭ ‬old newspaper articles.‭ ‬Some of the old articles made it into the digital files of the Tryon paper and some didn't.‭ ‬There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it. It was pretty much as Anya had said.‭ ‬At eighteen the young Jacob came from a single parent home.‭ ‬He and his mother lived in the one housing project in Aster.‭ ‬The Rollers were a middle class gang with its roots in skateboards and weed.‭ ‬The Dog Soldiers‭' ‬roots were in poverty. Like Anya said, ‭ ‬Jacob had a‭ ‬ .22‭ ‬pistol.‭ ‬When the Roller kid hassled him for being in the park, ‭ ‬they had heated words.‭ ‬The pistol in Jacob's pocket gave him false courage.‭ ‬As the saying goes, ‭ ‬the Roller pulled a knife in the middle of a gun fight and died for it.‭ ‬Jacob was young and stupid so he went to prison.‭ ‬Whether he found God or just a Jim Baker type scam, ‭ ‬remained to be seen. I finished my coffee, ‭ ‬my biscuit, ‭ ‬and my research before Ed arrived.‭ "‬Mornin‭' ‬Miss Maxine, ‭ ‬where is Luke‭?" ‬he asked.‭ ‬I wondered how long it would take for Lucas to become Luke.‭ ‬It had taken a while for sure, ‭ ‬but at least half the time we thought of him as Luke. ‎"‏I have no idea‭; ‬he is probably out pricing gates.‭ ‬It's too early to be out buying cameras, ‭" ‬I had to laugh as I spoke.‭ ‬Ed and I had no idea what was needed to make a video surveillance system.‭ ‬It was all duck quacks to me, ‭ ‬when Lucas tried to explain it.‭ ‬He always made the futile attempt to make us understand what he was doing. ‎"‏You going to let him in on where you live‭?" ‬Ed asked. ‎"‏Hell, ‭ ‬I'm going to let him live there too.‭" ‬I said grinning.‭ "‬Or at least pretend to live there while the men install his toys.‭" "That's a good plan, ‎ ‏I hate when you make me go out there.‭ ‬The kid can do it from now on.‭" "That was what I thought.‎ ‏If I get lucky, ‭ ‬I want have to screw him for the help either.‭" "You mean, ‎ ‏I could have gotten laid if I had gone about it right‭?" "Hell, ‎ ‏Ed that would be like screwing my dad.‭ ‬You still might get laid.‭" ‬I said with a laugh. Sure enough, ‭ ‬when Lucas came in at‭ ‬10AM, ‭ ‬he was filled with the description of the gate to be installed at the end of my drive.‭ ‬As I said earlier it was all duck quacking to me.‭ ‬I did get it that I had a two button garage door opener.‭ ‬One button disabled the horn, ‭ ‬which blew if the gate was opened without the opener, ‭ ‬and the other started the motor that pulled the gate from the driveway.‭ ‬If I needed for some reason to open the gate without the opener, ‭ ‬there was a crank that would go under my car seat.‭ ‬It was likely to get crowded in the van, ‭ ‬since first thing Monday morning‭; ‬I had moved my vest from the secure store room to the van.‭ ‬Once I figured out how to hide it, ‭ ‬I planned to move one of the shotguns to the van as well.‭ ‬I knew that I was a little paranoid, ‭ ‬but I had been taught for years that the Russians could not be trusted.‭ ‬Lately I had heard how vicious the Russian Mob could be.‭ ‬Even though I didn't think the visitors at Marge's were Mobsters, ‭ ‬they were still likely to be fringe players. ‎"‏So when does the castle gate go up‭?" ‬I asked. ‎"‏They can get started on it Wednesday morning, ‭ ‬if I give them the go ahead and a deposit.‭" "You didn't tell them who it is for did you‎?" "Of course not, ‎ ‏I know you are trying to stay off the radar.‭" "Good, ‎ ‏I want you to go to my place and be there when they install the gate.‭ ‬As far as they are to know, ‭ ‬you are the resident.‭ ‬If they check the tax records, ‭ ‬Ed's client will come up.‭ ‬I don't want my name mentioned at all.‭" "I understood that from the start Boss.‎" ‏Luke said seriously. ‎"‏Good, ‭ ‬this is going to mean that now and then you will have to go out and let people into the place.‭ ‬Are you up for that‭?" "Sure we can work things out, ‎" "The convict and I share a dislike of strangers.‎ ‏He had it set so very few things required an outsider to enter the compound.‭ ‬I have even less exposure.‭ ‬All the utilities are in his mother's name.‭ ‬When she gets a bill, ‭ ‬she calls to tell me.‭ ‬I just go by the utility office and pay it in cash.‭ ‬The fuel oil supplier goes into the compound once before the coldest weather and once in January.‭ ‬The cabin is small and reasonably draft free, ‭ ‬so I use about three hundred gallons of fuel a year.‭ ‬Roughly one hundred and fifty gallons each time the man shows up.‭ ‬I dumped around five hundred dollar each time.‭" "I figure if I get the truck out before the gate goes in, ‎ ‏it will save Luke having to out there one time at least.‭" ‬I said that just before I made the call. The delivery company's receptionist assured me that her driver would make the delivery that same afternoon.‭ ‬As usual he would leave the bill in the door.‭ ‬The bill would have the owner's name on it.‭ ‬It was his account‭; ‬I was just keeping his credit good for him.‭ ‬I explained about the locked gate.‭ ‬I gave her the cell phone registered in the company name as a contact after the gate went in. My appointment with Jen was already set.‭ ‬She knew I could work it into my schedule so they just set it and informed me of the time.‭ ‬Wednesday at‭ ‬3PM.‭ ‬I made a note after speaking with the cute receptionist, ‭ ‬but knew that I would probably lose the note.‭ ‬I still used a ball point pen and paper to make notes to myself.‭ ‬My cell phone had a memo pad but I never used it.‭ ‬I didn't even want to know how. Luke and I took to the road before lunch, ‭ ‬so I bought giant burgers with lots of crap on them for us both.‭ ‬We weren't in Aster at the time, ‭ ‬so Luke found a park on the GPS.‭ ‬We sat in the van to avoid the chilly wind.‭ ‬Even with the chill in the air the sun streaming through all that glass, ‭ ‬made it quite comfortable. ‎"‏Boss are you interested in that preacher‭?" ‬he asked. ‎"‏Yes, ‭ ‬Luke.‭ ‬I'm not sure exactly what my interest is though.‭" "Yeah, ‎ ‏well when you get interested in someone, ‭ ‬it usually lasts about a week.‭ ‬So I won't be planning any religious awakenings from you.‭" "Let's get these papers delivered and get back to Aster.‎ ‏I'm supposed to stop by to see Ed's Son.‭" "Ah Ed's son the Doc‎? ‏So how are you doing‭?" "Luke you see me every day.‎ ‏Hon you would know if there was anything wrong with me.‭ ‬You might even know it before I do.‭" The paper deliveries were quite easy as they usually were.‭ ‬We always got a little lip, ‭ ‬but since I had the signs installed, ‭ ‬the standard answer was, ‭ "‬Ma'am we are just a delivery service.‭ ‬You need to take that up with your lawyer or your ex husband or business partner.‭" We did have to chase one man down.‭ ‬He knew someone was looking for him, ‭ ‬so‭ ‬he wasn't where he was supposed to be.‭ ‬We found him at his son's soccer game at school.‭ ‬I hated to make the delivery there, ‭ ‬but he made it impossible not to do it. ‎"‏You are almost as big a bitch as my ex-wife, ‭" ‬he informed me. ‎"‏Thanks, ‭" ‬I replied walking away. He put his hand on arm as I turned to leave.‭ "‬I'm not finished, ‭" ‬he said. I showed him the stun gun.‭ "‬Yes you are, ‭" ‬I informed him as I walked away.‭ ‬Luke watched him to make sure he remained calm. ‎"‏Well we almost got away without anyone acting pissy.‭" "Those are rare and wonderful days.‎ ‏Now get me back to the office, ‭ ‬so I can drop you‭ ‬off‭ ‬and get over to see the doc.‭" Ed's son Jeff and I did our little dance, ‭ ‬and he pronounced me cured.‭ ‬He had done very little, ‭ ‬but since I had insurance I let him play doctor.‭ ‬Besides he was cute, ‭ ‬so I didn't mind him touching and poking me a little. I dreaded my next stop, ‭ ‬but I had promised myself that I would confront Marge.‭ ‬I didn't see any advantage in putting it off.‭ ‬Since the office work was all done or at least being finished by Luke, ‭ ‬I drove to the Hazelwood. ‎"‏We need to talk, ‭" ‬I said to Marge when I met her in the lobby.‭ "‬Do you want to do it here, ‭ ‬or go to your office‭?" "I'd rather do it in my bed, ‎ ‏but the office will do.‭ ‬Come with me.‭" ‬ Once we were in her office she said, ‭ "‬We do indeed need to talk.‭ ‬My client is most upset with you.‭" "Oh really.‎ ‏Well let me tell you something you stupid cow.‭ ‬I can either save your ass, ‭ ‬or set you up for a couple of federal charges that will get you about thirty years in prison.‭ ‬I don't think it will be camp cupcake either.‭" "What the hell are you talking about‎?' "Let's take it in order.‎ ‏First of all, ‭ ‬when I met Julie, ‭ ‬I recognized her.‭ ‬She is the‭ ‬15‭ ‬year old daughter of a friend.‭ ‬That makes you the madam of a minor.‭ ‬Then when I want to bring this to your attention, ‭ ‬the Russian thug pushes me back into the room.‭ ‬He is holding me prisoner and you are bound to know it.‭ ‬That my dear is kidnapping.‭" ‬ She tried to object.‭ "‬Shut the fuck up and just listen.‭ ‬Then the Russian bitch, ‭ ‬who is one of your clients, ‭ ‬drugs all of us, ‭ ‬to make us more compliant.‭ ‬Now Julie begs me not to make a fuss, ‭ ‬because she likes this shit.‭ ‬By the way that don't make it okay.‭ ‬So she tries to blackmail me by telling me you recorded all the events of Saturday night.‭" "Now Margie love, ‎ ‏that is prostitution, ‭ ‬pimping a minor, ‭ ‬false imprisonment, ‭ ‬drugs, ‭ ‬and best of all child pornography for the tapes of the‭ ‬15‭ ‬year old being used sexually by adults.‭ ‬Now do you want to play ball and hope this all goes away, ‭ ‬or do you want me to call the cops.‭ ‬When I say cops, ‭ ‬I do not mean Anya Bostic.‭" Margie was no longer defiant.‭ ‬She looked at me for a few minutes then asked, ‭ "‬What do you want‭?" "First of all, ‎ ‏I don't have a problem with prostitution so let's just forget that.‭ ‬You are going to get rid of Julie.‭ ‬You will tell her in no uncertain terms that she is never to set foot in the Hazelwood again.‭ ‬You are to give her some motherly advice to get help. You well stop drugging or allowing others to drug your girls.‭ ‬If they want drugs, ‭ ‬they can find them without your help.‭ ‬You will call your Russian friends and explain, ‭ ‬if they come looking for me, ‭ ‬I have a dead man's switch on all this information.‭ ‬If I die, ‭ ‬or I just think I am going to die, ‭ ‬I will trip the switch and the US attorney will have the information.‭ ‬When you go down Marge, ‭ ‬you will roll on them for a deal and that they can't afford.‭ ‬If they feel the need to kill me, ‭ ‬they will kill you as well.‭ ‬You might want to put it in the wind, ‭ ‬if they won't listen to reason.‭" "Let me get this straight, ‎ ‏I get rid of Julie and get the Russians off your ass, ‭ ‬and it's finished‭?" "Yes, ‎ ‏that's pretty much it.‭" "Well I can promise you both of those will be done by sundown today.‎ ‏The Russians don't want any trouble.‭ ‬If you give me your word that the gun will never show up again, ‭ ‬they will be satisfied.‭" "The gun goes into my gun vault.‎ ‏It only shows, ‭ ‬if they come after me.‭" ‬ It was then that I knew.‭ ‬The gun could be traced to some crime in the United States.‭ ‬Since I didn't feel any obligation to do the cop's job, ‭ ‬I intended to keep my word. She seemed satisfied.‭ "‬So Julie is lost to me, ‭ ‬how about you‭?" "Are you insane‎?" ‏I asked sarcastically. ‎"‏No Maxine, ‭ ‬you loved it.‭ ‬You are always welcome to come play again.‭" "Get fucked, ‎" ‏I said turning to the door. ‎"‏God I hope so, ‭" ‬she said quietly. I planned to continue with the security at the compound.‭ ‬I didn't trust Marge much, ‭ ‬and the Russians not at all. Edited by Barney Ross. ------- Chapter 35 When the receptionist led me into the conference room, I found my friend Jennifer at the head of the table. On one side sat Marty dressed in a suit. I couldn't remember ever seeing a picture of him in a suit, let alone seeing him in person dressed that way. Beside him sat a younger man in a golf type shirt and a young woman in a sweater. Jen of course was dressed in her power suit. I was by far the worst dressed one in the room in my jeans and old sweater. "Hello everyone," I said as I walked to the vacant side of the long table and seated myself. "Hello Maxine," Jennifer said quietly. "Yes Hello Maxine," Marty added. The other two just nodded. Marty tried to go on, "Max, let me just say..." At that point I raised my hand. "Marty, I really don't want to hear it. I just came to get the money. I wouldn't believe anything you said anyway." "Give her the check Jennifer. Maybe after she sees this is no trick, she will listen." Jennifer handed me a check for $75,000. "Nice," was all I said as I put the check in my purse. I even signed the receipt that was attached to the check without comment. "Now will you listen to me?" Marty asked. "I will listen, but it isn't likely I will be interested in what you have to say." "Just keep an open mind, " Marty said. I nodded. "You know I got involved with the Internet to setup my bike business." I nodded again. You also know I used your images to help promote the franchise." Before I could comment, he added, "Without your permission." I nodded again. "I have lately been using reprints of local articles along with your images for the same purpose. In fact you have quite a following on the net." "I didn't ask for it, " I replied. "I know, but it is there all the same. After a while I noticed how cheap it was to publish stuff on the Internet. Then I found out how profitable it could be. Much more profitable than the bike business." "How nice for you, but what has this got to do with me?" "I want to set up an Internet TV type station. Some of those cable stations run really low budget shows. I think I can do the same thing and make a ton of money." "Like I said before, what has this got to do with me?" "I want to do a fifteen minute reality show about you every day." "So that's what this is really about. You agreed to the settlement, so you could pitch this nonsense to me. I am not one bit interested in making you even more money." "But are you interested in making money yourself. I promise I will pay you well." "I just don't need the money. At least not for a while," I said pointedly touching my purse. "Why not at least talk to your people and see how they feel about it." "What people?" I asked. "Why we would have to pay the people who did an appearance on the show. Your young assistant, Ed Martin, Detective Blevins, anyone else with whom you interact. It's a chance to put some money in the economy around here." "Marty you and I both know this isn't a big humanitarian gesture. You are all about making money. You are even more about making the profits as large as possible." "Max you are ten times more interesting than that stupid guy with the long hair who picks up bail jumpers." "That is a very small part of the business. Mostly I do nothing interesting at all. And when I do, I sure as hell don't want it on the Internet. So thanks Marty, but no thanks." "Okay but think about it. In the meantime would you let these two follow you around for a few days? I promise no cameras hidden or otherwise." "Why the hell would I do that?" "For a thousand dollars, " Marty said. "I just told you I don't need your money that much." "Okay how about a thousand to your preacher friend's mission. I'm sure he could use it." "That's pretty low even for you." "I know, but I learned from the best, you." "Two days, and the Reverend Archer never knows where the money comes from." I demanded. "Done," Marty agreed. "How did you know about Archer anyway?" "I have my ways, you should know that." "Oh I remember ; your money can buy almost anything and anyone. My guess is one of my people got duped by one of your people." "I wouldn't be at all surprised, if that weren't the case." "Okay for a grand to the mission, your people can follow behind me and do whatever they want but they cannot bug me period." "Fair enough, " the young man replied. "At the end of day two Jennifer better come up with a check. Your producers can not follow me home ever." "Yes, we know you don't allow anyone to know where you live. We can respect that," the young woman agreed. "But if you go out after work, we expect to be notified." "Fair enough." "Also there are some things they cannot be a party to. You know how that is Marty." "Yes, just tell them to stay in the car and they will, but Max I expect you to act in good faith." "I always do what I promise, you should know that." "Then will you give me your word that you will cooperate as much as possible?" "You have it, " I replied. "Good, I am going to have to ask you to let the two of them ride with you. They don't have a car." "Rent one Marty, or loan them one of yours." "Just let them ride around with you. You have room in the van." "Not really, but we can give it a try." "Lucas do me a favor, call around and find the Reverend," I said that into the cell phone after we were in the van. "I'll call you back in a few minutes," Luke said. "While we are waiting how about we chat?" the woman asked. "I don't chat. If you have something you wish to know, just ask," I suggested. "Marty said you were direct," the man said. "I seriously doubt that is how he put it," I replied. The woman smiled then asked, "So you were born here?" "Of course, why else would anyone come to this hole?" "Good point, there doesn't seem to be a lot going on." "There isn't, " I admitted. "I'm going to swing by the office; I just got an idea for something you can do." I kept it until we got to the office. There was something I wanted to do with the twins, Mopsy and Flopsy, tagging along. The young dude being Mopsy and the chick being Flopsy. In her case it was a good name. She was overweight and they did flop around. "I was just about to call you," Luke said. "I tracked the Reverend down to an old service station. Even though you didn't ask, I checked and found out who owns the building. It's owned by an old guy who lives out in that area. He fixed cars and sold gas there for years. The EPA shut him down because his tanks leaked. The Feds did a super fund cleanup, but left him broke and with no way to replace the tanks. So the holes got filled in, just like this place. His old station just wasn't five blocks from the country jail, so it had no rent value." "So what is the Rev doing out there?" My heart sank, I was afraid it was something illegal to do with his church as a cover. "I have no idea, but he doesn't seem to be hiding it. The chick who answered the phone, gave it up right away. Here is the address," he said handing me a bit of paper. "It's out in the same area as the church. Cherry Lane is a block or so from the church." I said that more to myself than to Luke. "Luke do you have a paper that you can serve?" "Yeah, I got one for that flower show out at the new Cross Roads Shopping Center between here and Tryon." "While I'm gone, take Mopsy and Flopsy over there and go serve it. Let them figure out how they can observe you serving the paper without actually being involved. You are their kind of guy, not me. Be sure they do not get involved, not even by watching outside the van. There is no way they can fit into the delivery scam. We are not going redneck, just so they have some cute TV shot." "I got you boss, but you tell them. I'm too close to their age for them to listen to me." "Actually you are younger, but you are also right. I'll explain it to them in words even they can understand." I walked across the room to the guest area where they were seated on the old sofa staring at their big ass phones. "Okay you two here is what is going to happen, I am going to send you off with my partner Lucas. He is our tech guy, so you can all figure out how to observe his service without being seen or heard. Note that the operative word was observe. If you get involved in anyway, the deal is off. If you fuck this up, I will get a restraining order to keep you a thousand feet away from us. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes Ma'am, I thought you would be easier to work with." Flopsy said. "You thought wrong. Your presence would just wind the mooch up, and we don't work that way. You want confrontation for you drams, but we want calm for our work. That's why we are going to be boring as hell on a day to day basis." Luke was standing beside me, so I turned to him and said. "For today wear the Jumper radio, let them monitor you from the van. They can hear everything and with a little imagination they can fill in the blanks. If they want to figure out a hidden camera, you can help them work out a plan if possible. Luke, remember your job is not to help these yahoos, it's to serve that paper." I turned to leave. "By the way," I said over my shoulder. "I'm taking your car, give me the key. You three take the van; it already has the monitoring equipment installed." "Right, " Luke said. "By the way I'll leave your new gate control over the sun visor. Red button is for the alarm, do it first. Green is to open the gate. They are not marked. Close the gate with the same button and to reset the alarm, push the red button again." "Okay, I'll work it out." "It's designed to look like a car alarm thing, you can put it on your key chain even," "Enough about the stupid alarm, I need to be somewhere, and you need to serve the paper, so that Mopsy and Flopsy can see how boring this job is." I left the office parking lot in his five year old Korean bottom of the line car. I was surprised to find that it wasn't a clunker, but rather a pretty nice little car. The drive to the shop took only a few minutes. As I said before, the town was small enough so that if it took more than fifteen minutes to get there. You were somewhere else, when you got there. When I arrived at the old service station, I was amazed to see a long row of bicycles out front. Not the kind Marty made, his were all chrome and shiny paint. The bikes outside the Rev's shop were dull and pitted but there were plenty of them. "Now I know your scam, you are stealing junk bikes?" I said when I entered the shop. Reverend Archer was in the showroom with a younger man working on a bicycle. "Yes, you found me out. They said you were sharp and I should stay away from you, if I had anything to hide." "Now you know that's not why they told you to stay away from me. They are afraid that with my loose morals I will lead you astray." "Actually you are correct. Ever your own friends say that." "If they didn't tell the truth, they wouldn't be my friends." I replied with a smile. "Ah, but are you fun? That is the real question," he asked. "I have been told that I'm fun, but they also say I'm dangerous." I laughed as I said it. "So what's with the bikes?" I needed to change the subject. It was too soon to be flirting with a preacher. "The gentleman in the office, allows us to use his shop to repair bicycles. Edward is the real mechanic. I stop by when I can to help out." "So what do you charge for those out front?" "We charge nothing at all. If the customer can make a donation, we accept it, if not, a smile and a promise to go to church on Sunday is payment enough." "Why bicycles?" "Haven't you noticed the price of gasoline. It is expensive and it is volatile, the people in my congregation cannot afford cars, but they still need to get to the store or to work. These are not the answer for everyone but for some they are the answer." "So where do they come from?" I asked. "There are several people in my congregation who pick up salvage. If they find a bike they bring it to me. I insist that they allow me to pay them the scrap value of the bike. Usually a dollar since it is just for the metal." "What about Edward, how does he survive?" Yes I was skeptical. "Edward once had a drug issue, these days he is clean. At the moment he wants no more than a bed and to eat twice a day. That isn't much to ask, so God provides it for him. In exchange he works in the bike shop." "It all sounds too good to be true. How does your ministry support itself. I am sure the mission's collection can't pay for it." "Actually this week it could, " he said with a knowing smile. "Then last week, how did you pay for your ministry?" "You truly are a skeptic. That's okay one should look beyond the painted face of the beautiful woman. Come back tomorrow morning and we will take a short tour." "I have a couple of people tagging along behind me for a couple of days. It's embarrassing but would you mind if I brought them along?" "Not at all, maybe they will get involved, as I hope you will." "I would say that the odds of them wanting to be involved are greater than me. I'm not the charitable type." "Oh but Maxine, I think you are. Regardless, meet me here tomorrow at 9AM and you can get a tour of my empire. It will probably take much less than an hour." "Fair enough, but there is one thing you should know before I take the tour. You might not want to do it after you find out. I know about your past." "The important thing is not that you know, but that you know it is the past." He said that with a knowing smile. He was smart enough to know that, if it truly bothered me, I wouldn't be standing there at all. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 36 8PM found me in my van on my way from my cabin in the woods to pick up Mopsy and Flopsy at their motel.Thank God it wasn't the Hazelwood.The video twins were staying at an old time mom and pop16unit tourist cabin motel.Someone had decided to restore it to its1930'‬s lack of glory days.The bathhouse, which had been the only sanitary facilities originally, had been traded for tiny individual bathrooms stuck on the rear of the cabins like so many tumors. Marty had decided that if he and I could share a motel room for almost two months, Mopsy and Flopsy could do it for two days.I stopped for them on my way to the Cop Out.I had decided to go along with the gag.In doing so, there should be no difficulty collecting the money for the mission. In the spirit of cooperation, I decided to take them to the Cop Out Club. "‬Now listen you two.I am going to take you to a cop bar, but you are not cops and neither am I.We are guests, so behave like it.No prying into their lives or so help me I will shoot you myself." "Okay, we get it Max.We are here to observe, not interact."It was Flopsy, who really did seem to get it. "‏Good,"I said as I parked the van on the street a block away from the Cop Out. "‏Max,"one of the paramedics shouted over the too loud jukebox. "‬Where you been girl?" "Recovering from Saturday night," ‏I replied.He thought it was a joke, which was fine with me.Mopsy and Flopsy wandered off to sit alone and observe. "‬You seen Blevins?" "Not tonight, but he will be around later I'm sure.The man has no home." "Hey, you seem to be here too much as well,"I said smiling. "‏I know this is my life, just like Blevins." I sat at the lunch counter bar to drink a beer, while I waited for one of my cop buddies to come in.Several minutes later, I noticed Flopsy on the dance floor.She wasn't very talented but, with those big ole boobies moving to the music nobody seemed to mind.I had to admit there was some appeal there for the guys. "‏Well hello,"Blevins said from behind me. "‏You slipped in on me.So where is your partner?" "Which one the official one or my running buddy Jerry?" "Either one?" ‏I asked. "‏Anya, the bitch, is doing paperwork and probably won't come over at all.If she knew you were here, I'm sure she would rush over." "I doubt that," ‏I replied. "‬How about Jerry?" "Jerry is still broke up about Sarah.He is moody as hell.I never know what he is likely to do next.Come on let's get a table." "Sounds good to me." It took all of ten minutes for the table for six to fill up.Blevins was a magnet for some reason.I had never known him to leave with anyone, but people were just drawn to him for some reason.One of the only slightly overweight, and only slightly butch EMTs sat down beside me.We all drank and laughed at the ordinary people. Now and then I looked up to see the twins checking things out.I have no idea whether they were having any fun or not, but I know Flopsy danced several times. When neither Anya nor Jerry showed up by the time I finished my second beer, I decided it was time to go home. "‬Well guys, it's time for me to call it a night while my carriage is still a carriage." "Stay and dance with me at least once," ‏the slightly butch EMT suggested. "‏I will dance with you once, if you promise I can lead,"I said it loud enough to be heard by everyone at the table. "‏Fair enough, but if you dance good enough, I might get you a job." "Oh as a dancer?" "Sure, you ever been to the Island over in Tryon?" "Never heard of it," ‏I admitted. "‏They have pole dancers there and the manager is a friend of mine.If you are a good dancer I can get you a job.You have the body for it." "You mean a chick with hardly any boobs is a popular dancer?" ‏I was still speaking loud.Everyone was laughing with me. "‏Sure, there is something to be said for having the body of a teenage boy." "Afraid all these middle aged wrinkles would ruin the illusion," ‏I admitted. "‏Let's dance, so I can see if you are worth the effort." "Let's do it.I guess since I look the most like him, I'll be Fred and you be Ginger." "Sounds good to me," ‏she said as I led her to the dance floor.The music was reasonably fast so we danced without touching.Then something slow and sensuous came on the jukebox and I moved slowly to it. "‏Yeah, you will do just fine,"she said giggling. "‏Not really hon, I'm a terrible dancer.It won't do you any good to pretend otherwise." "Then what will do me good?" ‏she asked. "‏Well I prefer lovers who don't need to ask what to do next.But for now it's time for me to leave.Night sweetie."I didn't remember her name.I wasn't even sure that I ever heard it. The twins joined me outside the club. "‬You certain do know how to have fun,"Flopsy commented. "‏Oh, I thought you were having all the fun." "You don't blame me do you.I got a lot more attention here, than I ever did in Boston." "Are you two from Boston?" "We used to work for the PBS station there until they got their funding cut.Private donations dried up with the recession and then the damn republicans cut our funding.So now we are working for peanuts trying to get our own production company started." "Sorry to hear that but if you think you sob story is going to melt my black republican heart, forget it."I realized she was trying to increase her chances of getting the job by convincing me how much she needed it. "‏What would melt your heart, an evening with Bobby?" I looked over at the younger man. "‬Hardly,"I replied. "‏Then how about an evening with me?" "Sorry not my type?" "Marty said everyone was your type." ‏Mopsy said it from his seat beside me. "‏Now that wasn't the most diplomatic thing to say.It might be true that I subscribe to the cull not, want not, theory of love, but even so you two just don't do it for me.Sorry." After leaving them at the tourist court, I drove home.I tried the new gate thing and found that it worked just fine.I had to stop to close the gate after I passed.I also had to reset the alarm.It was going to be a pain for sure, but I knew I needed to do it for a while at least. I was in the house with the radio on checking my email when the phone rang. "‬At your service,"I said into the phone. "‏I wish,"was the answer which came over the phone. "‏What can I do for you sir?"I replied. "‏I need to postpone our meeting from9AM until10AM.I forgot I had another thing at9." "Not a problem Reverend Archer, I'll see you then." "Yes, I can hardly wait."He sounded as though he had been drinking, but I decided that it was none of my business.Instead of commenting I just pushed the off button.I wondered if the preacher was flirting with me, or just playing me to see how much more money I would give up. It was almost midnight when I slipped into bed.I was tired and needed to sleep but my mind would not shut down.My mind was stuck in gear thinking about the next day and the things I had planned for it. Somehow thoughts of the preacher filled my mind, not the mundane things on my schedule.I wondered about the Preacher and his life.From growing up in the housing project, to getting involved with street gangs.It had to have been some kind of self protection thing.Or maybe the need for family.They say it can be either, or both, that motivates a kid to begin banging. I could only imagine him as a teenage boy going into the justice system for murder.The fear while awaiting trial.Then to have been dropped into the general population of an adult prison must have been a nightmare. There was no doubt in my mind that at18, he learned to suck cock, before he learned to eat pussy.Yes, my mind had slipped into gutter speak.I was also massaging the loose flesh between my legs as I imagined his life in prison.I knew without a doubt that I would soon feel the loose flesh begin to tighten and get puffy.Followed shortly by hot and slippery liquid running from the bottom of my pussy and working its way into the cleft of my ass. While I massaged my pussy lips, I visualized the teenage boy on his knees accepting a bigger, stronger, most likely older man's cock.Opening his mouth to it in terror. "‬Take it, or take an ass beating every day till you do it willingly."The words ran though my mind as I shivered and gasped for breath. Fucking him in the ass would be easy compared to having him suck cock for the first time.It was almost impossible to force that.Not absolutely impossible, but very difficult.It almost always involved a beating the first time, if on an unwilling partner.It wasn't something you could just ram in and pump away.The one receiving the cock had to cooperate to make it an enjoyable experience.Sometimes the first time wasn't enjoyable at all, but it was something that usually just had to be endured.After the first time like most things it got easer and the receiver of the cock got better at making love to it.Being the receiver of a cock in the mouth or up the ass had to be hard for a proud young man. I became more aroused as I imagined Archer becoming a top only.Fucking other younger, weaker prisoners while doing nothing for them in return.He was certainly big enough.He had obviously worked out in prison.He probably continued on the outside.He could easily have found him a prison bitch somewhere along the line.He might have learned to enjoy cock inside him, but I just couldn't quite see that. I had began rubbing my clit in a hard circular motion as I imagined his cock in my unwilling mouth.I didn't love cock sucking, but I didn't refuse anymore either.What I did love was the attention, and the wanting my lover to be so lost in the feelings enough to be forceful.Maybe not to the point of rape, but to the point of making it clear that it just might come to that, if need be. I did not like taking it up the ass at all, but I knew that I would for the Preacher.I was certainly no virgin there either, but I would be very tight.I was sure that the intern had some real pain the next day from forcing it in me, more or less dry.He had to have hurt him almost as much as it did me. When I thought of the preacher forcing his cock in my ass, I came.I came from the massaging of my clit, but it was the image of his cock in my ass which filled my mind at the time. I managed to fall asleep shortly after I stopped trembling. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 37 The weather had developed a serious chill overnight. The cabin had an inside chill as well. After my early morning pee I turned the heater up a couple of notches, then crawled back into bed. I would have thought from the chill that it was 3AM, had the sun not been shining through the high windows. It was obviously time to winterize the place. I knew that I would need to take a look at the window screens to see what could be done there. I was hoping that I could take then down, wrap them with plastic like a sandwich, then put them back in place. That seemed like a good do it yourself project. Especially since there was a tall aluminum step ladder behind the cabin. With that thought at the forefront of my brain, I slipped back into the arms of Morpheus. An hour later, when I next awoke, the cabin was warmer, so I promptly forgot the winterizing project. Instead, I concentrated on reheating the day old coffee in the microwave, washing my ass, and then loading my dirty clothes into the van. I did it all and in that order. When I left the compound, I almost forgot to stop and open the gate. " I should probably not come home drunk, until I make a new habit of stopping to open the gate," I said aloud, I found my Latina mother and daughter couple at the Laundromat. I struck the bargain, then dropped off my laundry. The next stop was Hardee's drive thru. I thought about the video team, then had to force myself to buy coffee and biscuits for them. Being from the Boston PBS station, I had no idea what kind of crazy eating habits they had acquired. But the special that morning was Bacon Egg and Cheese Biscuits. I got three, and three large coffees. It all came to just under ten bucks. "They damn well better be ready to go," I said to myself. I knew I had to stop talking to myself or I was going to be in trouble one day. I knocked on the door then said," You guys ready?" I heard movement inside so I was pretty sure that I didn't live in Cabot's Cove. A place where every stranger got killed, to satisfy Jessica Fletcher's need for a mystery to solve. Mopsy opened the door, but he didn't look good. " Its 8AM tell me you are ready to go," I demanded. "We are, just give Gwen a chance to finish doing her makeup," he said. "Flopsy, put the makeup down and get your ass out here, or explain to Marty why I left you in the bathroom. I'm going to be out front in the van for two minutes, then I'm leaving whether you guys are there or not. " That got her ass moving. Some people just needed to be motivated. At the office the three of us sat eating our biscuits while I flipped through the 'New Work' clipboard. It was the only real place where orders were stored. Luke entered them into the computer, but I didn't put much faith in them not ending up lost in space somewhere. "What are we doing today," Mopsy asked. "Hell, I have no idea. What do you want to do. Oh I know, you want to sit back and observe how boring this place is. " It was too bad that I actually had things that needed to be done. There were already four stops on Luke's pick up schedule for court documents. We had raised our fee almost double, so we had to give good service for it. "Damn Boss, it is getting cold out there," Luke said as he entered the office. "Well the coffee is made, and the office is warm, not much more I can do. Believe it or not I don't have a direct line to God." "I thought all you Jews had a direct line to him," Ed commented as he walked through the office. He walked in just in time to catch the last comment. "Ed, I'm not Jewish." "You could have fooled me. George Washington has a beard on your money, since you have had it around so long. Go out and buy the boy a decent coat." "How about he buy some thermal underwear for himself, and then he can wear the all season coat I already bought him?" I asked, but it was really a suggestion. I had bought the coats the day after we decided to pick up bond jumpers. We needed pockets, so jackets seemed the best thing to wear over the vests. "I'll buy the damn coat, just tell me what you want me to buy," Luke suggested. "See Ed, that's why he is employee of the year." "That and he is your only employee," Ed replied. "That too," I admitted. " Luke, find something you like and I'll take a look at it. Please remember we have to be able to move in it, as well as hide all the junk we need to carry." "So Boss, what we gonna ' do this morning?" he asked. "I have a tour of the Reverend Archer's vast holding at ten. I want you to pick up the papers and start with the services. I also noticed that we are supposed to get a file from Jessup Bail Company from Charlestown?" "Yeah they are going to email us the file and the pickup order from the court. I can print it out, so we don't have to drive over there for it. " he noticed my look. " I know you don't like to work from copies, but it's a two hour drive each way." "We do this until we get burned on one. Then, if we aren't in jail or bankrupt, we will go back to having them mailed it to us." "You mean snail mail." "Yeah overnight mail, you probably don't remember it. It's what we used back in the day. You know before you came, last year. " I said sarcastically. Actually I would admit to anyone that Luke made a world of difference in the business. I was going to miss him, when he went back to school in January "So I guess I'll go pick up the papers and get started. Can I use the van?" "Of course, the delivery scam won't work with your Korean toy," I suggested. "You need to buy another vehicle," Ed said. I gave him a stern look. " Just saying." "Luke it's up to you, would you rather have a company car, or the per mile payment?" "Boss, I can drive my car no problem, but I am racking up a lot of miles," he said. "Okay, I'll look for something that will do us the most good. " I had Marty's settlement money so it was no skin off my ass. "You want a pickup truck?" Ed asked. "I don't know, why Ed?" I asked. "Because Michael Kelly got sentenced yesterday. He put up a two year old Japanese pickup for the bond note. It is going to be really old by the time he gets out. I can give him a call and you can take a look." "The bank probably owns it," I suggested. "They will for sure, but you might still have time to drop a hundred bucks on him and pay off the note with the bank." "If he bought it new, it will probably be worth less than the payoff of the note. " I suggested. I think I will pick up one of those off lease things. I'm thinking PT Cruiser with the rear seat pulled out." "Max, you are an idiot. " Ed said with a laugh. "Trade keys with me," I demanded of Luke. "Do you want me to take one of our guests?" Luke asked with a grin. "Sure, which one do you want?" Luke just smiled. " Okay take Flopsy." "Let's go Gwen, we have miles to go before we sleep," he said. "But not together," I added. Luke just grinned. It looked as though I might have been a bad influence on the boy. "Well Mopsy, that puts you with me, but relax we aren't going anywhere for an half hour." I was reading the morning news on line when my cell phone rang. " At your service. " I said. "Max it's me Anya. It's probably nothing, but I just got a call from the guy who runs Hazelwood for Marge. He can't find her." "What?" I asked incredulously. " When did he see her last." "When he left the Inn at midnight, she was in her office. She was nowhere to be found this morning. Like I said, it's probably nothing, but watch your back till we find her." "I got to make a call get off the phone." I dialed Luke's cell phone number. There was no answer, even after ten rings. More than enough time for him to get to it no matter where it was. " Ed, lock this place down tight." Ed had the switch to activate his electric locks on both front and rear door. I went to the storage vault for my serious weapons. I picked up the civilian version of the AK47, and the trench length 12 gauge. "Here you go Ed, Christmas is early." I said it as I handed him the Trench length Winchester pump gun. It was the shotgun that I swore came from Alcatraz. "You know, I hate when you do this," he said. "Ed, I have never done this before." "Okay, I'm going to hate it from now on. So what's happening?" "Nothing I hope, I have to go find Luke and the van. Nobody comes in the office until I get back and you don't leave. Ed this is serious shit, do not leave this office." I had a bad feeling about it all. The Russians might have decided to play rough. Just then my cell rang. " At Your Service. " I said. "I love your American TV. I love the game shows. So bitch, let's make a deal." "So what's behind curtain one?" I asked in what was probably a weak shaky voice. "An old lady, a kid, and a fat cow. " he answered. "And what is it you want?" "My pistol and of course you." "Not much of a deal there. I give you want you want and we all die. Seems like a really one sided trade." "How about I just come in and take it?" "How are you fixed for body bags.? Cause you are going to need some, if you try that." "I think we have the advantage. I have your friends." "When it comes to my life or death, I have no more friends than you do. I figure they are already dead anyway. So step out in the open and walk over here." "You are a cold bitch," "Boss it's me Luke. Gwen and I and some old lady are here. Fuck these guys," he said trying to be brave. His voice was trembling. "Want to hear me shoot him?" "That's up to you. Do you want to hear the sirens of the cops pulling up and the gun going to the FBI. Plus, they most likely know who you are already. I bet your boss is pissed that you didn't toss that gun after the job." "I am going to enjoy killing you. It might take days," he stopped talking then asked," Where do you want to meet?" "My guess is that you are in that black Buick parked across the street. So bring the hostages to where you are. Send them across and when they are inside, I'll throw the pistol out." "Now that is a bad deal for me. If I do that, you get the hostages and then keep the pistol anyway." "You tried to have it all, so I had to try as well." "So where is the middle ground, as you people say." "The middle ground is that we do it in public. You drive away right now, and I bring the pistol and meet you in the parking lot of the courthouse. They have lots of video cameras to keep us both honest. You hand over the hostages and I hand over an envelope with the pistol inside." "When?" "Just as soon as we can all get there." "Not the courthouse, but the rest of the plan will work. The big bank with the large American flag. We can do it in their parking lot." "All right Wells Fargo it is. " It was as good a deal as I could make. I punched a number into my cell phone. " Where are you? You have to be kidding me. Walk across the street and look for a blue Hyundai to pull up to the curb." "Mopsy, you come with me. Ed lock this place down for sure." I loaded the kid down with hardware, then we headed for the drop. I punched the re-dial when I was a block from the bank. " I'm here, come to the car." You guessed it, the Reverend came from the downtown consignment store across the street from where I parked. He was moving quickly as he got into the car beside me. Mopsy handed him the civilian AK47. " This might get messy," I said. "Max I trust you, but if I have to go back to the joint, I'm going to kill you." "Sounds fair. If you have a chance to kill me, I'm going to be surprised. " I took a deep breath then went on. " I don't have time to explain just go with it." They had no idea what my car looked like, so I hoped they didn't see the Reverend get into it. Once in the bank's parking lot, I got out of the car and walked toward the black Buick. I stopped in plain sight of the overhead camera while still several feet from the car. I was pretty sure the Reverend had the AK trained on the car. "Where is my envelope?" a different Russian asked as he approached me "Where is Ivan. He wasn't much of a body guard, but he was cute. " I was faking the bravado. I was terrified. "Where is my envelope?" he asked angrily. Yes I was terrified, but I was also successful in my fight to control my voice. " In the car where are my people?" He made a motion and another large car's doors opened. Out they all came. " Now get my envelope." "Of course, send them over and I'll get it. " One gunman, with a nasty looking thing that could have been an Uzi, walked behind them. He had to know there was a camera on him, but he showed the pistol anyway. That worried me. I returned to Luke's car and got the envelope. " This is going to go sideways. I'm sorry Archer. It's the Chinese restaurant again. Make sure the safety is off the tea cup." "Then we will have to let God sort it out. " Archer replied with a shake of his head. I nodded my understanding. When I got back to the parking lot, I put my hand in the envelope quickly and shot the Russian in the face with his own pistol. I know it was not the honorable thing to do, but hell I never said I was a good girl. I turned at the sound of four small explosions from the Hyundai. Obviously the shots came through the side window. I had no idea which shot hit the second gunman, but something did. The shots from the car were just meant to distract him, so that he wouldn't shoot the hostages, before I could get to him. Something hit me like a baseball thrown at 90mph into my chest. I heard the sound of the shot as I went down hard. Before I could react there was the sound of gunfire all around me. I managed to crawl to the hostages. " Stay down," I said. By the time I got to the second badly wounded gunman, both cars were burning rubber leaving the parking lot. I picked up another Russian firearm from the ground beside the badly bleeding Russian mobster. I didn't bother with first aid. I figured the EMTs would be along soon enough for him. We were damn lucky that no hostage got hit in all that shooting, I thought. I found out later that no one in the hostage car fired a single shot. All the shots, after I went down, were from either the Buick or the Hyundai. I had to force myself to remain calm so that I could make it back to the Hyundai. The three hostages were hugging each other when I looked back. "This is going to take some real explaining," Mopsy said, as he handed me the AK47 with shaky hands. "I never shot one of those things," Archer added as if to explain why the kid had the AK47. "Shit," was all I could manage as my knees gave way and I fell into the passenger seat. I wasn't worried about calling the cops, I was sure the bank employees had done that. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 38 They came at us like a swarm of bumble bees. The sound wasn't right for bees. I knew that sound, but I could not for the life of me remember what it was. "Max are you alright?" I sorta recognized the voice, but I couldn't quite place it. It took me several minutes to remember where I was even. I heard the voice calling my name, but I didn't know what to say. I just wasn't in the same world as the voice. I was lost and had no idea where I was. "Max where are you?" A different female voice asked. I couldn't answer. I just stared at her. She looked familiar, but I couldn't place her. I just looked at the flashing red and blue lights all around me. If it had been dark, I might have gone mad from the sight. It was fascinating even if it was almost noon. "She's in shock. Get her on a stretcher and under a blanket." The female voice said. I felt hands guide me to the bed on wheels. Once I had the blanket on me, I was warm. I hadn't realized that I was cold, until I was warm again. My mind seemed to be working but not quite working. It just all seemed so unreal. What seems unreal? I asked myself. I struggled but I couldn't remember the question. "Maxine, stay with me." A voice said. The same voice said to someone else, "I know you said she had been shot, but she isn't bleeding. She seems to be in shock." I was warm and very tired so I just shut down. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 39 I awoke to the touch of a soft hand in my hair. I saw the beautiful face of my friend Jennifer. She looked like a visiting angel but I was glad that she wasn't. She probably was glad as well. "Good morning sweetie. How are you?"she asked. I looked around the room before I answered,"It looks like a hospital room, what happened?" "Whatever you paid for that vest, it was worth every penny,"she said smiling. That was the lawyer in her never give a straight answer. "It depends on what the meaning of Penny is, I suppose. "I answered to play along. "So I assume some asshole finally shot me. " I said calmly. "They tell me you didn't get the asshole who shot you, but you got at least one of his friends." "Yeah I remember that fucking Buick and wishing I had a hand grenade,"I said it as the memory of the firefight returned in bits and pieces. "It was only fair I guess. Someone said that there was a lot of fire coming from Luke's Hyundai. I had no idea they were armored cars. Those Koreans are tricky. "Jen said, "So where are the policemen guarding me?"I asked. "Out in the hall, I'm your shyster lawyer remember. I get to talk to you alone." "Any suggestions on how to get me out of this mess?" Jennifer, pulled the rolling bed tray over. On it she placed a digital recorder. "It's press statement time hon. But one thing I would advise is to stay as close to the facts as possible. You don't want them proving you lied. Also don't go into detailed as to the whys of it all. Leave me something to deal with. Start with the kidnapping, not what led up to it. I hear the FBI might be looking for witnesses." "Let me try to remember before I start. "I played it all back in my mind a few times until I thought I had a plausible story. Then I motioned for her to start the recording. I knew Jen was smart enough to put the recording in context, so I just started. "I'm not sure how long I have been out Jen?"I said. Jen turned off the tape then said to me. "You have been in here overnight. It all came down yesterday early in the morning." I nodded and she started the tape again. "Yesterday, we had a couple of TV people from Boston doing a ride along. There were there just to see, if there was anything of interest going on in our office. My partner Lucas left to start on the day's routine work, one of the TV producers rode along. There was nothing special in the plan at all. It was just another day at the office for us. The other producer planned to ride along with me. He and I were planning to tour Reverend Archer's mission facilities. Luke had been gone about fifteen minutes, when the call came in. "The kidnapper had taken my two employees, and a woman, not connected to my company in any way, as hostages. The third kidnap victim is a personal friend of mine. The kidnapper wanted to trade his victims for a piece of property in my possession. I came by the property as part of an interaction with one of his employees, I had no idea that the property had any significance at the time I took possession of it, "He also stated at the time that he wished to trade his hostages for me. His purpose was clear, he intended to murder me. Actually he said he would enjoy making it last for days. To be honest I was terrified, Even so I knew that if I didn't act quickly, he would kill my friends. "I removed some firearms from my legal collection, which I do keep at the office. I pressed the male TV producer into service to help me load the car. He decided on his own that he would go with me. I did not have a plan at that time. As I drove toward the place agreed upon for the exchange, the parking lot of the Wells Fargo Bank, my mind raced trying to think of a way to save the most lives. I did not have time to call the police and have them take half an hour to get into place. I had been told any interference or delay would result in the hostage's execution. I knew I could never live with that, so I had no choice except to go to the meeting immediately. On the way I called the Reverend Archer. It was a huge coincidence, that the Reverend was visiting a building just a block from the meeting. No one believes in them, but if they didn't exist, the word coincidence would not exist either. He agreed to help, without me having to give him a long explanation, which is also a miracle, which none of us believe in either. "The plan came to my mind based on his actions at the Chinese restaurant, a week or so ago. It was a simple confront, confuse, and defuse plan. I can't say it went as well as I had hoped. Even though I wore a vest, I did not plan to get shot. I also didn't plan to kill anyone. When I tried to deliver the item in question, the kidnapper made a move toward what I thought was his hidden weapon. I had every reason to believe that he was armed. I shot him instinctively, then I heard gunfire. I have no idea where it came from. The firing from the Hyundai was meant to confuse the hostage holder, so that I could confront him. It was not meant to injure or kill him. Somehow a stray bullet must have struck him. I think he might have survived, but I really do not know for sure what his status is at the moment. "That is the sum total of my knowledge of what happened yesterday. I am making this statement to the press to get the facts out before someone tries to confuse the facts from yesterday's incident." I nodded for Jen to turn off the recorder. "That's the best I can do Jen,"I admitted. "Sweetie, when I get through spinning this, the cops will be pinning a medal on you." "I don't need a medal, I need clean clothes. I'm ready to go home and I expect mine are covered in all kinds of nasty things." "Yeah, blow back of blood and brain tissue,"she admitted. "Not to mention the mess in my panties. "I said with a smile. "I didn't ask about that,"she admitted. "What sizes are you these days." "Blouse8for my small boobs and pants10for my wide ass,"I replied. "How about a bra and panties." "Come on Jen the panties are the same as the pants. The bra don't bother, trust me I am not going to be turned on before I get home to dress in my own clothes. I think there is some cash in my pocketbook,"I suggested. "Don't bother, it's my donation to the hero fund. Do you have any idea how much the publicity from being your mouthpiece is worth. "I shook my head. "You just added twenty bucks an hour to my billing rate." "Good, if we do this every hospital visit, you might be rich by the time someone gets lucky,"I said with a smile. "Yeah, you just got to love Obama Care. "she smiled back at me. "I had one more thought, Jen buy the clothes at the consignment shop on main. It's about a block south of the bank." "Why, I'm paying and you sure don't need to buy used,"she said. "Remember I gave you a check for75k." "Just do it, and buy something expensive." "Can we come in?"Blevins asked from the doorway. He and Bostic were both standing outside the door. "Sure join the party,"I suggested. "But, if you want to talk to my client, make sure I'm always in the room." "Understood Jen,"Blevins said. There was a look that passed between them. It was a look that only another woman would have noticed. They had slept together, I would bet my sore ass on it. Why not?It was a very small town, and Jen had been single off and on over the years. Besides when it came to getting an advantage, I would put nothing past Jen. She was ambitious and not any more scrupulous than any other attorney at law. I retold the story just as I had on the tape. Of course they wanted to know more. I had to explain about the gun. I looked at Bostic now and then as I told the story of the party at the Hazelwood Inn. "Damn Max, that sounds like a first rate porno, if they filmed it. You could win an award. "Blevins said. "I expect that there are others, who would win the award. There was a chick there who played the Dominant Female. She played fifteen beautifully. "I looked right at Bostic when I said that. "Well the FBI is into this now, so I expect there will be immunity for everyone,"Blevins said looking at Jennifer. He had as much as told her that if we testified in the federal racketeering trial, there would be immunity for us all. "Besides, I can't for the life of me see that you did more than what needed to be done. You saved some lives and put some mad dog Russian gangsters down in the process. That sounds like hero time to me." "I'm not sure the Mad Dogs see it that way,"Jennifer replied. "Well we can keep a lid on this for a while and of course give you protection. "Bostic added, just to get into the conversation. "I don't need it,"I replied. "I expect that the man I took the pistol from is dead by now. These guys are in cleanup mode. If anyone can tie them to any of this, it is Marge. She is going to need to get the fuck out of town and stay out. None of the rest of us can do anything more than tie the dead thugs to kidnap. Dead men tell no tales." "But one of them isn't dead yet. He might even survive. "Blevins added. "And there are the drivers of the cars still unaccounted for." "Come on Blevins, once the feds take over, he is dead as hell. Even if he isn't. As for the drivers of the cars, I have a hundred bucks that says Buick driver who no one ever saw has already iced the other driver who the victims saw." "All good points, so there is no case?"he said with a smile. "Then I don't have to lock you up, and as a bonus, I get another attaboy for doing nothing. Some days being a cop is good." "Everyday being alive is good,"I added. "If I had a drink, I would drink to that,"Bostic said. They all left. Jen went to deliver the recording to the press. There had been only a handful of reporters camped out at the hospital overnight, she told me. She was also sure that Mopsy and Flopsy would have wound them up by that time. By the time Jen got to the exit the number had tripled in only the hour she has spent with me. While Jen played the recorded statement, Mopsy and Flopsy worked the press to make it national news. If it kept me from being prison raped with a mop handle, they had my blessings. I expected that the preacher felt the same. Neither of us was Martha Stewart, it would be real prison, with real cons for us. I expected the Reverend to cash in as well. I had absolutely no problem with that either. He surely did some good, even if it was just his senior citizen ministry. I knew that he did more than that though. My next visitors were Luke and Ed. Luke had a box of chocolates in his hand. "God, I'm glad you put that vest on,"Luke said leaning over to hug me. "Luke, if you get any closer, you are going to be in bed with me. "I laughed. I almost groped him, but I caught myself in time. He stepped back a little flushed then handed me the chocolates. "I thought you might like these." I really didn't feel like eating but I reached for the box. When I felt the weight, I said,"I do love chocolate. " I knew without a doubt, that yet another weapon had left our little safe room. "Please be careful, there are lots people making lots of noise outside. I have no idea who the good guys are,"Ed said quietly. "Do we ever know?"I asked. "Okay more than usual this time,"he replied. I nodded, since I had no idea what the results of the press stories would be. It might just tell the Russians that they missed, or it might just tell them to forget it. No sense trying again, since I had already turned everything over to the FBI. I hoped that they realized that it would be a waste of resources to come for me. I didn't know anything to cause them a problem. Marge however was another matter entirely. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 40 A nurse I recognized from the Cop Out came into my room."Hey Maxine, how you doing hon‭?" She was one of the nurses who had tried to ice me out after Sarah was killed. "I'm doing fine. I am ready to leave as a matter of fact.‭" "Trust me the nursing staff is ready to see you leave," she said it smiling one of those smiles that looked painted on. "Oh why is that‭?" "The phone won't stop ringing. Everybody in the world wants to know how you are doing.The nurses don't have time for that.We have other patents to deal with.‭" "Then get on the fucking phone and call your hospital doctor. Tell him to discharge me.I will be more than happy to sign any release forms you have.If you don't want to do that, then get the fuck out of my room.‭" "God you are such a bitch," she said.It was unfortunate that she didn't look behind her before she got all redneck. "Nurse Ames, wait for me in my office, and do it right this minute.We need to talk.‭" It was an older nurse, who looked like she had the authority to boss Ames around, that made the tough sounding statement. After Ames had gone, she said to me."Would you like to file a complaint‭?" "She's an idiot, why would I want to file a complaint‭? There is nothing you can do that will make her less of an idiot.‭" "You are probably right. I will tell her she still has a job thanks to you.‭" "Please don't do that. I would just as soon she stay pissed at me.I really don't want her as a friend.‭" "I really came to tell you that the hospitalist has signed your release form. You can leave as soon as the business office clears you.That should be within the hour.I'll have someone come for you just as soon as you are cleared.‭" "Thank you, could you get my cell phone please.I need to call for some clothes and a ride home.‭" "Of course," she said leaving my room. I didn't need the cell phone after all‭; Jen was in my room, when the head nurse returned with it."Jennifer did I ever tell you that we have totally different taste in clothes.‭" "What? You don't like frilly things‭?" "You know that I would never buy such a top. That thing looks like a fairy princess's wet dream.‭" "Oh bullshit, I know it is a little more femme than you usually wear, but you need the image boost.When we leave, you are going to be on TV.‭" "Well at least it isn't see through. That would really be embarrassing, since I don't have a bra.‭" "Well I still think you should have let me get you one," Jen said."I'm too old to go braless and you are the same age as me.‭" "Yes, but I'm not nearly as grownup, ‭" I replied. "True.‭" I put on the jeans she brought, even though it was painful.The waist was loose, but the hips were tight.It was the best I could hope for.The damn cops had even taken my belt into evidence.I was going to need one quick, since the waist was always loose, even while the ass was tight. Jen was right as usual.When the nurse's aide rolled me out, we were immediately surrounded by flashing lights.There were so many questions I had no idea which ones to answer first, so I didn't answer any. The aide deposited me beside the door of Jen's Mercedes.I stood while she wheeled the chair away.I managed to open the heavy door without any help.For the next long minute I squirmed trying to find a position, which did not hurt my ribs.I just gave up in disgust. "Where too‭?" Jen asked. "To my van, if you know where the hell it is‭?" "Police impound yard, they took it there to process for evidence.Why I have no idea, since the bad guys never got inside.‭" "Call Blevins and have him release it please?" I asked. "Oh that was done earlier.I didn't want them to try to charge you for the tow or the storage.‭" "Good, then let's go get the damn thing.‭" "You sure are using a lot of salty language," Jen observed. "Jen, I killed a man and was shot‭; I think God will overlook me saying fuck and damn a few times.‭" "Yeah probably." she agreed. The van was fine.No damage and no blood, I was fortunate and so where Luke and Gwen."Okay, give me the keys‭?" I demanded of the cashier. "I can't do that Ma'am you don't have a receipt from the Police Department.‭" "Don't you have a note from the police department to release my car?" I asked it getting angry. "I got a call, but I told the detective I had to have a receipt.He never called back.‭" "Don't say a word Max," Jen demanded as she walked outside with her cell phone.She obviously didn't want me to overhear the conversation "Here," she said handing the phone to the cashier. "I can't do it without the receipt in my hand, ‭" he said getting testy."I have no idea, whether or not she is carrying.You are kidding.You are not really going to tell her to shoot me.My boss is going to have a fit, but alright.‭" The man behind the counter pushed the key to me."Would you please sign here‭?" he asked fearfully. "No problem, ‭" I said as I begin to write my name. "He wouldn't have really told you to shoot me would he‭?" "I don't know. He hasn't had me shoot anyone in a long time.I think he has outgrown it.‭" Jen held her laughter until we got to the van."Who the hell did you call‭?" "Blevins, who else would come up with that kind of crap‭?" "Point," I said laughing. I remembered to stop at the gate.It opened flawlessly.Luke was definitely dependable for that kind of thing.I really was going to miss him.I did want him to get his ass back in school though.He needed a career not just fooling around with me. I sure hoped that getting the company car would not make him want to give up his plans to be a cop.I dropped that train of thought, when I pulled into the pine needle covered opening in front of my cabin.I had been away over night, so I had no idea what to expect. Even though the door was still locked, I entered the cabin carefully.I was thrilled to find that the room wasn't terribly cold.That the fire was still burning in the stove.I cranked the stove up a notch, then heated the left over coffee in the Microwave.I also put a fresh pot of water into the Mr.Coffee. I drank the two day old coffee and was grateful for it.Hospital coffee was worse than hospital food.Not to mention it was harder to find, than a fur coat on a nudist beach.I took a look at my emails while I waited for the room to heat enough for a shower. My personal email were all spam, which was usually the case.The company emails were mostly aimed at Luke.He used the company account to get information for the company, but since I had no idea what the replies were about, I left them alone. It was just4PM but it was also Saturday so I had nothing to do.I mean there was lots of things I could do, but nothing I had to do.I was trying to find clean underwear, when I remember that the Latina mother and daughter had my clothes. I turned the coffee pot off and the stove down to its lowest setting then I got back in the van and drove to the laundromat.Sure enough they were still there.I paid for my clothes, then headed home. I stopped along the way at the dog house.The only thing bad about the dog house is they had no drive thru window.I was in full view of the other patrons while I placed my to-go order, it never made a difference before, but that afternoon it did. "Hey you are Maxine Stone aren't you‭?" I silently begged the man behind the counter to get a move on.Of course he slowed down instead. "So Miss Stone, did you really shoot that guy in the face‭?" "I'm sorry, you have me confused with someone else.‭" "I don't think so. You just seem to think you are better than me.I think you are a real bitch.‭" "Then why don't you sit down and finish your dinner?" I suggested. "You are so fucking rude.‭" He said getting right up into my face. There were people staring at us.I really wanted to kick his ass, but my ribs hurt and I just wasn't in the mood.What I was in the mood for, were the hot dogs I had ordered.I would just be damned if I was going to leave without my order.I fingered the stun gun in my pocket.I was about to zap the prick, when someone moved up behind him. ''Excuse me, I need to get through here, ‭" the older man said.The man was about sixty if he was a day.Hell he could have been seventy with that beautiful head of white hair.He stood ramrod straight.I recognized that stance, if not the man. "Well we are talking, ‭" the prick said. "No, you are being an ass and the lady is trying to be nice.I am not so nice, so go sit the fuck down.‭" "Old man, I will kick your ass.‭" "Sonny don't pick up more shit, than you can tote‭?" "What's that mean?" the prick said. "It means I ain't John Wayne, and best case, you gonna wake up in the hospital, and worst you ain't gonna wake up at all.‭" "You don't scare me," he said. "Ain't trying to scare you.I'm trying to talk sense to you.‭" "Gus, take it outside.If you bloody up my parking lot again, you gonna be the one to clean it up.‭" "Okay Martin," the old man said."Let's do what the man said.‭" He stepped back clearing a path for the younger man.I was determined not to see the old man get hurt, so I was going to follow along behind with the bug zapper. "Oh hell, I don't want to go to jail for killin‭' an old man, ‭" the prick said. "Good choice son, ‭" the old man said.He turned to me."You about ready to go little lady‭?" "Soon as I get my dogs," I replied. "Here, ‭" the man he had called Martin said, as he handed me the white paper bag."On the house just get out of here Max.‭" "Yes sir," I said with a smile.I left the hot dog stand with Gus following behind.He walked me to my van. "You gonna be alright‭?" I asked. "I'll be fine little lady.By now someone has talked some sense into him.‭" "Who are you, that they would do that‭?" "Gus Gallion retired Gunnery Sergeant USMC, I am also the self defense instructor for the community college's criminal justice school.It's just part time.‭" "Well hell, I was going to come and zap that prick so he wouldn't hurt you‭?" I said. "Don't worry about me.I have to go back in and get my dogs.Hey how about giving me a lift home.I don't drive these days.‭" When I didn't answer right away he added,"It ain't far.‭" "That seems the least I can do," I said. "You could come in and we could have a picnic, ‭" he suggested. "I could, but I stink like a hospital.I need to take a shower before I feel human.It's a long story, why I'm even out here instead of home in bed.‭" "Well I have a shower and you can tell me all about it at my place, if you like.You can at least rest without having to watch your back tonight.After a close call Maxine, you don't really want to be alone.‭" Gus was right.He knew who I was, but I didn't mind that he knew.I just couldn't believe all the shit I kept getting into.I figured that I should go back to Afghanistan, so I could find some peace. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 41 In the parking lot of the Senior Towers Gus said, "So you coming up or not?" "Gus, I am flattered, but I just met you," I answered. "If you can't trust an old Marine, who can you trust?" he asked with a charming smile. "Okay, but I reserve the right to leave at any time." "Fair enough. At least you can relax nobody will have any idea where to look for you." he said. "Well this van stands out like a Siamese cat at a dog show," I commented. "Ah, but there are over two hundred units here; I doubt that even the bad boys from the east will kill everyone in every apartment just for you." "Good point," I admitted. "Yes none of us is as important as we think we are. We are also not as unique as we are told as children." "I do suppose that is true. Alright Gunny let's have a picnic." In the utilitarian, but very clean lobby, I had noted the sign that welcomed me to the Evergreen Towers. The ride up on the elevator was surprising in that it smelled of pine cleaner not urine. I had been inside Government housing projects before and found them atrocious. I had never been inside a Senior's Tower though. I knew they existed in almost every town of any real size in the whole country. "I have got to tell you Gus this is the cleanest Government housing I have ever seen." "That's because we run the place, not the housing authority. We have a homeowner's type association, and they make the rules. They have committees that oversee everything. Yeah the government boys can veto anything, it is still their rice bowl, but they don't bother as long as there are no complaints. Some of us are ex military, but most came from places that weren't real safe or clean. Everyone appreciates that there are no thugs in the lobby here." "So what is the police response time to trouble?" I asked knowing that it was the key to public housing crime. "Longer than our security staff." "Oh really?" "Some retired guys can still swing a Louisville Slugger. Most of the security guys say, they don't mind spending a few nights in lockup, if it keeps their friends safe. Besides for the most part even thugs have grandmas." "Not a lot worth stealing, and not much call for crack in here I would think?" "Exactly, worst thing here are the resident drunks and we help them to their rooms and take their car keys." "Sounds like a place I wouldn't mind living." "You most likely have too much money in the bank. You pretty much have to have nothing to live here." "Careful there Gunny, you are going to lose points for not being rich." "Max, I figure if you wanted rich, you wouldn't be eating at the Dog House. You are not going to find rich men hanging out in there." "Okay, you do have a point." When the Gunny opened the door, I thought I was back in the Air Force. His apartment looked a lot like my room in the NCO barracks. He had somehow gotten hold of a military issue bunk. It was complete with steel pipe frame and open wire springs. The mattress on top did look a lot thicker than anyone I ever had in a barracks situation. He even had a throw and big ass pillow that made it look like a sofa, sorta. The difference was that at the head and foot of the bed, instead of being Air Force gray, the pipes were painted gold. The throw over the mattress was a blanket looking affair with the Marine Corp symbol in the center. There was a small desk, with an equally small desktop style computer on the top. The computer shared the space with various desk type items. A coffee cup with the marine emblem embossed on it and filled with pens and pencils graced one corner. There was the graduation picture of a young woman at the rear corner. The coffee table was nothing more than a wooden type footlocker. It was the type found at the foot of every bunk in a typical barracks. The Gunny had done a pretty good job of reproducing a typical NCO's room, but with a lot more class. There were nice full length drapes on the windows and a very clean looking chrome lap on the desk. The combination bedroom and living room of the studio apartment was small enough that it really didn't need any other furniture. An opening on the right side of the room led to a very small kitchen and tiny dining area. The kitchen counter boasted the smallest microwave oven I had ever seen, and of course a generic Mr. Coffee pot On the left side of the living room another opening lead into a storage area, with a small compact bathroom at one end. The two rooms on the left were the same size as the kitchen and dining room, so there was plenty of storage. Some of it in drawers and some in hanging bars. The Gunny didn't have it filled by any means, but he did have what seemed like enough clothes for an average man. At least it seemed that way to me. Of course someone like Jen could never fit her clothes into the space. "Nice place you have Gunny, do you have a coke in the little frig or is it all beer." "I gave up drinking the same night I gave up driving," he said almost sadly. It was more matter of fact I suppose, but it good have been a sad expression for him. "But to answer your question, I have coke." I took the caned coke and my bag of dogs to his tiny dining table. I was just about to plop my ass down when he spoke. "Oh I can do better than that, he said. He pulled the string on the full length drapes at the end of the living room. I had expected a window behind the drapes, but instead there was a door that led onto a tiny balcony. It was just large enough for a small but comfortable deacon's bench. The coke cans had to sit on the concrete floor of the balcony, but there was an interesting view of Main street to make it worthwhile. We ate hot dogs and watched the cars go by. "You know Max, I have heard a lot about you over this last year. You seem to have blown into this town like a tornado." "Gunny, it's a very small town. Trust me in the scheme of things, I'm nothing. It's like you said, none of us is unique." "You have a good memory. I am going to have to watch what I say." I just smiled at his remark. "Got any family left here?" he asked. "A cousin or two I think," I replied. "None of them have gotten in touch with me, and I haven't gone looking for them." "Yeah, I grew up here myself. I'm sure I have some family somewhere but I don't know. Like you I was gone a long time." "Who is the girl on the desk?" "You don't miss much do you?" "I try not to," I replied. "She is my daughter, it's an old picture." "So how old is she?" "We probably shouldn't discuss ages, but she is over forty." "Yeah, I probably shouldn't have asked that." I was smiling broadly to let him know that I didn't care. The dogs had been gone several minutes when he asked, "How about that shower? You do have the aroma of hospital disinfectant." he admitted. It took me about ten seconds to decide. I handed him the key to my van. There is a cloth laundry bag in the back. How about you getting it, while I shower." And that's what happened. There is nothing like a brush with one's own mortality to convince a person to do something bold. If for no other reason than to prove that they are still alive. In my case it was walking from the shower into the living room of the Gunny's apartment naked. I didn't even carry the towel to try for fake modesty. Hell why bother, we both knew why I was really in his senior citizen apartment. "Did you take your little blue pill?" I asked as I stood in the center of the room posing for him. "Mostly I don't need it, but next time I'll take it because it is easier on you that way." he said grinning. "Hell don't worry about being easy on me." Rather than answer he pushed down on my shoulders. I knew what that meant without having to even think about it. I dropped to my knees and worked his semi hard penis from his trousers. I kissed the head of his penis and felt his body quiver. Rather than take his penis into my mouth, I ran my tongue along the shaft from his balls to the head and then sucked on the head just a second, before starting the same move over again. His knees where weak, when he put his hands on my head and forced my mouth over his cock. Even though his cock was deep in my mouth I sucked on it while massaging the underside with my tongue as best I could. His cock was still not rock hard, but he was trying to fuck my mouth anyway. I released the pressure so that he could pump my mouth, even with his only moderately hard cock. "I can tell that you love sucking daddy's dick," he said and shuddered hard. I didn't answer but I sucked harder on is dick. I was begging for his cum wordlessly with my mouth, but nothing happened. I didn't mind, since I loved just sucking on him. "Tell me Chris, tell me that you love sucking my dick," he demanded. I pulled away and said, "Yes I love sucking Daddy's dick," and then I quickly stuffed his almost hard cock into my mouth and sucked deeply. "You don't know how long I have wanted to see you on your knees sucking my dick. I have dreamed of this moment." He was growing in my mouth as he spoke. I knew he wanted to cum and I wanted him to cum. I pushed down hard until I could swallow his dick. I felt it deep in my throat. I couldn't speak, but I did look up and beg with my eyes. He suddenly pulled back and came in my mouth. It wasn't much of a load, but it was enough to make him fall back onto his sofa/bed. "Damn girl," was all he could say. He shook and I moved even closer between his legs and rested my head in his lap. I knew his penis might be too sensitive for me to touch at that moment. I was pretty sure that he was finished for the night. It took him at least fifteen minutes to recover. I hadn't expected that he would. He didn't actually recover enough to get an erection, but he did recover enough to get amorous. For one thing he kissed me for the first time. He also guided me to his bed. He undressed himself, then slipped onto the narrow bed with me. I felt his hands moving over me as he kissed me. He kissed and caressed me until my body screamed for relief. Finally he touched my clit and I exploded into an orgasm. I expected him to stop shortly after but he did not. He continued to stroke me and massage my clit until I exploded yet again. After that one I couldn't stop, nor could I stop him from massaging me. It just seemed to go on forever. When I could stand it no longer I said, "Please stop, I can't stand this I will do anything just stop please." "Tell me you love your daddy," he demanded. "God yes I love you Daddy," I whined. He stopped shortly after I said it. He held me even tighter and I drifted off to sleep. I have no idea what he did. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 42 An unfamiliar noise woke me.It took a few seconds for me to realize that I wasn't home.The noise was Gus's door rattling.I reached for my pistol, then quickly realized that I might be headed into a gun fight, with only a stun gun to stick in someone's face it was not a reassuring feeling.Even in my groggy state, I knew that it might be the end of Maxine Stone.I didn't mind dying.Hell, I didn't even mind dying naked‭;actually I kind of liked that image.I just wished that I had tightened up the left over tummy first.I was not going to leave a beautiful corpse, and that was the big regret... "‏So you are awake, ‭"Gus observed as he entered."‬Good, I would hate to wake you.You were sleeping so peacefully.‭" "The key in the door woke me. ‏Some sounds just override everything else.‭" "Yeah, ‏the racking of a shotgun and the sound of an AK47popping, come to mind for me.‭" "Yeah, ‏anything off my routine does it for me.Even a small sound can start the adrenalin pumping.‭"I had to smile.Gus might be the only one in town, who really understood combat stress as well as me. "‏Well, this time it is just the old man baring gifts.‭"He put the two bags on his small kitchen counter."‬So it's time to get up.‭" That's when I remembered that I was naked and all my clean clothes were in the laundry bag by the door.Naked, when you are trying to get laid is one thing.Naked on a Sunday morning, with the sun streaming through the windows, is quite another.Still, I wasn't going to ask him to look away.I'm not that hypocritical, or modest.I slipped from his bed, walked as calmly as possible to retrieve the cloth bag, then went into the small bathroom for a quick shower. After the shower I found that the surprise was Krispy Kreme donuts and coffee."‬I would usually make my own coffee, but frankly theirs is better.‭"Gus admitted."‬And I am trying to impress you.‭" "I drink way too much coffee, ‏so I am not much of a judge, ‭"I admitted.However, I do like McDonalds‭'coffee.‭"I took a sip and then proclaimed."‬This stuff is excellent.‭" "I thought you would like it. ‏One of my few vices, since I lost my driver's license, is the jelly donuts from KK.It is just across the street and half a block north.‭" "I missed the hell out of their donuts, ‏for weeks after I came home for a visit, then had to leave.I hear they are all over the place now, but once upon a time, they were hard as hell to find.‭" "Yeah, ‏I remember it that way, ‭"he agreed. I bit into the jelly donut then said,"‬God that is heaven and five pounds on my ass.‭" "Enjoy your donut Max, ‏you can handle the five pounds, no sweat.‭"Gus grew thoughtful for a few minutes then said,"‬I hope I didn't freak you out last night.You just remind me so much of my daughter Chris.‭" "Not at all Gus, ‏most of good sex, and it was that, is more about imagination.At least it seems to be that way for me these days.‭" "I'm glad that I didn't freak you out." I suddenly got that urge to rescue a stray animal again."‬So tell me Gus, how do you get around without a car‭?" "To be honest I miss the car a lot less than I expected. ‏This place is in the downtown, but it is a different downtown from the one I remember.‭" "Yeah me too," ‏I agreed. "‏I can't remember their being a grocery store downtown before.I mean yeah there were little markets here and there, but not a supermarket.Now there is one of those Food Lion things two blocks over.There are a couple of walk in clinics attached to the hospital three blocks up.Just about everything I need, I can walk to.As for the things I just want, like a real meal now and then, I have a fancy bicycle chained up outside.It don't look like much, I stripped it down to just the frame so the kids wouldn't want to steal it. "‏Fortunately I can still pedal it around town, if I really want to go somewhere badly enough.My daughter Chris comes by, if I need to go anywhere far away like the VA hospital.She is the caretaker of my finances as well.She got me this place.I expect that it was mostly, so that I wouldn't be a burden on her.I didn't see her much over the years, but I did support her as much as I could.She is old enough to realize how things are now and even how they were back then. "‏Yeah, I understand about my family now.I didn't always get it, but I think you kinda grow into it.‭" "Exactly," ‏Gus said. "‏Yeah, well Gunny, I have finished my donut, and I think you are finished with me.It's time for me to be heading home.‭" "I am never going to be finished with you. ‏Here take this, ‭"he demanded while handing me a piece of paper roughly the size of a business card.There was a cell phone number hand written on it. "‏Call me.If you don't Max, I do have your number.Of course your office is only three blocks away, I will come see you if you don't call.The threat of that embarrassment should be enough to force you to call.‭" "I would not be at all embarrassed, ‏but I will call, I promise.‭"I had made that promise several times lately and never done it, but the Gunny might be the exception, I thought. I drove home slowly, when I made the two turns that got me to my long driveway, I made sure no one was following.I found the cattle gate locked and undisturbed, so I pushed the buttons to get me inside. I spend the remainder of the daylight hours trying to find a way to occupy myself.I tried watching TV on line.It worked for an hour's worth of TV, which took two hours to watch on line.I kept pausing it to do other things.I had come to enjoy TV that way. I tried to nap, but that was a waste of my time.I couldn't shut my mind down.In my heart I knew that I had murdered that Russian thug.I didn't feel as much remorse as I should have and that worried me.I wondered if I had really gotten that cold and callous. It was a relief when the phone rang.Another hour alone with only my thoughts, and I would probably have either found God, or eaten my gun.Either would be pretty extreme for me, I admit. "‏Hello, ‭"I said into the phone.It was Sunday and the office was closed.Even sleazy process servers deserve a day off. "‏Have you seen the TV news today‭?"Luke asked me excitedly. "‏No why‭?" "We are on the national news," ‏he informed me. "‏So you are telling me that nothing happened in the outside world, so they came here to cover our little gunfight‭?" "Gwen and Mike must have gotten it picked up by the networks. ‏Those two can do anything, when it comes to TV.Mike said that they were master manipulators of the airwaves.‭" "So very modest of him, ‏so do we come off as rednecks, with civil war muskets, ‭"I was used to how the Yankees saw us down south.I tried not to let it bother me, and to actually use it against them when I could. "‏They somehow got hold of a lot of background on us all.You come off as a female Dirty Harry, and I'm not sure, but I might be Barney Fife, since I don't get to carry a gun.‭" "Of course, ‏comic relief, ‭"I suggested. "‏The funny thing is they don't name the Reverend Archer as the second good guy shooter.They just say fire also came from a small blue Hyundai.‭" "That is curious," ‏I agreed."‬Well all that is interesting Luke, but it has nothing to do with what I need.I need those damn cameras in place and working.So what's up with that‭?" "The cameras are here. ‏I just have to get them installed and working.It is going to be a'‬do it myself‭'job, since you don't want anyone in the compound.‭" "Then do it tomorrow, ‏before you come in to work.Take the whole day to work on it, if you need to.‭"I laughed.Then added seriously,"‬I need those to be working just as soon as possible.‭" "I know Boss. ‏I promise, I will have them working before the end of day tomorrow.‭" "Fair enough," ‏I said."‬So did your mother enjoy seeing you on the big time news‭?" "She loved it, ‏even though I wasn't the hero, she was telling all her friends to watch.She is just sure it will be on all day long.‭" "If it is, ‏then it really is a slow news day.‭" "With Gwen and Mike pushing it, ‏the story just might have legs, as we say in the business.‭" Thank god he laughed when he said it. "‏If you get to talking like Mopsy and Flopsy, start interviewing for a job in TV, cause you are going to be unemployed.‭" I did laugh to lighten it some.I just wanted him to know I didn't need him thinking about image, rather than what might be behind the next door. I found the news story on line.The video was located at the big time news channel's website.It was one of those bits which were short on facts and long on drama.It looked to me as though the news was more about the drama than the facts in almost every story lately. I puttered around the house until I just couldn't stand it any longer then I drove out to dinner.I somehow found myself in the parking lot of the Evergreen Towers.I couldn't believe that I was doing it, even as the elevator door closed behind me. When I knocked on his door, I hoped that no one would answer.My heart sank, when I heard the doorknob turn."‬Well hello Max, ‭"the Gunny said. "‏Hello Gunny, I'm headed for dinner, do you want to come along‭?" "Where are we going," ‏he asked as he stepped back inside the small apartment. "‏You pick it, and it's on me.I have to repay you for those donuts.‭" "Well, ‏I really like Italian food.‭"he replied. "‏How about the Pizza& Pasta Pit‭?They have great Italian food.I'm not really dressed for Mama Mia's, ‭"I said. "‏Pizza&Pasta Pit is fine with me.Should I take the blue pill‭?"he asked it with an evil smile. "‏If you need more help than I gave you last night take it.If last night is enough, don't bother we will improvise.‭" "Then I will surprise you," ‏he said going into the giant closet with the bathroom at the end.He came out with a jacket and a smile.I had no idea whether he had taken the pill or not. When we got to the parking lot, I demanded,"‬Show me your bike.‭" "Why," ‏he asked. "‏So I can try to avoid you, if I see you on the street.‭" His bike was a mountain thing with front wheel shocks, but a solid read end.It was a tall bike obviously a26‭"frame.That made sense because the Gunny was over six feet.The bike was dull and had paint splotches on it.I appraised him honestly, since I was measuring him for the bike.He was tall and ramrod straight even if he was close to seventy.He looked more attractive to me than almost any of the men I had met in the last year. I changed the subject,"‬Did you buy this thing at Goodwill‭?" "Salvation army," ‏he said. "‏Do you use those gears‭?" "A couple of them is all, ‏Why all the interest‭?" "I might buy a bike, ‏I'm just curious.‭" "Bullshit, ‏I know you rode a bike across the country back in the spring.‭" "That wasn't my bike. ‏I'm really just curious.‭" "Well that's it," ‏he said smiling."‬Now let's go eat.‭" Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 43 The Pizza and Pasta Pit was one of those new casual style restaurants. Not exactly fast food, but close. There was a long pizza and pasta buffet, complete with a large salad bar. I guess because I have been all over, I could appreciate the salad and plain cheese pizza. I didn't need fifty things on top of my pizza. The pizza was simply made with simple basic ingredients on a thin crispy crust, so that it really made great bread sticks for my salad. Gus filled his plate with about three kinds of pasta. I personally don't care for pasta with any sauce. I can handle spaghetti now and then. I can even do the microwave ones that are not quite awful, but I just don't like it enough to buy it in a restaurant. Of course, I didn't really care what, or how much Gus ate, so I watched him fill the plate with a smile on my face. "So Max, what's your plan for tomorrow." he asked just to make conversation. "I don't really have one. My business it is more reactive than proactive," I replied. "How about you Gunny?" "It's Monday, I hike ten miles on Mondays. After that my day is pretty much open. It is most days after my hike. I usually stop in at the senior center for cards and lots of coffee. Sometimes I go to a meeting." "Ah friends of Bill meetings," I said knowingly. "You a friend of Bill's too?" "No, I was once married to a friend of Bills. He could keep up with it for a year or so, then he would slip for a few months. Somewhere in his downhill slide, someone would give him the old 'get on the program or get out' speech. That usually sent him back to meetings." "Did he ever hit you? I ask that because a lot of us get violent when we drink." "Once, but Gunny a really drunk 200lb man is no match for a sober 130 lb woman with a baton." "Good for you," he said. "Now is that all you are going to eat?" "Yes, I really try to watch what I put into my body these days." "Watching the weight after all that crap last year?" he asked. "That and the body is still healing. They tell me it will take a year before I can really fill my stomach to max. Something about acid in my esophagus. Anyway I have to eat small meals for a few more months. For me this place isn't about all you can eat, it's about the salad with plain pizza as bread sticks. I just can't find that in most restaurants. That and I can wear just about anything here." "Okay prove it. Go into the ladies room and take off your panties. Bring them to me, to prove you did it." "What makes you think I am wearing panties?" I asked. "I am absolutely sure you do," he said grinning. I just stood up and walked to the ladies room. I sat on one of the toilets and urinated, wiped myself, and then removed my panties. I lifted the rough jeans back into place. I knew what it was about. It was all about power, and who had it. I had always found power games easier to just play along with, than to resist. They don't realize that they only have as much power as I let them have. In the end it was me who was really in charge. They just didn't know it. When I returned to the table, I held my small bikini panties waded up inside the palm of my hand. I dropped them on his plate before I sat down. I noticed that at least one couple saw me. I had no idea, if they knew what it was that I dropped on the old man's plate or not. I also didn't care. I mean hell, it wasn't like we were in Chucky Cheese for God's sake. "You are so bad," I said to Gus when I was seated. "I know, you bring out the best in me." He laughed one of those really quiet little laughs that only men can pull off. If a woman did that, she would just appear slutty. When a man did it, he was wickedly charming. "Now Chris, why don't you carefully unzip your jeans and touch it for daddy?" "Do you really want that Daddy?" I asked. "Yes, I really want that." "Wouldn't you rather go home and touch it yourself?" "Oh that is going to happen as well, but right now I want to see how much courage you have." "Just remember people are going to see you, as well as me," I said it as I dropped my right hand to my lap. I left my jeans buttoned, but I did lower the zipper. Then I returned my hand to the table top. "Did you do it?" Gus asked. "Put your hand under the table and see for yourself." My voice was low but I was not whispering by any means. People sitting at the tables near us could certainly hear, if they were paying attention. I hoped that they would not know what I meant, but then again I just didn't care. At that point I knew why Gus had insisted we not sit across from each other but at the adjacent sides of the table. Gus smiled as he made a big production of putting his hand under the table. I felt his hand fumbling to find its way to the zipper of my jeans. Then I felt his fingers move inside and make little curls of my short public hair. "Well, did I do good?" I asked. "Oh yes Chris, you did real good." "Thank you Daddy. Are you proud of your little girl?" "I am always proud of you, but yes I am especially proud of you tonight." "You are going to be even more proud of your little girl later." I was making it a point to play along with Gus. I did it for him a little, and for me a lot. I really liked being someone else, even if I didn't really know anything about the new me. Sometimes you just want to get away from yourself and Gus was offering me that chance. I wanted to explore it at least a little more before I bailed on it and him. Even though the waitress gave us only minimal service, I left her a five dollar tip. I really felt that the restaurant should pay their staff a decent wage, so that the customers didn't have to supplement the wait staff's earnings. Regardless, I always did leave tips. I couldn't see taking my irritation for the system out on one of the lowest individuals. There were a lot of things in life like that. It wasn't the chick, who took the payments, fault that the High Speed Internet was so damn expensive. It wasn't the bureaucrat's fault that I had to buy a license to earn a living. Nonetheless I did forget and call them all kinds of sons of bitches now and then, I honestly did try to play nice, it just didn't always work out that way. Okay I admit that I was trying to forget the look of surprise on the Russian's face, when he realized he was about to die. He was just a thug trying to make a living, and I was just a bitch trying to stay alive. It was his turn, it could just as easily have been mine. If I hadn't taken the chance with some other people's lives, it would have been me. Damn I have to stop thinking about this, or I will go mad, I thought. "Daddy, can we go home now?" I asked. I didn't do it in a child's voice, because I had not sunk that low yet. I thought yet, because God alone knew how low I could sink. I sure as hell didn't know. After we left the restaurant Gus got serious about casting me as Chris. "So baby did you miss daddy today?" "Yes of course I missed you Daddy," I replied. "Did you think about Daddy's cock today?" "Oh yes, I thought about it and I remembered how good it felt." "How good it felt where Chris?" he asked. "How good it felt in my mouth daddy. How much I loved having your cock in my mouth." "Do you want my cock in your mouth again Chris?" "Oh God yes, you know I do." "Then pull the van over and take what you want," he demanded. I parked the van right on the side of Main Street. The van had tinted windows, but they weren't all that dark. However, at night the windows appeared to be perfectly black. I moved to drape myself over the console so that I could get to him. He worked his cock out of his trousers for me. I took the head of his cock into my mouth and pretended that it was a giant straw. I sucked and tongued it as I would have a straw. I felt it get very hard in my mouth. I had never given head to a man on Viagra, but I was pretty sure that was the difference between that night and the one before. I closed my eyes to better concentrate on making love to his cock. He moaned and squirmed for a long time before I felt him stiffen. I loved that feeling even though it probably meant I wouldn't get his cock inside me again, I still wanted him to cum. It took a little longer before I felt the hot thick cum in my mouth. I felt it coat my tongue and even my teeth. It caused me to swallow several times even after my mouth was empty. I was trying to clear the residue. When I opened my eyes, I realized that Gus had turned the interior lights on in the car. It would have been quite a show had anyone noticed. Fortunately no one seemed to have paid any attention at all to me. "That was evil," I commented. "No that was life," Gus said. He was right of course. In life you do things and there is always the risk of being found out. If you couldn't handle the consequences of your actions, then you shouldn't be acting out. When we got back to his place, I was surprised to find that Gus got an erection again very quickly. It took only a few wet kisses before his hard cock was poking me in the stomach. I slipped to my knees to suck it again. Gus let me get down then turned me around and bent down behind me. He reached around to unbutton my jeans. He pulled them down forcefully, then quickly entered me. I was dry so there was some pain but there was also a feeling of being controlled by Gus. "Damn Chris you are tight," he said to me. "Yes Daddy I'm tight for your big dick," I replied. I could hardly get it out, such was the thrill his cock was creating inside me. My body was on fire with the feeling of it moving in and out of me. As I said before, I had never done it with a man on Viagra, so I had no idea what to expect. Gus paced himself and drove slowly into me. He sank his cock in my pussy all the way to his testicles. I could not believe how many times he drove his cock into me. I was so wound up, after what seemed like hours of his deep inner body massage, that I couldn't stand it any longer. I dropped my hand between my legs and rubbed my clit hard. I came almost instantly. I didn't even recognize the sound I made. Even with me throbbing and convulsing on his cock Gus continued to drive his cock slow and deep into me. I went from a screaming orgasm, to an almost empty feeling, then all the way back up the mountain gain. I was begging him to stop fucking me, when I came the second time. I went from please stop, to please don't stop with nothing in between, it was a truly amazing feeling. After the second gut wrenching orgasm, I lay down flat on the floor to get his devil cock out of me. I was going quite mad with the feeling of it moving relentlessly inside me. Gus quite easily lifted me, then turned me to force his cock into my mouth again. I told myself that I sucked it purely in self defense. Regardless I sucked it for what seemed like hours. He was never able to cum again. "Cum for me Daddy," I begged as I pulled off his cock for only a second. "I don't need to cum Chris. It feels wonderful to just be in your mouth or your pussy. I love your body. You love me to be in you don't you baby." I pulled back and said, "You know I love when you fuck me. Fuck me anywhere you like, and for as long as you like. I just love it." I wasn't lying, when I said it either. I could have stayed there with his cock in my mouth forever, except that my back began to hurt. I finally had to just sit back to get away from his demanding cock. "Had enough baby?" he asked. "Yes daddy, I can't stand anymore." "It's alright you have done better than any woman I ever fucked. You are my beautiful slut daughter." I shivered and had that mental orgasm people are always talking about. Impossible to explain, but my body just tightened all over. If he had been inside me, I would have cut off his circulation. I staggered to my feet, pulled up my jeans, kissed Gus goodbye, then drove very carefully home. I got home after 10PM. It was hard to believe, but I had been in Gus's apartment for almost three full hours. During that whole time I was being pumped with the same slow deep strokes until I was absolutely beyond reason. I had truly been fucked stupid. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 44 When I awoke at‭ ‬6AM, ‭ ‬it was cold in the cabin.‭ ‬Since there was no thermostat on the oil heater, ‭ ‬I turned it up two notches and went back to bed.‭ ‬It usually took less than twenty minutes to get some heat into the room.‭ ‬Even then it meant showering, ‭ ‬then stepping out onto a cold floor.‭ ‬The throw rugs helped, ‭ ‬but the floors were still cold. The coffee maker worked its magic while I took my morning shower.‭ ‬I needed it.‭ ‬I had been so screwed up the night before, ‭ ‬I simply fell into bed.‭ ‬The shower and the coffee worked wonders.‭ ‬Except for the fact that I had a burning sensation when I peed, ‭ ‬I was feeling much better.‭ ‬I made a mental note to have Ed's son Jeff, ‭ ‬the doctor, ‭ ‬run a STD test.‭ ‬If I had picked up anything, ‭ ‬I didn't want to leave it untreated, ‭ ‬or to pass it on to someone like the Gunny.‭ ‬I felt sure that he could handle it without getting all redneck on me, ‭ ‬but some people couldn't. I stopped for a biscuit on the way to the office.‭ ‬Even with the stop I pulled into the parking lot at exactly‭ ‬8AM.‭ ‬It was my usual time.‭ ‬I was pleased and a little curious, ‭ ‬when I saw Helen's van parked outside the office. ‎"‏Hello, ‭" ‬I said after I had pulled in beside her van. ‎"‏Hello yourself, ‭ ‬I brought you some company, ‭" ‬with that she opened the door to her van.‭ ‬Skeeter came bouncing out.‭ ‬Helen had her on a long lead, ‭ ‬so she could move around a little. ‎"‏Wow, ‭ ‬doesn't she look good, ‭" ‬I said after I was out of the van and hugging her. ‎"‏We saw your friend Jen on TV, ‭ ‬then the story on the news yesterday.‭ ‬Skeeter told me you needed a hug, ‭ ‬so here we are.‭" "Damn, ‎ ‏that is one smart dog.‭" ‬I pulled the big black dog into my arms.‭ ‬She just went limp.‭ ‬All the energy she had shown before just melted away.‭ ‬She became an armful of unconditional love.‭ ‬As I held her something in me changed.‭ ‬I began to cry.‭ ‬I was crying because of the Russian thug, ‭ ‬but not for him.‭ ‬I was crying for the bit of my soul that got lost in that bank's parking lot, ‭ ‬a part of my soul that would never grow back.‭ ‬There were lots of pieces of me missing in different places for various reasons.‭ ‬I cried for all of those as well.‭ ‬It was scary, ‭ ‬but also cathartic.‭ ‬While I cried, ‭ ‬Skeeter licked my face.‭ ‬It was her way of saying, ‭ ‬its okay mom.‭ ‬In a way I was still her mom, ‭ ‬even if I had loaned her to Helen. ‎"‏Get this dog trained to visit nursing homes, ‭" ‬I said to Helen.‭ "‬Send me the bill, ‭ ‬but do it.‭" ‬I said that as I blew my nose into a tissue. ‎"‏Funny you should say that, ‭ ‬I had the same idea.‭ ‬She has done so much for me‭; ‬I thought she might help others the same way.‭" ‬She paused a moment to wiper her own eyes, ‭ ‬then reached inside the van.‭ "‬Here, ‭ ‬I brought breakfast for you guys.‭ ‬I hate to go like this, ‭ ‬but Skeeter and I have to be on a construction site by nine.‭" "Bring her back anytime you can, ‎" ‏I said it as they climbed back into the van.‭ ‬I stood watching, ‭ ‬my arms filled with brown bags, ‭ ‬as the two of them drove from the parking lot. I called Lucas before I went inside.‭ "‬Swing by the office before you start on the cameras at my place.‭ ‬Helen came by and left a breakfast for you.‭" ‬It was the message I left on his phone, ‭ ‬since he didn't answer. Inside the office, ‭ ‬I ate Helen's breakfast and put the sausage biscuit in the refrigerator.‭ ‬I can always reheat it for lunch, ‭ ‬I thought.‭ ‬Without Lucas for the day, ‭ ‬I would either have to put everything off a day, ‭ ‬or work it myself.‭ ‬I decided that working it myself was the best option.‭ ‬There were two sets of papers already on hand, ‭ ‬but I would try to pick up a couple more, ‭ ‬before I left the office to make deliveries. While I waited for the calls to come in, ‭ ‬I checked out Marty's bicycle website.‭ ‬I went through his catalog looking for just the right motor setup.‭ ‬When I couldn't find it, ‭ ‬I knew that like it or not, ‭ ‬I would have to talk to Marty again. I called Jennifer on my cell phone.‭ ‬I used it because incoming calls went first to the desk phone, ‭ ‬then if not answered‭; ‬they got switched to the cell.‭ ‬By calling on the cell, ‭ ‬I could still take business calls. ‎"‏Jennifer, ‭ ‬where is Marty today‭?" "You could say good morning.‎ ‏After all I did keep your ass out of jail with that brilliant move Saturday.‭" "Which brilliant move was that‎? ‏Seems to me that getting myself admitted to the hospital, ‭ ‬while things shook out is what really kept me out of jail.‭ ‬Neither of us had anything to do with that.‭" "Oh no bitch, ‎ ‏it was the press statement.‭ ‬That is why you aren't doing it with a mop handle today.‭" "Oh I bet there is a bill for that service‎?" "Of course there is.‎ ‏Lawyers are not allowed to do anything without some kind of gain.‭" "Send me the bill, ‎ ‏but right now tell me where Marty is.‭ ‬I hate to admit it, ‭ ‬but I need a favor.‭" "Well he sure as hell owes you one.‎ ‏Those two producers from Boston managed to get you and his bike business mentioned in their interviews.‭" "I doubt that he is going to see it that way, ‎ ‏so where is he today‭?" "Let me have him call you.‎ ‏He is somewhere out of town, ‭ ‬but I'm not sure where.‭ ‬I can run his ass down though.‭" "Does Bob know how close you two are‎?" ‏I asked with a laugh. ‎"‏We are not all that close anymore, ‭ ‬and yes Bob knows.‭ ‬Bob likes to watch remember‭?" ‬She laughed then hung up on me. I had a feeling that it was going to be an odds and ends day.‭ ‬Something told me that all kinds of BS was going to fill my day.‭ ‬All I could do was roll with it‭; ‬men can't handle that kind of day.‭ ‬It makes men crazy not to be able to stay with a task until it is complete. Women on the other hand, ‭ ‬juggle a crying baby, ‭ ‬a hot stove while cooking dinner, ‭ ‬and a vacuum cleaner all at once.‭ ‬We just have the right kind of brain for it. Ed came in while I was on the phone with Jen, ‭ ‬so as he walked by I handed him one of the bags from Helen.‭ ‬He filled up his coffee cup, ‭ ‬then sat at his desk to devour Helen's bag-o-breakfast.‭ "‬Damn, ‭ ‬that woman can cook‭?" ‬he said to himself.‭ ‬I heard him but couldn't voice my agreement, ‭ ‬I was bantering with Jen. Ten minutes later Lucas was in the office.‭ ‬He looked like hell, ‭ ‬but he had a big smile on his face.‭ ‬Ed made the obvious comment that I avoided.‭ "‬So how is Mopsy in bed‭?" ‬he asked. ‎"‏Gwen is just fine in and out of bed, ‭" ‬Lucas said.‭ ‬He accepted the bag from me before he added, ‭ "‬She and Mike are still at the Motel.‭ ‬They have a call into someone about something.‭ ‬It's all very mysterious.‭" "Well forget Mopsy and get on the cameras, ‎ ‏but first eat your breakfast.‭" The whole morning was like that, ‭ ‬one crazy thing after another.‭ ‬I had three pickups, ‭ ‬then I would have to add them to the other deliveries.‭ ‬I swapped my cool leather jacket for the green nylon wind breaker with‭ '‬Lightning Express‭' ‬embossed on it for the day's work. The temperature wasn't so bad, ‭ ‬but there was a cold damp wind blowing.‭ ‬It had been in the forecast, ‭ ‬so before I left home I had pulled on a thermal top.‭ ‬I supposed that when winter really came, ‭ ‬I would need thermal bottoms as well.‭ ‬That might just put a damper on my love life.‭ ‬Long Johns are just not all that sexy. On the way out to pick up the orders, ‭ ‬I stopped at Jeff's office.‭ ‬I didn't need to see him, ‭ ‬so the nurse did the swab.‭ ‬I wasn't there more than ten minutes.‭ ‬One of the benefits of saving a doctor's ass, ‭ ‬I supposed.‭ ‬I looked at the hallway where I had stacked up bodies a few months before.‭ ‬I felt that another part of my soul had been left inside that sterile hallway. All in all the day went well.‭ ‬That delivery gag worked so well, ‭ ‬I jokingly thought about franchising it.‭ ‬Marty called first, ‭ "‬Max what the hell, ‭ ‬I never thought you would call me again.‭" "Neither did I.‎ ‏I have a friend who needs a bike motor, ‭ ‬but you don't have anything that will work for him.‭ ‬I know somebody can build what I want, ‭ ‬so which one of your builders should I call‭?" "Just tell me what you need and I'll figure out who can build it.‎" It took about five minutes to explain and then to answer all his questions.‭ "‬So, ‭ ‬who can do it‭?" "Shit Max, ‎ ‏it's a hell of an idea.‭ ‬Don't worry, ‭ ‬I have a guy who can design it, ‭ ‬and I can have it built for you in a week.‭" "What's it going to cost me‎?" "If this is economically feasible, ‎ ‏just sign it over to me, ‭ ‬and I'll build you a couple for nothing.‭" "Okay, ‎ ‏let me know as soon as you can.‭ ‬If you can't do it, ‭ ‬I'll find someone who can.‭" "If I can't do it.‎" ‏he laughed.‭ "‬Doing it isn't the issue.‭ ‬The issue is can I make any money on it.‭ ‬Don't you worry, ‭ ‬I can build it.‭" ‬I knew that questioning his ability would piss him off, ‭ ‬but also get me what I wanted.‭ "‬Now what about the TV show‭?" "I'm still thinking, ‎ ‏right now I have other things on my mind.‭" "Yeah, ‎ ‏I saw it on the news.‭ ‬You are going to be one hot property Max.‭ ‬Just be sure I get to put in a bid.‭" I had no idea what he meant, ‭ ‬but I said, ‭ "‬Of course.‭ ‬Now call me as soon as you know about the motor.‭" ‬And that's how we left it. I got all the papers served and was headed home when Jeff's office called.‭ "‬Max you don't have any STD, ‭ ‬but Jeff said you might want to slow down.‭ ‬It sounds to him like a urinary tract infection caused by too much use, ‭ ‬it you get my meaning.‭ ‬He said he could give you some antibiotics, ‭ ‬if it didn't clear up by Friday.‭ ‬If it gets worse come on into the office.‭" "Thanks, ‎ ‏but I think it will be fine.‭ ‬I just wanted to be sure I wasn't going to be a Typhoid Mary.‭" "Okay but keep in touch, ‎" ‏she laughed at me then hung up. The last call was from Lucas.‭ ‬It came just as I pulled into the office parking lot after making the last delivery of the day.‭ "‬Boss can you meet me at your place.‭ ‬I have everything ready and you need a demo.‭" "I'm in the van now and through for the day.‎ ‏Call Ed and tell him I won't be back today, ‭ ‬and I'll just drive to the cabin to meet you.‭" "Fair enough, ‎" ‏Lucas said then hung up. Thirty minutes later I had the demonstration and a new tiny little laptop computer that did little more than browse the Internet.‭ ‬It was small enough to be hidden in the van or carried in my purse.‭ ‬It was setup with my cell phone somehow I didn't understand. When I tapped an icon on the screen, ‭ ‬I got a live view of four cameras at once.‭ ‬One was of the gate, ‭ ‬one was of the front yard of my cabin in a very wide angle shot, ‭ ‬one shot was of the rear yard, ‭ ‬and finally one of the interior of the cabin. ‎"‏So let me get this straight, ‭ ‬this thing is on a‭ ‬30‭ ‬minute loop.‭ ‬I can go back thirty minutes and see anything on either of these cameras.‭" "More or less.‎ ‏They are all recorded together.‭ ‬When you back it up five or thirty minutes all of them back up.‭ ‬You can zoom into one camera and even zoom it in for a better view of any part of the picture.‭" I made sure that I understood how to work it, ‭ ‬before I let him move on.‭ ‬"This is a tamper proof system.‭ ‬It can be accessed by anyone who knows the address, ‭ ‬but it cannot be changed by anyone at anytime.‭ ‬In other words it's up there for a half hour no matter what.‭ ‬You can pick pieces out and move them to a permanent file, ‭ ‬but you have to do it within thirty minutes of when they were recorded.‭" "Okay I got it.‎" ‏ I really thought I did have it, ‎ ‏even if I didn't see them go in, ‭ ‬somewhere in that thirty minute view of four cameras I would get a clue that I had a problem at home.‭ ‬The downside was that people might trigger the sight accidentally and see me in the cabin.‭ ‬Since I never allowed anyone to know I where I lived, ‭ ‬the most they could see would be me masturbating.‭ ‬I figured that was an acceptable risk. The whole thing ran through my desktop computer at home.‭ ‬Somehow it worked, ‭ ‬that's all I really cared about.‭ ‬That and the whole thing was well concealed Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 45 By Friday the word at the Downtown Diner was that Marge had disappeared, and the Hazelwood was closed for good.Being closed did not mean that it was for sale.Marge had only leased it, or so the story went.Since she couldn't be found and the owner knew more than he was telling, he was looking for a new tenant after only a week.All that meant almost nothing to me, but it did mean something to the preacher. "‏Maxine, you know a lot of people around here, how do you think they would react to a drug treatment facility downtown‭?"Archer asked me that on Friday morning at the Downtown Diner.I had finally found time for a sit down lunch.Bumping into the preacher there was a plus.I usually went alone to the marina for lunch.That Friday the weather was cold and dreary, so there I sat in the Downtown Diner grazing on a salad, with raisins mixed in with the usual green shit. "‏Depends on whether the clients are movie stars, or crack whores, ‭"I replied. "‏I can't say for sure.There is some money in the new health care law to fund drug rehabilitation.My group has a success record good enough toapply‭;‬ maybe I could get the Hazelwood and open a drug rehabilitation facility there.If the community didn't fight it, we might do some good.‭" "I don't know anything about your program, ‏or the funding, but I know someone who might be able to help.If you need some juice, I have a friend who is helping Tommy Thompson with a run for the Senate.Your rehab facility might make him a good campaign issue.Jen may be able to arrange a meeting.Can you get a pitch ready, if Jen can make it happen‭?" "Sure, ‏I can get all the facts and figures ready, but I don't know how that little incident last week will play with the government‭?"The preacher said. "‏I don't either, but we can try.If that doesn't work, we can probably get you some press interviews.That should help you find some private funds.If you really want this, I will try to help.‭" "I really want it," ‏he assured me. "‏Talk to Mike, the young man who was in the Hyundai with you.He is a film maker.If he can make you a hero on the national news, the money might just roll in.It might even help with the government funding.‭" "Funny you should say that, ‏he has been leaving messages the last couple of days.He wants me to do some kind of interview with him and his girl friend.‭" "It's up to you, ‏but he managed to get our version of the shoot out wide enough coverage to keep us all out of jail.He can probably create enough empathy in the public for them to want to help you.If you play along, he will be using you for his own ends, but don't they all.‭" "Your friends, ‏so far, have been a blessing to my ministry.I have to trust you.‭" "Well Helen might just be the exception to every rule. ‏She is just one kind person, I think that she might be the only one who has no agenda.Mike and Gwen will have an agenda‭;you can count on that.They still might do some good, even while they pursue their own fame.‭" "I can see both of those being true. ‏How about you, are you going to help me‭?" "That depends on what kind of help you need, ‏I will introduce you to Jennifer and then let her set you up with Tommy Thompson, but I can't cook for shit.‭" "I think you can manipulate people better than any of them. ‏You would make a hell of a board member for my ministry.You know, point us in the right directions, I'm not as worldly as you are.‭" "I will help where I can, ‏Archer.I just don't want to be a regular on your board or anything like that.‭" "Fair enough, ‏I might call on you often though.‭" "And I'll do whatever I can, ‏I promise.‭" I picked up my cell phone, then punched the speed dial for Jen's phone.‭ "‬Hey Jen, how's it hanging, ‭"I broke into laughter, before she even answered. "‏In my case it is how are they hanging, and unfortunately they are.What do you want this, end of the week day.‭" "Do you remember Reverend Archer?" ‏I asked. "‏Sure I know your ex-con, spiritual adviser, and assistant gun thug.He is the one you are trying to get into bed, so you can corrupt.‭" "Jen, ‏he is sitting right here and I have you on speaker phone.‭" "Oh hell, ‏just kidding Preacher.Okay did they finally arrest you two‭?" "No, ‏the Hazelwood just closed.Marge disappeared and won't be coming back.The building's owner is going to be looking for a new tenant.‭"I said. "‏Maxine, I know your finances and even with the new infusion of cash, you can't afford it.Besides where's the mystery in that‭?"Where you are now, no one knows where you are.‭" "Shut up Jen, ‏Reverend Archer, wants to put a drug rehab in there.One to draw from all over the southeast.‭" "So what has that got to do with you or me?" ‏she asked. "‏I owe him my life and you owe me a favor or two.‭" "Oh no Max, ‏we are dead even.I got you money for that favor you did for me.‭" "Jennifer, ‏this a win/win thing.I want you to introduce Reverend Archer to Tommy, the would be, Senator.Archer's cause will make a hell of a campaign commercial for Tommy.The only price for Archer's story is Tommy's help in obtaining funds from the new Health Care Reform Money.Archer might as well get it as anyone else.‭" "Quite a speech for you girl. ‏Watch her Reverend, Maxine always collects on favors she does people.She turned a perfectly good caterer into a do gooder who always cooks more food than she needs, so that there is enough left over for the shelters around town.‭" "So what's wrong with that?" ‏I asked. "‏Nothing if you aren't the customer who is paying for more food, than they are going to need.Helen plans it so there is a bunch of food left over.‭" "People, ‏who don't want to pay for it, could go somewhere else.‭"I observed. "‏Not after the guilt trip she lays on them.She even has most of the other caterers doing the same thing, just to complete in the sales pitch war.I heard that on Sunday mornings the catering trucks are lined up outside the shelter downtown and the mission over on English Trail.Some of them probably have to circle the block to find a parking space.‭" "Again, ‏what's wrong with that‭?So the bride pays a hundred bucks extra and some homeless family gets roast beef for Sunday dinner.I just don't see the harm.‭" "Alright Max you win. ‏I'll call Tommy this afternoon and see what I can work out.‭" "Does Bob know you and Tommy are close again?" ‏I asked. "‏Max, how many times do I have to tell you‭?Bob likes to watch.‭"She clicked off abruptly, which is the modern equivalent of slamming down the phone. "‏She is kidding about her husband watching, isn't she‭?"the Reverend asked. "‏With Jen, who knows, ‭"I replied mysteriously.He didn't need to know that I had firsthand knowledge. "‏If this works out I will take you to dinner, ‭"he said. "‏Save your money, if it works out I will take you to dinner.Your money has better uses, ‭"I replied. "‏I'm not sure that there are any better uses.You seem to be the puppet master pulling strings to make people do the right thing.‭" "Don't kid yourself; ‏I just wanted to save a mongrel dog.The rest just happened.‭" "If you say so," ‏he said. "‏So what's your plan for the afternoon‭?You never did get that tour of the empire.‭" "Actually, ‏I don't have anything to do until6PM.‭" "Then let's pay the bill and I'll take you on the tour you missed." "Why not," ‏I said in agreement.I had seen Gunny twice that week, so I felt like I needed a different perspective. First we went to the consignment shop downtown.‭ "‬One of the women, who attends church at the mission, suggested this place.They were going out of business.The mission took it over as a charity operation and now it is solvent.Volunteers staff it and do the pickups.We have a retired handyman who does repairs.Most of the items now are our own, but there are still some consignment items.‭" "I have an outfit that came from here. ‏Jen picked it out for me last week, when I needed clothes to wear home from the hospital.‭" "It's hard to believe that last week we were in a life and death shoot out," ‏the preacher said shaking his head. "‏I know‭;‬ it was pretty touchy there for a while.‭" "How do you deal with all that Maxine?" "I just forgive myself, ‏and try to move on.‭" "Do you admit to yourself that when you left the car with that envelope, ‏you knew you were going to kill him‭?" "I didn't know that. ‏If I had, then it would have been murder, not self defense.‭" I had no intention of ever admitting to that in front of anyone, not even the preacher. "‏As you wish, ‭"he said gently. "‏You have seen the thrift shop, the bike shop, and the mission, so there is only one business place left to see.‭" I sat back and relaxed while the Reverend chauffeured me around in a ten year old Cadillac.I didn't ask him where he got the car, or why.I just enjoyed the ride. The sign outside the rusty metal building was hand painted.It read‭ '‬His Laboring Few Home Beautification Service.‭'‬ "Now what in the world do these guys do‭?"I asked "It's part of our Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Service. ‏These men, for the most part, are painters and roofers.This helps them stay out of trouble.They can't work, if they don't pass a urine test every day.So they would have a place to stay, till they get on their feet, we bought that small, very old motel down the street.‭" "I'd like to see that as well," ‏I replied. "‏Sure, we can go there next.‭"he suggested. And we did.The motel had12units.Each unit could sleep two individuals or a family of six if they were really desperate.I looked at the only empty unit.It was clean and smelled of pine disinfectant. "‏Do your guys paint the units‭?" "We inspect each unit every week and after the people move out. ‏We paint them as needed, but we always clean and disinfect them.The only rent on these units is labor.Some of the people here work on this building, some on the paint and roofing crews, some in the bike shop, some in the thrift shop, or at the mission but everybody works.This is a mission, not a pure charity.There is self esteem inwork‭;‬ there is a slave mentality in charity.I learned that as a kid.‭" "Quite a speech, ‏what happens if someone refuses to work‭?" "We advise them of the rules, ‏before they move in here.They even have to sign a contract.It's another self esteem booster, give us your word, then honor it.‭" I just knew that the politicians were going to love this guy.The republicans, who were not known for good works, were going fall all over themselves to get on his train. "‏Okay preacher it sounds really good, and you are going to be the politicians darling, but let me tell you this.If you are playing me, no matter what happens in the meantime, you will be sorry one day.‭" "I might play with you, ‏but I won't play you.You have my word.‭" "Anyway you have my word, ‏if you do.I will fuck you up bad.‭" Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 46 "‏So since I'm not playing you, how about I play with you tonight‭?" The preacher asked. "‏Frankly preacher, I don't know how I feel about getting involved with you. I mean God is already pissed at me, I'm sure.‭" I was smiling when I said it, but I was damn serious. "‏Maybe if you play nice, I'll put in a good word for you.‭" "I'm not convinced that you are the one I want interceding for me." I stopped smiling when I said that, "‏Why is that‭?" he asked. "‏I'm still not convinced that you have God's ear.‭" "Oh, is that because you don't believe in God, or you don't believe in me‭?" he asked. "‏Could be a little of each, ‭" I admitted. "‏Well, while I try to convince you, why don't you come to my house‭? I promise you that you can leave anytime.‭" "In that case you need to take me back to my van, so I will be able to leave.‭" "Will you follow me home?" he asked. "‏I will decide that, when I'm in my van.‭" The Reverend laughed out loud.‭ "‬You are worse than any politician I ever heard speak. You talk but give no real answers.‭" "That's probably because we have no answers," I admitted. "‏So if you decide to follow me home, let me assure you that you can leave at any time.‭" "Actually, I was more concerned with could I leave, than I was with you holding me against my will.‭" "Well I'm not going to tell you that I'm a great lover, I'm just going to say that I really would love to know you better, ‭" "Okay, I accept that because that is guy-speak for I want to take your clothes off.‭" He laughed again.‭ "‬Okay you know men, I will give you that. Mostly I want to take your clothes off because you will be a great lover, and you won't be a problem later. You and I already have a history, and you never tried to use it against me. You are one of the few women that I feel I can trust.‭" "Ah, but are you one of the few men that I can trust‭?" "I certainly hope so, but you will only know that if you give me the chance to prove myself.‭" "That's a fair point. You really do need me to answer before I get out of this car, don't you‭?" "Yes, I suppose I do.‭" "You do know that it is three in the afternoon?" I asked. "‏Of course, don't tell me it's like drinking, you won't do it till the sun is over the yardarm.‭" "Nothing like that, but I have a question for you. How did a boy from the hood, who spent a decade in prison, get so well spoken‭?" "College courses in the joint baby," he said with a smile.‭ "‬You know the state tries to rehabilitate its wayward children. I am part of the half a percent on which it worked.‭" "Ah too bad I didn't do time then. I could use the education.‭" "Oh I think you do just fine. You have something that I am struggling to learn.‭" "What is it?" I asked curious as to what he really thought of me. "‏The ability to understand, and then manipulate people.‭" "Oh Preacher, you do just fine, ‭" I said smiling. I made a call to the office from my van, before I started it. The preacher's caddy sat in the parking lot waiting to see what my intentions were. "‏Luke, ‭" I said when he answered the phone. How did the pickups go‭?" I didn't want Luke to make the deliveries alone. However picking up the papers, so that we would be ready to go Monday morning, was our usual Friday chore, "‏I have six for delivery Monday morning.‭" he said proudly. "‏Okay, then go home and give Mopsy a big sloppy kiss for me.‭" I laughed as I said it. I knew that he had heard the talk about me from the cops he knew. Most of them thought I was pure lesbian. Luke knew better, but he also knew or suspected that I wasn't totally opposed to spending the night with a woman either. "‏Sure Boss, ‭" he said. "‏Tell Ed, I said goodnight.‭" "Ed, Maxine said good night, ‭" I heard that over the phone.‭ "‬I'll see you Monday Boss.‭" What I didn't say was that I was pretty sure that he planned to see me before then. At least see the live feed from his handiwork. After Lucas hung up the phone, I started the van. I guess the Preacher saw the tailpipe smoking, because he pulled out of the parking lot slowly. I'm sure he was looking in the rear view mirror to see if I was following. I followed his Caddy to a nice clean middle class neighborhood. He weaved his way through the streets, then pulled into a small townhouse building's parking lot. I quickly counted twelve units, He parked in front of the one with the number 6 painted on the curb. The brick townhouse didn't look all that large or especially new. It looked as though it might be twenty years old. It might possibly have been from that era when all the small apartment complexes were renovated and sold as townhouses. Just from the outside of the units I would have guessed two bedrooms and two baths, but I couldn't be sure. Some of those townhouses had very elaborate basements. I parked my van in an unnumbered spot beside his Caddy. He waited on the sidewalk in front of my van, while I carefully locked it up. After I was finished he led the way to his front door. I stood on the concrete pad, while he worked the lock. It wasn't a porch by any means, but it would serve to keep mud out of the unit. "‏So are you a homeowner‭?" I asked. "‏Well, as they say, I own a little and the bank owns the rest.‭" The simplicity of the outside was deceiving. When he opened the door, the first things I noticed were the marble tiles in the foyer. It set the tone for the apartment. The carpet in the large living room dining room combo was very expensive, sculptured, and stone grey in color. Of course I had no idea the price, but it looked like top of the line to me. The walls were a neutral color but it was no simple contractor one coat spray job. Probably‭ '‬His Laboring Few‭' did the paint job. I would bet money that his was the only dining room in the building with tray panels used for wainscot material. The furniture was tasteful and the room showed coordination that a man would never manage.‭ "‬Decorator‭?" I asked, "‏Rooms to go, ‭" he replied. "‏It's a nice job, ‭" I replied. He simply nodded. The kitchen style had to be pure expensive functionality. Everything had a purpose, but it was also all top of the line. From the cabinets, to the counter tops, right up to the appliances, the room screamed wealth. He noticed my appraisal of the place.‭ "‬Before you get all disappointed, this is all labor from our ministry and the materials were all surplus from Home Depot. One of the Mission's congregation works there. I get called when anything the‭ '‬Few‭' can get us goes on sale. I don't like to brag but I probably have the nicest place here, and have less invested than anyone in this complex, ‭" "Well it is a beautiful place regardless," I said. "‏Thanks, but I honestly do not steal from the ministry, ‭" he said in his own defense.‭ "‬I have a salary approved by the board. The rest is just work done by the‭ '‬Few‭' between paying jobs.‭" "So you aren't Jim Baker," I suggested. "‏Not by any means.‭" "I accept that," I said it, and he could tell I meant it. "‏Would you like the rest of the tour‭?" "Sure," I replied. I knew what that was guy-speak for, but I didn't mind. The bathrooms were gorgeous. The upstairs had two large bedrooms. Each had its own bathroom. One bedroom was the Reverend's office. It was the room with all the goodies. From big flat screen TV to a computer with all the bells and whistles, that room was a techie's wet dream. It was obvious to me that the Reverend had not taken a vow of poverty, but he was not flaunting his position either. Everything was more or less invisible to the naked eye. That worried me. It would have almost been easier on my nerves, if he was flaunting his toys. The way he was doing it made it seem as if he was ashamed of the things he had. Like he knew he had done something wrong to get where he was. Since we had shared two near death experiences, I wanted to cut him a lot of slack, so I tried to write it off to his being overly concerned with appearances. I did not want to think that he was ashamed of living well, because it was ill gotten gain. I didn't know exactly how I felt about all that, but it wasn't enough to cause me to run away either. I did know how I felt about his hands on my boobs. I was looking into one of the bathrooms when he reached around from behind me to capture my breasts. He also kissed my neck and licked it at the same time. I was extremely turned on very quickly. The images from my masturbation session while thinking of him came rushing back. My own mind was helping him turn me on. I could feel his erection pressing against my soft butt. The image of him driving his hard cock into a man was terrifying, but also erotic as hell. I felt his hands raise my sweater. His hands were rough on my skin as he stroked my breast and belly. I could feel the heat build inside my body. I also knew that my pushing back against him was having an effect as well. His breathing was shallow and ragged. Even that turned up the heat in me. I felt his hand push my bra up so that his fingers could touch my nipples, He massaged and pinched them, each pinch gave me an almost electric shock. I was breathing in quick gasps, when he asked, ‭ "‬You get hot easily don't you Maxine‭?" A simple‭ '‬Yes, ‭" was all I could manage. He was still behind me, when he opened my jeans. The reverend wasn't all that pious, when he pushed my jeans and my panties down, when they reached the floor, I stepped out of them. I stood in that doorway with my sweater pressed against my chin and my breasts exposed beneath it, He moved me inside the bathroom then leaned me over the vanity. The difference in our heights was a problem for him. He tried several times to find the correct angle to work his way inside me.‭ "‬You are so tight, I can't get into you.‭" "Sit down," I demanded. He moved to the side and set on the toilet cover. When he was seated I lowered myself between his thighs. I took his cock into my mouth and began to suck on it. I loved the way it felt in my mouth. I knew it was too big to swallow, but he was trying to force it on me. I stood to look around the bathroom, then turned away from him, I touched the head of his cock to the lips of my pussy and began to lower myself. I felt the head push against my set of lower lips and I silently begged for his cock. "‏Not there, ‭" he said quietly. I knew what he wanted, but I was afraid as well. I knew how it looked, but I stood and reached onto the top of the linen cabinet for the body lotion I had seen earlier. First I covered his cock liberally with the lotion, then turned again and moved the head of his cock to press against my dry, tight rear opening. I rocked back and down slowly until his cock painfully penetrated by sphincter. He wasn't hurting me, I was hurting me, it was an amazing sensation to be the one causing the pain, I couldn't blame anyone else for the pain, it was all me and it was liberating... I controlled how deep and how fast he moved inside me. I enjoyed the feeling of it, but it was a strange feeling as well. His cock was bigger than the intern and even he had hurt me, so I expected the pain in my butt, I didn't expect the feeling deep inside my intestines. No, it wasn't a pure sexual feeling like his cock would have created inside my pussy,. The feelings his cock created inside my intestinal track were more emotional, with just a secondary physical feeling of sexuality. The knowing that I was willingly breaking a sexual taboo made me a dirty girl, and I reveled in it. It probably brought back feelings of childhood‭; pressure in my bowels that were both pleasurable and painful at the same time. I rode his cock gently at first but as my muscles stretched, it became less uncomfortable to have his cock where it was, with the easing of the pain, I was able to move faster and deeper on his cock as I rocked my hips for him, I knew how much pleasure I was giving him from the sounds he made and his lack of coordination as he tried to help me. I didn't want him to know how much pleasure it was giving me, but he knew, I felt him stiffen and knew he was shooting a load of hot cum into my bowels, I had resisting the urge to defecate from the first moment his cock entered me, When he pushed me off his cock, I clinched my muscles to hold it in until he moved off the toilet, When he stood, then staggered from the room, I sat quickly on the toilet and emptied my bowels. When I had finished I massaged my clit until I came in crippling spasms, Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 47: Jen and Max "So where do we start?" Mike asked. "I guess we start with the person who knows her best," Gwen replied, "That would be Jennifer the lawyer?" Mike asked. "Jennifer is her oldest and dearest friend or so she says, so I guess we start with her." "Can we finish this soon? So we can get out of this crappy motel?" Mike asked. "You are just filled with questions aren't you?" "Now you are doing it, asking questions that is," Mike replied. "Okay, I'll set up the appointment, but who does the interview?" Gwen asked. "I don't know, is Jennifer the buddy type, or the flirtatious type?" "Hell, how would I know?" Gwen asked. "Okay, I'll run the camera and you talk to her," Mike proposed. "Unless things change, I can go along with that." Two hours later their rental car pulled into my driveway. I met them at the door, "Hello you two. How has your stay in our little town gone?" "Not as well as we would have liked. The cooperation we have gotten from your friend hasn't been all we hoped for," Mike replied. "Well, the best I can tell, she did everything she agreed to do. Right up until she went into the hospital. As a matter of fact, I am releasing the check to her favorite charity tomorrow morning." I didn't tell them that Senatorial candidate Tommy Thompson would be at the ceremony as well. No sense having a throng show up, then again maybe it would be good to have the two film producers on the scene. They could help with the publicity; they had sure gotten the shootout a lot of coverage. "We really aren't here to discuss last week's news. We came to get some background information on Maxine. Marty said you had agreed to help with that," Gwen said. "I told Marty that I would help you guys within reason. So ask your questions and I will answer what I can. Maxine is my sometimes client, so I won't be sharing anything damaging, is that understood?" I asked. "Yes Jennifer, it is understood and we are not here to do a hard hitting news show. Trust me this will not be a confrontational interview," "Good, in that case would you like a drink?" I asked. "No thanks, but you go ahead," Mike replied. "Okay, I think I will." It certainly wasn't my first drink of the day. While I made the weak drink, Gwen asked, "How long have you and Maxine been friends?" "One thing you have to learn Gwen, is when people discuss Maxine, you have to be very specific asking the questions. For instance, I have known who Maxine was since we were 10 years old. This is a small town; we haven't been friends that long though." "Oh in this small town you must have gone to school together?" Gwen asked. "Sure we went to school together, but weren't in the same room until 4th grade. Even then she was just another kid from the End." "The End?" Gwen asked. "The town had two parts back then West End and everything else. At least that's how it seemed to me. The people in West End were most likely to be poorly educated factory workers. A few people lived in that part of town for other reasons. Maxine's dad didn't work in the factories, but he couldn't keep a job of any kind. So the best they could do was live in West End." "Was her dad a drunk?" Gwen asked. Then she realized that she had fucked up. Jennifer flinched and visually bit her tongue before she answered. "Maxine's Dad had PTSD, but nobody knew what that was back then. We all just thought he was shiftless and lazy. Now I think, he just realized that he had killed men in Vietnam who had done nothing to him. Back home he couldn't kill the ones who really pissed him off. That would make me a little crazy, how about you?" I gave her a hard look and dared her to contradict me. "I guess that would do it," Gwen replied. "We didn't become friends for six more years. There was really a big class system around here back in the seventies and eighties. Actually there is still that, but now its people from Tryon vs. people from Aster. People still believe the same bullshit even now, they just have different names for it," "So how did you become friends?" Gwen asked. I had forgotten that there was a camera in the room. "The same guy fucked us both," I said. I waited to judge Gwen's reaction. "He was almost the school's hero jock. I like to think he was the number 2 jock, when I think back on it now. The prick was the number one womanizer, but it was all undercover. That is until he screwed Maxine, then never called her back." I couldn't help but laugh when I remembered Tommy back then. He was good looking and from the right side of the tracks. He was an acceptable date for a 16 year old girl from a good family. He was also a huge catch for a girl from West End. So yeah we both let him screw us. "Why did that have an effect on you?" Gwen asked. "Because he fucked me first," I said it laughing. I had downed more than one drink before the two of them arrived. The truth came easy, when I had enough to drink. "He screwed me twice then never called again." I stopped talking while I remember the pain. "What did you do?" Gwen asked again. "I cried myself to sleep, and then felt worthless for a few months." I shook my head at the memory. "Then the big time running back screwed Maxine once, and never called her back. It was a huge mistake." "How so?" Gwen asked to keep me talking. "Because Maxine is her dad's daughter. She walked up to the jock, in the cafeteria, and in front of everyone. He was sitting with a table full of other jocks and those cutesy girls. You know the kind who seem to always hang around jocks. Then Maxine said, 'If you girls are thinking about having sex with him, don't bother. He has a dick the size of a #2 pencil nub. And he kisses like a fucking brick." "Wow that must have went over good?" "Oh he jumped up and looked like he is going to hit Maxine. She looks at him cold and doesn't even flinch. 'You best remember who my daddy is, asshole.' She stood her ground till he calmed down, then she turned and walked away." "God, it sounds like that girl was a pistol." Gwen commented. "Yeah she was a bitchy slut, but she was also the one who taught me how to stand up for myself." "So what's the secret?" Gwen asked. "Oh simple, 'You either have to be bigger, stronger, meaner, or smarter than the others. Any of those will work, ' Maxine says. So I got smarter and became a lawyer. These days nobody fucks with me." "So you two ran around in high school?" "Yep from that very day on, we were inseparable. I taught her how to behave, so that when she wanted, she could pass." "Pass?" "Yeah back in those days we had black kids who could pass for white. So whenever people pretended to be something they weren't, we call it passing. I taught Maxine enough so that she could go to a restaurant and not use the wrong fork." "Oh and what did she teach you?" Gwen asked. I laughed before I said, "I'm not about to tell you that. But let's say I have been real popular with the boys since I was sweet sixteen. I also don't cry myself to sleep at night any more, ever." "So how many times have you been married?" "Once more than Maxine. She would have been married more, if she hadn't been moving around so much. Men love Maxine." "She isn't beautiful," Gwen said. "Love, that depends on your definition of beauty." I replied. "But I have been married three times. The first one decided to hit me one night. I had his ass in jail before he the sun came up the next morning. He was damn lucky I didn't have Maxine's gun collection." "The second one dragged me kicking and screaming into the swinging lifestyle, then couldn't handle the results." "Oh, what were the results?" "Guys, he thought were his friends, were trying to date me behind his back." "No offense Jennifer, but you just don't seem like that type of woman?" "That's because you are a narrow minded troll, no offense honey," I said. "Damn Maxine comes back to town and I regress to a smart mouth bitch. I'm sorry Gwen, but it is the truth. I just wouldn't have said it a couple of years ago." "So what about your current husband?" she asked as if nothing had happened. I guess you have to have a thick skin to be a TV person. "I met him at a swinger's party, so he knows. He actually was with me, when I did it with a woman for the first time." I said smiling. "And was that Maxine?" "That is something you should ask Maxine hon. I will admit that I had sex with a woman once or twice. I can't speak for anyone else." "Luke tells me that Maxine lived with you, when she first got home from the Air Force?" "That's right she lived with us until she got involved with a gang. She moved out so they wouldn't come and blow up our house. Trust me, she could have stayed, I'm ready for a bigger house anyway. Max and I are very different when it comes to those things. I like nice things, and Max would be just as happy wearing a burlap bag. The problem is she could still get more men in a burlap sack, than me and you put together. Oh they wouldn't be doctors or lawyers. Not even TV Execs, but they would be a lot of damn fun, you can bet on that." "So, would you call yourself the one consistent person in her life?" Gwen asked. "I would call myself her best friend and she will call herself mine. When she is in trouble and needs a lawyer, she calls me and I go. If I get in trouble and need what she does, I call her and she comes." "What do you think about the Russians coming for her?" "In her own words, they need to bring plenty of body bags." I must have had too much to drink because that struck me as hilarious. I laughed until my stomach hurt. "So have you and Maxine shared any other men besides the high school boy." Gwen asked. "I'm not going to answer that," I replied. "But ask around. You might find someone who will tell you," I smiled and she should have gotten my meaning, Bob, my husband, would be happy to fill her in. He didn't have any privilege issues, and he loved to talk about Maxine. He had been terribly jealous, until we shared her. After that he couldn't say enough good things about Maxine. I would have been jealous, except that Maxine didn't care for men who were twice as good as Bob at everything, so I knew he didn't stand a chance with her... She swore that she only did it with him, so she could get me in bed. I'm not being conceited when I say Maxine had been trying to get me in bed, since she found out she was bisexual. That happened after she left town, or it would have happened in high school. She flirted with me for years until I finally gave in. Bob and I discussed it first, and he agreed, but only if he could be a part of it. "So is there anything you want to tell me?" Gwen asked. "Yeah, if you do anything to hurt either of us, you two will regret being born." Mike put the camera down and said, "Trust me lady, I will run every bite of this file by her. I do not want that lady pissed at me." "Then you are smarter than you look, your little friend better remember that to," I suggested. I did remember that Mike had been in Lucas's Hyundai, when the Russians tried to kidnap Max's friends. That being the case I believed him. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 48: Jennifer The two wanna be TV producers left my house around 6PM. I dialed Max's cell phone direct. Just so she would know that it was me, not some mooch. She didn't answer of course. She was most likely with one of her new friends. I was a little jealous and a little worried about her. I left a message for her not to forget the meeting, and that Tommy Thompson would be there as well as Marty and Archer... Thinking about Max messing around with that do gooder attitude bothered me. She was in deep violation of her own rule one. Okay we made up the rules as we went along, but rule one was the first one we ever came up with. To be in violation of it was to be asking for real trouble. Rule one in the Jen-Max code of behavior was simple. Sex, just because it feels good, is stupid. Avoid that at all cost; get something for it, every time. Sure, we both had violated the code and it always ended badly. Sometimes it seemed that we had known more at sixteen, than we did today. Sex to reward someone was okay, or to get a better job, but to do it just because one was turned on, was a waste. It's like Max's dad told her. "Honey, if you are going to have sex with a boy at the 7-11, at least do it with the clerk. He has a job." Sure her dad was joking, but I always took that story to heart. We both did. Just pure sex with one guy isn't a lot different than sex with any other guy. So get the most you can for it. That is not the same as who you marry, because then it isn't just about the sex. But when it is about the sex, make it a business transaction even if the guy doesn't know that it is. Since we are all whores in reality, make the John someone who can pay the freight. More wisdom from Max If she was going to screw an old retired guy, why the hell not go back and screw Marty again. Why in the world do it with a retired Marine. One close to seventy, and living in public housing would have been my last choice. Sure I had screwed Marty, who was well over sixty, but he was rich and he helped me set up my legal firm. He sent me a lot of clients, then when he turned the farms over to his kids, he became a client as well. Hell without having screwed Marty, I would still be struggling like hell to make the business just break even. After all I was set up in a jerkwater town. I could leave but instead of being a big fish in a small pond, I would be a minnow in the ocean. It was not a prospect in which I could see no advantage at all. I went into the large master bath to shower and prepare myself. Our shower is not part of the tub, it stands alone in the corner of the bathroom. I had insisted on clear doors for it. I wanted, as much, as the steam allowed, to see and be seen. I worked my ass off to keep the body I had, I wanted to be sure people could admire it. Yes people, other than Bob, had been in the bathroom while I showered. Some even in the shower with me. I never cared much for shower sex though. It is hard to breath with your mouth full of cock, and water raining down on you. However, men did seem to like it. I scrubbed my body very carefully. It was just a dinner party with the usual suspects, but one never knew when someone might bring a friend. I always wanted to take Max, but she insisted on at least knowing the guy from somewhere other than one of my parties, before she would screw him ... Silly slut, it was a clear violation of rule one as well, since all the people at the party, could have helped her with the business. Everything from loans, to financial planning advice would be available at any of the parties. The price of admission was sex with anyone, whose name the woman chose at random from a bag. Okay it was almost random sex, but it was with pre-screened men. There had been rumblings that the men wanted the bag to contain all the names, so that the woman might choose another woman. I had resisted that idea up to this point. Since having had sex with Max, I wasn't sure that I would continue to resist. If the suggestion came up over dinner again that night, I might have voted yes. It didn't so I didn't have to change my vote... I took a good look at my body in the mirror after the hot shower. I was 5 feet 9 inches which was a bit taller than Max. I had dyed red hair, but damn it that dye job was perfect. It should be Henry charged an arm and leg for it. Not to mention the styling, which made me look as though I just woke up all the time. Everyone said I was sexy as hell with that hairdo. I knew that it was more than the hair, but I didn't tell. I had 36d boobs, not fake, just improved a little. I had very small permanent lifts inserted under each one. It was something new. I had to fly to New York to have done. Since I have never had children, I was the perfect candidate. At the time I did it, I was between husbands, I never had to explain it to anyone. All the lifts did was make me look as though I was wearing a bra when I wasn't. The boob bag sag was minimal with those things. The doctors assured me it would stay that way for many, many years. My tummy was very small. Even less than a decent belly dancer would have. My butt had been vacuumed so many times, it felt as though I wore a cheap carpet back there. However they tell me the view was really quite good from the rear. All in all I had been rated gorgeous, by men who knew what gorgeous was. Of course going by rule two, I paid no attention to them. Rule two stated, 'Pay no attention to compliments from men on the make. They will say anything to get laid.' sub paragraph to that is 'Pay no attention to any man in a bar after midnight'. I walked naked from the bathroom directly into my dressing room. I moved to my dressing table where I sat naked while looking at myself in the mirror. The damages from my teenage years were down to a minimum, thanks to facial sanding, good make up took care of the rest. Botox and collagen for the deep wrinkles of age helped with the illusion as well. In other words I was a far superior looking slut due to medical science. See I was in violation of rule five. 'Don't waste time or money on your looks, because any skank can get laid.' I had later added the addendum. 'The exception being if you want the right men to screw you.' Then it was permissible to do anything in the furtherance of rule one. Before I did my face, I removed from the middle drawer the aerosol can and what looked like a hypodermic needle, with no needle. I filled the small end of the applicator with a scented lubricant. Since I am over forty, I needed a little extra preparation. I inserted the applicator inside my vagina just as far up as it would go, then I pushed in the plunger. The heavy scented cream would seep down very slowly lubricating my vaginal lining. The lining would stay lubricated for several hours. More than enough to have sex a dozen times, if I wished. I didn't plan to go anywhere near that many times. The men for the most part were my age and older. Even with Viagra, for the older ones, it was unlikely that there would be any long penetration episodes. Mostly it would be oral for the longer times. I left the kit on top of my dresser. I decided to pack it in my purse, just in case one of the anal freaks got lucky with me. Anal without good lubrication was just painful. Even with it, there was no fun in it for me. 'Sometimes you just have to pay the freight, ' Max always said. Dressing after my makeup was done would be accomplished quickly. It was just lacy see through panties, and a push up bra under the black wool dinner dress. One had to keep the illusion that it was in fact a dinner party. Of course we all knew that it wasn't that at all. I debated adding the .380 automatic pistol Max had given me to the evening bag. I could carry the pistol or the lubricant. The lubricant seemed the better choice, since I was a lousy shot anyway. Fortunately the dinner party was at my house, even so I would have had to return upstairs for the lube. The evening bag was just easier even in my own home. Helen had been cooking even during the interview with the TV people. She would set up the buffet, then leave. No telling what the men might say or do. I would not like Helen to be a witness to anything. We had managed to keep the little dinner parties more or less secret, and I wanted to keep it that way. Most of the others had even more to lose than I did. Dinner was delicious, as it always was when Helen cooked. I could manage to fry a egg with sausage or bacon, but most mornings I didn't even bother doing that. Between take out served on a real plate, and dinners in restaurants, I found very little use for the cooking skill set. My time was better spent making money or having fun. After dinner, the eight of us adjourned to the family room. As the host, Bob got to hold the bag for the drawing. I had to draw last, it was tradition. I knew very quickly that I drew Edward Evans. Ed was the local fire chief. He had been invited to join because he was not only fire chief, but also the son of the largest land owner in town. Being in those positions, he had a lot of clout with the town council. Ed was a little over weight, not a lot, just enough so that his penis wouldn't go as deep as some of the other men. It made absolutely no difference to me. I could get him off quickly, if I so chose. I chose not to do that, only because we would be in the family room with the three other couples. With the others watching, it was always good to put on a show. Even if I didn't draw the most helpful person that time, there would always be another time. It pays to advertise. I tried not to screw anyone in the group outside the group. One of the exceptions had been Sammy the broker. He had gotten my money out of the stock market before the crash, I had rewarded him on his desk top. I sincerely doubt that I was the only one. Sammy loved the ladies and we loved him right back. Ed sat and watched while I undressed. I was doing it for him, but I was thrilled to note that most of the others, men and women, were watching. By the time the lace panties were gone, Ed was also naked. He kissed me which I pretended to enjoy. Then I slipped to my knees and did what Max had really taught me to do at 17. I took his cock into my mouth and nursed gently on it. I allowed him to drive into my mouth just as deep and forcefully as he wished. Still, I continued to nurse on the head of his cock every chance I got. Finally he withdrew and tuned me around. He entered me from the rear and drove his cock into my hot slippery pussy. He did it over and over. I knew he couldn't last long. I also knew we were being watched, so I massaged my clit. He came and fell away from me, and I continued massaging my clit until I produced a gut wrenching orgasm. I looked up and noted with pleasure that many of the others had watched with slack mouths and other signs that they enjoyed the show. I had again been the hit of the evening. I liked it. Those sessions with Max and the banana had been worth all the time it took. She had me sucking on a banana until it melted in my mouth, then start over with a fresh one. I was not allowed to bite it just suck it until there was nothing left. Those same actions drove men absolutely crazy. Ed and I half sat and half laid on the sofa watching the others do their thing. He almost absent mindedly stroked my breasts. It was always fun to watch what poor skills the other women had. None of them had my artistry, I thought. I hoped that the rest of them finished soon. I had that meeting in my office in the morning. If the meeting wasn't with Max, Marty, Reverend Archer, and Tommy Thompson, I never would have scheduled it for a Saturday, no matter how busy the people were. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 49 I felt really tired Saturday morning. It was a little bit of sleep deprivation and a little physical exertion. No not Ed, I had been to the Gym to work off some of the week's indulgences before the dinner party. It looked as though all of it together had caught up with me. Ed and his wife were the first to leave. I would have followed shortly thereafter, if it hadn't been my house. Even though I left the mess for the maid, I still had to stay awake until the last of the guests left. One couple really seemed to enjoy themselves, so much so that they fell asleep on my sofa. I let them sleep until their spouses were ready to leave. I even let the spouses wake them. Oh yes, I did have a maid who came in only on Saturdays. What was the use working my butt off, if I couldn't enjoy the money I made. It wasn't like I wanted to leave anything to anyone. I planned to spend every dime before I left the earth. The shower at 9AM helped me make some progress toward normalcy but the three cups of coffee did more. I debated whether to wear jeans, but decided a dress would be a better plan. Odds were at least one of the participants would have a photographer present. Politicians and Marty had that in common, they all like publicity. I kind of expected that the Reverend could do without it, but he had better get used to it. If he wanted to play in Tommy Thompson's game, there was going to be a price to pay. That price was to allow Tommy to squeeze the Reverend for all the photo ops possible. The meeting was at noon, only because Tommy had to get from the state capitol to Aster. Marty didn't know Tommy would be at the meeting, and I felt no need to tell him. Marty in general did not like politicians‭; I couldn't say that I blamed him, since they killed the cigarette industry. It was cigarettes that had made Marty rich. The kids got the farm, but the price for tobacco took a big hit, so it was worth a lot less than they had expected. Even with the giant export business, the prices continued to fall. Since Max bought the minivan, I reinvested the money in a BMW. I would have gotten a Mercedes, except that I didn't want to look too prosperous. A hungry lawyer is a good lawyer, was still believed by far too many people. When I got to the parking lot of my office, I found Max waiting for me. It was too chilly for her to be sitting on the outside bench, so she was in the van looking out at me. "‏Hey girl, what you doing here so early, ‭" I asked. "‏I have a meeting at 1pm with some guy who thinks he needs a female body guard for some reason. I have no idea why he called me. I never tell anyone that I am a body guard, ‭" Maxine said. "‏Hell Max, seems like you or I are in the paper every week. People call me now wanting to know how to get in touch with you. Ginger says we are going to have to charge you for her time, ‭" I suggested. "‏My ass, just hang up on them, most of them just want to tell me that they think a woman should be home cooking for her man, not out playing with guns. Even when I agree with them, they still aren't satisfied. What's a girl to do‭?" Max asked. "‏Hell Max, get their address and we can do a drive by shooting.‭" I said. "‏Sounds like a plan Jen. See that's why I let you hang around with me. You come up with a good idea now and then, ‭" Max suggested. "‏You let me hang around with you. Damn you are delusional.‭" I replied laughing. When Maxine got out of the van, she had two brown bags in her hand.‭ "‬What do you have there‭?" I asked. "‏I passed a construction site. Helen had her van there doing breakfast. She has a big deal wedding at six tonight but she still had time to do a breakfast run. That woman is going to work herself to death.‭" Max suggested. "‏It's all your fault.‭" I replied. "‏How the fuck is it my fault‭?" Max asked. "‏You brought that mangy dog into her life. The dog brought that dog trainer into her life, and now she wants to get rich. She fixed dinner for eight at my house last night, and did a brown bag breakfast run. She is going have a breakdown.‭" I said. "‏Nah, Skeeter will keep her sane. That dog is like a bottle of Valium with fur.‭" Max said. "‏Come on, you both are crazy where that dog is concerned.‭" I said. "‏Think what you will, ‭" Max said following me into the office.‭ "‬Want me to make coffee‭; I doubt that you know how.‭" "Hey this was a one woman office for years. ‏I know how to make coffee‭; I just don't do it anymore. Now if you want coffee, feel free to make it. I'm going to have a diet coke and enjoy my breakfast.‭" Max did make coffee and it was a good thing. It was a hit with the others who arrived. It was also a good thing that I had a fresh supply of Styrofoam cups. Everyone showed up, which surprised me. It took only seconds to deliver my little speech. I got Maxine to sign the receipt, then sign the check over to the Reverend. I knew there would be photographers, but I had no idea how many there would be. Tommy had his man of course, then Marty had the TV producer types, and the Reverend even had Aster's weekly news paper covering the event. Max posed with each of them and kept her sense of humor. I was surprised she didn't bitch slap at least one of the photographers. "‏Max, are you coming to the mission tomorrow‭?" the Reverend asked. Well that told me Maxine hadn't seen too much of him lately. "‏I really don't know Reverend Archer, I'm not really good at that kind of thing. I have an appointment in a while that might have me out of town for a few days. If you see me, I'm there. If not, I'm somewhere else, ‭" she said smiling her disgustingly sweet smile. The smile that everyone hated, by the way. The people who knew her, knew that it was a lie. It wasn't a fake smile, the smile was real‭; the myth that Max could be sweet was a monumental lie. Max had the heart of a pure bitch, even if she was trying to save the world suddenly. It didn't matter that she could fool the others, I knew the truth. My Maxine was not capable of being reigned in, she was forever wild. "‏Max how about a picture, ‭" Marty asked. "‏Sure Marty you paid for it, ‭" She said still smiling. "‏You should have told me it was going to charity, I could have written it directly to the Reverend and saved some on my taxes.‭" "That's why I didn't tell you," ‏Maxine said with a wicked smile. "‏So how about the TV show‭?" "I'm still thinking about it." ‏Max said. "‏Come on Max what's it gonna hurt‭?" Marty asked. "‏Marty with you involved, there is more to it than meets the eye. You never let your left hand know what your right foot is going to do next. When I figure your real angle, I'll decide.‭" "Max how about posing with me and Reverend Archer for a picture? ‏He and I are going to have a meeting after this and try to work out a little back scratching thing.‭" Tommy asked. "‏Well either of you can scratch my back, but neither of you can rub my boobs, ‭" Max replied. She didn't look thrilled, but she did move to a blank wall for a picture. "‏Max, they are all headed off to do some handshaking and deal making, how about you and I go out to lunch‭?" I suggested. "‏I can't. Remember I have that meeting at one, ‭" she replied. "‏You know we are going to have to do that thing again, ‭" I whispered to her.‭ "‬Maybe without Bob this time.‭" "That sounds like fun, ‏but don't risk your marriage. I have nothing of value, so remember rule one.‭" She said it and laughed as if she knew that I had been thinking the same thing only yesterday. By 12:30 they had all gone leaving me in the office alone. I didn't mind but I really would have preferred to have lunch with one of them at least. I first emptied, then tossed all the coffee cups into the trash. Fifteen minutes before, the conference room had been filled with people and noise, then suddenly it was just empty and deathly quiet. I could either go home and hide from the maid‭; so I wouldn't have to watch her clean‭; or go to lunch alone. Neither appealed to me. It was Saturday afternoon, I thought. Surely there was something fun I can do. I could always find Max's men and give them a toss. We had shared men before, we could do it again. Probably not a good idea. Max was about the only real friend I had. I really didn't want to lose her. She had just blown off Reverend Archer though. I bet she wouldn't mind, if I gave him a call. Maxine never got serious and usually only did it with a guy once or twice then moved on. "‏I have his phone number as well, ‭" I said aloud.‭ "‬Should I ask first‭? Of course I should, but I won't.‭"‬ I smiled at the sound of my own words in the quiet conference room. I knew Tommy was going to be meeting with Archer, but Tommy's attention span was no more than 30 minutes and that was giving Tommy way more credit than he deserved. However, he did have his assistant along, who would actually conduct the meeting. Tommy would just sit and listen. It's what he did best, that and pose for the camera. I decided lunch was in order, just to pass an hour before I called the Reverend Archer. I could think of some plausible reason to make the call, while I had lunch. The next big issue for me was where to have lunch. I had a sudden urge to visit a place, where I hadn't been in years, for lunch. I suppose it was seeing Tommy and Maxine in the same room. I drove my BMW to Jimmy the Greek's Fine Foods. I was pretty sure that the place would be empty on Saturday. The restaurant was across the street and one block north of the courthouse. Jimmy always closed at 3PM, because the town just died after lunch. I was shocked to see two tables of policemen and two more filled with women in sun dresses. They could have been right from the Country Club. Maybe more from the community tennis courts, come to think of it. A closer inspection gave me the impression that they were butch. They just had that way too healthy look about them. Jimmy's worked as a quick turnaround, high energy restaurant during the week,. It seemed to be more laid back on Saturday. "‏Is that you Jennifer, ‭" one of the cops asked. "‏It sure is, ‭" I replied. "‏I'm Robert Thomas, you handed me my lunch in court last year. I should never have tried to bluff you.‭" "Oh hell Robert most of the time I lose to you guys." ‏ It was a harmless lie. ‏I almost always won unless the cops really had the smoking gun.‭ "‬Consider it just my turn.‭" "Yes Ma'am, ‏if you say so.‭" He did have a cute smile. Too bad he didn't fit into rule one. Fortunately I was sure Archer would, since he was destined to be the Republican's favorite charity and community leader. Who could tell maybe he would be president one day, if he could get his record wiped clean. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 50 "‏Reverend Archer, this is Jennifer, Max's friend. I was curious to know, if you had anyone to help you through that grant process?" I said into the phone. "‏No Mr. Thompson offered advice, and he gave me his word that he would push the application through, if he gets elected. It seems that the nuts and bolts of the application are going to be up to me and my people. " "Do you have anyone who has done that kind of thing?" ‏I asked. "‏No Jennifer, my people are mostly recovering substance abusers. None of the ones in my programs have that kind of experience. " "I do have that kind of experience. ‏I would also be willing to help you prepare it. I don't have time to prepare it myself, but we could meet and I could walk you through the applications. If you get correspondence from the government, I could most likely make sense of it. " "That is terrific news. ‏I have been very worried about all the paperwork involved. I have an application now for a grant, but I can't make heads or tails of it. " "If you would like to bring it by the office, ‏I will be happy to take a look at it. " "I would love to, ‏but my time is really tight these days. I have so many things that need doing all at once. I'm sure you know how that is?" "Oh yes, ‏that's why the meeting had to be on Saturday. No one could agree on any other time. " "As you might guess, ‏almost all my time on the weekends is planned. I do have to eat dinner though. Do you like Chinese?" "I adore Chinese," ‏I replied. It was almost the truth. I could eat the fried rice and stir fried veggies. Most of the meat dishes didn't appeal to me, too many dog and cat stories, I guess. "‏Then why don't I take you to dinner. We can eat while we discuss the application. If we think hard enough, we might find a convenient time to sit down and fill in the blanks. " "I'll have to call my husband, ‏but I'm sure I can make dinner, " I replied. "‏Good, you obviously have my number. Call me when you know. I will be at the China Palace at 7:30 this evening. I do hope you can join me. " "I will check with Bob and get back with you before seven." ‏I replied. I didn't really have to ask Bob anything, all I really had to do was not appear to be too anxious. I wanted the Reverend to think that it was all his idea. I could justify my actions, to myself at least, if I just succumb to his advances. It would be hard for me to justify having chased him to the ground. I still didn't know how Maxine would take it, if she ever found out. "‏Gus damn it it's me Max. I'm on my way over there, you better not be out to lunch without me. "‬ I hung up the phone with a big grin. In the back of my van I had Gus's surprise. Marty must have had his man up all night on it. He couldn't have had more than a day to finish it, Marty went over the installation instructions with me at least three complete times and several more bits and pieces of information that he remembered as he went along. I couldn't wait to see the motor, or to see Gus's face. He might hate the idea of a motor for his bike, since he was a fitness nut, which is why it had to be specially made. Unlike the motors Marty and I had used, Gus's motor was not super powerful. It also was totally portable. It came in a canvas storage bag. The bag was something like the half duffel bag I used for out of town trips. Not that I made many of those. Anyway the whole thing weighed about twelve pounds. The engine had a centrifugal clutch, so it ran free until one hit the gas. That saved wear on the engine, I was told. The whole thing could be lifted from the wheel, so that Gus could pedal the bike home. I hoped he never ran out of gas, or had the damn thing break, but they all broke down now and then. I knew that from experience. Of course he didn't even have to use the thing ;‬ it was totally up to him. Best of all, he could take it off when not in use just by loosening a couple of wing nuts. Then he could carry it to his apartment until he needed it again. The bag was weather proof, so he could store the motor on the patio. I had no idea how mechanical Gus was, so I had also given the preacher notice that his bike shop might be paying back one of the favors he owed me. "Max there is nothing the bike shop can do, that they won't do for you. You didn't have to call in your favor for that. " Gus's bike was locked to the post under an awning. I wanted to see if I could install the motor, but I decided not to do it. Gus should be the first one to touch his new toy. I parked the van near the bike, so that we wouldn't have to carry it far, then I walked into the lobby. I recognized the old guy on the security desk, though I couldn't remember his name. "Well hello how is it going?" I asked. "‏It's going just fine Max, how about you?" "I've been better, ‏but I have sure as hell been worse. " I replied. "Is Gus home?" Everybody knew Gus, so I didn't need to go any big explanation. "‏Not sure about Gus, but his daughter is up there, " the old man said. "‏Ah do you think she will kick my butt, if I go up?" "Max, ‏I'm not sure Gus could do that, let alone his light in the ass daughter. " "Oh you silver tongue devil," ‏I said it as I walked to the elevator. I had been wanting to meet Chris, so it seemed like as good a day to do it, as any other. I knocked on Gus's door then waited. I had no idea which one of them would answer. "‏Yes?" the woman my age, but definitely smaller, asked from inside the apartment. "‏Is Gus home? I have a present for him. " I said with a smile. "‏They admitted my father in the hospital this morning. " "God, ‏I didn't know. How is he?" I had about a hundred other question. I had to force myself to keep calm. "‏The emergency room doctor thought that he had a heart attack. They did several tests, and then decided that it wasn't quite a full blown heart attack. Even so they still opened some of his arteries. " "Then he isn't in any danger at the moment?" ‏I asked. "‏Of course he is in danger, you stupid cow, " she snapped. "‏I beg your pardon, " I said biting my tongue. "‏He had four partially blocked arteries. He could have died, if any of them had closed. " "I know Chris, ‏but they didn't close. The doctors got them open, and I assume he is resting. " "Yes, ‏he is in ICU. Its family only visiting. You can't see him. " She was being really snippy and I hadn't done anything. I wondered what she would be like once she got to know me. Most likely she would be a little more respectful, or maybe not. She had to know or at least suspect that I was screwing her dad. "‏Do you have any family here?" I asked. "‏I have my dad, " she said in a voice that held a challenge buried in it. "‏Yes you do, and you will never lose him Chris. He is your father in more than just name. He really does love you. " I did not plan to ever tell her his fantasy involving her. "By the way, I'm not trying to take your dad away from you. I would like to share him, when you aren't around though. Chris you will always have first place in your dad's heart, and first dibs on his time as well. " "Oh shit, ‏I do sound like that don't I? Come on in Max, dad has told me all about you. I know you two are good friends. " I entered Gus's tiny apartment. "Well as much as anyone can be your dad's friend. He doesn't exactly get all warm and fuzzy, " I suggested. "‏God that is a huge understatement, " Chris agreed. "When he was in the corps, I had some idea what he was up to. Pick the hot spot and dad was either there, been there, or headed there. But then when they forced him to retire, I have no idea what he did or where he was for the next ten years. " "I sure can't help. ‏You have to know more than I do. I know he did thirty in the Corps, but I really never asked about what happened after. " "He said you are retired military as well, ‏are you a lesbian?" "God no, ‏I like men too much to cut them out of my love life. " I smiled. "‏Are you screwing my dad?" "Honey, ‏you need to ask him that. " I replied evasively. "‏Make you a deal Max, you answer that, and I'll tell you all I know about dad. " "God that is tempting," ‏I replied. "‏Then give in to temptation. " "I usually do, ‏so okay. The easy answer is yes, every chance I get, " I replied. She actually laughed, then said, "‬I knew it, that sneaky old fuck. He told me you two were just friends. I knew better. " "Chris, ‏do you live here in Aster?" "I used to. ‏I moved to the beach three years ago. I got dad this place when I moved. "‬ I guess I looked as confused as I felt. "Okay, I promised to tell you everything so that is a good place to start. Five years ago dad showed up at my place. My husband had left me with two kids and no money. I worked for the county, but it was hardly enough to pay my bills. "‏I hadn't seen dad since high school graduation that was close to twenty years before. I have no idea how he knew that I was having a rough time, but he did. He gave me a bag of stock certificates. Told me to sell them all and use the money. I didn't know it at the time but it was all the money he had managed to save over the years. " "Did he tell you what he had been doing since he retired?" ‏I asked. "‏No, the things I know, I know because my mom told me, or Dad told me as they just came up over the last five years. " "So why did he come home, ‏other than to save you. " "Dad had a breakdown. ‏He was in some hell hole somewhere and just lost it. He is lucky to be alive. It's not drama, it's a fact. Even he admits it. He was involved in some deep shit, what exactly I don't know. But to flip out at a time like that is suicide, he said. According to him even worse it endangered his friends. That's when he walked away from whatever it was and headed home. " "Someday I'm going to get him drunk and find out what his life was like." ‏I said. "‏I expect he feels the same about you. When I asked about you, he said you don't talk a lot. " "Oh my life has been nothing but dull. ‏Women in the Air Force don't get involved in anything fun. "‏I'm going back to visit Dad at six. I will tell him you came by. " "I don't suppose you would like to lie and tell the nurses I'm your sister?" ‏I asked. "‏No, I still don't like the idea of my dad having sex, " she said smiling. "‏He probably felt the same way, when he found out you were having sex. " "Don't get me wrong we have sat down to talk a few times. ‏He usually answers anything I have the courage to ask. Some things he won '‬t tell me. Now and then we do tell each other secrets. " Chris said mysteriously. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 51 JENNIFER I recognized the ten year old black Cadillac parked outside the China Palace. It had been in my office parking lot earlier in the day. That meant that it had to be Reverend Archer's car. It really didn't stand out in the China Palace's parking lot, but my shiny BMW would. I could only hope that my paint was still the same, when I finished my meal. I thought, one never knows these days,. The China Palace was a minor restaurant as those things go. It would seat about fifty people, if they filled the tables completely, which no restaurant ever does. Usually a restaurant gets about half of each table full, even when every table is occupied. One couple would sit at a table for four and not think twice about it. Only on very busy nights were the tables for two ever used by more than one person. I know this because I have clients in the restaurant business. They complain about customers leaving because there are no empty tables, while the restaurant is actually only at 60% capacity That early in the evening, the China Palace still had empty tables. I found the reverend seated at a table for four. I had no problem at all with that, even though some of my clients would have been incensed. "Hello Reverend Archer, would you mind if I join you?" I asked in what I hoped was a playful voice. Some people said I tended to be too serious and didn't have a lighter side. I had been working on that recently. "Not at all, I was hoping that you wouldn't stand me up," he said. "Oh, I would never stand up a preacher. It might not sit well with the man upstairs." "Trust me. God has better things to do than to worry about my social life." Archer said with a smile. Thankfully the waiter showed up before I had to respond. I took the tea cup he offered then explained exactly what I wanted on my plate. I made it very clear what I did not want to see. "My, you are opinionated," Archer said. "Yes, I suppose I am. I do hope you can handle a strong willed woman," I replied. "Oh I think I can hold my own. So are you a vegetarian? " he asked. "Not at all, I have just never developed a taste for mystery meat." "You don't believe all those cat and dog stories do you?" "I believe that I have never seen a stray cat or dog near this restaurant," I replied smiling. Reverend Archer laughed. Then said, "Neither have I, but I haven't seen one near the barn steak house either." "Good point, but I think I will stay with the fried rice and wok stir fried veggies." "Well you should at least have shrimp with the wok fry. You can tell they are real shrimp, they are fried whole." "Thank you for the advice, but I like what I like," I said. "Good for you, I like a woman with opinions." "I certainly hope that I'm not the woman to change your mind about that." I said with what I hoped was that playful smile again. I had been practicing it in front of a mirror, since I believe in self improvement. During our dinner it was decided that I would return to his office and take a quick look at the grant application forms. I did hope that it wasn't all that I would be looking at. Half way through the meal I had a good indication that there was more to be seen at the Reverend's office than his application. He leaned over and whispered to me. "Go to the bathroom, take off your panties and bring them to me. When you get back here, slip them into my hand without anyone noticing." He was right about no one noticing. We both had a lot to lose, if I were to drop them on the floor of the restaurant. I shook my head no. "I can't." I said. "Yes you can. It's why you came here. You came to see what life on the other side is like." "But you are a preacher," I said. "Now you know, that I am not just a preacher, I am a man as well. Do as you are told." I'm still not sure why I did it. I recognized it as sexual intimidation, but I decided to go along. Did my heart rate go up as I followed his order? Yes it did. When I returned to the table, I had my panties wadded up in my hand. Fortunately I wore skimpy ones. I could get them almost totally concealed in my hand. They were completely lost in the Reverend's much larger hand. "Doesn't that feel better? " he asked. "It feels strange," I said while toying with my stir fry. "But better strange? " he asked again. "Yes," I replied. "Then say it," he demanded. "It feels strange but exciting. So yes, that is better than before," I replied. "Good," he said with a peaceful expression, one that hadn't changed at all. He looked as if he were totally in control. I suppose that he thought he was. It was like Max always said, the only real control they have is what we choose to give them. So who is really in control? I had to admit that it was exciting to give up control. I didn't know to what extent I was willing to surrender control to Archer, but I was absolutely sure that I would find out very soon. After dinner I followed him to his office. I knew that his ministry operated a consignment store. I had purchased Max's going home outfit from them. I knew he had the ministry building in West End; everyone in town knew that. Max told me about the Bike Shop and the Laboring Few tentacles of his operation. I thought, I will have a tale I could tell her about, after tonight. I watched as Reverend Archer's Cadillac pulled into the parking lot of a small convenience store. I doubted that many people noticed that the building was twice as large as the convenience store. At the rear of the building was a second entrance hardly noticeable. It obviously was not meant to be seen, for that reason the parking was random along the side of the drive, which circled the building. "Well, you are really tucked away back here," I suggested when I met him at the entrance. "Yes it's a little more James Bond like than I would prefer, but it was here when we took over the store up front. The Laboring Few converted most of the storeroom into an office for me. The inside of the office was a real surprise. The outside of the building was pretty run down. All the trim needed paint and the bricks needed to at least be washed. Inside the Reverend's office it was bright, clean, and filled with better finishes than my office. The paneling was not cheap plywood, it was real wood planks, even I could tell that. The carpet on the floor was thick and very plush. It for sure wasn't ten or even twenty dollars a yard carpeting. "Very nice," I said. "I'm glad you like it. Sometimes I need to impress people, so I bring them here. I have three offices to be honest. The one at the church is very spartan, the one at home is a little better, but this one, I feel, would impress anyone, even a lawyer." "I was already impressed, but it is a beautiful office." I admitted. "Jennifer the walls are sound proof, and no one can see your car parked out back, I'm sure no one noticed you drive in, so this will never have happened as far as anyone else knows." "What will have never happened? " I asked a little concerned. "What is about to happen, it's why you called me. So take off your dress. Do it slowly. We are in no hurry here." Archer was definitely in charge. He gave no indication that I was a prisoner, so I could have left any time I wanted. I had to make a decision. It was an easy one. I took a deep breath, then unzipped the top of the conservative dress I wore. It found its way to the floor. It was followed seconds later by my short nylon slip. Then the filmy lace bra disappeared. I stood before the preacher naked, but definitely not shy. I was proud of my body, it cost me enough to keep the maintenance up on it. "Very nice Jennifer," the Reverend said. "I'm glad you approve," I replied. "Oh I am sure you are in need of the approval. You are the kind of woman, who needs to be admired." The preacher sounded scornful as he said it. "I'm not sure I like your attitude." "You are not sure, but I know for sure that I don't give a rats ass what you think about anything! He said it almost angrily. I bent to retrieve my dress. "I think I should go." "No you don't. You think you should spread your legs, so I can see your cunt." "No, I think I need to go." "No you don't Jennifer, you need to have a real man fuck you. You came to play games, but found a real man instead of those mindless wimps you have been sleeping with. Now you can stay and see what it's like to be a real woman, or you can run back to your spineless husband. But you only get one chance to make the right decision. Whatever you decide, you will have to live with." My body was screaming stay, but my mind was saying, he is dangerous, run. I was deeply torn. I had no idea what to do. I stood there paralyzed. The preacher walked to me, then slapped my breast hard. "I will never leave a mark for anyone else to see, but you need this." With that he slapped me hard on my butt. "Don't, that hurts," I said. "But you need it, you cunt," with those words he began to slap my butt even harder. I began to cry, but I neither ran, nor objected again. It was painful but something about it also felt right. It felt like I deserved the beating that he was giving me. He wasn't spanking me for sexual foreplay, he was spanking me to hurt me. After several blows he rolled his office chair away from the desk, then he sat in it. "Come here and lay across my lap." I did as I was told. He began to spank me again. He slapped my butt while I felt his hard penis against my stomach. I was aroused beyond anything I had ever known. My butt cheeks were burning and I was in real pain. He wasn't pretending, he was really spanking me hard. Then without warning he began to massage my butt between blows. I felt him slip his finger inside my slippery vaginal opening. I had not used my lubricant, since I had not been home after the meeting. Whatever he was doing caused me to produce more lubricant than usual. I could feel his fingers glide over my lips as he moved his hands over me. He still slapped my butt but I welcomed it. I wiggled on his lap and felt his cock get even more insistent against my tummy. I wanted him to bury his cock in me and I could tell he was almost out of control as well. "Are you as good a cocksucker as Maxine? " he asked. "Yes," I replied simply. "Then let's see you do it," he said. I slipped between his spread thighs. I worked his cock from his cotton slacks. I was proud to see the wet spot on them. I knew that his beating me had caused that. I loved that I could do that to him. I kissed the head of his cock then held my lips tight as I pushed down on it. His cock popped through my lips and messaged my tongue while my tongue also massaged his cock. We were both feeling my movements. It was an erotic cock massage using my mouth. I could tell he loved it. I know I did. I should have been disappointed when he came so quickly. Instead I swallowed his semen and loved the thickness of it. I loved that it clung to my teeth and tongue. It stayed with me even after I had swallowed all of it. Somehow I was satisfied. It wasn't a real sexual satisfaction, it was more an emotional one. Then he lifted me, put me back over his knee as if to spank me again, but instead he rubbed and stroked my cunt, and then my clit. Yes I was thinking of my body in the terms he used for it. I came as I had not cum in years. My body shook and convulsed over and over. If he had been inside me, I would have strangled his cock. I could not believe how good it felt to cum for him. I lay across his lap for a long time, then he helped me to stand. "Dress yourself," he said. After I was dressed I wanted nothing more than to leave. I was confused and bewildered by my actions. "Take this application. You fill it in, call me for the information." he demanded. I almost said no, but I didn't dare. If I refused, he might hurt me again, or maybe if I refused, he might not hurt me again. I just didn't know what I felt. I accepted the application, and left almost whimpering. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 52 MAXINE I smiled as I left Chris at her dad's door. Of course I was not about to let her stop me from seeing Gus. I drove directly from the Evergreens Tower to the hospital five blocks away. At the receptionist desk, I asked, "Could you give me the room number of Gus Gallion please?" "He has been moved from ICU to the cardiac care unit. His room is 5012, he is on restricted visitor list though. It's family only." "I know, I'm his daughter. I was told the visiting hours were restricted but that I could see him." "No that was only when he was in the ICU. Now that he has been moved he can have approved visitors." "Thanks, I want to speak to the floor nurse at least. Thanks again." I took the elevator up to the fifth floor. The nurse's station for Gus's room was a right turn and a thirty foot walk. "Hello, I'm Maxine Stone, Gus Gallion is my father. My sister Chris called me this morning, I just got here. Would it be alright for me to look in on him?" I asked. "Maxine, I know who you are," the nurse replied. "I was your nurse after that mess last year." "Oh, look." I saw her name tag read Angela Martin. "Angela, I really would like to see Gus this isn't business, it is personal. I promise I won't hurt him or anything." "Gus told me you would be here and to let you in, if I wanted any peace today. He is just as ornery as you." "That's Gus," I admitted. "Go on back but don't stay long. I don't want to deal with his daughter either." "Thank honey," I replied as I turned toward his room. Gus looked a little pale, otherwise he looked just fine. "So here you are, I have been looking all over hell for you. Are you hiding from me?" I was grinning from just seeing him look as good as he did. Chris had me worried, but Gus looked just fine to me. "Yeah, a man just can't get any peace at all around you. I'm old, I just can't keep up." "Yeah, I heard I gave you a heart attack." I tried not to show how relieved I was. "Not quite a heart attack, just a little scare." "So did they turn the siren on?" I asked. "What siren, I walked here from the Towers," he informed me. "You what?" "I walked here at about five this morning. When I woke up, I didn't feel just right, so I walked over and checked myself in." "Your really are a fucking idiot," I replied. "Not only do I have to deal with this crappy food, but now I have to deal with you calling me names." We were both smiling. Me, because I was so happy to see him doing so well. Why he was smiling I had no idea. "So how did you find out I was here. I didn't plan on telling anyone." "I have something for you, so I went by your place. Chris was there instead of you." "Ah oh," was all he said. "Yeah, that pretty much describes my meeting with Chris. I'm a little pissed that I had to find out that way. You could have told them in the ER to call me." "I didn't tell them to call her either. The form I filled out in the ER had next of kin. I figured they wanted to know who would bury me, if I died. I had no idea they planned to call her." "You didn't tell her ... you know?" he asked. "I told her that I fucked you every chance I got, but I didn't go into details." "Good, and thank you," Gus said. "Gus, it isn't just for you, I don't really want her to know that I have been impersonating her. She might just kick my butt. Chris and I are probably never going to do lunch," I explained. "I doubt that she is so stupid as to try that kicking your butt. As for doing lunch, it would probably be a good thing if you two didn't get to be too friendly." "Yeah, I'm really more the evil stepmom type." I said it with a smile. "Should I tell her that she is going to have a new mommy?" Gus asked. "I don't think I would do that just yet," I replied. "Good, I don't really need the cat fight right now." "So what's next?" I asked, "Hospital wise." "They said I could go home, once they are sure the incision repair will hold. That will probably be tomorrow." "Now if you don't call me so I can come get you and drive you home, I am going to be really pissed." "Then you will have to be pissed. Chris has pretty much taken over at least for the weekend. She will have to be home first thing Monday morning. So if I don't go home tomorrow, you are next in line for Monday or later." "Okay, but I would prefer to be first in line, but I do understand." "Excuse me," a young woman in scrubs said, "I need to check his stitches." "Right," I said standing to walk into the hall to wait. "Why don't you get back to your own life Max? I'm just going to be sleeping most of the day. I am fighting now to stay awake." "Fair enough old man, but you better call to say goodnight later." "I will," he said. I drove home to an empty house, okay an empty cabin. I lay on my small bed while trying to make a plan. I don't do drifting into things. I do react to things, and I do make things happen, but I don't do drift. Gus being in the hospital was having a bigger effect on me than I expected. Sure I liked the old fart, but I knew for sure that I didn't love him. At least not the way husbands and wives love each other. So what about Chris? How did she figure into it? She was going to be there with Gus for the long haul, I knew for a fact that I wasn't going to be. So what should I do about Chris? If there was going to be conflict, I knew that in the end she had to win, since that was the case, should I go ahead and take a walk. I wasn't worried about surviving it, I knew I could. I also knew Gus could survive whatever happened, but what about Chris; could I risk alienating her. She would be the one who would be there for Gus at the end. Hell Gus was almost seventy. The end couldn't be too far away. I knew me; I couldn't deal with that kind of responsibility. I mean yeah a body bag to the crematorium I could do, but visiting Gus in a facility; no, I could not do that. It would break my heart and Gus would know. It just was not going to work out between us. I know that it made me a selfish bitch to think that way, but it also made me honest. I knew me and I never pulled punches with myself. I just wasn't a good enough person to deal with it all. Chris had already proved that she was capable of dealing with Gus's needs. I couldn't replace her in his life. I also couldn't take him away from her. The only real choice I had was to walk away. I couldn't do it while he was sick, but I had to do it. Maybe Gus and I could be 'do lunch' friends ... probably not, but who knows, I thought. All that thinking made me sleepy so I rolled over to take a nap. Next thing I knew the phone was ringing. I had to fight myself awake, but I finally make it. Then I had to find the phone, which I managed reasonable quickly. "Hello," I said still half asleep. "Maxine, it's Chris," I knew it was bad, she had tears in her voice. "Yes Chris what's wrong," I knew but I just didn't want it to be true. "Dad had a stroke. They think it might have been from one of the stents. They think he formed a clot and it broke loose..." "How is your father?" I asked dreading the answer. "Daddy died a few minutes ago." she said then broke down completely. "Chris where are you? Are you still at the hospital?" "Yes," was all she could say. "I'm on my way; do not leave until I get there. Make sure someone knows where you are. Do not leave, wait for me." I took time to brush my teeth and hair, but nothing more. I would not have been surprised if someone told me that I smelled bad. I know my clothes were wrinkled, but I just didn't care. I was shaking so hard that I had trouble getting the key into the ignition. In some warped way I blamed myself for it. Maybe if I hadn't decided to bail on Gus, he would somehow still be alive. I had been to far too many funerals, over the course of the last two years. This one would be the worst, I knew that much already. I found Chris in the chapel. She began to cry uncontrollably when she saw me. I held her while she cried. "Oh God Max how could his happen?" she asked as if I had an answer. "I have no idea but sometimes bad things happen to the best people. Your dad was the best of the best. I am just so very sorry." She cried and I did nothing to comfort her, other than be there. After several minutes the hospital chaplain entered the chapel. "Miss Gallion?" he asked. "It's Rogers, but I'm Mr. Gallion's daughter," Chris said. "I am so sorry for your loss. Is there anything I can do?" "No, I don't think so," Chris said. "Would you ladies like to pray with me?" He was damn lucky I didn't spit on him. "No thanks, " Chris said. "My dad would think it hypocritical." "Sometimes prayer is more for the living, than the deceased." Chris looked at me and I shook my head. "We will be fine chaplain, but thanks for stopping by." "I know this can't be easy for either of you, so if you need to talk I will be in my office for a while." I nodded, fighting hard not to tell him to fuck off. I waited until he left before I spoke to Chris. "Are you going to stay here?" "Max I have to get back to my children. If I call you with the information, could you do the leg work for me please. I think I can do most of it by phone, but daddy didn't have anyone else." "Honey, you are going to be surprised." "I know where all his documents are stored. I can pick them up before I leave, but I have to get home." "Are you alright to drive?" I asked. "I think so, Max I'm sorry I was such a bitch." "Don't be I would have been jealous myself, if I were you and he were my dad." She hugged me again, then stood to leave. I dug a card out of my purse, "Call me when you get home. I need to know that you got home alright." After Chris left I sat in the chapel alone. I wanted to scream or go get drunk. I wanted to do something anything, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't even cry for Gus. I was such a cold hearted bitch. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 53 red79;;;;;;"Lucas put this announcement on every forum and bulletin board that a Marine or retired Marine might read. Put in on anything that a mercenary might read as well. When I say everyone, I mean every damn one of them." The announcement was that Gunnery Sergeant Gus Gallion had passed away in Aster. It stated that he would be buried in Arlington National Cemetery at the end of the week but that a memorial service would be held by friends and family in Aster. It would be held at the senior center's meeting room two days later at 3PM. Wake to follow. There was a copy of the official obituary furnished by Chris attached. It gave some details that might help in his identification by people who knew him back in the day. I had informed the Cop Out Club to lay in extra beer, even if no one came I would drink it. I paid for two kegs, which was my donation. I had no way to tell, if anyone would show up for the service and wake or not. If not the second keg would not be tapped but the first would go to the regulars as a gift from the Gunny. It was two hours later when Lucas came to me. "Boss, there might be a problem with Gus's memorial service." "What kind of problem?" "The obituary has gone sort of viral. It has been forwarded to other sites, ones I never heard of. People are asking questions on the forums and others are answering them. It just keeps growing. Most of the guys won't be able to make it, but they all have things to say on line." I went to Lucas's computer to see what he was talking about. I read a posting from an old man at least the Gunny's age. I remember Gus Gallion when he was a buck ass private. He and I were in Vietnam before there was any war. Advisors to a struggling South Vietnamese army so corrupt that it could hardly function. That wasn't our mission, so we dealt with it rather than change it. Gus and I were brand spanking new Marine Corp Snipers assigned to MACV Naval Advisory Group, We were supposed to train snipers, but what we really did was take young men into the field and those who could shoot, we made snipers, by just saying they were. You just can't teach isolation skills to people who come from a group dynamic. "I personally saw Gus hold off scores of Viet Cong in a rubber plantation while twice as many South Vietnamese Soldiers ran for their lives. Later Gus said to me. 'You gotta' wonder what the hell these guys think the army is about. If it ain't about the killing."' one man wrote. I read on for several minutes. There were scores of stories from Vietnam both from his days as an adviser and his days with the marines as a sniper in Vietnam. One of the stories that was most impressive to me was an engagement with the NVR troops over a red clay hilltop artillery base. "Our base was the only fire support for the grunts down in the valley. It was essential to hold that base, or a lot more marines were going to die in the valley. The NVR had been spotted massing a few miles away, so the Marines began to fly in extra munitions and body bags. They also flew in one Marine Lance Corporal Gus Gallion, a marine sniper from down in the valley. Gallion was there because he had a vested interest in keeping the artillery firing. The NVR army rushed the wire even as the marines poured fire at them. While the marines emptied hundreds of rounds at the wire on full automatic, Gus fired slowly but with deadly accuracy. He fired at anyone who seemed to be giving orders. Guys with the bugles and of course anyone who made it to the wire. The dance went on all night. Sometimes we were winning and sometimes it looked as though the NVR army would turn the guns on us. Men were terrified but Gus lay on the top of the bunker behind a few sandbags and fired his heavy M14 all night long. Gus fired and slopes died. That is how it was that night. We shot them off the wire, but it was Gus and two other snipers who broke them." The author wrote. The stories went on and on, as you might expect for a man who had been in the Corp 30 years. My eyes got tired so I moved away from the computer. "Lucas use that printer you are so fond of to print out some of those. I will read them at the Memorial." I demanded. "Blevins," I said into the office phone. "Did you see Gus's obit in the paper." "Gus Gallion what happened?" he asked. "He had a stroke and died Saturday Night. His going in the ground at Arlington but there is going to be a memorial service here at the senior center on Wednesday night at 5PM. See if you can get a cop or two to show up. I would hate to be the only one there." "You won't be. I for sure will be there. I'm sure there is a cop or two who remembers a bruise from Gus. They will show up, I'm sure." "Thanks Blevins, I owe you one." I replied. "Not for this, but you owe me plenty for all the times, I saved your butt." "Blevins, you are getting senile. I save your ass at least once a week." I knew he was smiling and I hoped that he knew I was. I hated even the best of Mondays, and it was far from a good Monday. While I drank yet another cup of coffee, I turned on my computer. On my computer the wallpaper was actually the four camera's at my little cabin. That Monday morning I got a view of a beautiful doe grazing near my gate. I was reminded yet again that I suspected Lucas of spying on me. Well it wasn't really spying, since the pictures were on the Internet for anyone with the web address to see. I was depressed about Gus so I decided not to jump Lucas. It could wait a few days or even weeks. It might take that long before I felt like myself again. I threw myself into the work routine. It seemed the easiest way to get through the days. Even depressed I didn't want to lie in bed and cry, I wanted to get into some kind of shit. Good or bad didn't matter, just something to break the grind of depression. Depression beats me down; I needed to get my mind off me, and onto something else. "What do we have going on around here that isn't boring as hell?" I asked out loud. "Well you have the rock star job on Friday. Actually I guess it is Thursday and Friday," Lucas informed me. "I had almost forgoten about our rock star. I really hate babysitting." "I'm surprised they are expecting trouble," Lucas said. "Bobby and Bethany are supposed to be really well liked." "It's only half about keep Bethany alive. The other part is keeping her from killing Bobby or getting busted." "Is Bethany a junkie," Ed asked. "I don't think so but who knows these days. My contract calls for me, and some dude from Tryon, to literally babysit them. He gets Bobby and I get Bethany. I can follow her into places the guy can't. She has been known to ditch her babysitter and go out partying." "Then you have your work cut out for you," Lucas suggested. "Some of these music people are impossible to control." "That's why we work for the promoter, not the couple. Since its part of their contract, they should go along. If they don't, I will just have to explain to them why it's in their best interest to do it my way." "Max no broken bones please," Ed said. "I would hate to refuse to go your bond, but business is business. You are just not stable enough to risk my money." "Good, then if I go in, I'll just call Edwards in Tryon, He wants to show you up anyway." I replied seriously. "You wouldn't do that," Ed said. "If you wouldn't go my bail, then it would be Edwards or stay in jail. Then you can bet your ass I'd call him." "Just to change the subject," Lucas asked, "Who is the other body guard?" "I have no idea, some youngster from Tryon is all I know." Lucas and I worked the deliveries all day. We even found time to pick up a used car salesman on in violation of his bail terms. I had no idea what the violation was all I had to know was that there was paper on him. I picked him up for three hundred bucks. His bail was small so he really wasn't a problem. He was a totally non violent type. He was a used car salesman, so he was a con man, not a fighter. Monday night I could not get to sleep so I masturbated, but I did it under the covers, just to be sure Lucas or anyone else who happened to be watching didn't get an eyeful. My mind drifted to Gus as I worked myself toward an orgasm. I felt some guilt, so it was difficult to achieve orgasm. When it did happen, it rattled me. It was strong enough so that moments later I fell asleep. Tuesday I promised myself that I would keep my mind on business and not let it linger on my personal life. Things came up about the memorial service which required my attention, so I couldn't really keep Gus out of my thoughts long. The posts on the forums kept climbing and Lucas kept printing them out. I knew that Wednesday would be spent sorting through them, to find the best quotes for his eulogy. I hoped that some of his friends would also speak, but I was planning to prepare as if I would be the only speaker. Gus might have been just a Marine in his eyes, but he was extraordinary to me. I planned to make damn sure people knew why. Things kept piling up about his professional life, but I knew almost nothing of his personal life. Well not of his life before I met him anyway. Tuesday went by in a fog of activity. Lucas and I worked between our monitoring of the Internet. The pickups and deliveries had gotten to the point that it was routine. We had our game down pat. Unless we had served the mooch before, they all fell for our scam. "A man with a clipboard and a little information is a dangerous thing." Lucas observed. "Or a woman," I reminded him. "Yes, you dreamed it up, so you are the most dangerous of all," he remarked. My phone rang, "Do you want to have dinner with Bob and Me?" Jennifer asked. "No thanks, I'm really not going to be very good company tonight." "Sweetie, we aren't looking to be entertained. Come on you have to eat," Jennifer suggested. "Yes but I think, I'm going to pick up a taco salad and go home with it and a six pack of bock beer." "Well if you change your mind give me a call." I didn't change my mind. The beer and a bag of corn chips, came from the Fresh Market grocery store, and the salad came from Taco Bell. I ate the salad and managed to get three of the beers down before I was drunk and exhausted. It made for a good combination to sleep. Wednesday was a terrible day. I woke with a hangover and in an evil mood. I tried to work, but it was useless. I was in a deep funk and everyone steered clear of me. I couldn't blame them one bit. I wished that I could get out of my own skin and just be somebody else for a while. Chris called on the office phone. She was up for the memorial service without her kids. She was at Gus's apartment cleaning it out. She asked, "Would you take care of Gus's bike. I have no way to get it home, and don't know what to do with it." "Actually, if your kids don't want it I would love to have it." "Max it's nothing special, just an old bike." "I know but I want it," I said with a conviction that bordered on a threat. "Then it's yours. Come on over and we will figure out which key opens the lock." "I'll be right over." I said. When I put the phone back into its holder, I turned to Lucas. "Don't go anywhere Luke. I am going to need a ride back to the towers in a few minutes." "Why," he asked. "I'm going to go pick up Gus's bike. I'm going to ride it back here. Then I will need you to give me a ride to get the van." "Oh sure," he said. "I have Gus's keys," Chris said, rather than hello. She looked about like I felt. "Okay, I'll get the bike and get out of your hair." "I want to thank you Maxine for all you have done. I wasn't very nice to you last time we met. Forgive me. I guess like you said, I was a little jealous." "Chris we had different parts of your dad, there was never any competition. If there had been, you would have won hands down." "I don't know, but thank you for saying that." We had that conversation in the elevator as we rode to the lobby. Finding the right key for the bike was easy. Gus only had three keys, one to his apartment, one to the bike, and one to Chris's home. "Chris you will be speaking this afternoon won't you?" I asked. "I am going to try, but Maxine I don't know if I can." "Do what you think you should do, it will be alright no matter what that is." I meant it. The old dual suspension bike needed a good cleaning and probably needed to be re-greased to be safe as a motorbike. I made a mental note to buy a bike rack then take it to the Preacher's shop. The bike pedaled the six blocks to the office quite easily. It even climbed the small hill along the way well. It made the climb even without the motor ... I knew that it would have been different if the hill had been longer. I remembered from the ride with Marty, that the short steep hills were noticeable, but the long moderate climbs were the killers. With the bike tucked safely away in the storeroom, Lucas drove me back for my van. "Boss, I want you to know how sorry I am about your friend Gus." he said when we were in the car. "Thank you Lucas, I just need a few days of steady work to get over this depression. I have been here before. It's nasty, but it isn't a death sentence. I'll be back." After sulking a minute or two longer, I suggested. "While we are out. Let's stop by to see how they are doing with the meeting room." Since the senior center was across the street from Evergreen towers, it wasn't an inconvenience. I really didn't want to do it alone. What we found was a bright sunny room with about fifty chairs aligned in rows. It looked as though it was pretty well ready to go. "What time is it Lucas?" "It's lunch time. How about we drive out to the marina? We can stop for Subway," he suggested. "Let's get your car back to the office and we can take the van. Honest Lucas, I really am going to buy you a company car." "I like driving the van just fine, why don't you buy yourself a cool car," he suggested. "I like the van just fine as well. We can fight about it after I have time to buy something." Lunch at the marina was nice. I was chilly but I didn't mind the day was appropriate for the way I felt. I felt cold and gray just like weather. After lunch I did what I do instead of pacing. I turned on the news on the small television set we kept at the office for just that purpose. I mindlessly watched as commentators talked about the debt, the stock market, and the current administration. It was all rather sad because the reports were all doom and gloom. At fifteen minutes till three, I drove the van to the senior center. I had no idea what to expect for Gus's memorial service. I looked into the door and found the room already filled with people. As I would have expected most of them were near Gus's age with a sprinkling of younger people, some of them in police uniforms. As I was preparing to walk through the crowd on my way to the podium, I saw the marine Captain enter the lobby, I knew what a captain looked like and no one could mistake the marine dress blue uniform for anything else. The marine captain was much younger than Gus. He was not even as old as me. "Can I help you?" I asked. "Yes Ma'am, I'm here for the Gallion memorial service." "It's in that room. I am Maxine Stone; I was a friend of Gus's." "Yes Ma'am you are the organizer I believe." "His daughter Chris and I yes," I replied. "I don't know much about Marine tradition, so is there anything you would like to say." "Yes Ma'am I have Gunnery Sergeant Gallion's awards and Citations. I would like to read those." "Is that usual?" "It is for someone like Gunnery Sergeant Gallion ma'am." "He was special to me, but what was so special about him to the Corp?" I asked. "Ma'am Gunnery Sergeant Gallion won the Medal of Honor in Vietnam. I am also here to accompany his remains to Arlington National." I was shocked. So shocked in fact, I could only walk away silently. I had no idea." I welcomed everyone, and then I introduced the Captain who read a long list of Gus's accomplishments. With each medal he read the citation that accompanied it. The Medal of Honor was for the fire base defense. I knew the story, but not all of it. The enemy was attacking while they fired mortars to keep the American soldiers in their bunkers. Guy lay on top of a bunker and continued to fire at the enemy. He was hit with shrapnel several times but he did not leave his post, even though he had been directed to. If Gus had gone into a bunker, the base would have been overrun. According to the survivors, he saved a lot of lives that night. There were other awards, navy crosses and a silver star. It took the Captain a half hour to read all the citations. When he finished, I quickly read a few of the comments from the Internet. A couple of seniors from the towers had a few things to say. I was surprised when a black man rose to walk to the front of the room. He did not have the bearing of a military man or the look of a cop. He just looked like a homeless man who had cleaned up for the day. "Me and Gus was friends. He never treated me like the rest of you people. He wouldn't give me money for wine, but he would buy me food whenever he saw me. I'm gonna miss him for more than them hamburgers." It was a short statement, but it made me cry, when none of the others had, We went to the Cop Out after the service where we all got drunk early. Jennifer had been at the service. She sat with Reverend Archer who led in a prayer at the end of the service. "So where is the Reverend?" I asked. "He had church things to take care of," she replied. "Bullshit, he didn't want to be around cops. No telling what he would do with this many cops around." "Who knows, anyway I'm headed for home. Wanted to tell you how sorry I am about Gus." "I know Jen, well you take good care of the Reverend. Be careful honey, he likes to play some rough games." I said it as a warning. "Then you don't mind?" "No Jen, I don't mind at all." I drank enough so that I woke up in a familiar bed but had no idea how I got there. Usually even when drunk, I could remember how I ended up in someone else's bed. Since I was the only one in the bed, I was worried about how I got there. "Well Gus, I guess I spent one more night with you after all." I said it aloud. I knew for sure that it was Gus's room by the sofa throw with the Marine Emblem. How I got to the room, I had no idea. Ten minutes later I knew. Chris came in with Coffee and donuts. She found the Krispy Kreme it seemed. "Good morning," I said. "Good morning. You had a lot to drink and no one knew where you lived, so I had them bring you here," "Thanks, your dad and I always ate those on the balcony. He liked to watch the traffic." "If you want to do that you better get dressed. It will be really cold if you go out there undressed like you are." Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 54 It had been two months since Gus died, and I had been in a deep funk almost all of it. I hadn't talked to Lucas about the cameras in my cabin, because I just didn't care. The business ran well on autopilot. I realized that there was nothing that I needed to do. Even so, I went to the office every day, just to go through the motions. Sticking with the routine was good for depression. It kept me from laying in bed feeling sorry for myself all day. I even found time, during one of my wasted time periods, to have a bike rack put on the van. Soon thereafter, I had the bike, I inherited from Gus, reconditioned. The preacher was trying to impress someone, but I don't think it was me. His mechanics went through the bike completely. When I got it back from his shop, it was twice as good as the day it rolled off the Chinese assembly line. The mechanic understood the concept of the totally removable engine. He replaced a few bolts on the engine with wing nuts and studs. The only link to the frame, was a tie down rod which put tension on the motor. When the engine was remove it was collapsible so that it all fit into a small canvas bag. The kind the guy rats used to carried their stinky clothes. When the motor was removed it left only a mounting bracket under the seat and one stud with a wing nut where the tension rod attached. It was a neat system. I am sure there were others like it but I had never seen one advertised. Chris and I had a long talk the morning after her dad's memorial service. I left Gus's apartment with a lot of information about him. Some of it, I would just as soon have not known. But I was still glad I had the talk with her. I also left with his Captain America bike helmet. "I fussed like hell when he bought that bike after the DUI. I was afraid that he was still drinking and would ride it into traffic. So I bought him a blue bike helmet. He drew the flag on it with paint sticks. Not a really good job, but he loved it, and now it's yours," Chris said. So by the time I began to feel like me again, I had a smaller version of the bike Marty and I rode across country. I also just woke up one morning and wanted to get deep into some shit. Any kind of shit, I just wanted to get back into life. "So Lucas what should we add next?" I asked it once I was in the office, with a cup of coffee in my hand. "Well, we already do bond jumpers, we serve court papers, and you do the occasional body guard job, what else is there?" "That's what I asked you?" I replied giving him a genuine smile. "Hold on, isn't it time for you to get back into school?" "Well if I was going to go back, it would be time yes. I think I'm going to take another semester off." "I'm sure I do not approve of that," I said seriously. "Well, short of firing me, there is nothing you can do. You honestly can't afford to fire me. You have grown the business, so that sometimes it takes both of us to keep up." "That is true, but I could also just drop the bail jumper and body guard gigs and have plenty of time. So don't get too comfortable." "Why don't we do the TV thing. Maybe we can get it picked up on a real TV network and become stars." "Right that's what we need; every mooch in the state knowing, who we are, and how we do things." "But for now it's just Internet TV. Probably no more than two of our mooches watch anything on the Internet." Lucas said. "Would like to bet next week's salary on that?" I asked. "Why," he asked. "I'll bet you your next week's salary that at last 1/4 of them have watched Internet porn." "Okay, you would probably win, but odds are none of them are going to see our little show." "Tell you what Lucas, I'll leave it up to Ed. Ed do you want to be a TV star?" "Actually with all this talk over the last few months, I have considered it. I knew you would have to ask me, since I'm the most interesting one here." "So what's your decision?" "Well, I never did get my fifteen minutes, so yeah let me have my fame now." I burst into the song "Fame, I'm gonna live forever, people gonna' remember my name." I sang it and laughed. "So do I call Gwen?" Lucas asked. "Are you that hard up for ass? Do I have to be a TV star, just so you can get laid again?" I asked. "Actually she gives great head," Lucas said smiling. "All right lover boy, make your call. Tell her to get with Marty and make us an offer." "We would have gotten more Gwen said, if we had done it right after the Russian shoot out." "Yeah well, I was a little busy," I replied. "Besides it's going to take them a while to get it on the air anyway. They are going to have to edit the film." "It is the Internet. It won't take long at all. They want it to be as raw as possible. Just as long as it is still entertaining. That's probably why they picked us. We are pretty raw." Lucas said with a grin. "You are for sure pretty green, at least," Ed threw in. "Even if we all go for it, they won't be here for a while, so let's get some work done?" "How does the day look?" I asked Lucas. "Not too busy, we have time to play around, if there is something you want to do." "What would I want to do?" "I don't know, buy a car, let me ride the bike." "Well I don't think we can buy a car today, but you can ride the bike." "Cool," Lucas said all excited. Everybody loved Gus's bike. "Load the bike onto the van and we will take it with us today. When we find a quiet spot, you can give it a try. But first we do the work." I was adamant about that. We picked up the three new court orders. Ones we had not had time to pick up the day before. We also had two on hand, so our deliveries were five for the day, along with any calls we got while we were out working. We could deliver three times that many, if they were ready for us. In our business you don't just go, go, go. Usually it is go, wait twenty minutes for something to happen, then go again and wait again. During one of those breaks I had Lucas pull the van into the parking lot of an abandoned textile mill. "Okay Lucas," I began once the bike was off the van and ready to ride. "Now we will start the engine. It is a centrifugal clutch so when you rev up the engine it will want to start pulling the bike, so don't rev the motor until you are on the bike. If it dies, stop immediately. If you can't get it restarted or it is out of gas, lift it off the tire and lock it. You got it?" "Yeah, I have seen you ride it. I think I can figure it out." "Well we can get into how to ride with the most efficiency after you get the hang of it." I suggested. I knew Lucas was really still a kid, and he wouldn't want to ride it for efficiency, he would want to ride it like a motorcycle. To do that he needed the big engine Marty and I had on our cross country trip. The engine on Gus's bike was just a helper. It was meant to extend the bike's range. Since the larger engines were illegal in every state, we had gotten lucky. None of the cops or highway patrols along the way bothered with us. We were off the beaten path most of the time. The engine on Gus's bike was very legal. It was even a little smaller than the largest legal, but still inadequate engine. "Put the helmet on, I don't want your mother to come down to beat my ass for letting her little boy crack open his skull." "Right, I hardly think my mom would do that, but I will wear the helmet." "You are lucky, it should be a motorcycle helmet to be legal. So go for it." The beauty of the motor on a bike frame is that almost everyone knows how to ride a bike. With those things, there were no new skills to learn. Engaging the engine was just a matter of opening the throttle, which replaced the right handle bar grip. Most of the time it was rev the engine and hold on, with the engine on Gus's bike it was rev the engine and settle back. It still required that one pedal up hill and even on the flat to get more speed now and then, but it made longer trips on the bike possible with the expenditure of the same amount of energy. "I love this thing, I want one." Lucas said to me when he stopped the bike. "Actually I had a thought or two in the back of my head about that." "Oh what kind of thought?" he asked. "To look even more harmless, we could park the van a couple of blocks away and ride up on a bike. Motored or otherwise, who would question a bike messenger?" "Even more important, it would be fun. That's the real reason, I didn't sign up for that next semester at school. This is just too much fun." "Well, I have decided that you will sign up for it. I talked to Blevins, they teach the exact same classes at night. You will take a minimum of two classes a semester, or I will fire your skinny ass." "Okay, okay, now to change the subject, what are you going to do about Gwen and Mike filming you at home?" he asked. "They can feed from the surveillance cameras. You said they wanted funky, the image quality is pretty funky in the low light at night." "Then I will explain that before they get all excited about the project. They might have thought that they were going to have access to your house as well." "Yeah, make sure they understand they do not ever know where I live and if they find out, they are not to pass that information on to anyone under threat of death. Try to make sure they don't give the web address of my video surveillance away either." "Oh yes, I'm sure there are things you don't want to be seen by everyone in the world." "Yeah," was all I said. I didn't look at him when I said it. "So about the new car," he suggested. "For the new car we need to see Ed," I replied. Back in the office I said to Ed, "Ed how many used car salesmen have you bailed out of jail?" "Damn, over the years at least a hundred why?" "Is there one you almost trust?" I asked. "Yeah Willie Rice seems to be straight up." "Give him a call. Ask him what he would charge to buy me a car at the wholesale auto auction." Ed made the call then he covered the mouthpiece and said to me, "For me, since I bail his ass our for drunk and disorderly once every couple of years or so, he wants two hundred bucks over what he paid for the car at auction." "Ed, I want to go to the auction with him." "He said no way," Ed replied after his phone consult. "Then tell him thanks anyway, but I'll make the buy at the public auto auction." Ed repeated that into the phone, then added that his next bail would be posted 24 hours after the arraignment instead of immediately. Then Ed listened and turned to me. "Can you live with a Chrysler product. There is an off lease auction Friday morning at 8AM in Tryon." "Tell him I'll meet him anywhere, anytime. Also tell him that I am always on time, and he better be as well." What Ed said was simple, "When and where do you want to meet." He looked up and said to me. "Shirley's pancake house parking lot at 7AM. You will have to leave the van and ride with him. Also bring cash, Willie said." I just nodded my head. I was almost five so I looked to Lucas. "So what do you hear from Flopsy?" I asked. "They are waiting for Marty to make the decision, and then they will make us an offer. Do you want to know what the offer is?" "Not till it is ready to finalized. I don't haggle, so tell her to bring the best she has the first time." "I already told her there is no second chance offers. I think they will come up with most of the money for us. She and Mike can sell season 2 to one of the cable networks at least." He didn't realize it, but he had most likely given me information Mopsy and Flopsy would rather I didn't have. I nodded to him as well. "So how about dinner at the pasta and pizza pit?" "Are you buying?" Ed asked. "Sure why not, I have to swing by the bank to get a lot of cash first." At 6:50AM I pulled the van into Shirley's pancake house parking lot. I felt a little concerned about having $15.000 in cash in my pocketbook. Since I had the .38 hammerless revolver in there as well, I felt a little better. After a lot of bullshit I got through the gates and into the large chain link fenced area. There must have been a couple of hundred Chrysler automobiles of various models parked neatly in the lot. "It would be best, if you picked out three you want. Just write down the number that is on the windshield. When they come up I will bid up to whatever amount you tell me. Make sure you like all three the same, because they won't come up in the order of your preference." Willie was actually a lot nicer than I had expected. All three cars I picked were PT Cruisers. One was silver and two were white. I picked the colors to highlight the signs that would be going on it. They each had between 50 and 60 thousand miles on the engine. After I got one it would be a crap shoot. "So how much do you think they will go for?" I asked. "Seven to nine grand," he said The silver came up first "Willie, do 8k Maximum." I bought it for $7,600. The bidding, though the most frightening, turned out to be the easy part. Inside the metal building, they used as an office, I went through the paperwork with the clerk. I got the title work done by her for twenty bucks in addition to the bid price. I was told that I had to pick the vehicle up by close of business on Monday. The lot would be open all day Saturday for pickups as well. If I had a dealer tag, I could take the car right away. Of course I didn't and Willie was planning to use his tag, even if he hadn't been, his insurance wouldn't cover the car unless it went into his name. Then he would have to do the twenty dollar paper work for a hundred bucks more. I said no thanks. We were back in Aster by 1PM, so I make the call to my insurance agent. I added the Cruiser and got the policy ID number for the DMV. That little DMV exercise took me almost an hour, but I got the tag and temporary registration. Lucas met me at the office, he had been out working. He drove me to Tryon in the van, then took it to finish his process serving. I got the cruiser and headed home. I had to buy gas within a mile of the auction. I figured they went around draining the tanks for their personal cars. The little car seemed to do just fine. I could tell it wasn't the van, but it was still a good ride. Since Lucas was already making the final services of the week, I drove the Cruiser to the Sign Shop. "Do you remember me?" I asked. "Sure you are the lady who can't spell for shit," he said with a big smile and a handshake. "How long will it take to do the same ugly ass signs for the Cruiser." "I only do beautiful signs. You must want the sign depot." He replied. "Okay, just do it," I said with a fake look of exasperation. I made it back to the office in time to say, "Have a good weekend," to both Ed and Lucas. On Saturday I got the bike rack installed on the cruiser. I also removed the rear seat. It wasn't an easy task, but I managed it after a trip to the hardware store for tools. I was proud of myself. I only had one scrape on my knuckles. For me that was a miracle. I drove the cruiser to the Cop Out Saturday night. It was the first time I had been in the place since Gus died. I hadn't really been in for a while before he died. I guess the trip to the Cop Out meant that I was back on the market. I went back to my place to sleep alone again. If I had been looking for real, I could have left with more than one of the men there. Men with an erection have no taste, I thought. When I got home, I gave some serious thought to giving Lucas a show, but decided not to bother. I drifted off to sleep easily because I had a long couple of days and was physically tired. On Sunday Lucas called to say that Mopsy and Flopsy were flying in with the proposal. Marty had arranged for Jen to mediate. Jen was still my friend, but after the Reverend Archer thing, I wasn't sure how much I trusted her. Of course I had known that she was a lawyer, when I took her into my confidence. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 55 Sunday would have been one boring day, had it not been for Gus's bike. I took the bike to the park. The park had a designated bike trail. It was not one of those walking tails, which allowed bikes. It was designated just for bikes. I checked with the Tryon Parks and Recreation department before I drove to the access parking lot. I found that Gus's bike qualified as a bike, not a motor vehicle. So I put on my thermals, then made myself a bowl of cereal. First I added about an ounce of raisins to the big serving bowl I used for cereal. Then I added a few dehydrated banana chips to the raisins. After those I poured in several ounces of a cereal mixture, which I made myself. The dry cereal was corn flakes and brand flakes mixed in equal parts, I really don't care for the taste of either alone. I topped the mixture with sprinkled cinnamon and an ounce or so of sugar free maple syrup. Then I ruined it all by adding rehydrated milk to the mix. It was the only kind of milk that didn't spoil in my refrigerator. I seldom ate breakfast at home, so it was only a minor inconvenience. I had purchased a riding outfit just for chilly days like it was that Sunday. I wore thermal long pants under my tightly woven cotton twill hunter's pants. Those turned the moving air better than jeans. They still had the look of a real person look about them. On top I wore a thermal tee with long sleeves and a light weight but still slightly lined nylon pullover. The pullover was at least two sizes too large. When the weather really turned cold, I planned to pick up a lightweight thermal vest to wear under it. I drove to the office. There I put a 42oz bottle of premix where the biker's water bottle would ordinarily go. I topped off the tiny gas tank on the bike's engine, then loaded it on the cruiser for the drive to the bike trail. I parked the cruiser in the parking lot meant for bike riders only. It was the place to leave our real rides. Once I had the bike off the cruiser, I looked at the next group of riders ready to leave the staging area. None of them spoke to me, even though they were friendly with each other. I had no idea whether they were a riding club, or just snobs. Marty had always talked about the bike purist. They seemed to feel that he was raping the sport. They were in it for fun and exercise, Marty was in it for transportation and profit. I could see a place for both. I'm not sure the spandex group in the parking lot that morning could fit the Marty's vision into their mindset. I didn't really care that they were less than friendly and probably wouldn't until I had a breakdown twenty miles from the parking lot. Well chances of me actually making it twenty miles, were about as good as me competing in the Olympics. I studied the map at the trail's entrance. There was a parking lot 5.5 miles down the trail. That parking lot was the next staging area for riders to join the trail. The trail continued, but for a first day's ride, I decided that 11 miles was plenty. The motor started right up. I checked all the connections before I hefted my soft ass onto the hard seat. "‬This seat has got to go, ‭" I said aloud. I revved the engine just to make sure the clutch was going to work. It was probably the weakest thing about the bike. When it engaged, just as it should, I felt a lot better about the ride. I pedaled out of the parking lot, around and onto the trail. The trail was filled with ups and downs. I used the motor sparingly. I tried to pedal as much as I could and rely on the engine just to help me up the hills. The five miles to the second staging area just flew by. I arrived at the second stage at the spandex crowd with their fancier bikes. I was just as sweaty as they, but not as exhausted as I would have been without the engine. I felt so good that I decided to go to the next staging area. I left the second parking lot on the pedals. I had stopped to look around. The spandex guys must have ridden the trail regularly, because they just kept going. The second staging area was 12 miles from the point where I entered the trail, so I called it a day and turned the bike for home at that point. I was hot and sweaty at the end of the ride, but I wasn't worn out. It had been a good ride and even better it had been fun. The asphalt trail was in bad condition, so I had to be constantly vigilant. Because of that I stayed in the game and it didn't get boring at all. I drove back to the office, where I left the cruiser again. I used the bike to explore the town. I had lived there until I was eighteen, but then I was gone a lot of years. I had been home for over a year now, so I shouldn't be finding new things in such a small town. Even so I did that morning. I found a dirt street about five blocks from the courthouse. There were only four small houses, all of them were abandoned. I filed that away for future reference. Sometimes that useless information proved valuable later. I had spent the whole morning on the bike. It was great fun tooling around town on the bike. Kids loved it and I enjoyed the attention. Rather than eat lunch, I went back to the cruiser. Once the bike was loaded into our safe room, I drove home for a nap. Why not I thought, I might be staying busy for the next few weeks. Sleep when you can, it was a lesson I learned early in my career. "‏Maxine this is Gwendolyn, how are you, ‭" she asked after waking me with the phone call. "‏I'm just fine Gwen how are you‭?" "I am good. I'm glad that you changed your mind about the TV thing.‭" "Well honey, to be honest, mostly I'm bored. I was hoping you might keep me entertained for a while.‭" "Oh we have a quote from you already to go, if you say it again, ‭" Flopsy said. "‏What quote is that, ‭" "One of the people we interviewed said you once told her, "‏You can kick me, you can beat me, you can even kill me, just don't bore me.‭" "Ah that had to be Jennifer. Jennifer is a trip all by herself.‭" "I'm sure she is going to be in the show more than once." "Good, she and Bob really do need the money, ‭" I said with great sarcasm. "‏You chose her for a friend Maxine, not me.‭" "So was there some reason you called, or are you just flirting with me‭?" "The meeting is tomorrow at 9AM in Jennifer's office," she said. "‏I'll be there‭; I would suggest you bring your own coffee. Her receptionist can't make coffee for shit.‭" That pretty much ended the conversation. I called Lucas on his cell phone. I noted immediately that the background noise was the same as with Mopsy. They were either watching the same TV show, or he was with her. My vote was the boy was getting his wick trimmed. "‏So if you want a voice in this negotiation, be at Jennifer's office at 9AM tomorrow. You might want to pick up some coffee on the way. See you in the morning.‭" I wondered if the two of them had my surveillance cameras running in the background. Just in case they did, I masturbated laying on top of me covers. Might as well start the filming with a bang. I removed my clothes very slowly. As I did I applied lotion and caressed whatever body part was revealed. It took an excruciatingly long time. I rubbed lotion on my arms as the top I wore hit the floor. Then I did the same after my cotton twill slacks fell. I followed that by rubbing lotion slowly and erotically over my breasts after my bra fell away. I caressed them in a milking motion. Then I played with the nipples and felt my body temperature rise. I could feel my heart pounding as I tweaked and then pinched my nipples awake. My nipples puff up when I am excited. The aureoles actually change color noticeable with the rush of blood to them. Not many people have taken the time to notice, but some have and commented that they found it exciting. When my panties fell, I rubbed lotion onto my butt and across my waistline, then down onto my upper thighs. My lower thighs had already been coated. Then I ran my finger inside my vulva and felt a jolt of pure lust run through me. After that the play acting stopped and my body demanded more and more stimulation. I rubbed my clit which I pointed right at the inside camera. I worked my finger in and out as I felt my body respond to every stroke. My body was still demanding more stimulation. It was impossible for me to stop at that point. Even if I could, i would not have killed the camera. I did manage to stop long enough to find my red chew toy. It was a dog's toy but Skeeter never saw it. The toy was about ten inches long and made of very hard rubber. It was just a series of teething rings one molded on top of another. It made the most interesting sensations as it stretched the opening of my vagina to an almost painful degree then released the pressure just a little as the ring's widest part passed, then the next ring stretched it again. The chew toy did that over and over until I exploded in several orgasms one after another. After the gut wrenching orgasms, I lay on the bed wondering, as I often did, exactly why I felt the need of a man at all. Maybe I should put the chew toy in the microwave. If it were hot, it would probably feel even better. I laughed to myself. I hated planned masturbation. Then again, the orgasm I just had was more intense, because I thought Lucas and Flopsy might be watching. As is always the case, the doing of the deed, took a lot more time, than the telling of it. It was quite late when I finally fell asleep. I do not think that I even turned over that night. I know that it was one of the few nights, that didn't require a bathroom visit. When I didn't need to use the bathroom, it was a restful night. Of course first thing in the morning I had to spend what seemed like minutes listening to the flow of urine. Not a pleasant subject I know, but life is like that. The necessary things we do are seldom pleasant. Since I didn't bump into Helen, I picked up a biscuit, with only an egg inside, before driving to Jennifer's office. Jennifer's receptionist was already in the office, so she had the pleasure of watching me eat breakfast, while reading the twice weekly, local newspaper. "‏Hi boss, ‭" Lucas said as he, Gwen, and Mike entered the reception area of Jennifer's office. "‏Morning Lucas, you look relaxed.‭" I grinned knowingly. To his credit he didn't try to deny it or confirm it. He just ignored me, which he knew was always best. People, who get hurt, usually let a reasonably harmless situation escalate into much more. Just ignore the provocation and it will go away, most of the time. "‏Good morning everyone, "‬Jennifer said as she came through the front door of the office. "‬Jillian, show our guests to the conference room. I will be right in.‭" I noticed that Jennifer didn't look a 100%. Maybe she is just tired, I thought. "‏The meeting began, when Jennifer entered the room. "‬I will be acting for Marty as his advisor. He will also be listening in on speaker phone. He could not be with us today.‭" She turned to the phone, then said, "‬Are you still there Marty‭?" "Yes I am Jennifer, let‭'‬s get on with this.‭" "Maxine I know how you hate bullshit, so I am going to make this simple. Marty is proposing that you star in a reality show of fifteen minute segments on his TV network. It will be broadcast over the Internet.‭" "Before you go on Jen, what other shows does he have on there‭?" "Some bike builder shows, and a couple of kids educational things. I'm just getting started Max, so I'm keeping them simple.‭" "And cheap, ‭" I added. "‏Yeah that to, ‭" He agreed. "‏So how many of these 15 minute dramas, am I signing on for‭?" I asked. "‏Well at first I am proposing that the two producers film you 24/7 for a month. Then they will edit it into as many shows as they can get from the raw footage.‭" "That is going to be one boring show," I admitted. "‏Let us worry about that, ‭" Mike said. "‏Then let's get to the money part of this, ‭" I said. "‏I'm proposing ten grand for your cooperation.‭" Marty's voice suggested. "‏That's peanuts, and you know it.‭" I replied. "‏Max you ain't a star yet, ‭" Marty said with a laugh. "‏And I don't want to be, but I don't want to be your slave either. I'll do the 24/7 for 30 days and the cost is 25K no negotiation.‭" I had actually expected the kids to be the negotiators. Obviously Marty didn't trust them with his money. "‬And Marty hon, this is a one-time deal. If you want more, the price is going to be more.‭" "You drive a hard bargain," he suggested "If you didn't think I was worth it, none of us would be here.‭" I replied. "‏Okay, you can have your blood money.‭" "Let's hope it isn't blood money. Now about the others, who will show up in the video.‭" "Well it isn't about them. The producers will have to get waivers and pay them what they have to.‭" "I was thinking Lucas and Ed," I suggested. "‏Five grand each, ‭" was the offer from the speaker phone. I turned to Lucas before I answered. He nodded. He was in love, the blow jobs were enough for him. I was sure of it. "‏Done‭! Now for a couple of ground rules. First, I want it in the contract that it will cost you 100K if my residence address gets out because of this show. Second, you can use anything I say, unless it puts me at risk for prosecution. It's the Internet, so try to keep it within the limits of good taste, even though you don't have to do that to broadcast there.‭" "Sure you have my word. Gwen, Mike, if I pay that 100K, you will never work again, that I promise ... Now I have things to do. I would say behave Max, but it will be a better show if you don't.‭" So that's how I became a half ass TV star. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 56 The deal was struck for the shooting to begin immediately. Actually the Pros from Dover filmed the conference. They used a small camera, which each of them carried at all times. As I said before, the funky image quality was part of the show's make up. In my mind Pros was the new abbreviation for producers, and the 'from Dover' was a line from the MASH movie I remembered from my childhood. So the two of them operating together, became the Pros from Dover. All they needed were loud Hawaiian shirts, and golf clubs to complete the image. Oh yeah, they could use a better sense of humor as well. Even so, they were humorous. Well they were, if I stood on one foot and closed one eye. Everything is funny if you find the right angle to view it. "So what exactly does 24/7 mean?" I asked "We have access to the security camera in your house, so that we don't have to be there. If we need to, we can install our own higher definition camera." "I already agreed to that provided, you don't show my old, naked ass online." "We agree to keep it PG rated this first time." Jen's paralegal was writing like hell. "When you go out to work, one of us rides with you and one with Lucas. We will want to get some before action, and post action interviews." "You do know this is not combat, we are talking about. We go in disguise to serve court orders, so we can only take one vehicle. You are just going to have to live with that. You must stay in the car while we serve the court orders. If you can rig some kind of hidden camera on Lucas, or me that is acceptable." I suggested. "You can either get releases after the fact, or distort the face of the subjects of the orders." Jennifer suggested. "We can rig up something," Mike admitted. "On the bail jumpers, you can film anything that doesn't get me in deep shit. The releases or distortion is the same, I would suppose. They most likely will sign the release for money, if you give them a day to cool off." "Right, this isn't our first dance you know." Mike said. "It might not be your first dance, but it is your first dance with me. So you listen to the rules and you play nice, or else you pack your shit and go home." I wasn't angry. I just wanted the terms clear to all. "How about your body guard work?" "If I do any, you need to get releases from everybody involved." "If anyone says no, then you stay away from everyone except when they are in public." Jennifer demanded. "You will just be paparazzi, if they refuse to sign on." "Fair enough," Mike said. "Jen, I suppose you are going to act as mediator." "Yes, you have me on speed dial and I will give these two my numbers. Call me if you get to an impasse, but please try hard to work it out amongst yourselves first." "Of course," I replied, smiling my best wicked smile. Back at the office Lucas got on the phone to make some calls. He was canvassing our lawyer clients. We did that whenever things got slow. They usually had something they could throw our way. What he got was three more papers to pick up in Tryon. When added to the other four that came in too late to pickup, and the two we couldn't locate on Friday, we had a full day. We usually picked up something else as the day went on as well. "So here is how it is really going to work." I said. "I will drive the van with Lucas in the front seat beside me as usual. One of you, but not both, can come along and ride in back. It isn't real comfortable, but it should do. Besides you need to suffer for your art. If you feel you need your partner, feel free to both drive up in your rental car." "Why don't I go along, and Gwen can get some background shots. Maybe she can do interviews with some of the locals, who want their half minute of fame." Mike suggested. "Suits me," I replied. I noticed the look Lucas gave Mike. I wasn't sure what it was about, but I wouldn't have been surprised, if a pissing contest was somehow involved. "Gwen, you need to go to the Cop Out sometime today. See if you can get permission to film inside. I really want to get some shots of Maxine and her friends," "Now listen up Mike. If you film my friends, get their permission first. Don't you dare ambush any of them." "I understand," he answered much too casually. "Don't just say I understand, make me believe that you really do understand." "I got it Max. Geeze lighten up." "Sweetie this is me light. Don't make me show you my heavy side." "Okay, okay, I get it." "Then we are ready to leave. Pee now if you need to, we will not be taking any breaks for a while." Lucas and I wore a hidden mike and a really awful, low definition hidden camera. Mostly we always got the same people. They were dressed different and with different hair, otherwise they were all pretty much cookie cutter images. Women who couldn't believe that bastard could do, whatever he was doing. Then there were the men, who couldn't believe that bitch was doing, whatever it was that she was doing. We had one 'Dissolution of business partnership' asset freeze order to serve. Usually they went well, since it was just a formality. However now and then it came as a shock to one of the partners. The latter was the case with The Ivy and Rose hair design studio. From our fact sheet we knew that Ivy St James no longer worked at the salon. We were to serve the court orders advising Rose O' Flynn that the fixtures were to be auctioned off to the highest bidder on a Saturday morning two weeks in the future. "Why don't you handle this one?" I suggested to Lucas. "Sure boss, the usual? I have a delivery for Rose?" he asked. "Since we know Ivy isn't there, ask for either owner but no one else will do. Put the order in one of our boxes. They probably get a lot of deliveries." We had been carrying small white packing boxes for a while. It was easy to put a label on them inside the van. Usually we didn't even bother with that. The clipboard and box were usually enough to get a signature. When the mooch opened the box, they found the court order covered with the blue paper. Lucas went inside the shop, I sat in the van with Mike. While we waited, I listened to Lucas's microphone, as I always did. Mike watched the action from the low resolution camera. "You know, you never did ask who shot the man holding the hostages." "I figured it was you, to be honest." I replied. "Really why?" Mike asked. "The Reverend's only experience with guns is with pistols and gangster movies on TV. You did a tour in the army. No combat, but you were in combat arms." "When did you know?" he asked. "A couple of days after, I did some checking. I figured if you didn't mention it, you had a reason, so I didn't either." "I didn't want to get tied up in some investigation, or have the Russians looking at me." "Good reasoning, I figured the Reverend wanted the glory and you wanted to stay behind the camera." "Yeah that was pretty much it. Have you heard anymore from the Russians?" "No, I don't think I'm worth the resources. In spite of what the FBI says, it is business with them, not personal. At least I hope that's the case," I replied. "Me too for all our sakes. I don't figure the Preacher is going to give up a finger to protect me." "No, I wouldn't put a lot of faith in the Reverend." I turned away from Mike abruptly. Lucas was holding a first class cussin'. Fortunately he had some experience in it. I paid very close attention to see, if I needed to go in and rescue him. "You God Damn parasite. What kind of man makes a living off other people misfortune." Rose said in a shrill voice. "Come on Lucas throw some water on the fire and get out of there." I said aloud but for myself not the camera. "Ma'am I have some idea how you feel, but that is between you and your lawyers, I'm just a delivery boy. I don't want no trouble." His grammar wasn't great, but it got the job done. "He said all the right things, and it sounds like he believes them," I said to Mike, since I seemed to be the narrator for his little epic. "You are still a bastard," Rose said but the steam had been vented. She was more or less calm. "Damn that almost got hinky," Lucas said when he returned to the van. "I'll get the next couple so you can calm down. I don't want you taking that energy to the next one. It will just give the mooch something to feed off." I started the van and headed toward the next stop. "Lucas, do you want to stop for coffee?" "No but I wouldn't mind a chocolate milkshake from McDonalds." he answered. "If I can ever get senior coffee, I'm going just move in there." I said with a smile. The next two deliveries were to wives. Court orders to prevent them from selling anything until the hearing. Those I delivered in plain brown envelopes. "Sorry Ma'am I have no idea what is inside. All I know is it's registered and I have to have a signature." I didn't really need one. I just needed her to admit that she was indeed the correct mooch. After a while they all look alike. Usually I got the identification before I had to go into the questions about what's inside the envelope. If she wouldn't sign, then I said, "Well ma'am I am going to leave this with you. You have been served a court order from your estranged husband." If they signed, I just handed them the envelope and left quickly. After I served two, Lucas was ready to go again. But next up was an order for the return of property. We didn't pick up the property; we just delivered the paper that demanded its return. Usually those were a pain in the butt, if they wanted to show their ass after they found out what it was. I usually just walked away, Lucas had the macho thing against him, so I tried to serve those. "Hello," I said to the man who came to the door of the up-scale condo." Is Mr." I looked at the clipboard before I continued, "Seacroft available?" "I'm Julius Seacroft," he said. "Mr. Seacroft, I have a registered message for you sir. If you will sign here, I will hand it over." I smiled my prettiest smile. "No offense Ma'am, but I am in the middle of a dispute with a business associate. I am not taking delivery of anything, until I call my lawyer." When he turned to go into the house to make his call. I opened the storm door then I threw the slightly weighted brown envelope through the door. "Sir you have been served," I said it as I turned to leave. "What the fuck do you mean bitch? I ain't taking this thing." "That is between you and your lawyer sir. I just deliver the message. I am just the messenger." "Well I ain't taking it, you take it back." "Too late, you have it in your hands and my partner in the van over there has a picture of you holding it. I'm sorry please feel free to report this to your lawyer." I carefully walked to the van. "Am I clean," I asked Lucas. "Yeah, he went back inside." Lucas said. "Good, I do hate to kick the shit out of an old man in front of his neighbors." I laughed as I climbed into the driver's seat. "How about you doing the last one?" Lucas delivered the last court order to a grandmother type who offered him a muffin. Lucas knew better than to accept. I know he had been tempted, when the grandmother wasn't a granny but some twenty year old beauty, but they were all trouble. I had explained that a dozen times. "Well that's the end of day one," I said as we drove toward the office. "So what do you usually do now?" Mike asked. "Oh about this time I usually decide what I'm going to do for dinner. Then go do it." "Why don't we all go to dinner?" Lucas suggested. "Sounds nice, but we can't do that. This all has to be about Maxine, you and Ed. If this is to work, it has to be as if we weren't even here," Mike suggested. I had to admit that it made perfect sense. The kid seemed to be a lot smarter than I had originally thought. "Okay, so I'll drop you two and go to dinner." I suggested. "I'm going to follow you," Mike demanded. "I won't eat with you, but I will film it. I have some more cute camera tricks." "Oh hell, I thought I was through with you for the day." I smiled and tried not to show my irritation. My cell phone rang. I put it on speaker as I had agreed at Jen's office. "At your service," I said into the electronic chain. "Hey Ms. Stone, you wanna have dinner tonight?" "I don't know, who is calling?" "My name is Jerry Raven, and I know Raven is a girl's name, I'm also a friend of Reverend Archer. Well friend is a little too much, I am being interviewed for a job with him. He suggested I talk to you to get a feel for who he is. So I thought dinner would be good." "Jerry call me back in twenty minutes, I have a business call holding." I pushed the off button. In effect I hung up on him. After the dial tone returned I pushed the speed dial for Reverend Archer. "Preacher this is Maxine, what the hell are you doing telling people to call me for dinner dates. Are you trying to pimp my ass out. Call me if you want me to meet with this Raven character." I knew that Mike had me on camera, but I didn't give a crap. When we pulled into the office parking lot, I had worked myself into a real mood. "If he calls back are you going to go out with him?" Mike asked. I was sure that I was on camera. "I have no idea, I will make up my mind when he calls, if he does." I meant it. If I heard from Archer first, the decision would be easier. "So how was your day," Gwen asked. She might have wanted me to answer, but she was looking at Lucas. "Oh it was peachy keen," I said ignoring her lack of attention. Mike was about to speak, when my phone rang. "Hello." I said into the phone, which would always be on speaker. "Maxine dear, I didn't tell him to call for a date. I did tell him to talk to you, if he had doubts that I could produce what I promised." "Ah, then why in hell would he want to have dinner with me?" "Because he has heard all about you. I guess he did his homework before the job interview." "So he is ligit?" I asked. "He is, so go eat have fun but not too much fun." "The amount of fun I have is no longer any of your concern." I laughed out loud. The guys at the office had to be curious. I figured it was good to keep them guessing. I was about to leave for dinner alone, when the call came. "Hello," I said into the cell. "So did the Reverend vouch for me?" Raven asked. "He did indeed. So where are you taking me for dinner." "It's your town, you tell me." "Did you drive to town or are you carless in Aster?" "I have my car, but you could pick me up at the motel." "I could, but I think not. Twenty yards south of the intersection of Main and Church, there is an old style trailer. It is attached to a concrete block building with a sign with a pig painted on it. The place is called Keplan's Barbecue. I'll be there in thirty minutes, should I wear a rose or will you know me." "I think I'll know you, but what are you wearing just in case?" "A white sweater, and jeans," I replied. "And under that?" "My, my you are a dirty boy." I laughed again, knowing Mike was probably filming me. "So humor me and answer." Raven almost demanded. "Bikini panties and a push up bra, slightly padded." "Nice, I'll be there," he said. Then he hung up on me. "So will I," I said into the dead phone. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 57 Keplan's was really just a hole in the wall. It had been open in that shiny giant thermos bottle trailer, with its open air barbecue pits, since the 30's. In the seventies the EPA, and probably the health department, forced the construction of the small concrete block building behind the trailer to house real cookers. There was even a kitchen in the block building for the plating of the food. By the time I returned home, the trailer was just the dining area. The center portion of the trailer and opening to the kitchen was also the counter seating area complete with a cash register. Each end and sides of the trailer were lined with booths of differing sizes depending on its physical location inside the trailer. There was not a single table or chair in the place. Sometimes when there were groups, the customers occupied three or more booths. The people just shouted back and forth to have a conversation. It was a controlled riot scene, but it was always interesting in Keplan's. Since, when I entered I didn't see a man sitting alone; I took a small end booth for two. The smaller booths on the ends by the door allowed for people to pass the counter without a major accident. "What you gonna have Max?" the man behind the counter shouted over the customers seated in front of him at the counter. "Just ice tea for now, Jim. I got a date coming." I smiled. He shook his head as if in disbelief. Jerry Raven arrived about halfway through the glass of iced tea. "You must be Maxine," he said standing over me and looking down. Jerry was tall. "I am and that would make you Jerry Raven," I suggested. "Doctor Jerry Raven actually." He said it as if I should be impressed. I wasn't. "Oh I am impressed," I lied, as he seated himself across from me. "And what is your specialty?" "Oh I'm not a medical doctor exactly. PHD in behavioral and clinical psychology." he admitted. "Ah, that would mean you are here to help turn the Hazelwood Inn into a drug rehab facility." "That is correct," Jerry said in a very calm voice. It was his shrink voice, I was sure of it. It was a voice I had heard before. It always made me wonder how long they spent in front of a mirror practicing it. "What do you recommend," he said staring at the menu. "I have no idea, but I'm having the small barbecue tray myself. I avoid French fries, but I'm told that the ones served here are very good. With the plate you get fries, on the tray it's the same thing but no fries," I explained. "Then it's the plate for me. I love French fries. Actually I love anything French." "Well I love anything fried, but fried foods are not good for my ass." "Your body looks just fine to me?" he said. "But you are looking at it from the outside. That isn't the same as looking out of it." "I suppose that is true." "It is," I replied. "Hold on a second." I said turning my attention to the counter. "Jim, how about one small tray, one large plate, and an ice tea for my date." "Can do Max." he replied. "So does everyone just shout their orders?" Jim asked. "Only at night. During the lunch rush they have a waitress. She shouts it." "Ah okay, sounds like an interesting life that I am about to get into." "Could be, but it's like anywhere else. It is more about what you make of it, than what it really is. It's like this place, you can only come in at lunch when there is a waitress, or you can come in at night and take your turn at bat," "So, is Archer going to have the money to start a residence center from the ground up?" Jerry asked. "He doesn't have to start it from the ground up The Hazelwood has all the fixtures in place. It's gonna be 'you supply the junkies and just add water' kind of thing." "Well that part is true. Do you have any interest in the rehab center?" "Not a nickel invested or donated." I admitted. "Good, tell me this, did you and Archer have a thing?" "That is none of your business," I replied. "Well that is an answer. He described you as a bi sexual, submissive type lover, is that true?" "He actually told you that?" I asked with a smile. "Yes, of course it did take a little prompting." "Why in the world would you prompt him? Anyone in town would have told you I screw around. And why the interest anyway?" "But do they know you are a submissive?" he asked. "I'm not a submissive, but I can pass," I replied. "So are you in the life, or are you doing a paper for some professional journal?" "I dabble. Like you, I can also pass." "I see, so are you going to take the job?" "Archer doesn't have the funding yet. What he wanted was an 'if you get the money. I will come' kind of thing." "So if he gets the money, will you cum?" "Conditionally, I agreed yes." "Good for you, this town needs another downtown draw even it if is junkies," I suggested. "You really are cold, aren't you? I mean cold in your real life. Does that mean you are hot in your sex life?" "It means I am what I am, and don't pretend to be anything else in any of my lives," I said it with a smile which I hoped was mysterious. "What's it like to kill a man?" he asked. "From sex to death, is there some kind of symbolism there?" I asked. "Maybe there is, but I didn't think of that when I asked. I'm curious not many women kill a man and then avoid prison. At least not ones I can ask about it. My guess is the Russian was not your first." No, he wasn't the first, but I do hope he was the last." "So do you have nightmares?" "Yes I have nightmares, but not about the Russian." "What do you have nightmares about then?" he asked. "Am I going to get a bill for this session," I asked. I looked up to see Mike with what appeared to be a cell phone pointed at me. He was filming us and probably recording the conversation as well, since I was still wearing my hidden microphone. "No charge, so who is in your nightmare?" "An Afgan child, a little girl. The Taliban decided to make an example of her. A kind of message to her friends and family. Don't talk to the Americans or death will be a blessing." "Was it an awful sight?" he asked. "It was bad enough, so that I still see her in the nightmare," I replied. "Did you find the man or group who did it," he asked. "Not me, but a forward air controller, an air commando if you will, painted a shack with a laser marker that very same night. Sometime in the early morning hours a missile found them. They didn't count on her mother telling me where they were. She wasn't nearly as terrorized as they hoped. Men just don't get how 'just gut level pissed off' a mother can get. If the Afgan men had a mother's courage, the Taliban would be exterminated in a month." "So you didn't kill the bad guys?" "No, I just worked out a trade so that the commando painted the house. I did get to go to the shack the next day and spit on the bodies." "Do you have PTSD?" he asked. "You really know how to change the subject. No, I did my time in counseling while I was recovering from a bit of misplaced steel." I looked over his should to see Jim push the cafeteria tray with our food, and a small pitcher of iced tea down the counter. "Turn around and get that tray please." The Doc did just that. I went to work on the chopped barbecue and coleslaw. "This is really quite good," he admitted. "I'm glad you like it," I replied. "Not a very romantic place for a date though," "Well this isn't a date, now is it? You wanted to know, if the preacher really had the inside track on that grant. I'm telling you that he does. I have no idea the exact status, but I know he has people in Washington trying to get it through." "Well, I'm not going to turn in my notice," he admitted. "But I will sign a letter of intent." "You need to ask Jennifer, but I expect that will be sufficient." "So how about you come back to my place for a drink?" he asked. "I have a better idea, why don't you come over to the Cop Out and have a drink." "Is that where you usually hang out?" he asked. "No, it's where I go when I need a drink." "Sure, why not?" he asked. "Why not indeed," I replied. Seconds later I saw Mike on the phone. I figured he was going to pass me off to Gwen. Most likely I would find her waiting for me at the Cop Out. She would probably be with Lucas. "What a dump," the doc said. "Well, I'm not holding you against your will. You do have a car in the parking lot." "I didn't mean it like that. Just that it isn't what I am used to," he said. "You really are making it worse. Why don't you just leave." "Like hell I will." "Then let me introduce you around." He just smiled at the prick. I carried him from table to table and introduced him to the cops, nurses, and EMTs. He seemed to be enjoying it. He should have enjoyed the attention of the nurses and female EMTs at the very least. They were all over him, when I introduced him as a doctor. "Go dance with some of the nurses," I suggested, when we were seated. "You won't be upset?" he asked. "Not at all," I assured him. "Try the redhead, she can't keep her eyes off you." While Doc Jerry danced with nurses, I got a good look at Gwen and Lucas. She kept her eyes on me, even while Lucas whispered in her ear. She was professional enough to keep an eye on business, even though Lucas was busy trying to distract her. I slipped out of the club while Doc Jerry was dancing with a washed out looking blond from the ER. The drive home was always a pain, it is as dark as a serial killers heart in the country at night. I did have a motion triggered light at the gate thank god. It was there for me, not the camera but it worked for both of us. When my car approached, the light came on. Then I let the gate opener worked its magic. A few minutes later I was walking into the door of my place. I was almost naked, when I remembered that I was most likely being watched. I resisted the urge to make a universal gesture of contempt toward the camera. Instead I slipped the long tee shirt over my bra, then worked the bra off under the shirt. I crawled into bed still wearing my panties. I couldn't sleep so I masturbated under the covers. I had no idea whether I was being watched or not. Even if I were, they most likely couldn't tell for sure. I was noisy as I got close to orgasm, but I didn't care there was no sound. It wasn't until the next morning, that I remembered the hidden microphone in my clothes. It was possible that they would hear me after all when they ran the tapes. After the moderately strong orgasm, I fell almost immediately into a deep sleep. When I awoke the next morning, I took a shower and almost forgot about the camera again. I hadn't even thought about Lucas seeing me, but Gwen and Mike were talking about showing my ass to the world. I did the walk about the room in a towel rather than naked, as I had so many times before. Those times Lucas might well have been watching. I wore just the towel while I started the coffee. While it brewed I dressed as I usually did, except I did turn away from the camera. It least that hid my boobs and bush. I filled my large delta cup with coffee, then left the cabin quickly. I hated that camera thing, but I had agreed to it. I drove the cruiser home the night before, so I had no choice but to drive it to the office that morning. I stopped by the local Hardee's for a biscuit. I didn't open the wrapper until I got to the office. I munched on the crispy biscuit with a scrambled egg, while I waited for the others to arrive and the day to really begin. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 58 The second day with the Pros from Dover started out with me waiting for them. I didn't have any real plans. It was to be a day with just more of the same boring crap, so I didn't mind waiting. "At your service," I said into the office phone. "My god Maxine is that how you are going to talk to me?" "No Jen, I'm sitting at my desk. I don't have caller ID here. I thought you were a client." "Well hell, I am a client. Marty told me to keep an eye out for anything fun that I could send your way. He is willing to pay the freight in order to get his little show off to a roaring start." "I am not going to fake shit just for his stupid show. Nor am I going to do anything to endanger my people, just so we can look cool for him. I do things the smart way, not the violent way." "We know that, it's why he wants you for the show. He could hire an actress to play wonder woman and give him blow jobs on the side." "So what's the gig?" "You are going to love this one. It's a recovery, not just the notice this time. You are going to pick up the item." "And what is this item you that are so mysterious about." "On no bitch, first you have to let me tell it my own way." "Well at least get on with it before I fall asleep." "Corporal James A. Dewey enlisted in the United States Army two years ago. This is all according to his mommy, who is my pro bono client. Actually like I said Marty is paying the bill for it." "Get on with it Jen. I might be too old for the job at the rate you are going." "Dewey is off for his first tour of duty in the big sandbox, when his wife decides she just don't love him anymore. Sounds like a country song don't it." "One I have heard way too many times from some crying soldier," I replied. "Well she took everything of course," Jen added. "Of course," I replied. "Dewey wasn't rich and they didn't have much, so he don't give a crap about the money or the crummy furniture, but Dewey and his dad restored a 1966 Ford mustang 2+2, whatever that is." "Nice ride," I admitted. "So she took off with the car. Now that car was his before he married her. Not gonna be community property, if I can get a friendly judge, and when haven't I been able to do that." "Jen, that isn't hard. When you were between husbands, you screwed all of them." "Yeah honey, but some of them retired and the ones since Bob don't owe me. Anyway I got an order to seize the car and put it into impound until the hearing." "Is that legal?" I asked. "The court can order anything. She can apply to get it back, if she gets a lawyer. My guess is she can't afford a lawyer." "Is that her only car, cause I got to tell you I feel bad taking her only way to get to work." "She has a little Dodge of some kind. She took the car because it is the only thing of value they had. His is the only name on the title, so she hasn't been able to sell it yet. Dewey is afraid she will sell it for parts. It really is valuable." "So this kid is in the sandbox, and she takes off with his car?" I asked. I was warming up to the job. "Not only that Max, but his dad passed the same year he joined up. It's about all he has left of his dad." "Am I going to need a locksmith? You know she won't hand me the keys, court order or not. I'm not going to jail for kicking her ass over someone else's property." "I got the spare key his mommy had. She had it from when he was in high school and kept losing his." "Yeah I can remember those days," I agreed. "Get me the information pack, and I'll see what I can do." "Don't forget to take the camera crew along." "Oh honey, I have been playing nice with the 'Pros from Dover'." "The who?" "Never mind it's a not so funny private joke." "Well, continue to play nice with them. This project is important to Marty, and Marty is important to my firm." "Not to mention he was one of those old lovers, like the judges." "You make me sound like a whore," Jen said. "Hey if the '8 inch stiletto fits'," I replied. "The packet is ready, just come get it as soon as you can." "Lucas will be in shortly, when the 'Pros' get here; I can send him that way." "Good, Marty is anxious for you to get started on something interesting." "The the 'Pros' should have been here to film this conversation." I suggested. "Well they don't need to know everything we do." "So you plan to manipulate them?" "Of course Maxine dear, it's what I do. You are the only one I don't manipulate." "No sweetie, I'm the only one you can't manipulate. Even though I have seen you naked, I can still resist you." "So, I'm a better fuck than a lesbian," she said laughing at me. "Go back to work, I'll send Lucas over for the packet." Since Jen was in town, we could afford to pick up the packet and take a look before we began the day's real work. We might be able to work the recovery into our day. Most likely not, that would be too easy, but it was worth a try, "Good morning boss," Lucas said as he entered with Gwen right behind him. "Good morning Lucas, and Gwen," I smiled at them both. "I hope you two had fun, I am into my third cup of coffee." "Sorry boss, we went to breakfast and it just kind of got late on us." "Ah well if it kinda happens again, I'm going to send you home." "Hey we never had office hours," Lucas said. "Well we do now. I have something for you to do. I want you to run over to Jen's for a file and a key. Be sure you get both." "One of you go with Lucas the other come with me." I said to our Producers. "I'll go with Lucas," Gwen said. "I would rather you come with me," I interjected. "Why?" she asked. "Because if Lucas gets sloppy with Mike at his side, then it's on Lucas. If Lucas gets sloppy with you by his side, I would never know whose fault it was. And I would hate to deal with you in that case." "Oh you don't think I can keep my personal and professional lives separated." "Lucas if you could you would be the first human being to do it." "She is right," Mike said. "If I step into shit you would be less likely to hop in without thinking, than you would be if it were Gwen." "They are right," Gwen said to Lucas. "Okay, but it sucks that you don't think I can handle myself." With that he stormed out. "Come on Gwen you can watch me serve a couple of papers while we wait for them." I drove to a small retail store in the Crossroads Mall. It was almost ten when we arrived, so we went to the food court for coffee. "You don't like me much do you?" Gwen asked. "I might not if I gave you any thought at all. Problem is I never thought about you personally at all. You are just as someone on the outskirts of my life." "You don't like me screwing Lucas." "You can fuck him all you want, just don't fuck him up." "I won't," she replied. "Good, then we don't have a problem." When the stores opened, I went inside the small retail clothing store while Gwen hung back and pointed her cell phone at me. I did the look at my clip board thing and asked for the little girl whose name was on the court order. It was an order for her to produce her son at a custody hearing. "I'm Judith Adams," the young woman replied. "I have a registered message for you. Would you sign on line five please?" The young woman signed without any hesitation. Once she signed, I handed her the plain brown envelope. I turned to her and said Judith Adams you have just been served with a court order to produce your son at a custody hearing. The details are in the envelope." "How could you do this to me?" She asked. "I'm not doing anything Judith. I am just handing you the envelope. The order is signed by a judge. He is who you need to talk to. I would call my lawyer, if I were you." "Get the hell out of here before I do something stupid." "Please don't do anything stupid. I'm leaving now." Gwen had the whole thing on tape and I was glad that the situation didn't turn redneck. We served two more Aster papers before we returned to the office. Once there I read through the file. It upset me, but I tried to control my anger. Corporal Dewey wasn't the first soldier to get the shitty end of the marriage stick, but he was the first one that I could do anything about. I made up my mind that I was going to get his car back period. Jen's packet had a picture of the forest green mustang fastback 2+2 coupe. There was also a key along with a copy of the court's authorization for me to seize the property of one James A Dewey. Dewey was presently on active duty with the United States Army in Afghanistan. Jen gave me the address of the wife's present residence, as well as the address of her job. I decided that it would be best to pick it up during the day at her job, rather than in the middle of the night at her apartment. At the apartment in the middle of the night she might just take a shot at us. "Lucas, let's take the cruiser. You drive and I'll steal the car." "Let me get the car," he suggested. "It would be better if I did it. Less chance of a violent confrontation." I suggested. "Alright but if you get in any trouble at all, I will be right behind you." "That's what I expect, every time we go out." Mrs. Dewey was a cosmetologist at a local hair salon. The building with the salon was free standing with a front parking lot. There was no way that I could get the car without her seeing me do it. After making sure the Mustang was in the parking lot, I said to Lucas, "Tell you what Lucas, let's dot the I's and Cross the T's on this one. I have a feeling she is one of those, call 911 types." You pick up the car and I'll explain things and show her the papers." "And if she decides to get hinky?" he asked. "Then we will just have to see. Who is the bitch with the most fight in here?" "Be careful Boss," he said. "You do the same. If anyone comes up to challenge you, just explain. Then walk away, if they get hinky." "All right but I don't leave without you." Lucas said. It was gratifying to know that I could trust him. We left the car at the same time. While we were each doing our thing, the producers were shooting images. Mrs. Dewey, my name is Maxine Stone. I have a court order directing me to seize one Ford Mustang 1966." "That's my car you can't take it." "Actually, it's your husband's car and he wants it back." "I can't believe my ex is doing this," she said. "I don't know who is doing what. I only know I have this piece of paper authorizing me to take the car to the impound, pending the courts determination of ownership. I'm sorry, would you give me the key please. I knew she wouldn't, she just seemed to be the bitchy type. "Fuck no, I'm not giving you shit," she said in a very calm voice. "Fair enough," I said waiting for Lucas to start the car and drive away. The car roared to life and he was gone before she could do anything. I looked her in the eye and said, "You can visit the car in the Aster police impound lot. Have your lawyer call the court clerk for further details." She made one of the biggest mistake of her life. Cheating on her husband was a mistake. Writing him a Dear John was also a mistake, but drawing back to slap me was monumentally stupid. I simply jabbed her with stiff fingers in the Solar Plexus. She went down like a tree. She lay on the floor in front of all her co workers and friends. I watched to see, if anyone wanted to jump into the fray. A couple of them looked a little antsy, so I said, "Before you guys decide how much you love your buddy down there, and come up with some bullshit story, the woman over there videotaped it all. You might want to get in line with what really happened." I still watched them closely as we backed out of the salon. "Being a bad ass is one thing, but it isn't near as cool as being on the right side, when you go all evil bitch on someone like that slut." I said that for the camera and to justify my treatment of her. I had already made my case as to why we were taking the Mustang. I wasn't at all surprised when a big ugly dude showed up in the office a couple of hours later. He had come to play tough guy for his chick. He didn't bring her along, so I was pretty sure it all bluster. "I want to know what the fuck you think you were doing assaulting my girlfriend?" he said it as he stood over my desk. "To be perfectly honest it was a case of self defense, but I can't say I'm sorry that it worked out that way." "What does that mean?" he demanded. I stood up before I spoke, "It means I have nothing but contempt for you and your girlfriend. Her husband is in Afghanistan with the sand fleas and you are home fucking like bunnies." "Why you two bit bitch," he said drawing back his hand to slap me. If the damn stun gun had not gotten caught in my jacket as it came out of the holder, things would have gone differently. As it was he connected with the open handed slap. The impact propelled me hard against the concrete block wall. I had the taste of copper in my mouth, so I knew I was going to be spitting out blood for a while. He came at me again. The stun gun was finally untangled. Just as I zapped him in the throat Lucas grabbed him from behind, so Lucas got a jolt as well. What Lucas didn't get were the three kicks to the body with my steel toed leather hiking boots. I knew that the boyfriend was down for the count, so I spit the blood from my mouth on him. "Gwen put down the camera and help Lucas, Mike has it covered. The boyfriend had started to move around. "Now friend I have to make a decision. I figure I have three options." I quickly removed the .38 from my shoulder rig. "Option one: I can call the cops, but then they get to have all the fun. Option two: I can let you walk away from this with a warning. But if I ever see you again, even if it's in the mall, I will kick your ass in front of your pretty little girlfriend. Option three: I can shoot you in the face and plant a gun on you. I really think the third option is the only one to permanently solve my problem. With all that in mind, what do you think I should do?" He had lost his tough guy demeanor. "You wouldn't shoot me in cold blood?" He didn't really sound all that sure of himself. "Let's see, all the witnesses are my friends, or they have a vested interest in me staying out of jail. So, all it is to me is the looking for the best solution. It is purely academic." "Then let me go and I will keep my girlfriend in line. If you kill me she will raise all kinds of hell." "See now you are making some sense. I'm going to let you walk, but remember who has the witnesses to your asshole assault on me." "I remember," he said. "Then get the hell out of here and stay far, far away from Aster." After he had gone Gwen came over to look at my face. "You are going to have some swelling and a bruise. You should go to the hospital or at least a clinic." "Nothing to it kiddo, I have had worse beat downs. I just hate that it's going to hurt to eat for a while. I just bought a dozen oranges yesterday." I hadn't really but it sounded good. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 59 I try to think out every move to minimize my risk of injury. I know it sounds like I go into things hell bent and stupid, but I actually do consider all my options almost every time. I never considered the big ugly boyfriend option, so I held ice on my cheek and eye. Those were going to be ugly, but the cuts inside my mouth were the most painful. I was pissed at my own stupidity, to mention my lack of planning to allow that jacket to bag over the stun gun holder. I tried to drink coffee by tilting my head to keep if off the cuts, but nothing worked. Every time I thought about the pain in my mouth, I decided that I should have gone for option three and planted the damn gun on the boyfriend. Since I was smaller, the three kicks I delivered probably made us about even. The zap with the stun gun was just a bonus point for our side. The Mustang was in the impound, the Pros from Dover had their film. I had the swollen cheek, black eye and chopped up mouth. All was right with the world. Okay all except me, I was a mess. I had been there before, so I knew a couple of stiff drinks and a hot soaking bath were in order. I didn't have a bathtub at the moment, but I did have the bottle of Canadian Club. The bottle had been a gift from Marty. Signing that stupid contract came with a bonus. "Jen," I said into the speaker phone. "Yes Maxine," "I need to soak in a hot bath and get roaring drunk. It's all your fault, so it's one of your tubs. I'll bring my own liquor." "What the hell makes you think that there isn't enough liquor in my house to float Bob's sail boat?" "Good point, but according to your contract, where I go the Pros go. So prepare to be invaded." "Hell, bring that cute Lucas and we will have a party." Jen suggested. "I don't need a party, I need to soak my ass," I replied. "You soak, we will party," she suggested. "Well everyone here heard you, so now you are stuck with them all. Do you want me to bring more, or will this be enough." "I could call Helen, to see if she and Jack would like to come over." Jen was thinking out loud. "Why?" I asked. "I'm not opposed, but why would you do that? They are not your friends?" "No, but if Helen knows you will be here, she will stop and pick up food." "That's pretty shitty, even for you Jen," I suggested. "Bullshit, she has my credit card number and uses it when she does dinners for me. I'll just have her pick up the stuff and whip up a dip. Maybe she will want to do one of those cheese things she does." "If she comes, you are going to pay her, damn it!" I insisted. "Oh alright, hey why do you need to soak and what is my fault." "I got my ass kicked by the wife's new boyfriend." I snapped at her. "Oh crap, I'm so sorry. Do you want to sue his ass." "No I want to lay in your big tub and feel sorry for myself. Then I want to drink till I either pass out, or throw up and pass out. Besides I took the only thing of any value in their lives. What more is there to get?" "Sound like the perfect excuse for a party to me." Jen said pretty much ignoring what I had to say. "Do it, I'll be there to start soaking in an hour. You set up the party for anytime after that." "Can you stop for ice on the way?" Jen asked. "You are a real piece of work. I just told you I got my ass kicked, and you want me to bring ice for the party. Fuck no, but I will have Lucas get a bag." "Have him get two bags, you never know who all might wander in." "Goodbye Jen, I'll be there soon." "Good use the bathroom attached to your old apartment. It is empty now. It will be a great place for the party. Hell we can leave the door to the bath open and you can be part of it while you soak." "Bye Jen," I said exasperated. I turned to the others. "That woman is a real trip." I laughed. "Gwen, I guess you better ride with me. If someone has to be in the room filming me, while I climb into a bubble bath, I think I would prefer it be you, At Jen's, I used twice the recommended amount of Mr. Bubble." It was a kid's bubble bath, but it worked better than any of the really expensive bubble makers. Gwen had me move this way and that to hide my body while I stripped. Once I slipped into the bubbles, she knew what to do to show my body, while hiding my nipples and my bush, She also didn't show the crack of my ass and I appreciated that. Gwen and I arrived before anyone else, so I soaked and she sat on the toilet lid and interviewed me. "You know Maxine, I have seen you in a lot of situations, and you always seem calm are you really?" "Hell no, I swing from mad as hell, to terrified almost every time the shit goes pear shaped." "Where did you hear that expression. That is typically a British expression," Gwen asked. "We shared an NCO club in Kabul with the Brits. I guess I did learn some things but I never did learn to appreciate warm beer." "When you shot that Russian a few weeks ago, did it bother you a lot? It didn't seem to." "Taking a life, or even just being responsible for someone else taking a life, is not an easy thing to live with. It's easier when the alternative, is losing your own life. In the case of the Russian, I really felt that it was kill or be killed." I let her believe that I thought he was going for a weapon at the time, as opposed to I knew he really planned to kill me. Maybe not that day, but someday. I decided to do it to him, while I had the chance. So it was easy to tell her that I did it in self defense. It was easy because I felt that I was just defending myself. So yeah I was okay with it. Of course it was part of why I needed to get stupid drunk and lay in that bubble bath until I shriveled up like a prune. We were talking about the Gunny, when Bob walked into the large room outside the bath where I soaked. "Jen said to make you a drink, then set up the rolling bar in here. So what do you want to drink?" "Something brown, mixed with ginger ale." I replied. "Just coke for me," Gwen said. "I'm working." "Remind me to catch you some night when you aren't working," I said. "Me to," Bob agreed with a smile. He went into the large room to set up his bar, then quickly returned with two drinks. "For you Max," he said handing me a glass filled with ginger ale and some fancy Canadian whiskey. "Ginger ale for you Gwendolyn." I did a quick reheat of the water even though it had only been a couple of minutes since I ran the bath. I finished the drink before Jen showed up, followed by the boys. It was how I thought of Mike and Lucas at that moment. They all drifted in and out of the bath. I expect that it was mostly to make fun of me in my Hollywood glam scene from the fifties. "Wow, that thing is already turning," Mike said looking at my face. "Gee Mike, thanks for the update," I replied. "What happened to you?" Helen asked when she arrived. Unlike the others I could hear the concern in her voice. "Abusive boyfriend," I replied. "Good thing it wasn't my boyfriend." I smiled even though it hurt my mouth to do so. "So how's our girl Skeeter?" "A lot better than you. Have you been eating any real food or just those awful fast food takeout things." "Lean cuisine frozen things," I replied. "It's the same ones they give the detainees at Gitmo. It's part of the enhanced interrogation." Two stiff drinks and I had begun to relax. "I have someone who wants to meet you," Helen said shaking her head as she turned to leave the room. "This might not be the best time, I'm not dressed for company." I laughed at my own poor joke. "She won't mind." With that Helen disappeared into the party room. "Helen didn't return. Instead a young woman probably in her mid twenties walked into the bathroom. She had a plate of cheese on toothpicks and a stack of cute little bread cubes. "Helen said to force feed you, if necessary," the young woman said with a smile. She was a pale blond Goddess. She was even wearing a white sweater dress. She was as gorgeous, as I am ordinary looking. "Hello, I'm Maxine. Who are you?" "Don't laugh, my name is Moseby." "Why would I laugh. That's a good Southern name." I said it with as sweet a smile as I could find in my smile closet. "By the way the woman with the camera is Gwen. Gwen is my shadow." Then a thought struck me. "Did Helen send you?" "Why yes," she admitted. "Why?" I asked. "I work for Helen. She was stretched too thin, so I am running the catering truck business. Actually I'm more just helping out right now, but I'm hoping to buy into her business." "She does seem to be plenty busy." "Yes she does." She took a second longer then asked. "How long you going to stay in there?" "Until I fall asleep and drown." "Oh don't do that. We just met. Give me some time to at least win you over, then if you still feel the same way, I have a bathtub you can use." I looked over at Gwen, who was grinning like a cat. Even she knew that Moseby was flirting with me. "I see, do you make a good coffee?" "Not as good as my bacon and cheese omelet," she replied smiling that sweet, sweet smile. "I will have to try that," I said with an evil look. "That is my plan." "I'm beginning to worry," I said simply "Why?" Moseby asked. "Sweetie, women who look like you don't usually come on to me." "I have never been flirty with a woman in my life, but I have been curious. When Helen was invited here, I forced her to let me tag along, so that I could meet you." "But why?" I asked. "Helen thinks you walk on water. She told me she thought that you might like girls as well as men. From looking at you, and what you said to Helen, you probably should stick to women." "Are you kidding? Women are twice as dangerous as men." "Come to think of it, you are probably right." There was an awkward silence, so I asked, "Have you met Skeeter?" "You bet I have, she is a real heart breaker. Such a wise old girl." "If you like Skeeter and she likes you, then you can't be all bad." "Oh I hope that I'm very good," Mosby said flashing that million dollar smile. I had a terrible thought. Instead of enjoying her attention, I wondered who her dentist was. Her teeth were to perfect, especially for someone in the catering business. Jen planned it as a cocktail party, so it should have been over by eight or nine. It wasn't of course. At nine I had enough soaking. I had refilled the tub three times by then. Not to mention I had indeed achieved the prune look. When I was ready to get out of the tub, Gwen made an announcement so everyone could gather around. She and Mike both shot the scene,. I stood covered in bubbles, then wrapped a towel around my, not so bad, body, When I stepped from the tub there was a stack of Jens clothes. Jen was taller and bustier so I looked like an orphan in them, but they were clean. There was not a blood stain to be found. I guess my getting out of the tub, marked the end of the party because people began drifting away. Mosby slipped me her phone number on the way out of the door. I assumed that I was supposed to be the butch in the relationship, if there was to be one. She would definitely make a better lipstick lez than me. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 60 "At least I didn't make the papers this time," I said smiling at Mosby." "The week is young," she said. "Remember the local paper only comes out twice a week. You may make the next one." "Mosby, I don't want to make any of them. It makes my job harder, if people recognize me." "I recognized you and I'm people," she replied. "Helen handed me to you on a plate, or you probably wouldn't have." I said. "Well, you are a conspiracy nut. If I had met you at the diner or the mall, you would have thought something sinister was going on." "That is true, sinister things seem to be happening to me lately." I informed her. "Well I'm not one of them," Moseby said. "And if there was something sinister about you, would you admit it?" I asked. "Of course I would," she said with a laugh. "I get your point though." she sat quietly for a few minutes then said, "I'm really glad that you called to invite me to dinner." "I hope you don't mind that we came all the way to Tryon for dinner." "Not at all, I have never been to this kind of place before." "Do you mean to say? That you have never been to a restaurant with more same sex couples than mixed ones?" I asked. "Yes, that is what I meant." She paused a minute then added, "You seem to be pretty well known here." "Actually I have been here only two times before. Both times someone else invited me." "Oh, so you have had lots of girlfriends?" Moseby asked. "Mosby, I have dated men and women. I guess I'm the one the joke is about, you know being bisexual doubles a girl's chances for a date on Saturday night." "But it's Sunday afternoon," she said smiling. "We could actually go anywhere at all. It isn't unusual to see two women together, but two men and people wonder. With women they are just friends and nobody pays much attention, unless they are the kissing and holding hands kind of friends." "Ah I see, so what kind of friends are we going to be?" she asked. "Whatever kind you want to be. You are without a doubt the most beautiful woman I have ever shared a meal with. I really am not trying to define this. I am perfectly happy to just let it happen." I suggested. "Me too Max, let's just hang out today and see what happens," she suggested it with a sigh of relief. "Sounds like a plan." I agreed. After our late lunch or early dinner, I never know what to call a 4pm meal; Mosby and I went to the movies. Isn't that what people do on a Sunday afternoon. Mosby and I held hands in the dark movie like a couple of teenagers on a date. I am not usually the dominant person in a sexual relationship, but it was obvious Mosby wanted me to take charge. I felt sure that she didn't want me to take charge in public, at least not just yet. I had a plan. It had been years since I pursued a woman, but I remembered how to be romantic. First I wanted to be sure that she was serious. For that I planned the shock treatment. The shock treatment began with the restaurant where the couples were mostly same sex. It was well known around the college in Tryon, if you wanted a good meal with your partner and no hassles, Hanna's was the place. The movie was a chance just to be with her, without being on stage. Too much of dating is actually acting. The movie was one of those chick things which I would usually not have chosen, but it was a date movie. So on that level it delivered exactly what it promised. Tears from the soft hearted Mosby, or maybe she just wanted me to think she was soft hearted. God I hated being so jaded. After the movie we went to the Island. The island was a club that specialized in same sex couples entertainment. Mixed couples were allowed but same sex couples were courted by the club. They were the most loyal patrons, plus they were easy to manage. If it was all same sex couples, there was almost never any violence. "So did your dates bring you here as well," Mosby asked it just a little snippy. Actually no, I hang out at the Cop Out Club in Aster. Some of the regulars know I swing from both sides of the place. One of them suggested I might want to check this place out. So I came over once. I found it to be interesting. It's too far to drive, so I never come here just to drink." "So you just come here to troll for chicks," she asked with a giggle. "I really come here very seldom. I'm just well known wherever I go these days." We looked at the couples and laughed at some of the more extreme ones. Some of the couples were cute, in a romantic way actually. "I think I love girls in leather," Mosby said. "Oh my, you do need to be careful. Some of those chicks like to hurt people. You don't look like you could hold up long as a pain slut." I informed her "So what kind of slut do you think I could manage?" she asked "Oh honey, you would have to be a lipstick lez for sure. You are just too, too beautiful and very, very girlie. Lots of attention to the hair and makeup, yeah definitely a lipstick type." I smiled broadly as I said it. She had to know that I approved. "So how about you, What type are you." "I'm usually submissive, but I can be a little butch, if the need arises." "Is the need going to arise?" she asked. "Only you can answer that. It might go that way, or it might not. I just don't know at the moment. Do you?" She looked at me seriously and said, "No, I have no idea what I am doing." "I don't know what to do with you either," I said honestly. "I do not want to frighten you away." "I don't think you could right now." She replied. "You just never know about that," I suggested. At that moment one of the more butch types asked Mosby to dance. Mosby looked to me for permission. "Why not, but it's up to you." "Then I think I will," she stood, then followed the girl, with the raccoon eye makeup, to the small dance floor. I wondered if the butch wanted some beauty tips, but I kept that to myself. Mosby was one of those women who love to dance and love to be seen dancing. Over the course of the next two hours Mosby danced with several of the more confident women there. I watched. It seemed as though when I was with Mosby, I was likely to be ignored. I had been ignored even before Mosby, but she did suck all the attention out of a room. Mosby was like a black hole that way, people just couldn't help themselves. I could tell that she thrived on being the center of attention wherever we went. I didn't mind, it was kind of second hand flattery. She was the star, and she was with me. After a couple of hours we left the club. It was eleven on Sunday night when we headed for home. It was a half hour later before we arrived back in Aster. "I enjoyed the evening," I said as I walked her to the door of her small townhouse apartment. "Oh I had a ball. As you can tell I loved all the attention. It isn't over yet is it?" she asked "Actually tomorrow is a work day," I replied. "Come on Maxine; come in for a cup of coffee. It's already made. I know how much you love coffee, so I made a pot before we left. I can microwave it in a second. Besides everyone else danced with me except you." She stopped talking to open the door. Then she said, "Come in please." It was enough; even I was not immune to her magnetism. I nodded then followed her into the apartment. She turned on her stereo while she heated the coffee. The coffee cup was placed gently on the kitchen table, then she put her hand out to guide me to my feet. I danced holding her tightly, then I turned her around to hold her from behind, while we swayed gently to the music. May hand inched up to cover her perfect breast, only to find them a little harder than natural. I tried not to, but my mind entered the fact that she had breast implants into the mental file. The file also contained the 'perfect teeth' entry. My mind screamed 'be careful, ' but my body ignored it. My breathing was shallow and my heart was racing. I could barely stand, let alone see Mosby as anything but the object of my lust. Even while kissing and licking her neck, my hand slid inside her blouse. I felt her filmy bra, which could not have given any support at all to her perfect breasts. Then my hand slipped under it to cover her smooth breasts. I found that thankfully her nipples were responsive. Not only were they hard, but she gasp for air as I manipulated them firmly. Her knees seemed to be as weak as my own. She sagged against me, which was even more arousing. The feel her almost perfect butt pushing against my pubic mound was maddening. I couldn't really feel it on my clit but I imagined that I could. It was all a huge turn on. As if she could read my mind she began to grind her butt into me. I could feel her arousal as well as her body heat. If she was faking it, she really should have been in Hollywood. I felt her body respond as my right hand moved down her body toward her pubic area. The skirt she wore was some kind of soft material, which slipped easily to the floor. It had required only minor manipulations to free it. She stood with her back to me. She was obviously enjoying my hands plundering her body. My fingers slipped inside her panties, then over her smooth mound and into the cleft hiding her clitoris. I manipulated it in small circles for almost a minute. I felt her hips moving against me rhythmically. I slipped my finger down to test her vagina for lubricant and found it wet and slippery. My fingers penetrated her easily. I couldn't have been more than a minute when I felt her thrust violently against me and begin to moan. She gasped then let out a sound very much like a mini scream, but it had hardly any volume. It was a most unusual sound, but it was also wildly erotic. She sagged, took a deep breath, then turned to me. She planted her lips on mine. She began kissing me with enthusiasm, not to mention that her tongue was almost down my throat. The woman had to have some snake in her somewhere. When she broke the kiss, she took my hand and led me to her bedroom. We quickly undressed and moved onto the bed. Once in bed she became the aggressor. She was all over me. Her lips and hands were everywhere, except where I ached for them to be. She kissed my face, my neck, my breasts, my tummy, everywhere but where I needed her. Finally when I could stand it no longer, I pulled her to my nipple. She began to suck and manipulate the right one with her tongue. She moved my left nipple with her fingers. When she released the nipple, which she had been rolling between her fingers, I wanted to beg her not to stop. Then I felt her fingers move along my body headed toward my vagina. I begged her to hurry, but of course nothing came out of my mouth. I was too busy gasping for air. When her finger touched my clit, I exploded into a mini orgasm. I shuddered and thrilled at her touch. She moved her finger lower and I felt it spread my lips and I ached for something larger to fill me. The one finger was joined by another. The two of them moving in and out of me felt like a small penis but it was more than enough to lead me to a larger and more satisfying orgasm. Even then she didn't stop. She added a third finger and I felt my body being opened as wide as with any penis I ever felt. I was slippery enough to help her fingers wedge their way inside me. I was crying like a whipped dog as she continued to manipulate my body. My body was on fire with a need for more and more stimulation. Then from out of nowhere she added her fourth finger and I was being forced open farther than I had ever been before. Mosby wasn't gentle with me either, she was forcing her fingers inside my not so willing body. It hurt like hell and I heard myself begging her to stop. She ignored me. I felt as though I was being torn, but Mosby continued to drive her fingers in and out of me. Each thrust seemed to go deeper inside my burning pussy. "Tell me you love me," she demanded. "God yes I love you," I replied as she continued to fuck me with what felt like a baseball bat. It was only her fingers but they felt huge inside me. "Oh god, I'm going to cum," I screamed just before my body exploded. It wasn't the best orgasm I ever had, but it was one of the top ten, no doubt. She quickly removed her hand, then kissed me fiercely. The kisses moved from hot and demanding to gently and loving. I felt her stretch out beside me and then cuddle me until I fell asleep. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 61 I awoke Monday in a strange bed. I also awoke to the smell of bacon and coffee. Eggs don't seem to have an odor, unless they have gone bad. I expected to see Mosby in the kitchen, possibly dressed as a glamorous June Cleaver but alas the kitchen was empty. Well empty of humans anyway, I found coffee in the carafe of the coffee maker. It was also still turned on. I found a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a bagel. It was inside of a plastic container with detailed reheating instructions. The note under the container advised me to enjoy, but reminded me to turn off the coffee pot before I left. Since the smell of bacon and coffee lingered, I obviously had missed Mosby by not more than a few minutes. After the bagel and coffee, I drove to the office. Marty's pros were waiting for me. "Good Morning Maxine," Gwen said. "Good morning Gwen, did you enjoy my date." I knew Gwen would be filming everything possible. Since I wore a wire most of the evening, I shared the guilt in the invasion of Mosby's privacy. However the invasion did not include anything that happened inside her apartment. I drew the line on that. I didn't mind a bit of reality but I drew the line at porn. "Actually the date was fun. I even enjoyed the Island. I didn't expect to, but it was great fun." Gwen said to me. "Then you are a good sport. Most people are so hung up on sexual issues; they can't just relax and let it be what it is. One doesn't have to participate to have fun." I paused looked at her hard then asked, "So did you participate?" "Of course not I was working, but it was still amusing." she said. "By the way, I'm going to have to get a release from your friend. Do you think I will have any trouble?" "I have no idea. Just ask and see what she says." "Don't suppose you would ask for me?" "Not a chance," I replied. "That's pretty much what I expected." Gwen wasn't at all upset. "By the way, you two were cute last night." "Right, not so young love in action," I said sarcastically. I finally took a minute to look around. "Where is Ed?" I asked. "I haven't seen him," Lucas replied. "It's not like Ed to be late." I picked up my phone and did a speed dial for Ed's doctor son Jeff. "Hey Jeff, it's me Maxine. I'm looking for your dad. It isn't like him to be this late." I was beginning to worry when Ed came through the door. "Never mind he just walked in." Ed walked to my desk, then said, "I hope you feel better than you look, because you look like hell. "Good morning to you too," I said smiling, "Where have you been, you are never late." "One of my wayward customers got himself locked up early this morning. I have been with your friend Jen playing advocate." "What is Jen doing bailing out a drunk?" I asked. "Not a drunk but someone on prescription drugs," Ed said. He walked to his own desk then added, "Too bad the Reverend's place isn't open yet. If it were we could keep it all in the family, so to speak." It was obvious, at least to me, that he knew about me and the Reverend, and then Jen and the Reverend as well. "From your lips to the ear of God," I said as Ed walked to his desk. When he sat down, I noticed that he had stopped for fancy coffee from McDonalds. My thoughts switched from Ed's tardiness to Mosby again. I was determined to just enjoy Mosby. I promised myself that I would not run a background check on her. With some difficulty I ignored Lucas sitting at the computer. He looked as though he was dying to run her. Maybe I was wrong, maybe she was what she appeared to be. Maybe I really could find someone who was beautiful and who loved me. Sure it wouldn't be the first attractive person to love me, but she would be the first in a long time. I also tended to go to men for a real relationship. Women were usually a luxury item for me. The staple was men, pure and simple. Still she was gorgeous and so willing. Maybe the so willing was the reason I felt she might be too good to be true. I looked up at the computer screen and it was taunting me. I resisted, even though it was difficult. "So Lucas let's get the day scheduled. What do we have on hand?" I asked. "We have three papers that can be served anytime, and we have Louis Tremount." "Oh is Mr. Tremount one of the bail bond community's lost souls?" I asked it mocking Ed just a little. To me and Lucas, they were mooches plain and simple. To Ed they were just wayward children who needed help finding their way home. Obviously he never had one of the wayward children try to hit him with a baseball bat." "Oh Mr. Tremount has a bounty on his head of $2k. His mother would rather we pick him up than the thug from Tryon. She gave us his new job address." "Are you sure it's that, or was it you convincing her that he house was about to be lost?" I asked. "Not a car, believe it or not she put up her dead husband's annuity for the bail." Her miserable son skipped, leaving her with a bleak retirement future. That is unless some kind and gentle bounty hunter shows her son the error of his ways." I should have been worried about Lucas, since he was beginning to sound like Ed. I would have been, except that I knew it was just for Gwen and the camera. "So where is Good Boy Lou?" "Do you remember where you bought the cruiser?" Lucas asked. "Of course I do," I replied. "Mom says Lucas it a driver there." "This should be fun. Call Jen have her get me something official looking to flash at the manager to get his cooperation. They aren't very cooperative there." Jen's paralegal did the typing for us. Jen was busy in court. "It's no problem at all Ms. Stone. The Boss gave me blanket authorization to do anything you need, unless it is obviously against the law." "That's nice to know Lucille. You never know when I might need an exotic dancer." I said smiling at the fifty pound overweight Lucille, she smiled back. Hers was a noncommittal smile, mine wasn't. Mine was a pure predator's flirty smile. Mosby had me all full of myself. Even Lucille looked good to me that morning. Two hours later we were standing in one of many lines of automobiles waiting to go to the auction block. Louis Tremount drove up in a two year old Ford. "Do not look at him when he drives up." I advised Lucas, "All these cars have keys in them. I do not want to try to stop him as he drives off in a car." I said to Lucas. The Line captain called Louis over while we stood nearby checking out an Impala. As Louis walked by, I moved quickly behind him and said, "Don't make me tazer you" "What the hell?" he asked. "You missed your court date; I came to give you a ride." I held the tazer close at hand while Lucas put the plastic tie around his hands as quickly as he could. Even with his hands cuffed Louis decided to make a run for it. "He's all yours cowboy," I said to Lucas, who gave chase. I strolled leisurely behind them. I knew that the whole lot was fenced. I just couldn't imagine Louis being successful at climbing that chain link fence with his hands tied behind him. Lucas tackled him near a road that connected a smaller parking lot with the one where we found him. When I walked up Louis was still struggling. "You might want to move away Lucas. I'm about to spray pepper in his eyes and zap him in his balls." Louis immediately went docile. "No, no I give up." he said. "Oh hell it's up to Lucas; he is the one who had to chase you. Do I zap him in the balls at least?" "Tell you what boss. If he so much as looks at me wrong, you can do it. Louis I got to tell you, she is Lez and hates men. I would be cool were I you." I had quickly gotten used to Mike and Gwen hanging around. I hadn't even noticed Mike and his camera. During the chase he walked behind me shooting Lucas running after Louis Tremount. We dropped Louis at the county jail in Tryon. "Do you have any papers for Tryon with you? I asked. "Yes and I had a message on the phone this morning to stop by one of our clients office for another one. It will probably be here as well." "The day is young. Maybe we can get you some more exercise." I said laughing. "Thanks Maxine, I notice that these days I do all the running." he said it for the camera again. "It's all part of the apprentice program. Check the instruction book." When five o'clock came, I called ahead, then went by the Pizza and Pasta Pit for a takeout order. I adore cold pizza right from the frig. I was trying to keep my weight down, so it was a small plain cheese pizza and a house salad with diet dressing on the side. My mouth still hurt, so I broke the salad into small pieces with my fingers. I didn't really want to do a lot of chewing for a while. By the time the pizza got cold enough to eat, it was 7 PM. "Hello," I said into the phone to stop the stupid song from playing. Fucking ring tone was driving me mad. "Hi Maxine it's me Mosby." "Well hello there girl," I said cheerfully. "You going to come over tonight?" she asked as if it were some kind of obligation that I had missed. "No hon, I am really tired tonight. How about a rain check?" "Sure, but it is only good for tomorrow night." She did sound disappointed. "Fair enough. How about we plan to meet at the Cop Out. You can meet my friends such as they are." I said it jokingly. "Fair enough, I really do want to meet them." "Mosby, you are not from here, how long have you lived here?" "I moved here last month." "Oh, where did you live last? I really do want to know everything about you." I said trying to sound like a new lover. "I came from Charlestown. Before you ask, yes I was married. I left him and Charlestown at the same time." "I see, and how do you like our little town?" I asked. "I loved it from the minute I drove in, and I love it even more now because you are here." "Oh how sweet." I said. I paused a long time then asked, "So what did you do there. Besides being married I mean." "I worked in a restaurant as a hostess. When I came here, I couldn't find a job. The manager at one of the restaurants, where I applied, suggested that I try catering. I quickly found that Helen was the best, so I asked her to teach me." "Well you found a great lady to learn from. Helen is the hardest worker I ever met." I replied. It all sounded perfectly reasonable, and also too well rehearsed. It was like she planned to tell that story, and had just been waiting for the opportunity to get it over with. I had all kinds of buzzers going off in my head. Yes, I could be paranoid or I could be under attack. On the other side of the coin, if she were going to murder me, I should already be dead. I did fall asleep in her bed last night. I really needed to know her game. I didn't want anyone, not even Lucas, to know that I was checking her out. In the back of my mind I remember an old saying from my days in the sandbox. 'Knowing something is good, but it's even better, if no one else knows that you know it.' In the sandbox that kind of Intel sent a predator missile into a Taliban rat hole, while the rats were still home. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 62 Since it wasn't too awfully late, I got on the phone to Gwen. "I'm going to the Cop Out for a beer. If you want to spend another boring night, meet me there." I quickly got in the cruiser and took off for the club. I found Jerry first thing and cornered him. "Let's dance big boy," I said pulling him onto the dance floor. I held him close, then whispered into his ear. "I'm wired, so listen carefully. I think I am being setup, but I'm not sure. I need you to do a cop thing for me." "What do you need?" he whispered. "When you next see a pretty blond girl driving Helen's catering van, pull her over and get me her name off the driver's license and the number." I demanded. "I saw her driving it the last couple of days. I wondered who she was myself," Jerry admitted. "You get me the name and her license number and I'll share any info with you," I said. "Done," he said in agreement. "Now I'm whipped, I need to get home and to bed. So brace yourself. This is where I do my acting part for the wire." He nodded. I spoke in a voice not quite as loud as a shout, but one people would remember for a while. "No Jerry I will not give you a blow job in the parking lot. I still have open cuts in my mouth." I walked away pretending to be angry. "Men," I said as I picked up my sweater from the back of a chair at his table. I drove home right proud of myself. During the day Tuesday I got a call from Jerry. When I saw his caller ID, I answered it without the speaker. He gave me a name and driver's license number for my new girlfriend. It seemed that Mosby wasn't Mosby at all. Mosby was actually Elizabeth Ann Montique. She was also not of Charlestown; she was most recently from Atlanta. At least that is what her driver's license said. Then from her Facebook account, I found that she was an aspiring actress. You couldn't be an actress without being on Facebook it seemed. "Marty you sly dog," I said quietly aloud. Marty knew most of the time my life was boring as hell. The Pros could shoot fifty hours of tape to get fifteen minutes of entertainment from my real life. It looked as though ole Marty had decided to better his odds and lessen the risks to his investment return. He had Jen sending me interesting jobs and Mosby to keep me busy after work. So the question became what to do about Beth Ann? It was like she said, it wasn't some sinister plot, it was still just harmless make believe at that point. Harmless only because I found out before I got too deeply involved. If I had fallen in love with her and then found out, I would have been some kind of pissed at all those involved. As it was, I could either throw her beautiful ass out of my life, or string her along. Since my love life wasn't exactly standing room only, I decided that I would play along for a while at least. Even though it was make believe, it was still part of my life. They might be fudging a bit, but my reactions to their bullshit would be real enough. Hey, that's entertainment my friends. Most of the reality shows actually create most of the drama you see. I hope we all know that shit ain't real. I didn't even bother to run her cell phone record. It would for sure be a burn phone. Marty was smart, he might even be waiting for me to discover his little plot. Even that would be high drama. There just was no downside for him. You had to love a pure businessman. "Guess what?" Lucas said as he approached my desk. "What?" I asked in return. "I'm getting a bike like yours." "How so?" I asked. "Reverend Archer is building me one. He did build yours didn't he?" "Not exactly, he installed the motor kit on it, but I had that made." "Well he said he was an authorized dealer for the kit. He said he could hook me up with a really nice used bike as well." "So what is the bike and kit going to cost?" "He is giving me a discount because I work for you." Lucas informed me proudly. "Oh I just bet he is. So how much?" I asked. "Three hundred," he said. "That's a hundred off the retail." "Well that is a reasonable deal. It isn't worth more though. I don't think he can get more than three fifty for it even on a brand new bike. You can get a kit with motor and drive for about two hundred on EBay and another hundred for a new bike at Wallymart and you are set to go." "The difference is those EBay kits are not easily removable. So you would need a secure place to store the bike. With my kit, I just undo one quick release and one wing nut and take the whole thing off the bike. With that system I can chain the bike outside on your patio or something, and just lock the motor in the storage room. If you lose the wing nut it is a standard Home Depot item. I can just drive down there for a replacement. It is a very efficient system. Even better is that with the motor removed, it will fit easily on the bike rack on either of our vehicles." "I know mine is just like that. Reverend Archer said it came from the same builder as yours. He is going to install a removable trunk rack on the Hyundai for me for free." "Well then you did get a good deal. Mine was custom made, so the builder is a craftsman not some guy in flip flops." "Can I store it in the lock room?' he asked. "It's Ed's building, not mine. I'm sure it will be okay, but ask him." After the consult with Ed, Lucas came back to my desk. "Do you want me to lay out the work on hand? You know, we didn't finish yesterday's work?" "Yes so the layout, I didn't get around to it yet. I have been surfing the web this morning." "Anything interesting?" he asked. "There is turmoil in the Middle-East. That's about all, so nothing new or particularly interesting in that." I replied. Any day I was asked about the news, I could have given the same answer. There was always turmoil in the Middle-East. Gwen and Mike had quickly become fixtures. I hardly noticed them, but they were in the back of my mind, sort of like a coat rack. Until you needed it, you never gave it any thought, but you just knew that it was available when you did needed it. You also knew that you had to step around it now and then. It was after ten before we were ready to head out for the day. In addition to the two papers to be served in Aster, we had one pickup before moving on to Tryon. Mike was the designated hitter for the day. Gwen was in the bullpen in case Lucas and I split up. While she was not with us, Mike had her doing more background shots, and more interviews. I was pretty sure she would be interviewing Mosby. Since I had dated her on Sunday, she would be high on the interest radar. How much Gwen and Mike knew was a mystery at the moment. "Lucas, how is your love life these days?" I asked when were in the car and headed for our first stop. I did it just to put a wrench in the works. He would someday have to explain that he was fucking one of the show's creators. I loved the thought of that one. "It's fine," He replied. "Nothing serious going on but I do date now and then." He had obviously been prepared for the question. It was also clear that Gwen or Mike had written his answer. "That's nice," I replied as the van pulled into the convenience store where our absent father worked. He was behind in his child support and the court wanted his ass to stand in front of the bar. He had missed his last court date, so the judge wanted him impressed with how serious the court was about his obligations. The next step would be an arrest warrant. That was clearly stated in the court order we were to deliver. I wore my Lightning express delivery lady jacket into the store. "You ah," I looked down at the envelope on my clipboard. "Roger, sorry I can't pronounce the last name." "Hasbabie, yes that is me." he replied. "Got a package for you. Sign here," I said it pushing the clipboard to him, but not the envelope. "Who is it from?" he asked as he signed. I had the clipboard in my hand again when I said, "The Superior Court clerk, have a good day." I walked from the store smiling. That gag worked almost every time. It was time for lunch after we picked up and served the third paper of the day. "Wanna go to the lake for lunch?" I asked. "Sure, it's a little chilly, but we can eat in the car," Lucas said in agreement. He didn't dare ask Gwen. The rule was that she wasn't really in the car. We had always allowed her to order food at the drive thru window; otherwise we acted as though she wasn't there at all. "How about brown bags from Helen's?" I asked. "You got her on speed dial, don't you?" Lucas asked smiling. "Yes Lucas I had her on speed dial before Mosby as well. I also have Mosby on speed dial and she is driving the truck today." I replied. "I think that truck is pretty popular. We will have to go to her, I'm sure." "Hey Moses, where the hell are you?" I asked when she finally answered her phone. I had her on speaker of course. "I'm working dear, what did you think?" "I think you are working, but where the hell are you parked? We need food girl." "I'm in the parking lot of some fiberglass plant, between Aster and Tryon." "That's not too far out of the way. Lucas and I are going to the marina for lunch. We need three brown bags and three drinks. Can I swing by for them?" "Sure I got a turkey club that you should try. Less fat and fewer calories." she said. "Are you saying I'm fat?" I asked laughing. "I'm saying, I have seen you naked and it couldn't hurt to watch those carbs." "Hold on. Lucas what do you want? I asked." "The cheese burger bag is fine with me. How about you Gwen," He asked. "I'll take that turkey club," she replied. "Okay one turkey club and two cheese burger bags. We are probably five minutes out." I admitted. "I'll take them out of the warmer." Mosby said. "Good," I replied. "Hello beautiful," I said once I stood in front of her. I passed the bags on to Lucas, while I paid our bill. "Hello lover," Mosby replied with no hint of guilt. Since I knew she was acting, I could enjoy it even more. I wonder how hard she was fighting to keep that smile on her face. It would be interesting to know her real feelings about our little encounter. No matter what she felt, it was still fun, even if she was struggling with guilt. I would never have noticed the slight muscle twitch, had I not known who she really was. "I'll see you tonight at the Cop Out?" she asked. "Sure, I'll be there around eight, is that okay?" I asked. "I might be a little later, but wait for me," she suggested. "Absolutely, well we have to run. I have work to do, its work I should have done yesterday." "Hugs," Mosby said with a smile as I turned to go. "And wet kisses," I replied. God my acting was pretty disgusting. I had a quiet laugh at myself. Lucas, Gwen and I spent less time at the Marina than I would have liked. Lucas and I had two more pickups and three services already scheduled. During the afternoon we had to pick up two more papers. It was a madhouse. We had the two newest ones left at the end of the day. We just quit without finishing. Fortunately every stop went as smooth as the first one that morning. It was a rare day, so we didn't press our luck. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 63 When I got to the Cop Out Club, it was an hour before Mosby was due. I had hoped to find someone to keep Gwen and her camera busy. Gwen tended to be the one, who would move the camera from me to the people around me. She liked to film the room, where as Mike hung on my every word and movement. I had learned their techniques in less than a week. God I had over three more weeks with these clowns and their chains. Give me strength, I thought. "It's too early," I said aloud. I turned and walked out. I hated the Cop Out, when there was no one I knew. As I drove the van to the office, I was wondering why I hadn't seen Anya or Blevins the last two times I had been in the Club. I hadn't stayed long enough the last time to catch up on the department dirt, so there might have been some kind of minor altercation between them. I was sure that I would have heard, if it had been a murder suicide thing. I did hope that one or the other would wander in later. Mosby needed to meet them, and I really wanted Anya to meet Mosby. She might try to recruit her for her band of whores. Now that would be classic. Mosby would be my first double whore. Working for Marty and Anya, I wondered what they called a whore with two pimps. I guessed that they would call her busy, if nothing else. I had to give it to Marty, he was going to win no matter what, I planned to at least have some down and dirty sex at Mosby's expense. That was the very least they owed me. Gwen sat across from me in the office, with her camera at the ready. Meanwhile I pretended to look at the computer monitor, while I actually trying to figure out why I hadn't heard much from or about Blevins or Anya. There had been nothing since we closed the Hazelwood. I didn't really miss that bitch Anya, but I did miss Blevins. They had both showed up for Gus's memorial. I had heard hardly a word from either before the memorial and nothing at all since. I had been busy myself. Busy enough so that I hadn't realized that they were truly missing from my life. "If I don't find out what the fuck is going on tonight, I am going to chase them down tomorrow." I mumbled aloud. "You have to speak up," Gwen said. "Huh?" I grunted. "You can't mumble with that microphone. It is sensitive, but you do have to speak up." "I didn't plan to speak at all Gwen, give me a break." I said disgusted. "You are hard to deal with Max." she said stating the obvious. "I'm like that snake in the story honey. You knew I was a bitch, when you signed on for this gig." "I know, and I'm not supposed to interact with you." Gwen said. "Then don't," I replied. I had far too much on my plate to worry about the Pros from Dover and their egos. I had passed the required forty five minutes, so I returned to the Cop Out. Gwen followed me of course, but I had already forgotten that she even existed. It was my secret, the one which allowed me to function at all. I had the unique ability to leave the baggage behind and start brand new with every event in my life. So much shit happened, so that if I didn't empty it, my brain would explode. Inside the Cop Out I still found none of my real friends. Lots of people I had met were hanging out, but there were no one I really wanted to hang out with. I hadn't been showing up often enough to have noticed their absence before. I had no idea what was going on, the drama of the Cop Out had passed me by. Mosby came in before anyone, I knew even vaguely, approached me. Mosby's beauty was still a shock to me. Something about her also stopped all the conversations around me. I expected the jukebox to even stop for her, of course it didn't. "So this is where you hung out before I came to town?" Mosby asked. "I have been known to come in now and then. Not nearly as often these days." The majority of the people in the Cop Out that night had no idea who I was, and knew absolutely nothing about Mosby. That being the case, men began asking her to dance, even before I got back to the table with the beers. "It seems everyone here wants to dance," Mosby said. "Well all the men want to dance with you. Probably some of the women as well." I answered, "Go ahead and dance with anyone who strikes your fancy, I don't mind. My turn will come later," I suggested. "It certainly will," Mosby promised. After that exchange, Mosby began to dance almost constantly. I would hate to have guessed how many yards of erect penis she created that night. Mosby also drank several glasses of beer between dances. By the time I danced with her, Mosby was tipsy to say the least. I had not planned it, but it seemed like a good time to start collecting from Mosby for her evil deeds. I held her close as we danced. I felt her breathing get quick and shallow. I turned her so that I held her from behind while we danced. Yes, it was a lot like how we began making love just a couple of days before. She even responded the same, maybe even a little more intensely, since she knew what was to follow. I wrapped her in my arms, with my hands covering her too firm breasts. She pressed back against me and rubbed. Her butt moved as if searching for the nonexistent penis. By the time the music ended, the smell of hormones, both male and female, hung in the room like a haze. Sometime during the dance Jerry entered the room. He came over after the dance and smiled at me. "I'm not sure I can even come close to that dance, but come on let's give it a try." Mosby was off dancing with some male EMT, so she didn't miss me at all. I held Jerry close to muffle the microphone naturally. The whisper had to be close to his ear, since the music was soft but the volume was high. "So is she a ringer?" he asked. "Oh yes. but it's nothing criminal." "Something to do with that stupid TV gig?" he asked. "You know about that?" I asked. "Everyone knows that two strangers follow you around with cameras. By the way that is your best protection from the bad guys." "Are they still interested in me?" "I don't know, probably not. You did know there is a task force looking into the Russian mob's connections in this area?" "I had no idea. Is that why Blevins and his partner are never around." "Yes, it is the first time anyone from this town was ever asked to join a task force, of any kind. It's a real career maker. The task force is working out of Tryon, they even have them staying in a compound over there. They are so paranoid that have the Federal Marshal service providing security. It's a really big deal. "Oh my, I do hope they are allowing Blevins to drink, or he won't be worth a shit to them." "Blevins is probably drinking better shit than we are right now. I'm sure the Fucking Bastard Inbreds are paying for it." Jerry suggested with a laugh. "Now that is a new one. I thought I had heard all the FBI names, but that one is new." "What can I tell you? Those jerks never stop adding fun to our work day." "So are they learning anything?" "Nobody has a clue. You know the Fibbies, they never tell us anything. When Blevins gets back, maybe I can find out something. I bet you Beth Ann could find out anything she wanted to know." "Jerry, it's Mosby to us." "Right Mosby," he said with a grin. "So you are going to play along to screw her?" "Just as many times as I can, and in as many ways." I said with a laugh. "You do know that, I also know who she is. How about you send a little action my way." Jerry asked playfully. "Jerry, don't tell me you want to do a threesome with us?" I asked seriously. I had heard that he was keeping company with another ER nurse. She was probably the one who gave me shit during my last stay in the hospital. "I would love to, but I'm afraid Nancy would cut my dick off. She probably would just for dancing with you." "I know she would, if she knew you got a hard on while you danced with me." I laughed out loud at his reaction. He actually blushed enough so that I could see it in the dark barroom. "You better cooperate or I will tell." "And if I decide to take you up on that three way thing, you better go along. If not, I will have a talk with Beth Ann." "Mexican standoff," I suggested. "Sounds about right," he agreed. "I had no idea how many men would get turned on by the sight of two women dancing," Mosby said when she finally returned to the table for another glass of beer. "Do you have any idea how many of them either wanted to screw me or both of us?" she asked with a laugh. "My guess would be most," I replied. "Try all of them. That cute guy with the shaved head was really insistent." she said motioning toward a tall black man with a bald head and lots of gold chains. "Where did he come from?" I asked. "I don't know. I thought he was one of your friends." Mosby replied. "I never saw him before. He doesn't look like he belongs in here. I do hope he doesn't have any warrants. I would guess that he doesn't, if he has the balls to walk in here." I said it in answer to my own concerns. "Let's go home, I want to fuck," Mosby said. "Now that sounds like a plan, but you are not driving. I'll drive you home. We can get your car in the morning," I suggested, "You can have it delivered. I have tomorrow off." she said. "Okay, Lucas can return it in the morning. I do not have the day off." "But I want to stay in bed with you all day," Mosby informed me. "You are drunk." I said. "Yep, just the way you like your whores," she suggested. "Not really, but it will do." When we got to her place, I expected Mosby to be too drunk to do more than pass out. I was wrong. She was slow thinking, and clumsy but she was willing. I wanted to wait until, what she was about to do, would have more impact on her soul but my body betrayed me. Once the apartment door closed, she was all over me. We kissed with lots of tongue for just a moment. She broke the kiss because she wanted to move ahead. Romance be damned, she just wanted to get off. I helped her undress and she helped me. The instant our clothes were gone, she pulled me into bed. We kissed again. First I was the aggressor, but only for a moment. Mosby turned the tables on me quickly. She locked onto my saggy breasts, then bit my aching nipples. I had my hands on the back of her head and my fingers tangled in her hair. It was the only parts of her, which I could reach. I could feel her legs capture my thigh. I went a little out of body, when she began trying to rub her clit on my thigh. Mosby was out of control and I loved it. She must have been close to an orgasm, when she rolled over and pulled me on top of her. She forced my head to her hard breasts. I took one nipple into my mouth and one into my hand and began making love to them both. The hand on her left breast moved lower and lower. I had to stretch but I managed to twist enough to continue sucking on her nipple and tease her clit at the same time. It took only a few second for her to stiffen and jerk uncontrollably. It was time for me to rest and recharge, but it obviously wasn't for Mosby. In just seconds she was pushing down on my shoulders. There was no mistaking her message. Mosby was ready to move on to the real thing. I kissed my way down her body dragging my tongue as I did. There was a saliva trail from her breast to her smooth mount. The trail went across the stubble and to the cleft which hid her girl cock. When I reached her clit, I licked it up and down slowly for a long time. After several minutes I switched to a side to side motion. Her hips where pounding the bed, when I lowered my mouth to take her vulva in and suck hard. She was swollen and wet when I started, but she seemed to swell even more inside my mouth. When I released her stiff thick lips, I slipped two finger inside her, then returned to moving her clit with my tongue. Her hips were constantly in motion. I could not tell what her body was doing internally, but externally it was fucking my fingers and pounding against my sore mouth. I released my hold on her only after she screamed, "Please stop I can't stand it." After I stopped I moved up to lay beside her. I thought the night would end with me sleeping peacefully beside her. It was at the point where sex usually ended for me. I didn't orgasm nearly as often as my lovers. I was shocked, when after only a few minutes of rest, Mosby pushed hard to roll me off her. She began to do all the things to me, which I had done to her. Mosby was probably a great actress because if nothing else, she was a quick study. If she hadn't done it all before, she learned like a genius. When her lips first touched my clit, I went crazy and got lost in some other world. She licked and sucked on me a long time. I was a total wreck by the time she forced most of her hand inside me. I was in real pain but also in some kind of erotic state most women can only dream about. I'm still not sure what I did. I either fell immediately asleep or I passed out, because I remember nothing after that orgasm. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 64 I left Mosby's apartment at 3AM. I felt about her not like a lover, but as just a sex partner. I found it impossible to love a ringer. Actually I was surrounded by people on someone else's payroll. I had no real control over them except in outwitting them. Knowing Mosby for what she was, without her knowing that I did, was some kind of victory for the good guys. Playing the Pros from Dover would be a bit more complicated, but I was still in the information gathering stage. I already knew that if I wanted to get some time out of the camera's eye, I needed to have Gwen behind the lens. I could maneuver her a little better than Mike. Mike however was better, if I wanted to document an event. Also Mike had proved himself to be dependable in a dangerous situation. If I was going to bring in a runner, I wanted Mike behind us not Gwen. I did not want to worry about her safety. I know I wasn't supposed to think about the pros in my decision making, but a beat down of Gwen would do none of us any good. It was all a lot more complicated than any of us anticipated going in. With Jen and Marty, the plan was to keep it as complicated and convoluted as possible. The more turmoil the better the TV show, was their thinking, no doubt. I could have been wrong about them, but I didn't think so. All of that ran through my mind as I drove home at 3AM. That night I did the same thing I had trained myself to do every time I entered the compound, I flipped on the monitor. The house and grounds appeared to be empty and the gate seemed to be just as I left it. The problems began when the gate opener did not work. I could think of no reason for it not to work. Since I knew better than to get out of the car to check it, I backed the cruiser out of the drive entrance. It was too late to go to a motel and I really did not want to go back to Mosby's place. Even Gwen was home in bed, since she would have called it a night after the noise from my mic changed from moans to snores. Since it was the only warm place I could easily get into at that time of night, I drove the cruiser back to the office. I was about to leave the car, when it dawned on me. If I was being set up, the office would be the fall back ambush site. First the gate, then the office, it made sense. Well at least it will be the second string, I thought. I used the forty dollar cop spotlight type flashlight to scan the office and parking lot. Since I saw nothing, if there was any danger, it would have to be a sniper. A sniper wouldn't have bothered to rig the gate. He would just shoot me through the window of the cruiser. Everything considered an assessment of a low threat level was in order. After all that I simply opened the door and stepped out of the cruiser. I made it into the office, with the 'emergency kit' from the cruiser in hand. On the way into the office I decided that most likely something was simply wrong with the remote opener. Once inside the office I opened the back pack purchased from Goodwill. Inside a sealed plastic bag I had a towel and a sheet to be used for staunching the flow of blood in case of an accident. Also in the back pack was an old coarse wool blanket from the Red Cross of days long gone. It was certainly not a synthetic blanket of the new Red Cross. I had rejected several of those because I considered them inferior. So there I lay on the floor, wrapped in the blanket, using the back pack with the first aid supplies stuffed inside as a pillow. I had, for sure, slept in worse places, I thought of course that didn't make it any more comfortable. I guessed that the paranoia was because Jerry had mentioned the Russian mob. I never did get a satisfactory resolution to that incident. In any event the die was cast, and I was on the hard floor of the office. I planned to stay there until my own personal geek could go out to check the gate. When he went, I would be with him riding shotgun. I meant to do that literally, using one of the riot guns loaded with buck shot, not bean bags. Lucas arrived first, however before we could get out of the office the Pros from Dover arrived weighted down with camera bags. Lucas became a traitor to both me and his girlfriend, even before he realized what he had done. "You guy's missed it. If you had gotten here earlier, you could have caught the boss asleep on the floor." "Oh really?" Mike asked. "What happened." "Just a glitch with the entrance gate to my place. I didn't want to try to work on it in the middle of the night, so I crashed on the floor here." "Why here?" Mike asked. "It would have been a waste of money to go to a motel for three hours. It was after four when I left the broken gate. I knew there was heat here, so it seemed logical." "Everything you do is logical," Ed said shaking his head as he walked by me. Mike turned his attention to Gwen, "Don't you think that little episode would have had entertainment value?" he asked. "Mike, I used my best judgment," Gwen said angrily. "Next time at least check the house monitor before you go to bed," he said. He was obviously peeved, but not nasty about it. "Sorry you two can't tag along to watch Lucas fix the gate. At least I hope he can fix it." I said smiling. While I tried to pour water on the fire, Lucas checked the battery in the gate's remote. The kid was developing quite a tool collection. His were mostly electronics tools, while mine were purely mechanical tools. Between the two of us we could handle most small repairs. "Well your battery is fine," he reported. "I can't measure the signal strength but it looks okay on the surface of it. Let's ride out and take a look at the gate." "Fair enough," I said in agreement. "Let's take the van, it has my tool kit. Just in case we have to bang on something. Your tool kit is useless for that kind of thing." "You two can watch us work on the gate's monitor camera." Lucas suggested. "Be sure you turn your mics on, so we can hear you," Mike said. Mike looked up to see me remove the shotgun from the safe room. "What's that for?" "In case I need a pry bar," I said smiling. I wondered how soft he had gotten in his PBS job. Surely he remembered what a riot shotgun was all about. In the van I said to Lucas, "Gwen is going to be pissed at you." "Why?" he asked oblivious to what he had done. "You caused her partner to question her judgment. You should not have mentioned that I slept on the floor of the office. As much as I hate to admit it, that would have made a pretty interesting visual." "Yeah, I guess you are right," he replied. "Lucas honey, every thought that enters your head, doesn't have to exit through your mouth." "Okay Boss, I get it." "Good," I suggested. "Have you done your shooting range training at the community college?" I knew that it was part of his law enforcement curriculum. "Yes, we did that last year. It was the semester before I started here." "Just this one time, reach into the lock box under the back seat and take the Smith and Wesson 9mm automatic. Do not chamber a round, unless we get in trouble." "Why are you so spooked?" he asked. "Lucas, did you know Blevins and Anya are involved with some federal task force investigating the Russian connection here?" I asked. "No, I had no idea. I guess after your run in with them, you have the right to be concerned with anything out of the ordinary." "There is no upside to killing me, but maybe they think there is a lesson to be taught to others. If that is the case, they may try to get to me." "If it's a lesson, then it wouldn't be a pleasant ending, would it?" Lucas asked. "That was my thinking," I admitted. As is usually the case, it all turned out to be for nothing. As I pointed the remote at the gate from the van. Lucas stood by the gate, where he heard the motor whine. I got out of the car leaving the riot gun on the seat, but it was still easily within my grasp through the open door. I took a good hard look around before I left the cover of the van to look at the gate. "So what's the verdict?" I asked. "Damn chain slipped off the sprocket. It seems to be too loose. I can almost get it on without tools. I'm thinking it stretched after you began using it. Let me get on my laptop and I will know soon enough." Lucas could find anything on the Internet. I had no doubt that he could find an answer to our problem as well. "Yeah here it is. Those chains do stretch and should have been readjusted after the first month. Nobody told us that." "So can we fix it?" I asked knowing the answer. "Sure we just have to move the sprocket to tighten the chain. It's a five minute repair." "Fair enough, but afterward, I want to take a good look around." I demanded. I knew that if there was a sniper and if he was still in place, I would already be dead. What I would be looking for was evidence that someone had indeed been waiting for me. Last night could easily have been a dry run as well. Just to see what I would do in order to prepare an ambush for the next time. So many possibilities, for the paranoid mind to play with. It would take days to sort through them all. In the meantime it was learn all I could time. After Lucas and I tightened the chain on the gate, we drove to the cabin. He was able to use my computer there to retrieve more of the video. Even though a half hour loop was the on line surveillance length, my computer's hard drive stored a longer lower resolution loop. Lucas told me that the computer loop varied but most of last night was still available. It showed us that no one had been within the view of either camera. That was a good sign. After we viewed the tape, we went for a long walk around. As we went I lectured Lucas about why we checked where we did. "From here you have a clear field of fire to the gate. If I were sitting here, and the target got out to check the gate, I could find them easily in my scope." That was from a hilltop some two hundred yards away. Later when we were closer to the gate, "Note that I had all the trees and bushes cut when they installed the gate. A grab team would have to drive up in a car to get close quickly without being seen. I would hear the car and have time to defend myself, maybe." "Looks like you are pretty well prepared." Lucas suggested. "The defender can never think of everything. Just try to make if difficult and hope you are alert when it comes down." "So was it an accident or a conspiracy?" he asked seriously. He didn't think it was humorous in the least. I liked that about him. "Well in spite of what people say, there really are accidents and acts of fate, just not as many as we would hope. The short answer is, I don't know. I do know that we didn't find anything to prove that it wasn't just a random accident." Back in the office Mike sat Lucas down with a recorder. Mike had him do some additional narrative. It would be used to explain what the 'show and tell' cameras footage depicted. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 65 The one lesson, of any real value, I learned in the sandbox was that you can't guard against everything. Since I couldn't prevent land mines, claymore mines, and IEDs, I just concentrated on what I could do something about. The security survey after the gate repair told me that my security was in as good a shape as it could be, without a couple of marines standing guard 24/7. Since I didn't have bands of Taliban soldiers assaulting my compound, I felt some better. In the worst case, it would be a few heavy handed thugs, armed to the teeth. I could still remember the simplicity and efficiency of my bicycle attack on the Mendez clan in Tryon. I doubted that the Russians had even that rudimentary amount of a military operation in mind. They had numbers and fire power, they didn't need homemade napalm and escape plans. If they had a mind to, they would come in like bulls in the pastry shop and have my ass for dinner. I had no doubt of that. I would just prefer to make it as difficult as possible for them. The truth is it turned out to be all paranoia. A stretched bicycle type chain was the cause of all the alarms. If Jerry hadn't mentioned the Russian connection again, the chain would never have caused any concern at all. Events in my life tended to swing wildly from routine, to exciting, then back to routine. After the gate fiasco, things switched to nothing but routine. I could only assume that Jen was beating the bushes trying to find something interesting to keep Marty's film crew from going stir crazy. She seemed to be having terrible luck at it. Not a single lion or even a goat ran away from the bush beatings. Another week passed leaving me half way through my deal with Marty and the Pros from Dover. I had no concern at all for any of them. My concern was for Lucas and myself. We were getting really, really bored. Boredom carried over to the job and would surely lead to a mistake eventually. Provoking someone was just plain stupid, but it did break the monotony. So I warned Lucas to keep an especially tight rein on his short temper. I tried to do the same. "Did you see the news this morning," Ed asked as he entered the office with his arms filled with brown bags. Over the last week Ed had taken a liking to Helen's new spicy egg on a bagel sandwich. Since he brought them for everyone, I stopped dropping in on Hardees before work. The sandwich wasn't really new. It did have a definite change in the taste of the egg. It certainly wasn't the traditional, scrambled in grease egg. Helen had switched to a microwave dry cooking of the egg. She added one hell of a lot of spices to make up for the lack of grease. None of us thought they would catch on, so Ed was determined to eat them for breakfast every day until Helen came to her senses. We all thought that eventually she would figure out that she was in the heart attack capitol of the world. Everything had to be floating in grease for those of us bent on suicide by clogged arteries. The new egg bagel wasn't soaked in grease, but it was still a great sandwich. "What news?" I asked taking one of the bags. Inside the bag I found not only the bagel but a mixture of homemade chunky apples. The fresh apples were covered with brown sugar, cinnamon and some crunchy stuff. I took the top off the bagel and poured the apple mixture on top of the melted cheese. Ed cringed at my desecration of Helen's bagel and its already perfect mix of flavors. At least it was perfect in his mind. Finally he said, "The cops made sweeping arrests all up and down the eastern seaboard last night. It looks like all kinds of Russian thugs are going to be seeing the insides of our prison system." "I can't say that I object to that little exercise of authority." I said it thinking that my involvement with the Ruskies might be coming to an end. None too soon, I thought. "Big brother ain't always bad," Ed said as if he was a thirty year old factory worker, who once read a book back in high school. "We can only hope that puts an end to the red menace." he added. "From your mouth to God's ear," I agreed in my best Yiddish mother's accent. I used that one just to piss Ed off. "Have you heard Boss, the coppers are picking up Russians all up and down the east coast. The Bolsheviks are going inside under the Rico act." "What the fuck is with all the accents today?" I asked it since Lucas, the nerd, was trying to sound like Elliot Ness. "And yes Ed gave me the good news. It's about time all that crap got flushed out." "Yeah, been a clogged toilet for sure," Ed agreed. Ed's parents were Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine. He actually liked the Russian people, even though they allowed massive discrimination against his parent's parents. But when it came to dealing with the Russian government, or any other Russian organization, he was extremely hawkish. "Okay, we have all commented for the cameras, now let's get to our work." I never tried to pretend the cameras weren't there. I tried not to make them the star of our lives, but I also refused to do the 'this is my real life ' lie. Almost all of the reality shows tried to pretend they were just voyeurs. I intended to not do that. Unless they planned to spend a lot of time chopping up my statements, the show was going to have an 'I know I'm being watched and I just don't care' feel about it. "Hey boss," Lucas said in the suddenly quiet room. "Yes Lucas?" I asked. "I have an email from Reverend Archer. My bike is ready for pick up. How about we go get it." "Take the van, while you are gone, I will lay out the packages we have on hand." We had stopped referring to the court orders as anything other than packages. The reason was simple, we didn't want to accidentally slip up and create a problem. If we believed it, at least on some level, we could pull off the BS story better, Lucas was gone almost an hour, then came rolling in his new bike. It was a shiny perfectly new looking dual suspension mountain bike. The small bright orange combination engine and drive box was locked a couple of inches above the rear tire. When Lucas released the locking lever, the engine would drop to the wheel. He should then apply a few pounds of downward force on the drive box, while reengage the locking lever. Those were about the only real actions necessary to convert the bike from a pure pedal bike to a gasoline hybrid. Removing the small wing nut, which held the throttle to the handle bars, and a couple of twist ties completely remove it and the linkage from the bike. Then he could open a different locking lever and remove a wing nut, so that the motor would come off in his hand. After which it folded into a package that would fit easily inside a canvas bag or backpack. It was a truly unique and useful helper engine for the bike. In reality, Lucas working with the engine would easily get the bike up to speed, then the motor more or less keep it there. On the hills Lucas might have to pedal about as hard as he would on level ground. That little engine extended the range of an average non biker type, from a couple of miles, to several miles. Even better, when Lucas arrived, he would look pretty much as he had when he left home. The sweaty, stinky, athlete was replace by the average commuter. In the design the builder had, as I insisted, considered how the bike could be transported on the luggage rack of an inner or intercity bus. It was light and easily to remove should that be necessary. Lucas made the first commercial for one of Marty's new products that morning without knowing it. The little mini commercial was probably going to be part of a show. Marty was way smarter than me. I would bet my last nickel that he had paid for Lucas's new bike. "So let's go to work Lucas, we can ride the bikes later." I suggested picking up the packages. The morning passed quickly, even if nothing really happened. Most of the packages were delivered to the workplaces of 'our mooches'. Most people tried not to make a scene at work. It had to be a little boring for the Pros, but I tried to avoid drama. The real drama came while closing out our day. Helen's boyfriend showed up after we were back in the office. We had finished the paperwork affirming that we had indeed served the papers listed on the invoices. "Maxine, could I talk to you alone," Jack asked before I even realized that he was in the office. "Sure Jack," I said leading him to the safe room. I closed the door cutting us off from everything except the hidden mic under my sweater. "So is something wrong with Helen or Skeeter?" I asked. "No, it's about Julie." "I thought she was in some kind of boarding school for the rich and bored," I said sarcastically. I didn't really approve of shipping kids off to be 'handled'. "She ran away, I'm afraid she is going to get into trouble." Jack and Helen had found out about Julie, but it was not my doing. Her name came up in the police investigation, which followed my night at the Hazelwood, as I liked to think of it. To me it would always seem like a Marx Brothers movie. You know one of those old things with people running in and out as doors opened and closed everywhere. "Jack, you need the cops for this. I don't have the resources to find run away kids." I suggested. "I know where she is, I just need you to bring her home." "If you know where she is, why don't you just go get her?" I had no idea what he meant. "She won't come home with me. Maxine I just want her safe. I don't think she is safe where she is now." "I don't understand Jack. You are going to have to break this down into simple, follow the yellow brick road, steps for me. What exactly has happened to Julie?" "After that Hazelwood thing, I had a choice. The judge said it was the Juvenile detention facility or a private school with counseling. I didn't have that kind of money, but Helen and I found it." "Let's get this straight, Helen found it?" I asked. "Yes, Helen found the money somewhere to pay for the school." Jack looked beaten. Me pointing out that Helen had footed the bill for the failed school, didn't help I'm sure. I didn't give a crap, Helen was my friend. Jack needed to realize how fucking lucky he was to have her in his life. "So Julie ran away?" I asked to get him back on track. "She was there less than a month before she just walked away. The school isn't a prison," Jack said. "I'm sure they reminded you of that several times while Julie was missing," I said sarcastically. "Yes they did remind me. To their credit they were the ones who tracked her down. She had been picked up at the bus station by some guy." "Yeah, I can imagine the type." I said. "It could be worse, I suppose. The guy wasn't a pimp. He was from one of those missions. You know one that claim they save kids from the streets." His story suddenly had a familiar ring to it. "Where is this mission?" I asked. "She made it to Tryon, before she got off that bus. I would like to think she was coming home, but the truth is she probably has friends over there." "So now Julie is living in a mission in Tryon? Is she working there or just hanging out?" I asked. "Irony of Ironies, they have her working in the mission's kitchen. She helps to cook for the other kids who live there, plus she helps with the midday meal for the older people inTryon. It is for those who aren't homeless, but wouldn't get a hot meal without the mission." I had a really good idea whose mission it was. I had no idea, he had branched out, or maybe it was a franchise kind of thing. A high percentage of those old people would remember the ministry in their wills. It was a classic example of casting your bread upon the waters. I could never pin anything nefarious on Reverend Archer, but who knew. Maybe his luck was about to change. In any case I had a feeling my boredom was about to end. "Have they ask you for money?" I asked. "That's the strange part, they haven't. They allowed me to visit Julie." "How does she look?" I asked. "She looks healthy, but also a little out there, if you know what I mean." "Do you think they are drugging her?" I asked. "I asked her that, she said no. She said it was her dedication to helping others. You met her Max, does that sound like my Julie." "No offense Jack, but no way that is Julie talking. The girl I met was totally selfish and didn't care who she hurt." "Yeah, I know. I have read about cults, and I'm afraid she might have landed in one." "Does Helen know you came here?" I asked. "No Maxine, I can't ask her to do any more. I can't bring myself to even ask her to talk to you about Julie." He looked like Skeeter did the first time I saw her. He just looked defeated by life. I wrote Jen's phone number on the back of my business card. "Call this number. Tell the receptionist that you are calling for me and you need to talk to Jen. Then tell Jennifer what you told me. Also tell her it's a case she needs to take for Marty. When you get squared away with Jen, call me and I'll take a look into this. Before you leave, sit down over there and write the name of the Mission, and any names of the people there that you can remember. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 66 Jack left the office just a few minutes before five. He made the appointment to see Jen from my office phone. Jen must have really been in Marty's pocket big time, since she made his appointment to see her for 5:30 PM that same evening. For Jen to stay past five, it had to be a big deal. "So what do you think about that man's daughter?" Mike asked. "Mike that man is married to one of my few friends. Her name is Helen. His daughter has a name as well. Her name is Julie and she is my friend Helen's step daughter. Now are you asking what I think of Julie?" "Alright Maxie I get it. What do you think of Jack's story about Julie?" "I believe every word of it." I admitted. "So what are you going to do?" he asked. "Well Mike, first I am going to be sure I can get paid. Then I'm going to do a lot of recon." I replied "So, you are going to just sit back and look at the situation, while God only knows what happens to that poor teenager?" Mike asked almost angrily. "You do remember the rescue we were involved in the last time you were here?" I asked. "Sure, it made national headline, which Gwen and I cashed in on it." He said it not daring to look me in the eye. "Exactly, well that was mostly about a party held at the Hazelwood B&B." I informed him. "Yeah, I knew that," he admitted. "Then you know there were hookers there, you might also remember that one of them was underage." I suggested. "Sure I remember," he said. "Are you telling me that Julie was that girl?" "That's exactly what I'm telling you. Now that poor little girl can take care of herself for the day or so that I need to determine the lay of the land." "Oh okay," he said. "I'm sorry I said anything. I'm not supposed to am I?" "No you aren't. No matter how much better the TV drama would be, we aren't going to run off half cocked like the 7th Calvary to the rescue. It's not how things get done successfully in the real world." "I get it Max, I'm sorry." he said obviously trying to get a handle on it all. "Don't worry, everyone gets swept up in the 'damsel in distress syndrome' once or twice. It's all that knights in shining armor bullshit from fairy tales." I said honestly. "What are we waiting around here for? I mean everyone has gone." Mike asked. "We are waiting for a phone call from Jen." "Oh is she going to call?" "I certainly hope so," I said. Mike didn't know that I had a date with Mosby. What we did know at that point was that my evening would be determined by what Jen had to say. By six she hadn't called, so I started to clear my desktop. I had some pens and papers left over from the day's work. "Well Mike, I have no idea what you are going to do, but I'm going home to change. I have a date with Mosby." "If I trade with Gwen, can I trust you not to run off and leave her again?" "Absolutely not," I replied with a smile. "Come on Max, you know we missed some great moments, when we didn't shoot you off script." Mikes said. "Mike honey, I'm always off script." I replied. "Yeah, but not like when you slept on the office floor. That was way off script, and showed your vulnerability. It would have been killer to show your mental process at the time." "Paranoia run amuck," I replied with a smile. "It still would have been great TV," he stated again. He was sticking to his gun, trying to shame me into better cooperation. "We will see. In the meantime I'm off to wash the smell of work off my ass." "Okay, so where do we meet you?" Mike asked. "After a quick shower, I'm going by to pick up Mosby. From there it's the Pizza and Pasta pit for takeout. Then we will be headed for the Cop Out Club." "Okay, now I'm curious. Why the Cop Out. You were just there. You don't go there very often." "I haven't been there much since the Hazelwood affair for sure. Now I want to see, if and when Blevins and Anya show up again." "Not to mention ask around about the Russian crackdown?" he guessed. "I little of that, I'm sure." I replied honestly. What I didn't admit to, was that Mosby would make that a bit easier. No matter what else Mosby might be, she was great bait. Men looked at her and their brains turned to mush, while there pricks turned to stone. The ride out to the cabin didn't seem nearly as long in the daylight. From our office the drive went for about five minutes, even if you got caught at both traffic lights, through the old urban sprawl. From main street it was onto the county road which connected Aster to Greenpoint. Greenpoint was an even more rural community. Unfortunately it was slowly becoming a bedroom community for Tryon as well. Negotiating the flat Greenpoint road was simple compared to the county road which ran by my driveway. That road connected the Greenpoint road to a boat access ramp into the Deep River. Yes there were a few farms along the two miles of paved road, but the road ended in a concrete boat ramp down to the river. At night I could look into my rear view mirror, to see any lights which might be behind me. In the daylight I backed the cruiser into a clear spot directly across the road from my entrance gate. I sat in that raw dirt turn around, while I checked the on line camera footage. When I was sure no one had followed me, I tripped the gate opener. When the gate was open completely, I zipped across the road. The remote had to be used from a spot just past the first tree on my drive or it was useless. I always stopped in the exact same place. I knew it was a stupid thing to do, but I had been getting complacent. Someday I was going to get a RPG up my ass, while sitting either by that tree or while in that turn around. If I were planning the attack. I would be patient and follow along a piece at a time. From the office to the Greenpoint road one day. Then pick me up on the Greenpoint road and follow me to the boat ramp access road. Once the car turned in, I would pull it up on a computer map to find the outlet. Ah no outlet, then it would be a couple of days of observing me from the woods until I pinpointed my actions. I would find the camera at the gate and lay on my kill plan. Either a land mine in the turn around, because it was out of camera view, or a simple ambush with an RPG at the same spot. Either would work and each had benefits over the other. With the RPG, it would be easy to verify the kill, but it would tie up the operative for days. Since he had no way to know when I would be coming home, he would be waiting in the woods for hours at least. The mine was a lot more random, but it was a pretty isolated spot. It might a day or two for me to put a tire on the trigger, but it would eventually happen. If I didn't want to wait the day or two, I could always go with a magnetic trigger on a plastic encased mine. As I said earlier, I could only hope the bad guys were thugs, not soldiers, or assassins. The shower was nice after a long day of running from warm car into the chilly air of late autumn. I was in the shower, when I had the second late autumn thought. Once I was out of the shower stall and dry, but still more or less naked, I took a look at my computer's calendar. Holy shit, I thought. Thanksgiving is only three weeks away. My next thought was that I vaguely remembered someone mentioning it at the office. At least I will be finished with the Pros from Dover before the holiday, I thought. I would have to make some kind of plan for lunch. Even if it was just driving to the big hundred item cafeteria in Tryon. I put those thoughts behind me, as I dressed for my night at the Cop Out. Instead of faded jeans, I wore very nice cotton twill pants and a navy blue lightweight sweater. It would be warm in the Cop Out Club. Regardless of the heat in the club, I opted for my blue suede jacket with the thermal lining. That coat was large enough to even fit a second thermal vest inside. It was a good thing I had small boobs, I thought. Yes I dressed to impress the patrons of the club. I was past needing to impress Mosby. I could be in her bed tonight even if I wore a bag, I thought. Her being paid by Marty didn't hurt my confidence at all. I laughed at the thought of Marty paying for my 'ass on the side'. When we finally got to the Cop Out, I had a pizza in my hands. Mosby went to the bar for a pitcher of beer, while I found an empty table. There was nothing like a giant pizza cut into small pieces to attract a crowd in a cop bar. As I expected people drifted around, but our table was the center of all the orbits. "Max why do you always buy plain cheese pizza. Why don't you ever buy pepperoni?" Jerry asked. "Because Jerry lover, I am the one paying for it. If you want pepperoni get in your car and go buy one and bring it back. We can put it beside the empty cheese pizza box." I laughed. Even Mosby chuckled. "Come on Mosby let's dance. Max is being a pain in the ass bitch again," he said it grinning at me. I watched the two of them going through a bunch of gyrations. The music switched to something slower. Instead of returning, the two of them moved into each other's arms. I'm not sure whether I was supposed to notice, or not, but Jerry's hands moved to cover Mosby's small ass. Jerry pulled her butt against him. What he was really doing was rubbing her pubic mound over his hard penis. I had felt the same thing myself. It was how Jerry danced with the women he knew. Maybe not in the biblical sense yet, but it was his plan, of that I was sure. Why he never got around to me was most likely an age thing. I had almost twenty years on him. Still he was a mature kid. Mosby went to the lady's room, so I cornered Jerry. "Come on and dance with me big boy," I said for the mic. "Sure baby," he said smiling. Once the mic was muffled I asked in a whisper, "So when is Blevins coming back?" "The word around the station is that it will take about a week or so to close down the operation. The word also is your buddy Anya isn't going to be with him. It was her operation at the Hazelwood which put the crack in the dam. She is moving on to the Feds." "Does she meet the FBI qualifications?" I asked. "No, but she does to join the DOJ as a special investigator." Jerry replied. "Damn that girl knows how to play her cards," I admitted. "Speaking of favors," Jerry said. "Were we speaking of favors?" I asked. "Yeah, we were." Jerry replied. "Okay, what do you need?" "I want to come home with you and Mosby." he said quietly. No drama just a simple request. "I can't speak for her, but it's okay with me." I said. I was a little surprised that it was okay, but I also had a twinge of jealously. "I will ask her," Jerry suggested. "I would be careful how I did it, if I were you. She can't be pissed at me, she has a job to do. However, you aren't part of the job. You can tell her that I am agreeable, but it's up to her." "Fair enough." Jerry said. "Jerry, you don't want to lie to her, just tell her it's okay with me but it's still up to her." "Yeah, I got it Max," he replied. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 67 Mosby and Jerry spent a lot of time dancing together. I didn't mind, but I will admit to a few twinges of jealousy. Still Mosby was a ringer, so I did not plan to get involved with her on any level, except physical. If that was for sure to be the extent of our relationship, why not go for the kink, I thought. At least I would finally get Jerry in bed. The two of them looked like a couple for sure. The more I watched, the more they looked like a couple of kids. Not at all like grownups on the verge of a kinky sexual episode. I wondered if either of them could really go through with it. "You ready to go?" Mosby asked after an hour of being courted by Jerry. I nodded my head then asked, "Are you sure you want me to come along? You two look awfully cute together. Like a couple of teenagers in love." "Oh I want you, and Jerry is almost overcome with lust at the idea," she said it with a smile that did look just little too crooked. "Mosby, have you ever done this before?" I asked. "No, but there were a lot of things I had never done until I met you," she seemed to have found her scapegoat in me. It was the old, 'I never would have done this, had I not met Maxine, ' trick. She might fool a future lover with that, but I doubted that she could fool God. She did it for money and to be a star, not because I was a bad influence on her. She knew when she took Marty's money that she would be up to her ass in kink. If not then, she certainly knew it long before she had her pretty mouth on my pussy for the first time. Yes I had sunk into my dirty mouth bitch frame of mind. "I suppose that is true," I said going along with her desire to play innocent. "So what is the plan, car wise. We could all ride in my car, but I expect that we will be leaving your place at different times." "Yeah, Jerry wants to drive his own car. Since you know the way to my place, and he doesn't, I thought that I should ride with him. Is that okay?" At least she pretended to show some real concern for my feelings. But hey, she was an actress. "Sure that's fine. When you are ready to leave, just let me know. I'll give you a five minute head start." "Okay, we will be leaving now, I guess," she admitted. "Fine, I'll finish this beer and be along." After Mosby and Jerry were gone, I began to have second thoughts. I had Mosby all to myself and wasn't sure that I really wanted to share her. I had to force myself to remember that it wasn't real. I thought of her as only one step above an online love affair. I never had one of those, but I had read about them. People who fell in love with the idea of being in love. Then one day they met only to realize that each was not who they claimed to be. Mosby was like that, and I'm pretty sure I'm not at all who people think I am either. Still, I had actually slept with Mosby and tasted her, so our relationship was more than a dream. What it was, I had no real idea. I certainly didn't wish her any harm. She was not using me any more than I was using her. The difference was simple, I knew she was using me. At that moment, I wondered if she felt any guilt at all. Had she ever had second thoughts like the ones I was having at that moment. Oh hell, what difference does it make anyway, I thought that as I stood to leave the Cop Out. When I arrived at Mosby's apartment, she opened the door with her clothes barely hanging to her almost perfect body. Jerry handed me a drink and led me to a chair in the living room. The curtains were a little thin for what he had in mind, but hell I'm not shy. I watched them kiss for a long time as I drank my drink. They were two passionate people in stage one of a sexual adventure. I could not remember every having just sat and watched. I was usually involved physically from the start. Not that I had done that many threesomes. I had been asked, a hell of a lot more times than I had done it. I guess that was the big attraction of bisexual women for men. Their belief that we will swing both ways at the same time. That is actually pretty rare. I think. Most bisexual women want a one on one relationship, just like any other woman. Regardless I felt more like a voyeur than anything else at that moment. And like any good peeping tom, I began to touch myself as I watched. I knew what Jerry was feeling as he put his hand over Mosby's rock hard breasts. I put my hand over my own soft breast at the same time. I massaged the soft fatty tissue that inflames men. That massage can sometimes, with someone special, drive me to orgasm. I have never been able to do that to myself, but I have felt it with some men and even a woman now and then. When Jerry slipped his hand inside her blouse, I did the same under my sweater. I felt my hard nipple and shivered. I even gasped a little while Moseby stood with her eyes closed and gasped, just a little as well. I tugged and rotated my nipple and felt the tightness begin in my pussy. It was just a mild tension at that point. Jerry began to unbutton Mosby's top, so I lifted my sweater at the same time. When her blouse was unbuttoned completely, he slipped it over her shoulders, and I removed my sweater. I unhooked my bra for Jerry as well as having removed the sweater. My bra was gone at almost the same instant as Mosby's. Mosby's breasts stood up perfectly straight, while mine sagged a bit. Since I never had children, and my breasts are small, they didn't sag all that much. Jerry began to suck on Mosby's nipple and I imagined that he was attached to one of mine as well. It was erotic as hell to watch and imagine that it was me standing there. Mosby and I were both wearing jeans so Jerry struggled while removing hers as she stood, and I struggled out of mine while seated. In both cases it took an effort that had only a slight dampening effect on our lust. I could feel how slippery my thighs were while getting out of my panties. Jerry had his fingers buried deep inside of Mosby, so I did the same. The fullness was a welcome feeling, even if the intrusive fingers were my own. Mosby's knees appeared to be weak as she was forced to lean against Jerry for support. Her muscles appeared to be relaxed though. I was too deep into the feelings to be a good judge of anyone else. Jerry was breathing shallow and quickly, I did notice that about him. He suddenly left Mosby. He then moved to stand in front of me. He lifted me to my feet and I gasped at the sight of his dick. Jerry had somehow managed to free his dick and it was beautiful. It was not huge just a little more than the guys I usually had, but it was gorgeous that night. It was full and standing erect. I wanted that dick inside me anywhere. In my mouth, in my pussy, even my ass would have been alright at that moment. I just needed his dick in me. "On your knees Max," he said gently. I immediately without hesitation slipped to my knees and took his beautiful dick into my mouth. I made my mouth a warm cavern for his dick to move inside. I pressed on his dick with my tongue while I sucked on it. I made no move to stroke him with my mouth. Instead I nursed on it like a baby would a tit. I waited for him to drive his dick into my mouth and throat. He fully stroked my mouth just few times then removed it completely. My sense of loss was overwhelming. I could barely resisted the urge to beg for its return. Jerry lifted me and pushed me back into the chair. I was whimpering I'm sure as I tried to find a comfortable position. While I wriggled in the chair, Jerry moved back to Mosby, he kissed her several times while running his hands over her body. He made quick work of his own clothing, then he bent Mosby down so that she had her face in my lap. I spread my legs knowing what was about to happen and begging for it. "Eat me Mose, dear God eat me." I begged. She did as I wished. Mosby buried her face between my legs. Her tongue came out like a snake's. She used it to manipulate my clit up and down in rapid movements. I was instantly on the verge of an orgasm but I couldn't quite break the barrier. I watched Jerry step back to take in the sight of the beautiful Mosby on her knees with her face buried in my pussy. He stroked his dick a few times, then he knelt on the floor behind Mosby. Jerry drove his dick into her. Gently at first then faster. At first she stopped licking me until she adjusted to the feel of his dick in her. Then she began to lick even harder and faster. Any sense of rhythm was gone, but it didn't matter. Her actions still drove me higher every second. The thing that finally drove me off the cliff was the sight of Jerry's body getting stiff as a board. Then he groaned like a man in his death throws. I came when Jerry did, it was a huge release of pent up energy. Only a second after Jerry finished shooting inside Mosby, he slipped from her and sat on the floor behind her. I quickly pushed Mosby away and turned her so that I could bury my face in her pussy. I sucked until I felt Jerry's cum begin to drain into my mouth. I also felt Mosby being to jerk in orgasm for the first time that evening. Her contractions pumped Jerry's cum into my mouth even faster. When she finally calmed down, my face was covered with Jerry's cum. I managed to find a comfortable spot on the floor to slip into the arms of Morpheus. It seemed that my drift into oblivion lasted only a few minutes. I felt something on my lips. Jerry's dick had come back to life. "You do that better than anyone ever has," he said pushing his dick into my mouth. I couldn't speak, all I could do was nurse on his only slightly erect dick. I drew it into my mouth like a vacuum cleaner. Inside I made a tight, hot, wet tunnel for his dick to rest. I lay there nursing and Jerry lay on the floor enjoying it. I wondered where Mosby was, but I didn't open my eyes to look. I was far too deep into the feeling of Jerry's dick in my mouth. I was wondering if he would ever come to life again, when he began to gently stroke the extremely sensitive tissue inside my mouth. After a few strokes he went deeper and began to choke me a little. He must have enjoyed the sound of me struggling to cope with his dick, since he didn't stop. He even increased his movements to push deeper and more often. I was getting adjusted to his dick in my throat, so I reached around and slipped a finger into his ass. When I did that. Jerry didn't increase his speed but he did push harder. He was trying to fuck my throat. It was what I wanted, so I just relaxed and allowed it to happen. It was hard to get enough air, but I didn't resist the over powering feeling of his dick in my throat. I wanted to throw up and I wanted more air, but I stayed with it until he tightened and a shower of hot cum went almost directly into my stomach. I didn't need to swallow he was that deep in my throat when he came. It was the Mendez brother all over again, but without the anger and with only a little pain. After I knew that he was finished I pulled my head back freeing myself from his dick. I gasped for air over and over. No, I didn't cum from it, but I still felt wonderful. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 68 I had slept off my sexual hangover by 3AM, so I left Mosby's apartment. I figured that Jerry and Mosby would do better with breakfast alone. I knew for damn sure I would do better with breakfast alone. It wasn't just chilly. It was cold that Saturday morning in mid November. I could managed to make it home and into my small bed before I got core body cold. The heater in the cruiser was pure crap. From Mosby's apartment to my cabin was about eight miles. The heater in the cruiser got warm at 6.7 miles. Toss in the fact that I was not dressed for the cold, and you had a woman who drove six miserable miles at 3AM. Fortunately there were no lights in my rear view mirror at all that night. Thank God there were also no signs on the surveillance cameras of any intruder, so I got through all my security precautions rather quickly. Once in the tiny bed, it was all over for me. Sometimes I lay in bed waiting for my mind to disengage. Not so that early morning, the sexual fog residue put me right out of it again. I closed my eyes at 3:30AM, then opened them again at 8AM. When I awoke the sun was not shining, and all was not right with the world. It was a dreary day, which put me in a dreary mood. In my case a dreary mood manifests itself as aggression. I might have been in an aggressive mood, but I wasn't pure evil. I decided to let Jen sleep until 10AM at least. While I waited I fixed myself an egg sandwich which was every bit as good as Helen's. It should be, she taught me how to do it. First I reached into the freezer unit of the small refrigerator to remove one of the two frozen sandwich rolls, which I had stored there. Those rolls were from Helen's day old roll supply. I got them before she made stuffing or some such from the bread. Helen refused to use anything but fresh bakery rolls for her sandwiches. Which helped explain why people paid almost double the going rate for them. I put the frozen roll into the microwave for 22 seconds exactly. While it nuked, I broke one ordinary egg into a cereal bowl. I added salt and pepper then a generous dash of Texas Pete hot sauce. I stirred the hell out of it. By the time it was ready for the microwave, the bread was soft and warm. I replaced the bread with the egg bowl, then reset the timer of the microwave to exactly fifty seconds. While that ran, I found the sliced cheese in the refrigerator. I removed one piece, on which I folded the corners back making the square piece into one the shape of a stops sign. When the microwave beeped, I put the cheese on top of the egg. I ran the 'nukalator' another ten seconds. I added just bit of Mayonnaise to the roll before I assembled it. That sandwich, along with day old, strong ass, coffee, started me on the way to a better mood. Making the best egg sandwich in the world is easy, but I seldom bothered. I did it that morning only because it was Saturday. On Saturday Helen didn't run her truck. Also because I just didn't feel like leaving the cabin that early. I know 8:30 isn't all that early, but after Friday night, it was indeed too early for me to be out for the world to see. I even washed the one cereal bowl, since I was killing time that morning. I wasn't sleepy, but I was still exhausted. My energy level was low for some reason. So low in fact that I was still in the sweater I had slept in the night before. It was also the sweater I had worn to the Cop Out. I was still in the soiled panties as well. Even I knew it was time for a shower and clean clothes. My cell phone played that stupid song right in the middle of my shower. If I didn't remember to have Lucas fix that damn phone soon, it was going to find itself in the city sewer system one day. I was pretty sure it wouldn't get down my cabin's plumbing, but it would fit down the toilet at Ed's converted service station for sure. The phone had gone to message, before I could get out of the tiny shower stall. I had expected the call to be Jen, but it was Ed instead. "Max," the message began. "I have some news. I'm not sure if it is good or bad, but my client's mother called me at home last night. She has convinced her son, the cabin's owner, to sell it. Since you already lived there, and it would be a quick easy sell, she is going to give you the first option. If she doesn't hear from you by Monday, she is going to list it with a Realtor. That means your cover is blown for sure. You would also lose all the money you put into the place. So let me know what you want to do." Now that just sucks rotten eggs, I thought. I had never spent a complete winter in the cabin. The last winter I had been in Jen's apartment. Fuck, it is always something, I told myself as I began to dress. I was going to spend the weekend trying to decide, whether I wanted to live in a tiny cabin, or take my toys and leave. I still hadn't heard from Jen. The call from Ed put me in an even worse mood, so I called her. "Hello," her sleepy voice said into the phone. "Get your ass out of bed you lazy heifer." I said it way too cheerfully. Yes waking Jen up had cheered me up some. "Max what the hell are you doing calling me at 9AM on a Saturday?" "It's 9:30 Jen and you were supposed to call me?" I informed her. "Why would I call you, you cow?" she asked. I could see the smile on her face through the phone. "Because Helen's husband came to see you, and you have an agreement with Marty. So are you taking Jack's case. Even more important are you hiring me?" "Oh hell yes, It was after six when all that got decided. I figured you had already started your weekend, so I didn't call. Now can I go back to sleep?" "Is the Reverend there?" I asked more to piss her off than anything. "No, our mutual friend the Reverend, does not spend his nights here," Jen snapped. "Temper, Temper. I know that he spends a few nights there. Like anytime Bob is out wandering around, or the three of you want to play at the house of kink games." Thank god she didn't know about the Jerry, Mosby and me tryst just yet. Of course she would, since it was going to be all over the Internet one day. I had no doubt that it would be complete with a 'shadows on the wall' video as well. That image just dawned on me. It was why the setup was in the living room with the lights on throwing images against the curtains for Mike or Gwen to film. That had to be Mosby's idea. I expect there were negotiations going on, or soon start for Jerry's waiver. What a fucked up mess my life had become. "Well he isn't here," Jen insisted. "I need to talk to him. That mission story sounds a lot like the Reverends Empire in the sun." I said it humorously I thought. "Hey the Reverend does good work. His is not a cult," she said not quite angry but it was snippy. "You can bet your ass Archer knows something about it. The plan is the same one he is using. His might be for the community's betterment, but we both know that plan can be twisted to make some asshole rich. So if it isn't Archer, he most likely knows which asshole it is." "He might, I am not going to speak for him." Jen said. "Always the a lawyer aren't you Jen?" I asked. "Always the cop, aren't you Max. I thought when you left the military, you would get past that." "Hey bitch, you got me into all this shit," I replied angrily. "Bullshit, I got you into delivering court papers to supplement that tiny little pension you got from the Air Force. You didn't even let me apply for the disability add on." "Because, I'm not disabled. If you had done that, I would just have to give it back now that the business is profitable. Let's not go through this again. Just call Archer and tell him I'm on my way to talk to him. Call me back with his location." "Say please, you ungrateful bitch," she insisted just before she broke into a hearty laugh. "I'll call, just as soon as I find him." "Jen honey, I know you. Archer is on your speed dial and he knows better than to not answer you." I laughed that time. "I'll call you," she said. She was wide awake so I trusted that she would call soon. I met Archer at noon at the bike shop. He was in the small office that was used by everyone who worked there. It was the office, the break room, and probably the meeting place for lots of loose women. Hell, I fit right in. "So Max, Jen explained about Jack's daughter. What do you want to know?" "Are you running that mission?" I asked. "All my work is here in Aster. My calling is to improve the lives of the forgotten people here." Archer said. "Reverend, it's Max you are talking to, not the chamber of commerce. I know most of the money goes into the ministry, but you didn't take a vow of poverty. Now if you aren't running it, who is and what is their game?" I asked. "I gave a lecture at one of those community improvement conferences two years ago. It was about how to grow a ministry from the streets. The representative from Tryon was there and he seemed to have a real interest. His name is Earnest Davenport. He went home and began a program like mine. But Davenport is not a minister. He is probably not even a servant of God. "So is it a nonprofit organization, a scam, or a cult?' I asked. "I'm not sure. It could be a little of each. Enough nonprofit to avoid the 35% tax bracket. He is skimming off enough of the profits to make me look like a saint." he said. "And the cult part?" I asked. "If you aren't doing it in the name of god, you have to have something for the lost ones to cling to. In this case it is the personality cult of brother Davenport, aka the Family Mission." Archer said. "So tell me how is it organized?" "Davenport began with the runaway kids in Tryon. Kids who leave home flock to Tryon or Charlestown. Most of them wind up on the streets. Living and working there. If they aren't hooked on drugs, they are half starved. He fed them and gave them a chance to make a more or less real contribution. They think they are involved with a higher calling. He has a zero tolerance drug policy, so a lot of kids pass through the mission, but don't stay. He tries to move them from drugs to his personality cult, some make it, some don't." "So does he put them fixing bicycles?" I asked. "No mostly it was maids and gardeners at first. He chose the kids because they were easy to con. He can't get ex-cons and drunks to buy into the bullshit he lays on the kids. You know the old Charlie Manson, we are family bullshit." "So he used part of the money to do a hot lunch program at the community center?"I asked. "Oh no, the community center wouldn't touch him. His hot lunch program is in the basement of a non denominational church. One that doesn't look too hard to see if the food is tainted by greed. Like it or not it is a good way to accumulate wealth and hungry people get fed. Sometimes the wealth goes to the church, sometimes it goes to the Family Mission." "So the old folks die off and leave him their property. Is that the scam?" I asked. "It's the tip of the iceberg. The old folks without family or any real ties to the church or anything else may remember those free meals. So yeah, some of them leave their property to the Family Mission." "If it was you, there would be the thrift store to move the personal property of the benefactors." I suggested. "Oh hell that's too smalltime for Davenport. That stuff he sells to me by the pound. We move it through our thrift store at a profit of course." "So what happened to the houses and cars?' "The first house he uses as his dormitory for the kids. It is a dump. Even I wouldn't let people live there." "So what about the others?" I asked "The Family Mission is a giant slum lord enterprise. The houses that are pretty nice, he rents to families at reasonable rates, but he does no maintenance. He makes that clear to the renters. They are responsible for any needed routine repairs. The laboring few have done some serious repairs. Just enough to keep the houses from being condemned. It is so hard to collect that we will only work for cash in advance these days." "How about the houses that really need work?" I asked. "He does the minimum repairs then they become half way houses for paroled cons, drug addicts and the mentally challenged..." "Does he provide counseling?" I asked looking for some good in Davenport. "He calls it peer counseling and the government buys it. Davenport houses the ex-cons and the recovering druggies in the same house. Then he hires an ex-con bad enough to keep the others in line. One for each halfway house is all it takes, if the counselor is violent enough. He has a couple of people he claims kicked the drug habit who hold group sessions with the addicts. "As for the mentally challenged shelter, the rescued kids go in and help out with their needs. He is only certified for the functioning level patients." "Davenport sounds like a real slime ball," I said even though he didn't sound all that bad. He was warehousing people no one wanted wandering the streets. My objection was that he was screwing everyone in the process. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 69 After my meeting with Reverend Archer, I had a pretty good feel for Davenport. He was different from Archer, but only in that he didn't have any feelings for the people he supposedly served. In fact they served him. Human misery was the end product of his little business. The prolonging of it meant a steady income for him. In my opinion he was no better than the guys who smuggled in sweatshop labor from Asia. He had just found a way to turn a profit from home grown misery. He most likely got a certificate of achievement from the politicians as well. At least Archer, for all his faults, tried to get his workers off their knees and back into society. Davenport counted on them never becoming independent. He was in fact being paid to keep them dependent on him. And worst of all, he was endangering their lives in the substandard houses where he placed them. Since it was all hearsay and from people with an ax to grind at best, I needed to see it for myself. I had a feeling Davenport wasn't going to be all that cooperative. If I planned any slight-of-hand, I probably needed to do it before he could recognize me as me. I dialed Lucas's cell phone. It went to message right away. My guess was that he and Gwen were somewhere playing house and he didn't want to be bothered. Since the message wasn't urgent, I didn't mind. "Lucas when you get this give me a call. I thought you and I might take a bike ride on our new toys tomorrow afternoon. I need you to do a computer search first, if you can meet me at noon tomorrow in the office. Give me a call to confirm. If I don't hear from you today, I will just handle it. I do need to ride the bike tomorrow. Oh yeah the weatherman says bright and sunny. It will be a good day for it. I was watching a TV show from the night before on my laptop, when the cell phone played that horrible music. "Hello," I said to the phone number I didn't recognize. "Max, it's Jerry. Are you coming to the Club tonight?" he asked. "Jerry, I haven't even decided where I'm going to eat tonight. Why?" "Mosby won't answer her phone." "Call me back in ten minutes," I said. Yes, I was concerned. I had too many friends get into shit because of me. I was always concerned when my friends did the unexpected. In Jerry's case my guess was that Mosby was just too embarrassed to speak with him. "Mosby," I said in answer to her hello. "Talk to Jerry, people like Jerry and me are paranoid. If you don't talk to him, he will be at your door. If that is what you want, I will just send him over." "God no, I don't want to see him now. I'm still trying to work out how I feel about last night." "Then take his call and tell him that. I will leave you alone tonight. I have some things I need to do anyway." I didn't really, but it sounded good. "Hello Jerry," I said when he called. "Give Mosby a call now. She will explain. And I put your phone in my speed dial list for business calls." "You can put it in your personal file. I found you just as amazing as Mosby." he said. I could almost see the stupid male conquest smile on his face. "And, I found you adequate," I replied. He needs just s touch of deflation, I thought. "Anyway call her, you make a cute couple. Jerry, give her some time this is all new to her." "Okay Max, so how are you?" "Jerry it was Mosby's first time at the dance, not mine. But to answer your real question, you did just fine." He laughed gently then said, "I guess that really was my question. It was my first time at the dance as well." "Okay, tell Mosby that. Also tell her she was the reason you went to the dance. Just so she doesn't feel like a piece of meat." I did not want to stay home alone on a Saturday night. Especially not after a Friday night like the one I just had, so I rode over to Tryon. First I called Mike; since it appeared he was on duty. I drove by the addresses that Archer had provided, with Mike following behind. It was his choice to being a separate car. The houses were always the worst ones on the block. By the time Davenport's Family Ministry got them, they would have been rundown. Old people have to let the upkeep on their homes slip, if they want to survive. Particularly those in need of a hot meal from the Family Ministry's kitchen. Add to that Davenport's practice of not doing any routine Maintenance and it was a recipe for continued slum housing. Each of the two halfway houses, the ministry ran, was surrounded by a six foot chain link fence. They were not supposed to be prisons, but they might easily have been mistaken for a minimum security prison. There were no guard houses, but they still looked like prisons to me. The facility for the mentally challenged was no better. The fence was lower, but there was still a fence around it. I shook my head as I did the drive by at the runaway kid's dorm. It was a large brick house, so it looked a little better, but the yard was littered and the porch looked ready to cave in. There were three colors of shingles on the roof. It was not a happy looking place at all. Hell the Adams family was most likely their decorator of choice. I had seen all I could from the car. I needed to get onto the grounds of the kid's dorm at least. First I needed to know, whether Julie would come willingly, or if I needed to snatch her up. It would be a different kind of rescue, if Julie resisted. "Hey Max, I will be at the office tomorrow at noon, if that is okay" Lucas's voice said over the cell. "That's fine and dammit I want this ring tone changed tomorrow." I said finally remembering. "That's easy you could do that yourself." he suggested. Hanging around with Gwen had not been a positive influence for him. He was getting way to independent. I did smile at the thought though. "Then good, it won't take you long. Note the emphasis on you." I said smiling. "All right ring tone change tomorrow. I'll down load some for you to choose from." "Don't bother anything but that stupid song that plays now. I think it's Barry Manilow for God's sake." "Okay no Manilow," Lucas said. "Max are we doing something out of plumb tomorrow?" "Hell no, it's just a little bike ride around Tryon." "Why Tryon?" he asked. "I thought a change of scenery would be nice." "I have a feeling it isn't going to be nature, which we will be observing." "Oh hell, Lucas we are going to be bird watching some of the time, I promise." 'Jailbirds, ' I thought. I overlooked telling him that part. No sense getting his hopes up, nothing might happen at all. It was seven thirty when I stopped for a Subway Steak and Cheese sandwich on the way home. Mike came inside to order a sandwich as well. I smiled and he ignored me. I also stopped at a convenience store for chips. I wanted a bigger bag, than I would have gotten at Subway and some chili cheese dip as well. Mike stayed in his car in the back corner of the parking lot. It was his way of observing without being noticed. I thought it was foolish, but I said nothing. Besides he did that James Bond shit all the time. I was used to it. I swear to you I have the worst fucking luck of any human being on the planet. I'm back picking out a can of dip for use with the chips, when some black kid comes in with his hand in his hoodie's pocket. "Give me all the cash or I'm going to blow your fat ass away," he said it all in some 'gangsta' style. If his voice hadn't been quivering, it would have sounded better. "I don't think you have a gun," the overweight white lady behind the counter said. "What the fuck do you think this is," the kid said it while showing her the chrome automatic. It was most likely a 9mm. One of those walk around guns, that thugs bought to impress each other. Even my hammerless .38 revolver had more hit. Since the Mendez brothers, I never went anywhere without it. He was so invested in the clerk, that he didn't even notice the most dangerous bitch in the place, me. I slipped up behind him and put the .38 against the base of his skull. "Drop it or I put a slug in your brain pan," I said. "I can shoot her before you can shoot me, " he said. "Kid, I don't even know her. What makes you think I give a shit, if you shoot her? Now drop the piece or use it. It's a couple of years for armed robbery or a bullet in the brain, your choice." I said again. He carefully placed the pistol on the counter. "You that Stone bitch?" he asked looking into the surveillance mirror." "That's me. If you had looked up sooner, you would have known this was a bad idea." I turned my attention to the chubby old lady. "You okay Thelma?" "Yeah Maxine, would you have really let him shoot me?" she asked a little shocked. "Of course not. If he showed any signs of that, I would have covered you in his brain matter." I said while smiling at her. The truth is I might not have known his intention till after she was dead. The paperwork and interviews for apprehending him were much easier than they would have been if I had killed him. Since I had done both kinds, I gave him the chance to put the gun down. "Now Thelma call 911 and tell them that you are holding a robber at gunpoint. Tell her to be sure to tell the officers not to come in guns blazing." "Oh yeah," Thelma said reaching for the store phone. I saw Mike move his car across the street. Thelma didn't notice, so I didn't mention it. "Now kid let me tell you something. I'm tired of holding this gun to your head, but I will shoot you, before I allow myself to get sloppy. So take a step back, then lean forward and put your hands on the counter. Spread your legs just like you do for the cops or your boyfriend. Might as well go ahead and get in the position. They will have you do it when they get here anyway. 'The position' was about a lot more than ease of search. The mooch was way off balance, any move he made would give me plenty of time to react. I smiled over at Thelma as the cops pulled into the parking lot. "Looks like the game is over and you won," I said to her. "I don't feel like a winner. I feel like I need to pee." she said. I laughed. We rated a sergeant and two patrolmen. When they came in things were tense for a moment or two as the patrolmen told me to drop the gun. "Sunny this is a collector's piece. I will put it on the floor with the barrel facing me, but I will not drop it." "Do it," the sergeant said quietly. I did exactly as I said I would. The sergeant recovered my pistol and carefully put it on a box of candy bars. "Ms Stone, do you hire these idiots, just so you can get more publicity?" he asked. "Sure, I have a standing order with 'Idiots are us." They deliver me one every week. Actually I just came in for a bag of chips. I have a subway steak sandwich out in the car getting soggy as we speak." "Hell, I like mine soggy, even a day old," he said. "You know the drill, we are going to have to interview you. I will try to make it quick." "Okay, this is the quick version. The idiot came in stuck a gun in Thelma's face and demanded money. This place belongs to Thelma and her husband. I was afraid she would do something stupid to save her money, so I put the .38 in his ear. That's it." "Sounds about right to me. I know where to reach you, if we need more. One of the new robbery/homicide dicks will be around I'm sure." "See if you can keep this out of the papers please," I said. "Not a chance, newspapers are about to die. In their death throws they are reading every scrap of paper that comes across the booking room desk." "How very wonderful for me," I said with a sarcastic tone. After the interview ended Thelma gave me the chips and thanked me profusely. I drove home ate the soggy sandwich and went to bed. Of course I had to masturbate to get my mind off the almost shooting. I waved goodnight to the camera before I fell asleep in my wet panties. Edited by Barney R A comment from one of our readers. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx PUBPLIC COMMENT APPLIES TO THIS EMAIL AND ANY I MIGHT SEND IN THE FUTURE! Another great chapter, so the ditzy writer must have been a good mood for a change. Keep up the good work, it is appreciated even with your name calling. My reply. Being bipolar has it's good moment to LOL... I didn't call you a grammar Nazi did I lol... xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This is an anon comment I found interesting. Live TV huh. Well who gets to portray Max. my reply Who would you guys like to see play Max. Angelena Jolie is my first choice. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I have a question. When Max is in the cabin what's to stop the bad guys from sneaking up at night and planting a penetrating charge on the door and blowing it in? If they wear masks who's to know who they are. Max needs a nervous dog or a few random noise milo my reply. Max relies on her security and to hope no one knows where to find her bat cabin. But I have been considering the other point you made. ------- Chapter 70 I managed to drag my lazy ass to the local Hardee's for a biscuit. I always take my own coffee in my huge delta cup. You know the kind shaped like a mercury space capsule. It is only partly because I am miserly. I like my coffee better than theirs. Sunday morning is quiet in our town. I have never figure out how it is possible, but there is no 'before church' traffic to amount to anything. After church the roads are jammed for a half hour at least. So how the fuck, do those people get to church is my question. It's a mystery to be sure. It was after nine before I left the restaurant. I had three hours to kill before I met with Lucas. I tried to think of anything that the bikes needed. I had almost a full gallon of premix, so that wasn't an issue. What is premix you ask? Premix is a mixture of gasoline and oil used in 2 cycle engines. The engines used on both of our bikes were originally meant for some garden tool, I'm sure. I drove to the office simply because the Mr. Coffee was there. I made coffee, then went back to the cruiser for my tool kit. When I returned to the office, I leisurely drank coffee while checking all the bolts for tightness. When all the prep work that I could think of was done, I turned on my laptop to watch a TV show from the week before. I found a show with a couple of cute guys playing detective. It was humorous and entertaining. I am a bit of a wise ass, so I love wise guy TV. Yes bits and pieces of the dialogue find their way into my conversations. I admit I steal; I just try to steal from the best. After the TV show Lucas still wasn't in the office, so I found the local newspaper's web site. On the website they published tidbits every day. The 'tree killer' addition came out every two weeks. I noted with distaste that I made the on line edition already. Damn there must have been a reporter sleeping with a cop to have gotten that story so fast. I did learn the child thug's name and age. Daren Brown, age 17, almost became a victim of his own stupidity. The story was reasonably accurate. It even had a bit of a twist, since the reporter focused on Thelma's version. It did state that I was not available for comment. Thelma obviously went back to work after the robbery attempt. She would have been much easier to find for sure. "So are you okay?" Lucas asked as he entered the office with Gwen at his side. "I'm just fine." Mike must have given them the news, I thought. "You know you are beginning to look like a TV show. Every time I turn around you are there with that dumb looking pistol in someone face." Lucas said it for the camera I'm sure. "Well it's a small town. There are only a half dozen stores you can just run in for gas and potato chips. I guess we just happened to be there at the same time. Or maybe God hates me." "I'm going with God hates you," Lucas said. "So give me the phone. I think I have the perfect ring tone. I'll put it on and you can test drive it today." "Here," I said handing him the hated phone. "After that I have a little computer job for you. It shouldn't take long at all." I drank coffee and ignored Gwen until she asked, "So what's it like to live a life that makes no sense at all?" I had to think about that a long time before I answered, "You mean my life makes no sense to you. It seems to make sense to me." "How could it. You bounce around like a ball inside a pinball machine." It was obvious that someone had been doing some script writing. "Gwen there is framework even in a pinball game. The top, bottom, and sides keep the ball in play. There are rules, you hit a bumper and you fly off, but you can only go so far. The flippers are your salvation, sometimes they save you, but eventually they don't and you just fall off the planet. It is the same with everyone. I have just been able to stay in play longer and play harder than some of the other players. You and I play a different version of the pinball game. Mine is a faster one perhaps, but everybody plays some version of it. No one has total control of their own life. "You believe that?" she asked. "Yes I do," I replied not at all offended by her attempt to fit my life into her sound bite. "Here you go," Lucas said handing me my cell phone and breaking the conversation. I had to give it to him; he knew when to jump in with both feet. "So what do you want me to check on the computer?" "Earnest Davenport runs the Family Mission in Tryon. I need to know who he is, and what he owns. I also want to know who his employees are. He has several government grants through some kind of social services programs. The people who operate the half way house on a daily basis should be listed somewhere." "I should have it for you in a few minutes." Lucas said going back to his computer. When I went back to ignoring Gwen, it was a lot more personal. I had really begun to dislike her. If we were men, I would have thought that we were in a who's is bigger contest. While Lucas worked, she kept her camera pointed at him. I was glad his was the only interesting thing happening. Then out of nowhere Gwen asked, "You would have let that kid kill the clerk wouldn't you." "Why would I do that?" I asked bewildered. "Just to see if he would. You really are that cold aren't you?" "Gwen, do you have a list?" I asked smiling. "What?" she asked instead of answering. "Have you and Mike sat down to make a list of things that are supposed to piss me off. Are you looking for a reaction of some kind?" She didn't deny it, or answer me at all for that matter. "Here you go boss. Davenport has no criminal record. He left Duke University ten years ago. No reason was listed for his withdrawal. I can follow up with the university tomorrow, if you want." I nodded to keep him talking. "He got involved in community action groups, when they were hiring ground troops. He drove the van for the get out the vote efforts. He even helped at the community centers. Probably how he got started working with the elderly." "Yeah, he can't run a nursing home, so a geriatric day care is next best thing." I agreed. "He can't even run one of those, since he isn't qualified. That feeding project of Archer's was ideal for him to get a foot in the door." "Is there any connection to Archer?" I wanted to know before I devised my strategy for Davenport." "Nothing at all, in fact there is an article written by Archer critical of Davenport." I nodded again. "You know about the two half way houses and the residential mentally challenged facility?" he asked. "Yes I know about those and all the slums he rents out as well." "He has three thugs who work for him, as well as a secretary and a money/property manager." Lucas said. "Ah if Davenport doesn't want to play on our team, we may need to contact the secretary or the money manager. Get everything you can on them. It's 1 PM, you can do the follow up tomorrow. We need to ride." "Do you want the list of his property? It's pretty extensive," Lucas asked. "Save it Luke, we can never have too much information." We immediately pulled the motors from the two bicycles, then put the bicycles onto the van's carrier. Gwen followed us to the parking lot of a church in the rental car. I chose the church as our start point. It was in the center of the route I wanted to take. It also would have people coming and going so the van would be safe there. Reassembling the bikes took only minutes. It was a couple of minutes after 2 PM when we pedaled from the parking lot. The bike motors were humming but providing no help. We didn't rev them into action until we were on the road. We hit a flat section with no cars parked on the sides, so we let them out. I did not have a speedometer but I guessed we were doing about twenty miles an hour. I had the route in my head, so naturally I got lost a few times. Eventually I found myself across the street from the Friendly Missions volunteer's living quarters. The runaway dorm, as I thought of it. It was even worse looking in the sunlight. The house was one step away from condemnation. There was no Julie hanging out in the yard for me to approach, so after only a few minutes of observation we moved on. The halfway houses were even more grim looking, in the light of day. Those did have guys sitting on the front porch. Some looked more like active thugs than guys who had learned a lesson while in the joint. Boxer shorts showing above their barely hanging on jeans. Pure exercise yard gear, I thought. That made it look even more like a prison, and not so much minimum security either. I had to admit it made my anxiety level rise. The housing for the mentally challenged was not any better than the halfway house. The only difference I noticed was the same as I saw the night before. The fence wasn't as high. There were people sitting on the porch there as well. The people there seemed harmless. I knew better but they made me nervous as well. After the tour Lucas pulled up beside me and motioned me to pull over. I found a shady spot to stop the bike. "You got trouble?" I asked. "No I'm just wondering why all the interest in Davenport. We don't need the grand tour to hijack Julie." he suggested. "If we just grab her Luke, she will just run away again. When the Pros from Dover leave, there will be nobody to finance another rescue. I want to try to solve this problem once and for all. Most likely it won't work, but while we have all the resources that Marty's money will buy, let's use them." "Now that makes sense. Why didn't you tell me that before?" he asked. He really was developing some bad habits since running around with Gwen. I didn't want to do it but it was time to set him straight. "Well first of all Lucas, you work for me. I am not required to inform you of my thinking. But even more important, you are dating one of the TV producers. I don't want to share my thoughts with them. I am pretty sure they are putting you up to this shit, but don't try to second guess me unless you are prepared to move on to some other job." "Maybe I need to do that," he said anger creeping into his voice. "Luke I think it is obvious that I like you. We usually work well together. Frankly, if you are going to think with your dick, then maybe you should move on. That is a decision only you can make. I hope you stay, but if you can't get your head out of Gwen's ass, you probably should find something else to do." There was a definite tension between us. I could feel it even on the bikes. It was more evident in the van as we drove back to Aster. We put the bikes away before he and Gwen left without a word. I probably should not have said anything, but I did it as much for Gwen as for Lucas. If she had any honor at all, she would tell him to cool it. She would be gone in two weeks, and he had his whole life ahead of him. However, if she planned to take him back to Boston, then it would all work out for the best. Either way the ball was in his court. Outside my compound, I found thing not quite as they should be. The tape revealed my big plastic trash can overturned, and paper food wrappers spread around the yard. I knew there were raccoons around the area. I also knew that garbage was high on their list of food sources, but I had never had an encounter. I wanted to write the trash as animal theft, but first I checked the other cameras carefully. I even went back and fast forward the last thirty minutes. All of the tape had the can already turned over, so I learned nothing, other than the cabin didn't appear to have been breached. The gate area looked just it had when I left. I took the chance and went through the gate. I cleaned up the mess while I looked for signs of animals. There were paw prints on the trashcan from the dirt in the yard. I decided it had been a raccoon. Edited by Barney R ------- Chapter 71 The thing with Lucas was on my mind all afternoon Sunday. Even so, I did as much research on Davenport as I could manage on my own. I knew that Lucas had become very important to the business, as it had evolved. If Lucas decided to go, I would probably be looking for a new Lucas. I also knew that I could not back down. Lucas either worked for me, or Gwen and Mike. For me it was that simple. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, I had to make a decision right or wrong. I had neither the time not the inclination to explain my reasons to Lucas or anyone else. I often made the wrong decision and I had to live with that, but there are times you just have to do something, even if it is the wrong thing. I knew that I had been right in what I said to Lucas. I was just sorry that it came to that. Of course Lucas was like a teenager. He had gotten more confident in his abilities, so he had begun searching for his own identity. It's why parents of teenage kids age faster than parents of younger or older children. I shook it off while sitting at my makeshift desk trying to find a handle on Davenport. I had said something to Lucas about using Marty's resources to at least threaten Davenport. Maybe it was time to listen to myself. I speed dialed Jen on the cell phone. Of course it went to voice mail. It was the weekend. Jen most likely was playing around with Reverend Archer, or Bob, or both. "Jen I need your help with the Julie thing. Call me when you get a chance." Just as I put the phone down I heard a high pitch screech from the front yard of my cabin. I also heard the sound of the trash can going over. Before I ran into a pissed off raccoon, I decided to check the front of the cabin with the surveillance camera. What I saw was a ball of fur rummaging through my trash. It was the wrong color and marking for a raccoon. Since the cameras were black and white. I wasn't sure of the color, but I was damn sure the it was a cat. I couldn't tell if it were a house cat or a feral cat. It was for sure a cat though. I had no desire to have my eyes scratched out by either, so I racked a shell into the Mossberg 12 gauge riot shotgun. The Mossberg was the one I kept at home. The antique Winchester riot gun stayed in the safe room of the office, most of the time. I opened the front door with the shotgun pointed at the ground, not anywhere near the cat. I could bring it up quickly, if need be. I didn't want to shoot a starving cat by accident. I got my first good look at the cat and knew for sure that it was no cute cuddly kitten. Even from ten feet away I could see scars. One of his eyes was closed as well. Even I could see that he was reduced to raiding my trash only because he was dragging one leg. He didn't seem to have any open wounds, but the leg, though not useless, was definitely not a 100%. I spoke in a soft voice, since he hadn't run away. "You have seen your share of combat haven't you boy. You might not have always won, but they sure as hell knew you were there." Since he sat in the pile of garbage eating on a left over Subway sandwich, I decided to see what I could do. "If you don't run away, I can probably do a little better than my trash can restaurant's menu." I returned to the inside of the cabin and rummaged aground. I found a can of corned beef hash. Once upon a time I had planned to have it for breakfast. Since I never got around to it, the stray cat might enjoy it, I thought. I knew that if I fed him, he might own me. It was a calculated risk, The beat up old guy was still in the trash when I returned with the small bowl of hash. I set it on the stoop's edge, then went inside to watch on the hidden camera. The poor beat up thing dragged his injured leg behind as he made it onto the stoop. I took a good look at the leg since it was the only wound that didn't appear to be healed. The cat stood on it to eat, so I had to assume that it wasn't totally paralyzed. It might even get better on its own, I thought. I knew there was no way in hell that I could capture him, so he was on his own. I knew for sure as long as he was eating and craping, I would not shoot him. "God I wish you could talk. I would love to know what all you have been into." After he finished the hash, he wandered through the garbage again. Just to be sure he hadn't missed anything good, then he hopped away on his three good legs. I decided that his three colors qualified him as a calico. I returned to my search of all things related to Davenport. After fifteen minutes of Davenport on the net, I heard the theme from the movie The Magnificent Seven. It was obviously coming from my cell phone. "Damn it, I wanted the phone to just ring," I said aloud to no one. "Hello Jen," I said after the caller ID let me know that it was her. "Max, what do you need now?" she snapped at me. "Hey bitch, take it easy on me, I'm having a bad weekend, so you know. You got me into this crap with Marty and his film crew. It's all their fault." "I didn't get you into the Julie thing, you slut. Jack came to you, not to me. You sent him over to me, remember?" she said with mock severity. "Only so that I could get paid. Look, I need to know does Marty has any pull with the Tryon city government?" "Marty has pull with every government in the state." she said. "So if we need the inspections department to do their job, they would?" "You mean to inspect the property of the Family Mission?" she asked. "I see you have been talking to Archer. Yeah, I'm going to have a sit down with Davenport, I want to know how much juice I have." "I can get his property inspected and be damn sure the inspection department does it right, no matter who he has bribed," she said. "You still have friends with the police there. Why not use them to go at him for the minor thing. I would bet Julie isn't the only underage runaway." "To be honest, if the kids aren't being abused, they are better off there than turning tricks. I just want Julie out of there. I don't necessarily want the place shut down. I don't mind crippling his operation, but I don't really want him in jail just yet. That might change as we go along." "Just let me know, when you are ready to make a move." She paused a moment then added. "You know screwing around with you is the only fun thing I ever do." "Bullshit," I replied. "Okay, the only fun thing I do out of bed. I have got to take up golf or something." she said hanging up on me. Since I was bored already, and since it appeared that I might need cat food, I checked on the web about cats and pain. Chances of me ever getting the cat to a vet were pretty remote. If he was in pain, I would like to help. Otherwise he was pretty much going to be on his own. After a quick Google I added baby aspirin to my shopping list. It was 7PM when I left the cabin. I drove to the Wal-mart for the grocery items. It was always easier for me to shop there, because almost anything I really needed was somewhere in the store. I even picked up a hot pizza from the deli on the way out. I always bought a large anyway, but I decided to save a slice for the cat this time. In the cruiser I had a better idea for the pizza. I decided to swing over by the Cop Out to eat my dinner. What I didn't eat, the riff raff would. It would definitely not go to waste. I might even get some information in exchange. Once inside the Cop Out, it took a second for my eyes to adjust. When they did, I saw Mosby and Jerry sitting at a table in the back. I was faced with a dilemma. Should I stay and confront them, or turn and slink away. While slinking away was contrary to my nature, it seemed like the thing to do. I remembered my own advice, it is better to know something, if the other parties don't know that you do. With that in mind, I left the Cop Out and drove home. There was no sign of the cat, and my trashcan was upright, so my guess was that he was somewhere sleeping off the corned beef hash. I parked the cruiser, then headed for the front door. I saw the cat wander out of the woods. He was trying to walk on that injured rear leg, but not putting much weight on it. It appeared to be a painful limp. "You still hungry or just lonely?" I asked gently. Tell you what, it isn't too cold tonight, and I really don't want to be alone either. So how about I go in the house, breakout this pizza and sit on the stoop. We can share it. Do you think you would like that?" I went inside got myself a chair and bottle of diet coke. I spiked the end of one pizza slice with a baby aspirin before I returned to sit on the concrete pad I called a stoop. It was no more than 6' by 8' but it was big enough. I sat in one of the two chairs from the kitchen table, while I held the pizza on my lap. I began drinking my coke and munching on the first piece of pizza. I held out the spiked piece but the cat wouldn't come close enough to reach it. "Had some bad experiences with people, huh?" I asked. "Well not to worry sport, I have had my share as well." I tossed the pizza about six feet from my chair. Since my yard was covered in pine needles, the pizza didn't get dirty. I doubted that it would have mattered to the cat. He obviously remembered the smell of pizza from better days. He ran right to it and made it disappear quickly. He also stood where he had eaten it. He wasn't quite sure, but it looked as though he thought there might be more coming. He was right of course. "You know cat, I shouldn't be at all upset that Jerry and Mosby are together. After all they are both young and attractive people. Also they do have a history, even if it is with me more than each other." I tossed the cat another piece of the pizza just to keep his attention. "So what should I do. I am jealous, I admit to it. So do I make an issue or just wait them out. After all Mosby will be gone in a couple of weeks. Jerry and I don't really have a relationship of any romantic kind to be honest." I tossed more pizza and the cat came a little closer. "Yeah, I always knew that it was business with Mosby. My God if it is just business, then that makes her a whore." I actually laughed. "Actress, whore, if she isn't careful she will be a politician next." Cat didn't laugh with me, he probably would have if his mouth hadn't been full of pizza. The cat got close enough for me to take a good look at his scars. "Who gave you those cuts buddy. I do hope it was some nasty dog. One that you cut up a little as well. If some human did that to you, point him out to me. Maxine will make it right, I promise." "So you are the strong silent type," I said after he didn't answer me. "Well maybe later you will talk. Now I have to get you some water." I put a bowl of water on the stoop for the cat. Then I went into the cabin to watch online TV. It wasn't cold, but it was chilly. I left the door cracked for fifteen minutes just in case the cat had a change of heart. Then I closed it, locked up for the night, and went to bed with my mind spinning. To shut it down, I masturbated quickly. That almost always worked, and it did again that night... Edited by Barney R xxxxxxxxxxxcomment from readerxxxxxxxxxx This is the kind of comment I love. I learn something that goes past "You failed to capitalize the word God ten times." So thanks for a real learning comment. Now I just have to find a way to fix it as the story moves forward. Love the story, love your style but today you made a mistake I can't ignore. Tri-colour cats are always female. There are rare occasions when a tri-colour is male but it's very very rare and they are sterile and as such don't fight like normal toms. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx comment from readerxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  Re: 'throws' 'In their death throws' should be 'throes' Still, a great story. Im sure Barney will catch it ... If not then I will try to remember it for next time. I dont go back and change things in a posted story. thanks for the head up... xxxxxxxxxxx reader comment xxxxxxxxxxxxx Yeah, you never quite learned all you should have in school. But your storytelling is very, very good. I don't even know why the hell I'm reading your story. I don't really like Maxine, and there's nothing here that's relevant to my life. But your characters are so real, I keep reading. Good thing I don't have a TV, or I'd be sitting there watching Maxine's reality TV show. :) I take that a great compliment. Being about to have someone know the mistakes are there, but able to look over them is kind of cool. xxxxxxxxxxx reader comment. xxxxxxxx You may love to hear from readers, but some readers are 'hooked as heroin' on hearing from you and Max. ;) xxxxxxxxx reader comment xxxxxxx Calico cats are female. It is a sex linked gene. Oops! answer. I heard that earlier so I did some research. Not all calico are female but yes most are. I was also told all the males were sterile, that is not true it seems some are capable of reproducing. So I guess my calico is the exception. I was going to do a correction but I think I will just let it go and add bits and pieces of information to let eveeryone know how special the cat is. ------- Chapter 72 Monday morning was always a bad ass experience. That Monday morning proved to my average Monday times ten. First of all my power was off. No power meant no coffee. Not a good way to start any day, especially a Monday. It also meant no hot water. It was either a cold shower or a barely warm wash in the kitchen sink with water headed on the oil stove ... I chose none of the above. I put on my work outfit and headed to the office with an overnight bag filled with soap towels and clean underwear. Half way up the county road which connected to the more or less main road, I passed the utility trucks. There were two of them parked under a wooden power line pole. I didn't even bother to ask them how long my power would be out, I just drove by slowly. I speed dialed Mosby to see where Helen's breakfast bag truck was at that moment. The phone rang once, before I remember seeing Mosby and Jerry the night before. I quickly broke the connection. I would give her the space she wanted. She was the one with the job. I figured she would either call me to play nice or Jen to quit. I could hardly wait to see what her decision was. I also wondered if she could really bring herself to choose Jerry over her career. If so, did she had the nuts to tell me in person, as we used to say in the military. With the breakfast bag no longer a possibility, I altered my route to swing by the Hardees. Coffee and a big biscuit was the plan. The line of cars was all the way to the street. There was no way all those people had a power outage from a single pole being down. I figured it was a conspiracy to deprive me of coffee. I parked the cruiser as close to the door as possible, without parking in the handicapped space. If I had parked in one of those, a cop would have pulled in right behind me. I knew it, because it was going to be one of those days. Since I was already inside, I decided to eat breakfast in the dining room. The big advantage to eating in was that I could drink all the coffee I wanted. Hardees only sold one size coffee to regular customers. It was a bottomless cup but it was small. That being the case, I sat my ass at a booth near the coffee bar. I had probably the best biscuit made by anyone, anywhere. Helen's breads were exceptionally good, but they were no match for the Hardee biscuits. Their bacon egg and cheese biscuit was a thing of beauty. The coffee was adequate, so over all the meal was almost excellent. I had finished the biscuit only moments before she stopped by the table. I didn't recognize her at first. I just knew a middle-aged woman in nurse's scrubs stopped at my booth I was expecting trouble from the Cop Out crowd, but I was wrong. "Ms. Stone, my name is Lois from the clinic." She saw that I didn't get it. "Your doctor's office?" "Oh Lois, I'm sorry my memory is crap and I'm not even forty." I knew right away that lying to her was a mistake. "Yes I am forty. I lie about my age." I laughed. "Is there a woman who hasn't at one time or another?" Lois asked me, making me feel a hell of a lot better. "Probably not, well, sit down Lois," I suggested. She sat at the table, opened her coffee then spoke again, "You know I was one of the nurses those gangsters threatened. I was terrified. I almost quit the clinic that day. Then when Jeff's dad sent your skinny ass over, I was really terrified. I can still remember the sight of you sitting in that chair in our back hall. Then I remember the smell of gun powder and our problems went away. I guess I stopped to say thank you, I never got the chance that day. It scared the pee right out of me, but it also ended our problems." "That's quite a speech but not necessary. You guys took care of me. I think we are even." "Even that was because of us, so we owed you that and a lot more. I'm glad that it all worked out." "Well it took a while for me to give another blow job, but it worked out." I laughed manically. Lois joined in. "You know, you are something else," she said laughing and shaking her head. I felt a lot better because of Lois. Maybe there is no conspiracy after all, I thought. That up tick in my morning lasted only until I got to the office. Ed was sitting at his desk with his first cup of fancy coffee, while I struggled to make coffee in the Mr. Coffee, he began on me. "Max, what the hell have you done?" he asked. "Well my power is off, so I stopped by Hardees. If you mean the bag, I'm going to wash up in the bathroom and change my panties. Why?" "I don't give a shit what you had for breakfast or that you need to take a whore's bath, I'm talking about Lucas." Ed wasn't angry he was worried. "Ed, what the hell are you talking about?" I asked angrily. "Lucas called me at home last night. He is all upset and is talking about quitting." Ed suggested. "Yeah, I got that from the last time we talked. Maybe it's for the best. He needs to get his ass back in school. There is no real future here." "Bullshit, you didn't have words about his future with your little business. You had words because he dared to question your decision." Ed had some of it right. "He wanted me to explain a decision, so that Gwen and Mike could get the answer on tape before it happened. That wasn't Lucas, that was the TV star-wanna-be talking. Ed he either is loyal to me, while he is on the job, or he shouldn't be on the job." "Oh, and you didn't willingly sign on to that TV thing." Ed asked. "Come on you know that I agreed, but I also told them I would not change anything to accommodate them. They knew that they would have to find their own way. I don't have a problem with them. They were doing what they do; it's Lucas I had the problem with. As far as I'm concerned that is over, but he has to make up his own mind about whether to stay or go." It was quite a speech for me to make without having digested an adequate amount of coffee. "One of you better back down or the outcome is not going to be good for either of you." "Ed, he needs to go back to school. That is the best outcome for him. As for me, I can adapt to almost anything." "If you say so?" Ed replied effectively ending our conversation. "I don't suppose you have any idea why he is late?" I asked. "No, if he doesn't show, we will know what he decided." Ed said sarcastically. There is nothing worse than sarcasm from a man old enough to be my dad. "Well, I expect the Pros from Dover will show up anyway. We can always ask them." When I said that, Ed gave me a really nasty look While the coffee was dripping, I went into the bathroom and locked the door. I used my towel and washcloth from home to clean up. I didn't bother with even my usual small amount of makeup. I felt like crap and by all indications it was going to be a crap day. I felt some better as I sat sipping my coffee trying to decide whether the time was right to go for Davenport, or not. I knew about all I was going to know about him, without a face to face meet. It was nine in the morning, so it was plenty late enough to at least make the appointment. If Lucas didn't show up for work, I could work in Tryon delivering papers before and after my meeting with Davenport. It would be an efficient use of my time, I decided. I wanted to give Lucas a little more time before I committed myself to any plan, so I went to the Internet. I plugged in the web address for Google, then entered Calico cat. I quickly found that calico was only a descriptive term of one pattern of tricolor cats. I also found that tricolored cats are almost always female, but not always. I had not gotten close enough to know for sure the sex of the cat at home. I had assumed because of the injuries that it was a male. Either way the cat was going to be special. Either it was the rare male model, or it was a female cat that didn't take any shit from anyone. I wasn't quite sure which I preferred. Since I knew almost nothing about cats, I got lost in reading about them. Any animal would fight when attacked, but some cats would fight for territory with other animals. It all made me even more curious about the cat's injuries. If it was a she, had she been that badly abused and how the hell did the other animal or person look? How well had she defended herself? If it was a male was he super aggressive and could I handle a cat like that? Oh hell, I thought. He might not even come back. I closed that and began to work on what to say to Davenport. I dialed the office number for the Family Mission. "Family Mission, how may I help?" The voice on the phone asked." "I need to speak with Mr. Davenport," I suggested. "Who may I say is calling?" she asked. "My name is Maxine Stone, and I represent one of his runaway's parents. I'm not sure what name she goes by there, but her real name is Julie. She has been with you about two weeks. She works in the kitchen, I'm told." "Hold please while I check." "You might want to inform Mr. Davenport, just in case he doesn't know, that she is 16 years old and does not have her parent's permission to be there. We need to discuss her future." "Hold please," the secretary said. What a cheap operation, I thought. They didn't even have music playing while I was on hold. It took about five minutes for the secretary to come back on the phone. "I'm so sorry Ms. Stone, but brother Davenport is not going to have any time to see you today; maybe I could make you an appointment with someone else." I laughed out loud. "Let me give you my number sweetie. You should write it down somewhere, I think Brother Davenport will change his mind in the near future." I called the Aster police department with Mike listening. He had arrived while I was on hold for Davenport. "Hello," I said to the receptionist. "Is detective Blevins back on duty yet?" "Let me check," she said putting me on hold. The city switchboard had music, but it was awful. "Ma'am Detective Blevins is out of the office, but should return in an hour or so. Would you like to leave a message?" "No thanks," I said it because I knew his personal cell phone number. As a matter of fact, I had it on speed dial. I hadn't called him, while he was playing Russian Roulette. It did seem like time to make a call. "Blevins pick up your damn phone. I need some help." "My first day back and you are on the phone looking for favors," Blevins said. I could see the smile through the phone. "Blevins, I'm just calling in one of the many favors you owe me." "Bullshit, but what do you need? I'm feeling generous today." "Every heard of the Family Mission in Tryon?" "Yeah they run some nasty halfway houses for ex cons. Nobody has much trouble from them, but some of the cons say that stir was better than that halfway house." "The Family Mission does a lot more than that. I don't give a crap what they do for the most part, but they have Helen and Jack's girl Julie. I want her out of there." "Is she the one who was in the Hazelwood sting with you?" "One and the same and the court ordered her to a special school or juvie. She ran away and the Family Mission wound up with her. Now the guy who runs it is named Davenport. I tried to call him to discuss returning Julie to the custody of her family. What they do with her is none of my business. He had his secretary tell me that he had no time for me." I laughed out loud. "The nerve of him, I'll give this Davenport a call. See if I can't convince him to have a powwow with you." "I want a little more than just to have him cut her loose. I want him to explain that he is a fraud. Otherwise she will just run back and that ass will keep her there." "I can maybe get you in to see him, but the rest is up to you. Now if she stole something and you wanted to press charges, I could go jerk her ass up." "I can get an arrest warrant, if Davenport wants to play rough. For right now just give him a call for me please. I really want to talk to him." "Okay Max, I'll take care of it." "By the way Blevins, how was working with the FBI? Or should I ask how was it working with Anya?" "Boring as shit, I missed you and the other guys from the Cop Out. I'm looking into a string of B&Es. You want to come help me out here." "You get the Julie thing settled for me, and I'll bring them in for you," I said with a laugh. "You know Max. I believe you could at that. I'll call Davenport and suggest he see you." Thanks Blevins," I said. My next call was to Jennifer. Once her receptionist put me through to her I said, "Did you know you have the best hold music I have found today." "How nice is that? All you have to do today is check out hold music?" she asked. "Oh, I'm rattling Davenport's cage. Could you have the inspectors start surprise inspections for me?" "Oh, I have them on stand bye. We were just waiting for your call." "How did you know I would call?" I asked. "Because nobody pays any attention to you the first time you ask for something. Eventually they do, but not at first." "Then start rattling his cage." I hung up the phone then said to myself, "I wish Lucas were here." He was obviously playing hooky or his decision was made. Edited By Barney R ------- Chapter 73 Lucas hadn't made an appearance by 10AM, so I left with the days work. I made three deliveries, in Aster and four in Tryon, before the phone rang with the call I had been expecting. "Hello," I said into the phone. "Ms Stone, this is Earnest Davenport, you wanted to meet with me.?" "That was earlier this morning. I'm already scheduled for today, and probably tomorrow as well. I might could fit you in on Wednesday. Of course by then you might find your empire crumbling a bit." "Alright I get the point. I did some checking, since your call this morning. You are a pragmatist, so if you are teaching me a lesson, I have learned it. If you come by now, we can end this nonsense. If not, I warn you, I plan to defend myself." "Then Earnest, bring it on. You might want to tell your thugs to lay in a supply of body bags, before they come to dance with me," I said before I clicked the phone off. I knew his type. Do a little song, do a little dance, and nothing changes. When I started, I hadn't wanted him to change anything. I just wanted Julie out of there and for her to see the truth. It hadn't worked out the way I wanted. So at that moment, I wanted more. Exactly what I wasn't sure, but it was definitely more. Before Lucas disappeared he had gotten me the names of Davenport's resident thugs. The problem was that Davenport had access to lot more thugs. Hell, he was running two branches of 'Thugs is Us.' I needed a shower big time. That wash off in the sink at the office just hadn't done it. Before I returned to the office to call it a day, I wanted to drive home for a shower. I checked the online surveillance system, yet again. I had been checking it off and on all day. If it didn't look as though I would have power, I might check into a motel. The opening and closing of that gate was just more than I wanted to face again. Once a day was more than enough for that bit of torture. Oh yeah, that was part of my generally fucked up Monday morning. I had forced the gate open and closed it by hand before leaving for work. I didn't think I could face that again. I was thrilled to find the cameras working. From the rewind it appeared that the cameras had been up and running no more than twenty minutes. I checked the cameras very carefully, before I opened the gate. There was nothing like a threat, from a man with lots of criminal connections, to make me careful. The Cat was sitting on the concrete pad when I arrived. She or he hadn't been there, when I checked the yard out with the camera. I had a strangely warm feeling, when I realized the cat had come to the stoop at the sound of my car driving into the yard. If the cat ever let me get close, I would try to determine if it was male or female, so that I would know what to call it. "Let's make a deal, you and me. I will feed you once a day, and in exchange you will stay out of my trash can. So what do you say? I paused and waited but the cat said nothing in reply. I forgot you are a cat of few words. Okay, then tell me if the deal is not satisfactory." The cat didn't answer, so I assumed that we had a deal. From the cabin I removed the cereal bowl from which I fed the cat corned beef hash. I opened one of the cans of cheap cat food. Those I had bought the night before from Wal-mart. It didn't have feeding directions for a half starved cat, so I gave it the full can. Screw it, 60 cents a day I can manage, I thought. I even put fresh water in the small bucket beside the bowl. "Get this straight buster, you don't own me." I almost burst into song, but I didn't think the cat would appreciate old bubble gum music. After the cat was fed, I took my longest shower, since I moved into the cabin. I felt a lot better, when I got into clean clothes as well. I didn't want to return to the office, but I knew that I should not leave the delivery records in my car overnight. I planned to go to the Cop Out and hope to meet Blevins there. Yeah and to look for signs of Mosby and Jerry as well. When I arrive back at the office, the door was locked. Ed was out posting bail for one of his mooches. It was clear that Lucas hadn't come to work. In the rushing around that morning I hadn't asked Mike about it. Mike had followed me around all morning, but in a separate car. He ahd backed off when I told him that I was headed home. I was forced to wait for him to catch up, before I could ask about Lucas. Just as soon as Mike walked in I asked, "Okay what is the deal with Lucas? Is he with Gwen?" "He spent the night at our tourist cabin. He was going to do some thinking about his future. To be honest Maxine, Gwen wants him to come to Boston with her." "So that is what this is all about. He is looking for someone to make his decision for him." I said. "What do you mean by that?" Mike asked for the camera. "When someone can't decide an issue, they look for a sign. In Luke's case it was to see where he stood with me. Then he could make a better decision. Lucas is not a partner, he is an employee. He needed me to tell him that, so that he could make an informed decision. That's what Sunday was really about." "That makes a lot of sense." "Sure it's what presidents do all the time. Most of them, when they need to make a decision, they float a trial balloon instead. What will the media say, if I do this? It isn't the public opinion any more it's about the media, because they make public opinion these days." I said truly believing it, when I said it. "Since I can't compete with love or sex, I guess I need to start thinking about a replacement." I suggested. "I really have no comment on that," Mike said. "Yeah, I know Mike the rules of engagement don't allow you to comment, just state obvious facts. So why did you tell me about Gwen trying to lure Lucas away. Is there a little jealousy there?" "Maybe," he replied. Then added. "You do know that it is infuriating to be continually searching for motives in everything we do as people. You tend to make everyone look a little too deeply into their soul." He was grinning when he said it. "Hell Mike that's what us women do. Listen and listen, then make a statement so insightful and brilliant that it makes men kneel before out superior intellect." "I have seen some of your notes on the computer. No offense Maxine, but you are no intellectual." "None taken I assure you," I replied.' Mike was my designated chaperon, so when I left the office at 6:30, he followed me out the door. "I'm going to dinner at Kaplin's Barbecue house." I informed him. "Thanks for the warning, I'll stop for a roll of Tums," Mike informed me. "Wimp," I said with a smile. I knew Mike was no wimp, and he knew that I did. So he smiled back at me. I am pretty sure that he mumbled "Bitch," under his breath. The one thing everyone noticed about Kaplin's was that when you finished eating, they wanted you gone. It was a policy that applied even when there were hardly any other customers in the place. They still dropped the check off with the food. It was to speed your exit. I didn't mind, but some folks did I'm sure. Kaplin's had great hush puppies, but I never ate them. It's the 'woman constantly on a diet' thing. I usually leave them in the plastic basket. That night I asked for a paper bag. I figured the cat would be happy to have them as a snack the next morning. 7:15 was too early to head for the Cop Out, but I had to leave Kaplin's. I thought I might take a look around Wal-mart for an hour. Somehow I had lost the thermal outfit I had slept in over the winter. It was time to be thinking about cold weather. That train of thought pulled into the 'I needed to think about the cabin' station. I had two options buy it or move out. Moving out might be the better option, since the only person who knew where I lived might well be on the loose. It would be a definite breach in security. The two men with jailhouse tattoos met me in the parking lot. "You Maxine Stone?" the smallest one asked. "Yeah, Davenport must have sent you?" I replied. "That's right. He has a message for you. Call off the cops and the inspectors or your life and the lives of your family will not be long." "I see, now you can take my answer back to Davenport when you go. My family is all gone. It's just me all alone in the world. The cops will be visiting him a lot more often from now on. He might want to reserve a parking spot for them. And the inspectors are just doing their job. They will continue being zealous in the performance of their duty. By the way there will be reviews of all his grants and contracts with the government as well." "Lady, you got a death wish?" The big one asked. "You aren't the first one to ask me that, but the others are all dead. Now you just bring your bad ass self on over here, or get in your car and go home to daddy." He had to know that I had my right hand on the .38, he probably didn't know that I had my left on the stun gun. The big one rushed me. he obviously wanted to intimidate my by wrapping me up in his arms. Since I was able to keep my cool, I stepped to the side and when he tried to adjust his charge, I zapped him with the stun gun. I got him in the neck even though I would have preferred to get him in the eyes. The little one reached for something in his pocket. It didn't come out clean but my .38 did. It looked as though the little one had brought a big ole knite to the gun fight. I shot him just as he launched himself at me in a kamikaze attack. I felt a blinding pain. Then a warm sensation. Then I wondered who would feed the cat, as the parking lot light faded then went out. ------- Chapter 74 My eyes hurt, so I didn't want to open them, but my mouth was so dry that I could not hold out any longer. The light hurt my eyes, even though there was only a night light burning somewhere in the corner of the unfamiliar room. I really didn't know where I was or how I got there. I wondered if I had been tortured. Whatever happened to me was bad enough, so that I had blocked it out. It took me only a few minutes to recognize my surroundings as a generic hospital room. If it was a hospital room, there should be a call button, I reasoned. It made me feel better that I could remember even that much. After I fumbled around and found the button, I pressed it and then fell asleep again exhausted. The next time I rejoined the world, I was still dying of thirst. I found that button and pushed it again. I managed to stay awake until a nurse came. She didn't stay in the room long enough to even ask why I called, let lone long enough to give me a drink of water. Instead she rushed out as if her scrubs were on fire. I didn't have to push the button again because she returned in seconds with two more nurses tagging along behind. They seemed to gawk at me for a moment, before anyone spoke. "How do you feel?" the oldest one asked. I could only croak like a frog, "Water." "I know your mouth is dry honey, but your stomach has a tube in it. I can't give you water." She took a washcloth from the stand by my bed. She took it to the sink and wet it. She returned to press it to my lips." I sucked on the washcloth and decided that it was better than Ice Cream. I looked over at what could easily have been a coat rack. Actually there was one on either side of me. The racks had plastic bottles and tubes which were connected to me. I was pretty sure there were more plastic bags at the foot of my bed. Those would be collecting all kinds of things not mentioned in polite society. "What happened to me?" "The doctor will be here any minute. We paged her just as soon as we knew that you were awake." "So you aren't going to tell me?" I asked. I paused a moment to catch my breath, then went on. "I need a phone," "No you don't," the stern voice came from the doorway. The only slightly overweight woman in the long white lab coat said, as she entered the room. "The hell I don't." I replied weakly. "Don't worry some cop named Blevins has been notified that you are awake. When he gets here, he can relay your messages. You are not going to lift a finger." She paused for a long minute or so, then added, "At least not till I check you out." "Are you flirting with me?" I asked with what could only be called a sick smile. Hell I had the right to a sick smile, after all I was in a hospital. "You wish," she said grinning. "I have heard all about you Maxine. Now shut up and let me listen to your heart." She listened to my heart and lungs, then she looked at things I didn't even want to see. Finally she said, "Well you are doing pretty good for a corpse." "Oh have they been exaggerating my demise?" I asked trying to make a joke. "I'm not at all sure that you weren't dead. The EMT thought you were. You almost went to the back of the line. Some patrolman, who followed the Ambulance, insisted that the ER doctor check you regardless." "And they found that I was alive?" I asked too tried to smile again. "No, you were dead, then all of a sudden you blinked. The ER staff almost fainted. Looks like the devil sent you back," the doctor suggested. "Probably afraid of the competition," Blevins said from the door. "You can't be in here just yet," The doctor said. "Blevins find Lucas tell him to get to my place and feed that stray cat. Just leave the food on the stoop," I said just as I fell asleep again." I felt a little stronger when I awoke the next time. It might have been a day or an hour, there was no way to know in the ICU. I didn't want food, but I would have gladly killed a nurse for a glass of water over ice. I was pretty sure the tube in my stomach was draining it for some reason. I couldn't, for the life of me, remember why it would be doing that. I rang for a nurse again. When she came, unlike the last time, there was no commotion. "Yes Ms Stone?" she asked. "Any chance I can get a glass of water with ice?" "No Ma'am, you still have the tube in. I can get you some small ice cubes you can suck on." "Ice without being mixed with something stronger will be a first, but sure. Any chance you have any shaped like a nipple?" I asked. She blushed, then left without a word. She was back with the plastic cup of ice within a couple of minutes. She held a cube to my mouth. I took the ice without a word. I knew then that I was really sick. Even if she was married, I would have sucked her fingers any other time, just for the shock value of it. Okay maybe not really done it, but I would have at least tried. That day, all I wanted was the water. I knew then that the no liquid or solids meant my gut was damaged. I'm no doctor, but it was strikingly similar to the surgery to remove the chunk of steel from an Afghan IED. I remembered that hospitalization perfectly, but couldn't remember why I was in the hospital at that moment. I went back to sleep remembering the hospital at the airbase in Germany. I am sure that I felt a lot better there. At least they let me eat after a couple days. Then I remembered that I had no idea how long I had been in the hospital in Aster. It could have been only a day. Even in my present condition, I knew that one day was wishful thinking. "I hear you have been awake most of the day," the female doctor suggested. "Most, I don't think so. More than yesterday probably." I paused took a deep breath then asked, "So when do I get a real glass of water?" "They are taking you back into surgery to remove the tubes in a few minutes. I would give it one more day. I would guess that tomorrow, when you wake up, water and chicken soup will be on the menu." "First water, then coffee, and you can keep the soup," I suggested. "We will see about that," the doctor informed me. Now, I have patients who really are sick to see." "Doc, my memory is a blank. Should I be worried?" "No, you had a pretty sever trauma. It might take a day or two to remember it. Just let it happen, don't obsess over it." "Okay. so are there a couple of kids with cameras in the waiting room." It was the nurse who answered. "No, we threw them out. Do you want to see them?" "Not just no, but hell no," I replied with a much better smile. "Good, go back to sleep. When you wake up, we will have that tube out." she said I followed the doctor's orders for once. My mind shutdown and I drifted off to sleep. I didn't realize at the time that even more drugs had been added to my drip. Even after the tube was removed, I still had to wait 24hours before I was allowed to eat or drink. Well, to have more than a sip of water at a time. Even that sip of water was an improvement over nothing at all. Half way through the 24 hours, Blevins showed up. "So Max, you got one of them, and we have the other." "Blevins, I know I'm supposed to know what you are talking about, but I have no idea." "They told me you didn't remember it yesterday, but I thought you would have by now." "Since you are here, I am going to assume some asshole put me here. So do you have him?" "No, he is down in the morgue. Like the man said, 'You kilt the bear, what kilt you.' Only you didn't stay dead like he did." "Considering how I have felt the last few days, he might have gotten the better deal," I suggested. "Well Max just so you know, the patrolman drove into Kaplin's for dinner, and saw the whole thing. Even better your friend Mike filmed it all. You are going to be the town hero yet again. Mike's got you on the national news." Blevins sounded disgusted. "I'll have to watch that." I suggested. "You should watch it. You have a couple of nice dance moves on there." Blevins added. "Where did you find the second one. The one you said you have?" "Oh he was laying in the parking lot doing that fish out of water thing." Blevins said with a grin. "Ah, I zapped him?" I asked. "Oh yeah, and a damn good job it was." "Well how did I fail to get out of the way of the knife?" I asked. "It looks like you just stood there so the shot wouldn't miss. He was in the air, when you shot him. It happened real fast, but it looks to me like you just held your ground to make sure that it was a kill shot." Blevins said with obvious admiration in his voice. "That would make me an idot," I replied. "not a heroine." "Yeah, but a ballsy one." Blevins said. "Did you give Luke the message about the cat." "Yeah, he had no idea you had a cat. He told me he didn't see the cat, but there was trash all over the yard." "Yeah, I broke our deal. I'm not surprised." "Luke said he left the food like you said, and that it was gone when he came back the next day. Still the cat never showed." "It don't matter who is getting the food, it's about a deal I made. He is feeding for me, not for the cat." "Whatever you say," Blevins sounded unconvinced. "So did you find out who they were working for?" I asked. I did remember Davenport and Julie. "Oh yeah, fat boy not only talked, we couldn't shut him up. He kept saying that it wasn't supposed to go down like that. He was just supposed to act tough and threaten you. He said Davenport told them that they might have to slap you around a little. It was supposed to be a piece of cake, and after you backed off they were to get paid two hundred bucks each." "I see, when they said shut up, I must have thought they said stand up." I said sarcastically "Something like that. When the threats didn't seem to be working, they planned to just slap you around a little. It seems they didn't do their research." Blevins said seriously. "How so?" I asked. "If they had asked around, they would have known your ass don't have 'no reverse gear'." "Only reason you are being so complimentary is that I almost died, so stop it." I said. "Well Davenport got his ass picked up and there was nobody to go his bail. It seems that Ed was on the phone calling in favors and making threats." Davenport has lots of property, but it's all mortgaged to the hilt. After the old folks left it to the mission, Davenport took out big loans on it, then moved the money off shore. He couldn't get to it right away, so he spent two days in jail. Too bad he finally made bail. "Should I be worried?" I asked. It was nice to know how long I had been in the hospital finally. "Got no idea Max. When your memory comes back, and you testify that he threatened you, he is finished. We just need a little collaboration for our living witness. Co conspirators make lousy witnesses, but when you call him out, it's all over. So would he like to be sure you wouldn't testify? Yeah he would." Blevins said. "So who is guarding my door?" I asked. "That would be Jerry, and a couple of other patrol types." "Well a couple of more days and I'll be able to take care of myself." I suggested. "Well since you did pretty well in that parking lot, I can agree with you." "Hey Boss," Lucas said from the hall. "Come on in kid," I suggested. Blevins told me you have been feeding the cat. Thank you," I said. "It's not a problem. I am sorry that you need me to do that. Maybe if I had been there, this wouldn't have happened." "If not that night, then the next one. These guys were serious." I said it showing him I had no hard feelings. "Anything I can get for you?" Lucas asked. "Yes there is a red leather jewelry case in the safe room. There is a fancy watch in it. I would really like to have it here with me." "I'll get it and come back tonight." Luke suggested. "Don't bother, tomorrow would be just fine." "Okay, everybody out," the nurse said. "Ms Stone needs her rest." I would have contradicted her, but I was too tired to argue. ------- Chapter 75 It must have been the absence of the tube from my stomach, which allowed me to sleep through the night. It was the only thing different about that night from the one before. At least that was my thinking at the time. I slept all night, something I couldn't even manage at home. Of course at home I didn't have a catheter in my bladder either. I didn't care for the feeling of it, but it did make life easier. I could only imagine how interesting it would be to have one of those while I drank beer in a bar. When I awoke that next morning, I was rested for the first time since I arrived at the hospital. I was also ravenous. Sometime during the night several of the bags of fluid had been removed. I tried to wait patently for something to happen. Hell I forced myself to wait for anything at all to happen. I get bored easily and the hospital was absolutely boring once I began to recover, and got off the heavy drugs. I was probably still being dosed with a mild sedative, but it wasn't the same feeling as the narcotics. I had surely been getting those for the pain up until that point. I knew how much they screwed up my mind from my time in the hospitals after my Afghan accident, as I liked to think of it. The day nurse came to change my bags and to read my monitors. I knew that the remaining bags would soon to be removed, just as the morphine drip bag had been. I felt pretty lucid that morning. If for no other reason than that bag was gone. After making her notes the nurse smiled at me and said, "You look as though you are feeling better." "I look as though you discontinued the morphine drip or whatever it was you were giving me. I feel a lot more with it now." "Good, we were beginning to worry about all those off color comments," she informed me. "We thought you might be delusional from the wound. or maybe it was Turrets." "I'm sorry did I hit on you? When I'm drunk, I flirt with everyone. I do apologize." I knew that I had a couple of more days in the hospital and needed to get along. "Oh it's alright. We get lots of mild flirtation around here. It's an occupational hazard. I guess it's just the fact that you are a woman, that made most of us a little nervous." "Oh which one didn't it make nervous?" I said with a weak laugh. "I'm just kidding." "There was more than one," she said with a laugh of her own. "Curiosity, mostly, I'm sure..." "Just to change the subject, When can I get into the shower. It has been three days and I know I must smell." "Bath for you is in a plastic pan for a day or two more. We don't want you to get that incision wet, and there is no way for you not to do so in a shower." she informed me. "I will have the aide bring in some warm water and soap. It isn't sweet smelling, but it will get you clean." "You are a tough old bird," I said with a laugh. "I'm not that much older than you, and from what I hear you do alright for yourself," she said "Don't believe my press clippings. It's all smoke and mirrors." I said to her back. When she finished her notes, she had just left. She really was a tough old bird. A much younger woman brought my breakfast. It was scrambled eggs and grits. Not my favorite things, but I was starved, so I managed to get the grits down. Lucas arrived a half hour later just after my pan bath. It seemed that I was taking a lot of those lately. I was likely to take a least one more. "That is one heavy watch," Lucas said handing me the red jewelry case. "Yes it is," I said. He didn't sound as though he had looked inside, so I didn't elaborate. I put the box in my beside table without looking inside. I knew what was in the box, so I didn't need to look. The weight told me everything was as it should be. "So how are you feeling today?" Lucas asked. "I'm fine Lucas. I'm reasonably clear headed. If there is something you wish to discuss with me, now is a good time." I said "What makes you think I have anything I need to tell you?" he asked. "Well you didn't show up for work on Monday, and you didn't call. I have to assume something is going on in your world." "It can wait," he replied. "If you don't tell me, it will just make me crazy worrying." I admitted. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Yes, I'm sure. Let's get it over with." "Okay, I guess first I should say I love Gwen." "Good for you, does she love you as well?" I asked. "Yes she does. She is a few years older, but she does love me." "So, you are going back to Boston with her?" I asked. "That depends on you. If the show is a hit, will you allow them to continue?" "What you are telling me is that you will follow Gwen around. If I say no more, then you are off to Boston with Gwen?" "Something like that yes," he admitted. I noted that he couldn't look me in the eye. "So what are you going to do in Boston?" I asked. "I can apply to the Boston PD. I'm 21 now." he admitted. "If I agree to let the Pros from Dover, stay?" I asked. "Then I stay here. I'm pretty sure we are finished. Aren't we?" he asked. "Yeah, I think so." I admitted sadly. "Because I questioned you?" he asked. "No, that's what Ed thinks, but no. Like you said, you are 21 now. You can join the local PD or move on to the Boston PD. Either one is a better move for you than this little company. This just makes it a little easier to tell you that you are wasting your time with me." "Oh it wasn't a waste of time by any means. I learned a lot from you. Things not to do mostly," he replied. "Good, Gwen and Mike will be here two more weeks. Would you stay that long for me. I'm not going to be able to take care of the customers like this." "Sure, I just want to leave town when Gwen does, if you are really finished with them. She can even wait a week or so, if you need me. If you agree to more episodes, I will hang around town till we know what the show is going to do." 'Fair enough," I replied. "I'm pretty sure it's finished for me one way or another." I didn't tell him the business was going to change yet again when I got out of the hospital. "Then I better get back to work," Lucas added He was at the door when I stopped him. "Lucas keep good records of what you do. You get the full fee for this. If you don't have room to take the bike, I will buy if from you at full price. Those two should give you a little traveling money." I didn't tell him there would be a separation bonus as well. He had been with me over a year and done a hell of a job. I owed him. He was leaving because he was in love. I don't know how many times I would have left the Air Force, if it had been as easy as leaving me. After he left and things got quiet, I opened the red box. I lifted the ugly looking weapon from it. Almost all my weapons are antiques and collectible. However, some are just old, such was the case with the .410 gauge, shotgun shell firing, single shot derringer. I picked it up at a yard sale. I didn't even trust it to fire when I bought it. I was just a collector, not an armorer, but I know where to find one. I carried it to a Technical Sergeant on the base, where I was stationed at the time. "I can't find any marks on it Max. It might have been chromed after it had been in use a while. This thing has been in a lot of pockets. The marks might have worn off it and then one of it's former owners had it plated. That's just a guess, it is a total mystery to me. Do you want me to test fire it to save you the trouble? I have the bench vise out on the range for damaged and questionable weapon test firings." "That would be great. I brought along a box of .410 shells just in case you agreed." I handed him the box of ten shells all slugs. "Did you know that they make a .45 cartridge that you can fire in this thing as well. Even that won't add anything to the weapons performance though. The .410 will pack the same punch, and they are easier to find." The tiny pistol fired flawlessly in the vise. He fired it twice just to be sure, then he let me hold it to fire. It had a sharp, but not bone breaking recoil. Since there was no second shot, it made no deference that the recoil knocked my sight picture all to hell. The tiny pistol might look like a toy but it wasn't. The forty five caliber slug would stop most anything one might encounter in any urban situation. It might not stop a moving car, A man, standing in my hospital room doorway, would for sure find his intestines laying on the terrazzo floor. The toy went under my leg. It was a single action piece with a strong spring, so there was no chance of an accidental discharge. Hospital TV is pretty awful, so it didn't keep my attention long. I really wanted my laptop from the cruiser. I would have to remember to see what Blevins or Lucas could do about that. I figured I might as well get what I could from Lucas, while he was still with me. Someone had slipped my cell phone into the night stand while I slept. That was a good thing. At least I could call and whine at people. I was just about to give Blevins a call, when Jen walked into the room. "It's about time," I said in a voice I could not have managed the day before. "Is that the thanks I get for getting that half ass truck from the impound for you?" Jen asked. "The Cruiser is not a truck," I replied. "Thanks for getting it. I was about to start calling in favors." "I have no idea what it is. Especially since you have no back seat, and you are welcome." "It's a delivery van, sort of. Is that my laptop?" I knew it was. She just nodded. "I had just been thinking that I needed some grunt to pull it out of the cruiser for me. Thanks grunt." "Grunt is it. I had planned to offer you my house to recover. It is as good a place as any after you get released from this awful place." "Thanks Jen, I figured I might have to finesse them a little. Most likely they won't release me to go home alone. A day or two somewhere else would satisfy them and it might be a good idea in general." "Isn't that what I just said. Only not just a day or two. Next week is Thanksgiving. If you are still hot to go after Thanksgiving, then so be it." "Just do one thing for me. Take the cruiser to the office, don't leave it parked at your house. There might be more thugs looking for me. I would rather they not know where to find me." "Can do," she said. "We will talk more once I am sprung from this joint," I replied. "Just to change the subject, what is the latest on Julie?" "Ah the diary of a teenage slut continues. The Tryon police pulled her ass out of there, when they picked up Davenport. I think she was already disillusioned by the hard work, but when they told her Davenport tried to have you killed, she used that as an excuse to do her 'Julie go home' act. Since she is still under the courts jurisdiction, for that prostitution thing, we had a hearing. I represented her and Julie found her young ass in front of the same Judge. He must not have gotten any the night before, because she is in Juvie for a while. Sentence is till she clears counseling, or turns eighteen which ever comes first. In other words two weeks, to what she feels is life. "Well it's better than being in the freak show where she was, I guess." I replied. "Yeah, so we have an agreement on what you are going to do when they spring ya ho?" Jen asked. "Spring ya ho," I laughed then said, "I just love it when you try to talk 'gangsta' in your lil power suit. But yeah, I know what to tell them shyster." I did manage a grin when I said it. I knew I was still weak, because I was ready for more sleep when she left. ------- Chapter 76 "Good to see you back with us," Blevins said as he entered the room. "So do you remember what happened now?" "Oh yes, I remember them saying that it was a message from Davenport. The skinny one, who is no longer with us, said that if I didn't leave Davenport alone, he would have me and my whole family killed. He was very specific." "My God Max, we are going to hang his ass from the courthouse flagpole, when you tell that in court." "Good, now tell me something. Where the hell is Jerry, you said he was watching my back. Surely he should have been in to say hello." "Actually he is working midnight shift. You haven't been awake long enough for him to speak to you. He told me that himself this morning." "Ah that explains it. I wonder why Mosby hasn't been in to see me." "Max, I am not getting into the middle of that one." Blevins said. "Has she left town?" I asked. It occurred to me that I might not be out of the hospital, before my contract with Marty for the TV show ended. If that were the case, he might have fired Mosby, or Beth Ann. "Max, I have nothing to say on that subject. You have your cell phone, so call someone who knows." Blevins suggested. "So it was you who brought my phone. I wondered how it go here." I said. "Yeah, it wasn't going to be any good as evidence." "You decided that after you did the drop on the calls." "Yeah, I did." He looked out the window at my parking lot view. Then added, "You know that you are the most interesting person in this town. No wonder they are making that TV show about you." "That is probably what put me in here, so it might not have been my best decision to go along with the TV thing." "Max, you would have done what you did even without the TV producers being here." "Yeah, I guess I would have at that. And the kid's film did save my ass from answering a lot of questions." "Yeah, gonna make a hell of an episode," he laughed. "Did you know that it is raining like hell out there." "No but with the temperature falling every day, I'm glad that I'm not in it. Of course I would rather be in bed somewhere with a bottle of Jack Daniels." "Wouldn't we all?" he asked not expecting an answer. "Hey, did you get your burglars?" I asked. "Fucking kids," he said. "It's just a matter of time until someone sees them." He paused looked out the window again then said, "The only good shit happens when you are involved." "Oh bullshit," I replied. "I just stopped by to see, if you remembered the conversation. Since you do, I guess I should get back to searching for the kids who are steeling cash, jewelry, and high end bikes. The bikes are the give away." He looked away from the window and at me. "You were wearing a microphone. You ought to see that clip, just to refresh your memory." "Okay, I'll do that. Bye the way Blevins, did you ask Reverend Archer, if anyone tried to sell him bikes recently?" "No, should I?" "Yeah you should. Lucas got a motor bike from him and he put it on a used bike that was a beauty. He got that bike somewhere." "Give me the address of that bike shop," he demanded. "Hell, I don't know the name of the street but it's out in the West End area. It's just off English road in an 0ld service station. You will find it. Just keep my name out of it." "Oh hell it's open to the public and I am looking for stolen bikes. Cops do it all the time, I don't need an informant for that No need for him to know you thought of it instead of me. Hell, it looks better that it was my idea anyway." With that Blevins left me alone. I used the cell phone to call Helen. "Hello Helen this is Maxine," I said into her message machine. "Give me a call please. I'm trying to find out about Mosby." I broke down and called Mosby's phone, but all I got was the out of service message. I honestly hadn't expected that. I hadn't called her because of Jerry. I really hadn't a clue that she might have left town. I was tempted to call Jerry, but if he was working midnight shift, he might be sleeping. I didn't want to take a chance on waking him. Okay, I also didn't want to have Mosby answer the phone. I had no idea what I would do, if she rubbed my nose in it. "Maxine, you look better. How do you feel?" the doctor asked. I had a different hospital specialists during each of my three days as a patient. "I'm impressed, I haven't had the same doctor twice yet. I can't believe it. This stay has to be costing my insurance company a fortune." I paused to see, if she would smile. She didn't "The answer to your question is that I am just fine considering I was gutted like a fish." "Well it wasn't that bad was it, but you do seem to have gotten sliced and diced pretty good. Not to mention your heart seems to have stopped beating for a bit. We still aren't quite sure how that worked." "I can't help you with that. I was a little busy walking to the light," I said. "Really/" she asked. "No, there was no light or any other thoughts. I just went to sleep, then I just woke up." "Oh alright, you had my hopes up." she laughed at herself. "So. lets take a look at you. Drop the top of that gown." "Shouldn't we pull the drapes first?" I asked. "Oh so you are going to be modest now?" she asked smiling at me. I had a bad, bad feeling suddenly. "I'd like to see your hospital ID?' I demanded. I also had my hand on the derringer. "Sure," she said, but instead of the ID, she came out with a syringe. "Sorry sweetie, but I can trump that." She had been braced for a struggle. The big bore of the shotgun derringer in her face was a shock to her. It stopped her dead in her tracks. I pressed the button on my nurse call thingie and waited. "What the?" the nurse asked excitedly. "Is there a cop at the door outside." "What's going on?" he asked as he rushed into the room. He pulled his automatic handgun just about two minutes too late. "I think we have someone playing dress up here," I suggested. He quickly removed the syringe from her upheld hand Then he turned the woman to the wall. I watched as he patted her down. "Try not to enjoy that too much," I suggested. To be honest, all the wisecracks were just to cover it up the fact that I was scared shitless. "Max I am so sorry, I just went to take a pee." "Officer let's make a deal, next time you do that, come in and use mine. Wake me up, if you have to, because I want to know that I'm on my own." "Yes ma'am, I understand," he replied weakly. I turned to the nurse. "You are probably going to need to change my catheter bag, that bitch scared the piss out of me." "I swear Ms Stone, you have to have nine lives. I have never seen anything like it. Would you really have shot her?" "Just as many times as I could, which was only once in this case," I said with a smile. It was about a minute later when Helen returned my call. The fake doctor was cuffed and seated in my one chair with the officer all over her. "Max, I am sorry I haven't been able to visit, but I am just snowed under here. Mosby just disappeared on me." "Ah that's all I needed to know. It's okay about the visit, all I seem to do is sleep anyway." "Well know that I am praying for you and so is skeeter. Jack is so upset by all this that he can't sleep." "Tell him I said not to worry. It will all work out. I hear Julie is out of the Family Mission?" "Yes, she is and that's the only good thing to happen. Jennifer has a plan to get her out of the juvenile detention center. Something about the counseling at Reverend Archer's rehab facility. She said maybe Julie can come home to live. I don't understand it." "Well if Jennifer is involved, it can't be too bad." Or too honest, I thought but didn't say it. "Just do the best you can Helen. Nobody can ask for more than that." "Maxine, we are so grateful to you. I know the cops got her out, but it's because you set off the chain of events. Jennifer explained all that to us." "Don't worry you are finished with Davenport, but I'm not. Honey, I'm sorry but I need to talk to someone right now, but thanks for the info about Mosby." I said just before I hung up the phone. "So fake doc, you need to tell me why you wanted to shoot me up with drain cleaner or whatever." I said it in a calm voice. "I got nothing to say," the woman replied. "Up to you, But just so you know, I'm going to have to sign off on any deal they try to make with you. I really do have that much pull in this town. But you go ahead and be a hard ass." "What tipped you off," she asked after a minute's thought. "Well the curtain thing first, but you also had dripping wet hair. It looked as though you walked in from the parking lot right to my room. which you did of course. The odds of that happening in a hospital this size are pretty long. Then I noticed the jail house star tattoo on the back of your hand. What were you a infirmary employee?" "Yeah five years at Caledonia for women. I worked in the infirmary the last two." "Good to see you learned a trade up there," I said trying to be sympathetic and still a hard ass. "Yeah, nobody wants an ex con working for them. Not even those shitty nursing homes." "Yeah, just kill one person and they never let you live it down." I said. "I ain't never killed nobody," she said. "So I would have been your first. Did Davenport really think you would get away with it. Maybe he just decided to throw you under the bus, hoping to frighten me into not testifying. You know make me think that he would never give up." "Well I was supposed to do it, not even talk to you about it, just do it quick." the woman said. "Nice, well you got lucky. I could have shot you." I replied. "Why didn't you?" she asked seriously. "The blow back from that thing would have covered me in blood and brains. I don't need that in addition to how I feel already." I admitted. "Yeah, it would have made a mess alright." "I guess they are going to put Davenport back in jail. He can't be trusted outside." I said. "If they can find him. If I don't call him in the next fifteen minutes, to tell him it's done, he will be in the wind." "Then call him," I suggested. "Why should I?" she asked. "Exactly what do you have to lose? Davenport isn't going to help you. Why not help us, I am going to testify at your trial. I will either tell them how you helped, or how you refused to help. It's up to you." "Detective Sergeant Evans," The youngish black man said as he entered the room. "Why haven't you transported this woman yet?" he asked the patrolman. "I'm waiting for someone to show up to do that. I can't leave." the patrolman said. "Alright, I'll transport her." "Could I see your ID?" I asked. "What, I showed you my badge." he said angrily. "Officer, do you know this detective?" I asked. "Yes Ma'am I have seen him around the station. He got promoted after Blevins and his partner left for that task force thing." "Okay, but this woman needs to make a call first." "Lady, I know you are some kind of special case, but you don't tell me what to do," he said angrily. "If she doesn't make that phone call, the man who sent her is going to be running. If she makes the call, you will have time to send someone to pick him up. Now let her make the call." "She's right Sergeant, I heard the woman say that." It was the patrolman who said it. "Alright make the call, then we go have a talk," the black detective said. "I changed my mind. Let him run." The bitch looked at me and smiled. "Now I want a lawyer." I was sorely tempted to have them call Jen, but decided against it. The web of conflict would be to unmistakable, even for the idiots in our district attorney's office to miss. ------- Chapter 77 After the excitement of the fake doctor died down, time passed slowly, but it did pass. I hated every lucid moment of my hospital stay. By Friday the catheter was gone, and only one bag draining into my arm. I finally was able to stay awake long enough to meet with Jerry on Friday night. "So Jerry, what's the word on Beth Ann? You told her, didn't you?" "Yeah, I told her that we knew. She was gone the next morning. I told her the night you got stabbed." "She just left us both the next morning? It kind of makes you wonder about sweet lil ole Mosby." I commented. "I could really learn to hate Marty," Jerry said. He smiled then added, "It might take a while to hate Mosby though." "Marty was being Marty, and I guess Beth Ann was just being Mosby." I smiled a sarcastic smile at Jerry. He was a lot more hurt than I was. Then again he was younger. I had walked that road a lot more times. Relationships between same sex couples seemed to break down faster. Then again, I wasn't very good with men either. "Phony bitch," he said angrily. His anger was tempered by the fact that he had suffered a even bigger loss with his dead nurse friend. "Your luck with women is about like mine is with men." I said quietly. "Yeah, I know we should probably hang out together. Just to spare the rest of the world our plague," he suggested. "Are you kidding, we would poison the water, not to mention everyone we came into contact with," I admitted. "Okay how about we just get together and fuck now and then." "Now that seems like a much more reasonable plan." I said smiling at him. "You are going to have to give me a little time though." "You have to know, if you are just saying that, so that I will stay awake while on duty out there you don't have to. Screwing or not, I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he said. "Good, then it won't be a pity or pay off fuck. It will just be for fun, those are the best kind." I suggested. After the fake Doc incident, the staff all started to wear their ID cards in plain view. There was also a hospital security officer assigned to the ICU nurse's station. Even though, I expected that he would go when I did, it was still a good idea. It was a little late in the game for me, but the security measures might save someone else's life. Jennifer wanted to sue, just because it was what Jennifer did. I said no. The hospital trusted that the cops would take care of me. It was just a big mix up, there was nothing sinister in it. The hospital needed the wakeup call, and I expected that the cops did as well. I got moved to a new room of my own the first thing Saturday morning. It was a sign that I was progressing and I was happy about that. It also meant visitors had free access to me. "You know what Max, you promised to hand me those burglars and you did," Blevins said without even a hello first. "Well good Saturday morning to you too Blevins. So they had been selling their stolen bikes to the Reverend?" "A couple to him and a few to the bike shops in Tryon. They even sold one on line through Ebay. The secret to catching them was tracing the bikes. I guess, I'm getting lazy. I should have checked that without being prodded." "Well, you got them that's the important thing," I said. "And guess what?" "What?" I asked. "They were two high school girls. Some big theft ring huh?" Blevins said with a laugh. "What is the world coming too. Women committing crimes, next they will be cops." I laughed. "Yeah, then the world will really be going to hell in a hand basket." Blevins agreed with a smile. "Have they got you on a diet still?" he asked. "Yeah, I got no idea how much longer, but I'm sick of Jello." I admitted. "I was headed to the Pizza and Pasta Pit. I thought I might bring you something for lunch." "Why are you torturing me? What did I ever do to you?" I asked. "Don't ask me. Ask your real doctor that. I'm just trying to make sure you get well and out of this place." "I know Blevins and believe me I appreciate your visiting me so often. I know you are busy." "With you up here, the work load dropped by fifty percent," he said with a laugh. "See every cloud has an even blacker cloud inside. Life is so much more boring without me." "Yes it would be," Blevins agreed. "Hey, I met your new partner last night," I informed him. "He told me. He wanted to know what your story was. So I took him to the Cop Out and told him. Well, me and about a dozen other people. You would have loved it. The nurses from the ER got in on the love fest. Well it wasn't all love." "Yikes, Sergeant Evans in the Cop Out. Couldn't you have waited until I could be there for that?" I asked. "Trust me Evans was quite the hit with the ladies. Most of the guys were not happy, but they will get over it." "Do you think he will go back?" I asked "If he is going to be my partner, he will. I never had a partner that didn't drink with me, at least now and then." "Yeah even Anya," I replied. "Hey, she got what she wanted, and I did as well." "And what did you want?" I asked. "I wanted her the hell gone," he replied. "To be honest, I did as well," I agreed. I said it but I wasn't all that sure that I did. She had an interesting way about her. "Maxine," the nurse said as she entered the room. "The doctor said you could take a short shower today. I will be back in a bit to remove your dressing. You can take a careful shower then I will redress the incision." "Very good, you want to help me with the shower Blevins?" I asked. "Why of course, I would be happy to wash your back." he replied. "Like hell," the nurse said. "We are in enough trouble because of Maxine. I'm not about to let you two cavort in the shower." "Were we planning to cavort?" I asked. "I don't know about you, but I was definitely planning to cavort," Blevins said with a deep laugh. Blevins left and I took what could only be described as the worlds most welcome shower. I even washed my two inches of hair before they could tell me not to. The fact that I did it all while seated on a metal stool didn't bother me one little bit. When I finished, I felt that I was at last clean. Saturday not only gave me my first real bath, but it seemed like people came out of the woodwork to visit. Everybody I counted as friends showed up. Well most of them. Okay some of them. Ed came first just after noon. He was still in the room, when Lucas and Gwen showed. Gwen didn't have a camera. After asking how I felt, everyone asked when I was going home. I had no idea, but I was hoping for a quick release, since I had been moved to a private room and been allowed to shower. I was optimistic that it would be soon. I knew that my body healed faster than most people's, so I was hopeful that my stay was about over... Jennifer and Bob showed up shortly after the first shift left. Jen still wanted me to sue somebody. It was kind of like the TV advertisement. 'If you have been hospitalized come see me. I will find someone to sue.' They were out the door when Blevins showed up with a lady my age. Maxine, I want you to meet my friends Mildred. She wanted to meet you, so here we are." "Hello Mildred," I said. "I have heard so much about you Maxine. I am thrilled to meet you." "I have no idea what you have heard, but believe only the good parts," I suggested. "That will be easy, it has all been good," Mildred said. "Blevins don't let this one get away, she is definitely a keeper." I smiled. "I already did Max. Mildred is my ex wife. We are having a reunion dinner that's all," "Oh, well you should give some thought to making it a new beginning and see what happens," I suggested. "Well, I guess we better go. We have reservations for dinner. Yes Max it is that kind of place," Blevins informed me. "Well you two have fun. I will keep a good thought for you." "Hello Maxine," Helen said from the door. "Can you have visitors?" "They better not try to keep you out." I said it with a big smile. I am not a hugger but Helen is. I allowed her to hug me even though it was an effort. Some because of the incision and a lot because I'm just not the 'hugging without sex' type. Jack hung back but eventually said, "I want you to know how sorry I am about this. I feel like this is all my fault." "Jack listen, there is plenty of blame to go around. Some of it is mine, some is Julie's, but most of it is Davenport's. Not to worry it will all come out in the wash." I made a real effort not to give away too much. "Maxine, I wish I could afford to pay your hospital bill at least. I know this is my fault," Jack said. "Don't worry Jack, this is an occupational hazard. I knew I wasn't playing with a church choir when I got into this affair." "Now, how is my girl skeeter?" I asked Helen. "She is as wonderful as ever," Helen said. "Good, too bad she couldn't come visit." I said meaning it. I would have rather had her show up that almost any of the others. When Helen and Jack left, I was pretty sure there weren't going to be too many others. I should have known Archer would show up. "Max how are you doing. I would have been sooner, but you were not allowed visitors. I see you still have your cop on the door?" "Yes, your friend Davenport is a very persistent man," I informed him. "So it would seem. I hear he has disappeared." "So they say, you wouldn't have any ideas about that would you?" I asked. "Why would I know?" Archer asked. "Well Reverend you did introduce him to the business." I suggested. "I have nothing to do with his business." the Reverend said. "You might need to rethink that. His little empire is without an emperor, that can't be good for anyone." I suggested. "He must have an awful lot of money, since he just walked away from half a million dollars in his bail account." I added. "I would guess that he does have a lot of money. He is going to be hard to find. Most likely he will be found by accident." Archer sounded almost impressed by Davenport. "Well, he might be surprised, who knows? Hell we all might be," I suggested. Once Archer left, I watched TV till Jerry came on duty. "So Jerry what went on with you and Mosby?" "Come on Max you don't really want details?" he asked. "Actually I do. Was it love or sex, and how good was the sex?" I smiled. "Max, I don't want to talk about that kind of thing." "I'm sure you don't Jerry, but I need to know. Let me start by asking did she leave you a note or a message on your cell phone?" "Text message," he replied. "Was there anything odd about it?" "What the hell are yo u thinking. It was from her, if you think Davenport got to her, you are dead wrong." "Did she seem upset that we knew who she was?" I asked. "Not at all. She seemed happy that it was over. We talked about it after I told her we knew." Jerry replied. Then added, "She said Marty expected you to catch on eventually." "Well then, I guess that means she just went back home," I guessed. "Yes and Max, she listed the job on her facebook account. Like part of her resume." "So did you at least get an honorable mention, in the sex department?" "She didn't mention either of us by name. Just described her role, as it were. Those are her words by the way." Jerry explained "Okay, well I'm exhausted. There were way too many visitors here today." I said. "You go on to bed and I'll make sure that you don't have any more." Jerry said reassuring me. Jerry was gone when I awoke the next morning. I had my first recognizable breakfast that Sunday morning. The sausage and eggs with real coffee, made me want to cry. The sausage was no doubt turkey, but the taste was close enough to the real thing to make it seem like the best sausage I ever ate. Even the cold toast was good. "Best of all before I finished breakfast the doctor came around. She asked, "So Max do have anyone to take care of you at home?" "My friend Jen invited me to stay with her a while." I replied. "Does this mean you are going to release me today?" "It does, if you feel that your are ready," she said. "I'm sure that I will rest better at my friends home, than I would here." I gave my debit card to the lady at the checkout desk. It has already been taken care of," she informed me as she returned my card. The copay should have been a thousand dollars out of my pocket. Jennifer probably told Marty paying the copay would be cheaper than the lawsuit I might file. Jennifer for all her faults took care of me. The only thing that mattered was that I was being sprung. ------- Chapter 78 That bonus room over Jen's garage got changed as often as my panties, it seemed. When I got discharged from the Air Force, it had been an exercise room. I'm not sure it ever got used for that. After I got to town, it became a studio apartment for Jen's high school friend, me. After I left, it became her party central room. I had gone to a couple of parties there myself. You could get ten to twenty people inside it with room to mingle a little. Or set it up for a dinner with a dozen guest. With the addition of some furniture, borrowed from other rooms in her house, it again became my small apartment. Jen's plan was not so much to 'take care of me' as to give me a space where she could check up on me easily. It was as much for her convenience, as mine. I still loved her for it. She refused to take me to the office for the cruiser. Instead she drove me to her place. The contradiction was that she left me to climb the stairs alone. Now that was a bit painful. The incision, that the bad guy made with his dying energy, was a big nasty one. It was closed but it still had that raw feeling. Once I was up the stairs, I decided not to go back down them for a long time. I knew that was wishful thinking, but it was what I planned. With a little luck I could manage to put it off for a while at least. Jen would probably be around long enough to bring me a pizza. I mean how much trouble would it be to carry if from the door to my one over sized room. All I had to do was order it from our town's one delivery restaurant. It sounded like a plan to avoid those steps for at least that one evening. I sat down with the pen and note pad, from my over sized purse, to make a list of things that I needed from the store. Diet Coke topped the list. Then frozen dinners, fancy rolls, eggs, cheese, one of those picnic salt and pepper sets, paper plates and bowls (not plastic), and plastic glasses. First I called Lucas, "At your service," he asnwered. "Hey, I see you figured out how to route the calls to your phone. Good for you." "I'm the digital genius, remember?" he actually laughed. "So things are going alright with the business?" I asked. "Sure, I work almost a full day every day," he said all pleased with himself. "Very good. Listen I'm at Jennifer's house. Why don't you stop by a grocery store and pick up few things for me. Deliver them and bring your paperwork for the deliveries. If you do, I'll write you a check." "Sure, is it okay if I bring Gwen?" he asked. "Of course, she can even bring her camera, if she wants. I'll do a sit down talk about the whole hospital experience." "She said, if we do that Mike is going to want to be there," Lucas said. "Alright bring Mike. Jen won't mind. I'll text you my grocery list. If Gwen thinks of anything I forgot, just buy that as well. And Luke continue to feed the cat a few more days please, but without Gwen along." "You got it boss." he replied. So I sent a text to him with the list of groceries. After that I checked out the bed and found it comfortable enough to fall asleep. I did that until Jen woke me knocking on the door. "Hey you got Geeks bearing gifts out here, open up." she demanded. The apartment sized refrigerator was filled to capacity by my few groceries. Jen was a little upset until I explained that the food was for breakfast and lunch when she wasn't around. I didn't plan to leave the house for a week. I knew my body was in no shape to do anything for at least that long. What I didn't tell her was that at the end of that week, I would be headed back to my own place. The thought 'my own place' turned my mind toward what I was going to do about the cabin. It had terrible living conditions, but it was also remote and secure. I had taken it when security was my number one concern. I wasn't sure, if that remained the case or not. It was possible I could find a place like the Gunny's little apartment and just buy it outright. With that I could make ends meet and be in town and nearer to everything. I had the week to decide what to do next. The con's little old lady mom wasn't in a great hurry. At least that is what Ed told me at the hospital. But he also said that she couldn't wait forever, so I had to make a decision soon or she would make it for me. Once they started to show the place, I was finished there for sure. I sat down with Lucas to write him a check for the week I had been out of commission. In four days he had made 25 deliveries. "Okay Lucas here is how it breaks down. The fees for your deliveries run $50 each, so you earned $1250 dollars gross. Instead of the $500 I would have paid you, if we were working together. Now if this were your business, you would need to set aside the payment for rent on the office about $250 bucks for a week. Then $150 for the car payment you might have, if you were running the business. Phones of all kinds about a $100. After taxes you might get to spend about $500 on yourself." "I had no idea," he said. "Neither did I. I had to play it by ear the first year. Now I have a pretty good handle on it." I handed him the check for $1250. "This time you get it all, but don't get used to it." "Okay, I'm going to get Gwen and take her home to change. While she does that, I'm going to go put the cat food out. I still don't think it is a cat eating the food, but it's gone every day so I can't be sure." he said. Since Mike couldn't make the trip, I expected that Gwen was giving Jen and update on the progress of the TV show. Marty wanted it on line the moment it was ready. He was already marketing the kits, but the more publicity the better in his mind I was sure. "Boss, thanks for the extra money. You didn't have to do it. I would have stayed, just because it needed to be done. It was the right thing." He had heard that for sure from me, and most likely from Gunny as well. It was a good lesson for a young man to have learned. For lunch I was planning a sandwich of some kind. I had intentionally left chips off the grocery list. I had a feeling that chips wouldn't do my ragged stomach much good. I wanted to stay away from sharp things for a while. I had the frig door open and was looking inside to make the 'what to put between the slices of bread' decision, when I heard a knock on my door. Helen and skeeter were in the hall. I am sure skeeter was the first dog, with four legs, to ever make it inside Jen's house. When skeeter saw me, she was on her back legs dancing for me. I had to smile she was so happy to see me. It made me want to cry at the same time. I began to pet her and it seemed that neither of us would ever get enough. "Be gentle," Helen said in a stern voice and skeeter calmed right down. "God I love that dog," she added. "Who in world wouldn't?" I asked. "I am back driving the sandwich truck until I can find someone else to do it. So here is the deal. I will be by here once in the morning and once at lunch. Jen has promised to do something for your dinner. If she doesn't I will bring dinner over," Helen said. "Like hell you will," I said."I plan to sleep till noon." "Okay then, I will bring your lunch," Helen insisted. "Helen, I have things already bought to fix my own lunch. I really want to do that." "Let me do something?" she asked. "You have done more than enough by bringing skeeter over. I told you she is a natural therapy dog." "I know. she saved my life for sure. Now you will not go hungry, do you hear me?" Helen demanded. "If you need anything at all, you call me I will get it here somehow." "Not to worry, I won't go hungry." "I left your dinner for tonight with Jen." Then she began to tear up. "If anything happens to you because of me, or my family, I don't know what I will do." "Plant a flower for me, somewhere flowers don't grow. Make it a pretty one," I said shedding tears myself. Then Helen was gone. Dinner that night was a huge beef pot pie. It had about every vegetable known to man inside. It was delicious. I had expected no less. Bob was very uncomfortable for some reason. I didn't ask, because I didn't care. "Jen, dinner was great and the company is good, but I am exhausted," I said as I stood. I am going to have t leave you to clean the table." I barely managed to make it back to the bed before I passed out. I'm was not sure if it was just exhaustion, or if it was something else, but I went out light a light. The sweat shirt Jen brought for me to wear from the hospital was in need of a washing at the end of the day. Since I had passed out cold, it didn't get done. So Monday morning found me sitting in one of Jen's too small tee shirt, while the sweat shirt went through the washer, The expensive tee which I wore would be stretched, so odds were the prissy Jen would never wear it again. It was the only solid colored one she had so I didn't mind taking it. All her other tees had cutsy shit on them, butterflies or some such nonsense. Monday was boring as hell. The only person to call was Mike the producer. "Maxine, Lucas said you were willing to do a sit down interview with me?" It was a question. "Sure, come on over." I agreed. That interview lasted an hour and was the only thing I did, other than watch TV all day. Tuesday was a repeat of Monday except I washed the Tee shirt instead of the sweat shirt. Wednesday I sat in Jen's panties and tee shirt while I washed my jeans and the sweat shirt again. All the clothes I had at Jen's house were developing a serious patina. They would all qualify for Antiques Road Show, on looks alone. I was doing more than it would seem on the surface, I was up and down those fucking steps more and more times each day. On Thursday I ventured around the block. Since the cops still had my .38 I carried my Glock 9mm, brought to me by Luke with the groceries. I had bought it from the man, who won the Wilmington police department's auction, when they switched to the 10mm. To conceal it and to keep warm, I wore one of Bob's 'yard work' jackets. It felt so good to be outside that I walked the same route again that afternoon. I could tell that I was beginning to get my strength back. It felt really good to have some energy. On Friday, I felt good enough to walk around the neighborhood for an hour at a time. I knew then that it was time to get my wheels and move home. "Hey Lucas give me a call," I said into the cell phone Friday afternoon. I watched TV for an hour before he returned my call. When he did I had finished with the TV and was on the sidewalk several blocks from Jen's house. "What's up boss?" he asked. "Are you in town?" I asked rather than answer. "On my way back from Tryon. I should be there in fifteen minutes," he answered "Before you go to the office swing by Jen's house please. I want to go to the office to pick up the Cruiser." "Actually I'm in the cruiser," he said sheepishly. "No problem, I will drop you at the office. You can either get your car or the van which ever you want." "I should be there in about twenty minutes," he said. "Maxine," the receptionist said as a greeting. Damn caller I D. I thought. "Is your boss available?" I asked. "Sure hold on," she said. "Max, is anything wrong?" Jennifer asked. "No, should there be?" I asked calming her down. "No, you just haven't called all week." "Well I have Lucas bringing the cruiser over. It's time I headed home." "Are you sure?" she asked sounding a little concerned. "Yes I'm sure. I'm going to take all the stuff from the frig, you won't ever use it." "You are right about that," she said laughing at me. I got to the cabin at 6PM. I saw the cat come out of the woods as my car pulled in. I quickly got the food ready. It was chilly, but I pulled a chair out to watch him eat. "So did you miss me?" He didn't even look up. "So you are pissed because I left you. Well I sent the kid to be sure you ate at least once a day." I looked down at the beat up old cat and decided right then to buy the cabin. I phoned Ed to set the wheels in motion. ------- Chapter 79 The cat wouldn't come in, so I was alone on a Friday night. It wasn't my first Friday night alone, when I didn't want to be alone. Life was just like that sometimes. I could have stayed at Jen's but I most likely would have been alone there as well. If you weren't able, or didn't want to play their games, you were left to your own devices. Jen was my best friend, but I recognized her for what she was. Then again she recognized me for what I was as well. First I removed Jen's tight clothes. The tee I wore under the sweat shirt was at least two sizes too small for me. Jen had only slightly better looking boobs but they were on a smaller frame so the tee was still too small. I hadn't worn a bra since the thug tried to make me a fillet. Jen's panties were too small for my wide ass, but they were the only things available to me at the time. The panties joined the tee inside my one waste basket in the house. I just knew that I was going to have to empty that little plastic can after my shower. I just hoped the cat wasn't into sniffing panties. I didn't want to find my trash all over the yard in the morning. I took my second shower of the day. I did it to get clean again before I put on my own clothes. When I went to my storage rack, I found that I had just enough clean clothes for one more day. Then I remembered that I had a plan, before the parking lot confrontation with Davenport's thugs. The plan had been to visit my Asian mother and daughter team the very next day to have my laundry done. The mother and daughter were always in the laundromat, even on Saturdays, so my plan was just delayed, not canceled. I really missed Jen's big shower but it wasn't the only thing I missed about her house. I missed the central heat as well. It was nice not to be either freezing or too warm. That's how it was with a heater, which was not thermostatically controlled. Those two things almost convinced me to let the cabin go. The crappy amenities of the cabin were countered by the emptiness of the area. The cabin was not just in the country, it backed up to the river. It wasn't close enough to have a river view or anything,. Still it was close enough for me to walk down and sit on the bank now and then. The security precautions I had put in effect were also a definite plus. Once I took care of Davenport, and I planned to do that when I felt better, I wouldn't need all the security. I would still be nice to have it in place all the same. I had made my decision about the cabin, so there was no sense having buyer's remorse. After my shower I heated one of the frozen dinners. It was one of the ones I actually liked. While I ate it, I watched the Internet site with my cameras. One showed the gate which had no activity, one showed me sitting at my small table watching the computer screen, and one showed the yard. I watched as the cat limped from the concrete stoop, to the edge of the woods. That limp made me want to cry. "Screw this," I said aloud. I put on my heavy jacket, since it was cool out, then I picked up the Glock 9mm with its holster. I threaded it onto my belt, then made sure it was covered by the coat. The cruiser had cooled off, while I did my things. I suffered with the chill until I was almost at my destination. "Hello there Martha, I do hope it's quiet around here for a change," I said as I went looking for the baby aspirin." "It is and I sure am glad. I'm not sure I could handle another one of those events," she said afraid to even call it what it was, an attempted holdup. "Well next time give them the money," I suggested. "That's what my husband said as well." Martha replied. I found the aspirin and an eight ounce carton of whole milk. "Well time for me to get back to my date," I suggested as I paid for my purchases. "Oh my, a new man in your life?" Martha asked. "One as mean as me it seems," I said it with a grin. When I arrived back home, I remembered to check the web cam before I opened the gate ... When I pulled into the yard the cat was there to greet me. "Well hello there buddy," I said as I went into the cabin. Once inside I crushed one of the aspirin into a plastic glass, then added half the milk to it. I microwaved the mixture for 15 seconds, then I stirred it well before pouring it into a paper bowl. The whole mixture went onto the porch for the cat. The aspirin should ease the pain and maybe help with any healing that might be happening. At least that was my plan. Not to mention, that something warm in his tummy just sounded like a good idea to me. I watched on the website while he lapped up the warm milk. "Now let's see if that helps." I said aloud. Why not. There was no one around to tell me that I was going batty, just because I talked to myself. I watched a couple of the TV shows which I had missed while in the hospital, then I went to the door. "Hey you cat," I said in the direction of the woods. "Do you want to come in where it is warm?" He didn't answer or show up, so I went to bed alone. Saturday, I felt much better than I had since the parking lot. I drove into town with my laundry bag in tow. Sure enough mom and daughter were at the laundromat. I left me clothes, then went to breakfast. I found that Lucas had been at it again. He had managed to get Helen posting the location of her breakfast wagon on her brand new website. Even in a town as small as Aster, we had a food truck with a website. Okay it was a posting on her catering site, but it still told me which plant's parking lot she was set up in that morning. "Hey there Helen where's my girl?" I asked. "Skeeter is visiting Jack's kennel. She loves to play with the Bird dogs. She pretends she is one of them." "Good for her, I want one of your brown bag breakfasts," I said. She put the bag on the truck's small counter outside the service window. "It is so good to see you out and about. You are not going back to work yet are you?" "I'm taking this to the office to eat, but only because the Asian chicks are doing my laundry." I replied. Everybody in town knew I used the family and promoted them to everyone I knew. "Well you stay away from people with knives and guns," she demanded. "Yes Mom, but it was always my plan to do that," I said. "Good, then you can go out to play now." she was grinning, while she played along. In the office I put the coffee on. While it cooked, I looked over the files on my desk. There was nothing of any real interest there. Once the coffee was done, I sat at my desk with my brown bag breakfast. The bag that morning contained a bacon egg and cheese sandwich on a thin flat bagel. As always it was delicious. There was home made apple sauce and a small pastry. The brown bag was a little more expensive than a Hardee's biscuit, but there was a reason people searched Helen's truck out. The food was excellent and even though I loved Hardee's biscuits, Helen's bags always had stuff I loved just a little more. I sat alone trying to decide what I wanted to do next. Nothing like a brush with death to make you ask yourself. Well, am I having any fun out of life? The answer was of course I was having some fun, but was I having as much fun as I would like to have? The answer to that was not really. So it was time to make some changes. But what kind of changes and where to start. I gave that a lot of thought, so much so that I almost forgot my laundry. I drove to the laundromat before the noon deadline. Mom and daughter only worked half a day on Saturday. With my clean clothes in the space where the back seat should have been, I drove to the college. I was hardly in shape to do anything athletic, but I drove to the community college's gym anyway. The college had an indoor running and walking track open to anyone. It was part of their health and fitness curriculum. Not to mention the community support outreach program. People tend to look more kindly on an endeavor which benefits them even marginally. The state was hoping for less backlash to their spending by reaching out to involve ordinary citizens. The walking track was open to all taxpayers, but it was promoted heavily with the elderly, so I knew about it from my days with Gunny. I had never walked on the track before, but I decided it was time I gave it a try. I didn't feel that I was up to the rough terrain of the wildlife trail, where I usually walked. I didn't walk anywhere near as often as I should. I also never run, unless someone is chasing me. I found the athletic department open even on Saturday, so the drive out to the campus had not been a waste after all. I left my pistol locked in the cruiser, then went inside. Once in the door, I found signs that advised me to start at the blue arrow. Then I was told, by sign, that each lap around the gym was one third off a mile. I decided to see how I felt after three laps. The gym was not full, however there were several walkers pretty well spaced out. I started off slowly. I passed by the ballet mirrors on the wall and realized that I was slumping forward. I also realized that sometimes small boobs can be a good thing. Like, if one can not wear her bra. I made it through my full mile walk, but found that I was pretty well worn out by the end of it. It had been uneventful, but then I was ready for some dull time in my life. At least for a while. "My God, you are Maxine Stone," the college kid stated. "Lucas Riley goes on and on about you." "Oh you know Luke?" I asked. "Sure he and I have a couple of copper classes together. I mean criminal justice classes." "Not to worry I'm not a cop and have probably called them worse than you can even imagine." "Cool, my name is Eddie," he said. "I would give you my full name, but Luke says you wouldn't remember it." "He is right. I'm the old lady who never knows anyone's name." I said it smiling. "It don't matter. You are kind of a legend around town. Would you get pissed, if I asked you how many people you killed." "Here, or in my whole life," I asked with a wicked smile. "Hey, I'm serious." "Not as many as you think. Killing people is always a last resort." "It has finally warmed up outside and Lucas says you like to eat at the marina. Would you let me pick up some food and meet you out there?" "Honey, I'm almost twice your age." I informed him. "So?" he asked. "Okay, some other time. I just got out of the hospital. I am flattered though." "Don't be flattered, just do it," he said grinning. "Jesus kid, I can't do it." I broke into laughter. "That's what I'm trying to tell you." "Oh, I meant just lunch," he said. "Of course you did." I laughed as I turned, then walked to my car. I wondered exactly what Lucas was telling his friends. At least the kid didn't say that he had seen me on line. ------- Chapter 80 On Sunday morning I began to struggle with my future. I had absolutely no idea what I would do next, but I knew that I was tired of process serving. I had made a little money and more than a few good contacts doing it, but by that time it was a bore. Whether Lucas stayed or not was questionable, but I was for sure leaving. As I said earlier, I didn't know what I wanted. I just knew what I didn't want. I did not want to be tied to a schedule any longer. There was a cloud hanging over me since the parking lot incident. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but it was going to be something different. I had enough money, and enough income from my pension, to cover my very small living expenses for a while at least. Since that was the case, why would I want to do something which I no longer enjoyed. I made up my mind that I would not go back to work for 'At Your Service' period. So next I had to decide what to do with the business. Since I had no idea what the value of the business was, or even if it had a value, I called Jen. "Are you sure you want to do this?' she asked. "Yes, I'm sure. So do you know anyone who can tell me what the business is worth? I realize that it might not have any value at all." I said. "Everything has some value. How much is the question," Jen said. "I know a guy, who can tell you, but he will have to see your books." "That's not a problem. My tax guy sends me a yearly summery and the one from last year is about nine months old but he is welcome to see the monthly statements from the bookkeeper as well." I replied. "I'll set it up as soon as possible. I can call him first thing in the morning." "Jen, how do you know this guy?" I was curious more than questioning his ability. "He does this kind of thing for the divorces I file. You can trust him Max," she said. "I didn't doubt it. I just wanted to make sure you weren't leaving town on me." "No such luck," she said. "Got to go. Bob wants to go to the lake and run around on the boat today." "Be careful out there." I said. "I will Miss Paranoia," Jen said. "Is it paranoid, if they really do want to kill you?" I asked joking. In spite of my best intension, I gave the cat another bowl of baby aspirin and milk. I was putting him on the edge of an aspirin OD, so no more aspirin for him for a couple of days. It was a promise I made to myself. When I put the milk down, he came dragging up from the woods. "You have got to stop staying out all night, or this relationship is doomed," I said. The prick still didn't answer me. The limp still looked the same, so I determined that aspirin was not a wonder drug after all. Deep inside I knew that it was a long road back for Mr. Cat, if he ever did make it back. I decided to have lunch in a sit down restaurant for a change. Sunday had always been just another day to me. Just as Thanksgiving had been last week, I thought. Still I was in the mood to put on my best jeans and the new sweater. The one I bought in a real store, not Goodwill, and then go out to lunch. It was only 10AM, so I had time to find a lunch companion. "Lucas, what are you and Gwen doing for lunch," I asked. "We don't have any real solid plans, why?" he asked. "I want to take both of you to lunch." I said. "Let me check with Gwen to be absolutely sure," he said. I waited a couple of minutes. "Okay where do you want to eat?" "How about Steve's?" I asked. "Wow, what's the occasion? You hate that kind of place." Lucas asked. "Oh nothing really, I just felt like celebrate being alive." I admitted. "Well that's an excellent reason for a celebration." he agreed. "So what time?" "You pick it, there are two of you. I can be there anytime." I informed him. "Then, how about 1PM?" "That's just fine. See you there. I'll meet you at the entrance at 1PM." I wanted to be sure we both agreed on exactly what was to happen. I took a shower in my tiny little bathroom. Then I got dressed for my big day out. I really did feel good about myself. Even with my hair at that unmanageable length, I felt good. I hadn't made a decision about what I would do with my hair at the time. It had been growing six months and still was only two and a half inches long. It was too long for that cute butch look, and too short to be at all sexy. It was just a mess. I considered a walk down to the river. It was only about a hundred yards of new growth forest, so it was a manageable walk. When I was in good shape, that is. I was afraid that I was still too weak and shaky to try it just yet. I opted instead for the indoor track at the community college again. My plan was to walk a mile and a half, then go to the marina to just kill the rest of the time before lunch. When I got to the track, I found the building locked up tight, so I drove straight to the marina instead. I sat on the terrace, in my hunting style coat. It was the only warn coat I owned and the only one I wanted to own. I felt like it suited my personality. My dad had called the color of those coats mustard. I suppose it was the color of an old dried up mustard stain. I had hunted all over to find one in my size, and without the leather patch on the shoulder. I didn't need a gun rest. I wasn't planning on doing any skeet shooting. I bought the coat because for the most part they were indestructible. I mean I would have to work at it to wear the damn thing out. The other reason was the red fleece lining. It was just pain cool looking in my opinion. It was chilly on the terrace, but I stayed through two full cups of coffee. I left the marina at 12:30 without having seen Jen or her husband Bob. I was just as happy about that. Jen was my friend and I could stand her husband, but I would just as soon not see them on a Sunday morning. It was always a reminder of our night together. Yes, the three of us naked in Jen's big bed was not a memory I cherished. I arrived at Steve's about ten minutes early. I managed to convince the hostess to find me a cup of coffee. She didn't much like it, but she was willing, even though I looked like I just walked off the farm. It was just my pure charm that convinced her. When the kids, as I thought of them, arrived we went in to lunch. Steve's was the kind of place with real white table clothes. The tables were set with three forks, two spoons and two knives. I totally ignored that and just ate like I would at the Pizza and Pasta Pit. The menu was on a kind of paper which felt like cloth. I refused to look at the prices when I ordered. I ordered a small rib eye steak with no bread or potato. The only other thing I ordered was a small salad. I was still taking it easy on my damaged stomach. The salad might not have been a good idea, but I wanted it, so screw the gas. I probably made everyone feel sorry for me when I waited until the steak came to eat my salad. It was supposed to have been eaten alone, but since I paid for the damn thing. I decided that I would eat it any way I wanted. "So Gwen, how did the show turn out?" I asked. "We finished the first two episodes and they are already on line. Do you want the address, I can email it to you." "No thanks, I was there." I said it smiling as warmly as I could. "The hit count has been very good so far. It will grow every time they post a new segment." Lucas informed me/ "Well if that's a good thing, then I'm glad. That show cost Marty a lot of money." "Not so much, and he called Mike to say how happy he was with the results so far. We haven't really gotten into the good parts yet." Gwen said. "Oh you mean the part where I almost died?" I asked it in passing. "She didn't mean it like that," Lucas said. "Sure she did, and I don't blame her. She is just doing what she does Lucas." I turned my attention to Gwen. "Tell me Gwen, did you know from the start that Mosby was a plant." "Maybe we should go," Gwen said. "Don't go, I didn't invite you here to get into that. I invited you here to give Lucas a choice. To do that, it seems that you need to be part of it." "What kind of choice Boss. Is it going to be the job or Gwen? You already know my answer to that." "No Lucas it isn't drop Gwen or you are fired. That was a tempting idea, but I decided not to do it. The reason I invited you to lunch is that I'm leaving 'At Your Service'. I'm having an appraiser take a look at the company to see if there is anything to sell. I thought I would let you know, so that you and Gwen can decide whether to buy it or not." "Damn that's a shock," Lucas said then he seemed lost in thought a few minutes. Then he added, "I don't have any money." "I am aware of that. If you want it and agree to my terms, you can pay me from the profits." "What are your terms?" he asked. "You do not run bail skips. Just serve the papers. You can still do the computer checks for the insurance company in your spare time. If you are the only one to support, there is enough money in the business for that." "Why not the skips?" he asked. "They are dangerous and you really don't have that kind of training or the personality for it. I know that sounds harsh, but I'm sure Gwen would feel better if you weren't chasing after dangerous and usually violent felons." "Yes I would," Gwen agreed. "Tell me, why you are doing this?" "Well the deal is between me and Lucas, not you. But to be honest, I am bored with the business. It was fun starting it. It was fun making it work, but now I'm bored more than I'm not bored. It's time for me to move on." "What will you do?" Lucas asked. "I have no idea, but I have been having this feeling of impending change for a while now. Something is coming my way I'm sure. There is just a vibe in the air. I know that sounds silly, but it's how I feel." We had been talking and eating. A conversation summary is always much shorter than the real conversation. I watched the two of them trading glances for most of the meal. After I put my debit card into the little folder and handed it back to the waiter, Lucas said. "We will need to talk." "Yeah and you need to know what the appraiser says. I don't plan on keeping anything from you. You need to make an informed decision." "Thank you for this Boss. I had no idea this was coming." Lucas said. "I just decided last night, so I had no idea either." We pretty much left it like that and went our separate ways. On the way home I decided that it was time to get the cat to come closer. I bought a can of whole Icelandic sardines packed in spring water. I didn't think the cat could resist. If he did, I planned to eat them and think of my dad. ------- Chapter 81 The sardines worked sort of. The cat would rush in to take the Sardine, then quickly back off. It was a game that his gimp leg was not suited to, but he seemed to make it work. When I went inside, I gave him the chance to join me, but he refused. I figured that it was his right, so I left him outside. When it gets nasty enough, he might come in, I thought. I spent the afternoon doing research. If I wasn't going to serve court orders, how would I spend my time. I had no idea, so research was in order. Jen had mentioned a few things, for which she could see a need. Of course the body guard things, she always seemed to push me toward those, and something I had never really thought about. A company that specialized in surveillance. Yes it was mostly following husbands and wives to catch them in the act, There were other things as well. People steeling from industrial or construction sites would also be subjects of interest. That sounded about half interesting until I remembered some really long nights staking out a warehouse filed with f18 parts. Some of the parts were going missing and the brass was afraid they might be going to the that day's bad guys. The bad guys of the world were once our friends, so they had f18 aircraft. Now that friendships had change, we no longer supplied parts to them. The black market was the only place to find those parts. That stakeout had cured me of ever wanting to do it again. Ten 12 hour days in a row, to find that one of the guys who worked in the warehouse was smuggling them out in his SUV. Nothing exciting in that at all. He rolled right over, once he knew that he had been caught. Totally boring, so I put that idea on the far back burner. It took two days for the expert to determine the value of 'At Your Service'. While he did his thing, I kept looking for ideas but nothing happened. The most exciting thing was his report. Since the armory was mine and mine alone, the business had no assets worth mentioning. Since he had no idea, if I planned to include them in the sale, the two vehicles were listed separately,. Lucas, Ed and I sat down in Ed's office to discuss the report. "Well I'm not surprised to find how little this company is worth. The expert said that, if I had exclusive contracts, the company would be worth more. Since it was all just goodwill, the company without any of the real property is only worth about ten grand. He based that on a new owner being able to walk in and earn a living." "So Lucas, if you want the business it is yours for five thousand dollars. You can pay it from the profits over a year's time." I explained after a pause to let the value sink in. "If you want the van, get me a price on the Internet from one of those car chart things. You can have it for the lowest price you can find on the net. Low wholesale. trade in. whatever is cheaper. Otherwise it goes to the auction." "I'll take it all. Gwen and I talked about it and the deal is much better than we expected." he informed me. "Well, I hope you two do well with it. Now I'm going back to my cabin and take a nap." The cat and I had formed a working relationship. I fed him, kept him drugged, and he tolerated me. Mostly he didn't destroy my trash. I felt as if it were a good relationship. I still had hopes that he would come inside, when it got cold, but as of that time he had not. The week dragged on and nothing much changed. I tinkered with the idea of having lunch out again the next Sunday, but I didn't want to make a habit of it. I had been walking at the community college gym every day, but hadn't run into that kid Eddie again. It was just as well, I was beginning to feel that strange, stupid things might have happened. On the three week anniversary of the parking lot incident, I marked it by going to the Cop Out for a beer. I even managed a few dances before I got too exhausted. I was about to leave when Blevins moved across the table to whisper something in my ear. The music was so loud, I shook my head to show that I had no idea what he said. Blevins motioned me outside. We left the club through the alley door. "She what do you want Blevins, a blow job in a dirty alley?" I said grinning. "Not tonight, but I'll take a rain check. Word is, you are the best." he said leering at me. "Bullshit, nobody here knows what kind of blow jobs I give," I replied with a smile. "Of course they do, but that isn't what we need to talk about," he said. "So what do we need to talk about?" I asked. "Vladimir Blostovick," he said "What the hell is that, the sir name of Dracula?" I asked with a laugh. "No that's the name of a Moscow policeman. He was assigned as liaison with the task force of Russian crimes in the area." "Okay, what about him? Does he want a blow job in a dirty alley?" I asked with a girlie giggle. "Will you stop with the blow job shit. He said he needs to give you some information. Information that might save your life. You should listen to him. He is a straight up good guy." "Okay tell him to call me." I was suddenly all business. I was still a little paranoid about the Russians. If Vad the impaler had information to keep me in the game a while longer, I sure as hell wanted it. I drove home and doped the cat. Then I got into bed alone with Vlad on my mind. I had to masturbate in order to shut my mind down enough to sleep. The next morning at eight the call came. "Hello Maxine Stone?" The heavily accented voice asked. "Yes are you Vlad the Russian cop?" I asked. "I am, we need to talk," he informed me. "So our mutual friend told me last night. Let's meet?" I suggested. "I could come to your cabin in the woods." he suggested. "Not unless you have a death wish," I replied. I had always known that it was a matter of time before someone planted a GPS device on on the cruiser. There was no way to check it every time I returned to the cabin. "You don't sounds surprised that I know where it is?" he asked. "It was bound to happen, the real question is will you tell anyone else?" I asked, "No, your secret is safe with me." "It for sure will be, if I kill you," I said quietly. "I knew that would be your response. You are exactly as I have been told. We do need to talk. I understand you are partial to meetings at the marina." "Your English is very good. Marina isn't a word one would learn in a crash coarse in English." "Then it is the marina in 30 minutes. I will bring the coffee and rolls," he suggested. "No thanks, I'll bring my own coffee and biscuit, but thanks anyway," I said. "Have it your way," he replied. "I usually do," I informed him. "Make it an hour, I have an errand to take care of on the way. "Very well, one hour at your marina," he agreed. I could have set him straight. It wsn't exactly my marina, but he was close enough. The errand was to stop at the armory in Ed's office. I traded the easy to conceal 9mm for the bigger heavier 10mm pistol. I wore it in the upside down shoulder holster. On my small frame the huge gun shouted, 'This woman is packing." Since that was the idea, it worked out perfectly. Even the large hunting coat couldn't hide it completely. I had no desire to hide it from Vlad the impaler. I slipped the derringer, the same one that had kept me alive in the hospital, into one of the side pockets. I also dropped one of the stun guns, fresh off the charger, into a pocket on the other side of the coat. Since I was all tooled up and out of pockets, I locked up the armory and the office on my way out. My next stop was Hardee's for a biscuit and coffee. I didn't have time to hunt down Helen. I waited outside the marina's office and reception area for just a few minutes. I did not want to be early or late. I just wanted to be right on time for my meeting. Yes I know I'm paranoid. When I got to the terrace, I saw him sitting there. He would have been a tall thin man had he been standing. Even seated he gave the impression of strength. He was pale though, with slicked back light brown hair. He had to be at least fifty, but an in shape fifty, not the way Reverend Archer would look at fifty. "Vlad?" I asked. "Ms Stone," he answered. "My friends, and most of my enemies, call me Max," I replied. "Oh, do you have any living enemies?" he was smiling one of those mysterious smiles. It was the kind meant to make one wonder what the interrogator knew. "One or two I'm sure, but I probably haven't met them yet." I decided to play the arrogant bitch for him. It was obviously what he expected. "Have you ever met this man?" he pushed a picture across the table, even before I opened my coffee. I opened the coffee cup and unwrapped my biscuit, before I took a close look. "No I never saw him," I replied. "How about this one?" The second picture he showed me was of the Russian I had shot a few months before. "Him, I did know for a while. You are well aware of the circumstances I'm sure." "The one you don't recognize is his brother Ivan. When we say crime family in Russia, we are very literal. Anatol and his brother Ivan were enforcers for a Russian gang in Moscow. I tracked them to your country." "Ah you wanted to take them back to Moscow for trail. I'm sorry I had to kill one of them." "No Ms Stone, I came to kill them myself. No extradition, no trials, just a bullet in the brain. The fact that you killed one makes my job here easier. I would have preferred to have pulled the trigger myself, but somehow I'm sure Ivan knew it was coming so that is enough." "He knew at the last second. I saw in his eyes that he would have begged, if he had the chance. He didn't," I informed him. "Good for you, give him a chance and he would have killed you while he begged for his life." Vlad informed me. "So is the brother the warning you told Blevins about?" I asked. "Yes Ivan will kill you." "I understood that the Russians had declared it a clean hit, and not worth coming after me," I explained. "Yes the management did, but that isn't going to stop Ivan. This week, next week, next year or five years, however long it takes is how long he will wait. It is as you say in your country, a blood feud." "Well thanks for the warning, I'll keep an eye out for him." "Wouldn't you rather neutralize the threat?" he asked. "Possibly, but first I want to know what is true and what is bullshit. I doubt that you are above turning me into your private assassin" "I'm not, but do your homework. I am confident that you will find I have told you the truth." He handed me a card with a phone number hand written on it. "That's the number of my burn phone. Call me and we will solve this problem together. I will not put you as the goat." I understood that he had just promised not to use me as bait I would have a chance to take the matter into my own hands. It was all I could ask, if indeed Ivan was the bad guy that Vlad portrayed him to be... I was about to get overloaded. I still have Davenport to deal with, if he ever crawled out of his hole. ------- Chapter 82 Since it was early, I drove to what used to be my office. I supposed that I would be forced to think of it as Lucas's office from that time forward. I saw Ed's big sedan and Lucas's Hyundai in the parking lot. Since the van was gone, I was guessing that Luke drove his car to the office, then used the van to make the deliveries. It made sense, since the van had the delivery signs. Once I opened the door, I realized how wrong I had been. Gwen sat at my old desk reading a magazine. Ed had his feet up. He appeared to be sleeping. I entered very quietly. I probably would have left, if Gwen hadn't seen me when I opened the door. "Is Luke out working," I asked. "Yes, he said he would be back about three. That's a few hours from now, can I help you." Gwen asked. "I needed Lucas to look something up for me on the net. I'll have him do it tomorrow. Just have him call me later," I suggested. "You know I'm a pretty good researcher. It is one of the many things I did for PBS." "I need the URLs of anything about this guy, Vladimir Blostovick. What can you do for me?" I asked. "Is he Russian?" Gwen asked me. "Moscow police department or whatever they call it there." "I'll email you all the sites that mention him," Gwen suggested. "Fair enough," I replied. "How should I bill it," she asked. When she saw my look of surprise, she added. "You know, who should I bill for my time." "Oh exactly what are you planning to charge me per hour?" "For research I think $50 an hour is fair, don't you." "I'll tell you what, don't bother yourself, but do explain to Lucas that we haven't signed any contracts yet. This is still my company until we do. I won't be paying you for research now or ever." "Oh God, I didn't mean to piss you off," Gwen said. "Sure you did honey, you just didn't think it through. Tell Lucas, I don't go back on my word, but he will not see me in this office again. If I want to pay for research, I will go to a service company, not a friend." I turned and headed for the door. Yes I was pissed. "Don't forget to tell Lucas," I said angrily as I headed for the door. "If she does, I won't," Ed said from his desk. Our loud voices must have awakened him. "If you don't come back, I'm going to sell all your crap from the vault." Ed said that to remind me I had things to get, and to try to pour some water on the fire. It was too little, too late. "I'll be back for my stuff, when no one else is here," I replied sharply. "Give me a week before you change the locks." "Won't be no changing of Locks. I still own this place." Ed shouted just before the door closed. I sure would have enjoyed hearing the conversation that would take place between Ed and Lucas. Not to mention between Lucas and Gwen. Did I want to cancel the sale and look for another buyer, you bet your ass I did. Would I? No. Even with all the drama, I still needed to know about Vlad. I called Blevins. "Okay what do you know about Vlad?" I asked when he picked up his cell. "Not much, the FBI vetted him. If there is anything worth knowing, they know it. I shared a room with him at the compound. He seems to be a nice enough guy, and all business. That's all I can tell you." "Come on Blevins, I need to know what kind of history he was with the Russian Mob." "Why?" he asked. "This is one time, you don't need or want to know." I informed him. "I know he hates them, or at least he says he does." Blevins answered. "You might try your old buddy Anya. She probably has access to his file." "Give me her number, I know you have it." I demanded. Blevins read off a bunch of numbers and I copied them down in my little investigator's notebook. I called the bitch, and after a few almost pleasantries, I got her talking. "I don't have it in my hand, but I have read his file," Anya informed me. "Why do you need to know?" "He has asked me out on a date. I want to know whether he has a wife and five kids back home or not. It wouldn't hurt to know, if the Russian I shot was his best buddy, back home." I suggested. "Strange coincidence there, or maybe it isn't a coincidence at all." Any said. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "Okay try to follow along. Your boyfriend Vladamir is a Moscow cop. They say he was one who worked on the organized crime investigation. He got a little too close, so they threaten him. He didn't stop, so they kill his wife. Then they let him know that his daughter would be next. He transfered off the case, but they still kill his daughter, because he refuses to give them information about the investigation. He claims that to have done so would have gotten several undercover cops killed." So Vladamir went back to work on the case. He had nothing to lose by that time. The mob shipped the killers to the states to prevent them from talking. Vlad had no idea where they went. At least not until you shot one of them in the face. All the publicity caused the FBI to come in and form the joint task force. The Russians offer up an expert. That expert just happened to be Vladimir" "Vlad of course?" I agreed "He came over and worked his ass off. He helped us more than any other asset. The man knows the mob guys inside out. It was personal of course, but since we weren't in the field, nobody paid much attention." "So, he just has a thank you dinner in mind. I can do that." I commented to ease her mind. "Be careful Maxine. Vladamir is as much a loose cannon, as you are." Anya said. "I'll keep that in mind." I said it into the phone, then stepped from the parking lot into the cruiser. From my old office I headed to the sign painter's shop. I gave Vlad and his project a lot of thought, while the sign man ripped the signs from my cruiser. Then he wiped it down to remove all the glue residue. While he was at it, he reinstalled my rear seat. It was just a matter of positioning it and putting a couple of bolts back. I had kept them so there was nothing to it really. I just wasn't up to the struggle necessary to reposition the seat. I left with the signs, and fifty bucks gone. It was worth it. After my encounter with Gwen, I wanted nothing more to do with my old company. I arrive home at 2PM, more or less. The cat came limping from the woods. He appeared to move a little faster, even though he still limped noticeably. "So, how did you spend your morning?" I asked. He didn't answer, so I just went on as if he had. "Me, I got an offer to be bait for a killer. No, I don't know if I'm going to do it or not. Yes I know Davenport is our number one priority, I won't be forgetting that." I opened the door to invite the cat inside. He chose to turn his nose up at me and walk away. Someday, I thought as I walked into the house and shut the door. I sat at my desk in front of the computer to try to think things through. So if the FBI had vetted Vlad and found him genuine, I supposed that should be good enough for me. It wasn't of course, but it was a start. I tried to be logical with the computer thing, but I knew that I was out of my league. So I tried thinking of it as I would, if there were no computer. Where would I look for verification of Vlad's story, if he had been the one to tell me instead of Anya. "A story like that should have made the papers. At least parts of it. He was a Moscow cop, so the Moscow paper." I checked Google and got the name of the Moscow Times. It was the only English language newspaper in Moscow. I spent the next hour entering the names of Vlad, Ivan, and Anatol into the search block. Sure as hell there were stories about all of them. The connection was never made, but it did tell me that Vlad was a cop, like he said. Then told me that his wife and daughter were murdered at different times. The stories also told me that Anatol and Ivan were brothers and suspects in mob activities. In other words I was able to verify Anya's story for myself. Hell, I was proud of myself for figuring it out. Of course Lucas could probably break into the Moscow police files to get Vlad's current status. I wasn't sure what his official status was at that moment. I did know that I didn't really give a crap. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, I thought. I had a feeling that Vlad felt the same. I gave a lot of thought to calling Vlad, since we needed to talk, but I just didn't feel up to that kind of conversation just yet. I knew I should get that over with, but a conversation with Vlad was not what I needed at that moment. I needed to have, if not a great sexual encounter, at least a good one. Nothing heavy, just a chance to touch someone, and have them touch me. I figured my best bet was the Cop Out. I took another shower before I headed out to dinner. After dinner the Cop Out would be on my agenda. I felt pretty good about it as I locked the cabin door. I had checked the cameras, so I felt confident that the Cat and I were alone, in spite of Vlad knowing where the cabin was located. I made a mental note to have the cruiser scanned for the GPS locater chip. I also made a note to change my cell phone as well, I knew that it was the most likely source of the trace. It was time to get off the grid again. Vlad showed up at the pizza and pasta pit. "So have you finished vetting me?" he asked. "Are you stalking me?" I asked. "Not that I would mind all that much. You are kind of cute in that faggy European way." He burst into laughter then said, "No, I'm not stalking you. I needed to eat and I checked your location and decided to join you." "You could have just called to ask," I informed him. "Yes, but I get fewer rejections, if I just show up." Vlad said. "I can't imagine anyone rejecting you. There is something so sexy about a stalker." I said it smiling. "If you stay, you are going to have to pick up the check." "Fair enough, how much could one of these awful pizza things cost?" he asked. "Well mine is going to be about five bucks, but the two I am taking to the Cop Out will run your bill up to about twenty bucks. That is, if you don't eat." "Well I think I can handle that, but I might need a loan, if we are going to drink afterward. I'm on unpaid leave." "Save that till tomorrow. We can hash all of the details out tomorrow. I mean all of them, so no shop talk tonight." I said sternly. "No shop talk," he agreed. As I munched on pizza he asked, "So you ever been married?" "Three times, two divorces one dead in Iraq." I replied. "Sorry I asked, and of course for your loss," he said woodenly. "It's been a while," I admitted. "I heard you were in Afghanistan?" He made it a question. "Yes, very memorable." I admitted. "I was there in the 80's," he said. "Seems we never learn from our own mistakes, or anyone else's either." I suggested. "There is a rumor that when the war first started, your George Bush called Putin to ask about Afghanistan. Putin said, "The president who sends troops there, will be a broken man, before the Taliban is broken." "So he fought the war he could win, and left Afghanistan for the new kid on the block." I suggested. "That's how we see it to," he replied. "So, are you going to tag along to the Cop Out?' I asked after we had finished the plain cheese pizza. "As you say here, if I'm paying for the pizza, you bet your butt," he said. "Actually we say ass." he looked confused. "I say, you can bet your ass, not butt." "Oh, then you can bet your pretty ass," he said it with a smile. I figured he was straight arrow, but something was wrong. His English was far too good. We took two pizzas with everything on them to the Cop Out. Blevins was glad to see Vlad, Obviously they had not only shared a room at the compound where they worked, but were friends as well. Vlad and Blevins both refused to dance with me, so I danced with a couple of EMTs. I could feel their hard cocks against my belly and it had the usual effect on me. I began searching for someone gentle to take me home and to bed. It was getting late when I finished the dance with the Married EMT and his hard cock. Someone tapped me on the shoulder. "Remember me?" the voice said as I turned to him. "It's dark in here, is that you Eddie?" I asked. "Yes," he said putting his arms around me to force me to dance again. ------- Chapter 83 "Eddie, you might want to take your hands off my ass," I said into his ear. The jukebox was always loud at the cop out. "I don't want to do that," he said. "You really don't want me to either." "Eddie, I'm in no shape for wild sex. I just got out of the hospital slightly over a week ago." "I know all that and I don't care. I just want to be with you. We can find something that we can do." His grin was wide enough so that I saw it even in the dark. "Oh really, and what did you have in mind?" I asked. "You were a teenager once, what did you do before you could fuck?" he asked. "You know damn well what I did. Most likely you have done the same." I said. "Then let's go climb into the backseat of your car and do it again." he suggested. "Come on it will be fun to pretend you are a kid again." "Not in the parking lot of the Cop Out," I said. "Aw come on," he begged. "Not here," I reiterated. "Then let's go somewhere else." he demanded as he held me tight against him. I could feel his hard cock and knew that I would go along with almost anything. "Where?" I asked breathlessly. "I live with my folks," he said. "I can't take you to my place." I explained. "Then out in the parking lot," he said with a laugh. 'No," I replied before he began to grind his hard cock against my belly. I was in no condition to refuse him. "Yes, let's go." He said. "I need my coat," I whispered. "Then get it, but be quick." he demanded "Got to go guys," I said as I retrieved my coat from the back of my chair. "Isn't he a bit young?" Vlad asked. "If I was planning to keep him sure, but I just want to barrow him for an hour or so." I smiled at him. "Call me in the morning." I waited for him to nod his agreement, then I left. Eddie took my hand, but in the end I had to lead him to my cruiser. Once we were in the back seat, he tried to smother me with kisses, and choke me with his tongue. I didn't mind at all. I not only cooperated, I gave back as good as I got. We were both gasping for air before his hand found its way to my breast. He massaged my left breast through my sweater. It felt wonderful, but I knew there were even better things to come. Sure enough he slipped his left hand under my sweater and massaged my right breast. At the same time his right hand went under my sweater to run up and down my back. His hands were softer than I would have liked, but I wasn't about to complain. I was moving ever closer toward an orgasm, when he placed my hand on his naked cock. I had no idea how he managed to get it out of his pants without me noticing, but there it was. It was warm and smooth. It was also hard and slippery. I was at an awkward angle but I still managed to stroke it well enough for his hips to being moving. He was trying to fuck my hand and it felt wonderful. I released his cock long enough to unbutton and lower the zipper on my jeans. I forced one of his hand into my panties. I wasn't even sure which of his hands it was. I twisted around so that I was straddling his legs. I was able to reach his cock while I made way for him to reach me as well. We rocked back and forth on each others hands until I felt him his warm sperm first in my hand then on my sweater. He shot a huge load onto me. The warm sticky feeling helped me to get to my own orgasm. It had to, when he came he stopped moving his fingers inside me. I reached down to manipulate my clit to finish. It was a huge relief to cum with him. After I came I collapsed onto his chest. Both of us had our clothes still on, but twisted in all kinds of strange ways. It took me several long seconds for my breathing to get under control. It had not returned to normal by any means, but I could at least get enough oxygen to my body so that I calmed down a little. "God you are wonderful," he said. Be sure you tell Lucas that, I wanted to say, but I didn't. I simply said. "Thank you, you weren't too bad either. I got off him carefully because I was in a little pain from the incision. I wasn't sure if it was the surgery or the knife wound that stung a little, but it didn't matter. I decided to forgo any more exertion and just drive home. Once I was standing outside the car, with my clothes reasonably back to normal, I said, "Get your clothes on and go home Eddie." "God I want to go home with you," he said. "Not a chance," I replied. I was back in control by that time. "Alright," he said. The wet sweater was uncomfortable during the drive home. I did all the security checks before I opened the gate. I was sure that Vlad would show up one day, just to prove he could. Evidently it wasn't the night for it. "Hello there Mr. Cat," I said as I got out of the car. "How was your evening?" He didn't answer. "I know you are the strong silent type. You have had your dinner and your aspirin so I got nothing for you. Except the offer of a warm room and a soft bed. How about it." The cat looked at me and walked back to the woods. He didn't even wait till I left. He wanted me to know that he could resist me. "Playing hard to get aren't you. Well it won't work." I called after him. I was sure glad that the sweater was cotton. At least I could get the Asian chicks to wash it. I would hate to take it into the dry cleaners and imagine the Bill Clinton jokes in the back room. I fell into bed exhausted. I was awakened in the middle of the night by one of those freak winter thunder and lightning storms. There was a noise outside my door that sounded like a baby crying. I picked up the 10mm, which I had been carrying since my meet with Vladimir, then I moved to the door. When I swung it open a streak shot past me. It took me more than a second to realize that I didn't need to hit the floor or shoot at the Cat. He had decided to come inside away from the flash of lightning and the boom of thunder. He probably wasn't thrilled by the prospect of the cold rain either. I found him a dirty sweatshirt to curl up in, since he still wouldn't come near me. When I was pretty sure he was comfortable, I climbed back into bed. I could actually hear his breathing. It was fast and shallow. He was frightened. "Don't worry sport, you are safe with me. Well maybe not totally, but trust me a storm is the least of your worries, if you hang around with me." I smiled, then turned away. When I awoke the next morning, I knew something was wrong. I could no longer hear the Cat breathing and he hadn't moved. I moved to him afraid if what I would find. I touched him for the first time and he didn't move. Rigor mortis had set in on him. Before I could shed tears there was work to do. I wrapped him in the sweatshirt, then carried him to a spot at the edge of the woods. I laid him gently down on the pine needles. I was surprised by how light he was. He seemed to weigh almost nothing. I knew from my previous explorations of my surroundings, that a shovel and a few other yard tools were stored under the cabin. I found the rusty shovel and even with the sting of the incision in my belly, I dug a shallow grave. Once the cat was in the ground, I took time to cry. At least his last night was warm and dry, I thought. I had finished depressing chore and sitting at my miserable little table with my third large cup of coffee, when the call came. I looked at the screen to see the phone number. I didn't recognize it, but I knew who it was. "Marina one hour, come alone." I said cryptically. "Right," Vlad said and hung up. I tooled up before my drive to the marina. The tools weren't those for the garden. I also put on a thermal shirt to keep my core body parts warm. Since the cat had long gone, I removed his empty milk and aspirin bowl from the concrete pad before I left the cabin. It was yet another sad note to start a miserable day. I planned to do the meeting on the terrace of the marina's office building. The terrace overlooked the lake. Anyone with a long range mike, would be seen on the lake for sure. It was impossible to eavesdrop using that kind of device from no other angle. It as as secure a meeting sight as any. I stopped at Hardees again on the way to the meeting. Breakfast and even more coffee was in order I knew. It was going to be a lousy meeting, since the day had begun that way. "So, you have completed your research?" Vlad asked. when I joined him on the terrace. "It wasn't hard, you must have been the darling of the Moscow press. I mean they seem to have hung on your every word." "There aren't that many honest policemen in Moscow." he informed me. "Okay, let's get right to it. I get that it's personal with you and Ivan. I get that you could probably never have found him in this country without the FBI task force. I even get why you want to use me for bait. What I don't get, is why I should go along with such a stupid idea." "For one thing, he will come for you one day, just as I have come for him. In Russia family is everything, No by God, it is the only thing you can trust. So to kill a murderer's family member is the most dangerous thing a person can do." "Yeah, I get the blood feud thing. But I have a more immediate threat. One I need to deal with." "Ah Earnest Davenport, I did some checking for you." With that he tossed a file on the plastic picnic table. "I have friends too you know." When I opened it, there was Davenport's face staring up at me. I read the report that said Davenport had boarded a plane for Eastern Europe, the next morning after the parking lot incident. He boarded the plane in Washington DC, so he had put it in the wind immediately, when the call didn't come through. "What the hell was he doing going to Warsaw Poland?" I asked. "Poland is so cash starved, that it has become a haven for dirty money. Davenport had been hiding money there, as well as in one of those island sanctuaries. The island money went for bail, but with the other money, he can live quite well in Eastern Europe." "Leave it to that shit to find a way to screw me," I said. "Only for a while. First you help me kill Ivan, and then I will help you kill Davenport. It's like that movie, where they trade murders, only we both kill them." Vlad suggested. "So, you think I'm capable of committing murder?" I asked. "If I did not think that, I would not be here." he informed me. "Plus you get the best of me, this one time. Only one of them is on my kill list, both should be on yours." "Where is Ivan?" I asked. "I know that's why you were part of the task force. You wanted them to find Ivan for you, so you fed them all the information they needed. So where is he now?" "You are such a suspicious bitch," he said with a laugh. "Ivan is in someplace called Kentucky or West Virginia. He goes back and forth between them for his employer." "Some kind of courier?" I asked. "Exactly a courier." he agreed. "And you have a plan? I assume." I asked. "Well I think I should give him a reason to come back here. Something to motivate him to come visit you." Vlad said. "No way, I'm not going to sit around waiting for some asshole to shoot me in the back." I said. "I suppose you have a better plan?" he asked. "If you can get the intel, we can hijack his ass and frame the local thugs." I suggested. "It would be a logistical nightmare," he assured me. "Well having Ivan and a couple of his thug friends in my hometown, doesn't seem like anything but a nightmare to me. I just won't do it." I admitted. "Then I will lure him out without your help." Vlad said. "You need to rethink that. I doubt there is anyone else in the world who would be willing to participate in this little venture. So we need to find a plan we can both live with." I suggested. "I'm not above being bait, but I want it to happen immediately and not in my home town. I have killed too many people here." "I have a pipeline into the FBI's investigation. I can get all the latest information. We can sit down and take a hard look at it together." "Since you know where I live, get it and let's make a plan." I suggested. ------- Chapter 84 The number of boats being loaded into the city lake convinced me that there was something different about that day. There was, it was Saturday. I had not realized that the time had passed so quickly, but it had. Enough mundane chores had occupied my time during the week so that days just slipped by while I tried to find some new directions. Realizing that it was Saturday gave me an idea. It was time for me to finish cleaning out the office. but only if it was empty. I had no desire for another encounter with Gwen so soon. Of them all, only Ed interested me. In my current mood I wasn't sure that I wanted to see him either. Ed's parking lot was empty, even the van was gone. I parked the cruiser near the door, so that loading the tools of my trade would be easier. I wished that I had planned better. If I had, I could have taken a blanket off the bed to use as a wrapper for the long guns. I remembered that since it was almost winter, I would need more blankets, so I restarted the cruiser. I drove the two or three miles to Wal-mart. I did my weekly shopping while I was in the store. I almost forgot the blanket, but I remember it just in time. Then it was back to Ed's office. When I pulled in the second time, Ed's black sedan was parked by the door. Since it was Saturday, I parked beside it but far enough away so that loading the guns and bike wouldn't be a problem. "Well hello Ed," I said as I entered the office using my key. "I thought you might be in today," he said as an answer. "I hadn't planned on it, but I realized that it was Saturday. Since I was already out, it seemed a good time to pick up the tools." "What kind of mood are you in?" he asked. "I'm depressed. The stray cat finally came into the cabin last night, and died there. I had to bury him this morning." "Shit Maxine I'm sorry, but I've got more bad news for you." "Go ahead and hit me with it Ed. It's the right day for it." "Don't bother to load your shit," "Why not?" I asked. "You would just have to move it again. Your landlord's mother decided to move her sister into the cabin." "You are kidding me?" I said getting even more depressed by the minute. "She called me yesterday, but I didn't have the heart to tell you. You had so much other shit to deal with." "I'll just be fucked," I said. "Yeah, it gets worse. You don't have a lease so she is only giving you a week to get out. She wants you out by next Sunday." "Shit Ed, I'll have to move into a fucking motel." I said it angrily. "Maybe not, I know some people with places for sale. It's a lousy market right now." "Well I hate to ask, but can I leave the guns here?" I knew his answer, but I had to ask. "That's what I said wasn't it? Just leave them till you find a place." "What about Lucas and Gwen?" "What about them. If they don't like it, they can leave. I expect them to anyway. Gwen is too classy for a converted service station." "That's up to them, I'm out of the business now. We sign the sales papers sometimes next week. Jen is supposed to call me when it is done." "Max, i'm sorry you decided to sell, but frankly you lasted longer than I thought. It's really a boring business. It's a lot like bail bond." Ed suggested. "Yeah, I know." I replied. "I guess I'll go home and kick the fucking walls out." "Yeah, but don't do that. I don't want to bail your ass out of jail for something that stupid." Ed said. Instead of having Vlad help me decide where to store the weapons, I would have to sit and listen to him talk about murder. Damn, life was a shit sandwich and you didn't even get mustard, I decided. "This place is a dump," Vlad said. "I like it. It reminds me of home." "Well don't get settled in. I have to move. The guy who owns the place is doing a ten year bit for something or other, but his mother decided to sell it. I put in an offer, but then she decided to move her sister in. I have to be gone in a week." "As you would say, that just sucks," he said seriously. "Tell me about it. Right in the middle of Ivan and Davenport, I have to find a new home." I stopped talking to take a long sip of coffee, then added. "Let's get down to it. How do we kill this prick and get away with it?" "Killing him is the easy part. Finding him is difficult. He does not travel alone and he keeps no schedule." Vlad said. "Everyone keeps a schedule, we just don't know what it is. Like he has some chick he screws every other Wednesday night, at even numbered hours," I said smiling. "Okay, he has a schedule but we don't know. So what do we do?" "What does he deliver and how does he do it?" I asked. "The FBI says it is counterfeit prescription drugs. OxyContin and Vicodin seem to be popular with counterfeiters." "They would be easy to transport and probably easier to get than heroine or crack. The Russians wouldn't have to deal with Drug cartels. I bet they sell crank as well." I suggested. "Damn I wish we had a board to put this on. Do not put anything about this in your computer and neither will I. If they kill one of us, let's not leave a trail to the other one?" I suggested. "I agree," Vlad said. After a little thought he added, "So the packages would be small and easy to hide. He could make the delivery in anything." "No sense trying to follow him If we could find him to follow, we could just pop him with a sniper rifle." I suggested. "I agree. We need to find him at one end of the supply chain or the other. Then just take him out." Vlad said. "I agree, but then we have to get away with it. I suggest we find him at the delivery point. Then we can kill him in a way that makes it look like a delivery gone bad. I would love to use an IED, but that wouldn't look like the country boys popped him." "First things first. We need to find out where they deliver the goods." Vlad suggested. "Okay, we can't find Ivan, but can we find who takes delivery of his shit." "Oh I'm sure we can." Ivan said, "but then what. If we torture him, he won't be able to make the pick up and we lose Ivan anyway." "But Vlad, the boys in Harlan County don't know me." I said. "You find out who is buying the shit and where he is, and I'll work him." "So we are definitely going to take the fight to them?" he asked. "Yes," I said. "I don't have any firearms in this country," he said seriously. "Not to worry, we will find you something." I said it with a smile. "So, go see your Fed contact and get us a name." "I'll meet you tomorrow with more information. At the marina again?" he asked. "Sure why not, tell me, was it the GPS in the phone that you used to find me?" "Yes, a friend got me your number, then I used the child finder application on my smart phone." "I was afraid of that. It is way too easy." "Not to worry, what you do dear is get a burn phone and have your calls forwarded to it. They can trace only for the phone number they know. So he traces your phone to the office. But your call is forwarded to a phone you have at your high school sweethearts house across town." "Hey, let me rob just one cradle and I never hear the end of it." I said. It would have been better. if I could have laughed, but I was too depressed. After Vlad left I called Ed. "Hey Ed, did you find me a new place?" I asked when he came on the phone. "Maxine it has been two hours since you left. I haven't even had time to look. If worse comes to worse, move back to Jen's till I can find you something. You don't have so much stuff that you can't get it into a small storage unit." "Ed, shake the bushes please. I do not want to go back to Jen's house." I said seriously. When Ed was off the line, I realized that I missed the cat. I had filled some of my down time worrying about him. So now the down time just lay heavy on me. It was early Saturday evening and I was bored. I almost called one of my previous lovers. I had plenty to choose from, but decided I didn't want to take a step backwards. If I took a step back I wanted it to be with Mosby. She was gone of course, so it wasn't going to happen. The thought of the Cop Out didn't excite me at all. I had been there and done that the night before. I watched a couple of TV shows on line that I had missed. It wasn't much but it did pass a little time. I pushed the phone for Archer's office number. I didn't expect to find him in, I just wanted to get a little information. I knew Jennifer was trying to get Julie released to Hazelwood so obviously the Reverend had managed to round up the funding for it. "Hello this is Maxine Stone and it is Saturday at 6PM more or less. Let me know if you were able to get Helen's Julie transfered to Hazelwood. I'm curious. You can call me on Monday, I'm going to be around I think." I managed to get it all in before the second beep. "Damn, I miss that old cat," I said to the empty room. "I have got to get out of here." I started the cruiser, then rode to the gate, but the gate's remote didn't work. The last person to use the gate had been Vlad. I was sure that he had done something, so I called his cell phone. "Yes, Maxine," he said. "What the hell did you do to my gate?' I almost shouted into the phone. I was about two seconds from bursting into tears. "It won't open?" he asked. "Of course it won't open. Why else would I call you?" "It will take me ten minutes to get there. I think I can fix it in a couple of minutes. If not, I can open it by hand I am sure. "It's been fifteen minutes," I said angrily when he arrived. "Easy Maxine," he said that as he pointed something that looked like my remote opener except that it had several more buttons. It took him a few minutes to find the right combination of buttons to make it work again. Before I let him off the hook I tried my remote several times. "Okay what the hell did you do?" I asked. "I forgot to return your gate to it's original settings." "You re-programed my gate?" I almost shouted. "Yes and I'm sorry I didn't put it back, now calm down. It isn't the worst thing anyone ever did to you." "No but it's scary how easy all this is for you." "In Moscow we don't have the same rules as your police do here." He said it as if it explained everything. "Let me buy you dinner to make up for the inconvenience." "Fucking A, it's the least you can do." I said. ------- Chapter 85 I took a look around the restaurant. Then I turned to Vald and said, "I thought you were on unpaid leave?" "I am, I have a little money, so I treat myself as well as I can." he replied. "Graft pretty good in Moscow, is it?" I asked. "I never took a penny from anyone to do or not do my duty." he replied with a smile. "However things get lost now and then." "I do hope the items you found belonged to the bad guys?" It was a question and he knew it. "To the worst of them. After my wife and daughter died, I decided they owed me." Vlad said. "Of course they owed you. The bad guys should be the ones who pay for the cops." I said it thankful that there just wasn't much money floating around the base housing units or who knows. A retired military policeman might not be as well setup as a Moscow drug copper, but it might have been better than the small pension I got. Would I have done it, who knows. "So I can stop worrying about the cost of this little adventure." "I fully expect for us to find a way to make them pay. If we can't, then I will absorb the cost. However, there is always loose money, where there are drug traffickers. "And if they were dealing in kiddie porn like they were here?" I asked. "Then there are access codes to off shore accounts. Sometimes they need a little persuading to make me the beneficiary, but it can be accomplished." "Did you ever turn one loose for the numbers?" I asked. "You are moving from found money to extortion. Are you positive that you weren't involved in anything that got your family killed." Yes it was cruel, but I suddenly had a feeling Vlad wasn't exactly a white knight. "I was a very honest and as you say straight cop until that happened. After that, I decided to hurt them anyway I could. It hurts the boss, I can't reach, when I confiscate his money. The true meaning of socialism. Take from those who have more than they need, and give to those who need more than they have. But I assure you no one who I could have put in jail ever bought his freedom. Some even paid more than they would have if they went to trail." "There are an awful lot of us who need more than we have," I suggested. "Which is why socialism only works when we can control that numbers. Not to worry Maxine, you will never be one who can be controlled." "Glad that you recognize it," I said. "What I really recognize is that we need a serious drink. I do not drink and drive an automobile, so would you like to come back to my hotel room, or should we retreat to your cabin again." "Since you treat yourself well, and I don't, lets do your hotel." I suggested. "Good, I'm sure that the bed there is much larger than the one in your cabin," he observed. "After the steak, we need to find a liquor store. I don't like Vodka." I admitted. "Ah Tennessee sour mash sippin' liquor, I presume?" he asked. "Of course, Jack Daniels Black Label, since you are buying." I waited a full minute before I went on. "I have to warn you though, I am still a bit tender from the surgery, so there definitely won't be any wild sex in your future." "Well maybe not with you," He said with a hearty laugh. I laughed as well, though I wasn't quite sure why. It was 9PM when we arrived at Vlad's hotel. He was staying in the nicest of the Tryon's Downtown Hotels. It was the hotel that specialized in upper middle class and higher weddings, and other events. Of course, if you had limited space, they would put your brother or sister up for a few days, should they decide to visit unannounced. "So," Vald began, when I had my drink in hand. "How old were you the first time?" "My first boy was when I was 15," I replied. "No, I mean when you killed your first man," he said smiling. "I know you don't talk about those kinds of things. People just wouldn't understand, so I'm asking." "I was twenty, he was trying to get onto our base outside San Salvador. Kid was trying to drive a car through my road block. I had nightmares for a year," I said honestly. "Fortunately there were local's shooting as well. They got the credit and the abuse, I got transfered out of the country. We were all thrilled. From that I got my first lesson about how things work. It isn't what you do that counts, it's what people think you do, for which you must account. I was not a hero, but I also didn't go to jail. It seemed like a fair exchange." "I was fourteen, a drunken man tried to rob my mother of her pension check. I stabbed him with a sharp broom handle. I doubt anyone would have even bothered about it, if I had not stabbed him over twenty times. I was tired of being threatened, and I was tired of my mother being abused. It all ended that night. I learned that being willing to kill, wins one as much respect as actually doing the deed. People knew that I could kill, so they found others to torment." He said smiling at me yet again. "Sounds reasonable." I commented. "After I did it, people either wanted me around, or they ran from the room screaming, when I entered." "Not really," he demanded. "No, but it was strange, once it happened, I began getting assigned to places where it might happen again. It was like killing was a disease and had to be kept with those already contaminated. It didn't happen often, but they kept putting me where it was possible. When they ran out of shit holes, I did tours on stateside bases near high crime areas." "Me, it was the Russian Army. I was with the troops that invaded Afghanistan, before your country ever heard of it. I did things there no man should be expected to do. That time did something to me that never went away. It taught me something that is universal.only the loser gets judged. Never lose, and you never face judgment day." "Were you Spetnaz?" I asked. "No, they are the worst of the worst. I was a sniper, interrogator and reconnaissance operative. I was in the real war. They were involved in trying to break the will of the people to resist. It was truly ugly." He paused a long time, so we both finished out drinks, then began another. His drink was almost straight vodka with just the touch of water from the melting ice. Mine was three ounces of JD and one ounce of real coca cola for the sugar. "How many?" he asked. "I'm not going there, I don't want to think about that." I said it shaking my head to make sure he knew that it was my final word on the subject. "Do you usually tell people that?" I asked it because I was curious. I had never told anyone. "To be honest, Maxine, I have no idea. It was a real shooting war in Afghanistan for me. I threw a lot of shots into the side of the mountain. I have no idea, how may or if I killed anyone at all. Not knowing probably helps me sleep." "Yeah, I fired a lot of rounds into empty windows with no idea, if I hit anything or not. I like your answer. I think from now on I will just say I don't know and leave it at that. My answer is too complicated." "So what's the closest you ever came to being killed." he asked after several more minute of silence. I could tell he was reliving some of his moments on the edge. "They tell me this last one was close, but I don't remember it. The one that made me think I would die any minute was the Mendez brother jamming his cock down my throat and telling me I was going to strangle on it. If Blevins hadn't showed up, I would have died there." "He tells it a little different," Vlad said. "He says you knew that they would torture and possibly kill you, but that you did it anyway. According to him you did it, just to get them all killed or jailed." "I say tomato, he says tomato ... So you gonna show me your scars?" I asked after several more sips of my drink. "I'll show you mine only, if you show me yours," he said. "This is just like a scene from Jaws. you go first" "What is that a Movie?" Vlad asked. "Oh yeah, but you got to go first. Stop stalling." I demanded again. He removed his shirt. I saw the round scar that only a bullet creates. "He pointed to the scar an inch below his right nipple. "Shot with my own Tokamak TT-33. It was a woman, don't ask." he said laughing. "Now you." Since I still wasn't wearing a bra, when I took my top off, both my belly scars were visible as well as my boobs. The two year old white one and the red one with the dots where the staples had been were clearly visible. "Nasty," he commented. "The white one is and IED. A nice little Afghan roadside souvenir. The red one was from Davenport's thug. I couldn't get the bomb builder, but by God I will get Davenport." I said it with a smile. "Oh, of that there is no doubt." With that he pulled off his pants. I whistled before I got a good look at a really long and wide scar. It had to be a burn scar. "What you call Napalm from our own jet. Stupid fly pilots, they killed more of us than the enemy." He took a long drink then said, "You?" I took the jeans off. I stood there naked a moment, then I turned and lowered my panties to expose my butt. "Sat on a hot stove when I was eight," I said laughing. "What about that bullet scar on your arm?" he asked. "Twenty two pistol my partner shot me." I laughed. "We were working this drug smuggler. The smuggler thought I was his slut ho. When he found out I was an air police undercover working his little operation, he took an instant dislike to me. He and a buddy were using our planes coming into McGuire AFB to bring in Heroine from Afghanistan. Since he didn't really want to spend his best years playing prom date for an even badder dude in Leavenworth, he decided to shoot me, My partner yells 'you slut bitch' then he grabs the bad guys pistol and pops me. While everyone is laughing at me as I'm rolling around the floor in pain, enough time passes for the good guys to rush in. Because I took that pea size slug, instead of getting one Air Force Lieutenant, we got three Air Force Personnel and a whole civilian gang's distribution network." Vlad nodded, then asked. "Leavenworth is a penitentiary?" "The federal pen for GI's gone wild," I replied. "And did he?" Vald asked. "No, my partner gave him back his .22 and during the raid, he raised him a 357. Nobody told the bad boys that sometimes we use two under cover operatives." "Do you realize that we are both sitting here in our underwear?" Vald asked. "Yes and I couldn't help but notice that I don't turn you on. Do you need Viagra?" "When I have had this much to drink, I need help, but not from the drugstore." Vlad said seriously. I knew what that meant. Gunny had been the same. I slipped from the padded chair where I sat, to the warm but hard carpeted floor. Vlad spread his legs so that I could work his cock from his shorts. It wasn't big. In fact it was a bit smaller than average. I took it in my hand, lifted it, and licked the shaft from the base to the head. I felt it begin to stir. I continued to lick and it got hard, but never really grew much. I would never have embarrassed him by measuring it, but I knew that it was small. It was a mouthful and that was enough for what he wanted. Since I wasn't in shape for much else, it seemed like the least I could do, or maybe it was the most I could do. When he was fully errect, I still had room in my mouth to work his cock without choking on it. I did have to relax my throat to get it all in, but it was easy to do. His cock barely went in past my gag reflex. I held the base of his cock with my thumb and two fingers while I stroked it with my mouth. I knew from what men told me that the feeling inside my mouth was better than any vaginal sex. I just sucked usually, just nursed on it while I let the man set the pace of the stroking. With Vlad I did the moving. I worked on him slowly, and as deep as he would go. I felt him push against my mouth as he finally got into the rhythm of my movements. It took several minutes of stocking his cock with my mouth before I felt him cum. I made a big production of letting him see me swallow it all. Then I looked up at him to give him the chance to kiss me. He chose to turn away. I wasn't surprised, lots of men felt that way. "Oh god that was wonderful," he said. Since he made no move to help me in any way. I let him watch me masturbate. I sat in one of the two chairs in the sitting area of the room and masturbated slowly. I rubbed my clit in circles as I looked at him. I watched him closely as I worked myself toward the orgasm I needed so much. When I reached the edge of an orgasm I pushed my fingers deep into my pussy. I came hard and it caused my stomach muscles to constrict witch caused a stinging pain in my belly. I finally fell back exhausted. Then said, "The scene from Jaws didn't end like this." ------- Chapter 86 When I awoke Sunday morning in the strange bed, it took me a few minutes to remember where I was, as well as how I got there. I had a feeling as if my mouth was wearing an overcoat. I think almost every woman can tell you where that feeling comes from. While I was trying to get my mind to focus, I listened to a male voice speaking a foreign language. That's when I realized I was in Vald's bed, but he wasn't. Vald sat in the small sitting area of the hotel room talking on his cell phone. "So you are finally awake?" he asked. "No, I'm still asleep," I replied meaning every word of it. "Well, I spoke with my contact at the FBI. It will take longer than I expected to get the information about Ivan's contact." "Oh why is that?" I asked. "They have an operative inside. They want to make sure that we will not endanger him, before they release the information." I had another one of those bad feelings about Vlad. I wondered who in the FBI could be speaking Russian to Vlad. I didn't say anything. What I did was to ask, "How long will it take to get the Intel?" "Two or three days. then they will come back with a name and location. After that we need to come up with a plan." "They have somebody inside working, but we need to come up with a plan. What's that all about?" I asked "It's about, me not being able to stay here for years while the FBI dicks around. It's about putting this to rest, so that I can go home. For you it should be about ending your Russian connection permanently." Vlad suggested. "Vlad honey, for me it's about staying alive. I have a very strong desire to live forever." I admitted. "Then I hate to inform you of this Maxine, but no one lives forever." "I know that, I plan to be the first." I said it with a smile. "Well. we have a couple of days with nothing to do. Does that give you any ideas?" he asked. "Yes, it gives me some time to start looking for a new place to live. Give me a call when you have something to report." I said as I swung my legs off the bed. "Are you going to leave me?" "Sweetie, one blow job does not a long term commitment make." I replied. I finished dressing kissed him goodbye with my breath baring evidence of what I had done. Even though I had been sober at the time, I had a hard time remembering where I left the cruiser. The parking lot was big and also full. The hotel wasn't full but the parking lot was. The First Baptist Church of Tryon shared the parking lot with the hotel. Hotels don't have a lot of Sunday morning guests, and the church doesn't need the space during the week. It was a symbiotic relationship if there ever was one. On the way home I passed the office where I had worked until recently. The parking lot was empty. I should have gone in to start removing my tools, but I had no where to store them. I could only hope that Lucas and Gwen would respect my property and leave it alone. When I arrived at my gated drive, I checked the camera images on line. It appeared that nothing have been disturbed. When I pulled into the yard, nobody was there to greet me. I didn't like that at all. I was pretty depressed, when I thought about my life. There was just no getting away from the realization of how bad a turn my life had taken. I felt a little better after I brushed my teeth, took a shower, then brushed my teeth again. I was beginning to have thoughts of actually eating again. Maybe my life wasn't hopeless after all, I thought. I was sitting in the McDonald's dining room, munching on a double cheeseburger and fries, while drinking a fake chocolate milkshake, when the phone rang. "Hello Jen" I said once I found the phone. I also smiled at the people who listened the the theme from the Magnificent Seven blaring from my purse. "Max what the hell is this I hear from Ed about you being evicted?" "It's what you just said. I have to be out by next Sunday." I admitted. "You can move back in with me and Bob," she suggested. "At least until you fine a new place." "No way, you know things can get really risky with me around. I will not do that to you guys again." "Bullshit, you are just afraid I will demand sex from you every night," she said with a giggle. "Yeah, that too. Once you go to the Dark side it never ends." I suggested lightly. "The Dark side is a black lover, not one with boobs," Jennifer said to correct me. "Whatever, I will not be moving in with you and that is final." "Okay then, do you remember that small welfare motel that Reverend Archer runs?" She asked. "Yes," I replied. "Meet him there at three today. Trust me it will be worth your while." She knew me well enough to know I would be asking why. "Okay, but there better be some reason for this." I hoped it wasn't anything too difficult. I had way too much on my plate suddenly. Since I didn't have a plan for the afternoon, I drove to the marina. Yes it was chilly, but I managed to stay long enough to drink two cups of very bad vending machine coffee. I badly regretted that I hadn't taken my big delta cup to McDonalds, since they had much better coffee. I was chillled to the bone by the time I left for the Motel. The Reverend used the old cinder block building to warehouse his mission workers. I had no idea what to expect, when I arrived. "So Maxine, when Jennifer heard you lost you house, she remembered that I was going to sell the motel. We bought an old downtown apartment building. It has enough room to house everyone in one spot." "Why would either you or Jennifer think I wanted this dump?" I asked. "This is Everette, he is the manager for the construction arm of The laboring few." "Hello Everette," I said smiling at the man old enough to be my dad. In other words Everette was about seventy. He had a face ravaged by hard work in the sun, and hard drinking everywhere. "Everette tell her what you and Jennifer discussed," the reverend demanded. "Well Miss Maxine, there are ten units. We can move the door on one unit and make a door between two of the units. That would give you five efficiency apartments. It will be small, but it will have a living room kitchen and a bedroom with bath. Best of all the conversion will be reasonably inexpensive." "So what are you talking about reasonably inexpensive?" I asked. "Turn key ready to move in and rent $150,000," Everette said. "I'll think about it." I said. "What's to think about these will rent for $400 a month easy." Archer said. "If it was that good a deal, you would have had it done already with someone else. I think I will give it some thought. Maybe have someone check out the plan and give me an independent value for the project." "Alright but don't wait too long. Once we get the renovations done the price will be much higher," the Reverend said. I pulled Archer aside. "Don't try to play me, and I won't call you out in front of the 'few'." "I'm not trying to play you," he said, but it wasn't a very confident statement. "Archer, I'm not some mooch. I know that right now on this kind of property the banks want 25% down. I also know most people don't have that kind of money. You are not about to risk money fixing this place without some kind of guarantee it will sell for enough to pay 'The Laboring Few' for their efforts." I paused and looked him in the eye and asked, "Why are you really selling it." "The city of Tryon wants me to buy up Davenport's empire. Davenport screwed the crap out of everybody, but if he had played it straight he would have been a beneficial part of the town. So I need to raise cash to pay off the property and repair it. It's a huge endeavor." "You aren't really going to take over all those condemned housing units are you?" I asked. "No, it's the group homes and the family mission which the city wants to stay active." "Okay, let me find someone to give a true value for the place, as it sits right this minute. I will make you an offer, and then allow 'The laboring Few' to bid on the renovations." I suggested. "Well that sounds fair," Archer admitted. By lunch on Tuesday I had the appraisal. The report put the value of the property between $45,00 and $55,00. My guess was that the repairs we at least as much. The question was did I want to tie most of my money up in the property. By Wednesday, I had decided that it was as good an investment as I was likely to find. I wrote the Reverend a check for $48,000. Since business in general was pretty slow the few agreed to do their repair estimate the next day. "Hey Vlad," I said into the phone. "What the hell is happening with Ivan the terrible?" "I haven't been able to get an answer yet," he informed me. "You need to light a fire under them. The longer we wait, the harder it's going to be, I'm getting more on my plate all the time. Life can't just stop for this project." "I understand Maxine. I will try to find out something today." His tone was a little short. He obviously was frustrated." "I know you want to get this over with, even more than I do, so I'll get off your case. It's just that I bought a place that needs a lot of work and I want to get started on it. I don't want to walk away for a couple of weeks right in the middle of it." "I get it Maxine, you want to get on with the job. I understand and I want to move forward myself." "I know Vlad. Try to build a fire under their ass, if you can. In the meantime I will begin work on the place. Even after we get the go ahead we need a plan." "I know. We will come up with something I'm sure." Vlad's voice over the phone tried to reassure me. It wasn't working all that well. I scheduled a meeting with the foreman of The Laboring Few for that same afternoon. The man who showed up had the same look as the one I had met a couple of days before. He looked like a man who had spent some time on the streets. "From when I lived in this building, I can tell you we put a new roof on it two years ago, so that is a good thing." "Yes it is.," I agreed. "So tell me what is the minimum needed to meet code?" "Code for apartments is not the same as code for a motel." "Then lets try it this way," I want the apartment to have two rooms. The entrance would be a living room kitchen combination. The second would be a bedroom and bath." "That's pretty simple. We just cut a door between two of the units, You would end up with five apartments." "So we can't close the outside bedroom door?" I asked. "We can, if we move it to the rear of the unit. Cut it in what used to be the dressing area of the bedroom." "Give me seperate prices for the connecting doorway, and moving the bedroom door. It might not be worth the expense." "Okay, now what about the power?" he asked. "What does it need?" "New breakers and meters for each unit. You probably need a new heating system as well. Those window heat pumps are old and very inefficient." "Okay, you know what I want. A good renovation, but also as cheap as possible." We shook hands as he headed back to his office to price out the job. I planned to call another builder for a price once I got the renovation plans decided. I was waitig to hear from his laboring few, when I got the call from Vlad. ------- Chapter 87 "Maxine. we need to meet." The voice on the cell phone belonged to Vlad. "I'm at the house. It's going to take me twenty minutes to meet you anywhere." I explained. "I am at your gate now." "Alright, I'll turn off the alarm. Do you need me to come unlock the gate?" "No, I can get it open," He informed me. "I thought so," I agreed. I had time to pour a cup of coffee before Vlad showed up. I put the shotgun under the bedspread before I let him in. He didn't need to see the shotgun within easy reach. Or to know that I sat at the table looking out the window as he drove up. Since he was the only one, other than a couple of my friends, who knew where I lived, I was very careful. "Hello Maxine," Vlad was very formal and I was just as glad. The job was the job, the other was what it was no more. "Hello Vlad, what have you heard?" "Our target will be in Harlan county Kentucky next Thursday. He will be leaving York City about 10am and then drive all the way to Harlan county. They tell me it will take him twelve hours to do the driving..." "Do you know exactly where the meeting is going to be.?" I asked. "No easy rides this trip. We will never figure out this one in time, but you can be in place to collect the information for the next ambush. That is if you are still in." "I'm in. When do you want to leave? "When can you leave." "I can make a call and leave now, but we don't have a plan." I informed him. "We will make a plan as we drive to Kentucky. Make your call." I called Jen and told her to pay whoever needed paying, but to stop all work until I returned. I had Vlad swing by the office where I put a container into his trunk, a container of tools. "Being a gun collector has it's moments," I explained. As we left town on the interstate highway I asked, "There are less than 50k people in Harlan County, why are the Russians messin with them." "You should know better than me, but I will tell you what they told us at the task force meetings. The Russians did not want to build a business, they wanted to just take over businesses. So they looked for distribution networks that aren't heavily defended. Right now the people of Harlan are being seduced. Before they know it they will be working for the Russians or dead." "Ah, I see so they play rough?' I asked. "They play very rough Maxine. You must be very careful. Never lower your guard, not even around your own people. By now Ivan and his friends will own many of the criminals." "And criminal's families are stupid." I said adding to the general shared information. "Pretty much," he agreed. "So what's this plan of ours,? I asked being more than a little sarcastic. "We are picking up a trailer in Kingsport Tenn." "Oh, are we going to pretend to by Ricky and Lucy?" "Who?" he asked. "Never mind, what about you and your accent. You can't hide the whole time that we are there." "No, I'm going to be your husbaand." He handed me a wedding band, then went on. "It seems to me, we want to make a good impression, so I thought we could be missionaries." "Don't you think when Ivan shows up dead on their doorstep, the cops will look at all the strangers who were here." "You would think so, but alas they will just vanish into thin air." "Maybe you can vanish, but I can't. I live here." "No, no you don't vanish Maxine, Sister Maybell vanishes." "Did you pick that name?" "No I heard it and liked it." he replied curiously. "I don't," I said. "Then you pick one," he demanded. "Martha, just Sister Martha." I replied. "You will have to clean up your act some." He did smile as he said it. "If I clean up my act, we will never find out anything." I laughed. "Okay, then at least be more discreet in your seductions." "I promise I will try," I laughed. You have to admit, Vlad lecturing me had an ironic twist to it. Even though there was a meet set for that very night we didn't rush. It was just the excuse for making the break. We needed a lot more information, if we were going to get our chore taken care of and then get away clean. The murder part was difficult enough but the surviving it would be the real accomplishment. Vlad would likely be taking off on an airplane within days of the hit. Me, I had to live through it. I planned to be very, very careful. I could always walk away at anytime. I wasn't sure, but I might have to kill Vald to do it. If it came down to me doing time or killing Vlad, then it might take me a minute to decide. Vlad and I swung into a camping trailer dealership where he had arranged a camper for us. I was beginning to have real doubts about Vald. He had way too many resources for a simple Moscow cop. He was up to something, but I had no idea what. Still he suited my purpose unless of course he was lying to me. If that was the case, I might kill him myself. His story had an undercurrent of truth. People did kill for revenge. So it was possible that the brother was biding his time to come for me. Whether he was or not, he was most likely going to get a shock. The completion of the drive to Harlan County was boring and our arrival was the worst. Mostly because I expected a greeting of some kind and we went unnoticed. Since I was the licensed driver, I drove the rented SUV and camper. I pulled it into the parking lot in front of the the small convenience store. I would have preferred a fine 'old time' general store with a little more age on it. Still it was the place to ask for information around Harlan Kentucky. We had stopped along the way at an Office Depot just outside Nashville. I quickly designed some flier's for an old fashion revival. I asked the beat down looking woman in the convenience store where we could park the camper. "Old man has a Trailer Park about a mile out of town. Just keep going out this road you won't be able to miss it." she said. About how far before I have gone too far. I always miss them," I said smiling. "About a mile I said, two miles and you missed it," she replied also smiling, The trailer park was very green, with shit growing everywhere, but then so was every other piece of neglected property. Out little space was under a big pine tree, but it still had low green shit growing everywhere. I ignored it as I parked the trailer. I had a hell of a time backing that thing. I have backed big trucks but I never had to back them into small spaces. usually when I backed one it was to get it off the road. When we were settled it, Vlad hooked the water and sewer up himself. I was highly impressed. Not many men, I knew, could do that. Well most of the ones I used to know could, at that moment probably none of them could. Vlad had warned me against being over armed, so I had left most of the real weapons back home. There was no way I would leave home without at least one pistol. I wanted a rifle as well but that got a Russian veto. According to Vlad we couldn't guard the weapons unless we carried them on us. Anything left in the trailer was likely to be stolen. I chose the perfectly suitable but not at all valuable FIE 9mm automatic. I took it off a teenager in a base housing area. He suggested that if I would forget it, he would as well. I held it in my locker for two months with the paperwork ready to go. After the First month it was already too late to turn it in without answering a lot of questions. I had his name, so I really didn't think he would complain, but I tried to play it safe. He never opened his mouth at all. Whenever I needed a gun that might end up in the swamp, that particular 9mm came to mind. I had asked if Vlad needed me to pick up a pistol for him, but he refused. I noticed on day one, of our little adventure, that he had a very ugly Russian automatic with extra tools. Also a short round tube was located in his shoulder holster. It could only be one of two things. Neither of which was standard issue from the factory. It could be a flash suppressor which was useful if you planned to kill a couple of guys from ambush, or it could be a silencer. You can imagine how those are used. By the time we left the trailer, all tooled up, for dinner I was sure that I was in over my head. I just wondered, if I dared to demand an explanation. I decided to put that off a while. At the local cafe, I preached a little gospel. I never said I was any good at it but I danced a little and shook my butt. Then Vlad and I passed out fliers. I told everyone we were looking for a place to hold services. If that didn't work we might need to resort to torture. It was messy and dangerous but no matter what the politicians say, it usually works. After dinner we were approached by a older man and woman. "We own a building that used to be a small loan company. If you would like to hold services there, it would make us proud." "That sounds just fine. We couldn't pay you are first, but I would pay what we can when we can," I said doing my poor baby act. "That's find just try to help people while you are here," he demanded then disappeared. I set up shop the next day. There were benches in one of the other vacant buildings. It had been a union hall. The man there loaned me the benches as a gesture of good will, "Just in case." he said. So I began to preach. Having been raised as a baptist, by a very zealous woman, made faking it very easy. The hallelujahs and amens filled the air. It was enough to melt your heart. Well sorta. The way the drug thing worked is Ivan brought the fake drugs to Harlan where he met the man who distributed the drugs all over the area. Why Harlan. because Harlan had a history of distributing illegal things. First it was moonshine, then weed, then fake prescription drugs for the junkie in denial. These days Ivan dealt with the grandsons of the first family of junk in Harlan and therefore a lot of the south. The man's name was Jasper Dawson. "Don't let the cutesy name fool you. Jasper is a stone killer." Vlad informed me. The beauty of your plan is we kill Ivan and frame Jasper. He probably won't go to jail but the Russian mob may decide to hit him." "Or Us," I suggested as an after thought. "That to.' Vlad said grinning. He is enjoying this shit, I thought. "You never know who gangsters will decide to kill. It's quite shocking actually," Vlad said. ------- Chapter 88 The first thing I needed to do was to meet Jasper Dawson without it appearing that I was stalking him. So I forced Vlad to drive me to Lexington. In Lexington we found a womens clothing store that had one department filled with conservative outfits. I bought three for a start. I had no idea how long we would be in Harlan. That same afternoon I began moving about meeting people. It was my plan to have a meeting just as soon as possible. We had no idea how Jasper would react, but I expected to either be engaged in debate or ignored. The first was by far my preference. First I moved among the few shop owners in the small town. There were very few of them. by the second day we had covered them all. On the third day I was stopping people on the street to engage them. It wasn't my nature to do so, but we were playing parts, so it was something I did with enthusiasm. It didn't take long for me to have promises of a full house in the small former loan company office building. Finally on the third day I met Jasper Dawson. Actually the best of all worlds happened, he came to see me at the loan company office. "You Martha?" he asked. "I am Sister Martha yes," I replied. "I'm Jasper Dawson, do you know who I am?" he asked. "I have heard the name and all are welcome here. Temporary though it may be, this is the house of God." I said smiling sweetly. Some days a girl just needs the reassurance of a firearm. Too bad I couldn't get to mine. "You need my permission to open a business in this town." he demanded. "This really isn't a business as such," I informed him. "It's close enough," he demanded. "And what does one have to do to get your permission. There are no profits to share." "Then I guess we will just have to trade," he said expecting me to run and scream, I suppose. "But I have nothing of value." I replied. "Well you are a little older than I usually go for, but then you are still purdy and you dress good." With that he moved to me. I noticed that the air around him was saturated with the smell of some aftershave. It was overpowering but probably better than his body odor. I allowed him to easily trap me in a corner of the room. "Now Sis, you need to take off that purdy dress so's it don't get all messed up." he said quietly. I nodded, then stood up. I unzipped the dress and removed it in a single motion, "Don't hurt me," I begged. "Sis this won't hurt, you are a married woman. This won't be your first square dance." he said cruelly. "Go on get naked." I quickly and gracefully removed my bra and panties. I stood before him naked. Since I never gave my body much thought, my tan lines were everywhere. "I see you are a real woman, I like that. Those plaster dolls in the whore houses always make me uncomfortable. Now come here, don't make me come get you." Since I was supposed to ingratiate myself to him, I did as he asked. I moved to stand in front of him. He did what at least half the men who had me in that position did, he pushed down on my shoulders. The two choices I had were to resist or go along. I decided that the better course of action was to go along. I had mentally prepared myself for it in advance. Having been in the situation once unprepared, I had decided after that event that it would never devastate me again. You could also add to it the fact that I didn't feel horribly used by it. No I don't love giving head, but it doesn't disgust me either. So I had no problem slipping to my knees and opening his pants. His penis wasn't as small as Vlad's nor was it as large as some which had caused me pain. He was about the average male size penis. I would not be comfortable nor would it be painful. It would just be doable. I licked and nursed on his cock until he began to pump my mouth. I made it warm wet and tight for him as he did. I felt him stroke my mouth just a few times then I felt him tense and empty his semen into my throat. I accepted it all without complaint. "I thought you was more whore than saint," he said after it was finished. "I never said I was a saint, but nobody has ever said I was a whore. You are the first and you should be ashamed." "Well I'm not." he said as he left the building. I puttered around the building a while longer, then walked to the end of town and the camper. "Well I met our mark today," I said without elaboration. "What do you think of him?" Vlad asked. "He will make a great patsy. Hell he might even cop to it the little peacock." "Well you work him, the FBI undercover is going to alert me the next time he hears of anything." "Fair enough, one of us should come up with something. I just have to remember that I'm not here to take down cute little Jasper." I said. "Yes Jasper has to walk away." Vlad informed me without need. I understood the plan perfectly. Hell it was mostly my plan anyway. "You know what I hate about this place?" Vlad asked. "No what do you hate most?" I asked playing along. "Their lack of a decent restaurant. Neither of us can cook worth a crap," he said. "I can cook Vlad, you just aren't going to find out about it." I said smugly. "Let's drive into the next town for dinner." he suggested. "Let's just drive toward Lexington and stop along the way. There will be something surely." I suggested. We got dinner in a family style restaurant just off the interstate highway. We had finished our dinner and were waiting for the check when his phone rang. He started to speak in Russian instantly. I waited quietly for the check and Vlad to finish his conversation. Vlad came back first. "Tomorrow, I have to start exploring the terrain." he said. "Why is that." "Our contact with the FBI can give us the location of the meet, but I need to know what it looks like. He tells me they use five different ones at random times. The place is set when Ivan is on the road. He is doing what he has been taught, but it was a different war. He is preparing for a military attack, not two people with crossbows." "He can't keep the meeting site secret forever. I met Jasper today and I will again." I said. "And how do you know the much younger man will return for seconds?" Vlad asked. "Because all men think with their dick, and young men especially think with their dick. He isn't likely to have had a really great blowjob before." "I won't argue this one with you," Vlad said to me. "Well it's time for the meeting. Drop me at the meeting hall and you can do your scouting, Tonto." "Who?" he asked. "Never mind, you had to be there," I said smiling up at him. The meeting started promptly at 8PM. I spoke for two hours. I said all the things I had heard in my childhood. I even talked to some of the ladies in the audience about their families and the lessons they could share. It was an evening with lots of close ties among the congregation showing themselves. It was a close community. I made a lot of excuses for them all, both in my sermon and in my prayers. Yes they needed all the help they could get. Most of them were in some kind of illegal enterprise, because there was no other work in the holler. The act had been, if not enjoyable, at lease easy to do for the first few hours. It had been alright most of that second day. I can't say that I enjoy giving Jasper the blowjob, but it didn't kill me. The meeting that night made me sad. I knew I was a fraud, while the people there needed for me to be real, so I tried my hardest to be real about something. When the meeting broke up at ten, several people pressed money into my hand. It was only a dollar or two but these people would miss even that small amount. I wanted to give it back but that wouldn't be in character. If I were real, I would need the money to feed myself and my husband, so I took the money gratefully. Vlad and I went for a walk after the second night in Harlan. "You know if this was for real it would be time to leave. These people have no money." I waited for Vlad to contradict me. He didn't, but he said, "We are settled in and we do not have another engagement until two weeks. We came here to rest, but you work wherever you go. You are foolish." "So that's going to be your story?" I asked. "Yes it is and we can sell it, if you try." he demanded. "Alright, I will give the keys back to the the owner. You and I will just hang around here and take walks." "Good, now lets take a nap," he said. Vlad's idea of a name had more in common with a night in the casbah than a nap. The bed in the trailer was plenty large for one person, but not for two. We slept on different beds at night. But for our nap Vlad chose to join me. It was a tight fit and there was no way to do any fancy undressing. I finally pushed him onto the floor while I removed my clothes. Once I was naked under a sheet, I invited him back. Unlike the first time we did it, Vlad was rock hard. I could feel his small penis drive into me. It was small but god arranged a womans nerves, so that even small men make them want to have sex. It was his plan to keep the species alive and thriving. I was surprised that all he wanted to do was to pump me. I love the feeling but of course it ended too soon. Vaginal sex takes a lot of foreplay to make it satisfying. Vlad hadn't read that chapter yet. He tried to roll away, but I had to move so that he could find space. We were both laying on our sides when I wrapped my hand around his wilting penis. I stroked it gently trying to revive it. When I realized that it was indeed finished for the evening, I'm afraid I made a noise to show my displeasure. I needed some relief as well as Vlad. He had given Jasper head and gotten nothing in return. Now to have Vlad leave me hanging was more than I could suffer through in silence. He finally got it. Once he understood that he had left me hanging and miserable, he lowered himself to my aching vagina. He licked and sucked on my clit until I orgasmed. It wasn't to hard, since I was about to burst with the pent up orgasm. When I came, it was with all the intensity I had been missing all day. I had been walking about like a stretched tight balloon all day. I interacted with people while on the verge of exploding in their face. I drifted off to sleep but Vlad disappeared into the night. Maybe I should have worried about him, but at that moment all was right with the world. ------- Chapter 89 Vlad and I spent three more days at the campground. He slipped out every night and I pretended that he was still in the trailers. It wasn't like summer when people would have been moving around, but still it didn't hurt to have me go outside and call his fake name. "Edward are you making the coffee or should I come do it. Oh alright you men are helpless." That kind of thing at least once a night. I also slept with the door unlocked while he was gone, but the 9mm was always close at hand. During the daylight hours we went for drives around the holler. Everything was within easy reach, so Vlad swore that he was ready for the meeting. I had my doubts but I trusted him. The call came in exactly a week after the meeting that we didn't make. I expected that it was just a coincidence. Surely they weren't stupid enough to meet on the same day every week. Especially since they went to all the trouble to move the meeting place around each time. I did learn one thing during my time in the military, people will always surprise you with their stupid actions. Even people. you believe to be intelligent. will act stupid from time to time. No other one thing brings out the stupidity of the human animal more than interpersonal relationships. Okay to call it what it is, people act stupid mostly to get laid, it seemed to me. "The call came telling us that Ivan had left with product. It was up to us to figure out where the meet was to take place. "I figure our best bet is to stick to Jasper like glue. Maybe he will give me a hint." I said. "It would be nice to be there first, but if not I can follow Jasper to the meet. That would be a lot easier if you planted a tracking device on him." Vlad suggested. "And you just happen to have one?" I asked. Rather than answer Vlad handed me a disk the size of an American quarter, maybe a little thicker. I put the disk in my purse for the time being. "So you have been planing all this from the start?" "Well, I have a few things I managed to pick up along the way. Look Maxine, I knew what I was going to do when I came here. Meeting Blevins, who told me about you, was just a beautiful accident. I could do this without you, but it wouldn't be as easy. Not that it is going to be easy at all," he hurried to add. "I guess I need to go find Jasper, but to be honest it seems a little early. I'm just afraid that he will leave the holler without us seeing him at all today. If he does that, we will be starting all over again." "If he doesn't have the meeting in the holler. we might have to just swoop in guns blazing and take our chances. Have you considered that possibility?" Vlad asked. "The numbers will be all wrong, but yes as a last resort I considered it. I don't like it for sure." I admitted. "Nor do I, but I am not leaving this valley with Ivan still breathing." Vlad was quiet and very serious. I knew how he felt. In his mind he was on a mission. Maybe it wasn't a mission from God, but it was a mission none the less. "Give me a ride into town and I'll see if I can't plant this coin on Jasper." Vlad nodded as he removed his heavy coat from the back of a chair. "While you are gone, I will clean and check out the weapons." he suggested. I nodded my agreement. Vlad dropped me in front of the community center. It was where most of the people who didn't have jobs went to spend their time. The community center had computers and even WIFI if you wanted to use your own computer. I used a dummy computer Vlad had bought for the trip. It had no incriminating information on it at all. I waited at the community center an hour but Jasper never showed. "No Jasper," I said to Vlad over the phone. I'm going to the sandwich shop to see if he shows there." "Very well Maxine please be careful." Vlad said into the phone. "I will do my best for sure, You be careful as well. He might at least give killing me a second thought, he won't you, neither of them will." "You do know they will be coming for you as well, if this doesn't work perfectly." Vlad said. "I know, but thanks for reminding me," I said with a laugh. I quickly changed the subject because Jasper walked in. "My, my our boy just came in with a girl his own age." "Be careful, he might not be in any mood for you," Vlad said. "Maybe not, but I have to at least give him the chance." I shut down the phone, then finished my sandwich. Jasper had a tray full of food when he headed my way. "Move over bitch," he said to me. "Jasper, don't talk to me like that please," I asked. I didn't really care what he said. I was just staying in character. Jasper would be lucky, if the Russians didn't cap his ass within 24hours of the hit. That was payback enough for me. Jasper sat beside me and the girl sat across from us. She didn't seem to mind all that much, so my guess was that it was true love. In the crowded booth slipping the fake coin in his pocket was easy. He was all marked up within two minutes of his arrival. The next move should have been Vlad's. "Did you miss me bitch?" he asked with his sandwich in his hand. "Why would I miss someone with that foul mouth?" I asked it to answer his question. "Because you loved sucking my dick, didn't you?" he demanded as he grabbed onto my arm. His grip hurt but not so much that I had to answer, but I did anyway. I wanted him to keep me around a while. "Yes I missed you," I replied. "Good that you admit it. Some girls try to play hard to get." He paused then looked at me seriously. "What about your husband?" He asked. "What about him?" I asked. "Doesn't he object to you sucking other dicks?" "He doesn't like it, but I have the gift. He knows that it is my gift that provides for our needs." "I see, do you use your gifts often?" he asked with a wicked grin. "Not the ones you mean. Those I only use when I must. I do not enjoy that with strangers." "I shot cum in your mouth. We aren't exactly strangers any more." "No, I guess we aren't." I admitted. "Sarah and me are going to have a party, you should come along." he suggested. "I don't think Sarah would be comfortable with that and it is her party," I replied. "She will be comfortable with it, if I tell her to be." Jasper said confidently. I could see the fear in the young girl's eyes. I knew it was all new to her, why she was involved with slimy Jasper was beyond me. Of course she might have felt the same about me. I needed to stay with him for the whole afternoon, so she was just going to have to live with it, I thought. I nodded my agreement then looked down. I didn't want to lose my character the sweet Sister Martha. Only Jasper was supposed to know better and now Sarah. I rode in the rear seat of Jasper's car. He drove to what was most likely some relative's house. If not now then maybe it had been at one time. It looked pretty much abandoned, except that Jasper walked right in and turned on the lights. He obviously lived there at least some of the time. Hell he might live there all the time, I had no way of knowing. Once we were inside and the lights on, Jasper lit the oil stove. The one room was warm quickly. We were all three sitting on the sofa shortly after lunch, when he pulled me to him. He kissed me then pushed my face to his lap. I knew that Sarah was watching as I unzipped his pants, then worked his just so, so cock out. "Love that dick don't you baby?" he asked. "Yes, I love your dick," I said as I kissed the head of it. "Sarah have you ever sucked a dick?" he asked. "No, I never have." she answered. "Have you always wanted to?" he asked. "No, it looks so gross," she explained. "Is it gross, Sister Martha?' he asked me. "No, it feels wonderful to have a cock in my mouth. I feel so nasty and so sexy at the same time," I explained. "Oh yes Sister Martha is a nasty cocksucker alright. Aren't you Sister." "Yes, I am a nasty cocksucker for you Jasper." I said. "No bitch, you are just a nasty cocksucker period. Aren't you?" he demanded. "Yes, I am a nasty cock sucker," I replied. "Show Sarah how to suck dick you whore," he demanded. I looked up into her eyes pulled off his cock and said, "Watch what I do." Then I bent back over his cock and accepted it into my mouth. I sucked and move up and down stroking him with my mouth. When I was into the rhythm. I took her hand and gently guided her down beside me. I pulled off his cock then pushed her head down until she kissed the head of his cock. "Lick his dick," I said gently in her ear. Jasper most likely did not hear me. She began to lick his cock as she had seen me do. Then without being told she took it in her mouth. Not all the way to her throat but deep inside her other warm wet place. I couldn't believe how it turned me on to see her sucking his cock for the first time. "Just relax and force it into your throat," I said gently. She tried but she was frightened. I wasn't worried I knew Jasper was a big enough prick to force her. After she pulled away to gasp for breath he said to her, "I am going to cum in your mouth Sarah and you aren't going to pull away this time. Do you understand?" She just nodded. I waited until she had his cock in her mouth and was trying to relax. I slipped my hand inside her blouse and massaged her breasts. I also manipulated her nipples the way I liked to have mine done. When I felt her tense a little, I move one to finger her vagina. She was hot and wet. She clung to me and she shivered as she orgasmed. I enjoyed feeling her cum against my fingers, and with his cock in her mouth. When everyone got through and were again themselves it was 6PM. "I'm hungry for real food. Let's all go eat somewhere." I suggested. I said it with my hand wrapped around Jasper's dick. "Well, I have got some business, but not till eight, so sure let's go eat. It's the least I can do for you two." he said. "Yes it is," I said with a giggle. Sarah joined in. I tried to drag out dinner as much as possible. It was well after seven when we finished. "You two are going to have to wait for me the the clover leaf while I take care of my business." Jasper said to us. "Bull, you have me all hot and bothered. I'll just wait in the car till you are finished then the three of us can start again only this time you have to take part Jasper." "You mean like fuck you?" he asked. "Yes like that," I agreed. "Right Sarah?" I asked. "Right Sister Martha," she agreed quietly. ------- Chapter 90 I knew Jasper's plan, but he didn't know that I knew it. That gave me a leg up on him. He took us to dinner about 6PM. I knew that the meeting would probably be around 8PM, so it became important for me to keep Jasper busy until then. I wanted him to take me to the meeting at least to wait in the car. In order to arrange that, I kept my hand on his penis all through dinner. I kept it erect and Jasper as close to the edge as I could manage. I wanted getting laid to at least share his thoughts with the business deal that was coming. I dawdled through dinner, and made sure Sarah did as well. I kept her turned on, so that she helped me keep Jasper in the mood as well. It must have worked because around seven Jasper called his next in command and told him they would meet at the cabin. I had no idea what that was, but I assumed that Vlad did. I went to the bathroom. There I sent Vlad a quick text message telling him where the meet was to be held. He had thirty minutes to beat them to the site of the meeting, and to hide himself with a clear view of the killing field. My job switched from gathering intelligence to preparing for the hit. When the hit ended, it was my job to be sure Jasper left with the drugs and probably the money. There was no way I could wrestle the money from him. Not to mention that I really did not want him to know that I was involved. It was about 7:30 when we left the sandwich shop headed for the cabin. Jasper parked the car in the front of the badly rundown log structure. I was sitting in the front seat when he said, "You two stay here and stay out of sight. This shouldn't take long. If you get cold you can always huddle together for warmth." he said it smiling. I have no idea why all men seem to get off on two women wrapped in each other's arms. I don't get turned on seeing too men all huggy face. As long as I could work it to my advantage, I just accepted it. Jasper left the car when his cohort Brian pulled up in a small van. Brian parked much closer to the cabin than Jasper had. They sat in the van waiting for Ivan from New York City. Of course I wasn't supposed to know that. We must have waited a half hour for Ivan and his crew. I knew Vladamir would be miserable in the cold. Still there was nothing I could do to help, so I put it out of my mind. What I began to do was to search the car for weapons. I had a large workman's knife I had purchased from the Home Depot which would do fine for close in work. I checked the glove box just to be sure Jasper didn't have a spare pistol in the box. No such luck, but I did find the trunk release. If it became necessary, I could check the trunk for weapons. Sometimes there would be a shotgun or an automatic rifle in the trunk of a crew car. I doubted these guys were that organized, but one could always hope. With Sarah in the car it would be hard to check for weapons on the off chance I might need them. My assignment wasn't doing the hit. It was my job to manage the aftermath. It was my job to get jasper and his crew away from the site, so that Vlad could clean up before the bodies were discovered. It wasn't really my job to convince them to get he hell away, it was more to keep them from doing anything stupid. Sarah and I sat whispering while we waited for the boys from New York city to arrive. Jasper and his gun hand Brian were still outside the cabin. It looked as though they were for sure going to meet the Boy from New York City outside the building. Without warning and seemingly from nowhere the big Lincoln SUV pulled into the yard. Three men got out of the SUV and I did indeed recognize one of them. I would not have known that he was the brother of the man I killed, had Vlad not told me. I had seen him before and I had no reason to doubt Vlad. I waited and watched closely as the events unfolded. Once the three men from New York City were out of the SUV, Jasper and Brian left the van. Each of the men from New York carried a canvas duffel bag.All of them appeared to be relaxed, as did the men from Kentucky. I wonder how long that would last. Jast as I had that though Ivan's legs just folded up. There was a sound but it wasn't a shot or an explosion just a high pitched whining sound. The other two New York thugs went for their weapons. They were looking all around when another one of them collapsed and died on the spot. The third one was in a panic trying to decide who to shoot. It didn't matter he was still exposed and the third crossbow bolt took him. If any of them were still alive I would have been very much surprised. Even so I knew Vlad was in a hurry to get to the cabin to check them and then disappear. "Jasper, come here, we have to get out of here," I shouted. He might not have been all that respectful of me, but he at least recognized when I told him something important. He came on the run. "Brian get the drugs and get the hell out of here," he shouted as he bent to recover one of the bags from the body of a Russian ... Once inside he spun the car around throwing gravel everywhere. Jasper was in one hell of a hurry. "Brain had better have picked up the other two bags." Jasper said. He was thinking out loud I knew, so I ignored him. All I wanted was to get back to the rv park and get the hell out of town. "Brian, where the hell are you?" he asked into his cell phone. "I'm in the car and heading away from the cabin. I have the drugs and I still have the money. What the hell are we going to do?" he asked. "We are going to call the Russians and ask them what the hell is going on." Jasper said. "Be careful, they are going to think we killed their delivery boys and stole the drugs." Brain said. "That's why we have to get ahead of this. I'll make the call and arrange to deliver their money." Jasper said it then he took a deep breath, before adding, "Then we have to find out who did this." "Jasper, I can't believe it's anyone on our end." Brain said. "It has to be someone on there end," Jasper replied. "If not, why bother to do it here. Someone is trying to fuck us royally." He put the phone away, then took a deep breath. "What happened back there?" I asked all excited. "Are those men dead?" "Shut the fuck up. I'm going to drop you at your trailer. You best forget you ever saw anything. Do you understand me bitch?" he asked. "Yes I understand. Are you going to be alright? You sound worried." "Those were some really bad fuckers. Yeah I'm worried. If they find out you were there you should be worried as well." "I'm terrified already. I don't need anything else to frighten me." I said. When he pulled into the space beside the rental trailer, he asked, "Where is your old man?" "I don't know to be honest. He might have gone into Lexington to try to find us a place to hold a meeting next week." "You know Martha, I don't know shit about you or you husband. You might have had something to do with all this." He suggested. "Jasper how could I have been involved with anything. I don't know what you are doing or why you are doing it. As for those men, I didn't know you were going to meet them, when you dragged me along. "Yeah I guess that's right. That husband of yours is useless, the only thing he can do is clean up after real men. Alright you better get the hell out of town." "Not a problem, whether Edward has a place for us or not we are out of here tonight. You have my word." I said. "To bad you have to go, you gave the best blowjob I ever had." With that he move over and kissed me with lots of tongue. I kissed him back. I did not want to ring any bells. "Why don't you come back after this blows over. I can find something for you to do." "I am too afraid to even think about coming back here." I said it with my voice quivering. I was finding out that I was pretty good at acting. After Jasper left I drank coffee and worried about Vlad. Both about him personally and how his fortunes at that moment would effect me. The car we had been driving slipped into the parking lot with Vlad looking perfectly calm. He walked from the car to the trailer without any quickness in his step at all. Vlad was perfectly calm. I continued to worry about Vlad. He was definitely no ordinary policeman. It was too late to be worried, the deed was done and I was right in the middle of it. He walked inside then asked, "Everything go alright?" "It seemed to, but I don't know." I admitted. "There is no way to know. We will just have to wait to see." Vlad said in agreement. "So you are expecting someone?" I asked. "Not really, but if someone does show up, I want to be ready." he said. "Not me I want to be gone," I suggested. "That is one way to deal with it." Vlad suggested. "It goes against your grain I know, but it's the only way to handle it. We have to leave Jasper and Brad to the Russians. Not only that, we have to leave Jasper and Brad for the Russians. That was the whole plan." "I'm not sure we sold it," Vlad said. "No, you are not sure I sold it. Well I sold it Vlad. You made the hit and I got them out of there so you could cleanup. So now they are calling the Russians to report the problem. We need to be gone when the Russians get here. You need to be out of the country and Sister Martha needs to cease to exist." "Alright, I'm going to take your word for it," Vlad said. "Good now lets get the braces out from under this thing and get it rolling before Jasper changes his mind about letting me go this easily." "If he comes here, he is going to disappear," Vlad said. "Not many other ways it can go down," I said in agreement. We were driving out of the of the holler by 10PM. I was glad to kiss it goodbye and Sister Martha as well. I hadn't even given the apartment building a thought since I left town. If the 'Few' did anything for the two weeks we had been gone, I would have been surprised. "I'm going to drop the trailer off, then I'm going to drive to the airport in Washington DC and get on a plan for Moscow." Vlad explained. "You can deliver the car to the rental agency when you get home. "It's not nearly as satisfying an ending as I expected," I informed him. "It never is, if you don't do the killing with your own hands," he said seriously. "Do you think the Russians will kill Jasper?" I asked. "Probably not, most likely they will know it's me." "And me?" I asked. "I don't think they will know it was you as well. There are no images of you as Sister Martha." ------- Chapter 91 I had no idea how the Ivan hit would play out. I had a feeling the Russians would be the problem, not the law dogs. With a little luck no one would ever come looking for me. That being the case, I left the short term parking at the DC airport, then headed for home. I stopped along the way for a good night's sleep. "Hello what can I get you," the waitress in the pancake house asked the next morning. "To be honest the sausage, egg and cheese sandwich on pancakes looks good to me." I said it smiling at the young waitress. Funny how much more attractive the waitresses on the interstate highway's rest stops were, than those in the small towns along the way. After my breakfast I drove straight home. Well straight except for a late lunch at a roadside McDonald's. When I arrived I almost drove to the cabin, then I realized that I didn't live there any more. My things were all in a storage locker or still in Ed's office. Since I wasn't sure exactly what to do, I called Jen at her office. "Hey shyster, where does a girl take a load off around these parts?" I asked. "Well Fanny, you still have your key to my house don't you?" she asked. "Of course, but I was thinking more of my own place," I admitted. "As usual I have no idea what you have been up to, but you have only been gone a week. You told me to have Archer's men finish what they were working on and pay them off." "Okay so where are they on the conversion?" I asked. "The structural changes have been make, and the entrances are secured with new doors. They are ready to begin work inside just as soon as you give them the go ahead and make your choices for the finishes." "I'll call Archer in the morning and get this all started again." I replied. "Now I am tired, so I think I will check into a motel." "Why don't you come stay with me a few days. It is going to take them a week or more to get your place ready." Jen asked. "I appreciate it hon, but I think I will just stay somewhere simple. Somewhere without the residual drama that seems to go along with anyplace I have stayed before. "Well, you will need your personal things. They are stored at my house," Jen informed me. "I have the things I took with me, I can wear those for a day or two. However, yes I do need to pick up some things. I also need to get into a place where I can feel at home." "I can't wait to see you as a landlord. If a resident makes too much noise, you might just shoot them." Jen said it with a laugh, even if she was half serious. My interpersonal relationship skills could use some work, I would have been happy to admit that. "You know you are going to hurt my feelings staying in a motel." Jen said. "Jen better that than getting a hellfire missile in your front door." I said. "Wow you have really pissed some serious people off this time haven't you?" she said. "I'm not sure but potentially yes." I replied. "Okay, but if you let anything happen to you, I'm going to kill you," Jen said more seriously than I would have liked." "Not to worry Jenny Mae, I plan to live a very long time." I replied. "I do believe that is everyone's plan. We just cant all manage it." Jen said. "Call me before you come over for your things, and we will have a dinner party. I have been looking for an excuse." After I rang off I went looking for a place to crash temporarily. Somewhere not too easy to find or access would have been nice. What I had to settle for was an old two story thirty unit motel on the edge of town. It was old enough so as not to be on any of the reservation services list. The weekly rate wasn't too awful, so I took it for a week. I was pretty sure the "Few" would be at least that long. The motel had fallen to one of those 'english barely spoken here' type motels. Since I wasn't hiding, but also didn't want to be too easy to find, it seemed ideal. The room I took was on the ground floor, there was no rear entrance or exit. Hell the bathroom window would have been a squeeze and I'm not sure even with a squeeze I would get out of it. I planned to set up my own surveillance cameras of the parking lot and stairway. I could use part of the load left over from the cabin. They had been stored at Ed's office since I left town... "I knew you would be back," Ed said when I went to retrieve the cameras. "Lucas said you might not be. He said that since you sold the business, you were going to make some changes. I knew leaving me wouldn't be one of them." Ed said it happily. I was glad that he was glad to see me. "No Ed, I'm not leaving you. At least it is not in my plans. I came by to pick up a few things I have stored here. If that is okay?" I asked. "You don't have to ask. My door is always open to you. If I'm not here, call my cell I'll come meet you. You could always take your key back and solve both our problems." "Ed if anything turns up missing, I don't want to have a key to answer for." I said it thinking Gwen would probably name me a person of interest. I almost laughed. "So Maxine, what are you going to do now? You do not do well when you are bored," Ed suggested. "Ed, first I'm going to secure a place to live, then I guess I'll start looking for something to do." "Did you ever think about the bail bond business. My son Jeff has zero interest," Ed said. "Ed, Jeff is a doctor, he probably couldn't take the cut in pay." I laughed along with Ed. "Yeah, but it's a shame to have built this and not have anyone to leave it to." Ed suggested. "Why not Gwen," I said with a laugh. "Those two are a joke. If it weren't for the time that you, me, and Lucas spent here, I would ask them to move. That girl makes me very concerned for Luke. He is a good kid, but I'm afraid he is in over his head with that one." Ed suggested. "He's a grown man Ed, at least thats what those two will tell you." I shook my head. Ed did the same. "So how about it, do you want the bond business. I can teach you what little you need to know in a week." "I appreciate it Ed, but no thanks. I really don't know what I'm going to do next, but I doubt that it will be anything near the criminal justice system." I suggested. "That's a shame both of those. You would be something writing bonds, and as far as the law goes, you had a lot of fun over the years in and around it." he said. "I guess it's time to stop playing cowboys and killers," I observed. Ed saw me take the Mossburg pump shotgun from the lock room. "So time to stop playing cowboys and killers huh?" he asked. "If they will let me, yes it is. Just in case the killers don't think so, a girl has to be ready doesn't she?" I asked. "Oh yes, and god help the killer who doesn't know that you will always be prepared." "True," I agreed. I left the office with the Mossburg, a box of buck shot containing six shells, and a box containing two surveillance cameras and cables. I had watched Lucas work on the cameras from time to time, so I had an idea how to go about rigging them. It took me about ten times longer than it would have taken Lucas but in the end I had them working. I had one of them inside my front window and aimed at the parking lot. I would catch all the cars and people coming and going. I had moved my cruiser to the far end of the parking lot. I used it as a platform for the other camera. It was trained in on the building in front of my room. Why all the precautions you might ask, then again knowing I had a hand it hitting a Russian mobster, would you really wonder? I managed to get everything dialed in by 7PM. I was having a Subway meatball sandwich, and a handful of Barbecue Corn Chips a half hour later, when my cell phone rang. "Hello," I said. Maxine this is Lucas, how are you doing?" he asked. "I'm just fine Lucas how are you?" I asked. "I am doing great. Gwen and I are giving some thought to selling 'At Your Service.'" he said. "Lucas you have had it less than a month. You don't even have it close to being paid for." "Well we thought maybe you would buy it back?" he suggested. "I will give you what you paid me so far, but that's all I'm willing to do. I also expect that Jen will have a lot to say about you trying to sell it to anyone else." I was really beginning to lose my patience with Lucas. "To be honest it is worth a lot more than we have paid you so far. We have an offer." "Let me get this straight, you are going to take a business I gave you at a sweetheart deal and try to make a big profit even before you finish paying for it?" "You have to understand Maxine. It's not personal." he said. "Lucas I never thought I would say this to you, but it is personal. You and me are finished talk to Jennifer from now on." "Don't be like that," Lucas said. "Lucas hon, I don't know how else to be. If you want your cash back, I can do that. If you want to make a profit on something I did for you as a gift, get bent." "Well Gwen wants to go back to Boston and into TV, so I guess it's what we should do." "Then you do what you want to do, but forget making a huge profit on the business. If you try that, Jen will cut you to pieces. That much I guarantee," I said. "I don't understand why you are being like this. It's because you hate Gwen isn't it?" "Probably," I replied and hung up on him. I could have tried to make some plans but why bother, I thought. This shit is just children's play time. Since Lucas can qualify for the Boston PD that's what he should do. Most likely it is what he will do. Gwen can make TV about that. I shook my head as I finished the sandwich. I looked at the TV for about an hour, then the phone rang to interrupt me again. I expected it to be Jen or Lucas. Hell it might have been any of the usual suspects as far as that is concerned. I had no idea it would be Blevins. "Vladamir is headed home isn't he?" Blevins asked. "Yes he is, so is everything alright?" I asked. "Well the mob is after Vlad, but from what I hear they are going to leave you alone," Blevins said. "Why is that?" I asked. "Ivan made some threats against you. It seems that some of the people who know you explained that a threat was as good as an attempt." Blevins said. "Who could have told them that?" I asked. "Vlad and Annya both. Plus the Reds blew your cover with the kid. You best not go back to Harlan County unless you are well armed." "I'll keep that in mind," I replied. "When did all this happen?" "The kid, Jasper, called the Russians to deliver their money today. They had a long talk." "So everybody knows they were played?" I asked. "So says the Feds. The playees are not happy about it." "So do I need to go into witness protection?" "Not unless you want to," he replied. "Good then I'll stay home." ------- Chapter 92 So without the imminent threat from the Russians, I decided to go back to my old life at least a little bit. I still did not want the messenger service, but I wasn't going to be Gwen's bitch either. If that Yankee bitch thought she was going too make a few grand from holding my company a week, she was nuts. I was pretty sure Jen could stop the sale of 'At Your Service'. The question became, if Lucas didn't get it, who did. "Good Morning Archer, Jen tells me I have some decisions to make." I said it on the phone while waiting for my breakfast. I did have a cup of pretty foul restaurant coffee in front of me at the time. "Yes we have been sitting around waiting for you to show up. Where did you wander off to anyway?" "I went to a fall revival, no big deal. You know one of those first church of the missionary position things. They held it in the great outdoors." I said. "Yes, I know what those are. So now are you back long enough for 'His Laboring Few' to finish the renovation?" Archer asked. "I expect so. I thought that I would swing by the site and get them started again. So you just tell me what time and I'll meet them there." "I'll have the foreman call you, if it's okay to give him your number?" he asked. "Sure why not, it's pretty hard to commit murder over the phone." I said it with a rude smile which Archer couldn't see. It was too early to get Jen on the phone at work, so I decided to wait for office hours. I wanted her to handle Lucas. I was way to personally involved. I felt sure my shyster friend had built an escape hatch into the sale. I hadn't specifically told her not to act like a lawyer, so I was reasonably sure she had played the part to the hilt. It was just what Jen did and I loved her for it. "Hello," the voice came through my cell phone. Of course only after it played the first few bars of 'The Magnificent Seven'. "Hello," I said into it as much to shut it up as to communicate. "Ms Stone, it Mark from His Laboring Few. I am on my way to your job site. If you could meet me there, we can get started again." He sounded a little peeved because he had been pulled off the job for a couple of days. I knew that he would have been more peeved, if he had worked a couple of weeks only to find that he couldn't collect for his work. I was pretty sure that having his funds tied up in my estate would not have been a lot of fun either. Oh well he didn't have to know the details. "Mark, I can be there in a half hour is that soon enough?" I asked "That's just fine." he said, then the line went dead. He was either a man of few words or he really was pissed. After breakfast, but before I left the restaurant I called Jen. After her receptionist put me through I asked, "Jen have all the papers been registered for the sale of my company to Lucas?" "It's a done deal. What's the problem?" she asked. "He told me last night that he and Gwen were planning to sell the business for a profit and move to Boston." "That little shit, I thought something was funny with him. At the signing he could hardly look me in the eye. So what do you want to do." "I want you to make him an offer he can't refuse my fairy god mother. I am not going to be Gwen's bitch, even if it costs me every dime of the sales price." "Are you sure you just don't want to bury them in legal shit till they shout uncle and give it back to you?" she asked. "You know that I'm not as spiteful as you. Make them one offer, I'm willing to refund all their out of pocket expenses. Let them keep the profits they made from the work, and wave goodbye to them." I said. "Or we will let them stay here and operate the business in good faith as they presented that they would do." I added. "If they choose any other option, I will have them in court every week for the rest of their lives defending themselves against fraud suits." Jen said. She actually sounded as if she were hoping they chose to fight us. "Okay Jen, let me know what they have to say. I don't want the messenger service back. However if I have to run it, I want to start before they run it into the ground." "Can do Max, good to have you back. Life was getting boring in only a week." Jen said laughing. I drove to the motel and found it had changed as much as Jen promised. Half the front doors were missing. There were signs everywhere of patches to the exterior walls. I knew that those were immaterial since the whole thing was going to get a coat of stucco to give it a Spanish flare in the end. "Hello," I said in greeting to the almost retirement aged man, who met me in the parking lot. "I'm Maxine, I don't know if you remember me." "Ms Stone, no one forgets you. Good to have you back." "Thanks, I guess I'll ask the question you get asked the most. Do you have any idea about how much longer before you guys are finished? I'm staying in a motel and I'm not happy about it." I informed him. "If you don't mind the noise, we can probably have one of the units finished in a couple of days," he informed me. "Get me heat and power and I'll live with anything else," I informed him. "So what are the decisions I have to make?" I asked. "Carpet first, here are your measurements. You can buy it anywhere you want, but Lowe's has a pretty good deal on carpet at the moment. Ask for contractor's grade. It is a good price for a fair quality carpet. Probably in this environment you are looking at ten years wear on it." "You are going to plaster over the concrete blocks inside aren't you?" I asked. "Yes we have a plastering crew, they can have this knocked out in a couple of days." he suggested. "So anything besides carpet I need to choose?" I asked, "Plaint and appliances need to be picked, might as well do it all at once. Don't choose anything too fancy or too large. There is a small space set aside for the kitchen." "Do I need to choose bathroom fixtures?" I asked. "Frankly the ones in here are better than anything you would buy. You can get someone to give them a good cleaning when we are finished. If we do that and do the repairs, you won't have to pay for any bathroom renovations." Reverend Archer said to take it as easy on you as we would if you were one of ours." "That's good, I can always use the help. I saw the original design and I thought whoever drew it did a heck of a job at keeping the renovations to a minimum." "I did that and thanks, we tried to make the property a good deal for the buyer and for the ministry." "Well, we will see how it works out, but so far it looks pretty good." I admitted. "The Reverend says you are planning to live in one of the units for a while?" it was a question. 'Yes, I am planning to live in one of the units. That leaves me four to rent do you have any ideas for tenants?" "Well where this place is located you aren't going to want families with children for sure. I'm thinking retires or college kids maybe." Mark suggested. "Both of those sound reasonable. I will have to give it a lot more thought, since they won't just be tenants. They will also be neighbors." "That's true enough. If the Reverend is telling the truth about you, whoever they are they won't be bored often. Archer says something is always going on around you, even if you aren't involved. "There is some truth to that," I admitted. "Well, I'm off to Lowe's I suppose." "This is my card," he said as he handed me a business card for His Laboring Few. "Call me when you have decided and I'll send a truck to pick up everything. If you don't mind, I'll make a list of items we need for the actual construction and just have them add them to your bill at the same time. It's easier that way." "Okay, but I want to see the list. I have your records from phase one. I still need to go over those as well." Most likely I would never balance the accounts, but it was a good idea that they didn't know that. I spent way too much time with the Lowe's sales lady. She happened to be arguably the only female in Aster, who knew anything about hardware, as well as decorating, not to mention she was sexy as hell in her little red vest. We determined that it would be cheaper for me to provide hot water than to install a hot water heaters in each unit and then wire for them. I chose small stoves and small refrigerators for the units. There was nothing at all fancy about the appliances. The apartments were going to be very austere, but that was okay. I kept remembering how impressed I was with Gus's place. I tried to model my units after that. The list of choices was a lot longer than I had expected. Kitchen tiles to cook stoves, it all took time and my input. It was shortly after lunch when I left Lowe's, so I drove, first to the Dog House for a to go order, then to the marina to devour them with a bag of barbecue chips and a Coke. When I got back to the job site, I found a heating and air conditioning service truck waiting for me. Since each unit already had a heating and an air conditioning unit of sorts, I wanted them checked. I didn't expect that they would be be in very good condition, but that was something for a service company to tell me. His Laboring Few had a heating and air conditioning service unit. They were the ones waiting for me. I was surprised that the technician didn't look like a an old reformed drunk. He looked to be in his early thirties and reasonably clean looking. "Are you the owner?" he asked. "Yes, I am the owner, and you are my heating and air conditioning expert?" I asked "That's what they tell me. So you are going to turn these into apartments?" he asked. "That is the plan." I went on. "They are most likely going to be low cost units for the elderly so keep that in mind. And even though I want your opinion, I also want options not just what you think will be best." "Well I've got bad news and not so bad news." The technician said half hour later. I spent the time away from the job site, so that he had time for his examination. "Well that's better than bad and worse news, I suppose." I said that smiling before the bombs fell. "The heating system is s split system. The heat is actually a gas fired boiler. It supplies hot water for heat and bathing. Now I suppose it will be for cooking as well." "So even though it isn't my first choice what is the condition of the boiler?" I asked. "Those gas fired boiliers last forever. It could use some maintenance but it is minimal." He suggested. "How about the radiators in the units?" I asked. "The good news is they are in decent shape. Just a few things need attention, but the bad news is they are in the wrong place." "How so?" I asked. "None in the bathroom, or what will be the kitchens. It's all at the front of the units." "So what can we do about that?" I asked. "I would suggest an electric ceramic heater for the bathrooms. The resident can use it if they want to pay for it, if not they can live with the cool spots. We can wire it to the light switch. I can do it for about a hundred bucks a unit. We can run it through their individual power bill." "We are going to do that with the air conditioning as well I hope." I said. "Yes there is a line for them already in place. The worst job is we are going to have to separate the wiring for meters. Also each unit will have to have their own breaker boxes. You won't need a large box if you furnish the heat, but it will need to be done to pass code." "It sounds like a reasonable plan. Get me some prices and if they are reasonable, we can go for it, I think." ------- Chapter 93 Since I had never been involved in construction, it was interesting for me to help out. I mixed plaster for the Mexican artisans and held windows in place for carpenters. It was quite an experience. After three days, I was able to move furniture into the center unit. It had once been the office, so it was mine. It would also have been the 5th unit, if I ever decided to rent it. What had once been the lobby became my living room, and dining room. There had always been a small kitchen and bedroom with bath. I suppose the fact there there was very little to do structurally made the owner's unit the fastest to get finished. Even though the unit was technically ready to move in, I didn't make the move right away. One of the reasons was that I was still paid up for a couple of more days at the motel. The other was that the boiler had not been thoroughly checked. I wanted that done before I had it fired up. Without that boiler on line there was no heat and no hot water, and that would not be acceptable even to me. "You know this is going to be a screwy utility system?" the heating and air tech said to me. "Yeah I know. I will provide heat but not air conditioning. I have a reason for it. Some people will use much less air conditioning, if any at all, while other would wind it up and drive me to the poor house. With heat they can open their windows, if it gets too warm, or complain if it gets too chilly." I said. "I know," the tech said. "What I am going to do to balance the system is wait until they are finished, then I am going to come in and adjust the rooms so that they all have the same temperature. Using those numbers we can work out the rest of it," he explained. "But I want the heat on now," I said. "I am going to get the boiler on and open the valve to the landlady unit. I'll come back once the project is finished to balance it all out. Right now I want to make sure it won't blowup." "I need hot water as well," I replied. "The utility room is outside your back door. Yours is the only unit that has a back entrance into the alley." he informed me. "I will make sure everything is labeled. You will have to kill the hot water separately from the cold. There will also be a valve for the heated water for each of the radiators as well." "Just make sure everything is labeled and easy to turn," I said as I turned him loose on my boiler. By the time my rent ran out at the motel, my apartment was ready. It was the only one that was, but that was okay as well. I got a few of the guys from the shelter to help me move my things from storage to the apartment. I didn't do it to save money, I did it to give the guys some work and to kill some time myself. Vlad had been gone a week and one day when I moved into the apartment. I expected to hear from him any time during that week. He promised to chase down Davenport for me and get him extradited to the states. Davenport needed to face a felony homicide charge for the ex-con who tried to off me. Instead of Davenport, I got a package in the mail. The package contained a patch of dried skin. There was also a note. Dear Max, I know you won't take my word for it, so if you make a finger print from this patch of skin and compare it to the prints on file for Davenport, you will find them a match. If you have a forensic expert test it, he will confirm that the skin was removed from a cadaver. Davenport resisted arrest, I am sorry. I know you wanted to do it yourself. If it is any consolation, I did it myself and it took him a while to die. He was truly repentant for attempting to take your life. You could probably forgive him now. Vlad. I felt certain that Davenport's money in the former Soviet Union bank had disappeared. I didn't even need to check to be sure. It would be the most logical reason for Davenport to have died slowly. He needed to be convinced to cooperate I am sure. No matter the reason, I mentally stamped closed on Davenport's file. I also mumbled thank you to Vlad. He might not have been a great lover, but Vlad had proved to be an exceptional assassin. Even thought I was living in the apartment complex, it was not finished by any means. On the first morning I awoke in the place it was to the sound of trucks with bad mufflers pulling into the parking lot. I took a shower in what had to be the hottest water I had ever felt. It took me forever to get the hot/cold mix bearable. Men were still finding there way onto the site as I left my front door headed to breakfast. I didn't get very far. I saw Helen's catering truck parked just inside the entrance to my parking lot. Instead of driving to find her, I walked across the parking lot. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "Have you stopped eating?" she asked. "Of course not, I was on my way to find you." I replied. "Well these guys will do a better job with a good breakfast. It might not be hot off the grill but it's better than most of the crap they would eat." "Helen, you know I thank you, but this is way too much for you to do." I said. "I stopped by, I'm not staying. Here," she said pushing a brown bag out to me. Besides I paid for the gas with the others, you are just my good deed for today." I paid her in spite of the fact that she didn't want it. I was in my work jeans covered in cement dust, when the phone rang. "Hello Jen," I said into it. "Hello Maxine dear, are you ready for the news about your little business?" she asked. "Depends, do I need to sit down?" "Only if you want to jump up and sing my praises. Otherwise you can remain standing." Jen said. "So what miraculous thing have you done?" I asked. "You know I'm not kinky, but I managed to truly fuck your two friends," she informed me. "I am not happy that you screwed over Lucas. Gwen I'm not concerned with." "I found out who had made an offer for your business. It's a couple I know. The guy is assistant clerk of court. Thomas Raines is his name. You have seen his name on court orders more than a few times I'm sure." "Ah, so he knew the story?" I asked a little unhappy about it. "No, he did not know that you made Lucas a sweetheart deal. When he found out how little Lucas had invested he was more than a little pissed. To make a long story short, he pulled his offer." "So now what?" I asked "Now we just wait. Your offer to return their money will seem pretty good when weighed against my threat to tie them up with a fraud suit." "Get them to decide and we will make Raines an offer, I don't want it back I just don't want to be used by that Yankee bitch." I said into the phone. "Just leave it to me. I know what you want and it will be exactly as you wish my dear," she said with that condescending voice all lawyers have in their bag of tricks. "Call me when you need me to do anything," I suggested. "No, you call me if anything fun comes up," she said with a laugh. I put the business, which was no longer mine anyway, out of my mind and concentrated on the renovation. To avoid boredom I threw myself into everything. I am sure the foreman wanted to ban me from the site, but I did own the damn thing. "On day one I mixed plaster. All the carpets have been removed and the patchwork masonry work was done. The Mexican Artisans went through the plaster work like an Israelite tribe at war. They literally attacked the walls and ceilings. The finish was very much adobe, except the color was wrong and the finish was much harder. I had the only ordinary exit into the alley, but each unit had to have an emergency exit in case of fire. In our case it was a very large window which opened onto that same alley. It could be pushed out completely with just fifty pounds of pressure. Even an old lady could manage that. There was a catch. The window had to be unlocked from the inside to do it. A pickup truck would be needed to pull out a locked window, I was assured. The plaster workers had to be very careful not to hide that lock. I was constantly on the lookout for that mistake. On day two of the great plaster campaign one unit was left to be finished, then the workers moved to the outside. The concrete blocks were treated differently on the outside. The concrete mix was different and the blocks were soaked with some chemical to help the raw plaster attach itself. The foreman assured me that it was safe, even though he and the others stayed away while it was sprayed on by a man in a plastic suit wearing a respirator. I didn't feel all that good about it, but then again it would be sealed inside the plaster. At least that was the plan, I was assured. On day three of my occupancy the paint crew arrived. They had their brushes and the foreman had the paint. They went through the inside of the five units in one hell of a hurry. Not having any carpet or other trim to slow them down must have been a great way to paint. The four painters just rock and rolled through the five units. Before they left for the day, they even managed to cover the outsides of the windows for the next day's work. Day four the property reassembled a bee hive. Inside men hung cabinets and laid carpet and linoleum. Outside men painted as if their lives depended on finishing it that day. Since they were using spray guns and putting down heavy coats the work progress steadily, but they used a lot more paint than spraying would normally use. While all that was going on for those three days, the heating and air man worked quietly in the utility room. He had cleaned the boiler and checked the burner before I moved in. He had waited until I was in residence, before he installed new valves to each unit's radiator and hot water lines. On day three while everyone else was finishing up, he and a helper managed to install the five through the wall window type air conditioning units. Those were wired to the units electrical circuit making their power billed to the individual units. For the next few days it was odds and ends to get the place finished completely. I was happy to see a crew building the fake adobe fence around the place while others did the finish work. Yes I had hung around most of the time partly to help, but also because I didn't feel safe returning to a building with no security system. I didn't have any new enemies, but one never knew when an old one would decide he had waited long enough for revenge. Just ask Vlad, I thought. It was over a month since I agreed to buy the place from Reverend Archer, when it was officially handed over to me. I had owned it all along, but His Laboring Few were working on it everyday. It didn't feel like it was mine until they handed me the key to the gate. ------- Chapter 94 Even with 'His Laboring Few' gone the place still had people coming and going. The gates and security cameras were installed by a different groups. The parking lot lines were drawn by a group who had never been to Aster before. I have no idea where Archer found them. Also during those days Jen was busy as hell. I never had her doing so much for me at once. She was drawing up the rental agreements, which had to be custom done. She was also involved with Lucas and the sale of 'At Your Service'. I had the keys to the walk gate. That gate was the only way into the courtyard. The courtyard had once included a pool, but that was gone. I had no desire to deal with that kind of maintenance issue. I figured I could handle a lawnmower and trimmer maybe. but that was about it. The parking area in front of the units had been replaced with grass. The off street parking was big enough for a dozen cars which was all I planned to allow on the property. If a tenant had more than two cars, he or she would need to find somewhere else for the surplus. My renovation plans had always put security first. The locked walk in gate might be a pain in the rain, but it would discourage wanna be thugs from wandering in and out. The high definition security cameras in the parking lot would discourage thefts. Those are most valuable when there are signs announcing their presence. I had four different signs announcing, Smile You Are On High Definition Candid Camera. The two camera in the parking lot also covered the front doors of the apartments. There was one more camera just for the walk gate. Since I was using the same web hosting service as before, I also stuck one in the living area of my apartment, but not the bedroom area. The XXX part of the show was over. The work was 99% complete when my first inquiry came walking in. She was a young woman in her mid twenties or thereabouts. "Hi, my name is Amy Smart." She said extending her hand. "Amy, I'm Maxine. What can I do for you?" I asked. "I drive by here everyday on my way to work. I have been watching your progress. The gentleman in the parking lot said you were the owner?" "Yes Ma'am, I am the owner. So again, what is it I can do for you?" "Could I look at one of the apartments please." she asked politely. From my years in the military I knew they were all as sweet as powdered sugar, till they got what they wanted. I didn't buy the act completely. "To be honest Amy, I had seniors in mind to rent the apartments. The units are a little small for an active person." I suggested. "I'm not all that active," she said pressuring me just a little. "Alright come on let's take a look." The reason I went along was to see her reaction to the place. I showed her the unit we designated as number one. I opened up and let her walk around. I watched her as she moved through the apartment. She seemed just so, so with it and I was fine with that. As I said to her, I had older people in mind not active young people. "You are right it is small, so how much are you planning to charge for rent?" she asked. "I really haven't made the final decision. The units have just been finished. The price will include a first class video security system and it has a locked security gate. I am going to include hot and cold water in the rent. Cooling in the summer is with a through the wall air conditioning unit. You pay the electric, so that is on you, however in the winter each apartment will pay a share of the heating bill. That should be a real bargain since it is a gas hot water boiler we all share. I'm think under five hundred a month plus the additional heating in the winter. I will need to get someone in who knows what rents are around here to give me a definite figure." Amy handed me a card then said, "Would you call me, when you get it worked out. I think I would be interested. I still live with my parents and I'm ready for a change." "As I told you, I have seniors in mind. I will give you a call, if I decide to rent to the general public." I agreed. I probably would not have agreed except that Amy was a firefighter. I had a soft spot in my heart for cops, firefighters, and hospital worker types. Something about the two in the morning terror for a living thing. After the Amy chick left I decided that I needed to get to Jen and light a fire under her. "Jen I got people asking about the apartments already. I need those rental applications and agreements." "Then get your ass over here at lunchtime and pick them up. No wait a minute, I have a lunch date. Why don't you come at two and I'll try to get Lucas in at the same time. He is asking for a meeting." "Do it shyster," I said. "Cool, I'll have my girl Friday call you to confirm," she said with a laugh. It was about an hour later when the phone played mag7 again. "Hello," I said expecting the receptionist. "Max, I got word from interpol that they found the body of Davenport in one of those little republics that used to be part of the Russian block." Blevins informed me. "Really, I guess there won't be a trial now." I replied trying to act surprised. "I guess not," he admitted. "Don't you want to know how he died?" "Will he be any more dead, if I know the details?" I asked. "Good point, well it appears that he was murdered. He may have even been tortured first." "Not much sense torturing him after he is dead," I suggested being my usual smart ass self. "That's true, well come to the Cop Out tonight and we will celebrate." he suggested just before he cut me off. I hung around the apartment until noon, then I went on line to find Helen's truck location. Her website informed me that there were two trucks out there and Helen was not in either of them. Helen was trying to expand again. I wasn't surprised. She needed the help but after the fiasco with our lil ringer, I hoped that she would be careful. I knew that Helen had been upset by the whole thing. Helen was loyal to a fault and she felt betrayed by Mosby. According to her site there was a traditional burger type lunch wagon, and a new taco truck style wagon. I was curious just like everyone else in town, so I searched out the taco truck. I found the truck in the parking lot of our local WalMart store. I bought three of the regulars and a can of diet coke and off to the Marina I went. I sat alone on the terrace and even in the cold I enjoyed my lunch. I just loved my life some days. Obviously I was on a manic ride at the time. Jen's Girl Friday called around one, while I was still watching the one lone sail boat on the lake. "Maxine, the boss wanted me to let you know that Lucas will be here at 2:30." "Fair enough 'Girl Friday', tell Jen I'll be there," I suggested. "Will do," she said laughing. I had begun calling all Jen's receptionist Girl Friday, after Jen ran off three in one month the year before. I swore that she had a psychotic break, but Jen swore it was their fault. Since then she went through receptionists like mad. She managed to keep her legal secretary, who did most of her grunt work. Of the receptionists, Jen said, "They are like pantyhose, easily replaced." Jen is a tough one to read, but she had always been my friend. Okay, when Jen isn't doing the right thing by me, she is still Jen and still my friend. I parked my cruiser next to the mini van that had once belonged to both Jen and me. It was now covered in signs for Lightning Delivery. Lightning Delivery did not exist. It was the name of the service not the company, I had explained that to the one person who asked. "So where is Gwen?" I asked when I saw Lucas sitting alone in the small reception area. "Gwen has gone back to Boston. She left yesterday." 'Oh," I commented. "Yeah Mike called, they have something cooking, but I'm not sure what it is." Lucas said. I could tell very easily that he was lying. I had a bad feeling that he was about to have his head handed to him. I decided that I would wait to see what Jen had to say rather than call him out myself. I picked up a Woman's Day magazine and began to read about some singer, who also had a couple of small kids. How to balance your busy life between family and career, it read. At least they didn't ask the chick who had drowned her kids in the tub, I thought. "Come on in you two and lets get this over with," Jen suggested. As I passed she added, "Max we need to talk after." I nodded. Once we were all seated, Jen began. "Lucas we need to know where your head is these days. Are you really going to try to buy Maxine's business at a discount, only so you can sell it for a profit. If that was your plan, to resell it, at the time of the purchase, then it was a purchase not made in good faith and Maxine can challenge it. Trust me she will win on the sweetheart deal part. We will sue you for the profits you make from the sale and there is a good chance we will win." "I checked with a lawyer. You might not win but you could tie the sale up for years. No one is going to make an offer to buy with this hanging over the sale. The situation is the same as it was before, I can't pay full price and I certainly can't make a cash purchase. I should have known better than to try to buy and then resale. Gwen was up in the air about moving back to Boston. I thought she would stay if I had a business here. In the end she was miserable and insisted on going back to Boston. I know it all happened fast and seems as though we had it planned, but we didn't. After the rumor hit the courthouse Raines called me. It just happened." Lucas looked as though he was either lying or ashamed of his involvement in the plan. "That's all fine Lucas, but what do you plan now. I have offered to refund your out of pocket expense and cancel the sale, or go through with it as long as you stay here and operate it." Jen paused then looked at me with a smile. "Operate it for at least five years," Jen added. "I read your 'hands on' operation agreement, and it limits me to what I can do with the business, even if it is losing money." Lucas said. "Lucas, if it is losing money, you need to close it," I replied. "In the meantime you can take a decent salary out of it, if you work it." "If you don't think it will pay for itself Lucas, just sign it back over to Maxine. We have a standing offer to sell it to Raines." "I came here to sign the five year operating agreement." he said unhappily. "You understand that by agreeing, you will relinquish all rights to the company, if you vacate management within that period?" Jen asked. "My lawyer explained. He said if I didn't agree, you could try to vacate the sale based on my previous actions." "Yes Lucas, we all know this was Gwen's idea, but you can't hide from it son," I replied. "I'm not hiding, I know it wasn't the honorable things to do and I have no excuse." he said. "Let's have the papers." ------- Chapter 95: Passing the Time For my part of the agreement with Lucas, I agreed not to speak badly of his company. I further agreed not to enter into any competitive business for that same five year period. I signed immediately after Lucas and we even shook hands. Once Lucas was gone Jen asked, "Have you ever heard of Blackswamp Security company?" "Of course, no one who ever served in Iraq or even Afghanistan could have avoided hearing of them." I replied. "So what is your opinion of them." Jen asked. "It's complicated." I replied. Jen just kept staring at me until I went on. "I think that they are sometimes cowboys. I also think that they do a job, we don't want to do. I would stand on the line beside most of the ones I met, but I don't think I'd get drunk with any of them." I waited for her to go on, when she didn't I asked. "So why the questions?" "The new ownership is branching out. They want to contact you about working for them." She could tell immediately from my head shaking that it wasn't going to happen. "Hold on now, it is not out of country stuff." "You are kidding they aren't putting together a private army here?" I asked. "You have seen what happens in Mexico?" Jen asked. "And that is what happens when people have their own army," I suggested. "It isn't like that," she insisted. "Why are you shilling for Swamp Thing?" I asked. "I'm not shilling for anyone. A friend called and ask me to approach you about listing with an agency." she replied. "What the fuck are you talking about Jen?" I asked. "Try to follow this Max." she seemed irritated. "A former employee of Black Swamp started a new business to operate here. They are going to specialize in high risk assignments. High risk, high pay assignments," she corrected herself. "Very low profile workers for high profile clients." "I don't get it," I admitted. "This is the example he gave me." Jen suggested. "Gangster Rap star is going on tour. There are creditable threats against his life. This bad ass rap star wants to stay alive, so he is out looking for hard core security that doesn't scream, I'm really a chicken shit." "Well hardcore 'Swamp Thing' can manage, but with those guys standing around everybody is going to know that he isn't scared. They all have thousand mile stares. You don't mistake them for thugs." I replied. "Yeah, my friend isn't stupid. What they are looking for are people with a proven record. Names they can put in their file cabinet for the day when they need a middle aged lady, who can, and more important, will pull the trigger." "So he is opening an employment agency for assassins?" I asked. "Not assassins, I would never allow you into that. But jobs like the one you did for the guy in the kidnap situation. Even something like the rescue of your own people." she said. "Jen on a job by job basis, I will discuss it with them, not as a standing job offer," I replied. "I know, you are retired," she said with a laugh. "You laugh, but I plan to really be retired. I have banged around over a year without really being retired, now I'm going to be." "Right and when you get bored enough you will be on the phone to me trying to find something to do." she said honestly. "Yeah there is some truth in that," I admitted. "Some you know it's the truth. You can't stand being bored. Now that Davenport is off the radar, soon you will be climbing the walls until another super villain comes along." "Bullshit, none of our villains are super. They are mostly just thugs." I said. "Don't tell Reverend Archer that. He sees Davenport as a super villain, since he stole his idea and used it for evil." "Ah, he took the plan to the dark side, shame on him." I replied. "So is that all Jen." "Your contracts and applications are ready, Girl Friday has them all ready for you. Did you want me to contact the housing authority?" "No thanks, I might take vouchers, but I don't want them having a veto vote. If it's my money in the game, I get to make the rules not them." "Then be careful taking their vouchers. They come with with all kinds of hidden strings." Jen said. "True, I never knew anything the Fed got into that didn't have more rules than needed, by a factor of ten." I suggested. When I got back home, I sat at my keyboard and wrote the house rules. In addition to those in the contract. The additional rules were about conduct and behavior. The rules in the contract were more about cost and expenses involved in being a tenant, and what you got for your money. Of course there were rules in the contract about what you got, if you didn't pay your rent. Mostly it was bullshit, but I figured it was necessary bullshit. I called Amos realty and Insurance company. Fred Amos and I went to high school together. I didn't know what the deal was with him at that moment, but he had been a class a womanizer back in the day. "Amos Realty," the young female voice said. "Hello, this is Maxine Stone, I would like to speak with Fred Amos please." "Regarding what," she asked. "Regarding herpes the bastard gave me," I replied indignantly. The bitch didn't even answer, she just put me on hold. "I heard you were back in town. My God Maxine, did you have to traumatize my receptionist. I have a hard enough time keeping one as it is." "You should tell her not to ask women why they wish to speak to men," I said with a laugh. "Fred how you been?" "I have been married and divorced four times, how about you?" he asked. "Two divorces, and I buried one. It looks like life has not been good to either of us." I explained. "No it doesn't. I heard you were back in town. Rumor has it you just finished a motel renovation. Is that why you have me on the phone this afternoon." "Well lets say I had to have someone who knows something about this shit come look. You were my choice, since I had heard you took over after your dad passed. I was real sorry to hear that." "Thank Max, he would have liked you. That's why you never met him." He said with a bright sound in his voice. "Mom was his gate keeper and she was strict." He paused a moment lost in his own thoughts I assumed. Then he added, "How about I send my daughter over. She is taking over that kind of thing for me. I will tell her we are old friends and to just give you an idea what they are worth, not try to get an exclusive listing." "Good, I'm going to handle the management myself. I'm going to live in one of the units." "Okay, I'll tell Katie to go easy on you. I expect she can get over today. You are going to be around aren't you?" "Unless somebody comes along to make me a better offer and no one has in weeks. But if she isn't here by eight, I will probably be at the cop out for a while." "Is that place still open. I thought they got shut down years ago." he said. "Probably not, it is full of cops and nurses every night," I said. "Well be nice to Katie, but not too nice," he hung up before I thought to ask for an explanation of that last remark. It was 3PM and I had nothing planned for the afternoon, so I was stuck in the apartment waiting for Katie Amos. I wasn't too bored, since I had weeks worth of TV shows I hadn't seen. I just tuned them in on line and began to watch. I am most likely one of those ignorant rednecks that the media snobs love to rant about. I like TV shows that are popular, not the antique roadshow kind of thing. Don't get me wrong, I like old stuff and the guys who go hunting for it. I just don't care for the woman who looks pissed, when she finds that her mother's diamond isn't worth what she thought. Yes it is a subtle difference, but I like Pawn Stars better than Antique Road Show. At least there they aren't trying to pretend that the value is secondary. All that is to say I was watching some cheap minor cable network show, when Kate Amos showed up. It was one of those that the critics pan, but has a huge audience. I saw her give me one of those looks people save for redneck trailer trash, and that was okay as long as she told me what I wanted to know. "Hi Maxine, I'm Kate. I think yo u are expecting me." she said trying to fake a warm smile. She was obviously a women with a lot of intelligence. She knew when to fake emotions which she did not feel. Too bad she wasn't better at it, I thought. "Yes Kate, he did say he thought you might be able to make it by. It's nice to meet you." I said. "I can't believe you told the receptionist that daddy gave you herpes?" She tried a humorous smile that time. "Well somebody did," I smiled. I hoped she could read that it was a joke, but I didn't really care. "So, are you ready to take a look at the units?" I asked. "Yes of course," she said obviously happy that she had finished trying to be friendly to me. She kept giving me strange looks, but I put it down to the, 'Your daddy gave me herpes' thing. It would be hard for most little girls to laugh that off. "Good God," she said when we entered Unit number 1 of my little apartment building. "I kept wondering where I had seen you before. I should have known from the name." "I'm not sure who you think I am," I admitted. "You are the one who went on the cross country bike trip with Marty." she demanded. "I am guilty of that yes," I replied. "You made a bunch of TV commercials for him didn't you. He has a couple of websites of nothing but you. Even some shot like a reality show." "You know an awful lot about me." I suggested. "Well you are a local girl, who makes a lot of news." she stated strongly. "Some for good reasons, some not so good. That latest stuff on the net is not real even though they think it is." "Oh I can tell which parts are real and which they are exaggerating." She paused to take a look around. "Well let's get to it." she said. I doubt that I got any special treatment, but she was very professional. We discussed the heating system and the air conditioning units. She liked the renovations and the Spanish ambiance, but she went nuts over the security features. "Some people will rent this place for the security alone. I can see my dad putting me here as my first apartment. It won't hurt that you live here as well. I have been remembering even more about you. The Russian you shot comes to mind," Kate added. "Kate, that just happened, I didn't choose that course." She didn't need to know that was a complete lie. I had known all along that the Russian might well die and I was prepared for it. "Well, I am sure my dad would feel much better knowing I was living with you, even if it wasn't in the same rooms." she said it with a smile that might have passed for sincere. "That's a nice thing to say, thank you." I replied. "Now I'm going home to work these figure up and I will have you a price based on an honest assessment not a guess. Where will you be at about nine tonight?" "I had planned to go to the Cop Out club for a drink this evening. You could give me a call on my cell." I suggested. "Or I could deliver the report, and you could buy me a drink as payment." she suggested. "Or that," I said in agreement. ------- Chapter 96: Moving Things Along Kate showed up at my door at 7PM dressed in her little yuppie power suit. I didn't say anything until I read her report. Since I had a lot more space, than I ever had at the cabin, or Jen's little studio, I knew I needed furniture. What I didn't need was the look of standing in a slum that Kate gave me while I accepted her report. 'His Laboring Few' had taken out the wall that once separated the lobby from the family quarters. They had left the registration desk on my explicit orders.Yeah, it had a bit of the old place feel for sure, but also I would be using the it as a dining bar. That bar is where we sat, since I hadn't bothered to buy real furniture at that time. We even sat in mismatched chairs. One from Jen's studio, purchased when I first got to town, and one purchased for the cabin. Those were not going anywhere. Ghetto chic or not, they stayed as long as I did. All the apartments had an inexpensive, but well made wooden cabinet on the wall of the small kitchen. They all had a sink base cabinet as well. Mine had those and the metal open cabinets from the cabin as well. I used them as a no wall pantry. Kate looked very uncomfortable in the, one step above, Ghetto housing, but she suffered in silence. I read her report and I agreed with every word of it. The old motel had been on a main thoroughfare at one time, so in spite of its size and age, it was not slum property because it was in a semi industrial area. It would be a good draw for lower middle class singles and couples seeking convenience and a little privacy. The enhanced security features would be a plus, even if they were for my security not the tenants. Kate's recommendation was a rent of no less than $450 per unit with a clear understanding that there would be a deposit for the heat and an adjustment bill would be sent monthly and was due with the next month's rent. It made perfect sense. The property by Kate's estimates would give me a working income after tax and insurance set asides of about 2K a month if fully occupied. Her estimates were that I would be better off to furnish the place with mostly indestructible furniture and go up on the rent significantly. She also suggested a one year lease, which Jen already had in the contract. "So," I said when I finished reading. "It all looks like good advice. I also like the idea of the energy deposit with the strict pay to play or I shut off the heat to that apartment. I can do that easily." "I think you have a money maker here. You are not going to be in Donald Trump's tax bracket, but you should do fine. Rather than pay rent, the place will pay you to live here. It's a real winner of an idea." Kate suggested. "Good, now about the yuppie suit?" I asked. "What's wrong? I didn't get home to change." Kate said a little embarrassed. I was glad to see that she was. "Honey, if you are going to the Cop Out, they will laugh you out of there dressed like that. So either go home to change, or if you don't have any old jeans, you can wear something of mine." I took a good look at her and then said, "We have asses close enough in size not to make you look like an orphan." She had no idea what that meant, since I'm sure she never wore hand me down clothes. She looked really skeptical. "Oh hell come on, it will be fun. We can even make you someone else for the night." "We need an understanding before we go forward," she insisted very formal like. "What kind of understanding?" I asked. "I have never had sex with a woman," she said. "It's okay Kate, I have." I held my straight face for a minute, then broke into laughter. She even managed a smile. "That was a joke right?" she asked almost playfully. "Yes Kate, it is damn hard for a woman to rape another woman. Nothing ever happens that they both don't want. At least it is that way with me, but your problem will not be with me. Your problem will be with the cops, firemen, and Emt guys. Trust me there are enough of them to keep your ass just as busy as you want to be." "Okay, I just didn't want to lead you on," she said seriously. I could have made all kinds of cutting remarks, but I could tell she was being sincere so I said simply, "Thank you." I found a pair of faded jeans with only a couple of welding burn holes. No, I am not a welder but I did help out in a metal shop, when they were making the fencing and gates for my place. I wore the oldest jeans I had, since I was forewarned. It looked as though Kate was about to inherit them at least for a night. My ass was wider but Kate's was round enough to fill the jeans. The top was another story. Since, unlike me, Kate had the matching set of boobs, we had a problem. She couldn't even button anything I owned, and my tees were going to be stretched to capacity to say the least. The compromise solution was one of my tees worn bra-less, to save even that small amount of space, and her power suit jacket over it. With jeans the outfit had a kind of urban funk look. It would have been more at home in a younger age group, and a more urban hip type setting, but it was still a thousand percent better than the power suit look. We finally had her dressed and made up with much less subdued make up by eight. "So Kate the only question now is, who do you want to be?" I asked. "I want to be me of course," she said. "No you don't. Tonight is not the night to be Fred Amos's daughter. Look hon I have to be Maxine Stone, because that's who those people know, but when I don't have to be Maxine Stone, I am definitely someone else." I paused to let her think that over, then asked again, "So who would you like to be?" "So you are saying I can be as flirty as I want and still leave with you?" she asked. "No one is going to force you to do anything, but you can promise them anything you want, just come find me when you are ready to leave.". I made a mental note to pack the stungun. "Would it piss you off if I wanted to be your niece or something?" she asked. "Honey I don't kid myself, you are not a lot more than half my age. I had no illusions that we were going to pass for sisters," I said it and laughed. "But some of these people knew me from back in the day. They will know I don't have any family left. How about an old Air Force Buddy's daughter in town for a job. You can even be a real estate agent, The closer to the truth the less likely you are to be trapped." Kate looked in the mirror at her tarted up self and asked, "What name do I look like, Susie slut?" she asked with a giggle. "Susan is fine," I suggested. "I doubt that anyone will ask your last name but you never know some of them will be cops. How about Shoemaker just in case they ask." "Cool, I am now Susan Shoemaker, an even smaller town slut." She couldn't help it, she hadn't even had a drink and she was being silly. I dreaded the evening, but I also looked forward to seeing how she coped with the Cop Out. And of course, how the Cop Out coped with her. We arrived a little after 8:30. The evenings were getting decidedly chilly, so I'm sure the suit jacket didn't raise any eyebrows. I'm also sure it got noticed. Kate had fat boobs, and they were magnificent in my tight tee. The full tee was not too far over the top, when worn under the suit jacket. Within ten minutes the younger men had found her and she was an instant hit. For the next hour while talking with Blevins, I also watched young men grind their hardons into her tummy as they pretended that it was dancing. Every two or three dances she would come to our table and have a glass from the always, almost full pitcher of beer that sat on the table. Of course I danced some as well, but not as often or as enthusiastically as Kate. I was glad to see her having fun. "You know, if that girl plans to leave with you, the two of you might need to fight your way out," Blevins said. "You know it's not that kind of bar," I replied hoping that I was right. "So who is the redheaded guy who has her cornered most of the time lately?" I asked. "Martin, something or other," Blevins replied. "I think he works for one of the private security companies. He blew into town last week,. Nobody knows where he is working yet. He talks the talk and from what I hear he can walk the walk as well." Yes I did wonder about him being in town and Jen asking me about Swamp Thing all at the same time. I don't like coincidences, but they do occur now and then in nature. For one night I was willing to let it slide. "So what about Davenport?" Blevins asked. "Was he a gift from Vlad." "More like he was a gift to Vlad," I replied. "The torture?" Blevins asked. "Davenport had more money we didn't know about, I expect. My guess is someone over there decided he was Davenport's long lost heir." "That doesn't bother you?" Blevins asked a little surprised. "It only bother's me that I didn't get to kill the son of a bitch myself." I admitted. "I'll drink to that," he said. Then after taking a drink he said, "Would it bother you, what happened to davenport, if he hadn't tried to have you killed?" "In principal maybe," I admitted. "In reality, if he hadn't tried to have me killed, I wouldn't even know about him." "You know that Martin guy has his hand in your friend's top don't you?" Blevins asked. "So he does, I'm glad one of us is having fun." I looked sternly at Blevins, then broke into laughter. "Don't worry Blevins. I know you are a straight up married man and I appreciate it." "Good, just so you know if I wasn't, I wouldn't be." with that he smiled. "No, it would be your hand in Kate's top and on her ass." He just smiled. "I'm ready to go, but I was wondering if I could take one of your apartments on a test drive?" Kate asked a few minutes later. "No furniture and no heat hon, I'm sorry. Doesn't the redheaded step child have a place?" I asked. "I don't want to invite myself back to his place." she said. "Well you are getting into the spirit of the evening, but I can't help you there. I can tell you, that it is time for me to go, before I turn into a pumpkin," I said. "Then I will tell him that and see what he says," Kate suggested. "Good for you Susie Q," I replied. What he said was, "Let's go to breakfast and I'll take you back to your car after." Which is code for after I fuck your brains out. ------- Chapter 97:... 4AM Visitor Kate's car was parked outside the apartment's courtyard. There were no other occupied parking spaces anywhere. The only other space was in the alley behind the building. That space was located beside the utility room. I parked there, but only after I looked over the whole courtyard using the images from the surveillance cameras stored on line. I went through the rear door of my apartment. Since it was the only apartment with a rear door there was no incentive for the other residents to park back there. They would still have to walk all the way around. Not to mention that there were tow away signs and I planned to call the tow trucks. Once inside the courtyard I stopped and listened carefully to the sounds of the night. There was nothing out of the ordinary. The walk lights along the path from the gate to the building came on as they sensed me in the area. Those kinds of sensor switched lights had become very inexpensive and available everywhere. Checking the courtyard wasn't necessary, but I did it anyway. The downside to all the security for the residents was a thirty foot walk from the parking lot to their doors. Not a big deal until it was raining, snowing or even bitter cold. It wouldn't be a lot of fun with an arm load of groceries. I was planning to suggest a small folding grocery cart and a golf umbrella in the tenant's car at all times. We would just have to see how all that worked out. Since they removed the drive through overhang and windows, my unit looked just like everyone else's. That was a good thing I thought. I didn't need to be all that easy to find. But I knew that Martin would, and he most likely would do it that very night. He had to know I made him, since he wasn't trying to hide his identity. My guess was that he would drop off Kate, then circle the block. Most likely he would come park on the street, walk through the alley and try the rear door. Well all that was, if he had a death wish. Even thought I figured him to be from Swamp Thing, I had no intention of holding a professional at gunpoint while I asked. I planned to blow his ass into next week, so he better be good. My guess was that he knew I was expecting him. "So Martin," I said aloud. "Let's see how good you are, and if I'm worth recruiting." I will give him this, he wasn't a rabbit in bed obviously. He didn't show until 4AM. I had spent a lot of nights awake checking parking lots, so it was a magnificent thing to have the cameras. I sat in the dark, but in the corner of my bedroom on a big ole pillow sipping coffee. It was quite a step up from the back of a cold van with cold coffee. I saw his SUV pull in beside Kate's little foreign thing. Then I watch both pull away after a few minutes. After that I was wide awake and very careful to make no noise. When he came he was quiet, but you can't be absolutely quiet breaking into a place. "Don't Shoot Maxine, I come in peace," he said from the kitchen. "What makes you think I'm not asleep?" I asked. "If you were sleeping, knowing what I allowed you to find out, I wouldn't need to talk to you at all." he said reasonably. "So how was the bonus I threw you?" I asked. "Enthusiastic," he replied with a laugh. He paused then went on, "How about some light while we talk?" "Oh are we going to talk?" I asked. "I certainly hope so, I spent a week scouting you out." he admitted. "Let me see if I got this time line right? I survive my little road trip with Vlad, and you begin scouting me out, as you call it, while they finish my apartment building." He nodded. "Now that it is finished, you are ready to have a chat?" I asked. "Exactly, who said women weren't intuitive?" he asked. "Some man no doubt," I replied. "Turn on the light.' When he flipped the switch on the wall, he was probably expecting a lamp or low watt overhead light. He had to be shocked by the florescent snake like bulb hanging from the ceiling. It was the equivalent of a 150 watt incandescent bulb. I watch as he involuntarily shrank back. It was an interesting effect, but predictable. "So Martin, if that is your name, what can I do for you?" I asked. "More to the point what can I do for Swamp Thing?" "Edgar said you renamed everything. I can't say that I disapprove of Swamp Thing." He paused, and when I didn't respond he went on. "We are setting up a list of operatives we can call on for domestic security operations. We need women, even more we need women with your unique qualifications." "Oh and what do you think those are?" I asked. "Let's not play games. We know you will sacrifice your body to get the job done. There aren't many who will do that. You are also willing to trip a trigger without hesitation when it is necessary." "Or stand bye and let someone else do it, if thats what the mission calls for." I added that, since he obviously knew about me and Vlad. "That to," In other words you are a smart, resourceful, and dedicated operative, just what we need." Martin said. "Not to mention a middle-aged white woman who doesn't look like a hired killer. Thanks but I'll pass on the assassin job." "You know I wouldn't be here, if it were that. This is a counter assassin position, if you need a name like that. Your job isn't to kill anyone, It's to keep the client alive." he said. "Sweetie, if it wasn't to kill people, you would be out hiring college kids?" I suggested. "Actually we do hire college kids as well, but sometimes we need their mother along for the ride." He didn't try to soften the impact of his words. He knew that I would respect him less if he did. "You have one more big plus." "What is that?" I asked. "You have a safe house." he added. "Oh no, this is not going to become some kind of viper's nest. I will not be hung by the Army of the Potomac," I said. "Come on you have to admit, 3K a month not to deal with tenants would be a nice hit." he suggested. "So you don't want me to go out on assignment, just stay here and run the safe house when you have a tenant?" I asked. "Something like that. You have connections with the local Police. Those would make you a real asset in a safe house situation." he said. "I can't promise that we won't need a middle aged lady to get lost in the crowd now and then, but mostly it will be run the safe house." "I need to think about it," I said. "Sure, take your time. Just don't rent any of the units until we talk about it please. We would want you to rent a couple of them so the place doesn't look deserted, when we aren't around." I laughed, "Sure a cop, a fireman and a paramedic go into a shootout. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke." I said. "Point taken, they do have to be special people. Ones who know about you, but not about Executive Security." he said. "Yeah something like that," I agreed. "I had planned to rent to seniors, but you don't want their kids here asking questions about mommy's safety." "Yeah and students would want to rush out and get themselves killed. Probably by one of us, since they would just be in the way. We probably need to give the tenants more thought, but the place is ideal." he said. "Yeah well, you give it some thought and I will do the same." I agreed. "Now if you will show yourself out, I would like to get to bed." "I don't suppose you would like some company?" he asked. "God, men are such dogs," I said. "I take that is a no," he said. "Why would you do that?" I asked. Martin came to me smiling. I could tell even after he turned out the bright overhead light. "So are you Irish?" I asked.@ "Yeah, somewhere back in my history." He said that just before he kissed me. I could smell Kate's scent on him. Rather than turn me off, it was even more erotic. That and he was ten years younger as well. One thing about people who live and love on the edge, they don't have near the number of hangups as the general population. With us it is more take what you can, when you can. As he kissed me I began to understand what Kate saw in him. He had a nice thick lump in his pants. As I kissed him, I felt that warm sensation in my tummy and gave into the feeling. I didn't need love, I just needed someone to hold me. Sure I was more than willing to have sex with an almost stranger to not be alone that one night. Besides there was something rather interesting in screwing someone right after they had screwed someone I knew. Call it a desire for the kinky side, or just over active curiosity, but I really wanted to know what he was like. Probably so that Kate and I could compare notes, if she ever showed up again. I felt him lift the tee shirt which I had dressed in for the wait. I felt his rough hands on the softer skin of my back. The contrast was maddening to my over stimulated body. I loosened his belt in response. I couldn't work his pants down but I could slip my hand inside his shorts. His penis was warm and only semi rigid. It felt wonderful to my touch. My touch must have felt good to him as well, since he moaned against my lips. I felt him apply pressure to turn me, so that he could kiss my neck and manipulate my breasts. His hands were magic and I dissolved into him. When I felt his fingers move over my thin pubic hair, I knew that I would cum very easily. I was already on the verge of an orgasm. When he manipulated my clit, I pushed my butt hard against his still covered penis. I was trying to force an orgasm. I felt him release me for a few seconds then he pulled me to him yet again. When he did I realized that he was as naked as me. I also realized that his penis had hardened completely. It was trying to force it's way inside me. He pushed me to the bed, then down on it. He turned me from my hands and knees onto my back. Before I knew it he was between my legs licking and sucking on my swollen lips. When he moved to lick and suck on my clit, I exploded into a huge orgasm. Instead of releasing me he kept licking and sucking on my clit until I was again close then he forced his penis inside me. I felt his thick cock spread me open and I was in another world completely. His hard smooth cock spread the opening to my body. I could feel the pain as ligaments holding my pubic bone were stretched. While Martin drove his magical cock into me without mercy, I got lost and began floating in some alternative place. I even helped him drive his cock painfully hard into me. I helped him pound me, and it made me ache to have him to be even deeper inside me. It seemed as though the pounding would never stop, nor did I want that to happen. I was on the verge of a second orgasm when I felt him stiffen. I knew he was on the verge of emptying his semen inside me. I was close enough so that I beat my hips against his rigid body until I exploded as well. It took several minutes for me to return to any real world thought. I didn't even try to assess Martin as a lover, I just accepted that he was great in bed, and move on with to my mundane thoughts. "You know I can't let this interfere with my decision about the place," he said. "Nor can I," I admitted. "You know I'm going to tell Kate," he admitted. "So am I," I said smiling at him. I knew that he was running a game on me and I didn't care. He was finding out, if I would be easy to blackmail. ------- Chapter 98: Much Ado About Nothing The morning after Martin Left, I drove my cruiser to Ed's old office first thing. It was mildly cold, but even so I rolled Gunny's bike into the parking lot. There I gassed up the bike and gave it a few tugs. I was happy to see that it started easily. Lucas arrived while the bike warmed up. "You going for a ride?" he asked surprised. "I'm thinking I will ride it over to the motel. That is if I can get you to drive my cruiser over." I suggested. "If you don't feel you need me to follow you, how about I have a cup of coffee first, then bring it over." Lucas suggested. "Actually I think that would be a good idea. By the way what do you hear from Gwen?" I didn't really care, it was just being polite. "The last I heard she and Mike were working on some kind of real TV deal." he admitted. "Well, is she coming back down here or are you going to move up there?" I asked. "We don't know yet. It looks like for the next five years I am going to stay here." He didn't sound angry or even irritated. "That's up to you Lucas. You know all that wasn't personal?" I said. "I know, but it seems like you did it to spite Gwen." he said. "Well we are just to have to disagree on that. Thanks for bringing the cruiser over," I said handing him the single key to the ignition. Even though I had worn the full ski hood and neck scarf, it was cold riding the bike the two miles. It was also a definite wake up experience. There is no way that anyone could have that early morning groggy feeling after a ride like that. I parked the bike in the store room. I had left the can with the extra gas behind. Since Lucas still had his bike there, he could make use of it. I parked the bike as far away from the boiler as possible. If a flame from the boiler reached across the six foot space between them, the gas in the bike would be the least of my worries. I had stopped at Hardee's on the way home for a breakfast biscuit. Since I made perfectly acceptable coffee, I sat at the old registration desk with my Mr Coffee and the paper bag. I finished the biscuit before Lucas arrived. I had the morning news on my 15" screen TV. The TV wasn't any larger than my computer monitor. When I had people in my place, it wasn't to watch TV, I can assure you. "I got your car," Lucas said from the door. "Come on in, you haven't seen the place since Archer's men finished up." I suggested. Lucas took the quick tour then said, "They really did do a nice job on this old place. If I were sure Gwen wouldn't be coming back, I would rent one." "And if I were sure Gwen wasn't coming back, I would let you." There was no sense pretending. He knew that I would never rent to him as long as Gwen was in the picture. For the next three days I did absolutely nothing. Sure I ate, I used the toilet, and I watched TV. I even watched a TV shows the next day on the computer now and then, but I did nothing constructive or exciting. I was a drone for three days and loved it. I ran on auto pilot every day, so I accomplished nothing. It didn't bother me at all. The cell phone rang after almost a week of doing nothing. If I counted from the days before I bumped into Martin. "Hey Slut," Jen said. "My, my shyster what bee crawled into you panties?" I asked. "He said to just tell you it was Martin from the Cop Out." she said. "Oh and from that you deduced that I am a slut?" I asked. "Wouldn't you?" she asked. "I guess I would at that. So what is it that Martin wants with lil ole me?" I asked. "Someone down there in the North Carolina Swamp wants to rent two of your apartments, if they can work out a deal for your services as well." "Ah, you know what they want to do there don't you?" I asked. "My guess is that it's not water boarding." she said laughing at me. "They want me to run a safe house for them. I don't want to play spook." I said. "Well as far as I know it's one of the few things you haven't done." Jen suggested. "It's all too complicated to be honest. It's much easier to just rent to firemen and the like." I admitted. "So how about the other? They also want to talk to you about being a body guard." Jen was pressuring me to take the work. I didn't need the money, so I didn't understand. "Actually Jen the best I can tell they want me on the payroll in some capacity. I really don't want to go on their payroll. Something will come along to keep me out of trouble." I admitted. "Well be careful how you say no. These might not be the best people to piss off," she suggested. "I expect that I already have, but I'll try to play nice mommy." I laughed when i said it. "You need someone to keep your head out of your ass," Jen said. "I refuse to see you self destruct." "Then why do you keep pushing me into these jobs that get me shot at." I asked. "Because I'm too chicken shit to do it myself and it is just so exciting to be part of. Part of it from a far, far distance," she admitted. "Too bad Vlad didn't hang around, he would have been perfect for you." I suggested. "Yes he would," Jen agreed. "So I should tell Martin to find another home?" "Yes, I think that would be a good idea. Also that I'm not looking for steady employment." Just as soon as I hung up, I began working on the Advertisement for the local papers. I also considered Tryon as a local paper. So I found the on line classified listing sites for both. It took only a few minutes to get the listing completed. I stopped in the Cop Out that same night. I found Blevins holding court as he usually did. He seemed to be occupied with a couple of young patrolmen. When I came in he made a bit production of introducing them to me. I didn't sit at this table because it was full of cops. It really didn't want to do the cop story thing that night. Instead I saw Kate in a corner. It looked a though she was trying not to be seen by me. I hoped that she wasn't going to hold a grudge, just because we screwed the same guy. I had no idea why that should be an issue for either of us. Martin was a dog, he sure as hell wasn't in my future plans. If he had been in Kate's, I had a feeling Martin told her about me to get himself out of them. I made the first move, since she might not have felt comfortable making it. There was no real reason for her to be uncomfortable. I walked back to the table and asked, "Is this seat taken?" "No," Kate said. There were a few awkward moments before she said. "I knew that it might be difficult the first time we met after Martin. I hope you aren't holding any hard feelings." "Not in the least. To be honest I was afraid you might be." I admitted. "I felt a little awkward at first, but now I know he is a dirt bag and not worth my time," she said. "Good for you, I found him good in bed but lots of dirt bags are good in bed." I suggested. "To be honest, he was really quite adept at oral sex," Kate said. "Yes he was rather good at it. It seems as though he had a lot of practice eating out women somewhere." I suggested. 'Yes, and I do love that sensation." Kate said then looked at me and started to speak. I held up my hand. "I know hon, you already explained." "Good, but you know nothing is carved in stone," She said in what appeared to be a flirty way. "Well someday we might just have to explore that possibility," I suggested. "Someday," she said in agreement. "But tonight I am meeting one to the EMTs. He works for the county." "Be careful a lot of those guys are married." I warned her. "So are the firemen and the cops. I think in this place we all just look the other way." she said. "That's fine as long as you know what the score really is." I said. I began to spread the word about the apartments after I left Kate's table. I left her table, when the EMT arrived. After that I danced with some of the men and chatted with some of the women. I gave several of them my number. I had always kept it a big secret, but since I was going more or less straight, I needed to be available by phone. I went home alone and didn't mind a bit, until I got into the cold bed. The cold sheets were always a shock to me. I fell asleep wondering when I would get my first call about the apartments. That call came while I was in the driver thru line at Hardee's the the next morning. "Hi are you Maxine Stone?" the voice asked. "Yes I'm Maxine," I said. "Detective Blevins said I should give you a call. I'm new to the Aster Police department and I need a place to live," he informed me. "What's your name and where are you living now?" I asked. "My name is Jeffery Tate. I just got out of the Army two months ago. I have been living with my wife Ruth's mom and dad while I finished up the paperwork and orientation training." "I knew that they didn't have rookie schools any more. How did you avoid the criminal justice classes at the community college." I asked. "I was an MP in the Army. They took that in lieu of school. I went on right away, but I have been doing civilian law cram courses until I could pass their test. Now that it's done I'm looking for a place for my wife and me to live. Belvins said I should take a look at your place," "Jeff, Blevins has never seen the place. It is really small but if you and Ruth want to see it come over. I live in Unit 3 so just knock on the door." "I'm off today can we come now?" he asked. "Sure, I'll be glad to show you around." It took them about an hour to make it to the apartment building. Jeff turned out to be a tall thin attractive black man. Ruth however was a pure trashy blond women. She was also a few years older than Jeff. She didn't look like a junkie or anything, she just looked trashy. There is just no other word that describes her as well. When Ruth badmouthed the apartment as being too small, I agreed completely and rushed them out the door. At the door to my place Jeff said, "You sure ended that tour in a hurry." "Well Jeff, all the units are alike. Your wife thinks that they are too small, the aren't going to get any larger." "Are you sure it's not because we are interracial?" he asked. "I don't think so, but how would anyone ever know their real motives. Ruth would never be happy here, but if you feel otherwise, we can discuss it again after you two have talked." "Fair enough," he said to me on his way to the gate. ------- Chapter 99: A Pivot Right After Jeff the rookie cop and his wife left, I began to think maybe I had been a little hasty with Swamp Thing. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to collect rent on empty apartments, even if there was some risk involved. Then again maybe the little old ladies were the way to go. They sure wouldn't be having wild parties or fights with their boy friends at all hours. There would also be something positive about them being snoopy. The enclosed and locked court yard would be easy to manage for seniors as well. They would probably provide their own lounge chairs. With that in mind, I dressed for the cold so that I could ride the Gunny's bike to the senior center to put a note on the Bulletin board. I took my morning shower then began to dress for the ride. I first worked my way into a bra and panties. Then I pulled on the long thermal suit made for a teenage boy. After the thermal suit it was heavy weight jeans, yes they come in different weights now, and a thick wool shirt. The shirt was Air Force Blue, because it had been part of a uniform I wore many years before. I had saved it like a few other things, just because I liked the way it looked on my oddly shaped body. Dressed with all the clothes, I was beginning to lose any shape I had. That in and of itself might not have been a completely bad thing. I struggled into a sweat shirt and then a slightly thermal lined nylon parka with hood. I also wore a ski hood and scarf. Finally the bike helmet went on top of the parka hood. In the well insulated outfit I was forced to waddle to the bike. It had been stored inside, so even though it was below forty degrees, the bike's motor started right up. I was pleasantly surprised. The bike actually performed quite well. I was surprised how much different the world seemed at 15 to 20 miles per hour. As I rode through town I saw store owners opening up. I even nodded, waved, and shouted a greeting to the one or two I recognized. It was a different view of the town for me. I have to admit there was something somehow more intimate about the experience of riding to breakfast. I pulled the bike into the parking lot of the local McDonald's. The town was too small for more than one, but it was a nice large one. I knew none of the people in the dining room there. They all seemed to know each other, at least on sight, but not me. I was the odd chick out. I didn't mind. I was a little sorry that all the months that I had been home, I had eaten a biscuit at my desk almost every morning. I tried their coffee and biscuit and found them wanting. I had stopped at the restaurant only because it was near the senior community center, so all was not lost. I got to watch a reasonably young father and his two kids having breakfast. He looked as though he was in a routine with them, so I figured he was the stay at home dad. Not only that everyone in the place knew the kids and spoke to them. Obviously he and the kids were regulars there. Several of the older folks also seemed to be even more well known than others. It seemed that there was a whole subculture thing going on in that restaurant. Most likely there were similar groups in other restaurants as well. Once I finished my coffee I emptied the tray in the trash then recovered my helmet from the seat beside me. I got all my hoods in place before an older gentleman asked, "Is that your bike in the parking lot with the motor on it?" "Yes Sir, it is my bike," I replied. "Do you ride it much in this weather?" he asked. "Not so far this year, but I'm starting to ride it more today. I am going to see how it goes. It's really a very different experience from driving a car." "I can imagine a cold one," he said. "Anything that isn't covered does get cold I admit. At least that has been my experience so far." I replied turning toward the door. I noticed that lots of people smiled at me as I passed. When I got to the parking lot, I started the bike and was happy that it didn't embarrass me by not starting. I climbed on board pedaled a few times and then dropped the motor. The bike took right off, I was quite pleased. The four blocks to the senior center passed quickly. Once there I had to wait ten minutes in the parking lot before the doors opened at nine. The slightly chubby lady who opened the doors was wearing a beautiful smile. She obviously enjoyed her job. It had been a long time since I could say that. Two seniors and I entered the the center together. It was warm inside and the others seemed to enjoy that. I hoped that it wasn't because they were living with insufficient heat. I had heard stories and hoped that they were not true around my town at least. "Hello," I said to the lady who had opened the door, after I followed her to her desk. "I was wondering is there was a bulletin board where I might post an announcement of apartments for rent?" "We have a bulletin board and I do not censer it, so sure you can post anything you like as long as it is legal." She smiled. "I'm pretty sure they are legal." I said with a smile of my own. Do you have a pen and paper I could buy or borrow?" I asked. "Sure," she said pushing a cheap ballpoint pen and a pink post it note pad to me. It was at least the large post its. I wrote a quick note about the apartment, listing its features and plugging the security features. I was finished and out of the senior center by 9:30AM. At ten I placed a call to Amy the firefighter who wanted to know the details of the apartment. When I told her that the place would rent for four fifty with a surcharge for the heat in winter she said, "Thanks, I'll get back with you tomorrow. I am at work now and can't do anything anyway." "That is fine, I promised to let you know and I did. You do whatever you feel is in your best interest." Since I had paid cash all the way down the line, and I wasn't totally broke, I didn't feel pressured to rent to just anyone. I did know that the day might come that I did feel like that, but the fact that I lived there would probably keep me from renting to any really sleazy people. The theme from the Magnificent Seven interrupted me watching a cop show from the night before. I seldom stayed up to watch shows past nine on live TV. I preferred to watch them the next day at my convenience. "Hello," I said quickly. I always answered fast to kill that music. "Hello, I'm calling about the apartment." The voice on the phone said calmly. "Yes Ma'am what can I tell you?" I asked. I hadn't quite gotten her age from her voice, but I could tell she was an adult. "Well, I guess first of all what is the rent?" "The rent is $450 a month which includes water hot and cold. The heat is hot water radiators and there is a surcharge when it comes on in the winter, The surcharge is based on actual cost divided by the number of occupied units. There is no pass through fee." I said. "You are responsible for the electric bill. Your Air Conditioner is a through the wall unit, which you control and pay with your electric bill. I will pay for any repairs or maintenance to it." "Okay, what is this enhanced security?" she asked. "There are three exterior security cameras, motions detector exterior lighting, an electric locked gated entrance to the courtyard from the parking lot. Through that gate is the only way into the courtyard and then to the apartments. There is a call system for visitors. Someone has to allow them inside the locked gate. You will get the web address to monitor the cameras, if you wish. You can use that to see who has requested entry. If it is not someone you are expecting or someone you know, you can call the police." "Now that is a nice system. How large are the apartments?" She asked. "The apartments are one bedroom efficiency apartments," I admitted. "When would be a good time for my husband and I to come see the apartment?" she asked. "Almost anytime as long as you give me some advanced notice. I live in one of the apartments myself." I informed her. I gave that exact story to everyone who called after that first couple. I was surprised that there were more than I anticipated. I guess it just goes to show again how little patience I have. The first unit went to the older couple who called. Surprisingly enough it wasn't for them. It was for their granddaughter. She was the only grand child who had not gone to or planned to attend a four year college. Sarah Beth had enrolled in a one year certificate program at the community college. The older couple who came to look at the apartment were paying a lump sum toward the college of each grand child, since they knew one way or another the government was going to get it, if they didn't. Sarah Beth's tuition was going to be minimal, so they had decided to pay the one year rent on an apartment for her. They wanted her to be safe above all else. Sarah Beth was not the brightest light on the tree they insinuated. "Well guys I don't babysit, but if she calls out for help, I will definitely help her." I suggested. "We couldn't ask for any more. Now if you will complete the lease, I will write you a check for the years rent. I realize there will be an additional charge for the heat this year and probably some of next year." Unless you guys go ahead and rent the apartment, I can's guarantee it will be here when she is ready to start school," I explained. "Oh we know that. Sarah is working now at the mall in a jewelry store. She will most likely be there until after Christmas. Her classes start in January so it will work out fine. We may be paying fourteen months instead of twelve, but it will be worth it." The grandmother said. "Now you know the place is unfurnished?" I asked. "That is going to be the most fun," grandma said. "I have a house full of furniture that nobody wants." "We accumulated it over fifty years and now just because it isn't cardboard and wood chips nobody wants it. We are both looking forward to filling this little place with furniture for Sarah Beth." Grandpa said. I have a feeling this has as much to do with you guys as it does with Sarah Beth." I said smiling. "Maxine, to be honest we see more of us in Sarah Beth than any of the others. We would never tell any of them that though." "I won't either. Unless they piss me off," I said smiling. "But you will be there, if she needs you?" Grandpa asked. "Sure, but the cops are just down the street a few blocks," I suggested. "I will feel better with you two doors down," he said smiling. He obviously knew who I was. Neither of us brought it up. We did the paperwork and I gave them the keys. One metal key to the door and a plastic card for the gate lock was their set. It took a whole hour for them to get back with a thrilled Sarah Beth. Sarah Beth was 18 and cute as a button. She was about forty pounds over weight but she also carried it very well. She had a body that was proportional unlike me with small boobs and a big ass. Sarah had big boobs and a big ass, her body type was a lot like Kate's, ------- Chapter 100: Just the Way It Is I showed the apartment a few times during the week, but nothing really happened until Friday night. Around 6PM Friday night Sarah Beth's grand parents arrived with a gaggle of other people. "Grand Pa stood at my door with a younger version of himself and a pudgy Betty Crocker type female. "Maxine this is my son and his wife." He named names but they were lost on me. They just became Sarah's Mom and Dad to me. "Nice to meet you both. I met Sarah and she is a real sweetie," I said. "I am very impressed with your security system here. Even though I understand you have a dangerous lifestyle at times, I think Sarah will be safer here than in some huge complex in Tryon." her dad said to me. His comments put an end to any rental arrangement I might have been considering with Swamp Thing. "I certainly hope so," I replied. "Just so you know, I have never brought my work home with me." "Good," he said. "Tell me, if Sarah orders delivery pizza, how are they going to get into the gate?" "She is either going to have to be sure the delivery man has her cell number, or she is going to have to watch the gate video camera and come meet him or her, If a friend just shows up, it better be a close enough friend to have her phone number." I said "The final contact option is that my cell phone number is listed at the gate. I can relay a message, if your daughter answers her cell phone for me. If she doesn't, then whoever is at the gate needs to just leave." "And they will," Grandpa said. "I expect them to leave peacefully yes," I replied straight faced. "Well, we are moving Sarah in more or less," Grandpa replied. "Actually her mom and dad plus two brother are doing the moving. Grandma and me are just observing." "It should be warm in there, I have had the heat up since Sarah's rent started a couple of days ago." I suggested. "Oh it is nice and warm in there. The cable vision man is supposed to be here one day next week." Dad suggested. "Tell Sarah to make sure I know what day. I won't just let him in on his say so alone. All service people have to be arranged in advance. Actually I had all that taken care of in the renovations. They should be able to do it from the office, but if not, one of us has to let them in. I should be here most any day for a while." My plan was to hang around at least until all the units were rented. I would have enjoyed the downtime better, if it had been 80 degrees, but you can't have everything. Sarah spent the night in the apartment. God only knew how many months it had been since there were people staying in the motel. The new occupants were semi permanent residents, not transients. With all the other stuff on his plate I'm sure God didn't mind the Casa Del Aster's status change. On Saturday the calls picked up. The first couple to show up was obviously a Father Daughter combination or he was the world's luckiest man. He was a man about sixty or so. He had all his own hair, but it was colored. The coloring was a very good job, but his facial wrinkles didn't match the hair color by about twenty years. He looked soft, but fairly close to the correct height weight proportion. He looked like the kind of guy who would fit into the kind of lifestyle that the tiny apartment would dictate. I gave them the speech pretty much in one long narrative. "So there will be an additional fee for the heating of the place?" he asked when I finished. "Yes sir, that is the most asked question I get. I had a choice of adding a new heating unit which would been less efficient, and cost the tenant more to operate, or to go this way. The Heating and Air Conditioning Contractor suggested this method. It's going to be a pain, so it wouldn't have been my first choice. There is an agreement in the lease that it is capped at $200. If it a resident's share goes over that, the additional is slopped over and we catch it up in the spring. In other words, if it get really nasty out, you will know that $200 is going to be the most you will have to pay at any one time." "That is still a lot for those on social security alone," he suggested. "Yes it is, but it's the best I could do. I am sorry, if it won't fit into your budget and I fully understand." "Ms. Stone," the girl spoke for the first time. "That really isn't the issue. My dad is just really concerned about seniors these days," "I completely understand, but to me honest I'm not the government, nor am I a charity. I am not trying to get rich by any means, but the place has to pay for itself. This is the price and the plan that the experts tell me will work." "My dad could never get into the Senior Towers, nor would he want to take up a space there. This place is ideal and the size is even larger than those units. The towers is better for those who can't drive or get around as well as my dad. We are going to talk about his, I expect that you will be hearing from us." "I didn't catch your father's name? Just so I will know who I'm talking to if he calls back." "Johnathan Hunter," she said simply. It was all she needed to say. Johnathan Hunter was the son of the mill owner who had in effect started Aster's first growth spurt. When his dad built the textile mill, people began to actually build houses near the mill, so the town double in population almost over night. As the Aster furniture factory and the textile mill grew it doubled a few more times, before the nationwide decline in industrial jobs began. The story was that Johnathan Hunter had lost most of his family money, and then he gave away the rest of it as some kind of penitence. I would have to give him some serious thought, if he ever called back. The second apartment actually rented Saturday just after noon. It went to a woman again, even thought I would have preferred a man. Her name was Lois. Yes she had a family name, but I couldn't pronounce it, let alone spell it. Some Italian monstrosity which a true southerner wouldn't be able to say correctly with a hundred years of practice. Lois was an early retiree of the county government. She had just given her house to her Son and his family. The apartment was exactly what she wanted at the present stage of her life. She didn't like the idea of yard work, or having to find someone to replace the shingles, when they blew off the house during the spring storms. The size would have been a problem for some people, but not Lois. "I won't have to do much work at all. I plan to sit on my ass, watch my big screen TV, and get fat," she informed me. "I have been keeping myself in reasonable shape just in case some man came along. I felt like I needed a man to take care of me. Then one day I finally got it. I didn't need anyone. Over all those years of taking shit at the county, I had made my own future. They offered me a chance to retire early and I took it." So Lois made arrangements to move in on Monday morning. She decided to take the unit beside mine. Sarah was on one side of me and Lois would be on he other. I had three more and I really wanted men to move into them. Maybe not all of them, but at least some of them. "Good for you," I said. "I'm retired as well. Military twenty odd years," I admitted. "From what I have heard about you, I bet they were odd." Lois said. "Do not believe all you hear about me. Your honor is safe here, if not your reputation." I took the chance that she could take a joke. "I might wish those were reversed, before I'm ready for the bone yard," she said smiling. "Now I need to go tell my son and his wife that they can finally screw as loud as they want." She giggled and I smiled. Sunday morning I dressed like the Pillsbury dough boy again and took off on the bike. I rode it to the Hardee's, which I much prefer for breakfast. I took my coffee cup along even though I bought their coffee. I just don't like drinking from cups that I can crush accidentally. I am not, nor do I want to be, the incredible hulk. Since I had watched the crowd the last time I ate breakfast out, I observed them Sunday morning as well. It seemed to be the same people with different hair cuts and clothes. I mean there were old couples talking, in loud voices, to other old couples who answered in equally loud voices. On Sunday there were a few families dressed for church, even though it was early. My guess was Sunday School for the kids. Even though it was a fast food restaurant, there were couples where the man was in jeans, and the chick was in much more formal attire. Sleep overs was my guess. It was all, in all further introduction to the life going on around me which I had been missing. My backpack pocketbook began to play the Mag7 again. "Hello," I said. "Maxine this is Lois, I'm going to be moving in tomorrow," she said to catch me up I suppose. "Yes of course, have you changed your mind?" I asked. "No, not at all. I wanted to bring some things over this afternoon if that was okay. My friend Ester would like to come over and look at the apartment as well." "Sure, I'm out having breakfast now, but I should be home in less than an hour. So anytime after lunch would be fine." When I left the restaurant on the bike, a family stood on the sidewalk with the kids waving as I rode by. I waved back and enjoyed the sensation of being stared at by kids, instead of dirty old men for a change. The gate opened and closed several times before Lois arrived. Sarah had several people stop in to look at her apartment. It was like an open house around the place, with all the people wandering in and out. I got a couple of calls from the gate. People who didn't know Sarah's phone number mostly. I had her go meet them, to be sure they were who they said they were. "Ms Stone, It's Johnathan Hunter, I was wondering, if I could show the apartment to a friend to get her opinion." "That would be fine come on over, call me from the gate and I'll buzz you in." I agreed. "Actually, I'm at the gate now. I decided to take a chance and just stop by." he said. "That's not a problem, " I said as I buzzed him through. "This is the key to unit 1 on the corner," I stated clearly as I handed him the key. "We shouldn't be too long," Hunter said. "I wouldn't think so, there is no furniture." I said smiling at the much younger woman. The class blond lade was a few years younger than me. She was definitely an adult, but far into middle-age I left them alone, as I returned to my apartment. I had my tiny TV going while I waited for Hunter to return my keys. I was watching some real estate show on one of the cable channels when Hunter knocked. "Yes," I asked standing in the doorway. "I have decided to take one of your units," Hunter advised me. "Very well you can have your pick," I suggested. We looked at unit one and Cheryl liked the carpet, so I guess we will take that one." Hunter said. "So whose name will be on the least?' I asked. "My name will be on the least, but Cheryl will be living in the apartment." "If she stays in the apartment more than 72 hours, her name must be added to the lease, but we can start with just your name., if you will be the primary resident." I said unemotionally. "You better put it in her name then," he suggested. "Then rent payments must come from her bank account, or who ever's name is on the account must also be on the lease. It's all in the lease agreement that my lawyer drew up. It's to keep everyone out of trouble, should the police need to do an investigation." I tried not to show my pleasure in his displeasure. "I'm sorry for any inconvenience that's just the way it is," I said it innocently. ------- Chapter 101: A Pain In The Ass I rented the unit to Cheryl under her own name. I was assured that the payments would be coming from an account she controlled. Johnathan Hunter also assured me that he would not be staying in the unit more than 72 hours at any one time, ever. If that did come to pass, he would allow me to add his name to the lease. He also understood that if I was ever questioned by the police, I would explain the circumstances of the rental. I was still up in the air about the daughter being with him to help pick out a place for his mistress, if that was indeed her part in the little play. I fell asleep Sunday night trying to juggle all the new people in my life. A teenage girl, one woman a few years older than me, another woman a few years younger, and her boyfriend Gunny's age more or less. Toss into that mix the younger Kate and Martin, then my life was filled with more people than I might ever be able to keep straight. Monday morning when I woke at 8AM, I had a definite place to be at 10AM. Sleeping until 8AM was a little unusual for me. It was 9:30 by the time I found Helen and her breakfast wagon. I bought my bag, then climbed into the front seat to eat it. "Helen, have you and Jack ever thought about opening a restaurant?" I asked while chewing her breakfast bagel sandwich. "We have talked about it, but the overhead would kill us. At least until we got it going," she suggested. "What if it was just an extension of the food truck?" I asked. "You mean, the food truck at a fixed location?" Helen suggested. "Let's say a place where you could drop off the same items you now have inside the bags. A place where they could be reheated in a microwave, and then served. A place where nothing needed to be cooked. You could avoid most of the start up cost that way, as well as the health department hassles," I suggested. "What got you thinking about this?" she asked. "Drive over to the Hardee's any morning and take a look at their dining room. It's a social club as much as a restaurant. I think your concept would work even better." I suggested. "If I ever find another Mosby, I want to add stops like the senior towers to the list." She paused then looked at me and said, "I'm sorry Max I forgot." It isn't your fault Mosby was a ringer. I was Marty's fault. He knows better than to come within a hundred miles of me." I laughed. "I hope he knows how much damage I can do with a boning knife," Helen said with a chuckle. "It would probably be a good idea, if he kept his business empire in New York City. He is still up there I think." I suggested. "That's what Jen said," Helen agreed. "She also said that he would be pitching another bunch of Computer spots to you." "Oh, I hadn't heard that," I admitted. "Well then, you didn't hear it from me." Helen said it with a motherly smile. She paused a long minute then added, "Keep an eye out for a place like you mentioned. Jack and I need to grow a little, but without putting too much of our money into it." "Fair enough," I replied. "Have you heard anything from Julie?" "Jen has her transfer worked out, I think. All Julie has to do is keep out of trouble for a few more weeks." "She can do that I'm sure," I replied. "Well I have to go to police headquarters, after a stop at the court house." "You are going to freeze to death on that bicycle." She seemed to be genuinely worried. "Actually, if I get cold, I just lift the motor and pedal a bit. That makes me toasty warm," I informed her. Since I had promised myself to be at the courthouse at 10AM, I left the breakfast wagon and headed to court. "Good Morning, I'm Maxine Stone. I need to pick up an evidence release form or something like that. Its to have a pistol returned that was seized by the police as evidence, but not needed for court after all." I said it smiling. "I called last week." "Yes, you spoke to me. It is going to take about fifteen minutes." she informed me. "That's fine, is there somewhere I can get us a cup of coffee?" I asked as I smiled. "There are some machines down the hall, but the coffee is awful. Is Helen's breakfast wagon outside this morning?" she asked. "No, I left her a few minutes ago at the Aster Furniture Plant #2," I informed the clerk. "Then you really should just hold off on the coffee. I don't need anymore to be honest." "Okay, I guess I'll just wander around." I said. I took a seat outside her office instead. I spent about fifteen minutes day dreaming. I also racked my brain for a suitable spot for Helen. One where she could open an old guy breakfast and lunch house. "Here you go," the clerk said after almost fifteen minutes exactly. "So, I just take this to the police property room?" I asked. "Yes, it is just down the street." she informed me. "It's not in the station. It's across the street isn't it?" I asked to be more precise. "Yes it's locked up tight. They will make you wait in a little room. Then bring the item to you." The item was my .38 concealed hammer wheel gun. "Got it, thanks." I replied. "You are quite welcome.Ms Stone. And do be careful, you are getting quite a reputation around these parts." "It's all a myth," I said. "Sure it is. I read all the police reports for the indictment filings hon. Don't try to lie to me." She gave me a bright smile. "Well all the rest is BS. It was made up for that stupid computer show," I admitted. "Ah you mean the walk on water parts, yeah we know that." She smiled again. Fifteen minute later a policeman nearing retirement handed me a brown paper envelope with my pistol inside. "It ain't loaded," he said. "Trust me, it was when I gave it to the officers." I said. "Then they will be loose in the envelop. If they ain't, you can put in a claim." he suggested. "Don't worry, I brought some extra ones." I said that with a smile. I left the police parking lot with the fully loaded .38 concealed in a flounder style holster in the small of my back. No matter what kind of holster I wore it in, inside that nylon parka, it was more or less useless, if it was needed it in a hurry. Still I felt better with it than either of my other pistols. I just never trusted a semi automatic pistols as much as I did the old fashioned wheel gun. When I got back at the apartment building, it was in time to watch men enter Lois's apartment with full boxes and then leave with the empty ones. It lasted only a short time. Possibly because the apartment was so small. The furniture itself took even less time than the boxes. The movers were completely finished with Lois's place in no more than two hours. She came knocking on my door shortly after the move was complete. "Maxine, the cable man can come this afternoon to hook up my computer and cable services. He won't give me an exact time, and I need to go to the house to empty my refrigerator. I will probably run by the store as well. Could I just tell him to call you?" "At the moment I plan to be here, but I can't guarantee something won't come up." I said. "Okay, if you have to leave, they can just come back when I will be home. I'm going to tell them to come on over." Lois said. "Sounds good," I replied. "Hey Maxine, I want to make spaghetti tonight. There is no way I can make just a little, how about you come to dinner?" she asked. "How about we invite Sarah Beth as well. She might be working but if not, it would be a nice gesture for us all to know each other at least a little." I suggested. "What a great idea. How about the people in the other apartments?" she asked. "I have two still empty and I have no idea when they are going to move into the other one." I admitted. "Well we can do it again, when everyone has moved in. Maybe a cook out, even if it is winter?" Lois suggested. She was standing at my door, when the sound of Mag 7 rang out. "Got a call," I said and turned away from the door. "Hello," I said into the phone. "Maxine, it's Kate, guess who called me this morning?" she asked. "We really only have one person in common, so my guess is Irish Martin," I said. "He is the one. He said he wanted to take me to dinner after he has a talk with you. Are you going to sleep with him again?" she asked. "You need to ask him that, I am not going to ask him. That is all I can promise." I replied. "Then how about I am there for your meeting?" she asked. "That is up to Irish Martin, I have no objections." I said it smiling into the cell phone, because I knew what his response would be. Irish Martin was going to try to recruit me again. This time he had a proposal I was sure. One which would not include operating a safe house for Swamp Thing. "He will be calling you tonight, I am going to get back with him before he does. I am going to ask about the three of us meeting for coffee before dinner." she informed me. "Kate, considering our history, I would make sure he understood that it was coffee, nothing kinky," I suggested with a laugh. Kate did not find it amusing, She was absolutely somber when she said simply, "Right." Then without warning at all, she changed the subject. "How is the apartment renting going?" "I have two left to rent, but I expect them to go soon. I have shown them a few times, so who knows." "My EMT friend asked me to check. He and his wife are getting a divorce and he needs a place. The ex and his kids will get the house he is sure." "If he wants to come look it's fine. You know the price and the deal with the heat, so the contract shouldn't be any surprise to him." "I will have him call to set up an appointment. You won't screw him as well, will you?" Kate asked. "If you ask me not to, then I won't. I don't see why you would though. I mean, if you are going to screw Martin after dinner, what's the big deal?" I commented. "Never mind, just don't screw Eddie," she demanded. "Don't screw Eddie the EMT, Jesus you can really pick them," I commented. "He is married on top of everything else." "He is getting a divorce," Kate snapped. "Okay, but we will see. Honey they are all going to get a divorce until the time comes, then about 10% of them really do it." I suggested. "I know you that don't want me to date him or Martin. You want them all for yourself," she said. "Sweetie, I don't care who you date. Just be honest with yourself. Odds are this is just a fling for Eddie the EMT. Enjoy it for what it is, but don't build castles in the clouds." "So you will rent him the apartment?" she asked. "If he checks out, and puts up the deposit money, sure why not?" I asked. "Good I will have him call as soon as I talk to him again.," she insisted. It was obvious that she was trying to prove me wrong. I suppose that I hoped she was right. That is, if she really wanted to be miserable one day. Eddie the EMT was going to be like my ER intern. He just wanted me to do what he wanted. The intern just didn't have to promise to marry me to get his prick up my ass. ------- Chapter 102: All the Good Ones Are Taken EMT Eddie called a half hour later. He listened to the story, then said he needed to think about it some more. I was glad that he didn't waste my time. It was less than an hour later when the Cable guy called. "I am supposed to install cable to one of your apartments, and the lady doesn't answer her phone," The cable guy explained. "I know come on in. I'll get you started." I tripped the electric lock, but only after I checked him out with my on line camera. Since there was just one of him, I pushed the button. When he made it to the long row of apartments I got my first really good look at him. He was somewhere over 20 and under 30. It was as close a guess as I could make for his age. The fact that looked pretty clean cut, and the .38 under my sweat shirt made me feel fairly comfortable to be around him. "She is in apartment number four?' He asked. "That's right, but you want to go around to the alley behind the building first. I will meet you back there and you can make the connection to her block there. Then you can come back around and check her reception. I have the pass key. You might want to call the office? I have two more new rentals ready. I'm sure that they have orders, or will be ordering cable soon." "When they place their order, someone will come back. We don't install without an order in hand." he said. "And I'm just trying to help," I said. "If you just let me into her apartment that will be help enough," he said shortly. "Okay, show me your Identification and then give me the phone number of your supervisor,. After that we can work something out maybe." "I don't need this shit," he said and turned to leave. "Before you go, I want to see that ID card," I said quietly. He turned angrily back to me to make some comment or maybe get physcial. Instead he found himself looking down the barrel of my ugly .38. "What the fuck?" he said. "I asked you very nicely to show me your ID and give me the phone number of your boss. You copped an attitude that concerns me a lot. This is a high security apartment building, you knew that when you buzzed my gate, now you are going to stand right there until a patrol car shows up." I punched 911 on my cell phone. "I'm just a cable guy, you are crazy," he demanded tensing for fight or flight. "All the more reason for you to shut the fuck up and wait. If you do anything foolish, you will not be the first person I have shot this year." While we waited, I rehashed it in my mind. I could not believe that things had gone south so quickly. The officer who came was a female. First she took my pistol, then she forced the cable guy to do what I had asked earlier. Turns out the cable guy didn't have an ID, which is why he wanted to scramble away. The only thing out of sink was simply that he was working off the books. Not for the cable company but their installation sub contractor's company. There was a scam going on to divert funds under some kind of subcontractor fraud thing. It was not all that unusual a scam, and since the victim was the cable company not me, I didn't give a fuck. The jerk should have just gone along, rather than get on his high horse with the middle aged bitch of an apartment manager. I was sure that is how the installation manager would describe me later. "So now what?" I asked the patrolman. "That's up to you," she said. "We can do a trespass thing, if you want to spend the time in court." I looked at his face and was about to say. "Sure I got nothing better to do." Then he spoke to me again. "Ma'am, I'm sorry I acted like a jerk. I know I'm going to lose this job, but I can't spend time in court." "Can you make a call to the cable company manager or president whatever it is?" I asked the cop. "Count on it," she said. "Matter of fact watch." She made the call standing in my living room. She explained the situation to the owner of the local franchise who got me on the phone and apologized. He assured me that one of his people from the service department would be in immediately to do the installation. "Then I'm going to leave this to you to clean up. But let me tell you something, I have been contacted by Direct TV to put a dish on the apartment for everyone to share. Don't give me a reason to go that way. I do not fuck around with people." I hung up the cop's phone as if it were my own. "I'm sorry," I said handing it to her. "Where you finished?" "I think you ended it better than I could have," she said smiling. After she cut the installer loose, she gave me my pistol back. "Would you like some coffee?' I asked. "Sure," she said. "You don't recognize me do you. I guess you wouldn't I have only met you once." "I'm sorry I have old lady memory cells," I replied pouring her coffee. I didn't even ask if she wanted cream or sugar. "I interviewed you at the hospital after you were stabbed in that parking lot thing." she reminded me. "Ah okay, sorry all beautiful cops look alike to me," I said smiling. "You were flirting with me even then," she said smiling. "I am married with two kids though." "Do we have to invite them?" I asked with a smile. "Yes," she laughed. "All the good ones are married," I said. She finished her coffee and left, so I was alone again when the real cable man came. He showed me his ID and called back to find the other orders. He also wired all the boxes, so that they could be turned on with a phone call. "Ms Stone, the boss wanted you to call when I had finished." He gave me the number. "Hello this is Maxine Stone," I said to the man who answered the phone. "Ms Stone I want you to know that we are investigating the subcontractor who does our installations. If we find any other problems he is history." "Sir, that is none of my business. My business is the security of my tenants. If you ever send me another installer, or repairman who has no ID and has not be vetted, I will make a formal complaint to the utility commission. You don't know me, but if you did, you would know I do not make idle threats." "Actually Ms Stone I know off you, and you are 100% correct to be upset. This will never happen again I assure you." "It will never happen more than once more, I assure you." I said angrily. "Yes Ma'am. even once more is one too many. I'm sorry for the problems," he said. We didn't part buddies, but he did know exactly where he stood. Lois came home during the last service man's visit, so I had to fill her in. When the final call ended she said, "This really is a secure apartment. Most places with this kind of security are thousands of dollars a month rent and are in big cities." "Well, if it gets to be too much, I will understand," I said. "Are you kidding, I love it." she said, then added. "I am going to go start the Spaghetti. I spoke to Sarah Beth, she will be home at six so dinner is at seven no excuses." Lois said as she left. I nodded. I needed to get inside and calm down. First I went to the rear of the building to check the wiring. I am no genius, but I hope I could find anything obviously out of place. Nothing seemed to be. I sat down with a cup of coffee to relax for the two hours before dinner. I knew he was going to call since Kate made an issue of it, but I wasn't ready for his call anyway. "Hello," I said into the phone to stop the trumpets. "Well hello there Max, it's me Martin." "Yes Irish Martin, What can I do for you Red?" "You can open the gate for me. We need to talk." "Your timing sucks, the cops left not half an hour ago. I'm not in the mood for playful chat or sex." I suggested. "Ah do you have a headache," he said with a laugh. "This time it's strictly business." "Well hell, that's no fun." I pushed the buzzer anyway. "Hello again," he said when I opened my front door to him. "Hello Red, so what's the pitch?" I asked. "My you are all business. Can't we at least catch up first?" "What's there to catch up about. You came to screw Kate, and I plan to say no to any rental offers from Swamp Thing. Is there any other business on the table?" "I expected you to decide not to rent to us. You aren't the employee of the year type." He said. "Got that right," I replied. "As for Kate, I didn't realize she was the kiss and tell type. That changes things a bit I think." "That's none of my business," I said smiling. "Okay, so why were the cops here?" he asked. "That's none of your business," I suggested. "You know I can find out with a few phone calls," he suggested. "Then do it. It is not my job to make your life easier," I suggested. "What do you think about surveillance?" he asked. "Do you mean the high tech shit, or the bad coffee and food shit?" I asked. "A mixture of both actually," he added. "Necessary, but boring as hell." I admitted. "And industrial UC jobs?" "Again necessary, but boring." I replied. "But would you be willing to do it?" he asked. "I would be willing to consider it on a job by job basis." I admitted. "The problem with that Max is we need to make a plan based on our assets. An I'll consider it doesn't help us make a plan." "I know and it's the best I can do. I didn't expect you to accept it. What I expect is that you will say, Fair enough, then never call." I smiled and then added. "Kind of like a first date." "You really are a skeptic," he said with a laugh. "I prefer to be called a realist," I suggested. "Perhaps a little of both. A skeptical view of the real world." he said. "Well get to it Red, I have a dinner in a few minutes," I suggested. "Okay look, I don't have a specific offer to give you now but would you be willing to work those kinds of jobs for us, even if they took you away from the apartments." "Once in a while, if the job is worth doing. In other words I want to know that I'm not saving the world for some new deodorant or keeping some rock star from being photographed nude." "Okay, I will tell the boss, but they don't like giving that kind of veto to an operative," Martin admitted. "That's fine I have a perfectly good life right here. I don't need your money or the adrenaline rush." I lied. "Maybe not the money, but not the rush? bullshit. You are a junkie, just like the rest of us." Martin said. "I seem to find the rush just fine all by myself," I answered. "Okay, I'll tell the boss." he smiled then changed the subject. "How about I stop back after I have dinner with Kate?" "You mean after yo u screw her?" I asked. "That too," he suggested. "Kate would not like that at all," I said. "I hadn't planned to ask her permission," he said. "Call first," I said smiling. ------- Chapter 103: Dinner and a Threesome It was over an hour after Martin left before Lois called me to dinner. When I entered her apartment, I just knew that dinner was going to be wonderful. The place smelled like the best Italian restaurant I was even inside. Since I was the first to arrive, Lois asked, "Would you like a glass of wine while we await Sarah Beth's arrival?" "Sure, I have been known to drink almost anything with alcohol as the main ingredient." I replied After looking around her living room I added, "It looks as though everything is in place. Does your Cable work?" "Yes it does and I wanted to say thank you again for your help," Lois said. "Well, I let it get out of hand, but at least it got installed. The up side is that everybody else can get cable just by calling the office. It was supposed to have been that way from the get go," I informed her. The knock on her door was Sarah Beth. "Wow something really smells good in here." she said. "Thank you," Lois replied. "Are you allowed to drink wine?" "I have had wine, but I would prefer a soda," she informed us both. "Good for you," I said with a big smile. "And you are right the place smells like an Italian restaurant. I just hope I will be able to sleep tonight with that wonderful smell in the air." The conversation was good, and the food was excellent. "God I wish I could cook like that," I said. "It isn't worth the effort," Lois informed me. "That sauce is an all day affair. Then I will have to throw away half of it." "Like hell, give it to me and I'll freeze is. That left over sauce and a cheap mac and cheese box dinner will make a couple of excellent meals for a old chick who can't cook for shit." I said to her. "It really is the best sauce, I have ever eaten," Sarah Beth agreed. "Just to change the subject, before I gain even more weight, Sarah what are you planning to take in school?" "I just don't know. I'm torn between a couple of things." She said with what was likely her standard well rehearsed answer designed to put most people off quickly. "Oh really, what are your thoughts at the moment?" Yes I was pressuring her. I wanted to know that she wasn't some kind of pervert living next door. One pervert in the complex was enough. I wanted to know as much about her as possible. "Something in medicine I'm pretty sure. There are several tech courses taught at the community college." she suggested. "Do you like desk work?" I asked. "No, but it isn't all desk work," she informed me. "No of course not," I admitted. "Tell you what, one night I'll take you to the Cop Out Club. There are lots of nurses, med techs, and EMT types, who come in there. You can get a chance to talk to a bunch of different technicians. Maybe we can even work out an on the job visit for you." "Wow that would be great." She paused then said, "Well I have to get to bed early, I am opening the store tomorrow. I do hate to eat and run, especially as good as that dinner was. After she had gone Lois said, "She is a cute little thing, damn it. I used to be cute like that once." Then she laughed. "I never was cute like that, sad to say," I said it with a laugh. "Okay, I was never that cute, but I was cute damn it." Lois said. Lois and I finished the bottle of wine and got right chummy. I had promised myself that I would not hit on any of the tenants, so the slightly overweight Lois was safe. I would never hit on her. However, if she got me drunk and hit on me, all bets were off. That being the case, I left early as well. As I walked just the few feet to my own door, I discovered that it was really cold outside. I was happy that the boiler worked as well as it did. The thermostat was in my apartment, but it heated the units all to the same temperature I had been told. It did as long as I had the valves set right. The valve for my place was set at number 8 on the open scale. I planned to set the others the same. I could lower or raise the number depending on the desire of the tenant. That was about all the control they had over it. If it got too hot, crack a window, if you had a cold spot try an electric ceramic heater. I bought one of those for each unit. I had them stored in the utility room. They were for those folks who wanted a cool apartment but a warm bathroom for showers. That was actually my preference. I watched cable TV, while I awaited Irish Martin's call. I also gave some thought to my two tenants. I had promised myself not to get involved in their lives and I planned to stick to that, well as much as possible. Still there was the question of Lois and her tomato sauce. She did promise to give me the excess. I actually planned to pass at least some of it along to Helen. I knew that Lois needed some time to just do nothing. I had needed that, but I didn't take it. What I did was to start a business which gave me lots of time off. I worked my way into a new life slowly. Lois would have to find her own new life, but if it happened that she could help Helen in the process, so much the better. I still had to find Helen a building. Truth is once I put the bug in her ear, I am sure she and Jack were out looking for a place. Still, if I came across something, I planned to pass it along. The black box on the end table roared out Mag7 and I lurched for it. How much was to shut it up and how much was anticipation, I didn't know. "Hello," I said into the phone. "Hello," I was surprised that the voice was Kate's. "How would you feel about Martin and I coming over for a visit?" she asked. "That depend on how you feel about it?" I commented. "To be honest I'm not sure. Yesterday I would have said no way,. Today, I'm asking aren't I?" "Yes you are asking, but is it what you want or what you think you have to do?" "I'm confused, but I'm not being forced," she said. "Then bring some Coca Cola to mix with Canadian Club. Oh yeah and the Canadian Club as well. I am pretty sure we are all going to need a drink." I said. "Right," she said in agreement. "I'll call again from the gate." Since the ice machine from the motel days still worked, I had it moved to the storage room. I had access to it, but no one else did. I went out my back door and into the storage room. I put several scoops of the cubed ice into a clean grocery bag salvaged from a previous Wal-mart trip. The next thing I did was go to the web site hosting my cameras. I set the surveillance camera covering my apartment's living room to save. I didn't have one in the bedroom and that was fine. I didn't want any problems later as far as who did what to who. Since I had the only password to change the setting, I didn't have to worry about anyone downloading the file. Someone might stumble on it, but they couldn't keep it. Odds of even that happening were a million to one. When her call came, I looked at the online image of her standing at the gate. Martin was there as well but with his face turned away from the camera, of course. I opened it for them and they walked through. I took a good look to be sure the gate was closed. The locking circuit also verified that the gate was closed. "Come on in," I said to Kate who was the one at the door. Since I hadn't seen Martin's face at the gate, I kept the .38 handy until I was sure that it was indeed him at my door. As he passed me he saw the pistol and smiled. I knew that he had expected no less from me. We began drinking the CC and Coke almost immediately. Kate filled me in on her day. I noticed that she did not talk about EMT Eddie, so I didn't mention his call. She was still pretending there was something more than sex between her and Martin. So she thought that she was juggling two men. It was probably a new sensation for the only slightly chubby, but ordinary looking Kate. She just needed time to come to grips with who she really was. Martin on the other hand knew exactly who he was, and what he was doing. He wasn't just getting it off with us, he was checking me out. He and Swamp Thing wanted to know how far I would go, and how much did I really care what a relationship was based on. Was truth, justice, and the American way, really all that important to me. People always say one thing, but are almost always willing to compromise, when the shit hits the fan. I understood that it was best for Swamp Thing to know, if I had an understanding of real life, or not. With women, sexual encounters are a good way to find out how much is facade and how much is real. I talked at being morally liberated and willing to do anything to further the cause, but was I really willing to go the distance. That was what the evening was all about, and nothing more. I knew that, but I wondered if Martin knew, that I knew. The plan was to see if I would help get Kate drunk and then help take advantage of it. I had a problem. How far was I really willing to go? It was a question only I could answer. Was I willing to change her life forever, in order to prove a point to people I might never work for anyway. Then again, I wasn't the one who brought her here. She came willingly. When she came to my door, she was not drunk, or drugged to my knowledge. So where was my moral liability? I asked myself. While I was thinking about all that, Kate was quietly drinking her drinks. She had three which she made herself. "Show her the way," Martin demanded quietly. Even though he was younger, it was clear that he was going to be in charge. I could have asked for a clarification, but why bother. I already knew. I walked to stand in front of Kate. I took her hands and lifted her to her feet. She was about an inch taller than me, but it was close enough so that I could easily kiss her, so I did. I kissed her tenderly at first, but even that was with tongue. While I kissed her I felt her chest begin to rise and fall faster. Then I felt Martin turn us both slowly so that he could stand behind Kate. He wrapped us both in his arms, but it was Kate who could feel his large, thick, hard cock pushing against the tight fabric of her jeans. I could feel her hips moving against his cock. Even as she kissed me even harder. I knew my part in the play but even if I hadn't, I would have done exactly the same thing. I slipped my hand between us. I used it to open her jeans. I could feel the waist band of her panties stretch as my hand moved over her smooth mound. Kate had shaved for Martin my mind noted happily. It made what was about to happen a little less shameful. When my finger found the folds of her clitoral hood, she went a little crazy kissing me. She pulled me so close I thought she might bruise our lips. I stopped short of giving her an orgasm. Instead I opened my own jeans and worked her hand inside. She knew what to do. It took her a second to accept it, but she did. I felt her hand rubbing my clit in circles and I loved it. I kissed her hard as she worked me toward an orgasm. She didn't know enough to stop. I came with a gush of lubricant. Kate was drunk not only on the booze but also on the sexual arousal. Martin pulled away and then led her to my bedroom. I tagged along like a puppy. When we got into the large bedroom, he sat in the one comfortable chair in the room. "Strip," he demanded of us both. I slowly began to unbutton my top. I would ordinarly have kept my eyes on his, but I wanted to see Kate's reaction. She stood almost frozen like a deer in headlights. "Do it Kate," I said softly. That push was all she needed. She began to unbutton her tops. My faded blue work shirt was already open, when Kate finished her buttons. I shrugged my shit to the floor and waited for Kate to do the same. I opened the clasp on my front hook bra while I watched to see Kate struggle with her rear set of hook and eye clasps. When my bra slipped to the floor there was very little that changed. When Kate's bra fell open, her very large and soft looking breasts fell out and downward. She had sag from pure volume, not age. I couldn't help myself I moved to her and lifted one of them to my lips. I sucked on her nipple and heard her moan. The moan was not so loud as much as it was strong. She wasn't being shy about expressing her approval. I would have dropped to my knees and buried my face in those gorgeously chubby boobs, if I hadn't remembered the purpose of the evening. I backed off and allowed her to finish undressing. Her hips were softer and pudgier than mine. Her butt was more full and she had an even larger belly, but she was still young and beautiful to me and Martin as well, I think. I had known all along that Kate was the star, and I was the bit player in that night's drama. I didn't like it, but I knew my part. It was made even more clear, when Martin said to Kate, "Come here and suck my dick. Do it good, we want Maxine to see what a wonderful cock sucker you are." I looked to see Kate's reaction. I could tell the words stung her, but she moved to lower herself between Martins legs. I watched as she worked to free his cock and begin to lick it up and down. "That's right girl make love to daddy's cock." I could see her shiver at the sound of his words. Martin motioned me forward, then made a gesture for me to finger fuck Kate as she sucked him. I knew how crazy that made me, and expected it to do the same to her. When I ran my finger over the Kate's Vulva, I found it wet and slippery. I knew that slipping my fingers inside her would be easy. I quickly drove three fingers deep inside her body. I found it hot, wet and slippery inside. She was still, young woman, tight but also open to it. I drove my fingers deep inside her as Martin's eyes rolled back and his hips began to move. "Don't swallow it Kate," he said in a strained voice. "Give it to Max." Kate worked up and down on his cock even faster. Martin held her head and drove his hips into her as well. He let out a loud groan and I knew what he had just done. I moved around so that I could kiss Kate. When I did, I felt his warm thick sticky cum push it's way into my mouth. If it was Kate's first time, she knew exactly what she was supposed to do with it. As soon as I had it all and swallowed it, I fell on his cock trying to squeeze more from it. He withered in my mouth. I backed off and hugged Kate, since he was going to be useless for a while. Kate responded as I expected her to do to my kisses and hands moving over her body. She didn't want to be turned on, but she couldn't help it. I had my fingers inside her body, then in her mouth, as I lowered myself to her pussy. I licked and sucked on her vulva and clit until she came so hard that I thought she might break my teeth. She actually did bite down on my fingers in her mouth. Since I needed to cum, I turned to her and pulled her face to my pussy. She knew what to do. Every woman does, first time or not. She licked and sucked my clit until I was on the edge then she rammed her fingers inside me. She was trying to get as much of her inside me as she could. So much that it actually was painful. Even though it was painful I didn't stop her. I just flooded the carpet under us. I was shocked when Martin came back to life before Kate or I. I heard him whisper in my ear. "I'm going to take her ass cherry, and you are going to help me." I wanted to say, "As long as it is consensual," but I also knew that I no longer cared, so I just nodded. "Get her up and find something to get her ready," he demanded. The something was KY. Of course I had it in my medicine cabinet. I got, the mentally out of it, Kate to her hands and knees. Martin and I held her in place while I lubricated her rectum. I was careful to use plenty of the goo. I also used it on Martin's thick cock. It should have been a smaller cock the first time, I thought. She rocked back against my fingers while I worked it inside her. She also made grunting noises. They were mixed signals, as far as I could tell. I wasn't sure, if Martin was getting a cherry or not. Whatever else she was, she was tight there. When Martin penetrated her sphincter she let out what was almost a scream. I had been expecting it and muffled it with a kiss. It came out more as a loud grown. My walls were eight inch concrete block and insulated inside to dampen noise. Also my bedroom wall was Lois's living room wall. I hoped that those two things would keep the noise of Kate's ass being fucked from spreading outside my apartment. At first I felt her trying to resist. "Relax Kate, it will hurt less," I informed her. I am not sure she ever relaxed. I think she went from, God this hurts, to God this is so nasty, to God this feels so good. I tried to get my hand to her clit, when it was at the God this so nasty stage. I rubbed her clit and sucked on her sagging tit while Martin plowed her ass. She was cumming long before he managed to shoot a second load. When he pulled out, he collapsed, and Kate fell forward almost smothering me with boobs. I managed to work my way out. I was the only one more or less coherent. I managed to get to the kitchen to make another drink to wash the funky taste from my mouth. The two of them had made it to my bed, so I joined them. The only space available was beside Kate. When she turned her back to me, I fitted my body around hers and fell asleep. ------- Chapter 104: Swamp Water and Tv It is almost impossible for me to sleep in the bed with someone else. If I have had a lot to drink, and find myself sexually beat down, I can manage a few hours. That being the case, I was not at all surprised to find myself instantly awake, when Martin left the bed in the middle of the night. I played dead to see what he would do. The first thing he did was try to toss the apartment. No doubt looking for information. In his business information is power. That much I had learned about the black bag boys over the years. The had to have a constant stream of information or they went mad. It was like their drug of choice. "That would go much easier with coffee. Give me a minute to pee and I'll make some. I might even be able to tell you where to look to save you some time." I didn't move a muscle when I said it. I might as well still be asleep as far as anyone looking would think. "You aren't spy grade material, but you are damn good for what you are," Martin said. "All that just because I will do a threesome with you and your new girlfriend?" I asked. "Or is it because I offered you coffee while you toss my place." "It is because you are a world class trouble shooter. Whether it is calling the cops at the right time, or shooting a Russian in the face, you know what is the most efficient thing to do." Martin said it as I slipped from the bed. I expected that I would wake Kate, when I went to rummage through the stack of cardboard boxes for a long tee shirt to slip into. I was using the boxes in place of a dresser at that moment. Kate was obviously much better at sleeping in strange beds, than I was having strangers sleep in mine. I didn't shower before I put the coffee on, but I did brush my teeth. I had really bad breath and a terrible taste in my mouth. I even took time to run a brush through my thin stringy hair. Without a butt load of moose, it just lay like paint on my scalp. "So did you find anything interesting?" I asked when I returned from the shower. "I found that you own this place outright and that you don't need money. I even know a couple of things you don't?" "Oh and what might that be?" I asked "I know where your friend Mosby is." he said. "That, my friend, is information of no value whatsoever." I replied. "But, I also know what she is going to be up to next." Martin was smug, thinking I would care no doubt. "Not interested," I replied. "Are you sure, it involves you," he said with a huge grin. "If it involves me hon, I will find out eventually." I said. "Why wait?" he asked. "Oh alright, what does the little nymph have in store for me next?" I asked. "She is part of the group trying to sell their little show to a cable TV network." he said. "That is going to be a problem, since i am not about to sign on for that," I replied. "Swamp Thing, as you call it, would like for you to do the show," he said. "What makes you think I care what Swamp Thing wants?" I asked. "Come on Max, your life is like about people and situations like us. You go along being an average citizen for a couple of months, then you find shit to get into." he demanded "Come on that's crap," I said "I'm one of those people to whom things just happen." "Max, listen to me and try to be objective, okay?" he asked. We were sitting at the old registration desk drinking coffee as he tried to give me, his take on me. "Sure, but let me see how you explain the kid trying to hold up the convenience store. How was that me looking for trouble?" I asked. "Sure, first of all you had a pistol. I know it wasn't for that exact occasion, and I know that it's legal, but nobody else in this town would have strapped on a pistol to go out for pizza. You were more than just in the right place at the right time. You were prepared for something like that because you wanted it to happen." "What crap," I said, but there was something in what he said. "Even with the pistol, you could have just let it happen. Then gone home to your pizza or whatever it was. But no, not you, you have to take the thug down." Martin explained. "I explained that to the cops," I replied. "And they knew it was bullshit as well. The after action bullshit, to justify the action." Martin actually laughed quietly. "You aren't talking to the plumber on the grand jury here Maxine." "Everything you do that gets you into trouble, you could have walked away from and still had a nice life. No sweetie you need your terror fix, just like the rest of us." "Even if that is true, what's in the TV show for Swamp Thing?" I asked. "The same as for Marty, the bike peddler, positive exposure. The kinds of people we want to work for might not watch Maxine the super hero, but their wives and girlfriends might." "Okay, I think it is bullshit, but even so, why should I do it?" I asked. "You wanted the option to turn down jobs. The ones you thought weren't worthy of your ideals, well this is it. The kinds of jobs you want to do, are the kinds that will clean up the company's image. It's a true win/win. We give you the chance to run around playing a real life Charlie's angel, In exchange you say good things about us, plus you get paid twice for it. What more could an out of work operative want?" he asked laughing. "I will think about it, if they come calling." I replied. "Try to see it honestly, not through your rose colored glasses," Martin suggested. He stood to leave, since those appeared to be his final words on the subject. "One more thing, you helped turn Kate because it was a rush pure and simple. You don't really need more of a reason that that." He turned to the door and I was glad to see him go. He was hitting a little too close to home. "I'll call," was his parting shot. I did give it some thought as he walked to the gate. I couldn't help but see the humor possible in the show. We could call it the gun thug slut, I thought. Once I was sure the gate was closed and locked behind Martin, I went back to bed. The sun hadn't even risen yet, I thought. I slept better with the extra room in the bed. It also didn't hurt that Kate was harmless compared to Martin. She did snore a bit, but I could deal with that. I only dozed in bits and pieces, but it was something. "I wish you weren't so damn small," Kate voice cut through my bit of sleep. "Huh?" I replied. "I said, I wish you weren't so small. I sure would like a shower and some clean clothes." Kate said not at all friendly. "Sorry, you could always leave some clean panties here," I said with a smile, because I knew it would start a firestorm. "What the hell makes you think I will ever be back here?" she asked. "Oh, it was just a suggestion. If not that, then put a pair of panties in your purse. Wrap them in a little plastic bag, if you don't want people to know you what you are." What I didn't say was, "Honey, if you are going to be a slut, get used to it, or be inventive." "Will you give me a ride home?" she asked being a little nicer, but it was very little. "Since I have clean clothes, you are going to have to wait until I take a shower and dress. After that sure, I will take you anywhere you want to go." That's exactly how it went down. After my shower I filled the Delta coffee cup, and off I went to take the fallen princess home. She did not say anther word to me, not even thank you for the ride. Kate, I decided at the moment the cruiser's door slammed, was not going to be a lifelong friend. I would have taken Kate to breakfast with me, if she had been about half pleasant. Since she wasn't, I rode to the Hardee's for my breakfast alone. At almost 10AM it was a different crowd, but still they seemed to know each other. It was a bit of a shock for me to see that. I had thought that it was one group, at one time of day, but it seemed as though the whole breakfast meal had its regulars. I knew that it had to do with price for the older ones, and I supposed that it was true for the young families as well. The children at 10AM were all younger than school age. A couple of hash-browns and a bit of egg off mom's biscuit was enough for them, I supposed. I was still trying to figure it all out, when I finished my meal and left. Since I had the Swamp Thing's offer, after breakfast I went by Ed's office to pick up my tools. Ed was at his desk as he usually was around lunchtime. "Hey big guy," I said to him. "How are things working out with the forced labor?" "You mean Lucas? He threw himself into the work once that Gwen person left." "She has gone already?" I asked. "Yes, but Lucas said she would be back soon. She and Mike have kind of deal cooking." "Ah, lots of people have things cooking these days. I came to pick up my tools," I suggested. "This doesn't mean you are going to stop coming to see me does it?" he asked. "Of course not," I replied. "It does mean, I need to go buy a gun safe though. I guess for now, I'll put them under the bed." Might as well spread a little disinformation, I thought. "There is no hurry, you can leave them here," Ed suggested. "I know, but I feel better with them within reach," I admitted. "Yes, with your lifestyle, I can see that," he agreed. I loaded up the guns, ammunition, and vests rather quickly. It was going to make for a big pile at the apartment. Fortunately I had a lot of empty space, since the rooms were large and I hadn't filled them with furniture as of yet. At the apartment I made several trips from the cruiser to the apartment just to get all the equipment inside. Once I got it inside and on the bed, I realized that when I got it organized, it wouldn't be so much. I had two trench length shotguns, an assault rifle made in china, a .22 magnum sniper rifle, and several pistols of various caliber. Lots of ammunition, two stun-guns, two vests. One of them was the replacement for the one damaged in the Russian shootout. All in all, it was not that much. I had the plan in the back of my mind from the first day that I bought the apartment building. It came as no shock to me that I was ready. First of all you have to remember that my bedroom had once been an old style motel room. As such it was wider than a normal bedroom, and it was much longer. The length was for the bathroom at the rear. The bathroom was small with only a tiny tub and shower along with a toilet of course. Just outside the small bathroom was an open area. That little dressing area was about four feet by ten feet. The wall nearest to the bathroom had a vanity with sink and mirror for dressing and makeup. There was counter space that took up about four of those ten feet to the common wall shared with my living room and kitchen area, The original use of the space, from the end of the counter to the wall, was for a clothes bar and other storage for the guest. In the final plans the space got turned into a much larger closet. The vanity became part of the bathroom, but the concrete block wall at the end of the vanity remained. To make a long story short there was a tiny space two feet wide and four feet long at the rear of the new, but less sturdy, closet. I had the Laboring Few turn it into dead space simply by placing the clothes bar two and a half feet from the rear wall. A lightweight false wall made it my hidden compartment to store the tools of my trade. It would require a lot of work to gain access to the space, but that was the idea. Once everything was inside the hidden storage space, I settled in for a day of pure relaxation. I began it with a nap. ------- Chapter 105: Breaking the No Routine, Routine Most of the weekdays passed easily. I had not realized how much I needed to build up my reserve energy. After three days of doing nothing more than showing the two vacant apartments, I felt as good as I had in years. Not better, but I was back at my highest level of energy. In those three days I had also established a routine that I enjoyed. Every one of those three mornings, I dressed like an Eskimo, started Gus's bike, then rode to breakfast at the local Hardee's. On the morning after Kate and Martin left my apartment I picked up aTryon paper there. In it I found a story about middle aged and older, men and women who walked at the two malls in Tryon. After that I began a new part of my morning routine. I rode the bike five miles out to the mall located between Aster and Tryon. It wasn't a large mall, but it did have two enclosed stories which made it ideal for walking. I wasn't sure how far I wanted to walk, but I did my math calculations before I left the restaurant. If I walked 3 miles an hour, which Google informed me was the average idle walking speed for an adult woman my age, then every twenty minutes I walked one mile. That very morning I stopped by the Wa- Mart store which, wasn't too far out of the way, there I bought a cheap digital watch. Once I arrived at the lower level of the mall, I stripped off most of my clothes. It was not at all sexy I can assure you. Then I looked at my watch and began to walk. I tried to walk normally as I began the first lap of the bottom floor. I walked by stores mostly filled with boutique type businesses. I did find two large department store chains represented. I had no idea that they were in the mall. Obviously I am not much of a shopper. There were also three empty stores on the bottom level of the mall. Christmas had come and gone with no more than a turkey dinner at Jen's house for me. Followed by passing out of a few boxes of very expensive cookies. It looked as though for at least three retail shop it hadn't had a better Christmas than it had for me. All the stores in the mall seemed to have suffered to some extent during the season of giving. In the present economy I was told that it was typical. I walked steady for the complete lap and then checked the watch. I had walked eight minutes. I did a rough calculation and figured that I needed to do two and a half laps of the down stairs area for a mile. So five laps was two miles. That seemed about right, so off I went for four more laps. I rode the escalator up to the top floor after one more lap of the bottom floor. I timed upper floor lat as well and found that it was pretty close to the same. Right or wrong, I set five laps as my baseline. I began to walk and my mind began to drift. As I walked I began to notice the people that I passed. I realized that I had instinctively turned right off the escalator which set me to walking clockwise while everyone else walked counter clockwise. There had to be something significant in it. The herd going in the same direction and me going backwards, I mean. The direction I chose to walk had me confronting each of them every lap. I guess I might claim it kept people from walking up behind me, so maybe there was a reason after all. I mean other than me being out of step with everyone else in the whole world. I was pleasantly surprised to find how friendly the mall walkers were. They were mostly older retired folks. Yes most even older than my forty something years. They seemed to be a reasonably fit bunch as well. Some were couples obviously husband and wife types, some were couples, like women who came to walked together regularly, and some couples looked to be mall pickup couples. Probably one walk stands, I thought. There was also a very few singles like me walking as well. All that I noticed before I walked into the food court. In the food court I found another twenty or so people. Some looked as though they might be walkers on a scheduled break and some looked as though they might be mall employees waiting to start work. The workers being only marginally better dressed. For the first time since I left the sandbox, I had a routine at least part of the day. For must of a week, I had walked at the mall after breakfast at Hardee's. I knew that if I was in a high risk environment, any routine would have been totally stupid. Since I really wasn't in an imminent threat situation, it was only mildly stupid. The morning walk gave me a little exercise, and it gave me a little structure. I decided that I needed both. The final reinforcement for the continuation of the walk was at the food bar. No I would never eat there, but there was a cookie shop. I tried to avoid sugar like the plague, because for me it was. I would have tried to pretend that the cookie shop didn't exit, except that all the people, waiting for the stores to open, had coffee cups with their logo. Since I love coffee, I bought a cup on my last lap. I was only half a lap from finishing, so I waited until I reached the bike to try it. The coffee was delicious. It was just a little stronger than what most restaurants served, and just a little weaker than my own. Not only that, the girl behind the counter was gorgeous and sweet as well. I was hooked. Before I left for breakfast that morning, I realized that Friday had slipped up on me again. At the Hardee's I realized that I had finally been around long enough to recognize the people there. I could wave at most of them, and they would wave back. Since over the years, I had learned the art of eavesdropping without being obvious about it, I knew enough about most of them to speak. It was a skill that came from working undercover investigating thefts from military installations. I was into my socializing mode, when the phone rang. It was embarrassing to hear Mag7 come from my purse. I had to remember to stop by the phone store and have that changed, thought yet again. "Hello Jen, what the hell are you doing awake this time of the morning" "It almost 9AM of course I'm awake. Where the hell are you?" "Hardee's of course, so what's the emergency this time?" I asked. "I'm not real sure, guess who called me at home?" she demanded. "If you want me to guess, I can and I can even get it right, but wouldn't you rather just tell me what he said?" I asked. "Okay wise ass, Marty wants a meeting again. But he insist you be patted down for weapons first." Jen said with a chuckle. "I don't blame him, I might well want to pop his ass for the Mosby thing." I said. "He knows that, but he still has an offer to put on the table," Jen replied. "Actually, I know what his offer is already. I have been giving it some thought." I admitted. "These bacon, egg and cheese biscuits aren't free you know." "You are kidding me. They almost got you killed with that damn online shit. Surely you aren't really considering a new gig?" "I thought you wanted me to do it. To make your life a little more exciting?" I asked. "I don't want you to get yourself killed for my entertainment," Jen said seriously. "Don't worry, neither do I," I admitted. "But I'll listen to the offer. When do they want to talk." "Monday morning at 10AM." "Okay Jen, Monday at 10 it is," I agreed. "Bye the way if you have an apartment left, save it till after the meeting." she suggested. "Fair enough," I replied. I hadn't rushed to rent the last two apartments because of Irish Martin's visit. I had a feeling someone would want at least one of them. That is, if I decided to do it again. I still hadn't made a final decision. I left hardee's with my delta coffee cup full. I had a lid for it, so that I could ride with it in the handlebar basket without sloshing it around. I took it into the mall with me. I began my walk at the downstairs entrance away from the food court. I walked two laps on the bottom floor and sipped my coffee as I went. It was actually quite pleasant. The coffee had cooled off significantly before I rode the escalator upstairs. I walked one more lap including in and out of the food court before I felt the coffee had cooled enough to need help. I stopped at Cookie land for a cop of their coffee. I poured it from their cup into my cup, then tasted it. It was still a little cooler than I liked to start. I noticed that they had a microwave oven. "Miss, could I get you to put this in the microwave for a minute. I would really appreciate it." I said. "Sure I have time. I don't have any customers this early." she said. She stood in front of me while the coffee nuked. "So you come here often?" I asked. "I work here," she said seriously. "Oh, that was a joke?" "I guess it wasn't much of one. Just my poor attempt at humor and conversation." I said. "Since I will probably be seeing you a lot, I thought I would try to make friends." "Oh do you work in the mall?" she asked. "No, but I have started walking with the other old guys," I said. "Oh you aren't near as old as the others," she said it, not realizing how it sounded. "Oh good," I said as the buzzer on the microwave went off. It was a good thing, since I had decided that the chick was as dumb as a post. Too bad because she was young and gorgeous, just my type. Okay, I liked to pretend that her type, was my type. I finished my walk then rode the bike home. I had nothing to do until Monday so I drove the cruiser out to buy enough comfort food to last until Monday morning. Then I settled in with it in front of the computer and the TV. I had been settled in about two hours when the first interruption of my Veg out time came. "Hello," the voice came after I answered my phone." I was reminded by the music that I still hadn't gotten around to fixing it. ""Hello, what can I do for you?" I asked. "It's Johnathan Hunter, The movers should be there in a few minutes to move Cheryl's things in." "That's fine," I said. "Will one of you be with them?" "No, I was hoping you could let them do their job without us." he said. "Mr. Hunter this might come as a shock to you, but I'm not the door man. I am the owner/manager of the apartments. Once I delivered the keys, it became your responsibility from that point on. You are asking me to be responsible for people I know nothing about." "You are there, I don't see the problem," he said way too calm. The man had to be on mood altering drugs." "The problem is I'm getting ready to leave and that means they would be here alone. The other tenants expect security in this building, and this is a breach of it. So, no I will not let your movers in. You need to either meet them here, or reschedule the move for a time you can be here. I'm sorry, but that is the way it has to be." "Very well, I guess I should have arranged it with you earlier," he admitted still way too calm. "I guess so." Alright I did enjoy telling him no Still, I would have done the same thing for anyone else. The tenant was responsible for the people they allowed into the common area. That was very clearly stated in the lease agreement. Johnathan Hunter was trying my patience and he wasn't even the tenant. After that episode things went smoothly the rest of the weekend. I stuck to my routine, otherwise I played absolutely dead until Monday morning. ------- Chapter 106: Who is afraid of TV ... me My play dead weekend got interrupted by only one thing, I rented one of the last two units. It went to an EMT, but not EMT Eddie. He never had any intention of doing anything but leading Kate along the path of deception. The EMT who rented it was a young man fresh out of the community college and new to Aster. His name was Roy Rogers, no relation, he was quick to point out. Roy was more than willing to play along though. He told me, when discussing how he would be moving in, that he and his friends from the base would be moving furniture in his Ford pickup named trigger. I just shook my head and took his check. Part of the appeal of my place for him was the need for only a few pieces of furniture. I watched Roy and two of his friends as they moved in his full size, but still somehow small bed. then came a dresser which had been painted black and matched nothing. Followed by lots of cardboard boxes, which reminded me of my place. Then finally a truck arrived two hours after everything else had been moved in. The big ass box, which the two large black delivery men carried into the forth apartment read, 'Flat Screen TV'. They also took in a sofa, chair, table and lamps. I decided that he had bought the Combo package, I saw advertised all the time on TV. You know "Buy the room, get the TV." Roy had sprung for the entertainment unit with his new found credit. It was a bit of a mystery how he could rent the apartment in the morning and get it all delivered that same afternoon. Who knows how desperate they were to sell that crap. I stayed in the game until it was apparent that Roy had finished with the strangers running in and out. When it seemed that things were back to more or less normal. I took a late afternoon nap. I knew that my security awareness had slipped some. I also knew that unless I bought into some really heavy duty crap, I didn't need more security than I had built into the apartments. It was way more than the street thugs and gang bangers would expect. Even the Russians would most likely get swept up in it. The Swamp Thing's black bag guys would laugh at it, but then why would they be coming for me. All security systems are based on the level of threat. They guard nuclear secrets with more security than the president gets when he travels. It's all about how sophisticated you think the threat will be, that determines the level of security. I didn't think I needed as much protection as either a nuclear warhead or the president. Since that was the case, falling asleep late Saturday afternoon was easy. Sunday my walk at the mall was pretty much alone. It appeared that most people had a family to spend the morning with. It didn't matter. I walked for the exercise not the camaraderie. When I finished my two miles, I rode the bike back to the apartment. The bike went into the utility room, and I went inside my apartment. You had to love computers. Even though it was Sunday morning, I was able to cancel my ads for the apartment rental. By Monday I was not only fully rested, I was pacing the floors. My mind had switched gears yet again. Nothing but trouble could come from my new frame of mind. I knew it, so forewarned should be forearmed. I had breakfast still not sure what decision I would make, but knowing I was about to make yet another change in my life. I wanted to throw my hand up and yell "Why me God". Since god had never answered me, I didn't bother. Instead I went to the Mall to walk. I was going to be late arriving at Jen's office, but I didn't really care. Let them all get together and have their guns locked and loaded. At least then it would be a fair fight. I was more than ready for them. During the walk I worked out what I wanted to say, even if I didn't have a decision yet. I really did appreciate Irish Martin's heads up. When I left the mall, the bike ran out of gasoline. In the excitement I had forgotten to fill it up. Since the bike required oil and gasoline to be mixed, I couldn't just push it to the service station. That explains why I had a high impact plastic, pancake style canteen filled with gas strapped into the handlebar basket. It would also make a nice fire if I needed one in a hurry. The little delay made me a few minute later than I had expected to be. "So how late am I?" I asked the receptionist upon my arrival. "Twenty minutes by the clock but only five minutes later than one of the others," she said. "If I knew who all was in the room, I could tell you which one it was." I said smiling. I just walked on back to the conference room. "Sorry guys," I said upon entering. "I had trouble with one of Marty's piece of shit bikes." No, I didn't tell them that I let it run out of gas. "Come on in we have been waiting," Jen said smiling at me. She wasn't a bit upset. That should have scared the hell out of me. "I think you know almost everyone. Marty of course," he nodded. "Martin from Executive Security, " he gave me a big smile. "Last but not least, Thurman Slope from Real TV Network." "Ah the cable network which is home to all the crap housewives love to hate," I suggested. "And damn proud of it," Slope said smiling. "You are much younger than I expected. Are you head of programing or even farther down?" I asked smiling. "Head of new product development. I'm the one who decides what crap we put on for the horny housewives." "Tell me Mr. Slope, does your boss know what kind of snakes he is getting into bed with?" I turned to Marty the bike peddler and Irish Martin, the washed up Mercenary, as I spoke. "Actually we do. This is one of those symbiotic relationships. We don't come in with the cleanest of hands. As you said we program crap and we know it. They want to produce crap that we get really cheap. In exchange they get the product placement which amounts to an infomercial. Marty's Internet infomercials were a big hit. We would just like to do the same thing on real TV. It would be revolutionary, if it works. Of course you will be a TV star in the process." "You can't sell me, so save the grease for someone who needs it. This ain't my first ass fuckin' cowboy. I must be stupid as hell to even be here listening. Marty there has lied to me, set me up, and used me shamelessly, but here I am again." Martin started to speak. He should have sat quietly. "And then there is Swamp Thing, represented by Irish Martin. You knew they had to change their name a half dozen times. Once for each time a country kicked them out. Marty will use you, try to cheat you, and generally double cross you at every turn, but Swamp Thing, they just might kill your ass. Now, did you know all that Slope?" "This isn't our first dance either Ms. Stone," he said. "We come in with our eyes wide open." "Then lets talk about this crap show," I suggested. Marty stood up, since he was the obvious pitchman. "I'm going to be the producer of the same kind of thing we did for the Internet only expand on it. We plan to make one hour TV shows from it." "Do you have any idea the size of the turd you are biting into?" I asked. "There is no way you can get that much film of me and my sad little life." "Your life is not all that sad," Slope commented. "But you are right it is a lot of film. I'm interested in hearing the answer to that as well." "Obviously we need more characters. The beauty of Maxine's life is that she surrounds herself with characters worthy of any romantic tragedy novel ever written." Marty replied. "And if I don't, you interject them into the plot to spice it up." I said bitterly. "Okay, I tossed Mosby into the mix. I should not have done that, but I can't undo it." Marty said. I interrupted by turning to Slope. "I'm gonna give you the advice my dad gave me. When he found out I was dating a married man, he said, 'If that prick will cheat with you, he will cheat on you.' My dad was usually right." I turned to Marty and said, "I should kill you." "Can we move on please?" Marty said. I just nodded. "So just like before we film you with a lot of small hand held digital cameras. We either get releases, or fuzz the faces. With people who are likely to be major characters, we pay a fee. I'll take care of all that." "So Jen will be trouble shooting it again," I asked. "And this time she is going to be a major character in the show. Her life isn't as cool, but she will be a good counter balance for you." "Did you know about this," I asked. "I was made an offer this morning and I agreed, but only if you do." Jen said. "Well they found your price, fifteen minutes of fame," I said it with a laugh. Jen just smiled she knew that it wasn't malicious. "I understand that I am supposed to be an employee, part time at least, of Swamp Thing's domestic army. They get mentioned every episode I suppose, but what are you getting out of it, Marty?" I asked. "You ride my bike around town all the time. I get free advertising since my people will be producing it." He caught my look at Slope. "They already knew that Maxine, you are not shocking anyone here." Marty said. "Now for the big question, what do I get." I asked seriously. "Well aside from the intangibles brought to the table by Executive Security Service, you get paid in several ways. First of all we rent the last apartment from you. We set it up as a TV Studio. If that upsets any of your present tenants, we will pay to move them, or otherwise buy them off. All your tenants will be regulars, so they will be offered contracts as casual actors." "Everyone gets a flat fee for the release, then a bonus for every minute of screen time we give them. The more interesting they are, the more money they will make. " Marty explained. "We are covering the actor's fees," Slope admitted. "The two Martin's are paying the production costs." "You get paid our standard job fee for anything you do for Executive Security," Irish Martin said. "Plus you get paid for the apartment by me," Marty the pedaler said. "And we foot the bill for your on air time. The release fee is paid by Marty, so feel free to stick it to him." Slope said. "You aren't going to make what Angelina Jolie makes, but you won't do too badly," Jen said. "This is after all low budget, crap TV as you pointed out earlier," Slope said. "That ends my part of the sales pitch. I just wanted to be here to be sure these two gentlemen didn't commit my network to more than we bargained for. As your daddy said, 'If they will do it for you, they will do it to you." Irish Martin said, "I have a job coming up in less than two weeks. Marty assures me that he can be ready by then." Irish Martin said. "You know the drill, your apartment gets wired. and hidden cameras everywhere. Hardwire for the apartment this time. We don't want the images pirated onto the internet. It seems there was quite a cottage industry in that, when you were at the cabin." "My security system has a living room camera already. It stays, I need to know that the house is empty before I come home," I demanded. "That's okay we can do an interference thing on that camera when you are in the house. Just screw the one camera up." Marty said as if he knew what he was talking about. I did know that the wireless cameras could be jammed, so I figured Mike could work it out. "What's the signing fee and the on time fees?" I asked. "Your blanket release fee is set at 25K for 120 days. After that we renegotiate. The on air time is set so you should make between 5 and 8k per show. We are planning a buy of ten shows the first season." Slope commented. At 50 to 100 k total for six months work it was by far my largest payday ever. The Swamp Thing money would be the bonus. "Okay promise me Mosby isn't part of the mix and show me where I sign," I demanded. "She is part of the mix," Marty said. "Then the deal is off," I said standing to leave. I knew they had a lot of time and therefore money in the project. If it came to Mosby or me, I expected it to be Mosby out the door." "Be reasonable Maxine. Mosby is a professional actress. She knows how to guide the amateurs to say and do the right thing." "She is still a ringer and not part of my life. So I won't play with her sorry," I said. "Okay she won't interact with you in anyway at any time. We will figure out something she can do without being part of your life circle." Marty said it angrily. He was screwing her, I could tell. "I'm going to have a lot more to say about who does what in this little soap opera, than I did before." I said it as a warning. "So now you are a diva?" Marty asked maliciously. "I prefer to say I'm not letting you screw me over again. If you want to play this time you pay big boy." I said smiling. Then the meeting was just over before it sank even lower. ------- Chapter 107: The beginning of the beginning The meeting ended with Marty's promise that Mike would be calling me to arrange the camera work. I presumed that Mike would also be occupying the last of my apartments. Jen worked out an arrangement so that the rent payment and the release fee went directly to my bank account. I trusted her to take care of those kinds of details. Since all my tenants had moved into their apartments, activity around Casa Del Aster was minimal at best. I could have returned home and just slept all day, but I chose not to do so. What I did choose to do, was to go looking for Helen's food truck. The purpose of the search was to introduce Lois to Helen's food, and to see if any sparks flew between them. I figured Helen needed help and Lois was going to be bored pretty soon, so maybe it would be a match made in Maxine's heaven. Alas, it was not to be love at first sight. Lois loved the food, but we caught Helen in a bit of a lunch rush. She was slinging brown bags as fast as she could. At the rate she was going she would be out of food pretty quickly, but I could tell Lois wasn't interested in hanging around to meet the owner. Since no one knew that I was playing matchmaker, it was a no harm, no foul kind of thing. I didn't write it off completely, but I did move it to a back burner. When Lois was tucked safely back into her apartment just after noon, I switched the cruiser for the bike and my Eskimo look. I really just wanted to get out of the apartment. I had been playing dead so long I was getting cabin fever. The bike was the perfect cure for it. I had finding Helen a spot in mind as I rode all over the downtown. Helen had explained to me a couple of months before, that she and Jack had to invest in a commercial kitchen. Partly it was because they needed to produce a lot of food in a short amount of time, but mostly it was the county health department. She had just gotten too big to work from her home kitchen without some serious renovations. The food truck business had been so good to them, that they chose to renovate Jacks house to convert the home kitchen to meet commercial standards rather than invest in a restaurant. Helen's corner of the food industry was catering and she loved it. I was probably the only one pushing for an indoor location. I wanted to sit down to breakfast like I did at Hardee's but I wanted Helen's food. In other words, I wanted what I wanted, and when I wanted it. Typical female you say, and I ask, "So what? We control half the worlds resources, and we control all the world's pussy, I think you guys better learn to live with our little idiosyncrasies. The bike ride proved futile. There just didn't seem to be the perfect spot for Helen's Place, as I already begun to think of it. I tried to stay busy. I took the cruiser out to a flea market looking for a chest of drawers. I knew that I didn't need to do my shopping at the flea market, but I enjoyed it. Unfortunately I couldn't find a thing. On the way home I passed a salvage store, so just for the hell of it I stopped. He had three matching very old wooden filing cabinets from a business that went belly up when the owner finally died. I saw no reason why they wouldn't work for clothes. The drawers would be a bit deep, but what the heck. I bought all three for 50 bucks. It's a lot more than I want to pay, I thought. Then again, I knw that it could be a lot worse. Getting them into the cruiser was a trick but the salesman and I managed. Getting the file cabinets from the cruiser, and then to the apartment took some doing as well. Even without help I managed it. I suppose the desire to finish furnishing my place came from watching everyone else work on their apartments. By far the person with the newest and nicest furniture over all was Cheryl. Her furniture all came from one store and their delivery people set it up. Johnathan Hunter wasn't messing around when it came to his mistress, if that was indeed the relationship. Only time would tell unless someone asked, and I had no intention of being the someone. As long as they didn't cause me any trouble, I just didn't care. Speak of the devil, I thought as I looked out my spy hole in the door. "Why hello Cheryl, what can I do for you?" I asked. "I was wondering could lower the heat in my apartment just a little?" she asked. "Tell you what I can give it a try. If it gets too cool let me know and we will try another setting. I start everyone one out at full heating, but I can lower it quite a bit. We should do it a little at a time. though. You can always open a window, if it gets too warm. If it gets too chilly over all, we will be back resetting the heat over and over. All that said, lets see what I can do." She followed me out the rear door and into the utility room. She stood by while I cut the flow of hot water to her radiators by 10%. "Now that should make a difference." I said. "So you are the one with the motorbike? I hear it every mornings lately?" she informed me. "Guilty as charged," I replied. "I bet that is fun," She looked whimsical as she said it. "It's got plenty of gas, would you like to try it?" I asked. "Could yo u wait while I get a heavier coat?" she asked. "Sure, just come back when you are ready. Dress warm." I advised her. It was almost 5PM, so it was still a little warm, but starting to cool down. She was still likely to find it too cold for more than a minute. A half hour later I stood in the alley and watched her return from her first ride on my bike. "I love it. I want one right now." She said it laughing. "If you are serious, I can get you one right now," I said with a grin. "How much are they?" She asked "Anywhere from $300 to about $600." I said. "That's a lot for a toy." "Not really, can I keep it in the store room and have it be just be our secret." She was serious. She didn't want Johnathan to know. I wasn't sure what that meant. I agreed to the secret toy probably because I didn't care for Johnathan Hunter. I even put Cheryl into the cruiser with the bike rack on the rear and drove her to the Laboring Few's bike shop. The drive took about five minutes since it was on the opposite side of the little town. Everything the ministry did was within walking distance of their storefront church/ The old motel I bought was not within walking distance of the other ministry entities, so it was sold off. That was my take on it anyway. "Cheryl This is Bob. Bob is the manager of the Laboring Few Bike Shop. Bob, Cheryl is interested in a motor bike." I explained. "Then Cheryl, you should just look around and find the right bike first. Then we can talk about the right motor combination for it," Bob informed her. Bob went back to working on bikes in the rear while Cheryl and I looked over the stock. Cheryl picked out a cruiser, which had no doubt previously been owned by a teenage girl. It appeared to have been stored in he basement, since there was almost on sign of wear or rust anywhere. "I really like t his one and it's only $75," Cheryl said. "Well there is going to be an addition charge for the motor. Let's get Bob back out here and do the rest of it." I said to Cheryl. She agreed, so I went to the back and brought Bob out with me. "So how much do you know about motor bikes?" he asked her. "Just that I rode Maxine's and I really did enjoy it." she said. "Max has a motor set up she designed for us. It is a quick release model. Do you need that?" he asked. "Do I Maxine," she asked me. "Well with the quick release you could store the bike inside your apartment, if you were to move somewhere else. Otherwise no, you don't really need that." "Then no, I don't think I need it." she said. "Did you like pedaling the bike now and then?" Bob asked. "You mean like helping it up the hills and starting off?" Cheryl asked. "I didn't mind that part at all. It made me feel like I was getting some exercise." "I can put you onto a centrifugal clutch setup like Maxine's. It would have just a little more power, since you don't need to take it off the bike. That set up would run you $250, since Maxine brought you in. Add the price of the bike and its $325 plus tax." Bob stated flatly. "Would it be $300, if she wasn't a friend of mine?" I asked with a chuckle. "Nah, we give all your friends a discount. Its a $400 dollar set up for Joe off the street," Bob said. The question was really helping him sell it, and he knew it. "Then I'll take it," Cheryl said. "Is there anything I need to know?" "Yeah, I'm going to send along a booklet. Maxine can fill you in as well." He admitted. "I have a gallon of premix, so you can use that to start out. When we need more, I'll show you how to mix it." I informed her. "So when can you have it ready?" she asked bob. "In about fifteen minutes. That's the beauty of these things." Bob said rolling her bike through the rear doors. Bob was as good as his word. We were back home and getting her bike ready for it's maiden voyage a half hour later. With her blond hair flying under the bike helmet, Cheryl was going to be quite a traffic stopper. She might be close to my age but she was a much more attractive woman. Even if she was sneaking into middle age. We rode the bikes around the downtown then back home. I was getting cold, and it was getting dark, when I caught up with her at a stop sign. "God girl, I'm freezing we need to go home," I said. "I know, I'm cold as hell but I'm having so much fun." she said. "Well, if you wake up in time, you can come along on my morning outing tomorrow." I suggested. "You tell me what time, and I'll be there." Cheryl said still grinning ear to ear. "Let's talk about it at home, I am about to become maxie pop," I said. It was dead dark when we stored the bikes and arranged a time to go to breakfast the next morning. Then she was gone. Mike finally called an hour or so later. "I got a reservation for a flight on Wednesday. I'm going to be having equipment shipped in UPS, but it won't be there till Thursday." He said. "Mike are you going to be sleeping in the apartment, or is it just a production space?" "I'll be staying there, is that a problem?" he asked. "How about Gwen?" I asked. "I figured she and Lucas would be staying together. I know you two don't get along." Mike said. "Sounds like a good plan," I agreed without commenting on my dislike of Gwen. "You know she will still be following you around shooting imagine for the show. I will try to keep her out of the editing as much as I can. Having people. who don't like the actors. can make editing pretty scary." "You know best about that. I just didn't want to have a knock down drag out fight in front of my other tenants." Since Mike wouldn't be in until Wednesday, I had one more day of total boredom. Maybe I could find something to do, I thought. I do have a new playmate, it seemsed. I will have to keep it just friendship. I is what I promised myself when I bought the apartment building. ------- Chapter 108: not a totally wasted day I was awake, showered and dressed at 7:30AM, when the knock came on my door. I hadn't really expected Cheryl to show. Sure, she was all excited the night before, but who knows what a soft party girl will really do in the harsh light of a cold morning. "Good morning, you better bundle up Max. It is gold out there." Cheryl said. She had only been ten feet, as far as I knew, and she already felt the cold?" It is going to be an interesting morning, I thought. "Oh, I'm sure it is," I replied. I picked up my final piece of riding gear, the slightly thermal nylon pullover parka with the hood. When we left the store room, the bikes were both running and I was covered, with only tiny patches of skin exposed. Cheryl had more exposed but looked gorgeous. Oh well, it wouldn't take long for us both to know how she handled it. I led the way through town to the Hardee's fast food restaurant. It was no more than a ten minute ride, but it felt longer in the bitter cold morning. We parked the bikes in a spot on the front, by the road. Might as well attract some attention, I thought. "So you okay?" I asked Cheryl. "Hell, I'm better than okay. That's almost as much fun as sex," she said. "It's more fun than some of the sex I have had," I replied. "Come to think of it, you are right," she said as we walked toward the door of the restaurant. I must admit that we got a lot more attention taking off our outer wear that morning. When it was just me, hardly anyone noticed ... I didn't mind sharing the attention, I even enjoyed the view myself. Cheryl was a knock out blond. She was just a very few pounds over weight, not enough for men to notice. The great things was that her body, both top and bottom, matched. Mine didn't match at all. When Cheryl stripped down to the tight wool pants, and even tighter sweater, men began to drool. Even her tiny little belly fat was gorgeous. We left the outer wear in a booth and went to the counter to order. While I filled up my delta cup and ordered breakfast, Cheryl was very attentive. She mimicked me as much as she could. I figured she was just feeling a little lost and trying to fit in. More people than usual nodded and said good morning. Cheryl was proving to be a real asset, sort of like a flashing sign. Frankly, I was enjoying watching her enjoy the attention. She seemed to light up under all the glances of obvious admiration. "I have never had breakfast inside one of these. This is just so damn cool," she said. I suppose there were people who had never eaten inside a fast food restaurant, but I sure as hell didn't know any of them. "Glad you are enjoying it. To be honest I'm enjoying the company. You do know that most of this attention we are getting is because of you?" I said. "Bull, these are your friends," she said. Then a second later she added, "Aren't they?" "Sweetie most of these people ignore me, when I'm here alone." I replied honestly. I waited for her to respond. When she just smiled, I changed the subject. "Are you a wanted criminal?" I asked. "Lord no," she replied with a strange look. "In witness protection or on the run from some dangerous drug cartel?" I asked smiling. "You are kidding right?" she asked with one of those things that could have been a conspirator's smile. "Yeah sort of," I admitted. "You know that I have a rather colorful past?" "So I have been told," she admitted. "Some idiots want to make a reality TV show about my real life. If you go along, you will be part of it. They will pay you of course. That is something their people will be talking to you about. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't be in any danger. I know the background of all the other tenants, and they should be okay with it. I wanted to be sure that you would be." "Hell, I think it sounds like fun. The real sluts of Aster," she said with a laugh. "Only people just think I'm a slut. I'm not really." "In spite of the evidence to the contrary, neither am I," I admitted laughing. "Good then we are cool?" I asked. "We most definitely are cool," she replied smiling warmly. "Good, then let's fill up my coffee cup and go take a walk." I suggested. We did just that. Cheryl was as big a hit at the mall as she had been at breakfast. More people smiled and spoke to us, while staring at her flopping boobs. "If we are going to walk like this, I need a better bra," she informed me. We got home at almost 10AM. Cheryl left for her apartment and I cleaned up after my ride. I didn't really need a shower, but I did need to scrub my hands. They had the smell of exhaust and gasoline on them. Just before noon I had a call from Lois. "Maxine some woman just called me to set up an appointment. She wants to discuss a TV show. Is that some kind of con?" she asked. "She said you were involved." "Can you come over and I'll tell you what I know. You can decide about seeing her. Was her name Jen?" "No it was Gwen something or other?" Lois said. "Ah come on over and I'll fill you in." It wasn't two minutes later that the knock came to my door. "So come on in. I have some coffee going." "Okay, the coffee sounds good. I had no idea you were a TV star Max." she said laughing. "Trust me I'm not. Here is what this is all about." I explained all that I knew to her. When I finished, I gave here the same option as Cheryl. "Tell them to go to hell or take the money and play along." "Hell, I like money and being on TV will be fun. You promise you aren't going to bring anything dangerous home with you?" she asked. "I am most definitely not going to be bringing anything home with me. All of the work I will be doing for the Redheaded Stranger will be out of town. I will also be using fake IDs, so it should be anywhere from very hard to impossible to trace me. If you are worried about your safety, the TV folks will pay to move you to a different apartment." "Heck Max, I was hoping for a pistol that's all." she said. "Now we can probably do that, but it's safer if you don't have a weapon. If anything out of the ordinary happens, call me and I will take care of it." I was beginning to wonder if I had done the right thing by agreeing to do the TV show. "Well, I can tell you right now, I'm going to take the money. It sounds like a blast to me." Lois said. "Lois you can't tell anyone until the first contract period is over. Not even your kids." I informed her. "Oh this just gets better and better," Lois said laughing. "Now I'm in a James Bond movie." Gwen had obviously made it into town ahead of Mike. She had probably decided to come back for a visit with Lucas regardless of my decision. It was as good an excuse as any to try to figure out a way to weasel out of the contract. I expected to hear from the EMT cowboy and Sarah Beth before the day ended. I wasn't disappointed. Sarah Beth had already spoken to Gwen when she called me at 1PM. She wanted to know if they would really pay her. I told her that they damn will better or there would be hell to pay. She seemed to accept that. "So is this a porn shoot?" the EMT Cowboy asked. "No it isn't porn at all. It might be R rated now and then, but not XXX." I replied. "Damn, I was hoping that it was. That Sarah Beth is a cute chick," he said with a leer I could feel over the phone. "Down boy, I promised her grandparents that I would take care of her, and I take that kind of promise seriously." I advised him. "What if my intentions are pure?" he asked. "That might be a different thing, but they aren't. I can tell from your voice," I did laugh to make it easier for him to take. A short time later, Mag7 blasted from on the top of the row of file cabinets in my bedroom. I found the phone and said "Hello." "Max, it's Cheryl how about we take a ride? I need to buy some groceries and I would love the company." "You've got it, I need to get away from this damn phone. How much are you planning to get at the store?" I asked. "Not much that little basket on the handlebars won't hold much," she said. "Ah but honey, I have a small aluminum trailer we can put on your bike. With it you can bring home not just the bacon, but the eggs and toast as well." "Very cool, I swear Max you are the best," she said. "Remember that when I have to scold you about something or other," I replied. "Okay, I promise that I will." she said. "How about fifteen minutes?" "Sure come on over, it's a little warmer now. I won't need all the Eskimo gear." We rode to the grocery store where she bought enough of everything for one or two people, no more. I walked the aisle with her just looking and talking. When we got home, I had messages from Gwen and the Redheaded stranger. Gwen wanted me to call and left a number. Martin said he would call back. "Gwen, you don't start for a week what is all this talking to my tenants?" I said it as a challenge right up front. "No Max, our agreement was that we start as soon as we find anything to shoot. You and Executive Security Service start in less than two weeks. We have that long to be ready to shoot but we can start anytime we want." "It's not worth the effort to argue. So what do you want?" I asked. "I want you to tell your tenants and other friends that it's okay to talk to me." she said. "When you are going to talk to them, call and give me a heads up. I'll keep the phone with me, so that you can call me and just hand them the phone. I'll tell them then. It will be better that way." I said. "Like you said, it ain't worth arguing." Gwen suggested. Cheryl was the first to call. "Max what should I tell this woman?" she asked. "Cheryl, you can tell her anything about yourself that you want. Tell her only things about you that you wouldn't object to your mom knowing, because she just might after this. I expect that the more engaged you are with these people, the more you will be in the show, and the more money they will pay you. Of course you aren't going to get rich from them I'm sure," "I know, but at least it is money I made myself," she suggested. "You can always talk to Johnathan before you sign anything hon," I suggested. "Once you sign that release, they can use anything you say to them and anything they shoot of you in a public. They are going to follow me around, and if you are with me, then you are fair game as well. That is if you sign the release. "I understand all that, and Johnathan will just tell me to do what I want." "Then as long as you understand, pick your poison." I suggested. I gave everyone the same advice when they called. Gwen seemed to be satisfied with that. Martin the Irishman aka the Redheaded Stranger, never did call back. ------- Chapter 109: The way it's gonna be On Wednesday morning I packed the cell phone along on my morning ride with Cheryl. It was probably not a good thing that I had begun to think of the morning ride and Cheryl as part and parcel of the same thing. But there she was knocking on my door at 7;30AM again. Breakfast was again filled with guys leering at her boobs, while I smiled inwardly. I have no idea why I found it so satisfying, I mean she wasn't really with me in a romantic sense. Even so. I felt almost like a proud parent. The walk went off without any problems at all. We passed by a gas station on the way home. I noticed Gas prices were going up again. I made a note to fill up the cruiser and my gas can before they got any higher. The motors on our bikes were about the size of a weed eater, but were of much better quality. They required a 50:1 mix of gas and oil. Fortunately they packaged oil in the right size bottle for one gallon cans of gas. I had a two and a half gallon tank and a one gallon tank. When I got down to less than half the big can, I transfered it into the smaller can. At that point, I put two gallons in the big can along with two of the little bottles of oil. It was a pain for about thirty seconds, then it was over for a month or more. I got the gasoline ready for the next month before my phone rang around noon. Mike was at the airport in Tryon. The airport was actually between Aster and Tryon. It wasn't there because Aster was a big suppler of air traverlers, but because the land had been cheap, when they built it. "So I suppose you want me to pick you up?" I asked. "Actually no, I just wanted to give you a heads up. We should be there in about twenty minutes or so." Mike said. "We who is we?" I asked. There was a too long pause. "He said to tell you that it was Irish," Mike said. "Now I have to go. The bags are coming out." I knew that he really said it, so I wouldn't ask more questions. I never had lunch before three, so I just made more coffee. Since I drank coffee all day long, the pot was always on. While I waited for the two new men in my life to show, I reran the security camera files. Nothing happened over night and that was a good thing. My phone played the Mag7 theme again, but I caught it pretty quickly that time. "We are five minutes out. We just wanted to let you know." "It's too cold to stand bye the gate, but I'll keep an eye out for you. What are you driving?" I asked, "A black Cadillac SUV," Mike said. "Of course you are, the ride of choice for thugs and cops," I said it with a laugh. I kept an eye on the parking lot camera until they arrived. Once the Caddy was in the parking lot, I walked to the gate. I carried Mike's card key and door key in hand. His unit was the one on the right hand corner of the building. "Well hello strangers," I said as a greeting. "What bring you to my part of the world," I asked jokingly. "I'm just a tourist," Irish said. "This one is going to be staying a while." "Oh goody, he makes it a full house. Well, when you get settled in, come on down to number three. I have coffee on." "I'm going with you, I don't do bellhop," Irish said. "When you get your stuff in the first unit, number 6, come on down to unit three. We will be waiting." I said to Mike. I knew that he wouldn't have much in the way of luggage, but he would most likely want a few minutes to look around his new temporary home. "God I missed you," Irish lied as he closed the door behind us. "Bullshit," I said. "Well, I did think about you once or twice," he corrected himself. "That's more like it, but this is business," I said. "I never mix the two." "Yeah, that's what the bosses like about you." Martin said. "So you are going to be code name Irish?" I asked with a laugh. "Yeah they like it at the office for some reason. It's all part of this new image shit that we are trying to achieve." "I still don't understand that. How the hell are we going to fit into that black bag shit, if we are on TV." "Executive Security Service is about protection, not black bag shit, as you call it." he said. "Oh come now, You aren't going to try to tell me that your boss is suddenly above a little industrial espionage. Because if you do, I'm gonna laugh in your face." I said. "Our operation isn't going to be doing anything like that. You and I are heading up the non profit operations. Heading up hell we are the feel good ops department. If we can figure out a way to make the bad guys pay the freight, then we will be heros. If not, Swamp Thing just writes it off as a cost of doing business. Of course we have an almost zero budget." "Of course," I agreed. "Look before Mike gets here, I need to tell you something," Irish said. "But first how much do you know about Johnathan Hunter and Cheryl?" "Not much to be honest. I think she is his girl toy, but I don't see him around much. She and I have breakfast together these days, but that's about all I know." "You didn't do a background check on them?" Irish asked. "I did it on Johnathan. It started out that Johnathan was going to rent the apartment. Then it all got moved to her name. I figure that her last name wasn't really Hunter, but I didn't care. His credit check told me he had the money to keep a sweetie on the side, so it all seemed harmless. Just an old married goat with a lamb in the woods. Why?" "First of all Cheryl is Johnathan's Daughter. He was working in a machine shop, when she was born. He came up with some gadget and it was about to pay off big, when she graduated high school. Just a week after she graduated, she got his shotgun from the closet. Then she put it into her new, to her car, the one she got for a graduation present, and drove to the house of he senior prom date. There she proceeded to kill him and his father, then she calmly drove to the police station." "Wow, my Cheryl did that I'm in shock," and I was too. "Back then Johnathan wasn't rich, but he got her the best lawyer he could afford. Cheryl wouldn't cooperate, so it wouldn't have mattered who her shyster was. She got twenty five to life. She refused to allow her dad's lawyers to put her up for parole. Somewhere along the way she got that institutional mind set. She did eighteen years before they put her on the street. Since Cheryl's mother died while she was in the joint, she moved in with Johnathan and his new wife. "Since she is here, I guess the step mommy's kiss was cold, like the saying goes?" I asked. "I guess. Anyway he set her up with a trust, to get her started. It pays her living expenses for a few years. She also has stock in his company which pays dividends. She isn't wealthy but she doesn't have to work, if she doesn't want to. Of course this is going to be her lifestyle if she doesn't work." "And what's wrong with this lifestyle?" I asked. "No offense but it is only one small step above her old prison life. She feels right at home here, I'm sure." Irish said. "So Cheryl killed two guys on graduation day. I have to admit, I'm impressed." I said. "Not exactly graduation day, but almost," Irish said. "We need to keep in mind that she has done a lot of time, she is going to be a wild card." "It sure as hell explains a lot of things. She loves the bike, because she doesn't have a driver's license, but she knows how to ride a bike from her childhood. She had never been inside a Hardee's, because they don't have them in prison. Well at least not yet." I said smiling. "Just be careful the chick is a stone killer. It might have been years ago, but she will pull a trigger." Irish said. "Oh yes and we certainly don't want someone around here who has killed people." I said it with a chuckle. "Not unless they have been vetted, and are on the payroll anyway," he said lightly in agreement. I instantly made the decision that the information would not effect my relationship with Cheryl. I had no room to judge. When you get right down to it, whats a couple of twenty year old murders among friends. I was still working it out in my head when Mike came knocking. When we were all seated at the old reception desk with coffee Irish began, "Here is how this is going to work filming wise. Mike you can film anything you want, when we are not working. I have no say in that, and I don't want any. That is between you and Max." "Same as before as far as I'm concerned. Careful with the microphones though, those are the most likely thing to get me killed." I said. Mike nodded. "I have some new toys," he said. "Now when we are working our decisions on shooting are final. If we think a wire is too dangerous, or a camera in place is, then there will be questions. I don't plan on either of us getting killed for TV coverage. You do understand?" Irish wanted to make sure there were no misunderstandings later. He probably thought Mike was wired. I was positive that he was. "I understand," Mike said aloud. He knew that at least I didn't trust him, and he should know that Irish probably didn't either. "The video has to be from hiding. If we know where the action is going to be, we will give you a heads up. If not, you will have to follow us and do the best you can from a distance. Now Mike, let me warn you. If some of these people spot you, Max and I might be able to talk our way out of it, but you are dead. I might have to shoot you myself to protect our cover. You do understand that you need to be very careful. If you aren't 100% sure it's safe, don't do it." "I understand," he said again for the record. "Like I said before, I have some new toys that will help." "Fortunately for us, most of these cases will be with very low tech opposition. We will have more technology at our disposal than they will. Our budget is very small, but the existing equipment in the company warehouse is available. We just can't spend any new money, unless we create it ourselves." "If that is all, could one of you give me a lift to the car rental place here in town?" Mike asked. "I can drop you there on my way out of town. I have to get back to the office, we are sifting through our files. We are looking for just the right case for our first little adventure," Irish informed us. "After I get the car, I will be headed out to UPS. They are holding boxes of my equipment there. I should be ready to wire your place for video tomorrow," Mike suggested. "Okay, so I have the rest of today off. After that I'm going to be on TV 24/7?" I asked to verify the plan. "Oh yes and in every room in your apartment except the bathroom. I will start monitoring you for sound as well." Mike admitted. "Mike, my neighbor Cheryl and I ride to breakfast every morning on our bikes. You might need to figure out something for that. You can meet us at the restaurant and then at the mall where we walk if you like, or we can get you a bike if you have the budget for it." "Since that is a non security item, I can film it piece meal. Just set up and let you ride by a couple of places then get you arriving at the restaurant. Just a few shots of the two of you inside should be fine." "You haven't seen Cheryl in her riding outfit yet," I said smiling. ------- Chapter 110: last hours of freedom By the end of the day Mike would have my apartment, and me wired for pictures and sound. I needed to explain everything to Cheryl. Hopefully, Lois and the others would have nothing compromising to say to me, or me to them. Cheryl on the other hand might get outed by accident. If that happened, it would be difficult for me to cover. Since I had Cheryl on my mind the night before, I hadn't slept well at all. When she arrived I tried to find the right time to explain. I waited until the bikes were parked outside, and we were seated at at table inside of Hardee's before I began my explanation. It was hard for me to concentrate with her wearing that very tight thermal top and tight jeans. In just three days she had gone from a well fitting soft knit tee shirt, to a tight thermal top like mine. I had nothing to put in my top compared to Cheryl, whose top runeth over. She was showing off her body and who could blame her. The top was so full that no one took their eyes off her. She obviously enjoyed the attention any woman would have. If I had her body, I would be doing the exact same thing or much worse. "You have obviously been shopping," I observed. "Yes I have. Do you like my outfit? We sorta match," she said. "Honey there is no way we are ever going to match. You could wear a flour bag and be gorgeous and I could wear a Paris gown and look like a pig. But yes I love the outfit on you. Mine is pure function, but on you it just glam as hell." "Why thank you Maxine, Even if I did have to force the compliment from you, I appreciate it." Cheryl said. "You should be able to tell how I feel about you from the way I look at you, You should also be able to tell from the smile I wear, when men look at you the way they do. I think you are beautiful and I'm proud to be in your company." The little speech would help her self image, I hoped. "I know, I just needed to hear you say it one time." she smiled at me and I almost melted. I was going to have a problem, but we needed to work things out quickly. "Cheryl, starting sometime today they are going to have me and my apartment wired for sound and pictures. People will be following me, and maybe even you, with a camera and listening to all our conversations. They are going to be looking for things to make a good TV show. Those are things you might want to keep off TV. So be careful what you say and when you say it. Always think before you speak, or do anything you might regret seeing on TV. Trust me you have to be very aware. I went through all this a few months back." I said it then waited to see if she would tell me anything, "When I signed the release I read it very carefully. I even had Johnathan's lawyer read it. He was very careful to explain it all to me. I am pretty good at keeping secrets." she informed me. After eighteen years inside, she would be damn good at keeping secrets. "Okay, I just wanted you to know this would be your last chance to speak freely. After this morning just be aware." I said. She got very serious and a hardness came into her eyes as she said, "Maxine, I am always aware." After she made that announcement she returned to having her breakfast with a smile. The smile was for her audience. The group of men who were fascinated by her long blond hair and her big boobs. I couldn't say that I blamed them a bit. "Now, I want to have easier access to my bike. How are we going to manage that?" It was the most assertive thing I had heard her say. "I will have to give it some thought," I answered. I could not give her any control at all. I knew that for sure. "Right now Johnathan's driver comes over from Tryon twice a week to drive me around. I would like to change that to an on call status. So it's important that I arrange my own transportation. I don't really want the hassle of a car, so I need access to the bike all the time." "I have a rule about things stored outside the apartment, but maybe I can figure something out." "Maybe I should go back and get the bike with the removable engine?" she asked. "You don't want to store that engine inside your apartment. They smell of gasoline. Actually all you guys need storage, I should have thought of that when I converted the place. Let me do some research and I'll figure out something. In the meantime get your self a good lock and a bike cover. You can store it on the side of your apartment. Park all the way back by the fence in the rear corner. You can get a little protection from the winds back there. We can get you a small sealed container to keep a quart or so of premix gasoline under the cover as well." "Very cool, so are you ready to go walk?" she asked smiling. She obviously felt that she had won a round. I could tell I needed to be careful not to let her take control. It was another good reason not to become her lover. We were about half way through our first lap, when she asked, "Where did you get your trailer, I want one of those." "The preacher's bike shop can make you one for about a hundred bucks," I suggested. "Very good, I will give him a call when we get back. I bet he can find me the right kind of bike cover as well." she said. "He most likely has one in stock." I agreed. We were sitting on a bench sharing the last of the coffee before we started the ride for home, when she asked, "When did you find out?" I looked at her and wanted to ask, find out what, but I knew better. I wouldn't want her to play games with me. "One of my friends told me yesterday. Not all of it by any means, just the cold on paper facts." "Anything you need to ask?" she suggested. "Not really, but if you need to talk feel free." I replied. "I don't need to talk about any of it," she replied convincingly. "Then don't," I advised her. "Just remember we are going to be wired after today. Try to be careful these TV guys are not idiots. Even if that Gwen chick might act like a moron." "I get the impression she feels the same about you," Cheryl said with a chuckle. When I got back to the apartments, Mike was ready to start work. The first things he wanted to do was to explain how everything worked. "Mike I don't give a crap how it works. Just tell me what I need to do to be safe." I explained. "Okay just a quick over view. I tapped into your security feed for the outside shots of the place, if I need them. I am going to install a couple of wireless cameras in your apartment. Be sure to close your bathroom door when you need privacy. I can't see the shower, but if you walk around, there might be some reflections or something." he admitted. "So, do you have a good shot of my bed, in case I get lucky sometime during the next six months?" I asked. "Yes, but we promised no x rated video. I will fade to black somewhere along the line. Of course I will see it, but I promise I will destroy the footage." "I have more than your word for it. If that footage shows up anywhere, I'm gonna have your ass, and you know it." I said. "Yeah I know it," he replied grinning. "If these cameras are wireless, how do I know they won't get picked up by some hacker?" I asked. "They will only transmit 50 feet. The hacker would have to have my encryption codes and be parked inside that area to do it. That's way too sophisticated for a random hack and if he tried we would notice him parked that close. Of course, nothing compromising goes on line. It's a direct camera feed to my control room in the apartment over there." He said it waving toward unit six where he was staying. "I'm going to trust you here, but like I said before, you better be right." "This is for you as well," he said handing me not so small plastic capsule. It was a little bigger even than those red caps they use to stuff worm medicine down large dog's throats. "And what do I do with that?" I asked. "Its a microphone and transmitter," he said. "It will transmit about 100 feet. It is encrypted as well. Not much chance anyone can find the frequency, then figure out the encryption software, and be parked within a hundred feet without us knowing it." "So where do I carry it?" I asked. "That's the beauty of it. You can carry it anywhere you like. Anywhere it will fit that is." He saw the look I gave him, then added. "In your purse, in a pocket, it's a little big for your ear and you probably won't be able to swallow it easily, but any other orifice would work." "You mean shove it up my ass?" I asked. "It would depend on how much chance you felt there might be of a search," he suggested. "Well, I have had bigger things up my ass and other places as well." I said. "I was pretty sure of that," Mike said with a smile. "Just get to it, and for now I'll carry it in my the pocket of my jeans." I said sliding the over sized capsule in my front pocket along with my keys. Mike installed the cameras in just over an hour. Since everyone was supposed to know that they were on TV, he made only a token attempt to hide them. Well, those in the heat of passion might not know. If they wouldn't sign the release, Mike would just scramble their pixels for them. He also added a cutoff for the surveillance camera inside the apartment. It would somehow know when I was home and go to fuzz. Then go back to broadcasting, when I left. I had no idea how that worked, nor did I care. I assumed that it had something to do with the capsule, but I didn't ask. He and Gwen couldn't film me 24 hours a day, but they could be there often enough to be pests. Even worse, they needed to be entertained. I couldn't be just my usual stay at home old lady self, I had to actually go out and do things, even when I wasn't working for Swamp Thing. "By the way," Mike said as he was ready to leave my apartment. "We have hired two more camera people for this gig. They won't be working the whole time but they will drop in now and then to shoot the secondary characters for a day or two at a time. "So their lives will be in turmoil as well as mine?' Mike nodded. "Good," I said with a grin. No free lunches, I thought. Everything was done and I was on the air by three in the afternoon. Then things went back to more or less normal. At least as normal as possible with a 500 pound gorilla in the room. Cheryl came over after she was sure Mike had gone. "Maxine, I need the bike. I am going to the bike shop for a trailer and cover." she said smiling at me. Since she was dressed to ride, her assets were hidden from view for at least a while longer. "Sure come on back and I'll let you in the storeroom." I suggested as I led the way to the back of door of my apartment. Once we were in the storage room, I leaned very close and whispered in her ear. We are on the air audio, but so far no cam in the storeroom." She nodded. Ten minutes later the bike roared into live and she was gone. ------- Chapter 111: This Don't Make Us Lovers Since I had to entertain the TV clowns, I decided that we needed a trip to The Cop Out. I had no idea which of the two clowns was on duty that evening, but I was pretty sure I would know soon enough. "Hi," I said into the phone. "This is Maxine." "Yes, I recognized your voice. So what can I do for you?" Cheryl asked. "I thought I would go to the Cop Out club for a drink after dinner tonight. Would you like to come along and meet some local public servants." "Cops," You are kidding?" she asked. "Cops, Emts, firemen, and a nurse or two," I suggested. "And this isn't a date or anything. You just seem like you could use a little time out." I knew for a fact that Mike or Gwen was listening so they had been informed of my intentions as well. "So, it isn't a date, but we are going together?" she asked. "Exactly," I replied. "So what about dinner?" she asked. "Well sometimes I stop by the pizza and pasta pit for take out. I usually get enough to treat the place. I try to stay on the good side of everyone there. I never know when I will need one of them. I also never know which of them I will need." "You really are serious aren't you?" she asked. "Oh yes, so are you interested?" I asked. "No strings attached?" she asked. "No strings and if you are uncomfortable, we will split immediately," I suggested. "Alright what time?" "8PM is usually the best time to get there. Say we leave around 7PM to get the pizza first." I said. "That's two hours from now, so sure why not. I have time to take a shower and get all pretty for the cops," she said in an extremely sarcastic tone. "Good, I'm sure they will appreciate it," I replied. "So how should I dress?" she asked. "Dress as if what you wear, will determine the outcome of the evening," I said it with a giggle. "You really are evil Maxine," she said. Then she laughed and the phone went dead. I called Mike next. "Hey dude, did you hear that call?" "Yeah, I got it. I'm going to send Gwen with you." he said. "Send Gwen, so you are the one in charge?" I asked. "Pretty much, since Gwen got involved with Lucas, Marty and I aren't sure where her head is. Marty put me in charge of getting it done no matter what." "Fair enough, will she be bring Luke along?" I asked. "No, she will not be bringing Lucas along. Marty had a talk with her about priorities." he admitted. "Then tell her I will be leaving here a little after seven in the cruiser." I suggested. "Right," he said. After the call ended, I reheated a cup of coffee in the microwave and tried to decide why I had invited Cheryl. I guess I was bored and wanted to shake things up at the Cop Out. Cheryl, with that body, would do that for sure. It should also be good for her ego as well. Plus it would just be good TV, I expected. Cheryl showed up on time and we picked up the pizza before driving downtown to the club. "You are kidding, this club isn't on main street, for real?" Cheryl asked. "Oh yes, right in the center of downtown Aster," I said with a laugh. "Okay, but I promise you, if one of these jerks touches me, I'm going to break his finger," Cheryl said. "You can do that?" I asked. "You aren't the only bad ass bitch around," she said smiling. I put my finger to my lips to remind her of the microphone. Cheryl nodded "So let's go dance with a civil servant," I suggested. "Why not?" Cheryl asked. Once Cheryl removed the old navy pea coat, she was an instant hit. She had boobs as far as the eye could see, and cleavage a man or woman could get lost in. She saw me staring then asked, "Are you sure that we are just going to be friends?" It was damn hard but I answer, "I'm sure." "You are an idiot," she said with a hardy laugh. "I know," I replied. I had spread the pizza out on a table. Everyone knew that it was a sign for them to take whatever they wanted. From the pizza assortment, not from Cheryl. Before I knew it Cheryl was dancing with cops I recognized and men I didn't. Those were mostly medical people of some kind, I felt sure. I danced a few times with men and even a woman or two before Blevins showed up. "Well detective Blevins, it is good to see you again," I said light heartedly. "Good to see you too max, is the blond with you?" he asked. "Not the way you mean, she is a tenant," I replied. "I thought I would show her around." "How nice of you. Usually when you do that. someone I know steps in a pile of shit." "What are you talking about?" I asked. "Jerry and Mosby is what I'm talking about. He went into a tail spin after she left town. You get one girlfriend of his killed and run off another. You aren't good luck for that officer," Blevins said. "Bullshit Blevins, he got the best sex of his life because of me." I said. "I will have to ask him to verify that," he said. "Tell him I said, he has my permission to kiss and tell this one time." I smiled. "To me this one is prettier. Mosby was too young for my taste, this one is perfect," he admitted. "Well give it your best shot," I suggested. "I think I will leave that to the younger guys," he said. "Don't forget the girls," I suggested. "Oh does she bat left handed?" He asked. "I don't have any idea, but I don't rule anything out." I suggested. I had no idea how long Gwen had been in the club, but when I looked up she was sitting in the corner filming. Her camera was pointed alternately at Cheryl and then at me. Before I knew it, my cheap digital watch read midnight. I left the table I shared with Blevins and went to the dark corner where Cheryl sat with a much younger woman. "Hey Cinderella your driver is about to turn into a Mouse and your coach into a pumpkin. Are you about ready to leave?" "Max this is Lucille. Lucille is a paramedic for the county. Isn't that fascinating? Cheryl asked. "Yes it certainly is fascinating. So you want to leave with me, or catch a ride with Lucille?" I asked. "Lucille honey, I have to go home now, but you have my number," Cheryl said. "Sure, I'll call and we can do something one day," she said smiling. "Time to go," I said as the two of them looked longingly into each other's eyes. Once we were in the cruiser and headed home I asked, "Well did you have fun?" "I had a wonderful time. I want to thank you for taking me, even if it wasn't a date." "You are welcome." I barely got the words out before I felt Cheryl move closer and rub her index finer under my nose. The smell on it was unmistakable. "I am going to make a wild guess, Lucille?" "You are so smart," she said. "So now I know," I admitted. "Now you know," Cheryl said. "No strings attached." She paused a few seconds then said, "I have her number, if you would like to try her." "I don't think so, is that what you want?" I asked. "No I only want you. Well I only want you right now, but I'm not looking for a commitment, just someone to keep me warm tonight." "I can do that," I said softly. "But keep you warm is all that I can do." "It's a start," she said. "So your place or mine?" I asked. "Yours," she said with a wink. The wink told me that she remembered the camera and didn't care. Neither of us had enough to drink to blame anything on the alcohol. I pretty much decided that nothing would happen but cuddling. Anything more would have to be spur of the moment, and that would almost surely be the case. Once inside the warm apartment clothes started to fall off us as if by magic. First it was the coats which was the normal thing when coming in from the cold. The coats were followed by my heavy sweater. It had been worn to stay comfortable while sitting in a drafty bar. After her coat anything else Cheryl removed would have been less than modest. She wore only a low cut lightweight sweater and jeans over her foundation garments. I was sorely tempted to kiss her, but resisted the urge long enough to start a pot of coffee. "Are you doing okay?" I asked. "Better than you it would seem," Cheryl said. "I'm not having an identity crisis." She waited a few seconds then went on, "I jumped on this apartment because of your reputation with the ladies, as much as anything else." Cheryl was being brutally honest with me. "I honestly didn't know," I admitted. "Like everyone else I thought, you and Johnathan were lovers." "I'm sure you did. I wanted you to think that. You would never have rented to me, if I came on to you. I knew that," she said. "How did you know that?" I asked. "Once we visited, Johnathan had you investigated. I guess it was more research than anything else. He was, and probably still is, concerned about your lifestyle. Not just the men and women but the other stuff as well." She paused to stare at me a moment then went on. "We discussed it. He asked if I could take care of myself around you. I assured him that I could." "Ah well, I am glad you took the apartment. The only other person I ever rode the bikes with. and I are in different orbits these days." "Mosby?" she asked. "You do know a lot, but not Mosby. My former parter Lucas." I said "Ah the boy wonder, too bad about him and the moron," she said. "Damn Johnathan really did do a number on me." "He has way too much money, and nothing to spend it on these days." Cheryl said. "Too bad he and I aren't lover's, I could help him out with that?" I said. "No you wouldn't," Cheryl suggested. "You are right, I wouldn't. So, as the saying goes, are there boys on the side?" I asked. "Now and then, but they are like a dieting woman's desert." Cheryl replied. "Something for a very special occasion." "With me it's more a cake and ice cream thing. I like both equally," I said. "I won't hold that against you," Cheryl said. "Damn, I was hoping you would hold things against me." I smiled at her even though I knew it was the wrong thing to do. Cheryl left her stool at the registration desk and walked into the tiny kitchen. She walked right up to me and then she kissed me. It was a warm friendly kiss at first. The key phrase there is at first. As kisses often do, it took on a life of it's own. First it was deep breathing and then lots of tongue movement. That was followed by grinding from both of us. Cheryl might not have had a penis to rub into me, but she did have a prominent pubic bone which was more than a little stimulating. In other words kissing Cheryl was just as stimulating physically as kissing any man. The pressure from her hips was more exciting than any women and equal to most men. The coffee got ignored. We moved quickly to the bedroom where exploring each other would be much easier. I killed the lights even though I knew that it would make no difference to the new low light digital cameras. I quickly managed to undress Cheryl. It was more difficult for me to undress her, than it was for her to undress me. My clothes just fell off me, but hers were molded to her body. Everything she wore seemed to want to stay in place to protect her. I took some doing but I finally had her breasts free. It took only milliseconds for me to find her nipple in my mouth. I sucked on it gently at first, then harder and harder until I was savaging it. Cheryl moaned in pleasure. Her hands ran through my still growing hair. It was at least two inches long by that time. Almost enough for her to grip. Certainly enough for her to clasp between her spread finger to help with her hand hold. It was an amazing feeling to be be suffocated in her soft fatty breasts. She gripped tight and pulled me harder against her breast tissue. I hoped that I was bruising her. I wanted her breasts to feel me even after I was finished with them. I had to use both hands to hold her boob to my mouth. Maybe I didn't really need to hold it up, but I loved the feel of her breast in my hand as well as my mouth. I was becoming fixated on them. She was actually the one who moved my hand from her breast to her pubic mount. I was surprised to find it naked. My finger glided easily over the steep mound of her pubic bone and slipped between the folds of the hood guarding her clitoris. Her hips actually left the mattress when I touched her clit. The tension and grinding of her hips against my hand told me she was having an orgasm. It is always an amazing feeling to be connected to a woman when that happens. It was even more amazing with Cheryl. Since she had hardly been touched when she came, there was a extra thrill about it all. It told me that she was going to be an amazing lover. I let my fingers slip from her clit to her vulva. I slipped two fingers inside her. I felt her body trying to grip and pull them in deeper as her muscles spasmed uncontrollably. I pumped at her body until she seemed to calm down almost instantly. When she was calm I began to nurse on her again. She cradled me until her breathing returned to normal. "Thank you," she whispered into my ear. "It was all I hoped it would be." I thought I had been dismissed and that would have been fine as well. Instead she rolled me over onto my back and she began to run her hands over my body. It was an amazing feeling. Her hands were rough. I suppose at some point she must have done hard work with those hands. She rubbed me almost raw with her rough hands, then she kissed it all better with her soft lips. She roughly massaged my nipples until there was pain, then she kissed and sucked on them until they were on fire. My hips were moving long before she slipped her finger onto my clitoris. When she did, she rotated it in small tight circles. First clockwise then counterclockwise. Without warning I exploded into an orgasm just as she had done. Even while I was in the midst of the screaming sensation, she forced her four fingers hard into my wet pussy. I was stretched to the point of burning, but I still tried to suck them in deeper. I fought with my hips trying to drive her fingers deeper inside me. All the while my mind was in a different place. I had no control over what my body was doing. It was on erotic auto pilot and it was a good thing. Otherwise I would have just shut down. Unlike Cheryl my body didn't shut down, it demanded more. I pulled her down to me for a deep kiss then totally out of character for me, I pushed down hard on her shoulders forcing her head between my spread legs. I began to climb toward another orgasm as I felt her rough tongue snake along my pussy lips. The almost electric sensations her mouth was creating drove me mad. I was way out of body, when I came again. I came so hard I might have broken her nose, if she had been in the right position. I was unable to do anything but lay in one place and feel my body twist and silently beg for more sensations. I was still shaking when my mind rejoined my body. I felt not at all tired or satisfied. I wanted still more. I pulled Cheryl up from between my legs kissed her deeply then rolled her onto her back. Without any preliminary I went down on her. I kissed her clit and licked it up and down until she was moving her hips in a steady motion, then I changed the direction. I began to manipulate her clit in a side to side motion. She lost it at that point. She pulled at me and tried to force my face inside her. I worked hard to please her. When she finally calmed down again, we held each other trying to regain control of our bodies. She actually spoke first, "You know this doesn't make us a couple. I'm not sure what it makes us, but definitely not a couple." "I don't care what it makes us, but there is one thing for sure." I said. "What is that?" she asked. "We are not going to be able to sleep in this bed tonight. It is soaking wet and cold." I observed. "Then it's a good thing that I live next door." she replied. ------- Chapter 112: There's Always a Morning After Even though it was late when we went to bed and I was exhausted, I still awoke at 7AM. It was a fancy bedroom where I woke up. It certainly wasn't my usual bedroom. Mine with the industrial decor was a lot more dismal. It took me a minute to realize that I was in Cheryl's bed. It took me a minute because Cheryl was nowhere to be found. So there were no clues and that morning I needed clues. The first thing I did was go to the bathroom and drink a glass of water to dilute the funky taste in my mouth. Cheryl's body tasted a hundred times better than any man, but it still left a stale taste in my mouth. I decided, my best move would be to put on whatever clothes I had worn over, then get my ass home. I wanted to brush my teeth first, then I wanted a shower. As I passed through the kitchen, I found Cheryl sitting at her small glass topped iron table with matching chairs. Very chic, I would have told her had she not spoken first. "You better hurry, if you plan to be ready for breakfast by 7:30," she said it then turned away. Cheryl might be all about routine. It wouldn't be unusual for institutionalized people to be heavily regimented. That was it. No good mornings, thanks for eating me out so good. It was just hurry up or you will be late. "Right," I said as I walked out the door in jeans and a sweatshirt no underwear at all. The untouched coffee from the night before made it into the microwave, then into me. I carried a cup of it into the bathroom with me, while I brushed my teeth and showered. I managed to get into my bra, panties, thermal suit, jeans and a funky sweater before Cheryl knocked on the door. But I only beat her by a couple of minutes." "You about ready?" she asked. "Just need to put on my parka and hood. I'll get my bike started and meet you in the front parking lot." I said it very much aware that Cheryl acted exactly like she had the morning before we had slept together. She had been serious when she said, it was about her biological needs. not any emotional ones. Okay I said it using different words, but that's obviously what she had meant. "Are you okay with last night?" I asked. "Sure, what's not to be okay with?" she asked genuinely surprised that I would need to ask. I knew then that I would never fully understand how Cheryl thought. Her experience base was just too different from my own. I would need some time to work that out, but I had always managed to understand people. It's why I was successful at problem solving. It was about knowing which button to push and then hitting it with a big ass hammer. It was a bit of a twist, instead of the tenant being upset that the relationship wasn't all she wanted, it just might be the landlady who was upset. I obviously didn't know how it would end, but I was pretty sure Cheryl had been correct, when she told her dad that she would manage. The bike started right up so I was in the parking lot before Cheryl, who had to roll hers out. It was a little about being considerate of the other tenants, but a lot more about having to work the bike through the walk gate. It was cold and the bikes were noisy, so we didn't speak again until we arrived at the Hardee's parking lot. "It's kinda cold this morning," I said. "Yes, it is still in the low thirties," Cheryl replied. She knew that I hadn't meant just the temperature. Since she chose to play it that way, I was determined to go along. "Did you see that red Ford that we passed on the square?" I asked. "You mean the one parked on the street, across from the statue of the confederate soldier?" Cheryl turned the answer into another question. "Yeah that was Mike, I'm pretty sure. The car is right for the rental he got." "Then he will show up here," Cheryl suggested. "I would bet on it," I replied. Sure enough his car drove in right after the words made it out of my mouth. I watched him park before I opened the first of the doors into the restaurant's air lock for Cheryl. "He will probably want to film us going inside," I advised her. Since Mike hustled, he obviously was trying to beat us in. Even though I was cold, I gave him first shot at the second set of doors leading into the heated dining room. He took a seat with a view of the door, then pointed a tiny video camera at us as we entered. Since our favorite booth was available, we went for it. Mike had to move to get a clear camera view. Then he pointed the camera at Cheryl as she removed her Navy Pea Coat. When that coat was gone, she was down to a tight fitting thermal top. With her over sized boobs it was a sight the TV audience was going to love. My guess is after last night and this morning Cheryl would be one of the real stars of the show. She might even outshine me, which would be just fine, I thought. "So what are your plans for today?" Cheryl asked me. "I don't have any plans to be honest. I think I might play around on the computer today. Maybe find an old TV show I missed. How about you what are your plans?" "I'm going to look for a job, I think." Cheryl said. "Oh do you know where yet?" I asked. "No, I worked in the kitchen at my last gig. I could probably find something in food services. I also have a K9 trainers certificate from the cell block dog program." she suggested. So there it was, she had let the dog out of the bag. Nothing I could no about it now. Mike would have her complete story by sundown. I knew she wasn't stupid so she had decided that she just didn't give a shit. I was tempted to suggest Helen, but it all rang too close to the Mosby thing. "Well good luck. I am sure you will find something." "Oh I'll be fine. I mostly don't like being bored," she admitted. "I have that same problem," I admitted. "Oh hell, I'll tell yo u what, if you really want to work just to pass the time, I have a friend who might still have an opening." "Yeah I know, Helen," she said. "Remember, Daddy likes to know everything about everybody." "Yes it seems that he does at that. So, is that who you planned to go see?" 'Yes, I think I will see if she needs any help. Unlike your last girlfriend, I am actually a cook. I'm not just a pretty face." "Although you are that too," I admitted. "Thanks," Cheryl said unenthusiastically. "Well, good luck with Helen she is a real sweetheart," I said. "So are we going to walk after this?" she asked. "I am, and I hoped you would come along," I said honestly. "I'm glad that you don't need clingy," she admitted. "I don't want to lose the friendship we have." "It works for me, but you have to know, it's either an exclusive relationship or it's not relationship at all," I said honestly. "I know that, and I don't want an exclusive relationship. I couldn't function that way, and neither could you. At least for more than a couple of weeks. In your heart you know that it is true." Cheryl said. I didn't speak for a few long seconds, while I thought about what she said, "So what has this all been about?" I asked. "It's about, me wanting to be you. You can handle anything, and you can do it being in the big world. I can handle anything in a small world. I think we are alike, so I want to learn to be you in the big world." "I'm not sure I understand and I doubt that I need to understand. I will be here for you as much as I can, and still be me. That's about all the open relationship that I can handle," I said. "That's all I can ask," Cheryl said. "Then let's go walk. There are some old men who need their morning booby fix." I said. "And I need the ego boost," she admitted. We gave Mike a chance to get ahead of us, so it was a few minutes before we actually left the warm restaurant. It was a slightly longer ride in the cold to the mall. Since I sensed that things between Cheryl and I had been defined, I enjoyed the ride. Unlike Cheryl I didn't need a structured life, but I did need to know where I stood. Cheryl was going to need serious structure till she learned how to roll with the punches, in a world filled with chaos. Just as I expected, the old men at the mall beamed when Cheryl passed them in that tight thermal top. I knew just how they felt, since I was also in awe of her body. Once I got home from breakfast and our walk, I fell sound asleep in the more or less dry bed. I had a hangover, but I doubted that it had anything to do with the three beers I had the night before. I had a feeling the hangover was more from lack of sleep and too much sex. Even though I had to taken the nap to feel close to normal for the rest of the day, it had been more than worth it. Cheryl was an experience not to be missed. Even better. we were still friends the next day. That was a novel experience for me. It seems that my life is filled with good friends, lovers, people who hate me, and total strangers. I think most people's lives are like that. I felt like my mind was in a heavy fog for the first hour after I awoke. The thing that snapped me out of it was a call from my Redheaded friend. "Hello Maxine, they have the job for us," his voice over the phone informed me. "So when am I going to find out?" I asked. "I will be leaving here in a few minutes and it's a six hour drive. That's going to make it a couple of hours before midnight. I think I will spend the night with a friend and meet with you tomorrow." he suggested. "Oh, do I know the friend?" I asked with a laugh. "I think so," he replied with a laugh of his own I settled in for the evening with a frozen spaghetti dinner and a glass of diet coke. I couldn't really concentrate on the computer even though I tried. There was no point in trying to guess what might be in Red's black bag, so I tried not to speculate. The unfortunate thing is that knowing I shouldn't do it, did nothing to prevent me from speculating anyway. It got dark early so I was a little concerned when I heard the beep of the gate lock around 7PM. I ran the security tape back and saw the young emt from the Cop Out pass through the gate. I checked the parking lot camera, which had a view of her walking past my door and down to Cheryl's apartment. Yes, I was jealous. But it wasn't so much, so that I was destroyed by it. Cheryl made it clear from the beginning that it wasn't a relationship, it was just sex. For one of the few times in my life, someone had turned the tables on me. It didn't thrill me, but I could live with it. I half expected them both to be at my door any minute. I had no such luck. I was debating heading back to the cop out, when the phone played Mag 7. I was sure that the caller would be Cheryl. "Hello," I said. "Max this is Kate, Martin asked me to call. He wanted to know if you wantedd to have a midnight supper with us?" she asked. "And what do you want?" I asked. "I want what Martin wants," she said. "You know that could go either way. You want to make Martin happy, or you really want this to happen. So which is it?" "You are really going to put me on the spot?" she asked. "Of course I am," I replied. "It is just to keep Martin happy." she said. "Then tell him I had to stay home to wash my hair," I replied. "Are you sure?" she asked with relief in her voice. "Of course I'm sure. I don't want to part of your power plays. not yours and not his either. So count me out. But if you ever want to do it, just to do it, give me a call." "If I ever do, you are the one I would call," she admitted. "Good, I promise I will play nice." I was laughing at her and she knew it. It was the story of my life, a little fun for a little while, then watch everyone else having a lot of fun for ten times as long. Like my daddy said, "You win some ... you lose some ... some get rained out ... but the best ones you don't even dress for..." ------- Chapter 113: It's Starting Again "Red what in the hell is going on. We made this agreement less than a week ago and here you are with an assignment." I said angrily. It was real anger, not acting for the cameras, which were recording us as we spoke. The agreement was that the TV people could film, but Swamp Rat got to approve or reedit the files. Even so I didn't plan to be too honest in the meeting. "Might as well get started. You are finished with this place, and I'm not going back into the field for a long time, if ever." Martin said. "Poor baby, is this their idea of sending you to your room without supper?" I asked. "Something like that I'm sure." He paused to give me a serious look, then continued. "So, are you finally ready to hear about the job?" "Sure hit me with your best shot," I said as a joke. "You smart off again at me Missy, and I just might do that," he said seriously. "Sure you will, when you find out you are terminally ill and want a quick way out." I said it with a smile. "Nonetheless continue and I'll be good." "Okay, there is a small town in rural Georgia. The place is too small for more than one cop and he tries to do as little as possible." Martin said. "Ah oh, that must make for some interesting residents," I suggested. "You know it.They are our targets," he said tossing a couple enlarged Mug shots onto the old registration desk... "Handsome devils," I said sarcastically. "Yes and even with those good looks, they are still forced to resort to violence." "Rape?" I asked. "Rape, extortion, probably a murder or two," Martin said as he looked at the file. "Who the hell is there to extort from in a town that small?" I asked seriously. "It looks like everyone, but mostly they are just bullies." Martin said. I looked at him and smiled but didn't say a word. He shook his head no, but he also smiled. He knew I was thinking the easiest thing would be to just to set them up and then kill them. To plan that on TV moved it from self defense, justifiable homicide to stone cold murder. I was not ready for that kind of weight. "What if one or both of them commits a crime and we can prove it." "Nobody will testify," Martin said. "How about if he commits a crime and we can prove it, then I testify." I suggested. "That might just work. What kind of crime?" Martin asked. "Well you said he liked the girls, how about he rapes me. I'll be careful. so maybe it will be an easy take down." "Well it almost beats dropping in from a chopper and just killing the son of a bitch." Martin said. "Oh, you are always joking like that," I said trying to cover for him, Martin was no idiot, he realized what he said, but it needed saying. I was not playing with retired cops or bad boy bounty hunters, I was working with an assassin. Martin would have been happy to make him disappear, of course without the TV show's involvement, I might have helped him myself. I had no problem playing judge and jury. I could even be the executioner, if need be. This one was going to require dotted Is and crossed Ts, or we might be looking at some serious time. Hell maybe they still had Cheryl's old bed available. "So you are thinking just drop in, heat the good old boys up, and just say no, When he brings it out to play, we call in the cops. Then when his brother tries to intimidate you, we have his ass arrested as well." "Sounds like a plan to me." I said. "No, it sounds like an idea, it isn't really a plan." "For more planning, we need more information." I agreed. "In that case pack your bags. They tell me Georgia is beautiful this time of year. The crisp air keeps the smell down. Martin suggested. "Very funny, but I would hold those kinds of jokes to a minimum," I replied. "You know this is likely to end poorly?" I said to Martin. It was true, and it would also make good TV Drama to have a little doubt. "Mike, you need to pack your shit, if you are going with us," Martin said. While mike was on his way back to his apartment, Martin flipped to the last page of the file laying on the reception desk in my living room. The page read in big letters, I'm going to Jam the audio feed, look as though you are packing while we talk. I watched closely while he held up what looked like a Bic lighter. He twisted the top part of the case then said. "Go on with your packing while we talk. First of all, I hope we can find a way to get some law enforcement people to take these guys down. However. if we can't get anyone interested, we need to find a way to end this problem creatively." "We are talking permanently end it," I suggested "About as permanent as it gets," he said. "Why is the boss interested? I asked it as I continued to put things in a half duffel bag." "The older brother raped the wrong girl. He has intimidated her and the other witnesses. So he got out of it, as he always has in the past." "So who was she?" I asked. "Her Grandfather received the CMH on D Day in 1942. Swamp Thing, as you like to call us, never forgets, and we never forgive. So this is a freebee, but it still gets done right." "Then it is something you would prefer to do yourself?" I asked. "Don't matter who does the deed, just so long as it gets done. Remember me telling you that there was no money for our operations. On this one, forget what I said. We get whatever it takes, anything from a kilo of smack, to a hellfire missile." "First let's see what I can do," I suggested. "Turn that thing off we might want this on the record." I pressed the menu and speed dialed the number I found in my contract list. "Anya, this is Maxine in Aster. Give me a call, we might be able to help each other." I closed down the phone then turned to Martin. "So Red, let's go meet Thomas and Blain Atwood." "And let them know hell has come to Georgia," he suggested. "Nothing like it since Sherman," I said with a giggle. Might as well go along with the macho bullshit, I thought. I made a second call. That one was to Lois. "Lois it's me Max. Honey I have to go out of town for a few days. I'm not sure how long I'll be. It is about this TV thing. So if anything comes up call Jennifer. I'll text you the number." "Sure Maxine, do you need me to do anything else?" Lois asked. "No just call Jennifer, if you need anything or anything out of the ordinary happens. I'm going to put a note on my door to tell the other tenants." I said just before we rang off. I speed dialed another number. "Cheryl honey, I have to take a road trip for a few days. It's really nothing. We are just going to look at some property out of town. The Irishman and I will be back in a couple of weeks at the latest." "Can't I come along?" she asked. "Maybe next time. This one is going to be a bore," I informed her. "I don't know, he is kinda cute. I saw him when he came in after lunch." she said. "You aren't celebrating anything are you?" I asked. Cheryl laughed and said, "No, but all of us in one bed might be an experience worth trying once." "Don't tell me Johnathan knows about that too?" I said with a laugh. "No, but you just told me it's true. There was gossip about you and multiple partners." "It's all lies," I looked up to see Martin tapping his watch. "Look hon, I have to go. Lois is taking care of the place while I'm gone. I would have asked you, but you need to talk to Helen." "I understand, don't worry no harm no foul," she said. "I have to go now, hugs and kisses," I said. Then I closed the phone down. "Let's get moving. It's a long drive to Hayseed Georgia," Martin said. "The name is Haymarket, but Hayseed will do," I replied. I wanted to take a few of my own things, so we made three trips from the apartment to his car. "So, where are we going to stay, I can't imagine a motel in Haymarket?" "Tonight. in a Motel a few miles away out on the interstate. Tomorrow we have to find a place in Haymarket to live and open our church," "You are serious about that stupid cover?" I asked. "Don't matter what we use, I doubt that they will buy it." Martin said. "Well Red, we better be ready to do some fancy tap dancing." I suggested. "Dance or die pilgrim," he said in a John Wayne imitation. It actually wasn't too bad, "Pretty much," I agreed. The drive was long and boring. Mike was somewhere behind us, but out of range of the mic so we talked openly. "For the TV we keep pretending that we are going to go to the cops and to court, but what we really do is look for a way to do the deed and make it look legit," Martin suggested. "I have a call in to a friend at the FBI. They might have something we can use," "Good, having friends always helps," he said. "I would be surprised, if my friend knows any more than yours," I suggested. "What we really need is a local connection. Try to work out one of those with your friend." Right, we spent most of the time with bad country music and conversation about other things. There just wasn't much we could do until we got there and got a read on the place, We needed to know the lay of the land, and where the bodies were buried, We stopped somewhere in South Carolina for dinner that night before we pushed on into Georgia. Haymarket was fifty or so miles southeast of Atlanta but it might as well have been a thousand miles and a hundred years away. Even though we weren't staying, and the town was dark, Martin insisted on driving though it. The town was even smaller than Aster, by at least half. I couldn't see it, but I knew that it would be depressingly dirty in the daylight. "Well we are going to make big news just by showing up," I suggested. "Too bad it's so late, or we could just start now," Martin suggested. "Martin, we get the info from my FBI contact, then we scout this out. This is not Baghdad," I informed him, "Hell Max, even Baghdad wasn't Baghdad," he said with a mysterious look. The phone played the mag 7 theme before I could dig it out of my purse. Martin was laughing his ass off. "I did not do that," I explained. "Hello Anya," I said into the phone. "How you like DC?" I asked. "If I ever finish this training, it might be okay. So what you got for me?" she asked. "Thomas and Blain Atwood, I need to know what you can find out, If they are not on your radar, then get me the name in some Georgia lawdog. I'm gonna shake their tree," I admitted. "Okay, but you be careful till I get back with you. You got lucky with the Russians, that kind of luck only comes around once." "You know me, I'm the poster child for careful. Never met a condom I didn't like," I said. "I'll get back to you tomorrow," Anya said and then cut the connection. "So lets go meet up with Mike and pretend we are just going to play games with the terrible two," I suggested. "You are going to have to manage this story to keep us out of jail," I suggested. ------- Chapter 114: Putting Down the Ground Cover The more I thought about the cover story, the more I liked it. It would be a cover story that was so obviously bullshit, that it would cause the bad guys to sit up and take notice. In the mean time we could work on gathering enough information to form a second more believable cover story. Something that would get the brothers grim, to take a run at us. Since we had Mike recording everything, we just had to be careful what we said. The flip side was that we would have the brothers grim dead bang when we got them. I had done it before, but Red was most likely going to be a problem. He was a little too macho to let the scene play out to its necessary ending. He would want to just kill the brothers the very first time they took a run at us. I was going to have to watch him closely. Everything remained up in the air at that time. At that moment I was ready for bed and sleep, not sex. The motel was one of those things with cracker boxes stacked on top of each other. Little more than a glorified version of a flop house. It didn't matter at all to me. the bed was all I had in mind. The bed was a king sized behemoth, so there was plenty of room for an orgy, if one was so inclined. Too bad I wasn't in the mood. I had the brother's grim on my mind, nothing more. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Martin was the same. It was all about the job for both of us it seemed. The woman in me was just a little disappointed. Sure I was hurt that he couldn't at least make an attempt, so that I could refuse him. Oh well, there was always the first night after the danger began. Nothing could beat 'glad to be alive' sex. I wasn't surprised when Mike called our room at 7AM. "Hey Maxine, is the Irishman available?" he asked. "Sure," I said then turned away as I handed the phone to Martin. ""Hello," he said then he listened. "Okay but this might be the last time we can be seen together." After he hung up he said to me. "Breakfast with the TV man," he said it with obvious displeasure in his voice. "Okay, we will need to work him into the cover story anyway. This is one small town. Three strangers are going to be linked, whether it is what we want or not." I said seriously. "Yeah, I suppose so, but how are we going to explain this little troupe falling out of the sky." Martin asked. "I thought about this last night. Then I guess I thought some more in my sleep. It seems to me that we need two cover stories. One for the police and mayor types,, and a second one for the brothers grim. We can use Mike in both of them. Mike can be our bit player, so to speak." "The two cover stories I can understand." Martin agreed. "You got any idea on the back end one?". "I think we need more information, and to wait for Anya to call before we work on that. My guess is that it is going to have to be some criminal enterprise to get the brothers all worked up." "Yeah let's see if your buddy with the fibbies can point us in the right direction. In the meantime we can play the front cover story for a while and see what develops," Martin suggested. "My thinking too. So now lets go meet with Mike and figure out his part in the cover story." I liked the plan better as it developed. There was lots of wiggle room. I still had my papers thanks to the Russian's insistence that I file for a church of the missionary position ordainment. It came from one of those advertisements in the back of the rolling stones magazine. I also had my papers from the state of my residence, entitling me to ask questions. So we should be okay, if we got a casual look see. "So where do I fit into your plans?" Mike asked. "We are still working on that. It is going to have to be something that allows you to come and go, because you can never be seen filming. That would be a death sentence for all of us." Martin said. "How about front man for the ministry. That would get him out and about, so he could slip in and out of town." I suggested. "That should work. Mike can make up some posters and other shit. While we hit the town for the first time, he can have them printed up. He can leave with town anytime he wants, just tell people he is going to put the posters in a neighboring town." "Then on the back cover story, he can be a runner or courier." I suggested. "Good that would fit in with both covers. I like it," Martin said. Then he added, "They were right down in the Swamp. You are quite the little problem solver," "Well let's not start patting people on the back, we have a lot of crap to work through. First of all, we need to forget about you and me going into town today. Mike needs to go in and lay his own cover. Get the poster's printed and posted. Then we come in with some of the cover already down." "Okay, I'll take one of your images and make a quick poster. Since you are the one with the ordainment, you should be the headliner." Mike suggested. "Works for me," I said. "In the meantime Irish and I can go in quietly and look for a place to rent. If we have to say anything, we will go with the cover story about the ministry." "Give me a couple of hours and I'll have the posters and be on the ground in Haymarket," Mike said. "While you do that, we need to find a place to rent," Martin said. "And do it quietly." "Since we don't know what the back cover will be yet, let's get a place out of town. Something in the country and quiet." I could see his mind working, a place like that would be hard to defend, but great bait for an ambush. "Now we are moving from an idea to a plan. We can do our riding around while Mike is working on the posters. If we don't find a place today, tomorrow we go into town and make some noise." he suggested. "Then pay the bill and let's all get moving," I suggested. "You know I'm going to be in deep shit, for getting involved in this," Mike suggested. "Yeah, but ain't it just so cool?' I asked. "Yeah, never a dull moment around you Maxine," he said. "Do you have a piece?" Martin asked. "Hell no, I'm a TV producer, not a gangster," Mike said. "Shit, I don't have an extra," Martin said. "Oh hell, you want a 9mm or a 10mm," I asked. Both men just smiled. "Listen it's a collector's piece don't lose it." We walked to Martin's car where I recovered the 9mm Glock from the trunk. "I'm serious, it came from the sell off of cop guns in LA. Their was some information that it was part of that bank shoot out in the streets out there. Don't you lose this thing." "How many weapons do you have salted away in my trunk?" Martin asked. "Enough, I hope." I said seriously. Mike left us to return to his room and work on the posters. Martin and I checked out of the motel. Then we drove toward Haymarket. Ten miles out we began driving down the side roads looking for a house that appeared to be for rent. We circled Haymarket a couple of times before lunch with no good results. For lunch we drove back to the interstate and found a chrome and glass chain restaurant that specialized in travelers. Martin even called Mike to join us. Mike had been at the printers, so we waited for him before we ordered. The poster Mike tossed on the table was actually quite good. Especially considering it was conceived and laid out in an hour. "Nice job," I said to mike. "Damn I look old, but it's still a nice job." "Well I could have made you look younger, but I thought you looked more conservative as an old lady," he said with a laugh. "Gee thanks, I sure as hell don't look threatening that is for sure." I admitted. "So did you two find us a place yet?" he asked. "Not yet, but I think we need to do something else while we are out and about. I need to pick up some burn phones." Martin suggested. Some that can't be traced back to our real lives. This could get rather messy as Maxine said earlier." "In that case I need to send our raw data files out every night." Mike said. "Send them by US Mail, not over the net. We don't need them back home fast, but we do need them back home securely." I demanded. "Fair enough," Mike said. "So, I'll get the burn phones after lunch and we will keep looking. If you run across anything while you are putting up the posters let us know. Keep your room at the motel and we will meet there after the day's search is over." "It gets dark early, so I'll be expecting you about six and we can all go to dinner." Mike suggested. After lunch Martin bought the phones in a convenience store. We decided to wait until we got back to the motel to activate them. My handbag played the theme from The Magnificent Seven again. Martin laughed his ass off again. I shook my head as I pushed the button and said, "Hello Anya what do you have for me." "Maxine we got nothing on your bothers, but I made a call to the Georgia field office, and they gave me a name for you. Marshall Hall at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation can help you. If he doesn't have what you want now. he will have it tomorrow. Our man in Atlanta gave him the heads up." "Good deal Anya, I'll give Hall a call." I said. "Be careful Maxine, these country boys can play rough," she said. Then she read off a phone number for me. "I will, I promise I won't piss them off," I said. "Now, I'm really worried. You are either lying to me, or you are delusional." she said. "Now I have to go, but seriously be careful." "I will, bye." That's how I left it with Anya. We headed back out into the countryside looking for a house to rent. At mid afternoon we saw a small sign nailed to a tree beside a dirt driveway. It simply said 'house for rent', and gave a phone number. "Should we drive down that dirt drive?" I asked. "I have no idea whether the house is down there, but the road looks in pretty good shape," Martin suggested. "Okay, if it turns bad, you can always back out," I said. I was concerned about getting stuck in the afternoon and having to spend the night in a cold car. I didn't say anything but I was worried. As my concerns usually do, those proved to be unfounded. It was a long driveway, but well maintained. At the end of the drive sat a small house. It most likely had only four rooms. My guess was that it was some kind of starter home for a young farm family. I dialed the number of the owner, while we sat in the front yard. "Sir, I'm calling about the small house you have for rent?" It was a question more than an comment. "Yes that was my son's house. He and his wife built a new house. They have a new baby on the way." "So you are going to be a grandpa?" I asked trying to be nice. "Yes, but it won't be our first." "So cool, so how much is the house rent?" I asked. "$500 a month with a five hundred dollar deposit," he informed me. "I would really like to see the inside," I admitted. "If you are there now, I'll come right down. I only live about a mile away." he said. "That would be great. We will wait here for you." I suggested. "So it's small, but that's a good thing," Martin said. "If Mike brought his bag of tricks, we can get a quick surveillance system installed." "I expect it is the size of my old cabin but with a couple of bedroom on the side." I suggested. "I never saw your cabin, but I heard about it, so maybe it is." Martin said. The owner came, we saw the small clean house, and we paid the deposit and the first month's rent. We arranged to move in the next day. The house had propane heat and a cooking stoves which also used the liquid gas. It would be ready to go with just a quick call to the local dealer. Martin managed to get the call in and arranged for a delivery the next day. Even with Martin's unlimited credit card, the best we could do was to get a morning commitment. I managed to get the power turned on based on my credit record from back home in Aster. We would be good to go the next day. In the meantime it was back to the motel for one more night. ------- Chapter 115: Getting Ready to Get Ready At breakfast the next morning Martin gave Mike directions to the house we had rented. " You might want to pick up a some food that you can eat room temperature," I suggested. "It wouldn't be a bad idea to dress warmly." "Nice plan, but I'm not going to be the one who sits there. I am not part of this little band of Mercenaries. I'm the camera man, I don't get involved in the day to day operations." Mike said with a smile. He really was being nice about it. "So, if you won't stay until they turn the power and heat on, then I will have to. Since the show is about me, you will have to stay there to film me doing nothing. Mike that makes no sense at all." I suggested. "Yes, but whatever shit you are planning today, I won't miss filming it either," he replied still smiling. "Besides I can get some shots of you there being all domestic." he addded. "Good luck with that. Alright, I'll do that, if after you drop me at the house, you go buy a Mr. Coffee and a pound of Columbian coffee?" I informed him. "Done," he replied. "Here," Martin said as he handed me the burn phone. Put your phones in the box and I'll mail them to Maxine's house." I knew that I would have to make a trip to the post office to get the package, since there was nowhere for the mailman to leave it at the apartments. It didn't seem like anything worth mentioning to Martin, so I dropped my phone into the box. "Wait, I need to make a call first. I quickly called Cheryl. "When a package for me arrives, please put it in your apartment until I get home. That is if the mailman leaves it. He might or might not leave it." I said into her voice mail I did not give her my burn phone number. It would have been an operational security breech. Martin dropped me at the house, while he went into the next largest town with a WalMart. There he shopped from a list we worked out the night before. Mostly it was stuff like blankets, those big thick airbeds, folding chairs and a card table finished the furniture options. There were cheap dishes and kitchen knives that kind of stuff as well. "If we stay more than a week, this is going to be a miserable vacation honey," I said to Martin when he returned at almost noon. "What took you so long?" I asked. "I asked a few questions the next town over. Hayseed has a really bad reputation around here. I told them I was thinking about opening a restaurant here and everybody I talked to said, "Don't." "Wonder why they feel that way?" I asked. Of course I knew why. If the Atwood brothers were any indication of how the rest of the town worked, it was like Dodge City in the 1800's. It might be different crimes for different times, but it seemed to be wide open real estate. "Beats me, I doubt we are going to make much of a difference, but it sure as hell can't Hurt," Martin said. "Well we can try to put a couple of the outlaws in the poky for a while," I suggested. "Every little bit has to help some." I suggested. "Not as much as we would like, but I grant you it would be an improvement," Martin replied. "I had the house pretty much set up as much as it would be half an hour after Martin returned. The electric power was turned on by computer, so it was up and running first. I left Martin in the house while Mike and I went to the store for clothes for me to wear. I bought two skirts and three sweaters from the same Walmart, where Martin had bought the household items. The skirts and sweaters were for when I needed to be Sister Maxine, the Lords Messenger. I didn't think I would need to be her too often so I bought just the small number of outfits. I was surprised that I had not gained any weight since my road trip with 'Marty the bike pedaler'. I had been a 10/12 when I arrived in Aster but was down to a size 7/8 when I bought the skirts. My ass was still wide or I might have been even smaller. Of course my top was still small but even so the sweaters were a size 10 so that they wouldn't be sexpot tight. There was no need to call Martin, since I had to go back to the house to change before we visiting Haymarket. With that in mind I drove straight home. We had time to get to Haymarket before the town shut down for the night. I didn't like that I felt a little shaky about calling Marshal Hall of the GBI. I can always call him later if we get stumped, I decided. When I got to the house I found that the house was warm and Martin had the coffee made. Life appeared to be good. Since I tried on the skirt and sweater at the store, the outfit fit me as I wanted it to. "Very conservative," Martin said. "You could pass for a lady, if I didn't know better." I was sure that Mike was eating up that kind of statement. It would make for good TV. Slightly more than a hint that I might not be just an upstanding crime fighter. "While you were in Haymarket, did you notice a cafe?" I asked Mike. "There is one just inside town. It looks like an old white house, but there is a big sign out front." Mike explained. "Good we are going to need a place to eat tonight, and we need to find a place to start pumping the locals for information." I paused a moment. "I have no idea how you are going to film us without getting noticed." I added. "I'll work out something. I have some new tricks, remember?" he asked. "Whatever," Martin said with a look of pure contempt. "Well I'm curious. How are you going to manage it." I asked. "I'm going to try to plant a small digital high resolution camera in the restaurant when we go in. Then recover it when we leave. Not only is it good resolution, it is also time lapse. It should be a really cool effect." "This, I am going to have to see to understand," I said. The restaurant was just as Mike had described it. Mike left about half hour before Martin and I. His chore was to plant his camera. I had no idea how he did it, but he was beaming when Martin and I walked into the restaurant. "From the look on your face I am going to assume you were successful at your little chore?" It was a question and he knew it. "Oh yes, piece of cake. It's going to be quite interesting. Do you want to know how it works?" he asked. At the same time I said, "Sure." Martin said, "Hell no." "Go ahead Mike, let's hear how your evil genius mind has worked it out." "There is a small transmitting lens sticking on the outside of that window over there. Of course you have the audio microphone in your purse. The receiver for both is in my car. I have just that one small lens to recover on my way out. By the way the lens is inside a rubber lizard. It looks like one of those cute little Geico TV things." "Very ingenious," I said. "Well, I didn't invent any of it, but I do know how to use it creatively," he said. "The images are not the highest quality, but they will be compelling. They will make great TV, when things start happening." Just then he pulled out what looked like an I-Phone. A second later he handed it to me and I saw a shot of the dining room. It wasn't a closeup of our table, but we were in the shot. "That is so cool," I handed the phone to Martin. He simply glanced at it, then handed it back. "What can I get you folks," the waitress wearing a stained blouse and showing bad teeth when she smiled. asked. "I think I'll have the beef stew with rice," I said. "What sides? you get two sides?" she asked almost angrily. I put her age at about 19. She was old enough to know better than to treat her customers like that, but she obviously didn't. "How about the corn and the banana pudding. Are you alright young lady, you seem to be upset," I suggested it as I handed her the menu. "What?" she asked in a different tone. "You seem upset is there anything I can do?" I was trying to get into my sister Maxine role. "No, I'm just fine." She quickly turned to the others and took their orders. A few minutes later an older lady well into middle age came to our table. "Is everything alright" she asked. Her question was open to all of us. "Everything is just fine," I answered. "Oh my, I just this second recognized you. You are the preacher lady. We have the poster that says you are coming. It is so nice to have you here. Most of the churches moved out of town over the last few years. I do hope you will be staying." She was talking so fast at the end I couldn't get a word in. "Well we are hoping to stay a while at least. I am sister Maxine and these two gentlemen are my associates. Well Martin there is my husband, as well as my good right arm. The younger one is a nephew. It is sort of a family ministry as you can see." "Where will you be opening your church?" the woman asked. "We are now looking for a building as a temporary church home. I do hope we can find something soon. I would like to begin services on Sunday." I noticed how uncomfortable all of the conversation was making Martin. So Martin was a heathen, I almost laughed at the thought. "If you look on main street there are several empty building that would make fine storefront churches," the woman said. "Thank you Ms." I left it hanging. "Oh my, where are my manners? I'm Mrs Williams. My husband and I own this restaurant." she said. "Well Ms Williams, when we get the Lord's house open, I will be sure to let you know." The food came which saved me from an the necessity of slinging any more bullshit. The food was actually very good. After we finished eating, I gave Mike the heads up and he left the restaurant ahead of us. How he managed to get the lizard cam, without making a scene, I had no idea. Martin paid the bill and we left. Mike had his own car so we didn't even look for him. Instead Martin and I went looking for The Brothers Grim. There were two beer joints in town, so we began with the one closest to the restaurant. Mike was inside waiting for us. He sat alone in the corner. I was sure that something on his table was also a low light camera. We looked around and there were no Atwoods to be seen. I had one drink and then left. The night was a bit of a bust except that we accomplished one of our smaller goals. To get into the rumor mill. The two waitresses would spread the word, not to mention the bartender at the beer joint. How often did you get a preacher lady go into a beer joint. Actually it sounded like a joke, a preacher lady, an assassin and a TV producer go into a bar. I just needed to make sure that I wasn't the punch line. When we got back to the house, I sat drinking reheated coffee, while I waited for Mike to show up. When he did, it was with bad news. "Gwen will be in sometime tonight," he said. "Oh really?" I asked. "Max, I can't freeze her out. She has a stake in this as well as me." he said. "Oh okay," I said calmly. I wondered it I could figure a way to toss her to the Atwood brothers. ------- Chapter 116: Meeting New People Mike went out to lead Gwen back to the house. It was just like her to arrive after the place was warm and had some small amount of comfort. I sure hoped that Mike had explained that we were living operational, not at all like we would have lived in a motel. Since it was such a small town, she couldn't just slip in and out unnoticed as she might have in Boston. She had to be worked into the cover story. We had too large air beds on the floor. I had swept the cheap carpet in the bedrooms several times to be sure there was nothing sharp to puncture them. If they went south, it would be foam mats on the floor. Neither the air beds, nor the foam was even close to a real bed. That was a good thing. It was an even bigger incentive to finish this mess and get home quickly. Martin slept in his underwear and I slept in a tee shirt and panties. It wasn't a perfect arrangement, but it had worked so far. Gwen was a new dynamic. "I would prefer to sleep alone," Gwen said after the situation was explained to her. "But since that isn't an option, I guess my choice is Mike. At least I do know and trust him." "You have no idea how relieved I feel," I whispered to Martin. "Good morning," I whispered into Martin's ear. Let's get this show on the road." "Not this morning please, I have a headache," he said with a grin. "Good idea, but this is not the time. I'm going to start the coffee. You go shower." I demanded. "Try not to wake the TV crew." "Good luck with that," Martin said. "You know I sing in the shower." I don't know if he sang or not, but they woke up anyway. I had plenty of coffee ready. It took an hour to get everybody in and out of the shower. By that time I was hungry. We took two cars, but we all had breakfast together. Me and Martin at one table in the interstate McDonalds, and Mike and Gwen at another with their cameras going. Who was in the show, and who wasn't, would depend on the editing. The TV show would have little to do with the reality of the work. "So we are going to find a site for the church today?" Martin asked. "No, we are going to look for a site today. We still don't have a bad guy cover yet. Somewhere along the line we are most likely going to need a criminal enterprise." I said. "Well I can't help you there. I have never been a cop. All my experience is in field ops." he admitted. "That's fine, just listen to me in these matters and I'll listen to you in those," I suggested. "That's what the boss said to do," he replied. "We need to get stated," I suggested after we quickly ate our breakfast. We had both been in situations where eating quickly was necessary, if we were to eat at all. We were finished and out the door while Mike and Gwen were trying to stuff food in their mouths so as not to lose us. Since it was 9AM, I had no problem with using the burn phone to call the number on the windows of the empty stores. Haymarket had a high percentage of empty downtown storefronts, as does almost every downtown these days. We called for a closer look at three of them. Since two were owned by the same person, it didn't take all that long. We did waste the time until noon with the project. We left it with both owners that we would make a decision soon, and left it at that. I wondered which, if any, of the businesses in Haymarket were honestly what they seemed. It was hard to tell, all of them could be fronts for something else or they could all be honestly what they appeared to be. We couldn't ask the rape victim, since she had gone missing. Most likely she had moved away, I know I would have, but only after I killed the son of bitch who raped me. I had to stop thinking like that. This was hopefully going to end in the arrest of the brothers, not their murders. I wasn't ruling it out. I was just hoping it didn't go down that way. Thanks to cards produced on Mike's mini Ink Jet printer, we were able to leave my burn phone number with each of the store owners. I expected to be hearing back from them soon. Any interest in those buildings would surely warrant a follow up call from the owner. We drove Martin's SUV to the farmer exchange store. Those things always have a bulletin board with items for sale. We weren't looking for anything. I just wanted to be seen in each and every store in town. I was all part of our no plan, plan. Somewhere we were going to bump heads with the Atwood brothers, or someone would call them. Either way a meeting with Thomas and Blain Atwood was bound to happen. We found our talkative informant at the local daycare. I saw the sign and I stopped in to do a pastoral visitation. "Hello." I said to the grossly overweight woman who came to the door with a baby in her arms. "I'm Pastor Stone, how are you?" "I'm busy as I can be right now," she said. "Then maybe we can help." I said it opening her door. "It's cold why don't we come in and talk and I'll help out. Martin here might not be much good with kids, but I have had a little experience." I pretty much forced my way inside. "The town looks like it is having some growth issues," I commented after all the usual small talk. It would be a natural question for someone thinking of settling in the town. "Yes, we have a bunch of thugs here. They are scaring everyone off." she said. "Oh my, maybe I can show them the true path," I suggested. "Maybe if we get them into church, they will become part of the community." "I don't think so Reverend. These men are very, very bad." she said. "The Lord can soften any heart, when the time is right," I suggested. "How bad can these men be?" "I don't know what all they are into, but it's bad enough so that people won't walk in the woods anywhere near their place." "I see, well thank you sister Evans," I said. I knew her name because it was on the small sign in her yard. "So are they growing pot out there?" I asked Martin when we got back into the car. After having seen Mikes lizard cam, I was suspicious of everything. I was sure he was capable of wiring up Martin's SUV and probably already had done so. "No idea, so what's next?" Martin asked. "Next we keep making preacher type noises till dark. Sometime tonight you are going to go find out what they are doing out on the Atwood family farm." I suggested. "So there is a place for a retired ops guy?" he asked. "Of course there is. Just try not to kill anyone tonight." I didn't add, I wanted some of the fun. We looked at more places during the afternoon, but I didn't want to commit to anything just yet. Just before dark I screwed up big time. I saw a man standing in front of what appeared to be a metal barn just outside the downtown area. "Stop the car Red, I think I want to talk to that guy." "Come on Max, he is a nasty looking red neck," Martin said. "Now Irish, stop the SUV or I'm going to shave your legs and show everybody what a pussy you are." Martin turned the SUV around and pulled up beside the building. "Hello there friend," I said as I climbed down from the SUV. "Howdy little lady," he replied. 'What can I do for you?" "Well my name is Reverend Maxine Stone, and I'm looking for a place to hold church services. You have a big building here, I thought maybe it would do." I suggested. "Well it's an auction building. We use it for auctioning off cattle and horses. If you can stand the smell, I expect I can let you use it for church services." I looked in through the open door. He was right it smelled of disinfectant. Most likely that was used to cover the smell of animal feces. It was a wonderful space though. It had a set of bleachers on each side. Animals were walked in one end and led out the other. "Why it looks like the perfect place to hold temporary services. How much would you charge to rent it for two hours on Sunday morning. Most likely there won't be many people so I can't really pay much." I admitted. Whatever he said was going to be too much. I had no desire to hold services anywhere. "Well I'm a God fearing man, and the building is just empty on Sunday. Tell you what, you can use it no charge until the congregation grows some. Then I guess I'll just figure out what it costs to turn the lights on. There ain't no heat, I got a couple of Salamanders you can use those and just pay for the kerosene," he said. That leads me to why it was a screw up. The problem he left me with was that if I didn's say yes, he would tell everyone I refused the offer. I would quickly be found out as as a liar and fraud. That, I would just as soon the people of Haymarket found out a little later. "Okay I'll accept your most generous offer. I can't get the word out in time for much of a congregation of any size for tomorrow, but I will be here next Sunday morning at 11AM and see who else shows up." "Fine, check with me during the week and we can work out the details," the old man said. It actually was going to prove to be a positive move. It gave us an excuse to talk to everyone in town. I could invite them to the Sunday service. It also gave us eight days to figure out how to nail the Brothers, before I had to make a fool of myself in the pulpit. The four of us had dinner in the same restaurant where we ate the night before. "Mrs Williams this is Mike's wife Gwen," I said reluctantly introducing Gwen to the owner. I also explained that we wouldn't be able to hold services the next day, but that we would be ready on Sunday a week away. I pointed to Mike and Gwen then said, "These two are newly weds, I think they would prefer to eat alone. Do you mind, if they have a seperate table?" I asked as we stood waiting to be seated. "Of course not, I can remember being a newly wed. Of course that was a very long time ago." The explanation allowed them to film us without the Gecko cam. It also allowed me to eat in peace, away from Gwen. We returned home shortly after dark. Martin slipped out of the house without telling anyone. There would be no question of the two camera people following. I would have to kick their collective asses if they tried. I would hate to cut Mike off and the knees, but I would not have had a problem cutting Gwen down to size. I felt that it was my duty not to get along with Gwen. "So what is the Irishman doing?' Mike asked. "People who have things to hide, tend to be very careful, so it is hard to look around in the daylight hours. In the dead of a cold night, it is much easier to get an idea of what is going on. The Irishman is just looking around at the Atwood farm. We want to know what is going on out there. It will help us formulate a plan." I drank a lot of coffee while Mike and Gwen took turns making me talk in bits and pieces. The bits and pieces would end up in the TV show. Since I knew that, I kept my cool. Almost four hours later I heard the SUV, so I slipped out the back door. I crept around the house to be sure that it was Martin and that he was alone. When he reached the door, I stepped out. Since I had the capsule there was no advantage in standing in the cold to talk. ------- Chapter 117: Blood and Beer "Let's go have a beer," I said to my redheaded friend, before he could speak. "Sure why not," he said turning back to the door. We walked out together. When we were in the car, he removed the small black cylinder from his pocket, then twisted the top. "Will that make your car safe as well?" I asked looking around the interior. "I certainly hope so," he said shaking his head. "So where to Missy?" "Seriously, let's go have a beer," I said. There was still time to have a drink and maybe bump into our prey. "Sounds good to me," Martin said in agreement. "So what did you see?" I asked. "The brother's have plenty of security around the place. There were dogs inside an 8' high fenced in area around an old building. When I tried to get close, I set the dogs to barking, but nobody came. The brothers are obviously out somewhere. After a while, when I was sure they weren't home, I poked around outside the fence. I found their trash dump. I have a bag full of trash in the back." "Any idea what it is?" I asked. "Oh yeah, I have seen some of those labels before. They are making something toxic in there. It smells like rotten eggs coming from that garage or barn like thing inside the fence." "Shit they are cooking Meth in their own backyard. These guys may be bullies, but they are stupid as well. We can drop a dime on them and they will go down for the Meth," I said. "There is one little problem with that." "There always is, when it seems too simple," Martin said. "They maybe smart enough to wiggle out of it. We have a lab near their house, but it might not be their property. We are gonna need to catch them cooking, since no one around here will testify." "With those dogs, it is going to be difficult to watch the cooking shack," Martin said. "Yes it is," I agreed. 'Oak Hill Tavern', was located inside what had once been a downtown drugstore. The owner of the tavern hadn't even bothered to change the old lunch counter. So the seats were padded round top stools, facing a low marble topped counter. The classy ice cream parlor tables and chairs were gone. They had been replaced by modern non matching booths and metal topped tables. The place was a mess, but it was a popular hangout for the locals. They didn't seem to be anything more than working stiffs out for a drink. However, I knew that looks could be deceiving. Martin got us two beers while I found us an empty booth. The Jukebox was loud and the voices of the people had to be even more loud to be heard over it. There would be no nice quiet conversations inside the Oak Hill Tavern. Martin brought the beers, and we were each lost in our own thoughts for a few minutes. We drank slowly since there was no way we could afford to have too many. We needed to be clear headed to deal with the Atwood boys and the TV twins. I had about decided that the thing to do was to approach the problem with a shotgun approach. We could get Mike to rig us a remote surveillance camera. Then Martin could plant it at the edge of the woods. It would be the first prong of our pitchfork. Then we could continue with out plan to trap the Atwoods with our little scam. One of them might work, even if the other didn't. I was deep in thought about that, when I saw Martin turn serious. It is the only way I can describe the look on his face. I could tell that he was looking at something behind me. I just knew that what came next wasn't going to be much fun. "Now what is the preacher lady doing in a beer joint?" the voice whispered in my ear. He wasn't really whispering but his face was close to my ear. It had to be unless he wanted everyone in the place to hear him. I didn't care if they heard me, so I said in a loud voice, "Looking for souls to save. Would you like to be my first?" I pretended not to know who Thomas Atwood was. "I don't think my soul needs saving, but I do need my dick sucked," he said. "Well, for that I'm afraid you need someone else." I replied. I glanced over to see Martin trying hard to control his urge to just kill Thomas Atwood and move on. "I don't think so. See you want to open a church in my town and for that you need my permission. My permission isn't free. The price of a church for a pretty preacher lady is a blowjob." "Well that's a new kind of license fee." I smiled when I said it. "But I think I will open my church, and I think I won't be giving you anything at all. So unless you are wanting to get hurt, you should move along." I made sure people around me heard. "Do you have any idea what you are doing?" He asked. "I have a pretty good idea, I'm refusing to give a stranger oral sex. Isn't that about right?" I asked it of Martin. "That sounds like what I and everyone else in here heard you sayl," Martin agreed. ""Lady you are in for a world of pain," he said. "You might try it. You won't be the first to try. If you succeed, you will be the second one to manage that." I said smiling sweetly. "Oh who was the first?" Thomas asked. He couldn't just shut up and leave. Waiting for me outside would be so much better for him. But he wouldn't listen. An illegal alien gang banger managed to do what you think you want to do," I said calmly. "Was it good?" he asked. I didn't think so. I never got the chance to ask him what he thought," I said. "Why is that?" Thomas asked. "He died before I got the chance." I smiled again. "So you aint no preacher lady?" he asked. "Sure I am, it just isn't all that I am," I replied. For a country boy he was fast, I'll give him that. He bitch slapped me hard enough to split my lip and bruise my cheek. I was going to have a black eye for sure. I held my hand up to stop Martin from killing him. "I do hope you enjoyed that, because now all these people saw you assault me. Oh I know they won't testify now, but they will when you are dead." I made sure no one heard that. "You stupid bitch I'm gonna kill you for that," he said and reached inside his jacket for a weapon. Whoever had used the booth before us was a smoker. Probably a heavy one judging from the number of cigarettes in the ashtray. The Oak Hill Tavern is never going to get a five star rating for service, since no one had emptied it before we sat down. I was just as glad, since I threw the ashtray ashes butts and all into Thomas's face. About all he was going to be doing for the next few minutes was trying to restore his eyesight. Oh yeah, and suffering. "Stay put," I said to Martin. I swung my leg out of the booth and kicked Thomas's knee so that it tried to bend backwards. Of course instead of his knee bending, he just toppled over. While he was on the floor I said loud enough for everyone to hear me. "I'm too light in the ass to bitch slap you like you did me, and do that kind of damage. So this will just have to do. With that I stomped on his face twice. If I had steel toed boots, I would have kicked him instead. The soft rubber soled wouldn't do a lot of damage. He managed to roll away from me before I could go for three. So I was expecting him to come up swinging or with a weapon. A knife is more personal and I expected that he wanted to show the town he still had it, so I was expecting a knife. I love that men are so predictable. The blade on the hunting knife was about five inches long. It was also shiny even in the low light of the tavern. It seemed that it hadn't been used for skinning much. "No Martin," I shouted to stop him from going for his weapon, which would put Thomas in the unenviable position of truly being that man with a knife in a gun fight. The other thing it did was to divert Thomas's attention to Martin. In the one second he looked away I emptied the pitcher of beer from the next table into his face. The cold beer froze him in place just a second longer. That second was long enough for me to try to fit his head into the empty, but thick glass pitcher. There was a sound like a water mellon being thumped, then Thomas went to his knees. From there he toppled over onto the floor. The place was deadly silent. "You are all invited to services at the cattle auction building at the end of town, one week from tomorrow and every Sunday there after. When this gentleman wakes up, tell him he is invited. You might want to call him an ambulance. If anyone cares, that is." "What was that all about," Martin asked when we were in his SUV and pulling out of the parking space into the street. "That was to motivate him even more. He is going to look like a pussy to his bad ass friends. He should be out to show me, who is really the boss." "Yeah, knowing his M.O. I would say rape and murder most likely," Martin said. "You are a regular Mary Sunshine," I commented. "Just the rape. He needs me to tearfully tell everyone what a bad ass he is." "So how are we going to explain all this lying, when the cops get into it?" Martin asked. "I don't have a clue do you?" I replied. After a pause I asked. "Is the CMH guy still alive?" "No, he died last year," Martin said. "We need to find that grand daughter," I suggested. "Hell no we don't need to do that." I said gleefully after a few seconds to think clearly. "We are going to tell the cops that we are working for my friend Jen. She can find the girl's lawyer and cut him a deal of some kind. It will all be fine." "That's pretty convoluted, Will it work?" Martin asked. "I sure as hell hope so?" I replied. "I need to get you home and get some ice on that eye," Martin suggested. "Now Irish, is that the best reward I get for putting Thomas on his ass. Not to mention giving the whole town a good laugh." "How do you feel about doing it with Gwen and Mike in the room?" he asked. "If it bothers them, they can leave," I suggested. "Besides Mike has seen me naked more than once." I didn't explain about Cheryl or the cabins live feed. "You know that the Atwoods are going to know where be are living by morning?" Martin asked. "I certainly hope so. It would be a shame to only get one bite of that apple." I said. "He is going to kill you," Martin suggested with a laugh. "He is going to try for sure. I don't know how much luck he will have." I paused a moment then added, "After all, I have a world class body guard looking out for me." Gwen had been at the tavern to watch me get bitch slapped. I'm sure that she approved. I'm not so sure she approved of what followed. Such is life I thought. If Mike had been monitoring the audio feed somehow, he should be working on the surveillance camera for the shack at the Atwood farm. "You know," Martin said to me. "I know why you win, when you fight with guys. They are just shocked to see a woman fight back. You get in one blow while they are in shock, and then you stay after them like a bulldog while they are disoriented. You never give them a chance to regroup. It's an interesting way to do it." "I don't have the beef for a knockout punch. I have to find something to even the odds. There is usually something around. Enough blows with a beer pitcher and even the biggest guy is going down," I suggested. "Do you think he would have cut you?" Martin asked. "He was embarrassed and was getting his ass kicked by a skinny old lady, I am sure of it." I said. "Yeah me too," Martin agreed. "Then I would have had to kill him for sure." "I never doubted it," I admitted. Yes it was foreplay. ------- Chapter 118: All Night Long A full shot of adrenaline makes me horny as hell. It must work that way for other people as well, because when we got home Red and I went into the bedroom. He even locked Mike and Gwen out. When I looked at him questioningly her said, "Unless they want to join in, fuck em." At that point he pulled me to him. We both smelled of beer and cigarette smoke. Neither of us smoke, but it looked as though we were the only ones in Georgia who didn't. The smell was disgusting, but I didn't give a crap. My body was screaming to be filled and at that point I didn't much care who did it. Now and then my biological response system just takes over and ignores my better judgment. I think that it is similar to how men's biological response system works all the time. I knew what we were doing was stupid. We were still operational, but I just didn't care. Red and I were holding each other and kissing. I was pressed so tight against him that I though I might just melt into him. My body was screaming, so I ignored my female instincts to be ladylike. Instead I began to tear at his clothes. He was pulling so hard at my sweater that it would never be the same shape again. I managed to get his cock out before he got my bra open. I stopped to help him, just so he wouldn't get frustrated and cause me even more pain. The hard kissing with my split lip was causing me plenty without him adding more. I stripped naked just to make things easier and quicker. "I want that blowjob Asshole Atwood ain't gonna get," Martin said loud enough for Mike and Gwen to hear. "Geese Irish," I have a busted lip." I said. "I don't care, suck my dick you slut," he said it again. That time in an even louder voice. One loud enough for everyone within a mile to hear. I knew it was the heat of passion more than anything else that caused him to act that way. It made me even hotter. I couldn't wait to feel his cock in my mouth. I dropped to my knees. I kissed his cock, but I was just too out of it for subtleties. I stuffed his cock in my mouth and began to maul it with my tongue and upper pallet. I worked his velvet smooth cock hard against the roof of my mouth, then push hard on it. I know he had never had a pussy that tight and I know it must have been at least a little painful for him, but I just didn't care. At that moment I would have fucked him and any two other men, I was totally out of control. Every time I forced his cock into my throat I felt him pull on my short hair and groan. I knew that he was close to shooting, but I didn't want to stop what I was doing. I drove his cock painfully into my throat. I had totally forgotten the pain in my mouth. I just wanted him to cum, so I could feel his body jerk and spasm for me. I wanted to know that I had control of him. He had more strength than I would have given him credit for. He pushed me off his cock, took a deep breath, then turned and bent me. I went to my hands and knees willingly. I reached between my legs to guide him into my hot slippery body opening. I needed his cock and didn't want to waste even a second while he tried to find the opening. I felt his cock slip through my lips and begin to move inside me. Every inch he went in raised my excitement level. I was riding giant waves of lust as my body worked its way toward orgasm. I felt Martin's body pressed as tightly against me as it was possible for him to do. He was trying to drive even more cock into me than he had. Then he quickly pulled back and drove painfully against me again. He was trying to torture me with his cock. I could feel my body fighting to respond as quickly as he pistoned into me, but it was hopeless. I could not process all the feelings. My body was lost in it's own sensory overload. It didn't matter who was doing what to me as long as it kept going. Then the world just went blank. I mean it was just gone for a second or so. When I returned to life, I no longer cared about the Atwoods or anything else. I just wanted to lay there in my sex induced coma and respond to my body's signals. First it was convulsions, the it was hot flashes, then tremors, then cold wet sensations between my legs. I felt it all and reveled in each one of the feelings. Before I fully recovered, Martin, who had his cock buried in me while I came and then came down, began to withdraw it. "Clean me," he whispered. I turned still on my hands and knees to find his cock at my mouth's lever. I sucked it deep inside my mouth. I tasted his cum and also the stale taste of my own body. I loved the taste of both, so I was lost in my own world again. Martin knew me well enough to just let me suck and slobber over his cock until all the taste was gone. "You do love that," he said smiling at me. "Nobody else I ever fucked loves the taste of cum and stale pussy like you do." he said continuing to smile at me. "You are the total slut in bed." he said more seriously. Then he did the strangest thing yet, even for him. He walked to the door and asked, "Either of you want to fuck her. She is willing?" I lay on the air bed to see if anyone would show up, no one did. It was hard for me to believe that it had only been 30 or so minutes since Martin and I arrived home. I staggered into the living room to find them all trying not to meet my eyes. Screw them all, and I probably would have ten minutes before, I thought. "Mike, do we have a camera on the driveway entrance?" I asked my voice still quivering. "Yes, I have been keeping an eye on it since Martin left the first time." he replied. "Good we will have to take shifts monitoring it for a while. I think I poked the hornet's nest tonight." I said to them all. "I'll say," Gwen agreed grudgingly. "You might just get us all killed." "Most likely tonight nothing will happen, tomorrow you can leave. Actually you have a car here you can leave now, if you want to live forever," I suggested. "Mike, can you get us a camera to monitor the Atwood farm. I can plant it tomorrow night if you can have one ready." Martin said. "I can have a camera ready in a couple of hours, if you need it tonight," Mike replied. "That would be great. If you get it ready, I can put it in place before sunup," Martin said. "It's 1AM, I can have it ready by four or five," "It doesn't get light till six, but I would feel better at 3AM. Maybe tomorrow would be better." I still wasn't completely steady on my feet as I returned to the bedroom. From the corner, I removed the shotgun which I had wrapped in a sheet when I loaded it into Martin's SUV. I had brought the new Mossberg pump short barrel shotgun, not the antique Winchester pump with the hammer. I bought the Winchester only becaause it was supposed to have been used in the prison on Alcatraz island. I have no idea, if that story was true or not. I came to like the style well enough to have paid for the shotgun regardless. I loaded four shells into the magazine of the shotgun and racked one into the chamber then put another into the magazine. The shotgun would go beside the monitor from that time forward. It would always be loaded and always ready in a hurry. "Are yo u okay?" Mike asked. "I'm fine just a little hung over from too much sex," I replied. "Yeah, I don't think I ever saw a woman so drugged looking, just from getting laid," he admitted. "Well it's the endorphin overload. Between terror and orgasms, it is hard for the body to recover from it all." I said it not even caring whether he understood or not. "I get it, I was once in a car crash. I wasn't hurt, but I was unbelievably horny for a week," Mike admitted. "Yeah, that's how it works on me as well," I said in agreement. "If no one objects, I'll take the first watch. I can't sleep anyway," I suggested. Unlike men, that much over load didn't knock me out, it just had me wired. "Not at all," Mike replied. Since no one else objected. I watched the screen while Mike did whatever boy geniuses do. When my two h ours were over, I was supposed to wake Martin. He was supposed to be on line from 3AM till 5AM, then Gwen took over till 7AM when I came back on. Mike was building a camera, so he was exempt from the watch. It was a boring night. Nothing happened, so Mike and I talked some. "So Mike do you have a girlfriend?" I asked. "Sure, we aren't all that serious, but I guess she is my girlfriend. I mean we have sex whenever I'm in Boston. If she is doing it with anyone else, I don't know." "Honey, if you don't know, then for you she isn't. You don't need to know anything else." He nodded and then went back to his camera. After several minutes he asked, "Would you really have had sex with us all tonight?" "I would really not have enjoyed it with Gwen, but honestly I probably would have. I was out of my mind for a while. The Irishman knew it to." "Maybe I should have then," he said with a wicked smile. "Too late now kid, and the offer may never come around again. But I bet it will make great TV." I laughed. Then a long second or so two later, Mike laughed as well. When my shift ended I was happy to wake Martin. I wasn't sure how effective he would be, but it would be interesting to see. I wasn't sure her would make it out of bed at all. I was more than a little surprised when he was instantly awake and alert. I guessed that it was training and experience. My next concern was about Gwen. I was concerned but not enough to take her watch. It was my guess that Mike would keep her awake. They both knew to wake me and Martin, if anything happened on screen. I was very specific, in that I didn't care how small it seemed, wake me up. Somehow we made it through the night. I drank coffee and looked at the screen for several minutes the next morning before the car turned into the drive. "Mike take a break from your camera and get the Irishman and Gwen. Martin came with a M4A1 carbine in his hands. He looked at the screen then said, "No time for an ambush," he suggested. "Go out the back door and into the woods before they get here. We can at least get two different firing angles on them." I suggested. "You gonna be okay in here?" he asked. "Go before it is too late," I said. I had no idea whether we would be okay or not. I did trust that Martin could finish anything I started. ------- Chapter 119: Sunday Morning Comin' Down "Geese Max, it's the cops," Mike said. "It's not the real cops. It's the cop in Atwood's pocket. I can't go out with this," I said putting the shotgun down. "But you stay close to it. Video it all and if he shoots me, kill his ass, If he roughs me up, just get it on film and hide it." "Got it," Mike said. I walked onto the porch and spoke to the middle aged balding man who stepped from the Ford Crown Victoria with police written on the side. "Hello officer what can I do for you?" I asked politely. "Would you mind, if I come in? It's kinda cold out here." he tried to make it sound harmless. "Not at all, if you have a warrant to search, then search. Otherwise it's a nice enough day, let's just talk here on the porch. I should warn you though Mike is standing just inside the doorway armed with a loaded video recorder. You are on video complete with sound. I thought I should let you know." "You don't trust the police?" he said amusement in his voice. "Generally I do, but not all policemen and not all the time." I said it smiled sweetly. Then I asked. "So what brings you out so early on a Sunday morning. Service don't start until next weekend, then they will be in the livestock auction building." "Actually I came to talk to you about last night. Did you know Thomas Atwood had to be taken to the emergency room after the beating you gave him?" "Then I didn't kill him?" I asked without any further comment. "Where you trying to kill him?" he asked. "Obviously not," I replied. "I talked to him about pressing charges, but he decided not to do that." The cop said. "Probably for the best, since Mike filmed the whole thing." "Oh really, and your version is what self defense?" the cop asked with a sneer. "Actually, I was defending myself." I said. "And you needed the beer pitcher to do that?" the chief asked. "Well it was either that or let him gut me like a fish. It is all on the tape, I would be happy to show it to the county prosecutor, if you like. The other plan is to just call it even, and move on. That is unless Thomas decides he wants to go another round, then I will take it to the county prosecutor. You might want to tell Thomas that he can't intimidate the tape, or me." "I see, but Miss, I'm the police chief not a messenger." he replied. "From where I'm standing you look like a messenger boy, so take the boss this message. Tell him it's kinda like Hank Williams said in that song. You can't starve us out, and you can't make us run, country folks was raised on shotguns." "So, you are making threats, I could run you in for that," he said. "Chief, I hope you have damn good insurance. I have this conversation on film and one damn fine lawyer on call. False arrest is a nice civil action, I could probably be the one retiring on your pension." He turned about six shades of red, before he got into his car and left without another word. "Shit he came out of that car like a lion, but he left in it like a lamb. You pulled his fucking teeth," Mike said. "Mike, you of all people should know that trouble just seems to find me wherever I go. He was no lion and not much trouble either. What we have to worry about is Thomas Atwood and his brother Blain. That little threat might freeze the Cop in place, but it won't do much to stop them. They have to protect their rice bowl." "You sure do think fast girl," Martin said with a smile. "Me I would have just killed him." "That's probably why they sent you along, so that you could learn a new way to do things," I suggested. "Or to teach you one," he said smiling. "Mike is that camera ready?" I asked. "I want to know who is doing the cooking in that shack." "You should know shortly after you guys place it." Mike said. "Tonight after they are all asleep or gone for the night. I figure 3AM is optimum timing." Martin said. "You should know best, but for god's sake be careful. I do not want to have to play Calvary." I said. "That'll be the day, when you have to save my ass," he said. I just smiled knowingly. Of course I didn't know anything at all. "So what do we do today?" Gwen asked. "Well are you staying or going Gwen?" I asked. "I'm staying, so what are we going to do?" She repeated. "I'm going to take a shower and drink a gallon of coffee Then I'm going out to breakfast with one of you TV people. One of you has an expense account I'm sure. That is my total plan for the day, so far." "Frankly Maxine you look like hell," Gwen said. I could tell that she enjoyed saying it way too much. "Yeah I know, I didn't get near enough sleep last night," She started to say something then realized I was joking. "You should have put ice on it, like I told you to do," Martin said. "Ah now you are an Irish Doctor. You aren't known for your medical skills, are you?" "No, but any idiot knows you put ice on an bruised cheek bone. You might ought to get it x-rayed." Martin said. "Right, so they can put it in a splint," I actually laughed and so did he. "So go take your shower, I'm Hungry," Mike said to break the tension. "Then it's you and me first, then Martin and Gwen can go when we get back. We don't ever leave the house empty again until this is all over." I said to all of them. "Right," Martin said in agreement. The shower was going to be busy and the hot water was going to be in short supply, so I took a GI shower. Wet down, turn off the water, soap up, turn on the water,. Rinse quickly and get out of the shower to save hot water for the next person. "Short showers for everyone," I said as I entered the kitchen where they all sat. "We are going to be short of hot water. "Irish you go next, after that the kids. I'm sure they don't know how to manage the water, but do try guys." It took about half hour longer before Mike was ready to leave. We looked pretty shabby in our suitcase wrinkled clothes. I also had oily hair, since I didn't waste hot water washing my hair. That would happen after breakfast, while we waited for Gwen and Martin to return. We had breakfast back at the highway interchange area. It was far enough away from Haymarket, so that we didn't have to be constantly watching our backs. It was one of those pancake and waffle joints. I had scrambed eggs of course, just to be contrary. It turned out that Mike had an expense account, so he picked up the check. Back at the house I stripped, then went back into the shower to wash my hair. I was interrupted by Mikes excited voice. "Max you should come have a look," he suggested. I left the shower in a towel. The car was almost in the yard by the time I realized what was going on. I picked up the shotgun before I walked onto the porch. A man, woman and teenage boy got out of the older car. I must have been a sight standing on the porch wrapped in a towel holding a pump shotgun at the ready. "Hello, can I help you?" I asked. "That shotgun is probably a good idea. I hear you kicked Thomas Atwood's sorry ass," the man said. "I don't know about that, but we had a few words last night," I replied. "They tell me, he had to driven to the hospital by his brother Blain, nobody else would touch him." The woman said it then paused a full minute. "You know they gonna be coming for you and your friends." "I trust the Lord, and this 12 gauge, to take care of me." I said quietly. "I'd say that you was in good company then," the man said. "The wife made pies last night and we had an extra one. I hope you and your friends like Apple." He said as he handed me the pie tin covered with a dishcloth. "It smells delicious, the others might not get any," I said with a smile. "I would say that you are going to have a packed house at your service next week." The woman said. "Well it will be good to see friends in the house of worship. Son," I said turning my attention to the teenage boy. "You seem to be interested in my towel. I'm afraid I will never make it as a Hollywood star, but you are welcome to stare. God probably isn't pleased that I am vane, but we all h ave faults. I think it is a minor one." "So do I," the boy said in agreement. "I can't imagine how upset Thomas Atwood is this morning. To have his ass kicked by a preacher is bad, but a woman preacher is just the ultimate in humiliation." We spoke a few more words, then they left. Martin and Gwen returned shortly after they had gone. "Try to get cleaned up Mike we are going into town. I want to see and be seen today. I want you to film everything you can Mike. It is going to be the difference, if they make a run for us." "You know they are going to want to stop that," Martin asked. "Yes I know, I want you to be sure the camera people are safe. Try to do it without violence, at least not deadly force." I commented. The town was so small that it was hard to find anything to do, other than eat. We went back to the same restaurant. Our greeting was a lot more cautious. The people didn't want to piss us off, since they had heard we were more than simple clergy. The seemed to have no love for the Atwoods either, so they were just trying to stay neutral. It was a hard, but clear cut decision. Stay with the known, or move over to the unknown. I didn't blame anyone for hedging their bets as best they could. I saw Mike get that concerned look. The one people get when they think trouble might be headed their way. I figured someone was approaching me from behind. After the last time, I wished that it was Martin instead of Mike at the table with me. Mike was no wimp but he was also not Martin. "Hi remember me?" the young man asked. "Of course, your parents brought us the pie." I commented letting Mike know that it was okay. "Tell your mom it was delicious," Mike commented. "I'll tell her, she will be happy. She loves to make pies." "Do that, it really was excellent," I agreed. "Okay, I wanted to tell you that Blain Atwood says you two are criminals. He also said that he is going to take care of you. He said you weren't really preachers. No preacher could have done that to his brother." the kid said. "Do you know the story of Samson and Delila?" I asked. "Sure from Sunday School," he replied. "Sampson's strength came from God, and so does mine. He directs my hand and he protects me, Blain would be foolish to attack God's messenger. So don't worry, I will be fine." "I'm sure you will be, I also wanted to tell you I think you are beautiful. I know you said you didn't mind me staring and I wanted to thank you for that. I couldn't help it. "Thank you, what's your name?" "Melvin," he replied simply. "Melvin my name is Maxine. I hope you come to services on Sunday," "I would like to see you before that. I mean see you alone," he said it shyly. "Melvin, I'm more than twice your age hon. But I am truly flattered." "You aren't upset that I asked," he said. "No, and I hope you aren't upset that I had to said no." After he left I said, "Nice kid." "Horny devil," Mike suggested. "Well we need to get back, so the second shift can get out to eat," I suggested. ------- Chapter 120: Midnight Visitors The whole day Sunday was spent trying to show people we were still alive and not one bit intimidated by the Atwoods. We switch up our pairings so we didn't get into a routine. Routines of any kind while operational can be deadly. Even though Martin and I agreed that the Atwoods weren't likely to do much recon work. I figured they would find out where we lived, get high on something and just show up at our door. Since the clubs were open on Sunday, Mike and I went back to the scene of my crime. I knew I had no backup and that it was risky but I had to show people that I did not fear the Atwoods, even though I did. Not to fear those two wasn't just stupid, it could well be terminally stupid. I sat so that I could keep my eye on the door and Mike sat so that he could film everything. He was using an only slightly disguised camera. It was a high definition camera in a case to make it look like a common cell phone. "What," Mike asked when he saw my reaction. "Blane Atwood just came in. You know most people look better than their mugshot. Thomas Atwood had been the exception, but blain actually did look better. A whole lot better. If I weren't in town to destroy him, I might have screwed him. I wrapped my hand around the 410 gauge derringer in my coat pocket. If that thing went off it was going to ruin my coat and make a god awful mess of Blain's not to bad face. "So you are the bad ass preacher lady?" he asked. "I am and I suppose you are Blain Atwood, brother of the very rude Thomas Atwood?" I suggested. "True on both counts. The shame of it is Thomas didn't learn anything last night. He is still determined that you suck his dick before he kills you. I told him to just do a drive by, but he wont have it. He is insisting that he get his blow job, and you die slow and painfully." "Did the chief of police talk to you today?" I asked. "Yes he did. I know your friend is taping this. The problem with the tape is one of you has to be alive to confirm it. My lawyer says it is useless, if someone can't testify that it is genuine." "Ah so you are saying we are both going to be dead?" I asked. "All four of you," he said matter of factly. "Then I guess you should get on with it," My finger was tightening on the trigger. "Too many witnesses, besides don't you just love a surprise?" he asked. "Sure some more than others. I have a feeling I might not enjoy the surprise you have planned though." I said. "I can assure you that you won't," he replied with a psycho's smile. "You know you are better looking than Thomas, but just a fucking sick," I said. I watched him change directions. "You are probably right. It could be something genetic, I suppose." he said. "Well, maybe I can arrange for the trait not to passed on." I said with a smile. "I could just cut your throat while you are sitting there. None of the sheep in this town would life a finger to stop me." he said. "Well, I'm just a visitor, but trust me I have a 9mm Glock under the table. It is pointed at your heart," Mike said with a quiver in his voice. "And I, Blain, have a 410 gauge shotgun slug from a Derringer for you, if you make such a stupid move," I informed him. "Once you are dead they become my sheep, and they won't see a thing." I smiled at him for a few seconds and watched sanity return to his eyes. "So partner this saloon ain't big enough for both of us. You need to leave now. I mean right fucking now or you might get your ass beat like your brother." "I'm going to enjoy watching you die," he said. "I'm sure you will, if you live long enough." I said smiling at him. He left quickly after his face saving statement. "So how are we going to get out of here?" Mike asked. "You are going to to call 911 and report smoke coming from this place. When the volunteer fire department comes we are going to leave with the crowd." "Geese Max where to you come up with that kind of shit?" he asked. "Are we really going to do that?" "No, I'm going out through the bathroom window. I'm going to scout the area, then call you if it's all clear. If not, I guess I'll have to kill whoever is out there." I smiled sweetly. In the meantime you stay put and tell anyone who asked I'm in the bathroom." Like all women I had been to that bathroom a dozen times and I knew where the window was. It was high enough so that it was a challenge to get it open. I stood on the plastic trash can and hoped it didn't collapse. The drop to the alley was about eight feet so I prayed that I made it without a broken ankle. After a rather sloppy landing, I went hunting. I checked a two block radius of our car. When I was sure that the odds were heavily in our favor, I called Mike to come out. "Now let's get the hell out of here," I said as after we were safely in the car. "How are things at home?" I asked Martin on the phone. "Things are just fine," he said. "How was the bar?" "Interesting, keep a close eye out, we are likely to have company," I said. "Oh really, Do I need to lay an ambush?" Martin asked. "No what you need to do is make a contingency plan, that's all for now." I replied. "I found a pretty good hole this morning for the Cop, I think I could find it again in the dark." "First sign or trouble go back there. I don't think these guys can do an infiltration. I expect them to just drive up and try to muscle us." "Or try to catch us out somewhere," Martin said. "Yeah, it's gonna be redneck thug style. They are gonna want to show us how bad they are." I suggested. "If they are smart, they will try to catch us separated, then set an ambush around the dead bodies in the house." I said. "That's what you or I would do. These guys will come in with a truck full of rednecks, and burn the house down. They won't expect a fucking war," Martin said. "This is getting way out of hand," I admitted. "Yeah, but like you said, 'It's gonna make great TV."' Martin said it with a laugh. "Well it's time we rattle their cages. Pack everything of any value into your SUV and we will give the bobsy twins the option of following us or running away. Then lets go shake them up a little. "What you got in mind?' Martin asked. "Why don't you show me that cook shack for starters?" I asked. "Did you just turn into the drive?" "No we are still two miles out. Get out of the house and into the woods. I'm on my way. We are going to come in hot." "Block the drive. Do not let them get out," Martin demanded. "How many cars?" I shouted into the phone the adrenaline screaming through me. "Just one so far," Martin said. I could hear the background noise and he moved from the house to the woods. I hoped Gwen didn't get him killed. "Mike we are going to go in hard and fast. Ram their car and run over any son of bitch you can." "You are kidding?" "They are not there to deliver pie at midnight. They probably think we are still at the bar. They are there to send a message." We turned into the drive moving at about thirty miles an hour down the dirt road. "If nothing else Mike, we are going to be a distraction. Then we are going to hope like hell that Martin is as good as he thinks he is." I hardly got the words out before we were in the yard. There were four men with guns standing between the truck and the house. They had stopped moving forward at the sound of the SUV moving down the drive. A few seconds later they were jumping out of the way as the heavier SUV pushed the truck toward them. I came out of the car with the .38 in one hand and the derringer in the other. Like I had said to Mike, I had to hope that Martin was as good as he thought he was. It was dark as hell outside the circle of Mike's headlights. "I heard the distinctive rattle of the M4. I was determined to wait until I saw something to shoot at before I wasted my few rounds. From out of nowhere someone grabbed me. I sure as hell hoped that it wasn't Martin, because I put the derringer close beside my body move hard to the right pulling the trigger at the same time. The heavy slug from the .410 shotgun shell must have been hard hitting because he released me and fell instantly to the ground like a stone. I screamed in pain. "Are you hit?" Mike asked. "No, the blast from the derringer burned the hell out of me." I said. While I beat out flames coming from my coat, there were a couple of shotgun blasts in our general direction. Fortunately they missed. The M4 was firing in three round burst. I am pretty sure that Martin was just firing at movements, so I stayed on the ground and told Mike to do the same. "Stop firing Martin," I shouted during a lull. After a couple of seconds I said. "Have you guys had enough or do you want to hang around till sun up when we come finish you off?" "I am through, if you let me go," a voice said. "How about your friends?" I asked. "I think they have all been shot," the voice said. "If you can disappear, no one will shoot at you, If you turn toward us, we will kill you," I shouted to him. I waited a reasonable amount of time, then rang Martin on the burn phone. "Do you have a light?" I asked. "No but I can get back to the house and get a lantern." he whispered. "It's too dark to give you any cover so be careful." I said. "Martin don't go finishing them off. We can explain this but not anything else." When Martin came out with the lantern we moved around very carefully. We knew one of them had gotten away. I expected he was running through the woods, but I didn't know for sure. Martin turned the one I shot over and his intestines fell out. I had never seen anyone shot with the derringer, so I was surprised. It was the only shot I fired and it had been a kill shot. One for one was good in any game. I knew the taking of a life was not a game, nonetheless it was what I thought. "So we going to dump the bodies on the Atwood farm?" Martin asked only half kidding. "No we are going to call the GBI man. Let him call someone to come investigate." I said. "Are you sure," Martin asked. "You know none of these guys are an Atwood brother. It is going to look a lot like we murdered them." "That's why the GBI is going to be involved from the start." I said. ------- Chapter 121: Cops and Docs I was about to make the call, when I had second thoughts. The problem wasn't the GBI, it was the local cops. The GBI would not get involved without the locals being first on the scene. The locals could spin it anyway they wanted, and we could come up looking like crap. Still, moving bodies and all the rest was bound to come back and bite us on the ass. I went inside where I had enough light to dial the phone. It was like 1AM Monday morning. But I called the number Anna gave me anyway. It rang a bunch of times before a man finally answered. "Agent Hall," he said. "Agent Hall, my name is Maxine Stone. A friend at the FBI gave me your number. She said I could trust you." "I like to think everyone can trust me." he replied. "I'm in Haymarket Georgia, and the Atwood brothers just sent four men to kill me and my companions. We managed to kill three of them in a firefight. We let one of them get away. Now I know the local cop here is in Atwood's pocket, so who can I trust up here?" I asked. "The Atwood's huh, just stay put, I'm going to call the state police to investigate. Just don't do anything else till they get there. If that local cop shows up tell him the state police are on the way and if he touches anything there is going to be hell to pay. You got that?" he asked. "Yeah, I think I can handle that." I said. "Don't anyone touch anything else out there." I said as I turned the coffee on. It was almost finished when the state police came roaring in. "Martin are all the weapons secure?" I asked. "Yeah everything is cool. I know this drill." he said quietly. I could tell he didn't like the way I was handling it, but he went along. "This is going to be a cluster fuck," I said. "You know they won't be able to tie this to the Atwoods," Martin said. "Probably not, but we aren't finished by a long shot." I replied. The cop naturally walked to Martin first, "What happened here?" he asked. "For sure, all I can tell you is these four armed men drove up in that pickup truck. They got out and started for the house. Maxine and Mike had been to the local tavern and happened to come home at the same time. They drove the SUV into the truck and spread these guys out. A firefight ensued. In the fight I think I shot two of them. Maxine shot one of them for sure." "Why did these men come here to attack you people?" the cop asked. "The short answer is, I'm not sure." Martin said. "How about the long answer?" the cop asked. "The long answer is I'm still not sure, but it could have something to do with the man who assaulted Maxine last night. She kind whipped his ass, and he didn't like it. I think he sent these men to kill us all. "Officer, if you don't mind, I need to get to a doctor I think." I showed him my coat which had been set on fire by the muzzle blast when I killed the man behind me. "I think I have a nasty burn, at least it is starting to hurt like hell." "You should have called the ambulance first. I'll call for one now." "I don't need an ambulance. I just need a ride to the hospital. We have two undamaged cars here." I pointed to them. "I can't let you just drive away, you killed a man." Then have one of the officers here drive me to the hospital." I thought it was a reasonable request. "Tell you what, that is against the rules, but I can get you a ride in a nice new ambulance. I can also have one of our men ride along to be sure you are alright. I'll try to get a detective to meet you there." the sergeant suggested. "Fair enough," I said in disgust. I turned to Martin, "Don't leave this house unless you are under arrest," I said to him. Talk to them here." "I know the drill hon, and unless they are going to squeeze my ball with pliers, I got nothing to say." Martin was all smiles. Hes's enjoying this shit, I thought. "I don't think they do that any more," I said with a laugh. I was in real pain by that time the ambulance arrived. I was indeed ready to go to the hospital. I needed heavy drugs and quickly. I was light headed and about to pass out from the pain and the let down after the combat rush. I made it to the back of the ambulance on my on, but just before I would have gone down. I managed to stay with it, until I laid my ass down on the gurney. I was quite ready for a nap. It appeared that I was the only injured person, who survived. I was more than a little surprised by the outcome, but I should not have been. Martin was a pro and he had the cover. The cowboy rednecks did a gunfight at ok corral thing. But instead of the Law Dogs, they got the Apaches. Okay, I was out of my head and my mind was wandering all over the place. My burn phone rang while I was in the ambulance. "Just in case they take your phone away and try to give you shit," Martin said. "Gwen got the whole thing on film." "Good for her, she might prove to be an asset after all." I suggested. "Somebody call Jen in Aster. She might as well lose sleep along with us. "I'll let you know how Gwen's assets are after the cops leave." he said. "And yeah we might need your shyster friend. "Remember, tell them nothing but the truth, but no more of it than you have to," I said. "I hear, they are going to change the name of the show to vigilante justice," he said with a laugh. "Don't give those pricks any ideas," I said. "So the state police guys have been real efficient. They are out there picking up the dead leaves," Martin said. They must have every cop tool in the state out here." "Good, we just want the truth to come out. This time we don't let the Atwoods manage the story." I said it just as I felt the need to throw up. "I got to go." I hung up and tried to relax, so that the bile would go back down. We pulled into the parking lot with me feeling like shit. "She is going into shock. We need to get her inside and let them deal with it." The EMT said as she opened the rear doors from the inside. We were at the ER loading area of some hospital. I didn't have any idea what the name was, nor did I care. I just knew my shit was about to go rank. "Stay with me, don't you go to sleep on me," The EMT said. I nodded. "Good girl, don't you quit," she said as I was rolling down the hall. I nodded again. Then there was the sound of those automatic doors opening and closing. Seconds later more hands pulled from the gurney to an examining table. "Get some fluids into her," a woman in a lab coat said. "Are you in a lot of pain?" "So, so," i said. "I am going to have to get you stable before I can give you anything, so just stay with me. I promise I will take care of you." I knew I was mumbling when she leaned forward to make out what I said. "If you take care of me. I'll take care of you later sweetie," I said and forced a smile. "Promises, promises, I get that all the time." She laughed and listened to my heart. "Hang another bag of Ringers and get a second line started." The nurse gave her some numbers and the doctor smiled at me. "You are stabilizing. so I'm going to give you something local for the pain. Then I'm going to take a good look at that burn." I lay still, but in a great deal of pain, while they cut my clothes off me. I stayed awake, because I knew that it was the thing to do. Suddenly there were pin prick added to the pain from the burn. "That's going to take a few minutes to numb you up. How did that happen," the doctor asked. "My own stupidity." I said not really wanting to go into detail. "How about the split lip and black eye. You don't have a violent husband or boyfriend do you?" She asked again. "No, but I did get in a fight with a guy a couple of days ago." I said. "It ain't much of man, who hits a woman," the nurse said. "Got that right," I agreed. I wasn't going to elaborate until she asked, "Did you report it?" the nurse asked. "I think you guys did. They brought him here," I said. I was feeling much better by that time. "Are you the one that beat Thomas Atwood half to death," the doctor asked. "I don't know about half to death, but we went a couple of rounds." I said. "Then that would make you the preacher lady," the nurse suggested. "Yes that would be me," I agreed "So why is there something that looks like gunpowder stippling on your clothes and around the burn?" the doctor asked. "Like I said, just a stupid mistake." The pain had gone by that time. "I am feeling a lot better now." "Good, it's the fluids. You just had a overdose of sensations and your body went into overload. You should be fine. We will get this cleaned up and get it covered to keep the air out and you will be as good as new in a week." "You aren't going to admit me are you?" I asked. "No, you seem to be doing fine. I want you to hang around for a couple of hours, then you should be able to leave, if you have someone who can drive you home. They need to bring you something to wear. I think that your clothes are trash now. At least the coat and sweater are," she said. Don't get that area wet for a few days. No showers, ok?" "Okay, You probably need to save my clothes. The cops are going to want them I expect. Oh yeah, what should I take for the pain?" I asked. Anything OTC that works for you should be fine." the doctor said. "I'll give you a script for Tylenol with codeine. Don't fill it unless nothing else works." Two hours later the nurse came in leading Gwen. Gwen had a plastic bag from the grocery store with a sweater and jeans in it. She was also carrying the insulated Parka that I had seen Martin wearing earlier. I noted that Gwen looked a little out of it. It was late and a lot had happened to her in one evening. Quite possibly one of those things was Martin. "The cop out there is taking your clothes, so I brought some of your things," she said. I nodded. I got dressed then we went to the check out desk. I tried to give them my credit card for the bill, but Gwen had already given them a card. I didn't even ask whose card it was. I knew for sure that it wasn't hers. "So the cops aren't going to stop us leaving?" I asked. "They are waiting for the Detectives to come up from Atlanta. They keep asking questions but no big deal yet." she replied. "That's going to change, when the heavy hitters get here," I said. "So how do you feel?" she asked on the drive back to the house. "I feel okay, they gave me something for the pain and that was the big issue. Burns are the most painful injuries, I'm told." I replied. "How do you feel about killing a man?' she asked. I knew then that her car had a hidden camera. "Killing people always upsets me. It should upset any rational human being. In this case it was kill him, or have him take me back to the Atwoods. Their plan was to torture and then kill me. I didn't feel that I had any choice."I replied. Then I turned the table on her. "How did you feel watching it all happen, knowing that if Martin and I failed, you were likely to die a very unpleasant death? You did know that didn't you?" "Yes, I had a pretty good idea that when they said they would kill us all, it meant me and Mike as well." "Oh it most definitely did. They need to make sure there is no one left to testify. Now it might be a little harder for them to do, but that is still their desired outcome to all this." ------- Chapter 122: New Marshal in Town During the time Gwen drove, and when she didn't try to film for TV, I tried to decide on my next move. Actually I tried to decide what my next move might be under several different scenarios. We were most likely going to stay out of jail on this one. What else we did was up in the air. I was determined to make the Atwood bothers pay for my pain, as well as their past sins. When we pulled into the yard, I saw the Georgia State Police car, complete with it's driver, sitting at the end of the drive. Martin's SUV was in the yard as well. The two wrecked cars were gone. Most likely to a crime lab somewhere. I struggled from the rental car Gwen had brought from Aster. It was one of those compact economy things. "Hey Max, I see you survived the ER visit," Martin said as I stepped onto the porch. "Yeah thanks for the loan of the coat, but it's a little too big for me." I suggested. "Well, first chance we get, we will pick you up something. We can put it on my expense account," Martin suggested. "Hell not, it needs to go on Mike or Gwen's account. They are the real reason we are her and therefore the reason for all this carp," I said accusingly. Once we were in the house, I made the bic lighter signal and he killed the audio feed. "Are there any other cops?" "Just the one, by the way I got your toys out into the woods," Martin informed me, with a big smile. "I think they need to stay there a while. We don't need to try to explain the arsenal to cops who are working on three dead bodies. Besides they have my .38 and the derringer that's enough cooperation." I said. "I know they have my M4 as well." Martin said. "Well, I do hope it's legal. If it is, you will get it back eventually." I thought about it a minute then added, "Surely that's not the only weapon to which you have access?" "Well let's say that it is my favorite. We can also say, they are going to need a warrant to search my SUV." "With three bodies in the morgue, I'm sure they could get one, if we give them any reason. Let's try to be cool till the GBI agents get here. Then we will try to work a deal with them." I suggested. "Yeah, I can see that's as our best bet, to keep this from going to a criminal indictment," Martin agreed. "If we can get the cops to back off, we might be able to get the Atwoods to come out and play again," I suggested. "I still want to find out what the deal is on that lab in the woods," Martin suggested. "I'd bet someone else is cooking in there. The brothers probably have all kinds of criminal associated down here," I suggested. "I would suggest we trust no one, not even the cops," Martin said. "We need to use the cops, but maybe trust would be taking it a bit too far. They are going to have their own best interest at heart." I said in agreement. I drank coffee and popped the pills supplied to me by the hospital before I left. It would be impossible to buy anything anywhere until morning. I might could make a run to the next largest town. I might even find an all night convenience store, but I doubted it. The cop in the drive most likely had orders to keep us all locked in safely until the GBI arrived. "Martin I am knocked out. I need sleep. Call me when the GBI guys get here," I said that as I stood to wobble to the bedroom and then crawl into the bed on the floor. Too much had happened, even so those little pink pills made everything seem less urgent. I wanted sleep not sex and Martin could tell. I woke up to his voice at the doorway. "Maxine the heavy hitters are here," he informed me. I walked into the living room, where I got my first look at the GBI team. "I'll be right back, I need to pee. I took care of that while I processed the group. There were two men and two women all of them looked just average. All except one man that is. He was tall and heavy. Not heavy like fat, heavy like blocky muscular. he had to be at least 6' 3" probably more even. He was a giant of a man. The second man was about 6' probably 200 pounds just very average. He even looked rather bookish. The two women were standard issue police women detectives. One thirty pounds over weight and one very light in the ass. I stopped in the kitchen for coffee before I went back to the living room to face the inevitable interrogation. "I'm Marshal Hall," the giant said. "Of course you are," I agreed. "So what happened. Don't hold back and don't pull any punches. Anna says you are connected and damn good at what you do." "Let me get a little of the coffee down and I'll tell all. At least all you need to know." I said. "I need to know it all, if I'm going to help you," he said. "You know that this doesn't look good." I actually laughed. "Are you seriously trying to intimidate me. Obviously Anna didn't tell you enough." I thought she must have changed her name to the more American version of Anya. "What is it you find amusing about this?" he asked. "Let me see, first of all we were attacked and defended ourselves. The fact that we have a better gunslinger than the Atwoods, doesn't make us guilty of anything. So if you threaten me again, I call my lawyer, Jen in Aster, and we all shut up till she gets here. Now Agent Hall do we understand each other." "Yes I think we do,. You are under arrest for the murder of three John Does." He said. "Cool, call Jen," I said to Gwen as I stood and turned my back to the GBI agents. I even went so far as to put my hands behind my head. I waited but didn't feel the cuffs. "Let's start over." the big man suggested. "Tell me what you know about The Atwoods please?" "How about I tell you one, and then you tell me one?" I asked. "Fair enough," the big man replied. "Thomas Atwood is a lousy fighter. He slapped me and I kicked his ass. He went to the ER in his brother's car. Earlier tonight the brother came to talk to me. He threatened to kill me, and all my friends? "I don't suppose you can prove all this?" he asked. "Mike set up a little show and tell," I demanded. "My pleasure Maxine," Mike said as he sat his laptop on the folding card table. First he set up the video of Thomas Atwood slapping me hard across the face. Then there was the close up of the blood on my face. He kept the camera running while I kicked the shit out of Atwood. A couple of adjustments and it was Blain Atwood telling me how he suggested his brother do a drive by shooting, but Thomas wanted to make it personal. Then telling me they would be coming for me. "Okay they are stupid and it's enough to put us on their trail for tonight's shooting." The big guy said. "Since they didn't pull the triggers, they might be able to squirm out of it," The heavier of the two women suggested. "So now, you tell me something I didn't know," I demanded. "You know the Atwoods as thugs and general pains in the ass bullies, but obviously there is more, if they can get a crew to come try to kill you." the big guy said. "Actually I think it was a kidnap plan, but tell me what they are into besides the pain the ass things." I demanded. "We think they are distributing drugs for some Mexican cartel." The big man suggested. "It is more likely they are selling to them, than that they distributing for them." I suggested. "What do you mean?" he asked. "We think we stumbled on a Chrystal Meth lab on the Atwood farm. They could be trading Meth for rock," Martin said. "I hear Meth is getting to be a hot commodity in Mexico City." "That's a lot to digest. We are going to need time to work this information into our profile of the brothers." "They obviously don't like strangers. That is the real reason they gave us such a hard time," I suggested. "They didn't want us to stumble onto anything." "Probably true." the skinny female said. Most likely only because she hadn't offered anything to the conversation. "So what do you have in mind," The big man asked. "Maybe we can get rid of the Atwoods and take their place. Just long enough to find out who you are looking for. then we all just disappear." "Why would you do that?" he asked. "We are here to take down the Atwoods. So help us, or at the very least don't get in our way." I said it and watched the reaction of the Big Guy. He was obviously in charge. "Well if there was something I could charge you with, I would. Those tapes make it obvious what happened, so we need to look into the Atwoods," "Good, while you are playing with that, we are going to pin another tail on the donkey. The more shit we put on the wall, the more likely it is something will stick. It's probably going to be confusing for a while." "You know I have to tell you, this is not approved by the GBI. If you break any laws, we will arrest you. I am leaving an officer outside just to make sure nobody comes back. It's really for your safety." "Marshall, if this is a drug cartel type thing, the Atwood boys picked it up in Mexico, If so your officer is in as much danger as we are. Sending four men, to kill four people is heavy duty shit," I said. "I doubt he has too many more good old boys, who are going to be willing to go up against you guys. He may want peace, or he may want to just back off and let you have your church." Marshal said. "So we are going to stay with this, with or without your help. When the shit goes down, just remember who the good guys are." I said. "Are there any good guys here, you can't prove that by me, or the data on file with the FBI. We did a background checks on all of you in the middle of the night." "Oh and what did you find?" Martin asked. "One washed up mercenary, one shady sort of PI, who people keep dying around, two TV producers, who of late keep getting right in the middle of some sick reality TV crap. All in all you are a crew that should probably be in jail somewhere." When he said it, he was looking at Martin. I wondered if he realized he had made a promo for the TV series. "Well, should we do a background check on you guys as well," I suggested. "I heard you had a world class hacker back home, but you won't find anything." he said talking about Lucas. "There is always something to find," I suggested. "So I guess we are through here?" "For now, but we will be back." Marshal said. "Of course you will," I said in agreement. We waited patiently for them to clear out. "So what are we going to do first," Mike asked. "You are going to come along and film whatever we do. Get your camera ready for the cook house surveillance. In the meantime, if the cop is going to watch the house, we can all go to breakfast together. ------- Chapter 123: Gwen and Me As soon as we were out of sight of the house, and the cop on duty there. Martin pulled to the side of the road. He went to the rear door of th SUV to do a lot of mumbo and jumbo things back there. When he returned to the driver's seat, he had a satisfied look on his face. It was obvious to me that he had rearmed himself. I was still naked in that respect and not liking the feeling a bit. The cops had all my weapons used in the firefight and we hadn't been able to get back to my stash. When we reached the next largest town, the first thing we did was to find a restaurant. One where we could have a breakfast which was absolutely over the top. We found what we needed in a German Pancake house. We each ordered our fantasy breakfast. It was in celebration of being alive. Not only is sex better after a close call, so is most everything else. That is true at least for a few hours. I personally had pancakes with fruit, eggs scrambled very soft, hash brown which were stringy and crisp, link sausages, and toast. We had a few words with the waitress because she kept saying you know that will cost extra. But nobody cared at that point, so she finally was convinced that my motley looking crew, could actually afford the breakfast. I was exhausted and the restaurant was warm, which was a recipe for disaster. It was surprising that I didn't fall sound asleep into my pancakes. I could get down only about half of each item I ordered, but that wasn't the point. The point was just to taste it. It was as if the food represented life to me. It must have worked for the others because the poor waitress was running back and forth for the whole hour we were in the place. Okay, I need to go shopping, how do we handle this. Do you want to drop me at that Walmart we passed coming in, or do you want to go back to the house and pick up Gwen's car. She and I can come back to town. She can film me trying on clothes." "Yeah let's do that. I'm thinking Mike and I can ride through town and make a point of being seen. That ought to torque the police chief's jaws." "Yeah, I imagine by now, he has had the GBI in his face," I agreed. That's how Gwen and I ended up together. She kept trying to interview me about everything I bought. I wanted to tell her to shut the fuck up, but I resisted, I kept reminding myself that I was making a hell of a lot of money to put up with her shit. "So why are we in the sporting good section?" she asked. "I need a new coat, my old one caught fire remember?" I asked it to answer her question. "Yes but why sporting goods?" she asked. When I found a hip length hunting coat that was Camouflage, she stopped asking. "Do you get it now," I whispered. "Yes, you and Martin are going hunting," she said positively. "It could happen, yes." I moved on to the skinning knives. They had the long, wide bladed Bowie knife, so I tossed one of those into the cart. Then I had to find a clerk to open the looked display case and sell me a Mossberg shotgun. It was a replacement for the one the state police had. Not a single round had been fired from the shotgun, but it was a weapon at a crime scene, so the rules said take it. They took it. While I was there, I picked up a set of thermal knit underwear tops and bottoms. I had to buy boys sizes but that was okay. Gwen finally had something she could ask me about. She seemed almost orgasmic at the prospect. "Do you often buy men's clothes?" Gwen asked to try to get me into the whole 'Gender bending' thing I expect. "Usually its women's or teenage boys clothes." I replied I didn't elaborate, so that she would have a chance to ask more questions. "Do you feel strange in men's clothes." she asked. "No sweetie, I just buy what I need. As far as I'm concerned it's just a couple of yards of cloth," I had her in checkmate with that answer. It was just far too logical for her to challenge further. "So Gwen, how about we stop for some coffee at Hardee's or MeDonald's which ever we come across first?" I asked it while I waited for the cashier to ring my purchases. "Sure why not, it isn't like we had real jobs to go to," she commented. "That will be three hundred and twelve dollars and eleven cents," the middle aged casher with very bad skin declared. "Pay the lady," I said to Gwen. She pulled out the plastic. I had no idea if it was debit or credit and I didn't really care. I put the new coat on before we went inside the Hardee's for coffee. It smelled new and was stiff, but it was insulated and warm. I needed to be warm more than anything else. I also needed coffee. "So how is it going with you and Lucas?" I asked over coffee. "I miss him, and I'm afraid I will never see him again. He wants me to come home." "You probably should," I said gently. "This is not a place for someone as gentle as you." "I have something to prove," she said. "Not to Lucas, and certainly not to Mike," I replied. "How about you and Martin, do I need to prove anything to you?" she asked. "Sweetie, if you were to leave this very minute, you would prove to me you had more sense than any of us. Is that stupid TV show really worth dying over?" "Yes, it is to me," Gwen said. "Then I guess you need to stay." I replied. "Lucas said to stick close to you and Martin, if things got nasty. He said you two knew what to do for the best chance of survival." she said looking away. "The best chance of survival is to drive out of this town right now, and never look back," I replied. "Happiness can me Haymarket Ga. in your rear view mirror." I said. "You know I can't do that. This is my big chance to get into commercial TV. We might have stole this idea from Marty, but we pitched it and got it sold. The network is putting up real money, so they have a stake in the show. We are going on real TV. Okay, it's only cable TV but it's a start." "Good luck, I can't imagine it will do well." I said. "You really have no idea what a phenomena you are on the net do you?" she asked. "I know Marty thought we did well enough to sign on again with the show. Since Swamp Thing liked it, I guess it has some appeal." I replied. "To be honest, if we hadn't wanted to sell it so badly. we could have gotten a better deal by waiting. Mike insisted that we tie you up before someone else came in and took it away from us." "I'm surprised that anyou thought there would be anyone else interested at all. My life is only interesting a few minutes at a time. Most of the time it isn't anything but boring." I replied. "Your boring is better than anything in my life," Gwen admitted. "Bullshit," I said. Of course I was secretly pleased. Everyone, even me, wants to be considered cool. "Shit," Gwen said aloud. "What?" I asked. "I was supposed to get Mike some brown paint for the cook house cam. I forgot and Mike is going to be pissed." "We can stop at that farmer exchange in town." I suggested. When we parked outside, I removed the bowie knife from the box and tried to slip it into my new coat pocket. The pocket wasn't deep enough, so I slipped it into the rear game pocket instead. That pocket opened from both sides and runs all the way across the rear of the coat. I didn't think putting the very large knife in the pocket made me paranoid. Hell four men had come to kill us the night before, so caution seemed to be in order. Gwen found a can of brown spray paint and was in the process of paying when a guy who looked a lot like every farmer around that town came in. He gave us both a hard look and that worried me a lot. I made the difficult move to put my hand on the knife inside the coat pocket. I looked very awkward and of course I was, but the farmer got the idea and turned away. "Let's get the hell out of here, I think that guy was one of the Atwood gang," I said. We made it home without any other incidents. I actually felt a little better, when we drove past the State police car at the end of the drive. When I made it into the house Martin was waiting. "Did you get the paint?" he asked. "We got it what's the big deal about the paint?" I asked. "Mike is going to paint the box his camera is in. We are going to try to hide it. I'm afraid the Atwoods will be even more suspicious," Martin said. "Yeah, I think you can count on that. How are you planning to get out at 3AM. It is going to look more than a little suspicious," I suggested. "Go take a nap. You are part of the plan," he said with a smile. Since I was way too tired to argue, I went into the bedroom and crashed. I was shocked when I woke up four hours later to find Gwen in bed with me, Since she was asleep, I slipped out of the bed. In the living room I found the guys playing poker. Martin saw my look of surprise. "Not much we can do till dark," he suggested. I nodded. While on my return from the bathroom, I stopped by the kitchen for coffee. "Poker with two players isn't all that much fun. Would you mind a third?" I asked. "Make it a fourth." Gwen suggested as she walked into the room. Nobody objected so I pulled up a folding chair. Gwen sat across from me. "We should go invite the cop," I suggested. "No way," Martin said with a smile. "Let the watchdog stay on guard." We played Texas Holdem' until 7PM then we piled into two cars and headed to dinner. We decided on the same restaurant as before. No sense breaking in a new group, I thought. While I waited for the other to get ready. I rigged a simple hide out rig for the bowie knife. I rigged it from the heavy nylon mason's chord I purchased from WalMart for that very purpose. What I made was no more than a large loop of the cord. I ran it through the belt loop on the leather sheath, which held the knife. When pulled half was through the loop and then opened it became the shape of a bow tie. One arm through each loop with the knife hanging down my back and the job was complete. Once my sweater and coat were on the rig would be invisible, more or less. Once at the restaurant, we all went in through the front door, but Martin went directly out the rear. The three of us ordered as if nothing was different from any other night. We ate dinner slow then paid the bill. We didn't want to call attention to ourselves. After dinner we drove to the beer joint where we had run into the Atwoods both times. We sat there drinking beer and waiting for Martin. Mike spent a lot of time on his cell phone. My guess was that it was his hidden camera. He had rigged it somehow so that he could film while pretending to talk on it. We had been in the tavern for at least two hours when he pushed over the table to me. On the screen was the live feed of a shack with minimal lights burning. Even the light that were present seemed to be unsteady. "Candles?" I asked. "Some kind of flame for sure," Mike said. "Cool," I said and took another small sip of beer. Martin came in an hour later and we all left without having seen the Atwoods. Either they had business or they were laying low. I supposed that it was possible they were in jail, but I didn't want to count on that. ------- Chapter 124: Planing the Plan Even though we had the state police car outside, we stayed up a couple of hours after we got home. It was mostly to check out the cook shack, and of lesser importance to watch the drive on video. We watched Someone leave the cook shack about 1AM. He walked out of the camera frame for a few minutes, then back inside the shack. "Does he look familiar to anyone?" I asked. "Not one of the brothers for sure," Martin said. "That's what I was afraid of. Cooking that shit is too dangerous for the brothers. One misstep and you got a room full of bodies. You can make crystal Meth or you can make poison gas. It all comes from the same ingredients." "So now what?" Martin asked. "Well, we still might get them on tape going into the place, but the odds are slim. There is no reason for them to be at the shack. They can take care of business anywhere. Pay off the cookers and take delivery of the shit." "You mean I did that for nothing?" Martin asked. "No worse than other things you have done for nothing," I replied. "Yeah, there is that," Martin agreed. "So what is the next plan." "Well they have been telling everyone we aren't really the good guys, let's let them think they are right." "Oh, what do you have in mind?" he asked. "A little power play gone wrong," I suggested. "You heard that cop Maxine. We cross the line, we are going to jail. Not something I signed on for." Gwen said. "Gwen you are allowed to leave anytime you think a plan puts you at too much risk. What you can not do is roll over on us, while we are still operational." Then I turned to Martin and Mike. "She does have a point though. If we so something illegal while filming for TV, we are screwed." "Yeah it would be like a confession. You can't say it is fiction, if you have people bleeding on tape." "Lets give this some more thought. Maybe we should just run with the preacher thing for a while and think. We are not on the clock or anything. We make a move today, or next week it's all the same." "You have a point none of us have a life," Martin said. "Speak for yourself Martin. I have a boyfriend I want to see some day." Gwen said. When she said that I thought of Cheryl. It was just a passing thought, before I forced it from my mind. I had really serious shit to think about. "You know I'm getting really tired of your whining," Martin said. "I know we have to treat you TV people with kid gloves, but you are really getting on my nerves." I changed the subject just to give everyone the chance to cool off. "Why don't we start a terror campaign on the bothers. Nothing serious enough for them to call the cops, just enough to be a pain in the ass. Then set up a meet and get them to incriminate themselves on tape." "I'm telling you, we need to just kill them." Martin said. "Hell Red, where is challenge in that?" I asked. "Okay what is your plan?" he asked. "First we watch the cook shack. We also gather intelligence everywhere we can, then we make a real plan. In the meantime we stay inside the cover story." I could see that Martin didn't like the inactivity. I thought that he sometimes forgot that everything we said was being recorded. I took Martin aside and whispered in his ear, "Trust me. As soon as we are alone we can talk. Right now, we have to play to the camera." He nodded but still didn't look happy. I'm sure it was more the bullshit of the TV show, than the Atwoods. I went to the bedroom to pass out. I was that tired. I had been stumbling around for the last twenty minutes. I can watch the video the next morning, I thought. I still wouldn't let Gwen leave the house alone, so I rode with her to get breakfast for everyone. We even took the cop's order. In order to get anything worth eating as takeout, we had to drive back to the highway interchange. Since I was the one who wanted biscuits, I should be the one to go. If I went, I had to take along a shadow. If I had to take along a shadow, I chose Gwen. I still didn't care for her, but it gave the guys a break from her. At least she was a woman. Not that I don't like men just as well, but her questions just sounded a little less abrasive, than Mike's. After breakfast we decided that we should make noises like a group of religious zealots, since that was our cover story. Mike printed up some 'prayer of the day' fliers, so Martin, Gwen and I went into town to pass them out. "So, are we still allowed to use your action house for our services, even after the shootout at our house?" I asked the auctioneer "Absolutely and I'm sure it will be a full house," he admitted with a good humor smile. "I certainly hope we have a full house, but even if only two of us are meeting in his name, God will be with us," I said. "Good morning," I said to everyone I met. I also passed out the prayer sheets along the streets of town. Even in flea markets and the farmers exchange we made pests of ourselves. "So do you think the Atwoods are going to lay low?' Martin asked. "Oh yes, just as long as the state police are around." Martin and I were in his SUV. Gwen was following us around in her econobox. I made the signal for him to do his 'black out' thing with the microphones. "They will stay low and this is the ideal time to put some hurt on the boys. We can't kill anyone, but we can reek havoc on rolling stock and fixed assets of the business. They aren't going to put their pet cop on us with real cops around." "That's a good plan. So what do we do first?" he asked. "We need to figure a way to get the cooker away from the shack, then we need to get the dogs out. We are not going to injure those dogs," I said. I added with a smile, "Then we burn the mother to the ground." "The surveillance tapes will tell us what his routine is, then I just have to cut the lock, open the gate, get mauled by the dogs, and set the fire." Martin said with a laugh, "Piece of cake." "Well the dogs look pretty underfed. When we know his schedule and he is gone, drop by and throw some fresh meat over the fence. Do it a couple of times, then open the gate and throw a steak in the opposite direction. When they take off after the steak throw a railroad flare in the shack and run like hell. It is going to go up with a hell of a bang." Another good plan. That is going to bring the Atwoods out to play regardless of the state police," Martin said. "I don't think so, but two or three attacks like it and they are going to want to talk. We get them on tape, then give it to Marshal Hall, and it's over for us." "You hope it is over, but we might have to fight our way out of this town yet." Martin said. "Well I figure if it come to that, I couldn't be in better company," I said. "Nor could I," Martin said with a grin." "Just feel the love," I said with a laugh. Now turn the microphone back on. Martin and I studied the tapes closely everyday until Friday evening. We drove back to the highway for dinner Friday evening. Martin and I in one car the two TV producers in the another. He used his jamming device almost immediately. "Okay I figure he is going out most evening for about three hours. Probably a woman or a bar and a woman," he said. "So nine till midnight is our best times, but you setup and watch for one hour after he leaves before you go in to feed the dogs. That camera doesn't cover a very wide field of view." "I figured that out too, I can do it without being seen. This ain't my first square dance little lady." he said smiling. "Then after dinner lets start to get it done." I said. "Two nights of dog food, then on Sunday night it goes up." Martin said. "That means I get to hear you preach at least one time." He said it with a great belly laugh. After dinner Martin disappeared for a couple of hours. I knew where he was, but I played dumb when asked. Saturday was a repeat of Friday only it was the start of the weekend. There were more people in town, so more hand shakes and invitations to church. "I know our cover isn't going to hold up forever, but I would like to keep it intact for a few more days anyway. This sermon thing has me terrified." I explained to Gwen. "You will be fine, here I made you a cheat sheet," she said with one of those sisterly smiles taht women use now and then. What she gave me was the outline of a sermon, she had found it on the Internet. So Sunday morning I dressed in my one nice pair of pants and top. Then I went to Church in the Cattle auction building. I had seen lots of preachers, when I was young, but not so many since I was grown. The one I liked, and remembered the most, was an air force Chaplin who visited me in Germany, while I was being put back together. He just talked to me like any other person. He let me know always that he was a man of god, but other than that admission, he was just like anyone else you would meet. That being my best memory, I tried to mimic him as much as possible. The sermon was about doing the right thing, even when it hurt. "If it doesn't hurt, it's hard to know what the right thing is. The right thing to do often is the most painful of the options you have. Whether you make the right decision, or not is something the world may never know, but God will always know. Most of us when we are dealing with a hard decision will often ask, not what Jesus would do,. but what would my dad or mom have done. That usually is the right thing to do, because we tend to forget all the wrong things people we love have done. The ability to forget is also a gift from our loving God." "We will not be taking an offering today. I know times are hard and brother Willis has donated the use of his building, so buy your children a hamburger and tell them it is a gift from their loving god." "God bless you all and drive carefully." I stood and shook hands with everyone who came forward. I wasn't interested in saving souls only in do a creditable job as a preacher. I must have done alright judging from the remarks made to me. "Holy shit Maxine, I can't believe how inspiring that was. It was just like listening to my mom talk." Gwen said. "I just loved it." "She is right, it is going to make great TV," Martin said sarcastically. "Don't laugh Martin, she may have found her calling." Mike said with a laugh. "What I have done, is work up a great apatite," I said "Then let's all go to lunch, on the TV network," Mike said. "Okay, but I want pizza and salad, not much of a bill for your network to absorb." I said. "Even better," he replied. We found something called the house of Pizza. We had already seated ourselves, when agent Hall came into the dining room. "It's hard to believe you aren't really a preacher," he said. "Which one of you has the pistol pointed at me under the table?" He asked. "No need for that, you are a friend," I suggested. "So what can I do for you?" "Wanted to let you know the Atwood's slipped out of the shooting at your place. We never found the forth man to make him talk." he said. "My guess is a bullet in the brain and a shallow grave somewhere," I said. "Yeah, just wanted to warn you to watch yourself. I have to take the babysitter away." Then we better get home," I suggested. I saw Mike lay his fancy telephone on the table and knew that he would be watching the place till we got back." ------- Chapter 125: the Beginning of the End I was on pins and needles while I waited for Martin. The other two had no idea why I walked through the room a dozen times. Each time I glanced at the monitors. The one covering the cook shack was my only interest at the moment. Any minute it should go out. Mike would think the Atwoods had found it. But Martin would disable it, while he blew the cook shack. I knew that when the camera went out, the cook shack would be gone within minutes. It was at that time, when the shit would really start to fly. I didn't want Mike or Gwen to know what was happening. If they didn't know, they couldn't roll over on us. It was a need to know situation, and they definitely didn't need to know. At ten minutes after ten Mike said, "Shit they found our camera." "What do you mean?" I asked. "See for yourself," he said as he backed up the player. When he clicked on the play, the image of the cook shack came on the screen. A few seconds later the camera shook as if someone had picked it up, the the image went to static. "Can't you get it back?" I asked. "Not unless Martin is willing to go back and plant a new one. They will be expecting him, so I doubt that he will do that." Mike said. "He would be an idiot to do it," I suggested to keep the conversation on the dead camera, not the exploding building. "Where is Martin anyway?" he asked. "I sent him to Walmart for some of those OTC painkillers I am taking. I'm about out." I said. "Well keep an eye on the driveway. Since we don't have the cop outside, I'm more than a little paranoid. The Atwoods are going to know we are onto them." Before Martin left, he had retrieved my weapons stash. It looked as though I wouldn't be needing the bowie knife after all. I was just as glad. Knives are really messy. You have to be close enough to smell the blood and crap when you gut someone. I just never felt that it was something I would enjoy. I was carrying the 10mm Glock semi automatic pistol in and upside down under arm holster. It was really too big for me, but compromise was the name of the game when safety was at stake. The glock was big and clumsy compared to my concealed hammer .38, but it was nothing compared to the Colt .45 M1911. Hell every gun collector, of any statue at all, had to have at least one model 1911 in his inventory. It was the last handgun I had brought. My two Glocks were in use at that time. If I lost another pistol it would be the 1911 for me next. I didn't look forward to that. I had my .22 mag sniper rifle with the 20x scope and the .30 caliber Koren war carbine. My .30 caliber carbine was supposed to have been used by an officer at the Inchon landing. I could never prove it, but it made for a good story. I paced the floor and eyed the new Mossberg 12 gauge pump gun. If Martin didn't come back soon, I would take it and go looking for him. That should be interesting moving through the woods in the dark with a loaded shotgun. I hoped it wouldn't come to that. We were just as likely to shoot each other as anything else. I was sitting on one of the folding chairs glancing at the computer screen, when I saw his car pull into the drive. I was extremely relieved. The angle of the camera made impossible to see, if he got out unharmed. The important thing was that he was back. Even if he was injured, we could take care of him. Mike was in the kitchen fixing himself a coke, when Martin left the car. I saw the two dogs bounce out of the car with Martin following behind them. Damn they switched masters quickly, I thought. I went onto the porch to greet him. He showed me the cloaking device so I knew the mics were off. "What happened?" "Well the plan didn't work exactly as you laid it out, but the cook shack is a pile of ashes. No human or dog was hurt, but I seem to have adopted two guard dogs." "They must be male, no loyalty," I commented with a smile. "They have good appetites for sure," he replied. "Well, tomorrow we can buy them a dog house and some food. We can take care of them until we leave, then I don't know but hell we might all be dead before that happens," I suggested. "My thinking exactly, besides we can use them as first alert." "Better than trying to watch those monitor 24/7." I said in agreement. "Mutt and Jeff," I suggested after studying them a few seconds... "Works for me," he replied. They probably aren't house broke, so let's leave them outdoors. If they take off, then let them go. We will take care of them as long as we are here." I suggested. "We fired the first salvo of our little war tonight. I guess tomorrow we will see how it works out." Martin said. "Yes for now don't leave the TV kids alone, there may be hard times coming," I paused a second then asked, "By the way, was there a cool explosion?" "And a cute little fireball as well," Martin said. "I set it by throwing the flare on top of a five gallon plastic bucket of acetone and running like hell. The dogs wanted to chase me, but when the explosion went off, then jumped in the SUV and wouldn't leave." "I guess we need to look for a new target." I suggested. "How about his pretty little Italian sports car. I can get a Barret M107. Do you have any idea what that would do to Blain's lil bitty sports car?" Martin asked. "Actually I do. I saw that weapon demonstrated. I never fired it, but it looks awesome." I said. "I like the car idea, but the rifle would be like a finger print. Keep thinking," I demanded. "How about a can of hairspray on the muffler?" I suggested. Then added, "We can't do that someone would have to be driving the car. We could easily kill them." "And the problem is?" Martin asked. "You know damn well what the problem is. That is pure murder and they can prove it." "So you want to hurt them, but not kill them?" Martin asked. "Exactly," I replied. "So exactly what is the point?" he asked. "We want them to ask for the sit down." I said. "It's a subtle thing but it puts us in charge if they call for the truce." I said. "Truce means we are at war. In a war people die," he suggested. "When people don't die it's called peace." "Not in this kind of war." I said. "We are going to out think them." "Trust me, it's easier to out gun them," he replied. "Well let's work out a plan for tomorrow before we do anything else. Now the shack is not in the local cops jurisdiction, If he tries to arrest or question us, we do not cooperate and we do not leave this house without a fight. That is unless he brings a state police officer along. We can't call Marshal until the cop tries something If he does, we are going to have to hold him off without killing him." I said. "If he comes here and tries to take us away, I'm going to knock him on his ass," Martin said. "You can defend yourself, if he tries to manhandle you. We are not in his jurisdiction and neither was the shack. So anything you do with an appropriate amount of force is fine." "Good, are you expecting that?" he asked. "I am expecting anything, up to and including grabbing one of us to drag the others out of the house. So keep an eye on the TV kids," I demanded. "Fair enough, if they try that, they are paid for. I don't care what you say Max." Martin said. "I didn't stop you last time that people needed to be fought off, and I won't next time either. Just make sure it's what we really need to do." I suggested. "We don't overtly instigate anything, so swallow your macho instincts and lets get this thing done." "Alright, but I still say it would be easier to just off the sons of a bitches," he suggested yet again. "You are tired of Gwen whining and I'm getting tired of your psycho killer bullshit," I said without any humor. "We are going to do this my way, or you are going to leave. It's that simple. It might shock you to know that there is nothing you have done, that I couldn't have done myself." I finally had enough of Martin's Macho bullshit. "Is that anyway for a slut to talk to her man?" he asked with a smile. "Just for your further edification, I'm not anybody's slut. I might be a generic slut, but I don't belong to any of you. So you just ended any chance you had of getting me to screw you again." I said it, then I smiled sweetly at him. "You weren't all that good anyway," he said. "There you go proving you are just a typical man after all. You don't get things your way, so you lash out. Well Martin, I don't give a shit what you think of my sexual abilities. So just keep digging your grave deeper with that mouth of yours." "I'm not even going to tell yo what you can do with that mouth of yours," he said. "Maybe you are learning something after all," I said sarcastically. "Now if you can be a good little soldier we are cool. If not, you need to head on back to Swamp Thing. I'm sure they will be glad to see you." "Believe it or not, my job here is to keep you alive. That is my job period. I will help out, if I can, but my real job is to keep you alive." "That's real thoughtful of your boss, but I don't want or need a babysitter. So you probably should head on back to HQ." I said angrily. "That's not what it is and you know it. I'm just here so that someone has your back. These are bad people and those two are useless in a firefight." he said. "Bullshit, you just think that because we weren't Seals or wore Green Beanies, we are helpless. Get over yourself." I said it because I had finally had enough of his condescending attitude. He seemed to finally get the message. He walked away and didn't look back. I will not be surprised to find him gone in the morning, I thought. It was Gwen who came out to talk to me. I was cold but not ready to go back into the house. "He did something to that cook shack didn't he?" she asked. "I honestly don't know. You would have to ask him. In the meantime try to round up some food for these two dogs. Anything we have laying around should do. Also get one of those big plastic storage boxes to give them water. We can get whatever else they need tomorrow. "We heard your shouts. Not the words, but I know you were fighting. Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. "No, it will work itself out," I suggested. "Okay," she said that as she went inside to take care of the dog's needs. I sat on the edge of the wooden porch and waited to see if the two mutts would come to me. "You guys are kind of like me. Nowhere to really call home. Well we can make sure you eat and have a warm dry place to sleep, but we won't be staying. You find a place for tonight and tomorrow we will get you a dog house." I knew that it was a waste of money to buy them a dog house for only a few days. But damn it I was not going to see them out in the cold, when there was something I could do to help. ------- Chapter 126: Chief With No Indians The TV kids were surprised when Haymarket's chief of police pulled into the drive. Neither Martin nor I were, but we tried to pretend, "Record every word and video every move that son of a bitch makes," I demanded. "You two stay inside, we will take care of this," Martin said in agreement. "So you staying or leaving?" I asked, when we were on the porch. "I'm going to be here, till I'm gone," he replied. It was vague but I knew what he meant. He was in the shit as long as he was with us. No matter how he felt about it. "So Officer, what brings you here?" I asked. "Just wanted to ask a few questions," he suggested. "Sure you can stand right there and ask." I said. "What about those dogs over there?" he asked. "What about them?" I answered his question with my own. "You didn't have them the last time I visited. Do they bite." "No idea, they wandered in this morning all hungry and shivering. We fed them and they found a place to curl up and get warm. I expect they will stay around until they get a better offer." "So they don't belong to you?" he asked "No and we don't belong to them. They seem to have just chosen to hang around a while. So if that's all you wanted to ask," I said. "The dogs are not why I came. I want to know where you were at ten last night?" he asked. "I was here at ten. Where were you Martin?' I asked. "I was here as well. The other two were here I know." Martin said. "Well Chief, it looks like we were all here," I said. "So you don't know anything about a fire at the Atwood farm?" He asked. Before I could answer he added. "Can you shut those dogs up?" The dogs were making a hell of a racket but they were keeping their distance, so seemed pretty harmless. "I don't think they will listen to me, since I just met them this morning but I will try." I turned to the Mutt and Jeff and said, "Hush up." They fell silent for some reason. I turned back to the cop. "I don't know a thing about any fire and neither does anyone else on this property. So is that all?" I asked. "Maybe we should go downtown and talk about this in my office?" he suggested. "We won't be doing that. See Chief you have no jurisdiction here, and you have none at the Atwood farm, so we won't be going anywhere with you. Now if you want to bring one of those nice GBI cops back, we can talk. I think they do have jurisdiction. If you have some other trumped up charge, you are going to need swat to arrest us, and then it's going to get sticky for you." I suggested. "You aren't being very friendly," he said. "We can bring you a cup of coffee, if you like, otherwise we are through here." I said. "Well I guess you don't want to end this before it becomes a war?" he asked. "End what?" I asked. "That's what Blain Atwood wants to know. Exactly what is it you want?" he asked. "You are one sad little man," Martin said. "A cop running errands for a coward and a bully." Martin said. "This ain't about me," the Chief said. "It's about preventing more killings." "So far the killings have been the other guys. I'm not sure there is anything we need to talk about," I admitted. "Then I will tell Blain that," the Chief said. "Yeah do that," Martin agreed. After the chief left Martin turned to me and said, "I thought you wanted a sitdown with those guys." "That struck me as hinky. I don't want to walk into a trap." I said. "So next time they ask for a meet, we set the conditions?" Martin suggested. "Exactly, if we are going to put our lives on the line, we are going to choose the place," I demanded. "And that's what I will say to Atwood or his lap dog." "So any idea where?" Martin asked. "That depends on you. Can you hit anything with a sniper rifle?" I asked. "I do okay, What do you have in mind?" "A meeting outdoors somewhere with you and my .22 magnum sniper rifle." It was the only plan I could come up with. "I like it, but I have an M40A1 in the SUV. It might do a little better job." Martin suggested. "Well, you are the expert," I said knowing his weapon was superior to mine in range and hitting power. Mine would do fine up to 300 yards, and would kill a man easily with a well placed round, but it had to be a well placed round. "In that case let's go find a place. Every town has a park of some kind." Martin suggested. "The problem for us is that we have made such a big deal out of audio and video taping they will expect you to be wired." "They are going to insist on searching me. I get that okay. I don't even mind. Mike has a Mic which I can shove up my ass. He swears it will work fine." I said it smiling. "An ass microphone, what will they think of next." Martin asked smiling. "Our next problem is how much do we tell the kids. They have to know about the meet, but how much about the plan?" I asked. "It's your plan you decide. I'm just the trigger man here," Martin said smiling way to big. "Well, we can't leave them alone and we can't all go together so how the hell are we going to scout out a place?" I asked it out loud to hear myself think as much as to ask for advice. "Stash them somewhere safe and we go scouting," Martin suggested. It made perfect sense, if there were anyplace I felt that they would absolutely be safe. "You tell me where you think would be safe?" I asked. "Your plan," Martin said smiling again. "Courthouse in the county seat," I suggested with a smile. Where that came from, I had no idea. "We just dump them and tell them to go watch a trial." "Beautiful, there will be hundreds of cops in and out of a courthouse. We can use the burn phone to tell them when to come out and get into the car. I love it." Martin said. "Good that is the solution to one problem. So let's get them moving, so that we can go look for a secure meeting site." "Secure for us but dangerous for them." Martin suggested. "I certainly hope so," I replied. The two TV producers were installed at the county courthouse twenty miles away in a town three times the size of Haymarket. When we got back to Haymarket we began searching for a meeting spot. Just in case the Atwoods really wanted to meet rather than just kill us. It took just an hour and a half to find a satisfactory spot. It was a softball field on the city's one real park. The field wasn't locked so we could all just walk onto it. There was a clear unobstructed view from the top of a concrete block concession building. "It's going to be cold up there," I said. "Most of the places I have been it was hot as hell. Cold will be a nice change," Marting replied. "Fair enough, if they ask for a meet again, we do it here or not at all." Everyone will feel safe in the middle of the field." I said. "I sure as hell wouldn't," Martin said. "Is there anywhere you would feel safe, with this degree of threat?" I asked. "Good point," he replied. It was after 2PM when we retrieved the TV crew. "So what do you guys want for dinner?" I asked. "I want answers," Mike said. "It is like I told you we went to find a place for a meeting with the Atwoods, if they decide to request a meeting." "Why did you stick us here for most of the day?" he asked. "To keep you two safe. Also, so that we didn't have to worry about you so much that we couldn't get our jobs done." We were almost home before Mike took his fancy phone out to check the camera footage. We got a problem. The chief's car is in the drive but he isn't in sight. He must be inside." "What about the dogs?' I asked. "They are pacing back and forth on the porch," Mike informed us. "Well, we do have a problem. He has seen everything we left in the house. In my case it's the weapons, even though there aren't that many left." "All my stuff is deeply encrypted. There is no way he could get to it." Mike said. "Well, he could have seen my fancy panties," Gwen said lightly. "Martin?" I asked. "I have nothing in the house but a change of clothes. However we need to stop this shit right fucking now," Martin said. "I agree. The Atwoods are convinced we are dangerous and I'm sure they have convinced the chief, so let's go in and scare hell out of him." "You mean fake it," Gwen said. "Sure fake it, that's what I mean," I replied as I watched Martin smile behind her back. "We go in hot, I'll go around back in case yo u flush him out." I said. "You three make a lot of noise and demand that he come out. You know the drill." When Martin hit the brakes it was only after he spun the car so that it was between me and the house. I jumped out and headed for the woods. I circled around the house while Martin and the others left the car from the passenger side. They kept the SUV between them and the house. Martin did the talking. "You in the house come out with your hands empty and behind your head. Do it now." He demanded. "You do know I'm the Chief of Police?" was the answer he got. "What I know is that you broke into our house. You come out or we are coming in. You won't like what happens, when we get in there." "If you try to come in, I will shoot you," he said. All that back and forth took longer than it sounds here. The reason I know is that I had time to slip in the house from the rear while the Chief's attention was on Martin. "And if you shoot him, what the fuck do you think I'm going to do to you?" I asked with the 10mm pointed at his head from behind. "Put down the weapon and put your hands behind your head." I used his own cuffs to secure him just like they taught in the air police school. "You guys can come in now," I said once I had him cuffed and sitting on the floor. "Now what the hell did you think you were doing?" "Nobody was home and I needed to use the bathroom," he said as if anyone would believe that. "What have the Atwoods told you about us?" I asked. "Only that you were dangerous. That you might even be a big city dope gang." he said pretty confident that his badge was going to save him. "Chief you are going to tell us everything you know and answer all our questions honestly and quickly. Do you know why you are going to do that?" "I'm not going to do that at all." he said. "Martin, he broke into our house and threatened us, don't you think it would be fair if you did the same to him and his family?" "I most definitely do," Martin replied. "Get his wallet, drive to the address on his ID, and corral everyone in the house. Then lets see how the Chief feels when he listens to them die one by one." "What do you think Chief? Does that sound fair to you?" I asked. "You wouldn't do that," he said but with much less confidence in his voice. "Start with any kids you find in the house, then go to the wife. Be damn sure mommy dearest sees her children die." I said to Martin. Then to the Chief I said, "We are experts at what we do, so how about it want to answer or listen to your family die." "You are bluffing," he said. "Irish go for it," I said with a sick smile. ------- Chapter 127: Blood and Tears-No Sweat "Now Chief since you came to your senses and decided to talk, I'm going to give you a warning, as I always do. I'm going to be asking you Questions about the Atwood brothers. You are going to answer them truthfully. The reason you are is because if you don't, first we kill your family then we chop you into little pieces until you talk. You will talk in the end, if you don't talk, we have to kill what is left of you. The only question for you right now is, are the Atwoods more important than your family? You might also want to ask yourself this, are the good old farm boys, as bad as my friend, the Irishman, and me." "I already said I would talk," he said bitterly. "Good, but you should know that we already know a lot about the Atwoods. If we didn't, we wouldn't be here. Now I will ask you questions to which I know the answers. They will be mixed in with the questions I don't. Obviously you could lie to me, but you don't know to which questions I know the true answer. If you lie to me and I catch you, The Irishman is going to leave and kill your whole family. There will be no reprieve. Do we understand each other?" "Yes I understand," he said. He had a little too much confidence to make me feel comfortable. "That's yes Ma'am from now on. You are working for me now, or you are dead. Do you understand?" "Yes Ma'am." he replied. The GBI had given us just enough information to ask questions that were probing and also convinced the Chief that I did indeed have information. He had no idea how much information I had. So for the next hour I questioned and browbeat him. Mike recorded it all as we went. When I thought that I had everything I could get from him, I said, "Chief you are going to do one last thing for me. Then if you are half smart, you are going to take your family and get the hell out of Georgia. Do you understand?" "Yes Ma'am I understand." "Mike get those files off to our friends in Atlanta," I said before I turned to the Chief. "Now you go tell Blain Atwood that I will meet him at the outfield fence of the softball field in city park. I will be there at 4pm this afternoon. If he is there we can work a deal, if not, one of us is going to die. He should know that I have the better gunslinger." I opened the cuffs on the chief, pushed him out the door, and watched him stumble to his car. "Did you scare him enough," Martin asked. "We won't know that until about five this afternoon." I replied. "The time is good. It will put the sun in their eyes not mine," Martin said with obvious approval in his voice. "Got to get lucky now and then," I replied. "Right," he said smiling. "So here is the deal. If you can cook up some kind of repeater, so that you can monitor the audio and video from here, then you will be a lot safer," I said to Mike and Gwen. "I have one. If you can get it within a hundred yards of the Mic. I can monitor it here." "If you give us a video camera that we can just sit on the roof and point it in the general direction. You can have some images of what goes down," I suggested. "They will be lousy images, but better than nothing," he suggested. "We got two hours Max, you wanna screw?" Mike asked. "No thanks, but listen you keep a sharp eye out. I have a feeling this is going to be like my C.O. used to say about spies. "The bad thing about turning a man, is that he can be turned back again just as easily." "Right," Mike said almost ignoring me. "I knew he didn't think anything could happen to him. Too young and stupid I suspected. For the next two hours, Martin and I drank coffee and worried. Well for the first hour anyway, after that Martin went out to zero his scope. I tested the microphone to be sure that Mike could really hear it from inside my body. "It's not really a microphone. It's more a receiver and transmitting unit. Your whole body is the Mic and the antenna," he explained. "I don't care just so long as it works, I don't want to have done this for nothing." I suggested. "You get them to admit to sending the men to kill us, and we will put his ass in prison. I guarantee you nothing will go wrong with my equipment." After the equipment check I drank coffee and worried. I worried because there was too much that could go wrong. I knew that a plan, as loose as the one we were using, could easily get us all killed. I just couldn't come up with a better one. "Unless they were complete idiots, they were going to guess that the chief had gone over, but that didn't matter to my plan. If they killed him, that was fine with me, if they chose to turn him back, that was okay as well. We already had what we wanted, intelligence. We had sent the GBI enough information to start a wide ranging investigation. It was mostly what questions to ask, and of whom to ask them, but it was a starting place. It was probably more than they had before we rode into town. Time was running out. Martin and I loaded his equipment and Mikes camera complete with repeater into the SUV. Before we could drive away, Gwen came out and kissed Martin with a lot of tongue. I wasn't at all surprised, nor was he. I was surprised, when she kissed me exactly the same way. Then she whispered, "Just for luck." "Of course," I mumbled as I got into the SUV. "Be careful, you know they are going to be extra careful," I said to Martin when he stopped the SUV behind the concession stand. "You to lady, you piss me off sometimes, but I don't want to lose my first client." He said it smiling, as he used a ladder like I had never seen to climb the back wall of the concession stand. The ladder had a single center pole and folding steps on each side. He flipped it once and it became a ladder. He was about half way up when I walked onto the field. I felt naked since I left my 10mm Glock under the seat of the SUV. I have to admit that I was so scared I had to pee bad. I have no idea why, but before the shit starts I always have to pee, but the urge is gone with the first sign of action. I knew that once I saw Blain, I wouldnt be able to pee, if my life depended on it. I tried to be calm as I walked through the chain link fence. As I walked over home plate, I could feel eyes on me. I could only hope that they were Martin's and his alone. I walked to the pitcher's mound and over it, I walked over what would have been second base, it the bases had been out. Like most places, they were put out only for games and removed immediately after. The walk to the center field fence made me very nervous. I was in fact terrified. I waited in the cold for about twenty minutes before I saw the Italian sports car pull into the parking lot. I watched Blain step from the car and walk the same path I had. It took him only three or four minutes to reach me. "Are you armed?" he asked. "No," I replied. "Too bad, I am." He reached behind him and came out with what looked like a 9mm semi automatic pistol of some kind. "You probably think that you don't need to be armed, since your man on the roof has a high powered rifle on us. The only problem with that is that my brother Thomas was there waiting for him. I didn't pull into the parking lot until I got the text message that your friend was dead. I think you put it best. "Gutted like a fish." He waited for my reaction. "You are good, you have to be concerned, yet you are still acting calm. I know you aren't calm, but you are acting very well." "I'm not at all calm, more curious. How did you know?" I asked. "I knew because it is what I would have done. I figured you were almost as smart as me." "Almost?" I said. "Yes, now please turn and walk to the pitcher's mound." Atwood said. "I don't suppose you would like to talk this out?" I asked. "So your friends back at the house can record it. The only problem with that is they need power to make a recording, and we cut the power just before I drove in." "We, you mean you and the Chief of police?" I asked. "Yes, by the way he said he would get you, if it was the last thing he ever did. Well cutting the power was the last thing he ever did, but I promised I would do it for him." "So you killed the poor man?" I asked. I was doing it to keep him talking and also in the hopes that Mike had foreseen that possibility." I was standing on the pitchers mound when he answered me. "He had a fatal accident." "I'm sure," I replied. "Now Maxine, I know it is cold but I want you to take off your clothes." "You are going to let me die of exposure. That's not very sporting of you," I suggested. "Just do it bitch," he said angrily. I removed the camo hunting coat first. "It's not very easy to do a sexy strip, when you are freezing," I commented. He just waved me on with his pistol. I removed my sweater, thermal tee and bra leaving me naked to the waist." I tried to smile, just to release the tension. I couldn't make it happen. "Don't stop bitch," he snapped. I opened the jeans I wore. It was difficult to work them over the thermal bottoms. I did manage to get them and the thermal long pants off. As I stood in just my bikini panties, I was too frightened to be cold. "Take them off too." I did as I was told. "It appears that you didn't come wired after all. I guess sending the cooker and his friend to kill your geeks wasn't necessary after all. But what the fuck, it's just more bodies to throw down a mine shaft." "Dead man and women tell no tales," I admitted. "Exactly, now get on your knees. You are going to give me that blow job now. And when I cum, you are going to die. I wish you could tell me what it feels like to have a bullet in your brain and a mouth full of cum at the same time. The longer you make this last the longer you live. Now take my dick out and suck, or it ends for you right now." I guess I always wondered when and how I would die. I certainly never would have guessed the way Blain Atwood had in mind. I unzipped his trousers, then I worked his cock out, I stroked it a few times but it was just too cold to bring it to life. I had to take it into my mouth to warm him up so that it would at least get hard for me. The warmth of my mouth worked magic on his cock. It always does. I could feel it growing in my mouth. I would have enjoyed the sensation, if I hadn't been expecting a bullet in my brain at any second. I felt him begin to move his cock in my mouth. I could feel him tense as I sucked against my will. It was just too well connected in my primitive brain for me not to suck and move with him. I felt him speed up his movements and I knew that I only had seconds to live. I had to force myself to do it, and I knew that it meant he would shoot me instantly but I bit down as hard as I could anyway. They say the force of a human bite is equal to that of a wild animal. I don't know, but I felt my mouth fill with something. I knew that it was either blood or semen, I wasn't sure which. I heard the shot and expected the world to go blank. Instead I felt myself covered in a warm liquid. I hadn't realized that I had my eyes closed, until I opened them to see Blain Atwood laying beside the pitcher's mound. I had a good sized piece of his cock still in my mouth, and his face was missing. My reaction was to sit down in the dirt and cry. What the hell, I needed a good cry, it isn't every day that I have a severed cock in my mouth and a honest to god blood bath. I have no idea how long I cried. When I got control of myself, Martin was standing quietly watching me. "You are alive," I said through my tears. "Sweetie, a lot better men than Thomas Atwood have tried to put a knife in me." Martin said. "Who, who sent the text to Blain." I asked still shaken. "I did of course. I used Tommy boy's phone. You are not the only one who can think on their feet, you know." Martin said. "We have to get to the house,"I said. "No, you have to get dressed. The state police are on their way. I called the house, when I heard Atwood say he sent the cooker over. Mike seems to have learned to use a shotgun somewhere in Boston. He killed one with the first round, and the other one took off running. He is probably in South Carolina by now. Mike is an amateur he couldn't shoot him in the back." "Then it's over," I said breaking into tears again. "God, it's a relief to see you cry. I was beginning to wonder, if you were really a woman." "If you ever tell anyone you saw me like this, I will kill you. You ain't that hard to kill." ------- Chapter 128: The end of hostilities "Couldn't you at least let me shower before we do this?" I asked it of the patrol Captain from the Georgia State Police. "I called your friend at the GBI and he said to get the prelems all done, while they are in route from Atlanta. I'm sorry I know you are uncomfortable." "Yeah, I'm wearing about a pint of someone else's blood. I would say that makes me uncomfortable." I agreed. It was time for the truth, but I didn't want anyone telling it until the GBI was on scene. There were just too many details to trip us up. I had put the call in to Jen, she should be on her way down. In the meantime I told everyone to ask for food and water otherwise to say nothing. I fully expected that we would all spend a night in jail. As Martin and I had both said before, it would make great TV. The Georgia State Police didn't want to book us, so we sat around the station's lobby waiting for the GBI. If I had been booked me, I could have at least gotten a shower. I rally needed to get the blood off, it was freaking me out. They kept Martin, Mike, Gwen and me in seperate areas of the building. I knew it was to prevent story matching and manufacturing. The GBI blew in around midnight. It took them another hour to catch up, before they could begin to question us. They began with me for some reason known only to them. "So Ms. Stone, what exactly happened?" Marshal asked. "You know most of it, but sure why not do it all again. We were posing as a criminal gang to get information on The Atwood brothers. We did that for our client so that they could be prosecuted and finally something would stick to them. We were employed by a lawyer in Aster, I gave the State Police her name." "Yes, I have that, so go on," Marshal said. "We arranged the meeting through the local chief of police, who is on the Atwood brothers payroll." I said. I waited to see if Marshal would advise me that the Chief was dead. He didn't, so I went on. The chief decided to cooperate and gave us a complete breakdown of the Atwood operation as he knew it to be. I had Mike send the information to your office in Atlanta. Did you get it?" I asked. "I did, go on please," he said. "When I arrived at the ball field, I was not armed. I had instructed the chief to inform Blain to also be unarmed. However Martin, aka the Irishman had posted himself on top of the concession stand with a sniper rifle. His job was to make sure Blain didn't murder me. When Blain arrived he walked across the field to me and position himself so that I was between the concession stand and him. Martin had no shot. He also informed me that his brother Thomas had killed Martin. Thomas Atwood, according to Blain Atwood had sent him a text message, saying that it was safe to come to the meet. He also informed him that I was unprotected. Blain forced me to walk to the pitcher's mound, which also kept me between him and the concession stand. It didn't seem to matter since we both thought Martin was dead. He forced me to take my clothes off. Once I was nude and shivering, he force me to perform oral sex on him. He also told me that he would kill me, when he was ready to orgasm. It sounded a lot like Ted Bundy to tell the truth. I knelt which gave Martin a clear shot, but Martin hadn't heard the conversation between Blain and me. He didn't know that I was in imminent danger until Blain raised the pistol. It was at that time that he had a reasonably clear shot. He also knew that I was in imminent life threatening danger, so he killed Blain Atwood. And I for one am damn glad he did." "So it is your statement that both Thomas and Blain Atwood died at the hands of Martin, aka The Irishman, and that both were justifiable homicides?" Marshal asked. "That is indeed my statement." I said. "It is also your statement that there is audio and video recordings the verify your statement?" Marshal asked again. "It is, except that we were not filming when Thomas tried to kill Martin with a knife, I'm told." I said. "So you can't really say how Thomas died," Marshal asked. "No, but it's what Martin told me, when he ran to see if I was alive. I think they call that excited utterance. It might not hold up as a legal statement, but I think any Jury will understand it." "What do you know about the man killed at the house you rented?" he asked. "Again Martin told me that Mike killed one man with a shotgun and a second man ran away. That is all I know. I have no idea who they were, except that Blain told me he had sent the cook and one of his friends to kill Mike and Gwen. I think his plan was to have us all disappear and the chief of police would say we just moved on." "You went to that meeting unarmed. You must have a lot of faith in this Irishman fellow?" "Yes I do and it seems to be well placed." I said seriously. "So I guess you can go home and take a shower now. I'm going to interview your friends and then I will send them on along." "I didn't drive to the meet, could I get a ride home?" I asked. Sure but I have to keep your pistol. "Damn Marshal, you have more of my weapons than I do." I said angrily. "Have your lawyer submit a request. I expect a couple of weeks to pass first, but then you should be able to get them returned." The Georgia state police officer dropped me at the empty house. I flipped the switch and nothing happened. I had forgotten that they somehow killed the power. It was deathly quiet in the house and the darkness made the quiet oppressive. I managed to find my Bowie knife wrapped in a towel in my bag of dirty laundry. I sure as hell hoped I wouldn't need it. I sat alone in the dark house and wondered who would be the next one released. I had my money on Gwen. For some reason the house was warm even with no power. I supposed that the propane heater didn't need a blower to heat the small house. Since it was warm, I decided to take a shower. Getting Blain's blood, and whatever else flew from the head shot, off me seemed like a good idea. So I grabbed a clean pair of panties and a clean thermal tee, then went into the shower. Yes, I did take the Bowie knife with me. After the events of the last few hours, it didn't seem paranoid at all to me. The shower scene from psycho kept running through my mind. I took the shower with no concern at all about leaving hot water for the others. My one regret was that the burn on my side began to hurt from the water sting. I cursed to myself as I patted myself dry sooner than I would have liked. I was finished and toweling my wet hair, when I heard the front door close. It was dark and quiet so unless they had been in the house for some time they might not know I was home. Since I wasn't sure how many thugs the Atwoods had on their payroll I was careful. I dressed in my panties and thermal top. I didn't bother with a bra or even a sweater. I had the knife out of the case and by my side, when I opened the door to the bathroom. I could smell his aftershave, but I didn't recognize it. Whoever he was, he must have heard he bathroom door open. I dropped to the floor instantly, expecting a gunshot at any second. Fortunately he couldn't see any better than me, so I slipped away as best I could, being as quiet as possible. I slipped into the kitchen and curled into a corner of the room between the appliances. I know you think hiding is cowardly and it is. I just didn't feel up to hunting the hunter. He must have gotten tired of looking for me in the dark quiet house. Men have a patience problem, the have none. "I know you are here bitch. I saw you get out of the cop car. I should have killed you then. Why don't you come on out and we can end this now. Otherwise I am just going to have to hunt you. I was watching from the woods, when they got your friends. They stripped the house clean, when they took them away. So unless they gave you a gun at the police station you are unarmed. If you had a gun, you would have used it by now, so I guess I have the only one." He had one evil laugh. "I bet you wonder who the hell I am don't you bitch. Well honey pie, I am Samuel Atwood. Those two pussies are my nephews. I reckon you killed them both, so I have to give you credit for that at least. I expect it was that Martin fellow who did the killin' women don't have no stomach for killin'. he said. Don't count too much on that you old fuck, I thought He had been wandering around the house while he talked to me. He didn't have a clue where I was, but I knew where he was from the sound of his voice. "You know, people around here think I'm a hermit or maybe dead I expect. I travel a great deal these days. Just disappear for long periods of time. When I come back, I catch up on things then go again. Those two boys run things for me and they do a good job most of the time. But I knew one day they was gonna' run into a problem. One that they couldn't handle was inevitable. I been cleaning up after them for years. I knew one day I would just be too late and sure enough along you came. All full of yourself and one hard bitch. I knowed you was from the first time I seen you coming out of the Farmer Exchange. You just got a way of walkin' that says I just don't care what you do to me, I ain't leaving. Them boys didn't get it, but I did. They should have left you to me, but they wanted to prove they was men. Pussies that's what they was." "Ah there you are," he said standing in the kitchen. He was about ten feet away based on his voice. "I can smell your cunt." He laughed. "I know corny, I saw that in the movie with Anthony Hopkins." "Stand up girl, it time to meet your maker." He said all pleased with himself. What he didn't expect was an attack from a mere girl. Not a girl launching herself at him from a crouched position on the floor and coming at him like a spear with a bowie knife for a tip. I felt it sink into him as I heard the blast from his shotgun beside my head. I twisted the knife and pulled it up. I could smell blood and feces as the knife opened his intestines. There was a flash of light, then it was like in the movies it just faded to black. So is this finally it? I asked God, but he didn't answer. ------- Chapter 129: Sleeping Beauty Lives I heard my name, so I tried to open my eyes. It was hard they seemed to be stuck. I kept trying and finally they yielded to my will. The first thing I saw was that Jan was a red head again. I saw her and it triggered the memories from our childhood. The high school dances and of course the crushes. Not to mention the groping behind the gym, while inside the gym the school's basketball team lost another game. The memories it did not bring back were the ones explaining how I got into the hospital again. I knew who she was, but I didn't know where she was. I knew in the depths of my murky brain, that I was not in my hometown hospital, but I wasn't sure where I was. Since Jen's eyes were closed I naturally assumed that she was sleeping. I was suddenly very tired, so I returned to sleep without finding out who had called my name. It didn't really seem to matter all that much anyway. I heard my name being called again. Again I struggled to open my eyes. When the struggle paid off, I saw Mike standing over my bed. "They won't let me stay long. I just wanted to see, if you were doing any better." "Better than what Mike? How long have I been here?" I asked. "You have been in the hospital three days. Gwen found you and the dead man, when the cops dropped her off. She called 911 and the cops just turned around and came back. The man was dead and you were just out of it." "I was what?" I asked not believing I could have heard him correctly. "You didn't respond to anything, or anyone. I guess you took a short vacation." "So, all I needed was a little rest?" I asked. "Well you did have a little infection from the burn, but that is all gone now, I think." "Has Jen gone home?" I asked. "She is still here. She has been busy. First it was keeping us out of prison. Then it was being sure the cops didn't tell the story any way, but her way. Now that you are awake, I expect her to be gone tomorrow." Mike said laughing. "Has she figured out how to legally steal the Atwood's money?" I asked smiling. After all I did know Jen. "She had filed a claim for damages against the estates of each. I can see the mental anguish for you and Martin." He said. "Nothing like giving a blowjob to a dead man to cause mental anguish, I guess." I said it smiling up at Mike. "So how is Gwen? That old man couldn't have looked or smelled very good, when she found him." "She took it pretty hard at first, but you know Gwen. It only seemed to bother her a few hours, then she was on to something else." "How about you and your dead man?' I asked. "Like you said earlier, it was him or me and I chose him. I won't regret it, ever." he said. "Good for you." I paused and thought for just a minute. I have to pee and i'm sure there is a catheter in me. Would you call a nurse for me please?" "You have a call button," Mike said. "Stick your fucking head out the door and say nurse. Damn Mike, they can ignore those lights for hours, they can't ignore you shouting down the hall." I was amused that I had to explain it to him. Nonetheless after I did, he went along with it without complaint. "When he came back in, he was followed by a young Asian nurse. "Yes Miss Stone, what can I do for you?" "You can remove the catheter, so that I can go pee." I said. "Yes now that the sedative has worn off we can do that, but you must allow me to help you." she said. "Are you going to help me to the bathroom, or somehow help me pee. I really think I can do the pee thing alone." I said. "My, you do indeed sound better," she said. After I returned from the bathroom, Mike said, "Well you seem to be getting better, so Gwen and I will be headed back to Aster. We need to start editing these files. They won't let us film in the Hospital anyway." "Ah poor baby without your security blankie, you are just lost." I said with a smile. "I think you are going to be fine. Yes, I need the camera between me and the world. It is who I am," he said. An hour or so later Jen came into the room. "Mike said you were awake." "Yes I am awake, are you? You look like hell." She just smiled as an answer, "Geese you aren't screwing Martin, are you?" I asked. "Well we both wanted to hang around to be sure you were going to pull out of your funk. Seemed a shame to waste money on two rooms." Jennifer said giggling like a teenager. "That's just sick. I'm laying in the hospital in a coma, and you screwing the same men I screwed. Nice," I said. "First of all, it was a drug induced coma to let you rest and reset your emotions. And Martin said you two weren't doing the deed." Jen said. "Not while I'm in the hospital for sure," I agreed. "Oh my god, I had no idea you two were actively going at it." she said. I almost believed her. I would have, had it not been for the preacher. Jen had jumped into bed with him just to see what I was doing at the moment. She found out alright, we were both taking it up the ass for the preacher." "So now I guess Martin will come in and tell me which of us three gives the best blow jobs." "I do of course," Jen said. not quite serious but almost. "Right," was my only reply. "So now that you are back with us, I have to get back to work. By the way, if the Atwoods had anything, it's yours and Martin's now. Comes under the federal crime recovery act or some such nonsense, and also I am suing the shit out of their estates." "Good, I'm sure I need the money more than any other of his siblings," I said. "Or uncles," she said with a smile. "Especially them," I said in agreement. "Hey when you get home would you tell Cheryl I'm alright and will be home in a couple of days. I have been leaving messages on her voice mail all morning. I can leave here can't I?" "I think they want to give you the keys to the city, but yeah you can leave. You aren't under arrest or anything." After she left I fell asleep again but that time it was just sleep not drugs. "Hey Maxine, wake up." I did just that. "Martin what the hell?" I asked. "I been called back to the swamp. I didn't want to go without telling you how sorry I am that I didn't kill that prick, when he was walking out to you at the fence." "Yeah, I probably would have bitched about it, and you probably would have gone to jail, but it would have been so cool. It all worked out as it should have, and we are both free. Even better we are both still alive." "I know you don't like knives, but you seem to know your way around them, so I got you a present." he said handing me a plastic bag. Inside the bag was a short Vietnam era air force survival knife in it's canvas sheath. "Wow, thanks," I said meaning it. "The guy who sold it to me, said that it belonged to his father. The old man was a recon pilot in Thailand. Did the whole tour without ever having to leave the plane. He did have some damage a few times, but that knife never left the case." "Thanks Martin it was a sweet thing to do, but I still don't like knives," I said with a smile. I sure hope we work together again, you did save my ass." "Probably not. Thanks to you I only killed the right people and with just cause, so I am considered rehabilitated. I'm probably going to be out of here by next weekend." "I know it's what you want, so I can only wish you luck. There will always be a place for you here," I said with tears in my eyes. "Damn, there I go crying again." Martin was still standing by the door when a short bald man in a white lab coat came into the room. "So Ms Stone, it's good to see you awake. How are you doing today?" "I'm just fine, how are you?" I asked. "Even more important who are you?" I asked. "I'm your doctor. Actually I'm your psychiatrist." "Why do I need you?" I asked. "When you came to the emergency room you were non responsive. When someone is like that, we begin to worry. So we brought you in and gave you a chance to rest. You had a small infection, but that responded to Antibiotics and it is all cleared up now." "I'm going to shove off Max. It's been really, really, real." Martin said. "Yes it has. Thank you again for my life." I said. "Likewise, I'm sure." Martin said, then just turned and walked out the door. I wanted to cry so I fucking cried. I didn't give a crap what the shrink had to say, I needed to cry, so I did. I probably didn't need for it to be uncontrollable, but it was what it was. I was not thrilled that the doc saw me crying like a teenager, but I just couldn't stop. I was almost sorry that the camera crew wasn't around. Maybe it would put an end to the TV experience, I thought. "You know Maxine, I think we might try you on some tranquilizers," The bald doctor suggested. "I don't think so, as a matter of fact it's time I checked out and headed on home." I suggested. "Thats not a good idea," he replied. "I thought you might feel that way, so I'm not asking. I just going to pack my shit, pay your bill, and then I'm going home." I looked him in the eye when I said it. "Someday you are going to have to deal with all this," he suggested. "I have already dealt with it," I replied. I smiled even though there were tears still running down my face and snot was everywhere, "What I really need is to get back to my everyday life." "There is a really good therapist in Tryon. You should consider seeing her." She said. "Do you know her personally or are you just recommending that I see someone in general?" I asked. "I have met the lady at a couple of seminars and yes seeing anyone is better than doing nothing." he replied. "Fair enough, I'll give it all the thought it deserves," I stated clearly. "Well, please do. There are lots of things to help with PTSD these days. Some are drugs and there are groups. You don't have to suffer." "Sure I do. It's what I do best." I said as I began walling him off. He was smart enough to realize that I was already putting distance between us. "Hello," I said to the lady in the admitting office. "This is Maxine Stone in 352 I will be checking out in an hour, so if you want to be paid, you need to get a bill ready." "We don't have any paperwork on that," she said after consulting her computer. "I know, I just decided to leave. Now get the bill ready, or get ready to send the cops after me." She had the bill ready for me, and I would have paid it except that the TV network had already made arrangements. ------- Chapter 130: Home Again Lickety Split The five hour drive home, all alone in the rental car, gave me a chance to deal with my demons. I knew I had a problem, I just chose to embrace it. So it made me a little weird. Let the rest of the world see me as strange, what did I care. Hell I saw the world as strange, so I guess we were even. I hit the security gate of the apartment at 8PM, almost exactly, I walked, with my half duffel bag hanging over my shoulder, the short distance to my apartment. Even though the place was as sterile as an operating room, I was glad to be home. I walked down to the end unit, then I knocked on the door. Cheryl came to the door, to my great surprise Kate was standing behind her. "Oh sorry I didn't know that you had company." I said. Cheryl's answer was to kiss me passionately right on the well lit walk in front of her apartment. I wouldn't have been that brave, but then I hadn't lived in a world with almost no privacy for all those years. Then again maybe I had. We just reacted to it differently, I guess. I kept my private life as private as possible, Cheryl lived as though she were still inside, at least in some ways. "Come on in silly," Cheryl say pulling me through the door. "You know Kate," she said positively. "Yes I do. How are you Kate?" I asked. "I am just fine Maxine," she answered. "Your Lawyer friend Jen called me today. She said you would be home in a couple of days. She also said you were okay, just busy," "I managed to break free a little early, so I came home. Has everything been okay here?" I asked. "Every thing as been fine as far as I know. You might want to check with your friend Lois though," she said. She was still a little miffed that I had asked Lois to take care of things. "Okay, did the package come for me?" I asked. "Yes, hold on I'll get it for you," Cheryl said. "I know this is a little awkward," Kate said while Cheryl retrieved the package. "No, this is a lot awkward. Are you two sleeping together?" I asked. "Sorta, it isn't love or anything. We just have sex together, and it is really fun." "I can imagine," I said with a soft smile. There was still some tension, but I was fighting hard to be civil. After all I had no ties on Cheryl. Cheryl came back with the box containing my phone. I checked the battery. It was almost dead of course. "Well, I should go charge this thing. Good to see both of you again," I said. "Bullshit," Cheryl said. "If you really need to charge the phone, go hook it up and then come back. Come have a drink and lets catch up." "I don't know Cheryl, I think you two would prefer to be alone," I suggested. "Look, I know you did it with Kate, and Kate knows I did it with you. We are really sort of family. So go plug your phone in and come back. That is an order." Cheryl said. "At least give me time to eat," I demanded. "You don't need to eat, just plug in your phone and come back. I'll fill you in on all the news." Cheryl demanded. I needed her to be demanding and I needed to give in to it. I needed to just react for a while. I didn't need to make plans, I didn't need to try to think ten moves ahead, I needed to just go along and let my mind rest. "Alright fix me a bourbon and coke, and I'll be right back," I said. I went to my gun stash where I returned the Colt 1911 to it's rightful place. I had only three small hand guns in the closet hide away. I chose a chrome plated .380 semi automatic. This thing is just about useless as a weapon, but it might make a decent paper weight, I thought as I slipped it into the waist band of my only decent jeans. There was clothes shopping in my future. When I got back to Cheryl's apartment, Kate was all warm and sexy looking. Either Cheryl had been sexing her up, or more likely she was on something. Since I was no longer a cop, I didn't care what was causing her droopy eyes. "Okay, what have you been up to since I had to go away?" I asked. "I got the job with Helen," she said happily. "You are right she is a real love and so is her dog." "Ah yes the dog, Skeeter." I said. Thinking of Skeeter always brought a smile to my lips. "So what are you doing for Helen. Did you get a driver's license?" I asked. "No Helen picks me up at 4AM and brings me home when the work is done. I know I have to get a license and a car soon, but right now I have the bike and Helen says she doesn't mind." "So what are you doing for Helen?" I asked. I really was interested. While I talked to Cheryl, Kate walked over and sat on the sofa beside her. Kate pressed herself against Cheryl then pulled Cheryl's arm behind her head and over her shoulder. Cheryl's hand ended up on one of her plumb breast. I recognized it as a possession thing, and it made me smile. Cheryl smiled back because I didn't get all bent out of shape. Cheryl was having a great time. She would have loved to see a cat fight over her. I had no desire to do any more fighting, not even for her. "I help Helen prepare the food for the food trucks. They load out at five so we are cooking a day ahead and putting it into the coolers. The way it works out, we are not under any pressure time wise." "That's great, what time do you finish?" "Most days I'm home by noon. After the trucks all check in and unload, we put the food that didn't sell into a box and carry it to the shelter. Helen said to take whatever I want, so I never buy anything these days. Now what would you like?" "Anything at all, I'm ravenous," I replied. "Surprise me." "I can't surprise you, but I can make you all warm and fuzzy." Cheryl promised. "Not like Kathy there, I hope," I replied insinuating that Kathy was on something. "I have nothing to do with how Kathy is behaving. I mean nothing at all to do with it." Cheryl said. "Hold on, I'll nuke you something." What she nuked for me was a whole wheat bagel sandwich kind of thing. It was made with a sausage and cheese omelet. "Wow that is delicious. You guys blow me away," I said. "Helen loves some of the things we used to cook inside. This kind of thing was not for the inmates, but for the staff, This was one of their favorite breakfast meals." While she spoke, she also stroked Kate's breast. At that point in the conversation Kate opened her blouse and slipped Cheryl's hand inside. I had never seen Kate so bold. "And I thought Kate was a pure Subbie," I observed. "She is. She is just acting out for your benefit," Cheryl said. "Yeah, well I got it from the start. She is more into the relationship than you are, it seems," I suggested. "You and the Irishman started the fire, I'm just keeping it going," she said. "And a damn good job of it you are doing, I might add." I commented. "If I remember right, she isn't the only sexually submissive one here." Cheryl looked at me a long moment then asked, "Well?" "No, she isn't the only one. You know I will do whatever you ask of me." I didn't have to add the 'in bed' qualifier, she knew. "Good, come kneel for me." I moved our and knelt down in front of her. I know it seems silly, but I needed to release control to someone I trusted not to abuse it. I was almost always sexually submissive, because I had to be in control in every other aspect of my life. It was nice just to go along and leave my mind in neutral now and then. "Take off your clothes Maxine," she demanded. I did as she ordered, I tried to be as sexy as possible. I wanted her approval. "Why the bandage?" she asked. "I got burned a little. Nothing too serious," I said. "Alright," Cheryl said. It seemed to be of no importance to her. "Did you miss me?" "Yes I missed you," I replied. "What did you miss most?" she asked. "I missed the feel of you, and the taste of you," I replied. "Would you like to feel me now?" she asked. "Oh yes, you know I would." I replied. "You may touch my breast," Cheryl said. Kate was in such a stupor that she didn't seem to comprehend what was happening. I slipped between Cheryl's open legs without rising. I was able to open her blouse and found to my pleasure that she was not wearing a bra. My own breast were not large, so hers seemed very large to me. I rubbed them one at a time. I also teased her nipples and just generally enjoyed the smoothness of her boobs and her hard and somewhat rougher, in comparison, nipples. "You may lick my nipples," Cheryl said to me. "Thank you," I replied then began to lick and kiss her nipples. First one then the other, back again. I loved the feel of it and so did Cheryl. Kate was just staring into space even though Cheryl had removed her hand from inside Kate's blouse. "Won't she notice?" I asked. "Probably not, but so what if she does, She is a bigger subbie than you. She will suck or fuck anyone I say." "A trait that will come in handy one day, I'm sure." I said. "How about you? Will you fuck anyone I tell you to?" Cheryl asked. "No, but I might do some of them," I replied. "Go down on Kate now," she demanded. Kate didn't show any reaction at all. "It's going to be a waste but sure," I said moving between her legs. I spread her legs then lifted her skirt. She was awake enough to lift her ass when I stripped off her panties. I leaned one arm on each of her thighs. I used my fingers to spread the hood over her clit. Then I leaned forward and began to lick it. First I licked it up and down, then I switched to side to side. I barely got a response from her. I licked her clit and fingered her with very little response, so finally I slipped my wet finger into her rectum. That woke her up. She began to rock on my finger. She also put her hands in my short hair. I licked, sucked, and fingered her until she came. The strong thrusts of her pelvis was the give away. I continued until she sagged back against the sofa. "Is that enough?" I asked. "For her yes," she said. I waited to see what happened next. "Come here my beautiful slut," she said. I moved back between her legs. She handed me a digital camera. I saw picture of me on it. In the pictures my head was between Kate's legs. I was concerned, but I tried not show it. "Why did you take those?" I asked. "I have friends who are still inside, they will love them," she said. "Please don't to that?"I said. I was only a little upset. Then again I really didn't have any family to find them, should they find their way onto the net. ------- Chapter 131: The Bicycle Thief Even though I wanted to sleep forever, I awoke at 7AM. I made coffee then dressed in my cold weather bike riding outfit. After a few more pulls than usual, I got the bike started, and off I went to Hardee's for breakfast. Again, as I did every morning while at home, I wished that Helen would find a place to open a sit down diner of some kind. I loved Hardee's, but I felt like a trader. I really wanted to spend my money with Helen, and now Cheryl. Still Hardee's was always interesting. "Hey there, haven't seen you in a while," one of the old men commented. "I've been out of town working," I replied. "And how about your friend?" he asked. Cheryl was who he really wanted to know about. The one with the big boobs and smaller ass. "Cheryl, got a job. She works morning, so no time to come out and play," I said with a innocent smile. "Ah that's a shame, but it's good to see you back," he spoke loud enough, so that any of the regulars, who happened to be in the place, would know the whole story first hand. "Thanks," I said. After I finished my breakfast, I pulled and pulled on the bike's engine and I finally got it to crank. I rode it to the mall for my morning walk, even though I knew I should go straight to the preacher's bike shop with it instead. I walked inside the mall as I always did. I got even more questions like, "where you been" and "Where the hell is your friend." In the beginning I was amused that the men seemed to be so attached to Cheryl's boobs. After a while, I was a little sad, since people seemed to have missed her so much more than they did me. But I was still able to laugh it off as a boob thing. When I returned to the spot where I remembered leaving my bike, it wasn't there. I glanced around at the other spots where I might have left it. Then I replayed everything to be absolutely sure that I wasn't looking in the wrong place. When I was positive that I was indeed standing beside the correct dumpster, I walked into the mall to find the on duty security officer. "Hello, I'm Maxine Stone," I said to the older man. "I think I have a problem." "Oh what kind of problem Ms Stone?" the older man asked. "My motorbike isn't where I left it. Did you have it towed away by any chance?" I asked. "No Ma'am, we would only do that, if we had a complaint. I have never had one about your bike." He said it looking concerned. It was quite obvious that someone had stolen my damn bike. I was so pissed. I couldn't think straight, the security officer had to call the police for me, while I ranted. "While we wait for the local police, why don't we hop in my car and ride around the parking lot. We can check to see, if someone moved it to just bug you," he suggested. "That is possible, so sure lets do it," I said. We rode in the mall's three year old Ford. We rode from one end of the mall to the other. The bike was just plain gone. That was our conclusion at the end of our ride. "There is the police car," the security officer said. Sure enough the city police car was sitting by the lower entrance to the mall. It was where I normally parked the bike. The police officer, who got out of the car as we drove up, was familiar to me. She had been in the Cop Out a few times. "Maxine, is it your bike that is missing?" she asked. "Yes it is, and I really want that bike back," I admitted. "Let me fill out a report for your insurance company," she suggested. "I don't want a report for my insurance company, I want my bike back, That is a special bike and I want it back." I didn't tell her that the bike had belonged to the Gunny, She wouldn't have understood anyway. "I can see that you are upset, but you have to understand that we seldom recover bikes. It will wind up in the hood. The fact that it has a motor will make it easier to identify, but still don't get your hopes up." I can't believe this, I have been out of town two weeks. The first thing that happens when I get back is someone steals my bike." "Welcome home," the cop said sarcastically. I calmed down and gave the bike some logical thought. Then I said, "I know the detectives are not going to do any follow up on this. So tell me where would this kind of thing wind up, if the kid doesn't keep it for himself?" "I never had a motorized Bike stolen, let alone had one recovered. Maybe Big Al's pawn shop. That's about all I can think of," she suggested. "Do you know where that is?" "Yeah, I know where it is. Someplace I wouldn't let my kids go, if I had any." I replied. "Yep, that would be the place," she admitted. "I'm not supposed to do this, but do you need a ride." "No thanks, I have a friend nearby." I admitted. The friend nearby was Gwen that morning. Thanks to TV's never ending need for mind numbing crap, I have a ride home, I thought. "So do you want to drive me to Big Al's pawn shop, or do you want to drive me home and follow me to Big Al's?" I asked if of Gwen after she pulled up. She had been filming from a spot several yards from the Cop's car. "I think I'll drive you. For once I won't be scrambling to catch up." She said. Good luck with that, I thought. She looked up the address on line, then punched it into her GPS. It told her everything, except to stay the hell away from Big Al's without a police escort. Big Al had found the ideal place for his pawn shop. Before Big Al put his pawn shop in the building, it had been several other things. It had been built as a major gas station in the forties. Then the highway bypassed Downtown Aster in the fifties or sixties, leaving it to wither. At that time the building became a second rate gas station. Then the Feds decided that Aster needed a low income housing development. They said it was for displaced agricultural workers, who had moved to the area around Tryon and Aster. The housing project was after the major loss of family farms and the farm jobs they provided. The second rate service station became a convenience store run by a Korean family for the next decade. A town the size of Aster should never have had a housing project, but one got built anyway. It was the true example of build it and they will come. The Feds decided to make it a warehouse complex for human beings, instead of a place to inspire and motivate people to rise above their parents' poverty. The Feds didn't provide any of the tools to help the people improve their lives, they just forgot about them. They got the votes they wanted and to hell with the people. Aster got a huge up tick in violent crimes. Big Al found the perfect environment and even the perfect building when the Korean family ran for their lives. The drugs culture of the 80's and 90's invaded the area and that bred gangs of hopeless kids. Kids who wandering around trying to make an easy buck. All that was usually far enough away from my life to be ignored. On that morning it appeared that someone caught a bus to come steal Gunny's bike. "First we are headed for the preacher's bike shop, so reprogram your GPS for the Laboring Few Bike shop." I demanded. "Mr Evans," I said to the older man with the spider web veins covering his face. "Someone stole the Gunny's bike. I am sure that if anyone shows up trying to sell it to you, you will call me." "Of course I will. There is no question about it." he said simply. "Good, what do you know about Big Al's pawn shop?" I asked. "All I know is the area. I don't know anything about his operation." "I don't think Big Al ever has a customer come into the place to buy anything, they all want to sell. He runs an auction on Wednesday night from a warehouse in a different, and better part of town. There he sells the items he purchased during the last week or so. Well, for the items he couldn't find a buyer for himself. They say that his Rolodex is filled with the names of every high end fence on the east coast. His brain is filled with all the names of buyers to whom he has sold a stolen item. He calls them, if something he thinks they would have an interest in comes along. It is even said that he takes special orders and passes the information to his customers at the shop." "So if I go visit him, in say two hours, is there any chance my bike will mysteriously show up there?" I asked. "That would be a crap shoot," he suggested. "I feel lucky how about giving me the address of that warehouse as well?" I asked. Gwen and I drove first to the warehouse. I planned to look around just to see if the bike had made it there somehow. Even if Al bought it, I was pretty sure it would still be in the pawnshop's pipeline. Still there would be less chance of a confrontation at the warehouse, so it seemed a better place to start. The warehouse, I would have expected to be located in one of those old run down building. One left over from the many businesses that went belly up. Instead it was located in a nice modern metal building. The overhead door was up, so I just walked in. I could see most of the big stuff from the door. I was pretty sure that if Gunny's bike was there, I would be able to spot it during a quick walk through. Immediately I had a young black man with big arms, and a mean look following me. He was trying to talk to me, to tell me I had to leave. He was a hell of a lot bigger than me, so I just ignored him and kept walking. I hoped that he would not see running me down and kick the shit out of me, as the macho thing to do. I hoped that his Mama had raised him better. Since he was the only one working, he couldn't corral me and throw Gwen out at the same time, so she was able to stand behind him and film everything. Gwen with the camera might have saved me from a severe ass whipping. I found the bike leaning against the rear wall, beside a very nice looking guitar. I turned to the large black man and shoved the .380 in his belly. "Now this ain't much of a pistol, but it will puncture your kidney and liver. It will probably get a piece of your intestine as well. So let's all act like grownups here. That silver bike leaning against the wall belongs to me, most likely the motor is still hot. Hell the whole damn bike is hot, since it was stolen about three hours ago from the mall. "Now here are our choices, I can call the cops and go through all kinds of shit to get my bike back, or you can roll it out to the parking lot and start it for me. I will then ride that bike out of here and never come back. What do you say big boy. Oh yeah you can try to stop me, in which case all those nasty things I said might happen to your insides, will happen." He looked confused. "So what's it gonna be?" I asked. "Ms Stone, I'm gonna roll that bike out in the parking lot for you, if you take that pistol out of my belly." "Lets move it to the back of your head, while you do your little chore. We can call it occupational motivation." I suggested. I let Gwen get in her car to watch and film the action, while I climbed on top of the bike and rode it out of the parking lot. We were stopped at a traffic light, when she pulled up beside me. "What was all that about?" she asked. "I have no idea, but I'm sure as fuck going to find out." I replied. I rode the bike home then parked it in the storage room, before I went through my back door. I even let Gwen use that entrance to save her a walk around to the security gate. I went to the gun stash as soon as I entered my apartment. I swapped the small .380 for the Colt 1911. If you plan to scare a thug, take artillery." I said it to the not so hidden camera in my bedroom. ------- Chapter 132: Al's Panties Cheryl was coming home from work, when I left for Big Al's Pawn Shop. "Where are you off to," she asked as I passed her on the walk. "I have to see a man about a bike." I replied. "Are you going to buy another one?" she asked. "No somebody stole mine this morning and I'm going to go discuss it with him," I said. "Not without me you aren't," she said as she turned back toward the gate. "No Cheryl, this could get messy and you are on parole," I tried to explain. "I won't carry a gun and I won't shank him, but I might kick him in the balls. Let's go," she demanded. "If I take you, then you have to do exactly as I say?" It was a question and she knew it. "Alright exactly as you say, no questions, just do it. I know the drill, so let's go." She seemed excited. I didn't think that it was a very good sign, but I went along with it against my better judgment. Gwen came out of the TV apartment as we were about to pass it. "Why don't we car pool?" she suggested. "You never know when you might need a video file." "Girl power," Cheryl said with a smile. The smile she gave Gwen worried me as much as her wanting to come along in the first place. "Sure why not," I knew that the necessity to keep the two of them safe would keep me from doing anything stupid. We decided to take the Cruiser. It had a bit more room than the rental car, which Mike and Gwen shared. "Get your GPS thingie," I said. "We might need to do a few more errands one never knows these days," I admitted. The hood, as the cops called the area around the project, wasn't all that far from West End, were my converted motel was located. Not in miles, but in attitude it was a million miles away. West End was poor rednecks, but they all worked at something it seemed. Very few of the poor people in the projects had jobs. I didn't even want to know what most of them did for money. I just wanted to know that they kept it away from my part of town. I followed the directions from the GPS lady. She knew what she was doing alright. She led me to the parking lot of Big Al's Pawn Shop without a single misstep. Big Als was a converted three bay 40's style service station alright. The bay doors had been switched to glass store front windows when the Korean family owned it. Big Al had those windows covered with security bars. "Jesus this place looks like a mini prison," Cheryl said. "Well in this case the bars are supposed to keep people out," I said. But you could be right maybe we should check for signs of white slavery while we are in there." I was being frivolous "Couldn't hurt." Cheryl said... "She doesn't talk at all does she?" She meant Gwen. "Just if she want's something from us. She is the chick that isn't really here. Do not look to her for help of any kind." "Then it's like she really isnt here?" Cheryl asked. "Yes, that's exactly what it's like." I agreed. We left the car with Cheryl and I walking side by side and Gwen following while seeming to talk on her cell phone. I knew from my discussion with Mike earlier, that it was a pretty high tech camera not a phone at all. I walked through the door and was confronted by a rather large white man with a bald head. Since he didn't smile, I didn't either. "I need to see Big Al," I said to him. Somehow I figured him for the muscle, not the brains of the operation. "I'm Big Al, and I know who you are Ms Stone. I have been expecting you," he said. When I saw who was speaking, I wanted to laugh my ass off. Big Al was under 4 feet tall. He was what we used to call a midget. Now, I think they are called little people. Can you say politically correct, hogwash. "Then you probably have already worked out your story." I suggested. "Why would I need a story?" he asked. "One to keep me from calling the police," I suggested. "Seems to me you are short on evidence of a crime. You did take your bike back after all." he said smiling one of those smart ass, catch me if you can jail house smiles. "Okay, then we have nothing to discuss. I will be happy to call the cop de jour anytime. You might want to rethink the 'you are short on evidence' thing though. Since I have a video of the incident at your warehouse..." The one where you stole the bike at gun point?" he asked. "That would be the one, where your man explained that the bike came in only an hour before I arrived. Also the one where he explains the boss handles all that kind of thing." Okay it never happened like that, but I figured I might as well give it a try. "So you have a gun in his belly and he tells you what you want to hear. I don't think that will do me any harm." "I would be willing to bet that the local cops or the DA has a file on you. Probably the FBI as well. Interstate movement of stolen merchandise is a criminal offense. If they don't have a file, I bet I can get one started." I paused then added. "I bet I can also fill that file in a week. It's what I do remember?" "Alright let's negotiate," he suggested. "All I want to know is who placed the ordered for my bike," I demanded. "His name won't mean a thing to you and I would like to keep him as a customer. How about I just explain the why, that will be more than enough I'm sure." "So what do you want in return for this information, that may or may not be enough?" I asked. "First of all we both forget this unfortunate incident," he suggested. "I think, I can manage that," I replied. I didn't any any desire to get the cops involved. "There is more, I want a pair of your panties. Ones you have worn." "Why, you little pervert you," I replied. I found it amusing not at all disgusting. "They aren't for me. Let me explain about the bike. When I do, I think you will also understand about the panties. "Why you sick little pervert." Cheryl said to him. Then to me she said, "Lets just beat it out of him." "Let's at least hear him out. There is plenty of time to beat him, if he is holding back."I said. "Are you forgetting about hulk over there by the door?" he asked. "Not at all, I plan to shoot, and plant a cold gun on him. It always works with thugs," I said smiling sweetly. "Okay, I got a call from a guy I know in New Jersey. He wanted to know, if I lived in the same town as you. Your information from the online TV thing has gotten around." "Okay, so you told him sure, we are practically blow buddies," I suggested. "Not quite, but something like that. He said he had a customer that would pay big money for things that had been used on the TV show, since they were also used in your real life, they have an even higher value." "So how much was the bike going to bring?" I asked. "He said my cut would be ten grand," Al said. "Ten grand for a five hundred dollar motor bike?" I asked. "Why would anyone pay that." "Because you rode it in that Online TV show thing. You are a sensation and the hyping of this new show only makes the old ones more popular. They have a big time cult following. The new show will get a TV audience, but the old one has an online audience in addition to the TV one to come." "Al, that is the craziest thing I ever heard," Cheryl said. "Crazy or not it's a fact," he said. "They are hyping the show as the sexiest thing ever on cable TV. That pair of panties you are going to give me will be worth a thousand dollars at least. Just give me the panties and a note saying that you really wore them and I can sell it for a grand in a day." "This is freaky," I said. "I'm not sure that I'm ready for this kind of thing." "Every girl wants to be a celebrity. Just sit back and enjoy it," Cheryl said. "Wait till it's you they want to put on the spot, and trust me Cheryl it will be you next. You are more attractive and more interesting than me. You are going to be a big reality TV star. If they are desperate enough to take me, they will fall all over themselves to line you up." "They aren't knocking my door down," she said. "Wait till the audience sees your body. They will kick me to the curb, I guarantee it." "So are we through here?" Al asked. "Not yet, you are going to stop stealing from me. You are going to tell your customers that I am off limits. If you want my panties you are going to pay for them." I didn't mind that he had them at all. I just didn't want to give him anything. It would be a bad president to set. "How much?" he asked. 'Two hundred bucks and I'll go into the back room and take them off right now." I suggested. Big Al didn't bat an eye. He reached into his front pocket to removed a roll of bills. From the roll he removed two, one hundred dollar bills, then he laid them on the counter. I left the bills on the counter and went through the doorway to the back room. "Cheryl make sure Al doesn't try to take a free shot," I said. "You heard her Al, keep away from the doorway." Once in the back room, I found a spot not in the line of sight from the front of the store. I quickly removed my jeans. Since I had taken time to change from my bike gear, I was able to remove the bikini panties easily once the jeans were off. I was naked below the waist for only a few seconds, then I quickly replaced my jeans. "I walked out holding the panties in my hand. I picked up the two hundred bucks, then deposited the panties onto the counter. Pleasure doing business with you. Maybe we can make a deal again some day," I said as Cheryl, Gwen, and I left. Once we were in the car I said, "Okay what can we do at 2pm that costs $200 bucks?" I asked. "Shopping, you said that you need new clothes. Let's go buy you something sexy." Cheryl said. "Something I would never buy for myself. Cheryl you pick it out." I said in agreement. "In that case it's off to the mall, not this little one here. We need to go to the big one over in Tryon." she demanded. We went from store to store looking for just the right thing. The right thing to Cheryl not me. I would have been happy with any of the dresses we saw. Most were just simple wool that were overpriced but as long as it was less then $200, I was willing to go along. The last dress we looked at was not black as I had expected. It was a very low cut red dress. Since my boobs were small it would look pretty good, I thought. It would be impossible to wear a bra, since the dress had a halter top with a deep opening in the front. The opening went even below my breasts. I would have to be careful not to bend over in that dress, I could tell that Gwen had been in heaven all afternoon. What she had, was some really good footage of Cheryl and me. Cheryl was going to be a hit I just knew it and Gwen did as well. Then I realized that off and on Cheryl had been smiling a little to warmly at Gwen. I wondered if Cheryl planned to try to convert Gwen, in order to get more air time. It sure seemed as though things were moving that way. Then I realized that I didn't really mind even if she did. I didn't mind anymore than I had objected to Kate's being in her place when I returned home from Haymarket. ------- Chapter 133: Alive and Bored in Aster By the time the red dress found its way into the cruiser it was 6pm. Gwen had been on the phone several times toward the end of the shopping trip. She seemed to be in a hurry to leave. I would have paid almost no attention to her, had it not been for Cheryl's interest. Cheryl kept a close eye on Gwen. It would have seemed casual to anyone else. I had developed a feel for Cheryl. It wasn't romantic or even deep friendship. it was more of a bonding like family. Those lost years of hers, were a lot like my time in the military in many ways. Cheryl was trying to find her place in a new world. It was very similar to my own position at that moment. The difference was that I had almost a year's head start. I wanted to keep an eye on her, to make sure her choices weren't dangerous. It was the very least I could do for a fellow traveler. "Cheryl you look exhausted. You have done more than your duty. You stood with me against Big Al, even though I doubt that he was as dangerous as we thought. You picked out the dress, which I will wear to the prom." "Don't forget I got to watch you sell the clothes right off your ass," she interjected. "True, now you need to go home and take a nap. 4AM comes early," I suggested. "True, what are you going to do?" she asked. "I am going to Wal-mart to buy some real clothes, including some panties. Who knows, there may be a new business in panties in my future," I said with a laugh. I dropped them both at the apartments. Gwen had obviously called ahead, since the rental car was sitting in the parking lot with vapor coming from the tailpipe. I could have run in for a pair of panties but since I didn't plan to try on anything, I felt that it could just wait. The trip was totally uneventful. Being alone in the big box was like being on R&R. I didn't have to entertain, or protect anyone. I could just walk from department to department filling my cart with junk. Well, some of it was cheap jeans and sweat shirts. Those would be useful in my real life. Much more useful than the less than two yards of red material Cheryl called a dress. I had also paid a hundred bucks a yard for that thing. Yes there was some buyers remorse there, I admit it. The truth is that somehow over the last year I had managed to accumulate more money than I had made in my whole life up to that point. I knew that it was nothing I had done, my friend Jen was responsible for that money. It was fair, she made me a little rich in exchange for screwing my lovers. I made her life bearable and she made mine bearable. It was a fair exchange, but one not made in heaven. Quite the opposite I am sure. She even helped with my adrenaline addiction. I doubt that she knew she was helping me find my place to die, as daddy used to say. It was 9PM, when I finished my shopping. I hadn't had dinner, so I went to the Pizza and Pasta Pit for take out. It seemed to be just the right time for a trip to the Cop Out. I picked up the three pizzas, which I had called ahead to order, then I drove downtown to the Cop Out. "Where the hell have you been?" Blevins asked. "This place only has pizza when you are around." "That's because none of you cheap bastards will part with a dime for your fellow man," I said. "We earn our favors, we don't buy them," Blevins said with a laugh. "Yeah, well I hand you so many arrests, I am making your fucking career," I said. "Used to, these days I hear you are out of town busting guys for the DEA and FBI. What's next the CIA?" he asked with a laugh. "Beats me, I just roll with it. I have an agent now," I said with a laugh. "Yeah, I been seeing those promos on TV for your reality show. What the hell is up with that?" he asked. "Would you believe me, if I told you I had no fucking idea. I just take the assignments I want, and they film me secretly." I said smiling. "Then they pay me." "What the hell, I could do that," he said. "I don't think you would do it, the way I do it," I laughed again. I pause a moment then asked, "Where is Jerry?" "I hardly ever see Jerry except on the job. I think he is involved with some woman and her kids these days. He is most likely playing daddy or something." I nodded about half a minute before some paramedic asked me to dance. From then till midnight I got passed around and felt up by a dozen guys. I didn't tell any of them I wasn't wearing panties. I probably would have gotten gang raped. Since Mike was filming everything from a corner table, I didn't really care for that image to get around. From the Cop Out at midnight, I drove home. I unloaded the car at my rear door, then drove it to the parking lot and went through the security gate. I went to bed as soon as I got to my apartment. It was the end of a long day. After that little bit of excitement the days fell into a predictable routine. I rode my bike to breakfast, even on the coldest mornings. When I returned home I fooled around on the computer, or I did things around the apartment complex. Okay six units is not really a complex but I had to call it something. I guess I could have called it Bob. It would have still been a six unit apartment building, but then no one would have any idea what I was talking about. In the evenings I went to dinner with Cheryl or if Cheryl was napping, I went out alone. Cheryl and I spent a lot of time together. In doing so we became better friends, but less intense lovers. Yes we still slept together now and then, but it didn't have the same intensity. Probably because I knew Cheryl was doing it with Kate, and maybe even Gwen. I wasn't at all sure how far the thing with Gwen had progressed. The truth is that I was fine with Cheryl's outside relationships. I expect that I really wanted a man for a full time lover. Probably because it would make my mom happy. Since she had passed away, I don't guess she would really care one way or another. The point is the days just seemed to run together. It was nice to be home and catch up on my sleep and all that, but after three weeks of being domestic, I was getting bored again. The bike had been running like crap, so on Monday of my forth week home. I took it to the preacher's bike shop. "Mr Evans, this bike is making me crazy. I runs like crap." I said it as if 'runs like crap' was a detailed explanation of what it was doing. "So what exactly is it doing?" he asked. "It's almost impossible to start. After I do finally get it started when I give it gas, it accelerates a lot slower than it used to. I guess it's sluggish." I said it doing the best I could to describe the problems. "Let's try something," he said. He reached into a drawer, took out a small red and white box, then he opened it and removed a spark plug. He had the plug switched within ten minutes of me entering the shop. The bike started on the first pull for him. After a second to warm up it revved up just fine. I rode it around the block before I agreed that he had fixed the problem. "Okay, so now I know what that was. How much do I owe you?" "The spark plug is $2.50 and you can make a donation to the ministry, if you like." I felt like twenty bucks was fair, so I gave him that much. He helped me put the bike back onto the cruiser's bike rack. Later that night, I decided that it was time to go to the Cop Out club again. I hadn't made too big an ass of myself the last time. I didn't carry pizza that time though. I went in at 9PM alone and bored out of my mind. "So how you doing Max," Blevins asked. "I'm bored silly, what do you hear from Anna, as she is now called?" I asked. "What in hell makes you think I stay in contact with that bitch?" he asked. "That woman had more almost illegal shit going on than any cop I ever met. She would do whatever it takes to get a conviction, no matter how thin the line she had to walk. "I only know that she was not above a little entrapment," I said with a smile. "Yeah, you know that first hand, if I remember right," he said. "Yes, but Blevins she wasn't boring." I said. "You meant to say she wasn't boring like me. It's okay I hear that all the time." he said smiling. "I guess boring can be good, but right now I'm bored and it is definitely not good," I said "Where is your friend with the big boobs?' he asked. "Damn, I'm getting sick of being asked that. Cheryl is home sleeping, she starts work in the middle of the night these days." I said. "Yeah, she is such a knock out, I'm sure guys ask all the time." he said. "That is very true," I replied. I danced and got felt up for a couple of hours, then went home to bed. I was going to go crazy, if something didn't happen soon. It was going into the fifth week with nothing happening. I rode the bike now and then. It was the high point of any day. That tells you how dull my days were. I spend so little time being a landlady, that I had already forgotten the youngest of my tenants name. I just thought of her, and spoke of her as the college girl or the coed. Lois was happily retired, so I didn't try to fix her up with any more part time jobs. I figured when she was ready, she would find her own gig. There came a time when I was ready to do anything to break the monotony. Jen must have sensed it somehow because she called just before I slit my wrists. "Hey chick," she said. "How would you like to go on a cruise?" "You have to be kidding. You and me on a cruise? I can't think of anything worse for the cruise industry." I replied. "Not us, just you. Actually you and the TV guys. I think there will be another swamp rat as well." she informed me. "Do I want to know the details of the trip, or do I just say, 'I'll do anything to get out of this town?'" I asked. "Oh hell, let me give you the details. You will love it." she said. "Should I sit down?" I asked. "Probably," she paused a second then went on. Your cruise is not with Holiday Cruises or any of the other name lines. Its a boat with twenty cabins. It leaves from the beautiful Island of Crete. You will sail to the coast of Somalia, where you will just cruise around for a few days. "I don't get it." "Oh you will, I'm sure. A bunch of men high on testosterone and you on a boat. I would bet my life's savings that you will get it." "Hey, I'm not a hooker," I demanded. "Oh you can say no, and no money would change hands anyway. This all about adrenalin and Endorphins." she assured me. ------- Chapter 134: The Cruise and How to Use It "You are going to have to do better than that, I don't understand." I demanded. I was standing in her office when I said it. I had gone there, rather than finish the discussion on the phone. "Some rich guy decided it would be fun to go big game hunting off the coast of Somalia. He chartered a cruise ship or a yacht, whatever. I'm not sure what it is really. He and a few of his friends are going to go cruise and hope they get attacked. They want the thrill of combat again. I think he is a former ranger or green beret, some such shit. Anyway it's kind of a reunion cruise, more than anything else." Jen said. "So why the hell do they want me?" I asked. "You know, I'm not okay with murder." "It's for bait. They need the cruise to look legit. So they need a wife for the captain. or girl friend for one of the friends, I'm not sure which. You won't be required to pull a trigger, except in self defense. Come on Max, it's only two weeks, and they really need a babysitter." "In two weeks Jen, I could be very dead. Not to mention taking Mike and Gwen down with me." I thought about it another minute then said. "Well maybe they aren't a good enough reason to refuse, but you know what I mean." "It's up to you. Think about it and let me know." Jen said a little disappointed. "What's the payday?" I asked. I knew Jen well enough to know there was a real payday involved. Even though it wasn't her money, she loved the game anyway. "Ten K from the cruise guys and another ten from the TV people. They want excitement they have to pay." Jen said. "That's a lot of money for a two week job," I suggested. "Yeah well like you said, there is a certain amount of danger involved. I figured that would appeal to you though. You probably would have done it free. if they had come to you without the TV crap." "Are you sure they want the TV people filming their little safari?" I asked. "That's another reason they want you. If anyone can keep them out of prison, they figure it's you." Jen said it with a smile. "There is no way to make this look like anything, but what it is. It's an ambush to commit murder. This will only work, if you make the trip legit, and then these guys sign on as security. Then they have to conduct themselves, as if they were providing security. In other words respond only. The can't set an ambush." I said. "You need to find out more about the boat, then get some papers on it to cover why it is in the Somalia waters. A church aid delivery mission, something like that. Then the guys on board will have to just hope the pirates take a run at them. If you can talk them into all that, then they have a chance of walking." "Okay, let's set up a conference call with the guy who leased the boat. Maybe we can work out some kind of cover with him." Jen suggested. "Go for it," I replied. "Oh by the way as a bonus, I have the GBI sending your weapons back. They said you could come get them, but I worked it out so they will ship them instead." "That would be a target the Pirates can't pass up. An arms shipment would bring them out. Try to find someone who can leak that to the pirates. Then find a legal cargo to put on board the ship with the proper documentation. When the pirates come, the crew refuses to give up, so there is a fight. The security force does the best it can. God knows it isn't what we wanted." I suggested. "That will play, of course now the TV people know and it's moot," Jen said. "Actually they don't know," I showed her Martin's Bic lighter that wasn't a lighter at all. "So, if I can make it kosher, are you in?" she asked. "Set it up, so I feel we have a bullet proof plan, and I'm in. Once my weapons arrive that is." You don't need a weapon, those guys are going to do the gunslinging," she said. "It's to protect me from them," I said with a laugh. "All that life or death shit, makes men horny as hell." "So it does,"Jen said with a giggle. I left Jen's office since the call would have to be arranged for the next day due to the time difference. The drive home had me thinking. I didn't want to kill pirates, but maybe I could at least make sure they right guys got killed, if there is such a thing. I would really feel bad, if I found out later that it was some poor fisherman that got killed. When I arrived home, it was late afternoon. Even I knew that it would be approaching midnight in Europe. I assumed the organizer of the trip would be somewhere in Europe at the moment. Jen had said that she needed an answer the next day, so I needed to think. I was tempted to stop by to see Lucas and Ed, but thought better of it. Lucas was most likely still under Gwen's spell. I would hate to have him asked me about her. I had no idea what her status was at that time. Ed on the other hand would be bugging me to come back to the office to work. He always said I should work from his office. I was sure he just missed Helen's breakfasts. She came by the office a lot less frequently, since I moved out. When Helen hit the active part of my brain, I thought about finding her a retail outlet store. That was what would work best for her, rather than a restaurant setting. I thought hard about all the buildings, which I knew were vacant and for rent. Nothing seemed to fit the bill. Just as I was about to give up racking my brain, I noticed a used car lot with no cars. What it did have was a one and a half story brick office building. The dealer had never had a shop of any kind, so the building was just one large room. The showroom was big enough to feature two cars and three banking partitions. I knew because I swung in to give the place the once over. I had a feeling Helen and Jack could get a good deal, since the economy was down. Most every night on the news, there were stories about how bad the auto industry was suffering. I didn't expect that there would be much demand for the spot. "Hey Helen it's me Maxine, I am calling to tell you about a place you and Jack should look at." It was the message I left on here cell phone's voice mail. I also left the address and the few details I could get from a quick look. I also sent her the information from the sign on the front door. I had no idea if the space would be suitable or not, but it at least showed that I had the outlet on my mind. I met Cheryl at my front door twenty minutes later. "So are we on for dinner?" she asked. "We are always on for dinner," I replied. "Only if you are around. I think you are especially antsy today. My guess is you are getting ready to leave me again," she said. "Actually, I do have a job offer. I'm considering it at the moment. It's only a couple of weeks though." "And of course it is just a walk in the park," she said. "Before you answer, I have seen some of the tape from Haymarket." "It won't be like Haymarket, I can assure you." I replied. "I want to come with you," Cheryl said. "Absolutely not, I don't want to be worried about you, when I need to act. Besides Helen needs you or she wouldn't have hired you." I said reasonably. "You should not be doing this at all, if it is so bad, that you would be that concerned about me. Plus I can take care of myself," Cheryl said. "The answer is still no on this one. but I will think about it if something else comes up," I replied. "Now lets go to dinner. What do you want to eat?" "Besides you, how about Mexican?" she asked. "Helen and I don't cook Mexican." "Sure, I love heart burn," I said laughing. "I'll make your heart burn, when we get back," Cheryl said. "Promise me anything, but give me heartburn," I suggested. "I wish it wasn't so cold. I would love to do take out and go eat in the park. After dinner I could make you eat me in front of god and everybody," she said. "I had no idea that you were such an exhibitionist," I replied. "I'm not. You would just hate doing that and I love to see you do things you are afraid to do. You are so cute when you are in distress. You are a woman with a gun, who takes no shit from anyone. Yet you would be looking all around to be sure no one sees you with your head between my legs." Cheryl laughed after she said it. "You know when you talk like that it turns me on," I said. "Of course I know, you love being dominated. I don't think you are a submissive. You just prefer to lose the fight and get on your knees. At least that is my take on it." Cheryl said. "My take is I just do what I feel like doing at the time. There is no rhyme or reason to it. just me reacting to you." I said. "Take that hard bread stock and put it inside you. Then give it to me to eat," Cheryl demanded. I slipped the bread strick under the table, and worked it inside my body. I left it inside me only a few seconds. I didn't want it to get soggy. I, on the other hand, got very soggy when I watched Cheryl eat it with her salad. She smiled a lot while she did. "How do you feel about having Katy join us?" she asked with an evil smile. "I don't think that she or I wold be comfortable with that," I replied. "Of course not, that really is the point. Doing things you don't really want to do reinforces my dominance over both of you." she said. "I suppose there is truth in that," I said in agreement. "So, should I call her on my cell phone?' Cheryl asked. "Do whatever you feel is the right thing to do," I replied. I refused to be trapped into any word games with her. Cheryl picked up her phone and punched in the speed dial. "Be at the apartment in a half hour," she said. "So, I guess Kate is going to be the entertainment tonight." "I would say that remains to be seen," she said. "You did know that you can really be a bitch?" I asked. "Of course I know that, and I also know that's what you love about me. I remind you of yourself." she said with a laugh. I left the tip, then took the check to the register. The bill was reasonable, since most of the places we ate, got chosen for the food not the status. "So are you remembering what Kate's mouth felt like on your cunt," Cheryl asked. "I wasn't, but I am now," I replied. "She has a sexy little mouth doesn't she?" Cheryl asked. "Yes, she does have some talent there, but she isn't as experienced as you and I," I replied. "She will quickly learn what she doesn't know now, with the two of us teaching her. It would be a little easier, if you two liked each other. Not nearly as much fun for me, but easier," Cheryl suggested. ------- Chapter 135: Call a Spade a Shovel The timing was correct almost to the minute, when the knock came on Cheryl's door. My reaction couldn't have been more inappropriate. "How the fuck did she get through the security gate?' I asked Cheryl. "If you have somehow gotten Kate a key, I am gonna throw your ass out of here." "Shut up and open the door," Cheryl demanded. I looked through the spy hole in the door to see Gwen standing outside. "What the fuck are you playing at now?" I asked, just before I opened the door. "Gwen, what the hell are you doing here?" I asked not at all gently. "Cheryl agreed to an in depth interview. She called a few minutes ago and told me to come over. Why is this any of your business, anyway?" she asked in snappy voice. "Good point," I turned by back to her, then said to Cheryl, "Good try but I'm not interested in this game. You need to find another player hon." I said it as I turned to leave. "What the hell is she talking about?" I heard Gwen ask, just before I closed the door. It was a short walk to my own apartment. I should have been angry, but instead I found it amusing. I wondered how long it would take Cheryl to bring Gwen over, or if she could. It was all smoke and mirrors with Gwen. To her nothing was real. After all her whole live was about Illusion. Yes it really was all smoke and mirrors to her. Since I had already had dinner, and I wasn't going to be playing house, I decided to just catch up on some TV shows I had missed. The Internet was great for that. I was shocked to see that on one of the major cable stations, there was a promo for my silly reality TV show. The voice over was by some gravely voiced dude. I had no idea who he was, or if he was supposed to be someone I should know. "Maxine Stone is a real Private Eye, not some TV show bullshit," he said. "If you want to know what her life is like, take a look at the old web TV shows. They were made of her real life last year. If you already know, then hang on to your hat, because Max is back and more bad ass than ever, in her new Realty Network show, Meet Maxine. The things she does, and is willing to do, will blow your mind. I have to warn you, this is not for minors or the weak of heart. The isn't just reality TV. It is real life at it rawest caught with hidden cameras." There was more bullshit, but it was hard for me to watch. They were running bits and pieces of the old shows, along with out takes of the new stuff as well. At least I finally knew what everyone was talking about with the new promos. Those things as much as told people that I was a foul mouthed skank. Well I am pretty graphic in my language, and my life too, I admit. Even so no woman wants to be portrayed as so slutty that you can't let your kids meet her. I had to wonder, if that was true in real life as well. I mean did people avoid me, because I was to 'earthy' as my mom used to say. I decided that I needed a real drink. Instead of the Cop Out, I drove the the liquor store. I sprung for a fifth of Canadian Club whiskey. I usually drank some pretty rank bourbon, but I was in a mellow mood. I stopped by the convenience store for ginger ale. It was the same store where I had stopped the robbery a couple of months before. "Miss Max," The Korean owner said in here sing song voice. "How you been?" "I have been fine, how have you been?" I asked. "Very good," she said. Her accent was heavy, but her English was really quite good. I walked back to the cooler containing the sodas. I returned to the cash register walking slowly through the store. I picked up a bag of chips, then checked out. "You be careful," I said. "I think you need to be more careful than me," she said smiling at me. "I'll keep that in mind." I said waving as I went out the door. Once I got home, I poured myself a stiff drink then began to watch TV on line. Not streaming TV, but on line reruns of shows from the last three weeks. The more I drank the less interested in the shows I became. Finally after four drinks, I wasn't even paying token attention to the shows. "Screw this," I said aloud. I closed the site and pulled up an adult chat room from my bookmarks. Once I got through all the bullshit I signed in as lostlady41. On an adult chat site a woman just needs to sign in. It is guaranteed that the men will find her. After I signed in the windows began to pop up all over the place. Mostly it was guys who claimed to be teenagers looking for older women. The second most common pop ups were from men asking, Do you have a daughter. Those I closed immediately. The young guys I usually took the time to explain that I didn't chat with younger men. Hey lost lady, how are you? The pop up from Daddy 24 read. I'm just fine how are you? I typed. Horny, his answer read. Asshole, I typed. Then put his ass on ignore. Hello slut, the next one read. it was from someone called 'mean daddy'. Sorry you have the wrong person ... Bye. I typed. Hey Max it's good to see you again. The words came from SimonSays. Good to see you as well Simon. I haven't seen you in a while, I wrote. Ah so how is the job? he asked. The job is fine, how is yours? I asked. Good, boring but good, he wrote All jobs are boring at times. What is it you do again?' I typed. You know damn well that I'm a tax attorney, he wrote. Ah yes, just testing you, I answered, I know you still don't believe me, he wrote. Never believe anyone on the net. just have fun, I replied. Then you aren't a woman, you are an old man with a big belly. he suggested. Absolutely right, I have a huge red penis in the nightstand beside my bed, I admitted. We have been chatting for over a year now, I feel like I know you, and I feel like you know me, he wrote. Not at all, when there is no mystery left, then I am history, I wrote. Also it hasn't been a year. Then let's drink to mystery, I assume you are having a drink? Of course I am. I never come here unless I am having a drink, I replied. I think you also have to be bored to come here, he suggested. That too, I typed. So what are you wearing? he asked. Jeans, a v neck sweater, panties, and a bra, I replied. What kind of panties? he asked You should know by now that I only wear bikini panties, I replied. Of course, you are wearing way too many clothes to be talking to me. Simon says take off the sweater. he wrote. It will be really difficult to do that tonight. I am being filmed at the moment. I replied Why are you being filmed? he asked. I'm not home. I'm at an Internet access point. The spaces here are videoed. Just to prevent this kind of thing. Then reach down under the desk and rub you cunt for me, he wrote. I slipped my hand under the desk so that the camera couldn't see me. Yes I lied about the Internet access place, but I was being filmed. I rubbed the space between my legs even though it was outside of my jeans it still felt good. Are you doing it? he asked Oh yes, I replied. How does it feel?' he asked. You know it feels damn good. I replied. Then tell me it feels good to rub your cunt, he demanded. It feels good to rub my cunt for you, I replied. Do you wish it was me rubbing it for you?" he asked. Oh God yes, I would love to feel your hands on me just like this. Even if we were being filmed? he asked. Yes, even if we were on tape," I replied. Now open your jeans and do it right, he demanded. They could tell when they checked the tape that I was masturbating, but they couldn't see the details for sure. That being the case, I did as I was told. Do you want to be naked for me? he asked. Oh yes I want to be naked for you. I replied. Do you want to cum for me? he asked Oh yes I want to cum for you. I answered Then do it. rub your clit and finger fuck your cunt until you cum hard for me. he demanded. I did it and was on the edge of an orgasm when he wrote. Say it out loud. Say you need Simon's cock, he demanded. I wanted to refuse, but I just couldn't I said the words to the camera and then I came for what seemed like several minutes. It took several more minutes for me to compose myself. I knew either Mike or Gwen would review the tape tomorrow and see me masturbating for a stranger on line. What they would do with the tape was anyone's guess. Did you cum for me, slut? Simon asked. You know I did, i wrote with shaky hands. Good then go to bed and dream of my cock, he wrote. and was gone. I went to bed alright, shortly after I signed off, but I didn't dream of SimonSays. I dreamed of Cheryl and Gwen. Lucas even made it into the dream. It was a terribly erotic dream. I awoke in the middle of the night and masturbated again. I awoke at 7AM which was about average for me those days. The phone rang withing minutes of me leaving my hot shower. "Why didn't you tell me that you had found a place for Helen to open a diner?" Cheryl asked. "I honestly didn't think about it, since it was just a building. Did she and Jack go look at it?" I asked. "They went last night and again early this morning. They are going back after we get all the trucks out. I think they like it." "It would be nice to have a place to sit down and eat, her food. She has better food, than any of these fast food places." I said honestly. "I know. It is really a hell of an idea. I would love to work there." "You know that it isn't cooking," I replied. "I can work something out I'm sure. It doesn't take much cooking to run that kind of place." she said. "I would wait patiently to see what is going to happen, before I jumped into anything." I meant it to be helpful. "Well, I am not you and you are not me, as you pointed out so clearly last night," she said. "Speaking of last night, how was Gwen?" I asked. "Fuck you Max," she said. "I have to get back to work." Then she was gone. The connection was broken. I dressed as warm as I could, then went for my bike ride. I had breakfast and walked at the mall. I got all that done before I arrived at Jen's office for our 9AM conference call to the rich guy in Europe. "So Jen, call the wacko and lets see, if he is reasonable, or just out in space somewhere." I suggested. "Give him the benefit of the doubt Max. We have no idea what his true motives are." "I doubt that it is anything more than blood lust, but I will let him tell his side of it." ------- Chapter 136: Beans and Bullets "He is a little paranoid, so we are going to use code names and speak in riddles," Jen said with a smile. "Oh great a paranoid ex super soldier type, and you think I need to be involved in this. Jesus Jen do you have a life insurance policy on me that I don't know about?" I said it with a small laugh. "No, but you need to keep working, or you will wind up with a crack pipe in your mouth, and some dude with god chains banging you." "Alright what do we call this super soldier?" I asked. "Just call him Alex, that's the only name I have." Jen said. "Jen if all you have is a code name, where did he get your name?" I asked. "Please tell me this isn't a Swamp Thing job." "Okay, I won't tell you," she said laughing. "Look this thing is borderline illegal, I know that. Swamp thing was contacted, because they offer security for ships going through those waters. They also know this guy from Iraq. They highly recommended you to keep them out of jail. None of them want to do a 20year bit in a Somali prison." "So he knows enough about me to listen when I speak?" I asked. "Yes he knows enough. Whether he listens or not is something else. Today's phone call should tell us something about him." Jen said. "Then lets get on with it," I suggested. Jen pushed one button then the speaker phone make some really weird noises. It also rang a few times before a man's computer voice said, "Good morning Jennifer, is our mutual friend with you?" "Yes she is." Jennifer answered. "Good morning guardian angel," the mechanical voice said. "Good morning Mechanical Voice," I said. "I think I will call you R2D2." "That is acceptable. So, has Jennifer filled you in on my little plan." "Yes but it is not a good time for your vacation. It probably never will be. If you insist on going forward, I would like to make a few suggestions." "Good, I am always happy to hear new things," R2D2 said. "Wonderful, I was thinking you might want to combine some business with the pleasure. It would be a really good thing to take on some cargo. Some charitable delivery would go a long way to create good will for you. "That is an excellent idea. Give my life a little purpose," the voice agreed. "I thought the same thing, plus give you a few brownie points in heaven. You should also hire your friends as crew. It would save on expenses and give you all a chance to get together. I'm sure they wouldn't mind doubling as security guards for the charitable cargo as well. Get them under contract, just in case anyone wants to check them out at some point. "So you are saying, everyone on board should be engaged in the delivery and providing security for the cargo?" R2d2 asked. "Exactly, it will give them a good feeling to be involved in a humanitarian act, like delivering aid to the poor." I suggested. "Yes, I can see that. It would go a long way, if god forbid, we have trouble. It would define everyone's position. Those are excellent ideas, You have already been a big help, so now the big questions is should I send you an invitation?" "A contract to provide security for the adventure would be a better thing to send me. A clear list of my duties and responsibilities in writing would be nice. You do know that I usually travel with a TV crew. That has to be taken into consideration." "Yes I know, but I think we can work it out. Especially with these new ideas of yours. My friend down on the coast said you were good, and you are. Jennifer send me the papers and we are go as far as I'm concerned." "You do know I won't be able to travel with tools, so you will have to provide those," I said. I wanted him to know exactly what he was, and what he was not, getting for his 10K. "Send me a list of things you would like and I will have them waiting," he stated in his robotic voice. "Fair enough," I replied. "I'll be in touch with your representative in Crete," Jen said then they swapped goodbyes. "So what do you think?" Jen asked. "Like you said, he sounds agreeable, but what he really does may be a different thing all together. I wonder how long it will take for him to get organized?" "Not long I expect. He has a lot of clout and Greece needs his money. I expect the Greek government to be very helpful." "Everyone should be helpful, it is in their own long term interest to go along. It is also in their best interest not to take such a close look at whatever happens." "I can't say what they will do, but it's possible that the bad guys will just disappear. If that happens there won't be any need for cover. Well there will be, if they have radios and report who you are and what goes down. There are so many bleeding hearts anything can happen in a situation like this. It's better to have a good cover, why risk it all on the good will of politicians," Jen said. "Well let me know what happens, I'll try to stay available for a couple of days," I suggested. "Good, I'm sure we will know something very soon. By the way, what is the deal with your tenants?" "Which ones," I asked. "Let's start with Cheryl, what is she doing working for Helen. Her father will take care of her every need. He is riding on a horse called guilt." Jennifer observed. "I think she wants to do things for herself. She strikes me as a strong personality." I suggested. "Well, you be careful, I think she knows how to take care of herself. In addition she could probably take care of you as well." She won't be the first to try for sure." I suggested. "I need to get moving, I want to see Helen and Jack about setting up a fixed location for their catering. Someplace with a warm dining room." "That's a good idea for people like you, but for me, the stop on the side of the road is fine." "Damn you are so smart Jen," I said laughing. "The location has to have a drive thru window." "Oh yes a drive thru window, so people like me won't have to chase her down." "Anyway, I have to get moving," I said as I stood and headed to the door. "Max, seriously watch out for Cheryl. I know she was a model prisoner, but she was still institutionalized a lot of years." "I know sweetie and she has taken other lovers, so we aren't all that wrapped up in each other." I said. "But you are still friends?" Jen asked. "Yes we are still friends," I admitted. "Good, she can take your mind off things, since this gig might take weeks to come through." she said. "That's fine, I can usually find something to get into all by myself." I admitted. "Good the kids tell me the filming has slowed down, but the editing is still behind." Jen informed me. "They are the ones hyping a show that isn't ready to run yet. The smart thing would have been to wait till they had it in the can." "I think they wanted to cash in while the Internet show was still hot." Jen said. "Well then they dug their own hole. I had nothing to do with it. I never promised them anything." After I left Jen's office, I called Helen from the cruiser. "Helen," I said when she answered. "Cheryl said you had looked at the old used car lot on main street. So what do you think?" I asked. "Maxine, we like it. Jack is talking to the Realtor this afternoon. If they can work out a short term lease with the right to guaranteed extensions and an option to buy, we are going to take it. Jack has figured out how we can test it for 90days without doing anything much to it. If it works out, we can renovate it to fit our needs. It has that kind of potential. I know you really did a lot of looking for us, and honey we do appreciate it." "The only thanks I want is a warm place where I can sit down to have a sausage and spiced egg bagel." Helen did serve the only adult eggs on a bagel I had ever eaten. Thats what I called them, adult style eggs. They had some kind of chili sauce in the scrambled eggs. "If we get the place, I promise I will lay in an extra supply of the egg spices," Helen promised. "Fair enough, " I said. Now I want you to let me know the minute you open." I said. "If we do, you will be the first to know. Bye the way Cheryl is one terrific worker. I am so glad you sent her to me." Helen said. I knew that I hadn't sent her anywhere, but I didn't want to screw things up for Cheryl. So I said, "Good, but treat her like any other employee, not my friend." I said. "No problem, we treat everyone one of our employees the same." Helen said. "That's good to hear," I admitted. An hour later I was driving into the downtown, when I saw the blue lights in my rear view mirror. "What the fuck," I said aloud to the empty car. "Would you step out of the car please?" the young police officer said. "Oh course, now before you lose your cool and do something stupid, I have a pistol under my jacket. I also have a carry permit and it is licensed." I said. I watched to see what his reaction would be. "Step out of the car," he said again. I did as he said. I also kept my mouth shut. "Face the car and hands behind your head." he demanded. "What exactly did I do?" I asked. "You ran a stop sign back there," he said. "Since you are armed, I'm not taking any chances." "Would you do me a favor and call your sergeant?" I asked. "Why would I do that?" he asked. "Because as a citizen, I have asked to see your supervisor." I said. I didn't tell him that Mike was parked across the street videoing him or that I was wearing a wire. He was going to find out, when he faced me in court, if he didn't stop the badge heavy shit pretty damn soon. Instead of calling the sergeant, he said, "I want to see your driver's license and registration." "Do I get to put my hands down, or do I have to do it with my teeth?" I asked. "On second thought," he didn't finish the sentence he hooked me up instead. "You are seriously putting cuffs on me for allegedly running a stop sign?" I asked. "No, it's because you are armed," he said. "It's for my own safety." "If you asked, I would have gladly given you the pistol. This is really unnecessary," I said. "I'm the one who decides what is necessary," he replied. "Whatever," I said. "Now, I'm going to call the sergeant." he said. "Better late than never," I said. It took about five minutes for the sergeant to arrive. It was cold standing in the street, but it was doable. When the police car pulled up, I had to smile. The patrol sergeant was one of the officers who had participated in the raid on the Menendez brother's warehouse to save my ass. I couldn't remember his name until I saw it on his name tag. "What the hell?" he asked. I did the best I could to shrug my shoulders, It isn't all that easy with your hands cuffed behind your back. "She is armed and she gave me attitude," the young man said. I just smiled. The sergeant noticed the smile and said, "Well Ms Stone, how about it?" "Do you see that silver Ford across the street. Mike wave at the nice officer." Mike waved from the driver's seat of the Ford. "Serge I am wired and Mike has a video camera. You should probably give your officer a chance to change his story before I call Jen." "Oh shit, Officer Burris, tell me you weren't being badge heavy again." the sergeant demanded. "I felt threatened," he said weakly. "By the way sergeant, I told him I was armed and he hasn't taken the weapon yet. If I wanted to I could have shot him a half dozen times." "You are shitting me," he said lifting my coat. He didn't bother to take the .38 revolver with the concealed hammer. I had only recently had it returned by the GBI. What he did do was take the cuffs off me. "Ms Stone, why are you wired? Are you running a sting on the police?" the sergeant asked. "No, they are making one of those reality shows for TV. They follow me around with hidden cameras. It was not my plan, but your man here is going to be on TV, I expect. There is nothing I can do about it. The TV network owns the images not me personally. "Son, you are truly fucked," he said softly. ------- Chapter 137: On Cops and Lawyers When I left the scene of the over bearing cop confrontation, I went right back to Jen's office. "I need to see her," I said to the receptionist. Then I spoke to the large plant by her desk. "Mike, you need to bring those tapes and come in here. We should speak to Jen about what happened out there." "I told you it might be a while," Jen said as she walked through the doorway into the reception area. "This is about something else and it could be serious." I replied. "Mike, should be inside in a minute or two." 'What the hell have you gotten yourself into now?" she asked. "I got stopped by a heavy handed cop. I need you to look at the tape of the incident and let me know what I need to do now." Once Mike came inside, we went to the conference room where Jen had all that state of the art electronic crap, which I do not understand. I stood in awe while Mike moved around hooking things together. When he turned it all on, the cop was walking from his patrol car toward my PT cruiser. "Do you want me to go back farther?" Mike asked. "No, this should be fine," I replied. When the cop said, "Get out of the car please." Jen said, "Stop the tape." Then she turned and asked me. "At this point, do you know why he is stopping you?" "No, but on a traffic stop, we never asked people to get out of their car, So I assumed that it was something more than that. You know like my car matched the description of a bank robber or something." "Okay continue," she said. She heard me say I was armed and that I had the proper permits. Then we watched the rest of the tape. "Okay," Jen said. "You guys did everything right. Now the question is what are we going to do about this." "I'm going to edit it into the show," Mike said quietly. "If you do that, we are going to catch a lot of shit," I said. "He might be a rookie, and a jerk, but he is part of the brotherhood of the badge. They might close ranks behind him and give us a lot of shit." "What can they do, bar us from the Cop Out?" he asked. "No they can find something wrong every time you drive a car in their town. They can stop and search you and the car on trumped up probably cause," I suggested. "We need to bring this to a head right now."Jen said. "Otherwise Max is right. You two could be in for some heavy duty harassment." "What do you suggest?" I asked. "A meeting with the chief and whoever is in charge of their internal affairs investigation. We need to do it right now, before the chief leaves for the day." "Set the meeting with the chief, let him call in whoever he wants after he has seen and heard the tapes," I suggested. "Good idea, Mike you are going to have to come along and explain. He will want to know who you are and what you were doing. The TV network will scare him as much as the threat of a suit against the city." Jen said. Jen went to her office to make the calls, while Mike and I stayed in the conference room. "Is this going to be a problem?" Mike asked me. "Well what Jen is going to do will keep the cops from doing anything official. It will even give us the basis for a harassment suit, if they bug us. That is after the fact though. They can still put us against a wall and pat us down. They can break your cameras by accident of course. I have even heard of cops pretending to be bad guys and beating the crap out of people, who rock their boat." "Geese are you sure, they are the good guys?" he asked. "Compared to who?" I asked in return and smiled. "If Burris has friends, they will try to save his career, so be prepared for some kind of play." "Maybe we should just drop it," he said. "Too late to do that. We either stand up now, or roll over and let them fuck us whenever they want." "Then we stand up to them," he said defiantly. "Good, but we can always make a deal, as long as it is a good deal for us," I said. "Like what?" he asked. "That's up to Jen. Trust me that is what she wants to do, and what she has in her mind right this minute. What can we get that is worth dealing that tape away? She will ask you, when you are most vulnerable, if you are willing to trade, so decide now whether you are or not. The images belongs to you, so it's your decision." We sat in silence for several minutes before Jen returned. "Okay, pack everything you need to show your video to the chief. Leave my stuff though." she said. Mike unhooked a couple of wires. "That's it I'm ready to go." he declared. Fifteen minutes later we were standing in front of the chief's receptionist/secretary. "So do you plan to call him, or do I leave," Jen demanded. "He is in a meeting. He said to have you wait while he talks to these officers." she said. "There is nothing I can do." "Pick up the fucking phone, and tell your boss that he will be seeing the tape on the 11 o'clock news, if he doesn't open the fucking door in two minutes," I demanded. The receptionist looked at Jen who said, "What she said hon." "Sorry about the delay," The portly chief said, after he opened the door, about two minutes later. "I was trying to get our officer's side of the story before we run your tape." "He has no side," Jen said. "The only question is what your response is going to be. Now we all know cops like to think of themselves as the thin blue line. 'Us against the world' kind of bullshit, so I'm putting you on notice, any harassment of my clients, and there will be hell to pay." She paused to let the air leave the chiefs body before he exploded. "I am going to hold you personally responsible for whatever happens to my clients. I don't care, if the cop is in uniform, if he had too much to drink, or even if one of my clients just fall out a window. I will have the SBI in here so fast you will think they were staying at my house." "So you came to threaten me. I don't like being threatened. I know your client dances on the edge of a razor blade. She will fall off the edge one days and we will lock her ass up, that is a promise." he said. "If you two are through playing who has the biggest balls, can we try to work out something here?' I asked. "Ah the voice of reason, what did you have in mind?" the chief asked. "Well you have two problems as I see it. One is me. I know cops and I'm not afraid of you or your gang. But the other is, I don't own that tape. The images belong to the producer of Meet Maxine. That is Mike, so you need to make a deal with both of us. Now what are you offering, or do you need to see the tape." "I want to see the tape. I want to know what our exposure is. I also want to wait until the city attorney can be here." he said. "You have ten minutes to get him here. I also want a cup of coffee, how about you guys," I asked Mike and Jennifer. Jen was grinning like a cat. Mike looked terrified, but he was holding it together. The receptionist brought my coffee and one for Jen, Mike chose to pass on the coffee. Once we were all settled in, the Chief said, "You know I have heard a lot about you Ms Stone. Some of it was even good." "Those were the lies," I said with a sweet smile. "You know it isn't often that a small town police force can break major cases. You have done a lot to help us do just that. I don't understand your hard ass attitude here. I thought you were a friend of law enforcement." "I'm a friend of good cops, who do their jobs. I am not a friend of cops who harass people, or those who cover for them. So if your cops are good guys, I will continue to be their friend. If they chose to play hardball with me and my friends, then I plan to play hardball right back. If we are going to have a pissing match chief, you might want to check out who my other friends are." Jen said, "Chief, I think your time is up. We have said what we came to say, so look for the tape on TV. Not the news, but on Ms Stone's TV show." She smiled sweetly then turned to me. "Let's go Ms Stone." She wanted the chief to know we weren't making hollow threats. "Let me call her cell, she is probably in the parking lot as we speak." Sure enough the Female City Attorney walked in two minutes later. She was very black. I wasn't sure what to expect from her. Small town city attorney. She js most likely a political appointee with a brain the size of a walnut, I thought." "Jennifer, I understand we have a problem?" she asked. "No dear, you have a problem. Ms Stone and her friend are here seeking assurances that there won't be a vendetta when this tape airs." "Then you don't want the officer fired or anything? You just want to be sure that they don't try any more heavy handed approaches?" "Something like that," Jen admitted. "Then I think the chief can do that without me," she said. "Are you trying to negotiate a settlement?" "That is up to my client and her TV producer. I assume you would prefer that the tape not run on their show. You wouldn't even get a chance to tell your side of the story," Jen admitted. "Well you have to know the only get out of jail free cards are in Monopoly." the black lawyer said. "How about access to police files and an unofficial liaison with the department. Nothing official of course," she conceded "Actually, I think that would be a terrible idea. If it got out, we could be in a lot of trouble. However the information to which I have access is almost the same, but not so highly restricted. I could disclose it under the freedom of information act." Jen turned to look at me. "Well that would take care of me, but I don't control Mike or the content of his stories." "It would be really nice, if I could have a veteran officer comment on the record, and on the air about some of the things Max gets into. Comments that I could use on TV, none of this off the record bullshit." he said. While Mike and the Chief negotiated his deal, I studied the City Attorney. She was in here mid thirties. She was a compact model, but well equipped for sure. The problem seemed to be a wide wedding band on her left hand. Even with the wedding band she smiled at me often. "If we are going to be working together, I should know your name, don't you think?" I asked. "Leticia Black," she answered. Then added, "I know who you are Ms Stone. I knew even before this all blew up in our collective faces. I will be happy to help you, but it's strictly business." "Of course," I replied smiling at her. ------- Chapter 138: Some Old Something New I needed to get the smell of fear off me. Cop houses always smell of sweat, fear, and desperation. The Aster cop house was small, with almost no real heavy duty crime, but it still had that smell. I had been home from the police department just long enough to take a shower, when the phone rang. "Hello," I said. I seldom look at the caller ID on my cell phone, so I had no idea who was calling. "Max it's Helen, could I impose on you for some help. Jack and I took a serious look at that building this afternoon. We decided to take it on a three month trial lease. We really don't want to do much to it until we see what business is like, but we need to empty it and clean. Cheryl is going to help us clean tonight, I was wondering, if you would help empty the place out. We wouldn't know what to do with some of the things, we saw during our walk through." "What kinds of things," I asked. "Just odds and ends, but we would feel better, if you took a look at them." she said. "Of course I will be more than happy to help. Hell, I will even help with the cleaning," I suggested. "So, you want me to give Cheryl a ride?" I asked. "That would be fine, or I can come get her, either way," she suggested. "I will take care of it. What time do you want us there?" I asked. "It's six now and already dark. How about I bring dinner and we begin at seven? Would that be alright?" Helen asked. "It's fine with me. I will have to call Cheryl, but I'm sure she will be okay with it. Oh bring Skeeter. I'm sure there is something she can do." "If nothing else, she can make us smile." Helen said it and her love for the dog was in her voice, even over the phone. "Oh yes," I said in agreement. I woke Cheryl up, when I called her. I could tell from the groggy voice. "Hey Helen just called. I'm going to give you a ride to the new place. We need to be there by 7PM but it's only a five minute drive. Why don't you come down around quarter till and we can leave right away?" "Sure, I just need a shower and I'll be awake and good to go." she said. "Oh are you alright?" "I'm fine why?" "A little bird tole me you and Mike were in cop trouble," she said. I knew which little bird that was. "Oh it was nothing at all. So let me get my hair dry and drink some coffee. I will see you in a bit." "Yes you will," Cheryl said. While I waited, I did dry my hair. That took very little time since my hair is very thin. I also drank coffee while I searched for my most raggedy jeans and sweat shirt. I knew that if I were to help with the cleaning, I would most likely get chemicals on my clothes. I usually did. "So you and Gwen are sharing pillow talk?" I asked when Cheryl showed up at my door. I knew it sounded like I was jealous, and I guess that I was a little. Cheryl had been away for a long time and was just enjoying her freedom. I knew I needed to back off and let her have her fun. She wasn't hurting anyone who was helpless. We were all grownups. "You are jealous, that is so cute," she said. "I know, but hey. it's what people who care about people do. Try to keep them out of trouble." I informed her. They were supposed to change coverage on you at four. Instead Mike called to tell her that you two were going to meet with the chief of police. I knew then that you were in some kind of shit. After we hung up just now, I found a message from Gwen. It said that it had all worked out somehow and for me not to worry about you. It's what people, who care about people do, worry," she told me. "Alright, lets go clean the new place," I suggested as I turned to the door. Cheryl pulled me to her for one serious kiss. Then she patted my ass and said, "I know you think I'm a bitch for screwing around on you, but I need this. It could never be forever with us anyway." she said. "I know," I said it a little sadly. The things Helen didn't know what to do with were mostly small tools and magazines. I sorted through them, while skeeter made a pest of herself wanting to love on me. I couldn't get enough of her love, so I wasn't sure we would get anything done. Since jack was busy scrubbing walls, it was my job to do the tools alone. I finally finished them. Some were broken, but some looked as though they might have been misplaced, then just showed up after the move. There were also some magazines about cars. I had no idea who would want that kind of thing, so I tossed them. The tools, I figured, we could donate to the bike shop. Those guys could never have too many tools. At least that's how I figured it. "I found this in the upstairs closet. They don't seem to have used it as part of the car lot. It has an outside entrance and looks as though there has been a hair salon up there," Helen informed me. "What would hair dressers need with a crossbow?" I asked myself out loud. "Beats the hell out of me," Jack said. since he had over heard us. "Jack, if you don't want this thing, I will take it. It isn't a great bow, but it is adequate." I suggested. "I got no use for it Max, take it and I hope you find a use for it." he said. I remembered the Russian and said, "Oh I'm sure something will come along someday." It was a fiberglass and composition number. I had no idea the value of it. Some of those things were worth a few bucks. Some were good only for hanging on the wall of someone's den. The one I had in my hand might or might not be any good. If nothing else. I figured that it would look cool on my wall. The next morning, on my way to breakfast, I rode my bike past the building. It was empty and nothing was happening at all. I didn't expect Helen to be open, but I thought there might be someone there working. After my walk, I rode by again. The difference then was one car in the parking lot. It seemed to belong to a couple of college girls with a staple gun. They were putting up poster as fast as they could go. It looked as though Helen and Jack had opted for truly easy wall coverings. They appeared to be travel posters mostly. Probably from one of her employee's basement. I rode past without stopping. I had nothing in common with the college kids. I spent the morning on the computer. Mostly I watched old TV shows. I did catch up on a couple of newer ones that I had missed the night before. Periodically I left the apartment for drives around town. I checked on Helen's new space several times. I did it to get out and make sure the cops weren't going to play games with me. By late afternoon, I was satisfied that the chief had put an official 'do not touch' sign on our cars. I knew that it was a good thing, since I didn't want to spend time and money taking cops to court. I had roots in Aster and didn't want to start over. Besides I guessed the number of cops in town at about fifty or less. I could just outlast them. The cop turnover in any town is huge. By 7PM I was ready to really test the cop waters. I looked out the window and said, "I'm going to the Cop Out. Does anyone have the balls to come along." I knew at least one of them heard me. I walked down the covered walkway in front of the building until I reached Cheryl's apartment. I knocked on the door, since I heard a noise inside. "Hi Max, what's happening?" Cheryl asked. "Well, I'm going to pick up a couple of pizza's and go to the Cop Out to dance and get felt up. You wanna come along? That is if you don't have plans." "How about I take my plans with us?" she suggested. "Which one is it?" I asked. "It's me," Kate said. "Sure come on, the more the merrier." I suggested "Now if Gwen is the one with the camera tonight, we will be Cheryl's gang. We just need leather jackets," I suggested. "You are so behind," Kate said. "It's cut off denim jackets now." "Thanks for telling me," I admitted but it was sarcasm pure and simple. The three of us arrived with a pizza each. We pushed together two empty tables, then placed the open pizza boxes on them. Once the pizza was out, we began to mingle. I saw Jerry with a dark haired lady, I had never seen before. I figured she must be the new girlfriend Blevins talked about earlier. I decided not to go introduce myself. If Jerry wanted to do that fine, but I wasn't going to start it. Kate gave Jerry a hard look, but said nothing. I didn't rattle her cage either. Cheryl was already the center of attention for three younger men. I still found it amusing that men fawned over her. It was those boobs for sure. She was just a washed out blond otherwise. Blevins caught my eye, then motioned me over to his table. Also at the table sat a man younger than Blevins,, but he had the same intense look as Blevins. "So what up with you tonight?' I asked Blevins. "You are all the buzz at the station. They say you beat up on the chief," Blevins commented with a smile. "Not me, I was there, but Jen did the damage." I admitted. "Whoever did it, there was a memo read at role call today. The memo said that you and your friends were to be treated as any other citizen. If there was any harassment reported, officers would be gone. There is a zero tolerance as far as you are concerned." "I didn't write the memo, but I do know how cops think." I said. "The thin blue line, us against them, all that bullshit." "Let me tell you something. You aren't the first one to report Burris. You are just the first one with video. Burris could have skated with anyone else and might have anyway without the dead bang video,. Now he is on thin, thin ice. I don't think that even his daddy can save his job." Blevins said. "Well I want you to know, we did not ask for his head on a plate," I said. "The word is out about what you got for not making it official, or using it in the TV show." Blevins said. "Oh what did I get?" I asked. "You got me," Blevins said quietly. "Mickey here is training to take over the heavy lifting, I am going to be your technical adviser and believe it or not the narrator of the show. Mike came to talk to me, when the chief assigned me to comment on the content of your show. Mike likes my voice and my ability to read narrations, so he offered me the gig. It's only part time of course, but it sounds like fun. But don't worry Max, I won't be working with you. Just with the tapes." "Amazing just fucking amazing. So is Mickey going to maintain our special relationship?" I asked. "I was under the impression that you and the City Attorney would be having the special relationship." Mickey said. "Son, you can have too many special relationships," I said. "Don't worry Max, I still head up the detective bureau, you call me if you need something. You probably won't get it, but call anyway." he demanded. "By the way I made command rank, because of all the shit you brought down on me, so thanks for that." I wasn't sure how genuine the thank you was. It could have been for Mickey's benefit. "Not a problem Big Guy you pulled my ass our of the fire a time or two." I said it just to be nice. We had never talked to each other like that, so mine was for the new guy's ears for sure. ------- Chapter 139: Adult Eggs-Hold the Ham Every morning I checked on Helen's progress at the building. I even called her the second morning. I suggested she park a breakfast wagon on the site, until they had it up and running. She and Jack liked the idea. There was a truck in the parking lot the next morning. I bought an adult egg on a bagel sandwich from the truck that very morning. Even so I rode to the mall, where it was warm, to eat it. It wasn't Kosher to sit in their food court with Helen's sandwich, but I just couldn't eat in the cold. I got asked by two different groups where I got the bagel sandwich. I explained about Helen. One group knew about her breakfast wagons, and the other was thrilled to hear about her. At least I hoped my enthusiasm was contagious. Four days later the wagon was gone and the site was open. There was a big menu sign in the parking lot. The sign, in big red letters, had the phone number at the bottom. The note beside it read, call or text your order. We will gladly bring it to your car. It's temporarily, and it's our answer to the drive through. I have no idea who thought that up, but it was brilliant. Everybody has a cell phone these days. People could also walk inside and have breakfast in a warm building. Jack had built half a dozen picnic table, which were spread around the old showroom floor. I personally loved the whole thing. I found it just plain country charming. The first morning they were open, I shared a table with two cops and a paramedic. The cops were on duty, and the paramedic was on his way home. The coffee was almost as good as my own, since it was made in small batches with real coffee. Helen didn't use restaurant blend, which I swear is made from the sweepings off the coffee warehouse floor. The walls were cheap plywood paneling, and it should have been dark and depressing as hell in the restaurant. It would have, had it not been for the colorful posters everywhere. I had to admit that they gave the place a lot of character. Breakfast still came in a brown bag, and customers still ordered by numbers, but even Helen's brown bags, beat most of the fancy restaurants for taste. The cops at my table talked about everything, but the Burris incident and I was glad. After breakfast I went to the mall and walked my three miles. I noticed on the ride from Helen's to the mall that it seemed a bit warmer. I could tell that it was getting close to the end of winter. It have been getting a little warmer almost every day. I really did miss Cheryl on my morning walk. One of the camera people followed me to the mall now and then, but they sat on one of the benches and filmed me coming and going. They also tried to catch me speaking to the other old folks. Cheryl had walked beside me and we had talked about nothing important, but she was company. Helen's place had been open a week, which was two weeks after I suggested the building, when she and Jack switched from the traditional breakfast wagon paper bag delivery, to trays in the sit down place. None of us had yet figured out what to call it. Since they had invested in trays, I figured the place must be making money, so I stopped worrying about losing it. Cheryl showed up at the restaurant or whatever it was, at the beginning of the second week. Everything was mostly precooked at their industrial kitchen, but they had begun cooking some things on site. Cheryl had taught them how to cook eggs in the microwave. In my opinion that were better than the eggs cooked in grease. At least they were in my opinion. So she could cook a complete breakfast sandwich in the microwave, and do it on site. The crunchy potato fritter had to be done in a deep fryer, so that was done at the industrial kitchen. I frankly didn't care how they did it. I trusted Helen to be sure the food was excellent, or not to serve it. My new morning schedule began with breakfast at Helen's. Usually with Cheryl or some cop friend. It was a whole different group of people, who hung out at Helen's. More working blue collar types, who I loved being around anyway. I had enjoyed the older folks at Hardee's, and I even enjoyed the young families, but Helen fed what were really my kind of folks. After breakfast I would head to the mall to walk three miles. Three miles isnt a lot but its about an hour's worth of moving around. I needed that to stay, if not in good shape, at least a little more flexable. I also enjoyed the people who walked there. We were mostly middle aged to older. Most were trying to lose weight or maintain. My mall inspiration was Tiny Dancer. I made up little fictional biographies for all the walkers. In my mind she would have been a professional dancer when young. One of the major city's ballet companies. After her dance career ended, as they all must, in my fantasy she became a dance teacher somewhere. In the end she had her own studio of dance. When she retired, she came to the mall every morning. In reality she used the second story handrail as a studio bar for her warm up exercises. After her warm up she walked the mall. She walked it at a much quicker pace than me. She just tuned everything else out and chugged along. Tiny dancer had a hundred berets for sure. She also had lots of fuzzy sweaters and tight pants. The pants were all black, but the sweaters were colors not found in rainbows for sure. Needless to say, I loved Tiny Danced. I even wished that she was my mom. I know that's just silly, but she was gorgeous even at seventy. I was in the mall walking, when the phone played the first few bars of the Magnificent Seven theme song. I answer quickly because the stupid song embarrassed me. "Hello," I said into it without checking the caller ID. "Morning slut," Jennifer said. "Not lately, I haven't had the chance. What's up now?" I asked. She could have been calling about the pirate hunt, the local cops thing or even something totally different. "R2D2 called. He has this dates worked out and his pickup and delivery dates for the humanitarian supplies, which he is going to deliver thanks to you." "So, that is back on?" I asked. It had been almost a month. I was beginning to think about other things. "Never off, just in preparation. Get me the list of tools and I will forward it along. There will be a crew of four all friends of the captain," she said. "So I assume that means five able bodied men to add to my security force. Does he know that Mike and Gwen will be coming along?" "Oh yes, some of them are bringing girlfriends. It's going to be one big party." Jen said. "Oh wonderful, drunks with guns, just what I need." I said. "You can handle them. They are just men for God's sake. Now the girlfriends and wives might be a problem." she did laugh as she said it. "So are you going to tell the kids?" I asked. "Oh yes, R2D2's people are going to call later today with the travel plans. You should expect to leave by the end of the weak." "Jen that's three days from now. They drag ass around a month, then want me to be ready on three days notice. That just stupid." I said. "Hey for what they are paying, you should just pack your bag and head on out right now, if they wanted." she said. "I'll get you a list of tools this afternoon." I said. I hung up a little irritated with R2D2 and my friend Jen. She should have told them hell no, we want more time. I mean, I wasn't doing anything, but it was a control issue. When I got home from the mall I reheated coffee in the microwave, then began my list. I knew I wanted a 12 guage riot type shotgun. It could be automatic or pump as long as it had a decent shell capacity before reloading. The shotgun was just in case the bad guys got on board our ship. If I had to clear them from the decks, there was nothing like a short barrel shotgun with buck shot to empty a room. I needed a reasonably good sniper rifle for engaging the bad guys at longer distances. If someone popped up with an RPG, I wanted to neutralize him quickly. I chose the Russian SDV 7.62 rifle. I expected that it would be easy to find in Europe. Since it could fire semi automatic it would do nicely to clear the deck of a small boat at a 1,000 feet. I was pretty sure one of the friends/security officers would have a .50 cal. Somebody always had more gun than they needed. I ordered a Glock 20 pistol, what the hell it wasn't my money. The Glock would do for some serious close up fighting where the shotgun couldn't be used easily. I also ordered a .38 cal derringer. I didn't have a preference as to brand. A derringer is no more than two pieces of pipe with a hammer. I didn't think it mattered what brand I put against a man's scull, when I pulled the trigger. I shouldn't have, but I decided to assume the captain, being an ex super soldier, knew enough to get some kind of light tank weapon. The old faithful M72 law rocket launcher came to mind as the easies to secure and use on a small ship. I decided what the fuck, I put half a dozen of them on the order as well. As an after thought I ordered night vision devices of some kind. I checked it over and knew that I was forgetting something, but decided I could pick up the something along the way. I called in the list to Jen's receptionist. She had a message for me from Jen. "Boss said to tell you to keep your phone on, the travel information would be along as soon as R2D2 made the arrangements. I took that a little less seriously, since the phone didn't ring at all for the rest of the day. I stayed home, since I wasn't ready for another night out with Kate and Cheryl. They had way too good of a time at the Cop Out, while I sat taking shop with Blevins and Mickey. The next morning I was in the shower, when the music from my cell phone began. My body and my hair was covered with soap, so I had to suffer through the whole song. Whoever the caller was didn't mind that is was 7AM, and that I might have been asleep. When I dried off and had on bikini panties and a thermal shirt, I did that call back thing. It was Mike who answer the phone. "What the fuck are you doing calling me this time of the morning. I might have been asleep." "Oh yeah with the shower running. Oh by the way, I love the ring tone on your phone. Now I know how you see yourself," He was about to piss me off. "Okay, so you could hear the water running, and I didn't do that music. My partner in the old business did. So what do you want?" I asked. "I'm going to breakfast with you today, so you want a ride." he asked. "Hell no I don't want a ride. I go on the bike, you know that." I said. "Are you on drugs this early in the day?" "No drugs, but okay, I'll meet you there," he said hanging up on me. When I got to the restaurant, I noticed Mike's rental car and Jack's pickup. There were also a couple of other cars, which could have belonged to other people I knew. I went in a little worried and I should have been as it turned out. There was indeed a group of my friends standing around the dining room. "Well Max we have a surprise for you. The show is close to being ready to hit the air. The network had some promotional materials. This seemed like just the place to hang the one for Aster. So, Meet Maxine," he said it as hestepped away from the wall that he had been blocking.''' I had a hard time believing my eyes. There on the wall behind the unofficial cop's picnic table hung a huge, and I mean huge, poster of me. I looked younger, with better hair, real cleavage, and I was holding the antique Winchester shotgun. "Well that ain't me for sure, but thanks. It is a hell of a nice gesture." I said tearing up. "Come on I have your favorite meal ready," Cheryl said. Yes I was ready to cry, but I carried on. Big girls don't cry, I thought. ------- Chapter 140: Kiss 'Em All Goodbye "They are going to be running a lot more of those promotional TV spots now," Mike said. "Those guys on the entertainment committee have decided to run the shows as we get them ready. I have five shows ready to go and a crap load of raw video laying around." "Why are you telling me this? I just don't care." I informed him over breakfast under my huge poster that same morning. "Because I can't go on the cruise with you," he said. "I need to stay here and edit video for the show." "You know damn well Gwen is going to be hiding in the cabin, when the shit flies. You are the go to guy, to keep my ass out of prison." I was very upset to say the least. "I might have to cancel the gig. I can't trust her." "Don't cancel anything. There is a guy I know who is going to shoot for me. He is not working now, and he is damn good with a camera." Mike said. "I don't like this at all Mike." I said it honestly. "How long have you known that you weren't going to be going on the cruise?" "A week is all and I spent that time trying to find a replacement. I did a damn good job of it to." "Mike, if I go to prison because some asshole is afraid to stand up and do his job, I will kill your ass before I go in." I said. "I know you will. Trust me this guy is the best. He was in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also a lot of hot spots that never made the news. You never heard of him, but all the people in TV circles know him." Mike said. "If he is such a hot commodity, how did your piss ant network get him to do this?" I asked. "He had a heart attack three months ago. Nobody in hard news will use him again, ever. You can't stop breaking news to save a man's life and you can't not save his life. He is too much of a gamble for them. It was this or work as a cameraman on the Today show. Unlike the news shows, we can afford to gamble and he is available on short notice," "Really short notice," I said. "My guess is we will get the travel itinerary today." "Yeah, I think so as well. If not today then surely tomorrow," Mike admitted. "Sorry for dropping this on you, but you always said you don't give a shit about the details." "True, but like I also always say. If you get me killed, I will make your life hell even from the grave. I will haunt you till you join me in the grave." "Yeah and I believe that if anyone can do it, it will be you." Mike said. "So what's this news photographer's name?" I asked just so I would know what to call him. "Bobbie Morris," he replied. "Never heard of him," I said. "I told you no one outside the business has." I worked out how I felt about the new bombshell as I walked the first of my three miles at the mall. If he was a news photographer covering the two wars, then he most likely wouldn't be gun shy. That was really all I needed him to be. Point the camera at the bad guys to document that they were shotting first or at least were armed pirates. If we got that on film, then the rest would be just making sure we handled the threat appropriately. There could be no shooting of them for sport. Every single shoot had to be righteous, or we could still do time. Machine gunning them in the water, no matter how appealing, was a definite no, no. It was my job to see that nothing like that happened. So when the phone call came from Jen, I was ready to move forward. It came on the last lap of my mall walk. I was glad that it wasn't while I was on the bike. That thing was tricky enough without dealing with the cell phone. "So are you packed?" Jen asked. "What's to pack a few pair of clean panties and I'm good to go." I said. "Take a little more than that please. You are going to be gone a few days at least." "Party pooper, so when do we leave," I replied. "You leave here for New York tomorrow at noon. Then you lay over for few hours and then leave New York at 9PM for Athens, a direct flight by the way. You arrive at the Athens Airport about ten hours later. or about 2pm their time. There will be someone to meet you there." Jen informed me. You did know that Mike is not going?" I asked. "Yeah some guy named Bobbie Morris is meeting you in New York. I already talked to him. I explained that, if anything happens to you, because he didn't do his part, there would a long line of people waiting to kill him." she said it with a laugh. "And what did he say?" I asked. "Funny his exact words were, 'likewise I'm sure, '" Jen laughed as she spoke. "Well we will see what happens, when it happens," I said. "So you want to have dinner with me and Bob, tonight?" Jen asked. "No, I think I'll see if Cheryl and Kate want to have that threesome, which I turned down last time." I laughed as I broke the connection. What I actually did was ride the bike home, then take a long soak in the tub. I wanted to start out totally clean at least. Fresh water is at a premium on any ship, so I knew it would be quick showers and whore's bathes for a while. I made my own lunch. It wasn't difficult, since it was stew from a frozen block. Helen had sent it to me via Cheryl. She made the stew with a wine gravy that was to die for. If I had been at one of Helen's functions, there would have been a bed of wild rice under the stew. Since I was alone in my small apartment, mine went over a piece of white bread. During the afternoon, I napped. I knew that sleep was going to be at a premium for the next few weeks, as well as fresh water. I also knew that it would be hard for me to sleep the night before. Before I caught a plane to what could be my place to die as my dad always said. I woke to the sound of the Mag7 theme. I found the phone and answer "Hello." "Hey Maxine this is Cheryl your sometimes girlfriend." she said happily. "What you doing?" I asked. "Getting ready for a rehearsal dinner. I called to see if you wanted me to bring you a plate when we are done." "No thanks hon, I think I want Barbecue tonight," I replied. Even though I had talked a big game to Jen, I really didn't want to go out with anyone. "Okay, so what's your plan for the evening?" she asked. Cheryl had no idea that I would be leaving so soon. I figured that it was as good a time as any to tell her. "I'm going to go out and eat, then I'm going to come home and watch some TV. I am also going to bed early. I found out today that we are leaving on a job tomorrow at noon." "Damn, do you want me to tell Helen something came up. I can take the night off." "No honey, I need to be alone to make my peace." I said. "You know that it scares me, when you talk like that," she informed me. "It isn't depressing hon, I just commune with the inner me. Find what strength I have." "Will you at least call me before you go?" she asked. "Of course I will," I replied. After she hung up I began thinking about all the people who had come and gone in my life. The good, the bad, and the ugly so to speak. The one who occupied my mind most was the Gunny. Thinking of him put me in the mood for the barbecue I had mentioned to Cheryl. The best of the barbecue places in town was made from a trailer type diner with a concrete block building attached for cooking. It had a name, but Gunny always called it the barbecue shack, so that's how I thought of it that night. "Hey Max, you ain't been around for a while," the owner and cook said as I entered. "I been trying to eat healthy," I replied winking at the waitress. "Hey barbecue is healthy," he replied with s smile. "As long as you don't eat the fries or the hush puppies." "Or drink the iced tea," I added. "Now, that warning was only for diabetics," he said with a grin. "Since I'm breaking bad, just send me an order of everything. I'll take the rest home to leave out for the mice tonight. Poor things will all have high blood pressure tomorrow." Gwen walked up and sat with me. She wasn't supposed to, but she did. "We need to talk," she said. "Gwen, I will talk to you about anything, at almost any time. But sweetie barbecue is a religious experience for me. Can this wait till I am finished?" She nodded, then said to the waitress who had brought my order. "I'll have what Max is having." I had to smile. Gwen was as good as her word. She didn't speak to me again, until the last of the hush puppies was gone. "Okay you waited patiently, so what is so important you have to break your own rules," I asked "I'm afraid," she said. "Gwen, being afraid is nothing of which to be ashamed. It is also nothing you need to share. We all have our fears on nights like these." I tried to explain. "I know that in my mind, but my heart tells me I need to explain," she said. "Tell me this, can you do your job, even though you are afraid?' I asked. "I can, if you promise to take care of me," she said. "I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I feel I need to make it up to you before we leave on this trip." "You don't need to do anything. We are fine, just do your job and try not to whine," I suggested. "I know but I am afraid to be alone tonight. I'm afraid that I will lose my courage and just hide tomorrow, when time comes to leave." "If you feel that way, maybe you should." I know it was cruel but I didn't need to take care of anyone. I had a boat load of men I was being paid to keep out of jail. That would be taking up all my time, I was quite sure. "You know I have to go. This is my big chance. I can't give up on it," she explained. "Then go home and get a good night's sleep. We will be leaving the apartments before 10AM to be ready for the flight at noon. "I want to stay with you tonight," she informed me while looking at her empty plate. "Why not with Lucas?" I asked. "Thing have been rather cool between us, since the Atwater thing." she said. Yes, I could have asked why and maybe helped her out, but I honestly didn't care. "You know that if you stay with me unpleasant things might happen to you." In my heart I knew that she was safe. My heart just wasn't in it. "I don't want them to happen but I need to be with someone tonight," she said. "Then turn off the camera in the bedroom," I said that with a smile even though I knew that nothing was going to happen. Yes it was an evil thing to do, but hey she needed to pay somehow. ------- Chapter 141: Leaving on a Jet Plane I awoke with Gwen hogging most of the bed. She came to my bed because she was afraid. She slept like the dead, while I stayed awake most of the night. It wouldn't have mattered whether she was in the bed or not, I wouldn't have slept well either way. There were some inherent problems with the gig. I would be ten thousand miles from home, in the middle of the Arabian Sea, if things went bad and I lost control of the group, I couldn't just walk away. Even thought R2D2 had all the money, I had to be the boss, once the bad guys showed up. If he refused to follow orders, I had to take control of the others by force. Now that was going to be a total mess. All night long those thoughts ran around in my head, as well as the actual operational possibilities. I was out of the shower before Gwen could rub the sleep from her eyes. I quickly put on my thermal outfit, one of the several I had, for the ride to breakfast. Gwen would have to fend for herself. I thought that as I exited through the only door, which exited to the apartment building's alley. Once the bike's motor started to pour smoke into the crisp morning air, I mounted the bike for my morning ride. I rode it at wide open throttle all the way to Maxine's new sit down spot. The ride wasn't nearly as far as it had been to the Hardee's. I had mixed feelings about that. I enjoyed the longer ride in the summer, but in the winter it was nice to get out of the cold sooner. Instead of the my usual Adult Egg on a bagel. I had the raisin bread french toast sticks. They were made from very thick sliced raisin bread. I swear I could have eaten a dozen, it was a good thing there were only four of them in an order. The french toast and a potato fritter did the trick for me just fine, thank you very much top chef. "I found a seat beside a couple of young police officers at the table under my poster. That poster was a real source of embarrassment to me. "Hey Stone, you think you can get me a date with your sister," the younger cop asked pointing to the poster. "Do the cops only recruit assholes these days, or do they teach it at the academy," I said it with a laugh. "They only teach it to those of us who aren't naturals," his partner said. "So, you been out there serving and protecting this morning?" I asked. "We are finished for today. Worked graveyard shift last night," the first one said. "Did you ever do it in a graveyard?" he asked. "You know that old downtown cemetery?" I asked. "The one with the tombs?" his partner asked. "Yeah that one, if you walk around you will find some above ground crypts. Not the little houses, but the flat concrete above ground crypts. There was this Halloween, when I was a senior in high school, it was kind of a goodbye gesture thing." "Wasn't that creepy?" A paramedic at the end of the picnic table next to us asked. "Not really, but the guy I was with was a little strange," I said with a laugh. The guy in the crypt didn't complain though, so it must have been good for him. I broke out in a real laugh at that point. When I left the old car lot, I hoped it wouldn't be my last meal at Helen's. I rode the bike to the mall for my morning walk. I was very careful, since it would be really bad timing to have an accident that morning. I smiled at Tiny Dancer in her bright pink fuzzy sweater, black pants, and pink beret. She knew how beautiful she was, as she glided around the mall. I swear she looked like a ghost. She moved so effortlessly. I plodded, Tiny Dancer glided, it was depressing. I got home just in time to turn off the gas feed to the engine and run it dry before Mike came for us. Since I had no idea how long I would be gone, it seemed like a good idea to clear the carburetor. I picked up my black half duffel bag,. The bag was filled with my clothes and also with the tools I planned to slip on board. The two cans of pepper spray would look like can of deodorant or hair spray to the scanner. My tazer was shaped to look like a cell phone, not a gun. It didn't shoot darts, I had to be up close and personal it use it, but it was better than nothing. I also had a dozen wire ties in the bag. Not bad as temporary hand cuffs. I had sprinkled coffee grounds in among the clothes just in case the dogs got a whiff of pepper spray. I hoped it would confuse them into no more than a half hearted alert at best. Gwen had one of those suitcases on wheels. It was going to be an interesting check in. My carry on had make up one clean top and one pair of panties. I figured the jeans and bra could make it two days, even if we got stranded. I had no idea what was in her take on. Most likely she would have to do the full body search. She didn't have a great body, but hers was a little more robust than mine. At the airport Mike just dropped us at the door, then took off. They had a baggage check in on the curb, which was a nice thing. When we went to stand in the line for check in at the counter, we were only dealing with the smaller carry on bag. A quick check to confirm out reservations and it was off to the gate. At the gate we were allowed to sit in hard plastic chairs until the Government security folks arrived to begin checking us in. I don't know where they had been, but two agents arrived and a line quickly formed. My bag went through the scanner then got hand searched anyway. After that I chose the pat down rather than the body scan. I had never minded a strange woman's hands on me, so why would I object that morning. I cleared the line then looked back waiting For Gwen. As usual, with Gwen there was drama. She complained about the scan of her bag. she also complained about the body scan, she chose over the pat down. I was ready to slap her myself, I was absolutely sure the security agents wanted to shoot her. Probably why they weren't issued guns. The flight from Tryon International Airport to JFK airport in New York City, was something over an hour in length. However, we had spent well over three hours from my door to the gate at JFK. I was in the middle of a herd of cattle trying to get off the plane all at once. It was a good thing that they had done away with steps at the plane's doors. I could't imagine how I would have survived being jostled while trying to navigate steps. Military aircraft still used step most places, but the passengers were much better behaved. When we cleared the inside doors to the gate, I saw a crowd of people gathered there. Obviously at least some of the people had friends and family in New York. For those people it was the end of the line. I envied them, I never liked to fly, even though I am retired from the Air Force. The man carrying the sign with my name on it had to be Bobby Morris. He looked to be about fifty and skinny as hell. He had that heart attack survivor's body. The one the doctor's all wanted to see. To me he looked worse than he would have with fifty more pounds on him. "I'm Maxine stone," I said as I approached him. Gwen was following along behind like a puppy. "Bobby Morris, I'm your new cameraman," he said. "This is Gwen, she will by your camera partner," I said. "Hello Gwen, Mike told me about you. It's good to meet you both." "So have you checked out this place?" I asked. "Sure, I live in New York," he said. "No Bobby, I mean the airport. Do you know where to find the gate where our flight departs?" I asked. "Oh yeah, we have four hours before we leave, but we leave from a gate not too far away." he said. "I'm hungry, do you know any good places to eat," Gwen asked. Leave it to Gwen, I thought. "Let's go get our bags first Gwen, then we can worry about food," I suggested. Even Gwen realized the logic in that move. I rented a large locker where I deposited my two bags. I carried only my large wallet, leaving everything else behind. Gwen did the same, except she also carried her large purse with at least one camera inside. While we did all that, Bobby ran around making images of us. He was just doing his job, but he was way too obvious while doing it. Some of the places he filmed us, I'm pretty sure he shouldn't have. But hey, that was between him, airport security, and God. I didn't much care as long as we stayed on schedule. "Max here, has never eaten in a real New York Deli," Gwen said. "How about we go there?" "Is that ok with you Ms Stone?" he asked. "Sure, anything is okay with me Morris," I said. "By the way please don't call me Ms Stone. I'm Max, Maxine, or just Stone." "Okay Maxine," he said. He flagged a cab, which took us to an artsy looking area of the city. I figured that even though it wasn't quite dark, we would be safe even after the sun set. When we got out of the cab, I turned to Gwen and smiled as I motioned for her to pay. She did so with a slight, but definitely surly expression. The TV network was footing as much of the bill as I could put on them, there might as well be no doubt from the beginning. Morris just smiled as he closed the door of the cab. Inside the brightly lit Deli, I ordered a Rubin sandwich with home made chips. Both were excellent. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the place, but I was glad that Gwen was picking up the tab, since the meal was way over priced. After dinner it was a quick ride through central park, just so I could say I had been there, then back to JFK. If it hadn't been for Morris, I would have had to ask for directions back to the lockers. Morris seemed to have the geography of the terminal down pat. I could see that his experience traveling would come in handy, so he was already winning a place in my heart. Not that it mattered any at all. We went through the same boarding routine at JFK that we had earlier at Tryon International Airport. At JFK things were a little more hurried, but not any faster, if you get my meaning. I again opted for the pat down Since I had nothing to hide and very little on under my sweater and jeans, it seemed the easiest. Planes leaving the US seldom got attacked, so I wasn't worried that I had no weapons. Then again, according to Cheryl, you can make a shank from anything. It was a truly long miserable flight to Athens International Airport. Lots of bad airline food, and lots of equally bad airline coffee but I did survive. I had my doubts about the condition of my digestive tract, but I was at least still breathing, when we arrive. Even more important so was Morris. He was to provide the evidence that kept me out of jail. ------- Chapter 142: Meet the Gang Flying all night is never any fun. I tried to get comfortable, but there was just no way. On top of everything else my feet fell asleep repeatedly. I was totally miserable all night long. It wasn't the longest night of my life, but it was right up there with the night my team was surrounded and couldn't get re-enforced till daylight. On the plane at least I wasn't hearing gunships overhead all night trying to keep the bad guys off our wire. Instead, I heard the noise of the Jet engines, even though the cabin was supposed to be sound proof. In my stupor maybe I just imagined that I heard them. In Athens we were met by R2D2 himself. Although I didn't know who was holding the sign which simply read Stone. "I'm Stone," I said. "You sounded taller," he said. Even after missing a nights sleep, I picked up on it. "You sound younger," I replied. We both laughed. "Your security detail is waiting for you on the ship," he informed me. "And is the ship still in Crete?" I asked. "Yes, it is. I spoke to my lawyer in Germany. He informed me that your advice is spot on, so we will be following your lead right down the line. Except when we go tactical, then we do things my way." "Ah I thought so, do you have our return tickets on you?" I asked. We were standing in the concourse of the Athens International Airport. None of us had retrieved our luggage at that time. "Why?" he asked. "Are you going to bail on me?" "Just as soon as you give me my ticket home?" I replied. "Would you mind telling me why?" he asked. "This is not the best place for this kind of conversation," I replied. "Tell you what let us get our bags, we will have to either way, then we can go somewhere less public to discuss it." R2d2 did not look happy as we waited for our bags. I could tell that he wasn't the kind of man who had a lot experience at not getting his way. Oh course I didn't care, since I usually found a way to have things my way as well. "So what do we call you, since R2d2 is going to be a big hard to explain to casual observers?" I asked. "Just call me Alex," he suggested. "Okay Alex, how well do you know Athens?" I asked. "Not all that well, My business is in Germany." he informed me. "Maxine, I have been here a few times," Morris said. "Good, do you happen to know a quiet park nearby?" I asked. "Sure, there is one not too far away," Morris informed me. "Maybe we should go there to have this talk?" I asked that since the bags were coming down the shoot and onto the carousal. Twenty minutes later we pulled into a green area that surrounded a parking lot. It was a very under developed park. by American standards. Alex and I sat on a bench, while Morris and Gwen sat on a bench as well, but a good distance from us. The limo driver sat in his car in the parking lot. "Okay, so what did you mean you wanted to leave?" Alex asked. Alex had the body to support being overbearing. He was intimidating because he was tall and heavy framed without appearing to have any belly fat at all. His hair was gray, but his eye were as black and cold as iron. He could have been fifty years old, but I had a feeling it was more like sixty. "Because you want to have complete control, when this thing goes operational. I can't allow that. You are paying a lot of money for my advice. I assume that you want to avoid going to jail, if this goes public." "We could kill them all, but they will probably be in contact with someone by radio." "I would venture to say you are right. Not only that, they will be accomplished in playing the race and religion cards. You will come off looking like crazy killers, which you probably are. Even so, it's my job to keep you out of prison. To do that I need complete control." "Is there really a difference in who calls the shots. In combat you do what is needed, period." He said. "The difference is mindset. Your mindset here has to be civil action, not military action. In the military after you engage, you work them as a group. In a civil action it will be, why did you shoot gunman three, he was turned away from you and therefore not a threat. If one of you shoots gunman three, we are all going to jail, not just the trigger man. So yes I have a vested interest in seeing that we think like civilians." It was quite a speech for me. "That's all fine and good, but it isn't why we are here," he said. "Which brings me to, why the hell are you here.? Is it just a blood sport game or what." "After a year in hell, there were ten of us who came out of the jungle. We kept in touch over the years. One is a drug addict in New York. one put a 12 gauge in his mouth, one more is on kidney dialysis. Four are on the boat and then there is me, that makes nine. The tenth one became a missionary. He and his wife were on their way to Somalia, when the pirates grabbed their boat. As he was prone to do, Jeff tried to preach love to them. Them, being good Muslims there were, cut off his head. The world is so fucking terrified of offending Muslims that nothing ever got said about it." "The other four and I decided that we couldn't bring Jeff back, and it probably wouldn't even be the same ones, but we would at least send a message." "What message, do you think they will take away from this," "Sometimes the guys on the boat fight back. We aren't all sheep, who willingly walk into the gas chamber." "Okay you know this won't bring them back, and you know you probably won't have anyone involved in the killing of your friend, so you are willing to satisfy your need to do something by killing a few pirates. The guy on the boat are from a country so poor most of the population is starving. The guys on the boat are just pawns. They are still cut throats so I can work with that the plan. Nonetheless you have to understand me on this, we can't just murder them. However, we can defend ourselves, and we can defend our ship and the humanitarian cargo. That is my job of course, and your friends as well. So we talk to your friends and explain. Nobody gets shot in the water, no body gets shot in the back. We pick our targets and we do the right things to stay out of a Somalian prison. Now if you agree to that, we still have a deal. If not, give us our tickets and wave goodbye to us." "Okay, I can live with that," he agreed. "Good, it sounds like a gig where I can do some good. First rule of the day, I know you have good security. Make sure none of your people get drunk and start talking macho shit. Not now not ever. This has to stay just a humanitarian mission to honor your missionary buddy. That's all it is period." "Yeah my lawyer said that too, so we are just delivering packages of Plumpy Nut," he said. "Okay, what is Plumpy Nut?" I asked. "It a tinfoil bag with five kinds of protein meal, lots of vitamins, and peanut butter inside. They tell me two bags a day will keep a kid from starving." "Then that cargo is worth fighting for," I said. "Yes it is," Alex agreed. "So, who are we working for, what charity?" I asked. "Well I kind of made the donation and agreed to deliver it. Now that I think of it, I need to have my lawyer set up a charity in Paul's name. It will play even better." "Okay since this is on go, I have to warn you, when you talk to me, even in private be careful what you say. Most of the time I wear a wire. I have a jammer. but I only use it when I know I'm about to say or hear something incriminating. So be careful from this moment on. Any last words?" I asked holding up the bic lighter clone. "I think we covered everything," he said. "Damn, I almost forgot. Do you know anyone on the docks, who can leak that we are carrying arms? Also a different someone to leak that we are rich Americans. It would help us draw attention to ourselves. We should all try to look like harmless Christian charity workers." I suggested. "Two of the guys brought their wives so we are going to look harmless enough." He said. The ship's owner will know someone. "I hope the wives have the stomach for what we are going to do, because they could wind up being witnesses for the prosecution." That is never a good thing, I thought. "I think we are okay with them. We will just keep them below for their own safety." "Good plan," I said in agreement. "Okay, now we go on line." with that I twisted the switch on the jammer. "So how do we get from here to Crete?" I asked for the camera, which I knew, one of them had pointed at Alex and me. "I have a small plane chartered. There is a tiny airport on Crete." "So when do we leave?" I asked. "Just as soon as we can get back to the airport. I will call the pilot on my cell now and have him standing by." The plane was small alright but I had been in smaller. I once flew in a scout plane that was no bigger than a piper cub. When we landed in crete, one of the band of brothers was waiting for us. Alex told me his name and I forgot it immediately. I did remember that he was a used car salesman. He was a little old to be so sleezy, but he managed it somehow. He appraised Gwen and me then said, "Wow too bad I brought the wife along," he said it with a smile that he probably thought was charming, It struck me as oily. "That's okay I'm not here to get laid. I'm here to make sure you don't end up some Somalian criminal's prom date." I said it with a smile of my own. I hoped that mine was more sincere. The ride to the ship was two or three very uncomfortable miles in the back of an open truck. The truck belonged to the same people who owned the ship. It was part of the same rental package, according to Alex. The used car salesman was about forty pounds overweight, but it wouldn't be a problem on the ship. He wasn't going to be running through the jungle or anything. The truck pulled to a stop beside a building with no walls higher than my waist. There was a roof. The half sidewalls were plaster or something similar. The two men left the cab of the truck then motioned for us to join them. I saw three more Americans seated at a large table near one of the half walls. I realized suddenly that even though it was still winter back home, it was warm and balmy on Crete. Alex stood in front of the table to make the introductions. "Guys this is Maxine Stone, you have all heard of her, and the other two are camera people. Keep them alive, they are going to show the world that we aren't butchers." "Maxine these are the guys," He reeled off three names which I promptly forgot. I had no desire to know anything about any of them. They might all be dead in a few days. Anything was possible in the Arabian Sea. One of the men had very white hair, so I dubbed him Whitey. One of them was a school teacher, who seemed to be about as fit as Alex, though with a smaller body. The third was a man who had the spider veins of a drunk. I dubbed him the Alkie. So I had Whitey, Teacher, Alkie, car salesman and Alex. It was going to be an interesting trip, I was sure. "We got something for you," Alex said. He handed me a bag. Inside the bag was a set of Vietnam era green combat fatigues. The bottoms were a style that later became known as cargo pants. The ones they gave me were in solid green cotton twill. The jacket was loose fitting with pockets everywhere. I had seen them, but by my time there was a different style of fatigues. "Are these going to fit?" I asked. "Well if Jen knows your sizes and if I converted them to metric correctly, they should come close." They did come close enough. I liked the pants because the Glock and the Derringer fit well into the flat style pockets. "I don't think they had Velcro back then," I said to Whitey. "No, but then we aren't the same either," he replied thoughtfully. I began to wonder how invested these guys were in this job. When it came down to it, it might end up being all be on Alex and me ------- Chapter 143: It's About Time We had a beer but only one. I would have stayed and drank myself unconscious, just to see what kind of men I was dealing with. Every person, about to go into harms way, handles it differently. Some get roaring drunk and some have a good meal and go to bed early. It looked as though Alex planned that everyone go to bed early. "So when do we leave skipper?" I asked Alex. while I looked up at the very small coastal freighter. "Tomorrow before noon is the plan, but I'm not the skipper. I have the ship's real captain coming in the morning." he answered simply. "I know I probably shouldn't ask this, but is this thing safe?" I did smile. "Yes it is. It was the mail boat for years. It went from island to island with mail and supplies ordered through the ships mail service. Anything, right down to a live chicken, can be ordered through the mail service for the islands. I never did understand, if it was a government or a private service. All I am sure of is they call it the island mail boat. At least they did before they bought a new one. This one is now leased to people who want to carry things themselves. Sometimes a tramp steamer vacation, maybe even a little gun running to opposition groups, only the good guys of course," he said. "Of course," I agreed. "So all this fits right into out cover story just fine." "If the pirates come out to play, I hope it is in international waters," Alex said. "If we get picked up by a legitimate navy or some other kind of neutral ship in international waters, we have a good chance of walking away from this as heros. If we get picked up in Somalian waters, we are probably fucked no matter how good our story."Alex said. "Well that's what makes it interesting. But I assume we are going to play em where they lay?" I asked. "We are not going to walk away from anything," He said. If we have to take on their piece of shit Navy's gunboats, we will do that to. This time the paper tiger has teeth," he said to me. "This time," I agreed. "Who is the least effective, when it comes to crunch time?" I asked. "These guys were all damn good soldiers." he said. "What you called super soldiers." Alex said. "That was forty years ago. Some of them have had the good life since. I don't think all of your men are equal, so which do we put guarding the crew, if it happens at all." "Guarding the crew?" Alex asked. "The three men you hired could easily be working with the pirates to help setup ships. This is a small ship, but like you said they use this boat for gun running, so it could be a target just for that reason. So we don't really want the locals wandering around during a fire fight." I said seriously. The name belonged to the one I called Alkie. I nodded my agreement. "So I hope we aren't having plumpynut for lunch." I suggested. "I have no idea, but it should be pretty good. One of the wives signed on to cook for us. It was the only way I would take her along. There are no passengers on this train." "You said there were two women, so what does the other one do?" I asked. "She is the assistant chef," He informed me. Unpaid but still she is here on vacation, more or less. Both of them go below if we spot anyone." "So how long are we going to be on the water?" I asked. "You signed on for 2 weeks and we are going to use every hour of it sailing around trying to stir up some interest." "Riding shotgun on a ship full of plumpynut is a job I never imagined, but I will do my best to get'er through." "Let's catch up with the TV crew," I suggested. "They are already on board waiting to film us going up the gang plank I expect." Alex said. "I see you have already figured out their purpose in life," I said. "It's as good as any other," Alex said. "Better than some, I would thing," I said in agreement. Sure enough Morris was leaning over the side of the ship shooting video of me walking up the gang plank. I was tempted to wave and make it obvious that I knew the camera was watching. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the ladies." Alex suggested. While Gwen and Morris shot video, I followed Alex to the Galley, where I found a fifty hear old blond, from a bottle, and a thirty year old sandy haired chick."The older lady could be Whitey or the teacher's wife. I had my money on the car dealer for the younger chick. I was half right. The younger chick was with the car dealer/sleaze bag. The older woman belonged to Alkie. She must be giving him another chance, I thought. "So what's for lunch Alice," Alex asked. "Potato soup and grill cheese sandwiches," the older lady said. "Sounds good," I admitted. "You must be Maxine Stone, I have been seeing promos for the show they are filming. Do I get to be on it." "Only if you want to, you can refuse to have yourself recognizable. If you do Mike back in the states will just fuzz you out. Lunch was very good in a mom's kitchen kind of way. I enjoyed it a lot more than the others, I expect. Men tend to like much heavier meals. It was a nice change from restaurant food for me. After lunch Ales said to me, "Come on I'll show you to your cabin, such as it is." I followed him to a battle ship gray room about the size of a decent walk in closet. "Hope this doesn't become a long voyage," I admitted when I saw how small it was. "It used to be one of the officer's cabins. We don't really have much of a crew. The real captain, three guys to help with the real work, then whatever the friends can do to help. I don't expect a lot of work from them." An hour or so later, Gwen and Morris came to my cabin. There was one small chair, so I sat in it, allowing them to perch on the narrow bed. "So Maxine, how do you see this going down?" Marris asked. "No matter what they say, this is about the cargo. This will keep kids alive who might otherwise die. This whole thing has become about that." I said. I tried to put a better face on the gig, than it deserved. Well maybe it did deserve an honorable twist, even if it took a lie to get it. "So what do we need to expect next?" Morris asked. "We are going to set sail before noon tomorrow. We will be headed across the Mediterranean Sea. Our first milestone will be the Suez Canal. From there it's the Red Sea, then the Sea of Arabia. If all goes well. the supplies for the camps will be delivered in about ten days. I knew that the ten days would also gave us time to do some cruising for our vacation. Up and down the coast of Somalia. Since we were flying the Greek flag, we were in fact subject to their laws, unless we got picked up in Somalian waters. If we were grabbed on the high seas, we should be able to get a trail in a Greek court. Alex knew it too, so except for the actual delivery of the Plumpynut, we planned to stay in international waters. Still we had to cut it close since the pirates were usually in small boats. Those boars were not capable of going out very far. I did not want to get arrested in Somalian waters period. "If we have pirate trouble and have to fight them off, turn this ship toward the international waters and don't stop for anything. That is my first concern." I said to Alex the next morning. "I agree absolutely, our version of position will be the most believable." he said. "So lets hold a meeting of our crack security crew." I demanded. We met in the mess, since it was the only room designed for larger numbers. Larger numbers being ten to twelve at a time. In my case that morning it was Gwen, Morris, Whitie, the Used Car Salesman, the Teacher, Alkie, Alex, and me. "So lets run through the drill in case of pirate attack. Since you guys had a friend beheaded by these guys, I doubt that you want to be grabbed by them. In my case it's my job to defend the ship and the cargo. I am counting on your help. If you aren't willing to do what it takes, then you better think about how your family and friends will react to your headless corpse. I say that because, if we are attacked, we are not going to surrender as long as I am alive. I have to warn you guys, if in the heat of battle you think it's time to give up. The only way that is going to happen is if I'm dead. I have to also warn you, I'm fucking hard to kill." I turned to Alex, "Do you have anything to say?" "Guys what she just said goes double for me. We are going to do this and we are going to do it right. Listen to this lady just like it is me talking." When he finished, he sat back down. "Just like any other battle, our best defense is going to be intelligence. About the only thing we have is radar. We will be tracking the ship's radar carefully. We will get visual sightings before we do anything. If we are threatened and we have visual confirmation that the men are armed, then and only then do we go hot." I stopped to let that sink in. "If any of you starts to kill indiscriminately, I will shoot you myself. This is going to be a clean mission. I do not plan to be grabbed in Somalian waters and be tried here. If we get grabbed it has to be in international waters and by a real navy. then the Greeks have to deal with us. Truth is I prefer not to go on trial anywhere, which is why we are allowing the film crew to shoot and record everything, so be professional and follow the rules of engagement. The are: -Chapter 1. The man has to be armed. -Chapter 2. He has to be threatening you or the ship. -Chapter 3.We do not shoot men in the water -Chapter 4. We do not shoot prisoners. -Chapter 5. We do not shoot men in the back. They have to be a direct threat. If it's questionable that's one thing, but a blatant disregard for the rules and I'm gonna throw your ass to the wolves. The film crew is recording this, so you aren't going to get away with, I was just following orders, if you disregard them. We will all be verifying radar hits. You are to call me, if you see any armed men. If you can't find me, then get Alex. Only the two of us can give the order to engage a boat. If, God forbid, they get to the ship, then do what you have to do to stay alive. I want to tell you again, we are not going to surrender period. You signed on and Alex should have told you the risks." "If any of you want out, now is the time before we leave Crete. After we sail you are in for the whole meal, so chew it carefully." Nobody seemed to want to leave, so maybe I was wrong about their desire to see it through. "Remember guys this trip is to honor our comrade in arms. Jeff deserved better, this is the least we can do. He wanted to make a difference, this cargo of aid, to save starving kids will honor his memory, better than anything else we could do." Alex said it then turned to me and winked when the camera couldn't see it. He knew how to go along with the bullshit and I was glad. ------- Chapter 144 Lunch was ready after our little meeting, so we went into the galley to load our plates. Alice The Drunk's wife had made a large pan of pastry with hamburger, veggies and gravy inside. The food was good. I was a little surprised that she could cook so well for so many people. It was the ideal recipe for that kind of group. "Alice how do you manage to cook for a dozen people, I could never do that," I admitted as I filled my plate the second time. "I am the lunch lady for a high school in our home town. I cook for hundreds of kids a day, this really is like a vacation for me." "Well the food has been delicious so far. I hope you don't give up on us." I felt the floor move under my feet. It was obvious we were underway. "Oh my, I will have to go make sure everything has a top on it. Talk to you later Maxine," she said turning her attention away from me and to the food. I didn't mind at all. I went to the bridge to meet the captain. I wanted to know if he planned to give me trouble. "So Captain, have you sailed this ship before?" "This was never my ship, but I have sailed her since we both retired. I get pulled out of retirement every couple of months to carry a special load somewhere." "Ever been to Somalia?" I asked. "No, and I'm not looking forward to it this time either. It's a nasty dangerous place," he said. "Well it's my job to be sure you are safe, so we should try to work together." I suggested. "Sweetie, I'm almost seventy years old. You don't need to bullshit me. I heard a rumor on the dock that you were running guns. I don't care, but I do want it known that I am not going to die for your guns." He spoke english with an accent. My guess was that he was Greek or maybe Italian. "Well, I hope it doesn't come to anyone dieing," I suggested. "I heard your speech in the mess. If it comes down to it, I am going to surrender this ship and your cargo." he said. "I'll keep that in mind," I admitted. What I kept in mind was that someone would have to lock his ass in his cabin. I didn't think they could try me for mutiny, since i would just be doing my job. After all I wasn't really a crew member. I also made a mental note to talk to Alex about his captain. With that in mind, I went to find my tools. I didn't need the big stuff just the Glock and derringer would do for the time being. I took the pistols from Alex even though, I figured that for most of the first week, all I had to do was work on my tan and catch up on my sleep. Even if that were the case, I wanted to be able to defend myself, if push came to, who could push the hardest. "I'm not anywhere near the badest chick on the planet, I am just the badest one in the room at any given moment. The ones that are badder than me, don't run in my circles," I said it to Morris who had asked. I also laughed when I said it, so that he would know I wasn't being an arrogant ass. "I keep hearing what a hard bitch you are, but I ain't seen it," he replied. "I'm only hard when I need to be and then only as hard as I need to be. I try to always keep it proportional. "So I also heard you like to sleep around?" he asked. "You are just full of question aren't you?" I asked. "I am a reporter," he informed me. "Not on this job. If you try to be one, I will have Mike fire your ass. You are here to make images for the TV show, not do some freelance piece of this job. Remember who you are Morris." I smiled but he knew I was serious. "Point taken," he replied. "Good, And yes I like sex. I like sex with hard men. I like sex with soft men. I like sex with hard women and I like sex with sensitive women, I just like sex." I admitted. "So, should I throw my hat in the ring?" he asked. "Only if you are tired of the hat, I don't screw the men I work with." It was a lie, but I hoped he didn't know about Martin. "This a private meeting or can anyone join in?" Alex asked as he seated himself. "You can come on in, Morris here wanted to know, if it was true that I am a slut," I commented and watch Morris wither. "Well are you," Alex asked. "I am whatever I need to be, to get the results I need." I replied. "Good, I'm the same way." Alex admitted. "So you ever had sex on a coastal freighter?" "Good Lord, we aren't really going to do a show and tell about my sex life." "Why not? it has to be more interesting than mine," Morris said. "Well, I'm going to turn in, it has been a long day, I am also still suffering from jet lag," I said as I stood to go. "Want me to walk you to your cabin?" Morris asked. "Morris, I can find my cabin and if that was meant to reassure me, a man with a camera isn't much protection, except in case of pirate attack." "So I take it that means, no thanks," he suggested. "You can pretty much count on it," I said... "So good night gentlemen, I'm off." "Ease up on her," I heard Alex say as I started to walk away. I stopped to listen. "Are you planning to screw her yourself?" Morris asked. "Mister Morris believe me when I say, nobody screws Maxine Stone. That comes not from me but from men who have known her in different situations, over a period of time. You can try having sex with her and might even manage it, but you aren't going to screw her. I smiled as I walked on to my tiny cabin. I slept like the dead even with the vibration of the boat. I probably should have worried about that, but I didn't, I just went with it and fell asleep. When I awoke the next morning, I had just plain slept out. There was no sunshine streaming into my room, as there was at the apartment. There was no alarm clock and there was no pressure to get out of bed and ride. So I just took a short nap, before I got out of bed for the first time that day. It was by far the most sleep I had in years. I was too late for breakfast, but there was coffee. The coffee was restaurant grade but it was hot and black so it was acceptable. I sat at the metal table, which was bolted to the floor of course, with my coffee and tried to wake up. Too much sleep makes me feel as dopey as too little. I would prefer too much though. "Maxine, I need a favor?" Alex asked as he walked through the door. "Good morning to you too. I'm fine how are you?" I said smiling. "Okay you want small talk first or do you want to know what I need?" he asked. "Okay what do you need and please do be original. I hate men who want the same things all the time." "It's not that. I'm not Morris." he said. "Okay what is it then?" I asked. "It's Mary Ellen," he informed me. "You mean the sleazy car salesman's wife?" I asked "Yes her, she is sunning herself on deck," he said. "Well you told her it was a vacation. And it is dead winter back home, so I thought I might work on my tan as well." I suggested. "You hadn't planned to do it naked had you?" he asked. 'No, but then she has a much better body than me," I replied. "I know she has a good body, and she is getting a lot of attention." he said. "I don't think the guys would do more than enjoy the view," I stated. "Not our guys but the crew. The captain is not happy either." Alex did look worried. "So exactly what is it you want me to do?" I asked. "Couldn't you talk to her. You know explain that we are at sea and anything could happen. The crew is not exactly boy scouts." He admitted. "Neither are your guys. Would anyone really bother her?" "I don't want to take a chance that one of the crew says something. Her husband has access to firearms remember?" he said. "Okay, I'll have a talk with the woman. I don't know if it will do any good or not." I admitted. "It would be better from you, after all it is a security issue..." he said. "Like hell it is, but I said I would talk to her." I said it smiling at him, so that he knew that I was thinking wimp. I went onto the deck only after I put on my bikini. I walked around the ship until i found the best spot, for sunning myself. Then I moved a chair to it, and stretched out. I waited about twenty minutes before Mary Ellen showed up. She started to open her robe when I spoke. "If you don't have a swimsuit or some other kind of clothing on under that, don't open it." I said quietly. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I mean no more nude sunbathing. You are just too much for these poor sailor boys to stand. I'm afraid we will have a three man riot and you might get hurt. I am responsible for security and if I can prevent problems, it is much better than trying to deal with them." "What are you going to do, if I take the robe off anyway," she said looking me in the eye. She didn't seem to get it. "Well in that case I will kick your ass and lock you in your cabin. If you husband gives me any shit, I will kick his ass and throw him in with you. So unless you want to spend the rest of the trip, with a black eye and with your husband locked in one of those tiny cabins, I would suggest you go back and get the skimpiest bikini you own and wear that." I smiled sweetly. "That is so hot," she said. "What?" I asked. I couldn't believe it. "We saw those TV show promos, so we went back and watched the web vids. That macho shit is so hot from a woman who can really do it. I will put on the bikini just for you. If you want to see me out of it, just let me know." "Trust me sweetie any other time and place you would have a deal, but I'm working and frankly my bed is way too small for anything fun to happen there." I said. "This isn't finished," she said. "The nude sunbathing better be finished," I informed her. "Okay, okay, my pubic area was getting burned anyway. I have never gone hairless before. My husband wanted me to do it." She paused a moment looked at me with a smile, then asked, "Did you ever eat a hairless one." "That really isn't any of your business," I replied. "You have I can tell. Was it better than one with hair?" she was really pushing her luck. "Not really, now go get dressed." I demanded. At that moment she opened her robe so only I could see. She really did have a beautiful body. Then she turned slowly and walked toward the doorway which led to the cabins. ------- Chapter 145: On the Cusp "You did good, with Mary Ellen," Alex said to me. "I'm sure she thinks the motivation was pure jealousy and she would be a little right," I said it with a laugh. "Anyway that's one problem out of the way. We need to talk about the captain." "What about him?" Alex asked. "He says he is going to surrender the ship and cargo, if we are challenged," I informed him. "Well, he sure as hell isn't going to do that," Alex replied forcfully. "Well then you need to search the belongings of the crewmen. I don't want to see any surprise weapons on crunch day, if there even is one." I said. "I can do that, I'll take one of the guys and do a shakedown inspection. I'm writing their checks, so they better go alone or they are gone at the next stop." He informed me. I went back to working on my tan while Alex conducted the search personally. I was almost asleep in the shade of the wheelhouse, when he returned. "Well were there any surprises?" "I'm pretty sure one of them is gay, but no guns or explosives," he admitted. "Then the captain will have to pass out weapons, if he intends to surrender the ship. People with weapons don't look very docile to pirates, I'm sure. So he isn't going to want to show weapons. It's kind of a toss up whether he and the crew will try to stop us. My original plan should work. just add him to the rest of the crew and detain them in the mess hall until the issue is resolved one way or another." "Always something ain't it," Alex suggested. "Usually and seldom are they good things. I figure we need to just play along with the captain since he thinks we are gun runners. He might just be on the pirates payroll and not know it. They are getting information somewhere. At least, I think they are. They may be just random acts. Like if you cross their path on the right day of the week, when the stars are aligned just so, but I doubt it." "I know it's hard to believe in random events, but I guess now and then they do happen." Alex said. "Do you know where your friend Jeff stopped before he got to the Somalia waters?" I asked. "Some little port I can't pronounce. It was about a hundred miles north of Somalia." he informed me. "Then we should stop there as well. That might be the link to the pirates. Put in for fuel or something." I suggested. "That sounds like reasonable plan. We can be as sloppy as possible with our security and maybe someone will bite." he said in agreement. "This part of the trip was supposed to be pure vacation, but it looks like there are lingering issues, like the captain, and Mary Ellen, which are going to make me work after all," I said, and then I laughed. "I guess I am paying you for an hours work and to make sure things go our way. That's a hell of a pay rater for an hours work." "It would be, if there weren't the Captain and Mary Ellen type issues coming up during my supposed downtime. Did that sound a little like Gilligan's island to you?" I asked with a laugh. "Nobody is going to mistake me for the professor or Mr Howell," he said smiling "Or me for Ginger," I admitted. Let's drop that train of thought, before we try to figure out what shows that cast of oddballs you have assembled, might be from. I don't think many of them are comedy material." "I can agree with that for sure. So tell me about this TV show of yours?" he suggested. "No way, that thing isn't mine and it is what it is nothing more, I hope." I replied. "What does that mean?" he asked. "It means, I hope they don't try to make the show more dramatic than it really is. I don't need people calling me looking for drama." I admitted. "Yeah, that could be a problem, I suppose." he said. "I found you because we have mutual friends." "Actually we don't. Those guys are sponsors of the show. Trying to clean up their crappy image. They want to show a kinder gentler side of Mercenaries. I don't know how they plan to edit the shows to do that. It looks to me like the gigs they want to send me on are just to make good PR. Of course this is just the second one." "They have nothing to do with this gig," he said. "Don't kid yourself someone is matching your ten grand, or I might not be here," I admitted. "Those guys are matching my pay for you to be here?" he asked. "I didn't say that. I have no idea where the money is coming from my lawyer/agent said the show was matching it. Who, at the show is anybody's guess." "I'm not sure I like that," he said "Why is that Alex. You got me on a half price sale. You should be thrilled." "Well, we still don't know if you are worth what I'm paying, let alone twice that," he said. There just a little edge to his voice. "Well by the time you find out, it is going to be too late to ask for a refund. You trusted the opinion of the Admiral, until you found out he had an interest in the outcome of the game. Do you think he would lie to you just to plant a ringer on you?" I asked. "No of course not. He and I go back all the way to the Delta and the DMZ." Alex said simply. "Then you need to just trust him and me. I can keep you guys out of jail, and still get your lessons taught." "Okay, I'm going to take a walk about this small ship," he said. "Where is everybody else?" I asked. "In my cabin playing poker. I got tired of it. Mine is the only cabin big enough to have a game. I have no idea what they will do when I tell them to leave." Alex explained. "Well they can't come to my cabin. There isn't enough to room to cuss a cat in there without getting hair in your mouth." I laughed as did Alex. Time passes slowly at sea. Everyday in the Med was just like the day before. It was quiet and peaceful. Sleep was easy to come by, as was sunshine and good food. It was like paradise without the snakes. Unless we had one in our midst without knowing it. On the third day the Captain seemed to be sailing around in circles. He explained that he wanted to enter the canal early on the forth day. We could be out of the canal and into the Red sea the same day that way. Traveling down the canal was a real experience. I saw land all around as we just steamed along toward another waterway. It was dark when we entered the red sea but we were again in open water and I felt like that was a good thing. By the time we punched into the gulf of aden, it was four days and a lot of temper flair ups later. The closer we got to Somalia the shorter tempers got. On our last day in the Red Sea Alex moved the heavy weapons to his cabin. "If things turned rank, it should be in the next two days. After that, we would be just cruising around hoping to stumble into the path of the bad guys. That last night I answered a knock on my door to find Mary Ellen in the hallway. "Now what can I do for you?" I asked. "Something is about to happen isn't it?" she asked as an answer. "What do you mean?" it seemed to be a night filled with questions. "Everybody is on edge. I know you are all here to do something dangerous, it's why I insisted on coming. My life is a total bore, since I got married. I hoped that this would be a fun trip. It hasn't been yet. Will it be dangerous tomorrow?" she asked. "We will be in the Gulf of Aden tomorrow, and then it might get a little hairy," I suggested. "My husband is passed out drunk and I'm scared. I don't want to be alone." she said softly. "Mary Ellen, you really shouldn't be here like this," I replied. My resolve was melting. so I meant exactly what I said. She should not have been at the door to my cabin. I honestly did not mean to do it but I moved aside to allow her in. She was in my arms within seconds of me closing the door. Mary Ellen might have been new to it all, but she had no problem kissing me with as much passion as anyone I ever kissed. She was turned on and pressing hard against me. So hard that within seconds I was as hot as she was. I moved my hands so that I could cup her large firm breasts. There was the soft fabric of her halter top between us, but I made quick work of the tie behind her neck, so that I could pinch and squeeze her nipples unhindered. As i did so, I felt her mouth go slack, she was lost in the feeling. I knew when a man or a woman was wrapped so tight something had to give, so I dropped my hand to the waist band of her shorts. The band was elastic so slipping my hand inside was easy. I moved closer and took one of her nipples into my mouth as my hand found her smooth pubic mound. There was a day's stubble but otherwise it was smooth. I parted the slippery cover of her clit and began to manipulate it. I rubbed it in slow circles until she gasped against my mouth. I was soaked from just doing things to her. "Now you do me," I demanded. "She lifted my tee top and massaged my breasts. Like her I didn't have a bra to deal with. She managed to turn me on to the point of near orgasm. She bend forward then took a nipple into her mouth and nursed on it like a baby would I'm sure. I felt her hand unclasp my shorts and enter my panties. Within seconds she had found my clit and was rubbing it gently. I was begging her silently to go faster. She must have read my mind because she sped up her manipulation and I exploded into an mind blowing orgasm. I slipped to my knees as much from the reaction to the orgasm as I did to reach her pussy. I opened it with my tongue and sucked on the wet slippery opening. Mary Ellen began to orgasm again instantly. Not only that, she was pulling my head to her as if trying to get me inside her. I wished as I had often that I was a man and had something to fill her with. That is what she really wanted at that moment. In five more minutes it wouldn't make any difference at all to either of us. I continued to lick and suck on her until she was worn completely out. When I stopped she collapsed onto my bed as she was been trying to do for several minutes. She wanted to collapse, but she also didn't want to lose contact with my tongue. I sat beside her on the bed and held her will she came down from it all. When she had recovered I pushed her onto her knees in front of me. "Do it," I said in a strong voice. "I never have," she replied. "You won't be able to say that in the morning, now do it," I sounded much more demanding than I felt. I just felt that it was time for her to get all the way into it. She wasn't experienced but she made up for it in enthusiasm. When I came, it was with gut wrenching intensity. Mostly because I knew she was new to it and hadn't really wanted to do it at all. I just didn't care what she was feeling. I was finally relaxed. ------- Chapter 146 Once we passed into the Gulf of Aden, the rule was one of us watching the radar screen at all times. If the captain objected, I had already decided to lock him in his cabin. The ship would run itself for a few days. If the 1'st mate, who was hired by Alex, couldn't handle the ship, I would hold a gun to the Captian's head until he docked us somewhere, so that we could find a new skipper. It didn't turn out to be a problem at all. He was glad for the extra eyes, since the Gulf of Aden is a dangerous place. The first day passed with everyone on alert every time a fishing boat passed us. The captain though it was due to our fear of pirates grabbing out guns. Little did he know that the pirates were the whole reason for the trip. We had been told pirates often engage ships at night, so sleep was hard to come by on our first night in the Gulf. On day two a blip on the radar turned into a small boat. The small boat had way too many men to be fishing, so everyone was on alert. While the boat closed the distance, I pulled some boxes of Plumpy Nut near the rail. The reason was simple, I needed a place to use the sniper rifle and the boxes made a good platform for me. I had a great view with the 20x scope. I could see that the men were armed with automatic rifles. "We are going hot, if Morris has the pictures," I said to Alex. Then I shouted, "Morris are you getting this?" "Yes Ma'am, I am. They are all armed to the teeth," he replied. "Stay on them, things are going to start popping soon," I informed him. Then I turned back to Alex. Do you want to do this?" I asked. "You bet your ass I do." He climbed on the boxes and I took his glasses. "Now Alex wait until one of them points an RPG at the ship, or something like that. Don't just start killing indiscriminately." "I heard you before," he said quietly. I watched through Alex's big Nikon Binoculars. The boat kept closing but they weren't close enough to start shooting at us. We, on the other hand, could have started to drop them at any time. That is if I weren't determined to walk away clean from it all. "They are demanding we shut the engines down and surrender the ship," the Captain said. "I'm coming," I replied. "Who am I speaking with?" I asked once I got the radio in my hand. "I am Captain Z of the Somalian Navy. You are in our sovereign waters and we intend to board you." "I don't think so. But ya'll have a nice day now." I said. "If you do not surrender your boat, we will sink you," he said. "Well, I'm head of security for the company that leased this boat and you be advised we will defend this ship according to our rights under international law." I had no idea what bullshit I was slinging. I also didn't care, the shit was about to hit the fan regardless. "I am going to surrender the ship," the Captain said. "Put this man under arrest for interfering with a duly appointed security officer in performance of her duty. You captain are confined to your quarters." The reformed drunk led him away with a huge smile. It must have been like the good old days for him. "Shut down your engines or we will fire," Captains Z said just before the crack of the Russian Sniper rifle. "Alex?" I shouted out the door of the bridge. "He pointed a RPG at the ship," Alex said. "Morris?" I shouted. "He is right," Morris answered. "Then we are tactical and hot. You may defend yourselves." I shouted to anyone listening. The small boat turned tail and ran. I wanted to cheer, but I knew that it was too soon to celebrate. "Here," Alex said handing me the sniper rifle. "I'm going to get a couple of LAWs (Light Ainttank Weapon) in case they decide to come back guns blazing. "If they come back it will be under cover of night. So we watch the radar and the person on Deck watch uses night vision goggles. If they come, we can paint them with that fancy search light you brought along." I was wrong, a high speed boat came out of nowhere. We got a good look at him trying to close on us. I saw the rpg before he slowed the boat to stabilize his aim. I put a 7,62x54R dead in his chest. His last reflex was to pull the trigger on the RPG. It took off into the air like a cheap piece of fireworks. There would be no question that the shot was in self defense. Just for good measure I put a round in the boat's driver. He slumped over the wheel of the boat and it began turning in circles. "I thought he was going to ram us in a suicide attack," I said loud enough for everyone to hear. The circles got tighter until the boat flipped over and sank. "You didn't let us get a shot," the sleazy car dealer said. I gave him a withering look. "This isn't a game asshole, those were human beings." Of course it's a game, I thought, but I would never admit it. "What's the radar say," I shouted to the school teacher who was on the bridge. "They are still out there and moving along with us." the teacher said. I walked to the bridge and opened the frequency, we had been on. "You should know, we have called any Naval vessel in the area to come to our assistance," I said. "No you haven't Christian whore. We have been monitoring your traffic. Also you do not want your ship searched. You won round one, but it is a long night ahead." "Ah well that cuts both ways Muslim Son of a Whore," I said I turned to the Teacher, the car salesman and Alex who were all on the bridge. "Do you want to send a message that we are under attack?" I asked. "That's up to the others, we fought back and we won. That was the lesson I wanted to teach them. But I'm more than willing to finish this," Alex said. The teacher and the car salesman were shamed into staying the course. "Then they will be back. When they are in range, at the first sign of hostile action, pepper their ass with LAWs." I said. An hour later I head the teacher shout, "He is closing in slowly." The boat was much smaller than us, but also much bigger than a speed boat. "It is obvious they are planning something. Teacher raise them on the radio and demand that they break off. Tell them, if not we will bring them under fire." "We should have captured that speed boat," I said. "Why do we need more than two?" Alex asked with a grin. "I will be damned," I said. "Most likely we all will, but lets see if we can't send them ahead of us by a few years," he said. "All we can do now is sit and wait," I said. I clicked off the microphones then added. "There might be a terrible accident after dark, if they are still shadowing us." "Why do you reckon he didn't just move on. He can't think we are the only ship running guns." "Maybe it's that Arab pride bullshit. Don't much matter the why. How to stop him is the question." "Speedboat and a handful of Laws gets my vote," he suggested. "If nothing else comes up first, I will go along with that. I don't think they have radar maybe we can slip up on them. Do a commando thing. Get fifty yards from them then shoot a couple of those missiles down their throats. "Like I said, it works for me," Alex agreed. "Why don't I take a couple of the boys and you stay back and defend the boat?" I asked. And what drugs are you on?" he asked. "I'm not staying on the boat." "Well somebody has to. While we are making these plans, you can bet they are making offensive plans of their own." "Yes, but we have radar, they don't," Alex said. "That means you can sneak up on them, it does not mean they can't sneak up on us. We have navigational radar. It surely isn't good enough to pick up a rubber raft with a couple of men." "You think they will do that?" he asked. "It's what I would do, wouldn't you?" I asked. Then a couple of minutes later I added, 'What if they want to send a message as well. Slip a couple of guys with bombs on board a gun runner ship. In which case they would have a huge floating bomb. Nice message to send. Take it over and sail her to somewhere with a US Navel ship. They probably think it would make the USS Cole look like firecracker damage." "Well it won't really be much of a bang, even if they did it." Alex suggested. "Not much comfort to those of us who might die trying to keep them off the ship," I said. "So what do we do now. We have about an hour of daylight left." Alex reminded me. "We talk to the Captain for starters. He might know a trick of two for pirate evasion," I suggested. "He won't help us,." Alex said skeptically. "He will, when he is properly motivated," I said. "Then go for it, but we still don't surrender," Alex said sternly. "No, we never surrender," I agreed. Ten minutes later the captain came onto the bridge followed by Whitey who was armed. I began with, "Captain we have a problem. It seems we have the pirate version of Captain Ahab." "They want the weapons. They won't leave till they have them." he said. "There is the problem, the only weapons on this ship are the ones we are carrying." I said. "But everyone thought we were carrying arms, even the crew," he said. "What did Alex tell you the cargo was?" I asked. "Something stupid like Plumpy Nut," he said. "Feel free to go down and pop open any case yo u like. You will find it filled with Plumpy Nut bags. It's a special food for kids who are starving. Easy to digest and filled with everything they need to survive." "Why didn't you just hand it over?" he asked. "Because, those kids are going to die without it. These guys will sell it and it will never get to those who really need it." "Then, let's call the navy," he suggested. "I would, but you can bet that the radio is jammed." I knew it was, since Alex was jamming it. "So here is the problem,. If they board us in the middle of the night, and find that there are no arms, what do you think they will do to all of us, including the wives." I gave him a hard look. "Now if you know anyway to call off the pirates, you should do it. If you don't, then help us avoid them," I suggested. "Neither me, nor the any member of this crew are in touch with them. I promise you that." he said. "Then come back and keep us out of their territorial waters, while we try to figure out something," I demanded. "Alright, you sure it's just Plumpy Nut? Why the hell are you willing to die for that." "I get paid to be willing to die. Alex and the others are doing it because the pirates killed their missionary friend. The plumpy nut is in his memory. So keep us outside the territorial waters and keep trying to call for help." "That I will do, and I'll try to keep all of the passengers safe. It's my job," he said. ------- Chapter 147 It wasn't quite dark when Alex and I met on deck. "I am going to call a meeting of the crew and the wives to tell them what to expect. That would be the ideal time for you to slip your speed boat into the water." I suggested. "It Isn't a speed boat. Its an unsinkable raft made mostly of parachute nylon covered Styrofoam. It has an electric motor so not much speed, but it is quiet. Nonetheless you are right, if they don't know what I'm doing, they can't testify." he said. "Exactly, can you manage with two of the friends?" I asked. "Sure, I just need one to hold the boat steady and one to keep their heads down while I blow the shit out of their boat." he said grinning. "You love this shit don't you?" I asked. "You fucking well know it, and you do to. When this is over I'm going to start a security company. Piss on it, I have more money than any one man could spend in a lifetime. It's time to have some fun." he said. "It ain't always fun, but do what you think is best. So keep your powder dry and shoot straight," I said. "Oh if you can spare him, leave me the teacher, he knows the most about the radar and the ships controls," I admitted. "How about you get the drunk, as you call him, and the teacher, can you do it with them?" he asked. "No, but maybe I can hold them off till you get back. That is if they even come." I said. "You know damn well they will come. We are most likely going to pass right by them. If I see them what do you want me to do?" he asked. "Go for the fucking boat. If we can't hold them off, then life is just gonna suck a little more today." "So here is what is going to happen," I said to the captain and the three man crew a half hour later. "We are going to keep watch with night vision goggles. If they come, we will try to keep them off the ship. If they do get on board, you have two choices, fight or try to surrender. I don't know how receptive they will be to taking prisoners, after we kill a few of their friends, but that's up to you. If you want to fight, I can find you a weapon. After a while there will be plenty laying around. If you change your mind and want to shoot someone, pick up one and pull the trigger." "Do you think the three of you can hold them off?" one of the crew said a little shaken. "We are sure as hell going to try," I said. "Would you mind showing me how to shoot one of those things. I think I want to be on deck, not trapped like a rat in a can." Mary Ellen said. She got a whole lot of respect for that. "Might as well count me in as well," Alice said. "You would do better in the galley with the antibiotic cream and hot coffee," I suggested. Not only did I give Mary Ellen my Glock 20, I gave her a walkie talkie. Alex had bought them from Radio Shack, I'm sure, but they worked just fine. I went to the rear of the ship. and found the drunk standing there with his goggles scanning the ocean carefully. "I know you don't think a lot of me. I have done a lot of stupid weak things Maxine, but you can take this to hell with you. I will not let you down tonight." "I never thought you would," I said smiling my best smile at him. "I'm going to send the Teacher back with an extra shotgun for you. If they start up the sides of the ship pump a few of those at them. They might have second thoughts." "Can't hurt, You know I haven't held one of these since I was a kid," he said pointing to the M16 rifle. I sure as hell killed a lot of men with it then. Didn't even know why I was doing it. This time I know why, and it feels a hell of a lot better." "Good, lets do a few of them a favor, and send them to paradise to collect their virgins." I said. "Bet your ass," he agreed "Me and the teacher can handle this end of the boat. Just as long as we run out of bad guys before bullets." "Keep your head down, Alice is our medic tonight, and she don't need the work." I said smiling. If they all needed to be macho to keep it together, the least I could do was play along. "Teacher, I need you at the back of the boat with Alice's husband. I swear I didn't remember his name and I refused to call him the drunk that night." "You mean Bear, yeah I'll go back and stand beside him anytime," he said. "Stop by Alex's cabin and pick up a couple of shotguns. Use them if they try climbing the sides, or if they get on the boat. Watch for RPG's I'm sure they will have them." I was surprised to see the captain walk into the control room. "You are releaved Maxine, I will take the controls." "You will be safer in your cabin below," I suggested not at all derisive. "Safe is for another night, When you stand with real heroes, it's hard to find a place to hide from yourself." He said it with a huge smile. "Besides, when this is over, I expect you to fuck my brains out." I laughed, "If that's all it took, you should have told me sooner," I said. When I was alone at the front of the ship, I asked out loud, "Well Gunny, what have I forgotten?" Since he didn't answer I figure I had it more or less right. "We got them about a hundred years off in a small boat," the teacher's voice said quietly. "Tell them to turn away or you are going to fire on them. Give them ten second then put two rounds in front of them. If they continue, or they return fire, kill ever damn one of them, before they get to the ship. RPG gunners first, those are the biggest problem. Don't fire from the same position too long at a time. Keep them guessing. I heard the Teacher give the warning just as I spotted a boat load of men on my left probably as far out as the ones in the read. I used the bullhorn to give them a warning, then put two rounds in the water ahead of them. The boat slowed as I watched through the night scope. When a man stood up with an RPG I shot him while he tried to take aim. Then I fired on the boat. then I heard the distinctive sound of the M16 and the Ak47s from my rear. They were exchanging fire at the back of the boat. There were eight men in the small boat in front of the ship. I killed six of them before I heard Mary Ellen on the Walkie. There are men climbing over the rail on the side. I grabbed the shotgun and ran for the bridge. I got to the men just as they started up the ladder to the bridge. I killed the one in the lead with a full load of buck shot to the face. The other three turned toward me and opened fire. I took a hit somewhere low on my body. It was in my thigh or calf, I could not tell which. I pumped and fired the shotgun from my prone position the deck, as I rolled to a bulkhead. I got one more of them while I was trying to get out of the way. I know there were two more on the ship and probably two more in front ready to come aboard. I reloaded the shotgun, as I crawled toward the bridge dragging my bloody leg behind. I heard my Glock go off three times inside the bridge. Then a bad guy backed out the door. I put a full load into his back. I felt I could justify that back shot, if need be. Nobody else and no more shots came from the bridge so I moved to the front of the ship. I was leaving a wide trail of blood as I moved. One of the guys in the small boat was just climbing over the rail so I gave him a full load of buckshot to the chest. I was waiting for the last one to come over the rail when I heard the explosions. There was one followed a few seconds later by a second. I knew from the direction of the fireball that our pirate trouble were just about finished. "You Chrstian bitch. I am going to rape you, then kill you," the voice said as he kicked my shotgun away and kicked me in the ribs. I almost lost consciousness, but I fought to stay awake. I wanted to see the end too badly to pass out. He stood over me while he pulled down his pants. I managed a laugh as I pointed to his respectable sized penis. "Is that all there is?" I laughed again and he spit on me then pulled hard to get my pants and panties down. Now that hurt like hell. Even though I was covered in blood, he climbed on top of me. He was trying to get the proper alignment, when he got the surprise of his life. Maybe it wasn't the surprise of his life. Maybe it was the surprise of his after life. All those hours while I sat outside in the shade of the bridge, I had been using a whetstone to sharpen a butter knife. I chose it because it was easy to conceal. I found out from Cheryl that they made excellent weapons. I also found out from her the best place to shank a guard or another inmate. I would have to remember to tell her how good the shank worked in the throat of a pirate. I was again covered in the blood of a man, who wanted to rape me. It was getting to be a habit and I didn't like it at all. As I worked my way to a standing position I tried to think of something to say to the almost dead man. I finally came up with, "Was it as good for you, as it was for me." Sadly he didn't answer. Mary Ellen came from the bridge in time to ask, "What the hell happeneed?" "I think we just kicked some pirate ass," I said. Then I picked up the walkie "Teacher, Bear are you there?" "This is Bear the teacher is dead," he said with tears in his voice. "Did any of the guys who boarded the ship get to you?" I asked. "I haven't seen anyone," he replied. "Well keep an eye out, I'm not sure how many there were." I said. Then I heard th sound of an AK 47 coming from below decks. I just couldn't get down to check on it. I tried to stand but there was no way. Mary Ellen picked up my shotgun even though it was covered with my blood. "Be very careful with that," I said hoping she would put it down before she killed the wrong person. "Not to worry, I used to rabbit hunt with daddy, when I was little." With those words she entered the doorway to the cabins. I looked at my watch the whole thing had lasted way less than half an hour. Then I finally gave in to the warm sleepy feeling. ------- Chapter 148: Not Again When I awoke, it was in a room with no windows, but it was uncomfortably bright. That told me that it was a hospital of some kind. I somehow knew, without any reason, that the walls were metal. That put me somewhere, inside someone's ship. I had no idea what country owned the ship, but I hoped that it was a US Navy ship of the line, or if not, at least a European Navy ship. I did not want to be aboard the ship of an African or Arab nation. I found a call button, attached to the small hard platform where I lay. so I pushed it. A young naval officer, who looked to be about sixteen, entered a few minutes alter. He wore a white dress uniform, but then most officers probably did. I doubted that there were too many things an officer in the navy did which would require utilities. They had sailors and marines to do those jobs. "Ah I see you are awake?" he said. "Obviously, and I need water badly," I suggested. "I can get you some ice cubes, but water is not going to be available to your for a few more hours. You have been out a while and a couple of hours ago, you have also been under anesthesia. "Why is that?" I asked. "Our surgeon removed a bullet from your leg," he informed me. "When you came in, you were covered in so much blood, we didn't see how you could still be living. Turns out most of the blood belonged to someone else." "Yes, fortunately for me and unfortunately for him." I replied. "How did you get so much of his blood on you?" he asked. "He laid on top of me while he bled to death. Well almost to death, I think he still had a minute or two left when I rolled him off me.' I said. "How awful for you," he commented. "Not as awful as it was for the man who died on top of me." I said seriously. "Yes of course," the young officer said, "There are a lot of people who want to see you. Your friends, some TV people, and of course our intelligence officer. He has been interviewing the others. They say you were quite the heroine." "Well they are mistaken. There is a thirty something chick, who gets that award in my opinion. How did she come out," "Mary Ellen," The child officer said, "She is alive and uninjured as far as I can tell. She might have some emotional issues later on. She killed two men, so she may have some PTSD, but who knows. Right now she is just glad to be alive." "She should be feeling that," I said. "It could have gone either way there at the end." "Well, I'm sure you would rather see your friends, but the intelligence officer insists that he be first." the young officer said. "Tell him that until I talk to my boss Alex, I have amnesia. See what his reaction is to that." I said with a weak smile. The young officer smiled. I think he had a secret dislike for the intelligence officer. But then it has been my experience, that officer and intelligence don't really belong in the same sentence, let alone a man's title. About ten minutes later an older man in uniform came into the room. He had gray hair and black eyes. He also didn't smile. "Sergent Stone, you can stop the bullshit and talk to me or face trial for murder." he demanded. I laughed, "If you have evidence of anything, other than self defense, then you need to go ahead and try me. I think you will find video evidence that we tried to avoid the confrontation which led to those men dying." "Contrived no doubt," he said. "Okay, I have nothing more to say. If you do not allow me to see my friends, I am going to file an official complain on humanitarian grounds. We need to comfort each other and we are civilians you know." "Why didn't you pick up the survivors of the smaller boat?" he asked. "I have no idea. I was busy at the time trying to keep the pirates from killing us all. After that I was unconscious. I am sure you have asked the others that same thing. What did they tell you?" "I don't answer question, I ask them." he said. "Then you need to get the fuck out, before I have that nice little officer file a harassment complain. After all I have been wounded." I said. "Right," he said as he turned to leave. I had no idea what would happen next. I had a pretty good idea that Morris or Gwen was outside with a video camera. I would have felt better if it had been Mike. It took them another thirty minute to get Alex into the room. I started to speak, but he put his finger to his lips. I knew that the room was probably bugged, but I nodded my head at the reminder. "So what happened after they got on board?" he asked. "First I saw of them on the ship was the men trying to get to the bridge. I shot one of them, then somebody shot me." I said. "That's about all I know. They are saying that we got fifty of them, I can only speak to about ten. Then there were probably that many more at the rear of the ship. Teacher and Bear were defending back there. I have no idea how many they killed. Probably ten more. Four more got on board midship I killed two of them the other two somebody else got. I don't know what happened to anybody else." I said. "Mary Ellen, of all people, killed one with your pistol, then hunted one down in the crew's cabin. Then she put all six slugs from the buck shot shell into his belly. Not a pleasant sight I assure you." Alex said to me. "They asked me about survivors, I have no idea what they are talking about." I said with a smile. "I don't know either. Something about their boat blowing up. I don't know anything about it. Me and two of your security guys were in the hole guarding the Plumpy Nut. We never saw anybody at all. Couldn't hear much either," Alex said. "Well, you guys were the last defense of the cargo. Since you are the boss, I couldn't risk you getting killed. It would have been bad for business." I thought that sounded reasonable. So how is Mary Ellen coping." "Better than her husband. He is really pissed that you would let her go hunting down that last pirate." Alex said. "Tell him it had to be done, and I couldn't do it. She could do it, and she wanted to do it He needs to just get over it. It seems his Barbie Doll has fangs," I replied. "She sure surprised me," Alex said. "What have you heard about me?" I asked. "They say you have a really dirty wound. It took too long to get you airlifted off the freighter. Once we got you here, they went to work. Nobody knows how much of the damage to your calf muscle is long term, and how much will come back in a couple of months..." He said. "Well, I do hope it won't effect my bikini look. Nothing worse than a bitch, in a bikini, on crutches." I said. "Maxine, I hate to tell you honey, but you have a lot more and bigger scars than the one that bullet is going to leave." Alex said with a laugh. "I really hate you said that. I thought those scars gave me character." I laughed as well. "All the guys want to come in before we have to go. We still need to deliver the Plumpy Nut. If we don't do it, then it will all have been for nothing." Alex said with a smiled. "Then bring them in," I said. The room was so small that they had to come in no more than three at a time. "You did a hell of a job," Bear said to me. "Bullshit you and the teacher kept them off the ship, I couldn't." "We all know better Maxine," his wife said. "If it hadn't been for you, we might all be dead." "That's way over the top Alice. Mary Ellen saved your ass not me." I said smiling. "Oh, we have told her how proud of her we are." Alice said. "Yes the newest doll from Mattel, Barbie with Fangs," I liked the sound of it when I said it to Alex, so I repeated it to the others. They laughed of course. "Thanks for keeping us safe," the sleazy salesman said. Mary Ellen had obviously been on his ass. "Your wife is the real hero here, I think." I said it and I meant it. Marry Ellen looked at me with what could only be called puppy eyes. Obviously, not many people praised her for anything but her looks. She was just grateful, it seemed. After patting each other on the back and showing how grateful we were to be alive, Bear said a prayer for the Teacher. I felt he was the one to do it for sure. There was something about being with a friend, when he died, that stayed with one forever. The last group to enter was Gwen an Morris. I was a little surprised since they weren't really leaving with the others. There job was to stay with me. I was headed out on a medivac ride. From the ship most likely to a military hospital somewhere. Earlier when I asked where, no one knew, or at least no one would tell me. I was in the custody of the United States and my interest and rights were being considered with every decision they made, I was told. I somehow doubted that Gwen or Morris were going to hitch a ride. The Navy had allowed everyone to see me, so that they could all testify that I was alive and well. I didn't blame them at all, it was what I would have done as well. After they all left I expected the real pressure to begin. Instead the female in the white uniform came into the room. She held a tray which I suspected held a syringe to knock me on my ass. I might as well enjoy the drugs, since I had no choice. Sure enough she hit me with the junk, and I fell asleep on a US Frigate in the Gulf of Aden. I awoke in a full size hospital room. Exactly where in the world the room was located, I had no idea. It had a window at least, so I looked out. The tree outside was naked, so I assumed that I was in the northern hemisphere at least. Most likely northern Europe or maybe in one of the countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union. It did not appear to be a place I wished to be. I was nervous about being in a strange hospital, without any way to protect myself. I wasn't too worried about being killed, or even physically abused, but I could easily be denied access to an attorney. Hello Ms Stone, I am going to be your physician for a few days, then you will probably be release. As you probably know already gunshot wounds are prone to infection. The bullet carried all kinds of bacteria and picks up even more as it travels through your clothing. We need to keep you under observation for a while. My job is going to be to see to any of your health issues while you are here. Please ask for the doctor at anytime you feel the need. His job wasn't to treat me, it was to scare the hell out of me. His implication was that I would be needing treatment. Which certainly, to my sick mind at least, implied torture. I hoped that they at least remembered that I was one of the good guys. ------- Chapter 149 "Ms Stone, we need to talk," the old man said. "Do we now?" I asked. "We know you setup an ambush for those pirates. It's the only thing that makes any sense." he said. "You know, you should watch what you eat and get to the gym. You are going to have a heart attack or a stroke, if you don't take better care of your body. What are you fifty or sixty pounds over weight?" I said it, just to see what his reaction would be. "True, I should probably take better care of myself. I'll keep that in mind, but for now let's get back to your problem." he suggested. "I don't have a problem. Well I do, I have asked to see my lawyer and you haven't produced her. Or even allowed me to contact her." I said. "We are in a secure site. Access is very tightly controlled." the older man said. "How about a phone call?" I asked. Surely a phone call is permissible?" I asked. "I'm afraid not," he replied. "Oh, how does that work? The not allowing me to talk to my lawyer, while you question me thing." I asked. "It works like this, nothing you say to me can ever be used in court against you." he said. "Ah and how is it going with that beach front building lot in Arizona you have for sale," I asked weakly. "Look I need sleep. If want me to talk to you, get my lawyer on the phone. But wait a few hours, I need a nap." I was asleep before he left the room. They came in and woke me two hours later. Jen was on the phone which he handed me. "Jen is that you?" "Of course it's me," She didn't sound just right. "So how does the preacher like it?" I asked. "You know how?" she said. "Humor me," I demanded. "He likes it doggy," she said. "I have no idea who you are lady, but nice try." I pushed the end button. "Now that was your last chance. Either bring on the water board or send me home. I am an American Citizen and there are people with resources, who know you have me. You can hide me for a few days and I can refuse to talk under anything but torture. Now do you really want to do that. There is a TV crew out there somewhere with images of me being loaded onto a navy chopper. How do you think the Navy Chief of staff is going to like being interviewed every day on TV. So if you want information, there are two ways to get it. Get my lawyer and cut a real deal or torture me. Either way you can't stall these guys long, they love a conspiracy. It makes such great TV. He looked at me and smiled. "They said, the reason we couldn't hang that murder shit on you, was that you were fucking smart. You aren't just a smart ass, you are really smart. So give me an hour to find your lawyer. It is the middle of the night in the states. Meanwhile I'm going to have them take you to the military hospital in Germany. From there you will head to the states in a couple of days. Maybe we can get our business taken care of while you are in Germany." "How does that work, the transfer, I mean? Are you going to shoot me up again, then put me in an ambulance and drive me across the base?" I asked it with a smile. "What gave it away?' he asked. "Nothing, but if you never intended to really torture me, why bother with the trip to a black site. you had to think, I'm just a woman and I would be pretty gullible, " I said smiling. "Then there is no since wasting the drugs," he said with a smile. "Of course there is. I sleep really well with them, except for the occasional bad dream. You could leave that part out." I said He smiled shook his head and left the room. I had to smile to myself. I had guessed it purely by accident. They gave me a lot more credit than I deserved. I enjoyed the ride over in the back of a civilian ambulance. I had been in a large private home, which they obviously used as a safe house. It probably had just enough of a medical look to fool me and most other people. Maybe a couple of nurses to give shot and keep an eye on recovering minor injuries. Yes I considered mine to be a minor injury. Once I arrived at the real hospital, there were people there to roll me to a private room. An hour later Gwen and Morris showed up. It was like 8PM local time. It would be two in the morning in the states. Jen would have been in bed at least two hours. I had no idea, if the so called intelligence people wanted to wake her or not. I should have warned them that it would be a really bad idea. But what the hell, I didn't owe them anything. "We have been looking all over for you. At first no one knew where you where, then you just popped up." Gwen said. Then she asked., "Where have you been?" "You wouldn't believe me, if I told you. So you have another of those microphone capsules? Mine went missing, when they took all my clothes." I said. "Yes, I have a half dozen of them." With that Gwen fished one out of her bag. I'm sure she knew that I needed one, since I hadn't be transmitting. "I got to tell you that those shots on the boat during the attack would make Hollywood directors green with envy. That stuff has Pulitzer all over it." Morris said. "Now personally I don't give a crap what you do with it, but it does belong to the TV network. At the very least it belongs to Mike and Gwen. I don't think it will have the same punch, if you show it on the ten o'clock news first. But that isn't my call." I was beginning to dislike Morris again. Mike would have picked up a rifle and maybe kept me from taking that slug. Morris had been content to hide and shoot his footage. I knew that is what reality TV was about, but next time I might just show the bad guys where he was hiding. "Did you happen to get a shot of the Teacher dying. I'll bet that would be really valuable to you while you are attempting to regaining your lost career?" I said. I had to take a deep breath. I was winding myself up to the point, where I might stand on one leg and beat him to death with a bed pan. "Bobby you need to go now," Gwen said. "Why, I haven't said or done anything wrong," he said. "And you didn't do anything right either. You better listen to her, she knows me pretty well." I had no idea why I was giving him a warning. I guess I was just getting soft or maybe it was the drugs. "I already stole the cards with the images on them. He won't be able to screw us," Gwen said. "See I am learning from you and Cheryl. Lucas would never have told me to do that. He is such a sweet boy." she said with almost a tear in her eye. "Stop right there, I don't want to know about your love life, not any part of it," I said. "Sure you do, but you are right his is not the time or place for it. So do you need anything else?" "You have no idea how much you have helped me already. You got me sprung from a CIA safe house. It's out there somewhere in the country." I said. "Oh shit, I wish I had film of that. Did they try to intimidate you?" she asked. "Yes they wanted me to tell them about some kind of grand plan. Like we had one. Shit just happens where ever I go." I said seriously. "You don't really expect me to believe that. Remember I have been hanging around you and Cheryl. I know when something happens with you, it is well thought out. There are no accidents or coincidences in your life." she said. "Bullshit, my life is just like everyone else's." I said seriously. "What a crock, anyway I need an interview. Do you want to do it now?" she asked. "I can't give you an interview now. If I do, I might never get out of this hospital alive." I said. "In that case I'm going back to the hotel. I am wiped out. I don't even know when I slept last." she said. After she had gone, I paged the nurse. "Sweetie, I'm ready to get up. Can you pull this catheter?" I asked. The nurse, or aide, or whatever she was said. "Sure let me get someone to take care of that." "Now you know that you can only sit in a chair with your leg up. You can not go walking on that leg." she informed me. "Sweetie, I am going to hop over to the bathroom, then I am going to hop to the big comfortable chair. That is my total plan." I said. "In that case, hold on while I remove this," she said. It took her only a moment to actually remove it. When she had the Catheter removed, she helped me to the bathroom, where I sat on the stainless steel toilet for fifteen minutes. When I finished, it was the best I had felt since I woke up on the Navy Frigate. I got back to the chair on my own and sat down. I lifted my leg. It was impossible to find a position that didn't hurt some, so I chose the one with the least amount of pain. I sat in that chair another half hour then got back into bed. That little bit of movement wore me out. I had a feeling that it was going to be a long recovery. It was 11PM local time when Jen called. "Max what the hell are you into now. I got a call from the state department. They want me to make some kind of deal, so that you will talk to the CIA, and then not talk about the CIA," she said. "We had a little pirate trouble. They want details and I told them it was all self defense and on tape. They still want details. I told them that if you worked out an immunity deal. for all of us, I would answer any questions they had. Otherwise the tape speaks for itself." "Give me a couple of hours and I'll wake Hills up." Jen said laughing. "You have Hill's number?" I laughed at the thought. "Just got it last night. I think what you did is going to be great publicity for them, and they want to be sure it won't come back to bite them in the butt." she said. "Well get the immunity, and let them decide what to do with the information." I suggested. "Of course," she said. "When you have it, find Alex and give him the news. He might want to make the public announcement. He can do it standing tall not from a hospital bed. I want us to look strong not like the pirates ever got in even one lick. It's bad enough we have to talk about the teacher." It was the middle of the night, when she got back to me. "The deal is inked and I found Alex on a satellite phone at the aid camp. He was in tears Max. I think it was a life changing experience for him." Jen said seriously. "Something was I'm sure. So if you are positive this won't come back to bite us, let's go public with the cover story and I'll tell the cloak and dagger boys the real story." "I have the Secretary of State's word," Jen said. "I also have it on tape." She laughed, to let me know that she didn't trust anyone when it came to me. "But whatever the CIA did in Germany, stays in Germany, right?" she asked "Right?" ------- Chapter 150 "Alright everything is in place, so let's talk about what really happened in the Gulf of Aden." A completely different intelligence officer asked. He wasn't the only one in the room, there were three men. One was in a Navy uniform, one in a army uniform, and one in a cheap suit. Cheap suit had started it. "Why, surely by now you have seen the statement by the Man whose mission it was?' I asked. "Yes the great humanitarian fiction. Now we want to know what really happened. We don't care why you did it. We want to know just exactly how you did it." "Alright," I said. Then I told them exactly what is written here. I added nothing and left out nothing, so far as I knew. Okay I didn't think they needed to know about Mary Ellen's nude sunbathing or her 'Spending Time' with me. Otherwise it was all there. They picked it to pieces after I finished. In the end the consensus seemed to be, that it was stupid plan and never should have worked. It just didn't have enough resources invested or any highly dedicated and trained men. It was just a bunch of old men and a couple of women. They seemed to feel that we should all be dead. "What you don't seem to realize is that we weren't fighting the Russian Commandos. We were fighting men, who most often showed their weapons, fired a few rounds into the air, and people just gave up. We obviously had all the resources we needed, and the right men for the job. They were well motivated and proven killers." I said it, then I spit on the floor and rolled the wheel chair toward the door. "We didn't dismiss you," the one in the Navy uniform said. "I lived up to my end of the deal. I told you what happened in detail, and I answered your question. We had a man killed, you can think what you want, but he was no amateur. Now I am going back to bed my leg is killing me." "We will be in touch," the Navy man said. "You can be a fairy princess or anything else you want. there is nothing more to learn from me," I said. "Actually there is," cheap suit said. "You juggled two equally difficult stories, while you got your group ready to fight the pirates. I'm sure there is something we could learn there." "The real death blow to them had nothing to do with me. Alex and Alex alone planned and executed the sinking of their boat." I said on my way out the door. Nobody got up to push the chair, so I guess they no longer saw me as that helpless old lady, who just got lucky. Well to them I probably wasn't so old. All of them seemed a few years older than me. When I got back to the room, there was a nurse standing by my door. "You better try those crutches this morning. I have been told to get you ready to leave for a stateside hospital." she said with a smile. "No need to smile so big, a hospital by any other name still smells like Lysol disinfectant." I said... The crutches were a pain in the butt, but they did give me some mobility. An hour after I mastered them some technician was in the room with a cart filled with odds and ends. He put together a temporary cast of air bags and Velcro. The cast was to prevent the wound from getting bumped. The padding would save me from being forced to kill the person who bumped me. It did make it appear that I had one elephant leg though. "Your lawyer made the arrangements," the hospital administrator said. "You should look them over before we go any farther." After a moment for me to look at the paper she went on, "The itinerary is as follows: an ambulance will take you to a Civilian terminal at the airport, where you will catch a plane nonstop to New York City. You have a two hour layover there. Then you will board a plane nonstop to your home town airport. At that airport you will be met by an ambulance, which will take you to the local hospital for further treatment and evaluation." "This is not a secret itinerary, so expect some press and some lookylews," she added as an after thought. "Sounds like a well thought out plan," I said in agreement. "We have been getting a lot of press calls. Would you consider a short press conference as you leave. I think it would go a long way to take the press harassment out of the equation during your trip home. You will be leaving for the airport about 4PM. Your plane leaves at 5PM. You should be home by 1PM EST." she said. "Sounds fine and sure get your press ready for one grilling, then I'm not answering any more questions." I said with a smile. "Good luck with that," she said. I tried to sleep, when I got back to the room. I knew that things were going to be complicated from the time I left the hospital in Germany, until I arrived at the Tryon regional hospital. Sleep alluded me for the two hours, but I gave it an honest effort. "We found you some utilities in the uniform store," the nurse said with a smile. "We are going to miss you Maxine," she said. "Why in the world would you miss me. I have been nothing but a pain to you guys?" I asked. "We saw the press conference this morning. There aren't all that many female peacetime heroes," she said. "I'm no hero, but thanks for missing me," I said smiling. I waited patently for the orderly to come push my wheel chair to the conference room, then out the door to the ambulance. While I waited I searched the TV for a rerun of Alex's speech. I found it just minutes before I had to meet the news whores. I had to give it to Alex. He managed to overcome his natural need to be macho. He told of everyone else's bravery. Then he told the world that he had stayed with the cargo. It sounded noble, but not really heroic. Then he told the story of the The Missionary and how he died. Then of the Teacher and his death. How the teacher was a real hero. He gave his life to save hundreds of starving kids. He mentioned each member of the security team by name. He included Mary Ellen in with the rest of us. I approved of that, it would thrill her and piss off her sleazy husband. He even had some glowing words for me. I appreciated it but it was probably going to complicate my life. At least he didn't tell the story of me shanking the last bad guy. After Alex's news conference, there were interviews with every member of the crew and our security detail. Everyone agreed that the lesson was, you could fight the bad guys and win. Pirating might never be so easy again. Alex hinted that he might be planning to start a company to escort ships through The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. He said he hoped to have the same team in place for the new company but wasn't sure how it would play out. He stated very clearly that the heroine of the encounter was last seen by him on a US Navy ship in the Gulf of Aden. He expected to speak with me very soon. since my spokesperson had stated that I was in a military hospital in Germany and doing well. As I had said to the CIA agent, they couldn't have hidden me long. That new conference was the reason I had to speak to the press before I left for the states. Alex had pretty much made his pitch as the owner of the Plumpy Nut and lessee of the ship. He expected that I would make a statement when I was up to it. He just threw me to the news whore wolves. I didn't mind one statement and the incident would be over. 24hour news moved quickly and people forgot easily. I wondered if I could avoid most of the questions about the video by passing it to Gwen. I began to wonder where she might be hiding out. Gwen showed up at three, just in time for the news conference. "Gwen, I'm going to push all the video questions off to you, since I have no idea what you have," I said to her. "Of course you know, but that's fine. We are going to be under a great deal of pressure to release the film and the audio. I am going to refuse, since it is private property." she informed me. "That's fine with me. If you remember that was my point with Morris. That video belongs to you no one else. So to change the subject are you going to be my escort home?" "Not officially, but Jen asked me to look after you." Gwen said. "Good, then keep Morris away from me," I said. "So you found someone who pisses you off more than me?" she asked. "Looks like," I agreed. "So you want to roll me to the conference room, so we can blow this pop stand?" I asked. Then added, "The orderly must have gotten lost." "No, you can roll yourself Maxine." She said it with a smile. "Play nice, or I'll tell Cheryl," I informed her. "Okay, hold on I might run you into an elevator shaft." Gwen said with a laugh. She had decided that it would be easier to laugh about our relationship, than to try to fix it. I agreed. Since she couldn't find an open shaft, she rolled me into the conference room a little after 3PM. The doctor who had kept an eye on me the last couple of days was standing talking to the hospital administrator. It looked like all the suspects were present, so it was time to reveal the guilty party. Since I was the guilty party, I just hoped that it didn't happen that way in real life "Ladies and Gentleman, I am Martha Sewell the Hospital's Assistant administrator. We called this press conference, because I know you are all trying to get updated information on Ms Maxine Stone. The lady sitting beside me is Ms Stone. You can see for yourself that she is in remarkably good condition considering her recent ordeal. The gentleman in the white coat is Doctor Armand. He has been caring for Ms Stone, since her arrival here two days ago. Dr. Armand will make a statement first, then we will be happy to take questions." The doctor's statement was just a lot of bullshit to cover the day I spent with the CIA. I didn't give a flying damn, since I had agreed to go along with any story to secure my guarantee of immunity. I still didn't intend to stray from the cover story in any way. "And to sum it all up, we have done all that we can do here, so Ms Stone has been released. She will continue her treatment in her hometown hospital. There she will be surround by her family and friends." He stepped back and the questions began. "Ms Stone how many of the pirates did you personally kill?" one of the news whores asked. "I didn't keep score. It wasn't a video game. I tried to keep them off the boat to protect the lives of my team and the boat crew. That was my only concern at the time. Not some stupid body count." "Would you be surprised if the figure was twenty?" a different whore asked. "Yes, I would be very much surprised. I don't know exactly. but I would think it was more like a dozen or less." I said. "I understand that you killed them at a distance of 800 yards," one of the men asked. "I don't think it was that far. The first boats came loaded with men carrying RPGs. We shot them before they could pull the trigger and blow holes in the ship or kill a lot of people." "And the ones at night," a woman asked. "We gave them clear warning that if they tried to board us, we would repeal them using whatever means we had. We were badly out numbered. It is a miracle that any of us survived. God must have been on our side." "Oh do you see this as a religious war?" some one asked. "No, but I think they might have. I saw it as a large force of men trying to take over our ship and likely kill us all. With that in mind, I defended myself and my team. That is my statement and you can ask the same questions ten ways and you are going to get the same answer every time. ------- Chapter 151: Old Friend and Lovers The flight from Germany passed in a drug haze. I am one of those people who can deal with pain, as long as my mind is on other things. When it is just me and the pain, then I feel it much more intensely. So I was popping the Vicodin like M&M candies. But once I got to New York. there were enough going on to take my mind off the pain. At least enough so that it was manageable. Gwen and I got a cab to a pizza parlor in the Village area. It was fun to watch the kids walking the streets. After some really good pizza, we went back to the airport to wait for time to pass. Just as soon as I got on the plane for the two plus hour flight home, I popped another pill and went to sleep. "I had no idea why I needed an ambulance from the airport to the hospital, since I had taken a cab to the pizza restaurant, but I got on the gurney and let them take me to the hospital. I didn't really mind. I was pretty out of it. I checked in through the emergency room, but I didn't see a doctor there. I was sent straight to a room. After getting me into one of their half assed gowns, and I mean that literally. I was taken to the MRI machine for more images of my calf. Someone wanted to know exactly how much muscle tissue was damaged. I wanted to know how much of a limp I would have. I knew from the crutches that adjusting to less mobility was going to be a pain. I wanted to know exactly how much of a pain in the ass it was going to be. "Hello Maxine, you do remember me don't you?" the man in the lab coat asked. "Of course I do Jeff, how is your dad?" I hadn't seen Ed, my former office landlord, and friend, in a couple of months. At Ed's advanced age a lot could happen in that time. "Dad is still as cranky as ever. He and Lucas are big buddies now. I think they are drinking partners. He needed that. I'm always on his ass to be healthy, and Lucas doesn't care." "Yeah, that would make a good balance." I paused a moment then asked. "So have you seen the damage?" "Maxine, I'm no expert, but I would say you are going to have a weak spot, but no real movement changes to speak off. Now pain yeah. you are going to have some of that. I remember your pain profile, so the drugs you are on ends now. What I will have you on for a while is Tylenol with Codeine. But only for a while, then it goes to the over the country stuff. You can handle this." "What about all that physical therapy that they kept pushing?" I asked. "Max, push yourself like you always do. Walk at the mall, ride your stupid bike in the middle of rush hour traffic, you will be fine. Do just as much as you can everyday that you can. Rest when you are worn out. In other words, live your life as much like you always have as possible." "You know Jeff, you are my favorite sawbones," I said with a smile. "Sweetie, I would never tell any of my other patients that. I would send them to rehab, but you will work harder on your own, than than any of them would in a complete rehab facility." "Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said and I meant it. "Spend the night here to be sure you are clean of the Vicodin, then go home and start living again," he demanded. "You got it doc. Jeff, thanks for everything, I mean that." "The same back at you," he said with a grin. "Wait till you get my bill." "Your bill is why I buy insurance," I said smiling. "In that case let's do that MRI over again," he suggested. "Not if it means I have to spend one extra minute in this place. I hate sick people." I replied. "Far as I am concerned you can check out now. But since it is late, why don't you stay the night and leave in the morning. No sense trying to get settled in with that leg the way it is. Give it till tomorrow, then go home and start working on a rehab schedule. Stop by my office next week about this time, and I'll check the incision to be sure it is doing okay. You can change the dressing everyday. Use antibiotic cream on it and don't get it wet till you see me." "Okay, I can handle all that. So I don't have to use the crutches?" I said. "Not if you can get by without them, but keep them around you might just need them." Jeff suggested. Then as quickly as he arrived, he was gone. I was surprised to find Cheryl walking through my door only seconds after Jeff left. "What were you doing? Hanging out in the hall waiting for the doctor to leave?" I asked her. First she kissed me then she answered, "Yes I didn't want to interrupt him. So how is the leg?" she asked. "The leg hurts a little bu I'm fine. How are things with you and Helen?" I asked. "Things are great. I am running the sit down spot now. Not any more money, but it is a lot of fun. It will be more fun, now that you can come visit again." "So, do you still have the place full of cops and medics?" I asked. "Yeah and lawyers, school teachers, stay at home moms and their children as well. Everybody likes to sit down to eat, but they love Helen's food most of all." "Yeah, I'm not surprised." I smiled at her just as Jen walked through the door. "Jen," I said as a greeting. "Maxine, how the hell are you hon? I want you to know I'm going to sue Somalia." she said laughing. "Good for you,"Cheryl said. "Well good luck with that. I'm not bad, but I will probably miss the Boston Marathon this year," I said. "Oh you were in the marathon last year?' Cheryl asked. "Hell no, but I'm still going to miss it." I said smiling at her. "I know you two have business, so I will see you at home. Do you know when." Cheryl asked. "Tomorrow," I said. Cheryl nodded, came over and kissed me goodbye, then turned to the door. "Tomorrow then," she said as she left. "That girl is staking a claim on you," Jen said smiling. "I doubt that, so how did things go with Hills?' I asked. "They were thrilled that you had video of the raid. There can be no mistake about who did what. It's proof positive that it was self defense. It's a good fucking thing Alex came to us, even if it was through the back door. If you hadn't gotten him to pick up that load of relief supplies, he would have had no cover. Without that they would have determined his whole purpose was to kill pirates. Then they sure as hell would have been poor fishermen, when some of those new media type militants got through spinning it." "Well it all worked out. At least our government knows, and will hopefully keep all the other governments from getting too interested." I said. "Like it or not they are going to have to go to bat for you. I have a bunch of documents signed by our state department guaranteeing that you will not be prosecuted in any court. They can bring a lot of pressure to bear. Even better they will be using it as a big publicity punch. You know it is an election year. They need some good news for a change." "So we are going to get away clean?' I asked. "And you are going to be major heros. The TV guys love you. Fox and CNN finally agree on something. That, in and of itself, might have been worth all the effort." "Not worth the Teacher's life. I hate when that happens," I said. "You do know that wasn't your fault. They all knew there was that possibility, when they signed on." Jen said trying to make me feel better. "Yeah, but I sent him to the spot where he died." I felt bad and I'm sure it showed. "Well you are due for some downtime, how about we go on a cruise?" Jen asked breaking into laughter. "If I never set foot on a boat again, it will be quite alright with me," I answered. "Your big admirer Alex sent me an Email. He would like to discuss a partnership arrangement with you." Jen smiled. "Sweetie I have been married more times than I care to remember and none of them worked out. Then there was Lucas, I don't do well with partners." I said. "Yeah I know. The only reason Bob and I have made it this long is, he likes to watch," she said grinning again." She paused then changed the subject. "So does that mean no domestic partnership with Cheryl." "Absolutely not, Cheryl might end that kind of thing with shank to my belly." I said smiling. Gwen walked through the door. "Would you like for me to model this beautiful backless gown for you?" I asked with a smile. I said it since she had a small camera with her. "No thanks, we are still trying to hide all your parts from the bedroom camera images." she seemed to be in a good mood. "Mary Ellen said to give you a kiss for her, but I think I will just tell you about it instead." Gwen said. "Good, we might have learned to get along, but kissing is definitely not part of it." I said in agreement. "You staying with Lucas or have you been to the apartment?" "I am going over to the apartment tonight. Lucas and I really haven't been getting along so well. Mike is in New York working on the editing of your Georgia adventure." "So are you in the TV apartment or with Cheryl?" "Cheryl has a new friend, since we were gone so long," The sarcasm dripped from her voice. I debated telling her my dad's old statement about people who cheat, but I decided not to waste it on her. I could have asked her who, but I would find out soon enough. "So are you coming home soon," Gwen asked. "It looks like tomorrow is the day," I informed her. "Cool, I can start filming you again." Gwen suggested. "Well this is fun ladies but I have to be heading home. Bob and I are going to a Motel lounge so I can flirt with strangers." Jen said. "Maybe they should assign a camera person to you. I am sure your life is more interesting than mine." I admitted. "Probably, but then I don't kill people," she said. "I don't know about that/ I am sure you have screwed some to death," I broke into laughter. "This from the blow job queen of the county," Jen said. "How would you know that?" I asked smiling. "Hey, I hear things too," Jen said. Gwen sat listening to it all. She had a small camera out recording it. Neither Jen nor I cared. You can't blackmail someone who has no dirty little secrets. "You know, speaking of things that suck. I'm real disappointed that Cheryl didn't bring me one of Helen's Brown bags." I said. "Hospital food sucks and not in a good way. "Well," I do have to run for real. Call me when you are ready to go out and we will buy you some new clothes." "I don't need clothes, I said but I will call." I informed her. "So how about an on camera interview?" Gwen asked. "Sure after I go pee," I said. ------- Chapter 152 Gwen was at the hospital to cover my release, so I planned to catch a ride home with her. "So what are your plans for the rest of the day?" she asked while we waited for my release. She really had only a professional interest. Most likely she hoped to stay one step ahead of me. "My plan is to watch the episodes of my favorite TV shows that I have missed. Then I think I will go to dinner somewhere. I might take a shot at the Barbecue Pit. After dinner I will most likely swing by the Cop Out to let them know I'm still alive. I don't know if anyone cares or not, but I want a beer with people who don't plan to kill me afterward." I said. "I hate to admit it, but I'm developing a taste for grease," Gwen admitted. "Are you up for the drive or should I chauffeur you around." "I took the hit in my left leg, so I can drive I think. If I get in trouble. I will take you up on your offer." I replied. "Okay but for God's sake be careful, we have a lot invested in you." Gwen said. "Ah, so I'm the meal ticket now. That's okay you guys earned your keep on the last couple of jobs ... I would rather have had Mike on the last one though." "I know, I told mike you didn't care for Bobby. He said he will try someone else next time. You do know he won't be coming back. He is going to be editing the show continuously from now on." Gwen informed me. "No I didn't know, but I'm not surprised. It seems people constantly come and go from my life. It usually has nothing to do with me, they just seem to drift in and out. I guess their own real lives get in the way of their life with me." "Hello, Ms Stone?" the nurse asked, saving me from any further self pity. "Yes Ma'am that's me." I replied. "I have your written instructions here and your file has been called in to the Administration office. Someone should be up shortly to do the paperwork and sign you out." she informed me. "When is that going to happen," I asked. The middle aged washed out blond nurse looked up to see a chubby brunette enter the room. "That would be right now," she said with a big smile. "Ms. Stone, I'm Lois from the business office," she said. "I just need to see that all the paperwork is complete. Is this your insurance carrier?" she said pushing a paper to me. "If that is the information my lawyer gave you, then it is right," I suggested. "Don't you know, if that is your carrier?" she asked just a hair on the snippy side. "Actually, I don't have a clue about that kind of thing. Jen takes care of it all. Would you like for me to get her on the phone for you?" I asked. I knew that she really didn't want to talk to Jen. She might think she did, but she really didn't. "No that's fine, if she provided the information, I'm sure it is correct." Lois said. "Okay, then what do I need to sign?" I asked. "Well, first of all, how will you be handling the copay on the insurance?" she asked. "How much is it?" I asked. "The copay, and the uncovered items come to 1181.12, " she informed me. I knew better than to argue, but I had to know. "What exactly is the total bill for an overnight stay." I asked in a tone I am sure she had heard a thousand time, disbelief. "Your bill came to a little over $7,000," she informed me. "Oh well, I'm sure if Jen put me in here, she had a reason." I said it reaching into my pocket for the card case, which I had personally made from leather well over a hundred years old. It held a few dollars in cash, my driver's license, and my debit card. "Just a minute Maxine, I think you are covered under the TV network's policy. I'm pretty sure you are, since you were hurt on the job, more or less," Gwen said. "Gwen honey, I just want to get out of here. I'll pay the bill and you check with the TV people. If they want to send me 1100 bucks I will take it." Thirty minutes later, outside the end unit of my apartment building, Gwen said, "So you are really going to watch old TV shows?" "Yes for a couple of hours, then I am going to just hang out in a chat room or something. If you want, I'll call before I leave for dinner." "No need I'm monitoring you. I will know." Gwen said with a smile. "That is one thing I won't miss when the contract expires for this show." I said. "The Network people have seen episode one. Mike says, they will be offering you an obscene amount of money not to quit." "Nice try Gwen, but I know bullshit when I hear it," I said laughing. "Just wait, they are rushing like hell to get it on the air as a summer season show. That means it has to be ready to go June 1. she said. "So it's April now, that gives Mike two months to get it edited,"I said. "Ordinarily it wouldn't be a problem, but this is Network TV. You can't say fuck every other word, like you could on the Internet series..." "I have faith in you guys to do it. Besides the rule was, I act as if you weren't here, and you guys are supposed to film, and then fix it. After that, it is what it is, nothing more. "Oh hell, go watch TV. Do you want to order pizza delivery for lunch?' she asked. "Gwen you aren't supposed to interact with me," I said. "Screw them all, it's just a fucking pizza." she said. "Okay, then make mine hamburger and onion," I demanded. "I'll call them around 12:30. It should be here by 1PM and I'll bring it down." She said. "I'm going to get enough for Cheryl, she will be off around the same time. She is working 4AM till 1pm week days. I'll call to be sure she is okay with it." "That's fine with me," I said. I went into the apartment and noticed right away that it smelled of stale perfume and sweat. "Smells like sex," I said aloud to no one. Even though it was still chilly. I opened all the windows. I also turned on the fans I kept them around to move the warm or cold air around. Radiator heat was fine, but it don't circulate the heat. That day the fans were clearing stale air from the place, more than anything else. Of course it was warm, since my apartment had to be heated to heat the others. I turned on the computer to check my mail. I could not believe there were over a hundred emails. How could I get so many emails in less than two weeks. I checked and no two of them were from the same person. I opened the oldest one first. It was one of those spam things disguised as it were from someone who knows you. I deleted it. The second one I opened read "You cunt." There was nothing else. "Lucky guess," I said aloud. The third read, "I just saw your Internet show. if your TV show is like that, it won't last a week. The censors will have it trashed immediately. The advertisers will run like hell." The rest of the hundred seemed to be either people looking forward to the show, or people calling me names. Marty ran those five and ten minute episodes like a Saturday morning serial from the fifties. I probably got ten email a month from people who had seen it. Suddenly I had ten times that many in half the time. "Ain't cable TV wonderful," I said aloud. I read them all just in case there was something interesting in one of them. There wasn't. Fan mail or hate mail, it was all the same to me. I went to one of the recorded TV sites and turned on one of the cop shows I tried to follow. The procedures on those shows had gotten better over the years. The viewers got smarter, so the shows had to do the same. The characters were crap. Some of them were trying to be Bad Ass cops and some wanted to be politically correct. Neither of the stereotypes would work in the real world.The writing on a few was excellent and the ones I watched tended to have toned down characters and good stories. Unfortunately there weren't many good shows like that. There were also the light comedy mixed with adventure shows. I found Survivor to be in that category. People starving while trying to screw each other, was a lot like real life, so it was sometimes depressing, but often amusing as well. Before I knew it Gwen was on the phone. She warned me that she would be at my door in about ten minutes. According to her Cheryl would follow by a moment or two. I would just as soon have gone to McDonald's and eaten alone. I was positive there would be drama with my pizza. "Hi, Hamburger and onion ma'am," Gwen said. "Do I have to tip you?" I asked. "It is customary," Gwen said. "Never mix beer and tequila," I said it as I took the medium pizza from her. "What was that?" Gwen asked. "Why, your tip of course," I replied. "God, you are such a smart ass. Don't you ever run out of come backs?" "Sometimes, then I just fuck them," I said. "Who is it that you are fucking," Cheryl asked. "Way too many to keep track, so how was your day?" I asked. "Good," Cheryl answered. "Then let's go eat pizza and tell each other lies." I suggested. "Don't we always?" Gwen asked looking dead into Cheryl's eyes. "Sometimes, but not always," Cheryl replied. "I hope, I'm not supposed to understand any of this,." I commented. "Not this time, but you probably will one day," Gwen said. "In that case let's eat pizza and tell lies about how great our sex lives are," I suggested. "Sounds like a plan to me," Cheryl agreed. Gwen however turned and walked away. "Damn, I guess that means I'm going to have to pay for this pizza," I suggested. "No you don't, I already paid for it," Cheryl said with a laugh. I never said Cheryl couldn't be a cruel bitch. After a couple of hours in bed with Cheryl, I felt much better. She was very careful not to bump my injured leg. Cheryl had the most remarkable way of using her tongue and fingers at the same time. I never liked things in my ass until I met Cheryl. The first time she had to tell to just shut up and relax. After that I enjoyed it. Yes I have had anal sex for years, but I never really enjoyed it. With Cheryl it was totally different. My sphincter clamped down on her finger and tried to suck it in. Cheryl would suck on my clit gently while sliding two fingers in and out of my rectum. It was an amazing feeling. It helped that she had her thumb inside my pussy at the same time Since I couldn't move around too freely, with my leg bandaged and in an air cast, she sat on my face. I licked and sucked on her until she flooded my face with something warm and slippery. It was really quite a wonderful afternoon. We had to be careful which took some of the fun out of it, but still there were plenty of sensations to go around. Cheryl went home to shower while I cleaned up as best I could without getting my leg wet. I was about 90% clean when the three of us left for the Barbecue pit. ------- Chapter 153 The barbecue pit wasn't the real name of the restaurant, it's what the Gunny had called it. The name stuck with me and for some reason my friends as well. Cheryl decided that she would skip it after all. She liked the barbecue, but didn't care for the Cop Out. I could understand her feelings, so I didn't make an issue. Once I got to the restaurant, I sat alone at a small table in the corner with a view of Aster's small main street. "What can I get you, Max?" the middle aged waitress with the badly dyed red hair asked. "I'm going to go with the large tray tonight. I have been having too many calories, the French Fries would put me way over my limit for today." I said with a smile. The tray was just chopped barbecue pork and coleslaw with a vinegar and spice dressing. "Didn't you see the sign honey, check your diets at the door," she laughed, but she didn't make a big deal of it. "You want the sweet tea?" "Of course, it's half the reason I come here," I said it smiling back at her. "Don't forget to bring the extra hot sauce." There was hot sauce on the table, but behind the counter there was a sauce not found on the tables. The reason was simple, if a customer used it by mistake, their barbecue would be thrown out. It was not for the weak of spirit or anyone with even a hint of a stomach ailment. Gwen came in before the food arrived. "Where is Cheryl?" she asked. "She decided to skip the Barbecue, since I'm headed to the Cop Out afterwards," I admitted. "She must have been pissed, when you didn't offer to change your plans for her?" Gwen asked. "Actually, not at all, she was fine with it. At least as far as I could tell. What's going on with you two?" I asked. I was pretty sure I knew, but I might as well let her tell me. She was dying to talk. "Cheryl is such a selfish bitch. Everything is about her. She will take and take then when there is nothing left to take, she just stops paying any attention to you," The words came out in a gush. The term what goes around comes around, came to mind. I had an almost uncontrollable urge to scream that at Gwen, but I fought it. Instead I said, "Most people are pretty selfish, if you get right down to it. Selfish is kind of the human default position. To be giving is exceptional these days." She was about to speak but the waitress arrived with my food. She also took Gwen's order. I hated it, but I was in a bit of a spot. I could eat my food and be rude, or I could wait for Gwen's to arrive, and risk my own food getting cold. "Sorry if this seems rude, but I'm hungry," I said as I shoveled barbecued pork into my mouth. I did try to eat slowly. Gwen got her food long before I finished with mine. I ate the over spiced barbecue with Gwen staring at me in disbelief. "What?" I asked. "How do you eat that stuff?" she asked. "Tums," I answered. "By the handful I'm sure," she suggested. Prissy Gwen was hardly into her food when I finished. I waved for the waitress, it wasn't considered bad form in the barbecue pit, "Would you bring me another glass of tea, and a side order of hush puppies?" I asked. "Sure honey, I'll be right back." She walked to the order window stood about a minute, then returned with both my requested items. I made a dip of ketchup, lots of salt, and my hot sauce. I ate my second order of hush puppies with the dip. When Gwen finally finished, I paid my bill and let her pay her own bill. "You know I liked it better, when I just walked out after I ate. Let's go back to you just videoing me. We can get along, but we aren't really friends," I suggested. I was sorry immediately after I said it. Gwen looked devastated. I had no idea why, a month before she couldn't stand me. I tried not to care what she was feeling, but I knew. I also knew that if I comforted her, she would be like a puppy. I would never get rid of her. I forced myself to play it cool. I left her at the register and used my crutches to get to the cruiser. I managed to make it to the Cop Out without running over anything. Since it was my left leg that was injured, I shouldn't have any trouble driving. I didn't really, it was just a bit awkward and uncomfortable for some reason. Since it was early, only a little after 8PM, I ordered coffee. There were several friends of Bill (AA members) who sat all night long drinking coffee. I didn't plan to go that long, but I did plan to not get drunk. "Hey Max, when is that TV show going to start?" the bartender asked. "Melvin I have no earthly idea. I wish they would either get on with it or stop following me around like a second shadow though. The show can't be as bad as the stupid promos, they are running." "Oh come on, the promos are fun. I just want to see if they will show you biting that guys prick off," he said with a leer." "Melvin that is an awful thing to say," a girl down the bar said. "Yeah, it makes me cringe every time someone tells that story." It was one of the cops I recognized on sight, but had never had a real conversation with, who made the comment. "It wasn't his whole prick, just and inch or so." I said. "It wasn't enough to really count." "Oh it counts," another of the cops said. "Damn, you guys are really hard on a gimp," I said it as I showed them, my crutches. "Well I guess you won't be dancing tonight," one of the female paramedics said. "I guess not. It also looks like I won't be drinking either." I said. "Okay you aren't going to dance, and you aren't going to drink, I suppose blow jobs in the parking lot are out of the question?" One of the older cops asked. "Nothing is out of the question, but in your particular case, I wouldn't hold my breath," I suggested. "That is cold," was his answer but he laughed as well. "So where is your blond friend, with the big boobs," one of the younger guys asked. "Sonny, she is old enough to be your mommie," I said laughing. "And that would make him what," the female paramedic asked. "Remember when you get me at a road block, I did not say that," I said. I waited a respectable time, then asked, "Where is Blevins? I don't think I have ever been here this long that he didn't show up." "You didn't hear, Blevins is playing super cop again. They tapped him to run a statewide drug task force. We aren't supposed to know, but he is somewhere down east." "Damn Jerry is playing Daddy and Blevins is playing cop, looks like it's going to be a lonely summer," I suggested. "There are plenty of us around to fill in for them," one the emergency med techs suggested. "Like a relief pitcher or a pinch hitter," I asked. "Just like that," the medic said. Well you could change my dressing in the morning," I said quietly. "Oh yes, I do know how to change a dressing," he whispered to me. "You know, I'm twice your age," I said. "Yes but only driven on Sundays," he said smiling. "Honey, if you will believe that, be careful what you sign." I said. "So, want to go to someplace quieter," He suggested. "Sure, let's go to your place," I said. "Well my place is a long way from here. Why don't we go to yours?" he asked. "I think that would be a great idea, if your wife joins us," I said in a whisper. "Oh, I guess you don't sleep with married men?" he asked. "Not unless I get to sleep with the wife as well," I said honestly. "I don't think she would go for it," he laughed as he stood to move away from me at the bar. 'You mean, you hope she wouldn't go for it." I laughed at him and so did some of the others. "Another conquest," I whispered too low for anyone else to hear, but it would be on the tape. I turned on the bar stool, so that I could see the others dance. I would have preferred to have been dancing myself, rather than watching someone else. Time would right that, I hoped. I saw Gwen sitting in the rear of the club. She had the camera in front of her, but she looked miserable. I was almost ready to feel sorry for her, but then I remembered all the reasons I couldn't. I just didn't feel nearly as good, as I should have, at her misery. Since nobody interesting came into the cop out by ten, I headed home. I stopped to pick up a couple of diet cokes on the way. A couple of kids in the parking lot ask for a buck. I said, "Get a job." One of them drew back his hand like he was going to slap me. "Do you really want your friend to see you get your ass kicked by an old lady gimp?" I asked it smiling. I could see it in his eyes. He was going to try to beat me down and take my money. "Fuck it," I said dropping the crutch and pulling the concealed hammer S&W .38. "I could have beaten you with the crutch, until you were brain dead, but I don't want to pull a stitch. So walk away, or try your luck at stopping a bullet with your chest." He made the smart choice and walked away. I looked over my shoulder and saw Gwen with the camera sticking out her car window. None of them would help me, they all just wanted to see me get hurt. or hurt somebody else. I wasn't at all sure there was enough money to get me to do more than one set of shows. I tried not to dwell on the fact that shit always happened to me. I mean those kids could have beaten down a hundred other old people, but they waited for me. God must really hate me, I thought. I took my cokes and make it home by 11PM. When I opened my door, I heard the next door over open. "It's good to see you back. I hope that leg is nothing too serious," Lois said. "I hope it doesn't turn out to be any more than the doctors have promised me. With these things you just never know. You want to come in for a drink?" I asked. "Actually I did want to talk to you," she said. Lois was a sweet little old lady about 60 years old. An early retiree from the county government. She had sold her house and come to live at the Casa del Aster or whatever I was calling it at that moment. "Sure come on in," I said as I struggled through the door. "You do remember that everything we say is recorded for that silly TV show?" I asked. "I had forgotten, could we talk in my apartment then?" she asked. "Of course," I replied. I left the microphone capsule in my apartment. I struggled to follow Lois into her place. "I have to admit, you have a lot better taste than I do," I said. "Thank you, but I like your place just as well." she said. "So Lois, is something wrong with your apartment?" I asked. "Oh my no, I have a favor to ask of you, that's all." ------- Chapter 154 "So Lois what is it that you need to talk to me about?' I asked it once her door was closed. I knew that leaving the microphone capsule at home would really piss Gwen off, but I didn't care. It would probably be good for her in the long run. "I know that my lease says that no one can stay in the apartment more than 7 days without being on he lease. But my son is coming to spend the summer in Aster. I would like for him to sleep on the fold out sofa in the living room. Do I really need to put him on the lease?" she asked. "I think we can make an exception in your case. I put that in the lease to avoid boyfriends, who couldn't be checked out, from staying in someone's apartment. We don't need some types here. I can control to whom I rent, but I can't control who their boyfriends and girlfriends are," I admitted. "I thought it was something like that. So, as long as I keep him under control everything will be okay?" she asked. "Just tell me a little about him, only because the other neighbors will ask," I suggested. "Johnny is a college professor at the state university in Capitol City. He teaches philosophy and some kind of ethics course as well." Something about that set alarms ringing in my ear. "Ah thats nice, so is Johnny Married?" I asked. "Divorced, the whole world is divorced," she said. "Some of us more than once," I said with a laugh. "How old is your son, and is he an only child?" I asked. "I have two children a daughter who you met, and Johnny." she said. Johnny is the baby. He is 35, some baby. My daughter is 38." she said. After she said it, I remembered that the daughter had come to look at the apartment with her mother. My memory really was shit. I had a couple of concussions from explosions nearby, so maybe I could blame it on that. I would rather blame it on the concussions, than dementia which it probably was. "Well, I don't see a problem with your son, staying with you. Of course you will have to watch Gwen and Cheryl both are single you know?" "Yes they are and so are you, but I think he is old enough to take care of himself." she said. "I certainly hope so, but when it comes to relationships, I'm not sure any of us are." I replied. "Well, it's getting late, if that's all you need I'm going to call it a night," I said that as I stood to leave. "That is all. I probably should tell you how much I am enjoying living here. I feel very safe with you and Cheryl living here." "Oh why is that?' I asked suddenly interested. "Well I know about you. of course everyone does," she said. "Yes, I suppose they do," I agreed. "Cheryl just seems really confident. She has one of those take charge personalities. I mean that in the very best of ways. I feel very safe here. That's important to me." Lois said quietly. "Well, I'm glad you feel safe. I honestly do all I can to maintain a safe environment for us all." I admitted. "I know," she said as I slipped out the door. Back in my apartment I got to wondering why her son would want to come spend the summer in his mom's cramped apartment. It had a really strange feeling. I knew that not all conspiracies are real, but then again some are. I didn't feel threatened, so I didn't make a fuss about it. Besides it was Lois's problem not really mine. I could very easily ignore him. I had no idea how exhausted I still was until I hit the bed. I slept without the pain meds even though I did feel the leg a bit. I almost got out bed in the middle of the night to take a pill, but I managed to make it through. I had over twenty of the Tylenol with Codeine left. I wanted to save them so I switched to OTC Tylenol. I did it to save the Codeine, just in case I had a really bad night. The next morning I drove the cruiser to Helen's Place. I had a bacon egg and cheese sandwich on a flat bread roll. The potato fritters were always amazing, They were especially good after I had missed them a few days. "Hello there, sorry I was busy in the back when you came in." Cheryl said when she came to my table with more coffee. "I didn't know you had a back," I said laughing. "It's what I call the upstairs. We are storing things there at the moment. Helen and I are trying to decide what to do with it." "I'm sure you two have discussed catering really small events up there, meetings and the like," I said. "Also putting in a kitchen up there but I think that is a bit too much trouble. But this place is making a bunch of money. Helen really is glad she listened to us and opened it." Cheryl said. "That's good, I would hate to have given her bad advice, not that she would listen to me anyway." I said. "Oh shit Maxine, she thinks you walk on water. When I told her you had been shot, she cried for hours." Cheryl said it almost in disgust. "Hey, Helen feels things more than you or I. You need to cut her some slack." I said angrily. "Easy, Maxine, I know you two are friends. It just doesn't do any good to get all teary." she said. "Well I don't know, if it helped her or not, but knowing that she was concerned helps me." "Okay, okay, I get it. So are you headed for the mall to walk?" she asked. "No, I'm headed to the mall to hobble," I said. "Well get a good workout but not so much that you have to go back to the hospital. In spite of all the tough bitch talk, I like having you around." Cheryl said smiling. "Good because I plan to keep on being around for a while longer," I replied. "I just noticed where the hell is your delta cup?" she asked. "I can't manage it and the crutches, so I left it at home. I would rather have left the crutches." I said with a laugh. "Knowing you, I'm surprised that you didn't," Cheryl commented. "I can't walk on the leg just yet. I still have stitches and when I put all my weight on it, the leg hurts like a bitch," I informed her. She could tell from my voice that I had been testing it. "Then don't put your weight on it dummy," she suggested. "Thanks, that was helpful," I said. "I do try. Now do you want a coffee to go?" Cheryl asked. "No thanks, I won't be long. After that I plan to go home and drink a gallon of my own blend of coffee." I said. "Well, I'm sure you think it is better than restaurant blend, It probably is as a matter of fact, but our is hot and you don't have to make it." "Sounds good but no thanks, I am off to the mall," I informed her. "Be careful and have a good hobble," she said smiling. "See you at one." Even though the ride to the mall in the car was much warmer, it was not nearly as much fun. I began at the downstairs door where I always entered. I began to walk using the crutches to keep most of my weight off my leg. I put enough weight on it to make myself move it. Even though it was painful, I kept at it. I knew the difference between the pain which threatened to rip a stitch, and the one that was just stiff muscles. I finished one complete lap, top and bottom. I usually did three. "What did you do to your leg Maxine," the tiny dancer asked. "Had a bit of an accident. Got a chunk of my calf muscle missing."I said. "Are you going to be doing physical therapy?" she asked. "No, I'm just going to walk here and do some stretching exercises," I replied. "When you can walk on it without screaming, come see me. I can teach you some good muscle building exercises from my dance instructor days.," she said. "You do know, that I'm going to take you up on that," I said. "I certainly hope so," she said smiling warmly. I watched her walk away gracefully, while I hobbled to the exit where my car awaited me ... The one lap wore me out, as well as left my leg in pain. I resisted the urge to go to the codeine. The drive home was very uncomfortable. I could not find a position which did not hurt, I must have showed how much my leg hurt because Lois asked, "Are you alright." when she passed me on the way to the mail box. "I'm fine the mail hasn't come yet," I informed her. "It never is on time when I'm waiting for something," she said. "One of life's many perversities," I agreed. "You know I never see the college kid." "Ah you mean Sarah Ellen, I know she leaves after you go out to breakfast. She comes home about five and slips in very quietly. She never plays her stereo loud or has parties. Sometimes I forget she is here," Lois said. "Now that you are back, and school is almost out, she will probably be around some, when you are here." "How does she get along with Cheryl?' I asked. I was a little worried that Cheryl might be hitting on her and worrying her to death. "I have no idea Sarah never mentions her, or much of anything else. She mostly says, 'HI.' then locks herself in her apartment. If she goes out, I don't know when, or if she comes home at all. I think she has a boy friend." Lois admitted "That's nice everyone needs a boyfriend," I replied. "Or at least a special friend," she said with a knowing smile. "Or that," I said in agreement. By noon I had caught up on all the news and was bored. Not so bored that I wanted to rush out and get into any old adrenaline rush situation, but too bored to sit still. I got my crutches and hobbled out to the car, I stopped by McDonald's for burgers and then I stopped at a Hopin for a Coke. After assembling my picnic, I drove to the marina. I got to watch the fishermen, the sailors, and the water skiers for an hour. It took my mind off the pain in my leg and my inactivity. I was sitting on a hard wooden picnic table, when my purse began to play the Mag 7 theme. I was still going to kill Lucas one day for that. "Hello," I said into the phone. "Maxine, it's Lois, you probably need to come back here, if you can." she said. "Okay, I'm on my way. It's going to take about fifteen minutes, can it wait that long?" I asked. "Sure, I don't think it is urgent. It's just something you are going to want to take care of personally, I think." She said. "I was pretty sure she wanted me to ask what it was, so I didn't. Might as well have a little drama,. I thought. Hell, after the Gulf of Aden I didnt even rush. Whatever it was, would still be there when I got to the apartment building. Everything looked pretty normal when I pulled into the parking lot. When I got out of the car things began to go a little strange. For on thing Sarah Ellen followed a man from the walkway, which lead to the gate. She was dressed in only a bikini. She was also screaming at a guy in jeans and a dirty work shirt. "Isn't it a little chilly for a bikini?" I asked... "I want you to shoot this pervert," she shouted. "Shooting is so noisy, and so final, couldn't I just cut his balls off?" I asked. She realized that I wasn't taking her seriously. "I have been doing aerobics, and ran out to check the mail, he to follow me inside when I went back through the gate." she said shortly to get my attention. ------- Chapter 155: Illegals and News Whores "Is that true?" I asked. As an answer he rattled off several words in Spanish. I was about to try to communicate with him when Lois came to the gate. "I called you while he was just hanging around. I called 911 when he tried to follow Sarah inside," Lois said. She had brought a long heavy coat for Sarah to wear while we waited for the police. "Good for you," I said. I almost meant it. Yes it was a high security building, but he just didn't look like a threat. He actually looked to be a couple of steps up from homeless. He tried to reach into his pocket but I stopped him. I did it by showing him my .38 S&W. I shook my head no, as I pointed it at him. He got the message quickly enough. The business end of a revolver has a universal language all it's own. I reached into his pocket. There scrawled on the back of a His Laboring Few card was my name and address. I took out my cell phone. Dialing the number with only one hand was easy, since it was part of my speed dial program. "Preacher what hell are you doing sending people here who don't speak English. He is lucky to be alive." I said winking at Sarah and Lois. "Max he isn't supposed to be there alone. I'm sorry. If you remember we renovated in the dead of winter. We need to do something to your courtyard. You promised we could do something in the spring, well it's spring." "Why are you sending me someone who doesn't speak English?" I asked. "He hasn't had time to learn English yet. He should have been with a foreman who speaks Spanish, as well as English. I'll get someone out there," he promised. "Too late, the cops are on the way. Actually I hear them now. I hope this guy has his papers, because if not, I'm going to have him charged with trespass, and ship his ass back to wherever he came from." "Don't do that Max please. I'll be right over." the preacher said. "Go to the county lockup, if you want him back. I should have them arrest you for conspiracy as well," "Come on Max things are bad where he is from," the preacher said. "And if we keep this up, things well be just as bad here. I'm sorry preacher, but I'm doing the right thing here, as I see it. I know that you are doing what you think is right as well, but you are dead wrong." "We will have to agree to disagree," he said. "Yes, and if The Laboring Few is outsourcing their work force now, count me out as a customer." I meant it as well. "I'll dig my own holes and put down plants. I can manage the grass. There is hardly any here." "Our guys did some design work, which we were hoping to show you. Edwardo there was supposed to wait outside for the foreman. Come on Max give us a chance. You know that no one can do the work at our prices." "Sorry preacher, but if you are using illegals to do your work, then I'm going to be shopping for someone else," I said. "You buy clothes made in Malaysia, you buy guns made in Europe, but you can't give a poor refugee a job?" he asked. "A refugee is here legally preacher, so get a grip. I'll be looking for someone else to do my courtyard." I said. "It's gonna cost a lot more," He suggested. "Then I will do the work myself," I replied. "Officers," I said as the young men left their cruiser. "There has been a mistake, but we also have a problem. This man, who speaks no English, was trying to force his way inside our compound." "Ms Stone, we know all about this compound. So what was Hector here doing?" "Do you know the group called His Laboring Few?" I asked. "Yeah a bunch of reformed drunks and drug users," he said. "Yes, well they did the remodel on this compound. It looks as thought they have branched out and now take in illegal aliens. I'm not sure what this one's immigration status is. He somehow wandered here and probably didn't realize that he couldn't just bull his way inside." "I see, so what do you want to do?" the older of the two asked. "I don't care, we can just move past it, or you could take him in for being an illegal. I have no idea what the current administration will do about it." "They won't do anything. If you want us to charge him with trespass we will. If you just want him to stay away, I think you have made your point." "Let's go with, 'I'll give you ten minutes to get out of town'" I suggested. "Works for me," the older cop said in agreement. "If you speak Spanish, give him my message. Next time I'm going to send him home to wherever home is." I said. "Can do," One of the cops began saying words I didn't recognize, but in the end Hector couldn't wait to turn tail and run for it. "Thanks guys, You want to come in for some ice tea?" I asked "Wish we could Ms Stone, but we have to be out on patrol. The bosses can track us now. The days of calling 10-8 from the restaurant, and staying to finish our coffee are gone." "I guess that means no more midnight watermelon parties behind the school." I said smiling. "Not as long as we are at work. Midnight we are usually just leaving the station, so sometimes we still do that, But you are right, it ain't like it used to be." "Hell, in my case it never was the way I remember it," I said with a laugh. "You might have a point," he agreed. After they had gone I asked Sarah, "Don't you need to get inside and get dressed?" "Now that you mention it, I am getting cold even with Lois's coat. By the way thanks for taking over for me. I would not have known what to do." Sarah said. "Don't worry Sarah, it's what Max does," Lois said. She seemed a little awestruck, but I tried not to notice. Once in my own place I began to check my mail and read the national news. Washington was still a joke, which made us a bit of a joke around the world. The politicians couldn't stay on an even course. Once week, we push people around and the next, we let them push us around. It was actually humorous. It had been almost a full week, but people were still commenting on Alex and his band of cut throats. "I mean that literally," one of the news whores said. "It seems two of the little band of vigilantes were women. When one of the pirates got a little to personal with one of them, she cut his throat and hung around to watch him bleed to death. Yes that is Maxine Stone, soon to be a Cable TV Star. How low can we sink and call it entertainment?" he asked, not wanting an answer. I probably reacted all wrong. I laughed my ass off. I found it to be funny in that ridiculous way. I switched from the super liberal bleeding heart, news channel to one not quite so over the top. The news whore there didn't even mention the cruise. I was glad that only the silly media circus seemed to still be carrying it. My purse played Mag 7 again. "Hello, I said into the phone. "Is this Maxine Stone? The voice on the other end of the line asked. "Some days it is," I replied. I didn't recognize the voice, but I knew what was coming. I had been out o f the country during the initial news coverage. Obviously the producers. Mike and Gwen, had released some images from our little boat ride. "Ms Stone, did you see the CNN coverage of your encounter with pirates?" the voice asked. "Actually, I just finished watching it yes," I said. "Do you have a response?" the voice continued. "Not really, anyone who sees the tape, and hears the audio, who can still come up with that story is either way out of touch with reality, totally brain dead, or maybe on crack. I'm not sure which it is." "From the audio it is pretty obvious that he planned to rape and kill you?" it was a question. "That's how I interpreted it. I didn't really like the idea of being raped, but mostly I hated the idea of being dead." I replied. "I would like to thank you for your honest reactions. I would also like to invite you to come on our show." The producer whore said. "For now I think I'm going to pass on that. I'm sure the show's producers will be happy to comment though. Let me give you their numbers as well." I read off the numbers to both Mike and Gwen's cell phones. It seemed only fair. I turned off my cell phone and took a nap. I slept right through lunch. That's probably why I was starved, when I woke at 4:30 PM. I looked at my frig and realized that I hadn't done any shopping since I returned. I almost never ate at home, but for some reason I didn't want to face a restaurant with crutches. Maybe I was vain after all, or maybe I didn't want to explain it all a hundred times. "I found a frozen spaghetti dinner. I actually like those with enough hot sauce and other spices. And of course I had to heat two pieced of that thick garlic bread, which also came from my freezer. I figured with a larger enough freezer, I could have just about anything I wanted from the microwave. I returned to the computer to read the coverage of the world news. I really hoped that my fifteen minutes of fame had passed. For a while it seemed to have done so. Then my response hit the web and it all started again. I was curious, so I read the comments left by their viewers. Most of them seemed to get that I was only joking. Some of them picked apart my every word. I was sure that Gwen and Mike were thrilled with all the free publicity. The little TV network could never have afforded that much time on all the national channels. It was quite interesting to see them pretend to be upset. Oh yes they were already being interviewed and planning guest appearances on some of the shows. I trusted that they knew how to keep things real. I did not need a bunch of reporters bushwhacking me. They could do the interviews straight or try to sensationalize things. The latter, would make my life a living hell. They had been interviewed over the phone by all the networks while my phone was turned off. I did turn it on long enough to check my messages. I deleted all but the ones from Jen and the preacher. Jens message was, "Don't worry hom, I'm going to sue all those bastards." I found that just about as amusing as the bleeding heart reporter's story. That story and my response started a firestorm. To do that, about half the people have to love you, and half hate you. Just ask Sarah Palin. No matter what a person in our position says, it's going to lead to a lot of grief. The preacher said, "Thank you for not pressing charges on my man. He just didn't know any better. Believe me he does now. Also I hope you change your mind about the landscaping." It was almost 9PM when the knock of my door startled me. I looked out the spy hole to see Sarah Ellen standing in front of the door. "Why hello," I said after I opened the door. "After what happened this afternoon and then the TV stories, I needed to talk to you. I have been working up the courage." ------- Chapter 156: Building a Team "Well come on in, I know you aren't in a bikini, but it's still cold out there," I said. "Are you a coffee drinker?" "No, I don't like coffee," she said. "I have iced tea and diet coke, you pick it," I suggested. "Iced tea then," she said. I went to the frig to remove the gallon milk jug thing filled with Helen's iced tea. Helen gave me a deal on it, but I still spent a lot of money on her tea. She offered to give it to me, but I refused. Everyday I had Cheryl bring me a gallon of what was left at the end of the sit down spot's day. If there wasn't anything left, I didn't get my tea fix for that afternoon and evening. Once the tea was in her hand, I asked Sarah. "So what is it you wish to talk about?" "The man today brought back some really bad memories," Sarah said. I wanted to tell her to get a therapist, I didn't care about an 18 year old's bad memories. What I said was, "I'm sorry to hear that Sarah. If there is any way I can help, let me know." I wanted to, but did not follow that up by showing her the door. Instead I drank my coffee and waited for her to continue. "I saw what you did to the man on the boat who tried to rape you, and I have heard the rumors about Cheryl. I feel ashamed that I didn't do anything. I didn't even tell anyone." "How long ago was it?" I asked. By that time, I admit, that I was a little more interested. "Two years, I was sixteen and in high school." she said. "Was it a student at your school?" My interest was only slight, sixteen year old girls lose it all the time. "No, it was my mother's boy friend," she said. Then she burst into tears. At that point I got seriously interested. I was sure that Gwen and Mike would be as well. They were going to have to get her permission to use the story. I was sure as hell going to verify everything before I made an ass of myself. "You had to have kind reason for not telling your mom," I suggested. "Mom knew he was flirting with me and did nothing. He was good looking and had money. She was willing to overlook a lot of things, I guess." Sarah was really shaken by that time. "I can't believe she wouldn't have cut his ball off, or at least gone to the cops. Why didn't you tell her?" I was pushing her in a corner, but I needed to know the truth. I just couldn't buy into it somehow. "He told me that if I told her, he would have to stop seeing her. If that happened, she would always blame me for it. Maybe not openly, but in her heart she would know that it was my fault. I had caused it by flirting with him. I told him that I never flirted, but he said to ask myself who mom would believe." "So what ended it?" I asked. "After he tried it again, I told grandpa that I hated him and mom loved him. I didn't tell him why I felt that way but I asked to come live with him and grandma. I had been living with them until I came here to live and go to school." she said. "So where is the boyfriend now?' I asked. "He and mom broke up a few months after I left. I don't know what happened to him." I went to the desk. From it I removed a spiral notebook like the ones kids in school use. I found a blank page. I returned then I handed it to Sarah. "Go home and write down everything you know about your mom and the guy. I want both of their names, addresses and phone numbes, if you know them. I want to know where they both worked at the time and what their hobbies are. I want to know everything, and I mean right down to their favorite meals. After you have done that, forgive yourself. Whether you believe that you have anything to forgive or not, do it. Put this all behind you Then maybe I can even the karma thing a bit. That might help put it all behind you." After Sarah left with the notebook, I began to think about my own life. What if at sixteen I had the same thing happen to me. Since I was screwing at fifteen, it might not have effected me as much. To be told that your mom loved him more. To have reason to believe that it was true, would have been heartbreaking for anyone. If the prick really did what she said, there should be a way to make him pay. Preferably pay legally, I could always resort to framing a guilty man. It wouldn't be the first time it had been done. Not even the first time by me. My first problem was the TV show. Not just them following me around, because I could make damn sure they didn't get in the way. That was in our agreement. My problem was going to be that people everywhere suddenly seemed to recognize me. If you had something to hide, and the star of Meet Max, took an interest in you, it might be a good idea to shut up and leave town for a while. That was going to be the problem. How to gather intelligence, if everyone recognized me. Without good intelligence it was all a waste of time. Yeah, I knew someone who would be thrilled to help out, actually I knew two. If I asked them to help, I expected that they would drop everything, but at what cost to them. The word floating around was that Lucas was bored to tears. I had managed to keep him out of the more dangerous but exciting bounty hunting business. Ed told me he was ready to crawl, if I would let him go back to chasing skips. A contract was a contract, I no intention of letting him get killed by some mooch on crack. However a little part time investigating would be of interest to him, I was sure. I put him down as a resource with whom I needed to make contact. The other resource was Cheryl of course. She was smart and seemingly fearless. The latter was not always a good thing, but being a dynamite looking woman, who was also street smart, and able to take care of herself, were extremely important assets to an operative. The cost to her might be losing her job with Helen. It was important that she have honest work in her life. She didn't need the money, but she needed the since of purpose and something to show her parole officer. I was sure that I could recruit more as I went along, if the need arose. The trick to intelligence is not what you know, or even what you don't know. It is in knowing what it is that you need to know, then figuring out how to find out those things. In the case of Sarah's mom's boy friend, I wanted to know if he was involved with anyone at the moment. Even more important I wanted to know if that someone has a teenage girl. Once I had Sarah's notebook entries, I would need to speak to a computer nerd. The best I ever knew was Lucas, a close second was Mike. Mike was not available, but I would have bet my ass that Lucas was. The first order even before we hunted down the bastard, as I renamed him, was to verify as much of Sarah's story as possible. That was just computer checks of dates and places she provided or we dug up for her to back verify. Before I fucked the bastard up, I wanted to know for sure that he truly was guilty of something. It could be no more than a case of false memory. Some trauma was masked with a different story. I wanted to know Sarah wasn't doing that. Using a lie to cope with a harder truth. Thee were so many possibilities. I decided to make a call. I knew I needed one person for sure. After I dialed the number I regretted it, but I was determined to follow through. "Lucas it's me Maxine, I need some help with a situation. I need a computer whiz and I'm all out. I wondered, if you might like to make a few extra bucks and maybe have some fun in the process." "Maxine, I should say no, but to be honest I am bored as hell. Maybe I can convince you I'm competent enough to work skips." he said. "You know that has nothing to do with it. It's about experience and keeping your lilly white ass virginal." I said with a laugh." "So, what's the job," he asked. "We are going to be chasing down a two year old statutory rape. Then we are going to figure out how to make him pay." "I assume you don't mean in money?" he asked. "Whatever we can get from the bastard," I said. "Okay, count me in. I will work it into my exciting life as a process server." he actually laughed when he said it. "Well, I will take the laughter as the sign of a healthy mind," I said that with a laugh of my own. My next call was to my lawyer and friend Jen. "Hey slut how they hangin'?" I asked. "Hey bitch, yo da slut here and they be hangin' to my waist. So ho, what you got on yo nasty lil mind?" "Is my investigator's license still up to date?" I asked. "Now you know I'm not going to let that lapse. About the only thing that can get it pulled, is if you should a bus load of school kids," she said. "I think I can avoid that. Okay thanks." "Now hold on there chickie, you can't ask me that, then run off. What are you planning that requires a PI license?" "I'm going to investigate a possible client, then maybe a statutory rape from two years ago." I suggested. "That is going to be impossible to prove?" she said. "So they say. We will see." I admitted. My next call was probably the most stupid call I ever made. I called Jerry my last police contact in Aster. "Jerry," I said when he answered. "Blevins introduced me to his new partner, but I can't remember his name. Could you help me out here? I need a contract in the the Detective Division," I said. "His name was Bobby, I think, but Blevins ran him off. Do you remember Margaret Hunsinger?" "Only vaguely, somewhere around forty with bleached hair?" I asked. "Yeah, she took over for Blevins while he is on leave. You could ask her, I'm told she is homophobic, so I wouldn't try to charm her. She also thinks she is Dirty Harriet, she might like your reputation. Anyway ask her to help, she might do a tit for tit with you." He laughed then said, "I got to go." the phone went dead instantly. My last contact had to be Cheryl. She would be sleeping. Getting ready for her early morning shift, so I decided to hold off on her. Half an hour later I was glad that I had held off. I spent that half hour taking a real look at what the possibilities might be. If we got in trouble I was a pro, Lucas was a pro as well, Cheryl on the other hand was on parole. She was also a bit of a wild card. If I didn't start training someone to help, what would I do when that stupid TV show hit the air for real? People would watch it just because it was filmed in town, if for no other reason. My anonymity was gone for sure. I decided that I would look for alternatives before I talked to Cheryl. I still thought she would be an asset, but maybe as soon as that body aired on TV, people were going to remember her even more than me. That could be an asset as well though, if I worked it right. If they noticed her, they might not notice me. Especially, if I wasn't the me that they expected. ------- Chapter 157: 'Short Eyes' the Beginning The day started with me still undecided about Cheryl. I almost wanted her on board for the new gig, but I also feared the effect it might have on her. It might be best to keep her out of the loop, I thought. What I decided, was not to decide that morning. I smiled at Cheryl and asked, "How are things hon?" while she found me a Crispy Waffle, Egg, and bacon sandwich bag. "Things are just fine, we found something to do with the upstairs," she informed me. "Oh what is that?" I said. "Seat the overflow, which is what you are. The picnic tables are all full." she said seriously. "There is no way I can make it up those stairs," I suggested. "I know, come on I'll find you a space somewhere." she said leading me into the dining room. She was right the table were all filled. "Tell Jack to get the preacher's guys over to build shelves for standing room only customers," I suggested. "That is an excellent idea. We are also going to turn the upstairs into another space just like this. You will be able to drive up to the second level parking lot, if all the spaces are taken down here. From that parking lot in back, there are only three steps up to the second level." "I guess I could manage three outside steps," I admitted. Helen's Sit Down Spot was clumsy, but it had a charm that matched the bag breakfast. It seemed as though I wasn't the only one who thought so. Helen was packing them in. "Looks like you have about all the business you can handle here," I said. "We can always do more. The drive through window does just as much as the sit down spot. I am pressing Helen to do a Soup, and Sandwich bar for lunch here." Cheryl said seriously. "That sounds like a hell of an idea. Something simple. that people can do themselves. It would probably be a real winner." I suggested. "At least it would, if you kept the blue collar pricing." I added. "We are thinking one trip to the bar. A big bowl of soup and one sandwich with whatever you can get on it, for five bucks plus tax." Cheryl suggested. "That sounds like a hell of an idea. Well I have to get on over to the mall and walk. Good luck with your idea," I said as I hobbled to the door. At the mall I hobbled my one lap on each level without seeing Tiny Dancer. We didn't always meet at the mall. As a matter of fact, we missed each other as often as we connected. I wasn't ready to stretch the calf muscle anyway. I was still working on flexing it normally. I was able to put it down enough to limp around a few steps but I needed the crutches to do the full mile. I was on my way to the car when Mag 7 played from my purse again. I waited until I reached the car. "Hello," I said into the device, which I had come to hate. "It's me Sarah, I have your notes ready," she sounded excited. "Now, you do realize that this is not going to happen in day or a week maybe not even for several weeks," I informed her. "I have lived with this for 2 years, I can live with it a few more weeks. It's the feeling that I am finally doing something that is wonderful. I should never have run away. I should have stood up and fought him." she said. "Well your chance may be coming soon." I said. "I'm on my way back to the apartment now. I'll stop by and pick up your information. Then, I will see what I can do." It was no more than twenty minutes before I pulled into the parking lot. As I left the car I could tell that it was getting warmer. I suppose I should be thinking about the courtyard, I thought as I pushed through the security gate. I might let the preacher stew a little more, before I agreed to a meeting. Or maybe someone else would come along to put in a price. I didn't even get to ring her bell or knock. Sarah Ellen was standing with the notebook in her hand. "Here you go, it is everything I can remember about him." "Good, I am going to have some friends help me chase all t his down. So don't be surprised how it turns out. Once we start, I can't call them off it." I said. "I understand and I don't want it stopped until he has paid for what he did to me." Sarah said. "Sarah, no matter what I can work out, it will never be enough." I said seriously. "You will never feel that you got even. There just is no even in this kind of thing. I do promise you this though, he will feel like he was punished far more than he deserved. They always think that it was no big thing." "Yeah, I remember him acting like that. Whatever you do will have to be enough," she said. "Good," I said turning toward my apartment. On the way I had a better idea. I got back in the cruiser and headed to Ed's office. It was also Lucas's office as well. "Hey guys," I said as I hobbled into the room. "Well look at you," Ed said. "I'm sorry you got shot, but I'm glad it wasn't worse." "I'm glad it wasn't worse myself, and this is bad enough." I replied. "So Lucas, are you ready to go to work." "Why don't you ride with me, while I serve some papers. We can talk while we are at it." I knew that he didn't want Ed to overhear, and I approved. The fewer people who knew, the more room we would have to maneuver. "Sure, I have missed serving papers," I said. It was a huge lie, but it played well with Ed I'm sure. "Okay what do you have," Lucas asked. when we were in the car and moving. "I just got it. I can read it while you drive." I suggested. "Okay," he said. "The guy's name is James Smiley, what a name for a pervert," I said. "Alleged pervert," Lucas corrected me. "We aren't the cops, or news whores, as far as I'm concerned he is guilty, until we prove him innocent." "Works for me, as long as we give evidence on either side equal weight." Lucas said. "I don't remember you being so liberal," I said. "You taught me to watch my ass. I don't want to be along, when you jack this guy up, if he is innocent. If we have him by the nuts, I'll help you squeeze, but let's make sure we have him dead, before we grab onto his body parts," Lucas said. "Quite the little speech, but you should trust that I'm going to be doing that first thing. Which is what I want you to start with. We will take the info Sarah gave us, then we will expand on it, at least as much as we can. When we have enough, we will begin to talk to people. Try to find out who this guy really is. At that point, we will know where to go." I said. "That's a good plan, so lets see what you have?" Lucas said. "If you remember, I was trying to tell you, when you decided to get in my face. I have no idea what your problem is Luke, but get over it." I said it not angry at all. I was very matter of fact. I did not plan to explain my every move to him or anyone else. "Luke let's get one thing straight. This is my operation. It is not a committee or a democracy. If you can't manage to work for me again, then recommend someone who can do the background checks." "Is that what you want?" he asked. "If you can't take orders, then yes it's what I have to have. I would rather have you. I know what you can do, but I can't explain my every thought or move to you. Sometimes you are just going to have to trust me. Also things are never up for debate. I have to answer for what we do, so I have to make the decision." "To be honest you have only two things going for you Maxine. One, I hate this boredom, it is making me mad. Second, if I work for you, I will be around Gwen. Maybe we can get it worked out between us," he suggested. I had no idea what to tell him. There was always a chance that Gwen would go back to him, but I wasn't going to put any money on it. She had been playing in the sandbox, so she had to be a little dirtier. "Okay then," When you can get to a computer, we will start running this clown to ground." I suggested. "Not a problem," he said pulling into a McDonald's parking lot. He struggled to get his briefcase into the front seat between us. When he had the case in his lap, he removed a small laptop from it. "Now do you have his social security number?" "No, not many guys would give that to the daughter, of the woman he is screwing. Especially not if he is screwing the daughter as well." I said. "Never hurts to check. I hate to slip into a site, if I don't have to do it. So James Smiley, what's his address?" I read that off to him from the paper notebook. "Ah I got him. He is fifty five years old and he is an organ donor." Lucas said. "Ah the good old DMV files. So how do we find out who his girlfriend is at the moment?" "Why face book of course," Lucas said turning the screen to me. "Then by linking to his squeeze Alisha, we find that she has a fifteen year old daughter." "Looks like a pattern," I suggested. "Circumstantial, but it does look too familiar." Lucas agreed. "Can you get his financial records," I asked. "It's harder to break into a bank, than it is into the DMV," Lucas said. "However it is not hard to break into his email accounts. There should be an online statement or two floating around. I walked inside the restaurant for coffee twice before he finished spider webbing James 'short eyes' Smiley. We knew his SS number, his driver license, and his criminal record. Too bad the record was all traffic convictions. He did like to drive too fast. "So the impression Sarah had that Jimmy baby was rich, just isn't true?" I asked. "He is living rich, he could have other bank accounts around that don't send email statements." "And the prick is a fucking CPA?" I asked. "He is indeed. My guess is that, if he has money at all, he just invests in what his clients invest in. It is why most of the CPAs I know are rich one year, and poor the next." Lucas suggested. "If he was living big two years ago, I wonder if he still is. You know with the economy in the tank right now," I asked. "Well he isn't driving a Volkswagen," Luke said. "Looks like a Mercedes and a BMW are his cars of choice this year, leased of course," "Of course," I agreed. "So, he makes enough money, so that he can afford to fake having even more money. Problem is that it takes all he makes, to pretend that it doesn't take all he makes. This shit is too damn complicated. "I know, but it isn't all that uncommon. Lots of lawyers and other professionals feel they have to put up a front. They are just hoping that the front allows them to make enough money so that the fantasy become the reality" Luke said. "To seem, not to be," I said. "Way to much of that shit going around." ------- Chapter 158: Whitewater & the Money Trade I wrote all that and a lot more down, before I left his car. His car was actually my old minivan, which was actually Jen's old minivan. We might have gotten the only dependable Chrysler ever made, but it had been a good van. Lucas dropped me at the office a little after noon. I had in fact ridden with him to serve a few papers. It wasn't fun, but the conversation had been. Process servers have stories just like the cops, and the EMT personnel. Swapping stories about the mooches was like fishing stories. The best ones were about the ones who got away. "So, let's not let this one get away," He knew that I was talking about James Smiley aka the bastard. "Not sure what we can do to him, but I'm sure you will think of something." Lucas said. "So what's first on your list of things to do now?" "I'm going to talk to the ex-wife. I'm glad you found her. They usually love to trash the ex," I said smiling. "That would have been my first thought as well. Save the current girl friend until you have something solid. Then maybe she will be willing to talk to us." I was glad that he was beginning to get invested. "I would love to find some of his former clients. I wonder how we could go about that?" I asked. "We find out how long his receptionist has been with him. Then find out who the last one was, and where she is now. She might like to give her opinion of Mr Smiley. "Call me at five, I'll see if I can round up some more leads for you," Lucas said. When I exited his van in the parking lot of his office, that's how we left it. I missed not having an office of my own for about a second. Back at my apartment, I began making phone calls. "Ms Smiley, my name is Maxine Stone, I am an investigator in Aster. I wonder if you might have a few minutes this afternoon to answer some questions about your ex husband James?" "I'm afraid I can't do that. It was part of our divorce agreement that I not discuss him with anyone." She informed me. "If I get the police to come ask the questions, could you answer then?" I asked. I had no intension of doing it, I was just curious how serious she was taking the agreement. "Actually, I would have my divorce lawyer discuss it with the police." she replied. She was actually very nice, just not very cooperative. "If you were me and wanted information about James Smiley, where would you go?" I asked. "Well, he and Barbara had words, when she left to get married. I'm not sure what it was about, but it might be of interest to you." "So what is her full name, and where do I find her," I asked. "Her name is Barbara Reece now and she works for an insurance agency these days. Reece and Holifield, I think it is," she said. "Sounds like she owns the place," I said while I tried to find them in the phone book. "Her ex husband's Daddy, I think. Anyway ask her. It's all pretty confusing, if you ask me. The worlds shortest marriage I think. It lasted about a month, and she winds up working for his dad. That's just plain strange." I found them in the phone book, then I said thank you, and hung up." "Reece and Holifiled," the female voice said. "Barbara Reece please," I asked. "This is Barbara," she said very upbeat and friendly. I wondered how much she would change with my next question. "Ms Reece, my name is Maxine Stone. I am a private investigator in Aster. I was wondering, if you might have some time to answer a few questions for me." "I know who you are Ms. Stone. I have seen your short bits on the Internet. I'm looking forward to your TV show. What kind of questions do you want to ask." "I have a few questions about James Smiley, and his business operations." I suggested. "Why don't you just meet with him?" she asked. "Oh I plan to do that, but only after I know exactly what to ask him. My client is thinking about having Mr. Smiley do his reports and manage his accounts. He wants to be sure Smiley is the man for the job. So I'm just looking for people, who know him in a business sense." Keeping it confined to his business was more likely to get me the interview. I could branch out to personal questions as the interview moved along. "I don't suppose there is any harm in that. I can give you some detailed information. There are some things you might want to ask him about." She suggested. I caught a little edge to her voice. She might turn out to be the perfect confidential informant (CI). She might have an ax to grind, but even those people pointed investigators toward areas that need to be explored. "So when would you like to do it?" I asked. "Why don't you meet me after work. You can buy me a glass of wine, while we talk," she suggested. "That sounds like a plan. Tell me where and when, and I'm there," I said in agreement. "Do you know where the White Water Lounge is located?" she asked. "No, I have no idea, but I do have GPS, so give me an address." I said. "It's in the basement of the Downtown Motel in Tryon. It should be easy to find. It's on their main street." "That's fine, but I thought you lived in Aster?" I said. "I do, but if you want the dirt on Jimmy, it's going to cost you," she said with a laugh. "Oh, do I need to wear a cocktail dress and bring the title to my car?" I asked smiling. "No, but they won't let you in wearing jeans. I hear that is your normal dress," she said. "All right then, little black dress and padded bra," I laughed as I said it. "Good choice," she replied. "Be there at six and I'll be in shortly after. I'll look for the little black dress and the padded bra. Would you like to email me a picture, so that I will recognize you?" "I thought you had seen the show?" I asked. "Okay, I will recognize you. I just wanted the picture, but never mind." I had time to call Lucas and add some new information to the file. It was mostly names and phone numbers. Unlike Lucas, I wrote them in a notebook made of real paper. Even after that I had time for a little review of Sarah's file. Yes I was calling her a client. It took me about five minutes to realize I needed to bring Jen on board. I dialed her cell phone, not the office phone. "Maxine what the hell is with you. Why didn't you don't call, when you got the new client?" she asked. "Hon, I just now decided that there was something I could actually do for her. So how did you know?" I asked. "Gwen called. She wants me involved to give you cover. Actually I guess the network wants this sanctioned. So as of now Sarah is my client and you are working for me. So go find out what the truth is and pin someone's ass to a wall." she demanded for the TV audience. "Right, you are the boss," I said. What that phone call did was give me the legal right to not answer police questions. I know you have the right to remain silent, but it sure makes you look guilty. It is much better to lay it off on a lawyer, that way I could keep my good relationship with the cops. To do that I had to throw them an arrest now and then. That was usually pretty easy, since the law was the best place to take the bad guys. I really didn't want to kill them all. I took a long bath soaking all of me except the one leg. The awkward bath reminded me that I needed to make an appointment with Jeff, so I made the call from my tub. After I set the appointment, I finished my bath. I washed the area around the wound with antibacterial soap. I would put antibiotic cream and a fresh dressing on it before I tried to dress myself. Dressing was no easier, than it have been previously, exept that I was wearing a dress. Getting into a dress was easier, but the bandaged leg was even more noticeable. It was a good thing that Barbara knew who I was, I'm not sure I could have hidden it from her anyway. As I had promised, I wore the padded push up bra. If I had to wear a dress, I wanted cleavage damn it. The drive to the Downtown Motel was uneventful. It was always a good thing when nothing unexpected happened. Oh course it was also boring as hell. I managed to work my way down the steps to the White Water Lounge. As I should have expected, it had a nautical theme. Ropes and boat shit hung everywhere. I waited almost half an hour before the woman approached my table. She was ten years younger than me but also a hundred pounds heavier. "Barbara?' I asked. "Yes and you of course are Maxine Stone. I have been so excited since you called." she said. "I can't imagine why, I nobody special," I suggested. "Of course you are. You have the kind of life most women can only dream of having. You go places, do things, and are completely liberated from the female stereotypes." she said. "Well, not all of them," I said with a smile. "Anyway, it is so cool to meet you." She got that in just before the cocktail waitress arrived. The W hie Water Lounge was not my kind of place, but I decided to make the best of it. "I would like a glass of white wine," Barbara said to her. I gave the waitress a second to digest it, then said, "Just coffee for me. I have a long drive home." "Maybe not," Barbara whispered after the waitress left. "Before we discuss anything else, let's get the case of James Smiley out of the way." I demanded. "Okay, what do you want to know," Barbara asked. "Well first of all where does his money come from. The business seems to cover his life style, but if he has any real money, it is coming from somewhere else. There is no money left after paying for his lifestyle." "My you have done your homework, I am impressed." she said. "Is this going to be just between us?" she asked. "It can be, not the information, but where it came from," I said as a compromise. "That will do, he will know, even if no one else does. I don't mind, if he knows." she said. "Good, so where does his money come from?" I asked. "He raids his client accounts to make very short term investments. Currency exchange that kind of thing." she said, "How does that work?" I asked. "You can buy foreign currency and hold it a few days. Sometimes the value goes up a few points. Of course sometimes it doesn't, but you can aways sell it for close to what you bought it for in the first place." I looked bewildered I'm sure. "It's not like stock, where it will fall like a rock. With currency you don't make huge profits, but if you are using your clients money, you need to be able to get it back quickly." "So he is playing fast and loose with his clients money?" I asked. "That's one of the things he does to earn extra money. He just isn't able to borrow enough to hit it big as he says. To do that he would need to have more or bigger clients." She smiled at me as if she was expecting something in return for her information. Fortunately for me there is no code of ethics in my business. ------- Chapter 159: Threesome + 1 Barbara looked at me with puppy dog eyes. I knew what she was expecting, but I didn't think she had told me everything. "So tell me Barbara, what do you know about James's personal life?" "Nothing," she said. "Then, I guess we are finished here," I replied. "Okay, what if I knew something about his personal life. What would it be worth?" she asked. "That depends on what you know. Names and dates are worth more than rumors and maybes." I replied. "I can give you the names of his lady friends, since his divorce. Some of them would probably talk. I'm sure one or two would be ready to tell the truth by now. So what would that be worth?" "Rather than do that, let's negotiate. What is it you want?" I asked. "My boyfriend would really like to meet you. He though, we might all spend some quality time together. Your treat of course," she said. "That sounds pretty reasonable. You write the information down and give me the paper after the payment. Now Barbara, you said you have seen the Net Bits. If you have, then you know you don't want to screw with me, at least not that way," I said with a laugh. "I think that is fair enough. I'll write down what I know after I call Ned," she said in agreement. She used her cell phone to make the call. She began to write while she finished her second glass of wine. I had a second cup of coffee as well. Making the list took several pages of my much smaller pocket notebook. It also took her longer than I would have thought. I wondered if James got around that much, or if she was making comments on the women as well. I found time to check into the motel. The damn room cost me a hundred bucks. The information better be worth that, and my ass, or I was going to shoot them both. She finally stopped writing, so I spoke. "So, is the boyfriend you ex's daddy?" I asked. "For once the rumors about me are true," she said. "Oh I heard your marriage lasted less than a month, but his daddy was sort of paying the alimony in the form of a job." I said. It sounds pretty harmless unless one looked for the worst in everyone, which I always did of course. "My infatuation with his dad began the first time I saw him. It turned sexual after my honeymoon. When my husband found out, he left me immediately. I told him that they could share, but he would have none of it." she said. I intentionally just nodded my understanding. I did not want to comment. Since I had been with a man much older than myself, I couldn't judge that part. I had never cheated on a husband, so I couldn't go along with that. Barbara liked to talk, but she was careful what she said and how she phrased it. She obviously knew that I was wired. I didn't mind that she knew. "If the TV people use this, they will pay for it won't they?" she asked. "Since they won't be in the room. they probably won't use that part at all. The conversation we are having might make it to the show, in which case they will ask you to sign a release. That is when you have to negotiate a price. Once the release is signed, they own the images." I said honestly. Jen and I had agreed from the start to explain it on tape, whenever I was asked about TV usage. "So how do we get the camera crew into the room?" Barbara asked. "Are you sure you want to have what you do behind closed doors on National TV. Even though they won't shoot it as porno, people will know what you are doing. They are pretty good at getting the idea across, while keeping the FCC off their ass." "Let me talk to Ned first, then we will decide. Is that okay?" she asked. "The least intrusive way would have been for you guys to come to my place, but since I have already booked the room, the camera person will have to be in the room. I don't even know, if they want any more of those kind of images. If you like, I can make a call to see how they feel, before you talk to your boyfriend." I suggested. "Yes do that," she replied. I dialed Gwen's cell phone. I knew she was in the lounge somewhere. "I've been listening. Is she planning a threesome as payment for her information?" She asked. "That's what it looks like. Geese, the things I do for my clients." I said smiling at Barbara. "So what do you say?" "I say go for it. I'll sit in a chair in the corner and film. If there is anything Mike can use we will work out a deal for the release." Gwen said. "Okay. I'll tell them." I stood up and walked far enough away so Barbara couldn't hear me. "You should be able to sell it the freak shows anyway. An old man, a chubbo and a gimp, it should be interesting," I said into the phone. "I'll say," Gwen agreed. "Sounds like the setup for a joke." "Okay," I said to Barbara. "Call your friend. A camera person will film it and then the producer will decide if they can use it. If they decide to use it, they will negotiate a deal with you for the release.' "Cool, I'll make the call," She said. She stood and walked away to make her call. She was gone about ten minutes. When she returned she was still on the phone. She said, "Give me the room number, he will meet us there in twenty minutes." "214," I said to her. She repeated it into the phone then hung up. "Do you want another glass of wine?' I asked. "I think that I am going to need it. I have never done this before." she didn't look a bit concerned to me. "Let's take the wine up to the room," she suggested. It would put us in the room fifteen minutes before her boyfriend arrived. It made no difference to me, so I said, "Sure." and I paid the bar tab. It was over twenty bucks for two coffees and three glasses of wine. Not huge but more than I thought it was worth, by a long shot. When we arrived in the room, Barbara stood close and looked into my eyes. It was more than a little obvious that she wanted to be kissed. I assumed that she wanted to start before the boyfriend, or the camera arrived. I figured that it was probably a test run, to be sure she could go through with it. That's what I thought, until I kissed her. The kiss didn't even start out tentative. It started out passionate and just kept growing. I was gasping for air, when we broke the embrace. Barbara had chubby girl boobs. They were both soft and heavy feeling against my own breasts. As I kissed her, I could feel her soft hips pushing at me. The movement was working to convince me that she was getting excited. I believed that she was, I knew for sure that I was getting turned on. She had to know, because my breathing was ragged. Barbara reached behind me to undo the hook of my dress. That was followed by the lowering of my dress top. It was at that moment that the first knock on the door came. It was Gwen with her most impressive camera. I'm sure that was for Barbara's benefit. Much more professional looking than the high definition fake cell phone. Gwen didn't say a word or even look at Barbara. She just moved to the chair in the corner of the room. I moved back to kiss Barbara again. It took about two minutes for her to be in the same state as before. She began to remove my bra after the dress fell to the floor around my feet. After the bra was gone, she removed my panties by holding the waist band, then kneeling. My panties went down with her. While down there she kissed my mound gently. I lifted her so that I could kiss her lips again. At that point the second knock came. Since I was naked, Barbara answered the door. She stepped back allowing a man about sixty to enter the room. I was the only one naked and feeling more that a little vulnerable. Without even a hello, the man walked to me and pushed me to my knees. I knew what he wanted, so I unzipped his pants and worked his cock out. I was being careful not to stretch the calf muscle too much, so I looked very clumsy doing it. I tottered on one knee. He noticed it and pulled me to my feet again. He led me to the bed, where I sat on the edge. He moved close enough, so that I could kiss his cock. I kissed the head of it and then licked his cock from the base all the way to the head. Those were not dry licks either. I covered his cock with my saliva. Men seemed to love that. He was no exception. I could hear his breathing change. When I felt Barbara's hand cover my pussy, I realized that I was sitting beside her while I licked her boyfriend's cock. "Please suck it," he said. He was a lot more polite than I was used to, but I still did as he asked. I took the head into my mouth and sucked it like a baby nursing. In a way that's what I was doing. I sucked it and pressed against the head with my tongue. It took several minutes but he finally began to force his cock into my mouth, then pull back. He did it several times before I felt him tense. "Don't swallow it, share it with me," Barbara whispered into my ear. When the man came in my mouth I tried to hold it all. He came enough so that some worked its way out of my tight lips and over my chin. I had no idea where it settled. I quickly pulled off his cock and kissed Barbara. As I did I allowed her to force my mouth open with her tongue. She moved her tongue around inside my cum filled mouth. After what seemed like the right amount of time, I forced most of the cum into her mouth. She had been sitting beside me, so when her mouth was full she stood, then she went to kiss her boyfriend. Before I knew what was going on she turned, knelt, then forced my legs apart. Her boyfriend pushed me back onto the bed. She began to lick and suck on my clit. Her tongue also found its way inside my soaking wet pussy. I was almost crazy with the sensation overload, when her boyfriend bit my nipple. I screamed as I came. "Now me, Barbara said as she moved to sit against the headboard of the bed with her legs spread wide. I rolled over to move my lips against her pussy. I was in a bit of pain, but also still throbbing and shaking from the orgasm they had given me. I began by licking and sucking on her clit. Then I licked at her labia and sucked it into my mouth as well. When I felt her begin to raise her hips to help me, I slipped a finger inside her throbbing pussy, then moved it to her rectum as I sucked hard on her clit. Just before she came, I felt the boyfriend penetrate my rectum with his thumb. When she exploded into an orgasm, she covered my face in a warm slippery liquid. I sucked at her pussy hungrily as the boyfriend finger fucked my ass until I came again. If Gwen had not been there, it might have gone on all night. I think she intimidated the couple, even though they swore that she didn't. In the end we all sat around recovering from the episode. They both swore that it was the best blowjob they ever had. I listened knowing it might have been true, but it just as easily could have been bullshit. Then we each left in our own cars. I had a hard time concentrating on the drive back to Aster. I had an equally hard time getting through the security gate, while juggling my purse, my crutches, and my still trembling ass. ------- Chapter 160: Everybody Wants Something I just wanted to go to bed. I was tired and the pain in my calf was more than usual. I planned to take a double whammy, over the counter pain killer combo, and try to sleep. That's what I planned, but it wasn't what happened. What happened was the knock on my door. I expected Sarah or Cheryl, maybe. I did not expect Gwen. "Can we talk?" she asked inviting herself in. "Gwen, I'm about to take some aspirin, and then some Tylenol and have one drink before I pass out cold. If you can get your talking done, while that is happening, go for it." I said. "I don't understand you at all," she informed me. "Can you talk to me while I take a shower. I really feel like I need one," I said. "That's what I mean. How can you just wash it away. Surely you have some feelings of shame?" she asked. Actually I don't feel shame ever. Whatever it is you think I should feel shame for is over, and I forgave myself. Now it's time for me to do what I have to do again. But tell me Gwen, what is it that I should feel shame about?" I asked. "Speak loudly, I'm getting into the shower." She decided to wait until the shower was over. Having been in the military all those years, my showers were short. When the water was off and I was drying down, Gwen started up again. "What you did tonight, don't you regret that?" she asked. "Gwen people pay for information all the time. CIs get paid, it's the way the system works. Obviously, Barbara and Ned don't need the chicken shit money I would have paid them, but they wanted to have an adventure. They probably watch porn, so that they can do those things with each other. I mean he is old and her body is not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, so whatever works for them is fine with me. I have already had sex since the cruise, so for me it wasn't from being overly horny. For me it was a case of thats what they wanted. I mean I have slept with two people for reasons not nearly as good. Mostly just because they expected it of me, and I wanted to please them." "Why in the world do you feel the need to please people by letting them use your body. I mean you don't really seem to enjoy it," she said. "Of course I enjoy it. Do you really think, that because there is so little romance, it can't be fulfilling? Well, you are wrong. Sex, for the sake of sex, can be very fulfilling. I just have to be in the right mood for it. The trick with Barbara is that I had a reason, but I could have said no, and made it stick. I am in control, she thought she was in control, I could tell. She had control of Ned for sure, but she didn't have real control of me. Then why would you agree to have sex with them? They were strangers." she asked. "We are back to that romance thing. I guess I just missed the lesson that said there had to be romance to enjoy sex,. I have sex for all kinds of reasons, most of which I don't even understand. If the guy or girl stinks, I might say no. If I absolutely could not stand to wake up next to them the next morning, I might say no. If they have some dreaded disease, I would probably say no. But, just because they are strangers, I don't think that is a reason I would refuse anyone. Of course there is one thing I will not tolerate period," I informed her. "I can't believe there is anything. So go on tell me what is it?" she asked. "I would never do it with anyone I find boring," I said with a laugh. "Is that why you never hit on me. You find me boring?" she asked. "No Gwen, you I find abrasive. I would not dismiss you out of hand, but there are so many others around that I might never get to you." I didn't tell her that she ranked just above a gang rape on my list of least likely things to try. "Okay, then tell me this, why do men and women keep hitting on you. Nobody would ever think of asking me to have a threesome with them." she said. "For one thing, Barbara and New knew from the Net Bits that I had done it before. Sometimes it's in the meaningless things we say and do that tips people off. Something in our demeanor tells them what we will or will not do." I said. I paused to let that sink in, then I said. "I'm going to take those pills now and have that drink. I think this is too deep a subject for further conversation, as least for tonight." "Okay, would you mind if I stayed till you fall asleep?" she asked. "Now see that is the kind of question that would make a man misread you. A man would think that meant you were horny and wanted to have sex." "What if that were true, what would you do?" she asked. "Considering I just left a group sex scene, I think I would pass." I said. she looked at me almost sadly. "Besides that poor, poor pitiful me act won't fly with me. I know that you have Lucas all pussy whipped. I never saw a grown man so whiny over a woman. Somehow he thinks being involved with this case will bring him into closer contact with you." I said. "I know, I should have the courage to break it off with him completely, but I'm a wimp. I keep wondering what is the right thing to do." she said. "Sweetie the right thing, is what is right for you. Not what he wants, or what I might want. Your decisions should be about you," I admitted. Gwen began to prattle so I drifted off to sleep. I jerked awake sometime later and she was gone. I hobbled off to bed glad to be alone. When I awoke the next morning, I realized that I had over slept. I rushed through my morning chores, then went to breakfast at Helen's Sit Down. I had a bagel with two kinds of cheese and a spicy egg. It was delicious and her potato fritters were to die for. I just wished that she used a better blend of coffee. "So what are you going to do today?" Cheryl asked. "I'm going to talk to some old girl friends for a client." I didn't want Cheryl to know too much, but she was acting strange. "You are a little late today," she said. "Yes, I over slept. I guess I was more tired than I thought." I was waiting for the other shoe to fall. She knew something. Maybe she knew about the threesome, but it seemed to be more than jealousy. Besides she was the one who was screwing around first. I still didn't know who the new chick was. I refused to spy and I also think she was seeing her somewhere else. "Lucas came in to pick up bags for Ed and himself," she said. I knew right then that I was fucked. He must have let something slip. "Oh that's good, I thought they came in every morning," I replied. "Almost, but he usually doesn't leave an envelop for you. Damn it Max you are into something and aren't including me. That just pisses me off." Cheryl said it angrily. She was more upset than she would have been if it were simple jealousy. "You are going to be in, when the time is right. At the moment it's just BS legwork. I don't want you risking your job until I need you to do something I can't do myself." "I have to hand it to you. You are probably the best liar I ever met." she said. "Think what you want, this is business. If your feelings get hurt, I'm sorry, but the business comes first. It's how I survive out there. Besides this one is just a favor for someone." "I know all about it,. Lucas told me after I threated to kick his ass in front of everyone here," she said and she was not laughing. "If you know, then keep it quiet. I am working it now I can't let it get out until it is ripe," I said. "Okay, but damn it I will be at your apartment tonight to hear all about this," She said it very seriously. "I can't say what time I will be there. We are in operational mode. I have to follow the evidence. I might be home at five or it might be midnight." I couldn't see anyone wanting to talk to me at midnight, but I had to make a point to Cheryl. The point was that I was in charge period. I didn't live by anyone else schedule or their idea of how I should behave. It was my ass on the line, so I did it my way. I drove to the mall more than a little pissed at Lucas. If he didn't know better than to bring people into the loop, he sure as hell should. The two laps of the mall was a little easier that morning, even on the crutches, so I went another lap of the bottom level. That made it 1.5 miles on crutches. I felt like it was time to get rid of the crutches. The only way to avoid becoming dependent on them was to just throw them away and run home Forest. I used the crutches to go into the drugstore near the apartments. Inside the drugstore I found an aluminum cane. It was adjustable so I bought it. I took the crutches to Goodwill and made a donation of them. I doubted that it would be worth my while to get a receipt for tax purposes, so I didn't bother. I hobbled into my place on just the cane, so I felt that I was making progress. I reheated a cup of my morning coffee in the microwave, then I sat down to read the contents of Luca's envelope. Even without giving an old man a blow job, he came up with about 20% of the previous girlfriends of James Smiley. I decided to start with the closest to me. Not the current one, she wouldn't know anything until it was over, if she ever knew anything at all. I found Martha at a place called Cut Above. Martha was a cosmetologist "Martha, my name is Maxine Stone. I am an investigator and I would like to ask you some questions about an old boyfriend." "Oh which one?" she asked. "There have been a few over the years." "Me too," I said with a laugh. "The one I need to ask about would be James Smiley," "Oh James, sure we dated about five years ago for about six months, I guess. It was nice going out with a guy whose idea of an evening out wasn't just drinking beer in some country and western bar." "Ah, then it was a pleasant experience dating James?" I asked. "Yeah it was a fine experience," she said. "So what happened to end it?' I saked. "I have no idea. You know how it is sometimes, they just stop calling." "Do you have children?" I asked. "Yes a son twenty now and a daughter who just turned 19, why?" she asked. "Just curious that's all it doesn't mean a thing. How did the kids take it when James just stopped calling?" I asked. "My son was fine, but my daughter seemed to be upset for a while. But it's no big deal kids get that daddy thing, when a man comes into their lives. Especially at fourteen," she suggested. "Well that's all there is to it, I do appreciate the help," I said. "So who is your client," she asked. "I have no idea, I am doing it for a lawyer. She never said who her client is." I left the shop but not the parking lot. I got on the phone and called Lucas. Even though I was pissed at him, he would most likely be able to find Martha's daughter. ------- Chapter 161: Picking Up the Scent "Lucas it's me Maxine, what the fuck were you thinking, telling Cheryl that we are working on something. There was nothing in the envelope that couldn't have waited. By the way I already had all those names and more. I did it the old fashioned way. I traded a blow job for them. So call me, I need you to find someone for me." That was the message I left on his voice mail. I was sure he saw my name on caller ID and decided to wait to see how pissed I was, before he talked to me. I looked at the dash clock in the cruiser and noticed that it wasn't quite 11AM. I decided that it was lunchtime anyway. I drove to a sandwich shop, which specialized in roast beef. Yes that national chain that likes to pretend they have down home flavors. I have no idea what home they are talking about. I'm form the South and I spent a lot of time in the southwestern USA, and I never heard of horseradish on roast beef. Like I said I have no idea whose home they were talking about. I got one Sandwich and an order of their seasoned fries. I didn't buy their over priced coke. I stopped at the Quickie Mart on the way to the lake. I was back in the cruiser and about five minutes from the lake, when my jacket pocket began to play the Mag 7 theme. I fished out the phone. I managed to get hello out before Lucas began to apologize. "I have no idea what I was thinking. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. I knew you would get the information quickly. I was going to call to let you know where I left the envelop, until Cheryl jumped dead in my shit. It was then that I realized I had fucked up. I am so sorry." "Okay, okay, she was bound to find out sometime. I just expected more from you. That's really what this is all about." I said. "I know and I promise I will never do anything like that again." he said. "How can I make it up to you." "Find me Martha, the hairdresser's, daughter. She is 19 now. I didn't want to press her mother, since we are treading on dangerous ground here. So find out who and where she is. I need to talk to her. I'm headed to the lake, if you want to come out for lunch. I have already got my lunch. so you will probably be eating alone." I said. "I'll be there as quickly as I can get through the drive thru at Wendy's," he said "Since I will be finished with lunch before you get here, order me the largest cup of black coffee they have there. I can sip it while I watch you eat." The weather had started to get bearable, even if I did have to wear a coat and sweater to be comfortable. At least I needed it while sitting on the marina's office porch. It was a bit airish as my dad said. I always enjoyed looking at the water, I have no idea why that is. I can sit for hours on an ocean pier just gazing out to sea. I missed the ocean. I swore, yet again, that if I ever had to leave Aster again, I was headed to some ocean, somewhere. "Maxine, I just want you to know that I realize, that I screwed up. I won't let that happen again I swear." Lucas said even before he sat down. "Well this time it isn't really as bad as it sounds. Cheryl will probably be our decoy before it is over. I just prefer to make that decision myself." I said. You pretty much put me in a corner." "I completely understand, and it won't happen again." he promised. "Okay let's move past it. When can you have the information for me?" I asked. "I can do it right now, I think," he said. "Eat your lunch first, then we can do it." I said with a laugh. "Okay, here is your coffee," he said. As I expected, I had finished the sandwich and fries quickly. I knew, I either had to work out more, or eat less but my body wasn't in sync with my brain on that issue. I sipped on the hot coffee while I waited for Lucas to finish his lunch. "I talked to Gwen late last night. She said she had been filming you and was lonely. I expect that means you have been up to no good again." he said with a laugh. "How can you say that, everyone there said I was great," I joined him in the laughter. "I'm sure they did." He began punching keys on his tiny computer, then added, "Ah according to the city directory Martha has a son name Joshua and a daughter name Catherine. Joshua is in college at the State University and Catherine is a graduate of the Cosmetology Career training center at the community college. She has a certificate and is licensed by the state." He stopped talking for a few seconds, so I jumped in. "Can you find where she is working at the moment. Oh yeah, get her driver's license picture as well please." "She works at the Hair Port at the mall. You have probably passed by the shop a hundred times when you walk there." he said. "They are never open when I'm there, so I don't recognize her," I said after viewing the image from her driver's license. "We need to talk to her, I wonder what would be the best approach," I said aloud. "I would love to go with you, but I expect she would be more comfortable doing it with just you," he said. "I don't know, but I expect that is the safest approach for now." I said in agreement. "I kind of hate to bring up old evil. She might not be like Sarah, she might have worked through it, or buried it deeper. I just don't see any other way to do it." "I don't either," Lucas said. "I need to talk to Jen, before I do anything else." I said. "Okay thanks Lucas. You need to work up an hourly rate for the work you do for me." I suggested. "I have been thinking about that, would fifty dollars an hour be fair?" he asked. "It seems fair from my point of view, will you be satisfied with that?" I asked. "Yes, that's fine. So far I have about an hour in," he suggested. "Now, unless you need the money, keep a running total. I think you know I'm good for it." I said. "If you never paid me, we still wouldn't be even. I owe you so much," he said. I handed him my list of names. Take a look at these name and try to find me their daughters. It might be easier than going through moms." I suggested. 'Good idea," he said. I drove straight from the lake to Jen's office. "Hey Maxine, Jen is in court today, can I help you?" she asked. "I don't think so, I need a legal opinion. Jen would be best I think." I said. "You are right, I'll have her call, when she comes in this afternoon," the receptions suggested. "Good plan," I said turning to go. "My husband and I are really looking forward to your TV show," she said. "Good, at least I will have an audience of two," I said with a laugh. The drive to the mall took about twenty minutes, but only because I stopped for a cup of take out coffee from Mickey D's drive thru. I was trying to delay the confrontation with Catherine. I had no idea what her response might be. I also might find her with a client and unable to talk. I had already decided how to begin. "Good afternoon," the receptionist said to me. "Hello, is Catherine in?" I asked. She took one look at my butchered hair then asked, "Do you have an appointment?" "No, " I said not revealing anything to the receptionist. "Catherine is busy this afternoon, could one of the other girls help you?" she asked. I knew then that something was wrong. "No thanks one of my friends recommended her. When will she be free? Tomorrow maybe?" I asked. "Actually Catherine doesn't work here anymore." she said looking around to be sure she wasn't being watched. "Do you know where she went?" I asked. "She is in the county jail awaiting trial," she said. "Okay thanks," I said. "So would you like to see one of our other technicians?' she asked. "No thanks, I really want to see Catherine. Do you know what she is accused of?" She looked skeptical. "So I get an idea of how long I will have to wait," I explained. "Some minor drug thing I think," she said. I decided, since I didn't know anyone at the detective bureau any more, to just go see the chick in lockup. I was fortunate enough to be able to call Ed for an intro. He called one of his friends, who was on duty in the lockup. Getting the meeting with Catherine was time consuming, but not all that difficult with Ed greasing the wheels. "So, " I said to the teenager in the orange jump suit sitting across the steel table bolted to the floor, "My name is Maxine Stone and I'm an investigator." She didn't look impressed. "What are you charge with?' I asked. "They arrested me with almost a full key of pot," she said. "Well that makes you a drug dealer. Not a good thing to be these days." I suggested. "I know, it looks pretty bad my lawyer said," she admitted. "So do you wanna help me, and see if I can help you in exchange?' I asked. "Why should I?' She asked. "Look around, then ask yourself, what do you have to lose?" I suggested. "Obviously I have pull, or I couldn't have gotten in to see you." "So what do you want?" she asked."I ain't talking to you about the pot." "I have no interest in your pot except to maybe help you out of here. I want to know if you know James Smiley?" I asked. "I knew him once, when he dated my mom," she said. "Tell me what you know and maybe I can help you. But tell me only the truth. You have no idea what I'm looking for, so don't try to tell me what you think I want to hear." I looked at her hard. I didn't need bullshit, I needed the truth. "You want to know in detail how he popped my cherry?" she asked. "If he did that yes, I want to know," I said. "He came to my room, to talk, every night after he fucked my mom. At first it was just talk. He talked to me like I was somebody special, then he began to touch me. I told him to stop, but he just laughed. I said I would tell mom, but he said she knew." "Did she know?" I asked. "I don't know, but he came to my room every night right after he fucked her."she said. How do you know that?" I asked. "I could smell her on him," she said. "So how far did it go?" I asked. "Like I said he popped my cherry. He also taught me how to give a blow job. I never could get the deep throat thing down," she said. "Did you ever tell anyone?" I asked. "No, I guess I liked the attention. Most of Mom's boyfriends just wanted me to stay the hell out of sight." "Will you make a statement and testify to all this?" I asked. "You bet your ass I will," she said. 'Okay get it all straight in you head, dates, times, the small details, everything. I am going to have my lawyer come bye to take your statement. She will also talk to you about your case. When she determines what we can do, I will begin working on it. But understand this, if I help you and you renege on out deal, I will have your ass back in jail by hook or by crook." I said. "Oh I believe you," she said. I knew that she thought she was smarter than me, all teenagers do. So far I hadn't met the one who was. ------- Chapter 162: Clearing the Alligators I was on my way home, when my jacket pocket began to play that song again. "Hello," I said after I pulled over. "What did you need," Jen asked. She sounded busy. "Can you swing by the jail. I need for you to take a statement from one of the Smiley vics." I replied. "Actually, I'm across the street at the courthouse. I can drop by, before I get in my car, which I was about to do." I knew that it was an imposition, but I didn't really care. She got me into most of this shit, so it was only fair that she share in the grief. "While you are there, see if there is anything I can do for her in exchange for her statement and testimony. I already have her on tape, but I want to put the fear of God into her, just in case she tries to recant. If she is totally beat down, I will try to get Ed to bail her ass out." "Take it a step at a time. Let me talk to her and I'll call you later," Jen explained. "Good enough," I said. I put the cruiser back on the road and headed it for home. I made it to my apartment without any more phone calls, but as soon as I got inside there was a knock on the door. I didn't even bother to look, I expected it to be Cheryl. "Hello Cheryl, I see you skipped your afternoon nap. You are going to be cranky," Yes I had to laugh at her. "So tell me what is the gig. I couldn't get it out of Lucas," she informed me. It was good to know that he didn't spill everything to her. "We are checking out a child molesting case for Jen." I didn't think she needed to know that it was Sarah, her neighbor. "So why didn't you include me? Are you afraid that I will kill the target?" she asked. "Well I can't be sure that I won't, so how could I be sure you wouldn't." I asked. "Because, I'm not going back inside for someone else. I might come to you for some sleazy trick to put them away, but I'm not going back inside." She said it with a very serious expression. "Well good, the real reason I didn't bring you in yet is that I am probably going to need you as a decoy. The guy might recognize me from the TV promos. You are a fresh face for now." I said. "Well I have to admit that it does make sense. So when do we start the sting?" she asked. "We don't know enough yet. Just let me keep running down his history, then we will work out his punishment." I suggested. "You are so sexy, when you are devious," Cheryl said then she kissed me. It was full of passion, but I didn't respond. I had way too much on my mind. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Just not in the mood. I have this job on my mind. It will be over soon, besides where is your new chick?" I asked. "She is busy this afternoon. If you don't want me, I'm going to take that nap." she informed me not too happily. "Good, you will be in a better mood," I suggested. "Fuck you," Cheryl said. After she had gone I watched TV online, while I waited for Jen's call. Before Jen called, Lucas rang my phone. "Boss, I got half the names for you. The list you gave me goes back almost ten years. This prick has been at it a long time, I can't see how he has gotten away with it." "I wondered that myself. He might be conning the kids, and he might be selecting only mothers he thinks he can control, but surely some little girl told someone." I said. "There is no hint of it in his background checks. No investigations, of any kind, by anyone that I can see." Lucas said. "Okay send the list of names and any contract info you can dig up to my email. You keep working on it, but this might be enough. I have to ask Jen how many she needs, then go out and find them." I fixed myself a frozen dinner while I waited for Jen. My frozen dinners came from Helen's catering service. She used a disposable microwave safe tray to load up food for me. I paid for her left overs, before she donated them to the shelter. I had five or six in the freezer at any given time. That night it was some kind of fish thing that should have been disgusting when reheated, but it was delicious. It was so good that I didn't want to stop eating to answer the phone. I finally gave in and pushed the talk button. "Hello," I said. "Maxine this kid is a real piece of work. I wouldn't let her near me with anything sharp." Jen said. "So did she sign the statement?" I asked. "I told her we could not offer her anything till she signed. After she signed, we would do what we could for her. She finally gave in. We have her statement with lots of details that might help us understand the bastard." Jen informed me. "So how about the drug charges," I asked. "She is going to do time. I explained to her that it was just a matter of how much time." "Did she buy it?" I asked. "Yeah, but Maxine, do not go her bail. She is already making plans to go south, way south." Jen said. "If we don't bailer her out, she is going to recant for sure," I said. "But the upside is that we know he is doing it to all his girlfriend's kids now. We also have his MO. I can use that to convince other's to roll his ass up. Lucas has given me leads for ten others. So what I think you should do is offer to get her the best deal you can, then walk away." I said. "You realize that you promised to help her," Jen said. "I will, I will let her stew a day or two, then tell her that if she gives up everything she knows, we can negotiate a deal with the DEA. She had a kilo of pot, she got it from somebody dealing in volume. Besides they owe me." I said. "Then if she refuses and recants, so what." "You are getting to be a hard hearted bitch," Jen said. "Welcome to the real world." "I liked my own world better, but I can do this one to." I paused a moment then asked. "By the way, if we have to take this guy to civil court, how many victims do we need to make sure he doesn't walk out with a dime?" "The more we have, the harder it is for him to squirm out. I can do a class action suit for them, if we can't get him criminally." she said. After Jen hung up I checked my email, on and off for two hours. The list finally showed up about 11PM. It was too late to do anything with it, so I took a bath then went quietly off to bed. I awoke with lots of plans for the day. Most of them got pushed back because it was raining cats and dogs. I knew that I should check the next day's weather the night before, but I never did. I looked out my window at the puddle of water where my courtyard should have been. It would take a hell of a lot more rain to flood the building but the courtyard was under at least four inches of water. It would be miserable for anyone to walk through it. The walkway was under only a quarter of an inch, so it was likely that the residents could come and go without a boat. The water was also moving into a drain that led to the street. I wasn't sure how the town felt about my runoff in their storm drains, but I was grandfathered in, so it was a moot point. Before I bought the place, at Jen's insistence, I had checked the flood plane maps. I found that I wasn't in one, but a couple of blocks away they were. It wasn't too much of a stretch to imagine water up to the doors of the former motel. I needed to get that courtyard graded and landscaped to be sure there was no flood hazard which needed addressing. It was a distraction, but I wasn't likely to be headed anywhere in that downpour. I made the call which I really wanted to delay a little longer. "His Laboring Few Construction Company," the female voice said as a greeting. "Yes, this is Maxine Stone," Then I remembered what my dad used to say. "It's easier to drain the swamp, after you get rid of the alligators." So I said, "Never mind." "It has rained here harder than this and it didn't flood. I have more important things to do. After the bastard is taken care of, I'll worry about the courtyard," I said aloud to no one at all. I spent the morning drinking coffee and napping. It was afternoon when I began making calls about the people on Lucas's list. The first person I managed to corner was a woman named Bonnie Lee. Bonnie Lee worked as a cocktail waitress at one of those yuppie restaurants with a lounge attached. I caught her just before she left for work. It was raining in Tryon as well, I guess she felt sorry for me. That probably was the only reason she allowed me into the apartment. It was the same apartment which she shared with her boyfriend ... Once I explained who I was, and then asked what she knew about Smiley, her reaction was strong. "That prick, I always wondered what happened to him. So nothing ever happened? I should send my boyfriend over to kill him." she said. "Oh give me a month, before you do that." I suggested. "If we don't have his ass in jail or at least fucked to the wall, send the boyfriend. I'll give you all the information I have." "So there were others, how many?" she asked. "Over a dozen for sure." I replied. "Understand this, I would love to see that bastard in prison. Even better would be with some guy named bubba as his prom date," she said. "I would be happy to testify." Her problem would be credibility. The only way to get Smiley was in the numbers or a couple of really credible victims. It wasn't necessary at all, but I pulled out a digital recorder and let her give me her statement again. It differed only slightly from the version I had on the hidden mic. It if had been the same exactly, I would have worried. It was, however, almost word for word the statement of Catherine. The making her feel all grown up, then the touching and finally the serious sexual abuse. It was his M.O. He was like the serial killer. He found a system that worked and he would never stop till someone stopped him. I began to realize more and more that a Civil Suit was not the best way to go. Put him away or kill him seemed to be the way to go. I had to be careful that no one ever heard me say kill him. One thing the Civil Suit would do was cloud the issue. If anything happened to him, there would be hundreds, if not thousands of people who would be happy to see it. One less pervert in the world. That idea certainly had a nice ring to it. I was in the car headed back to Aster, when my pocket rang again. "Hello," I said. "It's Gwen. Are you headed home?" she asked. "I am why?" "Mike called me. He wants us on a conference call sometime tonight," she said. "Then set it up for an hour from now. I should be home by then." I said seriously. I wasn't all that far away, but I had one more victim to check out. I wasn't necessarily going to interview her, I was going to see if her car was in the parking lot of the country and western bar. It's where her ex husband told me she hung out those days. Yes one of the victims was old enough to have been married for a couple of years, then divorced. ------- Chapter 163: She's Not a Politician I found an older ford, with the correct license plate number, so I was pretty sure it was her car. I had almost the full hour left, so I decided what the hell. I took a long look at her picture, then I went inside. I found her sitting at the bar alone, so I decided just to do it and get it over with. "Joy, you don't know me, but my name is Maxine Stone. I am an investigator here in Aster. I need to ask you a couple of questions. I really could use your help, it is important." "I recognize you from the TV ads. God you look different in real life." she said. I laughed to put her at ease. "Well the guys doctored the hell out of the stills they use for the promos. Hell I wish I looked like the girl they have in those spots. I wouldn't have a bit of trouble getting laid," I said. "I know, guys are so shallow," she said laughing. "So what is this about?" "I just need to know, if you remember a guy your mom dated several years ago," I replied. "Oh, who is that?" she asked. "James Smiley," I said simply. "That freak, yeah I remember him. He tried to screw me, when I was fifteen. When I told him to go away, he said my mom knew what he was doing, Of course, he came back. When he touched me a couple of weeks later, I got out of the bed and went to mom's room. I told her what he did. She threw him out." "So you did tell your mom?" I asked. "You bet I did," she replied. "Did your mom call the police?" I asked. 'What for the old pervert didn't do anything new to me. He just touched my boob, boys had done that before. I just told mom to get him away from me. I didn't like him, even if he was nice to me." "He got a lot of the girls like you to go along with him. You were smarter than most," I suggested. "I might have gone along, if I hadn't just heard him fucking my mom. He thought that would turn me on, but it made me sick. I guess I was a bit of a prude at 14, even if I had been masturbating for a couple of years." "Would you testify against him to help put him away, or at least get some justice for those he hurt," I asked. "Not much I can tell, but if you think it will help, sure I would be glad to do it," she said. "Good," I pulled out the digital recorder and had her tell the story again in her own words. The recording would do as a start, but I needed a real statement from her. Since she agreed, I left with the understanding that I would have Jen call her. I left in a hurry and drove like crazy to get home before the hour was up. I drove fast but carefully. I never let the need for speed make me stupid. When I got back to the apartment building, I stopped at the TV studio to see what Gwen had in mind. She answered the door in a torn tee shirt and very short shorts. "Sweetie, don't you know it's still winter?" I asked. "Actually it's nice and toasty in this apartment. I like to dress down," she informed me. "Okay whatever, you are from a colder climate," I admitted. "So when is the call coming in." "Hang around," she said. "I'll get him on the Video Phone." Sure enough within a minute Mike was staring at me. "God I have missed you guys," he said. "I missed you as well, Morris was just a camera man. You know I need more than that," I said with a laugh. "Your ten inches for instance." I looked at Gwen to see her reaction. I often wondered how close they really were. "Right, ten inches, you are on something again, aren't you?" he asked with a laugh. "Natural high," I said. "So what's the big deal that you needed a conference?" "Two things, Gwen you will be happy to know, the network is sending one of their camera operators down to help out. You will have to do some training, but it should work out in the end." "Whose end?" I asked with a laugh. Gwen laughed along with me, Mike did not. "Here is the news I have for you Maxine. The Network wants you to set up a sting and let us film it. They want maximum entertainment value for their buck." he said. "You know I don't take orders," I suggested angrily. "This one could be fun. They are willing to send down some Actors to help you bring it off," he informed me. "The problem is Mike, I'm afraid he is going to recognize me. He might recognize one or more of them as well." I replied. "I have been watching and listening to your videos. You really are worried, I know. There is a little bonus with setting up the sting," Mike informed me. "What would that be," I asked. "The make up lady from their top show. The show is on break right now, so she has the time. She will give you some lessons and when she is finished, you will be able to fool anyone. They guaranteed it." he said. "That's comforting, when he shoots me, I suppose I get a refund." I said with a smile he could hear, if not see. "So what do you say?" he asked. "Call me in a couple of days, and I'll let you know. If we need to go that way, the network can help us for sure." I said. "To be perfectly honest, no matter what happens with the sting, the make up lady will be available to you, anytime between now and July. She said two weeks is all she needs." "Are you kidding, has this woman seen me?" I asked. Mike just laughed. "I'll call you in a couple of days though. We need a decision on the sting." He turned his attention to Gwen. "Gwen, the camera shooter will be there tomorrow on the noon flight from NY, you need to meet the plane." "Can do Mike, are you going to tell me who it is?" she asked. "I would, if I knew. Could be any of the craft people, since three or four shows are on hiatus." He informed Gwen. The call ended just seconds later. "It's eight o'clock," I said. "Sounds to me like it's time we visit the Cop Out." "I will have to get dressed," she informed me. "You should, but you don't have to. No one there would complain," I said leering at her. "Sure they would, I have a big ass," she said. "Not so big, and some men like them bigger even," I replied. "But it's up to you. I will go check my apartment, then we can leave any time. Just call me." I stopped by the pizza and pasta pit for three large pizzas. I had them cut the pizza into bite size pieces. When I arrived at the Cop Out, I put them on a table, opened the boxes and then went to the bar. The first thing I noticed was a large crowd of people in the club. That did not usually happen. A lot of them I had seen before, but an equal number were new to me. "What the hell is going on?" I asked the bartender. "After the retirement party, party," he said. "Ah anybody I know?" I asked. "I doubt it, one of the of the desk jockeys. He didn't even come over. This is just the people who went there for the free cake and bad punch. Now they are here for the cheep beer and your free pizza." He said smiling. "You do know that if you sold real food, I would never do that." I informed him. "Oh, if we sold food, I wouldn't let you do that. Even if you are a TV star." he said laughing. "I'm hardly a star. I was just in the wrong place at the right time. It didn't hurt that I have a best friend who is a real piece of work." I said laughing. I had noticed a washed out blond about ten year younger than me glancing at me now and then. Since she was also sitting at the bar, she had to turn her head to catch the quick look. It was very obvious that she was watching me. "So who is the blond down the bar?" I asked. "She looks like someone I should know." "I have no idea, but she isn't a regular here. She has been in a few times lately but always leaves alone. Lots of guys have tried to be, shall we say, friendly. It seems that she isn't buying it." he said. Screw this, I thought after a few more minutes of her giving me looks that said nothing. I picked up my beer and walked to the seat beside her. I didn't sit down, I just leaned against it. I was using the cane, but I needed to steady myself all the same. "Do I know you?" I asked. "By the way I'm Maxine Stone." "I know who you are Ms Stone. I'm Lindsay Graham, before you say it, yes like the politician. I'm not related." "Okay, so why all the interest in me?" I asked coming right out with it. "We have a mutual friend." she said. I waited but she didn't go on. "So who is the mutual friend?" I asked. "Cheryl," she said looking at me in a curious way. "I see, so exactly how do you know Cheryl?" I asked. "Does it really matter?" she answered with a question. "It might, I would not like to see anything bad happen to Cheryl." I said. "Nor would I, you see I am Cheryl's social worker. It's my job to help her stay on the right course." she informed me. So are you checking me out to see if I am going to lead her astray?" I asked. "Something like that," she admitted. "When Cheryl told me you were a special friend, I took it on myself to check you out a little." "Gee, I hope you didn't find that ax murder in Tulsa," I said with a laugh. "No, but I found that you dance on the razor's edge. I would not like to see Cheryl join you there. She does not have your freedom. She is on parole." She reminded me. Yes I did wondered, if she was Cheryl's new girlfriend. It could easily be the case. "Is it Miss or Mrs Graham?" I asked. "Does that matter?" she asked. "It might, you have taken enough interest in Cheryl to chase me down, but not where Cheryl might find out, if we didn't want her to. So I assume you would rather Cheryl not know that you and I are having this discussion. My guess is that this is personal with you. Before you say that is ridiculous, I am an investigator and a damn good one. There is no other explanation, which would work as well. Also I know Cheryl has a new mystery girlfriend. That I assume is you." I watched her process the information. "Even it that were true, it changes nothing. I am here to talk to you, so that you will keep Cheryl out of your adventures," she said. "So I have you telling me to keep Cheryl out, and I have Cheryl threatening people with bodily harm unless I let her in," I said. "You two need to decide what you want. Then just let me know." "I want what is best for Cheryl, and I happen to think that is not you," She said. "Well you are straight up, and in your face about it, and I actually approve of that. I'm not sure I agree with you. But I will let you and Cheryl work that out." I suggested. With that I moved to a spot at the bar just as far away from Lyndsay Graham as possible. ------- Chapter 164: Egg Sandwich Hold the Drama Please. When I got to the parking lot, about two hours later, Gwen hurried out after me. "What the hell was that all about with the social worker?' she asked. "To be honest I'm not sure. She may really be concerned about Cheryl, or she might just be trying to stake out her turf. Either way, she and Cheryl need to decide what they want to do." I said seriously. "I know, we can't have that woman making noises," Gwen said. "Maybe it's time to cool it with Cheryl." "If I cooled it any more, there would be frostbite issues," I said with a laugh. "The problem is Cheryl want's in on our little venture. If it all goes south, we could all go down, not just me. She might get her parole revoked, That would be a terrible thing. I don't know, if I could live with myself, if that happened." I said. "You know, that might be what the social worker is counting on. If it is purely personal, she might be playing you." Gwen said. "Yes, but can I take the chance?" I asked myself as much as I asked Gwen. "I don't know. That is a decision only you can make." she said. "Right, well at the moment all I want is to go home and take a bath," I said. Gwen followed me home. Since she pulled into the parking lot before I reached the entrance gate, I was sure that she made it safely home before I went inside my apartment. Once inside I ran a tub of hot water. I had discovered that the small plastic stool purchased at WalMart's toy section made and excellent leg rest while in the tub. I could manage to get all of me except the one leg in the bath water and soak the dirt off me. That leg I had to carefully wash, but even so being up in the air made it much easier. I had lost a good chunk of muscle from the calf and likely it would never be the same again. I worked the muscle almost every minute of every day. Mostly it was tensing and then relaxing the muscle, but I tried to stay at it until it became too painful. With the lightweight aluminum cane and the constant exercise, I had come a long way, mobility wise, in a very short time. So far though it was purely mind over matter. The real muscle rebuild would take much longer. Moving from the crutches to the cane had been more mental than physical. I felt that the cane make me more mobile, so the cane in fact did make me more mobile. I was sure that there was no real physical improvement. After the bath, I dried myself carefully, then sat on the toilet to replace the dressing. I used a generous amount of Triple Antibiotic Cream on the wound. The site of the incision was still red, but not inflamed looking. That part of my calf muscle was not rounded like the other parts. It was almost sunken. I could imagine when the swelling went down it would no longer be flat it would be sunken for sure. When I had the bandage taped into place, I slipped into my gray sweat shirt with the USAF logo on it and white cotton bikini panties. Then went to checked my email. I found an email from Lucas. It contained the names and addresses of more people with whom I needed do follow ups. I had one email from a person unknown. I almost deleted it, but decided to check it out first. Hell, I might have won some sweepstakes, I thought with a laugh. 'Hello there, just a hi from the Irishman.' The first line read. I smiled even though I didn't want to. I have a present for you in the mail. Enjoy and I'm keeping an eye on you." "I'm glad someone is," I said to the empty room. Well Gwen would be monitoring it or if not monitoring would be checking it in the morning. I stayed up roaming around chat rooms, mostly ignoring the others. I was waiting to see, if Cheryl would be storming into my place cursing me and Lindsay Graham. Poor Cheryl, let her kill just two people and no one would ever let her forget it. I had to laugh at that image. At midnight I decided that Lindsay was going to let me tell Cheryl and suffer her wrath. That being the case, I should at least get a good night's sleep first. I knew Gwen would either be watching or would view the tape in the morning, so I lay on top of the covers while I masturbated. I pinched and pulled the nipples of my small but flabby boobs. Then I let my hand slip to my clit. I rubbed it in circles knowing that Gwen would be watching. No I didn't want to have sex with Gwen, I just wanted to torment her. After several minutes I began to feel my muscles tighten involuntarily. It seemed the right time to slip a finger inside my pussy. Yes that's how I thought of it at the time. I worked my finger in and out as my hips rose and fell rhythmically. My mind drifted to Martin, the Irishman, and the time he and kate had invaded my apartment. It was nasty and magical, as I remembered it that night. I felt the tension reach an unbearable level, then explode and it all drained away like water from a pulsating shower head. Pulses of orgasm that seemed to go on and on for hours. Of course it was only seconds but there were a lot of them. After my muscles finally stopped their spasms, I hobbled and staggered to the bathroom. I was shaking disoriented and the pain in my leg was becoming a nuisance. I peed then took a long drink of tap water. I did it just to get the stale taste from my mouth. No it didn't taste like cum, if it had, I would have begun looking for that shrink at preacher's rehab clinic. It just tasted like stale pizza and cheap beer. When I awoke the next morning, I felt sore, but mentally clear. Masturbation does that even better than most of the sex I have had. If men or even women realized, they would probably spend more time playing and less time pumping. I was more than a little concerned, when I went into Helen's Sit Down. Nobody in their right mind likes drama with their eggs. Drama should not be allowed before noon. I was right to have been concerned, there was Lindsay sitting at one of the common folks tables. My guess was that parole officer's didn't consider themselves cops. Like she had told me, in her eyes she was a social worker. I debated the merits of just ignoring her, making her bring it to me. Then I decided, hell no I didn't run away from things. I marched, okay hobbled, to the picnic table where she sat alone. I was early enough so that most of the 8 AM shift workers were still on the job, and late enough so that the night shift hadn't headed home yet. There were a fair amount of people standing at the wall counter, recently installed by Jack and his buddies. Why they chose to mill about rather and be seated I had no idea. "So Ms Graham, what brings you out so early?" I asked. "Why, I'm doing one of my on the job inspections. I make them now and then on a client." she said. "And how is your client doing," I asked. "Why don't you tell me?" she asked. "Why don't I get breakfast, and I'll ask her. She seems to be interested in our conversation. She doesn't appear to be too awfully busy, should I ask her to join us?" I suggested. "Do whatever you see fit," she said. "In that case let's leave it to her, I'll be right back." I walked to the counter where Cheryl and a coworker were passing out the brown bags. "Hey girl," I said to her. "How the hell do you know my PO?" she asked angrily. "It looks like she came to the Cop Out last night to meet me or to look for you. You want to come join us?" I asked. "You are out of your mind," she suggested. "That is likely true," I admitted. "So I take it you are not interested in the morning's drama." "No, and you shouldn't be either," she demanded. "You know that running from these things just adds to the eventual energy expended. In other words nip them in the bud, or they can be explosive. This needs to get settled and it will be, with or without your input," I said forcefully. If I had to put up with her crap, she could join in or live with what Lindsay and I decided. She shook her head, so I just paid for my bacon egg and cheese waffle sandwich bag. Then I tottered back to Lindsay, while carrying it and a cup of coffee. "So it looks as though we will be eating alone." I said. "Too bad, it might have been a more revealing discussion with Cheryl," she said. "Yes indeed it probably would have been that. So what is your position at this moment?" I asked. "The same as last night. You are a danger to her continuing growth and freedom," she explained. "You are married and have children, I bet." I said it simply. "Is that some kind of threat?" she asked. "No more, no less than yours," I said. "To be honest I find all threats unpleasant. So let's leave it at this, No matter what I did, it would have an adverse effect on Cheryl. Neither of us want that. I can roll over on you, and you can dream up shit on Cheryl, so we are at a standoff. The difference is, I care what happens to Cheryl. I do believe you are the kind of bureaucratic bitch who wouldn't hesitate to burn Cheryl, just to prove a stupid point. So I'm not going to fight you on this, but know this as well. If you do anything to harm Cheryl, all these conversations are on tape and in the hands of the TV producers. So ask yourself, did I say anything that could come back to bite me on the ass. Because lady, I promise you, it will be on national TV, if Cheryl goes back inside for any reason. Now I'll back off and let you two have your fun. That is unless you say one more fucking word to me this morning. In which case I will nail your ass to the wall. You have a good day now." I took my brown back, still unopened, and hobbled to the cruiser. I shed a few tears of frustration. Yes I was frustrated because I couldn't just kick the bitch's ass. Even more so, because I didn't know which bitch I wanted to maul first. I drove the cruiser to the other kind of Mall and hobbled around a mile and a half. Not even seeing Tiny Dancer in her bright yellow beret improved my mood. She waved and I managed to return it without giving her the finger. That was a monumental feat the mood I was in. I probably should not have done it in the mood I was in, but I tried to interview another of Smiley's victims. She was a college kid near the end of her school year. Campus security showed me to her dorm room. They also stayed to be sure I didn't violate her rights, or refuse to leave when asked by her. Since she refused to tell me anything, I could only guess that it was the presence of the security officer that shut her up. I felt like I had plenty, and there would be more coming, so I didn't press her. I did mention to the security officer that his presence probably intimidated the student. He then informed me that it was procedure. Nothing at all he could do about it. My second try worked out much better. The young woman had a baby in her arms and was more than ready to testify. She, like Sarah, had been ashamed that she did nothing to stop the prick, but there was nothing she could do, until I showed up. ------- Chapter 165: Homophobes and Country Boys When I got home, after the day from hell, Gwen had her new camera man. Yes it was a man and she brought him by to meet me. His name was Earl, believe it or not. I thought they were kidding, but it was not a joke. Earl was from West Virginia, so the name was appropriate. "I understand the rules are I stay in he background. I do not get involved in any situations?" he asked. "This isn't like your housewife wars," Gwen said. "You might need to defend yourself, you should be ready for that." She suggested. "Sweetie, when I was sixteen, I worked in a coal mine. It was pretty rough in the holler, where I lived. I think I can take care of myself," he replied. "That's good to know," I said smiling. I knew that only time would tell for sure. "I'm going back to the Cop Out tonight. Last night was a bummer." "Yeah I know, it wasn't much fun for sure." Gwen agreed. "I'll send Earl along, so drive slowly or he will get lost." "It is impossible to get lost in Aster," I said. "Anyway Earl, just watch and try to fit in. You aren't supposed to make waves." I knew that it would be hard, if not impossible for a new man, or woman for that matter, not to be noticed in the Cop Out. "If you are going to the Cop Out, I need to teach Earl how to use the phone cam," Gwen said. "I need a bath and then I am going out for Chinese, before I go to the Cop Out." I said. It was how I managed to push the two of them out the door. After a long bath I felt a little better about life. I was having one shitty day, but I was optimistic that it would get better. Once I was dressed, I spent a little time on the computer. Checking my mail and the news. Actually I hung around the place until 7PM. At that time I drove to a new Chinese restaurant called the China Beach. It was a very small restaurant with seating for about twenty. All of the table were set for two but could easily be pushed together for larger groups. It had originally been a fast food restaurant, which had moved on to a larger space. The new Chinese restaurant was going to need a huge take out business to make it. When I got to the restaurant there were at least five cars at the drive thru window, so they seemed to be doing okay. The small oriental woman who seated me also left a menu in front of me. It was only one side of one page. The menu had very few items, which suited me fine, since it had the one I wanted. I love shrimp fried rice. It came on a plate with stir fried oriental veggies, or at least veggies faked to resemble oriental veggies. I had been in the restaurant about five minutes, when Earl came in with Gwen. They sat at one of the other small tables. We made eye contact, but nothing more. They looked like a husband with his slightly older wife. I took a better look at Earl while I waited for the fried rice. Earl was likely to be a little over 6' tall. He might be twenty pounds over weight but not so much as to be a problem. He had black hair and very blue eyes. It had become a very popular combination lately. His dressed was what I called poor boy chic. He looked like a kid, who grew up poor, but now could finally afford nice clothes. In other words he was over dressed for Aster in general, and the small Chinese restaurant in particular. It was late and I was hungry, so I made quick work of the fried rice and veggies. I left the two of them working on their dinner. They knew where I was headed so there was no problem. I arrived at the Cop Out to find the place more or less empty. From the night before, when it was packed, to the next night when it was empty was a big change. "What the hell happened here?" I asked. "Beats the hell out of me," the bartender said. "I expected a midweek lull, but this is ridiculous." "Well give me a cup of coffee and let's see if it picks up any." I suggested. "Here you go," he said a moment later. "You know that chick you came in with for a while, the one with the great body?" "Of course I know her," I said. "She came in about an hour ago looking for you. Said she would be back in a bit, then left with the chick you were with last night." "Damn that was one confusing message," I said with a laugh. "Yeah, I would just as soon this not turn into a gay bar," he said. "Now what makes you think we are gay," I asked. "Hell, I'm not even a little light hearted at the moment." "The two of them were making out in the back corner. I thought I was going to have to ask them to leave." he said. "Wow, I would have liked to have seen that," I said. "I bet you would. I have heard the rumors about you." he replied. "Believe the bad ones and not the good ones and you will be right most of the time," I suggested. "Anyway try to explain to them that this is not that kind of place," he said. "So what kind of place is it. It looks like an empty dive to me at the moment. You could probably use the business." I suggested. "Maxine, I like you. You got more balls than almost any of the men who come in here. You never brought your girls in before, so we never had a problem. Looks like now we might have." "Yeah, it does look that way, if the girls come back looking for me, just send them home." I said that as I stood to leave. "I hate you feel this way," he said. "No, you don't really, or you wouldn't have started this. I don't mind that you are a homophobic rat bastard, but I do mind spending money in your place, now that I know." With that I left. Since it was only 9:30PM, I still wanted to go out. I decided to try the Country and Western bar on the highway. Yes the one where I had found my divorced victim. I parked the cruiser in the small parking lot, then hobbled into the building. Just before I entered my pocket played the Mag 7 theme again. "Hello," I said irritated. "Easy lady," Earl said. "Where did you go. The bartender here is not too helpful." "Sorry he and I had words. You can find me on the highway at Cowboy's Bar and Grill." I said. "How the hell do I get there, I dropped Gwen off at the apartment." He said. "Enter 1254 hwy 68 in the GPS on the dash," I said. "Damn, I know where the fucking GPS is. Don't get into anything fun till I get there," he said. "Then you better shake a leg, I'm headed in now." I said. The place didn't look any better than it had the night before. It was still shabby and dark. The dark was probably to hide the dirt, I thought. The juke box was playing nice and loud. There would be very little conversation. I didn't mind that at all. I had about all the bullshit conversation I could stand for a while. I looked around, but all the table had people sitting at them, so I went to the bar. "What can I get you hon," the young woman asked. "You got any coffee back there," I asked. "Coffee in this place," she broke into a hardy laugh. "I got a pot that me and waitress drink from. I can probably find you a Styrofoam cup around here somewhere. So if you can take it black and from foam, I can do it." she informed me. "Well that's how I like it, the same as my soul, Black and plastic," I said with a laugh. "Then sit right down, you done found yourself a home," she replied turning away. When she returned, she had my coffee. I tried to pay her but she said, "First one is on me. Us 'friends of Bill' have to stick together." I didn't bother to tell her that I wasn't a 'friend of Bill'.' When I turned to look at the small dance floor, I noticed that it was full of good old boys and rough looking women. Not exactly the kind of place for a liberal minded chick, I thought. Some of these guys would really, really resent losing their lady love to another lady. Of course the fact that I would just as soon do them both as either one, might make a difference. "You are Maxine Stone ain't you?" a much younger man asked. "I am on my bad days, on my good days, I'm just Max." I said. "Well Just Max would you like to dance?" he asked. "Ordinarily I would love to dance, but I am a bit of a gimp right now," I said. "How about, if we wait till something slow comes on, then I hold you up?" he asked. "You do know I'm old enough to be your," I paused a moment then said, "Older sister." We both broke out laughing. "Well I won't tell mom what we did, if you don't." he said. He thought a lot faster than I would have expected from a young man with that hillbilly accent. "Fair enough," I said. "He stood beside me until the juke box played a slow song. I let him support me as I swayed to the unfamiliar music. Yes it was nasal, but it was kind of fun music as well. I was having a great time, when I heard the commotion in the rear of the club. I stopped dancing and removed the younger man's hand from my ass, while I looked for the cause of the noise. Sure as hell Earl was surrounded by three men. Excuse me hon, I need to go break up that fight." I said. "Oh leave 'em be you don't have to be a be like that tonight," he said. "Actually I do," I said as I recovered my cane from a chair near the dance floor. When I got to the gaggle of men, I saw Earl and he saw me at the same time. I nodded then I used the crook of my cane to grab one of the men, and spin him around. "What the fuck," he said as I hit him across the bridge of the nose with the light weight cane. It was the only place that I knew, it had a chance of doing any real damage. His nose and probably mouth filled with his own blood took the fight right out of him. As he was struggling to breath, Earl just knocked holy hell out of one of the older guys. The third one came out with a knife, and I came out with the .38 concealed hammer S&W revolver. "Now we have a problem. See if you move that knife toward me, I'm going to be in the police station all night explaining this, and you are going to be in the morgue. Don't hardly seem fair all that bother over a stranger," I said. "Why don't we all just agree that he is an asshole, and let it go at that." I suggested. The crowd seemed to agree with me. Finally the guy put the knife away and I motioned for Earl to leave. I backed to the bar. I put a ten dollar bill on the bar and asked, "Can I come back tomorrow night. This was a real blast." I smiled. "Honey, you can come back anytime you want. And I have a sawed off bat and a cut down shotgun behind the bar. Next time take the bat at least. Looks like you bent your cane." she broke into a huge smile. I saw her out of the corner of my eye. I was watching the crowd with the rest of it. ------- Chapter 166: Cowboys and a gunslinger's gift "What the hell was that all about?" I asked Earl. "The one I hit, thought my suit was faggy looking," he said. "I tried to ignore it, but the guy just wouldn't let it go. He was also blocking my camera angel of you at the bar." "And for that, I have to buy a new cane." I said. "I guess, I should buy you a cane," he suggested. "Why would you do that, I'm the one who chose to use it." I replied. "Let's just go home. I don't think I can stand any more fun tonight." "Hangin' out with you is like being a teenager back home again. Beer bars and brawls," he said. "I don't get into bar fights," I said. "I can guarantee that you won't get into any more in that place, for sure," he said. "Oh, the bartender said I could come back, I'm not so sure about you though," I replied. "Yeah, but I meant, I don't think anyone in there will fuck with you again." he said. "If you think back, it wasn't me they were fucking with," I replied. When I got home, it was a long bath to soak the stink and tension from my body, then off to bed. I had to admit that the bar fight did make me feel alive. It also drained some of the James Smiley stress and anger from me. I might be able to keep going without planning how to kill the bastard, I thought. I also masturbated again, but I did it under the covers. I doubt that there was any chance that the camera monitor, who ever it might be, would miss it. I didn't really care. I needed that to completely relax, before I drifted off to sleep. For the next few days I repeated the interview questions a half dozen times. It was harder to fit the interviews into the new victims' schedules, than the it had been for the first few. I was also bored silly, since I didn't go out again for a week. I really did not want to go back to the Cop Out, and I wasn't sure how welcome I would be in the Cowboy's Bar and Grill. I also was pretty sure that I didn't want to try one of the Yuppie motel lounges over in Tryon again. Such being the case, I drank alone at home. It was better for my leg anyway, I rested it a bit longer than I had before. On the third day after the bar fight I received a package via Fed Ex. When I got it inside, I worked it open to find a three piece screw together cane with a fancy horse head handle. It looked to be at least a hundred years old, maybe more. It came with a card. 'I was in a little shop in a small town in German, when I saw this a couple of years ago. When I heard about your leg, I called the shop and they still had it. I called my boss and got the money to buy it. It wasn't cheap, so Swamp Thing owns it. It is on loan to you, as long as you need it.' The note was signed simply, Irish. After reading the note, I went back to the cane. Each piece was wood and over an inch in diameter and a foot long. The top piece with the hammered brass horse's head also had a brass button under the horse's head. When I pushed the button and pulled on the horse head, a blade slipped easily from the cane. The blade was about 3/4 wide and probably nine inches long. It looked to be good quality steel without any rust but an ancient patina. I ran my thumb over the blade and it was sharp on both sides. The tip had also been sharpened. Most likely it came from the 1800s or earlier. Blades were more common back then. No wonder Swamp Thing had bought it. It would be a great display piece, when I no longer needed it. In the meantime it would make great TV. I was also happy, since it had been a thoughtful gift from Martin. It meant that he indeed was keeping track of me. After a full week, I had managed to interview everyone on the list. Of the fourteen names we finally come up with Ten who wanted to testify against Smiley. The other four either had suppressed the memory or didn't feel they could handle the publicity that might follow. "Jen," I said into the phone. "I have collected all the interviews. I'm going to drop them by your office. You need to listen to the recordings. After you have done that and given it some thought, we need to arrange a meeting. Me, you, and the TV representative," I demanded. "Bring them by, and I'll listen to them tonight and get with you in the morning," she said. "I'll bring them by in an hour. I want to stop at the Dog House for a hot dog first. I skipped lunch today." It was three pm at the time of the call. You want to have dinner with me and Bob," she asked. "No thanks, I am going to get a dog, then I am going to go home and watch TV until the meeting. I need the rest." That's pretty much how it went. I had two hot dogs at the dog house. It was the one where I had met Gunny. After that, I drove the cruiser to Jen's office. There I left the memory cards, with the copies of my interviews with her receptionist. After Jen's office I went home. I watched TV on my computer until 8PM. At eight I could just stand it no longer. I drove the Cruiser to Cowboys. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous walking into the place after my last visit. "Well I'll be damned it's Zena our very own warrior princess," the bartender said quietly. "Keep it down, I don't want to get into another bar fight, no matter how entertaining it is for you," I said smiling. "Most of the people thought it was super cool. Actually all of them except the guy whose nose got broke." she said smiling. "Oh shit, did he call a cop?" I asked. "And admit that a skinny little bitch broke his nose. Not much chance of that, these guys have their pride." She laughed as she put the coffee cup in front of me, "I hope you aren't offended by this," I said as I reached into my purse for one of my three delta coffee cups. Each was plastic and a different color. They each also had some advertising on it. The one I had with me that evening, had the USAF logo. I chose it carefully. If I had to throw it at somebody, it would be easy to recognize in court. "Not at all, I wish I had one." she said. "They are hard as hell to find. I am sure that twenty years ago, they were all the rage, but now I can only find them in thrift shops." I admitted. "So, that cowboy, who was dancing with you, has been asking about you every night since." she informed me. "You mean the one who needs his ID checked," I suggested. "Oh yeah, I did check it a few times until he got to be a regular. He really is twenty one." she said. "Damn I am twice his age," I said. "Don't worry, we don't care how old you are here. Everyone is equal in this dump. We are all too young, and too old to be here." she said it with a laugh. I took a good look at her, when she went down to refill someones beer mug. She was a few years younger than me, but not many. She had nice thick hair, I always noticed that because mine was so thin and stringy. It was too bad that it had been bleached so poorly. Not just that, she neglected to keep up with the touch ups. Her roots were showing for at least an inch. I wanted to volunteer to have it fixed for her. She really was a sweetheart. Things were really cold between Cheryl and I, but I wasn't looking for a new lady in my life. I might have been open to a new man, if he was as strong as the ones with whom I felt comfortable. Gunny or Martin were examples of men, who could make me feel comfortable. I had waited to show up there until the place was busy, so that I could get lost in the crowd. I was enjoying myself just sitting at the bar, when Gwen walked in with her cell phone, that wasn't a cell phone. I was pretty sure that I wouldn't have to fight my way out with Gwen as the camera person. "So you are the TV lady?" the young man from the night of the fight asked. He had slipped up on me. "Well, they are trying to make me a TV personality. I'm not really a TV person," I admitted. "So I danced with a TV star," he said. "Better than getting your ass whipped by one," the bartender said. "Yes it was, Melvin is really pissed." he said. "Is Melvin the one with the broken nose?" I asked. "Nope, Melvin is the one you pulled the pistol on," he replied. "Then Melvin should learn not to pull a knife on a lady," I replied. "Can I buy you a beer, I never cared much for Melvin either," he said. "No thanks I'm drinking coffee. But you can dance with me and put your hand on my ass again," I said to soften the rejection. "That's a much better deal," he replied. He left me alone long enough to fill the jukebox with quarters, He must have played every slow country son in the thing. When he got back, Sammi Smith had begun to sing "Help Me Make It Through The Night". It had to be every drunken Cowboy and Cowgirl's favorite song. It wasn't the first time I had heard it, but it always seemed like the first time. I let the kid help support me while I moved against him. He pushed his hard penis against me and I used my belly to rub it. I could tell by his breathing that he was enjoying it. When the song ended, he held me in place until the next one started. It was probably as much to hide his erection as any feelings he had for me. I didn't mind. I was enjoying the feel of it myself. "Do TV stars suck cock?" he whispered in my ear. "Some do, others don't" I replied. "Which kind are you?" he asked. "I'm the kind that only does it, if she is forced," I explained. "How much force does it take?" he asked. "Not a lot," I admitted. "What, if I tried to rape you?" he asked. "Then, I would cut your heart out," I replied honestly. "But you just said," he began but I cut him off. "That's why I don't date kids. They don't get the subtlety of a relationship." "Explain it to me then," he demanded. "If I have to explain it, then you will never really understand. But hon have a good evening, and try someone your own age." I said. "But I got a big cock," he said. "I've had smaller, but I have also had bigger, so it's no selling point hon. Now be a good sport and move on down the line." "Or what?" asked. "Or I will kick you in the balls so hard, you will be wearing them as earrings." I said with a big smile. ------- Chapter 167: Back to the Cowboy's B&G Gwen seemed to be pretty far out of her comfort zone. I could tell that the rough talking cowboys were striking fear into her heart. Most likely she needed Earl to come along on any future visits to CB&G. I had no idea. if there would be any more visits, I was just thinking ahead. "You are the woman that they are making the TV show about, aren't you?" A late twenties or early thirties woman with wild chestnut colored hair asked. "I guess I am, there might be more than one, but I think I'm the only one around here." I said it smiling. "And who are you?" "I'm Amy," She said shyly. "Amy, you seem kind of quiet to be in a place like this?" I know it was a silly variation of 'What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this.' but at least it was a little less trite. "I like to come in and dance once in a while," she said looking down. Dear god, what a pure submissive chick, and she most likely has no idea. I doubted that she would even know what I meant, if I said it right out to her. "So Amy, are you married?" I asked. "I was, but now I'm single," she said smiling gently. "Any children?" "Yes I have a son seven and a daughter five, they are with their dad tonight." she explained without being asked. "I noticed you walk with a cane, can I ask what happened." "I got shot a while ago. It's not as bad as it looks. I have done a lot of healing already." I informed her. "How did you get shot?" she asked. "It's kind of a long complicated story. It's not really all that interesting," I said trying to play it down. "I heard you carry a gun. Is that true?" she asked. "I do sometimes, not always." I replied. I didn't tell her that the only time I didn't was, when I had no place to hide it. "And you broke Eddie's nose?" she asked. "So that's his name. I heard that Melvin is the one who pulled the knife on me, no one mentioned the name of the guy who got his nose broke. "Eddie was drunk and shouldn't have been talking so mean to your friend," she said. "He isn't that kind of friend. He is with the TV show crowd." I explained. "Ah, then you wouldn't mind introducing me to him?" she asked with that shy smile of hers. "No, I wouldn't mind at all, but it most likely won't be here. I don't think bringing him back would be a good idea. I'm sure there are some hard feelings." I said quietly. "Probably with Tommy," She saw the look on my face. Tommy is the one he knocked down with one blow. Tommy is a real bad ass, he would most likely want a second try." she said. "Well you can tell all these guys that Earl might look like a TV wimp, but he comes from the West Virginia coal mines. They might want to rethink trying to get even." I said it pretty casually. I didn't know if he was really a tough guy or not, but it wouldn't hurt if the, would be, bad asses who hung out in the CB&G thought he was. "Oh my, how exciting," Amy said. She was totally hopeless. Too bad she was so straight. I couldn't be a thousand percent sure, but I was nine hundred and ninety nine percent sure. I didn't even consider hitting on her. She might be Earl's type, but I liked my women with a little more aggression. Actually the men I fell for were strong, aggressive, but intelligent types as well. "Yes, I suppose so," I said in agreement. I looked around then added, "Doesn't seem that too many guys what to dance with a gimp." "Oh, I just think it's that they know what to make of you yet. Some of them think you are a man hating lesbian. Some of the women are afraid for that reason as well. They think you might force them into having sex with you somehow." "You might want to tell them that lesbian rape is extreme rare." I should have added that they dropped the charges for lack of evidence, but I was afraid that she wouldn't get the joke. "Oh my," she said again looking at the door. I turned to see who had entered. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was Earl dressed in faded and badly worn jeans. He was also wearing a faded blue work shirt. Instead of a cowboy hat, that would make the outfit complete, he wore a plain, sweat shirt gray baseball type cap. "Is he with you?" the bartender asked. "Does it matter?" I answered. Just as she had answered me earlier. "Tell him no more fights, or I call the cops," the bartender insisted. I turned away then whispered to Gwen, "Relay that last message from the bartender to Earl." I looked up to see her turn my way and nod. "Also tell him this chick beside me wants to meet him." I demanded. Gwen knew that we were having the discussion, but I wasn't sure she would pass on the message unless I asked. It took him a few minutes, but he came to join Amy and I at the bar. "Good evening Maxine, who is your friend?" he asked. "Earl this is Amy. Amy this is Earl. I am going home now. You two take care of each other and may God have mercy on your souls." I said it with a laugh. In the parking lot of the bar I ran into Marvin. "Are we going to go another round?" I asked. "No Ma'am, I been watchin' those Internet videos. I just wanted you to know I am sorry I pulled that blade on you. I won't be doing anything like that again, I promise." "Marvin, it takes real courage for a man to apologize to a woman. Don't worry I'm not the kind to Gloat." I said. "Thanks, and next time you come in, I would love to buy you a drink or even a cup of coffee," he said with a smile. "I'm going to hold you to that," I said. "How about now?" he asked smiling. "Sorry, I already said goodnight to my friends. I'm going home and to bed alone," I said. "Shame, but your choice," he said. "Yes it is and I have made it, so good night," I said. I didn't turn my back on him as I walked away. It was difficult, but I managed to keep him in view. He did turn his back on me. I thought, an attack was more likely from him, than from me. I'm sure that we both knew it. When I got to my door, I found a handwritten note. This had better be from a tenant, I thought. It was indeed from a tenant. Call me when you get this, we need to talk ... Cheryl. I went into my apartment after noting that all the lights were off at Cheryl's place. I undressed then drew a bath. I put my little leg prop into the tub and eased into it. My one concession to Cheryl's note was to take my cell phone. After I had washed and while I was soaking, I dialed her number. "Hello Maxine," she said into the phone. "Hello Cheryl, what are you up to?" I asked. "Since I have the night off Lindsay and I are out dancing. Do you want to join us?" "No thanks, but I am curious where are you dancing?" "Why Cowboy's Bar and Grill," she said. "You just missed me then, because I just left there," I informed her. "Yes I know, the bartender told me. That dark hair boy from the TV show is here." "Well maybe he will dance with you." It was obvious that she and Gwen were still sharing information, if not a bed. "I wonder, if he would like to dance with me and Lindsay?" Cheryl asked. "Only way to know for sure, is to ask." I said. "Well first I have to pry that little piece of trailer trash off of him," she said. "Her name is Amy, just in case you want to know." I replied. "Lindsay and I need to talk to you," she said much more seriously. "Not sure I'm up for that," I replied. "We can be there in fifteen minutes," she said still sounding serious. "Well I'm in the tub make it thirty and I'll let you guys in," I said. "You do remember that you will be on camera?" "I'm counting on it and Lindsay is looking forward to it," she said. I knew then just what she had in mind. Get Lindsay on tape doing either or both of us and she would own her. I had to admit that it was a good idea. Even if the TV people wouldn't show her face, Lindsay would be terrified that Cheryl could get a copy and leak it on the Internet. I expected that Lindsay had good reason to worry. Cheryl was proving to be a real piece of work. She was likely to be even more devious than me. I finished the bath then dressed for bed. I wore one of my ratty old tee shirt, and a pair of my not so ratty panties, but nothing more. I could have found something more appropriate, but I didn't give a crap. Cheryl had seen the outfit, or one like it. As for Lindsay Graham, I just plain didn't care what she thought. I had time to fix a very strong drink and take two aspirin and two Tylenol before they showed up. The pain in my leg was still sharp but I knew it would be better soon. "Hello," I said in greeting as Cheryl and Lindsay passed me on the way into my small living room/kitchen/dining room. After the door was closed Cheryl turned to me and kissed me passionately. I couldn't quite see Lindsay's reaction but I was pretty sure it was anger. "It's time we clear the air," she said when she broke the kiss. "Well there isn't much more to be said. Lindsay here holds your freedom in her hands. She thinks I'm bad for you, so I either leave or she revokes you." I turned from Cheryl to Lindsay. "Isn't that pretty much what you said to me at the cop out?" "Not at all. Yes I think your lifestyle is dangerous to Cheryl's adjustment to freedom, but I never said she couldn't be your friend. She just can not be involved in your work. That's what I meant. I know she want's to help and I know that it sounds exciting to her, but it will put her in jeopardy." "I can not disagree with that, and did I not tell you Cheryl was all in my face to help with the current project. Did I also not tell you that you two should work out what needed to happen and I would go along. I know I told you that if you revoked Cheryl without cause, I would make your life hell." I said. "Yes you did," Lindsay said. "So I am here to tell you what needs to happen." "Okay, let's hear it." I demanded. "Lindsay can not do anything which doesn't have my approval, but she may help you in anything that is non criminal in nature. I need to be able to tell a judge that she was 'acting in good faith'. She must not know anything you plan that is not legal and ethical." "That is pretty much going to take her out of the loop," I said with a laugh. "I, Ms. Stone, will not be held to those same standards. You can tell me and then I can make the decision as to what Cheryl should know." she said. I looked up to see Cheryl smiling as she stood behind the sitting Lindsay. She knew that she was close to winning. She winked at me as she slipped her hand into Lindsay's blouse. I could tell her fingers were inside Lindsay's bra. "Cheryl, stop it," she said. "Lindy shut up, Max knows that we are doing it. She also knows that I love to share," she said. "You are going to have to go along." "Or?" she asked. "There is no or, and you know it." Cheryl said cruelly. ------- Chapter 168: The Circus Came to Town I really wasn't sure how I felt about the two of them spending the night at my place. They could walk two doors down and stay at Cheryl's with no cameras. Even though I knew the camera was part of Cheryl's plan, I wasn't convinced. It took Cheryl walking to stand behind me and whisper in my ear to convince me. "You do remember how it felt to have my cum on your face don't you?" I just nodded. Lindsay was staring at us. I would have expected anger or hate in here eyes. Instead, what I saw was pure lust. It looked as though Lindsay was more into it than I had though. "Come with me girls," Cheryl said as she led the way to my bedroom. Every circus needs a ringmaster, and that night it was Cheryl. She had us both dancing to her tune and entertaining her. How she was able to do it, I have no idea. Some women, and men too, are just able to pull that off. Yes of course, I am attracted to them. It looked as though Lindsay had discovered that she was as well. It started with both of us kissing Cheryl, then with us kissing each other. It was a scene. I just didn't quite get. Usually there was a man involved, which made is so much easier. At some point during the night Lindsay was between my legs and Cheryl stood over her giving directions. Surely Lindsay knew what to do, I thought. Whether she did or not, Cheryl was telling her in detail where and when to lick me, and when and were to suck on me. Then she said to me, "It's time to take Lindsay's ass cherry." "Are you telling me that no one has ever done that to her?" I asked a little surprised. "Not even me," she said. "I have been saving it for a special occasion. I think this qualifies." "What do say Lindsay?" I asked. "Whatever you want. Tonight I will do anything," she said to me gasping for air as she spoke. Jesus what have a gotten myself into? I thought. "Then get on your hands and knees and spread your ass," Cheryl said. Since Cheryl had been in my place many times, she knew where I kept the KY. She liberally dosed Lindsay rectum with it. "Get it," Cheryl demanded of me. "I went to my chest of drawers to remove the dog's chew toy. It was just several hard rubber rings on top of one another and hollow in the middle. It wasn't especially long or thick. It was just shaped for maximum stretch and release as it worked it's way in and out of either passage. Cheryl coated it with lubricant, then began to force it into Lindsay's ass. Lindsay didn't scream but her grunt was loud and she whined as well. Cheryl was more of a master with that thing than I was. She paused for a while letting Lindsay adjust to the first ring, then forced in another, and another, until all but the last one was inside Lindsay. Then she slowly worked the chew toy out. It was very erotic to watch. I found myself with my finger inside myself as I watched. "Help her," Cheryl demanded after several strokes. I moved to be beside the groaning Lindsay. I put my finger on her clit and rub it in circles. Lindsay exploded into an orgasm even though she had already had several. The one she experienced with the chew toy in her ass was by far the strongest. From my own experience I knew that her muscles were clamping down hard on the probe. It would be just as difficult for her tomorrow as it was at the moment. She would spend most of the next day in the bathroom trying to have a bowel movement, but it would mostly be a false urgency created by the inflammation caused by the probe. "Well we got her cherry," Cheryl said happily. She was proud that before it was over Lindsay was begging, "Fuck me harder." I wasn't shocked, but I was surprised that an ass virgin reacted that way. It usually took several times before they could feel anything more than pain. Then again, Lindsay could be a pain slut. The circus folded it's tent about 4AM. The two of them left, probably so that Lindsay could say goodnight and get her sore ass home. I didn't ask about her kids or her husband, because she wasn't my problem. She was definitely Cheryl's problem. I got three hours of rock hard sleep, before my alarm rang. When it did I managed to drag my ass to the bathroom for a quick wash and hair brush. I felt like hell, but I got moving anyway. Since Cheryl wasn't going to be at Helen's sit down, I decided to drive to Hardee's for breakfast. Since Helen opened, I had been through her brown back breakfast menu twice. I needed a break. Several of the regulars remembered me, so it was like a reunion. I caught up with their lives, but told them nothing about mine. Most knew about the leg injury from the news report and the follow up reports raising hell at the news report. I just laughed at all the news whores. When I met tiny dancer at the mall a half hour later, she asked, "Well are you about ready for those stretching exercises?" "I don't think I'm quite ready. It still hurts to walk normally. I have to kind of stiff leg it to keep the bending down to a bearable amount." I said. "Well keep moving it and I will be here when you are ready. By the way I'm looking forward to your TV show. Those promos are very intriguing." she said. "Are you sure you won't be shocked?" I asked. She laughed and said, "You obviously know nothing about the intrigue in a ballet company." Then she walked away still wearing her warmest smile yet. Those must have been some memories she was reliving. I got home from my walk and remembered that it was may day to visit Ed's son Jeff. Jeff was also my doctor. Since the surgery had been in a different country, Jeff was doing the follow up. His appointment was at 2PM. so I had plenty of time. Jen called around 10AM she wanted to set up her appointment with me and Gwen for 2PM as well. I told her no way. I wanted to get my leg looked at and my requirements updated. She couldn't find another time that worked for her until the next day. So we made it 11AM the next morning. "Maxine, I'm coming down for that meeting tomorrow," Mike said on his call to me just after noon. "Good, we need to make a plan with everyone's concerns expressed. This is going to be tricky." I suggested. "I should be in tonight. It will probably be late." He said. "Well you have two peons here, surely one of them can meet you," I suggested. "What do you think of Earl?" he asked. "I don't know much about him, but he seems a little volatile, other wise I like him fine." I said. "You wanted someone who wouldn't just standby while you got shot, remember?" he asked. "Well, All I know so far is that he will defend his manhood. Not sure what he will do, if it isn't about him." I said. "You can only know what will happen, after it happens." Mike said philosophically. "Yeah, I suppose that is true," I replied. After Mike rang off I tied up some loose ends around the house. I began reading over the Smiley case file, but had to stop to head out to Jeff's office. "So how is the leg?" Jeff asked. "The leg is coming along I think, but you tell me." I suggested. "Maxine, I can't tell you how to feel. It looks good and clean. There doesn't appear to be any infection at all." He spent a few seconds manipulating my leg and watching my face as he did. "Maxine I would say you are doing above average on the rehab. Be careful not to let up on it." "So what are my limitations?" I asked. "At this point do whatever you can stand, for as long as you can stand it. Don't try to be an over achiever on this one. Just take your time and do it right." Jeff was all smiles as I left the examining room. I spent the rest of the afternoon reviewing Smiley life and times. I put in a few calls to Lucas to have him do more research. I had a couple of pages to add to the package on James Smiley before I called it a day a 9PM. Since I hadn't had a lot of sleep the night before, I went to bed shortly there after. Frankly I forgot all about Mike, until he called me around midnight. If he had looked at the room monitor he would known that I was sleeping. "Maxine I just checked into a motel out on the interstate in Tryon. I must be twenty miles from you, could you give me a ride to the meeting tomorrow. It is too late to get a rental car now, and I will be flying out right after the meeting." "Sure, but why me?" I asked. "Come early enough and I'll take you out for the stupid fruit pancakes you like so well. We can get a little talk in first." "Fine," I said as I hung up the phone on him. Then I rolled over and was asleep again in seconds. I took my first morning shower in a while that next day. I loved it. I washed my thin hair over and over, it was a thrill to feel really clean for a change. It was a bit difficult to get in and out of the tub, but I managed it by bracing against the vanity. I was in such a good mood that I was determined not to get depressed that day, no matter what came my way. "Good morning," I said cheerfully, when Mike opened his door at 8:30 AM. "Well aren't you just a little Mary Sunshine this morning. It makes me want to puke," he said smiling. "The weather is beautiful just a little chilly, but the sun is shining brightly," I informed him. "What the fuck are you on and how do I get some," he asked stepping from the room. He hadn't even invited me into the room. I wondered if Gwen was still asleep. "So wake Gwen up and we can take her with us," I suggested. "What makes you think she is here?" he asked. "I saw her rental car in the parking lot," I lied. "Let's just keep that bit of information to ourselves. It seems Earl has a new friend and wanted some space. Since I was going to have an extra bed, she come over. It worked out better for everyone." "Of course it did," I said with a knowing smile. I was pouring strawberry syrup over my pancakes, with strawberry pieces in the batter, when Mike began his serious conversation. "The Network is hot for this sting to be on camera, even if we have to black Smiley out of it." "Why don't we save all this talk till Jen is present. I'm not sure what the legals are," I admitted. "We talked to the legal department of the network. No offense Max, but they are more experienced in this kind of thing." "But their loyalty is to the Networ, not to me. With Jen I get my own advocate in the ring." "Alright I don't like this, but we can go along for now," he said. "No Mike you are going to go along period, or I will blow you guys off. There are clauses in the contract with you. You know Jen loves to file suits." "We will see what the meeting this morning is about, before I make any decisions," he said. That led me to believe that he either had or planned to squeeze Gwen out. It was an interesting discovery, but of no real interest at the time. ------- Chapter 169: the Broad Strokes "Since this is off the record, is everyone here?" Jen asked. "Far as I can tell, when Lucas get's back from the little boy's room, we will all be present or accounted for," I replied. "So everyone knows the purpose of this meeting. We are here to decide what to do with the James Smiley information, which Maxine and Lucas have gathered." she went on. Lucas entered looking nervous. He didn't want to blow his big chance to get back in. "So Lucas tell us what you have?" Jen suggested. "I tracked down his money. I can prove he raided his client's escrow and even their investment accounts during periods of inactivity by the accounts owners. It very complicated, very hard to prove, and very illegal, but I can get him.' "The problem is that the facts you have gathered would have to be verified by someone else before they could be used in court. Since your information was obtained under a cloud." Jen said. It was her way of telling us, what we had done was interesting but useless more or less in a criminal case. "What we could do with it, is to tip of the IRS. They pay a reward for information and ask no questions. Mostly the value of that would be harassment, not that there is anything wrong with that in this case. "Criminal chargers would be better," I suggested. "I know an FBI agent, I can slip her the information, but it might take years for them to get a case, if they ever do. I like the IRS actually." I said. "Okay now about the criminal case of Serial Child Abuse and statutory rape," Jen stated. "I know there are nine witnesses because I have their statements. That is more than enough to get an indictment. We can get him in front of a jury, if he chooses to go that way. What we can't do it guarantee a conviction. Look at OJ ... and that Anthony chick. The jury will see a white collar professional and trailer trash victims out to make a buck, according to his lawyer. They were all coached by the police and the lawyers. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we admit that some of these girls sound very believable, but it's all false memory planted by Ms Stone during the initial interview. After all she is not a social worker or a physiologist, she is TV star out to make a TV show." He will say it like it is a criminal offense to make a reality TV show. "So the jury could make that monumental leap to believe that it is all a giant frame for TV ratings. It could happen that the jury lets him walk." "That is absolutely unacceptable," I said. "That's why we need the sting," Mike said. "Catch his slimy ass in the act. I can get you actresses to work the con. You know, he is going to recognize you Ms. Stone." "My, my, aren't we formal. Mike you are videoing this aren't you." "Of course I am, everyone here is on the payroll in one way or another." he said smugly. "You are absolutely right." I said while Jen looked at me like I was crazy. "Lucas works for me, not you, I quit and I'm taking him with me." "If she quits, then I have no further relationship with you, so get the fuck out of my office," Jen said with a huge smile on her face. "And if that tape shows up, I will have your ass and that rinky dink TV network in court for the next hundred years. Remember the news paper in england that folded for stealing information." "I did tell you how Jen loves to sue people with deep pockets." I explained. "It's why neither of us need your jobs." I said it just as smug. "Okay, as usual you two win. Only an idiot would go up against you both at once." He said it handing me the memory card from some kind of device inside his jacket pocket. The lens was most likely a button on his coat or some such crap. "Now Mike, I know you better than that. You have some other shit going down so the 'I Quit' sticks, get out." I said seriously. "If you do this, I will sue you for breach of contract." He was mad as hell. "Bring it the fuck on, I will eat your ass for breakfast and all you fancy lawyers as well. I wrote that contract you stupid shit." Jen said. I imagined that she actually was a wolf staring down Bambi. "What's it going to take to make this right?" he asked finally. "Well, big shot producer, I want to review every image, before it goes to the network. You edit it, get my approval, then you send it in. If you don't get my approval, it goes to the trash can, period, no exceptions." I smiled sweetly. "All right have your shyster write it up," he said. "We will resume at 1PM, after I have the new agreement ready for signatures." she said. "Do we need Gwen to sign off on this?" I asked. "No, Gwen is no longer involved with this show. She has been replaced by a editor and camera person from the Network." "Careful Mike you will be the next one out. But that's your problem, not mine." I said. "You are going to set him up aren't you?" he asked. "First you sign, then we talk," I said. Actually I did have something in mind. I stepped outside while I waited for Jen to dictate the agreement to her paralegal. She came outside while I was making a phone call. "Let's eat," she said. "It always makes me hungry to castrate a former friend." She laughed a wicked laugh. It was a quick Barbecue tray at the Barbecue Pit for us. It was standing room only in the place which suited me just fine. I really wanted to get back to the meeting. "Would you really have walked away for good?' Jen asked. "Of course, would you have defended me for breach of contract?" I asked. "Oh yeah, my life would be so boring without you and your friends. So you are going to sting that prick, aren't you?" she asked. "Oh yeah, but you have to wait for the details. I won't be using the network resources though. They might own Mike's soul, but they don't own mine." I said. "I have seen you dance Maxine, trust me, you have no soul. Jen said it wiping the barbecue sauce from her mouth. "Before you say it, I know that it was a mean thing to say." "Yes it was, but I actually was going to agree with you. I probably lost it about the same time I lost my virginity to the now senator." "Hell, it is probably playing poker with my soul and half a dozen others that he took when he was captain of the high school football team." Jen said laughing again. I had to admit that Jen was a lot of fun, when she was on a roll. The afternoon was likely to be really interesting. The return at 1PM found Gwen missing and Lucas grinning like the cat that ate the canary. I just hoped it was not from a quick lunch of Gwen. I feared that it was, since she was likely to be gone in a day or so. I was there and Jen was there, it would seem that everyone was present, until my cell phone rang. "Hello,"I said. I knew who it should be, and it was. "Yes give her the phone please. I would appreciate it, if you showed the lady back. She is part of my team." Jen gave me an evil look, she didn't like surprises, even from me it seemed. The washed out blond had to be introduced since none of them had seen the tape. "Everybody this is Lindsay Graham, no relation to the politician. She is going to be an advisor to me for this this operation, I need someone with a very special background and Lindsay is the go between. She is a parole officer for the state." "Well Hello Lindsay," Jen said nodding in her direction. Mike did the same and even Lucas was interested. "Alright," Mike said. "What is it you have in mind." "First of all Mike, I don't trust actors to do this kind of thing. For this you need someone who realizes this is not a game, it is real. They also need to know people can die, and not be afraid to push the envelope to get it done." "Then you aren't going to have him involved with one of my people," Mike asked. "Mike, it could take years to get someone close to him that way. It couldn't be forced. We would have to just keep throwing women at him till one stuck. It could even be a total waste of time period." He seemed to see the wisdom in that. "What I have in mind, he most likely wont be able to say no to. If we do it right. we can hit him with civil suits and criminal charges both. I want him for the child abuse and rape. The feds can have him for RICO and take everything as proceeds of a criminal conspiracy for all I care. I want him doing the Texas two step with Bubba for about a hundred years." "I'll second that," Lindsay said out of no where. I hadn't expected her to get involved at that stage. "If I approach him to make a deal, like Mike said, there is a possibility he might recognize me. I need a ringer, and Lindsay can help me get one. Someone whose background can stand an investigation." I said. "So what is the hook," Mike asked. "The hook is a fake blackmail attempt. My ringer and Lucas approach this clown. They offer to sell him the information package to do with as he pleases for 50K. My ringer met one of the girls inside. One of them actually did some time for check fraud. Not a lot, just enough so that she might have come in contact with a bad ass dike. So when the ringer gets out, she meets Lucas a computer whiz. While he checks the story, he finds all these other girls. He hasn't talked to any of them, but he is sure the cops would love to, what with all the child abuse and rape scandals right now. So 50 K buys the names and addresses and the ringer and Lucas get lost completely." "We tape it of course," Mike said. "Of course, I don't want his slippery ass squirming out of it." I said in agreement. "It is so fucking elegant," Jen said. "How do you think of this shit?" "I watch a lot of TV," I said with a smile. "So Lucas, are you in?" I asked. "Holy shit Max I have been praying for something like this. I'm not only in, I'm dying to start right now." he said. "Calm down, I don't want you over acting," I said. "Just be yourself and sell the story." I took a look at Lindsay. It all depended on her. "So what do you say Lindsay, can my ringer play in the game, or do I need one of Mike's ringers." "If it is what you say and nothing more, and you document that she is working for a licenses private investigator or on the payroll of some legitimate company, I can sign off on it. I would also love to watch that film, when this is over." she said smiling. Then we take two weeks to work out the details and rehearse the parts, before opening night," I said. 'Works for me," Mike said. "I will get to work on some camera and recorders for the job." "What about Security?" Lindsay asked. "I think I will handle that personally. I have people on the ground, it is an operation for me." I said seriously. "Then I can sign off on it," Lindsay said again. I had absolutely no doubt that she was ready to bring Cheryl on board. ------- Chapter 170: Taking Care of Loose Ends I hadn't wanted to discuss the gag with Cheryl just yet, so I had intentionally skipped Helen's sit down in favor of Hardee's for breakfast. It was pretty uneventful other than waves from old guy and gals I knew from before Helen's place opened. Sometimes things just roll around in the back of my mind, not making any noise at all for days. Then all of a sudden they are screaming at me. Such was the case with Gwen's not being at the afternoon meeting. Something about it had been off, but not enough to cause me any alarm at the time. However, the next morning bells began sounding, while I walked at the mall. It was pretty early for a business call, but I didn't give a crap, I called Lucas anyway. I thought he would know, more than anyone else, since he spent quality time with her after the morning meeting. "I haven't seen Gwen since yesterday in the morning. Have you?" I asked to open the conversation. "I saw her at lunch, and again after the meeting ended, but not since," he volunteered. "I know she had to be upset, was she threatening to get even?" I asked. "No, she said that she had a contract. She also said that it didn't matter what Mike said, her contract was iron clad." Lucas admitted. "So you don't think she was going to sabotage us?" I asked. "No, I didn't get that feeling at all. It was my feeling that she was going to visit the network, and try to work out some kind of deal with them. Just to keep it out of the courts." he said. "Well that does sound reasonable, but I want you to monitor Smiley's bank accounts. If he gets wind of our game, the first thing he will do is try to hide his money." I said. "I can do that. I just need to install a trojan to alert me, when there is a transaction in any of his accounts," he suggested. "Good, but also do a manual check now and then," I demanded. "And Lucas this is very important. Did you mention the blackmail plan to her at all?" "No way, I learned my lesson with Cheryl and the envelope. I did not mention anything that happened after she left. As far as she knows, the plan is to set him up with a new girlfriend and teenage girl." "Good, make sure it stays that way. Has she gone back to Boston or to New York?" I asked. "New York, She left last night. She plans to be at the network headquarters to fight Mike's lock out. She wants back in. I don't think she will alert Smiley, at least not unless it is definite that she is out." "Okay, thanks Lucas," I replied. Next I called Mike on his cell phone. The message should track him down, I thought. "Mike, it's me Maxine. Call me, we have a problem." "You seem to be moving a lot better today," Tiny Dancer said to me. "I got cleared by my doctor to do anything that didn't hurt. The chances of tearing a stitch are almost entirely gone," I informed her. "Well keep working at it and you will be ready for the stretching exercises any time now." she said. "Maybe next week," I said in agreement. I watched her walk away her butt a total contradiction. It was a tight butt, even though she was a granny. I never thought that I would use tight butt and granny in the same sentence. Even so, she had the only tight granny butt, I had ever seen. As I passed the food court, I noticed Earl sitting alone with a view of the route I used to walk around the interior of the mall. He had one of the big cameras with a zoom lens. With that thing, he could take several different shots of me walking from any location he chose. He would need to be in only two or three spots to cover it all. Earl was not all that ambitious it seemed. From his vantage point he most likely missed my exchange with Tiny Dancer. But to be honest, if the audio had sounded interesting, he could have taken a few steps and probably gotten a good telephoto shot of us. I supposed that it was possible that he had already done that. Nothing much happened until a couple of hours later when the mag 7 theme began playing somewhere in my apartment. I had to hunt the phone down before I could answer it. "Hello," I said on the fifth or sixth ring. "What kind of trouble," Mike asked. "You dumped Gwen in front of everyone. She has to save face now, don't let her do it at the expense of my people," I demanded. "What do you mean?" he asked. "I mean, do something to keep her from giving James Smiley a heads up. If that prick burns my people, I am going to kick both of your asses. Starting with you pretty boy." "She wouldn't do that," he said. It was in his voice that he knew that she would indeed do it. "You don't believe that, and I don't either. Get in touch with her and explain that, if she burns my people, I'm coming for her and it won't be pretty. Then you make some kind of deal with her to save face." "Don't tell me how to run my business," he demanded. He was still galled about the new contract terms. "Mike, if you get one of my people hurt, because you lack the balls to settle this like a man, I am not going to be happy. You have seen what happens to people who upset me. Please don't be one of them." "Is that a threat," he said. "This time, you can take it anyway you like. Just get your ass on the phone, or in a cab and go fix this mess. Otherwise I will just take Smiley to civil court and do the best I can for the girls." I figured by that time he had already told the Network to expect a show with the sting operation against a child molester. He would be the one to lose face, if I bailed on that one. He should know that I would not start the sting, if there was no longer a solid chance that it would work. Then again some people only see what they want to see. Since there was nothing I could do about it, I forgot about it. I picked up the cell and speed dialed my old office which belonged to Lucas at that moment. "Hey Lucas I want you to do me a favor. I want to get that Christine woman's prison records. If nothing else, dates and places she was held. We need to do a background, so we can brief Cheryl." "Okay boss, but she wasn't in long enough to make it to the state prison, where Cheryl was held." he replied. "Then find out, why Cheryl might have been stuck in the country jail for a few days. Then we can merge them. Do a deep background check on Christine as well. She would have told Cheryl some things about her past. Things that happened before she got caught up in the check fraud thing." "Can do Boss," he said. "I don't need to tell you to keep all this just between you and me. No one else needs to know just yet." I said sternly. "Like I said about Gwen, I learned my lesson with Cheryl." Lucas informed me. "Good, that's the way it should be." I felt better about Lucas, but only time would remove the negative feelings, which still lurked in the back of my mind. I spent the rest of the morning working on the things that could tip Smiley. I searched for anything that might let him know. we weren't for real. Lucas's background was clean. If Smiley checked he would find that Lucas was the man to ask for computer information. No one could ever prove that he obtained the information illegally, because nobody ever complained. So his part in the scam made perfect sense. "Why did you suddenly decide to become a blackmailer?" Smiley might ask. "Who said this is my first time?" Lucas should answer. "If you are good at it, and not greedy, then no one ever knows." I could see that playing out to our advantage. Cheryl was still the problem, but she also was going to be able to pull it off better than me. There was just no way that Smiley could be convinced that I was willing to sell him information. Lindsay couldn't be part of, or even know about, anything illegal. Neither could Cheryl for that matter. Lucas and I are going to have to carry the water on this one, I thought. I wasn't sure that he was up to it, but he certainly seemed enthusiastic. I would have loved to have Gunny, Martin, or even Ivan around to help with James Smiley. Of course either of them would just want to kill him themselves. That's what made them all great lovers but lousy partners in crime. Bull in the china shop syndrome. Martin especially lacked finesse, but he made up for it in raw courage. He had another thing going for him, his determination to win at any cost. Come to think of it, Vlad was the same way, nothing got between either of them and the prize. It wasn't just about winning, it was all about winning. There wasn't room in their lives for anything else. I thought about that and thought how sad that must be. Then I realized that I was exactly the same and I knew how sad it was. I also knew that we were helpless to change ourselves. Gunny died because he refused to call an ambulance. Instead he walked two miles to the hospital while in the middle of a massive heart attack. Maybe, now that he had rediscovered himself, Alex would be like them. It would be interesting to see where those men were at the moment. Maybe when Smiley was history, I would take a trip to find them. Not likely since as Mr. Wolf said, 'You can never go home again." And I would like to add, even if you could, it would all be smaller. Cheryl showed up at 3:15pm. exactly fifteen minutes after work. She must have gotten her coworker to drop her at home, since as far as I knew she still didn't drive. I was in the middle of an on line TV show, but there was no chance that she was going to let me finish. "Okay damn it, Lindsay called me at work. She said I could be part of your con, so what is it?" she demanded. "Easy kid," I said. "Are you sure that you want to do this. It could be dangerous. You could even go back inside, if it goes sideways and you react even the slightest bit out of plumb." "Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself. Besides I have Lindsay looking out for me. So tell me what are we going to do to the pervert?" she demanded again. "All you have to do is play yourself, just bigger than life. You have to be convincing that's all." "What are we trying to make happen?" she asked again. "We are trying to make Smiley incriminate himself. We might have enough with the girls statements, and maybe we can get the FBI to investigate his money dealings, but to get his ass dead, we need him to incriminate himself on tape." I explained. "So, am I like going to be his new girlfriend?" she asked. "No, there is no way we could guarantee that he would fall for you. He is more about the kids than the moms. No dear, you are destined to be another bad guy in our little play. You and Lucas are going to blackmail James Smiley. When he pays you 50K to give him a list of the girls he screwed as teenagers, and admits to having done it on video, then he is screwed." "It doesn't sound very exciting but okay. It's got to be more fun than my day job." she said. ------- Chapter 171: Red Hair and Red Eyes Later that afternoon Lucas called to give me the dates and place for Christine's lockup. She had been in the county jail for just over six months, two years ago. Lucas had no idea why Cheryl might have been in the county lock up. He just didn't know where to start looking. "Never mind Lucas, I'll just call our buddy Jen," I suggested. "Yeah, she should know more about the court and prison system than me," he admitted. "Thanks and start working on your nerdy blackmailer persona," I suggested. "Oh trust me, I have been giving it a lot of thought," he said with a laugh. It sounded as if they were all looking for kicks, not retribution, but that was okay. If the results were right, I didn't give happy damn what their motivation was. Like the man said, I'm no psychologist. "Hey Jen," I said after I got past the receptionist. "Why would Cheryl have been moved to country lockup from the state prison for a few days a couple of years ago." "It would have had to have been to get her before a local judge. Maybe some kind of appeal it wouldn't be normal, but it isn't unheard of. It could also have been to testify in a local case as a jail house snitch. That again is unlikely, but possible," she said. "I'll see what I can do with that. Just another thread to weave into the story line. So who is the other guy sharing your bed these days?" I asked. "Oh just the usual suspects. Girl you need a new lover, so I can add more variety to my love life," she said with a laugh. "Jen, don't you feel any guilt at all that you are screwing my old lovers?" I asked. "Why should I? You were finished with them. I have better taste in clothes, but you have better taste in cock." She was serious and that bothered me just a little. "Well most of my men come from out of town," I said. "The fun ones hang around a little while anyway." she said. After Jen, I sat at the computer trying to find court cases from Christine's lockup time period. I gave up and called Lucas. "Find me a major trial during Christine's lock up. Something with gang or drug connections," I begged. "Geese Max, I have explained how to find things a dozen times, you really hate computers don't you." Lucas commented. "No Lucas they hate me. I finally figured out how to find movies and TV shows, but that other stuff is still a mystery to me. So just find the trail. Besides if I could do all that, I wouldn't need you." I said. "True, I am going to stop complaining now. I don't want to lose this gig," he laughed as he hung up on me. Twenty minute later the phone played music again, " Lucas will you for god's sake change this ring tone." "I might could do that, but I'm not Lucas. Should I be jealous," Earl asked. "Jealous of what, it's just business with all of us," I replied. "Too bad, I am just an employee. I could make a mint selling some of that video to the porn houses." he said with a laugh. "That better be a joke," I said it without the laugh I felt. "So what is it you want?" "I wanted to tell you the new camera operator has arrived," he said. "Okay, give me five minutes, then bring him over," I said. After I pushed the kill button, I began throwing dirty clothes into the cardboard box I used as a hamper. The place was a breeze to clean. Since most everything I owned was locked behind the false wall in my closet, I could just hide my dirty clothes and toss my empty pizza boxes and the place was passably clean. I quickly put on a blouse over the ratty old tee shirt. I buttoned it to hide the grease stains from my last meal. I managed to get all that done in time to answer the door on the first knock. Earl with the black, slicked back hair entered after a petite redhead. My heart melted for just a second. She was almost gorgeous. If it hadn't been for the almost Pinocchio nose, she might have been perfect. The nose made me and probably everyone else want to laugh. "Maxine, this is Willy," he said. I put out my hand just as she said, "It's short for Willimena," she said. Then quickly added, "Everyone asks." "Ah okay, so how old are you Willy?" I asked. "That's usually the second question. I am 24. I graduated from the Mass. Technical College last year. I know I look young, but I am qualified." "Sweetie, no offense, but this isn't the housewives of Boston," I said. 'This can get pretty physical." I was thinking of the pirate fire fight and the cameraman, who watched it from the bridge. "I can take care of the physical parts as well. I was in the army after high school. I did two tours driving a duce and a half in Afghanistan. I think you are familiar with that place." "Yeah and the truck. Okay, long as you know you might have to defend yourself someday." I said. "I was told that before I took the job." Willy said. "So Willy, do you have anything you want to ask or say before we get started?" I asked. "Just want to say that I am married." she said looking me in the eye. "And this is supposed to tell me what?" I asked. "That I am not available. I understand you are a bit of a womanizer," she said smiling. "Wow, I have never heard it phrased quite like that. I think that term applies to men more than women. I am an equal opportunity slut, if that is what you mean. But you are safe because I don't screw the hired help." "Oh?" she said. "I might screw the boss, but I generally stay away from the hired help." I said it as a joke, but she didn't seem to think it was funny. "Moving right along, neither of you has a lot of experience with this job, so let me tell you one thing, then you are on your on. If anyone sees you filming, which causes an operation to get blown, which gets one of my people hurt, being fired will be the very least of your problems. Earl can tell you, sometimes things get a little out of hand, but you still have to keep your cover." "I will be fine, I know how to do my job, and I can adapt." she said trying to calm me. I wasn't ready to be calmed. "Okay, but you better be up to it." "Well, I guess we will get back to the studio. By way Mike want's you to call him this afternoon. He said for me to be sure to say please." Earl said smiling. "Mike, what the hell do you want now?" I asked after I got him on the phone. "So what do you think of Willimena?" he asked me. "She is young and pretty, but can she handle the blood?" I asked. "She did two tours in the sandbox, as you and Martin called it." Mike reminded me. "Yeah, well I want to see her in action. I might just take her to Cowboy's B&G tonight." I said. "Good idea," Mike said. "Anyway. we need another apartment. One of your tenants told Gwen she might be moving. Has she talked to you yet?" "No, which one?" I asked. "The older lady seems to have gotten lucky. She has a boyfriend or so Gwen says." Mike informed me. "So you and Gwen are talking again?" I asked. "Yes we worked out a deal. I am buying her out and the network is going to make her executive producer of a show, which they own outright. Everybody is happy." "Keep it that way till this is over," I demanded. "Anyway, I want that lady's apartment, if she moves. Willy's husband is not going to be happy about her sleeping in the room next to Earl. We will be running people in and out down there for a while. I'll pay going rate with a one year guarantee," he said. "Sounds reasonable, if she wants out of her lease, you can take it over," I informed him. "Fair enough, if you would ask her, I would consider it a personal favor," Mike said. "I will ask her next time I see her, In the meantime, you should send one of your people to explain that she can get out of her lease that way. It might speed things up for you." I said. "That's a good idea, I will send Willy, she has the most to gain," he said. At 8PM I left the apartment and walked to my cruiser. It was a short drive to the Cowboy's Bar and Grill. "Well, hello my lil warrior princess," the bartender said with a smile. "And hello to you vendor of dreams. Make mine a cup of your best coffee," I said to her with a big smile. "You are becoming a regular," she said. "Good, I need a new hangout," I said. "My last beer joint lost it's appeal." "Well we have lot's of characters, if not much character," she said smiling. I drank my coffee and watched the door and my back. I know Melvin said all was forgiven, but he was sober at the time. Things don't always look the same after a few beers. I knew better than to be too trusting, especially in a room filled with strangers. I was beginning to wonder if Earl and Willy were going to show, when they finally walked into the room. Since they both came, I took that as a good sign that Earl would at least look after the younger Willie. Willie seemed to be texting, while ignoring her date. I knew better, but I'm not sure the other customers did. Some seemed fascinated that two such attractive people would be together and yet ignoring each other. When the inevitable pushing and shoving started, I was happy to see that neither of my companions was involved. I noticed that Willy didn't look all that concerned, but Earl kept a close eye on the men and women doing the pushing and shoving. After things calmed down I noticed Amy come in. This should be interesting, I thought. The more attractive, and even a little younger, Willie sat with what Amy probably considered her boyfriend. I was dying to see how Earl explained that away. Earl got up from the table, then walked to where Amy sat. Willy ran the camera while I drank my coffee and spoke to anyone who spoke to me. When I was asked to dance, I explained about my leg and usually the guy went away. The young man I had been flirting with came in late. "Hey baby where you been," he asked. "Oh hon, there really is life outside the cabaret." I said. He looked at me lost. It something that Sally Bowles either said, or should have said, in the movie Cabaret." I suggested. "Before my time," he said. "Way to go, remind me that I'm old enough." I said before he interrupted with. "To be my older sister. Isn't it time you teach me about sex sis?" Just as I was about to reply the bartender returned from the back room. Her eyes were red and swollen. She had been crying. 'What's up?" I asked. "I don't know what to do. My ex boyfriend is on his way over. He is super pissed. I'm afraid of him." "Has he ever been violent?" I asked. "He put me in the hospital last year, it's why I took the baby and moved out. Today he was notified by the child support office that they are going to take him to court for back child support. He is on his way down to talk to me." she said. "Call the cops," the young man who had been pursuing me suggested. "They can't do anything until after he has beaten her." I turned from the much younger man to the bartender. "Take a dollar out of your tip jar and give it to me." "Why?" she asked. "Because you just hired me to be your body guard. I need to get some things from my car. I'll be right back." ------- Chapter 172: Max and the Beertender's BF After I filled my pockets with tools, I returned to the bar. I sat quietly at the furtherest end of the bar waiting for the bartender's ex. It was the best spot to be near her and to see the door. "Would you like to dance Maxine," one of the guys I had seen around asked. "I can't dance, I still have a bum leg. I am sorry," I said it just as politely as possible. I didn't want to piss anyone off. Since I considered myself to be working, I didn't need to have my attention divided. I needed to stay focused on the job at hand. There were several more invitations. I turned down as well, so I'm sure he didn't feel bad. "So what's going to happen now?' The blond with black roots asked. "To be honest that's up to you ex boyfriend. If he comes into the bar now, he probably just wants to vent. The best thing to do is to let him make an ass of himself, then ask him to leave. If he goes, all is right with the world." "What if he doesn't leave?" she asked. "He will leave there is no doubt, but there are also other possibilities," I suggested. "Like what?" she asked. "He could be out getting drunk and plans to have his say in the parking lot, when you leave. Now that is a little more dangerous. If that proves to be the case, he isn't just in a rage, he is thinking it out. Fewer, if any, witnesses, so it can get real serious real quick." "Oh, that doesn't sound good." she said. "Does he know where you live?" I asked. "Yes," she said without further explanation. She looked worried. "That is the worst. He could come to your house. I'm going to take care of all that for you. You just try to stay calm and do not have anything to say to him at all. Don't try to explain anything just let him vent, then I will talk to him sensibly." I reached into my pocket and clicked Martin's 'special bic' which I had retrieved from the cruiser along with my other non lethal toys. Well most of them were non lethal. "I need to know something right now," I demanded. "What is it?" she asked. "Do you still love this guy?" I asked. "He beat me and he is threatening to do it again. No I don't love him," she said. "Did you love him yesterday?' I asked. "No, why do you ask?" she answered me with a question. "Because, if I have to hurt him, I want to know you aren't going to try to stab me in the back with a butcher's knife." I said. "I promise, I won't defend him in any way. I just want him to leave me alone." she said. "I can't promise you that unless I kill him, and I'm not going to do that for a dollar," I said with a laugh. She laughed as well and that I considered to be a good thing. "Now get back to work and let me handle this. If he comes in tonight and makes a scene, go to the magistrate tomorrow for a restraining order." We got the better of all the possibilities, when her ex boyfriend, Don, showed up about a half hour later. He had been somewhere else drinking to get in the right mood to make a fool of himself. He caught my client at the far end of the bar and began a quiet conversation. I expected the volume to increase geometrically, and it did. Pretty soon he was shouting. It took her a while, but she finally remembered to just walk away. When she was safe, I walked to the end of the bar. "Don you need to leave now," I said almost in a whisper. I wanted his attention and that's the way to get it. "If I don't?" he almost screamed. "Then, I am going to have to eject you," I said smiling at him sweetly. "Lady you got some balls to say that to a man twice your size," he said. "Actually, you aren't twice my size. More like one and a half times my size, but since most of that is beer belly, it don't really count," I said continuing to remain calm. "You are all fucking bitches," he said. "Probably true, but you still need to leave before someone gets hurt," I said logically. "Yeah you bitch," he said pulling back to hit me. Unfortunately for him, he pulled back like they do in the movies. I was sober and faster of mind and with better hand speed. I hit him first, but it wasn't with my hands. It was with fully charged stun gun. His body short circuited and he went down in a heap. I thanked god that I had spent the extra bucks for the stun gun with the needle sharp probes. There had been no exposed areas, so I hit him through his knit shirt. The probes worked just as the salesman had promised. I hadn't noticed the crowd before, but suddenly there was applause from the people who had been watching it. I was shocked to see it. Usually people mind their own business in a bar, but we had somehow managed to get an audience. It was over way faster than the drama leading up to it had been. "Would someone please call 911. Have them send a cop at least, maybe the paramedics as well." I said that as I used a plastic zip tie on his hands. "Just in case he wakes up before the cops get here," I said to explain. "Are you alright?" I asked the bartender. "I'm fine, are you alright?" she asked in return. "I'm fine, but I think now would be a good time for you to tell me your name." I said. "God, I never told you did I? I'm Joyce." she said in a rush. "Nice to meet you Joyce." I said it as she pushed a glass onto the bar. "I expect you could use that," she said. "Don't worry it isn't booze." I tasted the drink and found it to be very good lemonade. Sweet, Tart and filled with crushed ice. "Thanks, that is good." About that time the cops came and it got just plain crappy. They disarmed me before they even put Don in a squad car. They sat around interviewing the patrons until the Detectives got on scene. "Well Ms Stone, we meet again," The man about ten years younger than me said. "Should I know you?' I asked. "No, we never did get a chance to say hello. I was part of the group that hit the 'Bed and Breakfast Brothel', as the media called it. That thing sure made a lot of careers." he said. "It didn't do a thing for mine. As a matter of fact it sent all the people I knew in the department into bigger and better things." It was probably a little bitter sounding. Damn it I missed Blevins. "Well I'm Mike Dawson, so if you need anything give me a call. At least I know whose side you are on." he said. "Good, are we about finished?" I asked knowing better. "Would you come downtown to finish the interview?" "If you let me drive my own car, so that I can leave whenever I want," I said in the spirit of compromise. "That's fine, you are not under arrest or anything. Actually it looks as though we might be holding the guy you zapped. Your camera person showed me the video of him pulling back to hit you. That is a clear indication of assault." It was midnight before I got through explaining everything to detective Dawson. In the end they had to charge Don, to be sure he didn't try to have me charged with something or other. "The DA will drop the charges, if you don't push it," he said. "Well I won't be pushing it, if he leaves Joyce alone," I said. "Do what you think is best. But try to keep under the radar, the chief is not happy with you at the moment. He thinks you are using us, just to clean up after you." detective Dawson said. "Now that's just so wrong," I said smiling. I liked Dawson. He would never be Blevins, but he might be useful later on. I just might have to give the Smiley evidence to someone else to work. He had given me plenty of subtle clues that he would play along. He was ambitious and knew that I wouldn't try to steal his glory. I left the station with one memory in my head. Don drawing back to hit me and the panic I felt as I stood frozen in one spot waiting for my chance to hit him with the stunner. I would normally have danced around him and zipped him from the side. Getting around a drunk isn't that difficult, unless you have a chunk of your calf muscle gone. Ed's son Jeff, the Doctor, had pretty much warned me that I was going to lose something. A limp at the very least was in my future. "Damn, I wish Gunny were here. I need some lessons on how to beat the shit out of a drunk with a horse head cane." I said aloud to the empty car. I knew that I might not always have the stun gun, but I would have the cane for a while. Even after I got to bed, I had the image of Don slapping the shit out of me. I didn't like that feeling at all. I know that I could have shot him, hell I had two pistols on me at the time, but that would have ended badly as well. What I needed was the ability to beat the crap out of him with my cane. I fell asleep trying to figure out who could teach me. The first thing the next morning I got side tracked. Lucas found the trial of a woman who had poisoned two husbands. She plead not guilty for a while, then in the middle of the trial changed her plea. That trial would work perfectly as a cover story. Some con had confessed to Cheryl that she was an accomplice to the murder. She went to the guards to get some points towards an early release. Since she made it onto parole, it would play beautifully. I went to Helen's sit down to have breakfast with Cheryl and found Lindsay there as well. I sat with her only because, like it or not, she was part of the sting. At least she hadn't heard about the bar fight yet. I didn't want to deal with that so early in the morning. After breakfast I did my walk at the mall. While I walked, I worked out the story line for both Lucas and Cheryl. I didn't want to rush into anything, so I kept it to myself. We were ready to go, but I wanted time to think, and I wanted Cheryl and Lucas to think as well. On the way home from the mall I passed one of those Marshall arts schools for children. I suppose it was for anyone, but the sign in the window had pictures of kid's on it. It was more than a whim that made me pull into the parking lot. I was copying down the phone number when I heard a voice from behind me. "Not open," the female voice said. "I know, I was writing down the phone number. I needed to ask some questions. I plan to call back later today." I explained. "What question?" she asked. "I'm looking for someone who can teach me how to defend myself with this," I said showing her the cane. "Cane have knife," she said. She was obviously familiar with the cane. That surprised me. "I know, but I want to use it as defensive weapon. I want to be able to block blows, maybe use it as a club." I admitted. "We no hab class that," she said. "Private lessons maybe?" "Lessons $25 each," she informed me. "That sounds fair," I replied. "What happen your leg?" she asked. "I got shot," I admitted. "How long ago?" she asked. "Almost two months now," I said. "Okay, start now come in." she said opening the door. She watched carefully as I walked into the reception room. ------- Chapter 173: I Hate Hospitals Even as a Visitor "My name Sue Ling," The korean woman said when she returned. "You Maxine Stone?" "Yes I am Maxine Stone," I said. I was surprised that she recognized me. It was something I was going to have to get used to. "Where camera?" she asked. "Somewhere in the parking lot, I'm sure." I replied without giving it much thought. "You want them in?" she asked. She showed me that she understood how things worked. "If you don't mind, I am sure they would like to be in here," I replied. "No problem," she replied returning to the front door to wait for Willy to show up. When Willie came in she was carrying one of the large cameras. The images would be much better and it handled difficult lighting situations much better as well. The three of us went into the one large room of the Martial Arts school. "I would like to be clear about what I want. I don't plan to compete in any tournaments, or anything like that. I just want to know how best to use this cane as a defensive weapon." I stated yet again. "Understand, I will not make you bow to the east or make funny noises," she said smiling. When she smiled, I was able to judge her age a little better. She was more youthful than I had thought. Her age did not matter or whether her belt color matched her Gi. All I wanted to do was prevent some drunk from beating the shit out of me. Willy most likely had a ball watching Sue Ling slap me around for the first thirty minutes of the lesson. What Willy most likely missed, but I didn't, was that Sue Ling was watching me like a hawk. Every time she attacked me, she also showed me how to parry it. First it was one attack and one parry move then it was a different variation of the same attack and just a slightly different parry move. It went on and on until my cheeks were red from her not so gentle slaps. When a half hour passed, we took a break. "You are quick of mind and movement except your feet are stiff," she informed me. "I know my leg is weak and stiff. I will get better, but maybe not much better." I said. "When the body is weak, the mind must be strong. You have to will that you win, before you can win. When you do that, you teach your body how to make it happen. I will help you teach your body how to make it happen." "No thank you, I know how to win, trust me. I just need to know how to use this weapon," I said holding the cane up to her. I had to admit that she had already taught me a great deal about how to move and parry with the cane. She nodded her head first, then said, "Americans always in hurry." "Instant oatmeal is to blame," I said. "Did you ever notice how bad instant tea is?" she asked in almost accent free English. I smiled broadly. "Ah ha, I thought so." "Nothing gets past you," she said. "Now let's go back. I am enjoying beating the crap out of you." she said. "Let me go get my tools and we can do this for real," I said with a laugh. "Oh no, my place, my rules," with that we went back into the studio. For the next half hour the blows got harder but she landed fewer of them. Since she was striking me open handed I parried her with much less force than I would have with someone who was intent on injuring me. Even so I'm sure I gave her a bruise or two. The real thing she did for me in that first hour, was teach me that the cane was a real weapon, not a novelty. As an offensive weapon I needed very little training, since I already knew how to use a police baton, but the thrust and parry, I had badly needed. Especially with the gimp leg. Even the baton moves were hard with the stiff leg. Willy and I left Sue Ling after a total of an hour and a half. I paid her a hundred dollars. She and I also agreed that I would stop by at the same time of day again in a few days ... Since her first class wasn't until noon, she could fit in private lessons almost any day. At least any day that she happened to be in the studio early. I could also call for an appointment, if I so desired. "Sue, the TV people will be by to get a release, so that they can use this footage. It will make good TV, I think. You might want to negotiate a good price for your release." I winked at her. When I turned my cell phone on I had two messages. One was from my latest cop friend, Mike Dawson ... Ms Stone call me, I have some news. I dealt with each of my messages, before I move on to the next one. It's an old military habit. "Don't you ever sleep?" I asked when he answered the phone. "I bet you were up before me," he replied. "No bet, so what is it that you have for me." "Don, is so very sorry that he made an ass of himself and just wants it all to go away." The sarcasm just dripped from Mike's voice. "And did we expect anything else from the prick," I asked. "Of course not, but I think you put the fear of got into him. He seems to have been impressed by his first encounter with a stungun." he said. "Yeah, how long you figure that memory will be strong enough to make him behave?" I asked. "I'd give it a week," he said. "You are an optimist," I replied. "Thanks for the info. I guess that means I can come down and pick up my tools?" "Yeah, come down and see me around noon. I'll have them and the release for you to sign. Bring the cute redhead with you." "Sorry Mike, I don't get to choose which camera person I have with me." I said. "You already have a fan club," I said to Willy. She just nodded. I expected her to be a little off balance for a while, so I paid no attention. The second message was from Lindsay of all people ... We need to talk. it read. "Son of a bitch," I said aloud. I dialed her number anyway. "Have you seen Cheryl," she demanded angrily. "No, is she missing?" I asked. "Yes, she is missing," Lindsay said. "She left Helen's soon after you did this morning. She walked right by me and didn't even speak." "Did you ask Helen?" I suggested. What I didn't say was that Cheryl had most likely left to be with someone else. Even so, I would bet that she called Helen first. "No, I'm her parole officer, if I do that it might make trouble for her with Helen." she said. "Not to mention how it will look, if Helen complains to your boss. So you want me to call, just to be sure it isn't something we need to worry about?" I asked. "Yes, I guess that is why I called you," Lindsay replied. "Also to be sure she didn't run off on some errand for you." "Well not to worry, she isn't out murdering anyone for me. Before I call Helen and make an ass of myself, is there anything else that has you concerned?" I asked. "No, just that she didn't mention anything on the phone, when we talked last night." she said. "What time was that?" I asked. "It was about eight, I took the kids to a movie and I called her from the lobby, before I took them home. Once I get home it is hard to just talk to her. You know how that is," she said. "Actually I don't, but I'll take your word for it." I said. After I killed the connection with Lindsay, I called Helen. "Helen somebody just called to ask if Cheryl was okay. It seems she left in the middle of breakfast at the sit down," I said. "Maxine, I thought she would have called you. Her dad is in the regional hospital. He had a stroke." she informed me. "I have been working out, so I'm going home to shower. As soon as I finish, I'll be headed up there," I said. "Will you call me when you know what is happening. Once I get everything started, Jack and I will be going up there as well." she said. "If she needs us, I can drop everything and just go." "I doubt that there is anything any of us can do. I'll see how she is doing and let you know." Just over half an hour later I found Cheryl sitting in a family waiting room outside the the MRI lab. I pulled her to her feet and hugged her. "Cheryl I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do?" She burst into tears and shook her head. She was shaking so hard I thought she might cause me to lose my balance. She finally got control of herself. "He is in a coma. His new wife is administrator of his living will, so there is nothing I can do." "It's almost noon, do you want me to get you some food or anything?" I asked. "I would kill for a good cup of coffee?" she admitted. "I can do that. Do you want me to call anyone?" I asked. "Call Helen, tell her I have no idea when I will be back to work. Then call Lindsay tell her what happened. Tell her to stay away, I don't need her and she can only make things worse here." Cheryl had it under control. She was emotional, but she knew how to control her emotions and take care of business. I was both happy and sad to see it. Happy because she would get things done the right way, but sad because suppressing the emotions would eventually take a toll on her. I made the two calls and one to Lucas as well. I explained the situation and told him to just hang tight. Keep watching Smiley's accounts and try to figure out what his life pattern was from his credit card charges. Helen was understanding and told me that she would be at the hospital late in the afternoon if nothing had changed. Lindsay on the other hand was just pissed that Cheryl didn't want her around. She was obviously more in love than Cheryl, if there are degrees of love that is. I have never been anything but in love or not in love. But maybe there are more degrees of love than I can feel. While I was out I made the quick stop at the police station for my two pistols and the stungun. I also stopped by the sit down for the coffee. When I got back to the hospital with a fancy thermos filled with coffee and a box of cookies from Helen's Sit Down, I found Cheryl in the her father's room along with her step mother. She introduced me. Neither of us would likely remember what was said. Both Cheryl and her step mother drank coffee form Helen's thermos. "Helen said to tell you she will bring more coffee when she and Jack come up later." I said it only because I promised Helen that I would. Cheryl stood then walked from the room. I followed her into the hallway. "My Dad is going to die, isn't he?" she asked. "I'm no doctor but I would say the odds are against him right now. He is in the best possible place, so he does have a chance. I wouldn't give up hope just yet." I said. "My step mother gave the doctor and the hospital copies of his living will. She signed the papers to not allow resuscitation or any other emergency measures to keep dad alive. Also the will says no tubes at all, not even a feeding tube. We talked about it and we couldn't do that. He does have a feeding tube. Neither of us could let him starve to death." "It is good that you are making these decisions together." I suggested. "We disagree about my lifestyle, but we agree that we both want what's best for daddy," she said breaking into tears. "He stood bye me and came to visit me every two weeks while I was inside. He was the only one who cared. He had lawyers constantly on the case to get me out the moment I was eligible for parole. I'm going to miss him," she said. "I know," it was all I could say. ------- Chapter 174: Death and Deception For the next three days the world revolved around Cheryl and her family. I worked on Smiley some, but since I hadn't planned to start the introduction for two more weeks, nothing had to be changed. On that third day, Cheryl's father had another stroke and it was fatal. I had been expecting it and I am sure Cheryl and her step mother were as well. I rushed to the hospital the moment I heard. I did it to show my love for Cheryl, but also to be sure nobody tried to bully her. I had no idea what the family would be like, when they all gathered. When I arrived, I found that Cheryl was a basket case. I tried to calm her down and help her through the ordeal. It was going to get worse, I knew. I had found, over the previous three days, that in general I liked her step mother. She would have been perfect, if she hadn't look at me as though I was carrying some terrible disease. Cheryl's half brother, who was some kind of doctor, was on his way to Tryon. I had not met him, but I knew I would within the next few hours. Step mom told Cheryl that her son was flying in just as soon as he could arrange a flight. At that time I didn't think he was the practicing type of physician, but he was involved somehow in medicine. I had never really heard that he was in medicine, it was more a feeling than anything else. I expected that I would know it all soon enough. Cheryl had come to lean on me through the tragedy, so like it or not, I was involved. Cheryl's Step mother said, "He wanted to be cremated. I will call the people to make that happen." I asked Cheryl, "Is that what you want to do? She said, "Yes that's what he wanted. He told me that once. I want to do what dad wanted done. It doesn't matter what that is." Lindsay had not been to the hospital, only because it was the way Cheryl wanted it. She had been to the apartment every night for a couple of hours. I didn't know, or care, what lie she told her husband to manage it. I was just glad that she was there for Cheryl. It seemed that somewhere along the line Cheryl and I had become friends. We were no longer even casual lovers. It hurt a little, but I also enjoyed her as a friend, so it wasn't a complete loss. Many of my relationships ended poorly. The one with Cheryl had ended in deep friendship. "Maxine, it's me Lucas. I called me to ask if I should go to the memorial service, or skip it so as not to be seen with Cheryl?" "I don't think it matters to be honest Lucas. You and Cheryl were not friends, so it isn't necessary. If you want to show up, I am sure it will be fine. It's really up to you." I suggested. Helen, of course, called me several times a day to compare notes on Cheryl's condition. Cheryl was actually doing better than the soft hearted Helen. Helen was worried that she might not do all that she possibly could to help ... I swore Helen had a heart of pure gold. Her Dad's memorial service was a lot like Gunny's, but with less pomp and circumstance. The people who attended were better dressed. Also they all appeared to be well off, financially anyway. I knew that her dad had invented something that went into the manufacture of automobiles, but I had no idea he ran with the kinds of people who showed up for the service. No wonder Cheryl wanted a place of her own. I can image that it would give me a complex as well. Cheryl, her half brother, and her Step Mom all agreed that they wanted a place to visit him, at least in spirit, so they had the ashes interned at the outdoor wall filled with niches. They bought four spaces one for each of them, so they could all be together, if that was still their desire when the time came. Odds were good that mom would be the only one to rest beside him. Everyone else would no doubt move on. "Maxine, I told Helen and now I want to tell you, I need some time alone. I'm going to have dad's driver take me to Dad's farm in Carbonville for a few days. Maybe a few weeks I'm not sure. I know you had planned on me helping with the Smiley thing, but I'm just not up to it." It was obvious that her father's death was weighing heavy on her. He was the only think in her life that was stable. Everything else was completely different from anything she had known for almost twenty years. I understood completely. "Do not worry about me and Lucas. We always have a plan b. It's just fine, take all the time you need, but don't forget us." I said. "Maxine, I know this sounds awful, but please don't contact me. I need to think things through. My dad was always after me to do something big with my life. I think I need to do that to honor him." she said. "You do what you need to do. I will miss you, but I will be fine." I said sadly. "Thank you, you have been a real friend. There aren't many people I can say that about." she said. "I'm glad you feel that way, and I want to continue being your friend." I said it but I knew she was going to move on with her life. Damn it, people were always leaving me. "I'm going to take the bike and just have the driver leave me till I call for him. I can get around on the bike for a few days anyway." she said before she turned to leave. I hated being practical at a time like that, but I had to come up with a plan b for James Smiley. He wasn't going to slip through my fingers because Cheryl couldn't help. There were other ways, of course I had no idea what other ways there might be for that particular situation. I had gotten used to soaking in the tub while my leg was in the bandage, so I went home to soak and think. I was in the tub a half hour and nothing came to me. I was at wits end, but I wasn't ready for some actress to fuck it up. When I thought actress, I remembered the other offer Mike had made. Well I'm sure the network made it. They offered me a makeup person. I could get a quick course in theatrical make up in a few days. It might be enough to help me later, when I was forced to try working after the TV show hit the airway. It seemed like a much better idea at that moment than it had when Mike first suggested it. "Mike," I said into the phone. I called to tell you that Cheryl won't be able to help with the Smiley thing. I am going to need your makeup person after all. How quick can you get her down here?" "I'll call the network when we hang up, then I'll call you back and tell you when to expect her. So what happened to Cheryl, she catch you cheating on her?" he asked. "Her father died a couple of days ago. She has gone into seclusion to search for the meaning of life," I said seriously. "If she finds it please let me know. I have been looking for that answer since I was 21," he said. "It's faster horses, younger women, and older whiskey," I said remembering the line from a song on the Cowboy's jukebox. "Sounds about right, I'll be back with you in an hour or so," he said. "Fair enough," I replied. It was mid afternoon and I was miserable and antsy. I almost went into a chat room just to masturbate, but decided to save that to help me sleep later. Instead, I went out the rear door and into the storage room. I filled the bike with gasoline. I had drained it before the pirate trip. I was surprised as hell to find that the bike still ran. Marty had said, "If you run all the gas out of the carby. it will store just fine. If you don't empty the tank and run the gas out, odds are you were going to be cussing the bike and me." Since I didn't need to pedal too much, I took the bike for a long ride. It was one of my favorite things to do. I would love to have killed the motor and gone into the park, down the nature trail, but I knew that I wasn't up to that much pedaling. As I rode through the nice part of town, I thought about Smiley. I decided that since Cheryl didn't want to be herself, I would be her long enough to pop Smiley. Lucas could get me a fake ID easy enough. If we could get Smiley on tape, then it would be time to turn everything over to the cops. Since I had a new a cop friend, I felt better about doing that. He was young and ambitious like Blevins was when I met him. Yes even Anya, or Anna as she liked to be called these days, had been over ambitious. That is the one thing they all had in common. The small cloth bag strapped to my handlebars began to play that horrid song again. "Hello," I said after I got the bike stopped and the motor shut down "Surprise, I got your makeup person approved. The only one they have, who would take the job, is a guy named Bernard Apple. Maxine Bernard is a homosexual, that won't be a problem will it?" "You know it won't be with me. I can't speak for anyone else," I said. "Well try to take care of him please," Mike said seriously. He had really gotten to be a stick in the mud. "Since we are all in a hurry, he will be on the first plane out of New York in the morning. He is going to have to go to Atlanta then fly back to you. It was the best they could do." He acted as though I cared. "Fine what time will he be in Tryon?" "Believe it or not he is going to be bouncing around airports all day. He won't be on the ground there until 6:30 tomorrow evening." he said. "Well that's fine. I'll pick him up at the airport." I informed him. "Then, it's set you are going to do the Smiley blackmail?" he asked "Yes, I'll be pretending to be Cheryl, I think." I said. "I am going to feel better with you there instead of your girlfriend," he said. "She hasn't been my girlfriend for weeks, but that's fine that you feel better. Can either of these two camera people, that you have down here now, think on their feet?" I asked. "You know there isn't going to be any script." "They are supposed to be the best, or so I'm told. Earl is a little burned out, but he is reliable. Even if it comes to a dangerous situation." Mike said. "What about Willy?" I asked. "They tell me she is smart as hell. Knows all about cameras and sound. She should be able to handle the equipment just fine. She can even help rig up stuff, if you need it. How about that apartment have you had time to talk to your tenant?" "No, I have been busy, send Willy over, if you need it in a hurry. Maybe she can convince Lois to leave." "I'm going to do that. So keep your powder dry," Mike said as he hung up on me. I put the phone away then started the bike. I rode around the nice neighborhood a while longer, then went back to the slums where my building was located. It wasn't really a slum, just in transition. It seemed to be transitioning into slum. ------- Chapter 175: Cowboys and Flaming Fags It was a little odd to see someone else passing out bags at the Sit Down, but it had been that way for a couple of days, so I shouldn't have felt let down. I did feel it, whenever I looked up and the washed out blood woman wasn't there. I rode the bike that morning, even though it was still a little chilly. the stretching and pull of the muscle while going up some of those nasty hills was my rehab for the day. I didn't ride the bike far and I did stop it now and then at the top of the nastiest hills to let the pain in my calf bleed off. I cursed myself and the world sitting on top of those hills. I could have turned around and gone back for the cruiser. It would have ended my agony, but giving up just wasn't part of my history. In other words I had zero experience in quiting. After breakfast I went to the mall. I missed Tiny Dancer, and it was probably a good thing. I still wasn't really for Ballet moves. I was stretching the muscle, but it was like an ax blow not a rapier thrust. Tiny Dancer being the aristocratic rapier and me being the peasant ax, those were my images. I rode the bike by Sue Ling's place, but her car wasn't in the parking lot. Just as well, the idea of paying to get beat up was just a little too kinky for me. I had noticed at the sit down that Willy was my shadow with a camera for the morning. It was my guess that Earl was still in bed with Amy. When I got back to the apartment, I wasn't surprised to see the note on my door. It read, We need to talk, Lois. Since she had to have put it on my door sometime after I went to bed the night before, I didn't feel too bad about knocking on her door so early. "What can I do for you?" I asked when she answered quickly. Maxine, I'm not sure what to do. Those TV people want my apartment, and well to be honest Dennis has asked me to move in with him. I don't know what to do." "The TV people contacted me as well. They offered to take over your lease, if you want out, but that decision is up to you, not them. If you want to move in with this Dennis person, go for it. Life is too damn short to sit around with regrets. Should you ever need a reference, I will say nothing but nice things about you." I didn't add, you might need a place, when Dennis proves not to be the man you were dating. Men, women to, never were the same on a day to day basis. "Maxine, you are a doll, I guess I need to make a plan then," she said. We had both known from the start that it was what she wanted to hear. So Lois was out and more TV people were in. My little empire was changing daily it seemed. I expected Cheryl to be out next. I was absolutely sure her dad left her a chunk of change in his will. He felt that he had failed her when she went inside. At that time he couldn't afford the best lawyers in the world, but he got rich while she was inside, so he did everything he could for her. He wanted her to do something big, in Cheryl's case I expected it to be something helping women. Abused or parolees or just prison reform were the kinds of things I would expect from her. I felt pretty sure that she would do something she knew about, and that was prison and being abused. Once they were both gone, the place would change in character, I had no doubt. If it was going to be full of TV people, I might as well go for the Swamp Thing deal as well. I had such plans for a nice quiet retreat, and it was turning into an extension of the rest of my life. Life was just one drama after another. I know drama happens when you allow it to happen. I could always say no to the jobs that came my way. I guess, if you are an adrenaline junkie, there is a price to pay. I spent most of the day looking at the information which Lucas was amassing on Smiley. The longer he dug, the more slimy Smiley looked. I had no idea how the cops had missed him all those years. Probably on the child abuse, he skated because the kids were afraid. He had convinced them mommy knew. When they figured out it was bullshit, he was gone and then it was, please god don't let mommy find out I did it with her boyfriend. She will be so pissed. It had never happened to me, but I could see how it would play in a child's mind. Smiley didn't just need to be stopped, those kids needed justice. I had no idea what justice was, but I was going to do something for damn sure. The time passed quickly, before I knew it, early dinner time arrived. I needed to eat early, so that I could pick up Bernard Apple at the airport in Tryon. It was early, but I wanted pizza and salad again. I didn't do it myself, because I wanted good pizza and salad. I showered even though I hadn't done anything to need another one. Then I drove to the Pizza and Pasta Pit. I didn't realize until I walked in that it was their all day buffet special. That being the case, I had the fanciest salad I could imagine. I used a couple of slices of pizza as bread sticks for my salad. The place was pretty empty at five p.m. so I got to choose from everything on the menu. Older people had started to drift in, when I paid my bill. I immediately headed to the Tryon International Airport for Bernard. Bernard wasn't just gay, he was a flamer. I mean he shouted gay without opening his mouth. When he did speak, he was the very definition of flaming faggot. I had to laugh and he knew why. "Tell me what is so funny and I will laugh with you," he suggested sarcastically. "Is that really you, or are you acting," I said it with a school girl giggle. "It's me, but I know what you mean. I don't even try to tone it down, so I do look like the poster boy for fagville." he broke into laughter as well. "Okay long as you can laugh, I'm good with it." I replied. "How you fixed for Balls?" I asked. "I got two and they work just fine. Why?" he said. "You wanna go to a Cowboy Bar and Grill for a beer on the way home?" I asked it with a wicked laugh. "You are kidding right?" he asked "Not a bit, you don't have to do it. I just thought you might like to see how the other half lives." I suggested. "Are you as bad ass as they say?" he asked. "I ain't lost a gay guy yet." I replied. "Then fuck, let's do it." Bernard said in his swishy way. "Hello there Joyce," I said to the bartender. "Hey there Maxine who's your friend?" she asked. "This esteemed gentleman is Bernard Apple. He is a world famous makeup artist." I said. "Well he certainly is distinguished looking." she said with a cute little wink... "I'm sure you can't tell love, but we are attracted to the same type." he said. He paused then added, "men." "Oh really, well I'm attracted to Max," she said breaking into a laugh. "Give the man a drink Joyce, and I'll have coffee." I said. When she had gone down the bar to get Bernard a glass of white wine, I said, "She thinks I'm a recovering alcoholic, and I have decided to let her think so for a while. So don't give me away." Within a few minutes Joyce had spread the word. "Women came by to chat with Bernard. He was giving them makeup tips, while I drank my coffee and watched the crowd. I wanted to stop any trouble before it boiled over. The women were all giggles and there were even some down right nasty suggestion going around. "Okay, I hate to break this up but we have to go. I want to get him out of here before some one asks for blowjob tips." That brought the cluster of people to tears, they laughed so hard. "So how much do I owe you Joyce?" Bernard asked. "You come back another time, and we will settle up then," she suggested. "Fair enough," Bernard said. Once we were outside he added, "That was a blast. Some of those guy are cute in a greasy kind of way." "So where do you plan to stay?" I asked. "Let's have a fucking party. Let's get the rest of the reality network folks and get drunk as hell." he suggested. "Didn't you recognize the redhead with the cell phone?" I asked. "No, was she your camera shadow. They told me that you had one and to be careful what I said and did." Bernard informed me. "I see that you didn't listen. Good for you," I said. "Glad you see it that way, so let's have that party," he demanded. I was shaking my head in amusement, when the phone began playing Mag 7. "Don't ask," I said to Bernard. Then I said, "Hello," into the phone. "We all need to let off a little steam, let's do it." Earl suggested. "Suits me come to my place in twenty minutes, but bring your own booze. I barely have enough for me and Bernard." When everyone was assembled, I had Bernard, Willy, Earl, and even Amy scattered around my apartment. They began telling stories about the Reality Network. It actually was very interesting. It didn't take too long until we were all pretty shit faced. By midnight I figured they were drunk enough to ask, "So Bernard who gives the best blow jobs men or women?" "Men of course, that's like asking who eats pussy better men or women?" he replied. "So you are going with the old, we just know what fells best." I said laughing at him. "Well it's a fact," he demanded. "Of course, none of the women have an opinion?" I asked. "Earl can tell you about mine, so I'm not getting into this," Amy said. "So you don't mind if Earl tells us?" Willy asked. "No I don't mind at all," She was really drunk for sure, I thought. "So Earl how is Amy's blow job?" I asked. "Amy does it very well indeed," Earl said smiling at her. "Then you would say her ex husband taught her well?" Bernard asked. "I guess so," he replied. "So, Amy did your ex teach you well?" Willy asked getting into the act. "It wasn't him that taught me. I didn't do it for him at all." she admitted. "So who was it," Bernard asked. I could tell he was enjoying her discomfort. "The first guy I seriously dated after the divorce. He made fun of me for not doing it. He told me that, if I ever wanted another husband, I better learn. Then he almost forced me." she said. "That sucks," Willie said. "I think so too," she said looking hard at Earl. "So Earl, I guess you should give Bernard a spin. Then you can tell us who was best," Willy suggested. "Whoa, no way, no offense Bernard, I just don't bat from that side of the plate." Earl said. "How you gonna know if you don't try?" Willy asked. She was showing some animosity toward Earl. "Now if he does that, I'm going to have to eat Amy, so she can judge as well," I suggested. "Then you will have to give me a blowjob, so I can tell," Bernard said. "This is too complicated, everybody out. Bernard you can sleep on my sofa, or call a cab." I suggested as I went to bed. It could have turned out much worse. Someone had said. "Hell yes, its time to party." Then it might have been on. It was all talk, at least that night. ------- Chapter 176: Wig Wigs and More Wigs "Wake up Bernard, I'm headed out for breakfast and my morning rehab walk. Do you want to come along?" I asked. "What time is it?" he moaned. "7AM, I'm running late," I said. "Get the hell out of here and come back at a reasonable hour," he demanded. "Okay, you can use the land line to call your people, if you like. I'll bring you some food and make some coffee when I get back." Since he wasn't coming along, I got the bike out for another ride. The parking lot at Helen's Sit Down was full, so I parked the bike on the sidewalk. I had to share a table with a couple of fire fighters, since there were no cops around. Paramedics and nurses had two full tables, which also forced me to gravitate to the fire fighters. I didn't know any of them, but one of them recognized me from the promos. I would be happy when Bernard taught me how to hide in plain sight. I had the crispy corn beef hash, cheese, and egg sandwich on a bun at least twice the size of a hamburger roll. The potato fritters were excellent as usual. From the beginning Helen had made the best coffee in town. She had three or four kinds of Gourmet shit, but her house brand was the best in my opinion. I called it truck stop coffee, because it was black and seemed thick. After breakfast I rode the bike to the Mall, where I did four laps. Every few days I added a little more distance to the morning walk. After the walk, I rode around town just a few miles, then went back to Helen's. I ordered the same breakfast again, but without coffee and I got it to go. I figured I would buy Bernard a decent breakfast, once anyway. When the bike was stored properly, I went inside the house to find Bernard sitting up on the sofa but in a total daze. "Hey Dude, I am going to make coffee and I even brought you breakfast from the best place in town. So get your ass moving and eat." I said it putting the sandwich onto the tool bench that served as my dining table. It was late enough and Bernard was awake, so I didn't care how much noise I made working on the coffee. I had a somewhat intimate relationship with the Mr Coffee, so I did my little dance for it. Mixing two kind of coffee grinds into a thin paper towel, which I trimmed with a pair of kitchen scissors so that it wouldn't wick coffee onto the counter top. "Wow, that is a great sandwich. If I opened that thing up and put it on a plate. It would be a full breakfast. My God that is the best corned beef hash I have ever eaten. With cheese and the spicy egg, that thing is to die for." "I taught Helen how to make decent regular coffee, so if you want to get your gay ass out of bed tomorrow, you can go to breakfast with me. You don't have to do the mall walk, if you don't want to." "Trust me I need it, so I might try it once," he said. It was nice to have someone to sit and talk with while I drank coffee. Bernard was funny as hell and he didn't take himself too seriously. Most people who are different tend to be defensive, not so Bernard. "If you like me, wonderful," he said. "If not, fuck you." then he laughed. "I am just not going to waste my time trying to change your opinion." "Very cool, now where do you want me to drop you and your luggage?" I asked. "Your sofa is comfortable and I won't be here long. Why don't I just stay here with you." he asked. "Sweetie, I have lots of things going on. I can't entertain you." I replied. "You don't have to entertain me. That's what Earl and Willy are here for." He turned his attention to the camera in the corner of the ceiling. "Did you hear that guys," He said. They came down shortly after and took care of Bernard most of the day. I spent the day working on the new information from Lucas. I made a few calls myself to get ready for the gag. It was well after lunch when Bernard returned. So are you ready for today's lesson?" He asked. "Oh yes, I need to learn how to build the disguises and then go shopping." I informed him. "Okay then lets get lesson one over with," he suggested. From his man purse he removed a Cd. "Put this in your drive and watch the first question, then we will discuss it." he said. I slipped it in and waited for the video to start. The camera operator walked into a room. Then obviously he walked toward a woman a step or two, suddenly the video went black. Within seconds the questions began. I answered ten. Six of which I actually remember the other four I guessed at the answers. -Chapter 1. Hair color was reddish brown, I said aloud. "Actually it was red but not flame red," Bernard said. "That is the most correctly answered question, so If you want to look different? The number one thing to buy is a wig. In your case it will be easy. You have short thin hair so the wig will work beautifully." "I have no problem getting my hair cut shorter," I said in agreement. "Good that will make the wig work even better. From a butch cut to shoulder length hair will alter you significantly." he informed me. -Chapter 2. "Eye color was brown I said and it was a pure guess." I informed him. "Actually they were a greenish color. Don't feel bad, that is the most missed question on the list. So there is no sense changing your eye color unless you go bold with electric blue contacts. "Not likely to happen." I replied. "I didn't think so," he admitted. -Chapter 3. I described her blouse as "A red checked thing" "Yes that is also a question most people get right. So clothes will help to disguise you. But they need to be clothes different from what you normally wear and with some noticeable feature like a logo or pattern. "So, no jeans when I want to be someone else," I said. "Exactly so," Bernard replied. -Chapter 4. I described her breast, "Larger than average." "Yes also a question the men get right more than women though. You are pretty small there, so bigger boobs will help with your disguise but not huge. And go with the sagging look. I can show you how," he admitted. Height was a loser but weight was a winner. "You are thin so a slightly padded body suit will help you a lot." he said. I could go on but you get the idea. Somethings were worth investing in. as a disguise. Some of the other things just weren't worth the expense. "So Maxine what do you think would be the tool for you to purchase first?" he asked. "Without a doubt it would be wigs," I said. "I agree wigs will make the most difference in a low light situation. But it's important to note that cheap synthetic wigs will just alert people that it isn't really how you look. That will make them take an even closer look at you. It has to be a completely natural looking wig, and it has to be well styled to pull off the, 'I'm not me' look," he said. "Okay, so I can't scrimp on the wig, and I have to carry it to a stylist," I said. "Exactly, so lets go shopping," Bernard suggested. The sun fell on day one with me and Bernard headed to the local wig shop in the mall. I found it hard to go inside. My short hair made me look like one of the mannequins. Still I sucked it up and entered the store. "This lady would like to look at a top of the line human hair wig," Bernard said. I knew that me and Bernard needed to have a talk. Anything I bought might well end up being left in a pool of blood, so top of the line was out. Better than just good enough was in, but not top of the line. The shop manager took over for the sales girl. Both of them were oriental. It looked as though the hair for wigs came from china, just like everything else in the mall. "This is our best wig," the oriental lady said with hardly any accent. The wig was very nice looking. It was styled well but much too long for me. "The wig is too long for her face and body style, but how much is it?" Bernard asked. "$925 is the list price." the shop keeper said. My heart stopped. "Bernard that is way more than I can afford, and I need more than one of them," I said. I made sure the woman overheard us talking. "It still has to look natural, but this is just way more than I can afford." I turned away from the shop manager and I smiled at Bernard. "Could we see something quite a bit less expensive, but still human hair and well made," Bernard demanded. The great thing about Bernard was that he knew when the wig was well made. I might have known when it was natural looking and attractive but quality wise I would have been at their mercy. The manager brought out three wigs in three different colors and hair styles for us to see. All three had much shorter hair, but they still looked natural. She and Bernard discussed the stitching and the color treatments. "I think these will do," he said to me. "Before I try them on how much?" I asked. $350 for either of them. These are high quality wigs, but priced more reasonably." she said to Bernard. She was intentionally ignoring me. I could not say that I blamed her. It was Obvious Bernard was the expert. I tried them each on. The red one was short but because my hair was short and thin, it looked great on me. The Blond one was longer, but it too looked natural and very good. My very favorite was the wig which was a much darker brown than my own hair. Still it looked the best with my eyes and tan. I looked at Bernard and he smiled and nodded with every change of wigs. I could tell I had his approval. "I'll give you $900 for all three," I said removing my debit card from my wallet. "I can not do that," she said. She would have been more believable, if she weren't drooling. "Bernard honey, I told you we should have gone to my beautician." I put the card away with a finality that was obvious. "I will take $950," she said. "How much is the transaction fee these days on credit cards, 3 percent. Do nine hundred and I'll pay you in cash and you do what you want with it." I said smiling. "Very well $900 cash right this minute." she said. I nodded. I had loaded my wallet with hundred dollar bills before I left home. I knew how credit cards and debit cards worked. Not to mention sales tax and income taxes. I watched her pack the wigs before I handed her the nine one hundred dollar bills. "You do drive a hard bargain," Bernard said as we pass through the mall on our way to the food court. "Not so hard, you just have to be able to read the person you are dealing with. She was ready to make a deal. Actually you set it up." I said that as we got in line for grilled Subway sandwiches. "What do you mean?" he asked. "When you asked for the big ticket wig, the manager ran right over to make sure we didn't get away. I knew then she was ready to make a deal with us. If nothing else to show the sales girl that she was still tops." "I see what you mean, the sales girl could never have done that kind of deal," he said. "We got to her without asking for her." "Yes, but most likely we still got gut shot," I said laughing. When the sandwiches hit the counter we took them and headed for a table. "Well, let's take these with us and go to cowboys to drown our sorrow," he suggested. "So, does this mean you are ready to learn the texas two step?" I asked. ------- Chapter 177: Clothes Make the Slut We did indeed go to the Cowboy's B&G. We sat with the sandwiches on the table. I shared mine with three or four other people. Bernard did the same. By the end of the sandwiches we had made more new friends. Mostly they were women who hung out to get tips from Bernard, and to tease him about his open gayness. Now and then one smiled at me, but I decided to be cool at least for a while longer. We got back to my place before 11PM. Neither of us was ready for a repeat of the night before. We did sit and talk for a short time over a Canadian Club and Ginger Ale. I learned more about the Reality TV Network. Reality TV was the cheapest to produce. The owners not only paid the stars shit wages, they also paid the craft people very poorly as well. So most of their craft people were burnouts and new hires right out of college. "You said before that Earl was a burnout?" I made it question. "Earl was a hot shot right out of college camera man when they flew the planes into the world trade center. He shot images for the local pbs station. None of the film ever got used, it was too graphic. He never really got over it, they say. Rising star at 23 burned out at 25." "How about you, anything big in your past to put you on the Reality Network's payroll?" I asked. "Yeah, great sex with the wrong people," he said laughing. "I mean that seriously." "Oh I don't doubt you, most of my really good sex was with the wrong people," I said laughing at myself. "Ain't that just always the way it is. Most of them I never heard from again. You know can't afford for the wife and kids to find out," he said. "Yeah same with me, wife, kids and one even said I bored him," I laughed until I was ready to cry at that. "Yeah that is the worst," he said. "I have finished my drink and I'm exhausted. I'll see you in the morning. Are you coming along for my morning routine?" I asked. "Absolutely," was his only reply. I lay in my bed on top of the covers and thought about some of the wrong people I had screwed. High on that list had to Jen and her Husband. Never ever have sex with your friends, especially both husband and wife at the same time. My hand slipped into my panties as I remembered Jens hot breath against my lips while Bob worked his cock in and out of me. It had been a marvelous feeling and I flooded her bed that night. The huge wet spot most likely belonged to all of us, but it was very cold and wet. No one noticed until it was over. We all agreed that it was time to move to a different room. We slept all huddled up like a pile of puppies. My body was beginning to get slippery as I rubbed my clit remembering Jen and Bob. Then I remembered the preacher and his cock inside me in the wrong place. It wasn't the first one there, but he had been ruthless as he plowed my back entrance. My body was responding to both the manipulation of my finger on my clit, and the memory of the preacher forcing his cock inside me over and over. The nerve ending that controlled my rear channel were confused since the movement was all wrong from their experience. In the confusion I remembered doing what I was doing at that very moment. I exploded into an orgasm, which Willy or Earl could see. I just plain didn't care. That orgasm helped me to fall instantly asleep. I didn't lie awake trying to figure out why I was always alone in the end. Nor did I try to improve on my plan for James Smiley, I just drifted into the oblivion of sleep. The next conscious thought I had was that I needed a shower badly. Not only did I smell bad, my body was sticky from the dried sweat. I slipped into the shower at 6AM. Bernard was sleeping soundly and I was glad. I got the coffee started before he stirred. "Shit, I'm sure I smell like bad sex and cheap perfume," he said. I was pretty sure we had done the same thing that I had, but to different memories. Well maybe the memories were similar after all, I thought. "Well take a shower, and we will head out to breakfast," I handed him a cup of fresh coffee as he passed me. He got the fresh coffee. I got coffee warmed over from the day before. To be perfectly honest, I like the strength of day old coffee better than fresh. Since I had Bernard in tow, I drove the cruiser. As we entered the door to Helen's Sit Down. Mike Dawson was leaving. "Well hello there. Where is that cute little bike of yours," he asked. "It's not cute. It belonged to a Marine Gunnery Sargent," I informed him stiffly. "Sorry, " he said simply. "It's okay, I have a guest today. Bernard, this is Detective Mike Dawson. Mike, this is Bernard. He is one of the most famous makeup men in the world." Sure it was an exaggeration, but what the hell. I paused a second then changed the subject. "How the hell did you know about the bike anyway?" "I have been asking around, since we don't see you much these days." he admitted. "Well, I'm here almost every morning," I replied. "I know, that's why I'm here. I got to tell you after one sandwich here, I would come back even if there was no chance that I might run into you." he said. "So, can you come back in and have a cup of coffee?" I asked. "No, I got a convenience store holdup to go investigate," he said. I was surprised to fine that I was disappointed. "Well tomorrow then," I said. "It's a date," he replied as he headed to his car. "Cute guy, now lets go eat. It's warmer here, than New York, but not warm enough to stand in the parking lot chatting," Bernard said. Bernard ordered the number six brown bag breakfast and coffee. Actually he ordered one of those designer coffees that made me want to puke. I got the number two bag and truck stop coffee. Bernard started raving about his sausage egg and cheese bagel, even before he tasted it. Like most of those who first sat down at Helen's place, Bernard was seduced by the smell of thecoffee and of the sandwich as he unwrapped it. I had eaten everything on Helen's menu a dozen times and I knew what Bernard had in store for himself. Helen had begun to re-spice the sausage she bought. It was probably the best sausage in the country by the time she finished with it. The eggs were under a chicken the day before and the cheeze was so old it was eligible for social security. God knows you have heard enough about what I think of the potato fritters that come from her kitchen. "Holy shit, is this woman married?" he asked. "Happily as far as I know, why?" I asked. "If she will come to New York with me, I'll go straight and marry her. If she does this same thing in Manhattan, we can retire in a year," he said. "I think she is happy right here," I said. "Are all ten of those bags this good?" he asked "Some are better, none are worse," I replied enjoying myself. I loved to convert those Yankee boys to our southern ways. Helen was the one to win them over with her food. Bernard couldn't stop raving about the breakfast. By the end of breakfast, I was so tired of his voice that I almost took him back to the apartment. Once we started walking, I was glad that I hadn't. I introduced him to Tiny Dancr and it was love at first sight. They said about a dozen words and then realized that he had seen her dance. After that I walked and they flirted. When I finished walking, I had to pry him away from the Dancer. I knew for a fact that they both would be at the mall the next day at the same time. It wasn't a physical thing, it was more an emotional and intellectual connection. It didn't matter, they were bonded more tightly than lots of lovers I knew. Bernard was flying high when we arrived home around 9AM. "Maxine, I'm going to get Earl to drive me to a car rental and then to a motel. We will have today's lesson at 3PM sharp." I looked at him and knew that something had change. It was for the better, I knew. I think that the Tiny Dancer reminded him who he used to be. A man with a huge talent, not the butt of everyone's jokes. I spent my mid day just watching old tv shows and reviewing Lucas's research yet again. It would soon be time to approach James Smiley. I was looking forward to it. Fortunately there were enough things going on in my life so that I wasn't totally bored. Even so I did long to be back in the game. I had developed the ability to deal with more than one thing at a time. I could watch the tv shows, then review a few pages of Lucas's report. Doing that allowed me to stay sane, a one track mind would make me crazy. When Bernard returned it was back to work. He had a new energy and I was happy to see it. "Now turn the Cd back on and fast forward it to lesson number two," He demanded. He was much more 'in charge' on day two. In the second CD lesson, a woman was sitting at a picnic table in jeans a sloppy shirt and her hair in a mess. There was another shot of her at a restaurant dressed up, made up, and coiffed. She did not look like the same girl. "The trick to that," Bernard informed me. "Is they would have to expect you to look like something which they have seen before, in order to recognize you. If they see you in jeans and sloppy sweat shirts only. What are the odds that they recognize you at dinner, if you are all dolled up. Make sure your subject never sees you dress up if you want to hide your identity." "I can see how it would be more difficult." I admitted. "You are a woman you know about shopping. You need a larger bra and a set of forms. Might as well go for a C cup." He said. "I have no idea where to get falsies," I said. "Not to worry, I have already sent an order for you to a theatrical supply boutique. If you don't approve we will send it all back. The network is picking up the bill, since you don't have an account with the store." Bernard informed me. I had to smile, I loved to stick it to the network. "I want you to go through the CD and see the transformations that the clothes make. Today is all about making you aware of the clothes you have on. But for a real life example, I am going to take your friend the dancer to dinner tonight. We are going to the restaurant of the nicest hotel in the neighboring town. Now I want you to come along and see her. I am going to bet you a hundred bucks right now, that she will look exactly the same as she does in the mall. The reason is that she dresses the same all the time. One might be fancy and one really a workout suit but she will look the same." "What you are telling me is that Tiny Dancer will look the same, because she always looks classy. That for me, I should continue looking like hell for the show, then look classy for the operations." "If you need a disguise, it is easier to simply not look like yourself, than to try to look like someone else. That is easier, if you have a strong brand. Let them have an image of you, as who the show is about, then slip the different girl in at just the right moment." Bernard said. "If someone knows you intimately. it is going to be plastic surgery. To fool someone who only sees you on TV go for the 'it ain't me' look. ------- Chapter 178: It's a Family Thing I passed over the sexy red dress and went for the simple black dress. I didn't wear any jewelry but I did wash and brush my hair. I blow dried it to give it some body, which was very little. Two inches of hair is going to look like two inches of hair no matter what you do to it. I looked at myself in the mirror and I still saw myself, just in a black dress, instead of my usual jeans. I was pretty disgusted with my looks, when I left the apartment. I drove the cruiser to Tryon and then to the Downtown Hotel. Inside the hotel there were three restaurants. Since Bernard hadn't specified which restaurant, I called him on his cell phone. It took a while, but he finally answered. "Where the hell are you?" I asked quietly. "The one with the fancy French name, where else would I take Laurance for dinner?" he asked. "You are kidding. Her name isn't really Lawrence is it?" I was wondering, if I had been fooled by a transvestite. "It's Laurance the French pronunciation," he said. "So what does her plumbing look like?" I asked with a giggle. "I'm sure it is just like yours dear, now come say hello then leave us alone to finish our meal. And you owe me a hundred bucks," he said with a laugh. Tiny Dancer was older than Bernard, hell I was older than Bernard, and Laurance could have been my mother. Nonetheless she was gorgeous, The dress she wore fit her like a second skin. Not tight, it just fit her trim body perfectly. I walked to the table then said, "Hi there you two." "Well, what a pleasant surprise," Laurance said. "Yes what a surprise," Bernard said sarcastically. I just smiled sweetly at him. "I just wanted to say hello, I'm headed somewhere a bit less glamorous for dinner. Bernard said you would be here and I just couldn't pass up the chance to see you all dressed up. You are as gorgeous as ever," I said with a smile. "And Bernard you are quite handsome." "Thank you," Tiny Dancer said with a smile. "Yes, thank you, now hurry along you will be late," Bernard added. I really didn't have anywhere to go, but I decided to swing by the slightly upscale restaurant and lounge beside the state university. Since it was the state university, it was much larger than anything in Aster. The thing I loved about Rosewater's was it's old time charm. It was in an old mansion located a reasonable distance away from the college for a hundred years. Then during a growth spurt, the college got far too close for the daughter of a mill owner, and her doctor husband. They moved out and it worked it's way down to the restaurant and lounge. The thing I also loved about Rosewater's was that it had live music, in what had been the ballroom of the mansion. It was a small mansion so the ballroom seated about a hundred guests for dinner and the live music. Unfortunately the live music the night I wandered in was Jazz. To me jazz was like someone gave four deaf men an instrument. Then told them to make music. Most of the time nothing seemed to fit with the other musicians. I know I'm a redneck, but I just dont 'get' jazz at all. "I did have a nice dinner before I moved to the patio for my one real drink of the evening. The patio is also where the kids went to mingle. I was old enough to be their mother, but it had never bothered me. Usually there were at least one or two young people who weren't bothered by it either. Even with the horse head cane, or maybe because of it, I managed to attract some attention. On the patio nobody danced, they just wandered around. I leaned against the wooden rail drinking my white wine cooler. The way Rosewater's made the cooler it was mostly a smooth lemonade. I was enjoying the drink, when a much younger man approached me. "I have a bet on with my friend over there," he said pointing to a young woman his own age more or less. "Oh really, what is the bet and should I get in on it," I asked. "Ah I don't think we can let you in on the bet, since it is about you," he suggested. "Oh my what is the bet?" I asked. "You look awfully familiar to her. She thinks that you are some kind of TV personality?" It was a question. "I'm not really, but I did make some promos for one of those new boring reality shows, they are going to do." I said. "Meet Maxine, right?" he asked. "Yes that is the one," I admitted. "Then you had that show on Utube," he asked. "Actually, I didn't have it. A client had the images made and he used it as advertising. It just went viral, I think they call it." I said. I knew exactly what they called it. I just wanted to appear dumb. "So would you let us buy you a drink?" he asked. "I have a drink, but I would like to meet your friend and tell her that she won. Or you could come sit with me. I said it even though I didn't have a table at the time. It would be a minor problem to find an empty table inside the French doors leading back into the mansion. It would be wonderful, if you came to say hello to my friend." he said. "That's fine. What is her name?" I asked. "Her name is Cindy," he informed me. When we arrived at the piece of the terrace occupied by Cindy, I spoke first. "Hello Cindy, I just came by to tell you that you won the bet." "I knew that was you. John, John hasn't even seen the Utube vids yet. He is a bit of a dork," she said laughing. "Dorks can be fun too, they are so anxious to please," I said with a laugh. "Oh God, you do know," she said. "So tell me how do you find all those wonderful men?" "Kind of like tonight, they find me, I just give them a lot of encouragement. Also it helps if you run in the circles where strong men travel. You aren't going to find a bad assed cop at a church social. I can give you the name of a bar in Aster where the cops, nurses and paramedics hang out. If you want to meet fun people, go there." "Do you hang out there?" she asked. "I did until recently. We had a bit of a disagreement about who was welcome and who should stay away. So I chose to stay away." "Do you still live in the cabin by the river?" she asked. "No I bought an old motel and turned it into a high security apartment building. I live there with four other units." I said. "Wow, I would love to see it,"John, John said. "Well John, John there are camera's everywhere. If you came to my place and wanted to hang out, it would be on TV in a few months. Probably something you should give a serious thought." "I'd do it," his girlfriend Cindy said quickly. She looked at me, then said, "You know make out on TV. They would do that face fuzz thing wouldn't they. You know like they did on Utube." "Yes or else just insinuate that we were doing it and not show anything." I admitted. "So, if we wanted to have a party, the three of us, you wouldn't mind? Cindy asked. "You seem like nice kids, so I would go along with it, but only because it has been a while, and I'm in the right mood for it." I said. "So do you want to be on TV or what?" "Oh yes I'm in the mood to do something kinky," Cindy said. John, John just nodded his agreement. I wrote down the street address. "Just in case you get lost," I said slipping it to John, John. I left Rosewater's after I finished the wine. It was a short twenty minute drive to my apartment. I didn't even clear the parking lot before the two of them pulled in. I allowed them to pass through the security gate, before I locked it behind them. Once we were in my apartment things changed. Those two sweet kids changed drastically. They didn't get mean, just a little bit pushy. I first noticed it when John, John kissed me. I tried to push him away just to give me some breathing room. Cindy was the one who spoke, "Now Maxine, don't be difficult. You should be grateful that two obviously much younger and more attractive people are willing to fuck you." "I see you think that because I'm old enough to be your mother, I should be grateful and just go along?" I asked. "Yes that is what I think," Cindy said. "I know you fuck both men and women but I think you prefer women. You do don't you Maxine?" She spoke slowly, and as she did, she began to unbutton her blouse. Once her blouse was hanging open I realized that her bra was full and running over. "Now, now Maxine, you are staring," she said with an edge to her voice. She was right. I was staring. I am a sucker for a beautiful set of boobs. Just as much as I am for a beautiful cock. "You like what you see don't you," she said. "Yes," I heard myself say in a raspy voice. The child was barely 18, but she had presence. Even John, John knew it. I doubted that he knew what it was though. Like she had said, he was a dork, and he was thrilled that a pretty girl paid any attention to him at all. He probably didn't realize that she was getting off more by the power, than anything he did with his cock. "That's good Maxine, then you understand your place in all this?" It was a question and I knew it. "Yes, I understand." I said it but I also knew I could walk away at anytime. I was enjoying watching her flex her muscles. "You may take my blouse and bra off," she said to me. I slipped the blouse over her shoulders. While I stood in front of her, I reached behind and up clasp the hooks. Her bra seemed to fall off exposing her very white breast with a very sharp contrasting bikini tan line. Do you want to nurse on my breasts, like I would have nursed on yours as a baby?" she asked. "Yes, I would like that," I said seriously. "Or would you rather nurse on John, John's cock," she asked. "Both," I admitted. "Good, you are the prefect slut. Aren't you?" she asked. "Yes I guess I am," I replied. I wasn't really under her spell. I was playing along just to see how far she would take it. "John, John has been a good brother. I promised him I would get him laid, if he helped me to pass my freshman year. He did help me, now it is time to pay off, only you are going to pay my bill," she said. John, John wouldn't be the first twenty year old I had screwed, so sure why not, I thought. "So take off that dress for us Maxine," she said quietly. I didn't mind doing that one bit. It took only a couple of minutes for me to get my clothes off. The dress, bra and panties were easier than jeans would have been. "John, John would you like to have your dick sucked by mom?" Cindy asked. "Yes," he managed to get out. "Then take it out and show her what you have," Cindy demanded. Not only was John, John a dork, he had a tiny cock. He was going to have problems getting women, since the size of his penis had to effect his confidence level. I felt almost sorry for him. "Well Maxine, lets see how good you are at being my proxy cocksucker," Cindy demanded. I moved to stand in front of the college student. I lowered myself to my knees then took his small but hard cock into my mouth. I had a feeling that it wouldn't take much. I sucked his cock into my warm wet mouth, then I used my tongue and the vacuum pressure I created with my mouth to move his cock around inside. After a few strokes I closed my mind off to what I was doing and pushed his cock into my throat. I was able to get the head of his cock and maybe a half inch more inside my throat then swallow on it. It move down just a fraction of an inch farther. Even that small cock made me gag and choke. He came while I was choking and I pulled back so that he could finish by flooding my mouth. I forcefully pulled Cindy down and kissed her. I also forced John, John's cum into her mouth. Her reaction was to try to tongue fuck my mouth. ------- Chapter 179: Loose Ends Again John, John didn't fall asleep like a man my age would have, but it took some work for him to get it up again. His sister Cindy was ready to tryout her power well before he was able to play along. She had me doing all kinds of kinky things, which she had only read about in books or seen in porno movies. I went along with most of it. After some rest, and a little manipulation, John, John was ready for more. I sucked on his cock until he was rigid, then I knelt in front of the sitting Cindy and spread her legs. I began to nurse on her clit with the occasional lick at her vulva. She was on the verge of a huge orgasm while John, John stroked inside my body. Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of feeling from his cock. Finally in frustration I reached back and moved his cock to the opening of my anus. When next he stroked it was much tighter for him. The feeling in that opening was different, but it still worked to arouse me. I reached down to manipulate my clit and exploded into orgasm. I barely managed to stay with it long enough to wait out the two of them. My sofa was going to be soaked from my drool and Cindy's sloppy orgasm. Then finally my ass was full of John, John's semen. Just a few moments later I realized that I was exhausted and ready for them to leave. "Okay you two, you have had your fun. Get into your clothes and get the hell out of my house." I said it just as nasty as I could. I was disgusted with all three of us. Before they left, they used my bathroom. First John, John then Cindy went into the small bathroom. When they finally left, I watched them on the computer monitor as they left the parking lot. At that point I felt secure enough to use the bathroom myself. The first thing I noticed was a note on the mirror written in soap. Call me Cindy and a phone number. I washed it off the mirror without even writing down the number. I did wonder if the two of them were screwing, or if I was an anomaly. My guess was that they were screwing. I couldn't even imagine being naked in front of a family member. I would loved to have erased those images from the tape and my mind. However as the saying goes, I made my bed, when I took their money, so I had no choice but to lay in it. "Holy shit, Maxine, how in the hell am I going to edit that shit from last night?" Willy asked me, when she arrived at Helen's Sit Down the next morning. "That isn't my problem. If I were you, I would send it to Mike raw and let him do it. The show is more or less his now." I replied. "I'm supposed to edit everything, not just the things I want to edit. I just don't know what the hell to do with that. Do I include the part where she admits they are brother and sister or do I edit so they are just two college kids on a lark?" she asked. "Honey I have no idea what you are going to do. Like I said, it isn't my problem. My problem is living with the things I do." I said. "Well at least you seem to feel bad about it," she said. "Actually, I feel bad that they didn't tell me sooner. I feel bad for them, but they are the ones who did wrong. I was just being me." I replied. Tiny dancer had a huge smile on her face, when I passed her in the mall. "So did you get lucky?" I asked. Then quickly added, "Don't answer that, I would be shattered if you did." I laughed. "You know better, but I had the most fun I have had since I moved back here," she informed me. "Good for you," I replied. "Yes it was." She actually giggled like a school girl. Bernard set up the next lesson at 3PM. I had no idea what his day was like, since he decided to go out on his own. That day's lesson was all about, lipstick, powder, and paint, to make me what I ain't. I learned how to use the thick, but light colored base to make me appear younger. Then I learned all about how to age myself. I could pretty much change my coloring to make me just about anything I wanted to be. Of course it was going to require that I practice a whole bunch. I didn't expect any problem with the difficulty of the task. My problem was going to be the time required. I was forcing myself to put off Smiley as it was. I really wanted to go after him immediately. I had promised myself that I would give it two weeks. It might run a little longer, so I had to try to resist the urge to throw everyone out. I wanted to send them all packing and just do it. I knew that I was laying the ground work for how my life would be going forward, so I suffered. I even went along, when Bernard insisted that I meet him somewhere different every night, and as someone else. He would be the judge of how I did. We passed a week playing that game. I did learn enough, so that by the tenth day Bernard felt that he ready to leave. He assured me that I could fix myself, so that I wouldn't be recognized by strangers on the street, or in Rosewater's. I knew then that it was time to start work on James Smiley. "Lucas bring everything you have, even what I already have, and lets meet at the lake for Lunch. It's time to light the candle on Smiley," I said. "I have been sitting on dead ready for two weeks," he replied. "Then meet me in half and hour and I'll bring lunch," I suggested. Lucas liked those roast beef and cheese sandwiches from one of the national chains. I didn't love them, but I could tolerate them, so that's what I got. I also stopped at the convenience store near the lake for canned cokes. They were colder than those from the machine at the lake. Willie sat nearby, while Lucas and I talked over lunch, on the terrace of the marina's office. It was one of those places no one seemed to know about but us. I was sure there were at least a few city employees who knew. Willy had a good camera angle, because the place wasn't crowded in the still chilly days of early spring. "So Maxine, what is the first thing we need to do?" Lucas asked. "First, we need to decide how and where to approach him." I suggested. "Okay, I know there is a reason why we don't just go to his office or home, but what is it?" Lucas asked. "We want to scare holy hell out of him, to do that we have to strip him of his ability to control the situation. He has to see his life slipping down the tubes. If he is in a place where he has some control, then he is going to be harder to break. From the start, I want him off balance," I admitted. "What do you have in mind?" he asked. "Hey, I paid you to do the research on this," I said. "Actually you haven't paid me yet, but don't worry I think you are good for it," he admitted. "Reduce what I owe you by the amount the TV people are paying you," I suggested. "Right," he answered sarcastically. "So what kind of place?" "Somewhere he goes regularly, where he would be horrified to be found out for what he is," I said. "Let me think. There is nothing obvious." he said. "Is there anyplace he goes even simi regularly?" I asked. "He runs every morning. It isn't a place but he runs the same route every day almost. There are only two, if he isn't at one he is at the other," Lucas said. "Perfect, we ambush him, when he returns to his car," I suggested. "How do we get his attention," Lucas asked. "Give him the list of mothers and daughters. Then I'll ask if he knows what happens to child molesters in prison. I'll do it loud enough to be heard by anyone nearby. I'm sure he has heard the treatment of men with short eyes get in prison. It has to be his worst nightmare. I'll scare the shit out of him, and you come in and offer him a way out. You can play him one of the interviews we did. I'll get Earl to edit out all the voice, and put yours on the tape instead of mine." "I got it, I can make all these interviews disappear. None of the victims know about the others. They will all just think that it was too long ago to be a problem. Most of them are but the DA can use them to show a pattern of behavior. Mighty powerful stuff." Lucas said. "Offer him the names of the victims who can still press charges. Then when he is ready, hit him with the money demand. Let him ask who I am and what I have to do with it. Do not volunteer it, make him ask for it. Then go with our cover story. If he does a background check it will all be right." I said. "I'll have to get used to calling you Cheryl," he said. "Hardly seems to be fair, you get to be you and I have to pretend to be someone else," I said. "So what happens after we do our dance for Smiley?" Lucas asked. "That depends on him. He is going to have his life turned upside down, I just hope it lands his ass in state prison, not work release." "Just no way to tell what a jury will do," Lucas said. "True, but the more shit we throw on the wall the better chance something will stick." I said. "If he checks at all, he will know Cheryl doesn't drive, so tomorrow you pick me up at the apartment." I demanded. That's how we left it. The operation was underway even though we hadn't made a move. It wasn't always about what you did, sometimes it was a much about just deciding to do it. After you decided to do it, then it was about planning how to do it. Finally it was about mounting the operation. When I got home from the lake, I noticed the plain looking Ford sitting in a corner of my parking lot first. Then I recognized the driver, so I walked over to it. "So Lindsay, what brings you here?" "Where the hell is Cheryl?" she asked. "Lindsay, I expect that you know as much as I do. She told me that she was going somewhere to decide what to do with the rest of her life. She asked me not to call her or try to contact her in any way. She said, that she was going to tell you the same thing." I suggested. "She did, but it's been two weeks, surely she is ready to come home. I'm afraid something has happened to her." Lindsay said. "Lindsay sometimes you just have to let go," I said. "I'm her parole officer Maxine, I can't just let go." she informed me. "Now you know what I told you. You better have a damn good reason to revoke her, or I'm coming after you personally." I said it and she knew that I meant it. "Maxine, I just love her so much. I can't go on without her," she said. There was something way too obsessive in her voice. "Lindsay, I think you need to see someone. You sound way too invested in Cheryl." ------- Chapter 180: Who are those guys I had trouble sleeping that night, so being up and ready to go at 6AM wasn't all that hard for me. Instead of my usual jeans, I wore slacks, but they were tan and fit really well. I wore a navy blouse with a button down collar. The outfit was as far from me as possible, while trying not to be sexy. It seemed to be more of a dirty bitch occasion. It was definitely not the happy hooker look that I needed on that morning. My make up and the blond wig gave me that washed out look that was really Cheryl's signature. Since I was trying to channel her, I was pleased with my physical appearance. I was not a dead ringer for Cheryl by any means, nor was I a dead ringer for myself. I saw Lucas at the gate. I buzzed, so that he knew to enter and come on to my apartment. "Come on in," I said as I opened the door. "Dear God, you look almost like Cheryl." Lucas said. "I'm mostly trying not to look like me," I admitted. "I think you have done a wonderful job of that," he said. "Thank you," I replied not sure how I felt about it. "It's six thirty. What time does he usually leave for his run," I asked. "He should be starting about now. We can ride to the two places he runs and look for his car," Lucas suggested. He runs for about half an hour, so we have time, if we leave right now," Lucas said. "Okay but after we browbeat him, we are going to go through the take out window at Hardee's. I have to have breakfast," I informed Lucas with a smile. "Oh I agree, and you can't go inside anywhere looking like that," he aadded. I managed to get a thermos of coffee into his car before he rushed out of my parking lot. Lucas had done his homework well it appeared. James's two year old Porsche was sitting in a corner of the small downtown park's parking lot. There were two or three other cars as well. I figured that was a good thing, since I wanted at least the threat of an audience. I wanted anything at all that would shake Smiley up a little. I left the car about five minutes before Lucas guessed that Smiley would be along. It was about ten minutes before he came running up. "Hey Smiley, you fucking Child Molesting pig," I shouted at him as he ran up. "Who the hell are you and what the fuck are you talking about?" he asked while trying to make it to his car. I blocked him. He was going to have to listen or try to move me. Instead of answering right away, I wait for Lucas to catch up with us. He hand Smiley the list of names. "Do those name look familiar to you short eyes?" I asked. "Sure I dated those women and those where their daughter's names I think." he replied. "This is ridiculous." "I'll bet the DA wont think so, when he gets the statement from those girls. One might be a false memory, but 14 or more, is indictment time." Lucas added "What do you mean?" He asked. "What I mean is, if we don't make a deal, I'm going to drive to the District Attorney's office right this minute. I am pretty sure that a grand jury, made of up grandmother types, will indict you on each and every count. That should look good to your clients, even if the trial jury fails to convict you." "Bullshit, he is as good in joint right this minute. You gonna love going to the prom with some big buck nigger name Bubba." I said. "Short Eyes, most of those cons have kids outside and you are who they worry about. You are going to have an interesting life inside." "This is bullshit, I'm going to get in my car and call the police." he said. "Here let me dial the number for you," I said removing the burn phone from the pocket of the fancy designer khaki pants. I dialed Mike Dawson's number, then handed Smiley the phone. He actually carried the bluff right up till her heard Mike's voice. Then he hit the off button and handed it back to me. He wasn't through bluffing us yet. "Do you know who I am," he asked. "Yeah James Smiley, accountant and child molester," Lucas said before I could. "Do you know who my clients are?" he asked. "Actually we do know some of them," Lucas said. Playing the expert on such things. "After al that was who he was supposed to be, and in reality was. "I could have you two killed with a phone call." he said trying to hold up. "Would these clients of yours know that you are borrowing their money to make risky investments?" Lucas asked. "Look, I tried to help you, but you don't want my help, so I'm going to tell my client what I found." Lucas said. "What are you talking about?" Smiley asked. He really was confused. "Look my fee for doing a background check is 500 bucks. I would rather we came to an arrangement in which case I will tell my client she is the only one." "Isn't she your client?" he asked pointing to me. "Oh no, she is my new partner. At least for the time being." Lucas informed him. "I don't understand what does she have to do with any of this? I have never seen her before." Smiley asked "Cheryl here did some time with one of your little girls. This one," Lucas said pointing to Christine's name on the list. "Girls in chains, do tend to talk about how they got there. When Cheryl got out a few months ago, she came to see me. I am a kind of researcher as well as a process server. I called Christine and now I'm here with you." Lucas paused so I re entered the conversation, "Here is the deal short eyes, I want fifty K to pretend I ain't seen that list," I informed him. Lucas looked hard at me. All part of the act I assure you. "Okay Lucas," I said to him, then turned to Smiley. "We want fifty K." "So how long before you come back to me for more?" He asked. "It will be a while at least." Lucas said. "I'll think about it. Where can I reach you?" he asked. "I'll be in touch." "End of the day tomorrow, or it's the DA."Lucas said. Lucas gave him a card. It was a mistake but there was nothing I could do to stop him. "Is he is going to go for it?" Lucas asked once we were in the car. "No, he is going to send his bad ass clients to talk to us?" I said absolutely sure of his intentions. "Lets go to my place it may buy us some times since he is going to know where your office is." "Is it time to call the cops now?" Lucas asked. "Not just yet," I said. "But it is almost time." "If the bad ass client shows up, isn't that enough?" he asked. "Yes, but there is more to this than meets the eye. Let's get his ass for all of it." I said. "How do we do that?" Lucas asked. "We just have to be badder than his bad ass clients, nothing to it." I replied. "Do we need help," he asked. Since he felt he needed to ask that, I figured I did indeed need help. I also knew exactly who I needed help from. I just hated to ask those guys for anything. "Lucas, I dont give a shit how you do it, but find out who the bad ass client is and do it now," I demanded. While he played with the computer in my apartment, I tried to find a way not to make the call. I for sure wanted to see how bad, those bad ass clients were before I made the call. Maybe there would be a reprieve. I admit that I was hoping for a drug gang. With that I could go to the DEA. They owed me. "I have found out which of the clients it is," Lucas said after two hours of searching. "Well that's good news," I suggested. "It would be better, if I knew who they really were. I am positive that the client's name is a cover. Smiley wouldn't threaten us with someone named, Riverview Developers." he said. "Yeah they do sound pretty harmless, so find out who they really are," I demanded. While he worked I drove to the barbecue pit for take out. I got a bucket of Q and a brown bag of fries. The coleslaw came in a Styrofoam cup. When I got back, Lucas didn't look happy to be in the game anymore. "So what ghost did you find?" I asked. "It's bad Maxine, real bad," he said. "Come on, how bad can it be?" I asked. It's the Chinese version of the Mafia," he said. "So are they supposed to be worse than the Russians?" I asked. "It might be a tie. These guys don't bother to ask questions, they just kill everyone that gets in their way, along with all the witnesses." Lucas said. "It looks like we are in their way. So can we tie Smiley to them for sure." I asked. "Yes, I can now, and the threat of violence is all it took. I just asked myself which of his clients could it be, then followed the money trail. That always works," Lucas said. "Well we could call the FBI, but will it save us, if Smiley can get them to take us out? I asked. "Probably not," I added. "Why is that," Lucas asked. "Because, I doubt they can get here in time, take a look." I said it pointing to the monitor. There standing by my gate were two man in dark suits. They had oriental features and seriously evil looks about them. "So what are we going to do," Lucas asked. "Can we slip out the back?" "I would have the alley under observation, wouldn't you?" I asked "Yeah, I guess so," He agreed. "So what are we going to do." "Diversion," I said. I dialed 911 on my burn phone. "I see smoke coming for the roof of Casa Del Aster." "Why that?" he asked. "We just walk out with the firemen. They are looking for Cheryl, so you keep an eye on them while I become me again." By the time I got into my jeans and sweat shirt with the tea party logo on it, I could hear the siren, the air horn, and the sound of heavy trucks in my parking lot. "Now it's time for some Chinese take out," I suggested. I looked hard at the parking lot monitor before I hurried out. The Chinese group had added one more man by the time I caught up with them. "Hey hold up there," I shouted at them from across the parking lot. They froze in place while the firemen began walking around. Lucas came from the behind me, then walked over and wrote down their license number. While all this was going on a police patrol car rolled up. "I assume you speak English." I said. "I speak it a little," one of them said with very little accent. "Then pass this along to those higher up, if there are any. You are working with a thief and a child molester. He uses his clients money to make bad investments. He got involved with you to cover the money he had already stolen and lost from his other clients. This is one from whom you need to walk away." "I will tell my employer," he said. "Tell him my friend found the trail to this bank account in the Grand Cayman Islands." I handed him a card with all the information he would need to find Smiley's secret account. "You should also be able to follow the trail. "I will also pass this along. My employer may still decide that we need to take action against you and your friend." It was a warning and I knew it. He could have skipped that part and left me with a false sense of security. The warning was unprofessional, but it was a courtesy in exchange for the information about Smiley. ------- Chapter 181: Clear the Decks "Get over to your office and tell Ed to take a vacation," I suggested. "Ed almost never comes into the office any more. He only writes bonds on his old clients. He handles that by cell phone or from home. I think he only keeps the office open for me." Lucas informed me. "Well call him and make sure he is okay, then warn him to stay out of the office. I want to know how they found us?" I asked Lucas. "I sure as hell didn't tell them. These guys are smart and they have all the money in the world. This isn't Smiley we are dealing with." Lucas informed me. "No shit," I replied. I know almost nothing about Chinese gangsters. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since repressive government are an incubator for organized crime. There is a lot of money in China these days." "Yes but doing business outside of china has to be a lot more healthy," Lucas said "That would be my guess as well," I agreed. "I guess I have to send Sarah somewhere else," I said. Lois can go live with her boyfriend. The TV people can do whatever they want, they know the risks. Cheryl is gone already, so I just need to move those two out for a while. I promised them that I wouldn't bring this shit home, but here it is on my doorstep again." I made a call to Sarah's cell phone. I left her a message to call me before she went home. The return call came an hour later. I explained to her that Mr Smiley was going to be a bigger problem than anyone thought. I also explained that she needed to move back in with her grandparents for a few days. It wouldn't be long I promised. I made the same call to Lois. "Lois we are having a bit of a problem, could you go stay with your boyfriend for a couple of days?" I asked. Since it's so close to her last day anyway. I figured a couple of days wouldn't be a problem. "I'm sure that will be fine. Do I need to go now?" she asked. "Yes, pack a few things quickly and just go. I will take care of this in a couple of days and you can come back for the rest. I will even stop your rent as of last week, since you were going anyway at the end of the month." "That sounds just fine. I'll throw some clothes in a bag and leave." she said. "I'll come over to walk you to your car just call me when you are ready to go." I said. Then I turned to Lucas and said, "Lucas you probably need to stay here with me till this is over." "I can do that," he said. "You sure it won't be any bother?" "Of course it will be a bother, but I got you into this." I admitted. Just then Lois called, so I dropped everything and went to her apartment then led her to the parking lot. She drove off while I watched to make sure no other cars left the area following her. None did. Earlier I had denied any knowledge of the fire call, so the fire department planned to investigate it as a prank. They must have gotten a lot of those calls, since no one seem all that upset. The policeman, who had been in the neighborhood anyway and just stopped to be sure no one was in danger or had been hurt, wasn't as forgiving. He wanted to do a full investigation. After they had all gone, I tried to decide the lesser of the evils. I could call Anya at the FBI or I could call The General who ran swamp thing. Since I had absolutely no use for Swamp Thing, I called Anna, as she liked to be called those days. "Anna what do you know about Riverview Developers?" I asked. "Fine how are you Maxine," she said then laughed. "Okay we aren't friends, I get it. Is this a good tip." "It is what it is. I'm looking for information, so what do you have?" I asked again. "Who do you think they are?" she asked in return. "I have no idea. I ran across them while I was investigating a child molester," I said. "Kiddie porn again," she said incredulously. "I think, the guy was laundering money for them, so it could be anything. But whatever he does is important enough for them to send a couple of hard men to talk to me." I said. "Are the hard men still alive?" Anna asked. "They were an hour ago, I have no idea how their boss will feel about me still being alive." I replied. "It's good that everyone is still alive," she said. I could tell she was stalling for time. "If you don't have anything on them, I am going to call Swamp Thing. These guys were definitely from out of town." I said. "What neighborhood?" she asked. "Asia for sure," I replied. "Thanks, that narrows it down some," she said. She was still stalling for time, when she asked, "Have you seen my Mama lately?" "No, but if you don't have something in two hours, I'll try to find the Irishman, or his boss. They owe me one as well as you." I said. "Seems like half the world owes you," she said with a chuckle. "Sometimes it seems like the other half is trying to take one from me," I replied. I flat hung up on her, since I was tired of the verbal cat and mouse game that she always played. The phone played Mag7 again and since Lucas was sitting at my computer, I said, "Change that fucking ring tone. I want a phone that rings like a phone is supposed to, damn it." "Hello," I said into the source of my present aggravation. "Maxine, what the hell is going on at your place. One of the patrolman called me about a fire that wasn't a fire." It was Detective Mike Dawson who asked. "I have no idea what happened. They just showed up in my parking lot." I said innocently. "Right and I'm getting big foot for my daughter's next birthday party." he said. "Well keep him out of the pool, I hear they shed terribly." I replied. "Come on, off the record are you okay?" he asked. "Sweetie I know there is no such thing as off the record with cops. I am fine, but stay available. You never know, I might get lonely in the next day or two." I said. "If you do, you call me direct. I don't want to hear anything about you from patrol officers again," he demanded. "Right," I said. "Why all the interest suddenly?" "You are always into the good shit. I have no idea how you manage it and I don't care, I just want in on it." "Okay Detective Dawson, I will call you whenever I need a cop. Right now I don't. I promise I will though one day soon." "Now you," I said to Lucas. "Fix this damn phone." It took him five minutes to do something. He pushed a button to show me that it rang like a telephone. "Thank you," I said. Nothing much happened for the next couple of hours or so except that I continued to hear the click of computer keys. Lucas was typing so that he could find all the information available on the Riverview Development corp. While he did that I kept a careful eye on the surveillance cameras. I also found time to break out both my pump shotguns. I didn't warn Willy and Earl simply because they should have heard everything. They should already know how bad it could get. Mike the last cameraman had installed four feeds for me. One parking lot, one on the gate, one on the courtyard, and one in the alley behind the building. I had a pretty good view of every angle, of my little world ... What I expected, was for them all to go black and then the dance to begin. My cell phone rang and it was a real ring. It took me a second to figure out where it was coming from. "Hello," I said when I did. "Maxine, it's me Earl. I'm trying to figure out what to do with Willy. The way you talk, we are going to have trouble. She needs to leave here now." He said. "They may be watching. Leaving by herself could be a real mistake. Come over here and get a weapon, then take her to the airport." I said. "She want's to call the cops," he said. "That's up to her, but I'm against it," I replied. "I know. Let me talk to her to be sure that does in fact want to go."he suggested "If you two don't want to stay alone just put everything on auto pilot and come on down. We can hold up in here today. Tomorrow the FBI might be joining us. I can't swear that they are going to be the calvary. Usually they let things go till they are just a hair short of disaster, before they step in." "I'll get back to you in a couple of minutes," he suggested. "In the meantime Earl stay away from the windows and keep an eye on the surveillance cameras. I know that Mike has them cued up somewhere in there." I said. "Yeah, I'll do that." he said. "Is your camera man going to bug out," Lucas asked when I shut the phone down. "Could be, I have no idea what he has in mind," I said. "You know, we could be over reacting. They might not come back," Lucas said. "Whose life are we willing to bet on that?" I asked. "Yeah," Lucas said. When Earl and Willy showed up, I was in the middle of making coffee. Lucas and I had finished all there was left from the early morning pot. I looked up to see a worried looking Willy and a man beside her with a glint in his eye. At that moment I decided that I liked Earl even better. "So what's the plan?" Willy asked. "I need to know, so I can decide what to do. Earl thinks I should leave. I'm not sure. I have been in war zones, so I'm not convinced that this is going to be that bad." "It might well be nothing, but we don't have an army to hide behind. If this goes sideways, it's going to be every man and woman for themselves. The camera will not protect you from these guys. Their only reason to be here will be to kill us all. This bunch leaves no living witnesses. So if they come and we lose, we are all dead." I said. "Then, why don't we call the cops?" she asked. "To be honest this morning I just wanted a small piece of self incriminating evidence on Smiley for the DA. Now I find, he is into something even bigger. I would like to bag them all, just for the hell of it. Right now all the hard evidence we have is on Smiley, the pervert. If the cops turn him, they will want to make him a deal. If I can get something on the Chinese gang, then all of them go down. That's what this is about." I said. I did not like having to explain but then she had a right to know. "I see, when you put it that way, it makes a lot more sense. So what is the Chinese gang up to?" she asked. "That's what we are going to try to find out. Right now I'm just letting it go along on it's own till the FBI or Lucas can find something. If worse comes to worse, there is one group with even better international criminal intelligence connections that I can ask, but they are the very last resort." I admitted. "Well how far are you willing to go to nail these guys?" she asked. "Well I'm hoping this doesn't kill me in the process, but short of that, about as far as it takes." Willy obviously didn't know all that much about me. I thought that Mike had explained it all to his people, but obviously not in great detail. "So if I leave is it going to put you in a bind?" she asked. "It's not going to make a bit of difference to me. Earl is the one you need to talk to about that. Maybe Mike as well." "Okay, I'm going to call Mike," she said. "Can I do it in your bedroom?" "Sure go right ahead," I said. While she was gone Earl said, "I hope she goes home. I don't want anything to happen to her." "Odds are they won't come back, but you never know." I said. "I suppose so," Earl said. After that we just stood around waiting for something to happen. ------- Chapter 182: Life, Death, and Pepper Spray After about twenty minutes Willy came from the bedroom. "I talked to Mike. He suggested that if I needed to call, after he had explained the job to me before I signed on, maybe I should leave." Earl nodded and I turned away. Big time war correspondent my ass, I thought, but I didn't say anything. Lucas didn't have any expression. He stayed right with his computer searches. "You need to find a flight and we need to get you out of here. The sooner the better, it takes time to mount an operation. I'm surprised they could get here this quick. They must have people here for some reason. What the hell could they be into in Aster or Tryon. This isn't exactly New York or LA," I said. "You can sell drugs anywhere," Earl said. "Lots of nasty shit comes from their part of the world." "If that is the case, they will be looking for reinforcements. I expect they brought all they had when they came the first time. Three men is not enough to take even a single well armed and determined individual," I said. "So we need to get Willyout of here and stash her somewhere until her plane leaves," Earl suggested. "Willy get back to you place and stuff all your shit into a bag and be ready in five minutes," I demanded. "Earl take her to Jennifer's office. Tell Jen to get her onto a plane and do it very quietly." I paused a minute then added, "If you think you are being followed call back. We will come get them off your tail." I handed Earl one of my Glock pistols. He got the 9mm, I kept the 10mm for Lucas. "You seem to have a lot of firearms," Willy said. I choked on it but I did answer her, "It seems that no matter how many I have, I never have enough." I did smile at her even though I didn't feel like it. "If we are going into a drug war, we are pretty much out manned and probably out gunned," Lucas commented. "Lucas, we can get reinforcements in a hurry, they can't. We need to know what the hell they are into.," I said. "Well whatever it is, there is no clue in Smiley's files. He just handles their money," he said. "Yeah but I bet, he knows what they are doing to make it," I suggested. "So you tell me where to find him right now and we will go ask." Lucas cracked the cell phone records. I didn't want to know that he did it, let alone how he did it. "Best I can tell Maxine, Smiley is home." "That isn't a good sign," I said. "Why not?" Lucas asked. "It's a blown operation, from what you have told me about these Chinese thugs, its a good bet that if they haven't killed us, they will kill Smiley," I said. "Are we going to be upset, if they do?" he asked. "Only because they are likely to come after us next. Remember the no witness left behind thing." I suggested. "Our advantage is they don't know how much we know. They probably think that when Smiley's body is found, we will think it is the end. After all we are just pety blackmailers to them." "But we are going after them, while they think they are coming after us," Lucas said. "That's pretty much how I figure it," I said. "Should we go try to save Smiley? "I don't know boss, you said everybody wanted to kill him. Why not just let them." Lucas suggested. "How about we bleed him for information first, then we throw him out the door." I suggested with images of old movies filling my mind. "Now that is maximum efficiency," Lucas suggested. "So should we wait for Earl?" "I have mixed feelings. If we do that we have to take him and put him in danger. If we just leave, he might walk into an ambush." I said. "I think I will have him stay with Willy until the plane leaves. I'll also tell him to call us before he leaves the airport. If we finish our chore fine, it not, we can send him to the store for us." "These guys do not know who they are dealing with. They think they have some simple blackmailers," Lucas said. "Let's hope they find out twenty seconds before they die," I said with a laugh. We went to Smiley's home and knocked on the door. I was back in the wig and make up. I also left the cane in the car. I could manage to fake it on the leg for about a hundred steps, then I was in agony. When he came to the door, he was a mess. I had planned to hit him with the stun gun then kidnap his ass, but the Chinese thug got there ahead of me. He stood behind Smiley and most likely had a gun in his back. "It's them," he said with terror in his dancing eyes. The thug tried to bring a pistol to bare, but Smiley was in the way. Smiley tried to get out of the way so the thug could shoot me and probably Lucas. I pushed Smiley because that way I knew in which direction he was going, and the thug didn't. I did hit the thug with the stungun, while Smiley was still between me and his gun hand. After that the best I could do was throw Smiley to the floor and leave him for Lucas. I moved to put a large wire tie on the thug before he regained his senses. Lucas had watched enough cop shows to have Smiley on the floor with his hands behind his head. It really was kinda cool how it worked out. Of course we beat the odds, we should have both been dead. "Find something to make a gag," I said to Lucas. then I whispered, "We want our friend with the slanted eyes to see and hear, but not speak." "You are dead woman," the chink said. "Let me see, I have the gun. You are tied up like a pig for the slaughter, and you are threatening me. Well you do have balls at least. When my friend get's back, we are going to see if Short Eyes here has balls." I was laughing as I said it. Lucas had a roll of duct tape when he returned from his search of the house. When the chink was taped up, I removed the wig. "Mr. Smiley now you and I are going to have a talk. My name is Maxine Stone. I doubt you ever heard of me, since we run in different circles. When this is over, you are going to wish you never crossed my path." I took a closer look at him. He didn't look nervous enough. I knew he didn't have that much courage, so I wondered what was going to happen. Probably more thugs on the way. "Lucas, go move the car to the garage, then bring in the shotguns. I think we are going to have company. It's time to ambush the ambushers. Smiley here thinks they are coming to save him." Lucas laughed when I did. "He doesn't know that they are coming to tie up the loose ends. Smiley here is a loose end, he just doesn't know it. My guess is they were out moving money and when they finish they are going to kill him. Does that fit in with your research of the tongs?" I asked. "Definitely. their motto is leave no living witnesses." he said. "Go move the car and bring the guns, I'll wait for you." Less than five minutes later he was back, so I began again. "Now here is your one time and one time only offer. You confess on camera to the child molesting and the money laundering, and we let you cut a deal with the feds on everything except the child molesting. That you have to do time for, or we walk away and let the tong have you," I said. They won't touch me, I have their money," he said bravely. "Not any more, we gave them the account and the codes this morning. Why do you think they didn't kill us. We traded that for our lives, but not your life." Okay it wasn't exactly the truth but it was close enough. "Who we turn you over to, the cops or the tong, is your call. Before we do either, you are going to tell me why we have the Chinese mafia in our sleepy little town." "Or what? You are going to kill me?" he asked. "Smiley, we are the good guys, we don't kill people. I have been known to make them rather uncomfortable though." I turned my attention to Lucas. "If he so much as moves shoot, him in the knee with that shotgun." While Lucas stood guard I pulled Smiley from the sofa and opened his pants. I pulled them down to the floor and his shorts with them. "No wonder he likes little girls," I said to Lucas. I removed the can of pepper spray from my jacket pocket. "I'm sure you have seen cops pepper spray suspects. They have to take them to the hospital to have their eyes washed out and their lungs checked. Now cop pepper spray has 6% active ingredients. Military pepper spray has 20 percent, because nobody cares, if it kills the enemy or not." I held the green can in front of his eyes. Do you see there where it says property of the United States? This is military grade pepper spray. Trust me you are going to want to talk to me. You are going to have three chances to speak. One right now before any shit happens, then a second chance after I stray you penis, testicles, and anus with this pepper stray. After that I'm going to take the chink's gun and shoot you in the head. Then I'm going to shoot him and say we found you dead and had to kill him. It will actually play well. I have friends on the police force, and they don't like child molesters either. So Please don't talk yet, I really want to hit you with the pepper spray at least." I said it smiling. "Come on Max give him a chance," Lucas said as I aimed the spray at his private parts. "You know that his penis will swell and he won't be able to pee without crying for a week. I just laughed a wicked laugh. "Wait, I don't know anything," he said. "I shot a short burst of the spray in his face. He screamed, I didn't show any reaction at all. "That is just a taste of what is to come. Now tell me the truth or you are going to really be screaming like those little girls couldn't." I said. "They own the customs people at the Tryon Airport. They smuggle drugs in on a plane somehow, then they repackage them and move them out of a small warehouse in panel vans. Something about false floors. The Aster police department is small and they are sure they can demoralize them with a few cop killings, if they need to." he said. Now you have to protect me. "Make the confession to the child molesting and then apologize for it." He spoke quickly trying to finish in time to get out before the thugs came back for him. Quick give me the address of the warehouse," I demanded. I called Mike Dawson. "Mike, I have something you want to hear." When the tape ended, he said, "We are on it. Thanks Max." "We are going to leave these two for you to pick up." I gave him the address. "Give Smiley protection and he will talk." "Where are you going," he asked. "Back home to wait for the company that is sure to come. Keep your swat team handy. You might have to demoralize the other side." "Would you really have murdered him?" Lucas asked when we were in the car. "Does it matter?" I answered with a question. "I guess not," he said. "How about the pepper spray?" "E bay knock off," I said with a nervous giggle. ------- Chapter 183: Bad Coffee and Bad Cops The Smiley thing had turned out to be a simple raid from start to finish. We had worked for weeks gathering information. After making elaborate plans, it all come down to a stungun and a can of pepper spray. That had to be like the raid that killed Ben Laden. Some poor bastard worked his ass of for years to find the prick. The special operations guys plan and plan, then plan some more, they rush in to snatch and extract him, In the end, it was a bullet that cost less than a buck, which wrote the final line of the Ben Laden story. Smiley did have one chapter left. It was a footrace to see who reached the house first. I had no problem leaving Smiley's fate in God's hands. As for Lucas and me, we headed back to the apartment. "Circle the neighborhood before you pull in," I said to Lucas. We drove around a three block area before I felt even a little safe going into the compound. "What are we looking for?" he asked. "As the man said about art, I don't know what it is, but I'll recognize it, when I see it. At least in our case, I hope I'll recognize it." Since nothing looked out of place, we pulled into the parking lot. We sat in Lucas's Hyundai while he reviewed the surveillance image file online. It showed nothing, but if these guys were elegant pros, it wouldn't. Since they were thugs, I trusted the tape 90%. I still carried the shotgun as I went into the apartment compound. We made it to my apartment before anything out of the ordinary happened. Out of the ordinary came later in the form of my phone ringing like a phone. "Ms Stone, thank you for allowing us time to move our money, before Mr. Smiley had to be eliminated. For that act we have decided to allow you to live. We are moving the operation out of your quaint little town. It is easier to move, than to enter a war with you and your police." "That is a very logical decision," I said. "We do try to be sensible," the voice with the Harvard business school accent said. "What about Smiley? You know he really was the reason for my investigation," I informed him. "I could not in good faith have order his elimination, if it were just for your interest, but James Smiley had our money in his off shore account. For that he had to be punished." He said. "So it has already been done?" I asked. "People are on their way to do that as we speak," He said. "Then, I am sure the state will thank you for the savings in such troubling times." I suggested. "Probably won't happen, but they should thank us both." he said. "Maxine Stone, if you were not who you are, and I was not who I am, we would have made great friends." "Olivia Newton John?" I asked. "Exactly, I guess we will just be leaving it at this, we should not meet again. You do understand?" "Of course, but I think I will keep my security cameras going." I replied. "It wouldn't help you much, if you happened to be in the mall walking when a terrorist bomb went off," he said with a laugh. "Of if you had The Russians, The FBI, and Swamp Thing all looking for you personally," I suggested. I did not have any idea they would really get involved. "I did give that some thought as well, so the game ends in stalemate?" he said. "So it does," I had made it into the apartment during the conversation. "Well, I'll be looking forward to my episode on your TV show. Goodbye and I hope we never have to meet." he said. "If that happens, at least it won't be boring," I said. He didn't answer, he was just gone. "So it's over?" Lucas asked. "All that work for this?" "Hold on Lucas you are forgetting what our job was. We were supposed to stop Smiley from ever doing this kind of thing again. That has happened one way or another. We also were hoping to punish him. If nothing else he got one hell of a scare, and Jen is going to be on his ass with a civil suit that will take everything he has. All the rest of it was just a lucky accident." "Yeah, but it don't seem like enough," he said. "Hell Luke, a public beheading isn't enough. The FBI can chase their tails for years looking for these guys. The local cops are going to get some good PR and we got some good TV footage. What more could we ask?" I said. "You should have shot Smiley's Penis with the pepper stray," he said. "Yeah, but I guess you can't think of everything," I replied. All that work for a couple hours excitement didn't seem right to me either, but I wasn't surprised. It was like the paramedic who summed up her job as, hours and hours of boredom, punctuated by a few minutes of pure terror, then immediately back to boredom. No wonder she was bipolar. The one thing I didn't tell Lucas was that we most likely had only bought some time. The Chink with the Harvard accent might just be playing us. He wanted us to drop our guard, then he would be back. But only if he needed to shut us up. Coming back to Aster would be dangerous. It would have to be necessary to protect the grand plan, or else why take the risk. So unless the FBI or the cops busted him, it would be a waste of assets to kill us. At least that was my hope. Earl had returned and was sitting at my metal work bench drinking coffee, when I heard the buzzer on the gate sound. It was a black man in a police uniform. I had no idea what the hell the cops wanted with me, or why it wasn't Mike Dawson. I almost walked out there without my vest. Something about how poorly the cop's uniform fit gave me pause. I slipped off the sweatshirt, which I had changed into immediately upon reaching the apartment. Okay I was standing in my bra in front of two men, while I put on my vest, but I doubt anyone noticed. "Is something wrong," Lucas asked. "No, I just don't feel right about going out without this thing for the next few days." If the parking lot sweep hadn't revealed the police patrol car, I would never have gone out at all. When I got within ten feet of the gate, I asked, "Can I help you?" "Yeah, Yo can open this here gate," he said angrily. It was too bad that his accent wasn't local or even close to being local. Not only that but he would never have passed the police exam with that thug grammar. "Call Mike Dawson and do it now," I said aloud for the microphone I always wore. The man in the police uniform went for his gun, but he was unfamiliar with the holster mechanism of the cop equipment belt. I on the other hand was very familiar with the Mechanics of my hammerless .38 cut down holster. I beat him by several seconds so he gave up. Lucas and Earl came on the run. "Very carefully take his gun and put the cuffs on him. He may not be a cop, but I think there might be a naked cop in the trunk of that car." I said it while shaking like hell. At the time it happened I hadn't realized that I had thrown the cane at him to further distract him. I found it laying on the pavement, where it had landed after bouncing off the gate. Lucas had called 911 before he left the apartment. I quickly replaced him standing over the fake cop with my pistol pointed at his head. "You two get back inside and get rid of those weapons." When the real cops showed up they weren't at all friendly. At first glance it appeared that I had one of theirs down with a gun to his head. I put the .38 down on the ground and stepped back. The patrolman closest to me hooked me up. I didn't say a word, I just went along with the program at first. As they were about to unhook him, I finally said, "He isn't a real cop. The real cop is probably in the trunk of the patrol car he drove here." "She is right, that isn't Officer Brown," a Sergeant said. "It's bad Sergeant," another patrolman said as he looked into the trunk of the car. "Let's get everyone downtown and talk this out," the sergeant said to the assembled officers." "First of all I want to see Detective Dawson, then my lawyer." I informed him. I didn't get booked, but the .38 was back into evidence. That damn pistol spent more time with the cops than it did with me. It was by far my favorite hideaway weapon. I sat quietly drinking a glass of water provided by the patrolman sent in to keep me occupied. I would rather have had a cup of coffee. Still, I hadn't been cleared for coffee at the time. "Ms Stone, I'm sergeant Evans. I am so sorry that we had to bring you here. We can't go into the events until your lawyer arrives, but we are not considering you a suspect in the officers death. The man wearing his uniform is almost certainly the killer," he said. "When Jen get's here, I will tell you everything I know, but not till she arrives," I said with a smile. "I intend to fully cooperate, but only after my lawyer arrives." "Fair enough, in the meantime would you like a cup of coffee." he asked. "Only slightly less than I would like to have my personal items returned. If I am a witness, then you have no reason to hold them." I suggested. "Jen will be requesting them when she arrives anyway." "You understand I can't return your weapon until everything is verified," he said. "Oh yes, I understand. I also understood the last few times that you held it for almost a month." 'Well we are a little faster these days. We know you are licensed and the weapon was purchased legally. We just need to do a ballistics check. That won't take more than a few hours now that it is all computer generated. Just have to get a tech to fire it, then we are go." "Good," I replied. I knew damn well they would want to hold it until they were finished with the investigation. Of course the .38 was not going to match anything since nobody used that round anymore. Everybody else in the whole world had gone to semi automatic weapons. That being the case I wasn't worried, just irritated at the inconvenience. "Maxine," Mike Dawson said as he entered the room. "Hello Evans, good to see you that you are keeping Ms. Stone company? I'll take over now." "Mike, she has lawyered up," Evans said. "Evans Ms. Stone has spent more time in an interrogation room than all the detectives on this police force. I think I would be worried if she didn't lawyer up." Evens nodded on his way out the door. Dawson turned his attention to me. "So are you going to cooperate or dummy up?" he asked. "I'm working for my lawyer on this one. She will have to be the one to decide privilege issues." I said. "Please don't tell me the cop at the gate is part of some kind of investigation?" he said. "Like I said Jen will be here any minute, then we can begin." I said firmly. "Then I'll be back when she arrives," he said. "In the meantime could I have my cell phone, I would like to call for some decent coffee. You can monitor the call." ------- Chapter 184: in the Box With Jen "Helen, I'm being held at the police station and the coffee is horrid here. I know this is a terrible imposition, but do you happen to have a few cups laying around that you could get someone to bring here. Before you ask, I don't need a hacksaw blade in it." I said into the cell phone. "Of course I have coffee, how many people do I bring it for." She asked. "Just me. Oh yeah and Jen is on the way. Let the rest of these guys drink the crap they have. Well bring one more cup for the Detective in charge. He seems to be okay," I admitted. "And of course, you always need a friend," she said with a laugh. "Something like that, but I will never have as good a friend as you," I said. "Sure you do, Lady Skeeter is always going to be a better friend," she said. "Not even her," I replied. "Well let me load your coffee, and I'm on the way," she said. Not before you call around to tell everyone I'm here, and to get their status, I thought. No, Helen wasn't any kind of operative, she was just the kind of lady who couldn't help being concerned. In so doing, everyone wanted her to know just everything about their lives. God I wished I was like that. "Well it's another fine mess you've gotten us into," Jen said with a happy grin. She just loved to live vicariously through my misery. "You are just too kind," I said with a smile. "So how much shit am I into." "Let's see you are complicit in the death of one James Smiley. Who by the way died with his pants down of all things. If you knew the Chinese gentlemen were planning to kill him, and left him tied up like a Christmas present, you might be in a spot of trouble. However, if we put Mr Smiley on trial at your trial, you might get some kind of award for community service. He was certainly not a very nice man." she said. "Well this one is going to wind up a pro bono case, or whatever you call the freebies," I said. "Now you know better than that. I have already dropped an IRS tip. Also I have a claim filed with the court against his estate. This is going to be so challenging. God I love you girl." "Now could we concentrate on getting me the hell out of here?" I asked. "Okay, the cop killing thing is not going to be a problem. They know the guy who did it was a local thug. Well one of those New York kind of thugs down here for reasons yet unknown." Jen said. "Maybe I can help with that, when I start talking," I said. "You keep your mouth shut till I negotiate a deal. It might take the rest of the day. You might even spend a night locked up," she said. "Well Jen sweetie this place is like Mexico, don't drink the coffee. Fortunately for you, the detective is ambitious, so he let me use my cell phone to call Helen. She is on the way with real coffee." I said. "So what did you have to promise him?" Jen ask suspiciously. "Nothing yet," I replied. "So, are we ready to do this?" she asked. "What's this we shit paleface, ' I said with a smile. "Okay Tonto, let's do it," Jen said grinning. Jen went to the door to call Detective Dawson into the room. Once he was inside she began by saying, "You return my clients possessions or you charge her with something." "Anything that isn't capable of being used as a weapon, I will return first." Dawson said. "Yeah you keep her emery board just in case she decides to file your nails to death." Jen said laughing at him. "I had that cutesy little .38 in mind," he said. "And of course her cane." "Ah the one with the 8" dagger inside?" Jen asked. "You really consider that a weapon. I thought it was there in case she wanted to slice an onion. So yeah keep those, but the rest she gets back, then we talk." All I really wanted was the hidden microphone. I wanted the conversation on tape. I was sure Earl would be in the parking lot with his recorder and monitoring tools. "Okay, so let's talk." Jen said, after my personal items were again in my possession. "What do you want to know first?" "Let's start with why you thought the cop was bad?" Dawson asked. Jen nodded so I answered, "I saw that his uniform was too big and it was sloppy. The closer I got to him the more wrong he looked. He was way too skinny. Then he spoke and it was pure Ghetto Thug." "He went for his piece first. He fumbled and I didn't, that's all there was to it. After I had him on the ground and hooked up, I had Lucas call 911 and we all waited for you guys." It is on the surveillance tapes." "Yes it is and it shows what you said. Actually it shows exactly what you said. Your memory for detail is amazing," he said. "So that incident is closed?" Jen asked. "Well Maxine's involvement is, but we have a lot to talk to Mr. Sims about," Dawson suggested. "If I were you, I would go back to New York and look for a Chinatown connection," I suggested. "You think he was working for the Chinese smugglers?" he asked. "You know what happens to dogs who chase cars, and cops who believe in coincidence?" I asked. "Yeah they don't last long," he admitted. "So, who are you working for?" he asked me. "She works for me,"Jen answered for me. "Okay counselor, who is your client?" he asked. "Good luck with that," I said. Jen just nodded. "I think it is safe to assume she is one of his victims," Jen said. "I found fifteen so far, that won't help you too much," I said. "Can we get the list?" he asked me. I looked to Jen who answered, "That's work product. It's covered by client confidentiality. Besides you don't need it for this investigation. His involvement with them had nothing to do with his death." Jen said. "Oh really," Dawson asked. "Why don't you let me make that judgment." "Whatever," I said smiling at Jen There was a knock on the interview room's door. "There is a very sweet lady out here raising hell. She has coffee and the mayor on the phone." "Helen?" Jen asked me. "Yes," I replied. "I guess the chief of police wasn't home, or she would have him on the phone. She catered his daughter's wedding almost free." "Damn, it pays to have friends," Dawson said. "Let her in." "I brought coffee for you Maxine," she said obviously uncomfortable in those surroundings. "Lucas and the cameraman are parked in the bank parking lot across the street. They said they would wait till you are released and drive you home." "Thanks," I said. It sounded harmless, but what it told me was that Earl was monitoring my microphone, and that he wasn't leaving till I did. It was what I wanted to happen, so it was good news. Helen made sure that Jen and I were both in good spirits before she gave Dawson any coffee. I was amused by their interaction. He reached for a coffee cup before she had determined he was a friend. The look she shot him should have melted his badge. Once I nodded that he was okay, she relaxed. "I need to get back to the kitchen, these new people are a blessing, but I still have to make the decisions." she informed us. "I do miss Cheryl, but when she returned my call this afternoon, she said that she had other plans for her life now." "It's good that you stay in touch. Please tell her not to worry about me. Things have a way of working out as they should," I admitted. After Helen left Dawson began again. "Okay, I admit this coffee is a welcome surprise, but let's get back to it. Why do you think Smiley was killed?" "I know why he was killed, somewhere in this world there is a Chinese Gentleman who speak English with a Harvard accent. He is in charge of the smuggling operation. Whether he is the top dog, I don't know. I do know he called to tell me all was forgiven, but then he sends a local gun thug to whack me. So it looks like, the all is forgiven, was just a ruse. These guys never leave living witnesses. Witnesses have a tendency to come back to bite you on the ass someday. So they want me and Lucas dead. "I'll buy that, but why Smiley?" he asked. I looked at Jen she nodded. "I was running a sting on Smiley. We have a lot of information that says Smiley was a pedophile. Lots of witness statements, but all of them were kids at the time, so a smart lawyer could raise a doubt. These days even a stupid doubt can sway a jury." I said. "Yeah look at Florida," Dawson agreed. "While we were digging we found that Smiley, a CPA, was also living beyond his means. He had lost a ton of money in the stock market. He was putting escrow money into an off shore account and more or less gambling on the market with it. There was enough escrow money to cover his loses and even enough to cover honest withdrawals for the time being. It was like a legal Ponsi scheme. As long as the escrow account kept growing he had an unlimited supply of cash to play with. In his mind I'm sure he expected to get even at any minute." "So you are telling me Smiley had the Chinese drug money in that account. They somehow found out, while you were running the sting, and killed him?" Dawson asked. "When you say it that way it sounds a bit far fetched. However that really is sorta the case. Our sting was to do a pretend blackmail. Once he came up with the money, we could use the payoff as evidence in a trial. We were headed for the DA, just as soon as he made the payoff.' "He told me during the original meeting that he had some bad ass friends. Lucas and I both thought it was bullshit. Then three of them came to visit us instead of Smiley." I said. "The false fire alarm?" he asked. "Just a lucky coincidence," Jen demanded. "Yeah, I'll sign off on that," Dawson said smiling. "At least there wasn't a bloodbath." "It's still early in the week," I said smiling. Might as well get a little TV drama mileage out of it, I thought. "So how did they find out Smiley was skimming on them. I might have given one of them the account information." "And Smiley?" Dawson asked. "I have no idea what happened to Smiley. He was alive, when we left him." I said. "That's all we are saying about Mr. Smiley," Jen said firmly. "So now what?" I asked Dawson. Before he could answer a young well dressed woman knocked on the interview room door. Dawson went out to meet her. "FBI?" Jen asked. "That's my guess. I bet there are two more outside. The always travel in packs like coyote." "Yeah, I noticed that as well," So when did you call Anya?" "Just as soon as I found out there were heavy hitters involved. These must be locals to be here so fast." I said. "Damn it's going to be interesting. I called Swamp Thing, when Lucas called to tell me the worst of the worst were gunning for you." Jen said not looking a bit worried. "Now, we just need, Ivan, the CIA, and the Ghost of the Gunny and we will have the baddest bunch of mother fuckers the world has ever seen all in one place.' I said with a laugh. "Maybe Swamp Thing won't show up?" Jen said. "You are kidding. For a shot at his kind of TV coverage, they are going to be all over this." I said. "Could be they need to counter the bad press of that murder thing in the sandbox," Jen said trying to sound tough. I shook my head and she added, "What?" ------- Chapter 185: Que and the Men in Black Jen and I waited about ten minutes before her patience ran out. "Come on Max we are going to shake things up a bit." With that she stood. I followed as she walked calmly out of the door of the interrogation room. "Where the hell do you think you are going?" a patrol officer asked. "Sonny, if you want to keep that shiny new badge, you will shut up and listen. My client is not under arrest and obviously the detective is through questioning her, so we are going to dinner. Now get the fuck out of my way," Jennifer snarled at him. Once we were out side I said, "Shit Jen, I always wanted to do that. Just get up and walk out of an interrogation. I am gonna have to remember that." I laughed so hard I almost peed. Of course, Dawson came running from the bulding before we reached Jen's car. "Hold on we aren't finished," he said. "Sure we are, if you really had something important to ask, you wouldn't have left us to stew. Now get out of my way," Jennifer said reaching for the handle of her car door. "The FBI wants to talk to you," Dawson said to me. "Well, I'm going to walk over to the bank parking lot. Then I am going to get into the van, which is parked there. Then my friends and I are going to the Barbecue pit," I said. "Where is that?" he asked. "It's Max's name for Kaplan's," Jen informed him as I walked away. "Damn Dawson, get up to speed, if you want to run with the big dogs." I heard her laugh and it was not at all ladylike. "Did you get it," I asked Earl when I was inside Lucas's van. "Oh yeah, so Short Eyes Smiley is dead?" he asked with a strange pleasure in his voice. "Killed with is pants down, how appropriate is that?" I asked but nobody answered. "So Lucas drive to the Pit and I'll buy dinner for everyone," I suggested. "Who is everyone?" he asked. "I'm not sure just yet, but they should start rolling in soon." I smiled at the the thought. Life was good when then adrenalin pumped. I had the double barbecue plate, with the iced tea that was so sweet it hurt my teeth. "Damn this is good stuff," Earl said as he crammed a hush puppy into his mouth. "Food always tastes better after something big happens," I suggested. "So who wants to talk to you now," Lucas asked. "Some people to help us stay alive I hope. Lucas how do you feel about your boring life now that you have made it onto an international gang's hit list?" I asked with a laugh. "The old life doesn't look so bad from here," he said almost seriously. "How about you Earl, they might not know about you yet, but they will soon enough I imagine. So do you want to leave before you make it onto their dead pool list?" "Do I look like Willy to you?" he asked with a grin. "No you look like the guy I had to pull our of a bar fight," I said. "Damn right, we make a good team," he said. "So, me saving your ass makes us a team," I said with a laugh. "Hey, what are friends for?" he asked. "Hello guys," the slightly more than a teenage girl said. "Hello, and yes I would like some more tea," I said handing her my glass. "Very funny Ms Stone, I am special agent Morris with the FBI," she said. "I have two questions for you Ms. Morris. First of all; if all the FBI people are called Special Agent, can any of them them be really special. Two; Since Special Agents never go anywhere alone, not even to the bathroom, where is the rest of your pack?" I asked. "Come on in guys, we have been busted," she said into her sleeve. "You might as well drag up a booth and have dinner," I said. "Sure, why not but we do need to talk." She said. "Not without my lawyer, we don't." I smiled pretty. "You seem to know a lot about the legal system, so you should know that once you invoke your right to counsel, nothing you say to me without her present is admissible in court. We just want to know who, where, and what to look at." she said. "And I want another glass of iced tea. So either go get me one, or sit down and have dinner with us. The waitress will not come back, until you do." I was still forcing the smile. I was pretty sure that the best thing to do with the FBI was to ignore them, if possible, and stall them if not. There were six dinners on my bill and it still was under fifty dollars. I had to admit that it was a good deal. I paid the bill, then walked into the parking lot, where I was ambushed in a non lethal way. "Okay we need to talk," Special agent Morris said. Her two partners were men and older, so I was a little surprised to see her doing the talking. "Do we really, why is that?" I asked. "You called the office in DC and gave one of our agents a tip. That tip seems to have been a good one. Now we want to follow up on it." "Well, I'm not sure what you can do. Riverview Development Company is in the wind, and Smiley is in the morgue. Seems that whatever info I had is useless now." I said it continuing to smile. "That may be true, but these were Tong and they are targeting you for death. That puts you in great danger," she said. "Not to mention a great piece of meat for the trap. If I'm going to be bait Morris, I am going to build the trap. You probably need to take your pack here and go on back to the office. I take people who try to kill me personal. I also figure stopping them is my responsibility." I said. "Even if we can do it better. Cooperate and we will put you into witness protection." she suggested. "I'll take my chances in a war with the tong. If everyone I can testify about is neutralized, then they have no more business with me." I felt like that made for perfect logic. "If you are talking about murder, I will personally see you in prison," she said. "I have all this on tape, and I'm almost positive, even without reviewing the tape, that I did not mention murder. So for no reason at all you just threatened me. That wasn't nice at all." I said it as I opened the van's passenger side front door. She looked furious standing with her two other, not so special, agents as we drove away. "If the Harvard Grad Chink is really in the wind, I think we have a little time. But we have to move on it now. The apartments aren't safe, that is for sure. Between the two of you I'm sure you can secure anyplace gadget wise," I said. "So we need a place to use as a base of operations." We sat around my apartment racking our brains. Well Earl didn't. He didn't know anything about the area. We talked about everything from cabins in the woods to closed furniture plants. "You know Maxine the obvious place is my office," Lucas said to me. "It has brick and concrete black walls that are almost a foot thick. The ceiling joists are steel and the deck over that is also steel. The tar and gravel are just there to keep the rain out," That building was built as a service station in the fifties. It was meant to withstand a lot of stress in case the pumps went up." Lucas suggested. "I know it was built back in the days of real construction materials. But do you think Ed will sell it to me?" I asked. "I think that is the only reason he hasn't already retired. He wants you to ask for him to sell, so he has an excuse to get out of the business." Lucas said. "What about his bail business?" I asked. "I have been writing most of it. Yeah it's with Ed's name and finances, but I have been doing the actually writing for him. He doesn't like to drive at night any more." Lucas suggested. I refilled my coffee cup and began walking in circles around the apartment thinking. I knew Lucas and Earl could wire it up for cameras, but that big ass parking lot scared the crap out of me. I knew how to secure it, but I doubted that the city of Aster would approve of blast walls and concrete check points. "Dial Ed's number and hand me the phone," I said to Lucas. "Ed," I said when he answered. "It's me Maxine and I'm in deep shit, as usual. I need you to help me out again. This time I need a place to hole up. Would you sell me your office building. I know it's a terrible inconvenience, but I really have nowhere else to turn." I said lying only a little bit. "Maxine, I hardly ever go in there anymore. The place is yours for tax value whatever that is," he said. "Done, I'll have Jen do the papers tomorrow. In the meantime I'll try to keep it from getting blown up." "Hell don't worry about that, I have great insurance." he said. I was just about to draw up a defense plan when Earl said, "We got company, lots of it." I looked at the monitor and saw two black SUVs pull up. They were stopped about a millisecond when men began to pour out. They wore black utilities, black flack jackets, and Starwars helmets. "Not to worry Earl that's the fucking calvary." I said laughing. I popped the gates at the same time the older man pushed the button. He came in with two younger men. All of them were armed to the teeth. I greeted them at the door with the riot length Winchester 12 gauge pump shotgun with hammer. I bought it surplus from the federal prison system. They swore it had been used on the rock, but I doubted it. Still it made a great story. "You are backlit Stone, you know better," the older man said. "And you would be?" I asked. Everybody had their weapons lowered, but it was still just a moment from world war 3. "Admiral Thompson retired," he said smiling. "And you have to be that skinny bitch with hardly any hair Martin calls Max." "So you took over Swamp Thing after their fall from grace?" I asked. "Temporary setback I assure you. Is this your HQ?' he asked. "For tonight, then we are going to set up a more secure one. I have been rather too busy to do anything until now." I said. "So I heard. I also heard you told the FBI to stick their WitPro up their ass. It seems you know as long as these assholes are alive, you are in danger." the Admiral said. "Yeah, but I didn't plan to start a war," I replied looking around at the ten armed men. "I have a few more enemies than you do Max. They are for me as well as you. I want to see your plan, then I can see where we can help. I don't care for foreign governments operating on our soil. Don't kid yourself, nobody does anything in China that the government doesn't know about." he informed me. "I don't give a rats ass who they are. I want to eliminate the ones to whom I am a threat. I figure that way I can remove the threat to me and Lucas." I said. "That makes perfect sense. It is the only thing that will save you. Get them all and get them first, then there is no advantage to eliminating you and your friend." the Admiral said nodding. "So lets make a plan, then I will be leaving." he said. "About Martin?" I asked. "He can't get back for this one. I am sorry Max, he speaks very highly of you. You might have saved his life. I know you saved his career. Before you and he worked together, he was so involved in the, now of it all, that he had lost sight of the end game. You reminded him of that and it saved his career at least." "I'm glad, because there is no doubt he saved my life," I said remembering the red mist. ------- Chapter 186: The plan and how to use it The door barely closed before the Admiral flopped out a satellite map of the small town where I lived. I was impressed with his preparations. "Before we get into this tell me where you are going to start." "I'm going to start with the assumption that this asshole is at least as smart as me. Maybe more, since he is a Harvard Grad." I said it with a smile. "Good, few people ever died over estimating their enemy," The admiral said. During the exchange I poured coffee for us both. The coffee was just as good as Helen's, since I taught her how to make it. "Good coffee," he added after he finished his thought. "So what is your first move?" he asked. "Intel, all I can get. And of course an ambush," I said. "Of course, the only thing open to you at the moment." he said stating the obvious. "So you are going to move from here and leave it as the bait?" he asked. "Yes, and I'm going to work with the following assumptions. If they come here again, it will be a car bomb parked in the alley. Also it won't be a suicide bomber, the driver will want to get away." I said. "Yes drug dealers don't have ideals for which they are willing to commit suicide," he agreed. "What else?" "If he goes with the car bomb, it will be some low level thug from here. He has to have limited assets from home?" "Maybe a dozen men," the Admiral said. "That's my guess to," I said. "It's a little more than a guess for me, but do go on," he said. "If he goes for a face to face kill, it would most likely be on of his own men," I said. "Yes, I doubt he would trust anyone local to do that kind of work again. It would be too risky, if they got picked up. His people have family who can be used as a threat, to keep them from talking to the police." he said. "The one the police have is going to talk eventually. They must have been in a panic or still thought that you were just amateur blackmailers. Possibly their intel isn't very good." "To them I am a female TV actress how hard could it be to hit me?" I asked. "But we aren't the police. If we grab the assassin clean, he will fucking talk." "Enhanced interrogations?" he asked. "What would you do to save your friend's life and your own?" I asked. He just nodded. "So what you need right now is a shadow team, and an ambush team." the Admiral said. "Half of my force should do it, three for the ambush and two for the shadowing." "That is only until we get the intelligence we need to move on this bunch," I said. "What did you have in mind?" The admiral asked. "Why a little insurgency of course," I said. "Ah a real war on drugs as it were," he said. "We might teach the DEA a few things." He dropped a folder on my metal, work bench/dining table as he stood to leave. "Burn after reading, and I mean that Maxine." Then he looked around and said, "I like what you have done here, very industrial looking." Then he was out the door without any further comments. He and I both knew the longer he and his team stayed the greater the danger to us both. I did like the gruff old man though. He reminded me of the gunny with a better vocabulary. I went back to trying to decide how to make my new office building secure. There is no such thing as totally secure, but at least secure from gun thugs. I knew the first thing I needed to do was to control access, just as I had at the apartment. In the case of the office I wanted to try to minimize the damage, if someone tried to drive a car bomb through my front door. IEDs scared the pure hell out of me. I still hadn't decided when five of the people in black utilities came through the door. "Ms. Stone, the Admiral said we were to stay and help you for a few days." The older looking of the five said to me. "Work it out among yourselves who is going to man the ambush, and who is going to follow me around. Tomorrow morning it is business as usual for me. What about food, any special diets or anything. "Ma'am you don't have to bother, we can pick up something." one of them said. "No son," I said to the younger man. "The ambush team is inside or within sight of this compound from now on. If our chink friend decides to keep this place under surveillance I don't want him seeing people come and go. It would kind of defeat the purpose of an ambush." "Yes Ma'am, I do see what you mean. The shadow team goes where I go and when I go. Otherwise you are locked down as well. When you decide who is going to do what, come back and let me know. By the way, trust me the best stakeout food in the world is served here." I smiled as they wandered off to Lois's apartment to change and decide who would be doing what. "We need a mason," I said to Lucas. "You mean like the brick layers, not the lodge members?" he asked. "If our mason is a mason, I could care less. I just need someone who has a big enough crew to work fast." I said. "Ed knows everybody in town," Lucas said. "That's even better. See if Ed will make the call. Ed can tell him that his nephew will meet him at the office to explain what he needs done. Tell Ed to make sure the guy can put a full crew on it tomorrow." While I waited to hear from Lucas that a crew would be ready to work the next day, I began to design a wall to go around the office. It was my plan to turn the parking area into a grassy courtyard. Grass makes lousy shrapnel. "Ed said he knew just the man. Ed's words were, 'Hell of a mason, can't hold his liquor, and can't fight worth a crap, '" Lucas said with a laugh. "What time are you going to meet him?" I asked. "Ed called back after he talked to the Great mason/lousy drunk. Ed said to be at the office at 7 AM sharp." Lucas said. "Then that's your assignment for tomorrow. Now remember you have to work out of that office too, so don't let them fuck up this wall." I waited until Lucas nodded before I went on. "I'm going to call an out of work dump truck driver, I met at Cowboys. I'm going to see if he is still out of work." Actually I called Joyce. "Joyce honey, it's Maxine." I said waiting to be sure she knew who I was. "Ah my warrior princess," she said. "Sure," I answered sarcastically. 'Do you know if the bald middle-aged guy who owns a couple of trucks, is in or not?" "You mean Bobby the guy in the International Harvester hat?" she asked. "Yeah, has he been around?" I asked. "Hell honey, I could spit on him he is so close," she said. "And I probably should." "Well let me talk to him please, I have a job for him." "This is Bobby Hensley," he said. "Bobby this is Maxine Stone, do you remember me?" I asked. "Sweetie everybody remembers you, even some people who weren't here," he said with a laugh. "Good, I need to hire you to do a job and it's urgent. But I don't plan on being screwed in the process, It ain't that urgent." I said. "Hell screw me and I'll do it half Price," he said. "Get a pencil ready," I demanded. "Okay, what you need?" he said a moment later after scrambling for note making materials in a bar. "Price me a delivery from the brick yard at home depot, or Lowe's to 300 E Chestnut Street." I said. "I can already tell you fifty bucks a trip and I can haul four pallets of bricks," he informed me. "How about concrete blocks. How many of those can you haul?" I asked. "Just two of those are some heavy mother fuckers," he said. "Meet me at home depot at, hold on a minute," I said. "Lucas find out what time the home depot opens." Bobby, we are trying to find the hours for Home Depot. Bobby I am going to need you to run all day long most likely." "They open at 8am," Lucas said to me. "Bobby meet meet me at home depot at 8am. If you are late the job is off, do you understand? I can rent a truck there to make the deliveries." God knows I had driven one in a hell of a lot more dangerous places than Ed's office parking lot. "Yes Ma'am and I will be there." he said. "You damn well better be," I said. "Home depot is closed now, so we are going to have to move our asses tomorrow." I said to Lucas after I turned the phone off. "So what's your plan get a wall built around the office in a day?" he asked. "You got it kid," I replied. "Even better not let anyone know it's me. You deal with the mason and I'll deal with Bobby. Tell the mason the truck will be there at nine with the first load of blocks. He needs to his crew to unload it. Later on I might be able to get someone with a fork lift to deliver them." "Well, it's 11pm you aren't going to get much more done today. I hope you have some cash on hand, since the banks don't open till after the meetings with the mason and trucker." He said. "A little, too bad Smiley didn't come through. We could have used his money to build the wall." I said it as a joke. "Maybe Jen can get the money from his estate," Lucas suggested. There was a knock at the door. Earl was on the monitors. He said, "They came from the apartment next door." "Then let them in Lucas." I said. "Ma'am, we talked it over and decided that Louise here would blend in better for the shadow team than any of us." the tall blond kid about twenty five said. "You a ranger?" I asked him. "No Ma'am a marine sniper," he said with pride in his voice. "Are you on the ambush team?" I asked. "Absolutely Ma'am," he said. "Then I feel better," I almost had a tear for the Gunny. "Nothing is going to happen to you Ma'am, I give you my word." he said. "It it does, I'm going to haunt you," I said. "Yes Ma'am I know," he said. "Word from the Irishman was to stay close to you cause they can't kill you. I plan to do just that, if the shit starts." He said I turned to Louise, so who are you going to spend all this time with?" I asked. "Eddie Gibbs Ma'am," She said. "Okay which one of you is Eddie Gibbs?" I asked. "I am Ma'am," the much older man said. "So Louise are you going to pretend that you have father issues?" I laughed a little. "If I have to Ma'am," she said. "Okay the Ma'am shit ends here. I'm Maxine or Max. I don't like being called Ma'am, because it points the bad guys right to me. Also I'm not quite old enough to be a Ma'am yet. "By the way I like your outfits, the cargo pants and shorts can hide a lot of stuff," I said. I said it because they all wore shorts or pants with lots of pockets, even Louise. "Urban warfare gear," the Latino looking young man said. "Well that's what you are signed up for no doubt," I said. "Ambush team, remember this is a civilian operation. You can not kill them just because you want to. You need a real reason, or we are all going to jail. When I say reason, they need to be armed and pointing it at you ect. This place has cameras everywhere, so don't think we won't see. "Ambush team; get with Earl and work out a monitor schedule. Someone has to be watching at all times. Also remember we want to snatch them up, not just kill them on sight. Dead men tell no tales and we want them talking. We need to grab someone before the local thug the FBI has starts talking. If they arrest these assholes, they are going to want to kill the witnesses even more." "Shadow team; we are going to be on the move early. So be ready to leave at 7AM. You will be following me in a car as will our camera person." "Earl, call Mike we really need everyone on their toes. You cant do that if you are up all night, and then have to follow me around the next day. Tell him not Morris or Willy again." "Right, I'll get on it now. "Well I'm going to bed, any of you who want are welcome to share the bed, but only one at a time." I said laughing. ------- Chapter 187: Abra Kadabrah and the wall I had people sleeping everywhere. We were using Lois's apartment, the TV guys apartment and my apartment and still barely had room to be comfortable, even with them all in full use. Lucas was first up and out the door. I was in the shower when he left. I was still in a tee shirt and panties drying my hair when I heard a knock on the door. Without Lucas monitoring the cameras, I had to stop and be sure the knock was a friendly. The knock was from one of my shadow crew for the day. "We are going to ride with Earl, I just wanted to let you know," the girl said. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" I asked. "If you are having one and it wouldn't be any trouble," she replied. "No trouble at all," I said. "Opening the door wider. You can even take a cup back to your partner if you like." "I think, I will let him get his own coffee," she said with a smile. "I couldn't help notice you have a slight middle eastern accent, Isreali?" "Iraqi," she answered. "Wow, a female Muslim soldier," I said. "I never said that I was Muslim," she replied smiling at me. "Fair enough, I stand corrected. You are still a rare breed of cat." I said. "It get's worse," she said smiling. "We should save that bit of confession for another day." "Yes, I have to finish dressing, so that we can go. You stay and finish your coffee." I said as I turned back to my bedroom. I was dressed in just a few minutes. "I want to stop for breakfast on the way to the Home Depot," I said to the young Iraqi woman. "Good, breakfast is the most important meal of the day," she said in a really good, but accented, English. "So they say," I replied. She left for Lois's apartment to pick up her partner and I headed for the Cruiser. Of course, I did check the area before I went to the cruiser. I'm sure Earl and the two Swamp Thing operatives had to hustle to catch up. I sat at a table of cops and nurses when I arrived at Helen's Sit Down. "So Maxine did you hear the news about our cop killer?" one of the sergeants asked after I was seated. "No, I didn't hear anything since yesterday. Is he talking?" I asked more than a little concerned. "He won't be talking for a while. Somebody shanked him in the hall of the county jail. Damn guy was picked up a couple of hours after your man." "So what about the doer is he talking?" I asked. "No idea," the sergeant replied. "I think there was talk about the cops getting together and having a steak and a beer delivered to the jail for him." "Sounds like a plan. Put me down for a couple of bucks," I said. I didn't want them to know that I was just as concerned about the man's killer, as I was about him. If someone led the cops to the Harvard Chink before I could get to him, I would be on the kill list as long as he was in the court system, which could be years. I ate quickly so that I was outside of the home depot before they opened. Once I pulled onto the parking lot my phone rang. It sounded as a phone should sound. "Hello," I said. "Bad news Max, the mason can't make it till Monday. All his men are busy. He probably told Ed he could make it, just to have a shot at the job. I'm sure he planned to stall us." Lucas did not sound happy. "I'm going to call the Preacher. He might not have a masonry crew but he will have some men who can do something even if it looks like crap." I said. "Yeah, I agree." Lucas said. I did not say, 'I don't give crap if you agree or not.' What I did say was, "I'll make a call and get back with you." "His laboring few Slocum," the voice said. "Slocum this is Maxine Stone, do you know who I am or do I need to call the preacher?" I asked. "Everybody here knows you Ms. Stone. What can I do for you?" "Do you have a crew available to build a wall?" I asked. "What kind of wall?" he asked. "I have a four foot high wall in mind. I need it to run around the office at 303 Chestnut street." I said. "Ain't that Ed's bail bond office?" Slocum asked. "Yeah that's it." I replied. "I was thinking concrete blocks," I said. "I don't have a crew that can do good block work. How about fake adobe. We have had some luck with a method of building designed for unskilled laborers in third world countries." he suggested. "Oh how does that work?" I asked. "We have a big cement mixer. We mix cement pour it into burlap bags like they use for sand bags. then we just pile them up and spikes to each other till they set." he said. "I need to get that wall up today," I said. "Is it urgent or just a whim?" he asked. "You said you had heard of me, what the fuck do you think?" I asked. "I can have ten men and two mixers out there by 10AM. You get me a pallet of cement mix and a truck load of sand on site by then and we will have it done before we leave the site today," he declared. "I'm going to trust you on this," I said. "You want a price on it?" he asked. "Get the men on the way, we can fight about price later," I had no choice and I knew it. "Done," he said. I called Lucas and gave him the news. "It's going to look like crap for a while, but we can get it fixed," I suggested. "I trust you Max. I am going to get them started, then I'm going to Tryon for camera's and repeaters." Lucas informed me. "You be damn careful, but stay where you are for at least an hour," I demanded. I walked across the parking lot to the shadow crew. "They are not going to run at me first. They are going to go for Lucas. You go shadow him for the day. I'm going back to the apartment and hole up. The ambush team can cover me." I said. "Are you armed," the Iraqi soldier asked. I opened my my lightweight jacket to show her the but of a .357magnum Colt revolver with a two inch barrel. I bought it from a dealer, who had bought the inventory of a small town in Georgia's police force, when they went with the Semi Automatic Brownings. I would have preferred my smaller, lighter, hammerless .38, but the cops had it. "And Earl," my Iraqi soldier asked. "I'll look after him." I said. "Don't worry about me," he said showing her the butt of the 9mm Glock. it was also bought surplus, when a police department decided they need more bang for their buck with the 10mm. The doors to Home Depot opened and my trucker wasn't there. First I went in and found the cement I needed. Contractor sales informed me that they indeed had a full pallet. He also informed me that they had a pallet of bagged sand to mix with it. They did not sell loose sand and I didn't have time to find someone who did. The trucker still hadn't arrived when I got to the check out, so I arranged to rent a truck and to have one of the pallets loaded onto it. I decided to go with the sand first. While they were loading the pallet onto the truck with a fork lift, I called Slocum again. He agreed to send men over to unload the truck immediately. He was still gathering his crew but there would be enough to get started by 10AM he assured me. "This is great fucking TV," Earl said even while he was filming the the forklift loading the truck. "You are so damn macho." As I passed by the female soldier I asked, "What is your name?" "Abra, but they call me Abby," she said. "Well Abra, I want you and your partner to stay with Lucas today. He is going to be on the move. He will be our best chance to grab a bad guy," I said. When I delivered the sand, I found four men, who looked as though they might still be in detox. It didn't make a damn to me, as long as they could last to get the truck unloaded. I drove to the corner of the parking lot, where they began to throw the bags of sand off the truck. "You two shadow Lucas, Earl and I will be fine. They are going to go for Lucas and I want one of them alive." I said. "Why do you think Lucas instead of you?" Abra asked. "Because they will assume that he is the softer target. Not because he is less competent, but because I have a lot of people with a financial interest in keeping me alive. They will expect me to have body guards by now. That doesn't mean they don't want me. I think they will try to grab Lucas to get me to give myself up to them." I said. "Would you do that?' Abra asked. "Give yourself up to save him." "It wouldn't save him, but I might walk in with a bomb on me. Or drive a truck through their front door with an IED." I said. "Damn right," she agreed. I knew right then I was gonna really like her. I went back to the home depot followed by Earl in my car. He had given his car to Abra and her much older partner to use in the shadowing of Lucas. I had a pallet of cement put on the truck before the return trip. It had gotten busy at the home depot from drop off to return too me a half hour. When I got back the crew from 'His Laboring Few' was hard at it. One man was mixing cement in one of the two mixers. While another was carefully filling burlap bags from a second mixer. There was a short line of men holding the bags to be filled. As they filled their bags they carried them to the edge of the parking lot where a shallow trench had been broken from the concrete drive. Into the trench the went bags end to end. "Where did you get the cement?" I asked. "We had a few bags left from the last job. Figured I'd just replace it with what was left from this job," the young but drug ravaged man said. "That sounds perfect. If you will get a couple of guys to dump this cement off the truck we should be good to go for a while," I said. "That uptight dude who was here this morning said to leave an opening for a walk gate but no car gate?" the young man who must have been the job foreman asked. "Yeah we don't want any cars in the compound," I said. "Did he tell you where to leave the opening?" "Yeah, right over there where the orange paint is," he said. "Yeah that's fine, so keep up the good work. He will be back in a couple of hours I expect." I handed him a card. "Call me if you run into anything." "Not much to run into unless the building inspector drives by. We don't have a permit. Boss said this was rush, rush." the foreman said "He was right it is rush, rush. You can't leave till there is a four foot more or less wall around this place." I saids smiling. "How you gonna stop me," he said challenging me. I moved the jacket to show the butt of the pistol again. "That wall is a matter of life and death to me. So lets make it one to you as well." I said with the same smile. If he tried to walk off, I wouldn't have shot him. Slocum or the preacher maybe, but not him. The phone rang again. "Hello," I said. "Maxine it's your marine sniper buddy here. You probably want to come home real soon. We have a present for you." "Oh my so quickly, I'm on the way." I said. ------- Chapter 188: Smoke, Mirrors, and Torture I was at home depot returning their truck, when I speed dialed Helen's number. "Helen, this is Maxine, I'm in trouble again," I said. "What do you need doll?" she asked. For a change she seemed concerned, but not terrified. I think she was learning that not all trouble was an emergency. "Could you have food for about ten people ready for me to pick up by 2PM." I asked. "How about ham with mac & cheese," she asked. "I can send enough for left overs to make ham sandwiches later, as well." she said. "That will do just fine," I said. "Any old snack foods you have left over would be good as well. Helen this is going on the show's expense account, so have a bill ready and don't cut them any slack." I said it even though it was likely that I would be paying. Earl and I left the home depot for the apartments. I clicked Martin's magic microphone jammer before I spoke to Earl. I'm going to jam the microphone when I talk to our detainee. I am also going to cover the lens on the camera in my apartment. That will get you off the hook with Mike. But do not try to find some work around, or I will make your life hell on earth," I said. "This is the first time in years that my life hasn't been hell on earth, but I do get it. Do you need any help?" he asked. "Yeah make the Swamp Thing team look like heros, when you edit the tapes. Do interviews with them while I talk to the detainee. Also be sure someone picks up the food from Helen." "Do I want to know about the interrogation?" he asked. "I don't know, but I expect you would prefer to stay in the dark." I said. My Marine sniper met me at the gate. "Come on in," he said. "I can't believe how easy this was." "Now that's bad news," I said. 'What do you mean?" he asked. "These have to be plants, if it was that easy. Now the information I get from them will always be suspect." I said. "Shit, I never thought of that." he said. "So who you got, and what brought them to your attention?" I asked. "We got a man and a woman. She parked a car in the alley behind your building. Just like you said someone would. She hustled away and we grabbed her just before she got in a car. We got the driver as well. He had the detonator." he said. "Than it's a plant. If it was real the chick in the car would have blown her up with the car bomb. Dead whores tell no tales," I said. "So what do we do?" he asked. "Why hell son, we listen to their tale, then we break their asses." I said. "So who do you want first?" he asked. "Bring me the chick," I said. I pushed the furniture against the wall to make an open space. I put one of the clunky metal folding chairs, I had bought at a yard sale, in the middle of the floor. It wasn't a black prison, but it would do. The chick on the way was no pro breaking her shouldn't be too hard. Before she showed up I wanted details of the take down. I called the Kid who met me at the gate. "So tell me every little thing." I demanded over a glass of iced tea at my metal workbench/dining table. "We saw the car coming down the alley. It came a couple of hours after you and the kid left. Me and Eddie slipped out the front and rushed around one on each side of the building. Mitchel went out and got the Escalade ready in case we had to chase her with it. She jumped out of the car and took off back the way she came. A second car was waiting at the end of the alley. We called and Mitchel brought the Escalade to blocked the road. I got to the car as it tried to turn around in order to get away from Mitchel. It wasn't too hard to take them both. We brought them down here and called the Admiral. He told us to hand them over to you. So we called." "Okay, so what do they look like," I asked. "The girl looks really rough. Like maybe she is a junkie, ' He said. "The guy looks clean but he isn't oriental, so I don't know." I picked up my phone and dialed Lucas's cell phone. When he picked up I said, "You need to get back here, it's time to do some fact checks in a hurry. Stop by the office on the way to see how the preacher's crew is getting on." "Tell me about the bomb," I demanded. 'It is s diesel fuel and fertilizer bomb, but a small one. I don't think it was very well thought out. It is too small to much damage to a building. It is more the anti personnel kind of weapon." he said. "What was the trigger and who had it," I asked. "Cell phone and the man in the car had it," he said. "Well this is a game they are running on us. Whatever information we get from these two will be only to lead us into an ambush. Actually to lead me into an ambush. I'm not sure they know about you guys yet, but they will soon." I said. "To keep all the information out of their hands, we would have to kill them both. Murder is nasty business." I added. "Yeah, thats what the Irishman said," he replied. "Good for him, now lets see what we can find out and figure a way to counter attack," I suggested. I wonder how the chick will react if we don't act as she has been told to expect. "What's your name," I asked the girl with really. really bad skin. My guess was that meth was her drug of choice. So that led me to wonder what the hell was going on. A meth addict working for a heroin importer. It just seemed strange. "My name is Margaret but everyone calls me Honey," she said. "Oh how did that happen?" I asked. "How did what happen?" she asked. "How did you go from Margaret to Honey?" I asked "They say my grandfather called me that when I was little. It just stuck?" "Where you close to your grandfather is that why you got into drugs. Abused as a child?" "Nobody abused me, I just tried Meth and I got hooked. My life sucked and it made it better for a while." Honey said. "So honey, is the guy in the car your boyfriend?" I asked. "God no, he is my supplier, he is the one who asked me to deliver the stolen car to you." she said He most likely was also her pimp, but that was of no importance. "It doesn't matter about any of that. If I call the cops, you are going to prison for a long time," I said. "Not just for driving a stolen car. I didn't even steal it." She said. "Oh, the car is not the problem, it't the bomb in the trunk that is going to put you in prison. It won't be six months for driving the stolen car. It's conspiracy to commit murder with a weapon of mass destruction. Thats's 25 to life." I smiled sweetly at her. Before I started to talk to her, I had killed the camera feed. I had also turned on Martin's jammer. 'Now here is my problem, I know that they told you to tell me certain things. Those things are all lies of course. You know it and I know it, but alas I am going to have to torture you to death, or you will be killed as soon as you hit the street anyway. If I torture you to death, maybe your pimp supplier will tell me something useful, when I torture him. You know hoping I won't kill him as well. I would stop before you die, except I know that you don't know anything. You were just hired to drive the car and tell lies. I have the man, who hired you, so there is nothing you can tell me. I'm sorry Honey, this isn't personal. I just plan to save my own life. If I have to kill ten junkies to do it, that what the expression 'shit happens' is really all about." She looked at me with dancing eyes. "Do you really want to die a long and painful death or do you want to help me convince your pimp, boyfriend to talk? The choice is yours." I said it quietly even thought no one could hear me. I wanted her to think she was about to die so I spoke with the voice I would use in the hospital room of a terminally ill patient. "I can't stand pain," she said. "There is going to be a little pain, but not great pain. I will not kill you in the end, unless you can't pull this off, or you try to warn your boyfriend out there. If you do either of those things, I will cut your throat. Do you understand completely. One of you is going to die, don't make it you." "I understand," she said with those dancing eyes that were incapable of focusing. "I have a an electrical wire hooked to a dimmer switch. I can adjust the voltage just like dimming a light. The low voltage with sting, but you have to scream as if it were rattling your teeth. Do you understand." "Yes I understand," she said. "And you have to beg me to stop, If you can't sell this, I will have to increase the voltage until it is unbearable. You sell it to him and you live with only minor pain, you fuck it up and it becomes real. Now do we understand each other." I asked. "Yes, I understand." she said. "But what about my kids?" "I'm going to convince you pimp/supplier that you gave me only the information you were supposed to and died without talking. That way he has no reason to harm your family. We keep you hidden until the threat is gone." I said. "Like that TV show the US Marshal thing?" she asked. "No, we are not going to hide you from the threat, we are going to eliminate the threat. You can go home and go back to being a junkie for all I care." I said cruelly. "Alright, I will do it," she said. "Honey, of course you will do it, you never had a choice. It's just a matter of how much voltage I use." I turned off the jammer and spoke to her again. "Now Honey enough of this bullshit, we are going to dance now. I am going to ask questions and you are going to answer truthfully. If you do then it is a painless end for you. If you don't or even if I just don't think you are telling me the truth, it is going to be a very painful death. Do you see these two wires. The are plugged into that wall outlet. Now when I ask a question, you will have ten seconds to answer. If you don't, or if I think you are lying, you get a reminder to play by the rules. Now I'm going to turn up the music to help cover the sounds." I cranked up the music enough to hide a whisper, but not enough to cover her screams. I switched to a whisper. "When you feel the current scream as if you are on fire." I said. I hit her with a small jolt and she screamed. "That was just to let you know what it feels like before we begin." I waited a full minute then asked, "Who are you working for?" Honey answered with the story she had been given. "Some guy I never saw before offered me a hundred dollars to deliver the stolen car here." I hit her with about ten percent of a full load, but she screamed as if she were cooking. "If it were a stranger, why was the man waiting for you at the end of the alley. When you got to the car. he was going to blow up that car bomb and kill me. "So tell me again, who are you working for?" "I don't know ask Luis," she demanded. I hit her again with a small dose. She screamed again as if her body was on fire. I would have been convinced. "Beg me to stop," I whispered in her ear. "Please I told you all I know. Please stop I can't stand any more." she said. Damn she was a good actress, but then if you are a junkie whore, you would have to be just to survive day to day. ------- Chapter 189: Sweet Sammy Brown Honey and I went on for almost a half hour. Her voice getting weaker was my objective. Finally I whispered one last time. "Now I want you to scream until I tell you to stop. When I tell you to stop, do not make another sound period." I said. I turned on the juice and left it on very low just as a reminder to scream. She did and I let her go a few seconds then held up my hand for her to stop. "Hey, Hey are you alright,?" I held up my hand so she wouldn't answer." Then I just jammed the audio. I got an almost new sheet from the closet. It was all I had. "Earl, I said into the cell phone. Send me two of the people from Swamp Thing. I need to get this chick out of here and over to Lois's apartment and I want the other detainee to watch through the window." I had her lay on the sheet and then I rolled her up in it. As I sprinkled catsup on it I said, "You are doing fine, don't fuck this up now." To the two men who came in I said, for the Microphone, "Get this garbage out of here." They carried the limp Honey from the apartment and into Lois's place. The beauty of the compound was that the pimp/supplier could see it, but nobody walking by would have. Besides he thought he knew what was in the sheet, a passerby wouldn't have a clue. I let the second one stew while I had a late lunch. I don't usually like mac & cheese. Then again most M&C doesn't have three cheeses and it isn't fried either. The M&C was like another meat to me. Helen also make a wicked M&C soup, but that wasn't on our take out menu. I could enjoy my lunch because I hadn't done anything to turn my stomach yet. It was just a matter of time before I skip several meals. I wasn't nearly the cold bitch, I pretended to be. I was about half finished with my lunch when Lucas and Abra came into the room. "So what do you need me to check?" he asked. "I want to know, who our friend driving the escape car really is?" I said. "He wasn't carrying any ID, but he was partnered with a junkie whore. Some things make him a pro, and some make him a pimp. I want to know which before I start on him. "Can do," Lucas said. "Lucas, use the computer in my bedroom please," I added. When he had gone, I asked Abra. "How many men have you killed?" "Too many, " she said. She didn't give me the macho bullshit answer just a simple sad 'Too many." I could only nod at her answer. "How about you?" she asked. I thought about the Harvard Chink when I said, "Obviously not enough, there are plenty more that need it." "There will always be men who need killing," she said. "Some people think we should not be judge and executioner, but sometimes that is what we have to be. Simply because there is no one else who can, or will do it. " she said and I just nodded my agreement. "I should get back to it. Let me go see what Lucas has learned?" I left Abra at my dining table while I went into the bedroom. "So Lucas who is the punk in Lois's apartment awaiting his turn in the barrel," I asked. "His name is Samuel Brown. His street name is Sweet Sammy. He is a pimp and low level drug dealer. Sells till they get really hooked, when they are out of money, he turns the girls out onto the streets." Lucas said. "Any idea how he is connected to the Harvard Chink?" I asked. "He does odd jobs for several of his suppliers. He has a rep as being able to come up with people to do about anything. He has a handful of girls, and even some guys, who do what he tells them for drugs. Kind of a low lever cannon fodder supplier. The odd thing is that he came along. Usually he stays miles away from the actual work. Once in a while he provides a little muscle for drug deals and things like that. He might have gotten recommended for the gig. He almost surely recruited Honey," Lucas said. "So there is at least a chance he knows the Harvard Chink?" I asked. "Yeah. but most likely there was a cutout." Lucas said. I could tell he had been talking to the Swamp Thing intel officer. On this operation it was the older man who earlier had shadowed Lucas to Tryon." "So where is this Sweet Sammy doing business," I asked. "That might tell us something." "He mostly does business in Tryon." Lucas said. "Well no sense putting this off any longer, it's time to interrogate Mr. Sweet Sammy Brown. I wonder if he is from Georgia." I laughed at my silly joke. It was a reaction to the tension, I knew that. During the next hour, I might be doing something that would leave a scar on my soul. It had to be done, if Lucas and I were to survive. I valued our lives far more than that of a drug dealing pimp. I hummed 'Sweet Georgia Brown' as they brought Sammy Brown into my apartment. I had put down a sheet of painter's plastic under the chair. I had a pretty good idea Brown would be harder to crack than the junkie. He also had more to tell me. "What did you do to Honey?" he asked. I gave him an evil smile and said, "She is in a better place. A place where you can't hurt her anymore." I went back to humming sweet Georgia brown while I set up a wooden TV tray type table beside my chair in the interrogation area. Then I moved a hammer and plyers onto it. He sat with nothing but the evil images to occupy his mind for several minutes. First I attached the alligator clamps to his fingers, one clamp on each hand. The clamps were attached to an extension cord which was then plugged into a power strip with an on off switch. Sammy didn't get the dimmer switch. I had zero sympathy for Sammy. The drug enforcer knew he was trying to kill me. I wondered how Sammy was going to like being on the other side of the hammer and electrical cord. "Sammy, my name is Maxine Stone, and you tried to kill me. I know it wasn't your idea, but when you triggered that cell phone, you knew what would happen. I also know there is a bullshit story you have been told to relay to me if you got caught. Well Sweet Sammy you are caught. So let me just start with this. I hit him on the knee cap just a hard as I could with the ball peen hammer. Sammy screamed "Damn Sammy you scream louder than your junkie girlfriend did. Now you are probably going to limp for a while, and you might walk with a cane but you will live. I walk with a cane, it isn't much fun, but it's not impossible.' "Damn where is my mind? I forgot to ask who sent you? So just for the hell of it, who sent you?" I asked. "When I made My regular buy, the leader of a drug gang talked to me, He told me I could make an easy grand by blowing up a motel." he said. "Now that man lied, you might get the grand, but it sure as hell ain't gonna be easy," I said laughing at him. "Do you have any idea how much easier it is to make a man talk in the states. In the middle east the power grid is unreliable. Half the time when you juice a man, it just tickles him. The power grid here is very reliable. Let me show you?" I flipped the switch on the power strip to the on position, and Sammy screamed again. "Sammy, you ain't very good with pain. My friends tell me you can dish it out, but you sure as hell can't take it. I hit him with another shot of the juice before I demanded, "Tell me everything you know about the gang who hired you to kill me. Sammy began immediately rattling off names and addresses. "That's all bullshit," Lucas said through the door. "Ah you lied to me Sammy. I guess, if I cant trust anything you say, there is no sense keeping you around." "The order to park the car behind this apartment building came from the importer. The gang leader told me himself. You stepped on some big toes," he said. "Must have been painful for someone." I said. "Now talk about this gang that buys their dope from the importer. I want to know all about them." Since he didn't respond immediately I knew he was dreaming up some bullshit. I zapped him again but he looked like he might be going into shock, so it had to be the last one. "You know how you feel, but it looks as though the next hit of juice is going to stop heart. So unless you want to go out in the matching sheet answer me quickly, completely, and truthfully. If you die it is going to be your own fault. I want you alive in case something else comes up, but I have to have these answers. If you die before you answer them all, I will be sorry, and it will be inconvenient. but there will be someone else along to interrogate. There is no shortage of people willing to risk their ass for drugs." "He began to talk and did not stop for over an hour. He rambled and I asked him the same questions four or five times to be sure he answered the same each time." At the end of the interrogation I had a crap load of information. I was giving Sammy some thought when Abra came into the room. She looked at Sammy's exhausted body slumped in the metal chair. "We all heard what he had to say. So what do we do with him now?" she asked. "Either kill him or let him escape," I whispered to her. "My vote is a bullet in the head," she suggested. "Murder is way too complicated," I informed her. "He needs to heal a little,. then escape or we need to turn him over to the DEA or CIA." "Why the CIA?" she asked. "My guess is they are interested in all things Chinese., these days." I said. "Yeah, you are probably right. I think you should turn him over to the admiral and let him decide what to do with him. He can get some mileage out of the capture. If you do it most likely will get a little cooperation now but then things will return to the same old, same old." "That's a viable option, if the admiral want's this loser," I said. "He can sell his ass to the DEA now that he is talking." Abra said. "Killing him and framing the Tong still sounds good to me," I said it loud enough for Sweet Sammy to hear me. "We know enough now to move on someone who maybe knows where to find our man," I said. "We also have a problem. The gang has a lot of guys, most are going to be pretty harmless from what I hear about gangs. Some, however, we be very dangerous indeed. If we move on them the potential is there for people to die," I said. "There is always that," Abra replied. "If we do it carefully, maybe we can prevent wholesale slaughter," I suggested. "Maybe the war on drugs needs to be a real war," she said quietly. "One thing at a time. My war is only with a few of them, not every drug dealer in the world. I'm going to leave that for politicians," I admitted. ------- Chapter 190: In The Middle of The Night Sweet Sammy Brown left in a black Cadalac Escalade just after midnight. The timing seemed appropriate for the job at hand. Sweet Sammy was about to disappear as drug dealers and pimps often did. He would be missed only by his junkie customers and his girls, none of whom would be calling the police. In a few days, after some medical care, he would suddenly reappear to be handed over to the DEA, or the CIA, depending on to whom the admiral sold his sorry ass. Soon he would no longer be a criminal, he would be an asset. All that would take at least a week, so that was my time frame to move on up the ladder. The gang's tag was 666. I'm sure the most intellectual of them thought that it would be appropriate. The only problem was that most of the other gangs and their members would have no idea of it's significance. That being the case, they had to be truly bad ass in their own right in order to earn respect. All that was bullshit as far as I was concerned. My concern was to hit them, before they missed Sweet Sammy Brown. I was sure that even by then he was late checking in. Since I was just an 'enemy of my friend' kind of hit. nobody would pay a whole lot of attention. We did have his cell phone and Lucas the Geek had cracked the codes on it. All we got was a bunch of cell phone pictures of naked whores and videos of some black guy with a huge cock. Something that might have been of more interest on another day. There were a couple of dozen numbers on his speed dial. Only one interested me at that moment. We knew from Sweet Sammy that the gang honcho was named Dante. He prided himself on not believing in anything but dope, guns, and money. Dante as the name implied was black. He was also big and mean as hell, according to Sweet Sammy. If I did not have the wires hooked to his hands, we would have been more afraid of Dante than me. I had expected as much, which is why all the elaborate game playing had been necessary. "So Lucas you and Earl have been studying the tapes from my conversation with Sweet Sammy, where is the best place to snatch Dante?" I asked. "He has thee chicks. He spends the night with one of them almost every night. The problem is he is surrounded by his posse even then." Lucas said. "So can we find him on most any night at 3AM in one of those houses?" I asked. "Yes, you can find him there most any late night," Lucas said. "Okay we can find him, so how do we grab him without a bloodbath. If we get him out clean the cops will never get called. These guys don't go crying to the cops." I said. "The Swamp Thing intel officer was at the meeting as well. "Flash bangs, tazers, stun guns, shotguns with bean bags. Two men with live ammo as backup. If people have to die, I want them to be their guys. We can always clean up on the way out." he said. I gave it some thought and I decided that it was the only reasonable way to go. "We go in hot and fast, grab Dante and get the hell out," I said in agreement. He just nodded. "How long will it take to get the equipment?" I asked. "The team that took Sweet Sammy brought it up with them. They also brought a few other things just in case." Since I didn't want to know that he had body bags, as well as weapons, I didn't ask. "There is a website with a low light satellite image 24hour feed. It is about five minute delay but it's a good image. We can find out which of the chicks Dante is visiting on any given night." Lucas said. "Okay, you guys work up the entry plan, I'll try figure out what to do with him after we get him." It was obvious they knew more about assaulting Dante's hide out than I did. I had to live with what happened to him, so I was concerned about that. "Do we plan on you coming along," the older Swamp Thing operative asked. "You bet your ass I'm coming along. You are working up the plan, because it is mostly your people at risk. My people will be there doing what has to be done from our end. So you breach the house, but we are going to take Dante out of there alive. We need information you know that," I repeated. "Look Maxine, " he said. "Don't get me wrong. I know this is your operation, but we practice this kind of thing all the time. I would really like for you to hold back and let us do our job." "I appreciate that, but you try to appreciate this. It's my ass he tried to have killed. I will be there and I will look him in the eye while we take him down. Now if that is a problem, I can find some people to breach the door, but then your boss loses face. I can bet you he won't be happy about that." I said it while being as much in control, as I could manage at the moment. "Alright Maxine when do you want to do it," he asked. "Find him before 3AM and we go tonight. That gives you and Lucas two hours to work on it." I said. "If they aren't sure where Sweet Sammy is, we have a chance to surprise them." I started from the room, but stopped near the door. "I am not sure you guys ever worry about the end game but tonight you will. Figure out some way to lay the blame on this somewhere else. The gang might know who did it, but I want the neighbors and anyone else who glances at us to make the wrong ID."\ "Good idea, how about we go in as terrorists in black ninja masks. We could be DEA or FBI that way. Cover up completely and just hope they are confused. "Then we go in your SUV with the tags off. Surely you have them on magnets," I suggested. "No but we do have the plate lights on a cut off switch and the plates on with push pins. They can be blacked out or removed in seconds." the Intel officer said. "It's after midnight. Dante should be finding a place to hole up by now," I suggested. "It's a weeknight so maybe, but usually these guys are up till 2AM at least." he said. "Then I'm going to take a nap. Wake me when he lands somewhere even if it's too late to make a play." I demanded. ... "Maxine wake up," the voice said. I wasn't sleeping deeply, so I jumped right up. "So what is it?" I asked my sniper buddy. "Dante showed up at one of his girlfriend's house," he said. "He just got there," Abra added. "It's 2AM give him an hour to screw, and an hour to sleep, then we can hit them at four. We can still be out of there by daylight, if we do it right." I said. "Response time should be about five minutes," Lucas suggested. "Then we do our planning and set up very quiet. When we hit the door the clock is running four minutes and we are gone. It's going to be close," I said. "Anyone want out?" Nobody spoke. "Then let's get started that direction. Dress warm, it's still chilly even in the spring." the intel officer said. He obviously was going to be team leader. I quickly dressed in a pair of dark gray cargo pants and a black long sleeve knit top. I wore a thermal sweater, and my vest under it. When I left the bedroom, I took a shotgun and a box of bean bag rounds with me. I also had my stungun, pepper spray, and the colt stainless steel .357 revolver. I was carrying a lot of weight but I didn't want to leave any of it behind. I could lean on the shotgun so I did sacrifice the cane. "I'm going along," Lucas said. "Not this time Lucas. You are too valuable to me monitoring the house. I don't want to rush into a trap, or into an empty house. You have to keep an eye on that house." "Why is Earl coming then?" he asked angrily. Bitchy little girl, I thought. "Earl works for the TV Network, you know that. He won't be coming inside until it is all clear and we are going to be bugging out by that time." I said. "I don't like this at all," he said. "I know, but I need you here to keep me straight. I don't trust mercenaries, you know that," I said. "Well that is true. You don't trust them," he agreed with his eyes diverted. The five Swamp Thing operatives and I piled into the one Escalade. The intel officer was behind the wheel and he had the gps set. He was also following it faithfully. I was getting more and more into the 'middle midnight' raid thing. The adrenaline was beginning to pump. When we arrived at the house, it was hand signals only. I understood most of them. Enough for me to be in the right place at the right time. I was going in shotgun up, some were going in with tazers. The sniper was going in with an M16, which was equipped with a drum type magazine. It was just in case someone from the bad guy team came got a weapon into play. My job was to go up the stairs. Most likely Dante would be up those stairs. He was also the most likely to come out with a piece. I insisted that I be the one to go up. Limp, or no limp, I planned to be the one to pull a trigger on that son of a bitch. When the SUV pulled up we all got out. I had a pretty good idea where the stairway would be. Since it was public housing and the diagram was easy for Lucas to find. Being third I stood back with a flash bag as well. When the red light came on the signaling device, which was the signal that the ones in the rear were ready, we counted to three by holding up fingers. On three I threw a brick through the front window first, then the flash bang. The other two hit the door at the same time. I was ready to go through the window, if the door held, but it didn't. It easily popped open. The two swamp things people with me headed into the living room. The rear team was already in the kitchen with smoke coming from both rooms. I took the stairs as quickly as possible with two people behind me. I was almost at the top when Dante showed up a the top of the stairs with a big pistol. I couldn't stop so I ran into him and hit him with the stungun. From behind me I heard more popping, but nothing as loud as a gunshot. There were three body guards down in the living room and Dante on the upstairs hallway floor. The girlfriend was in the bedroom unaccounted for. I took a deep breath and went into the room. She had a pistol pointed at me, but lacked the will to shoot it. I pointed the shotgun at her. "Put that down or I'm going to shoot you. Do it now," I said. She put the pistol down. I pretty much ignored her afterward. "Come on lets get the fuck out of here," I shouted as I moved out of the way. The dark haired trooper and the blond guy got Dante up and walked him down the stairs. He was still disoriented so he didn't give them any trouble. The sniper and the live M16 were the last to clear the house. I looked at the timer on my wrist and saw that we had been inside three minutes. The older man drove the Escalade through some less traveled streets on our way out of town. All in all it was a picture perfect raid. "Didn't you realize that Dante was planning to shoot you? the sniper asked. "Sure, and I knew if I gave you a clear shot, you would kill him, so I just rushed him. I have on my vest." I said. ------- Chapter 191: Dante in the barrel We transported Dante to Aster in the trunk of Earl's rental car. I had to wonder, if there would be an addition charge, should they ever findd out. The emotional let down after the raid was evident in the Caddy. Nobody spoke for the first few minutes, then it was just in a cryptic sentence now and then. "You did remember to turn the license plate light back on?" I asked the driver. "Yes, and I know most of those who get caught on the road after a job, make some stupid traffic move. I'm being careful, but not too careful," he admitted. When we got to Aster, both cars pulled into the alley behind my apartment building. My apartment was the only one with a back door, so finding it was easy. The area, which surrounded the apartment, could only be described as, old commercial with no growth factor at all. I say that to explain why there was no one on the street, or in any of the neighboring buildings, at 5AM. After the sniper opened the trunk I said, "Now Dante unless you enjoyed the feeling of that tazer, you need to go quietly, because I have one ready to hit your black ass again." If you are going to talk rough to a man, hit all his hot buttons. We moved him inside and sat him at the metal dining table/work bench. Since there were plenty of holes for bolting things to the table, securing Dante was no problem at all. I put pictures of Sweet Sammie and Honey on the table for him to think about while we unloaded the car. Before I was finally ready for him, Dante had regained his gang leader macho shit persona. "Hey ho, you better let me go. or I'm gonna fuck you to death." I quietly walked over and hit him with the stun gun again. He tried to do a chair dance, before he passed out. "You are going to learn some manners tough guy," I stated for him and the others passing through the room to hear. I waited until he was more or less himself. Then I said, "That bad ass gang shit won't save you here. We have you and we are not even a little afraid of your gang of homies. So listen up, because I can make you look like Sweet Sammy there anytime I want." I said it as I pointed to the picture, which could have been Sammy hanging dead in the same kind of chair. Sweet Sammy looked really rough in the picture. He had blood and vomit on his face and clothes. "So here is the deal, Sweet Sammy told me all about your deal with the chinks. all about how they recruited you to find them a driver for their suicide bomb. It didn't work, see Sammy didn't want to kill his best whore, so he didn't detonate it, when he should have." "That stupid prick," Dante said. "Just goes to show how little control you have over situations, once they get started. So here is the deal Dante, you are going to talk to me. And you are going to tell me everything. If you don't, well to be honest there is no if you don't. It's all about how you decide to help. You either do it now, or you wait until I convince you. Either way you will talk ... And Dante don't worry about the Chinese Mob, I'm going to eliminate them. But you do need to worry about me. "I ain't tellin' you shit bitch," he said. He almost got bitch out completely when I hit him with the juice. I didn't go with the stun gun, I went with the household current. "Every time you disrespect me, or lie to me, I'm going to punish you. Somewhere along the line, you will get it right, or you will fucking die. I had nothing when you came in, and if I have nothing when you leave, I'll just wait for the chinks to try again and start over with somebody new," I hit him again with the juice. "Why did you do that?" he asked in a shaky voice, when I turned off the juice. "Just to see you fucking dance, Now tell me where the Chinks are hold up these days." I asked. "A warehouse at the airport," he said. I knew that he was lying and he realized that I knew when I reached for the switch. "Wait, they moved after you killed their man." "Just for the record, I didn't kill their man. They killed him. I killed your man and your man's whore. If you don't come up with something more, I'm going to kill you. But it might take a few hours to do it." I laughed at him. "Now I'm going to have a cup of coffee and you are going to think about how you can stay alive." I said. "Even if I talk, you are going to kill me." he said "Why would I do that?" I asked. "Because if you don't, I'm going to kill you," he said. "That was such a stupid thing to do. You just signed your own death warrant. I was going to make you a deal. I was going to take the money and let you have the dope, when I killed the chinks. Now I have to kill you, but before I kill you, you are going to talk. Everybody talks sooner or later. I can tell you are gonna sing like a sissy choirboy." I said. Challenging the manhood of a gang leader is a poor interrogation technique, but it could only help with the torture. Yes I didn't try to kid myself, I was going to torture Dante till he talked or died. I might not sleep well for a few months but Dante would still be dead. It was just after noon when he finally decided that he would cooperate. He wasn't nearly as bad ass as he thought. "Please stop, I'll tell you what I know, just please stop." "I don't want you telling me tales Dante, I want you to answer my questions truthfully. So first of all, how do you get in touch with the Chinese importers to place an order?" I asked. "I got a phone number, I call it and they calls me back in a few. I tell them what I want and they tells me where to go and how much money to bring." he replied. "So where are they warehousing the dope now?" I asked. "I don't know. I didn't know before until they shut it down. They are very secretive. Word on the street is that, if you ask too many questions, you just disappear." he said nervously. "Now, you got a chance to live, if you take it. If you don't, I am going to cut your throat right now." I said. "What's that chance?" he asked. "Make the call. Set up a buy and then front us inside. After that you walk. If I ever see you again, or anyone who looks like you might have sent them, coming for me, I am going to park a truck bomb in front of your mama's house during Sunday dinner. Do you understand?" I asked. "You would do that?" he asked. "I'm amazed that you doubt me for even a second," I replied. "Look what we already did. We grabbed up Sweet Sammy and his whore. Sweet Sammie took a lot of persuading, but in the end he gave you up. That same night we grabbed you up and put you in the barrel. Now if I tell you I will kill you, and every member of your family, it would seem reasonable that you believed me. So the question is do you want to live or do you want to die." "They say the same thing about the chinks," he said to me. "So I hear, but I have you, they don't. You are here because you tried to work for them. You would be better served to do this one job for me then walk away." "So, do I still get the dope?" he asked. I knew that it was the best incentive to get him on board. He got his life and a shit pot full of dope. "Sure, I got no use for it," I replied. "But I do for the cash, if there is any." "Fair enough," the much more humble Dante said. "If you try to double cross me, I will kill you a dozen times and bring you back just to kill you again. Do you understand me?' I asked. "Yes Ma'am," he said. "Make your call," I demanded. "You know, we are going to be listening and recording the call so make it good." "Yes," the voice at the business end of the conversation said. "This Dante from the Willow Street Crew. I need some tea." "Not your time?' the voice said. "Had a dealer rip me off, I need to replace the tea and him." Dante said. "How much," the voice asked. "Half a block," Dante said. $75k US," the man said. "That is a bit steep," Dante said. "That's the price, take it or not," the man was definitely not the Harvard Chink for sure. "Where?" Dante asked. "Downtown park 6PM, we exchange bags." The man said and hung up. "What was that about the bag exchange?" I asked. "He will get into my car, if it is just me. He will have a metal briefcase. I hand him the case from my last buy with the money inside. He looks at it, then he hands me the case with the dope. The car he arrives in will have body guards, my boys are in a car beside me. Just to be sure it all goes as planned. "Then we need to get your cars," I said. "My crew car has blacked out windows, so you can use it. It's the car he expects." Dane said. "Now Dante you tell one of your boys to drive that car to the coliseum parking lot and leave it by a lamp post. Someone will pick it up. Have him leave the key under the seat." I said. "Okay," he made the call and told the person who answered to just shut up and do it. Obviously there was dissension in the ranks. I left Dante alone while I went to talk to the Intelligence officer. "Did you hear?" I asked. "Yes I heard," he admitted. "Then you know they plan to kill Dante and his whole crew?" I asked. "Chance are a 100 out of a 100," he replied. "Why the downtown park?" I asked. "Surveillance camera is always out, so I'm told," he said. "Then we need to fix it quick," I replied. "Get Lucas over there and do not get him killed. He will figure out something. If Lucas needs him, take Earl as well." I said. They were gone about an hour, so it must not have been too difficult to get a camera setup. "Were you spotted?" I asked. "I don't think so. The place was full of kids. It was after school hours for the small ones. The school buses bring them in for after school care. I doubt that anyone would pay any attention to homeless guy on the bicycle and his back pack. I had one of Mike's Lizard cams. I just put him on a fence in the corner of the parking lot. The quality of the image is pretty bad, but it gives us something. Well guys looks like it's show time again. At 5PM the sniper recovered the crew car from the Coliseum parking lot, then pulled it into a space with a good view from the lizard cam. He got out of the care then walked to the bathroom. The empty car just looked like a car with blacked out windows. Dante was the first to arrive. He had already been shown the bomb under the car's seat. Before he drove the last two blocks to the parking lot I said to him, "Play nice and you get to go home. Try to fuck me and you are dog food." He knew exactly what I meant. ------- Chapter 192: take down Dante was parked beside the empty crew car when the supplier came. He got out of the Lincoln Navigator and into the Mercedes which belonged to Dante. Recovering that Mercedes had been an after thought almost. While his crew was delivering the crew car, the blond mercenary and Abra picked it up without incident. The Chinese dope supplier slipped into the silver colored Mercedes which had been gangsterized with all kinds of gaudy crap hanging on it. It was pure pimp my ride shit. It took the Chinaman about five seconds to splatter Dante's brains all over the driver's side window. We saw it all on a computer tablet while waiting in the Caddy a block away. The intel officer started the Caddy and pulled carefully onto the road. We slowly headed in the direction of the park. As we headed in that direction two gunmen got out of the Navigator and began firing on the crew car. When they stopped to change magazines for another go, hell rained down on them in the form of a Marine sniper with a Remington M24-A2 riffle pouring 30-06 rounds into them. The two with the automatic weapons went first then the driver of the navigator. The Chink who killed Dante tried to hid behind the car. He sat on the ground hoping somehow he would be over looked. Instead what happened was the Caddy rolled in and he was quickly tossed in the back of it like a sack of rice. As that was being done the intel officer jumped from the Escapade and emptied the pockets of the three dead men. The sniper walked up calmly to the caddy and we all left. Elapsed time was less than four minutes. It was a well oiled machine that the Admiral had left me. Urban fighters with no fear and no remorse. I had forgotten it, but Abra had remembered to get the Lizard cam. ------- Chapter 193: Talk about Talking I had no idea what the local cops would make of the mess we had left at the downtown park. It was however unavoidable. I would never have started the shooting that close to downtown, not if I felt that I had a choice. It seemed as though the chinks didn't have a problem with it at all. There was no way any of my crew would fire on a cop, but the chink crew would have had a firefight with the devil himself. They just had no regard for life at all. Since the chink we kidnapped was evidently high up in the gang, it looked as though our search for a lead to the Chinese Tong was coming to an end. "Maxine, we need to talk," The obvious leader of the Swamp Thing contingency demanded. "Okay, what should we talk about?" I asked. "The prisoner, he isn't just a member of a criminal enterprise, he also holds information that would be valuable to a lots of agencies. He knows who is leaking information that keeps these clowns out of jail. Not to mention the names of the people helping them with their business." he said. "And this means the Admiral wants to trade him for something of value to him no doubt," I suggested. "Yes," he said simply. "I'm sorry, he belongs to me first. You get what is left." I said it looking him hard in the eyes. "We can't live with that," he said. "You are going to have to," I stated flatly. "We need a compromise here," he said. "When you interrogate these men, they are inches from death at the end of it. We have professionals with medical training and supervision. We can do what you do in a couple of days, and give you the information you need." "In two days the Harvard Chink will have moved again. Five or six hours is all the time I have. The information is useless after that." I said. "Well I hate to say it, but if you don't play it my way, we will take him," the intel officer said. "If you take him, you are going to have to kill me. Then you are going to have to kill Earl because he will have filmed it. Lucas too, since he will know. That makes three friendlies, but then you guys have been known to lose track of your friendlies." I said to make it plain that the Admiral could not afford any more bad press, especially not for operating in the USA. "Okay then, no physical torture or we roll to the the local cops," he said. "Not your best plan, since it would get us all jailed." I said. "But I will give standard interrogation a try. I have enough groundwork laid, so that he might be moved." "Alright, at least you will saved me a few bucks on my power bill," I said it even though it was not something I was happy about. We got the one they called Woo into my living room with the blue plastic tarp covering the floor. I thought I might have a chance to talk sense to him, since hadn't been one of the shooters. I threw the pictures of all three people I had tortured onto the table. I didn't say a word, I just move to the kitchen portion of the room to reheat coffee. I allowed him to get a good look at the images which even I found disturbing. His eyes danced in terror, when I returned to sit down across from him. I began with, "Is it Mr. Woo, or is there a better way to address you?" I asked the man we had nicknamed Fang, since he would't speak to anyone. "Mr. Woo, I get that you are a bad ass Chinese thug. One who would kill me with no remorse, yeah I get all that. I get that you would die rather than betray your family and the Tong. What I don't know is what you would do if it were one or the other. I doubt that you even know that." While speaking I had made myself comfortable in the seat across from Fang. "So here is the deal Mr. Woo, You can tell me where to find the bosses tonight, and they will be dead by morning. Not in jail, but dead. It is the only way that your family and my friends will be safe, I have no choice but to kill them all. Neither do you, if your family is to survive. I had a conversation on a phone, which I'm sure has been hacked by your technological men. In that conversation I told the DEA that the information, for the drug raid at the downtown park, came from you. I also thanked them for being sure that you lived. So now I just kill you and the tong kills all your family in China as a warning, Simple and elegant wouldn't you say?" It was the only thing I could come up with on such short notice. It did sound believable to me, I let him stew a bit, while he looked at the photos. "Would you want more information?" he asked. "Not me, when the guys who are trying to kill me are dead, I am through with it. You will be in the hands of Swamp Thing. I have no way to control what they do." I admitted. "You do tell the truth about that, so I think you do about the other as well. I will tell you. When I tell you about Ling Po, we are through." he said. "Understand this, I need to kill them all to free myself and my friends from the threat. In doing so, I will also free your family. It is the only way." I had to admit that it put him in a bad place, but long ago he chose the road on which he tread. "Ling Po had the plan for years. He knew that one day the operation would be compromised. There are fall back levels. Level one is where we all went first. We just moved everything from the warehouse to an old deserted factory building. Ling ordered shipments stopped for one week. So far no one has bothered the airport operation, so he will start the shipments again." "Tell me about this factory?" I demanded. I was afraid that Ling had gotten one of the old textile plants that were cavernous inside. I would need a thousand men to do it right. It would be easy for Ling to spring a dozen ambushes and then just fade away regardless of what I did. The whole thing could turn into a bloodbath. Even when I knew for sure where they were, I still needed more real time intel. I was becoming obsessed with killing them all at one time. "The address is 9000 Maple Street," Fang said with his eyes averted. He was ashamed of what I had forced him to do. "So describe the building to me." I demanded. I knew that Lucas would be double checking everything, at the very least. Even so I wanted fang tied as close to the operation as possible. "The building is brick and large. It has high ceilings and lots of dirty windows. There is a high fence all around it. Ling uses the loading dock gate only. The drugs come in through the loading dock. From there he takes them deeper into the plant for repackaging. We are still getting it all set up. The loss of the warehouse at the airport was a major inconvenience for Ling. He is not a happy man at the moment." "That makes me happy," I said. "So how many of his workers are Tong and how many are locals?" I asked. "His cadre consists of ten men, well it is down to seven now that number includes one lieutenant and himself," Fang informed me. "There are other armed men, but they are local thugs as you call them." "Not up to the company standards, I am sure," I replied. "They can stop a bullet as well as a real Tong," he replied. "And throw a lot of lead downrange as well," I admitted. "So whats your guess as to how many guards there will be at the factory?" "After this afternoon, I would say at least fifteen maybe as many as twice that," he replied. "Yeah, that does sound about right." I agreed. I had a lot on my mind, when I left the room. One of the Swamp Thing guys came in to watch over Fang. I poured a cup of coffee, then walked out into chilly, but not yet cold, night air. I tried to assess the situation. Most likely if they had twenty men total they would all be in the factory for a while. Twenty men in the empty factory, if they were well armed in that kind of space, they would have lots of chances to set up floating ambushes as they withdrew. They could make hamburger of a hundred men. I could not get Swat, FBI or DEA involved, because I needed all the bad guys dead. Maybe not all of them since revenge wasn't something worth the killings. Protecting one's freedom sure, but if there were only a couple of people in management there, they would be the only ones with a direct interest in popping me and Lucas. So, if I took care of Ling Po and his lieutenant, who I temporarily named Wang, then I should be good to go on with my life. Well it sounded good on paper. I could try to negotiate with anyone higher up, if necessary. If I called in the DEA or ATF to assault the place good people were going to die. There would also be questions asked. Like who killed Ling Po and why. I knew the facts, but I couldn't for the life of me come up with a plan. It was two hours later when the Escalade from Swamp thing pulled in to drop off a load of equipment and to pick up Fang. "We should have met under different circumstances, I am sure we could have been friends." I said. "Friendship is highly over rated," he said. It was obvious that he believed what he was saying. I thought about that while he was driven away. If you didn't believe in friendship, then you had no loyalties. If you had no loyalties, then you had no one whom you could trust completely. So that must mean, you were at least a little paranoid. Every friend was a potential traitor. How could I make that work for me. The answer was always, I had no idea, which left me with only one choice, to gather more intelligence. I got on the phone with Lucas in the room. "Mike, this is Max, I need you and Lucas to put your heads together. I need mobile eyes and ears in an old factory. I need them now, not a month from now." I demanded of them both. I cut the call and left them to it, while I walked and worried. As I walked by one time I heard Lucas say, "Of course rat cam, I should have thought of that." They said a lot more I didn't hear or understand. All I knew was that they were developing a plan, which was more than I could do. While I had breakfast the next morning the surveillance teams worked out a new plan as well. I still had a couple of them following me and a couple guarding the apartments. I didn't feel the need to be followed, but it wasn't just my decision to make. The TV people and the team from Swamp Thing all felt they had a voice in it. They could follow without my permission, so I just went along to get along. As I walked through the mall I wondered, what would happen if their game got turned against them. We were doing some of that at the moment, but what if we hijacked every shipment from the airport and every shipment going out. It might get them out of the building in sufficient numbers to allow me inside to do my thing. ------- Chapter 194: Meet Roborat Everyone knew their job and by the time I got back from the mall, they were hard at it. Earl had filled his rental car with boxes and headed to the neighborhood where the chinks had set up shop. The boxes were filled with cameras, repeaters, and other odds and ends, His mission was to set up video surveillance without anyone knowing. His surveillance was geared to the outside of the building. We wanted a view of the parking lot, the loading dock, and the neighborhood around the old chemical plant. The plant wasn't quite as bad as my fears, of five football fields under one roof, but it was two, half football fields, one on top of the other. Along the outside walls were true two story portions, while the center area was made up of a few rooms with ceiling thirty feet tall. It was a layout that was going to make cornering the bad guys extremely difficult, but much easier than an old textile plant would have been. That information about the building came from the blueprints Lucas was able to find, then convert to a 3D image on his magic computer. When I left to be the shadow team's bait once again, Lucas had already been missing for several hours. Where ever he went, he had to leave before sunup to get there when they opened. When he returned around noon, it was with a few small boxes and a huge smile. While he was gone Earl finished his work. Earl was a more talented man than I had expected. He managed to talk his way into some places and break into the one he couldn't. "I probably could have conned the owner, if he had been around," he explained. "It had to be that building, since it was vacant and had a perfect view of the loading dock. A camera in the second story window would look down into their parking lot. "Well Lucas, Earl has the outside of the building wired for video and some sound, what magic trick do you have up your sleeve to top that?" I asked smiling. "I want you to meet the rat cam," he said smiling as he handed me a furry little critter. "I have two of these that will patrol the place 24/7. They each work a shift and then go home to recharge. Their heads are live digital cameras. The resolution is poor, but it is a picture. The computer is housed inside their body along with a compartment which holds 20 tiny bugs. The bugs fall out on demand just like rat turds," he said smiling. "Don't tell me what this little bastard is going to cost me until this is over." I demanded. "It's CIA gear. The man said that they had a favor to ask later, but didn't tell me what it was. The guy just said that you wouldn't be bored." Lucas said. "And how did you find this guy?" I asked. "Last night on the phone, Mike said you knew him," he replied. "I don't think I know any CIA types, but then everyone probably knows one, but don't know that they know one. How confusing is that?" I asked. "Yeah, that's why they call them SECRET agents," he said with a laugh. "Never look a gift rat in the mouth, I guess." I said it light hearted, but I didn't like the government being even a little involved. I finally was able to get Abra alone again. "Abra, tell me something, who the fuck is in charge of your little band of merry mercenaries?" I asked. She laughed at me, then said, "I suppose it is Robinhood, if we are the merry men, and that would make me Maid Marion." "Okay, now that I know you are well versed in western literature, who is in charge?" I asked again. "It doesn't quite work that way. However the man responsible for passing along orders and other information is the older man. His name is Damien. Surely you have spoken to him?" she asked. "Yes, but the Admiral gave me no real idea who was the leader." I said. "It's because Swamp Thing, as you call us, hires only leaders. On a job like this, one person is responsible to pass on information and see that we all have whatever we need. On this job it was Damien. It could just have easily been me." she said. "Every soldier a leader, it is an interesting concept," I replied. I really did find it interesting. In a small unit with a close bond that would work, I supposed. I had not known the middle aged man's name, but I would make a point to remember it. I left Abra in my living room and went to find Lucas. I found him not in my apartment at all but in the TV studio apartment. "I needed a soldering iron," he explained. "So what can I do for you?" "I need you to see if you can find out what kind of alarm system they have in the new warehouse. We are going to need to get in there a couple of times at least. That's the downside of having such a big place, it should be easy to find a way in and out without being spotted." I informed him. "Yeah I need to deliver these little guys," he agreed. "I got about twenty more minutes of work on them, then I will hop right on it." "Lucas, we also need to move this whole operation to the new office compound for a while. It isn't so spread out." He nodded his understanding. I left Lucas in the TV Studio apartment, working on his rat cam. I walked over to Lois's apartment to find Damien. "We need to talk," I said when he came to the door. "Fair enough, how about we go for coffee while these little worker bees make good things for us?" he suggested. "Sure, why don't we drive by Helen's for coffee to go. We can take it to the marina." I suggested. "Terrific," he said. Thirty minutes later we were sitting on the veranda of the marina's office, drinking coffee and looking out at the water. "So Maxine what did you want to talk about?" he asked. "If we are going to war, I want them to lose about 20% of their army before they even know they are at war." I said. "Shock and awe," he suggested. "More like the razor slash in the crowded bar," I said smiling. "Nobody knows till the body falls." "These days everyone wants to know what's the end game?" he asked. "We kill this Ling Po and his lieutenant and then we walk away. The problem isn't doing it, the problem is getting away with it," I said. "The real problem is getting them to be where we can do it," he said. It was a subtle difference, but I recognized that his point was valid. "You need to be sure your team has a plan to defend the office compound. We will be going to ground there. They will have to defend against a couple of dozen armed men," I suggested. "I see, are we going to be bait in a trap?" he asked with a grin. "Why not, we have the high ground." I said "So my next question is about taking hell to Ling Po. I need to know how we can stop the drug delivery truck, without shooting it up?" I could see him running it through his mind. "How about we identify the trucks with the surveillance cameras, find a time to plant and EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) device on it then just fry the electronics whenever we want. That will sure as hell stop it." "Since we are going operational, we will be moving to the office compound and it is going to be tight," I admitted. "This can't take too long the cops, FBI. CIA, DEA, and a couple of others want a piece. These are not patient people." "They are patient enough to let us take the chances. To do the groundwork, which they can't do legally. They want to walk in to make a public arrest, but I don't want these guys to keep trying to kill us from behind bars. There has to be a final solution." I talked about it openly because I could kill the microphones, but I also trusted Earl to edit it to keep me out of jail, for one simple reason. He would be in a cell somewhere as well. For conspiracy, if no other reason. "So," Damien said interrupting my thoughts. "I need to put together a team to mine the cars they use." "Yes, let's mine them all. That way we can control their movements." I suggested. "I'll make the call. How are we going to make this clean at the end?" he asked. "We are going to document everything and never say that our final goal is to see two men dead. Then we are going to show real remorse at the end when they are dead." I said it and smiled. "After that are you going to take me to The Cowboy's Bar and Grill and buy me a beer?" he asked in his very formal voice. He also smiled a very prim and proper smile. "No but I might let you buy me a beer, but only if we get out of this with all the dead guys being thugs." I said. He held up his coffee cup and said, "To all the dead guys being thugs then." I held my cup up as well and took a drink. He looked a lot like the movie version of a British Special Boat Service, Sargent Major. I drank the coffee with a smile. Later that afternoon while looking at the four small monitors on Earl's desk, I was impressed with the quality of the images. Lucas was still dicking around with his rat cams. "Lucas will your pictures be as good as Earl's?" I asked. "Not even close. Earl has real cameras, I have fake rats." he said with a grin. There were going to be three surveillance monitoring sections for a while. There was our own security to monitor, since I wanted as much advanced warning as possible. Even the thick perimeter walls made of concrete were no guarantee of protection. Still, Lucas had managed to keep His Laboring Few's construction crew at it until they were done. They had even finished the stucco finish and the paint before we moved in. The second station monitored the outside of the old chemical plant, which Ling Po had taken over. I was sure that our images were at least as good as those of the people inside the plant. Even so we needed eyes and ears inside the plant. "So Lucas, what are you doing?" I asked. "I'm waiting for dark to insert the rat cams. In the meantime, I am mapping blind spots in their surveillance system so I will know where to go in," he said. "Oh so you broke into their monitors?" I asked. "Not the local alarms but the online cameras yes. It's all basic stuff. They are really more worried about a warning of people in the building than of people throwing something through a window." Lucas informed me. "So you are telling me you can do this?" I asked. "I'm telling you that even Earl could do this," he said. Earl returned a humorless smile. "Guys save the prick measuring for after this is over. Right now I need you working together," I said. "So, do you have a plan for inserting roborat?" I asked after a short pause. "Actually, it looks as though the backside is a blind spot, but only up against the wire and then inside against this one wall here," he said pointing to a part of the building. The camera mount isn't high enough to cover the walls at the bottom. The fence is close enough to the building there for me to slip in unseen and insert the camera." "No it isn't. You are not going in there period. Teach on of the Swamp Thing guys how to do it. This is who are they Lucas, you are the guy who knows how to do all this." I said waving my arms around. "Before you ask, I would not let Earl go in there either." "Nor would I want to go," Earl said simply. ------- Chapter 195: Throw the Poor Copper a Bone Their video surveillance showed nothing, because we hiked in carrying everything we needed on our backs. The insertion team consisted of the marine sniper, the handsome blond, late twenties soldier, and me. I wanted to go into the building but Damien showed me the error in my thinking. I really did not want them to win by default. I didn't want to just hand myself over to them. The compromise was that I would stay outside the wire. I would be the perimeter guard. If there was trouble, I would keep the exit open till they returned or I died. The last was my order to myself. No matter what I did to ease it, the close to a mile hike from the abandoned service station to the almost abandoned chemical plant was pure hell on my still hurting leg. I was out of breath and my leg ached with every beat of my heart. Even so I managed to find a position with a good view of the wire. I sat there with my Russian Sniper rifle. The rifle was a left over from the pirate skirmish. The two operatives from Swamp Thing dug a hole under the wire to make it appear as though an animal had done it. Then they slipped inside the wire. Before we left my office, I made damn sure they knew everything that I knew about the inside of that compound. Their objective was to find a broken window, surely there was at least one, then they were to insert the mice. Lucas and the mice would do the rest, They were inside the wire fifteen agonizing minutes. I was revved up to kill someone the whole time. My heart was beating so loud I knew that anyone passing my burrow would hear. I left my position in the tall weeds only after the two Swamp Thing men were well away from the Chemical Plant. The quiet hike back to the cruiser was pure misery. I was humming music to myself in order to keep moving. I was just forcing the rhythm to keep my mind off the pain. In the back of my mind the words "Walk or die" played over and over. I made absolutely sure we weren't being followed, then I pulled into Helen's commercial kitchen located beside her home. The two Swamp Thing operatives were treated to anything laying around. We ate while she and two younger women prepared the bags for her Sit Down. "If you two young men are taking care of our Maxine, you are welcome here anytime," Helen said. She was the absolute dictionary definition of southern charm. "Ma'am, if everything you fix is this good, I want to marry you," the sniper said. "Now, we might have to fight about that," the blond soldier said. "No wonder you love what you do Max," she said to me. "I could learn to love this kind of attention." "Trust me I don't get treated like you do. But then I can't cook like you either." I said. "Don't let her kid you Ma'am. We love Max even if she can't cook," the sniper said. "How could you not?" Helen asked. All the attention embarrassed me. I was speechless. When we got back to the office, the three of us found an empty mattress pad on the floor inside my gun vault. The gun vault had been Ed's storeroom. We piled up like puppies and went quickly to sleep. Even when the office came to life, we stayed asleep. The idea was not to sleep like the dead, but to sleep, so that lack of sleep didn't make you dead. I awoke several hours later to find that Lucas had run the mouse all over the plant. He had also saved the film for us to analyze together.The mouse wasn't very speedy so he had edited the film. The mouse couldn't climb as his real brothers and sisters could, so he had to sit on the ground floor of the plant with it's camera pointed up. He sat like that until someone opened a door giving up a glimpse of the things inside that one upstairs rooms, then he moved on. Since one shipment had arrived, we determined that nothing happened downstairs. The drugs were moved immediately up to the upstairs rooms for processing. It made perfect tactical sense. It gave them a lot of room to ambush those who might try to enter. The downside was they had no easy escape route. The Tong might not mind a fight to the death, but the local employees would want an escape route for sure. I went back and found the two metal outside fire escapes on the blue prints. Those were the choke points for the Chinese. Since I did not think an assault was feasible, I had no idea whether that information would prove beneficial or not. "Okay you have been watching and following these guys almost a day now. what do we know about the workings of the gang?" I asked. Damien spoke for Swamp Thing. "You were right Ling Po, is the headman and it appears that Wang is his number two now. I have no idea how it worked before the raid." "Immaterial," I said. "What are they doing for product now?" "It appears that they still have it coming in at the airport. Whatever was in the pipeline before Smiley drew attention to them, evidently came through without interruption, so I guess Ling canceled the cancellation order." "Have you followed a pickup at the airport yet?" I asked. "There have been two since we decided to follow them. Both times they take a small panel van and drive right to the international package pickup area. They load the large boxes into the van then they drive away," Damien informed me. "Okay so what goes out of the plant?" I asked. "My guess is they package it in smaller bundles then deliver it." Damien answered. "Are the drivers Tong or locals from the drug trade." I asked. "Even after it is repackaged the merchandise has to be worth way more than they would trust to a round eyed drug dealer." Damien added. "We need to target those pick up and delivery vehicles. If we can cripple them, then we can grab the drugs and the drivers. What do you think their reaction will be to the loss off an incoming shipment?" "If they knew who did it, there would be a massive response. There would have to be, in order to satisfy their bosses back home." he said. "Those guys don't take failure lightly. "So, if we were to take down the next shipment from the airport and neutralize the thugs making that pickup, we get my 20% reduction in forces and get them walking into the lions den?" I asked. "They may not attack us here, but they will have to attack us. These days it might be a massive car bomb." he said. "I'm not sure that is an acceptable plan," I admitted. "I think it is just as risky as assaulting their building." Damien said. "The worst thing we can do is to do nothing. That being the case let's hijack the next airport shipment, but let's not do it ourselves," I suggested. "Who do you plan to call in," Damien asked. "Well we might need a favor from the local cops, so let's toss them the bone," I suggested. We made our plan, then we waited. "He is pulling into the airport," Abra said. Since it left the old chemical plant. she had been following the small panel van. Yes it was the one which the chinks used for the pick up and delivery of drugs,. We had waited not so patiently for two days for the next pickup. "Hang with him, we are on the way," I said into the cell phone as we walked to the cruiser parked outside the walls. Even though we were in a hurry, we took the time to run the mirrors under the car. It was clean, as it should have been, since we kept a video eye on it at all times. We made it to the big bright blue NAPA auto parts building just past the busiest intersection on the road to the airport. "Abra, let me know when he is near the big blue NAPA building on your right." I said into the phone. It took them a little longer than I expected. I waited until the white drug van was close to the stop light, just in front of the NAPA store, then nodded for Damien to kill the engine. Immediately the drug van began to coast. I could imagine the panic in the truck's cab. "Not to worry guys there is more coming," I thought aloud. "What?" Damien asked. "Nothing," I said to him. I switched from my fancy phone to the burn phone before I said, "Detective Dawson please." Then a few minutes later. "Dawson there is a white van out on 68 dead in the road blocking traffic, and it also has a surprise cargo. Bring plenty of heroine test kits. This is an anonymous tip." then I hung up. Damien and I stayed to watch the patrol car arrive. The chinks tried to run away on foot, which gave them probable cause to check out the cargo. It is a beautiful thing, when a plan works even better than you expect, I thought. "Hello," I said into my real cell phone. "Max the chemical plant just emptied out they are on their way to you." I didn't even answer. Instead I called Dawson's cell phone. "Dawson get some extra firepower out to the drug bust. The bad guys are headed out to rescue their people. This is Maxine. We will try to hold them off till you get some people here." I said it quickly into the burn phone. The NAPA parking lot sat on a hill above the road. Which is why I chose it as the site to stop the car. My guess was that the chinks would go for the drugs and the people below us. Damien and I had clear lanes of fire, if they did. We both knew from the images on the screens in my office, exactly who Ling Po and Wang were. They were the targets for us. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Something no one could have expected. Dawson must have gotten on the radio to the cops on site. They had the two men in custody and were trying to clear the scene, so that they could leave with them. They just couldn't get the tangle of cars out of the way fast enough. The Chinese parked their van and rushed toward the officers with there guns drawn. My first shot took out the windshield of the van. I didn't want to lose track of it during the excitement. "How many do you count?" I asked Damien. He had kept the men in sight while I switched my attention to the van. "They have six men in the field. One of them just fired," he shouted to me. "I turned the Russian automatic on them. I shot two of them immediately. Damien got two as well. The Chinese turned their attention toward the more immediate threat. That threat was Damien and me. The pistols and the Chinese ak47 knockoffs threw a lot of lead, which wasn't very accurate but still penned us down. Since the cops were almost on us, Damien and I got back in the cruiser. We left in a big hurry. Into my good phone I almost shouted. "Was Ling Po in that van?" I didn't think he would have been. I had to be sure. "RoboRat says he is still at the plant. He and tthree others are there guarding home base." Earl said. "Get the Swamp Thing people headed that way. It's time we visited the forbidden city," I said with a giggle. "You love this shit doen't you?" Earl asked. "I never deny that. Now shut the fuck up and get the people headed that way." I said. "We are on our way," he said. "You can't film this," I said. "I can film it, I can edit it, and I can shoot that damn heavy ass shotgun you gave me." he demanded. ------- Chapter 196: Staying Alive (at Least Some of Us) We met at the same parking lot where we had taken down Fang and his crew. I explained my plan which was improved greatly by Damien's input. Before I sent the, far too young, Sniper off ahead of us, I planned to give him my hand me down Barrett, except that he had his own. He and the Barrett amounted to our only heavy fire power. "You do know they have to make a clearly threatening gesture, before you can fire that monster?" I asked. "Yes Ma'am, but I also know that if I wait too long, you are likely going to be dead, That Miss Maxine is completely unacceptable on all levels," he said. I could only nod my head. I didn't trust myself to speak. The sniper and Earl got a ten minute head start, then we all piled into the SUV. "Damien is this thing going to provide any protection at all," I asked. Our plan was to use it as a ram. Then drive it quickly across the parking lot, in order to get someone into the building. "Bullet proof polymer windshield and side windows. The same Kevlar panels in the doors. under the floor, and overhead that you had in Iraq," he said. "I hope it works better here," I said. "Me too," he agreed. The plan was for Damien to cut the power as soon as Earl and the sniper were in place. He was then going to drive the bullet resistant SUV through the gate and right up to the door. With a little luck he would be at the door before they could get an RPG in play. If not it would be up to my marine sniper buddy to neutralize the man with the RPG before he fired it. "Show time," Damien said over our private radio net. I heard the sound of Damien hitting the gate with the SUV while Abra was halfway up the fire escape stairs. The power was off so most likely the people inside had no idea, we were on the way up. At least I hoped they weren't waiting for us to step into the doorway. If so, we were likely to get our bodies riddled with bullets. The frontal attack was the faint and we were the kill team. The fact that the kill team was two women might have been an accident, but most any man, worth a damn, will tell you that we are the deadlier of the sexes. Damien had insisted that Abra rush up the stairs, while I covered her from the ground. Once she was on the metal landing she wedged the door closed so that there would be no surprises while I rushed to join her. When we were both on the landing the wedge went over the side. I knocked the door handle off while Abra got the self contained metal hole saw ready. With it she cut a circle around the missing door handle mechanism and the dead bolt. We could only hope that the noise coming from the front would keep them from hearing our sawing. Explosives would have been nice, but we could not have safely been on the landing when they went boom. We would have had to climb the metal stairs while the bad guys had time to rush to the door and ambush us. It was a damned if you do, damned if you don't, kind of thing. I was glad that we had the option. Abra pulled the door open, and I rushed in with the shotgun at the ready. No one fired at us as we made our way to the open metal catwalk, which surrounded and connected the second floor rooms. Looking out through the hallway opening, we saw that there were only two men firing and they were on our side of the building firing at the front doors of the building. They were laying down a withering fire while carefully avoiding exposing themselves to the Barrett. Since we were on the same wall as the gunman, we did not have an angle. What I could do was crawl along the catwalk below the window level. When I got close enough, I could lob a stun grenade into the already broken window. It wasn't a good option, but it was the only thing I could come up with. I got on our radio net and spoke to the sniper. "Sweetie put a round where you think the guys are and I'll give you corrections. When we get close you keep up the fire until Abby tells you to stop." "Okay Maxine," he said. The murderous round came through the window on the front door side, then it traveled across the open space to the front wall of the back offices. It went in about ten feet to the left of the room. "You want to come over about ten feet," I said. His answer was another heavy .50 cal through the window almost center of the room and about belt high. "Elevate that about a foot and then fire a pattern about two feet on either side of that spot." The rounds began coming in. "Now Abra when I toss in that grenade you tell him to cease fire. Cause I'm going to stand up and go through the door hot. You got it?" I asked. "Yes, but I should be the one to do it," she said. "You would have to be crazy to want to do this." I smiled then added, "And I am." I quickly crawled to the spot under the window. I heard six round go over my head while I crawled. How far they were over my head I couldn't tell. I tossed the grenade into the broken window, then looked away, and covered my ears. "I sure as hell hopes this works," I said as I stood and kicked the door. I'm so light in the ass I had to kick it twice, but it finally opened. I went in with the shotgun at the ready. Neither of the men was Ling Po. They both threw down their rifles and stretched out of the floor. "Come on in but do it carefully we are missing Ling Po. He has got to be in here somewhere.," I said. "Max, he is on the first floor behind some boxes." Lucas said from his spot in our office where he had watched it all on TV. "Abra come watch these guys, while I round up Ling Po." I said. I was careful not to say while I kill that chink son of a bitch. Damien stand pat. Make sure nobody gets out the exits." I said. "Just in case he gets away from me." I knew where he was more or less. There was only one place with enough boxes to hide behind. It was in a corner of the first floor under the overhead offices. I checked the load of the shotgun as I went down the stairs. "Max he has a pistol, I can see him. He is about twenty feet ahead on the left of you." Lucas said. "Lucas turn off the feed, and do it now," I said quietly. I counted to five to give him time to do it then I emptied the shotgun into the cardboard boxes. I heard screams as Ling Po crashed into the boxes causing them to fall over. I knew that it wasn't the sporting thing to do, but I knew he had something equally dishonorable in mind for me. I put the final round into his face. "Come on in Guys, Ling isn't going to be running." I said into our radio net. I used my burn phone to call Jen. "Jen honey, this is Maxine. Have you had any fun today?" I asked. "Not yet, what you got in mind?" she asked. "Meet me at the police station and let's see if you can get me out from under an international massacre charge." I said. "Damn one thing for sure girl, you are never boring. I'm on the way. Which building are you in?" "I don't know yet, the cops haven't even shown up," I said with a laugh. "Then don't even say hello to those pricks till I get there," she demanded. "Anybody I can call for you, before I toss this thing?" I asked Damien as he walked up. "Nobody, who don't already know where we are," He said. I walked to the front of the building and threw the phone into a the back of a pickup truck with lawnmowers on the back. He was most likely a landscaper on the way to cut some commercial building's lawn. "What are you going to tell the cops?" Damian asked. Instead of answering him, I made three more calls. First I called the DEA number I had been given when I left North Georgia. "Hey this is Maxine Stone, I got a tip for you about international drug importers. Call the Aster PD." I hung up. "Message machine," I said when I looked to Damien. Then I dialed Anya's cell phone number. "Anna, you need to get someone to Aster there is a Major, Major International drug bust going on right this minute." I said before I hung up. "Answering machine again?" Damien asked. "No, I just don't like her very much." I said. I dialed the number Lucas had given me for the CIA operative. The one who gave him the Robomouse. "This is Maxine Stone, You might want to come to Aster to spring your mice," I said and hung up. "So you don't like him either?" Damien asked. "No, call forwarding," I said. It took the cops another ten minutes to show up and then it was with everybody who wasn't at the NAPA store. "Too bad we are all tied up, we could probably rob ten banks today without seeing a cop," Damien commented. "Your people going to hold together?" I asked. Damien just smiled. "Good," was my only reply. We put the weapons away before the cops showed up. All we had were two live Chinks. They were being held by the not quite middle aged man, whose name I never learned. If I heard it, the name didn't register with me. There were five of us good guys standing in the parking lot of the chemical plant. Earl and the former marine sniper stood across the street watching what ensued. Nobody ever approached them, so they finally just wandered off. I assume they got in Earl's car and drove back to the office. It looked a lot like one of those speed dating things in the parking lot. You know where guys run from one table to another trying to score points with about a dozen chicks. The patrolmen were assigned to keep us apart, then detectives and lab types tried to run between us to find out what had happened. They had found the two bodies inside the plant, but none of us was talking. It was the same simple statement from us all, "I have a lawyer on the way to the station, I will talk when he/she arrives." Jen had advised me to be cooperative, but to remember everything the cops said and did. Once we arrived at the station the true confusion began. The local cops were trying to interview us with the lawyers all saying don't answer that, when the FBI swooped in and tried to take over. We all sat back and watched the turf fight ratchet up. They were still in the name calling stage when the DEA people arrived with their own take on who had jurisdiction. Finally Homeland security bounced in and demanded everyone just shut the fuck up. I sat in an interrogation room drinking free, but awful, coffee just imagining what was happening outside the door. When it finally opened Jen walked in laughing her ass off. "Only you could manage this. It's like being backstage on opening night of the three ring circus," she said. "By the time they get through carving this up, we will all be too old for court." "So what are you doing?" I asked. "Why, I'm looking for someone to sue of course," she replied with a roar of laughter. ------- Chapter 197: the End and Then the Real End They left me alone with Jen for a half hour. We drank coffee and compared lovers until Mike Dawson showed up. He tossed a file on the table which is pretty much standard interview procedure. It is supposed to make the suspect worry about what's inside the folder. Most of the time it has some information, but sometimes it's just the menus from all the good take out restaurants in town. "So Maxine, what the hell is this all about?" he asked. "Jen, do you want to answer or should I?" I was looking at Dawson but speaking to Jen. "Let me, Maxine was working for me and therefore all the information she obtained is privileged as work product of attorney client relationship." Jen said smiling. "Then why did you tip us to the truck full of drugs," he asked. "Being a good citizen," I said after Jen nodded her permission to answer. "How did you know?" he asked. "That is work product of the client attorney relationship," I replied. "But I will say this, I was following up on the assets of James Smiley, just in case Jen decides to sue the estate for her client. "It looks like we either have all the gang in jail or the morgue," Mike said. "Well that's nice, can We go now?" Jen asked. "If it were up to me sure, but there are other people here with lots of juice, who want to talk to you. Mostly they want to know, why you staged a military style assault on the old chemical plant?" It was a question and I knew it. "Is that what it was. I felt like it was a recon in force. We wanted to be able to defend ourselves, if they attacked us. Since they had showed how violent they could be. By the way they did just that, as the film clearly shows. It all stems from my investigation for Jen. I took along the back up, because we all knew that they were responsible for the shootout at the downtown park." "How do we know that?" Mike asked. "Okay, if you are going to play games Dawson, we are finished here. Arrest Maxine or cut her loose." Jen said angrily. "The FBI will just pick you up, as soon as I spring you," he said to me ignoring Jen. "I'll worry about that when it happens. Right now I want a good cup of coffee, a good meal, and to sleep. Nothing like being shot at to create an appetite," I suggested. "And before you run at the others, they all worked for Maxine, so in effect they worked for me. They are all covered by the Client Privilege and their attorneys know it." Jen said to Dawson. We were outside when I asked, "How nasty is this going to get hon?" Jen replied, "I think you are going to get a medal, just to keep your mouth shut. Nobody wants it out that a skinny bitch, private eye brought down an international drug gang. Especially one that is connected to the Chinese and the Taliban. That is where that opium paste comes from you know?" she asked. "Yeah, I know," I replied sadly. I went home to the apartment to microwave lots of food, while Jen stayed at the police station to be sure everyone stayed on script. The others filtered into my apartment slowly. I had microwaved TV dinners prepared by Helen for me. By the time the evening ended my freezer was finally cleaned out. We were drinking beer and passing around chips and dip when Abra said, "You guys didn't get to see the best part. Max on all fours crawling on the catwalk under the windows where those last two where holed up. The .50 cal slugs blowing big holes out of the walls a foot over her head. Then all of a sudden the flash bangs go off and Max is up kicking the door. Those two bad ass Chinese just rolled over to be fucked." she said. "Hell, I wanted to call for air support," the young sniper said. "Shit kid, you were the air support." I turned my attention to the group which included Lucas and Earl. "Let's go to Cowboy's. I owe someone here a beer. "Damn right, beers and blow jobs all around," The handsome blond soldier said. "I'll buy the beer, but you have to arrange your own blow jobs," I said. We piled into the cruiser and the SUV and off we went. When we arrived at The Cowboy's Bar and Grill, the parking lot was about half full. I followed the guys inside. They were talking and laughing as they entered. Joyce looked relieved to see me. "Are all these guys with you?" she asked. "They are and give them anything they want. It's all on me tonight." I said. It took about half an hour for all the men to be paired up with single ladies. I always knew there was something about the smell of fear, sweat, death, and cordite all mixed together that was irresistible to women. I sure as hell is to me. We danced and drank until closing. Joyce came to tell me that it was closing time. She obviously didn't want to tell the guys. "Guys it's time to go home. Let's be sure everyone has a ride home or at least a ride somewhere warm." Earl had Amy, Lucas didn't have anyone as usual, the rest of the guys where making arrangements. "I'll be sure they all get home," Damien said. "Fair enough, I have my two guys, and Amy. I can squeeze one more in," I suggested. "I'll ride back with you, if you don't mind," Abra suggested. "It works fine for me." I said. In the cruiser Abra rode in the front with me. The two men and Amy rode in the back. Abra and I laughed and joked but it was way too quiet in the rear. When I adjusted the mirror so that I could see, I saw Earl and Lucas both kissing and feeling Amy up. I decided that I didn't really need to see any more, so I returned the mirror to it's original position. I sat in the cruiser while I reran the files of the surveillance tapes. None of the outside cameras showed anything at all. I stepped from the car first, while the others struggled to free themselves from whatever it was that they were doing. He came from out of nowhere. I got a good look at him charging toward me with a very long knife. The Chinese thug I had dubbed Wang hadn't put it in the wind after all. He was taking his Tong duty seriously. I managed to block his charge with the cane while I easily moved off to the side. He was way off balance trying to stop and turn while avoiding a collision with the car. I swung the cane to hit him in the face with the weighted bottom of it. He was still off balance and clumsy but he managed to avoid the blow. He did one of those spin around moves like you see Bruce Lee do. Unfortunately for Wang, I didn't move back as I should have. Since my leg prevented me from being graceful, my Korean teacher had stressed that I should always move close and prepare a defensive move. Wang was surprised to find me almost on top of him when he made his beautiful spin move. His knife was still flashing and still lethal. I blocked his knife's slashing swing with the cane. At the same time I pressed the button to release the blade. With two pieces of the cane to worry about, Wang made the wrong decision. He blocked the shaft of the cane, while I drove the 8" blade into his chest. I did a quick bayonet twist to free the blade, then stepped back quickly with both pieces of the cane in my hands. Wang just crumbled into a pile in the parking lot. It all happened and ended so fast that Abra was just barely out of the car. "Are you alright?" she asked while pointing a pistol at Wang, who was quickly bleeding to death. "I'm fine. You guys go on in while I call 911." They left quickly to avoid being involved in the initial investigation. I walked around the parking lot until I was sure Wang had bled out, then I called 911. I waited patiently for the cops to arrive. First I explained to the patrol officer how it happened, then I explained to the detective who arrived. Then I rode downtown in the patrol car as I had done earlier. I was thinking during that drive how pissed Jen was going to be. She might even be pissed at me. That's when I started to laugh. "Ms Stone, I'm here to release you," the jailer said. "Really why?" I asked. "The detective says you acted in self defense," he said. "I did try to tell him that, but I guess they hear that a lot." I smiled as I found my coat. I was ready to leave a couple of minutes later. "Come on Max, it's time to get you to bed," Abra said smiling. "Have you been waiting here all this time?" I asked. "You didn't have a car and needed a ride home," she said. "Well I am glad to see you. I would be even without the car, but it is a nice bonus." I said taking my keys from her. "I hope this didn't inconvenience anyone?" I asked. "Earl and Lucas have Amy all tucked in, so I was the obvious choice." she said. "Oh I had hoped that it was personal," I suggested as we approached the car. "It is personal, now please take me home." Abra said. Thirty minutes later we were in bed together and touching each other tenderly. "God I love this," she said as her hips moved against my fingers. I rolled against her and kissed her nipple and pulled it with my teeth. "God you have great boobs, yet you hide them." I was gently scolding her while I fingered her. "I know, I love my boobs. It is not a good thing for a muslim woman to love her body but I love mine." she said obviously embarrassed. "You should love your body it is spectacular." I said as I licked her nipple. I felt her respond to my every touch, which just reinforced my need to touch her. Her body was driving me on, which is a little strange since usually it is the need inside my own body that drives me forward. I kissed her and marveled at the way she sucked on my tongue. I loved that feeling, so I touched and stroked her body both inside and out. I had her almost to the point of an orgasm when she pushed me away. She rolled me onto my back and began to do the things to me, which I had done to her. I was very close to orgasm, when she stopped and began to remove her clothes. Her blouse had been open all along and her bra was askew but she began to remove everything. I joined in and removed all my own clothing. The feel of her naked body against my was more than just intoxicating it was mind numbing. I felt something large begin to force it's way inside me. I knew what it was and I loved the feeling of Abra fucking me. At that moment I didn't care what she used, I just wanted to orgasm for her. I also wanted her to orgasm for me. I wanted to know that she had surrendered to me. I forced myself back from the brink, then removed the dildo from my body. It was a struggle with both her and myself. I rolled her over until I could push the dildo to the opening between her legs, then I whispered. "Beg me to fuck you." I waited and nothing happened. "Beg me," I said gain louder. "Yes god fuck me," she begged. "Please fuck me. I need you to fuck your Arab slut." It was more than I wanted but I drove the dildo in and out of her slippery opening. In the end we both added to the huge wet spot in my bed. Not just that, the room stank of hormones and stale cum. After we moved to the floor with a blanket to keep us warm, she asked, "Will you teach me to suck cock?" then she just fell asleep. ------- Chapter 198: Decisions "Here is the deal. We know you killed at least two of these guys, when it wasn't really necessary. We could maybe get a successful prosecution, but it is just as likely we would turn you into some kind of urban legend," The older gray haired man said. "Your chances of winning are about like mine of flying a jet fighter this afternoon," Jen said to the Federal Prosecutor. "That isn't the point. The point is do either of us want to risk it, when there is a so much easier way out of this dilemma?" he asked. "What's the way?" I asked. "Disappear for six months. Give this time to just blow over. When you show up again, no one ever mentions any of this mess." "Well that's the win for you, what do we get?" Jen asked before I could. 'You get a transactional immunity," he said. "Immunity for all things, state and federal," Jen said. "We both know without the state immunity, this don't mean shit." "I have an agreement with a federal and a state judge to sign off on it." he said. "While we are at it, I want to piggy back those last few drug cases in which my client was involved. You know the ones that led to multiple arrest for your guys," Jennifer said. "Yeah, I figured as much." he said. "We can sign on to that." I sat quietly, while they talked about me as if I weren't even in the room. I wondered when Jennifer would go for the federal pension. I know that seems like way too much, but you don't know Jen, the pit bull. If she smells blood in the water she is like a shark. To her it is all a game. To her it's like BDSM sex, it isn't only about getting off, it's even more about humiliating the other side. "One more thing, we want a letter of appreciation from the DEA and FBI. We won't make it public, but it might help out somewhere down the road." Jen said with a sweet smile. "That's absolutely all you get," he said angrily. She turned to me and whispered, "Was it as good for you as it was for me?" I had a hard time not breaking into laughter. Jennifer without my permission made several calls. The replies started to come in almost immediately. "I hear you need to get out of the country for a while. How would you like to come to work for me?" The voice belonged to Alex. Yes Alex the pirate hunter. "I think that I have had about all the excitement that I can stand for a while," I said. "After our last little adventure, I just fly the Maxim Security flag over a ship and we don't so much as get an unidentified blip on the radar. Everybody wants to be sure we know that they are friendlies. This is a lot more boring than I expected." Alex was serious, he had started Maxim for excitement. It would happen again, of that I had no doubt. I just wasn't sure I wanted to be part of it. "Give me 24 hours?" I asked. "Hell take all the time you want, the offer will still me open," He replied. I had no idea Alex would call, I had even less of an idea that the Admiral would call. "Ms Stone, you know who this is?" he asked. "Yes Admiral I recognize the voice. What can I do for you?" "I wondered if you would set aside some time for me tomorrow. I have a business proposition for you." he said. "I am truly flattered, but I don't follow orders well at all," I said. "Now that is true, but you do give them well. Let's talk tomorrow, say10 AM at that breakfast house everyone here is raving about?" he asked. "To be here by 10AM you would have to leave at 6AM," I said. "Yes, why is that a problem for you?" he asked. "It just seems an awfully long way to drive for breakfast," I said. "If the food is as good as my people say, it isn't all that far. Maybe I can recruit your friend as well." He said calmly. I slept poorly, since I had Alex and the Admiral on my mind. There was also the fact that Earl, Amy, and Lucas had pretty much taken over Lois's apartment. The TV network was paying, so I should care less who was using the place. I guess I was a little jealous. Somehow I made it through the night, even though I was distracted by imagining what they were doing in Lois's apartment. When morning came, I sat drinking coffee while I waited for the Admiral. His driver came to the apartment at exactly 10AM. "Ms Stone, the admiral is waiting in the car for you," he suggested. "Let me pee and I'll be right out," I didn't just pee, I also slipped the .357 wheel gun onto my hip. My fancy cane was being held by the cops until the inquest, so I picked up the cane I used before the fancy one arrived from Europe. "So Admiral, what did you want to talk about?" I asked once we were seated at one of Helen's Picnic tables. It was late enough so that we were alone at the table. Everyone else seemed to have eaten and moved on to other things. "You know that is probably the best ham and egg sandwiches I have ever eaten. I can not believe it came from a paper bag. It is even harder to believe that it was reheated in a microwave. There is just no way that can be real." he said. "I hear that a lot," I replied. "Can you arrange a meeting with the woman who owns this place?" the admiral asked. "Do you mean now?" I asked. "Well after we finish our business," he suggested. I picked up the cell phone from the table, where I had placed it before I sat down, I speed dialed Helen. "Helen, it's me Max, can you call me as soon as you get this, please," "I would love to hear that phone ring," the Admiral said. "Huh?" I asked. "Does it still play the theme from the Magnificent 7?" he asked. "No, it rings like an old time phone now," I said. "Too bad, I heard a lot about that, as well as the food here," the admiral said. "Okay, I know you want to know what I have in mind. I heard you have to leave the country for six months. I have a job which I think would fit you perfectly." the admiral said. "No offense Sir, but I'm not mercenary material," I said. "God, I know that. A client asked me to set up a rescue team for him. Half a dozen operatives that could fit in, blend in when necessary, and bring hell to Georgia when needed." he said. "I used some of those words once," I said. "I know, the Irishman is highly impressed with you." he said. "You know how I feel about him," I admitted. "Yes, I know. So would you like to lead the spring team?" he asked. "Could I have a few days to think it over?" I asked. "Take a week if you like, but then I need an answer," the admiral said. "Now how about the meeting with the owner of this place?" "Speak of the devil or the angel," I said as Helen walked into the Sit Down. I introduced them, then I left them to talk. The admiral had his driver take me to the mall so that I could walk. I planned to call someone different to give me a lift home. I had a lot to think about. One of the things I did, since I was late arriving at the mall, was to walk to the wig shop. I made damn sure the owner/manager got a good look at me and the look of pure evil in my eyes. I didn't need to do her harm, I just needed to scare the hell out of her. It might help to make sure she didn't give anyone information about me. It might not help, but it sure as hell couldn't hurt. I finished my six laps or 3 miles, then I found a place to sit and have my fifth cup of coffee. While having my coffee the cell phone rang. "Maxine, it's me the owner of the robomouse," the man's voice said. I didn't recognize it as the CIA operative's voice, but then he might not have been the owner of the mouse, or the man on the phone might not be the owner either, but he at least knew about the mouse. "So what can I do for you, besides say thank for the loan of the small, furry roomba." I asked. "Come out through the food court doors and we can talk," he said. "Or you could come into this nice public place and we could chat," I suggested. "Compromise, you need a ride home and I need to talk to you. So come out and give my license number to Earl. If you don't come home, he can call the police." "Are you alone in the car?" I asked. "Yes," he said. "If you are not, I will kill everyone I can before you stop me," I said. "Fair enough, but it isn't like you to give warnings," he said. "I'm trying to play nice," I replied. "Oh, is that part of the US attorney's deal?" he asked. "Something like that," I suggested. Since he knew about the deal, I felt a lot better. That at least put him on the inside. It didn't mean he wouldn't try to kill me, but the odds were better that he wouldn't. Yes I know I sounded paranoid, but that happens, when there are people out there, who really do want to kill me. There was a plain gray Buick waiting at the mall entrance door. I knew it was for me because the windows were way too dark to be legal. I began having second thoughts when the door opened. A very distinguished looking man sat peacefully in the rear seat. "Come on in Maxine, don't worry, my ex wife will tell you how harmless I am," He said it with a warm smile. "Everybody who ever told me that screwed me, one way or another," I said. "Well, this will be a first in lots of ways then," he said. "So who exactly are you?" I asked. "Names really aren't much use to people like us. Call me anything you like. The point is I heard you need to take a vacation out of the country." "I haven't really decided about that yet," I said. "Oh I thought there wasn't much room for interpretation in the US attorney's deal," he said, "True, but I don't have to take the deal." I said. "True, you have a really brilliant small town lawyer, and most likely you will walk out with some kind of medal. Still, why take the chance? I have a really nice offer to make you," he informed me. "I'm always open to a good offer," I said. "Well I am deputy chief of scientific development for the company," he said. "I would like to offer you and all expense paid 6 month vacation touring Europe," I sat quietly waiting for the other shoe to fall. "All you have to do is escort one of our new agents. She needs a role model. It is a very simple and well paying job." He said. "Those are the kinds of jobs which almost get people killed," I replied. "Why me? What kind of agent do you hire these days who need me as a role model?". "Lucy is a very highly qualified agent, she just lacks interpersonal skills. She can be a bit too analytical." he said. That's when I got really worried. I still didn't ask. "This is absolutely nothing I have said which I will not deny, if you ever mention this. Lucy is a very special, special agent. Lucy is n android, or as the lab rats like to call her a genetic, biotechnological, engineered miracle. ------- Chapter 199: Saying Goodbye to All My Friends I had a lot to think about. I wasn't even sure I wanted to leave the country for six months. I had only been in Aster making my new life for about 18 months. I wasn't really satisfied with the life, which I had made so far, but then again it wasn't all that bad either. Even so it looked as though I was going to be seeking temporary employment over seas. The one thing I knew for sure was that I did not want to go back to the sandbox. There was definitely not going to be any dirt road trucking in my future. Six months of sailing back and forth on small uncomfortable freighters didn't appeal to me either. Alex most likely was catching up with the freighters in route and staying on board just long enough to get them safely through pirate waters, but still even a couple of days on a small freighter didn't sound tempting. The adrenalin junkie part of me was thrilled by the res-q-chic gig, but I could see months of boredom between actual jobs. Most likely sitting in some second rate hotel somewhere in some sinkhole country in South America or the Middle East. The down time again seemed pretty awful. I didn't want to trade Helen, Jen and all the rest for some stranger in a cheap hotel. If I had to stay away for half a year, then my choice would be interesting hotels and sight seeing in Europe. Spending six months with a socially retarded roomba 5000 didn't really appeal to me all that much, but how bad could it be? I could always lock her in the closet and just go for a drive in the country. I don't suppose that would be considered robotic abuse. "So Jen what do you think?" I asked after I had explained it all to her. Well all but the Roomb 5000. "So you are going to just tour Europe without a job of any kind. That just doesn't sound like you Max," she said. "Well nothing those old clients offered me sounded like any fun on a day to day basis. I thought I might hook up with one of those small tour groups and just wander around." It sounded like a pretty good cover story to me. "I can just hop around all over the place. They can set me up with places that are cheap and safe," I suggested. "Since when has safe been an issue with you?" she said. "Since I can't carry an m16 with me," I replied. "Max you stabbed a man with a butter knife and watched him bleed out. Do you expect me to believe you have suddenly gotten timid?" she asked. "Good point, I suppose." I said it but I knew that I would miss my tools. "Even so you know that I am going to feel naked. I really would love to have at least one real weapon maybe just a shotgun." "Well there are some good ones made in Italy maybe you could buy one as a gift and carry it around wrapped in Christmas paper." Jen suggested with what was almost a teenage girl's giggle. "It's June Jen," I said in a light hearted voice as well. "I'm sure that I won't be needing anything, but one just never knows." I called the CIA Assistant, to the Deputy Director for Scientific development after my talk with Jen. "Okay you win, when do I start and where do I go first?" "How long will it take you to get your affairs in order, so that you can be gone for 6 months without anyone looking for you?" He asked. "I've got a five unit apartment building, which I emptied out to handle the Chinese mess. I need to figure out what to do with that." "Call your lawyer friend, she can help you with that," he suggested. "Yeah, I know that. I just have to do it and make the decisions. After that I suppose I should say goodbye, and tell the other people I won't be working for them." I replied. "I'll have our travel office set it up and get with you," he said. "And welcome to the agency." "Hey, I'm not signing up for the agency. I'm on board just to escort one agent around Europe." I demanded. "Of course, and since you have never been there, it should be a fun trip for the two of you." He laughed as he hung up the phone. I didn't much like that he had laughed at me. I drove the cruiser to my new office building. I found the van parked on the street, but not Ed's caddy. "So Lucas what in the hell is going on? Where is Ed?" I asked it because Ed wasn't getting any younger. I wanted to make sure he got at least a little older. "Ed decided to retire completely. He sold out his bail bond business to me. Now I have both of your businesses to run.' Lucas said. "It's going to get worse Lucas, I'm going to Europe for 6 months," I said. "At least you have something to keep you busy while I'm gone." "I am not laughing, I want to come with you," he said. "Someone has to stay here to look after everyone. That's your job don't let anything happen to our friends." "Yeah I know, but they would survive without either of us, or not." he said. "True, but still keep an eye on them," I said. He knew it was bullshit, I just wanted to make him feel better. "I mostly hated to tell Helen goodbye. Helen was my rock. With Helen it was like Skeeter, pure unconditional love. It went both ways. There was nothing I couldn't ask of her and nothing she could ask that I wouldn't do for her. I found her on the farm just outside of town, which she and Jack owned. She was in the industrial caterer's kitchen. "Helen what in the world are you doing?" I asked. She was obviously pouring over books, doing some kind of heavy duty research. "Your friend, the Admiral, asked me to try to improve on the Government issue MRE. Frankly anyone could. I can make them taste better, but I'm not sure I can make them last and still taste better." she confided. "Why not nuke them once you have the food ready to package. Wont that kill all the bacteria. If you do that then vacuum seal the packages, wont that do it?" I asked. "It might," she agreed but how will those men feel about that?" she asked. "I would eat it, so I'm guessing they will as well." "I'll look into it. So what bring you here?" she asked. "I'm going to tour Europe for 6 months. I just wanted to ask, is anything you need before I leave?" "I heard from Jen that you would be going. So you are just going to bum around Europe at your age?" I was surprised that she asked it that way. "Yes I am." "Good, you need the rest. I wish I could close this down and go with you." she suggested. The truth was that she would make a much better role model for Vicky the Vacuum cleaner. "I wish you could as well." I almost cried, so I changed the subject. "I wanted to say goodbye to skeeter as well." "Since the weather has started to get warm, she spends a lot of time on the deck outside. Come on we will go find her." Sure enough she heard me coming and ran to me. She wanted to jump into my arms but Helen held up her hand like a traffic cop and Skeeter stopped and waited for me to get on my knees and hug her. I was on my knees on the outdoor deck, surrounded by the only two in the whole world who I loved unconditionally, and who loved me back exactly the same. Yes there were tears in my eyes, when I finally forced myself to stand. Since Earl had already gone home there was no way to say goodbye to him. Mike was locked inside a editor's station in New York City doing God only knew what to my raw images, so I couldn't say goodbye to him either. It was a bit of a blow to discover that I could say goodbye to all my friends in a single afternoon. I had never really bothered to pay attention to the number, but it was still a shock to see how few there were. I called Cheryl and found her busy in a meeting. I left a message that said, "Her girl, I'm going to Europe for six months just to look around. Do you want to come along. If not are you going to move back into the apartment. I ask because I'm considering selling. I you are not coming back, then I am probably going to sell. Let me know your plans. Oh yeah, this is Maxine. I went home and spent the evening in front of my computer watching TV shows, which I missed while running from, and then chasing after the Chinese Mob. I always liked when I could watch five or six shows from a series at once. It was midnight before I knew it, so I slipped off to bed quietly for a change. I managed my morning routine before I got Cheryl's call at the mall. "Maxine, I'm sorry I missed your call. What in the world possessed you to do Europe now?" Cheryl asked. "It was kind of get out of the country till things blow over, or face a murder charge." I said. "I see. Well I understand that Europe is marginally better than most of the women's prisons in the states." She said it with laughter in her voice. "So wish I could come along. I have never seen anything. but I have meetings all month, probably even more next month." "Okay, so are you planning to move back into your apartment?" I asked. "I took an apartment here in Raleigh. It's where I need to be to make a big difference." Cheryl said. "Well, move out whenever you are ready. I think when you do I will sell it." I said. "What if I bought it from you?" she asked. "Why would you do that?" I asked. "I have been looking for a place to house abused women on a temporary basis. It would be ideal." she said. "Is Jen going to be handling it for you?" "Most likely yes," I said. "Then I will get with her next week. Hon I hate to do it, but I have a lunch engagement with a state senator." she said. "It's okay, I'm going to be getting my show ready to take on the road today anyway." I said. "Call me when you get home and we will try to get together," she said. "Sounds like a plan, oh how is Lindsay?" I asked as a parting shot. "Back with hubby, all is forgiven," she said and then hung up the phone. "Well that's that," I said into the dead phone. Since I was at the mall, I did some shopping. I needed a suitcase suitable for flying across the Atlantic. When I got to England, I would buy more clothes and more luggage. I could toss it before I boarded the plan home. That night I went to the Cowboy's Bar and Grill. "Hello Warrior Princess," Joyce said with a warm smile. "Hello there sweetie. Can I have a cup of coffee?" I asked. "Of course, so what's new with you?" she asked. "I read that you were being investigated for something to do with some Chinamen?" "Yeah, it was just a mistake, but I am leaving for Europe in a few days. I'm going to spend the summer at least," I said. "God you have such an interesting life," she said. "Not really, it just seems that way, now and then." What I didn't say, was only when viewed in relation to your life. "So anybody interesting in these days?" "That guy who came in with you that last night has been in some. He and Amy come in for a drink almost every night." "Well I'm going to miss him, I have to be running along. Tell everyone bye for me." I said it knowing full well that no one would ask, and she wouldn't mention it. ------- Chapter 200: on the Road Again After I said my goodbyes, I tried to hide out till the call came from the company's travel agent. I might have managed it, had Jen not called, "Are you really going to sell the apartments?" she demanded. "Yes I am. I didn't have nearly as much fun here as I expected." I replied. "Honey, I know Cheryl broke your heart, but trust me you will find someone, someday," Jen said reassuringly. "Yeah, but if I do, you will probably sleep with him," I said it with a laugh. "True, so you want me to have an appraisal done on the place?" "Yes and sell it to her at that price, no more no less. If she doesn't want it, turn it over to a Realtor." "Sure, so when are you leaving?" she asked. "I'm just waiting for my travel agent to get it setup," I said. I omitted that the agent was the CIA, so yes it was a small lie. "Call me before you go," she said. "I will," I replied honestly. After Jen hung up the phone, I loaded all my dirty clothes into the cruiser. I found my Vietnamese mother and daughter at the laundromat. Of course, by that time they owned it, and probably two more I didn't know about. "Miss Maxine, you have big load today," the daughter said. "Yes, I'm going on a trip so I will be gone for a while. I might get back in one more time, but I'm not sure when I leave yet," I explained. "Can have them today. You come back at four," she said. "Fair enough, see you then." From the laundromat I went to lunch at the Doghouse. I figured I would hit all the unique places in town before I headed off to foreign lands. "Maxine, how you doing?" the owner asked. "I'm fine Hon, how are you?" I asked as a reply. "I'm real good. I had you on my mind last week. I knew it was about time for you to be in again. Do you know who stopped in a couple of weeks ago?" "I have no idea," I replied smiling. "Chris, the gunny's kid," he replied. "What in the world was she doing in town?" I asked. "Damned if I know. She just said that her dad had said such good things about the place, she had to try a hot dog," he said. "Well, I wonder why she didn't call me?" Of course I knew why, I would have been a reminder that someone had replaced both her and her mom in the Gunny's heart. "Beats me, so what you gonna have?" he asked. "Give me two dogs southern style," I said. The doghouse had, over the last year, begun to serve hot dogs with a larger variety of topping choices. I still liked mine the same as when I was a kid. Mustard, Chili, slaw and onions was my preference. It was designated southern style at the doghouse. I carried the dogs out to the car. I headed for the marina with a stop for a canned Coke on the way. I ate the dogs and watched the sail boats for about an hour before I headed home. When I got home, I did something that I almost never do, I took a nap. When I woke two hours later, I was sure that I wouldn't sleep worth a damn that night. Then the phone rang and I just knew it was the travel arraignments. "Ms Stone, the is Asst Deputy Director Smith's office," the young woman's voice informed me. "Yes Ma'am, what can I do for you?" I asked. "I have your travel arrangements set," she said. "Oh good, when do I leave?" I asked. "Ten in the morning your time from Tryon International Airport. You will fly to New York. You have a layover of approximately eight hours there. You fly out of of JFK at 8pm for London. You will be met New York for a briefing. Your tickets are being held at the counter at Tryon International Airport." She said it all very businesslike. There were no pleasantries at all. "Why is the layover so long in New York?" I asked. "As I said before you will be met there for a briefing. It's all very routine," she promised me. As I expected I had a terrible time sleeping that night. I didn't bother to pack before I tried to sleep, I knew that I would have plenty of time in the morning. Since I had everything laid out for my trip, it wouldn't be hard to pack. Mostly it was panties, bras, tee shirts, pull over sweaters and jeans. I figured I would buy anything else I needed as we went along. I did pack an extra pair of canvas shoes, but no fancy leather ones. If I had to go somewhere fancy, I would be doing a lot of shopping anyway. I hate shopping, so I certainly hoped I wouldn't be required to dress robochick. When I awoke, I noted from the online version of the Tryon newspaper that it was Friday the 2nd of June. I also noted from the computer's clock that it was 6AM. As I had expected I had plenty of time to shower, wash and dry my hair, pack and even stop for breakfast. Since I had already said my goodbyes, I decided to go to Hardee's for biscuits and some healthy old fart conversation. I just knew, if anyone recognized me, the first question would be where is your buddy with the big tits. Sure enough an old man asked about Cheryl. Okay he wasn't as crude as me, but he did make it clear that he would rather have seen her at breakfast than me. I laughed since I was used to it. "Cheryl moved to Raleigh," I explained. "She is big in prison reform these days." "Oh really?" he asked. "Yep," I replied not going into her motivations with the stranger. After a quick biscuit with everything I could think of on it, I returned to my car for the return drive to my apartments. After making sure everything was turned off I called a cab. Even with all the gyrations, I arrived at the airport an hour early. They say that is a good thing to arrive at least that early and whoever they are they were right. I stayed busy with check in, and I was very busy waiting for the boarding process to begin. The security procedure was slow and barely adequate in my opinion. When I finally got on the plane, I went right to sleep. It was very uncomfortable and not at all restful, but I couldn't help it my ass was dragging. My bags were checked through to London, Since when I awoke my leg hurt and I was still exhausted, I considered that a good thing. I looked for someone with a sign bearing my name but no such luck. I was about to begin looking for an alternate way to spend my time. "Ms Stone, come with me please," the very young black man demanded. "Not unless you have some identification," I said. Since I had seriously dangerous people, who would like to see me dead, I was extremely careful around strangers. "I was told that if you asked for ID, I was to tell you RoboMouse sent me," he said smiling. "Is that enough cloak and dagger for you?" "More than enough," I replied. "By the way you passed," he said. "Oh it was a test?" I asked. "Yes some people are just not cautious. This little job is important, even if you don't think so." "What makes you think I'm not taking this seriously?" I asked. "Roomba 5000," he said with a smile. "Now who in the world told you that?" I asked. I could not remember using that phrase with anyone, since no one I knew was in the loop to know. Obviously they had found access to the bugs in my apartment. It wasn't that difficult, but it was not a good sign. I was obviously not a trusted employee. I thought all the spying on me ended when Earl went home. It appeared that the links were activated by the CIA. That was going to stop, I thought. Who was I kidding, anyone could be bugged with very little trouble at all. I seemed to be that I was a favorite target for some reason. Well my life was different from most everyone else I ever met. I would soon be turning 43 years old and I never had a long term relationship. Not to mention that few women have ever had a chunk of steel removed from their intestines. Okay maybe car crash victims, but I got mine the old fashioned way, an IED. There were probably not too many 43 year old women who have had two men killed with their penises in her mouth. Not sure that it was something I wanted to have spread around, but it did make me special. I thought all that while I followed the young man to a car parked in one of the official police spaces. "Are you a cop as well?" I asked. "When I need to be, I can be a cop or a criminal whatever the job requires," he said. "So, what do I call you?" I asked. "Call me Lemar," he said. I took a careful look at Lemar as he rounded the car to the driver's side. He was probably a hair under six foot tall. His weight was very close to the perfect 185 pounds. His head was shaved clean, but he had a very short beard. He looked as if he hadn't shaved in three of four days. Most likely he used some kind of clipper to keep his beard cropped that length. Nice, I thought. I always liked the tough guy look in men. "So Lemar, what are we going to do now, go somewhere for a boring briefing?" I asked. "Well, I hope it isn't too boring," he said as he pulled away. "Since I'm doing the briefing." "Well then let's get to it and finish early. I would love a real pizza." I said it smiling. "Most of what you need to know, you will learn on the job. Just a few ground rules first, then pizza." he said smiling. "Fair enough," I said. "No matter what happens, no one must ever know about Lucy. She has to pass for human from day one till the end of the trip. We treat her like a human even when we are alone. We never discuss even with each other anything about her. Your only job, our only job is to let her watch and learn. She is programed to see everything from all possible angles, then to decide what will enhance her program and file it away." "So you are saying just be myself and forget that she is a machine," I suggested. "Exactly," he said. "Try to forget she is a twenty million dollar machine for which you and I are responsible." "I might be able to follow your rules but trust me, I am not going to forget that she is a machine. So what exactly can she do?" I asked. "Lots of stuff, you will get it as we go. I am familiar with her, so I already know what she is like. You just act like she is another woman and do what you can to help her." he suggested. "Mostly you are here to teach her how a strong woman will react to various stimuli." he said. "So you are going to toss a lot of fake situations at me, so that she can see my reaction," I asked. "Nothing fake, it is all for real. I have monitors everywhere you will be, so I will keep an eye on both of you." he said. "Not again," I commented. "It's a lot of the reason they chose you. You know how to act as if the camera isn't there." he said. "It wouldn't do anyone any good for our teacher to freak out about some slip up and then reveal our mission." "So you mean, having screwed men and women on camera is finally going to be an advantage for something." I said. "Not nearly as much as getting the others to do it knowing they are on film. You knew some of them would be horrified. Not all of them knew about the camera. That mother and her son, comes to mind." Lemar said. "I get it, so let's have the pizza and you can tell me all about Lucy." ------- Chapter 201: Off and Running at the Speed of Ice Melting Well the pizza was good, but not even close to being worth ten bucks a slice. At that price a medium pizza would be almost a fifty bucks. Way, way more than I would ever pay at home. The place had more class than a pizza hut, I had to admit that but not that much more. "I'm going to drop you at the terminal," Lamar informed me when we were back in the car. "I thought you were flying with me?" I asked. "No, I'll be going over on a military flight with Lucy. We will join you tomorrow," he said. "I guess that makes sense," I said. "Of course it does, we are pros. We even act like it at times." he said smiling. "You will be met by a local, who will take you to a hotel. They want Lucy to react with ordinary people, so there won't be any fancy hotels on your trip, but they are all approved by the company, so stay with the plan." "I would image that all the hotels are wired for video and sound," I suggested smiling. "Of course, the bosses want to protect their investment." he said. "But the good news is they consider you an investment and want to protect you as well." "Not as much as Lucy, I'm sure," I replied. "Probably not, but you get to stay under the same umbrella." he replied. "Nice way to put it," I said as I exited the car. "Well I guess I will see you in jolly old England." "You will for sure. Some of the time I will be directly involved with you two, but every country will be a little different." "Okay, well I guess I better go get screened." With that I left him in the parking lot. Inside the terminal it was back to limping around trying to find where I needed to be. I reported to the passenger loading area well before the plane was to leave. I didn't think to pick up a book, so I was stuck with reliving my past to fill in the time. The experience wasn't all that pleasant. Mostly they were simply painful memories. One after another, they marched through my conscious mind. No wonder I drifted in and out of sleep. I managed to wake up when the people around me began to stir. I joined them in line to have my one large combination purse and emergency carry on bag scanned. By emergency, I mean it held my make up and clean panties. A few other things like a hairbrush with a plastic handle which could be pulled and twisted to remove it from the brush part. When removed it, the handle became a four inch dagger. or so I was told by the man, at the flea market, who sold it to me. He also told me once it had been removed it would never xray as one piece again. I might have wasted my seven buck on the stupid plastic hair brush, or maybe not. It was one of those things you only knew about for sure when you needed it. You know like airbags on a car. You trust they will work, but how do you know until you need them. The hair brush remained a hairbrush, since the flight was long but uneventful. Being trapped in a jumbo jet for eight hours with 400 and change passengers was no fun at all. As usual my luck was rank. I sat across the aisle from a crying baby, and next to a guy who wanted to tell me about his business experiences, whenever I woke up. "Yeah the advertising cap business has been really good this year. I buy the blank caps from China, then embroider them in the states. I got the best of both worlds, China cheap but still a custom made in America label business." He said. It was at that point, when the hairbrush handle began to look like a reasonable way to shut him the fuck up. Instead I closed my eye and pretended to be asleep. That was difficult as well since the baby began to cry. Pull out a boob and feed that kid, I thought. I was actually asleep when the announcement came. "We will be landing in Heathrow Internation Airport in ten minutes, please move your seats to the upright position and secure any loose items." There was more, but I tuned her out as well as the baseball cap manufacturer. If this flight were an hour longer, I would kill that bastard, I thought. We were on the ground just seconds after that thought passed through my mind. Clearing the red tape was no fun, and of course the CIA didn't help me at all. The best way to hide something is to pay no attention to it. Yes, I understood that, but understanding didn't help the pain in my leg, while I stood waiting to have my passport stamped. Just to make passing through airports easier I had brought the cane made from a couple of pieces of pvc water pipe. The pipe was empty to make it easier to search. The rubbler tip slipped right off so that the whole pipe was accessible. Believe it or not I passed through the scanner in the airport security without any problem at all. On the other hand the British Customs and Inland Revenue inspection was very interested in the empty cane. I offered to just leave the cane with them, but nothing would do but they ran it through a metal detector and xray machine. It would have been hilarious, if I hadn't been in pain and suffering jet lag. Me and my one suitcase with nothing at all of value inside, wandered out into the commons area. I didn't even bother looking for a sign with my name. I just limped toward the exit. Outside that chrome and glass door was a long line of taxis. If I made it to those doors and then to a taxi, I had no idea where to go, but I needed sleep badly enough to just say take me to a hotel. "Ms Stone, this way please," the feminine voice said from behind me. I turned to see who was speaking. What I saw was a woman older than me even, with really bad looking teeth. She was also a good forty pounds over weight. I know I'm no beauty, but she was a true hag. I hoped she wasn't the CIA's idea of hide in plain sight. If it was, then I was on the wrong side for sure. "And you are?" I asked. "Christine luv," she said. "That doesn't mean a thing to me," I said. She looked harmless but they say Ted Bundy did as well. "Luv, the man what hired me said to tell you rotomouse," she said. "Rotomouse," I repeated then laughed. Only someone for real would confuse the name like that. "So where are you taking me?" I asked. "Why to your hotel of couse, Luv," she said. "Very well, let's go." I followed her to the taxi. It was a very plain looking vehicle and could be any age at all. The traffic was thick as fleas on a blue tick hound in rural Georgia. It was also terrifying for one who had never been in London. Every thing was backwards of course. I would hate to drive in this mess, I thought. The drive was an almost 30 minute long nightmare. Christine whipped in and out of traffic like a kamikaze pilot on speed. I sat in the back seat with white knuckle terror gripping me. The transition from bumper to bumper traffic moving at 40mph on an old street, to a less threatening traffic pattern was something for which to be thankful. At the same time the traffic was cut in half, the buildings turned into almost row houses. Most of the poorly matched stone walls of the houses reached five or more stories into the air. I wasn't sure that I would feel safe in the building where she stopped. The sign over the door should have read 'ready cheap hotel'. Instead it read Winston Saxon Arms. A grand name indeed for a dump. It wasn't even up to the standards an American hooker would use for her Johns. Of course that was an exaggeration, but the image of a hooker refusing to enter with her John was amusing. I was surprised when a man much older than me came out for my bags. Once inside the front door, I was greeted by a couple not much older than me. "Welcome to the Winston Saxon Arms, they said together. I am sure they rehearsed it a thousand times with a thousand other guests before me. "Thank you I'm exhausted, could you show me to my room." I said. "That will be twenty quid," Christine said. I hadn't noticed her tagging along behind me. I truly was exhausted, I thought. "Well Luv, if the man who hired you, didn't pay up front, you need to go find him. If you took a job from a man, you don't know without being paid first, you are the dumbest taxi driver on the planet. And if you have already been paid, then you think I'm the dumbest tourist on the planet. Now move along Luv." I said with a smile. "Quite right," the man of the greeting committee said to Christine. The burn phone, Lamar had given me, rang with of all things the theme from Magnificent 7. "Hello," I said. "See that's the kind of thing Lucy needs to learn," Lemar said. "When you get settled in and have a nap, we will all go out to dinner." "Good, you are paying and no tourist joints either. Something nice with good food and local atmosphere. Save the chrome and glass for the state department pukes," I said. If the Roomba was listening in, let her get a second lesson at the same time. I was way too tired to give a shit how it looked or sounded to a digital recorder. The bedroom was small with very little light coming through the heavy drapes. Since I wanted sleep more than a view, I quickly undressed, then slipped between the coarse sheets. It was no luxury hotel for sure, but I just didn't care at that moment. It was 11AM local time when I fell into a sleep which could easily be mistaken for death. It was a dreamless sleep, so when I awoke I couldn't remember falling asleep or having been asleep. What I could do was tell that my mind was again working at almost full speed. I would gladly accept that as opposed to the malaise I felt when I arrived at the 3rd rate hotel or whatever it was called. There was a very discrete sign on one of the doors. It read, shared bath please knock. I knocked. When there was no answer, I went inside to pee. Everything in the bath was old, but not as old as the building, of course. It also had the look of being shoehorned into the small room. After I peed I wiped myself with what had to be the most coarse toilet paper I had ever felt. Was I becoming disillusioned with the 'England on a dime' tour. That pirate gig was beginning to look some better. I had remember to lock the door connecting to the adjacent room, but I almost forgot to unlock it. I left my door to the bath open, while I collected clean underwear. I took a shower in what had to be the smallest shower known to man, or woman in my case. The water never quite got really hot, but it did get warm enough. I put the same jeans back on, but with a clean tee shirt. It was warm enough in the room for just the tee. Even a lightweight cotton sweater would have been too much on that afternoon. I sat on the tall bed trying to think. My mind was coming up to speed, but it wasn't nearly as fast as I would have liked. ------- Chapter 202: So That's a Lucy I had probably experienced jet lag previously, but I honestly didn't remember. I can promise you this, I will never forget the feeling again. My head was buried so far up my ass, I could see my last meal. I took another shower, not so much to wash away the sleep sweat, as to try to clear the cobwebs. "Hey girl," Lamar's voice came from the phone. I had answered it still dressed in my panties and bra. I knew that I was on camera, but I also knew that I had nothing worth flaunting. If anything, my body would bore the observer to death. "Lamar, what can I do for you?" I asked. "I wanted to give you a heads up. We are having a forth for dinner tonight. His name is Harvey Priest." Lamar informed me. "And who is Mr. Priest that I should care?" I asked. "One of the chief engineers on project Lucy," Lamar informed me. "He is here to give you the technical information about Lucy. Kind of lay out all, well most of the things you will have to deal with.? "I don't want the technical information about Lucy. I don't care how my car works either. I just take it in, when it isn't doing what I want. Lamar listen hon, I am no McGiver. If Lucy won't start, I will be calling the equivalent of a tow truck." "Well that is between you and Harvey. We will be eating late, why don't you call down and have them bring you a tray of snacks?" "How late is dinner going to be?" I asked. "Most likely nine pm or so," Lamar suggested. I was in jeans, when the girl from the kitchen brought the tray of crackers, cheese, and cold meats. It was a dry snack and I wanted to explain the difference between flavored cardboard and real food, but I lacked Helen's expertise. Coming from me it would just be a complaint and those get you no where. Since it was just after 5PM and dinner was going to be much later, I lay back down and fell asleep. I was still dopey, when I awoke at seven. The cobwebs cleared finally around eight. By the time the call came from Lamar, I was pretty much back in the game. "Meet us in the lobby in ten minutes," Lamar said to me. "Right," I replied. Lamar was about to get a surprised. Unlike most women I would be a few minutes early. I was always early, usually at least a few minutes, sometimes much more. When I got to the lobby, I found Lemar standing with two strangers. One was a male, who looked like Albert Einstein, but with better hair. The other was what appeared to be a woman, who looked ten years younger than me. She was so ordinary that if she went berserk and killed both men, I would be hard pressed to describe her to the police in any detail. I mean I knew she had mousy brown hair, somewhat like my own. Hers wasn't as thin, or as unruly as mine, but it was close. Her body was thin and tough looking, something like a knotted rope. She had very slim hips and small boobs. All in all I would describe Lucy as a compact model, whereas I am more a sedan. "Well Lamar, who are your friends?" I asked. "Maxine Stone, this is Doctor Priest and Lucy," He said. I put out my hand first to Lucy then to Priest. "Nice to meet you both." I was a little surprised that Lucy didn't crush my hand. She has actually done a good job of seeming warm and real. "I have heard an awfully lot about you Ms Stone," Priest said. "Really now, I can't imagine that. I mean I live in a small town and I'm quite ordinary." I said. "Hardly ordinary Maxine," Priest said. "When we began working on this project we knew that we needed a human model for our girl. One of my assistance found your story and TV show on line. We used you for a model, since we were close enough to the end, so that we were ready to do that." "I am truly flattered, even if was just lucky timing," I replied, even though I wasn't quite sure that it was a compliment. I turned my attention to Lucy. "So how are you Lucy?" I asked slowly. "I'm just fine Maxine and I hope you are," she said. You reading the words, is nothing like hearing her speak them. I swear she was June Cleaver, from the old Leave It To Beaver TV show. "I'm fine. Did anyone ever tell you that you are very conspicuous in your efforts not to be. You said all the right words, but people don't usually talk that well." "I see, I think I understand. What should I do then?" "I guess you will have to watch the subtle difference of those around you." I suggested. "I will attempt to do just that, Maxine," she said. She still sounded like a small town librarian. I knew that she would get the hang of it, since Lamar told me she was programmed to learn. "Let's go to dinner," Lamar suggested. "Good. what did you have in mind?" I asked. "There is a pretty good American style restaurant in the downtown," he suggested. "I didn't fly eight hours just to have dinner across the street from my home. Let's go to a real British pub for dinner." I turned my attention back to Lucy. "What do you say?" "Since I don't really eat, it makes no difference to me," she informed me. "I would have said simply, I don't have a preference they both sound fine." I watched as she processed that. "The 'I don't eat' part was more information than necessary." "I see what you mean, I should not say things that might force people to wonder about my origin." she said. "Exactly," I admitted. I turned to Lamar, since I do have a preference and I do eat, I want to go to a neighborhood pub. One that isn't filled with tourists." Lemar just nodded, then disappeared for a few minutes. "Is it true that you fought pirates in the Gulf of Aden?" Priest asked. "Yes, but it wasn't very heroic. I even got shot there." I said. "So how is the leg?" Lucy asked. "Better," I said with the question for Priest in my eyes. "We call that the empathy program," he said with a smug smile. "Well, if I didn't know better, it would have for sure worked." I replied. The Bore and Thistle was just like the set of a TV show. The wood was dark and the pub lighting did nothing to brighten it. There was no telling what the poor lighting was meant to hide. Since I was starved, I hoped it wasn't hiding roaches in the food. "So what's good?" I asked the badly over weight, middle aged woman, with even worse hair than me. "I haven't a clue luv," she said to me. "Well what's in this stew?" I asked. "Today it, lamb stew, with potatoes and green peas," she said. "Along with onions of course." "Of course," I replied. "How is the steak and onion pie?" You just can't go wrong with steak and onions, I thought. "I rather like it myself," she informed me. "That's good enough for me. Since it comes in sizes I'll have a small and so will by friend Lucy," I pointed to Lucy while I spoke. Lamar and Priest ordered some kind of dish made with beer. I wouldn't be surprised to find everything had some beer in it. The beer was warm as I had been told it would be, so I was glad that I had ordered coffee instead. "When the food comes Lucy, if you don't want it, push it around your plate. We can always switch plates when I finish mine. I will take a few bites of yours so that it at least looks as though you ate some of it." Lamar looked at the Doctor and smiled as if to say, I told you so. "Don't be so smug, I just don't want her to embarrass me." I admitted. "By the way this bot is not one of those terminator's is she?" "No of course not, this is not a movie," Lamar said. "Sweetie don't lie to me like that. If you wanted her to learn the social graces, you would have hired a débutante. From me she is only going to learn how to avoid trouble until it can't be avoided any more." "That and few other things, but for now trust me, she is not a killer bee," Priest said. The food came, so I gave it up. The steak and onion pie was very good. It had great gravy and the onions were both crispy and soft. Altogether a successful dinner, so I also ate all of Lucy's dinner as well. "You guys ready to leave?" Lamar askedm. I could tell he felt a little uncomfortable. Paranoia is something everyone on the edge lives with. Sometimes it's a struggle to keep it below the surface. He was a black man, sitting with two white women in a blue collar pub. I know that kind of thing is accepted all over the world. All except for some small enclaves of working class neighborhoods, inside larger cities. Such was the case at the Bore and Thistle. I figured that I would see what kind of operative Lamar was. It pays to know who you are working with and the sooner the better. "Hell no, lets play darts. I have never played. Maybe one of these gentlemen will give me some pointers." Priest just smiled, Lamar looked a little nervous. I couldn't really blame him, the crowd in the common room was a bit rough looking and of course they were, late night bar, loud. Some of them seemed to be spoiling for a confrontation. One look at Lamar and I knew that he was not the Irishman or the Gunny. Either of those two would have waded into the crowd with looks to send the 'would be' bad asses bunch scurrying for shelter. The only way to judge my new partners was to step in and see how he reacted. I needed to know before things got too far out of hand. I would then be able to conduct myself accordingly. I was sure that I could wimp out as well as anyone, if that was the way things were going to be. "Come on Lucy, let's play darts." She looked at priest who nodded his head. "Very well Maxine, we shall play a game of darts with the locals." she said. "Be ready for anything," I said to Lucy. "I always am ready for anything," she said but with no facial expression. "Lucy when you say that kind of thing, you have to smile like this," I flashed her my bad ass smile. "Like this?" she asked. As she asked it she was showing me a smile that could have been for a child's birthday party. It was totally out of place for the situation in which we found ourselves. She did look like a retard with that sweet smile, while I was doing my bad ass bitch thing right beside her. I couldn't help but laugh. Before I left the table I carefully wiped off one of steak knives. I really did like their steak knife. For some reason it had a lot more heft than the ones used in most restaurants. I hid the steak knife under my tee shirt. "Hey guys would you consider teaching me and my friend how to play that game. We have seen movies of people in pubs playing it, but never thought we would get the chance." "Sure you can play with me anytime baby," he said with a wink for the others. "Ah I see, so this isn't going to be about darts. Then I guess we need to go," I said. One of the young men answered, "I don't think so. We don't often get Yank Sluts in here. We can teach you darts, and how to mind your manners as well." ------- Chapter 203 "Oh see that black man over there, we are with him. I don't think he would take kindly to us playing anything but darts with you." I said. "You think I'm scared of some jungle bunny in a suit?" he asked. "I don't know what to think. But I will tell you this, he is one bad dude. We call him Daddy Evil," I said. "You stay right where you are, we will go have a talk with Daddy Evil," the young man said with a laugh. When they were out of hearing Lucy asked, "Why did you do that. He is not known as Daddy Evil. That's Lamar from the technical procurement section of the company. He oversees our contracts." "He let me believe he is a field agent," I said smiling. "No, no he is in administration. We have to tell those young men the truth. They may damage Lamar." she said it with the same tone she might have used to tell me it was raining outside. "Lets just see how he does. It might be good to know how much help he will be in a shit storm." I said. "I am not familiar with that term," Lucy said. "Shit storm, you know like when the shit hits the fan," I said. "Of course the fan blade would chop the shit. Then blow it out as in a stream, but instead of water it would rain shit. I see now," she said. "Then what you really want to know is what he will do in an emergency situation?" "Like I said, what he will do in a shit storm," I replied smiling at her. "You are a strange person Maxine. You could just ask him couldn't you?" she suggested. "All men are heroes and have gigantic cocks," I said. "If you ask them." "If you get out of that booth, you and I are going to go outside and I'm going to give you a proper beating," the kids said in that street cockney accent that only a British thug can manage. I could see the panic in Lamar's eyes. I'm not sure what he would have done, if I had not stepped in, but he could have gotten hurt. "Okay my white knight, you have made your grand gesture. Now you need to move on." "Oh why is that?" he asked. "I think the bartender is about to call the police. I assume that since we are tourists, they will take your ass off to jail. I also assume that it won't be your first rodeo cowboy. So unless you enjoyed the last time behind those gray walls, you should move on." "You and me are going to meet again," he said to me with an evil smile. "Did your friends call you Kevin back at the dart board?" I asked. "Yes they did," he said. Kevin was leaning forward with his hand on the table of the booth where we had dinner, so I slid back into the booth before I continued. "Kevin you should not have threatened me hon," I said. "What you going to do about it bitch?" he asked. I quickly pinned his hand to the table with one of the darts. "Nothing, I'm just going to return your dart." He screamed like a teeny bopper on her first day of high school. Then his buddy pulled the dart from his hand. They wrapped his hand in a towel. His friend came to stand near me. "Now. are you planning to threaten me as well?" I asked. "No Ma'am, I'm going to tell you that Kevin is an ass, when he drinks too much, and he drinks too much quite often. He is going to get himself killed some night for that mouth of his." the young man said, I removed the steak knife from tbe waist band of my jeans. I tossed it on the table, then said, "Tonight could very easily have been the night Luv." "Don't worry, we won't be bothering you again," the friend said. "You should get him to a clinic," I suggested. "Yes I think that is an excellent idea," the friend said it as he walked away. The pub was deathly quiet, then as if on cue everyone went back to what they were doing. It was Lucy who spoke first. "Why did you stab the young man?" she asked. I thought about it a few minutes then answered as Gunny would have. "When people argue; they tend to escalate the rhetoric. By the time it reaches the level of violence, everyone is ready to kill or be killed. If you can, it is best to get ahead of the curve, way ahead. I just brought real violence into the argument early. If you bring enough force it will usually end it. Of course if it doesn't, somebody will most likely die. The truth is someone probably would have died anyway." "You mean, you think they were going to kill me?" Lamar asked. "Well, I don't think they wanted to take you out side for a dance in the moonlight and few wet kisses," I said. I laughed and noticed that Lucy was smiling. I thought at the time that she was taking her cues from me. I didn't think she understood that kind of humor but was learning the appropriate reaction by watching me. "So Lamar how do we get out of here without getting our collective asses whipped?" I asked. "We could call the cops," he suggested. "We could also call the fire department and the boy scouts, but that is probably unnecessary. Let's call a cab. He will pull right up to the door, I expect. If we can make it from the restaurant into the cab we should be good." I suggested. "Unless they follow us back to the hotel," he said. "There is that possibility, but then it is a company hotel. Surely they have procedures in place for that possibility. " I pointed out. "Yes, I'm sure they do." he admitted. "So call us a cab," I said. Through all of it Priest said nothing. He was a scientist nerd, not a field agent. When the cab driver came in, we left with him. It was all rather anticlimactic. But I prefer it that way. Back at the hotel Priest said to me, "Do you think you and I can have a little talk before I go?" "Of course, would you like to come to my room and have the talk there? I asked. "That would be fine. Would you mind terribly if I bring Lucy along?" he asked me in reply. "Not at all," I said. Twenty minutes later I opened my door to their knock. "Come on in," I said. "Would you like a drink?" I asked Priest. "Lucy can I get you anything, a glass of warm wd40 perhaps?" "No thanks WD40 gives me indigestion," she said with a smile. "I have heard that one before," she explained. "Ah a little robot humor, I love it." I said to priest. "So Lucy do you have anything you would like to ask Maxine?" Priest asked. "Actually no, she explained things quite well at the pub. I am curious as to how she learned all those things," Lucy asked. "I picked it up over a lifetime of banging around," I said. "Also I knew some really strong men and women along the way. If you stay with me, I will be passing along things I learned from them. Very little I do, originated with me. A wonderful lover I call the Gunny, because he was a Marine Gunnery sergeant, taught me how to win. Actually it more the psychology of winning in a potentially violent confrontation. It is what the dart in the dude's hand was all about. Force times ten, he called it. Never up a confrontation by a single step. Give the guy you are confronting, ten times the force he showed you. I have never seen it fail to discourage an opponent." "So why did you start the altercation?" Priest asked. "Can I answer for you?" Lucy asked. "Of course," I replied. "If Maxine is going to walk into a shit storm, she wants to know how each of us will react. She was testing Lamar this time. Next time I expect it will be me. If she feels that I can not take care of myself, she will most likely abandon me to save herself." she turned from Priest to me. "Is that about right?" Lucy asked. "Some of it is, I want to know how each of you will react to danger. I know about Lemar now. I do want to know about you as well." I thought that I was being honest with everyone and that they would appreciate it. "I see, maybe you are the wrong person for this assignment after all," Priest said. "That is quite likely true. Why not take your Lucy and go home. She can stay a lab rat for you. If you ever want her to be a field operative, she has to prove herself, then she has to learn how to survive out here." I said. "You aren't really a field agent, so how come you think you can speak for one," Priest said. "You do have a point, so let's put it this way. You wouldn't send me out here with Lucy unless you expect something to happen. If it does, I want to know what the people around me can handle and some of idea of what they will do." "I'm not people," Lucy said. "Tell me something Lucy which directive in your program tells you to protect yourself at all costs?" I asked. "It is the second directive" she said without a hint of guile. "So what is directive number one?" I asked. "Number one is that she can never use deadly force on a human, except to protect another human. She is also programmed to know which human is the correct one to save. She can not use deadly force on a human simply to protect herself," Priest said. "That's fair enough," I replied. "I'm still suffering jet lag. I'm going to bed. Should you decide to stay, I'll see you in the morning. If not, have a good trip home." After the action I was keyed up and horny as hell. My choices were Priest or Lamar, Instead of either I chose the Internet. I had bought a new netbook for the trip. I was told that there would be Internet Cafes around, so I expected to be able to use it. When I pulled it out to check, I was surprised to find that the hotel was a wifi hot spot. I checked into one of the adult chat rooms where I visit, when I am turned on and alone. I signed in as stonecoldchic. As usual it took about half a minute for my screen to fill with private messages. The room was filled with a mixture of Americans and Europeans. Heavier on the Americans, since it was already midnight in London. I was slowly rotating my clit as I answered questions about my fantasy self. My fantasy self Stonecoldchic was based mostly on Cheryl. I knew enough about her to pretend to be her online that night. LondonBobby "Hey chick where you at." Me "Believe it or not I'm in London on business." London Bobby "Wanna meet for a drink?" Me "No can do I'm working." LondonBobby: "That's no fun. Don't you get any time off?" Me "Im off now but ready for bed." LondonBobby "So what you wearing?" Me "Panties and a tee." London Bobby "So what brings you here?" Me "Looking for a man who doesn't care what brings me here. good night." I shut down the computer and went to bed. I was exhausted anyway. Even so I couldn't sleep. I rotated my clit while I thought about Lamar. I wondered how large his cock would be. I had never slept with a black man, even though I had been around them for years while in the Air Force. I just never had any interest in them. Maybe it was a racial thing, or maybe our belief system was just too different. Either way I still wondered about Lamar. Since I slept with only a few men, and since one of us tended to move on quickly, my vagina was tight almost all the time. At forty it would stretch some after a few times with a man, I seriously doubted that I could ever stretch enough to be comfortable with some of the black men I had seen in interracial porn. As I thought about Lamar and wondered, I continued to move toward an orgasm. When it happened, I was imagining how his really big cock would hurt, but I knew that the ache would be eased by the chemical imbalance created by pure lust. That's what usually happens when I am in pain while having sex. I orgasmed long and hard while remembering some of the men who had been large enough to cause me pain at least the first few times with them. ------- Chapter 204: the Unlikely Tourist Has a Question I awoke to a heart stopping second the next day. There was Lucy sitting in my one comfortable chair. "Jesus don't ever do that again," I said "If I had been at home, I would have shot you." I said. "Sorry I got bored, so I came to sit with you," she informed me. "Do you ever sleep?" I asked it not because I really cared. Well I did care in a way. I didn't like the idea of her creeping around all night. "I power down for an hour or so to let my circuits cool. Otherwise I'm always turned on," she said. "That sounds a little risqué," I suggested. "Try to avoid saying 'turned on' around men. If not you will have them all hot and bothered." "Ah, I see what you mean. I know that the turned on means two differen things. It just never occurred to me that anyone would take it out of context." Lucy said. "Honey, men are always taking things out of context. It's probably the one thing they are good at, finding a sexual innuendo, where there is none. So try to use human terms, even though they really aren't quite right. For instance a human asks, "Don't you ever sleep. Your answer should be, I sleep very little maybe a couple of hours a night.' "I see what you mean it's all part of protecting myself at any cost." she said. "Exactly," I replied. I changed the subject. "I'm going to go take a shower." "Very well, I will keep watch," she said. "You are smart as hell I know, so let's make a code you and I. When you want to say, I'll stay and keep watch, instead say, "I'll be right here when you finish." "Ah just to confuse anyone who is listening. It's a good plan," she agreed. "Glad you like it. Now I'll be finished soon, so just wait and we will go to breakfast." "Okay but you know I don't eat." "Code: Fine but I'm not very hungry." I suggested. "Ah yes, I'll get it soon, I promise," she said. "You are doing just fine," I replied. Except that the water never really got very hot, it was a good shower. I needed tom wash off the night sweat. I put on clean panties and bra for my the first full day in England. I wasn't sure who would be joining us for breakfast and I didn't plan to go looking for anyone. I was hungry and I didn't mind eating alone. Well alone except for the Hoover. Once in the lobby the Hotel's concierge had a message for us. "Ladies, would you like to join our other guests in the dining room for breakfast. Your friend is already in there waiting." "What about it Lucy, would you like to eat in the dining room here?" I asked. "Since I'm not very hungry, why don't you decide Maxine," she said. It was a flawless performance. I smiled warmly at her. It was a mark of approval and she knew it. "In that case sure why not," I replied. "The traditional English breakfast consists of eggs, bacon, sausages, fried bread, baked beans and mushrooms. We create a breakfast bar consisting of all the traditional breakfast foods. Feel free to sample them all or any part of it." the older and very proper gentleman explained. He was obviously part of the British experience we were supposed to leave with. Lamar was sitting at a table for four nursing a cup of coffee. "So have you eaten yet?" I asked. "No, I have been hoping you two would join me. Doctor Priest left for the airport a half hour ago." Lamar did not look happy. "So what's wrong Lamar?" I asked. "Doctor Priest informed me this morning that you arranged that incident last night to test me. I am not happy that you felt you needed to do that." he said. "That's not what is bothering you Lamar. You are bothered because you didn't hit a home run last night. Like it or not, and sometimes I don't either, I have worked with giants among men over this last year and a half. Not every man, in every incident was a super hero, some like you were just good solid men. Good men who were doing the best they could in a difficult situation. There is no shame in not being a giant. The shame would have been, if I had allowed something to turn nasty and got you hurt thinking you were a giant. Last night was a situation I felt I could control, something may come along none of us can control. If that happens I have to know everybody's strengths." I intentionally left out the weaknesses part. "I am a trained field agent," Lamar said. "How many assignments have you been on Lamar?" I asked. "Okay this is my first, but it is supposed to be a piece of cake. I could have handled that thing last night if it hadn't come out of nowhere," he said. "Things usually do come out of nowhere," I said. "Yes but since you set it up you knew what to do," he replied sharply. "Okay, let's just have breakfast and get on with this vacation," I suggested more testy than I should have. I left the two of them alone while I filled a plate with full sliced bacon and eggs. I would have preferred a bacon and egg biscuit from Hardee's or a sandwich from Helen's. Nonetheless the food was surprising good, in that artery clogging sense. I watched Lucy fake the coffee drinking experience. She was very good at it. If the cup had not remained full the whole time I would have bought it. "Are you not eating this morning?" I asked her directly." She knew our conversation could be overheard so she played along. "I seem to be a little under the weather this morning," she said smiling weakly. She seemed to be a pretty good actress, when the situation called for it. When we left the dining room Lamar paid the check, as he should have. We looked like typical American tourist. Lucy was wearing designer jeans and a beautiful silk blouse, Lamar was wearing Khaki shorts and a navy knit top, and I was in my faded well worn jeans and white knit blouse with a collar. All in all we looked the part of tourists, now all we had to do was get along for a whole day. We rode around in a double decker tour bus for most of the morning. I enjoyed that just fine. It was different from riding around on my bike, but it was still out in the open on the top level. After the tour all three of us went for a walk in one of the green spaces in London. It was such a small space, I had to walk around it twice to get in my three miles. Even with the cane my leg ached. When we finished, I limped to the taxi, which Lamar flagged down for us. "I don't suppose you are up for the walking tour of Sherlock Holme's London are you?" Lamar asked. "You could have mentioned it was on the agenda, before I did my morning walk," I said sharply. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you could handle it. I guess now I know your limitations as well," he replied. "So you do," I said more than a little pissed. I turned my attention to Lucy. "Lucy honey this is where you should say, Now Children," I suggested. "Ah I see, I should be assertive, when it is called for. Thank you Maxine, I had a feeling I should have been engaged," she replied. "Lamar why don't you reschedule the walking tour for tomorrow morning. Whatever you had planned for then, we can do now. You did have something planned for tomorrow didn't you?" I asked. "We can take a boat tour, which includes the New Globe Theater," he suggested. We don't need a reservation for that. Also there isn't too much walking involved," he said. Yes it was a snide remark. What he didn't know and what I didn't plan to tell him, was that I could handle the pain well enough to walk anywhere I really needed to go. Not anywhere I wanted to go, but needed to go. There is a difference you know. Lunch was fish and chips from a vendor just off the shopping district. I enjoyed the food a lot actually. Lucy ordered hers and picked at it, then tossed it in the trash as we passed by. I made a note to tell the Doctor to work out somethings, since so far that was her glaring design flaw. Leave it to a woman to think about clean underwear. I knew for a fact that if we were going to do the tourist thing, I needed a way to get my laundry done. When we went back to the hotel to rest after lunch I asked, "Do you have a laundry service?" "Yes ma'am we do. If you wish, I can give you a bag to in which to place your laundry, Just leave it on your bed and the maid will take care of it." It was the lady, who had greeted me the day before, who gave me the information. "Then yes, I would like one of those bags," I replied. What she gave me was a fishnet kind of bag. I didn't mind that at all. Since the CIA was picking up the room tab, I decided not to even think about it again, just send out my clothes every day. After I filled the bag, I planned to lie down to rest. If I should fall asleep, that would be okay as well. I was still just a little groggy from the flight. I made it to the bed and even reclined on it, then without warning Lucy appeared from the bathroom door. I am going to have to lock that door, I thought. "Maxine could we talk?" she asked. "Of course we can talk. I am glad that you waited until we are alone. It is hard to say something about other people, when they are present. You do understand?" I asked. "Yes, I understand. I will not question your decisions, when others are present," she promised. "Good, then what is it you need?" I asked. "I would like to know what it's like to have an orgasm?" she asked. "Holy shit girl, you picked a difficult thing for me to explain, even to another human. I am not sure I can explain it to you." I said. "Would you try, I promise I will try hard to understand." Lucy was dead serious. "How much do you know already about human sexuality?" I asked. Obviously you have been reading about it." "I know that the purpose of sex is to procreate," she informed me. "Okay let's start at that place then. Try to follow me. Let me know, if I lose you." I said. "Okay," she agreed. "You can call it God or anything else you like. Mother Nature will do for now. So Mom Nature demands that we procreate. But the results of that is kids. Kids are hard work and expensive. That is true of all species, having kids is a pain in the ass. So to keep us having sex, Mom made it extremely enjoyable. That feeling is so good that it outweighs the pain of having children. Mother Nature also creates the need in most women to be mothers. To continue their line so to speak. For men it is more about the overwhelming need to orgasm. "Maxine I understand all that but what does it feel like to have one." she asked. "Are you capable of feeling pleasure?" I asked. "I honestly do not know," she replied. "If you don't feel any pleasure then there is no way you could know what it is like to orgasm. It is the most pleasurable feeling possible." "I see, there is the theoretical possibility that I could learn emotions. The doctors really don't know what a machine, who can learn, is capable of feeling." she said. I could only nod. ------- Chapter 205: Let's Blow This Apothicary Stand Since I had no idea what Lucy was about, I stayed quiet until she got the idea and left. The truth was that I had no idea whether she was a pure machine, or had a human component like robocop. To be perfectly honest, I just didn't care. I was just baby sitting her until I could go home again. After Lucy left I took a nap. When I awoke, my leg ached terribly. When I tried to stand, I wanted to cry the pain was that bad. It was more than just the muscle ache. It was something else as well, but I didn't have any idea what. I needed something for the pain. I had tried Vicodin, when I first returned home from the hospital. I didn't like how it made me feel at all. I did better taking Tylenol with a dose or two of Aleve thrown in for good measure. I doubt any doctor would tell you to mix the two, but I knew that as a short term pain reliever it was almost as good as Codeine, without the mind numbing side effects. I somehow managed the shower and even the walk down the stairs to the lobby. I found the old Gentleman working behind his desk. "Sir, I need some Tylenol, could you point me to a pharmacy?" I asked. "Ah the Chemist is a block north on this same street. It's a short walk, but you don't seem to be up to it," he suggested. "I'll manage, thank you for the information," I left with a pretty severe limp, but under my own power. I knew that it might take me a while, but I was determined to make it on my own. The others would be down for dinner soon, so if they asked the desk man, he would surely tell them where to find me. Before I got to the pharmacy, I heard someone come up behind me. I realized that the only weapon I had was a lightweight PVC water pipe cane. If the person closing on me was intent on evil, it would probably be the end of me. "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" Lucy asked. "I would have loved to walk with you. You can even lean on me." "I figure you need your sleep," I said smiling. "You know I don't sleep." she said. Then the light bulb seemed to light up. "Ah that is humor. I understand now. Nonetheless you should have asked for help." "I'm fine," I replied. "I only read a short paper on body language, but anyone can tell you are in pain." she informed me. "Thanks for the information, I wondered what it was that I was feeling," I said sarcastically. "Oh my that was sarcasm. I have experienced that before. So where are we headed?" she asked. "The drugstore," I said pointing down the street. "At least you chose something close." she said. "How do you know that? Do you have some kind of built in GPS?" I asked. "Actually I do, but I don't have the GPS coordinates. What I do have is excellent vision and I can see the sign." She it it pointing the very large sign which read Chemist. "With a sight change of tone, that would be more robohumor." I said. When we finally arrived at the shop, I was thrilled to see a small coffee bar in the rear. First I bought the largest bottle of Tylenol and the largest bottle of Aleve available to me. I paid for them first, then I dry swallowed the maximum does of each. Probably not the most healthy thing to do, but at that moment I just wanted the pain to stop. I went to the coffee bar to order coffee and water. I needed the water to dilute the pills, so that they didn't burn my stomach. The coffee wouldn't do anything but give me some feeling of normalcy, which at that moment I needed. I made Lucy sit beside me, so that I could put my leg up in the chair across from me. "It is going to take roughly thirty minutes for the drugs to enter your blood stream. Can we sit here drinking coffee that long?" she asked. "I can sit drinking coffee for hours," I said with a smile. "I like when you smile Maxine. Even when I know you are in pain, you smile. I think that speaks well for you." "Sweetie when the pain stops, you are dead," I repeated the exact words Gunny used when describing the pain of his heart attack. "Either that or you have some damn good dope." I added both to him then again to Lucy. "I'm not sure how comforting that is to most humans, but it seems to have made an impression on you," she said. "It wasn't just the words, it was the man who said them as well." I replied. "Speaking of Gunny, he would be very upset that I still don't have a weapon to even the odds." "You are expecting trouble again?" she asked. "I am always expecting trouble," I replied. "Bad habit I know. It takes the fun out of sightseeing." "Tonight we are going to a play at the globe," Lucy said. "I'm glad to see Lamar is talking to someone," I replied. "Yes, but I didn't injure his male ego." Luce admitted. "Did you read an article on that as well," I asked. "Part of a text book on elementary psychology. It wouldn't hurt you to read it as well." she suggested. "Why I knew that he would be crushed, when he found out that I didn't think he was God." I said it smiling. "No man is God you know, but all men think they are. Something else you can add to your growing pile of useless information." I had finished my coffee and traded cups with her. I did it more to avoid standing than to save the two bucks that coffee cost. "Would it surprise you to know that I have read your files and watched your TV show," Lucy asked. "I hadn't thought about it, but it does makes sense that you would have. If I were you, I would want to know all there was to know about my new best friend," I said. "Oh you consider me your new best friend?" she asked. "No, but I'm your new best friend. My best friend is a lawyer back home." I said. "Yes Jennifer, I don't understand that. She sleeps with your boyfriends and skims off huge amounts of money from your enterprises." Lucy said. "It's because of her that I make the money, so I don't begrudge her a share. As for the lovers, after we are finished, they no longer exist to me." I said. "The Doctor and lab techs were wondering how you could handle it emotionally, now I know. I might not tell them though, since it is so simple. I think they were hoping you would just go crazy and settle with all them like in the Godfather movie." I had to laugh. "Nice imagery but I hardly have a mob," I said it with a laugh. "Of course you do, you just aren't well organized. You pick who you need for the job at hand. It's really quite amazing that people rally around you just for the thrill of it all. Most of them do the real work and you get to be the heroine," she said. "That makes me sound awfully selfish," I replied. "Maybe you are. Then again usually the things you do need to be done. It's your definition of being heroic. To do a thing just because it needs to be done." she said. "Actually it was my dad's." I said. "There you two are," Lamar said as he walked up to the table. "Get yourself a cup of coffee and join us. Bring me another one as well. I'm going to the ladies room." I left Lucy in his care while I went to pee. Coffee does that to me. I walked using the cane as little as possible. I still had to use it to keep me stable, but the pain was much less severe. When I returned, Lamar said, "You have a package back in the hotel." "Oh who is it from?" I asked. "It's from someone who knows where we are, so you better open it when we get back." "Lucy said we are going to the theater tonight. Which of Willies plays are we going to see?" I asked. "Willie?" Lucy asked. "I have a bad memory, so I tend to give everyone an easier name to remember. It is short for William. You know Shakespeare's familiar name." "Ah I see," Lucy admitted. "So?" I asked Lemar. "Taming of the Shrew." he said. "Ah, seems appropriate," I admitted. "So how long before we need to leave?" "We should be heading that way now," he advised me. "Okay Lucy are you ready to leave?" I asked. "Yes I am Maxine," she said. "How about something less formal to answer a question. I am sure in your data banks there are some cute phrases." I suggested. "Yes of course," she said. "So Lucy are you ready to go," I asked again. "Yes I am. Let's blow the apothecary stand," she said. I couldn't help laughing. "Beautiful, just fucking beautiful," I said. "Thank you Maxine," Lucy said. Lamar just shook his head. The package held a new cane and a DVD. The cane was heavier than my PVC water pipe but it looked pretty much the same only larger. I put the DVD into my computer and it started itself. "Hello Maxine," The admiral said. "Those CIA pukes don't really have your best interest at heart, but I'll be damned if I'll let them get you killed for lack of a means to defend yourself. Enjoy the cane, and throw it in the ocean, when you are though with it." He was a man of few words and I liked that about him. After his little speech there was a video showing the cane and how to use it. The damn thing was a ceramic shotgun barrel. Just under the handle was the chamber. The handle held the firing pin as well. I saw a man load it and then fire it. I watched that part over and over. The cane fired a 410 gauge shotgun shell. Since I wasn't going to be flying anytime soon, I should be able to smuggle it across borders. It wouldn't even set off a metal detector, or so the video said. I decided to keep the very existence of my little toy a big secret. There was no need for the others to know. The Globe theater proved to be a let down. I thought the actors were pretty much rank amateurs. Of course I never was a big Shakespeare fan, so that might have played into my assessment. Lucy however hung on every word. Watching her was much more fun than watching the play. I could almost see her analyzing the play word for word. I would have bet my life that in the end she could tell me exactly how many words were spoken. After the play we took a taxi to a very large disco. I agreed only to see how Lucy would handle it. I told her to go dance we would watch over her. Lucy was a terrible dancer. When she returned I asked, "So how did you enjoy your dance?" "It was fascinating. How did I look?" she asked. "Pretty bad honey, we might want to invest in some dance lessons. If we were home, I know just the lady." Tiny dancer would love the challenge I expected. After an hour we took a taxi back to the hotel. I checked out my computer messages and sent a thank you email to the admiral. I was just getting ready for bed, which was not much more than changing into a tee shirt with the US flag over my small breasts, when she entered the room. I had to wonder what the deal was. "Would you mind if I sat here tonight. I feel safe with you. It is that save yourself at all cost directive thing." Lucy said. "You don't have to explain. Would you like to share the bed?" I asked knowing there was no way to have sex with her. It would be nice to just have someone in the bed, even if that someone didn't breath. ------- Chapter 206: on the Lamb With Lucy During the next two weeks the three of us toured The British Isles. We saw the white cliffs of Dover from a boat tour. We saw the coal mining towns of Wales from pedal bikes. After a day on the pedal bike, I was in pain again. Fortunately I had plenty of pain killers and they were all legal. The third week of our tour we were off to Ireland. The tour was filling Lucy's computer with first hand experiences. Not even her builders knew her capacity for learning, so the tour was laid out to just throw things at her. After Ireland the team came over to evaluate Lucy's performance and her state of mind, if there were such a thing, at that time. The two day evaluation gave me time to rest and catch up on my TV shows on the computer. After Ireland we were back in the London hotel operated as a CIA front. The scientists had taken over the ballroom downstairs as well as most of the top floor. Lucy came in to sleep with me at night, otherwise I saw very little of her over those two days. "Maxine we need to talk," Priest said to me on the third day. "You have my attention," I said it over breakfast in the hotel's dining room. "I think you will agree that Lucy has made tremendous progress in her assimilation abilities. She might be considered a quirky academic, if dropped into a social setting." Priest said. "I can see that. She would be the nerd nest door kind of thing, but anyone who had a good knowledge of how things work, would know she was different." I suggested. "Yes she still has a ways to go, but I am very pleased with her progress. You two seem to be a good fit," he suggested. "Don't get any ideas, when my contract time is up, I'm out of here," I said. "I hope you change your mind, but if you don't, we will still part friends. You have given the project a huge lift. Lucy might have learned from anyone, but she has learned from you and it seem to be the perfect environment for her." Priest said. "I have no idea what her mission is, but she can be a great resource. I'm not sure how much creative thinking she can do, but she is still a huge asset," I said. "Actually, you just cut right to the heart of it. We would like for you to begin teaching her how to problem solve on her own. Give her the perimeters, and the outcome you want, then see what she comes up with. If it isn't too far off the wall, try it and see what she learns from it." "You know this could get messy?" I asked. "I trust you will keep it manageable. Lucy listens to you and gives your advice and opinions more weight than anyone else. We didn't program that into her. She has made her own value judgment, which is also a huge step forward." Priest said. "She has also played a million video games and is proficient at them all, which should help her with her creative thinking. Yes, but they are structured, real life isn't," I suggested. "That is also true, Once you learn one game, it is easier to play the next." Priest said. "The same is somewhat true of life's real situations." I agreed... We left England the next day unexpectedly. But only Lucy and I traveled together. Lamar shadowed us on a different train to dover then a different ferry to France. In Calais we were on our own. Since we started in the middle of the night. we arrive in Calais early in the morning. "So Lucy I just know you plugged into the Internet last night when you found out where we were headed." I said. "Yes I did," she admitted. "So here we are in Calais, where do we go from here it's up to you. I will not make this decision." I said forcefully. "I don't really have a preference," she said. "Then we will sit on this dock till hell freezes over," I replied with a smile. "Alright then Paris," she said. "No too easy anywhere else in France and we will go there. Not Paris it's too obvious. Lamar could find us there. We are going to drop off the radar for a week at least. No big brother watching over us." I said. "But I have a tracking device," she informed me. "I expected that to be the case. For this exercise the tracking device had been disabled. So where to my little runaway?" I asked. Not only did she have a working tracking device, but I was sure that our conversations were being monitored as well. She didn't have to think long, but she did it out loud. "So they have tracked us this far, but from here we plan to leave no trail. We need cash." she informed me. "Well they know we are here, lets go to a bank and convert some plastic to cash. How much cash do you think we need." "Maybe a thousand US dollars?' she asked. "Don't ask me tell me. How many euros is that?" I asked. "700 more or less at the current rate," she said. "Then that's our budget for this escape," I said. "We will have to be frugal. The ball is still in your court. Where do we go? You think about it while I get the cash." The CIA had given me a credit card with a unlimited draw. I'm sure there was a limit, but they didn't expect me to reach it. I went into a bank presented it along with my passport and left with 700 euros. When I turned from the teller window, there was Lucy and she wore her first spontaneous smile. She rattled off a name I could never pronounce or even come close to spelling. It sounded a little like Marie Stew so that's how I thought of it. "So how far to Marie Stew?" I asked. She smiled again, because she remembered my habit of renaming places for my own convenience. "85 Kilometers," she said. "And how do you propose we get there?" I asked. "The railway station is about a mile from here. Do you think you can walk that far carrying your bag?" she asked. "If not I can carry it, or we can get a taxi." "We can't afford a taxi and I will not have you carry my bag. We will make it, even if I have to crawl." I almost had to do just that. My leg was giving me a fit again. Way too much tourist shit, I thought. "The fair is 22 euros each to Marie Stew," Lucy informed me from here data banks. Since there was a wait of half hour for the next train headed that direction, we went to the pastry shop across the way. Two coffees and one creme filled pastry ate up what would be the balance of a fifty euro note. We found a young man who was willing to go into the station to buy our tickets for us. I explained to him that I was injured and could not wait in line. Also that Lucy had to stay with me, since I sometimes had seizures. He was more than willing to do the small chore for us. In exchange Lucy tried to flirt with him. She was terrible at it, but he was young and didn't notice. We by passed the inside of the station and walked around the outside, so as not to be seen. We also avoided walking through the parking lot together. She went first with a Muslim headdress kind of thing. Then from the other side of the parking lot I went through with a floppy fisherman type hat that covered my hair and face. In the train I said to Lucy, "Our goal is to stay hidden for one week, then we will resurface. Agreed?" "Agreed, this must be how a school girl playing hooky feels," she said. "So you do feel something?" I asked. "Yes, but I don't know what it is," she informed me. "Hell it's your emotion, you get to decide what to call it. Hell, you can call it Bob if you want," I informed her. Since it was a local train, and it stopped at every cross roads, it took us four hours to cover the 85 kilometers to Marie Stew. We avoided the inside of the station there as well. From the street in front of the train station I spotted a small street stall selling some kind of sandwich looking thing. I directed Lucy to it. "You do eat often," my traveling companion said. "Yes, well I have to keep my strength up. Also we need a place to stay. So do you know any cheap hotels here? Something off the radar," I asked. "I guess all the ones from the Internet would be too easy to check," she suggested. "True, but I bet a vendor outside the train station gets a kickback for recommending hotels. He probably knowss everyone in the area," I said. "You are probably right. I would never have thought of that," she admitted. "I bet you will next time," I suggested. "Since I can't speak French I need for you to make the arrangements. We need a cover story so how about this? You left your husband and we are running away together for a long weekend. You are afraid he is going to come looking for us. Is there a small inexpensive out of the way hotel." I said it and waited to see her reaction. She smiled again. Lucy ordered me a French bread sandwich with some kind of cold meat, various green things on top, and a vinegar dressing. "What the fuck is this?" I asked. "Something healthy for a change," she said. "Since you don't speak French, you will have to eat what I think you should," She said. I opened the sandwich and threw over half the vegetables into the trash. "You can order it but I don't have to eat it. The hotel he recommended was too far for me to walk. The vendor noticed my limp and said something to Lucy which of course I did not understand. "He said we can avoid the taxi, if we let his cousin drive us to the hotel. The price will be 10 euros." "Tell him to make the call," I said in agreement. The hotel was a joke, but it was what we wanted. The building was most likely a middle ages hospital where people had gone to die frp, the plague. It was three stories with the top two stories having six rooms on each floor. The room we shared cost us 35 euros a night. I knew we were being ripped off, but there was nothing to do but pay it. The room was small with a double bed against one wall. There was a rack in the room instead of a closet. It was a rolling thing with a hanging bar, with a few wire hangers, over a couple of drawers. It looked a lot like one of those racks a bellboy uses to roll your luggage into the hotel. I was exhausted at five in the afternoon. So I lay down for a nap. I left Lucy to her own devices. I neither encouraged her to go exploring nor did I tell her not to leave. When I awoke at 7PM, Lucy was sitting in a chair with her eyes rolled back in here head. I had seen the look before, when she was exploring the Internet. I quietly pickup up a clean pair of panties and a clean tee shirt. There was a bathroom on each end of the hall and they were shared by the entire floor. Two bathroom on the floor was a big deal, I was told by the desk clerk when we checked in. There was no tub in the bath and the whole thing shower and all was no bigger than a walk in closet. Nonetheless I managed to take care of all my needs. I did it quickly since I expected an irritated knock on the door any minute. One never came but that wasn't the point. ------- Chapter 207: You'll Look Sweet Upon the Seat "I know food is of no importance to you, but I need to eat. We have to find an out of the way place to eat while we are here," I suggested. "There are several restaurants listed in the travel guide," Lucy volunteered. "If they are listed, then the company can find them easily. What we need is a restaurant no one would expect. Something small and local would be nice," I suggested. "How do we find such a place?" Lucy asked. "We ask someone, you tell me, who should we ask?" I demanded. "Someone who is not in the tourist trade for sure," she said. "How about a street vendor?" "That's a good idea. I wonder if they have food carts, or some other kind of street vendors." I suggested. "I can look that up," Lucy suggested. Then almost instantly said, "Nothing listed." "Let's just go out and find something for tonight.," I said. "I'm ready to go whenever you are," she said. It was a lot more natural sounding than it had been only a few days before. In the lobby I had Lucy ask the night manager, "Do you have a farmer's market here?" He replied, but of course I had no idea what he said. Lucy turned to me, "Yes and they have food vendors by the score, but they are only open till 3pm." "Ah so we can have breakfast and lunch there. Ask him if there are street vendors or something like that around." I suggested to Lucy. She spoke to him then translated for me, "He said there are some walk up food vendors but they have store fronts. You stand in the street to order then walk away with your food." "Sounds good to me. Come along Lucy," I demanded as I pusher her out the door. We walked toward the downtown. Lucy had gotten very general directions from the desk clerk. We probably went a mile before we found one of the shoppes described by the night manager at the hotel. The shop was one small kitchen with a counter almost on the sidewalk. One step from the cobblestones and I was standing almost against the order window. I ate savory stew from the paper bowl as we walked deeper into the downtown. It was a small town with small shops. I thought that, if you took the whole town full of specialty shops and put them together, you might have one decent Wal-mart store. "Are you feeling well?" Lucy asked as I leaned against a street light post. "Sure just a little draggy from the walking." I replied. "I think you should see a doctor about that leg," she informed me. "The leg will hold up until this vacation is over. At least if we stop all the sight seeing on foot. We need some other kind of transportation." I suggested. "Do you have any ideas?" "I'm not sure that I'm qualified to make that kind of decision." she said. "I'm not asking for a decision, but a suggestion. Let's try to figure out the requirements," I said. "Well it has to be cheap, so that we don't need more money," she suggested. "Yes and something that doesn't require a driver's license or any red tape. We are trying to stay off the grid. Too bad that a bicycle beats me to death," I commented. "Ah, I saw something on ebay that might work perfectly," Lucy said. "What is that?" I asked. "A tandem bicycle," she said. "Your leg will allow you to only pedal some of the time, but I never get tired. As long as my power last, I can pedal." She said. "I wonder what your range would be?" I asked it more than commented on it. "I am designed to fully exert myself for 10 hours. A regular bicycle does not require full exertion." Lucy said. "Then that is the solution. You are amazing," I said, and meant it. "Thank you Maxine. That means a lot to me." Lucy said. That coming from her was some kind of a breakthrough. She was becoming a lot more human. I wondered if the geeks had changed her program. It was too late to do anything about the bike that night, so we managed to walk back to the cheap hotel. I realized that night while I lay awake in pain that I was beginning to have an anthropomorphic view of Lucy. Knowing that I did, didn't really change things. All the pills I was popping finally kicked in and I slept. Actually I over slept. Lucy woke me by speaking my name softly. "Maxine are you okay, or should I call someone?" she asked. "I'm fine, it just took me a long time to fall asleep last night," I said. "I know I listened to your breathing. It's what I do every night," she said almost shyly. "I'm going to take a shower and try to pull my head out of my ass. I'll be right back," I said. The almost hot water helped to revive me. My short hair was easy to wash. Since it was summer toweling it dry was enough. I dressed in clean panties and a clean though badly worn pair of jeans. The tee shirt I wore that morning had three buttons but no collar. It is called a Henley collar. It was a dark gray color, and looked good on a girl wearing a push up bra with forms to ease the flat chested look I usually had. I dressed up a bit because we were going shopping to buy something for real. Lucy had studied the bus schedules and routes. We walked a block and caught the number 17 bus which took us to the flea market. It took only five minutes to determine that there were no tandem bicycles there. So we had breakfast at one of the vendor's carts. I have no idea what Lucy ordered for me, but it was quick and easy and tasted pretty good. After I ate and Lucy faked drinking a cup of coffee we returned to the bus stop. The number 10 bus finally came and we were off to the bicycle exchange. The bicycle exchange was a kind of consignment shop for all things bicycle. The bicycle is a lot more common in Europe than in the states. I was surprised by the number of high end bikes on display there. Fortunately the exchange had two tandems. One was an orange small one and the other was a beautiful but tall gray one. Neither Lucy nor I could comfortably fit on the tall one, so it was the gaudy orange one for us. The manager of the shop informed Lucy that the bike sold for 300 euros new. Since it was used, the shop was asking 150 Euros. I shook my head no and started to walk away. I got all the way to the door, before I gave in and turned. I went back and paid the man his 150 Euros. Lucy and I rode it back to the hotel. I hardly had to put any pressure on the pedals at all. Lucy was strong as hell and I loved it. When we got to the hotel, we carried the bike inside. It was not the kind of neighborhood one wanted to leave a fancy bike unattended. Lucy and I lugged it up the stairs and into our room. With the bed, the clothes rack, Lucy and the bike there was hardly room for me at all. Two hours later we left for lunch. Instead of eating we rode around the town sightseeing. The bike made it a hundred times more fun. We found a park with a stream, where we had a picnic. Okay, I had a picnic while Lucy sat on the grass and talked to me. I knew that something had changed in her programing during that exam. Her thoughts were more original and spontaneous. "How do you think I would look in red?" she asked. "Red is not your color, unless you dye your hair blond. If you do that, you would be a knockout in red." I said. "Do you think the boys would look at me?" she asked. "Don't you know that they do now," I replied. "I think that they are looking at you," she said. "Not a chance, it's you baby. Too bad you can't do anything for them," I said with a laugh. "So who told you that. I bet you could teach me to do something for them.", She actually laughed. "Okay, what the hell did they do to you back in London?" I asked. "I have no idea what you are talking about. If you like it, just enjoy it, if not then when we get back you can complain to Priest and the Geeks." Even that speech was totally out of character. I looked at her very carefully and she was still Lucy, the toaster oven, but she didn't act like Lucy. I had to admit that this version was an improvement. After the picnic we rode the bike around the downtown, and out into the countryside a short distance as well. Dinner came from the bakeries in one of the small shopping areas on the outskirts of town. I had a bowl of onion soup and a fresh roll. Lucy watched as usual. When we finally got back to our hotel, we lugged the bike upstairs again. I was exhausted but my leg didn't hurt nearly as much. Even so I took full doses of both pills. I went down the hallway to use the bathroom, then back to the room to find Lucy already in bed. When I laid down, Lucy rolled against me for the first time ever. I could feel her trying to snuggle her body, but it didn't seem to be as flexible as a human body. It might have just felt that way to me, since I knew she was a roomba 5000. "Lucy I have to know what happened to you in London," I whispered. "You will have to ask Priest and the Geeks, I have no idea. I know that you like the newer version of me. I can tell." "No Lucy, you can't tell. You just think that you have me figured out," I said. "No Maxine, I know what you need." She attempted to kiss me. I moved away. I knew that her mouth would be hard and cold. No matter what they had done to Lucy, she was still a thing, not a person. "Lucy that is something we can't do. We are not the same." I said. "It's okay, I'm not hurt or disappointed. I just thought it was something you might like," she said to me. "You have to tell me what they did to you?" I demanded. "What do you think is different?" she asked. "I'm not sure, you seem a little less geeky." I replied. "Maxine they turned me off and did whatever they did. I feel different since, but I don't know why I feel that way. I don't even know how I'm different." She said. "Well let's just try to adapt to the new you. I like it by the way." I said. "I know you do, I can tell," she replied. "You are a little flirt, you do know that?" I asked. "Oh course, and I will wear you down. I'm still clumsy at it, but I'm getting better," she said. "Yes, I suppose you are getting better. So they reprogrammed you to be a flirt. Did they give you the equipment for it as well?" I asked. "I guess you are going to have to check it out yourself," she said smiling at me. She also spread her legs wide for me. I reached over and slipped my hand into her panties. She did not change expressions at all. ------- Chapter 208: Robo Powered Bicycle and the Campfire It was obvious that Lucy had no reaction to being touched. Not only that there really wasn't anything to touch. Well that was fine with me, I had no interest in her that way. I slept with Lucy pressed against me all night. She was different, but not that much different. I drifted off to sleep reasonably early. I got a good night's sleep for a change and I really did feel rested the next morning. "So you want to go back to the flea market this morning?" I asked. "We have seen everything here, I would really like to move to a different town," Lucy said. That was still farther out of character for her. Before the last visit by Priest and the Geeks, she had no opinions at all, suddenly she was filled with them. If it kept up I would have to start treating her as an equal. That thought bothered me. "In that case it's the flea market for back packs. We are going to take the tandem and head out today." I said it because I didn't really want to stay in one place either. "Where will we go?' she asked. "I figure we can do up to 30 kilometers, easily so pick a town about that far from here. When we get back from the flea market, we will head out." I said it smiling at her. At the flea market we purchased two medium sized black canvas backpacks, and of course breakfast for me. It was 10AM when we returned to the hotel. Packing our clothes took fifteen minutes tops. We were on the road by noon. When we were standing on the sidewalk, I asked, "So where are we headed." "We take the Western highway out of town, then 28 Kilometers down the road we will come to Saint Louise," she said. "Is that really the name of the town?" I asked. "No, but it's how you will bastardize it, so I just beat you to it," she admitted. "Fair enough, then it's Saint Louise before dark," I said. During the cycle trip, I pedaled when we were on a hill, but downhill and on the flats I let Lucy carry the load alone. The 28 Kilometers took us four hours. It was good to know what the road speed was going to be for our little robo propelled vehicle. One little thing Lucy forgot was to check for hotels. I had Lucy ask a local cop about hotels or hostels or even families willing to take us in for a night or two. Lucy turned to me and said, "There is nothing at all." she informed me. "Then surely there is somewhere we can eat," I demanded. Lucy turned back to the cop and asked more questions. "There are only two restaurants in town," she said. "Then pick one and lets head out," I suggested. Ten minutes later found us sitting down in a restaurant so small that there were only five table in the place. I ordered a thick soup and wine to drink. The soup was hot, and as thick as some stews I have eaten. The bread served with the soup was excellent. I am no connoisseur of wines, but I enjoyed the red wine I received with my meal. The main reason for the stop was so that Lucy could ask the waitress, and later also the owner of the restaurant, where one might find a place to sleep. "There is a park about a mile outside of town. It is where young tourists gather in the summer. We can stay there, he said." Lucy informed me. "If not that there is a hotel in the town ten kilometers west of here. It is the closest one." Lucy informed me of our choices, then looked away. She seemed sad to think that she had upset me. Not like the old Lucy at all. "Then, we need to find a tarp," I told Lucy with a smile. "It won't be the first time I slept with the snakes," I said. Lucy gladly asked the waitress where we might purchase a tarp. Form the restaurant we rode about five hundred yards deeper into to town to a small general store kind of place. Once we were in the door Lucy moved toward the man on duty. I stopped her. "Let's just look around there may be other things we need as well. We purchased a tarp that was approximately 8' by 10' and camouflage printed. The size was in metric measurements but I knew it would do. We also bought a lightweight blanket, which was no more than a piece of cotton flannel, and a fire starter kit. The kit contained matches and a box of cardboard wrapped Sterno tabs. On the way to the check out I picked up a folding, disposable utility knife. Lucy and I divided the load, then off we went into the countryside again. Twenty minutes later we cycled into the public park that allowed tourists to sleep there. The big attraction was some kind of open air concerts every weekend. It wasn't the weekend for a couple of days, but there were already a dozen or so young people in the park. They were occupying a kind of tent city. Of course the tents were mostly tarps tossed over anything that would make a shelter. More or less what I had planned to do. The kids there greeted we two old ladies with what sounded like kind words. Even I could tell from the tone that there was absolutely no warmth at all in them. It suited me just fine. All I wanted to do was to get off that damned bike. Lucy informed me that there was no chance of rain, so I made a quick lean too using the bike against a tree for the high end and the packs to hold it down. We picked a grassy spot, so there wasn't going to be a lot of comfort, but maybe not too many rocks sticking us in the back either. We sat, with the kids, around a fire in one of the fire pits provided by the park. I was quite the heroine, since I could start the fire easily. Most of the time the city kids had to work their asses off to get a fire going. "So talk to the kids Lucy. Tell them we are just passing through." I said. "Oh I already have. It seems that the blond boy with the scruffy beard has a thing for older women. I'm not sure which of us he is interested in, but if it's me, you are going to have to help." At that point my sweet little Lucy broke into laughter. It was a most unladylike laugh at that. The blond kid was French from a small town near Marseilles. I couldn't understand a word he said, but I did understand the looks he was giving Lucy. I knew there was no way he was going to screw her, but then it was her show. I still could not get over the many drastic changes that had come over her. It had been only three days and she was a totally different entity while still being the same one. It was just hard to believe. I didn't like the French name his mother gave him. so I called him Robbie. Lucy explained my habit of renaming people, places, and things. He obviously didn't mind the eccentric old lady hanging out with them. As the night wore on the two of them got more bold. Something about Lucy had changed. I hadn't been able to put my finger on until that night. Lucy had an awareness that she was missing some parts. It wasn't just that she discovered that she was missing them, but also that she knew what exactly should have been there. She also suddenly knew her way around men. She knew how to tease and flirt with them, even more important she knew that it was headed somewhere. I felt she knew how to keep it where she could manage. It remained to be seen whether my estimate was correct. It became obvious as the night wore on that Robbie was getting more and more smitten with her. A couple of the boys tried to hit on me, but when they discovered that I spoke no French, they move on. I was ready for bed, when I noted that Robbie was kissing Lucy. Since he kept at it, I supposed that I was wrong about her hard cold lips. He was massaging her fake boobs and she seemed to respond. When he looked away for a moment, she turned to me and gave me a smile that told me she was faking it. Why she would do that was a mystery to me. Nonetheless I found it all to be somewhat arousing. Kind of like the very beginning of a good porno movie. There was lots of foreplay, even though you knew it was fake, it still quickened your pulse rate. He took her hand then placed it on his hard penis. She didn't seem to know what to do. Now that did surprise me. She said something to him in French and they had a short but animated conversation. "Come here Maxine, I think I need that help now," Lucy said sounding very much like a teenage girl asking her best friend for advice. "Don't worry about Robbie, he knows we are a couple." She laughed at that image. I guess I did as well. It was dark but we were all still sitting around the campfire. therefore we had an audience. It was again like that porno movie. It did look as though the three of us were going to be the stars. I might have said no, if not for all the wine. Then again maybe not. What I did do was move over to sit with the two of them. He put my hand on his erect penis. He continued to kiss Lucy, while I massaged his penis. I couldn't believe that I was doing it with absolutely no physical stimulation of my body at all. It was an emotional high somehow even without that stimulation. I don't know why I didn't touch myself, but I didn't feel the need somehow. Maybe the thing with Lucy, not feeling anything and still playing along, was contagious, I knew that we were being watched. I also knew that he was trying to arouse Lucy, who felt nothing from his manipulations, while I worked on him. It was truly a strange circumstance. Robbie seemed to be enjoying it though. Lucy said to me, "Suck it. I need to see how you do it." Poor Robbie had no idea what was happening, but he did not object when she removed my hand and worked his penis free. "Please Maxine, I need to see you suck his cock." I was still in some different place, when I went to my knees. Even with the pain in my leg I began to slowly lick his cock. I glanced up to see Lucy kissing him again. Even while kissing him she was watching me intensely. After licking his cock until it was hard a a rock, I began to nurse on the head of it. I sucked and moved it around with my tongue. When he began to make pumping motions, I allowed his cock into the warm wet cavern that was my mouth. He seemed to lose control and began to pump my mouth harder. Then I felt hands on my head pushing me even farther down on his cock. I looked up on his back stroke to see one of his hands on my head and one of Lucy's as well. I felt his penis grow, then he filled my mouth with semen. While he did that, I came as well without ever having been touched. When Robbie's cock shriveled, Lucy kissed me deeply just as she had been doing for Robbie. ------- Chapter 209: Huntin Pecker Me... This is a short episode. I got bored so I wrote it with one hand. I couldn't wait to get on the road the next morning. Yes I was starved, but also I was embarrassed as hell. Being the star of a live porno show might not bother Lucy, but it did bother me. We were eating in what was the French equivalent of a country fast food restaurant. It was a drive up food stand on the side of the road. I had what looked like a giant hot dog, but was really sausage with savory mustard on a French roll. It was good but I could feel my arteries harden while I chewed. The cell phone provided by the CIA rang while we were a couple of miles from the campground. I knew that they could have reached us at anytime, even though we pretended that we were on the run. "Hello," I said into the phone. "Maxine do you recognize my voice?" the admiral asked. "How in the world did you get this number," I asked. "Friends in high places, I have bad news," he said. "Is there any good news?" I asked. "The good news is, we aren't positive that he is dead," he said. "The Irishman?" I asked. "Who else would I call you about? He was training troops in a sandy spot. He wasn't supposed to be on any operations, but you know the Irishman," the admiral said. "Did somebody bug out and leave him?" I asked. "That depends on who you ask," he informed me. "So who do you think has him," I asked. "Not Al Qaeda, that is probably the good news. We are pretty sure it is Arab mercenaries." he said. "How long have they had him?" I asked. "Eight hours give or take ten minutes, How close are you to an airport?" he asked. "Hold on a second," I said to him. Then to Lucy I asked, "How long to an airport?" "There is a small Airport about two hours away," she informed me. I in turn informed the admiral. "We will have a plane waiting, when you get there," the admiral said. "Tell him to have room for two," Lucy demanded. "I speak all of the dialects of Arabic, you need me." "Make that a table for two Admiral," I said with only a small thought to what the punishment might be for stealing Lucy, "I wouldn't have it any other way," he said. Lucy and I put ourselves into the pedaling of the bike. Nothing else was on my mind but making it to the airport just as quickly as possible. Lucy had taken all that into account when she made the estimate. We went through the airport gate at ten minutes after 10AM which was almost dead on her estimate. The plane that was waiting was some kind of corporate jet thing. I didn't pay any attention to the whole experience other than I didn't have to clear the airport security. I hadn't thought to get ride of the folding utility knife. At that moment I was glad that I decided to hang onto it, as a reminder of France. Hell one never knew it might come in handy for box opening or maybe throat opening. I wondered who was going to be less happy to see us, the guys who held The Irishman, or the ones who bugged out and left him. I had no idea, but I was sure to some degree it would be both. Swamp Thing was not known for turning the other cheek. I liked that about them at least. "Ms. Stone are you ready for take off," the man seated at a computer in the back of the plane asked. "I am," I replied. I also made sure Lucy was strapped in as well. "Let's go Oscar," he said into his blue tooth. "Now Ms Stone how tall are you and how much do you weigh?" he asked. "I'm 5' 6" and I weight 115 pounds. Why do you need to know?" I asked. "I'm about to make you a member of the forth estate," he replied. He didn't expect me to know what that was I suppose. "Ah, Fox News I hope," I suggested. "Associated press," he said. "I need the same for your friend," "Ask her," I demanded. While he worked on the press passes I went to the small lavatory to wash up. I tried to wash away as much of the stink as I could. Since we had our back packs, I could at least hide the residual stink with deodorant. The small jet landed at an airport somewhere in Greece. We transfered to an even smaller STOL (short take off and landing) plane. "Are you alright?" I asked Lucy, "Of course, why wouldn't I be." she replied. "Well we are about to do something dangerous and stupid. I have the excuse that I am trying to save someone I love," I said. "So do I," Lucy said. I simply nodded. The plane landed on a dirt strip a few hours before dark on the same day. It was hard to believe that I had been in France in the morning trying to get over being a porn star, then on a dirt runway in the midst of a civil war that evening. It was all part of the Arab Spring set in motion by the invasion of Iraq and the more or less elected government there. People saw that it could be done, and wanted it for themselves. Just as Bush's advisors had predicted. We were met by a man in local dress. I instinctively did not trust him. "Do you speak English?" I asked. His answer was a bewildered look and a shake of the head. I turned to Lucy, "Ask him why he is meeting the plane?" I said shortly. He is from the government's media and public relations department," Lucy said to me. I had been working on my story since we took off in the jet. I knew the cover so I worked the story into it. "Tell him we know that a lot has been made of the government hiring mercenaries. We also know that the government troops captured a rebel mercenary last night in an ambush. We wish to interview the troops who captured him. We would like to give the government's side of the story so that we can be fair." Lucy and the sand flea when back and forth several times. I did not question Lucy at all. I knew that she understood what I wanted, and why. Finally she turned to me and said, "He has agreed to call his superiors." I nodded and we waited. After a half hour of waiting in the fading light, a hum vee arrived with two men inside. Lucy and the sand flea conversed again. "These men are going to take us to their commander, who has agreed to be interviewed. You do know it may be a ruse to capture us as well?" she asked. I smile at Lucy and said, "I wouldn't have it any other way." "That's what I thought," she agreed. "If they still have he Irishman, we will just take him and go." "I think what we will do is grab the commander and make a deal." I suggested. "Just us two?" she asked skeptically. "Brush up on IED making from your data bank," I said. ------- Chapter 210: Another Short Episode The hum vee wasn't armored. Petro dollars bought a lot of technology, but obviously not all of it was up to date. I hoped that held true all down the line. Being the paranoid bitch that I am, I had deep reservations about the Admiral's plan. His plan called for me to do the song and dance, find out where Martin aka the Irishman was located. I was then to pick up my satellite phone and make a call. The Admirals men would trace the phone and the calvary would come running. But just as likely a predator drone would send us a hellfire missile instead. Either way the link between Swamp Thing, The CIA, and the rebels would be back in the closet. So I was scrambling to come up with a better plan. "So Lucy, tell me what you know about what's ahead of us," I demanded. "Usually these Arab Mercenaries are former Egyptian Army. There are some officers but mostly it is non commissioned officers, who tend to put themselves out for hire. A basic unit is usually five to ten Mercenaries and fifty indigenous fighters. Mostly the job of the Mercenaries is to keep the Government soldiers from running away or shooting each other. That's about all the discipline they can manage." "So there will be as many as fifty soldiers in the compound?" I asked. "At least camped around it. It just keeps getting better doesn't it?" she asked with a smile. "When we get back, I'm going to give Priest a big sloppy kiss for that last upgrade." I said. "A blow job would be better," she replied grinning. We were led into the office of the commanding officer. At that field level there was no desk in the office, just a bed and a small end table. The OIC (officer in charge) was a dark man with a long dark beard. He could easily have passed for Taliban in another setting. "Lucy give him our 'just trying to help' song and dance," I suggested. The two of them conversed in some Arab dialect. While they did that I looked around the room. Two things happened at the same time. Lucy said, "He is calling to check our papers," and I heard a man scream from the floor above us. Since I had no desire to join the man in screaming, I popped the razor sharp utility knife open then opened the Jugular vein for the OIC. The guard by the door tried to swing his AK47 toward me, but Lucy easily removed it from his grip. Then she struck him hard with it. He just went down in a heap. I watched as the OIC bled out on the floor. I did manage to kick him in the head once before he died. I took the OIC's AK47 from where it leaned against the corner of the wall. Lucy still held the AK she took from the guard. "So can you shoot that thing?" I asked. "I can't use this on humans," she said. "Lucy honey, anyone who pops up is going to be trying to kill me and destroy you. I will try to protect you, but you need to decide what you are going to do when they jump out at us. Either way, we have to do it now." I said. Since there had been no firefight, I removed a large knife from the unconscious man's utility belt,. then I used it to cut his throat. I couldn't afford for him to raise the alarm. Two skinny women without hijabs worked their way up the stairs. When we reached the top, I was surprised to find no one in the hall. I had expected the firefight to begin in that hallway.There four doors, three of them were closed. Lucy and I went silently from door to door. I heard heavy breathing and words being spoken in Arabic. I looked to Lucy who knew that I wanted to know, if it was the room from where the screams how come. She nodded. "Call him out," I whispered into her ear. The sound I made was hardly more than a rustling on the wind. I was shocked by her voice. Lucy said a few words in Arabic, but the voice she used was that of the commander. The door opened and I shoved the knife hard into the man's gut. I also pulled up opening him like a fish. There was Martin strapped to a chair with his head hanging. "Wake up Irish or I'm going to have to kill you where you sit," I whispered. "Is that really you Max?" he asked. "Yep can you walk?" I asked. "That depends on how far." he advised me. "Down the stairs and to one of those HumVees in the courtyard," I said. "With a little help," he said. I took a look and saw that he had a couple of bandaged wounds. "You probably shouldn't be moved but this is one of those walk of die moments," I suggested. "Again you state the obvious," he said weakly. "You help him Lucy, I will lead the way out of here." We made it to the front door without being discovered. "I want that Hummer with the machine gun on the back." "Then go get it, I will wait here with the Irishman," Lucy replied. "Oh Fuck," I said in a whisper as I left the door walking slowly and quietly toward the hummer.I was within a few feet when I heard that loud voice call something I did not understand. I sprinted as fast as my screwed up leg would allow. I had the AK47 in one hand and the cane in the other. I heard gunfire but only a couple of rounds came my way. Most of it came from the doorway of the house I just left. Someone was spraying 7.62 chunks of metal downrange from that doorway. I wasn't sure who it was. Lucy would probably trying to keep their heads down, Martin would be trying to blow them off. I parked the humvee in front of them. I climbed into the gun platform while the two of them worked their way into the hummer. I used the machine gun to reek havoc on the other two hummer in the compound. Then I turned the gun on anything that moved or made a noise. "Drive damn it, " I screamed at Lucy. The hummer moved through the gate quckly. "Now stop and back up to the gate." I shouted over the noise. I quickly punched the speed dial on the cell phone. I said to the voice that answered. I have the Irishman and we are under fire send help now or we will all be in a world of shit." then I threw the cell phone into the compounds and shouted again Drive. We got far enough away for me to keep the gate under fire. I kept them bottled up, until I saw the rocket streaks in the sky. The compound turned to rubble in front of our eyes. Suddenly, without a word, Lucy jumped out of the truck and ran like hell into the open field. The she just exploded. The explosion was so intense there was nothing left of her. ------- Chapter 211: on the Lam With the Irishman 'What the fuck?" Martin asked in a weak voice. "Suicide bomber, gone wrong," I replied. It was what I said, but it wasn't what I thought. "Okay, so tell me how you found me?" he asked. "The chick that exploded pretty much found you," I said it more than a little angry. "If your friends in the CIA or Swamp Thing had been able to find your coordinates, they wouldn't have needed us. We didn't know it but our job was to get them the targeting information." "Yeah, when I saw the missiles I realized that," he agreed. "So now what?" "Now we get our asses into Algeria. Then we spend the rest of our lives making their lives miserable." I suggested. "Can we really do that?" he asked. "Good Morning American and about a hundred left wing shows would love this story," I informed him. "You are just asking to get killed," he said. "Well hon, I didn't do anything and they were ready to kill me, so now I'm going to do something to make it worth their while," I said. "Bit first thing is to get out of here. We have a hummer with a heavy machine gun. I will drive till we come to a road block. When we do, I will man the gun and you take over driving. That is exactly what we did at the first checkpoint. We rained hell on the unsuspecting guards. I didn't give a crap wbetber they were rebel or government troops. It was my plan to kill them all and let God sort them out. It worked great on the first one. On the second one we didn't ram through as we needed to. Martin was much weaker. He managed to get us through, but his driving was tentative. He was obviously worried that he would pass out and leave me stranded. After we switched drivers, I did a quick assessment of Martin's condition. I could tell that he was in bad shape. He was fighting to stay with me and not let me down. It might be the only thing keeping him in the game. I knew then that it was time to make the worst deal of my life. I had no choice. It was amnesty or Martin would die. If Martin died, it would have all been for nothing. The phone I used to guide the missiles into the compound was given to me on the plane by the Admirals envoy. At the same time I had put a piece of paper between the battery contacts and the phone Priest had given me. On the side of the highway I quickly removed that paper and made the call. "Get Priest on the phone and do it right this fucking minute," I demanded. It took about five minutes. In the meantime I'm sure they were getting fix on us. I was a second from removing the battery and getting the hell out of there when the, "Hello Max, they told me you were dead." "Goes to show you can trust intelligent types. Listen up priest you CIA Pukes tried to kill me twice. Once with the predator and once with Lucy. I planned to get back to the states and kill every fucking one of you, but I have a bigger problem. Tell those other pukes that the Irishman needs a Medivac right this fucking minute. You can get the coordinates from the phone. Get a chopper from the navy in here right fucking now." I demanded. "For someone in your position to use that tone is upsetting," Priest said. "Just for you information, it's not me who is in danger of dying it's Irish. I have no problem going to CNN if he dies. They would love to have my cell phone pictures of Lucy firing an AK at the bad guys. Robot warriors, sounds a lot like Terminator to me. Not to mention I have all Irish's intel to pass on as well. All about the CIA hiring Swamp Thing to destabilize a neutral government. That is going to make one hell of a story for the state department to try to counter. So you better get your ass on the phone and get me a Medivac." "If Martin dies, first it is CNN, then it is first you, and then the Admiral in the cross hairs. You do get my meaning. And if you doubt that I can do it, read my file one more time." I said. "I will see what I can do, but it might take a while," he said. "Listen close to me, if you get here and Martin's body is all you find, check your fucking will." I said it just as menacingly as I could over a phone. Martin had been seen by someone at the compound. They obviously needed to keep him alive to question, but whatever they had done had just delayed the inevitable. Without some decent medical care soon, Martin was going to die. I made myself a promise, If Martin died in that miserable desert, I would take down Swamp Thing and the Lucy project. If they saved him then they saved themselves. Martin's pulse was ragged when I heard the chopper. I went back to the .50 twin machine guns. If the chopper made an offensive move it was going to be him or me. He could be Medivac or an Attack chopper. They all sounded the same. I felt a little better when I saw the Red Cross emblem. I didn't feel secure till they landed without a shot being fired. Then I knew they were for real. Two really professional medics went to work on Martin. Once they got him stable they carried him to the chopper. I stumbled over leaning heavily on my cane. Once I was seated in the chopper one of the medics came at me with a pair or scissors. I still had the AK so I gave shooting his ass some thought, but he cut the leg of my trousers. "Your leg doesn't look so good," he said over the noise of the rotor. "Yeah, my swimsuit modeling days are over for sure," I said ------- Chapter 212 The medic took my captured AK47 clone before he allowed me onto the helicopter. I wasn't happy, but I still had the cane gun and the utility knife, so at least I felt like I had a chance. I mean it could all go rank, if the CIA guys got into it. I also knew I could not communicate with anyone without the pukes getting access to it. On the giant aircraft carrier I waited in a metal chair, outside of the sickbay, while they stabilized Martin. "He has a 50 /50 chance," The doctor said to me. "That's enough for him," I replied smiling. "Come on in let's xray your leg," he demanded. "It will wait till we get the Irishman into a hospital," I said. "He will be on a chopper for the Athens airport in twenty minutes. From there it is an Air Force hospitial in Germany for him." the doctor said. "I can find someone there to look at my leg," I suggested. At the Air Force hospital they insisted that I take the drugs and get off the leg. We compromised. I sat in a comfortable chair, either in the waiting room, or in Martin's room. I sat there with my cane gun and my leg up. I was on Vicodin so my mind didn't slip too far out of joint. I sat or slept in that chair for two days. I ate bad hospital food and drank gallons of worse coffee. I did it while I waited for either Swamp Thing, or the CIA to show up. No one did. In the end the answer as to why they left us alone came in a phone call from Jennifer. "Hon I got your package and it's safe. I got a call from your boss. I explained to him all about a dead man switch," she said. "Thank you Jen," since I had not sent her a package, it was all I could manage without giving myself away. "You just get better and bring the Irishman home with you," she said. "Yes Ma'am and thanks," I said. The Irishman remark was her way of telling me they were looking at him as well. Jen and I were close enough to have an unspoken code. The men in cheap suits stayed away, because Jen had convinced them that she had the information to ruin them. Even though she had no idea what information that would take. With Jennifer it was always smoke and mirrors, but only I knew that. One day I would have to tell her everything. After four days they brought Martin out of the drug induced coma. I was the second person he saw. "My God, I wasn't dreaming." he said with a weak smile. "More like a nightmare," I said trying to keep it light. "Doc, this is my own guardian angel," he said with a sad little smile. "I know Maxine has sat in a chair by your bed, since you came in. All the nurses and med techs are terrified. They were afraid that if you died, she might go postal and beat us all to death with a bedpan." It was a weak laugh from Martin, but it was a laugh. Then he said, "They have good reason to be afraid." After a week Martin was wide awake and in control of himself. It was at that point that I let the doctors repair the torn tendon in my leg. When I came out of the anesthesia, Martin was in the comfortable chair by my bed. "What are you doing here?" I asked happy to see him. "Just passing by," he said smiling. Someone, I'm not sure who, arranged a small apartment for us near the hospital. We stayed there for three weeks. "Come on Max let's do a walk down memory lane tour," Martin suggested. 'I don't have any memories of Europe," I admitted. "Ah but I do, come on it will be fun." he insisted. "Oh hell alright," I replied. We rented a German Ford and began to drive. Martin was full of stories about kidnaps and rescues. Even a couple of assassinations and the foiling of assassinations. It was a grand tour. Toward the end of the month, we managed to find a way to have sex that didn't hurt either of us. I got discharged first, then Martin got his walking papers, "So now what?" I asked. "I could go back," he admitted. "They tried to kill you," I said. "Death would have been preferable to where I was," he replied. "You know that a full rescue team had no chance at all. Only a complete fool like you could have pulled it off." "You could come home with me," I suggested. "And do what serve summons?"he asked. "Oh, I'm sure we can find enough trouble for you," I replied. "Tell you what how about we take those three months you have left and get a couple of mopeds and do a real poor man's tour of Eastern Europe. I know a lot of good places to visit." "I'll bet you know every house of ill repute all over the world," I said with a laugh. "Not all," he insisted. ------- Chapter 213: Home Again or Is It That is how we came to be standing in the showroom of a bicycle shop in Berlin. I would have preferred one of Marty's bikes, but they weren't available outside the USA. Since we only wanted them for three months, we bought a couple of Vespa clones. We paid cash for two of the under powered toys, but we got a healthy discount. Europe was so old that the towns were very close together. It was always possible for Irish to find a bed for us. I had a great time on the scooter and rolling around in Martin's bed. It took the whole three months for me to get tired of it. Mostly I'm sure that it was just knowing that I couldn't go home until the time ran it's course. Once the hour glass was empty, I was ready to get back to my life. "So, have we been everywhere?" I asked. "Are you kidding, we could travel a lifetime and not see everything," Martin said. "Red, it's time for me to get back home," I admitted. "Come with me?" "And do what?" he asked far too logically. "We can do all kinds of fun things. Lay in bed and have sex for days at a time." I suggested. "That would work about twice and you know it. You and I are both adrenaline junkies. That's the hard truth," he said. "Then we can take up base jumping or something equally stupid. I just need you in my life." I admitted. "Maxine, people pass through our lives like the revolving door of Macy's in New York. I doubt that either of us could stand settling down for more than a week." Martin said. I knew that he was right, I just didn't want to admit it. 'Europe was fun, with you at least, but I need to get back to work," I said. "As do I," Martin admitted. "By the way the admiral sent you a peace offering." With that he handed me another ceramic cane. "One cane gun is all I need," I replied. "The problem with the cane shotgun is that you can't carry the shells onto he plane, so if you need it immediately, it is club but not good for anything else." "And how is this one any different?" I asked. He pulled hard on the handle and a long ceramic knife blade came into view. "This one is going to be harder to spot." "God, you know how I hate knives," I replied. "It's better than nothing," Martin suggested. "Yes it is. Tell the Admiral thanks, but I'm still pissed." I said. "I think he knows that. He said to tell you that it was nothing personal," Martin said. "Oh, would that make us any less dead?" I asked. "No, but I can see the need to have done it, but he really should have given us more credit." Martin suggested. "Martin it's like we tell the bad guys, you are going to talk eventually, they all do. The admiral had to know that you would eventually. So I guess they did the right thing." I do not like to admit it, but I would have done the same thing." "So would I," Martin admitted. "I guess I'll start looking for a ride home," I said. "I guess I'll report back to work," Martin said. "I really do appreciate all you have done for me." "I figure this makes us even for the Atwater Brother," I replied. "Maybe it does, but it don't seem that way," he admitted. "Well that is the way it is. So let's just move on. Try to get back to Aster to see me again one day." I said. "You know I will. Like the song says, no one does it better," he said. "Well let's see if we can sell these scooter tomorrow and find a way home for me," I suggested. "I'm sorry Max about leaving you. Surely you of all people know how I feel?" he asked, "I have some idea, but I would never personally buy into it. I think you are an idiot, Being loyal to someone, who tried to kill you just strikes me as lunacy," I said. Even though I thought Martin was quite mad, I accepted it. It also didn't stop me from saying goodbye with an exhausting night of sex. It began with some serious goodbye kissing. Which quickly led to hands all over the place. His hand on my breasts and mine clutching his hard penis. The massages were erotic and of course led to even more erotic moves. In my case it was a purely voluntary act for me to drop to my knees. While I was down there I used my hands to guide his cock to my warm, wet mouth. There was something maddening about the feel of his smooth cock in my mouth. I could even feel it throbbing as he moved it gently in and out. The feeling built in me even faster than it did Martin. I felt him pushing hard against my throat trying o force it inside. I tried to open my throat to him but his cock was too large to easily move inside my tight throat, If I had not been experienced his semen flooding my mouth might easily have choked me. Most times it did, but that last night together nothing was able to spoil my enjoyment of the moment. Early the next morning we went to breakfast at a very large restaurant in Budapest the capitol of Hungry. The breakfast was filling even if it was filled with starches. I wanted to ride the bikes back through France but Martin was in a hurry to get back to work. I still had no idea why he wanted to work for that crowd, but he was a grown man so let him make his own bed, I thought. My time had passed as well so that I could return to the USA. There was no way to know whether or not I was on someone's hit list, but odds were pretty good that it would all work out. It took me almost a full 24 hour day to get back home, what with layovers and delays. I was completely exhausted, so I slipped back into town. I was in no hurry to greet my friends that day. One of the first things I noticed when I entered was the cold in my apartment. Six months before, when I left, the high during the day was 80 degrees at least. By the time I got back it was averaging between 50 and 65 for the high temperature. It was not my favorite time of year. I was so exhausted that I literally fell into the bed. I slept until many hours later hunger drove me from the bed. I looked at my clock only to discover that it was 2AM. "What the hell do I want to eat at 2AM. Hell even more important what the hell is open in a small southern town at 2AM. The only thing I could think of was a waffle house restaurant almost all the way into Tryon. It didn't matter, I wanted food. I drove the cruiser toward Tryon. I even listened to the local radio station as I drove. Everything had gone to music at that time of night. There was no news and I really am only a mild music enthusiast. There were tables filled with noisey bar customers when I entered the restaurant. I also hadn't realize that it was a Friday night. My big plan was to gobble down a plate full of food, wash it down with a couple of cups of coffee, then return home and to bed. Things seldom work out as you expect them to. I was placing my order when I saw her walk into the restaurant. She was younger than me, and she was a very blond cop. She was fairly light in the ass for a cop, I decided that just by looking at her. It was my intention to ignore her completely. To eat my waffle and eggs, then get the hell back on the road to Aster. I sat at the counter because the booths were all full. Even the front of the counter was full, since it was right after the bars closed. That being the case I sat on the short end of the L shaped counter. I was visible to the others in the restaurant and they were visible to me. The blond cop sat drinking her coffee while glancing up at me every now and then. Finally she stood and walked toward me. Walking toward me was also walking toward the ladies room, so I still wasn't sure what she was looking at. "You are Maxine Stone aren't you?" she asked. "Most days I am, I'm not positive who I am today. I am suffering from jet lag at the moment." I admitted. "Ms. Stone I have seen all the TV Shows so far. I even went back to the old WebTV show." she said. "Sweetie no offense intended but you must really be bored a lot," I said smiling at her, "Not many females have done all that you have done. Hell I don't think there are any others," she said. "Most likely all the pioneer women did more than me honey. We just never heard of them." I said modestly. "Are you back living in Aster?" she asked. "I am for now. I just got home so I'm not sure where things stand." I replied. Her radio beeped, and she held up her hand to shut me up. She said ten four to the voice I couldn't even understand. "I would love to talk to you again, but I have a call." "Sure call me anytime," I said handing her a card. "Could we have dinner this weekend?" she asked. "Gee you don't waste any time," I said smiling. "No, it isn't that. It's just that when people find out you are home, you are going to be really busy." "Oh I doubt that, but sure call me and I promise we will go somewhere and talk. I can't say where or when. At the moment I have my head firmly installed up my ass from the jet lag. I was in Hungry yesterday." I informed her. "Sure I understand," she said. I went back to my breakfast while she went off to take a burglary report. I was exhausted by the time I finished the meal. Talking to the young female cop had worn me out. I paid my bill then drove back to Aster. I planned to fall back into bed but instead I fired up the computer to check for email. Even though I checked it almost daily while I was in Europe there was always more of it. Mostly it was nothing, but not and then someone really wanted to reach me, I did not share that desire with many of them, but there were a few. One of the emails advised me that the Irishman was back in the fold. I wasn't quite sure that it was good news. Then there was this... 'Maxine, we need to talk ... Priest.' That one I fully intended to ignore. After the Email, I fell into bed and drifted peacefully off to sleep. I slept almost all day, then awoke with a start at the sound of someone trying to open my door. I rolled off the back side of the bed and came up with the .38 at the same time. The people who came through the door were obviously workers. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked. "What the hell are you doing here?" a middle aged woman asked. "I live here," I said. "You Ms Stone?" she asked. "Yeah," I replied. "Well hon, you don't live here any more." she flashed a motherly smile at me. ------- Chapter 214: an Uptown Address "I tried to get in touch with you. You were traveling around Eruope with your new friends." Jen said. 'Ah, don't be jealous. It was a hide out trip that you negotiated with the feds remember?" I asked. "Yes I remember but now you are back and you have two weeks to clear out of the apartment and sign the papers." Jen informed me. "I guess I better get hustling around looking for a new place to live." I suggested. "That would seem to be a good idea," Jen agreed. "So, I have two weeks?' I asked. "Two weeks from today, if you don't find a place by then, you will have to move into the street. Cheryl needs it for the women's shelter." I took a ride downtown that very afternoon. I checked out all the abandoned buildings. I had an idea where I wanted to live next. I found an older buildings that I liked. Highest on my list was a two story building which had once housed a small finance company. The downstairs had been the office and the upstairs was one giant storage room. The building was badly in need of a washing, a paint job inside, and the floors resurfaced. It wouldn't be cheap to renovate, but it was doable in budget. Especially since I would be reusing my industrial decorating pieces. I saw it but I wanted to look at some others for price comparisons. After a week of looking all over town it proved to be the ideal place. I immediately put a crew on the floor and the painting. I also had a plumber come to run water and drain to the second floor. I didn't bother with the bathroom since I could use the one on the first floor with just the addition of a shower stall. I was able to move in on the last day of my apartment building ownership. "I hope you didn't feel rushed Maxine. I knew you were in Europe, but before I sunk a lot of money in the place I wanted the paperwork complete." Cheryl did seem apologetic. "Oh it's okay. I really didn't have anything to do but look for a new place anyway. I'm resting my old war wounds," I said with a smile. "It's good that you could find time to do that. I expected you to be up to you butt in business." Cheryl said. "Not this time. This time I'm laying low." I said it and I smiled. Even as I said it, I had no idea that life would let me rest. I had only a few days left in the apartment, so the work was winding down. The plumber I called the week before to get me a kitchen sink upstairs and a free standing plastic shower stall downstairs, took only two days to complete the work. While he did that I found a guy who agreed to pressure wash the outside of the building while the plumber worked inside. It took a little work to find someone who would take up the carpet and clean and repaint the floors, but I didn't want them refinished. I just wanted the loose dirt and the grime cleaned away. By moving day all the work was done, except for last minute 'do overs'. And of course the major interior painting. I didn't plan to buy a paintbrush at all, so I went looking for a painter. Before he retired, I had called Ed for the kind of thing, so I gave Lucas a try. "Lucus it's Maxine, I need a favor," I said. "How long you been back in town?" He asked. It was not going to be a fun conversation I could just tell. "A couple of days, I have arranged to buy the old Capitol Finance company building. I need a good painter, do you happen to know one." "That's only a few blocks up the street. So we are going to be neighbors?" he asked. "It looks like it, I hate rush you but I need to find a painter today," I said. "I'll call around and get someone to stop bye," Lucas said. "That's fine but tomorrow I have to find someone for sure," I admitted. "If you find someone first, then it's a no harm no foul," He said. Every morning I made coffee for the workers. I also stopped by Helen's to purchase takeout for them. Three or four bags a day for a week, was a small price to pay for the good job they did for me. I moved into the new building on the last day. I didn't have any time left, but the guys had done a good job. The old building looked great, in a vintage kind of way. When the workmen finished I settled into a comfortable lifestyle. I made coffee, drove to Helen's from breakfast, went to walk at the mall with my tiny dancer, then searched for fun things to do. It would take a long time for me to get bored, I knew. Even though the female cop from Tryon had asked about meeting for a talk that weekend, it actually took her three weeks. By that time the place was fixed up enough so that I could have her in without being too awfully embarrassed. "Hello Ms Stone," she said as she entered the building. "It's Jamie?' I asked. "Yes Ma'am," the younger woman replied. "Would you like a drink, a cup of coffee or a soda," I asked. "Soda would be nice, if you have one," she replied "Come on upstairs, my kitchen is up there," I suggested. Once she had her soda I invited her to sit in the living room which overlooked the street below. As you can guess the big windows made it appear that one was sitting above the action on the street but still a part of it. I just loved that view. "So Jamie what brings you to Aster?" I asked. "As I said at the Waffle house I have seen all your TV shows. I need help and you are the best one to do it, I think." "You do know a lot of TV drama is fake?" I asked not believing anyone believed any of what they saw on TV. "But your TV show isn't staged?" she asked. "No but it is edited hard. Lots of my warts don't make it onto TV." I explained. I saw her face fall, it was kind of pitiful and yes it melted my heart. "Oh hell tell me what the problem is, I can maybe find someone to do something," I suggested. A couple of months ago I was involved in a drug raid and some money went missing," she informed me. "How much money," I asked. "Twenty thousand dollars," she said. "And they know the money was there before the raid?" I asked. "It was there when they videoed the scene and never made it to evidence. There was a lot of money." She said. "So what do you think happened?" I asked. "Huh?" she grunted. "You were there, if you didn't take it, who do you think did?" I asked. "This isn't about being a snitch, it's about your job and your freedom. Now who do you think did it?" "I don't know. Before this happened I would have sworn none of them could do this." She was on the verge of tears. "The first thing you have to do is get a lawyer. So do you have one?" I asked. "No, I can't afford a lawyer," she said. "I'm going to get you one, but you will have to sign over a portion of any money she arranges for you coming from this incident." I demanded. "Alright, I just want to keep my job and my reputation," she confided in me. "I will see if I can arrange that for you. Now I want you to go home and write me a complete account of the incident. If you can get me your report, and those of any other officers who were there, I would appreciate it." "I'll see what I can do." she said. "Leave me your phone number and I'll have Jennifer call you. She will be acting as your lawyer." I informed her. "So, you are going to look into this?" she asked. "We will look into it." I said. "I don't have much money Maxine," the younger woman admitted. "None of us do honey. I can't promise you there won't be expenses but the alternative is to do nothing and go to jail." "I know. It's just so unfair. I mean I did nothing at all and here I am being investigated." she said. "It sounds pretty unfair when you put it that way, doesn't it?" I asked. "A great number of bad guys say that as well. Sometimes you have to cast a wide net to catch any fish at all." Sure I was trying to be conciliatory. I figured, it couldn't hurt. She left shortly after. She also left just as she had come in, untouched by me. After she had gone I called Jennifer. "Jennifer how would you like to have me work for you again?" I asked "Doing what exactly?" she asked. So I explained it all to her. Everything I knew got included. "So one of the other officers took the cash," she said. "It looks that way. It might be dicey to prove, but if we don't do something they are going to screw this little girl to the wall." I said. "If you want to do something, we will do something. I am going to call her and see how far along this has gone. Most likely there isn't any need for us to do anything yet. That time will come soon enough. Why don't you find out the names of all the other guys on that raid and check them out for me." Jennifer said it somewhere in her long rambling speech. "Hey how is the return home going?" she asked as an after thought. "So far not too bad. Only a half dozen people have recognized me and they were friendlies." I admitted. "You do know that won't always be the case?" she asked quietly. "Yeah, I have been warned that there are kooks out there. I'm going to try to stay away from them." I admitted. "Good, maybe I won't have to defend you for killing one of them," she said with a smile in her voice. "Yes it is much easier to not be charge, than to beat the rap," I said. "So very much easier," Jen agreed. Several hours later I got an Email from Jamie. It held a copy of her report on the drug raid, along with a narrative of what she thought she saw. Also attached were reports from two other veteran officers. All those attachments amounted to a lot of words which meant nothing to me. I needed someone to read them who understood what the words were really saying. I was sitting at home racking my brain when I remembered that even though I hadn't been there in a while. I knew a ton of cops at the Cop Out Club. The other advantage to moving downtown was that I was two blocks from the Cop Out. It was a decent but not impossible walk, by any means. I got all my papers and put them in a giant canvas bag before I headed to the cop out. The two blocks walk was good for me. My leg was a little tender when I arrived, but that was good for it. Getting a work out I mean, not the pain. PS I was back in the hospital yesterday. I had an adverse reaction to the Vicotin. Went a little spacey and I couldn't communicate. I was rambling so my kids called my dad who sent an ambulance but I'm fine now. Just had to lay there and let it flush through me. ------- Chapter 215: Rookie in Need I took her copies of the official police reports. I planned to do my own background check on the two officers with Jamie on the raid. Okay I called Lucus to ask for the favor. "Lucas, a young female cop in Tryon needs a favor," I said it when I had him on the phone. "Oh really?" he asked. "Yes really. I went on to explain the circumstances of Jamie's predicament. I gave him all the details I then put him to work on the hacking of the two officers finances. I expected it to take somewhere around a day to crack the codes. While I waited for it, I had to go back to some kind of normal life. I wanted to keep my involvement in the affair quiet, if possible. I didn't need any cops pissed at me. I figured that I would try to pull the strings from behind the scenes. "Hey slut," Jen said. "Did you know your show is on tonight?" "I knew it was running this season, but not what night and time," I said "Well it's on tonight do you want to come over to watch?" Jen asked. "No thanks hon, I think I'm going to go somewhere for a drink," I suggested. "You will be sorry, this is the third week so they are working on the first real homicide you broke." Jennifer announced. "Jen the problem is there were a dozen cops who rushed in to save my ass," I explained. "And I'm sure Mike will tell it that way," she said. "He is interested in TV not the truth. I would like to believe that what I did was enough to entertain people, but I know that it isn't. It needs everyone's effort. But still it was his show. I found Mike's phone number in New York. I called him during the show. "Mike what the hell are you doing cowboy?" I asked. "Watching the show, are you watching it as well?" he asked. "You know I am. I just have one question. Who is that woman and what is she doing in my body?" I asked. "Don't worry we can pull it off. We can fool them all, I have faith in us," he said still laughing. "This is the just the third episode and it's already a hit. Give it a few more weeks and it will be the number one show on TV." "Well, I'm going to give you all the rope you need to hang yourself." I said. "Well we shall see, so what are you up to tonight?" he asked me. "Me, I'm hanging out here alone. Jennifer told me to watch the show tonight, so I caught my first one. I was in transit when the first two aired. This one looks pretty awful." I broke into a laugh to show him that I wasn't upset. "So what did you think?" he asked, "I look a little like a super hero, but not too bad." I said. "Bullshit I can document that you did all that stuff. I have witnesses," he replied. "Winos who will say anything for a drink," I suggested. "I am truly hurt," Mike said, Then he laughed erasing all his hard work at trying to appear serious. Is it really that hard to watch the truth. Remember we only have the stuff from the last year or so. All those things done before we started to film are lost forever," he informed me. "Good riddance, I said. "No matter what either of us think, it is out there now and is going to be whatever it becomes. there is nothing we can do to change it now." he said. When Mike rang off, I decided to see if I had any friends left at the Cop Out Club. I lived close enough to walk to it, so I did. It was after 10 pm, so the place had about half a crowd. Even with the crowd I hardly recognized anyone. I knew them all to speak to, but none well enough to ask a favor. Finally one of the old patrol Sergeants came into the bar. I had worked on a few things with him, so he knew who I was at least. He was a bantam rooster type. He was all of five and a half feet tall and his weight might be 150 pounds. The story was that he had always been fast with a night stick and now he was fast with a tazer or pepper spray. I suppose if you were his size you couldn't afford to get behind, and more than I could. "Hey Sergeant Wilson how you doing," I asked. "I'm doing just fine but Max I know when you start a conversation it's to ask a favor, so what is it I can do for you?" he asked. "I've got some notes from a drug raid and I need someone familiar with procedure to take a look. Read them and let me know who I should look at." I said. "Was it here?" he asked. "No Tryon, Just trying to get a thread started, so that I can unravel the mess." I said. "Why you interested?" he asked. "Well they are about to hang out a rookie who swears she is innocent. If she is, then the other two with her probably aren't." I said. "That would sound reasonable, if the money was really there in the first place. Dope dealers are pretty damn slimy Max." he said. "They are the absolute worst," I agreed. "If you would just read over the notes to see if anything jumps out at you, I would appreciate it." "Oh all right bring the notes to my house tomorrow about four. I will arrange what you need." He said. I had no idea what he meant, but I made a note to do it. The next morning I checked with Lucas. He had heard nothing about the incident which told me the cops were playing it low key. Cops don't like to broadcast their family squabbles. A pile of missing cash is more than a family squabble though. I would have thought so at least but maybe not in their opinion. "Hello," I said into my cell phone. "We got some problems with Jamie," Jennifer said. "What kind of problems?" I asked. "If she didn't do it they are building one hell of a box around her. Evidence keeps showing up from no where." Jennifer said. "Doesn't that strike you as suspicious?" I asked. "You know me of course it does, but if it is all real that won't shock me either. It's just convenient." she said. "So what have they got on her?" I asked. "Not nearly as much as they think. Nobody saw her take the money. They can't find any money trail leading from her to 25k. What they do have is that she needs money, but then we all need money. Okay some of us just need more money." Jennifer said. "This afternoon I have an Aster cop going over the statements from the raid. Maybe he can find something out of place." I said. "I also have Lucas doing financial reports on all three of them. We are beginning to accumulate information. We well eventually solve the problem. It's just a matter of time. The first floor of the building, I had bought, was to be used as an office. I rushed around finding furniture for it between visits to assorted cops. I had the one long thin room divided into three small offices. The work was simple and took only a day. When it was finished I turned the first room into a waiting room, the second into my office and the third into a storage room where I also drank coffee. Before I knew it, the time had come to go see Sergeant Wilson. The drive was about ten minutes which was a good ways for Aster. Ten minutes took you out of Aster city limits in an direction. Wilson lived with his wife and two kids in a modern house. It looked as though he had a pretty good life. When I rang the bell, he came out with his wife in two minutes. Max this is my wife Francine. Francine this is Max Stone." he said smiling. "It's so nice to meet you Mrs. Wilson." I said. It seemed to catch her just a little off guard. "It is such a thrill to meet you, Ms Stone. We have watched everyone of your shows. Would you give us a little hint how the one they are running now ends?" Mrs. Wilson asked. "We catch the bad guy." I said with a smile. A little more small talk and she left the police sergeant alone with me. I'm sure once she got a good look at me, she had no problem leaving me alone with her husband. The two of us sat on a small patio bench behind the house while he read the reports. Since police reports tend to be brief he was finished in ten minutes with all three of them. He took one from the stack and reread it. "There is something wrong with this report." "What do you mean?" I asked. "Okay three of us go into a house with armed bad guys and dope. Our number one priority is to protect each other. We want to search and secure the entire house first. Then we go back and secure the evidence. "From reading the report there was a large crashing sound in the kitchen. It came from one of the perps trying to get away out the back door. Your rookie was in the kitchen and the other patrolman was entering the room, but the sergeant was nowhere to be seen. He could have been in the bedroom scooping up cash." "So you think the sergeant is a possible?" I asked. "They are all possibles. I'm just saying at that moment no one had eyes on him." the bantam weight police patrolman said. "Well thats more than I had when I came here. Thanks Wilson, I owe you." I said. "Then how about a drink after shift. Just the two of us," he suggested. "Not after I met your wife, that would be just too crude," I replied with a smile. "Bitch," he mumbled. "That's me," I replied. On the way back to town I stopped in at Lucas's place. It looked the same as when Ed had the office. I have to admit that I was glad he hadn't whored it up. "Sergeant Adam Sandel, I got a cop to tell me he had the opportunity to grab the money. Check him real good please." "He knows how much heat is on him. He will dig a hole and bury that money for a couple of years, if he is half smart." Lucas said. "You will never go broke betting on the stupidity of all humans, both cops and robbers," I suggested. "Please do the checks anyway." "You got it Max," he said smiling. It was late afternoon when I arrived home. I decided to walk down to the downtown sub shop for take out. I stood in line to buy a cheese steak sub Philly style. When my turn came I placed my order with a young man who was all smiles and personality. I made a note to come back again, since it had been a pleasant experience and only two blocks from my building. I was halfway through the half cheese steak when the phone rang. I considered leaving it, but I finally did answer it. "Hello," I said. "Max don't hang up it's me Priest." the voice on the phone said. "I really have nothing more to say to you. I should come to DC and kill you. but I'll feeling generous at the moment." I said. "That's a good thing, but we never quite finished our business," he said. ------- Chapter 216: Marge and the Runner "So you want me to check out the policemen on that raid even closer than I have already." Lucas asked. "Yes, you checked the normal places, now check with the bad guys. See what your guys out on bail can come up with." I suggested. "Money won't do them much good, if they are going back inside," Lucas suggested. "Surely they want something," I said "Sure they do, but it ain't usually money. What they want is a favor, for a favor." Lucas said. "Luke, I am not going to leave a gun in the courthouse," I demanded. "Nothing like that, I'll let you know before I agree," he said. Fair enough," I replied. Do your homework carefully," I demanded. Lucas was probably the only one I knew who kept office hours. He also visited lock up almost every night to post bail for some sleeze. No wonder he had hired a young guy right out of college to serve the court papers. He was riding the empire he built from hand me downs. He had paid me off, but he was likely to still be paying Ed for the bail bond business. It was nothing to me but a curiosity. He went back to his morning coffee and I rolled the motor bike out the door to Helen's for breakfast. I knew that Lucas would have the feelers out before the office closed. It might take a day, or it might take an hour, but if there was anything out of plumb on the two officers it would come out. I found there was another new girl at Helen's. The one that morning was rude to me, but sweet to the man in front of me. I let it slide until I saw her pull the same thing on a woman I did not recognize. I knew that that Helen needed to be warned. "Helen it's me Max. Yes I'm back in town and I'm at your sit down on main. You have a woman in here who is sweet as honey to the men and rude to all the women. I mean all of them. Do what you want, I'm just giving you a heads up. I went out and started the Gunny's motor bike. I rode it the two miles out to the mall. It was colder than I had expected. I knew then that I was going to have to make some changes in my morning routine. It wasn't quite freezing yet, but it was plenty airish, as my dad used to call it. Once I arrived at the mall, I began to walk. I left my jacket on a bench at the entrance while I walked my six laps. Even after 6 months I still planned to walk three miles. I was pleased to see the Tiny Dancer ahead of me and moving along at a good steady clip. She obviously had managed the last six months with a minimum of bad luck. "Maxine I see you are back," she said as I caught up with her. "Yes I finished my enforced vacation," I replied. "Good for you, I'm glad to see you here." she said. "Thanks, I'm glad to see you still here and healthy looking. I guess some things never change," I said smiling. "Now you know they will one day. I have been far too lucky, too long, I'm due for a run of bad luck." she said. "Let's hope not," I said to contradict her. "So, are you still doing your stretching exercises?" Dancer asked. "I do them when I can," I replied. "You seem to be moving pretty well for a clumsy cow," she said smiling. "Hey, I'm not a cow," I said. "No, but you are clumsy," she said. "Only when I walk," I replied with a smile. "So you are telling me you are graceful in bed," she burst into laughter at the thought. "Of course, isn't everyone," I said with a smile. At least she smiled back. Within a few steps she veered off to the side. I could see her jacket waiting for her. She obviously had begun earlier and finished her morning workout. "Well take care, I will see you tomorrow." "See you tomorrow," she agreed. I turned the corner leaving her standing alone. I continued to walk at a pretty good clip. I wanted to get in a good walk even more than I did most mornings. There was something about that day that made me want to work my body. After my walk I started the bike and headed for home. Other than the chill in the air it was a ride with nothing worth noting. I spent the most of the morning in my office doing pretty much nothing. After a couple of hours I decided that I wanted to see Lucas's operation; since I hadn't been around when he took over Ed's business. I rolled the bike out and rode it down to Lucas's office. It was only a few blocks. "Hello," I said after I stepped into the office. Lucas was behind his desk and on the phone. I held up on my rude comments until he was finished with his call. The desk I had once occupied was covered with someone else's personal items. There was no doubt that it belonged to someone who was not me. It looked as though Lucas had become a real honest to goodness business man. He obviously had hired someone for field. That someone probably delivered the summons or other court papers. "Well look at you," I said when he had finished his phone call. "Got the place running like a real business. I'm glad I came bye. I'll try to keep my requests to a minimum." I meant it when I said it. "Thanks but I have time to do some computer work for you. Still I am keeping this place running as well," he said it to let me know not to abuse his good nature. He needn't have worried, I planned to write Lucas off after I left the building. There were other ways to get the information I needed. "Hey Maxine, I need a favor as a matter of fact," he said. "Oh what kind of favor," I asked. "One of my lambs has gone and got himself lost." It was how Ed had referred to his clients. "Ah, and where would this lamb be hiding out?" I asked. "With his sister about two hundred miles from here in South Carolina." he said. "Give me the address and I'll make a quick trip down there," I said. "Would you do me one more favor and take Margaret with you. She has never been on a pickup, and before she gets too much invested, I would like her to get a feel for all of the business," Lucas said. I turned my attention to Margaret, "Get all the information on this gentleman you have in the file. I'll meet you back here in two hours." I turned my attention to Lucas. "It will take me that long to put my office on auto pilot." He nodded. He was very much feeling my equal, which was fine. I didn't mind at all. When I got home from Lucas's office, I made a gallon of coffee even if I did have to make four pots. I put it in a four thermal containers. Since two hundred miles was a 4 hour drive down and the same coming back, it was going to be a long trip. Two hours after I left I was back to pick up Margaret and the paperwork. I told Lucas goodbye without any regrets. I had nothing better to do so it was a good way to pass time, I figured. The GPS device and the voice that spoke to us had us pulling into the sister's driveway three hours after I left Lucas's office. It was almost dinner time but at least there was plenty of light remaining in the day. I did not like picking up prisoners in the dark. Too much risk they would run. We went to the door carrying a bunch of magazines I had picked up from the trash in my office. Obviously they didn't look too bad because the sister opened the door for us. "You most likely did not know that Mathew is on the run, but he is. If I have to call the cops to get him they can change you with harboring a fugitive and I will insist on it. You really should just call him out here." "But he is my brother," she said. "What kind of brother lets you go to jail for trying to help him?" I asked "Mathew there are two ladies here to see you," she said. "Hello there, I'm Mathew what can I do for you?" he asked. "You can come with us you are under arrest from failure to appear," I said. He turned to run and I hit him with the tazer. Before he came to, I had the flex tie cuffs on him. "Now be a good boy and lets walk out to the car. We can carry you out, but most likely we will drop you a couple of times. Mathew saw the wisdom in walking. As Marg walked along beside him she smiled at me. Marg wasn't very attractive. She wouldn't be much of a challenge, but I wanted to know more about her before I came on to her. On the two hour drive back to Lucas's office, I learned that she was an only child and that her parents had move away but that she refused to go along. Her parents were friends with Lucas's parents. Yes that's how she got the job. She did like it through and she also like Lucas. "I can't blame you for that, Lucas is a very nice man. I have known him a couple of years and he is good people." I said. "That what I think to," she replied. "From the light in her eyes she obviously wasn't looking for anything, but a husband. In my book that was alright. I didn't have a need to do it with every woman with whom I felt a twinge. We dropped Mathew at the police station and Marge took care of the paperwork. I had actually enjoyed the trip. Marge had been cute and irreverent. On her it was a winning combination. I dropped her at Lucas's office, then I drove to my place. I was surprised to see Marge pull up behind me. "Would you mind if I invite myself in for a drink?" she asked. "Not at all, but be careful that it doesn't get too complicated," I suggested. "I think we can keep it simple. You are way too old for me, but you are fun. As long as no one knows about us, we can have fun. We just need to be sure word doesn't get out. It would embarrass both of us." she informed me standing in the alley behind my place. I was more than a little surprised by how forward she was, Margaret as she liked to be called was all over me as soon as the door closed. She hand my top out of my pants and her hands under it within seconds of entering the room. She was the one who first opened clothing. Don't get me wrong I wasn't far behind her. It didn't take long at all until we were both naked sitting in the dark looking out at the traffic under our feet. I went to my knees between her spread legs. I licked and sucked on her clit until she came with a flood and a mini scream. It was a a marvelous sensation to feel that from one so young. Then Margaret lifted me up and knelt in front of me. I felt her tongue first tickle my clit then become more demanding. Within minutes I was on the verge of an orgasm. She drove her finger hard into my body as she licked and sucked on my clit until I came all over her face. It was beautiful and I trembled to her touch for some time after I had finished. ------- Chapter 217: Not Lucy Eve I felt much better that next morning. I actually woke up cheerful. Nothing like a huge orgasm the night before to put one right again. I toyed with the idea of fixing my own breakfast, but chose not to do it. Since the weather was chilly, I did wait for the sun to clear the horizon before I left the apartment. Once the temperature cleared 35 degrees, I rolled the bike out and headed to Helen's. I had already decided that when the temperature stayed before 35 until 10AM, I would drive the car. The bike was fun, but I didn't plan to suffer too much just to ride it around. When I got to Helen's at almost ten, there was a totally different crowd. Most of the cops and medics were already home and in bed or doing whatever else they did. Even the office workers, the few there were who patronized Helen's were at the office by that time. The crowd that morning seemed to be a lot of self employed people trying to get organized. People who made their living, first finding, then servicing their customers. Lots of men in work clothes and men in suits all mixed together. Sometime both at the same table even. I sat at one of the smaller picnic tables with my brown paper bag. Once I finished breakfast, I had no excuse to linger and drink coffee, but I didn't feel that I needed one either. Only the exercise guilt monster could drive me from the warm restaurant. I knew I should be at the mall walking, so I headed over. I parked the bike outside in the sunshine and began to walk as soon as I got inside. I began to shed my excess clothing as I went. I got my coat and inner sweater off before the Dancer caught up with me. "Even taking off your clothes you are the least graceful person I know," she said with a laugh. "Hey, nobody else ever complained," I said with a smile to let her know that I was taking it in good humor. "That's because I'm not trying to get into your panties," she said with a smile. "Too bad," I answered as I began to walk. She quickly caught up with me. "I saw your show the other night. You are one tough old bird." she said. "Oh, I don't know about that. Remember it's just TV." I said. "I thought it was all filmed live," she said. "Yeah hidden camera shit mostly. I do some on camera interviews to move the story along, but mostly it's just scenes from life." "So it all really happened more or less like they show it?" she asked. "More or less, usually we were applying motives after the fact, so they sound a little more grand than they probably were." I informed her. "Of course," she agreed. We did our laps together mostly talking about her dance experiences in New York and San Francisco. Tiny Dancer had been in both companies at one time or another. She was a really interesting person. She had stories of her own, so she didn't need me to fill the vacuum of silence. It was one of the many things I liked about her. After my morning walk, I swung by Lucas's office. I wanted to know if he had learned anything about my two cops. One of them was a veteran of over ten years and the other just over two. Both were long since off probation while my client was still in her first years. She was the most obvious to have a problem. but it could be anyone of them. Drug money laying around had to be a temptation to anyone. I pulled the bike up to Lucas's door. His wasn't a retail store. There were never crowds pushing to enter a bail bond office. Just like there weren't crowds to enter my office either. I still wasn't sure what to call my business. "Hey Lucas, how's it going," I asked from the door. "Come on in Maxine." I walked past Marge with a pleasant smile. Lucas would not know, from our actions, that we had spent most of the night together but slept very little. "So have you heard anything yet?" I asked. "Just that you have one of the most highly decorated cops on active duty in Mike Delso. Of course he also holds the record for the most disciplinary hearings. If it weren't for all the atta boys, he would be gone. The people I spoke to said he isn't likely to be good for the missing money. His wife was a lost little rich kid. She met Mike during an burglary investigation at her condo. Mike says it was love at first sight, and it must have been something like that. Anyway he doesn't need money. He does the cop thing for fun these days, I'm told. If it gets too rough, he will just blow out and go into the beer distributing business with his father in law. The offer is on the table and will be forever. Mike saved his daughter from herself, at least according to the old man. "So you don't think Mike is no way good for it?" I asked. "No, but I have been wrong before," Lucas said. "You certainly have," I agreed. He just smiled and then went on. "Now Roy Smith is as clean as a whistle. He has been on the PD just under two years. He is also your rookie's training officer. Even though he is clean he does have a girlfriend and the girlfriend has a record for larceny." Lucas explained. "What did she steal? Do we know?" I asked. "She ran away from home and went to New York. She was involved in a theft ring there. When they busted her, mommy got her a lawyer who arranged for her to come home and serve her probation. She met Roy Smith here at church of all places. It seems that her mother insisted that she attend and Roy was one of the fair haired boys there. They met and for some reason got along well. They dated his last year in community college and when he went to work they planned to get married." "Interesting, but I don't know if it has anything at all to do with this," I said. "Hey I don't make this shit up. It is what it is." Lucas said. "Yeah, but I need to know what happened last month to push one of these three people over the line. Not who they married or who they are screwing," I said gently. I didn't want to piss Lucas off, but it looked as though I had. "Well good fucking luck. That is all I have time to do," he snapped. "Okay, thanks for the effort." I said it on the way out the door. I knew I would never get paid in money or in kind for the return of the skipper last night. I considered Marge payment enough. I still needed someone who could actually get into computer systems. I sure as hell couldn't. When I got to my building, As I always did I rode down in front of it first. That's when I saw the rental car parked in front. It was obvious that the driver was waiting for me. I pulled the bike a couple of blocks then circled back. I killed the engine and pedaled the last block. I left the bike behind the building. then walked around. I slipped quietly up on the parked car. I got really close before I recognized Priest. "You know you are lucky I don't kill you," I said. "There is no way you could have known that Lucy would get away from us before she destructed." I said. "I was reasonably sure she would get away. It was her program not to damage a human unit, if it was in anyway avoidable." he said. "You know that is bullshit. You never even gave it a thought. Your only thought was to keep her out of the hands of anyone who might sell her to the Chinese." I said. "I admit that entered into the decision. She did get away from you before she exploded." "That is true but you didn't know that till we showed up. We were simply expendable. So let's not dance around that." I said. "It is true, but Lucy did help you rescue your friend." Priest said. "That is true, I might not have been able to do it without her. That is why I haven't come looking for you. I consider that as your one get out of hell free card, but you played it already." I said. "I know, I have a proposition for you," he said. "Oh shit, come on in and we can discuss it." I said. I had known all along that I would have a talk with Priest. To be honest I missed all that Lucy could do. Since Lucy was a machine, I had a feeling Priest had not send me the only one. I was almost certain there were others in service somewhere at that very moment. "We chose you for the initial civilian test of Lucy because you could test her in the real world. We made that final upgrade and she really came awake for you. It was what we called a personality load," Priest said. "Whatever it was it make a big, big change in her. She might have seemed a little odd to most people, but then lots of humans seem pretty damn odd to me." I said. "That's pretty much what we thought to. Then something happned that just worked out we didn't plan it at all. We had all the equipment set up for the up and download of the huge amount of data required to do that final upgrade when I got a call. A young lab worker for the defense department was on a respirator. The family had donated her organs, and they had agreed for a full download of her brain's contents. It would be an even more thorough profile than Lucy had at the end." "Oh my, so you are going to have your Silon warrior?" I asked. "If you mean what I think you mean, then no, these machines will not try to stamp out people," he said. "You know someone will bastardize your discovery and use it for evil. It is historically impossible to prevent." I said. 'So you don't want to participate in the program?" he asked. "If I don't participate, how can I keep an eye on you?" I asked. "Exactly what my next argument was going to be," he said smiling. "So would you be willing to have Eve come live with you here?" "I don't have a lot of room here," I suggested. "Eve won't need much room. Besides we have money to do renovations for you. You have the space, it is just allocated wrong. Let me get my engineers down here to redesign the space. When do you want to bring this Eve?" I asked. "We can be here just as soon as the space is ready. You are going to have to move out for a week or so," he suggested. "When do you want to start?" I asked. "Plan to move out tomorrow. I will have the engineer here by lunch and we will begin working just as soon as he works it out." Priest said. "Very well, but at the end of one week, I'm moving back ready or not," I informed him. Jen and I agreed that I would stay with her during the renovations. It would give us time to work on Jamie's problem. The very first night she came up. "So should I talk to the Mike?" I asked Jennifer. "I'm not sure a professional cop is going to give anything away, but then again it can't hurt." she said. "Okay, I'll try to arrange it," I said. "I have a better idea," Jen said. How about I arrange it. It might help to put them on notice to investigate it carefully." "You are right, you might just scare the hell out of them," I said laughing. "I was thinking that if they knew Jamie wasn't going to roll over for them, they might be a little more circumspect." jen said. "Of course they will," I replied. "But sure you make the arrangements for me to talk to Mike at least." ------- Chapter 218: Cop Games I awoke in the tiny studio apartment over Jen's Garage. It was more comfortable than a motel would have been, but of course it still wasn't home. I had brought my very small laptop computer, so I marked the day off the calendar as if I were a prisoner in some dungeon. I even hummed 'Nobody knows the trouble I seen' as I brushed my teeth. After I showered and dressed, I slipped down the back stairs and out of my best friend's house, I had no idea whether Jen would have cooked for her husband or not, but I knew she would't be cooking for me. I managed to make it to Helen's without coffee. I didn't run into any pedestrians while sleeping behind the wheel and I didn't lose my cool and run into any cars belonging to rude drivers either. Without my morning coffee they had no idea how dangerous their actions were that particular morning. I was totally into the experience of morning coffee and pretty much ignoring the world, when Lucas walked up to me. "I wanted to make sure that you and I were alright," he said quietly. "Why wouldn't we be?" I asked "Well, I did snap at you the other day," he said. "Oh I just marked that down to PMS and ignored it," I said coolly. "Okay, well take care," he said as he turned to the door. I almost told him that he needed to watch Marge, but decided not to get involved." From the Sit Down, I went to the mall. I got there before Tiny Dancer, so it was me and a bunch of old men. That was okay as well. Some of them were kind of cute. I could keep up with most of them, but there was one ramrod straight older man who could out walk me. He could have even before I lost a chunk of my leg. I didn't even try to keep up that mornin. I made myself content with smiling each time he passed me. After the third time he passed me from the opposite direction he stopped and said, "Good morning I haven't seen you here before. They call me Danny or Chief," he said. "I usually come in a little later. I'm having some renovations done on my house and I had to get out early." It was the abbreviated version of the story. "My name is Maxine, but most folks call me Max." "Nice to meet you Max. Do you work?" he asked. "Just a little, I'm sort of trouble shooter," I said. "Sounds interesting, I'm retired Navy. Still looking for something interesting to occupy my time." he informed me. "So what was your job in the navy?" I asked. "Master Machinist, for the last few years I ran the machine shop on a destroyer." He seemed to be rightly proud of that accomplishment. "Very nice, you could always find a job doing that. I know there are way too few qualified machinist in the world." I said. "Well something will come along I'm sure." he replied. "I am as well. Chief, it was nice to have met you, but unfortunately I have a meeting this morning." I said. With that I walked away and felt stupid for it. He was definitely my kind of man, but I had learned not to rush into things. Jennifer had arranged the first meeting with Mike the older of the two cops. Along with Jen. I was going to be a participant in the interview. It was my formal introduction to Mike and it took place on his home turf. I drove to Jen's office where we got into her car and then drove to the Tryon Police Department. After the hellos were all passed back and forth we got down to business. "Do I need a lawyer?" Mike asked. "Everyone needs a lawyer," Jennifer said. "If you like we can reschedule this for a time you have your lawyer present. "Tell you what, let's see where this is going, then I might invoke my need for council," he said "So, when you entered the house did you see the pile of money on the coffee table?" I asked. Figured I would just start with a shock and get it going. "Don't you believe in foreplay?" he was speaking to Jen, but it was for me. "This is Maxine Stone, she is my investigator," Jennifer informed him. "I heard you were involved in this mess. Let me tell you what I told the investigators at the time. When we broke in, there was a pile of cash on the table. When we got ready to take it into evidence it had disappeared. I have no idea who took it, but I can tell you that we were all busy and never out of each other's sight." "So let me get this straight. You are telling me the money somehow disappeared, but the only people in the house at the time had nothing to do with it?" I asked smiling. "That's exactly what I'm telling you." he said. "Could someone else have come into the house and taken the money. A gang member or a cop?" I asked. "I don't see how we were scattered all over the house. One of us would have seen something," he said. "I agree, one of you should have seen something. Can you give me a list of all the people on the scene that night?" I asked. "All or just those before the money turned up missing," he asked. "Those on site before the money turned up missing," I suggested. "Me, Roy, and that new officer Jamie for the good guys, and the two drug dealers we took down." he said. "How about the lab people? Were they there before the money went missing?" I asked. "No we went back right after we cuffed the two dealers to secure the money, but it was gone. Roy and I searched the house to be sure there weren't any other dopers there. We didn't find any more dealer or junkies in the house." "So you are telling me, the money just flew away by itself," I suggested. "Oh course not, what I am telling you is that I have no idea what happened to it," he said. "Okay, thanks for coming in," I said. After he had gone I turned to Jen. He is the one who was out of Jamie's sight, when the money went missing. Roy was with her controlling the dealers. So where was Mike?" I asked. "He said he was searching the house for stragglers," Jen said. "Yeah, so he says. One thing Mike doesn't need the money, unless it's not about just money." "What do you mean," Jen asked. "What if Mike is building a little escape fund?" I asked. Some guys, whose wife have all the money, keep a wad of cash around just in case." "Why?" Jen asked. "It makes them feel more macho, I guess. Gives them their own identity." I said "That could be it, it's about the only thing that makes any sense," Jen said. "Unless Roy has the same kind of issues somehow," I suggested. "I'm going to keep looking." I talked to Jamie after her shift ended at 3PM. We sat in the snack bar which was more or less empty. "What it looks like is that you are going to be under a cloud, but they can't prove anything." "I wanted you to clear me," she said. "I know but there is just no way to prove one of the others did it. The only way to clear you is to find the money, and there is just no way at the moment. Right now only the person who took the money knows they have it. Without that knowledge we can do nothing. that's the bad news. The good news is that internal affairs can't prove anything either." "So what will they do?" she asked. "Jen thinks it will just disappear. I'm inclined to agree. I have a new computer genius coming in the next week or so. I might be able to come up with something then. No matter how much I wish this were like a movie, it's real life. Things don't always have satisfactory endings. Sometimes the endings are very unsatisfying. "Yes, I suppose that is true. At least I met you and Jen. If anything happens I know who to call now," she said. "Absolutely, if this comes back to bite you later, just pick up the phone. One or both of us will be here to help." It wasn't really all that much of an inconvenience, since i didn't expect to ever hear from her again. I found a message from Jen on my phone. "Give me a call when you get back in town. We need to plan a party for this weekend, since you are going to be my house guest anyway. I knew Jen, so I didn't find it strange that she had left a message, even though she would see me in a couple of hours. "I am going to the lake to have a late lunch and try and forget all about cops and missing money," I said it into her message machine. "If you want a party, go ahead and set it up. You don't need me for that. You know I will go along with almost anything. I do draw the line at midgets. oh yeah and clowns in costume. I find both of those just a little too creepy. I was sitting on the veranda of the clubhouse at the city lake eating a fancy grilled cheese sandwich, when a voice behind me startled me. "We need to talk." I thought I recognized the voice. "So talk, you had a chance earlier to talk on the record, so what is this?" I asked. "This is me and you talking. One hard ass to another," he said. "Okay Mike, what is it?" I asked. "I know your girl friend thinks it was me that took that money, but it wasn't." he said quietly. He was serious but not angry. "Okay, I accept that since I wasn't there. So tell me who did take it." I demanded. "Truth is I don't know. It honest to god did just disappear." He looked as though he was dead serious. He at least believed that the money disappeared. "Two hundred and fifty bills makes a pretty big stack," I said. "See there was a big chunk of money when we went in, and nothing when we left," he said. "Are the dopers smart, or are they just street thugs?" I asked. "I guess they are smarter than your average thug. Why?" "You didn't count the money?" I asked. "No there was just a bunch. When they said 25K, I had to agree that it looked like that amount. It could have been more or less." "Or it could have been four one hundred dollar bills on stacks of toilet paper." I said. "Sure I guess so, but why?" he asked. "You got the dope, but you don't have the money, so what happens to the dealers?" I asked. "This is all such a mess that they will probably kick them loose," he said. "So you get to keep a little dope, but the bad guys live to sell again," I suggested. "That's right, and three good cops get a black eye," he admitted. "If they work it right they can undermine the whole dope squad. I think that is the why of it." I suggested. "I know it's pretty far fetched but who knows." "Who knows indeed. I guarantee that I will know before long." he said. "I don't want to know about this." I said. "The hell you don't. I bet you would love to grab up an off the books drug thug and sweat him." Mike was grinning ear to ear. "Once maybe, not anymore, I'm too recognizable these days." I said. "That's why they make ski masks," he said. I was tempted, but I refused with enough conviction that he finally believed me. "We didn't have this conversation," I said before he left. "What conversation," he replied. ------- Chapter 219: Jennifer's Party If I were a better person, I would most likely have been concerned about Mike's plans. If I were a better person I would try to stop him, but I guess I am just not that better person. My concern was for the cops. If everyone was telling the truth, then someone was playing a really devious game. I had been to enough magic shows to realize that anything was possible. The question wasn't could it have been done. The question was, had it been done. Then the question became why had it been done. The only way to know was to grab somebody who knew and ask them politely. Then ask them not so politely until they answered. I couldn't forget it, but I did move past it. I did my normal things. At least as much as I could without either an office or a home. The guys from Eve central had taken over my building. My office became my cell phone and my notebook computer. I hooked into anyone's Wifi available to me. I even worked from my own parking lot. It was several days after Mike's visit when Jen finally got the party arranged. She wanted something bigger than her house would hold. The real reason was probably that the neighbors talked to Bob. Some of the guys took him aside and explained that they were tired of their wives complaining. He either got them all invited, or they were going to start shutting down Jen's parties after midnight. Armed with that information, Jen began looking for a place to have her party. What she found was the carriage house at the defunct Hazelwood bed and breakfast. The Bed and Breakfast had been converted to a drug rehab facility, but the old carriage house wasn't being used. It was still available for parties, just as it had been when the Hazelwood was a Bed and Breakfast. Jen could put a party together in no time. She had a list of semi pro party goers. All she had to do was call Helen to cater it, and then start down the list. Most of Jen's parties were nothing more than an excuse for a bunch of drunks to get together. Since her parties seldom required me to dress too far over the top, I usually went along. I knew that I have the worst legs imaginable, so I usually wore pants of some kind. I would have worn pants to her party that night, but Jen insisted that I dress a bit more like the others. Since I had nothing, I planned to go shopping after my mall walk on the Saturday morning of the party. I waited until mid morning before I walked. When I finished, I went from one department store to the next. I just saw nothing I even wanted to try, let alone wear. The dress I finally saw was floor length and it fit me perfectly. It showed my trim little butt and hid my mangled calf muscle. It did most of what one of those type dresses should do. The down side was I would not be able to wear a bra with it. If I wanted any shape at all, I needed a bra with forms. The sales lady noticed me look at my lack of boobs in the mirror and shake my head. She approached me with a small box. From the box she removed two silicone forms. She sprinkled some power in them then pulled the top of the dress down. She fitted the forms over my small breasts. Then replaced the top of the dress. That two inches on each of my breasts made a huge difference. Sure I was never going to be beautiful, but I was quite attractive, in a jumbled up way. Nothing on my body quite matched, but there was a street urchin appeal to that even. I took the dress with me since miracle of miracles it fit right off the rack. I spent the day getting ready for the party. Not only did I do that, but Jen's whole house was on Party alert. Everything had to do with the party. There was an undertone of impending doom in my case, but there was a building excitement in Jen and Bob. In the last few years Jen's parties had become two events in one. First there was food, drink, and socializing which was an important part of any party. Then after midnight those more faint of heart began to leave. By 2AM the number of people left was down to a handful. That handful was certain to engage in partying not covered by Emily Post. When one stayed past the witching hour, there were never any guarantees how things would end. One had to be open to anything short of murder or force-able rape. Just say no, was not an option. I felt very elegant in the long dress, so I was hoping for the best. I had not worn a wig even though it would have made the outfit much more attractive. I didn't simply because I expected that things would get carried away and of course they did. Jen always set the guest list. Most of the people came from her world, not mine, so they were almost complete strangers. I had seen a few at other parties, but she always found new ones as well. That night after midnight a redheaded man attached himself to me. I'm not sure to this day that Jen didn't send him to me as a pity screw. That might have been her intention but those things take on a life of their own. The redhead and I danced in the middle of the floor. Moving to the music was the best I could do even when I hadn't been drinking, which I had of course. One needed to be at the very least well lubricated for the antics that were to follow. The music was still playing and I sensed that we weren't along on the dance floor when he pushed down on my shoulders. I resisted just a second, then surrendered to it. It took less than a second for me to be on my knees. Then a second more and his cock was out and touching my lips. I can remember the music was dreamy as I manipulated his cock until it was rock hard and pressing against the back of my throat as he tried to work it down my esophagus. I didn't resist, it just didnt want to go. It wasn't nature's plan for that to fit there. I knelt in the middle of the dance floor choking on his cock when I realized that people had stopped to stand and watch. I hated it but not enough to stop what I was doing. There was something pure animal and therefore liberating in being the center of attention. Since I couldn't sing or dance, it was my five minutes of fame. I didn't really mind them watching me with his cock down my throat, I would be able to watch each of them in equally embarrassing positions before the night was finished. I looked over to see Jen being led to a sofa by one of Bob's friends. What he had in mind for her I had no idea, but as long as it didn't leave a mark, she would enjoy it. Jen was even more adventuresome than me. There were only two other females left in the room. One of them was at least our age and pretty well maintained. I didn't recognize her but the other one I did recognize. She was one of the walkers at the mall. She was one of the younger power walkers. We were too busy to speak, but that was okay. I'm not sure I had anything to say to her. Before the night ended I had vaginal sex with one man and sucked another cock. It wasn't my busiest night but I kept busy. I had to laugh at that thought. It would be a cold night in hell when any woman couldn't keep busy at one of Jen's parties. After a quick trip out for Krispy Kreme Donuts, I spent the rest of the day Sunday in bed alone. I had pains in several of my muscles from movements I didn't perform often. Still I was pleasantly worn out. The high calorie confections were my reward for a job well done. It was three in the afternoon when my cell phone rang. "You need to go to your place downtown. I left an envelope for you down there this morning." The voice belonged to Mike and it just ended without a goodbye or a chance for me to ask questions. I didn't really need to. I had no idea exactly what was in the envelope but I was sure it was something to answer the question of the missing money. It was late afternoon and I was still beat down, but I dressed and headed to the office building I had converted to a residence. When I arrived I found that a crew of painters was busy putting the final touches on the place. I knew it was about time for them to finish, I just hadn't expected it to be as close to complete as it was. I walked around taking it all in. Not much had been changed, but still things were different. "Did somebody leave something here for me this morning?" I asked. "Yes," the painter said. "It's over on that counter by the door." I moved over and found the fiber envelope. It was the kind the post office used, but it had never been through the postal system. I have a feeling that it would be far too dangerous for the post office. I was surprised Mike trusted it to the painter. Inside the envelope I found a flash drive. It was a large flash drive capable of holding several minutes of low resolution video. I doubted that Mike had access to a professional recording studio so most likely it was home video. I was pretty sure I would need several drinks to handle that video. I took a look around the place since I was there anyway. I had planned not to do that until I moved back, but I was standing there it was impossible not to notice. The downstairs was still the place I would be meeting with people. It appeared that the new layout had a small reception area and a desk space for two desks. I expected that Eve would have a desk space as well. It was as good a storage area for her as any. I didn't suppose you can roll something like her into a broom closet like a Hoover. Behind the desk area was some kind of electronics lab. The space was the width of the room but only a few feet deep. It was crammed full of computer stuff. Since everyone knows I'm no geek, stuff is the best description I can give the items neatly arranged on the shelves. Some of the stuff was mine, but most belonged to the Eve crew no doubt. I was tempted to sit at one of the computers and play the flash drive, but I needed to be alone and well lubricated when I ran it. I took my notebook and my coffee container with me when I left the office. I stopped by Hardee's to fill the coffee container before I drove to the lake. I parked in the rear corner of the parking lot on the lake side. There was almost no chance anyone would slip up on me. I knew that I needed to be at least half drunk to ease the blow to my soul, but I also needed to be able to process what I saw. There was a note with the flashdrive. 'Watch this and get it to the right people.' The note was unsigned. That damn TV show made it clear that I had DEA and CIA connections. I took a deep breath then loaded it into the usb connection. ------- Chapter 220: the Vid and How to Use It So I hit the play button stone cold sober. The lighting in the room wasn't good. Even so there was no mistaking the look of pure terror on the face of the Hispanic man seated at the table. His terrified face filled the screen. The heavily accented voice demanded, "Tell me everything about the drug raid last week." "If I tell you they will kill me," the man said. "If you don't tell me, I will kill you and I will do it very, very slowly. So tell me about the raid." The man demanded. "I can't," the prisoner said. Before anyone else spoke there was a commotion and the prisoner screamed and began to cry. The camera didn't zero in on the prisoner but it was obvious something had happened. "Now tell me about the drug raid," the voice said again. "Please no," the prisoner begged. There was the commotion again only before there could be a resolution the prisoner began to talk. "The raid was a setup." "What do you mean a set up?" the off camera voice asked. "Estavante told us to call in the tip on our own people. It is all part of some plan the Cartels have." "What do you mean?" the off camera voice asked. "This raid was the first in a series of moves to discredit the police. We were supposed to set it up so that it looked as though the police were in business with the Cartels." The prisoner said. "Why did this Estavante, want to frame the cops?" the off camera voice asked. "He said that the first step to taking over the government was to discredit the police. Once the press believed that the police were in business with the Cartels, then the Cartels could begin to exert control over the local governments. Estavante said it would take years, but that every year we would get more and more control until it would be like Mexico here. According to him the politicians would be afraid to take on the drug cartels. "So tell me where the money is now?" "There was never any money. The piles of paper wasn't really money. The stacks were a soap based paper. To get ride of the evidence, one of the men was to turn over a drink on the table. The liquid would dissolve the piles of paper which the cops thought were money." "So when the money was gone, it would appear that the cops stole it." The off camera voice suggested. "Yes, the plan was to continue doing the same thing until everybody thought the cops were all crooks. When the press picked up on it, then it wouldn't take long for the people to lose confidence. Once that happened, people here would be like they are in Mexico. They would stop cooperating with the police. Without information, the balance would tip to our side." "So this isn't a single operation. It is a campaign that will take years?" the off camera voice asked. "Yes that is exactly what it is. Estavante said not to worry that the Americans were too soft to do what was necessary to battle us." "So a group of Narco Terrorists are operating in this small town?" the off camera voice asked. "Exactly, their only job is to discredit the local police departments. Estavante says we can turn this into a safe haven just like the ones we have in Mexico." The Hispanic man suggested. Once the tape finished running, I looked hard at it. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as well. I hoped this isn't a state supported effort, I thought. I hoped that it was just one more mad Narco Terrorist dreaming of being a king of some kind. I had a feeling it was more serious than that, but time would tell just how serious. I held the flash drive in my hand and realized that it was going to be a real problem for a lot of people. The cops didn't just want to clear their names, they were willing to risk prison to expose this Estavante. I had to do what I could to keep them out of prison. I needed that renovation completed, then I needed to get someone who could make things happen up and running. The other problem was that I was sure the CIA would have bugged my apartment. That's was at least a large part of the renovations. I would have done the same things, since they were about to put a billion dollar toy in my care. What their motives were, I had no idea nor did anyone outside the agency. Even though it was Sunday afternoon, I stopped by the office depot for a flash drive. They were cheap so I bought a handful. In the alley behind my building I made two copies of the file. Not only did I wear rubber gloves, but I sealed it in a ziplock bag immediately. The original would be contaminated with all kinds of DNA, but the new one I tried to keep clean. At least as clean as I possibly could. I had to admit that I would have found the plot less than creditable, except that I knew for a fact that the bad guys had implemented it. Of course it was possible that the tape was just a cover up for the person who had really taken the money. It was just a fucked up mess as those things always were in the beginning. I had two completely different but possible theories of the crime. At that moment I decided to hold onto the file until I got Eve to work on it. I expected her to know everything, just as Lucy had. I also expected her to be a tattletale, just as Lucy had been. Since I was used to being under a microscope, I figured to let that be for a while at least. Someday I might find a way to hijack Eve. I left the alley behind my new residence headed back to Jennifer's place. I was headed there because I had no idea what to do next. I got into her upscale neighborhood when the phone rang. "Hello," I said into it. "You received my present?" the heavily accented voice asked. "I did indeed. At this point I am trying to decide the best place to forward it. Do you have a preference?" I asked it knowing I would make the decision but why not see if whoever was involved had a preference. "Perhaps the DEA, it is a drug problem after all." the voice said. "True, but it is also more. If the vid is real, it seems they are trying to destabilize the government of the United States. That makes this National Security." I suggested. "Then the CIA?" the voice asked. "Or homeland security, I'm not sure just yet who should be the point on this." I said. What I really wanted was to judge his sense of urgency. "Yes many of your agencies have a finger in the pie. That is why we chose you to make the decision." the voice said. "Tell me are there other tapes like this one?" I asked. "Yes," the voice didn't elaborate. "I thought so. So what is it you want? I know the cops want to have their names cleared, but what do you want?" "I'm a patriot. I just want our country to wake up. We have a terrorist that isn't Muslim. These are serious terrorists that want to bring down the United States." "So you aren't one of those battling the Narco Terrorist in Mexico and want us to join the fight. You know to take some of the pressure off you?" I asked. "Okay maybe that is part of it, but it doesn't make it any less true." he said. "The Narco Terrorists are starting a campaign to undermine your confidence in your policemen." "Well, I will pass this along." I didn't try to over think it, even though I knew if it were sanctioned, they would be passing it on at a much higher level than me. I had a feeling that the man on the phone and the voice on the tape really wanted the information in the public domain not government closets. It remained to be seen of course what their motives really were. My motive was to save the people I had met. If they were being set up, I wanted their heads off the block. As for the rest, that was political shit. I never got involved in political shit. The question for me now was how to get the illegally made confession into evidence in the IAD case. I didn't want to drop it into the mail, and the people who made it didn't want that either. If they had, they could have done that themselves. They wanted the tape handed over to the DEA or Homeland Security. Somebody who could take it high enough to get some pressure applied to the Drug Cartels. Odds were pretty good that things were not as they seemed to be. Things could actually have been set up not by the cartel but by the Mexican government. As is the case with every conspiracy it could have been set in motion by anyone and pointed at anyone else. The tape did identify the man being tortured. It was my guess that he would be known at least by the DEA. I would guess that going to them was the place to start. I wanted to give it some more thought before I began dropping the file on people. Maybe I should just post the damn thing on utube. At least then it would get out and become part of the shared knowledge of the population. I dialed the phone from the card Mike had given me. "Mike," I said when he answered. "I got something delivered to my place today. Do you know anything about it?" "I have no idea what you are talking about. I did drop a word into the community that you were looking for information. That's my total involvement." He had rehearsed his response and I wasn't going to get any more from him. "We are both likely being used," I suggested. "You have something to lose I don't. I am not going to let them intimidate me." he said. "Fair enough, this is going to be a cluster fuck before it is over, but so be it." I said. "So be it," he agreed. I went through my very private phone book on the computer. I found the listing for the eastern district of the Drug Enforcement Agency. Under that listing I found my hand written, then scanned number for the assistant to the deputy director for the Eastern District. I dialed the number of the number two man in the Atlanta office. "Hello," the man's voice said. "Simon, this is Maxine Stone." I said that, then waited for a response. "Maxine, I caught your TV show. I'm glad they aren't trying to make you wonder woman." he said. "Yeah, the producer didn't mind showing my warts for sure. So how you been?" I asked. "I have been good. So are they going to do any shows on the Atwater Brothers?" Simon asked. "I have no control or even knowledge of their plans. I think the producers prefer I don't know." "So why the call Maxine?" he asked. "I am working for Jennifer on a internal affairs police investigation. I put out word that I wanted information about a dope raid gone bad. I got a file that is too hot for me to handle. I think you need to see this video." "Can you email it to me?" he asked. "Yes but I would rather wait a while and see what shakes out. I just wanted to touch base first and put you on alert that it might be coming your way." I said. "Okay, who is the bad guy in this play?" he asked. "Somebody named Estavante. Did you ever hear of him?" I asked. "Yeah, now I really do want to see that file," he said. "Tell me who Estavante is and I might send it on along," I suggested. "One of the many drug importers. There have been rumors that he is planning to make a move. We have no idea what that move might be though. He would love to find a base of operations in the southeast I expect." "Okay, then maybe you do need to see this. Is there a way you can forget where it came from?" I asked. "Post the file to the net, then send me an email with a link." he suggested. "I'll think about it," I suggested. Knowing it came from me and proving it did are not the same things, I thought. ------- Chapter 221: Cousin Eve Since nobody's life or career was in immediate danger, I allowed things to just coast for a couple of days. I did nothing, about anything, until the downtown building's 'Eve renovations' were completed. As I had expected the renovations took almost two weeks instead of one. I found out that the contractors were finished only because I stopped by the building every morning to check on the progress. I wasn't paying the bills, so they didn't answer to me. Fortunately we didn't have any differences of opinion, because I have no idea how that would have worked out. I can't say that I was surprised when they finished. I had the sense that things were winding down for a day or two before the end. I knew pretty much what everything was, so I didn't really need a grand tour. I also expected that Eve would know what everything was and how to use it. The morning I found all their contractor equipment gone, was the morning I moved back into my downtown place. I packed my boxes and bags after breakfast, then I dropped them inside the back door of the downtown place, before I went to the mall to walk. The building had an outside utility room where I had kept my bike for those two weeks. I was thrilled to see that the bike started immediately. Since it did, I rode it to the mall for my Wednesday morning walk. I arrived late, so Tiny Dance was already gone. The new man at the Mall was walking straight as a stick. I set my walking direction opposite his so that I passed him twice in each of my five laps. The last time I passed him, he stopped me by explaining, "This was my last lap. Walking around the mall is a bit boring. Would you care for a cup of coffee after your walk?" "I have one more lap then I will be finished. I don't really care for the coffee in the food court though. Do you know where the Brown Bag Palace is located?" I asked. "Up at the corner of Lexington and Main?" he asked. "That's it. If you like, I will meet you there in about fifteen minutes." I suggested. "Fair enough," he said smiling. I walked with him to the side entrance of the mall. I continued walking after he went through the doors. The complete lap actually took me just over ten minutes. The rest of my fifteen minutes was spent getting the bike started and out of the parking lot. The ride up to the Brown Bag Palace took about ten minutes, because I got stuck at every stop light along the way. I saw the sign on the most visible corner of the parking lot. Helen had finally settled on the name, and had the sign made, after almost six months at the location. I loved the place and the atmosphere, but most of all I guess I loved Helen. Most likely everyone else in town felt the same. I found the chief sitting at one of the smaller picnic tables. He had already made friends with a couple of the cops, who were in for an early lunch. They were talking about something from a TV show. I sat down at their table with my coffee. "Okay, which of the world's problems are you solving today?" I asked. "Today it's cheap energy on the agenda." the chief said. "Speaking of which," one of the cops asked. "What kind of gas mileage does that bike get?" "The forums all say these bikes get 100mpg, but that's bull. In this area with my fat ass, it gets about 85mpg. Some of those hybrid cars do better than that." I said. "But they can't be anywhere near as much fun." one of the cops said. "What the hell are you guys talking about?" the chief asked. "They are talking about my motorbike," I replied. "Really, do you have it outside?" he asked. "Sure go on out and take a look. I'm sure it's the only one in the lot. Well on second thought, there might be one of those new scooters, but mine will be the only bicycle with a motor on it." I smiled. "Excuse me a minute, this I have to see." The chief said as he stood to leave. "He seems to be a nice guy," the older of the cops said. "Yeah he does. All us old retired military types are pretty good people." I replied. "I got to agree with that, at least as long as you are sober." he agreed. Then he added, "Well we need to get back on the street." "Well be careful all kinds of bad shit out there these days." I said. "No amount of scrubbing can wash some of the stink off," the other one agreed. "So where did you get that bike," the chief asked. "It's a long story and I really don't have that much time. I'm expecting a call soon. When it comes I will probably have to drive over to Tryon Internatioal Airport," I said. "Let me give you this instead." I wrote the address of the Web TV show Marty had produced about our bike trip cross country. "If you get really bored one day, you can see the beginning of it there. The guy planned to sell them to every bicyclist in the world didn't quite make it work. Some of his franchises are still in business, others went under. He designed the motor on my bike, for a friend of mine and I got it when he passed away. I knew when the phone rang that it was Priest. "Sorry I have to take this." I said that as I stood and walked away. "Maxine, be at the airport at 1PM to meet your cousin Eve." Then Priest just hung up on me. The bastard didn't even wait to see if I agreed or not. I looked at my watch and realized that I had just over two hours to get to the airport. "Sorry Chief, but I have to go," I said. I found that I actually did regret that I needed to leave so quickly. I rode he bike back to the building. I hardly recognized the building after the remodeling. It had been quick but it seemed to be thorough. The contractor had replaced the glass and metal store front windows with a wooden framed small paned window that actually had a colonial look about it. The whole front of the building did. I would bet my bottom dollar that it also had bullet resistant glass. I had been on the site when the contractor installed the steel door that was supposed to look like wood. Actually it would have fooled me, if I hadn't tried to lift it. The door was a hollow core steel. The hollow core had been drilled then filled with energy absorbing ballistic gel. The rear door was the same material. Even the upstairs windows were a bullet resistant polycarbonate material. I rolled the bike through the exterior utility room door. Yes even the door on it would require C4 to open without a key. I locked the bike into the utility room, then went on line to review the security footage. Things had been quiet for the last two hours, so I was satisfied. Once inside, I moved the boxes, which I had earlier stacked by the back door, upstairs. When I picked up the last box I decided to take a good look at the small room the contractor had built just inside the back door. That doorway opened into a hall which did not exist previously. The room created by that hallway was filled with computer junk. There was at least as much as Lucas had scattered around his office. It looked as though the gamble on Eve might pan out after all. The front room of the first floor was an area that would be used as an office and reception room. It could also be a living room, if the space were just being used solely as a residence. Up the open stairway was what amounted to an efficiency apartment. The front space overlooking the street remained my sitting room/bedroom. Then there was a small dining area across from a wall of kitchen appliances. Behind the kitchen beside the door opening to a fire escape was my tiny bathroom. Across the hall from the bathroom I had a giant closet for storage and my few clothes. After my quick tour, I decided that the renovations by the CIA were well done. I didn't have time to really examine the place in detail, since I had to get dressed for my first meeting with Eve. I knew that I didn't have to do anything to impress her, but I took a shower and changed into, not quite so worn, jeans for my airport run. I arrived at the terminal 15 minutes early. I left the cruiser in the short term parking lot then walked to the terminal building. I had taken a spiral notebook from the office supplies in my downtown office. On that notebook I wrote in very large block letters... "Eve Stone" well it was either that or Cousin Eve. I thought Cousin Eve sounded just too redneck. At the terminal I went looking for coffee. I found the the vending machines in a snack bar called the robot room, since everything was mechanized. I saw the humor. but I doubted that Priest would have. "Maybe I should change my sign to Roomba 5000," I mumbled too quietly for anyone else to hear. Armed with the Styrofoam cup of black coffee and my sign, I headed to the gate just as the plane began to spill passengers from it's guts. I kept thinking about the .38 in the small of my back, and how it was a good thing I didn't have to walk through a metal detector to meet my 'cousin'. While I stood outside the doors to the loading gate, I began to wonder how Cousin Eve got through the metal detectors. I held my sign up as the people pushed through the doors in front of me. I recognized her before she seemed to recognize her name. She looked like Lucy only more butch. Lucy had been no knock out, or even very feminine, but Eve was downright androgynous. Her hair was cropped shorter than mine even. It was spiked, just as I wore my hair. I couldn't believe it, but even I had bigger boobs. If they had made her a few inches taller there was no way she could have passed for a woman. As things stood, it might be difficult to get her into a ladies room. I wondered why they decided to make her look so much like me, when they could just as easily have made her beautiful. "You must be Maxine," she said. "Well hello Cousin Eve. How was your flight?" I asked. "The flight was good," she said. "So do you have luggage?" I asked. "Of course. but just the one bag checked through." She looked around to be sure no one was close, then said. "Appearances you know." "Yes, I guess I do. So let's get your bag and get you home." I suggested. I hung back and let her take care of her own luggage. It was part of my learning curve. I needed to know what she would do in any given situation. She obviously understood the procedures required to collect her luggage. I did casually check to be sure that it was her luggage and not some school teacher from some other small town whose luggage Eve carried from the terminal. "So we need to work out our relationship," I suggested as we drove toward Aster. "I was told to go along with anything you felt necessary, but the programmers felt that pretending to be a lesbian might make sense. It is known that you are bisexual, so it would explain my being an in residence girlfriend." she suggested. "I think you mean, live in girlfriend." I said. "Yeah that," she replied. When we got back to my place, I showed her the small computer lab which had been constructed for her. "This will do nicely," she informed me. "Good, I'm sure I will be asking you for help, since I'm not all that good with technology," I admitted. "So I have been told," she replied. Some piece of shit programmer's superiority complex was showing, I thought. ------- Chapter 222: Inverse Statistics One thing about Eve I noticed pretty damn quick was that she held her own in a conversation. There was a rebellious edge even in her submissiveness. Hers was almost a 'whatever' attitude at times. I would have preferred she be more openly resistive than the passive aggressive attitude she was displaying now and then. We weren't even back to the townhouse before I was beginning to wonder, if it had all been a giant mistake. Could I bear to have someone around me 24/7 who I didn't mesh with. Had the Company decided to run a second level test with me as the test subject. The answer to that was obviously yes. Not only were her programmers interested in what she could do, but in how her handler would do working with her. Why they had decided on me was a mystery. I was pretty sure that it was because I already knew about the program. I also knew about their unique relationship with Swamp Thing. Both of those facts made me uniquely qualified for the job. Of course it also made me too dangerous to live, if I chose not to cooperate. The real question was, when they started with Lucy, why me back then? I probably never would know the whole answer to that one. "So, do we have any plans for this evening?" Eve asked in a completely unemotional voice. "Not at the moment, is there anything you would like to do?" I asked. "I am always in search of new data." she said smugly. "Of course you are," I said sarcastically. "They warned me that you liked to bait people." It was said in her annoying robot voice. Of course her voice was a perfect replica of a human voice. However, when she went all cold, I already began to think of it as her robot voice. Not to mention that annoying condescending tiny smile. Okay maybe there wasn't enough of a smile for anyone else to notice, but I could tell she was looking down on me in some superior robot way. "So tell me Eve, what super powers do you have?" I asked. "Holy crap, they told me you would ask that. I can't believe you really are asking though. I am stronger than you of course. It's all done with micro hydraulics. I don't feel pain, but I do feel loss." "How do you feel loss, would you cry if some bad guy killed me?" I asked genuinely curious. "Not shed tears, but I would feel an emptiness just as I would if someone cut off my arm," she said. I knew there was more. "And when they replace your arm or give you a new Master?" I asked. "The void would be filled, but it is probable that I would still have the memories, so I would still feel the loss. I have to keep the memories in order to learn by extrapolation. Emotions are formed from those memories, and extrapolated thoughts derived from those memories. It's like a huge ball of string," she explained. "All of it intertwined." I wondered if the nerds had really found the definition of soul, but weren't smart enough to know it. Then I decided that, I didn't really want to know the answer to that. "So have the geeks made any improvements?" I asked her. "There wasn't all that much data for significant improvements. My sister, as we refer to Lucy, was terminated very early on." Eve had a strange tone when she said it. "Yes I know. I was there." I replied. I wanted to judge her reaction. "I know, she was about to fall into enemy hands, so the geeks as you call them terminated her." she said. So that was their story. Well I didn't want to set Eve straight. I had no idea how it might effect our relationship. "What I was really wondering is can you fake eating, or am I going to have a girlfriend who never eats?" I asked. "The Geeks built a storage container inside my body cavity. I can pretend to eat and drink, then go the the bathroom and empty the container. If you think about it, that is pretty much what you do, only your design is not nearly so simple." she informed me using her version of the geek voice. You know, like an adult trying to explain the airplane to a five year old, that kind of voice. "Well then when we go out to eat, order the easiest thing to cleanup after," I said. "Not to worry, not only can I fake eating, I also have my own debit card." she smiled. "Well aren't you just the perfect catch?" I commented. "Well the creator tried to make me as helpful as possible. The creator said that we would be great friends." She actually smiled when she said it. "Well i can only say that I hope the creator, or Bob, whatever his name really is, has it right," I said it with a smile. I fully expected exactly what she said next. "He said you would say those exact words," she said. "And I knew you were going to say that. Your creator is as predictable as the rest of us," I said. "Unless you need me, I should report in." she obviously had already tuned the previous conversation out, No doubt she had filed it away somewhere word for word. "Oh hell, make your report. One never knows when the creator will want to add a new chapter to the book of eve." I said sarcastically. "You know there really isn't a religious overtone here," she said. "That's what Jesus told the disciples, I'm sure. You know we really aren't defying the established order. Oh no we are just adding to the base knowledge. You know that they will appreciate it one day. What he didn't tell them was that they would all have to be martyrs to make it happen. I prefer to skip that step, if it's all the same to the creator." I laughed. She didn't even smile, I doubt that early Christians would have smiled at the Romans either. "So, if you don't have anything else," she said turning to the computer lab. I went up to the bedroom where I checked my email. Nobody seemed to have anything to say to me. Which was fine. While Eve reported in, I got to thinking about Estavante. I wanted to put that file in the hands of Simon, or even the CIA or better still both. What I didn't want was it leaked to the public. Somebody had done some serious questioning of the drug dealer on that tape. I really didn't want that to get out. Some bleeding heart would insist that he be found. I'm sure he was aware that it would happen, but I didn't want to be the one to put the pressure on him. I was thinking about old school ways to get the pressure on Estavante, without putting it on the man who sent me the tape. It just didn't look all that good to me. I really needed someone to confide in. I didn't trust Eve. Most likely the tape was already compromised anyway. I had been under surveillance so long, that I always expected everything to be compromised. The only person for sure who knew about the file was the man asking the questions. I wondered who the hell he was. My best guess was that he knew about the raid, but wasn't necessarily a full time player. I asked myself, what was his interest. How did he know where to get the information, but not what to do with it. Could he be a local cop, who knew it was more than he could swing with. Then there would be questions about the methods of the interrogation. My guess is that the subject of the file had been tortured. Okay so what if it was a local cop, who grabbed a local mid level operator, who knew what Estavante planned. So what I most likely had was good intelligence, from a not so good source. Which led me back at how to use it so nobody but the bad guys got hurt. The DEA had some bad press lately, they might well be gun shy. Drugs were outside the CIA purview, but the destabilization of even a portion of the country by an outside group was their forte. "Maxine," Eve shouted from the bottom floor. "Yes," I answered. "There is a message for you. Would you like to come down or should I copy it and bring it up?" she asked. "Bring it if you wouldn't mind. I have my notebook here I can read from it." I said. "It really isn't secure enough, but I have a notebook that is secure. I'll bring it with me." Eve said. The message was from Lamar. 'Maxine, you need to start introducing Eve to your friends and family. You can introduce her as your girl friend, or your cousin. It all depends on who you are introducing her to I expect. Eve will be happy to do your research on the computer and also to help you make plans. Of course we will monitor her to be sure you aren't risking her unnecessarily. Lamar.' "Okay Eve, find out everything you can about a Mexican drug lord named Estavante." "Is that the first or the last name?" she asked. "I have no idea," I replied. She went on line to research him through whatever government agencies she could find. While she did that, I made a pot of coffee. It took her all of ten minutes to come back to me. "Okay Estavante is a 45 year old Mexican national. He is a veteran of the Mexican Army. Ten years ago he left the Army under a cloud. I'm not sure what the cloud was," Eve said. "What ever it was got him to switch sides," I said. "Yes it does seem so. He is a man who plans his drug operations like they were Military operations. That is his claim to fame with the cartels." "So you wouldn't be shocked to find that he is making a plan for Narco Terrorists to take over Aster. If not officially at least under the radar. To have the cops look the other way while he does business using Aster as a base." "I would not be surprised. I don't see how it would work, but I can see him trying it." she said. "Look up the effect of public perception of law enforcement's honesty and effectiveness and its effect on crime rates." I insisted. It was a study that was quoted in the 90s to explain the crime rates being higher in better trained police forces. "It says here the relationship between the public perception of the effectiveness of the police department and crime statistics are inverse. Why is that?" she asked. "Because if you believe the cops are not going to help you, then you will only report crimes for which there is insurance coverage. You need the police report to file for insurance compensation. If chances are reporting crime will have only a negative effect, you won't bother. The better the cops, the more crime is reported, ie the higher the crime rate appears. If the citizens think it is useless, then why bother and they don't so crime rates go down." "So Estavante is going to convince the locals that calling the cops is a waste of time. Then he will try to take over," I added. "Will it work?" she asked. "Some people think that is why the Mexican army and police can't get a handle on the Narco Terrorists. The public just doesn't believe the police will do anything. Even if the public is willing to try helping they are convinced that the cops can't protect them." "So you think Estavante is planning to do that here?" she asked. "Yes that's what I think. I think someone needs to stop him." I said. "And you are that someone?" she asked. "Not me, I just need to figure out who to turn on to this." I said. I hoped she would could up with an answer. ------- Chapter 223: Eve and Me and Jen Makes Three There was just too much we didn't know to make a rational decision. The thing I knew was what I didn't know. I didn't know what the structure of the drug business was in Aster or Tryon. It seemed to me that would be job one. To do that I needed an information sharing arrangement between the dope squad in Tryon, Aster and me. Then most likely I would need DEA to share information on Estavante. Since there was no arrangement in place, it appeared that I needed to setup one and do it on an emergency basis. Of course I had to have some excuse to get me inside the meeting. The words that sprang to mind were Task Force. The problem was I had no official standing nor did I want any. I just wanted the information from them all, not their bodies on the ground necessarily. Hacking the police computers would be difficult at the very least. But then I had the ultimate computer sitting on a very hard, very straight chair across from my downstairs bathroom. She was doing what I supposed was was robot version of sleeping. At least she was recharging her batteries, which is more or less what sleep does for me. While Eve rested and recharged, she also got upgraded and received information form her monitoring circuitry. She could do something only huge networks were supposed to be able to do. She could scan large data banks for random entries. "So do you think scanning the Internet at selected times and places while I am on recharge might help?" she asked. "Is there a downside?" I asked. "Very slight, if I wait until my power supply is replenished completely to start, then the energy I use would come from the system. It would not effect my maximum performance when I unplug myself." she said. "Is there any chance they could trace you back to this location from your random scan?" I asked. "Security is a big deal." "Ah I see. I can do a couple of things to minimize that possibility," she suggested. "Get the odds of a trace to 1% or below and then we will do it," I suggested. While I sat on my combo sofa/bed trying to think who best to share the file with, Eve scanned the local police department's dope files. She was looking for any of the known associates from the Estavante file she had begun to build earlier. The only things of which I was sure, was that I did not want to live in a Narco Terror state, nor did I wan't get my ass involved with a DEA or CIA operation. That left only one entity to which I could turn for help. As much as I hated it Swamp Thing could arrange something I could not and something our government lacked the balls to arrange. The problem was I might be aligning myself with one devil to fight another. If Swamp thing sold this to the highest bidder, I could end up working for a different trafficker or even Estavante himself. There were just no guarantees with Swamp Thing. There was only one person more devious than any of those agencies. The only person who could sort through the political end of the equation was Jennifer. Just a small town country lawyer, she told the politicos when she first met them. Of course Sam Ervin had said that the whole time as he brought down the First US President to ever resign from office. Goes to show, you never under estimate a small town southern lawyer. Mine especially, since she looked so harmless, but was one bad ass bitch. "Jennifer, are you going to have some time for me tomorrow?" I asked when I had her on the phone. "Depends is it business or monkey business?" Jennifer asked. "This is serious shit and it is all business. We need to decide what to do about the missing money from the drug raid." I suggested. "So now you know what happened to it?" she asked. "Yeah I know, but it's going to be a lot more than that one drug raid gone sideways," I suggested. "Then come by the office after your morning walk. I'll work it out somehow." Jennifer said. One thing she knew was that I never cried wolf unless I was up to my ass in snapping teeth. "Fair enough," I suggested. I shouted down the stairs, "I'm going to sleep. Monitor the perimeter, If anything urgent happens come get me." It seemed like a good thing for Eve to do, since she couldn't really shut down completely anyway. If she was going to monitor the net, she might as well monitor my on line cameras as well. I slept very well. I suppose knowing Eve was watching the perimeter as well as scanning for information on our bad guys was a positive sleep aid. I awoke the next morning with shower first thing on my mind. Eve must have heard the water running because she was waiting outside the upstairs bathroom. "So what are we doing today?" she asked. "Well. first we are going to find me something to wear. Then we are going to go find me something to eat, since unlike you I need real food. Then we are going to go to the mall to walk, because again unlike you I need exercise. My next plan is to go see Jennifer, my partner in crime." "Very well, then I suppose I should tag along." she said. "That would be good. Do you drive?" I asked. "I learned to drive and to ride a bicycle for this assignment. I have driver's licenses in all 50 states." she said. "How many hours do you have behind the wheel of a car?" I asked. "Not more then a half dozen hours total," she said. "Well if you don't mind, I think you will be the passenger for a while. I will see if I can get you a motorized bicycle. Even though I know from my experience with Lucy, that you can ride under your own power all day." "Good the motor bike will allow me to conserve on my power consumption." she admitted. "Yes and people won't be wondering about you biking faster than the traffic," I agreed. We ended up in Helen's sit down with me dressed in worn jeans and Eve dressed in much better ones. She also wore a masculine cute shirt, but it was clingy enough for anyone looking carefully to notice that she had boobs. She looked more androgynous than butch to me. "Hey Max whose your new friend?" one of the cops asked. "This is my friend Eve," I said with a smile. I didn't much care what they thought of our relationship. "Well hello Eve where are you from?" one of the younger ones asked. "Hello officer, I'm from Louisiana," she said. "New Orleans," he asked. "No, small town fifty miles north," she said smiling. He returned the smile. Eve had obviously practiced eating. She was much better at faking it than Lucy had been. We sat across from the cops and pretty much ignored each other and them as well. It was more a 'each of us lost in our own world' kind of thing. For some reason, I wondered what she was doing, so I whispered. "What the fuck are you doing?" It was obvious that she was lost in deep, deep thought. "I think I just came across some information that will interest you." she said. "Well hold it till we get to the car. I don't want to be going Gee Whiz in front of these guys," I admitted. "Yeah, I thought as much," she replied. I finished quickly but I did take time to refill my coffee cup. We were in the car when I finally had to ask, "Okay Eve, what did you pick up?" "It's the trail from Estavante to Aster." she informed me. "So where do the footprints lead?" I asked. "What do you mean?" she asked. "It means, where does the trail lead." I shook my head in despair. "There are two or three links that had to be made first, but it looks as though Estavante's man here is Charles Allen Wilson." She said. "That hardly sounds like the name of a Narco Terrorist." I suggested, "I know but he is their 'go to guy' here," she informed me. "How do we know this?" I asked. "He has been the subject of some very productive surveillance. I have no idea why no one busted him before, but he is definitely in business with Estavante," she informed me. "Get me everything you can on him. I want his business and family contacts. I want to know where our leverage is, if there is any at all." I said. "Very well I'll work on it as soon as I get back to a secure computer. Well back to your place, my computer office there is secure. I will be almost impossible for them to back trace us." she said. "Thanks for trying to include me but they will be back tracing you not me. I wouldn't have any idea where to begin." I informed her. "Well let's try to be a good team then," she said. "Okay as a good team member, we need to introduce you to Jennifer." I said. "I know who she is. How are you going to introduce me?" Eve asked. "Depends, do you think you could fool her into thinking you and I are lovers?" I asked. "I am sure I could," Eve said. I really should have told her that if Jennifer were convinced she was screwing me, Jen would not rest until she had Eve in a bed or something like a bed. "Then we tell her we met yesterday and it was love at first sight. What kind of background cover are you planning?" I asked. "I worked in a massage parlor?" she asked with a grin. "You look more like the type who worked on a horse farm," I said. "Give me and hour and I can tell you everything there is to know about Eve the horse trainer," she assured me. "Tell Jen if she asks, that we met at Cowboys Bar and Grill. We need to go there tonight do not let me forget." I said it as we pulled into the parking lot of Jennifer's office. "While I meet with Jen you do your homework and set up your background cover story. Let me know the details later. I left Eve in the reception are while I went through the door to Jen's office. "So Max what is it that is so important?" She asked. "Put this in your computer, but first unplug it from the internet. When I say unplug it, I mean take the cord out of the computer or remove the wifi card." "Geeze that's a lot cloak and dagger," she said after she had the network cable disconnected. "Necessary," I said as i handed her the cd, which I had made the night before from the file. She ran it without any more comment. When she finished she started it again. "This could work. The liberal press hates the cops." "The conservative cops hate the liberal press. So there is a good chance this could get some traction. Maybe not revolution kind of traction, but Narco Cartels operating more or less with impunity here kind of traction." I said. "So what are you going to do?" she asked. "It's not up to me to do anything," I said. "I just want to know who is the safest person to pass this to." "I don't know if there is anyone safe enough. One leak and this becomes the poison pill. They can get you so many ways." She seemed to think a long time then she finally said, "Why not just destroy the file and let them all go to hell." "You know I can't do that. Too many good men died fighting terrorist to let them have free reign here." I replied. "Yeah, then at least throw away the rulebook for this one. There is no way you can follow the rules and walk away from this." she said. "That was my thought as well." I agreed. "Let me think tonight and tomorrow we will talk." she said. "Jen I have a computer expert who says they may be doing random back check, so be careful who you even look at." "I'm going to be very careful," Jennifer informed me. ------- Chapter 224: More About Eve From Jennifer's office we drove to the preacher's bike shop. "Hey guys," I said when I was inside the overhead door. I hadn't expected the preacher to be in the shop, and he wasn't. "So who is the head bike man today?" I asked. "I'm bobby," and older man said to me. "I'm in charge today." "Bobby what you got for my friend Eve here. We need a good reconditioned bike with a small gasoline helper motor." I glanced at Eve while I spoke to Bobby. She needed to be able to handle such a small purchase with me just staying in the background. "So Eve come pick out a bike dear," I gave her my best girlfriend voice," Bobby didn't miss it, or our less than feminine demeanor. Eve came closer. "So pick out a bike first," I suggested. "If you want a helper motor you might as well get a mountain bike type thing. We can swing one of the shifter cable, so that you can use it as a throttle," Bobby ssuggested. I nodded my agreement. I kept a close eye on Eve to see what she did to make the bicycle decision. First she looked over the rows of bicycles parked in the showroom space. She asked to ride three of them. All three were smaller but not children's bikes. They were all more or less teenage girls size. Both Eve and I were over the 5'4'' minimum size recommended as the bottom of the adult size bikes. We could swing either way on bikes. We could go teenager or adult size. After trying all three, she chose a larger 26" bike. She obviously didn't mind sitting up a little higher than I liked. After she had the bike picked out, we began to speak about the engine. There was some back and forth about engine sizes. The bike shop had two sizes which were legal on the streets. One was a 50cc engine which was heavier and faster than the 33cc engine on my bike. The reason for the 33cc was simply that it could be removed from the bike easily. I never had done it, but one could leave the bike in the building's lobby and take the engine up to their apartment. It was the only reason to buy the smaller engine. I had my bike built for the Gunny and he had lived in a high rise apartment building. It was the ideal bike for him. For me it hadn't mattered, since I used the bike sparingly and just for the exercise and pure enjoyment of the being outdoors in the open air. Eve was going to need it if she wanted or needed to go somewhere different from where I went. I could see that happening now and then. The cruiser had a permanent bike rack on it, so it would be possible to drop Eve somewhere, then have her ride the bike home. Eve left with a thick framed full suspension bicycle. It was more or lesst a taller version of my bike. Hers had the slanted top bar of a girlie bike. The guys at the shop loaded it onto the cruiser after they finished attaching and testing the bigger motor. We made it back home with no further chores interfering. Eve went into her computer lab while I went into what was more or less going to be my office. I sat at the desk with my smaller computer with far fewer features. With it I scanned the national news. There didn't seem to be much happening other than the illegal alien debate, and the drug violence along the border. Both of those seemed especially upsetting, since I knew what at least one of the Narco Terrorists had in mind. We no longer waited for the Muslim terrorists to strike us at home before we launched predator strikes and probably some black ops strikes against them. I had to wonder why we felt the need to allow the Narco Terrorist more wiggle room. It seemed to me we should be targeting them as well. Maybe that's what needed to happen to destroy the poison. Sure you had to get rid of the demand in order to finally cure the plague but in the short term the terrorists were the problem. Long term we needed better drug education and treatment for those too stupid to listen. But in the short term the violence had to be ended with violence. The Narco Terrorists would not stop their reign of terror until someone stopped them one group at a time. The only question was who, if anyone, had the political will (Balls) to make it happen. Going outside the political system would also be death for any career civil servant if it all went south. Maybe it would be someone like a Swamp Thing that did it, but what would their motive be. After an hour or so of the depressing news, I changed into very warm thermal clothing, so that I could begin taking Eve around to introduce her to people in town. We took the bikes because I loved the fresh air and exercise. Eve and I criss crossed the downtown touching base with people I hadn't seen lately. Most of them I hadn't seen since well before I left for my enforced European Vacation. Also most of them were just casual acquaintances. Even though I had seen him since my return, I took Eve over to meet Lucas. I didn't plan to show him that I didn't need him any more. Okay, maybe I did but I didn't have it as a conscious thought. Eve and Lucas sort of circled each other. I saw it and had to smile. Hell it was amusing, if you think about it. A human and a robot feeling each other out. Note I said feeling out, not feeling up. Which may or maynot have been possible, since I had no idea what all of the new improvements were. From Lucas's office we rode to the drive through window at the local sub shop. I picked up a foot long steak and cheese sub. Then we took a ride to the marina, where I introduced Eve, not just to the view of the lake from the terrace, but also to the two people who worked there. "I see you have lunch?" the roughly fifty pounds over weight man asked. "It's been a long time since you were here. We missed you." "Yes, this is the best view even in the dead of winter," I explained. Of course Eve never got cold and I was dressed like the Michelin man, so it was doable. The downside was that there was no way to tell that I was female in that outfit. If one didn't know with the short hair and the nondescript outward appearance of my body, especially in the thermal clothing, I could easily be mistaken for a middle age man. "Maxine, who is your new friend?" the thirty pound over weigh, blond haired, woman in her twenties asked as she passed us on the terrace. "This is Eve Stone, my cousin." I replied. "Nice to meet you Eve. I hope you come back to visit again. Maxine is about the only visitor we get this time of year." she said. "Well Deloris, spring will be here soon, and then you will be over run with fishermen," I suggested. "That is true enough," Deloris said. "Well you two enjoy your lunch." After she had gone, I ate my share of the sandwich. Then when I was sure no one was looking, I switched the wrappers, so that the empty one was in front of Eve. I ate a couple of bites of hers, then threw both wrappers and the bag into the trash. After lunch Eve and I went back to the townhouse, as I had begun to think of my building. After the bikes were secured, instead of going in we took a walk around the downtown. I wanted Eve to have a feel for the town's geography if nothing else. I left my thermal vest and parka in the storage room. I walked down main street wearing my wool long sleeved dark blue blouse. It was cut in the military style, as it should be, since it was left over from my Air Force Days. Eve who felt neither heat nor cold wore the same clothes as when she rode the bike. Life was so much easier for a robot, I thought. Most of the downtown businesses were small specialty stores catering to office workers. Of course there were also stores aimed at the poor minorities. The reason for that seemed to be pure logistics. All bus routes began or ended in the downtown. So the downtown was the easiest destination for the bus riding public. Lots of cutting edge fashion boutiques were to be found in what had once been downtown jewelry stores. There were even some rental and low end furniture stores located in the area of my townhouse. Three blocks north of the townhouse was the senior towers where Gunny had lived. We stopped in at the senior center a couple of blocks from there. The Gunny had played cards there. The only employee recognized me. "Maxine, it is so good to see you. Are you going to start playing cards with the clients again." "I'm not sure I can afford to lose that much money again." I said grinning. I had stopped in to play with the guys who had been Gunny's friends. I made sure I lost a few bucks to them each time. "I expect that it would be alright if you won now and then," she said with a knowing smile. "It would be even better if I had bigger boobs," I added. "Most likely," The woman added. "Thelma this is Eve. Eve is my cousin and here to visit a while. I am just showing her around." I said. The two of them smiled at each other and said some meaningless pleasantries. The old guys at the community center seemed to even enjoy looking at Eve. They figured out that she was supposed to be female without any fancy clothes or hair styles. I could tell but barely. I guess they were more attuned to the subtle clues than me. From the senior center we went back to the townhouse where Eve checked her messages, and I checked my email. Mine was all spam, but I can't say what hers was, since I didn't bother to go inside the computer lab. While Eve did whatever she did in that little room, I heated a frozen dinner prepared by Helen for me. Actually I think she was preparing them for several people, but I was one who could always load up just by calling and telling her I would be buy to pick up a few. I always paid even though she tried to refuse to take my money. While the dinner heated, I remembered the sight of her kitchen these days. Since Swamp Thing had begun to replace their MRE with her dinners, there was constant activity there. There were cooks everywhere making take out meals for all kinds of people. It was my impression that they ran around like one of those cooking shows on TV. I had no idea what all she was cooking for the Swamp Thing's ops teams, but I am sure that it was better than MRE. Hell I knew that it was, I had eaten both Helen's fast food and the full MRE menu. I can tell you right this minute, it's Helen's food hands down. I looked at the clock after I finished the dishes. It was time to head to the Cowboy's Bar and Grill. The food there wasn't near as good, or as healthy, as Helen's but it was fun food. Greasy and hot were the two words that came to mind. Hot both in temperature and spice would be anyone's assessment of the food. Even the french fries were over spiced. "Come on Eve, it's time to go fake a meeting at Cowboy's so we have a cover for the girlfriend story." I said. ------- Chapter 225: Eve Does the Cowboys B$G I went into Cowboys alone, then took a seat at the bar. "Well Maxine we haven't seen you here in a while," Sarah said. "Where yo u been girl?" "Oh, I was on one of those European vacations." I admitted. I also smiled. "So was it fun?" she asked placing a cup of coffee in front of me. "I couldn't wait to get home. So what's been going on here?" I asked looking around the half full dance floor. "Nothing at all. This place is always boring unless you come in." she said it with a wink. We both knew that 99.9 % of the time nothing happened with me around either. But when it did, it happened fast and with maximum violence. Everybody else in a place like cowboys was all about posturing. I was all about staying alive and uninjured. The best way to do that when you are light in the ass is to strike first and just as hard as you can all at once. "Some of the guys used to ask about you for a while, then they kind of stopped." Sarah said. "Yeah I know, out of sight, out of mind. It is just the way it is in the real world." I admitted. "Yep," she said. I looked up to see Eve walk into the place. With her short spiky hair, and her almost flat chest, she could have been either sex, or in her case no sex. She did have the movements of a woman though. That was the one thing which I hadn't realized before. Eve's movements were much more fluid and graceful. She moved a hell of a lot more catlike than Lucy had. It wasn't as hard as I had thought, to pin her sex down as female. I looked around and noticed about half the men were responding to her. I don't mean that they looked as though they would jump her, just that they wanted to know more about her. I gave it just a minute, then asked Sarah who the chick was. Sarah knew that I was bisexual, so she answered honestly, but she also had to register that I had asked. "I have no idea. It is the first time I have seen her in here." I moved over to intercept Eve. "Hello, my name is Maxine. Could I buy you a drink?" I asked. "Sure, I'm Eve. It's nice to meet you," she said smiling at me. She obviously knew how to carry off a flirtation. "So Eve, what do you do?' I asked. "Whatever I have to do," she said smiling. I would never have expected that kind of response. "How interesting, so you are one of those submissive girlies?" I asked laughing a little. "Well I am pretty girlie, even though I don't always look it," she said that smiling a sexy smile as well. "I do love a girlie, girl," I informed her. "Me to," she said returning my smile. She was about to add more, when I noticed her looking over my shoulder. She seemed to tense, so I got a little concerned. "Hi there ladies, would you like to dance?" the older of the two men asked. I took a good look at him. He was an older looking version of his companion. Both were blond, around 6' tall and thin. "Holy crap are you two related?" I asked pretty sure that they were. "Yeah," the younger one said. "I'm Billy and that's my dad." "Dear God, tell me you are kidding," I demanded. "Nope," the older one said. "Mom and Dad are divorced. Dad and I just came from her wedding." the younger one said laughing. I couldn't help it I broke into choking laughter. "That is so fucked up," I said. "Tell me about it," the older one said. "So you wanna dance or what?" "Sure why not," I replied. I was curious to see if the nerds had taught Eve to dance better than they had Lucy. Lucy got her personality in pieces. In theory Eve should be able to dance as well as her donor had. The song was a slow one, so the younger of the two men held me close while we danced. "God I love an older woman," he said letting his hand fall to my butt. "Now, if they only loved you back," I said with a laugh. "Don't be like that. I'm young and I'm strong," he said. "And I'm old enough to be your mother," I said. "Yeah, but you have better boobs than she does," he said. "And you know this how?" I asked. Well I have felt both now," he said as he pulled me closer. I wanted to relax and enjoy the feeling of his body but I had to be concerned with Eve. I couldn't allow her to get into trouble. I looked over to see her with her head on the older man's shoulder. I wondered if she knew how to extricate herself when the time came. The father and son came back to our table and seated themselves without asking. I looked at Eve. Since she didn't appear concerned I went with it. I had about half the coffee left in my cup when the father asked me to dance. I found myeslf in his arms with his hard cock pressing against me. "Do you like that?" he asked pressing it hard against me. I pretty much ignored him. "Your friend liked it." he said. "How nice for you both," I said smiling. "Okay, so I guess you are into kids," he suggested. "How about I'm into all kinds of people, just not all people," I said smiling. "I guess I understand," he said. "Good," I replied. I looked over to see Billy and Eve locked in a deep kiss. "Now that's interesting." "Oh my, it looks as though your friend is a lot more friendly than you are," the man pretty close to my own age suggested. "Yes it most certainly does seem that way. I should speak to her before I go," I said. "If she needs a ride home, I'll drive her," he suggested. "I'll just bet you would," I replied. I walked back to the table. "Eve, I think it is time to leave." "I agree," the young man said. "Good night then," I said looking Eve in the eye. She smiled then stood to leave. The kid started pointing his finger at me and shouting. "You bitch, how come you don't just leave. Dad and I can get this one home." he said. "Get your fucking finger out of my face," I said. "Or what," he said jabbing his finger toward me again. I quickly grabbed it and and then I bent it back till i heard the bone break. "Or that," I said quietly. I turned quickly to the old man who was taking a step toward me. Like a true southern gentleman he drew back to bitch slap me. I jabbed him as hard as I could in the diaphragm with my stun gun. He sank to his knees gasping for air. I heard a scream behind me. I had turned my back on the kid, I probably shouldn't have done that, even though I trusted Eve. I felt sure that she would be as concerned about my safety, as Lucy had been. Obviously I should have been more concerned about the kid, even though I had judged Eve correctly. Billy boy was on his knees with blood pouring from his nose. I didn't see it but my guess was that a short quick jab similar to the one I had used on daddy, sans stun gun, found it's way to the son's nose. She obviously pulled her punch, since he was still alive. "Well Sarah, should we wait for the cops?" I asked. "You want to call the cops and file a complaint Billy. I got to tell you that you won't like the story I tell." she said. Billy was blowing snot from his nose while his dad gasped for breath. It was the father who croaked, "No cops." "Good choice," I said as I turned to go. "Don't come back. This place ain't big enough for the both of us." The father said. "Well, then you better be the one to stay away. I go where I want, when I want." I smiled at him as I moved through the front door and then to the cruiser. In the car Eve took my hand, "Your heart is racing and your temperature is elevated. I can tell you are breathing heavily. These are the same reactions a woman has during sex." "Sweetie sex doesn't always feel this good," I said with a laugh. I looked carefully at Eve to see what her reaction would be. I was delighted when she laughed. "I have never experienced sex, but I can't imagine it being any better than seeing that young man just collapse. I mean one minute he is loud and pushy and I am expected him to attempt to damage you, then I pulled a few things from my random access memory and strung them together. I took the actions called for rationally. The very next moment he is sitting on the floor choking on his own blood and you are safe. It was a powerful moment." Eve said. "Yes it is one form of control," I said. "The ability to control the outcome of a situation is powerful indeed. There are lots of emotions that aren't really emotional at all. As you said, they are the result of doing the rational thing and getting the outcome you wish. The course of action you take and the resulting positive outcome reinforces the desire to do that kind of thing again. At least on the most basic of levels, that seems to be how it all works. "I have no idea what all that means on an emotional level, but it does make sense on a purely logical level." Eve said to me. "So Maxine, from what I hear you should be extremely turned on." "Turned on?" I asked. I asked it not because I didn't know what she meant, but I wondered if she knew what she meant. "Should I have said horny?" she asked with a laugh. I suddenly realized how different she was from Lucy. Lucy would never have associated violence with sex. Lucy wouldn't associate anything except my physical response with sex. Lucy knew that when she kissed me with lots of tongue, my heart beat faster and my breathing quickened and that I found it all pleasurable. She enjoyed giving me pleasure, so she was more than willing to do the things that caused me to have that response. But she never really associated anything external with it. Eve realized immediately that after violent behavior I needed to have that emotional release. How far she was able to carry that understanding was questionable, but it was for sure different from Lucy's understanding. "Now tell me where you heard that?" I asked. "I have access to Lucy's journal entries," she said. "They downloaded her logs before she self detonated." "Actually I am in a heightened state of arousal yes," I said. "Lucy's log said that you and she kissed and that it gave you pleasure," Eve said. "Actually Eve, that is true, but it might not have been a good thing," I said. "Don't be embarrassed. Lucy's biggest desire was to please you." Eve said. "I know that was her program." "I'm not sure exactly what our relationship was, but I did have a soft spot for Lucy. Now let's get back to our business." I said. "My part in all this is to do whatever you need done. There are no restrictions on that." Eve said. "So what if I had needed you to help me entertain the father and son we met earlier?" I asked. "I could have been as good at kissing him, as I was at breaking his nose," Eve said. "And if I needed you to go farther, what are your capabilities?" I asked. ------- Chapter 226: Who Are the Bad Guys "This is what my creators told me about sex, that is what you are asking isn't it?" Eve asked. "Yes it is. If it comes down to working someone, what tools do you have available. I guess that's what I'm really asking. No wait, I'm also asking what your programs says, so that I know what to expect from you." "As the creator would says let's cut to the chase, which of these are you really asking: A. Can I give a Blow job? B.Would I feel anything while doing it? C. Could the guy tell I wasn't a real woman from me having done it?" Eve asked. "All of the above," I replied. "They tell me that it's pretty much the same, as at least some, real women feel about it. I have learned the technique well enough to get away with it. I would feel pleasure in pleasing someone for whom I had empathy. I would be able to see the necessity in doing it at times, even for someone for whom I did not have empathy. I am told there is no way a man would know, just from my blow job, that I am not a real woman." Eve said. "Well at what point would he know?" I asked. "Vaginal or Anal intercourse is impossible for me. Is that what you wanted to know?" she asked. "It is exactly what I wanted to know. I need to protect you from anyone with that kind of thing in mind," I replied. "Yes we need to avoid anything that might lead a man to expect that kind of activity." she said. "Remembering Lucy, I would guess that in a social setting, you can kiss and pretend to enjoy it?" I asked. "With true fondness for the human, I would not have to pretend. I would enjoy giving them pleasure." Eve said. "Does your programing give you an understanding of human expectations?" I asked. "That any erotic behavior would lead a human to expect an escalation eventually ending in an orgasm," she replied. "Exactly," I replied. "Yes but that can be achieved in ways other than intercourse. As we have already discussed oral sex is an option. An option that applies to both men and women, as does manual stimulation." She informed me. "Yes but you will need logical excuses for not going farther. If all else fails, you will have to use whatever force is necessary to escape. I'm sure that is permitted inside your program perimeter." I said. "That is exactly the protocol. I am to go along to a point, but when my identity is in danger, then I am to escape using the least amount of force necessary." she said. It made perfect sense to me. I just had to be sure what the ground rules were. The conversation took place in the cruiser while in route to my downtown house. "Scan the surveillance files please," I demanded of Eve when we were close. "No one has been inside the house, however there is an occupied car in an alley across the street." she informed me. "Do they have a view of the house?" I asked. "Yes, there are two life forms in the car and they appear to be watching your house," she said. "Do you have any idea whether they are friend or foe?" she asked. "I have a lot fewer friends than foes," I admitted. "We should probably assume they are not friendlies." With that said, I found the cell phone inside my big bag. I pushed the speed dial then said into the line, "Operator this isn't really an emergency, but there are two men parked in a car. They are sitting in a downtown alley. They look as though they might be planning to break into the downtown drugstore. I'm just trying to do my part." I said as the operator said thank you. I also gave her my name, when she asked. Once she had my name she took it all a lot more seriously. I parked my car in front of the building, where it would sit until I moved it to the alley parking space sometime during the next day. An alley at night just seemed less friendly than a downtown street. I know a drive by shooting was more likely in the street, but a shootout with a hidden assassin was more likely in the rear. Nothing was a hundred percent safe even in those days. I did park so that the car had a lousy angle if they chose to shoot. Eve and I waited until the patrol car came by and pulled into the alley across the street before we got out of the cruiser. I was tempted to walk over, just to observe but I was pretty sure it would make the uniformed officer nervous. The second car had pulled into the alley from the back to seal the car in. Eve and I went quickly into my downtown house. We went up to the second floor sitting room/bedroom to watch the police progress. I kept my cell phone at the ready in case there was a problem. There weren't an big time issues. They all just drove away. Since no one stopped to give me an update, I had a feeling they were cops. Maybe even cops from Tryon or super cops from the Feds. I didn't feel like it was bad guys just yet. I hadn't started to rattle their cages yet. "I need to report in," Eve said after the cars had all gone. "Sure do what you need to do. I'm going to go to bed. Unlike you I need real sleep. Tomorrow is another day." I said smiling at her. "Would you mind terribly if I did as Lucy used to do and lay beside you while you sleep. It isn't just being with you, it's also that I can keep you safe," Eve said. I had to admit she did look concerned. "Well maybe I can keep you safe as well," I said. "And no I don't mind at all." "Thank you, I will be along in a very short time. It is a raw data transfer and will take only about 6 seconds," she informed me. I felt her snuggle up as Lucy had done, and I slept the best I had since the Irishman went back to Swamp Thing. I supposed that I really didn't like sleeping alone. The next morning Eve and I went to Hardee's, instead of Helen's Sit Down, for breakfast. A couple of the regulars noticed me and smiled. One even asked, "Where is your buddy with the big boobs?" "Breast cancer," Eve said. We were both shocked. "Gotcha," she said to him. To me she said, "Remember I read your file." "Well to be honest if I could choose, I think I would go with a few sizes larger than either of us have," I said. "Doesn't seem to have prevented you from getting laid. Besides They didn't ask me what I wanted. Just like you humans, it was a crap shoot." she said with a smile. After the best biscuit in town, we went to the mall to walk. Eve didn't need to walk but of course I did. "See that woman in the beret?" I asked Eve. "Sure the old blond chick," she commented. "Watch her move. For a woman almost eighty she is a thing of beauty." I said. "Well, did you ever sleep with her?" At least Eve was smiling cautiously. "No she is the one who got away. You do know I don't screw everyone I say hello to, don't you?" I asked. "That's the rumor, but I'm not sure I believe it.' Eve said. Eve was beginning to show a wicked sense of humor. "Good morning Tiny Dancer," I said as we approached her. "I see you still walk like a circus clown," she said smiling at me. "And your friend walks like an arthritic old lady." "Thanks, I'll try to do better," I said. "Me to," Eve agreed. "So are you going to walk with us?" she added. "I'm going to stretch for a while first. I'll see you two somewhere along the way." the dancer said. "She doesn't love the exercise near as much as she loves being seen," Eve said to me. "I know, but why don't we just let her live in her own world," I suggested. "That sounds reasonable," Eve said in agreement. Several old men and women passed us. All the men looked wolfishly at both Eve and me. They always did, which was a good reason to walk at the mall. "So are those old guys flirting with us?' Eve asked. "Frankly it's more admiring than flirting. I don't think they really want to follow through with any of it." I said. "Now I'm not sure how I feel about that. After last night it might be fun to find out how real people react to me doing my thing." She laughed as the punctuation at the end of the sentence. "Don't give up hope. There is always a chance someone will come along whom we can rape," I said. "Do we flip a coin or draw straws for order?" she asked. Eve was getting to be raunchy. I wondered what was going on with her. Had someone programmed her that way or had the personality transplant caused it. I approved, but I wasn't at all sure the hall monitors would. In the parking lot Eve watched me make a phone call. I had to look the number up in my small spiral notebook. The phone rang several time before I got the voice male. "It's me Maxine. I need the name and an introduction to the best damn dope cop in Aster or Tryon. It's important." "Who did you call?" Eve asked. "An old friend who sees things like me," I informed her. "Good, then ask him about Charles Allen Wilson," she said. "No, I'm going to ask him who to ask. Patience," I said. "You are going to lecture me on patience, I find that rather amusing," she said. "Careful, I'll put sugar in your tank," I said laughing. "Now what does that mean?" she asked. "Look it up, robo slut," I broke into real laughter. "Not yet but I'm sure you are going to turn me into that," she said smiling broadly. "Most likely yes," I agreed. "Good," she replied. The phone played Mag 7 all of a sudden. "What the fuck?" I asked "I knew you missed it. Everyone told me, you missed it." she said. "Exactly how did everyone know?" I asked. She just shrugged. "Hello Blevins, so who is it?" I asked. "Detective Sergeant Wilson," he replied. "And I'm fine how are you." "Shit, Charles Allen Wilson?" I asked. "Charlie Wilson yeah, why?" he asked. "It looks like he has gone over," I said. "You sure?" he asked. "Sure as I can be without torturing him," I replied. "How bad is it?" Blevins asked. "As bad as it gets Blevins. I swear this is going to be the death of us all," I informed him. "I'll be back tonight. I'll come by the motel," he offered. "I don't live there any more. Come by 220 N. Main, it's where I live now." I said. "You sure it's this bad?" he asked. "If you need to ask, don't waste my time." I said to him. The phone went dead, so I turned my attention to Eve. How did you know about the phone. It hasn't rang like that since before Lucy even," I informed her. "But it did on the TV show," she said. "That damn TV show," I lamented. When we pulled the bikes into the alley, there was a car parked blocking our way. "This may prove to be difficult," I said to Eve. "It's the car from the alley," she informed me. ------- Chapter 227: Bad Men and Worse Chicks The adrenaline kicked in. I opened my jacket so that I could reach the pistol hanging upside down under my left arm. The shoulder holster was fairly new and made by the last shoe maker in Tryon. I could clear the small hammerless .38 about as fast as either of them could get to a hip holstered weapon. I was absolutely sure it would be at least a draw, on the draw, I thought with a smile. "You armed?" the man a few years younger than me asked. "Are you?" I asked in return. I wasn't closing on them as I might have, had they been some gang bangers. The men standing in front of me held themselves like cops, but they had not identified themselves and the chatter, according to Eve, was that there were dirty cops in the mix. Cops knew how to shoot at any distance, but most didn't do it often. "Just so you know, there are cameras recording this, and they are being monitored. The cops will get copies showing exactly who did what and when." I said. "What are you worried about Stone?" the one who appeared to be in charge asked. "Oh about cops, who don't act like cops anymore," I said smiling. "Who said we were cops?" he asked. "If you aren't cops, then you should get back in your car and get the hell off my property?" I demanded. "Or what?" the younger one asked. "Or this I said," holding up my cell phone. "We have been on 911 for the last few minutes. So if you aren't cops, you are about to meet some real ones," I smiled at them. The older one used his cell phone. "This is detective sergeant Wilson, cancel that 911 call on N. Main and send me a squad car here instead for transport." Just as soon as he said that, I speed dialed Jennifer. "I'm about to be arrested for no reason at all. Come on down and spring me." I said it laughing. I was also damn sure Eve had send an emergency signal. The CIA did not want her in custody for sure. Wilson and his partner were about to get fucked, and I doubted that they were going to enjoy it. The squad car came and put cuffs on me and Eve. I had to smile knowing there would soon be fan blown defecation all over town. It took almost an hour for them to get me into an interrogation room. Wilson was with me and his partner was no doubt watching. "So Stone, what are you into now?" he asked. "Soft bondage and a little S&M." I replied. "What are you investigating?" he asked. "You really need to wait till Jennifer gets here," I suggested. "Will you tell me everything when she does?" he asked. "Probably not," I replied. "Definitely not," Jennifer said from the doorway. "Is my client under arrest?" "We are holding her while we run some tests on her pistol." he said. "Do you know what a writ of habeas corpus is?" Jennifer asked "Yes I do counselor," Wilson said. "And do you know what a civil suit for false imprisonment is worth these days," she asked smiling. "Just hold on a minute," a new man standing in the door said. "What is this about a suit?" "Wilson here jerked up my associate for no reason, then he tried to interrogate her after she invoked. What she knows, she learned as part of my work product on a case involving cops. It looks kind of bad. Plus your men didn't follow procedure about identifying themselves. It is my guess we are going to own a good size chunk of this town, and of course everything Wilson here owns, or expects to receive from Estavante." Jennifer said. She had decided that it was time to let the cat out of the bag. "Who the hell is this Estavante," Wilson asked. "My guess is the gentlemen from the DEA, who are waiting outside, will be more than happy to explore that with you." Jennifer said. "Did you really think, we were going to let some grease ball drug cartel take over our town. You forgot to ask around about who lived here, before you tried that." "What the hell is she talking about?" the DA asked Wilson. "She is talking about your man Wilson is up to his ass in Mexican Cartel's business. I was looking at them and he was supposed to use his office to stop me." I said smiling. "It gets better, you have been having some real bad press lately. Senor Estavante is up to his ass in that as well. He is planning to move to Aster and take over the town. He has a lot more cops on his payroll. He is using the border area model to expand into the southeast." "She can't prove any of that," Wilson said. "The DEA is in the waiting room and they have all these boxes of audio and video tapes. Not to mention your banking statements." Jennifer said. Jennifer was the very best poker player in the whole world. Wilson looked at her, while she smiled back at him. "I want to cut a deal," Wilson said to the local DA. "He can't make you a deal. The Feds are going to deal with you, but trust me, you need to get away and stay far away. People who threaten Maxine, are not good life insurance risks." Jennifer said. "You heard her threaten me," Wilson said to the mirror. "Wilson, you were willing to have those officers framed for crimes and/or murdered. Just so Estavante could take over the police department and make you rich. I would bet my first born kid, that nobody heard anything. Hell I would almost bet someone would bring my pistol and leave me alone with you for about a week." I said quietly. "Jennifer they have Eve as well. I want her back right fucking now," I added. "You heard the lady, bring her friend this very minute, or I'm going to call for an FBI raid. You still have the number for that FBI ageny you screwed don't you?" Jennifer asked. "No need for all the heroics, "I'm from the US Attorneys office. Both these ladies have been transfered to my custody and are under the protection of the United States Justice Department pending a full investigation." he said. "It is getting so you can't tell the good guys from the bad ones without a program," I admitted. "What the fuck is going on?" Jen asked me quietly. "Did you pass the intercepted message?" "Hell I thought you did," I said. Actually I knew that the us Attorney was trying to save Eve's. ass. He sure as hell didn't want her processed into the system. I imagined that I had seen the end of eve. It would be too risky to have her tag along with me. "It looks to me like the DEA has a handle on this thing." Jennifer said. "Truthfully I have no idea. I was making up all that shit I was spouting off." I said with a laugh. "Don't be surprised, if it comes back to bite you in the ass," Jen said. "I promise, I won't be." I replied. We were standing outside the police station when the U.S. Attorney said to me. "Ms. Stone we are going to take you to a safe house for a few days." "How about Eve?" I asked. "She is going to be fine. We are turning her over to the DEA." he said. "That was when it really started to smell. Jennifer, Eve and I were standing with the Deputy U.S. Attorney and what he told us was a U.S. Marshal. "Jen, can they force either of us to go with them without an arrest warrant." I asked. "Not if we state that we refuse and are willing to take our chances." she replied. "Well I don't agree. I think I can look after Eve better than they can," I said. "I don't think you can," the man, who was supposed to be the U.S. Marshal said. "Jen take out your cell phone and call Swamp Thing. Tell the Admiral I have a job that needs doing, right this fucking minute." I only said it to get the reaction of the two men who thought they had custody of us. "Jennifer, you really don't want to do that," the Attorney said quietly. The man most likely was an attorney on Estavante's payroll. He sure as hell was no killer. He was most likely hired because he could pass as a class act. I took a shot at him with my elbow. I could have done some real damage, had I been a bit taller. Best I could do was split his lip. He didn't like that. Instead of calmly kicking my ass, he drew back to bitch slap me. Men who don't understand that a woman can fight, just like any man, tend to want to slap us around. In his case, he opened himself for a knee in the balls, and then an elbow where it should have been in the first place. He was down, but probably not out of the fight. The fake U.S. Marshal pulled his weapon and I was too busy with the fake U. S. Attorney to do anything about it. Jennifer slapped him across the face with the briefcase. Somewhere in the middle of all that girl power shit, Eve figured out who the bad guys were. She kicked the fake Marshal with what amounted to a steel toed boot. First in the groin, which seemed to be very painful, then she calmly kicked him in the head. She held back on the head shot, or his head would have rolled down the street I was sure. Within seconds cops were running around trying to figure out who to arrest. "First of all," Jennifer said, "These two are frauds. Check on those DEA guys who happened to show up out of the blue." "Are you ladies alright," a young woman asked as she looked at the carnage we had wrought. "Yeah, no thanks to the Aster PD. You guys allowed these people to almost kidnap and probably murder me and my two friends. Now me and my friends are getting the hell out of here." "Where are you going," the watch commander asked. "To a place we can be protected. Call me on my cell phone, when you want us to come in again. But captain,. there will be press with us, lots of press." Jennifer said. Once we were in her Cadillac Escalade she asked me, "Where the fuck are we going to be safe." "If these guys want to kill us, there is no place we will be safe for more than a couple of days, unless we just disappear. Are you ready to do that?" I asked. "Fuck no," Jennifer said. "How about you Eve?" I asked. "They tried to kill us. I don't know about safe, but I know we can't let that go unanswered." she said. Her programming had kicked in. "You are absolutely right," I agreed. There were tears in her eyes when Jennifer said, " I want to go home." "You can never go home again honey. at least not as long Estavante is alive." I informed her calmly. "So what are we going to do?" Jennifer asked. "I am not going to run and hide the rest of my life." "My guess is we are going to go to war. Let's see what we can do for an army," I said. "What can I do?" Jennifer asked. "We are going to need lots of PR and cover stories. Not to mention some great press coverage. You know you will have to whitewash our soldiers. I don't think the boy scouts will do for this." I said. "When I get through with them, the devils 13 disciples well be choir boys," Jennifer said. "Can she do that?" Eve asked me quietly. "Oh yes, she can do that." I replied. "So who you going to get?" Eve asked. "Tell you what, when you report in tonight, tell the controller that I am going to recruit a Russian I have worked with before. Tell him the guys name is Vlad something or other. I'm sure they are familiar with him, if they have studied my dossier." I said "Why am I doing this?" she asked. "If I tell you that, won't you have to tell the controller?" I countered. "Yes," She admitted. "Then I'm not telling you." I replied. "Cool," she said. ------- Chapter 228: on the Run Part 1 The first thing we needed was to hide out somewhere while we worked out a game plan. We also needed tools so we approached my place first. Eve pulled the camera files up on her smart phone. Since she didn't really need the phone to see them, she would have just told me what she saw, if Jen hadn't been in the car. She ran the files from the time we left home that morning until the very moment as we sat outside. "It doesn't appear that anyone has been here." she said after reviewing the file. "We are going in and grab what we need, then hit the road. Jen you can run home and to get whatever you think you. Make whatever calls you need to in order to reschedule everything from here, just in case they get traced ... When we have everything we need, all of us will vanish for a while." "Like hell," Jen said. "I'm calling in all the favors your boyfriends owe me. Estavante doesn't have a foothold here yet. I'm going to get me some high level body guards and stay right here." Jen said all filled with righteous indignation. "Then you are not an idiot, Just do as I say. If you just have to bring Bob with you. If you stay, when you die in a car bomb, who will I get to replace you?" I asked. "And of course they are going to get Bob as well. "Then put your shit in my car, while I make the calls. Then we can go get my shit. If it is that bad, I'm not letting you out of my sight." she rightly demanded. "Make the calls from my land line." I said it so that she knew I had agreed to her terms. "Geeze time flies when you are having fun, I said as I looked at the giant Wonder Bread advertising clock over my work bench / dining table. The tiny dining area sat on the second floor of my downtown house. Eve and I had left early in the morning and now it's 6PM. So damn much had happened and it wasn't even dark yet. I went to the old safe, which had been salvaged from a local hardware store. Since lots of the downtown buildings were being scraped, or being re-purposed like mine had been, I was able to find all kinds of unique things available just for hauling them away. My re-purposed gunsafe had been the most difficult to get into the building. I put a blanket on the work bench, which I used as a dining table, and began to pile weapons on it. First, I put in the light sniper rifle. I had three of sniper rifles but the one I chose was the .22magnum bolt action, single shot Remington. I had a letter from the man who supposedly used the rifle in the cross country rifle Winter Olympic trials of the 1950s. It was a highly accurate, lightweight weapon and would be easy to carry forever, if need be. Beside it I laid my Chinese AK47 set up simi automatic. Machine guns didn't appeal to me, since I wasn't in a real war. Besides I had seen too many images of men standing in the street firing on full auto into a tree line. Any reasonable person knew, that one man inside those trees, with only a decent sniper rifle, could have killed them all and still had time for a take out lunch. I found my old antique .30 cal carbine from World War II. Like all my guns it came with a story, It was supposed to have been used by a member of the 101 airborne on D Day. I loaded my 10mm Glock as well as the smaller, lighter 9mm Glock. I would loved to have had the whole safe full of weapons, but Jen would need room for her girlie things in the SUV. I just couldn't resist putting the .410 gauge derringer in my pocket, since it wouldn't take up much room. I loaded a handful of panties into one of those cheap 'Save the earth' cloth shopping bags. I even topped it off with half dozen Henley Collar Tee Shirts. That was my total packing for the hide out. \ If I hadn't done one last look around, I would have forgotten the expensive blond wig. I didn't bother with the fancy clothes that went with it. I did go back to the safe where I removed one small and one larger box. The small box had a generic dumb cell phone, which had never been activated. There were four prepaid cards in the box as well. The larger box held an assortment of gold chains and wedding rings. I had picked up both from a gold dealer, who used to set up to buy them at flea markets and craft shows. I paid about what a pawn shop would have, since he got them considerably cheaper. The man was tired of traveling and wanted to get out of the business. I had the gold tested to be sure that it wasn't a total ripoff, then I made him an offer. I had kept them in one safe place or another for over a year. If you need untraceable money on the run, gold and cash are your best bets. I had a supply of both. Eve packed her very few clothes. She only had to change if she spilled something on her generic clothing. That and just everyday soil happened about as often as it did for me. The Vietnamese mother and daughter laundry did both our clothes, but I expected that I would be buying them while on the run. I called Blevins from the land line in my place after about twenty minutes. "I'm on the run Blevins," I said into the house phone. "So I heard, I couldn't believe Wilson had sold out, especially not to someone who wanted to take over the whole damn town." He paused a moment then asked, "So what are you going to do?" "I'm going to do whatever I can, what about the local cops?" I asked. "Hamstrung, these guys fly in from Mexico commit their shit and fly out. Wilson is puking information all over the place. You found out just in time. They would have had an army of assholes in here soon." "You know he wasn't the only one?" I said. "I know there are probably more cops and drug dealers all over the place who were in on it." he said. "They have a lot invested and their reps are on the line, they aren't going to quit easy," I said. "So, I say again what you gonna do?" he asked. "First, I'm going to ground. Then I'm going to take the fight to Estavante I think," I replied. "That is going to take an army," he said. "Well at least a few good men and women," I said. "You aren't going to get mixed up with those Swamp Thing thugs are you?" he asked. "Our thugs can whip their thugs," I said, then laughed. "I have to make a another stop or two before I put it in the wind. I'll call you later. Find out all you can about the Aster and Tryon cops and how far they are into the pockets of Estavante," I demanded. "I'll let you know what I find out," Blevins said. We left the downtown house with the just the bare essentials of my business. The drive to Jens fancy house in the suburbs, such as they were in Aster, was uneventful but still nerve wracking. Because if the bad guys had time to plan we could be ambushed. We were doing the expected, which was never a good thing. Jen had made two calls from her smart phone. She called her husband Bob who chose to go fishing for a month rather than on the run with us. That being the case I was sure fishing meant he had a new girlfriend or in Bobs case maybe a boyfriend. Hell it could have been both for all I knew. Bob liked to watch, as Jen said. I told Jen she had 15 minutes to load her shit, then we were gone. "Be sure you tell Bob no contact with anyone until he hears from us." I warned Jen. I stayed in the caddy to keep an eye out for strangers, but I sent Eve in with Jen to make sure she moved things along. I wasn't all that much surprised when three people came from the house carrying sports type duffel bags. Bob opened the rear door and entered the Caddy. "Changed your mind huh?" I asked. "Did the seriousness penetrate your thick head, or was it the sight of Eve?" "A little of both, and it's good to see you too Max," he said. "I brought that Colt 1911 you bought for me. I might not be able to hit anything but I can sure make a lot of noise with it." "It's a loud weapon for sure," I said. "Bob listen to me very carefully. All of you listen, these guys have more cash than the US government. If you have seen cop shows on TV where the cops find people by tracking their electronics and cars, these guys have the money to do the same things. Plus these guys don't have a problem killing a dozen innocent people to get to us. So make no mistake your old life is over until we end this." It was a speech I had to make even though I knew Jen and Bob had no concept of what it was going to be like. There were two phone the bad guys couldn't trace. My burn phone with the battery out of it, and Eve's satellite link. I had to come up with a way to dump the Caddy. First I needed to know what our assets were. "Eve is your credit card traceable?" I asked after I got her out of hearing from the others. "It can only be traced by the team," she informed me. "Good," I said. I walked back to Jen and Bob who stood by the Caddy in the garrage. So how much cash do you have?" I asked. "Thirty thousand from the safe," Bob said. "I can convert some stocks and other assets quickly though." "Bob, listen to me carefully. In about thirty minutes none of us are going to exist any more. If you try to come back into the world before Estavante is finished, you are going to die. I'm not kidding. If you go in to pick up money. they are going to kill you, only after they torture you for information about me and Jen. So from now on you are on a budget. That budget has a total of 30k to last you forever." "I have about 15k in cash and another 20K in scrap gold which we can convert without leaving a trail back to us. We probably have access to another 50k but it will bring some attention to us. That might not be a bad thing, since the people who can trace that money already have a way to track us, but I think they are harmless for now." "I'm not sure that I am comfortable with you being in charge," Bob said "After all you are the one they are looking for." "Jen how do you feel about it? Before we move on I have to know who is with me and who isn't. This is war not a democratic exercise. We are not going to be electing generals." "Are you going to throw Bob out in the cold?" Jen asked. "He is gone, now it's just a matter of do you want to take your chances with him or me. Make no mistake, you are both targets for kidnap and torture. You are dealing with Mexican Drug Lords," I informed her. "Jen I got you into this, and I can get you out of it. I can't have someone around who is going to make a call because they didn't believe me, when I said it would get us all killed. Bob will be calling one of his chippies, because he thinks he is smarter than the cartel thugs. In doing so, he will get us all killed. If you choose to go with him, I will understand. I am positive it is a deadly choice, but it is up to you." "I don't think Bob would risk our lives," Jen said. "I want him to come with us." "Okay I'll tell you what I'll do just for you Jen. If we search him and his bags and there is no cell phone, I will take him along. If there is, he gets an earful of advice and a good luck wish." I said it to Jen, but I was staring at Bob. ------- Chapter 229: on the Run Part 2 He almost got huffy, till he saw the stun gun in my hand. Instead of waiting for me to find the tiny cell phone, he showed it to me. "See Jen, Bob thinks he is so fucking smart he doesn't need to listen to anyone. You know that the DEA can trace his cell phone, even if he doesn't use it. What do you bet that it still has the battery inside." Jen shook her head as she said, "Bob you are so fucking suicidal." "Jen you are my best friend, but even more important you know too much about me. You have to come with me, You do not have an option." I said. "But Bob is my husband and I love him." Jen said. "I know, but you have to come with me. If the only way I can make that happen is to kill Bob in front of you, then I will kill him right here and make it look like suicide.' I said. Bob heard every word of course. "She is right Jen go with her. I will take my chances." he said. "Listen to him Jen. For a change he has it right. I can give him some advice that will keep him alive, if he follows it." I said it, but I doubted that he would last more than a week. I should have killed him, but I couldn't do that to Jen. What I could do was to make sure he had no idea where we were or what I had planned. Jen couldn't answer, she just nodded. Eve led her to the caddy. "Now Bob, you have about 24 hours max before they come looking for you. First thing in the morning be at your bank. Get all the money you can in cash. If you can have them do transfers for the non liquid assets, have it put in your checking account as it becomes available. Use your debit card to access it from as far away as you can and never in the town where you are staying' Get out of this state and pay cash for everything. Make up a fake identification and use it where you can. Since you haven't broken any law, if the cops grab you give them your driver's license. Do like I said before and leave that cell phone in the house. If you just have to call some girl friend, buy a prepaid cell phone and prepaid cards. Activate it make the call and then take the battery out. Stay on the move. Buy a car from Craig's list and keep moving. If you always wanted to go somewhere on vacation, now is the time. When this is all over, if you manage to stay alive, you will see an entry for Jen's Caddy on the local Craig's list. It will be priced at about twice what it is worth. There will be directions to call a phone number and instructions to ask for Jen. Do it and listen to the directions. Do you have all that?" I asked. "Yeah," he said "Shouldn't I have a suicide pill?" he was smiling. "Bob honey I love you, but you are the suicide pill," I said. "check everyday on line for that entry about Jen's car." The three of us got in the Caddy and headed out. The very first time I stopped for gas, about a hundred miles away, Eve asked, "Want me to slip away and go back for Bob?" So much for the 'never harm a human being' directive, I thought. Of course I said, "No thanks, I could have done it myself, if I thought it was absolutely necessary. Jen knows to much to turn her into an enemy. My directive one is to 'never kill a friend, unless they are trying to kill you."' I said. We drove all night and wound up three states away from home and in a small cash motel. When I reached the license plate box on the registration form, I did one of those dyslexic things. The middle eastern young woman hardly spoke English at all, I was pretty sure she neither knew, nor cared. I explained to Jen and Eve what I needed for them to do, while I slept away the daylight hours. While I slept, Jen drove the Caddy to the largest industrial plant in the area. She parked the caddy in the employee parking lot. She also kept watch while Eve switched plates with one of the employee's truck in the parking lot. I knew that the tags would be reported stolen in not more than a day or two, but it should buy us some time. Then they were to drive to a different parking lot and repeat the process. One more switch should give us a set of plates that would stand up to all be the most accidental of discoveries. Even if that happened, it would be the local cops who found us. It wouldn't be the cops who might be on Estavante's payroll. I did not steal a car, instead I bought one from a man on Craig's list. We paid three thousand dollars cash for the car. The Caddy SUV went into a $100 a month storage locker, which we paid three months in advance on. If the war wasn't over in three months, neither of us would have any use for the Caddy. The guy we bought it from, delivered the econo-box to the storage facility. Jen took care of the Caddy, the storage facility, and she took delivery of the car. She also convinced the seller that we were going to leave his car there for a couple of months, while we moved our furniture down. That was just in case anyone asked. Instead, she drove him and his license plate home. Then she returned and I put the stolen plate from Caddy onto the seven year old econo-box he had left with us. The Caddy went into the garage, and we drove happily away. We had driven all the way to Florida to leave the Caddy and lay a back trail, just in case. It was an old apache trick. Maybe it would work and maybe not, but we had time and nothing to lose trying it. We headed back north in the econo-box I had zero confidence in the car, but it was pretty much disposable. I would hate to lose three grand, but I wouldn't mind having it worked on along the way. It seemed easier to do that in a cash repair garage, than to try to purchase a new car at that moment. We had money, and we had wheels, which I was pretty confident were clean enough. Jen was deeply involved with all the gyrations, so seemed to be handling the Bob separation well. They had always spent a lot of time apart anyway. When she had some downtime to think about it, then the fact that he was in mortal danger might weigh on her mind. She was staying pretty busy, so Bob's problems seemed to be in the background at best. We had backtracked along the false trial, just in case we ended up on our own. As we were about to check into the Mom and Pop motel just outside Tupelo Mississippi, I discovered that it had all been a waste of time. I was just about to ignore the smell of curry and fill out the registration card when Eve whispered to me, "Maxine, I have a message for you." "Okay," I said since I knew her message came directly from the nerds at Langley, "The message is 'MS, Call home' and then a number."she said. I had expected to begin the next day putting together a response to Estavante. I had already decided that it would most likely be without help from above. I wasn't all that worried, since I knew a few bad guys, who were unaffiliated. I replaced the battery into the burn phone, then dialed the number. "Hello Max," I recognized the voice even over the poor quality phone. "Well hello Irish. what are you doing hanging out with the nerds?" I asked. "Trying to save their hardware and at the same time keep you alive." he said. "Sweetie if that is all they wanted, they would pick up the package and send me on a long vacation again." I replied. "Well, if your greaser buddy got his way, and it came out that the good guys knew in advance, and their response was to send the messenger away, heads would roll. They figure their best option is to take care of this on the other side of the border." The redhead said. "That was my thinking all along," I said. "And if we get caught on the other side, they still have the ability to say, 'Who the hell are they'" "Well you do want to be there, when the bear they have been chasing turns and bites them on the ass, don't you?" he asked. "What do you think, Red?" I asked. "So, the hardware comes along. They want to see how that works out," he said cautiously. "They know how it works," I said. "Not the 2.0 version," he said. Then he added, "What about your shyster." "We keep her safe however you and the Admiral say. Do tell him that if she dies, she is going to have company on her trip to hell." "Got ya, how about her husband." he asked. "Do you know where he is?" I asked. "We can find him I'm sure." he said. I gave him the code information to call him home. "Get him and Jen into a safe house for a couple of months," I suggested. "Sounds like a plan. You in Mississippi?" he asked. "Not after I break this connection," I said. "Come on down to the White House Motel in Biloxi Ms. tomorrow. Ask for Jake Ireland," he said and the connection was gone. I Immediately pulled the battery. We left the motel without registering and we drove out of Tupelo right that minute. Since we just needed a place to sleep for one more night, I drove to Memphis Tn. It wasn't too far, but it was a fair sized town. Mostly the advantages were that it wasn't in Mississippi, and wasn't on the route to Biloxi. One hometown motel is pretty much the same as another. The one in Memphis was across from a very busy night club. After dinner Jen started to bug me to go dancing. I knew there wasn't any harm in it. At least no more than there would be any other time. So we went. Believe it or not nothing happened to me. Jennifer got to dance and I got felt up by some farmer's son. Most likely his dad had a big farm because he was about twenty five and claimed to have a Corvette in the parking lot. Then again it could be a faded old corvette. When the club closed at 1AM, Eve and i were ready to go home. In the parking lot Jen said, "I want to go for a ride with one of those cowboys." I knew how I reacted to a dangerous situation, so I said, "Sure but I want to meet him first." I walked him into the alley behind the club as I flirted with him a little. Once in the alley I pushed his ass against the wall. I quickly pressed the stun gun almost against his throat, but it didn't make the contact necessary to trip it. "Now listen up cowboy, This is a half million volt stun gun. So cowboy hand me your drivers license, but do it carefully unless you want to talk like Kermit the Frog for the rest of your life." I took the license in my empty hand. When you get my friend back to the motel across the street, you get this back. If she isn't back by sunup, then I come looking for you. If I can't find you, the cops get this." Then I smiled at him, now have fun kids." The nights I had drank at Cowboys B&G had taught me that those kinds of clowns didn't want anyone to know a skinny bitch had slammed them against the wall. I walked away while Eve watched from the alley's opening. "You truly are one bad ass bitch," she said giggling. "I had no idea you could giggle," I said. I was relieved that it had gone as well as it had. Eve and I went back to the motel and to bed. I had slept in spurts for years, but I had never gotten used to it. I had been asleep only about three hours when Jen knocked on the door. I looked out to see her and the cowboy standing on the concrete balcony. I opened the door with the .38 pistol hidden behind my leg. I handed the cowboy his driver's license. "Hope she was worth it," I said as Jen passed through. "Oh she was, but I kept thinking about you," he said smiling. "Sorry hon, we are leaving at first light." I closed and locked the door. I did wait until I saw his car leave the parking lot before I went back to bed. "After your warning, I'm surprised that he could get it up," Jen said as she dropped onto the bed. ------- Chapter 230: Blk Ops Villiage at the White House Motel Since no one, of any danger to us, knew that we were in Memphis, I wasn't in any hurry to leave. We drove through the down town and even drove over the Mississippi river. The skyline was much prettier from a distance. The on line photos that Eve pulled up were much prettier than the actual views of the town as well. Still breakfast and the early lunch were both good. I personally would just as soon have eaten my breakfast at Helen's. I did like the Memphis barbecue, but it was certainly no better than the barbecue at home. It was just different. We left Memphis right after the early Lunch. It was shortly before noon when we ramped onto the southbound interstate highway. From there the drive was almost seven hours of pure confusion. Still the GPS connection, which Eve brought to the trip, made it doable with a minimal number of missed turns. Most of those were in search of gasoline. So far the little econo-box had done just fine, I thought as I pulled into our last pit stop before Biloxi. I gassed the car while Jen did a potty break and Eve pretended to. Then they bought snacks, while I went to the ladies room. I spoke to Eve as we walked back to the car. "Pull up the White House Motel, and get me the driving directions." "The White House Hotel is no longer in operation," she informed me. I almost asked if she was sure, but I knew damn well that she was. So what message was Martin trying to send me, and why. The why was simple spies never said anything that was the simple truth. Okay so was Martin sending me a message, one he thought I would understand. I started with the assumption that Biloxi really meant Biloxi. So where the fuck was he and his merry men. Eve had called the place the White House Hotel, so I did a quick search on the tiny notebook computer. I was able to tap into Eve as the wifi provider. I would never get used to, or understand all of her capabilities. In my search I found just what she said, but then I also had a feeling that there would be lots of smaller motels not listed on the Internet. Those on the net were the ones with staff capable of doing web design, or those able to afford to have it done. The Irishman would be looking for a road less traveled. So maybe it wasn't so much a spy hiding his defecation, as much as a simple miscommunication. We pushed on to Biloxi, because we had no where else to go. The admiral could be setting us up, but then he was wasting a lot of resources to do it. It was 8PM, when I found the White House Motel, Then it was only after a tip from the clerk in a gas station. The White House Motel was actually a small group of 1940 style tourist cabins sprinkled around an old plantation style mansion. I didn't have any idea what it's history was, but I'm sure it had one, and that it was interesting. "Which cabin is Jake Ireland using," I asked the very light skinned African American woman behind the desk. "I'll ring his cabin," she offered. "Sure, do that. Have him come to the office and show us the way." I stood watching her while she made the call, then the three of us went quickly outside to see who, and what would come to the office. I figured it was a low risk encounter. An exposed public place would be low on any sane person's list of ambush sites. That doesn't mean there couldn't be a drive by shooting, but why register even with a fake ID to do a drive by. A kidnapping was more likely, but to do that in an open area struck me as low down on the likelihood scale as well. The meet you are the office was probably their security plan. Mine was to have Eve slip into the shadows at the side of the building. The Irishman walked across the parking lot with both hands visible. That meant he had someone with a sniper rifle in the shadows as well. "I can't leave you alone for a minute, " he said as he kissed me gently. "Seems to me last time I was pulling your nuts out of the fire. I mean that literally and not chestnuts either." I said it as he backed away. I looked over his shoulder and said, "I'll show yo u mine, if you show me yours." I offered. "Has to be that way for sure," He held up his arm and pumped it three times. "HooRah," I said barely above a mumble. I just gave Eve the universal come here hand signal. She walked into the light. When she was visible, Martin laughed. "This one is a combination of Lucy and you. Those guys in Langley have no imagination. "I wasn't born in Langley," Eve said. "Of course no, those guys can barely keep gas in their cars," he said. I smiled but I noticed that Eve didn't. "So, do I go back and check in or do you have us a cabin?" I asked. "Come on you are part of our little black ops village at the White House," he said. "Now whose wicked sense of humor is that? You or the Admiral?" I asked. "The Admiral had it all arranged before I flew in. I have only been here a day or so." Martin said. "So which government were you destabilizing?" I asked. "You know I can't tell you that and leave you alive," he said. "How nice," I replied. I turned my attention to Jen. "You can pull the Econo-Box down to the cabin, just follow us.' Ten minutes later we had finished moving our things into the small white tourist cabin. It was designed for a family with a kid or two. Besides the big bed, there were other things that could convert to beds. We would have to toss a coin for who got the sofa. Martin had explained that there were two other cabins in the black bag compound. There was a knock on the door only minutes after we had unpacked. I looked out while I held the .38 at the ready. I fully expected what I saw. Martin was standing there with a man standing beside him. The man beside him had his back to me and his eyes on the parking lot. I opened the door and Martin slipped in and the second man turned to follow him inside ... I almost fainted. The second man was my Mad Russian, Vladimir the Moscow cop. "Vlad what the hell are you doing here?" I asked. "My government had to be consulted by your government before they would approve an intervention mission. In the consultation the name of your town came up. If the little town of Aster is involved, then it was for sure my Maxine is involved. Of course our government officially said no, so I asked around about your fall back position. I knew you Americans always have one. Once Swamp Thing's name came up, I knew for sure it was a black bag job, so I made a second call. Here I am. They let me on the mission because once they identify my body, they can trace me to you. Both our governments can declare it a rogue mission to collect the bounty. "So that's the cover story. International terrorist bounty hunters, hell it sounds like a good business." I said. "Your friend and I have been saying the same thing." Martin agreed. "Okay so what is the bounty on Estavante," I asked. "Two million bucks from Mexico, from your government unlimited cooperation is the coin." Vlad said. "Not to mention all the cash we find laying around, " I said. "Of course not to mention that, since it won't exist," Vlad agreed. I did love his sliding sense of ethics. "So who else is it that can be traced to me?" I asked. "Your girlfriend Eve of course." Vlad said. "Of course. That still leaves two?"I said. "My contribution to the team is Edward Smith," Martin said. "Smith what else?" I said cheerfully. "So who is he really?" "He seems to have been in the US Navy Not the marines, mind you, the Navy." Martin said. "And he is way too young to be involved in this kind of thing," Vlad said. "This guy isn't a hero wanna be is he?" I asked. "He seems okay and he has the Admiral on his side. You can't get a better reference." Martin said. "Martin, if the admiral likes the kid, why put him out here to get killed first thing," I said. "Hell maybe he's family?" I said to answer my own question. At least that got a laugh. "About your friend Jennifer, The admiral wants her at headquarters." Martin said. "Why?" I asked. "You have no idea what an asset you have in her. Jennifer, according to the admiral, can find alternate income streams like nobody else in the world. And of course she is also a redhead." "What about Bob?" I asked. 'The deal was that he would save both of them." "He said. if you asked that I was to tell you that you drive a hard bargain, but he would hang on to Bob as well, at least until Estavante was history." How about you Vlad, who you bringing to the party? I am sure you want your own backup." I said. "You taught me something Maxine dear. From you I learned that women make much better partners than men." He laughed before he went on. "Her name is Anya, but now she calls herself Anna." He looked at me with a twinkle. "Anna wouldn't have been an FBI agent last week would she?" I asked. "How do you say. It was a temporary gig. She and I are so blown that we are no use undercover against the Russian Crime Syndicate." "So what is Anya going to do after this gig?" I asked. "Go back to the FBI." "No Anya is homesick I am afraid." he said. "So why are the Moscow Police interested in a Mexican Drug Cartel." I asked. "You know for me it is personal with the drug dealers, but the bosses think we might learn something and maybe teach something as well." He said. I nodded then said, "In case I don't get another Chance to mention it, thanks for the clean up on aisle three a couple of years ago," I said. "Oh it was very much my pleasure," Vlad said with the most wicked of smiles. "And I do mean that." "Are you sure you aren't a serial killer," I asked smiling. "You should buy a program. You can't tell the good guys from the bad ones without a program," he said. His grin was very large, since he was proud to have learned the Americanism of which I was so fond. "So when does Jennifer leave?" I asked. "Anytime you are ready to part with her," Martin said. ''Let me go talk to her." I said. Back in the cabin I turned my attention to Jen. "So Jen the Admiral wants you to come to the Swamp Thing Compound till this is over." I suggested. "Well, I never thought that I would be going with you. So what about Bob?" she asked. "Sounds like a song title." I said. "He goes to." "Maxine is it to protect us, or keep an eye on us?" Jen asked. "A little of both I'm sure. If this goes sideways, there is going to be a lot of cleaning up to do. Be sure you are part of the solution. If this indeed goes rank, it is going to be dangerous to be part of the problem, " I said. "So do they want me to leave right away?" she asked. "Yeah it would be safer for everyone, if you were gone before we start planning," I said to my best friend. "Then kiss me goodbye like you mean it," she said. We did share a kiss that was more than two best friends parting, even if it might be for the last time. "Damn girl no wonder everybody loves you," she said picking up her bags. ------- Chapter 231: Pirate Hunter Once Jen had left we had our first short meeting. I let Martin carry the ball, since he was the only human in touch with the source of our intelligence. His was for sure pretty much filtered. I expected that Eve's would have a different set of filters, but filters none the less. I expected hers to be more electronic. Whereas th the intel from Swamp Thing might likely be more in depth stuff. It was going to be my job to balance it all. I hoped there would not come a time when I had to over ride Martin's decisions... "You have gained some weight, since I saw you last," I said to Martin over a cup of really awful coffee. "You seem to have lost some," he said. "Well I have kept busy, since last we met. You look as though you have gone to seed," I said. "Gone to seed is it?" he asked with a grin. "When this is over, I will show you gone to seed." I knew that true pros kept there screwing around till their minds were clear. After the mission was finished all bets were off. As they used to say, "Lock up you women and children." Now that there are so many women like me, I guess it should be "Hide your virgin sons. as well." "So we are all freelance operatives here for a reason. When the mission goes we need a single commander. One to point out the obvious and make decisions which will effect us all. It is no secret that I have access to black bag intel." Martine said it as if it were all a positive thing. "But that also obligates you to the source of that intel. I vote we use your intel and make our own decisions on the ground. Too many bad decisions are made in an air conditioned office, then phoned to the battle," I said. "So Martin can you do that?" He knew that I wasn't questioning his ability, but where his loyalties lay. "No, I work for Swamp Thing as you guys call it. I am loyal to them above all else. But I have been told to put everything I have into this mission, That's how important they see it." "It is my opinion this is a first response mission. The guys uptown don't want to let the fact that we know about Estavante's plan to challenge and corrupt our local governments to go unanswered. To them we are the first of many messages. The message is simple, you are never going to be totally safe again. It is my opinion that they don't care if we live or die, so long as we create hell on earth for Estavante for a few minutes," I said. "I agree with Maxine, seal missions take serious planning and training, This thing is just a thrown together operation," the new boy Smith said. "I don't doubt you Martin or The Admiral. I just think she is right, we are a throw away. I don't mind raising hell for this guy, but let's keep our options open as a team." "Martin, I think you are going to lose this one," Vlad said."If you will be our intelligence operator and coordinator, I think that would be for the best. Almost all of us have been operational with Max. I for one trust her judgment. I know she is more than willing to put her life on the line for the team. I also know she owes her allegiance first to the mission, then to her friends and thats good enough for me," Anya said. "She has my vote. By the way hello there Max good to see you again. I was beginning to think you were just a ghost voice on the phone." Since I didn't want to break the anyone, s chain of thought, I just nodded. "Then Max to make the decision and me to provide the intelligence and logistics," Martin said. He didn't appear to be upset and that was good. Do you want to take over?" "Hell no., you know a lot more at this point than I do please go on," I said. "As a matter of fact why don't you lead all the briefings and we will all just toss in shit as we go along." Martin nodded. "Basically Estavante operates from a walled villa outside of a fishing village on the gulf coast of Mexico. It is back in the interior about three miles into the jungle. He has a yacht anchored off shore and a speed boat at the dock to take him to it. Those two are easy targets and low risk targets." Martin said. "But what would be the purpose?" Vlad asked before I could. "If we are after the the head of the snake why chop of the tip of the tail just because it is easy." "Ah if we attack Estavante and he escapes, he will head to that yacht to escape. It has always worked for him before." Martin said. "From other thugs maybe, but what will he do if a real, in force, attack were to take place." Smith asked. "There is a small landing strip cut out of the jungle," Eve whispered to me. I passed it on to the others as if it were my own information. "Yes there is," Martin said a little surprised. He might well fly out, if he thought he was under serious attack. Since he has an army of mercenaries surrounding him, I just don't see him running from six people." "We are going to need a hell of a lot of air support for a real attack," I suggested. "I expect we are going to be rather limited there." "Very limited," Martin agreed. "What we do have going for us is Estavante will run at the drop of a hat, if he is under a real attack." "So if we can just make him think he is under attack, he will leave the villa." I suggested. "He will also no doubt have a large contingent of Mercenaries with him," Vlad said. "So since we can't chopper in the first air calvary. We just have to make him think that we are the 1st Air Cavalry, then catch him on the road?" I asked. "Is that the plan." "Yes it is pretty much that," Martin said. "Let's sleep on that," I suggested. Once everyone else had gone Martin said to me, "Look I know you have access to intelligence I don't, so let's try to pool our resources and come up with a plan." "Martin we are asking all these people to risk their lives, we need to let them in on the planning as much as possible. I know you agree that we need to go with the plan that gets us maximum bang for the buck. But lets at least try to give us the maximum chance possible to survive it. I expect that the admiral and Langley has written us off already." I said. "Yes of course, but we can't share everything with them," he said. "As for written us off, we have all been looking for our place to die for years." I nodded. "The others don't need to know where all the information comes from, but they deserve to know what goes into our decision making." I said. "Alright I'll call the Admiral and let him know where we stand." Martin said. "If you want you can make phone calls off the grid as well." "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." I left the cabin where the meeting had been held without a goodbye. It was unnecessary since I would be seeing Martin in a few hours for the next meeting anyway. "So Maxine, you are going to be the leader," Eve said to me. "Get this in your mind Eve, we both have those people's lives in our hands. We have to be right when we make a decision. Don't shade facts from above to make it seem better, let me have it straight and we might get everyone home." "That almost never happens, that everyone comes home," she said. "I know, let's go for a ride." Sure Eve could make a call that could not be traced by the bad guys, and Martin could make one nobody could trace except really high powered intelligence services and they would have to be extremely lucky to be in the right place at the right time to intercept the random call. Even then they would need some first class code breakers. However the call I was going to make, I didn't want to share with any of them. It was 2AM when we reached the truck stop on the interstate highway north of New Orleans. It was as much subterfuge as I planned to use for a simple call. I put the battery back into the burn phone, then dialed the number from memory. "Hello," the voice said cheerfully. "How the hell are you Maxine." "Better all the time Alex. So, how is the pirate chasing business?" I asked. "You know, it's too damn good. Takes all the fun out of it, when they run from us. The ship owners insist that we fly our flag on their ships. The bad guys see that and just go to someone else's ship." Alex said. Alex had gotten into the pirate chasing business for the adventure, not the money. At that time he was making the money, without the adventure, he was not a happy man. "So Alex are you ready for some life and death adventure?" I asked. "With you any time at all," he said. "So what do you need, and when do you need it." "I don't guess the old crew is around?" I said it just for the walk down memory lane. "No, but all my crews are like those men. I hire them because the money is alway secondary. They take the job just to get in amongst the bad guys. So what do you need?" he asked. "I can't tell you on the phone, and I have to ask you to do something that no sensible person would do," I said. "So shut up and ask," he demanded cheerfully. "Bring three of your buddies with a desire to become commandos in the war on drugs," I said. "Now Max I got half a dozen men who would pay me to do that, but it's because their kids are lost to dope. None of them can hump a pack through the jungle." he said. "If they can sail a boat and are willing to mix it up when the odds are long, then they are for us. If not I'll find another way." "If it's like that last little job, these are your men. Speed boat up, raise hell and then get the hell out they can do." Alex said. "Thats close but it might be a little more to it. I promise they won't have to hump a pack through the jungle." I said. "Got a number I can call, when I get the three men?" he asked. "Put a note on line in the New Orleans Craig's list. Advertise a speedboat for sale, give the contact phone number as the date and flight number you will be on. You have to be here no later than day after tomorrow. If you can't do that, put the speed boat in and say no phone calls please. So name me a boat that is unusual, so I can look for the advertisement." "I will list is as a restored 1950 Chris Craft cruiser. There won't be another one like it on Craigs list I promise." He said. "I look forward to seeing you Alex. I'm gonna owe you," I said. "What's walking with a cane for the rest of your life worth?" he asked. "Alex stop beating yourself up for that. It is what it is. Besides I have some pretty cool canes," I said. "Okay," Alex said as he broke the connection without a goodbye. I removed the battery from the cell phone while I finished the dreadful coffee. "It's a long drive back to the black bag headquarters," I said as Eve and I headed back to Biloxi. The admiral had chosen Biloxi for the large tourist traffic in and out and the Air Force Base there as well. When we had our list of tools, they would be coming in by military aircraft. It had to be one of the perks of being a contractor as opposed to a pure freelance operative. It was almost sunup when we arrived back at the motel. I hit the bed more dead than alive. The leg was aching, but it was a subdued pain. I fell instantly asleep. ------- Chapter 232: Working on the Plan I awoke only slightly before noon. Since everyone had traveled the day before, we all slept in on day two. Since we all had transportation of some kind, we straggled out to whatever meal we were in the mood to eat. In my case it was very thick French toast complete with link sausage and apple sauce. I also had lots of french roast coffee. The coffee was only adequate but it was better than nothing. When I got back to the motel, I used Martin's secure line to speak with Jen. "First of all you Barrister slut, did you get there alright, and are they treating you well?" I asked. "Yes, I'm fine and Bob even pulled in an hour or so ago," she informed me. "Good for him, I want you to do something for me?" I said. "Anything, you know that," she replied. "Find out how I can keep everything Estavante has. I plan to take everything that isn't bolted down. I want you to make it legal somehow." I said. "How long do I have to set it up?" she asked. "Not long, you know I can't tell you any more," I said. "Okay let's start by suing his ass for 100 million dollars. Take whatever is obviously valuable and we will see if we can find a way to make it a bounty if nothing else. Set a president for people to attack the cartels. Not many would have the courage, but a few might." Jen's mind was running wild. "Do what you have to, if it doesn't work, we can always drop it in the deepest part of the ocean." I paused a moment then added, "Now don't you let those assholes mistreat you." "Not a chance, I got friends in high places," she said. "Or you have high friends in places they shouldn't be," I asked. "That to," Jen answered before I hung up on her. There was a good chance Jen could get our little syndicate title to at least the yacht. That is if Alex could steal it. The yacht most like had some get away money on board as well. Without a doubt, Estavante would have a suitcase full of money in the car as he headed to the yacht. That was reason enough not to let him onto an escape plane. Sure he would be just as dead, but all the beautiful money would be gone with him. No it wasn't about the money, but I never knew anyone to turn down cash. None of us was beyond the reach of the drug cartels, but then as Martin had said earlier, we were all looking for our place to die anyway. I had a feeling we might be able to declare a truce with the cartel but maybe not. There was a lot of bounty money to be made, and a lot of retired special ops guys to go for it. We might just start a cottage industry. Eve and I went for a walk on the beach, which was just a couple of blocks away. The water was beautiful even in the slightly chilly air. "So robo slut, how much C4 do we need to make the air strip look and sound as though it were being bombed? Oh yeah and to blow up the bridges and road going out. We probably need to leave some IEDs behind as well. "Probably it will be Semtex. Ten pounds will blow half this place away, that is assuming I can find things for secondary explosions. Twenty pounds might be better that would give us enough left over to start a campfire," She said..." "My aren't you getting to be the wise ass?" I said. "It's the only reason they let me hang around with you," she reminded me. "What we are really going to need are detonators, and a trigger," she informed me. "You haven't given me enough information to know exactly how many detonators. "Then it's twenty pounds of Semtex and twenty five detonators. We need the detonators to have different frequencies I suppose?" I suggested. "Five each of five frequencies should work." Eve suggested. "Okay but we need to make a lot of noise," I admitted. "That will do it," she informed me. "Okay we can blow the airstrip and mine the road," I said. "You have someone to hijack the boat maybe," she reminded me. "I think Alex will come though. Now we need air support. What is Langley prepared to provide." I asked. "Hold on, I'll give them a call." Eve established a data link and I stood waiting while electrons flew through the air. "One predator drone to do fly overs for intel only." Right, I thought. Most likely satellite images as it passed over. If they could get them to us real time, it was better than nothing. "Can we get some electronic intercepts to tell us, if Estavante is really home?" I asked. I waited a few minutes then Eve said, "Give them twenty four hours notice, and they will intercept until we leave." "Tell them I expect them to live up to their bargain and I'll keep up my end. Now lets go back and get the plan started." I said. It was a half hour before we were all together to begin. "I can see three problem areas." Vlad said. "The yacht, the villa and that air strip. If he gets to the air strip we could lose him." "I agree," Martin said. "We need to neutralize that first thing." "Actually I think we need to neutralize it in a big way. I think it would be a good idea, if Estavante thinks there is an air attack. If he does, I would expect that he will run like hell." "Can we get that kind of air support?" Anya asked. "Not from my friends, I asked earlier. How about it Martin do you guys have air assets," I asked. "Not that kind of assets. About all we have is forward observation planes to do troop position reports. We can't always get satellite or drone pictures." Martin said. "Do you have a crazy pilot," I asked. "I don't know. I can ask, why?" Martin said. "Because we don't need an air attack. We need to convince Estavante that there is an air attack taking place. Your forward air guy can shoot a few flares while we bombard the place with law rockets. Maybe take his muffler off, so he sounds like a bigger plane." I suggested. "Shit Maxine the admiral will love that. That's just his kind of shit." Martin was laughing. "I am sure we can make it sound like a fucking flock of jets." "In that case add twenty pounds of Semtex, twenty five detonators radio controlled over five frequencies. And get us a truck load of law rockets. We can make that seem like an air attack. With some well placed sniper fire we can scare the shit out of those guys." "So how many of them are we talking about," Vlad asked. "Best we can figure, when Estavante is there he has about twenty guards around." Martin said. "How good are they," I asked. "Ex-Mexican or Columbian special forces mostly," Martin said. "So did we train them or did the Brits?" I asked. "A lot of them we trained," Vlad said. "Not our finest moment." "So who is going to do the powder monkey thing?" Martin asked. "Unless someone else has a better idea, Eve is great with explosives. She and I can go in together and rig the road, then blow the shit out of the airport. That leaves you guys to scare the shit our of Estavante while we are doing the air strip. Now we will leave the strip after we are sure the planes are disabled and runway is cratered." I said. "We want to be sure to be there to spring the ambush. Eve suggested that we use a Merrill vehicle ambush." I said. "Oh really what is that?" Anya asked looking directly at Eve. I was about to find out just how quick a study Eve was. "When Merrill was fighting the Japanese in Burma and china he would stap a hand grenades to tree s along the trail first they blew the one ahead of the column stopping it. Then they blew one behind to cut off any retreat or any reinforcements coming up by truck. Then Merrill and his men set up a killing zone and used it." "Sounds like it might work." Martin said. "I bet the trucks are all bullet proof." "A hit with a law will disable a tank for sure it will do the same to a suv. When we get them trapped, if they try to shoot out we pick them off. If they try to hunker down, we burn them out. I am sure they will give up eventually. I expect Estavante thinks he can buy his way out of it. Or he expects to go to jail were he can bribe his way out. What he doesn't expect is for his head to be the only thing the attackers want. He will have a suitcase full of cash most likely. I can't guarantee it, but if he does. it's spoils of war. Jen is looking into how we can legally seize anything the cartel has. In the mean time it's his cash." "That sounds like a great plan now lets pick it apart," Martin said. "Good, go for it." I said. "Why not just blow the shit out of all the trucks and leave?" Smith asked. "We need his head for the reward, plus I want his money. Not to mention I want to be sure he did in fact die. I don't want there to be any possibility that he pays off someone to live. I want to see him dead." "Twenty special forces, even third world special forces are a force to be reckoned with." Martin said. "I agree completely, thats why we are not going to assault the villa. We are just going to flush them out then attack them in the open. If you get machine gun fire from the villa, put a law there. If you see a man walking put a bullet in him. We want them in that caravan to the dock." "Okay you and Eve are going for the Air strip, I think we need all four of us to hit the villa," Vlad said. "I agree," Martin replied. "One with the laws, and one with the sniper rifle on each team." "If they don't run first thing, then Eve and I will come to the villa to help flush them. We might have to leave in a hurry though. It the Mexican police show up. I know they might be in bed with the bad guys, but I don't want to go to war with Mexico," I suggested. "Think we can all agree on that," Smith said. "Some fancy work went into the animation on this DVD, so study it the rest of the day and tonight we will talk again tomorrow. We should be able to do more about the details then." Martin said. I went back to my cabin to check out the animation of the villa. I expected that it came from the boys at Langley, because it was excellent. Someone had obviously taken all the information from dozens of sources and combined it. Going through the animation was just alike walking through the jungle and then the villa. I went over it so many times that by dinner I was sick of it. I was driving to a steak house near the Air Force Base, when Eve said, "Your friend Alex will be in at 3PM tomorrow." "Thanks Eve, I guess we are going to have to go pick them up," I said. "I expect that I will have to tell Martin about Alex coming on board." "I would think so," she said with a smile. ------- Chapter 233: Maxine's Navy I went to bed early that second night in the white house tourist court. The small cabins were actually duplex, so next door to me were Vlad and Anya. Eve and I got to hear them screwing. If it amused Eve, I didn't know about it, but I got a small laugh before I fell asleep. I slept ten hours that night, noise or no noise. Since I felt rested the next morning, I called around to the other two cabins and set a 10AM meeting. What good was being the boss, if you couldn't set the meetings at your own convenience. Eve and I went out to breakfast alone that morning... We drove the econo-box around until we found a small cafe near the Air Force Base. The bacon was almost burned, but it was also good. The eggs were soft and the toast not too brown. It was a reasonable meal, even if the hash browns had been frozen half hour before I ordered them. As was her habit, Eve just ordered toast. Even then, I ate one of the pieces of browned bread. After breakfast I reviewed the animation again. I wanted to know as much as possible about the place we were headed. One could never know too much about the terrain before an action. For instance, I learned that the road to the villa wasn't private exactly, but the villa did sit at the end of the road. There had been two peasant shacks along the road once, but the occupants had moved. That had most likely been at Estavante's request or demand. The shacks were gone, so no one used the road except Estavante's thugs. All our people were going to have to hump nylon packs filled with law rockets through the jungle. I certainly hoped that they would take their medicine before they tried that. I planned to start the aspirin a day regiment immediately. It might not help, but it sure as hell couldn't hurt. Unless I got shot of course. I was actually more afraid of a stroke from the jungle jaunt, than being shot. Hey I knew even then, that I was no spring chicken. Martin began the meeting slightly before ten. "Okay, I talked to the admiral last night and the scout plane and pilot will be at the air base today sometime. I'm going out to meet him and bring him here to meet you guys. The Admiral insisted that he know who he was helping to keep alive." "Plus we aren't ready to go just yet," I added. Martin didn't look too happy that I had interrupted him. "His name is Jack Slocum. They call him Smiling Jack after a cartoon character. He once flew for the CIA's air operations wing. It was mostly resupply missions for small combat units. He is not a stranger to odd requests. I should have him back here sometime this afternoon, so that we can explain his job to him. Not only is he and the scout plane coming in, but he is bringing along our tools and an observer. The observer's job will be to help with firing the flares. They also have a couple of special touches, but I'm going to let him tell you about those. By the way, the Admiral loved this idea. He wants our input as to how all this misdirection and confusion works for us." "Well on that note, I might as well give you my bit of information. We have more team members due in this afternoon. I am going to Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans after lunch. I will be picking pick up our navy. If we have an air force, then we need a navy," I said with a laugh. "Alex is the name of the commander, we don't need last names. I don't know the three men he is bringing. I fought with one of Alex's crews once upon a time. His men will be motivated, I assure you." "Why do we need more people?" Vlad asked. "First of all Alex and his navy will get us onto the beach without any fuss. No helicopters to wake the dead, and no dangerous parachutes. Just a nice peaceful boat ride up that creek about two hundred yards from Estavante's dock. If you had taken some time from your other activities to look at the animation last night, you would have noticed it," I said. "I saw it, so it's that pirate chaser group that you have coming. Another small industry you helped start." Anya said. "I assume they will be capturing the Yacht, after they drop us off." "You read my mind. After we have Estavante's head and no one is left alive at the ambush site, we make our way back to the dock. We take over Estavante's launch and make our way to the Yacht. From there we disappear in the Caribbean. If Jennifer can get a clean tittle for the yacht, we take it somewhere cool for a vacation. If not Alex can arrange a transfer to a clean boat and we scuttle it. I know it's a shame, but we really don't want to leave it for Estavante's successor," I said. "And there surely will be one," Vlad said. "With that kind of payday, there will always be a successor." "Whoever it is might think twice about going into my back yard, when he finds Estavante's headless corpse.," I gave them all a wicked smile. "Now lets go over the plan again. Vlad have you and Martin decided on your firing positions?" "Since my team is in better shape, we are going to take the rear. We are going to let Vlad and Anya take the shorter front trail," Smith said. "Now you can bet your ass there will be guards in the jungle or listening devices of some kind, so don't plan on any surprise attacks. It would be nice to get in position without a fight," I said stating the obvious. "Hey," Smith said with almost a giggle. "I got my K-Bar and I ain't forgot how to use it." "Right," I said. "I'm more worried about you," Martin said. "You are going to be humping more weight than any of us. Not to mention you are going farther and on a bum leg. If you can't make it we all get fucked." "Martin, if I didn't think I could make it, I would have sent you to do the humping," I said. He had no idea that Eve would be humping both packs. I would be getting my skinny ass through the jungle using the my cane with the knife in the handle. I might have a light pack of ammunition for the .22 mag. Those rounds would be hollow points and have a Teflon coating. I would also have my lightweight sniper rifle over my shoulder. Somewhere along the way, I planned to pick up an AK for Eve. It would most likely come from the airstrip. We pretty much skipped lunch that day. I had a chocolate creme filled cake of unknown origin with a blob of peanut butter and a really bad cup of coffee at a service station. I had to buy the jar of peanut butter, so I took the left over part with me. I never waste food. It was the 'fat girl trying to get out' syndrome from my misspent youth still ingrained in my brain. With the jar of peanut butter in the glove box and Eve riding shotgun, I drove to the downtown Budge Rent A Car office. There I managed to rent a van with three rows of seats. For that I used Eve's non traceable credit card. Only the guys working in the tombs of Langley could trace it, or so Eve swore to me. I expected we would know someday, but whoever chose to come to black ops village better be prepared to die. I mean it would be like a light in the ass man poking a grizzly bear with a short stick... I used the big ass Chevy van to drive to the airport in New Orleans. Just like every other airport I ever visited their parking was a nightmare. Especially with the huge van. So what I did was to take a chance on Eve. I had her drop me at the airport entrance. The agreement was that I would meet Alex and his merry men, and she would find a place on the airport property to wait for me. When we were standing in the pickup area of the airport, I would call her using my burn phone. I had to trust that she really could drive that huge van. She swore to me that she was more than capable. I had my doubts. Just for the hell of it I wore the blond wig and the sun glasses when I went inside the terminal to meet Alex. I didn't even attempt to hide from the camera it would have made me look suspicious which was not a good thing in an airport those days. I waited 15 minutes for Alex to come through the arrival gate. He had a very small canvas bag. It was even smaller than those gym bags from my youth. He was followed by three men who looked to be in reasonably good shape, but slightly past their prime... I waved to Alex and managed to get his attention. "Well hello stranger," I said as he approached. "Hello yourself girl," he said. "I haven't been a girl for twenty years," I replied. "Well you will always be a girl to me. So how the hell are you, and when do I find out what is going on?" he asked "Get your bags and we will get on the road to our base of operations," I said it with a laugh. "These are our bags. These and an American Express Card with a large spending limit," He said. "Now you know I can't let you use that card before the operation," I said. "I was counting on it," Alex said and of course his crew all laughed. When Eve arrived, the guys were suitably impressed. She was younger looking than me, even if she was a bit less shapely. The builders had given her a nice butt, even if they had skimped on the boobs. Of course they didn't want her to attract attention to herself. The guys got to see her butt when she walked around the truck. I made her ride passenger, when we left the terminal. "Eve do a quick GPS search and lets find a Wal-Mart store these guys need clothes." Eve used the GPS application in her fancy phone. She didn't need it, but she was in her fly beneath the radar mode. It wasn't much of a drive to the superstore. It took the guys a very short time to find the black knit shirts and black jeans to which we all seemed to be gravitating. At least for the actual operation. It seemed several of those items each and underwear were all they needed. One of the thirty something guys looked at Eve and then asked me, "Should I buy condoms?" "Only if you think it might rain," I said. Alex had to explain to him about the habit of soldiers in the old days covering the barrel of their rifles with condoms to keep the rain out and still allow for instant use of the weapon, if need be. Eve and I went to the sporting goods department while they finished shopping. We bought two Mossberg 12 gauge pump shotguns and two full 25 count boxes of #00 buck shot. Each shell contains 9.32cal steel slugs. I didn't want to use lead shot just in case the shot didn't kill the bad guys, I didn't want to poison them. They might sue me. That thought made me laugh, even if it was only inside. I must have chuckled or something because the clerk gave me a curious look. "Boar hunt," I said with a smile. Eve and I also stopped by the plumbing department for a tube cutter. I would have gotten a hack saw but it was too clumsy. The guys left the store while Eve and I went through the checkout. On the way from New Orleans to Biloxi, I had to stop to feed Alex and his crew. "I was tempted to break out the peanut butter and plastic spoons but decided what the hell. We stopped at one of those seafood buffet places. Gulf shrimp cooked ten ways, or so it seemed. As usual in those places, the best thing was the hush puppies. They brought those in large quantities since they were the cheapest thing for the chef to make. Back in the van Alex asked, "Okay so what is the gig?" ------- Chapter 234: Boats and Poker Players "I'm going to tell you now so that you can start laying your plans. What I need you to do is transport six operatives, from where we are going to be staying, to a spot on the Mexican Gulf Coast. It is a distance of about 600 nautical miles. Then you need to drop them off in a boat of some kind that will get them into the mouth of a small creek. Then you need to go a few hundred yards out to sea and capture a yacht owned by a drug cartel." I smiled when I finished speaking. "Then get us the hell out of there." "So I get to lay my own plan?" he asked. "The group gets to approve it, since their lives depend on it as well. You get a voice in our plans as well. We are all in this together, just like before." I said. "We can get you most anything you need, but you have to be upfront with us. If something can't be done, then we want to know. For God's sake don't try to fake it." "Fair enough, I can tell you right now we need a boat. I think we need one that won't draw any attention until we make the move on the yacht. An oil rig supply boat is familiar all over the gulf." Alex suggested. "Sounds pretty reasonable, but we don't have time to fake one. If we go that route we will need to steal one," I said. "That sounds just a little risky." "Okay how about a sport fishing charter boat, one of the big ones. We can rent it for a whole day then just hi jack it. Usually it's a two man crew, I can kill the transponder if he even has one. Put a banner over the boat's name. Put the crew ashore before we get into anything. When we get the yacht, we can leave the boat anchored there." Alex said. "The cartel will kill the owner and the crew for sure." I said. "Okay, when we finish with the boat, we scuttle it. If we grab the right boat, it will have insurance up the ass." Alex informed me. "Perfect," I agreed. "How long in route?" I asked. "30 to 36 hours on the water, more or less," Alex advised me. I was not happy about that. But then it was a long way. We could start closer but then we would also be in more danger of discovery. From Biloxi none of the parts of the puzzle were easy to connect. I mean a boat in Biloxi disappears, nothing about that screams drug raid. Steal a boat in Mexico somebody might be suspicious, especially since the narco terrorists own the damn country. "Well, if that's the best we can do, then it's what we do." I said. "Now, if we can't get on the Yacht what," he said. "Alex if you can't figure a way to get on the yacht, or you decide that your plan isn't going to work, sink the Yacht. I can get you a few LAWs. You do remember how those work?" I asked. "Of course I do," Alex admitted, We had arrived at the cabins. I had previously checked Alex and his crew into both sides of one cabin. When I pulled the big ass van in front of cabin 7, I said, "Now go in and shorten the barrels of your shot guns, but don't leave them laying around for the maid to find." Eve and I went to return the van. We left the 'rent a car office' with our not so trusty Econo-box. It was after six. I was positive that I had missed a lot during that afternoon. Catching up would give me something to do into the early evening. On the way home I stopped at a drive threw burger joint. I love grilled burgers, so I was thrilled to see burgers with a huge list of toppings. I made my choice, then continued on to the White House Court. I managed to finish my burger and coke before Martin and a stranger showed up at my door. "I brought you a new friend," Martin said. "I expected you to have a long silk scarf Jack," I said it extending my hand to him, he man style. "Actually I do have one of those and the old leather goggle set as well," he replied as he smiled at me. "Then when we attack the bad guys, you might as well wear them. Hell, it should get you in the mood." I said. "We really love your plan down at the swamp," he said with a smile. It seemed that Swamp Thing had unofficially adopted my nickname for them. "I'm glad to hear that. It is less brute force and more elegance, as my friend Tiny Dancer would say," I agreed. "So Jack did you bring me presents?" "Eighty LAWs and a crate of small arms," He said. "I have a small package of semtex and detonators." "The ones who flew in commercial need those," I said. "How about your Navy," Martin asked. "We have all we need for them. A couple of pistols might be nice, but even without them we can manage," I said to them. "Now what additions did the admiral put in place? I know he had to tinker with the plan," I said. "Well we are going to fire a couple of LAW rockets from the door of the plane as we fly by. They want to hear a few explosions as well as see the tracers of the flares. We will mix them up some. We also have a noise maker that will sound like a jet plane when the wind passes through it. That is courtesy of your friends Maxine." I wanted to explain that they were not friends of mine, but I kept my mouth shut for a change. Is that all?" I asked. Those were pretty much my plan all along. "Oh there are two more little things. One we are going to push a canister of ammonium sulfide out over the villa. If we get it just right, and we usually do, there will be a terrible smell in the compound. They may well think they are under a gas attack. On the next run we will be pushing out a super ghetto blaster hanging from a parachute. It will be playing some really hard rock songs. Something associated with young American Soldiers," smiling Jack said. "Oh hell do a medley from the motorcycle culture instead. Might as well really confuse the survivors," I suggested. "Born to be wild, that kind of thing." "You tagged it. This is just a fucking elegant plan, wrapped around in a sledge hammer. Oh yeah one more thing." he handed me a cardboard box, as he spoke. "The admiral sent this for you." I opened the box using my folding knife. Inside it I found another wooden box with the label Ruger arms single 6.22 mag revolver. I opened the wooden case to find a presentation grade 6" barreled .22mag, 6 shot stainless steel revolver with wooden grips. It was truly a beauty. It was almost too pretty to shoot, but not quite. Under the wooden box was a black canvas holster, which was as plain as the pistol was fancy. There were no cute little cartridge holders along the belt. Instead there was a cartridge case on the side. There was even a tie down strap on the bottom of the holster with a Velcro closure. I felt like Dale Evans. Okay I didn't have the cute skirt or the good hair, maybe I was more like a butch cowgirl, surely there were some. Anyway, I decided to wear it into the jungle. Screw it, I could let Eve carry the hammerless .38 for me. Who knows she might find a use for it. That 'defense only' rule of hers might prove to be a problem, but then again who knew how her circuitry would define defense. "So do you and your partner have a cabin?" I asked. "Yes we do, and I have to tell you this is a really fun group you have here," he said. "Ah do I detect a note of sarcasm?" I asked smiling. "No offense, but I would not want to play poker with any of you. Especially not if I won." He wasn't really smiling at that thought. "You know, they probably feel the same about you, but if you went on the town with them, they would keep the really bad guys away," I said. "I bet they would at that," he said. "Actually I'm more worried about the Mexican Air Force such as it is. It just might be in the pocket of the really bad guys." "First sign or even if you hear them on the radio, get over the gulf. There is going to be a military exercise that night over the gulf." Martin said. "Are you going to be pissed, if we bug out?" he asked looking at me. "If you bug out before you absolutely have to, then yeah." I said simply. I turned my attention to Martin. "Well Martin unless there is something else, I need to get to doing some naval research." "How about we all have breakfast tomorrow. Jack and his partner could meet everyone on a more social basis then." he suggested. "Sure call me in the morning, by the way Cabin seven is our Navy. Call them as well. If Helen were here, she would bring us breakfast." Martin nodded as he left the room. "So what research do you want to do?" Eve asked. "Find us a party boat that will hold ten people and has a good range." I suggested. "When you find a couple close by, email them to be sure that they have full insurance coverage. Get the information in detail, so that we can verify it. I don't want the sap to take a loss." While she looked, I started a pot of coffee. The room phone rang, so I answered it with the coffee pot full of water in my hand. "Hello," I said. "Max, it's me Alex. We are a little bored down here, why don't you and eve come down?" "Now, why would we do that?" I asked. "Alex this all about business, not monkey business." "Okay, how about coming down and we will play poker. Give us a chance to catch up and maybe convince you," he suggested. "Actually I am bored. Let me see if Eve would like to play." I covered the phone and turned to Eve. "Do you know how to play poker, roboslut?" I asked grinning. "Sure, are we going to one of the casinos?" she asked. "No, we are going to set up one here, I think." I said. "Alex let me call around a see who all wants to play. Eve and I will play but everyone needs an invitation it's that kind of group we have here." "Playing serious poker was not what I had in mind," he said. "Well, who knows what you can promote," I said with a laugh. I turned my attention to Eve. I know you can do ten things at once. You continue working on the boat," I said. I made the calls to set the game up. We decided to put one table each in three of the rooms. When the table worked down in size, we would just combine them till we had the championship of black ops poker going on. They probably wouldn't recognize it as a legit tournament in Vegas, but I was happy with it. The drinkers bombed out first. That was Vlad and Anya, but then they probably had better things to do. The baby faced air observer who flew with the almost as young Smiling Jack went out right after. Two of Alex's Navy didn't really want to be there anyway. I could tell they were there to please Alex. By midnight it was Eve, Alex, Martin, Smith and me left at a single table. "So Eve do you screw as good as you play poker," Alex asked. He looked to see if I was going to be pissed. It was part of the plan from the CIA handlers that she learn to take care of herself. I was just around to be sure she didn't kill anyone or ruin our mission. "Actually I'm a much better poker player," she said smiling. Then surprisingly enough Martin said, "I can vouch for that." I laughed. By morning everyone was worn out and the testosterone had been diluted. Things were back to being on a professional level again. We all went to a German pancake house before the morning meeting. ------- Chapter 235: So It Begins "Geese, after taking all our money, Eve is going to buy breakfast isn't she?" Jake asked. "She is standing right here Jake, ask her," I said. "So Eve are you buying?" Jake ask playfully. The game was a simple fun game because everybody put up $100 dollars. No one was allowed to bring more money into the game. When the money was gone, so was the player. "I'll buy your breakfast, but anybody who orders over a hundred dollars worth of food is on their own," Eve said playfully. I was still surprised that now and then she seemed more human than I did. I had some kind of apple thing that wasn't a pancake exactly and wasn't a strudel either, It was somewhere in between, but it was all delicious. The coffee wasn't bad, so the dozen of us sat there drinking coffee and eating a little of everything on the menu. "Give all the checks to that skinny blond chick," I said to the waitress. " She is part of the the hospital staff." Funny thing, but after that people avoided us. Back at the base camp, such as it was, we crowded into Martin's cabin, "There are so many of us now that we are going to make this short. Maxine and I will meet each group separately later." Then Martin introduced Smiling Jack and the Navy group to all the others. He explained what we had waiting for us logistically. He also explained how each unit was going to be interrelated during the operations. "So if you have any questions, voice them anytime and we will work out an answer." "I know you all want to know when we leave. It should be at least a day or so. We have a few things to clear up with intelligence, then we need to pick up the boat. But don't leave the compound." I said. "Security is Martin's job. For those of you who are new to this kind of thing, he takes it seriously. We all do. Now get lots of rest, and stock up on carbs, like a long distance runner." "Alex, let's take a walk," I stayed quiet until we got to the picnic table, which sat by the road. I still had Martin's electronic scrambler, so I flipped it on just in case. "So what do you need Max?" he asked. "I just wanted to tell you that when you take control of the boat, disable all the electronics on board. You won't be needing them. The instruments to run the engine and gauges you will need, but not the navigation or radios gear." "Max that's a hell of a long way to go without Navigation tools," Alex said with a lot of concern in his voice. "Alex you have to trust me, we will have all that. Besides aren't you the one who told me the Gulf was just a big bathtub?" I asked. "Yeah but it's a really big bathtub," he did smile as he said it. I handed him my tiny laptop. Take a look. There are three websites listed. Each of them seems to have a boat large enough for our needs," I said. Alex was better with the computer than me. He not only checked the websites but he flipped around checking other things about the boats. "You are right all three of these are large enough. This is the newest of them, and it appears to be well maintained, if this is a current photo. We are going to have to see them in person though." "After we see them, we may have to steal one. If we can't book it for the day we need to sail," I suggested. "Then let's see if all three will work, so that we have a choice. Maybe we can get one of them to fit into our plan, without a theft from the dock. From my work I can tell you hijacking it is much easier. "Take the Martin's SUV and go see the boats. When you get back, we can make a decision." I said. Alex nodded, then walked back to his cabin to get someone from his crew to go along. I could only hope they wouldn't act too suspicious. Nothing of ours would hold up to an in depth investigation. At least I had him in a motor vehicle that would check out should he be stopped by the locals for some bullshit traffic violation. Biloxi had been a good choice for a base of operations, because there were lots of out of state tags on the cars running up and down the roads. "So Eve, is our Narco Terrorist home today?" I asked upon entering our cabin. "He is home. Along with his wife and son," she informed me. "Why didn't anyone mention his family before?" I asked. "It isn't relevant," Eve replied. "Everything is relevant, some of these men have kids of their own. They will never be able to pull a trigger on children. Even if they are being groomed to be drug cartel leaders." I replied. "Then we keep this to ourselves," she suggested. "Good, more ghosts to visit me on Halloween," I suggested. "What does the security look like?" "Twenty to twenty five trained mercenaries on site any time that Estavante is in residence. He also has four body guards that travel with him always." Eve said. "When he leaves the compound by car how is the configuration?" I asked. "Usually there are three to five Ford SUVs. They are all bullet proof. He will be in one of the center vehicles. It differs as to which one." she said. "So we use the IEDs to stop the vehicles, then we kill car one and the rear car. Give them an order to come out of the others. If they hesitate, which I am sure the will, we kill another car, then give it again, if Estavante doesn't come out quickly, then we will have to search the rubble for his body." I said. "That won't be pleasant," Eve suggested. "It won't be my first rodeo," I said. I changed the subject because frankly I didn't want to think about it any more. "What's the long range forecast look like?" "You mean the weather?" she asked. I nodded. "Chance of shower all over the gulf but no real fronts moving in." "Then if Alex gets a boat, we will be operational, when the time is right." I said it more for myself than Eve. She probably knew what I was going to say before I did. Alex was back by noon from his fact finding and planning mission. "Okay I solved our problem, I think. The 'Flying Dutchman' is a small party boat or a large charter boat either way it fits our needs fine. It has been recently serviced and is fully insured." "So how about the other one?" I asked. "It would work as well, but after I did my research I think Dutchman is the one," he suggested. "Why?" I asked. The skipper is about thirty five. He is divorced and lives alone. When he finishes his charter, he swings by and fills the boat up with diesel. He wants to have it ready for the next day. He will be pulling the boat into a more or less empty dock at 7PM. Now and then he takes on a night charters. So if we grab him and the boat, then load it with a minimum of fuss, there shouldn't be anyone the wiser. There also won't be anyone to miss him for a day or two." "How about his first mate. His website says there is a crew of two," Eve stated. "I expect we can convince the captain to call and cancel his one man crew for the next day. It's a slow time of the year, I doubt that it will be the first time a charter has canceled at the last minute." Alex said. "If we leave around 7PM the timing will be right," I admitted. "That's what I thought as well," Alex said. "Is he out with a charter now," I asked. "Yes, he will most likely be in between 6 and 8PM." Alex suggested. I called Martin. "We have a ride. Let's leave at five this afternoon, can we do that." "Wouldn't tomorrow be better?" he asked. "Why, just more time to worry. We are going to be en route 30 hours. Isn't that enough time to finish planning." "I can get the SUV loaded and ready to go by three so yeah we can do that. But it is going to rush the hell out of everyone." "Good less time to worry," I admitted. Just like that it was on. I loaded my sniper rifle, the, 30 cal carbine and my new pistol into what looked like a large canvas mail bag. I didn't bother with anything else. I was armed with my hammerless .38 and my cane as I left the room. The expensive and fancy wig was history along with all my personal items. Eve had taken them to the car in a plastic bag, which was on it's way to the trash can. After the trash run I parked the econo box in a really bad section of town and pulled the tags. I climbed into the rented van along with everyone else. The renting of a van, and the loss of the untraceable SUV from Swamp Thing, were just an additional cost of doing business. Both would be left in a parking lot by the boat dock. We ran back and forth like crazy getting things done so that we were ready to hijack a boat by 6PM. It was a mad house, but we all made it to the parking lot. Alex and I waited on the dock. The others were in either the van or the SUV. Alex was dressed all in black, but I had held out a red tee to wear with my black jeans. The plan was to wear it until we were ready to go over the side. Then I would change into a black tee. The red was just in case we needed to talk to someone. Like to convince a boat captain that it was alright to stop for us. "Hey Captain, I have a question," I said as he tied up his boat. "What can I do for you miss?" he asked. "Let's go into your office and talk for a bit," I said showing him the hammerless .38. "I swear, I don't have any money," he said. "Then you are about to make some. We want to rent your boat for the next couple of days," I said. "And if I say no?" he asked. "That's why I have this pistol. You really don't want to say no, do you?" I asked." "I guess not," he replied. "Good, now you can sail with us and help out, or I can handcuff you to a post somewhere. You won't be found for a day or so, but you will probably be safe. Your choice?" "I guess I'll go along," he said. "Good choice, now my friends are loading the boat and getting it ready to sail. It won't be long now." I said. One of Alex's men came in. He looked at me, then turned to the captain. "Cap how much diesel does the tank on you boat hold?" "Twenty Gallons and it's full," he said. "And what is the range on those twenty gallons?" the crewman asked. "Between 200 and 300 nautical miles depending on how hard I push it." the captain said. "Do you have any extra gas cans?" The crewman asked. "In the storage room back there. Two ten gallon cans," the captain said. "Okay sit tight, we need to buy some more diesel before we leave. It won't take long. Alex is doing some mods on the boat. Your man Martin went shopping for us over lunch, so we don't need anything but diesel fuel. We were on the water by 9PM. Our ETA at the Creek was some time after midnight the next day. The captain joined Alex on the bridge, just as soon as we were completely loaded. "What have you done?" he asked Alex. "I pulled all the electronics that could be used to locate the boat. Most of it will leave us blind, but we have our own Satellite hookup." Alex had no idea how it worked. The smart phone looking thing that Eve let him use, was actually a terminal reader from her internal computers. ------- Chapter 236: at the Airstrip During the next 30 hours, I would be keeping in touch with our intelligence providers via my special satellite connection, Eve. She would be keeping me informed about any changes at the compound, no matter how small. The Eve team at Langley had enough influence to get an intelligence satellite to make a pass over the villa every few hours. At our last report the analyst still went with 20 or so mercenaries and Estavante's 4 personal guards in residence. According to Eve they could pretty much identify Estavante himself by his actions and the build of the man in the images. I did not ask about his family, because I did not want to know. "So Martin, what rabbit are you going to pull from your hat today?" I asked as the sun came up. Our men were sprawled all over the hard deck. Most of them were wrapped in light weight blankets stolen from the White House Tourist Court. "Hey I told you all to dress warm. You have a blanket. Every one of them had a chance to slip one in their pack as well." he said. "It looks as though most of them did. I guess they are all smart enough to know they won't be humping it into the jungle. They know that they will be on the yacht, or dead next time they get any real sleep. Anyway that was then this is now, what are we going to do for food?" "In about an hour our Air Force will make a drop. It will be food and weapons. Later today it will be more weapons and boats." It was obvious that Martin was a much better planer than me. "Fair enough, I do hope Smiling Jack has coffee in that load." I knew better. The small scout plane could carry very little cargo. Those boats and weapons were more important than our comfort. We picked up both boxes of the first air drop without any problem. At least the food was Helen's version of the MRE. She even included a packet of freeze dried orange juice in the breakfast one. I was about to eat the egg and corned beef packet cold, when Eve took it from me. She disappeared into the cabin of the boat. Ten minute she returned with my packet. Helen's concoction was warm. I looked up at Eve the question in my eyes, "Engine block," she said. "Damn robo slut, you are pretty damn smart," I said affectionately. "Thank you carbon based slut," she replied for the first time. Then she added, "I scanned the satellite data and there is no change at the Villa. Estavante is still there. So are all of his men." "Then I suppose we are still go. Is the weather holding?" I asked. "Still possible showers, but no fronts or storms in the area," she said. I was pretty sure Martin was getting the same information over his secure line to Swamp Thing. "Did you sleep well," Eve asked. "I did indeed considering how uncomfortable the deck of this boat is," I replied. "Good," Eve replied. "I raised my operating temperature a bit to keep you warm," she whispered. "Ah well I do appreciate that. I hate being cold," I said to her. I actually enjoyed the first few hours of wakefulness. It was kind of nice to feel the warm air and the wind blowing, but to be honest it wore out quickly Long before noon, I was just plain bored. I kept asking Eve, "Is there any news?" "Nothing has changed," she said to me each time. All of us sat around telling each other half truths. I had the most stories, because shit always seemed to happen to me. "I have no idea where all the bullshit in my life comes from," I said to a small group of our operatives gathered around me." "I'll tell you where," Alex said. "It happens to you because you are out there. It's like the kid in the convenience store hold up. It wasn't just that you were in the store, but that you put yourself out there to do the right thing. The same thing happened with the preacher and the Chinese restaurant. You could have ignored it and turned away, but not you. Some people try to live a long life. I think you try to live a full life." "Sounds way to grand to me," one of Alex's sailors said. "I think, it's like Max said. Shit just happens to her. Some people are just shit magnets." "I'll drink to that," I said taking a sip of the bottled water from the supply drop. After the story telling, we moved on to card games. We went from games and bullshit to more games and more bullshit until dusk. It was an hour before dark when the last air drop came. That drop had the remainder of the LAW rockets and a supply of weapons, along with Helen's version of Plumpy nut. Her version was held together inside an easy to eat, while on the move, chocolate bar. There were three, four man rubber boats as well. Eve and I would use one. We would also leave the mother ship first. Then Martin, Smith, Anya, and Vlad would follow in a few minutes. "Since you are the naval commander Alex, the Dutchman's captain is your responsibility. I would prefer that you didn't kill him, but do what you think is best." "Once we secure the Yacht, I am going to put him back on his boat and give him a chunk of cash. I will explain that he should probably keep quiet, or Estavante will come looking for him. Once you guys are on board the yacht, we don't give a crap, if they know where we are, do we?" he asked. "Well it would be better if they didn't know, but I guess we can manage," I said. The time after midnight was dragging. I could actually smell the land as we closed in on it. First we saw the mooring lights of the Yacht, then the outlines of the fishing boats docked along the small town's sea wall that ran out into the gulf fifty or so feet. I had no idea where Estavante's launch was located, but I was sure that we could find something to take us to the Yacht, even if his wasn't available. People with guns, tend to make their own luck in that kind of situation. "Eve, when we get ashore, we are going to mine the road first. Then follow the route I set in the animation to the airfield. Once we get there, I want you to fire the LAW rockets. You have better night vision," I said. "Not a problem," she said. "Why are you splitting the load?' You know I can do ten times more work than you." She asked it because as we spoke, I was filling up the packs. "Yes but if you get a drop of water in your circuits and I have to go on alone, I can't carry all that." "Ah I see," she said. "You are going to be the artillery for us, and I am going to be your covering fire. I'm going to take in the .30 carbine just in case they manage to get organized. Seeing through a scope at night is a bitch," I said. "The attack plan at the air strip is you need to hit the gasoline cans stored by the tool shed with the first Law. Then you need to hit the Gulf Stream as many times as it takes to get a fire ball. Finally the tool shed. By that time they should be under attack by the Air Force as well." I added. "When we have neutralized it all, I will check with Martin to see how it is going there. If none of the guards is headed to reinforce the air strip, we head to the ambush site and wait." I explained yet again. "I know Maxine, I know, how many times are we going to go over this?" she asked. "If we had time, we would be doing it again, but that looks like land up ahead. Go help Alex and the Captain to get in position to drop us off. I demanded. The boat went in with the throttle set at almost idle, and with the lights out. Eve said, "Now," and I pushed the rubber boat over. There were two small oars tied to the boat as well as our packs. The Dutchman was low enough so that we could climb down the short ladder a couple of rungs, then slip into the boat. I went in first and held it for Eve. She came down with all the grace of a cow. It didn't look like they had practiced ladder climbing before they turned her loose on me. What Eve lacked in grace, she made up for in pure strength. She could easily have paddled that rubber boat by herself for a couple of days. I did help her to make it a little more efficient. It took us about ten minutes to reach the mouth of the creek. "Time," I whispered to Eve. "2:43 local time," she whispered back to me. She immediately returned to paddling like hell up the creek. She knew exactly when it was time to pull over to the bank. She pulled herself onto the bank using a small tree for support. I watched the jungle closely for any signs of humans. I didn't see anything to I passed the equipment up to her. Without a word Eve held the rubber boat's rope, while I finally scrambled ashore. She didn't need my help to tow the boat onto the bank. There was no reason to hide the boat. We would either be gone before anyone came along, or we would be dead. I led, but Eve touched me to guide me along. She was very close behind me even though she was lugging all the weight. There was almost 150 lbs of equipment between the two packs. We hiked for about ten more minutes before she pulled on my black tee shirt stopping me from proceeding. I looked carefully ahead then dropped to my knees. We were within a few feet of the clearing which surrounded the one lane dirt road. There was nothing and no one in sight or hearing of us. Even so we crawled in the jungle side of the tree line. When we found the big palm tree that leaned over the road as it grew toward the sunlight, Eve planted a charge on its trunk. It took twenty more minutes to finish the wiring of two more trees. Once we were done we headed to the air Strip. I had guarded Eve while she mined the trees, then covered her as she ran across the road with our two bags. She didn't have a rifle to cover me as I ran across, because I still wasn't sure what she would do in a gunfight For that reason I hung on to both of the rifles. We both cleared the road without incident. Another ten minutes of hard humping and we were at the airstrip. I took a three minute break before I called the other teams. "Time?" I asked as I gasped for air. 2:58 local. I waited until my breathing was under control before I called Martin. I looked from our cover spot and saw the gate and two guards sitting on the ground about thirty feet away. They sat in the dirt with their knees up. They were almost in a fetal position. That's a fitting way to die." I thought. Since there was much more light than I had expected, I said to Eve, "Let me hit the guards before you fire." She nodded. "Irish where are you," I whispered into the radio shack walkie he had provided everyone. "In place, you?" he asked. "Likewise I'm sure. Ivan where are you?" I asked. "Just arrived and taking a few deep breaths." he said. "Jackie?" I asked. "On station, let the games begin." he said. "The fireball will be everyone's signal to begin," I reiterated yet again. I turned to Eve and said, "Are you ready?" "Just as ready as a Roomba 5000 can be," she said smiling. There was that almost human spark again. ------- Chapter 237: the Elegant Plan Goes Slightly Wrong I looked toward the airstrip check point. The two guards were still sleeping, while in a sitting position. There was some kind of trick to it, I was quite sure. To this very day, I have not learned it. I can nod out, but I can not sleep soundly in that position. At least not so soundly that when the man next to me has his head explode, I wouldn't react in some way. Even when that happened the second one didn't even stir. It is true that except for the fire cracker sound of the .22 Magnum, nothing broke the calm of the night. I was a bit surprised, as I always was, by the amount of damage the small round could do. The small bullet traveled at a very high rate of speed, then when it hit a hard object it spread taking on the shape of a tiny mushroom. With that velocity, that shape, and the Teflon coating, it made short work of anything, or anyone in it's path. The killing ability of the round was limited only by the placement of it. The rifle I fired held true to the scope. The scope was simplicity itself it could not be adjusted without a screw driver. It was a simple bore sighted scope. Ihad personally zeroed in at fifty yards. I needed no up and down or side to side adjustments ... It was up to me, the shooter, to make the mental adjustments necessary to dial it in for the variables of the current situation facing me. The first round's adjustment from dead zero was pure guesswork. Since the rifle, and the bullet, would make very little noise, I would be impossible to spot from that first shot, even if it was a complete miss. It most likely would not wake either of them. Therefore I was willing to risk sighting it in on the target. I put the target's nose dead center in the cross hair and fired. With a larger rifle, I would have fired at the center body mass. With a 30.06 or most any other conventional sniper rifle, a miss would have brought the wrath of god down on me, so the center body mass would not only be a kill shot, it would be safer than a head shot. For a change my luck was excellent. The round drifted low a bit, but it drilled the sleeping man in the throat. He might have gurgled a few times, as he drowned in his own blood, but it wasn't enough to wake his companion. His companion died from the second round that traveled from the clip fed bolt action .22 magnum rifle. It was a close combat killing machine. The second man died as the round penetrated his brain. His death was instantaneous. If I have to die, at the hands of a man with a gun, I hope that he is as good a shot, as I was that night. "Your turn sweetie," I said to Eve. Her first LAW was aimed for the several metal gas cans stacked by the shack. It appeared that she missed as the smoke and fire from the rocket engine went over the top of the cans. "Try again," I said quietly, even though there was no need to whisper. Her second round went into the cans and created a huge fire ball. Eve had just pulled the trigger on the operation. I smiled. I watched as she fired a third missile at the beautiful Gulf Stream Jet aircraft. Her first round struck its fuselage and ripped a very large hole in it. "Do it till it burns." Before she could fire again a flare came from the sky and there was the sound of a screaming jet engine overhead. "Fire that rocket," I said. Her second shot at the Gulf Stream causing a secondary explosion. She turned her attention to the shack without being told. It became firewood with the very first rocket. The plane made two more flare runs at the air strip before I called him. "Jack go for the villa," I said. Eve and I heard the explosions from the villa and knew that the others had it under attack. Since there was only one gate to drive out of the villa's courtyard, I figured we would know if anyone was headed for the airstrip. "Vlad anybody headed my way?" I asked over the tiny communications net. "I'm a little busy, but you are good so far." he said. "I'm going to abandon this position and move on to the next one." I waited a minute to watch the light show before I moved on. Smiling Jack was doing himself proud. There were screams of jet engines and trails of non existent rockets coming from the air. Once in awhile a law rocket was mixed in. I knew that only because Jack told me he was planning to do it that way. I heard rockets pretty regularly at that point. Then all of a sudden there was another, larger rocket trail in the sky and ground shook when the warhead exploded. Somebody had authorized a Hellfire missile without telling us. Our plan got Estavante out in the open, that missile might change the whole game plan. "What the fuck was that?" I asked as I moved through the jungle. I was still headed for the road. "I'm not sure," Martin said. "It looks like it took out a big ass chunk of the Villa. I have no idea if it was meant to reinforce the 'under attack' scenario, or to kill Estavante, but they are piling into the SUVs." "We are waiting for them." I said. The killing field was not far from the villa or the town. so it would be an interesting fight. A lot of it was going to based on everybody's reactions to the noise and confusion. To add to that noise and confusion somewhere a huge amplifier played hard rock music. I was going to kiss Smiling Jack, if and when I got back. When the first SUV hit the killing field, I tripped the detonator and a tree fell almost on top of it. Just for safe measure Eve hit it with a LAW. The little Missile picked the SUV us and then dropped it on the road. It didn't explode but it wasn't going anywhere either. The next couple of seconds were critical. A well trained group would have known that when the second and third trees came down, they were in deep shit. It they came out of the cars guns blazing, they would most likely overwhelm us in short order. If they stayed put, they were dead men. "Hit that first SUV again," I said to Eve. That second missile punched through the plastic windshield and killed everyone inside the SUV. "On station," Vlad said through the radio. The window of opportunity for the bad guys to fight their way out was quickly closing. Martin and Smith were our rear guard and reserve. If a serious firefight broke out they would be with us in seconds. "Eve, tell them to put down their arms and come out. We only want Estavante, no one else will be hurt." She did nothing happened. I waited ten seconds then said into the radio Vlad destroy that rear SUV." I waited for another couple of second then heard the sound of a Law exploding. It was followed by a second one making the same noise. I didn't need to look to know that everyone inside that tin can was dead or dying. "Eve repeat the offer again in exactly the same words and tone," I said. There were only two more untouched vehicles. One of them would hold Estavante according to our information. While we waited, Eve and I moved to the west side of the road, and even with the second vehicle. Vlad was supposed to be on the east side by that time and even with the rear vehicle. The placement was important, so that we didn't kill one of ours with friendly fire. I was about to give the order to light one of them up, when the door of the SUV in front of me opened. The driver put his arms out to show that he was unarmed. "Tell him to step out of the truck with his arms above his head," I said to Eve. She babbled in Spanish and the man stepped out of the SUV. "Tell him to take four steps then lay on the ground with his hands behind his head. Then tell the other to come out one at a time. and do the same." I did not want prisoners but we were going to have at least a few. In all six men came out of the SUV. When they were all out, at least all who were coming out, I said to Eve, "Now put a law in the door of that SUV." When she fired the round the truck lifted off the ground then sat back down. The last truck had to be the one with Estavante in it. "Eve, talk to Estavante tell him, if he surrenders he has a chance in court, or to buy off the jailers, but if he waits ten seconds more, he will die in the tin can." She babbled again this time nothing happened. "Vlad light it up," I said. I was beginning to have a bad feeling. The last of the trucks finally opened like a breakfast egg. Vlad and Anya checked the vehicle while I kept the .30 cal trained out our prisoners. "Eve tell them. I do not wish to kill them, but as they can see we do know how to kill. Cooperate and live, refuse and die instantly." Eve babbled again. Vlad had joined us by that time. "Vlad pull one of them out of the line, get him on his feet and over in front of the others." I said. Vlad did it with a minimum of fuss. Vlad and I both knew that he had just sentenced that man to death. "Eve, ask him which truck held Estavante." I knew something was wrong even before Anya whispered in my ear. "Everyone in all the trucks are wearing uniforms. He isn't here." "Then it is a decoy and it had to be arranged by Estavante. We just need to know where he is and we need to know now." "Ask him Eve," I repeated. Eve babbled something in Spanish and he babbled back. "He does not know," Eve said. I pulled the wicked looking, long barreled Ruger, then I shot him in the head. His knees just gave way and he sat down, then fell over. There was no more time for trickery. "Vlad get another one," I said. "Now Eve, explain to him that there are four more men to ask, One of them will surely talk, but unless he talks he will not know which one. Then ask him in the same words and tone the same question as you asked our dead friend." Eve babbled a little longer that time and the man babbled a little longer as well. "He says that Estavante and his four body guards are in a bunker under the Villa. When the stink gas came, they went underground. We were supposed to pull you away and then they would come out." "Vlad find something to tie these guys up," I said. "It would be easier to kill them," he said. "Yes it would be, but killing without a reason is just wrong," I said. "Killing for information, or killing for revenge might be poor reasons but they are at least reasons." "Humph, you are a soft American bitch, but I will do as you say." I nodded. At that point I called on the radio. "Martin be careful the body guards and Estavante are in a bunker somewhere in the Villa. I am headed that way." "Roger that. We are still outside and will wait for you." The radio said. Suddenly the radio came to life yet again. "This is the navy reporting in. We are sitting on the larger vessel now awaiting your arrival." Alex said "Well, I'll let you know when we on the way. If anyone else tries to come on board, you know what to do." I said. "Oh yes, we certainly do." Alex said. ------- Chapter 238: the Bunker As we hustled back to the Villa, I saw the boom box, or whatever it was, hanging from a tree a few yards off the road. I used the .30 cal to shut it the fuck up. It took three shots which alerted Martin that I was on the way. "Smith is in the back," Martin said as Eve and I approached. "Okay I guess we need to go inside and look for the bunker. We can't spend too much time, but we have to find him. I have about 10 lbs of Semtex left. if we can't drag him out quickly, we will just seal the Bunker and move on." That wasn't what I intended at all. It was my intent to leave Mexico with the narco terroist's head in a bag. We were about to head in, when Vlad showed up. "Where the hell is Anya?" I asked. "She is back with the prisoners. She can handle them don't worry," he said. I didn't like the way he looked at me, but I had no time to be paranoid. "You and Martin check out the inside of the villa. Pick up anything of interest, as long as you are in there. Eve and I will make a swing around the grounds." That's just what we did after we got through the gate. We split up and began our very cautious sweep of the Villa. We were all aware that there were probably four very well armed men inside somewhere. I turned to Eve, when the other two were out of hearing, "If they went into a bunker to avoid the gas, then there has to be a mechanical ventilation system in the bunker. Listen carefully for the sound of a motor and fan." I suggested to her. It took her about five minutes to find the sound. It was coming from a gardener's shed. Since there were four bodyguards unaccounted for I called everyone but Anya to the shed. "The vent tube is hidden under the slop sink over there. I'm sure they have either a microphone or a camera inside there." "Let's just drop some Semtex down the tube." Smith suggested. "It wouldn't get into the bunker. My guess is the tube has a P trap to keep that kind of thing from happening. We are pretty sure it has filters to guard against gas. It seems Estavante isn't all that macho after all." "Cap off the vent and they will come out." Smith suggested next. "It probably would work, but I'm sure there is more than one. We don't have the time to find and cap them all. We need to find the door. The floor of the shed is a slab of concrete. It is likely part of the roof system. Let's just look around and remember there are still four bodyguards and one animal down there. They are going to be vicious. "Let's think," I said to Eve after we split up. The doorway has to around here somewhere. Whatever it uses as a door, will probably be blast proof." I took a quick look around. There was nothing standing upright which could be used as a door. "It has to be a cellar type door," I said. "It's the floor of the almost empty shed. That concrete slab is somehow the door." Eve got down on her hands and knees and checked. "You are right the whole slab slides." I looked around the shed but couldn't find the camera or microphone. Even so, I was sure they were there. "Okay let's rig the IED to blow the bunker." I said so that the microphone could pick it up. Eve was quick thinking, I would have expected no less. "How do we do it?" she asked. "First we blow the vent and look for smoke to emerge from the other vents in the jungle. That first explosion will clear the filters and open a straight line down. Once we can get some Symtex inside, it will pop open like a child's toy. Those bunkers are designed to protect from outside explosions not inside ones. I figure two small explosions and one big mother. Then we just walk in and count the bodies." "Sounds right to me," Eve agreed. I walked outside then called them all to me. "Martin when you searched the villa did you find any arms?" "Sure they have a room full of guns and ammunition," he replied. "Then go get me a handful of grenades. Vlad, while we are doing this, you do a quick search for a safe of some kind. Might as well make this time profitable." While we waited for the men to return Eve and I looked around for other hidden vents. The fans could only draw the air in so far, so they had to be reasonably close. With her better than average hearing, lots better actually, Eve picked up on two more vents. She could set up filters to hear only the range of sounds made by operating fans. It actually made finding the vent easy. "Here you go," Martin said as he handed me four American made concussion grenades. Martin you and Eve take the two vents out here and I'll spike the one inside. Let's all try to drop them at the same time." A couple of minutes later I had the grenade with the safety pin removed in hand. "Ready?" I asked. The both responded that they were. "Fire in the hole I shouted as I dropped the grenade into the vent tube." We were all standing together several yards from the closest vent tube when the three grenades exploded. Not only were there spouts of smoke and debris from the three vent tubes but from a forth tube as well. It was one which we hadn't found. It was my guess that there was some pretty foul smelling air in the bunker about now. We surrounded the shed but nothing happened. "Don't tell me they aren't in there," I said. "Only one way to tell," Martin suggested. "I feel a vibration," Eve said. She scanned the grounds then added, "Over there." She was pointing to a spot about twenty feet behind the shed. Sure as hell a head popped up. Before I could swing the .30 cal in that direction I heard Martin's Chopped down AK rattle. "Don't shoot we are coming out." The voice shouted. four very dirty men came from the hole in the ground. "Anyone else down there?" I asked. "No one," the man who could only be Estavante said. "Okay, we will just throw a couple of concussion grenades in there to make sure nobody comes up behind us." I said nodding to Eve. We only had one grenade left, but Estavante didn't know that. "No," he almost screamed "My wife and daughter are there." "You are short a body guard," I said. Call him up and your family won't be harmed. But if we have to fight our way in, everyone dies, no exceptions. You surely know how that works." I sneered at him as I spoke. He called down in Spanish and the last of the body guards came to the surface. He had his hands behind his head as he rose from the dungeon. "Eve go down and stay with the family." We duct taped the guard's hands and legs. We even covered their mouths. I could see that Vlad wanted to kill them all. "Do you know who I am?' I asked Estavante. "I have seen your picture," he replied. "You really should have stayed south of the border. It was a fatal mistake to come to my home town." I informed him. "It does appear that way," He said terrified, but he trying to hold it together. With out warning I swung the heavy machete, which I had been holding since I sent Eve away. It took three blows to remove his head. "I sure wish he had a pony tail," I said as I stuffed his head in the grocery bag, which we had brought along for that purpose. "What about the body guards?" Vlad asked. "They are guilty of many murders and torture I'm sure. The ones in the SUVs were soldiers of sorts. These are just stone killers. You don't turn a man eating lion loose after you capture him. They can expect no better." "I will do it," Vlad said. "We all do one. There will be no innocents, we are all in this together and equally guilty." I said. "You okay with this Smith?" I asked. "Not a problem for me," he said walking to the man on the left. He shot him in the back of the head with his cut down AK. After that each of us, with the exception of Eve, shot one of the men in the head. I stepped back and turned away. I took a few steps then I threw up. It was the memory of what I had just done. I wiped my mouth then said, "Get anything you can carry from the house. Pull hard drives, and flash memory sticks from any computers you find. They will be worth more than gold." I said that as I sent them all on a scavenger hunt. The black nylon packs that had held law rockets and ammunition when he arrived, mostly held computer parts and cash as we exited the compound on foot. We were out of the compound and humping down the road toward the ambush site when we heard the sound of gunfire. We all hustled even faster. When we arrived, Anya was standing in the middle of a half dozen bodies. "Vladimir you can't tie thugs up worth a shit." she said in accented English. I knew she had killed them since is was easier than dealing with them. Dead men tell no tales, I thought, even though I would not have done it. Lets get to the rubber boats and then find the motor launch. The plan had been to walk into town, but with all the noise we had made and the extra time it took, I decided the rubber boats would be a better choice. They had always been my plan B. Plan B was simple: paddle to the sea wall, find the late Estavante's motor launch, then run it to the yacht. The yacht would take us to some quiet island while we worked out the rest of our escape. On the way to the sea wall we had two people paddling in each boat, and one up front with a machine gun to keep the route clear. Since we hadn't needed all the packs for booty, we carried a few LAWs with us, just in case. The paddling took us at least half an hour. It would have given the police plenty of time to set up road blocks, if they had been so inclined. I don't know if they had been so inclined or not, since we bypassed the road they might have blocked... There was only one large power boat tied up to the seawall. Actually it was the only motor launch all the others were fishing boats. So we were pretty sure we were stealing the right boat. At that particular moment, it just didn't matter, whether it were the right one or not. It was going to take us to the Yacht period. "Alex," I said into the radio. "Yes," his voice answered. "How are things on your end." "We are good, just awaiting your arrival," he said cheerfully. "We are on the way," I said. I had called him while Martin rewired the launch. "Just as soon as the Irishman finishes his magic, we are off." "I am waiting like an old maid at a slave auction," he said. He had given me no indication that anything was amiss, so I was ready to go when the engines fired. Martin was an adequate boat operator so we arrived at the yacht in a few short minutes. Once we were tied up to the ladder hanging down from the yacht, I felt much better. I held back so that I was the last one out of the motor launch. "I'm sorry Maxine, I couldn't warn you." Alex said. ------- Chapter 239: the Yacht When Alex said that he was sorry that he couldn't warn me, I expected the worse. I reached for the .22 mag revolver. I knew I was already too late even before I heard, "Congratulations Maxine, you even managed to bring everybody home." It was worse than I imagined. I probably should have pulled the pistol even thought I recognized the new england accent of my black, sometimes CIA handler, Lamar. "Well what brings you to this neighborhood?" I asked as I placed my cane onto the yacht, then swung my bad leg onto the boat. I would have expected Eve to help me on board, but she was missing already. "What did you do with Eve?" I asked more curious than worried about her safety. She was move valuable than all the rest of us put together. "The Priest couldn't wait to get her alone," he said with one of those we share a secret smiles. "Ah the passion of those May/ December romances are hard to control," I said with a slight smile of my own. "Yes, I'm sure he has her clothes off by now," Lamar said. Neither of us said anything that could be called even a hint that Eve wasn't a young woman, but I'm sure the others had their doubts. "So what's next?" I asked thinking I still might shoot him. "We negotiate for what you have in those packs. You do know we financed this mission?" Lamar said. "You do know, I put my own money up for my own and even Eve's expenses. I also guaranteed, that Alex and his men would be paid a share of my share." "The head belongs to you but the rest is ours," he said, "Have you taken a look around at how many there are of us and how few their are of you?" I asked. "And if I were you I wouldn't even count Priest. "Do you know what a Hellfire Missile would do to this boat," he asked. "Now how would you explain that to Jennifer. I called her before I got on board to tell her all was well and to work on the yacht's paperwork." Of course it was a bluff, but everybody knew that Jen and I were thick as thieves, so it wasn't all that unlikely. "Also, you would be dead before you could call for anything." "I think we can negotiate this," Lamar said. "Oh I agree. The bounty on the head is two million. Of course we get that no negotiation required. "No, you are negotiating for yourself. The Admiral gets half to cover what his people did." Lamar said. "Of course, " I agreed quickly, because it was fair. "We keep the revenue from the sale of the boat." "That's just fine with us," Lamar said. "Now the computer parts?" "What about them?" I asked. "They have no place in this negotiation. We took them only after your intelligence proved to be shit." "We know that," Lamar said. "You know nothing ever goes right." "Unless you are behind a desk in Langley, then what the hell. Who cares. It's just a minor pothole in the road." I said. "Another million," he said as if it were an answer. "Why so you can hide the intelligence and nobody does anything. Or worse yet give it to the Mexican government, so someone there will use it to take over the cartel himself. To be honest Lamar, I just don't trust our government to do the right thing." "A million bucks and you hand the information over to the head of the DEA task force. It never goes into the government system." Lamar said way to easily. "He had known I would balk at losing the information. "First, I copy everything. If you don't take action, I will do something totally off the wall," I promised. "You know, we could just kill you?" Lamar asked. I looked up at the stars for a few seconds before I answered. "But what if you tried and failed?" I asked quietly. "Alright your two million and we get everything?" he asked. "Everything I have," I agreed. Lamar left to go below. Alex walked over to me. "You finished with the desk thugs?" he asked. "For now at least, so tell me how the 'being a pirate' went," I demanded "It was actually fun. I thought about climbing on board with a bayonet between my teeth. I was afraid I would cut my lip though. I'm not as good with pain as you are," he admitted. What happened to the fishing boat captain?" I asked. "I gave him the five grand you told me to give him, if I decided not to kill him. He left for home with a broken radio, five grand, and the not unfounded belief that if anyone knew that his boat was used for this, he would be killed by the druggie gun thugs." I nodded my approval. "Where are the yacht's crew members?" I asked. "I sent them to shore in the rubber boat, when I got your 'we are on the way' call." Alex said. "So you just paddled up and they welcomed you with open arms?" I asked. "They did, once we woke them up," he said that with a laugh. "They were in home port. They had no reason to be super vigilant. The guy on deck watch was sleeping on that padded bench just off the bridge. We just slipped up and work him with that AK47 in his face. He was very cooperative. All of them were after we had them awake and my Spanish speaking crewman explained things to them. Actually we all stood on the fantail and watched the light show. I explained to them that they needed to find a new employer. I'm sure they were going to miss the money, but probably not the risk. They explained that there was almost always drugs on board the boat." "You did toss everything over board?" I asked. "Of course we did. My men do not take drugs or traffic in them," he said sharply. "Good." I replied. "Alex I'm happy you got this done without a shot being fired. Now when did the Washington trash show?" I asked. "They must have been circling overhead, when you got Estavante. The chopper with rocket pods came over and touched down on the helo pad just long enough for the politico thugs to get out. That black one told me that if I warned you, they would sink us and you. Using the rockets on the chopper. I still made him prove that he wasn't one of the Narco trafficker crowd. We could have taken him and the nerd, but the chopped looked to be crewed by guys who knew the score." "It's okay Alex, I would have had to have that talk sometime," I said it but was still a little peeved that he hadn't found a way to warn me. They could just as easily have been bad guys, I thought. Before I could mention anything to Alex, Priest came on deck. "Maxine, could I see you please?" he asked gently. "Sure why not, I seem to be popular these days." I said standing. I walked to him and then followed him below deck. I followed him along a short passage way and into a small cabin. It was about the size of the bedroom in a motor home. There was a double bed and a small desk. Eve was sitting in the one comfortable chair by the desk. She appeared to be asleep. I expected she was recharging. It was something I had never really seen her do. I had seen Lucy do it though, so I recognized the posture. "So what can I do for you Priest?" I asked. "You can tell me your impressions of Eve," he suggested. "Frankly there are way too many to just spout off at you here," I said. "Well give my your main impression," he said. "Sometimes she seems human others not so much. Most people would probably write it off to being a little kooky. Since I know better, I recognize if for what it is. Sometimes her responses don't seem just right. She might say the right thing but she lacks the enthusiasm or the indignation, that kind of thing." I said. "Did you find her skills helpful?" he asked as he feverishly made note of what I had said earlier. "Oh she is very good at what she does," I replied. "Good," he replied. "How did she do in social situations. Did you feel it was obvious that people recognized her as different, even if they didn't know why." "Some did and in some situations. Over all I thought she did remarkably well." I said. "Good," He replied with a smile. I have no idea where it came from but I asked, "So who is really pulling her strings?" "What?" he asked almost in shock. He was also angry as hell. "What are you talking about?" "Doc I might have been born yesterday, but I recognize dis associative behavior when I see it. We had lots of people, who were at least two people in the service. Someone is actively pulling her strings at least some of the time." "Lots of people had input into her programming," he said. "Do you mean you honestly don't know. I thought you were the creator?" I asked. "I'm the CIA project manager," Priest said indignantly. "Tell me this, under what conditions is Eve programmed to self destruct?" I demanded. "If she is about to fall into the hands of an enemy," he said woodenly. "And if I happen to be standing beside her?" I asked. I could tell the answer because he didn't want to answer me. "I see." "You had to have known. If she can get out of your range, like Lucy she will, but if not then I'm sorry." "Now when is she programed to cut my throat?" I asked. "Never," he said indignantly. "Do you believe that," I said. "Look I know about Eve. If we are on the run and I'm injured and can't keep up. If it is allow me to be captured, and most likely made to talk, or cut my throat do you really believe she won't?" "I see," was his only answer. "So do you want to continue being Eve's socializer, or do I find someone else?" Priest asked. "You need to find someone else, or let me meet with the creator. It's a simple either or," I said quietly. The sun was up by the time the chopper landed with the money. It also took Eve, the nerd, and the desk thug away. I looked up at the sunshine, then I went to the bridge. "So Alex where are we off to?" I asked when I was inside the glassed in room. "Well I'm just headed out to sea right now. Do you have a destination in mind?" he asked. "Not yet, but let me go below and find Martin, I'll be right back," I promised. I went down the stairs to the below deck cabins. I figured that one of the three cabins most likely contained Martin. I knocked and when he came to the door, he made no attempt to hide the fact that both he and Smith were naked. It was obvious that I didn't know as much about Martin as I thought. He took a look at me smiled then asked, "Is there something I can do for you, or do you want to come in?" "It's a hell of an offer, but I need to talk to Jennifer, can I use your phone." I asked. "Absolutely, push speed dial 1 for the admiral, and he will get her I'm sure," he said. "Hello," I said when Jennifer came on the phone. "I am so glad to hear your voice, I have to know all about what you have been doing. I'm sure my clients are going crazy. When can I go home?" It all came out of her in a gush. ------- Chapter 240: Home Again Home Again "One thing at a time. What is it you want first?" I asked over the rock solid satellite connection. "I want to go home," she said. "There are lots of great looking men coming and going from here, but I miss home." She was almost in tears. "Let me talk to the admiral," I said. She obviously handed the phone back to him. "Congratulations again Max," he said. I could tell there was more. "Too bad so many people had to die, but at least they were the right people." It was pretty close to a 'Don't blame yourself' speech. "Don't worry admiral, I'm not in danger of going postal. Some of my team have different ideas about what is the right way to go, but in the end no one endangered anyone else on the team. I'm calling because Jen wants to go home and I have things to do here yet. How about sending a man with her for a week. If there is anything funny going on, I will rush home. I expect the threat of a take over in Aster is over. I would still like her to have protection for a while just in case." "Kind of like a condom on a guy who had a vasectomy," the Admiral suggested. "Something like that sure," I replied. "My men don't come cheap. The people around here love her and all that, but business is business." he suggested. "Well I got her into it, I guess I can foot the bill for a body guard." "You just want one man to live in with her and be her shadow?" he asked. "Exactly," I replied. "5k a week," he said to me. "Do it and put it on my bill." I said. "I think I will put it in the paper thug's bill," he said with a laugh. "It really is a cost of doing business." I was surprised how fast my slang got picked up at the swamp. "Whatever, just make sure she stays healthy." I said. "Give it the rest of the day for the word of Estavante's end to get out, then send her home. Meanwhile put her back on please." "It's me," Jen said into the phone. "I got the gist of it from the Admiral. So what can I do for you?" "What did you decide about the yacht? Do we need to scuttle it or can we sell it?" I asked. "The admiral has a genius computer and financial man here. Of course I did have to sleep with him, but the Yacht has been re-registered in Panama. The registration paperwork is in your name. You can sell it at anytime. I am having the paperwork sent to my office in Aster." "Very cool," I replied. "So give me the website, so that I can reference it to the harbor master. After all the ship's documents are all in Estavante's name. I don't suppose you know what this thing is worth?" "I have no idea," Jen said. "Alex probably does." "I'll ask. So name me a good island with not too many laws?" I demanded of my friend. ""Barbados it's as good as any," she said. "That works for me," I admitted. "See you back in Aster in a week or so." I returned to the bridge. "Make it Barbados," I said. I waited a moment then asked. "What's this tub worth with clean paperwork?" "Quick sale in this market, a million maybe a little more or less." he suggested. "Tell you what, after a week in Barbados, sail it somewhere and sell it. Take out all the expenses of sailing it to a sales point. We can split the money in six parts. One share for each of the pirates," I said. "One for me of course, and one for the Irishman." "Why not let me do a wire transfer to you for a quarter mil right now. You sign it over to me, I just happen to know a guy," he said then laughed. "You damn shipping tycoons. Too bad you aren't Greek." I said with a laugh. Do the transfer and I'll call Jen to do the paper work. But you are paying for this vacation in Barbados make no mistake about it. And if you fuck the other pirates, I'll lead the mutiny." "Very well Miss Christian," he said with a laugh. The seven of us spent a week at one of the tourist trap hotels and casinos. Even though I had told Alex the trip was on him, as part of the yacht sales price, I relented and handed each player ten grand to lose at the casino. To a man they did. Even I lost the ten grand. It took all week but I managed. At the end of the week, and after an additional three day voyage, Martin, Smith, and I got dropped with our baggage at a small pier in Fort Meyers Florida. My first purchase with my ill gotten gains was a laptop computer at Wal-Mart. The second purchase was from Craig's list. It was a very nice three year old PT Cruiser just like the one I had at home. Well it was a classy looking black woody. I bought it from a woman who had lost her job and needed to sell it to pay her credit card bills. I loaded the weapons and money into the rear of the cruiser and planned to head for home. Martin and Smith checked into a small motel and awaited a pickup from Swamp Thing. The pickup was set for the next day. Since I decided that I needed to get the cruiser registered temporarily in Florida, so that I could safely drive it back to Aster, I needed a place to spend the night in Florida... "So Martin does that offer from the yacht still hold?" I asked standing in front of his motel room door... "Always," he said. It was an interesting night. I didn't get much sleep, but I got a lot of penises, in a lot of places. I suffered from muscle memory all the next day. Even as I stood in line for the temporary license tag, I squirmed at the feeling, phantom or otherwise, of something in my rectum. Since I had not want to get stopped along the way, with a car full of weapons and a box full of cash, I had spent the uncomfortable twenty minutes in line at the Florida DMV. When I finally arrived in Aster, two days later, I drove my newer, classier cruiser straight to Jennifer's office. I found Jen's bodyguard sitting in a Cadillac SUV outside her office. "So what does it look like on the ground here?" I asked after explaining my interest. "I swear, I have not seen anything that even comes close to a threat. Nobody has paid the least bit of attention to either Jen or Bob." he replied. Since Mike was in his late twenties and had a body as hard as muscle and bone can get, I had to ask. "So how is Jen in bed these days?" He looked a little embarrassed, but he finally said, "A hell of a lot better than I would have expected from a forty year old woman. Her body is really in good shape." When he said that about my friend, I was more than a little jealous. Us women are so bitchy, even with our friends. "She works out and runs like five miles a day," I said. "It works for her, and yeah, we have been running together," he said. That's not all, I thought. Since we both knew the score, there was no need to make it an issue. "So I guess your job is done," I suggested. "Well I think I will hang around till something comes up for me down east," he said. "My god you are smitten," I said with a laugh. "You should ask Jen about that, before you make any plans." My largest problem at that moment was a ton of cash in my gun safe. Since I drove up from Fort Meyers, I still had it in the back pack which I had used to transport it home. I knew enough to know that it was almost useless to me in it's present form. Even after all the shucking and jiving in Barbatos, and giving money to Smith and Martin as a bonus, I still had over 1.5 million bucks in cash. That is one hell of a lot of cash to hide. I did not want that much money around. It was one thing to have professional killers after me, but quite another to have every gun thug in the southeast trying for me as well. "Jen, Maxine," I said into my real cell phone. The burn phone had gone into the lake, where I had eaten lunch that day, as I did most days when I was home. "Tell me what to do with all this cash. I need to get it into a bank or something." "Well I am sure your friends in Virginia can get you waivers to just walk in and deposit it. Probably not here but in Tryon." she suggested. "Could you take care of that. Just tell me where and when to take the money and I'll do it." I replied. "How much do you have?" she asked. "1.5 with an M," I said. "Now that is a lot of cash," Jennifer replied. "You know there is going to be tax and other expenses." "Yeah like your fee," I said. "Well let's call Mike my fee, but I do want to be paid for the week at the swamp. That was BORING." "How much?" I asked. "Five thousand should do it. Bob and I did get a rest and a chance to become friends again." "I'm sure," I said. "Is Mike still here?" "No, I sent him home," Jennifer replied. "I expected no less." I said. "You have my number if anything looks odd?" "Of course, and you need to call Blevins sometime today," Jennifer said. "Why the hell do I need to call him?" I asked. "The dirty cop investigation is still going on and he wants you to hold his hand I think. Oh I'll call your friends and see about the deposit." Jen said just before she broke the connection. "Blevins," I said when he answered. "Jen said you wanted to talk to me." "Yeah our dirty cops are falling all over themselves naming names. Especially since the commando raid on Estavante's Place. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?" "Let's say I did, even so it isn't your jurisdiction." I replied. "No it isn't, but the news said there was all kinds of information on his computer about who Estavante did business with. Do you have any more cop names?" "The Feds have all that information. I assume they will share. Why don't you call this number," I said it then I read off Lamar's number. "Tell him who you are and what you want." "Thanks Max I owe you," he said. "Yes you do and I'm going to collect real soon." When I said that, I had no idea it would be so soon. "Hello," I said into the phone, which had just played the Mag 7 theme again. "I was told to have you just walk into the main office of your bank and hand them the bag of money. They will deposit it and notify the proper authorities, who have been advised to expect it and you today or tomorrow." "I'm headed to Tryon with the money this afternoon. I want it out of my gun safe." I assured her. "Blevins, I'm calling in that favor. I need you to ride shotgun for me," I said. "When?" he asked. "Right now," I replied. I didn't want the information floating around. "Pick me up outside in five minutes," he said without even asking what the favor was. ------- Chapter 241: the Deposit "So what is this chore that is so important, I have to drop everything to do it right this minute?" Blevins asked. "You are the shotgun guard on a stage coach," I said as I pulled the woody away from the curb in front of the old, almost downtown, converted school building. It had been renovated for the police station and city hall five years before I returned home. One of the things I loved about Aster was that everybody in town was into saving the town's history. Hell, you needed a special permit to demolish a building in the downtown. "What the hell do you mean?" Blevins asked. "Well this new cruiser kind of reminds me of a stage coach," I said. "And you are kind of guarding the payroll." "So where are we headed?" Blevins asked. "To Tryon to make a deposit in my bank," I replied. He just shook his head in amazement that I would ask him to ride along. Exactly twenty minutes later we pulled into the parking lot, of the downtown branch, of the Bank of North America. I opened the rear door of the Woody, then I removed the large black nylon backpack. Blevins followed me through the extra tall glass doors. The teller's windows were situated on the left side of the large lobby. First I went to one of the customer service representatives. The young man was on the phone, so I stood patiently. I also checked out every person who came into the bank. I thought, this would be a really bad time to try to hold up a bank using anything less than ten men with machine guns. The Customer service guy covered the phone with his hand and asked, "Can I help you?" "I need to make a rather large cash deposit." He held up his hand, then went back to talking on the phone. He waved toward the teller windows, as though dismissing me. I looked up at Blevins and shrugged with a big ole smile. "Come on Max, let's just go over there," he said. "I know how you hate to wait in lines, but the line will be a shorter wait than standing here." Blevins didn't know what I did, but I shrugged and walked to the sign that read 'Please Wait Here To Be Called'. I waited not really nervous, but I was in a state of high alert. Hell. who wouldn't be. Finally it was my turn in front of a teller. I looked up to see the Customer Service Representative typing on his computer. It looked as though Blevins might have been wrong, but only by a couple of seconds. "How may I help you," the teller asked from behind her bullet proof glass. "I need to make a cash deposit," I replied. "Certainly, do you have a deposit slip." she asked. "Believe it or not I do. I had filled out one even though I knew there would be more papers to fill out as well. I slipped the deposit slip into the small opening at the bottom of the glass. Before she looked at the deposit slip, I added, "The cash is in this back pack. It isn't going to fit through that opening in your glass." I smiled again. Blevins looked concerned, as if his favor was going to take more than a few minutes. "Should I call the office?" he asked. "I was thinking more of ordering pizza delivery," I said as the teller looked at the deposit slip. "Is this a joke?" she asked. "Not in the least," I replied. "You probably want to call over the manager or at least one of the Customer Service People." I saw her pick up her phone and then a second later the same Customer Service Rep, who had brushed me off, came hustling over. "Could you come with me please?" he asked. "Now Sonny listen to me carefully, since I finally have your undivided attention, I am not running all over this bank. I expect that with this kind of money, I can open an account next door, no sweat. So if you want to keep my business, we will do this transaction quickly and efficiently, Right?" I asked. "Yes Ma'am, absolutely. I was going to suggest a private office for this kind of transaction might be in order." he said. "And that is why I came to your desk initially. If you had really taken the time to listen to me this transaction would most likely be completed by now. Since you didn't, we have to start over." "Yes ma'am walk this way please." he said moving gracefully to the small private office most likely used by all the employees who needed privacy. "Sonny, I can't walk that way with this cane, but I'll follow you," I said just being bitchy. The teller had given him my deposit slip, so when I put the backpack on the desk he knew what to expect. Even so he was awestruck by the sheer amount of cash in the back pack. I have to admit that I was as well. I'm sure Lamar and his people decided to use cash, just to impress me. Of course I wasn't impressed in the least. I was mostly miffed that it was such a pain in the ass to pass perfectly good money into the banking system. Blevins waiting while I filled out two different forms. One was for the IRS and one was some kind of declaration about the funds not being derived from any criminal activity. I answered the questions as best I could. "You understand the funds won't be available for three days on a deposit this large?" the customer rep said. "Gee whiz honey," I said to Blevins, "I guess you will have to pay for dinner." "Ms Stone, I'm the bank manager," A large very well dressed man said from the doorway. "I just wanted to say thank you for trusting us with your banking. You have always been one of our preferred customers." "No, I really haven't been. I started with a retirement check from the United States Air Force. At that time, I couldn't get a credit card from anyone including you. But I do understand, lets just not be too full of crap. I do remember from where I came." I will give the old bastard this, he recovered well. "Would yo u like a credit card application now?" He was smiling like a man who recognized the truth and was good with it. I laughed, "I think I'll pass on the credit card, but you just saved this bank a hell of a lot of grief." "How so?" he asked. "By accepting that sometime you just have to bite the bullet and take one for the whole team," I said. He just smiled said, "Anything you need call me personally." With that he walked away. "You want to stop for coffee or something?" I asked Blevins as I drove toward Aster. "No but I would love it if you called your friend with the information about my police department. He left me with the impression that he wasn't going to cooperate." "Not a problem, I got him on speed dial." I pulled the car to the side of the road before I pushed Lamar's button. "Maxine, what the hell are you doing giving my number to some cracker cop," he asked angrily. "First of all Lamar, I'm sitting in my car with that cracker cop as you so eloquently put it. So watch your fucking racist mouth. Now sweetie, you can pass on the information he wants, or I will dig it out. If I have to waste my time doing that, all the other information I come up with is going to Fox News. How about that shit my friend? By the way our deal was that, if you weren't acting on the information, I would. That's how I plan to act on it. Now do you want to put your super computer on the job and have everything with an Aster reference sent to Blevins, or do I sort through it by hand?" "You know this is going to end our relationship," Lamar said angrily. "We don't have a relationship and I'm not sure you have the authority to do that anyway. One last thing, what makes you think that I give a rat's ass?" "You know the one thing about a cell phone is that you can't slam the damn thing down. A click is not the same as that banging sound of the head set being slammed onto the cradle." I laughed as I said it to Blevins. "Damn Maxine, I didn't mean for things to get that heated." Blevins said. "Hell hon that wasn't heated. Heated is when they send a cleanup team out." I laughed again. "I don't guess you want to stop for coffee?" By the time I dropped him at the converted school house, Blevins was a nervous wreck. "No offense Max, but I don't think I want to be hanging out with you for a while," he did laugh when he said it. If Blevins was my only friend, I would have been concerned. Wait, Blevins was almost a friend and almost the only one, I laughed out loud at that thought. I was getting lots of calls even though I had been out of town for a while. The calls were from people wanting all kinds of things. Everything from offers of work, which I politely refused, to guys and girls wanting dates. Those I also refused. That damn TV show was running and it appeared to be gathering steam. I spent almost the whole month refusing to even discuss work and was damn proud of myself. I spent my days, walking at the mall after breakfast at Helen's. Then it was home to sit at my computer catching up on the TV shows I had missed. My evenings were spent at either the Cop out or Cowboys B&G dancing and getting felt up. Hell I even got off a few times in the parking lot of one or the other. In other words the money did not go to my head, it was the same thing I did before I became a millionaire. The people who really knew me, knew that Jen was kind of, my kind of, agent. If they convinced her that it was something I might be interested in, I usually took it on. At least I had before Estavante. After a month I guess Jen thought it was time for me to get involved in something again. "Max," her voice said over the smart phone. "I have someone I want you to talk to." "Jen, I'm not sure that I'm ready to come out of retirement." I said. "This isn't that kind of thing. I'm going to set this up as a lunch date at the marina. Stop buy Helen's new drive through and pick up three Roast beef Sandwich bags and three cokes, Diet," she added. "Did you know that you are one bossy bitch?" I asked. "Of course, and I also know that you love me for it. Be at the lake at 1PM with the food," she demanded. So there I sat at 12:50PM waiting for Jen and the mysterious guest. There was an early spring chill in the air even at 1PM. I didn't mind since I remembered to wear my pullover nylon parka with the fleece lining. It was a little difficult to get to the hammerless .38, but it wasn't impossible. Since I didn't expect to be shooting anyone over the roast beef, I felt like it was a good trade. Warmth over gun pull ease, seemed like the right choice that day. It was hard to believe how normal I had become in only a month. The couple that approached me on the balcony of the marina's office appeared to be almost fifty but not quite. She was just a few pounds over weight, but not too many. He was getting bald, but just a little. "Ms. Stone, you are so much more in person." the lady said. "More what?" I asked with a smile. "More everything," she said. She paused just a second then added,"I'm Ruth and this is my new husband James, Jennifer sent us." ------- Chapter 242: Horse Shit I had already gotten past the obvious first impressions by the time I found out Jennifer sent them to me. I tried to hold off forming any more. "Well then you are my lunch companions, please sit down." I said it standing. Even though I didn't have to. I wanted to readjust my pistol for easier access. It was something about James that caused me to want easier access to the pistol. He never smiled, and he had a serious dead eyed look about him. The man had, at the very leas, seen too much in his life. Either that or he suffered from severe depression. He wore a look of great sadness, or the total disconnect of one who is no longer capable of any honest emotion. James scared the shit out of me, because I saw that face looking back at me from the mirror every day. I hid mine better than James did, but we both had serious depression issues. Ruth on the other hand was the total opposite. Her attention was spread all over the place. Her eyes seemed to flit from one place to another without any apparent reason. She checked out every inch of the balcony before she sat down. She didn't study it as if she were trying to burn it into her memory, she seemed more to be shifting her gaze from place to place randomly as if it were an old habit. After we were seated, I passed around the bags. "These are all exactly the same, so it makes no difference who gets what. I hope you placed your order with Jennifer, since she placed it with me." "Oh don't worry, James and I eat anything. And if your friend Helen made this, we know it is wonderful." She turned her attention to James trying to force him into the conversation. "Don't we James?" "Yes honey," he said. I could tell something about me interested him, "So how long have you guys known my friend Jennifer?" I asked. I wasn't ready to dig into the big question just then. "Oh we just met her last week, but it was love at first sight," Ruth said. "Oh my that didn't sound just right." "I know what you mean, Jennifer is charming. She is the kind of woman who makes other women, jealous, nervous, and sort of sorry they are straight. I can only imagine what she does to men." Ruth said, "That's exactly it." So they had met her in the swamp, that wasn't the best of news, but it did explain things. It for sure explained James's interest in me. James was an operative in the black bag game, or he was an assassin. Either way he was a stone killer. His interest in me was not love or lust it was survival instinct pure and simple. Just as I had stood to make getting to the .38 easier because of his look, he kept his eyes on me because he recognized mine as well. I wasn't positive but I was pretty sure I was going to like him. Ruth probably not so much. "So exactly what is it that you need from me?" I asked. "You know like when you go to a foreign place, where you don't speak the language or anything, you look for a guide who does?" she reminded me. "Of course," I agreed then shut up. "Well James and I were so impressed with the things Jennifer told us about this town. And of course the TV show is remarkable in showing how you live here, so we decided to come look around. We are both ready to retire." It was a bomb. It was the one thing I would never have guessed. They were trying to recruit me alright, but it was as a friend. Maybe not James but Ruth and Jennifer were. "Like Jennifer, I would be thrilled to see you settle her, but I have to warn you this place is like Jesica Fletcher's Cabot Cove. Some kind of shit is always happening here. We have had the Russian mob, the Chinese Tong, and the Mexican drug cartels here. It isn't the sleepy little town it looks like." Ruth's eyes suddenly stopped darting around. "You surely don't think we came here without knowing all that. We also know something you probably don't. There is an understanding among the various factions. It is that none of them will do business in this little town or in Tryon. Even those who are unaffiliated are warned, if you do business in Aster or Tryon, you do so at your own risk. No organization will support you in any way." If you think about it, there is probably no safer place in the world than right here. Plus the cost of living is much less than New York or California." Just as soon as she finished her speech she went back to scanning the area. I drank the last of my Coke before I said, "Well what do you want to do first?" It was my way of surrendering. "There is a stable north of town. It's only about 3/4 of a mile from the town limits. I would like to convince the owner to sell it to me," James said. It was by far the most he had said to me. "I think it would be easier if you went along. I don't want him to be intimidated by our being strangers." Or just plain strange, I thought it but didn't say it. "Sure do you want to go now?" I asked. "Yes, if that is convenient?" Ruth added. "Sure Jennifer sent you because I'm fully retired at the moment." I said. "Sweetie, we know who you are, no need to sugar coat things for us," Ruth said. James just kept a very close eye on me. I finally figured out that it was mostly because of Ruth. The love of his life was his responsibility and I was a shit magnet. "Do you know the way to the stable?" I asked. Ruth nodded so I said, "Then I'll follow you." That's how I ended up walking around a place that smelled of horse shit. Sure they call it manure, but it is still horse shit. James actually smiled when he stepped from the Swamp Thing SUV. I also had to smile at that sight. "Hello there," the young man in jeans and a blue work shirt said as he approached us. "You must be James?" "I am," James said extending his hand. "You are Edward?" "Everybody calls me Eddie. So that would make you Ruth?" He said smiling at her. "It would indeed," she replied. "Hello Maxine, it's nice to see you in the sunlight. I was beginning to think that you might be a vampire." he said. Ruth and James both looked at me questioningly. "I know Eddie from the local beer bar." I said. "One of the local beer bars. We do have more than one, but I guess only one that caters to our kind of folks." he said. "And what kind of folks are those," James asked a little too seriously. "Cowboy truck drivers, and bad ass women," Eddie said with a smile. He was cute but naive. "The kids and mall chicks go to a different place." "I see," James said. "So is the offer to show us around still good?" "You bet," Eddie replied. "I think I'm going to wait in the car." I suggested. "You guys go right ahead, I'm just fine alone." "I knew that," Ruth said. "Me too," Eddie said. "I have seen you in action remember." "Eddie, shut up," I said it with a smile. "Eddie, we will definitely be making you an offer," James said when they returned. I just need to do some research." "He means he needs for me to do some research," Ruth said. "Good enough," Eddie said. "See you again Maxine." Then he got in his truck and left us standing in the parking area. "So what's the deal with him?" I asked. "Eddie's father and mother owned this farm. His dad built the stable for him to board horses. It was kind of a part time job for him while he was in school. Then of course Eddie grew up. He decided that he wanted to be a trucker instead. The place has been vacant for about five years. Since Eddie's mom died last year, his daddy has decided to sell just the stable and ten acres around it. Just enough for pasturing a half dozen horses," Ruth explained. "So you want to make an offer to buy the stable?" I asked. "More than that. We want to buy the ten acres and thirty more. It will leave the old man with the house, barn and about ten acres to give him a feeling of still being connected to the land. But he really needs the money, and to retire as well. According to Eddie, he doesn't have the heart for the place any more," James informed me. "So you are going to run Eddie's dad through the company's background program," I asked. "No, I'm going to call the same man that Jennifer used to get you a clear title to that boat. He can tell me what the farm is worth, and how badly Eddie's father needs to sell. A motivated seller is good for a motivated buyer," Ruth informed me. "Well why don't you come back to my place while you work it out." They accepted my offer. There was just enough space in the alley behind my building for my two cruisers and the SUV. Once inside the house Ruth was on my computer within minutes. "Ruth just to save you some time, the porn and the links to more are in a folder named recipes. "Thanks, that will save me a lot of time," she said with a teenager's giggle. "James have you ever ridden a motor bike?" I asked. "Sure, I rode lots of them over the years," he said. "Like this one." I asked as I led him into the storage closet by the rear door. He stood grinning again. "What the hell is that thing?" he asked. "It's a motorized bicycle. I ride it everyday. I usually don't even move my car, when I'm just puttzing around town. You want to try it?" I asked. "Sure I do," he said. I got him out the door and off on the bike in just a few minutes. Ruth was still doing her research It was probably disappointing to her that it was the new computer from the Florida Wal-mart with nothing but porn and movies on it. She had probably checked my bank account while she was waiting. "Holy shit," James said grinning like an idiot when he returned. Where the fuck do I get one of these things. "When you move in, I'll introduce you to the people who build them," I suggested. Ruth was suddenly downstairs standing beside us. "Morty says anything under 200k is a good deal. If we have to go 250K, it will be an okay deal anything more is a pure gut shot." "Shit that place is a half million dollars anywhere else in the country," James said. "So let's go back there and settle this thing." "Not today honey, we all need time to cool down." Ruth said. "And cooler head prevails," James said. "So Ruth are you going to be the farm wife?" I asked. "I really don't want to do that. We were looking around for a place to stay. Since they turned the last B&B into a rehab facility, you don't have a really cool place anymore. I might just open one." "Let me tell you about this really cool place in Biloxi," I said with a smile. ------- Chapter 243: Later That Night I explained all about the tourist cabins from the forties. Since I judged her reaction as no interest at all, I dropped it. "So what are you two going to do for dinner tonight?" I asked. I was silently praying that Jennifer had arranged something for them. "Jennifer and Bob are taking us out. Jen said to tell you are invited," she said. "Please do come." Ruth was really good at the 'be everybody's friend' thing social operatives specialize in. James hardly said a word. "I'm so sorry, but I already have plans." I didn't tell her that my plans were a dollar salad from the McDonald's at the mall, and a cardboard frozen pizza hot from the microwave. Washed down with a vintage Sam's cola. It was my tribute to the old days meal. I didn't mind the bad food and it reminded me who I was. Something I had needed for the last year or so. It's easy to get used to having money and forget that you didn't always have it. Ruth and James did the required ten minute walking tour of the downtown, then headed off to Jen's office to get their offer for the farm ready. After they left I got to thinking about my own situation with capitol gains. I was about to be taxed on the profit from the sale of the apartments, if I didn't reinvest the portion I had not used for the Downtown House. The downtown house was in the middle of the first block, north of the railroad tracks. Yes trains still rolled through the downtown of Aster. Of course the Downtown House faced onto Main street. But it was only a few doors away from Railroad St NW On the south side of the railroad there was another street. It was called South Railroad Street, which also had a east and west side. I was in a remarkable position to do a downtown high end apartment renovation. I could do the renovations and then let the place just sit empty, if I didn't find just the right people. I could also do short term rentals for people like Ruth and James. People who for whatever reason, needed a place to rent for a month or a few months. I loved the sound of the trains, but not everyone would, so the place was going to need heavy duty sound proofing. I didn't think that would be a big problem, but it might. First I needed to take a look around town with fresh eyes. Even though spring was on the way, the temperatures were still pretty chilly in the evenings and mornings. It was into mid afternoon when the swamp couple left for their meeting with Jennifer. I considered the slip over parka, but I opted for something with easier access to my small revolver. The revolver was my only weapon. For real walking I preferred a lightweight PVC cane. It was one I had made it myself from some scrap 1/2"water pipe and a couple of fittings left over from the Downtown House project. There were no guns or knives inside, it was just a lightweight prop for me to use now and then. After a couple of blocks or a lap or two around the mall I got a little clumsy from the weak leg. Otherwise I could keep on pushing through the pain. So it was almost 5PM when I started my tour. Most of the older buildings were clustered around the railroad tracks, so I began walking in that direction. If I were to walk two blocks in either direction the density and age of the buildings changed drastically. Three blocks south of the tracks and one block over was Ed's converted gas station. A couple of blocks east of main street four blocks down Jennifer's modern building sat among other one story modern shops and offices. I didn't plan to get as far as either of them. The buildings north of mine in the same black were all filled with shops of one kind or another. Most were one story and were struggling for survival. My favorite was the ice cream and sandwich shop. I didn't care for their sandwiches, but the ice cream was delicious. The Dog House and Kaplan's Barbecue Shack were both several blocks from downtown. The building which jumped out at me was the deserted railroad hotel of the forties. It was an old brick building three stories tall. Even in it's hay day, Aster had been an after thought rather than a destination. I had never been inside the building, I did know that while I was away the first floor had been used as a night club. That was back in the eighties and nineties. My guess was that there had been a ballroom of sorts even when it was a small hotel. Fortunately I had my cell phone with me so I called Elaine Brewer the Realtor while I stood in front of the boarded up hotel. "El how you doing?" I asked. "I'm fine, how are you Maxine?" the woman's voice from over the phone asked. My mind projected a picture of the thirty something woman who still dressed like a college girl. "Just fine. I'm standing in front of the old railroad hotel. I was curious how much does the owner want for it." "Old man Davis want's all he can get. I think he might be able to get 50k. I could probably talk him into taking that. These old guys forget that it isn't 1950 anymore. Buyers are almost non existent for that kind of place." she said honestly. "For me to pay that there would have to be something special about it. Otherwise I would buy one of the tax repos." I said. The city and county had property on the books which had been foreclosed and which didn't even get bids at the courthouse steps auctions. They were willing to sell them for a few bucks with the understanding that they would be renovated within a year or so. Since that was my vague plan, I would have no problem with promising that. Those buildings would be just too small for the plan floating around in my mind. "Well Maxine the building was last used in the early 2000s. There was a buffet supper club thing, complete with a dance band. They used the whole first floor. Each of the upper floors has eight rooms with two shared baths, one at the end of the hall." she informed me. How about letting me and my contractor take a walk through it," I suggested. "Just give me a time and I'll make it work," she said. "I'll get with him tomorrow and call you from his office," I suggested. "Cool," she said with that stupid college girl voice. I went back to my downtown house, put on some warmer clothes, then fired up the bicycle and headed out to McDonald's for their $1 salad. I ordered through the drive through and put the salad in my basket. On the way home it happened. To make my day complete, there was a pop and the the motor became a brake. It locked up tight at about fifteen miles an hour. I went into a spin, but I managed to get control of the bike before I laid it down. I lifted, then locked the motor in an upright position and pedaled the bike home. I was huffing and puffing, but I made it. I rolled the bike into the storage room knowing that I couldn't fix it myself, and that the West End Bike Shop was closed after 5PM. Since there was nothing I could do, I took my salad and resumed my plans for the evening. When I only had one car, the bike had been my backup, so I had always rushed to do the upkeep. With two cars the pressure was off of me. I really didn't plan to keep both cars, so I expected to take the bike to the shop after breakfast the next day. In the meantime I had my cardboard pizza and salad. It was one of those keep me humble things. I did it because my dad had always made me promise not to forget from where I came. Mom and dad had both worked in a cotton mill. I grew up borderline poor, but that was okay. I didn't miss hot meals as much, when I was staking out a building, or running through some crap hole jungle. Since I no longer had a television, I cranked up the computer. I went through all the news channel sites and read their latest. Then I switched to one of the free 'upload a TV show' sites. I went to them often to find a TV drama I had missed. Sure I could afford cable, but why would I want to pay for something that restricted me to viewing a show when they wanted me to do so. Why not watch TV on my schedule and more or less free. It was about 9PM when I got too bored to watch anymore TV, so I changed yet again. I wore jeans and a knit top with nothing underneath the top. I wore my usual bikini panties under the jeans since I have sensitive skin down there. Instead of a hide away holster, I slipped the .38 into the side pocket of my leather jacket. I used the pocket because it had a button down flat. It would never do for the pistol to fall out on the dance floor. That could really kill the mood, especially if it went off. Once I was dressed, I headed to the Cowboy's Bar and Grill. When I entered, I noticed that Sarah, the bartender, was deeply involved in a conversation with a way the hell over made up chicklet, who looked to be about fifteen. Then the chicklet looked up and I almost recognized her. I wasn't sure, but she did look familiar. "Maxine, don't you remember me?" she asked. "I almost do, so who are you sweetie?" I asked. "I'm Julie, Jack's daughter," she informed me. Damn I thought, Julie is the only minor I ever knowingly slept with and I had forgotten her. I really was slipping. "Julie when did you get home?" I asked. "Yesterday," she said. "And here you are in a beer joint." I turned my attention to Sarah. "You do know this one is underage?" I asked. "Oh yes, I was explaining why I can't hire her." Sarah said. "Okay, Julie do you need a ride home?" I asked. "I have my dad's car. I guess I do need to get home, unless yo u have a better offer for me?" she said looking at me. Julie hadn't changed a bit. "No offers from me. That time passed with the dead Russian and the closing of the party house," I said. "It was just business anyway." "Just business my ass, you loved it, same as me," she said it angrily as she stormed out. "What the hell was that all about," Sarah asked. "History, and not good history," I replied shaking my head. "Hey Maxine, you got a minute," the male voice came from behind me. "Sure Eddie, I came to talk to you anyway," I said. "I'm flattered," he said. "Don't be, it's about Ruth and James. I just wanted to warn you. You really need to play straight with them. They are not people you want to piss off." I said. "Since they are friends of yours, I would know better without the warning. Plus I kind of got that impression just looking at them." He paused a moment to let it sink in then changed the subject. "So you wanna dance?" "Why not," I replied. During the dance he said, "You know there is probably a way you could make the deal go easier for your friends." "Ah, I'll bet that if I put out for you, it would go easier right?" I asked smiling wickedly. "Something like that," he replied. "But the land belongs to your daddy, do I have to put out for him as well." I asked. "If you wanted to, I expect he would go along with it." Eddie said with a laugh. "How about I just go for him, and cut out the middleman." ------- Chapter 244: Find Julie I was in the process of negotiating the details of my seduction by Eddie, when my pocket started to vibrate. It was after midnight, so it was either a wrong number or something important. I could tell from the phone view screen that it was Helen on the line. Since I had just seen the rebellious Julie, it was not a good sign. "What's the problem Helen?" I asked urgently. "Julie came home looking like a hooker a white ago. She and her dad had words, then she ran off into the woods. She hasn't come home yet. I don't know what to do. Should I call the police?" she asked. "Call the police, I am going home to change then I will be out to your place. Call me, if she shows up in the meantime. Oh yeah, put lots of coffee on just in case." I suggested. Then as an after thought, "Call Jennifer." "What can she do?" Helen asked. "I don't know. What I know is that it can't hurt anything to call her. If we don't call her, there will be hell to pay when she finds out." If I wasn't getting laid, I didn't care if Jennifer got inconvenienced. "I got to go look for a lost little girl," I said to Eddie. "Do you need some bodies for the search party," he asked looking around the bar. "Some of us are more or less sober." "Nice of you to offer and maybe later, but for now they just need me. I don't know what else they need till I get there." I said it getting the hell out of he bar. When I got home, I quickly changed into my light weight thermal underwear and then into a heavy pair of jeans and a couple of layers of tee shirts and finally a blaze orange thermal vest. It was going to be impossible to hide a firearm, so I didn't even try. I just put the light weight .22mag with the 6" barrel onto my hip and headed out. I chose the Ruger because it was in a tied down jungle holster. If I had to hump through the woods, it was less likely to get hung on a vine or sapling, than something in a quick draw holster. I drove the old maroon colored cruiser, why I chose it I have any idea. I got to Helen's, before anyone else. Since I broke every speed limit on the way, I was a little surprised that I didn't have at least one sheriff car following me. I went to the front door of her house. "Helen," I shouted from the porch. "Maxine, thank you for coming, we don't know what to do." Helen said. Jack was no where to be found. "Where is Jack," I asked. "He has gone looking for Julie," Helen was in tears. "Now you have to hold it together Helen. Where did they go into the woods?" I asked. "Over there," she said pointing to the closest point to the woods from where we stood. "Okay, let's see if we can get organized, while we wait for Jack to come back. Does he have his cell phone with him?" I asked. "I don't know," Helen said. I handed her my phone. "Call him now, lets see where it rings," I suggested. "What," he answered all out of breath. I motioned to her, so Helen handed me the phone. "Jack it's Maxine, how far are you from home?" I asked. "I don't know," he said. He might have been desperate sounding, if he weren't so worn out. "Are you on her trail or just looking?" I asked. "I'm looking for her," he said. "Jack come on back let's get a tracker dog out there. You have likely done all that you can to find her in the dark. If she is lost, then we need to get the trackers on her trail." I didn't say it but he knew the less disturbed the woods were the better chance the dogs would have. After all he was a dog trainer. Not that kind of dog, but still he knew how it worked, I was sure of that. "Alright," he said simply. He was probably glad I had given him permission to stop looking. He sounded all in. The Sheriff's deputies showed up just after I broke the connection. They interviewed Helen, while I stood in the yard waiting for Jack to return. I was thankful that one of them recognized me from the TV. If not, I would have wasted valuable time explaining the pistol on my hip. I watched Jack emerge from the woods about a hundred yards from where Helen had pointed. When he got to me Jack burst into tears. "God Maxine, what have I done," he said between sobs. "I don't know Jack, but go in and talk to the Sheriff's deputies now. Let's get her home then worry about how to deal with her." It wasn't long after when Jennifer's car pulled up with Ruth and James inside as well. I had no idea what, if anything, they could do. It was like I said about Jennifer, it couldn't hurt to have them at the scene. "We are going to call a couple of more deputies and the state police tracker dogs in," the deputy who recognized me explained. "How long has she been in the woods?" I asked. "About an hour, they think," the deputy said. "I want to go with you," I said. "Don't let the cane fool you, I can keep up." "Alright," he said. "If you fall behind we leave you." "I think I'll tag along as well," James said. "I can hold my own in the woods as well." "Who are you?" the deputy asked. "He is just a friend of mine. I'll vouch for him." I explained. James looked over at me and smiled. "It's going to be a few minutes. In the meantime lets try not to disturb the scene," the deputy suggested. "James, how about you and I take a ride while we wait," I said. "Sure," he said. "You drive, I'll scout." "Deputy we won't get out of the car, so we won't mess up the track." "Okay," he said. The cruiser worked it's way out of the yard rapidly filling with cars. "Where are we going?" James asked. "I'm going to drive down these country roads. The kid doesn't know anything about the area. We might just see her walking down one of these roads. If she found a road after being in those woods a while, you can bet she stayed with it." I suggested. "Yeah, I can see that," he agreed. "Since we aren't a cop car we have a good chance to slip up on her." "Yep she might even flag us down," I said. "By the way welcome to Aster. Don't say I didn't warn you." "This is a better gig than I usually get involved with," he said quietly. "I hope it ends better for sure," I replied. I drove the more or less main road in the direction she went when I came to an even smaller road entering from the right. I figured that Julie probably would have cut the side road before she came to the main road, so I turned right. We were quite a ways down the road when we spotted her. She was almost staggering as she walked away from us. She wasn't headed back into the woods. She was definitely happy to be out of them, I expected. I pulled up behind her and stopped the cat. James was ready to take off if she tried to run away. All her fight was gone. She would have gotten into the car with Ted Bundy at that point. I opened the door stepped into the road then said, "Julie come on, I'll take you home." "I'm not going home," she said. "You can't make me." "Wrong, I can't make you stay, but I can damn sure make you come with us," I said it with something less than a smile on my face. Which of course she couldn't see anyway. "Come on little lady," James said gently. "No one is going to hurt you, I promise." Something about his voice made me believe it for sure. Since she walked to him, it looked as though she did as well. It was clumsy but Julie sat in the back. I thought that she might have been the first person to sit in the back seat. at least since I owned the Cruiser. I walked away from the car leaving Julie in the back and James in the front. I wanted to make the call, that would call off the dogs, far away from Julie. I didn't want to burden her with the trouble she had caused just yet. As far as I was concerned a large part of the inconveniences was me not getting laid. "Helen," I said when she answered. "We found her and will be there in five minutes." When I got back in the car,. James was turned toward her. The two of them were talking like they had known each other for years. "So yeah, I grew up on a place like your dad's. I ran away and joined the Marines a long time ago. Believe it or not, I'm here to buy a place just like the one where I grew up. Well as much as I can make it anyway." "All I can think of is getting away from here. I want to go somewhere there are kids and people having fun." Julie said. "Well I can understand that," James said. "Why don't you join the military. You will have to cut all his this drama though." "Or go to college," I suggested. "The community college is full of kids, surely some of them know how to have fun." "Yeah if you want to do that, when I get my horse farm open, you can come help me teach kids to ride." James said. "I can't ride," she admitted. "Then you will be my first student. I'll find you just the right old nag," James said as we pulled into the yard of Jack and Helen's house. James got out first. He approached the agitated Jack and had a quiet chat with him. I was pretty sure Jack came around to his way of thinking, whatever that was. "Julie, don't run away again. You do have options." I said. "James and I are going to see to that." "Can I come live with you?" she asked. "You know that you can't do that. You need to stand on your own, not lean or me or your dad. I know you think you have been on your own, but you haven't really. Now you need to think hard about the decisions you make, because they are going to affect the rest of your life." I said in my preachy voice. "Here call this number tomorrow ask for some help. The lady who runs it is a friend and she knows exactly what you are going through." I had given her Cheryl's card of course. "I will stop and think before I run into the woods again I promise," she said smiling. "That wasn't any fun at all." "Yeah and go wash your face," I said with a laugh. "If you want to play with make up, go take the cosmetology course at the community college." Everything took a few more minutes to calm down. When the cops left, and Jack, Helen, and Julie were inside the house, Jennifer said to me, "Pancakes for everyone." "Let the peasants eat pancakes," I said. "Off with their heads," Ruth chimed in. "Guillotine, Guillotine," James offered. "Then, I'll meet you at Tex and Barb's in ten minutes," I suggested to Jennifer. "Tryon's best all night pancake house," she explained to Ruth. James turned to Ruth and asked, "Honey would you mind, if I rode with Maxine?" "Not at all," Ruth answered with a smile. It was much easier to get the cruiser out of Helen's yard without all the cop cars parked like cops do at a crime scene. It always looks like a random scene from a game of pickup sticks. "So James you wanted to talk?" I asked. "No one needs to know who we are." It was more than a suggestion. "Oh did I say something," I asked. "No you were fine, just keep it that way." he replied. "That was my intention. Oh and James, don't ever threaten me again. It makes me worry and trust me, you won't like me, if I'm worried about you." "Ditto," he said with a smile. ------- Chapter 245: the Cop Out Revisited. I slept late the next morning. I had been up very late the night before and it wasn't much fun. Sure Jen, Ruth, and James were good company, but pancakes wasn't what I had planned to be doing at 3AM. Anyway it was noon before I got my ass out of bed and dressed. It was 2PM by the time I made it to the West End Bike Shop. There was a new manager every time I went in. I never had to tell the manager who I was, they always seemed to know. "Ms Stone, what can we do for you today?" The current manager asked. He was a blond kid, but he didn't act blond. He was also slightly past college age, but not a lot. He did have a bike rider's body. That was a body not quite as skinny as a runner's body. "I think the motor on my bike is gone. It seized yesterday," I explained. He rolled the bike through the showroom and into the back workroom. "Lucille," he said to the older chubby lady who was cleaning, what was obviously, a donated bike. "Would you watch the front. while I take a look at Ms Stone's bike?" "Sure Bobby," the older lady said as she headed to the front of the shop. After she had gone Bobby tried to turn the motor. "Yeah it's seized. Most likely it threw the rod or melted the bearings." He paused to let that sink in on me. "So what do you want to do with it." "Bobby, I know you are used to people who need to know all the details, but I don't really. What do we do to make the bike work again. So that is all I need to know." "Easiest and fastest would be a new motor. I have a couple to chose from." he said. I made a windup motion with my hand so he went on. "So let's pick one out. "Let's do it," I said. "I don't have the 33cc you have now. The motors are kind of catch as catch can for this design." he explained. "Too much information Bobby, what do you have. This is like picking a coffin," I said without any particular emotion." "Huh?" he said. "Never mind, so what you got that you can just bolt on and let me ride out?" I asked. "Nothing really, but I can fabricate the mount by noon tomorrow for any of them." He said. "So what are my choices?" I asked. I was really getting tired of prompting him. "Yours was 33cc I have a 40cc and a 65cc either would be fine as a replacement. You might get a little more speed with the 65cc since I could put a larger roller on it." he said. "That might be nice when I am in traffic." I admitted. "It wouldn't me much maybe five to eight more miles an hour," Blondie suggested. "Okay go with the big one. Tomorrow at noon you said?" "Yes noon tomorrow," he replied. It was after 3PM when I answered my phone. I was still in the bike shop but ready to leave. "Good timing Jen, I'm ready to get back out into the world. So what's up?" I had a feeling I knew already. "Looks like we are going to have some new residents here in good old Aster," she said cheerfully. "So which one of them are you screwing?" I asked. "You know I don't do women, unless somebody puts me up to it and nobody did. I didn't screw James, but I did screw a friend of a friend." she admitted. "So you are going to take care of the paperwork and now you have told me to look out for them, what else is there?" "Julie just got her driver's license and is going to work for Lucas," she said. By the time she dropped that bomb on me I was sitting outside the bike shop in my cruiser. It was the maroon one because it was the only one with a bike rack. "All this happened since 2AM last night?" I asked. "Well she just had to take the test for the license, she already knew how to drive. Jack agreed to that after he talked to James last night." Jen said. "No shit," I replied. "Yeah, James does have a way with words. I called Lucas since he is always looking for someone to deliver court papers." Jen informed me. "I had her the job before she got home from the DMV. You know as long as she is half assed dependable Lucas will keep her." "Yeah, I'm sure he will. I thought James had her set up for a part time job and going to the community college?" "Now she has a choice," Jen said all proud of herself. "When you get involved, you really do get involved," I said. "I am not going to lose Helen as a caterer or friend. So yeah I'll get the little slut a job." she said. "So what are you doing for dinner tonight?" "I'm not going to dinner with the loving couple from Swamp Thing." I said. "But they do so love you," she said. "Yeah, I noticed that last night when I was alone in the car with James. Actually I think I'll get a pizza later and take it to the Cop Out." I said. "Good plan, I think we will join you," she said. "Jennifer you wouldn't dare?" it was a question. "Of course I would, and you better be there at nine." she said. "What if I'm not?" I asked. "Have you forgotten I have access to all your money. I will have you bankrupt by morning if you force me to have dinner with Bob and the couple from the Swamp Thing." Jennifer might have been kidding about robbing me, but she had convinced me she needed help. I left the bike shop with Jennifer and the couple from Swamp Thing on my mind. I sure as hell hoped that they got their business done soon, so that Jennifer would stop pestering me about them. I mean they were nice enough, but I was pretty sure they could fend for themselves. After all she was most likely some kind of spook and he was most likely swamp things answer to a gun thug. The phone played Mag 7 in that crappy canned music kind of way. "Hello," I said to the unknown caller. "Maxine, I wanted to see how the emergency worked out last night," It was Eddie's voice that came from the phone. "We found her alive and well, damn kids," I said with a laugh. "So how about we try to finish what we started last night," he suggested. "I have kind of got plans tonight, I'm sorry my friend Jennifer called and wants me to have dinner with her and the couple that looked at your dad's farm." "They celebrating already," he said with a laugh. "I just called them a minute ago." "So your dad is going to sell to them?" I asked. "Yeah, Seemed like a pretty good deal." There goes the neighborhood, I thought. "Well I'm glad it worked out for everyone," I meant it even though I could have done without the competition. Not that we were in the same business or anything. "So how about tomorrow night," Eddie asked. "Tell you what I will meet you at Cowboys. but this isn't a date or any guarantee you will get laid," I said. "Don't need no date, just need to get laid," he said. "That's what I was talking about." I agreed. I tried to watch the news online, but people kept calling me. I turned down half a dozen jobs just because I wasn't ready to go chasing all over the country again. I gave up on the news because I couldn't concentrate. Instead I moved on to one of those tv on demand sites. I caught up on a TV Cop drama, which I hadn't seen at all during it's new season, which was also half over. I watched three episodes back to back, then dragged my ass into the shower. The shower was hot as hell. I could never get enough hot water. I stood under the flow and just let it happen. The chill of the night air was going to be a shock when I went out after that shower. As I expected there was a chill and my wet hair did not help me cope with it. The pizza restaurant was all take out. The deal was call five minutes in advance and your pizza would be ready. It was a good advertising slogan but it didn't really work that way. I called five minutes before I arrived, but I still had to wait ten more minutes. Since I was in no hurry, I didn't complain. Besides I knew better than to expect my pizza to be ready on time. It was ten till nine when I dumped the pizza boxes on the table by the postage sized dance floor. I looked up to see Blevins at a table with three other cops. One of them was a black female. She might have been a nurse, I suppose, but something about the way she held herself screamed, bad ass cop. "I heard you have been busy," I said to Blevins as I walked up to his table. "Yeah, fucking house cleaning is a bitch," he said. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that," I said. "You and your crew could have done it, but there would have been bodies everywhere," the woman said. "Not me lady, everybody knows I'm a peaceful wimp," I said to Blevins' new lady cop friend. "So Blevins you got anything for me." "Just that everything is peaceful around here. Seems we survive another international incident, ' He said to me. A couple of seconds latter he added, "Oh shit, what did I do to deserve this." I turned to look a the entrance even though I knew what he saw. Into the room walked Jennifer with her two new friends. "Come on Blevins you know you love her." I said. "Or is that over now?" "Very funny Maxine, go entertain your friends. Keep them the fuck away from me." He said I walked over to the three of them. Well hello there, I heard you have bought yourself a farm and were still alive to enjoy it. Congratulations," I said. "Come on in and have some warm beer and bad pizza. It's a tradition when I'm back in town." I said. "Yeah Jennifer filled us in," James said. "Jennifer Blevins is going to be upset if you don't stop by to say hello. That is also a tradition." I turned my attention to James, "Blevins is like Norm was on Cheers." "Do I have to?" Jennifer asked. "Of course you do," I said. Then to Ruth I confided, "They pretend to hate each other, but there is really a passionate thing bubbling beneath the surface." James and Ruth danced with each other but Jennifer and I danced with cops, firemen, and paramedics all night. By midnight I was worn out. I walked out with Jennifer and the couple from the thing. I noticed that we had been followed out, but said nothing. Jennifer did. "You are being watched," she said to me. "What makes you think that she isn't watching you?" I asked. "Big beautiful bad ass cops don't watch me. I'm too vanilla for them," she said with a laugh. "I might be as well," I said. "I will bet you the price of lunch tomorrow," she said. "As long as I don't have to eat it with you, it's a bet." We shook hands on the bet, so I had to go back to ask Blevin's girl friend. "Hey chick, who you following so poorly?" I asked. "Your friend Jennifer, are those people with her, or are they going to be leaving her alone?" she asked. "Sorry love they are joined at the hip for the next few days," I said. "Then how about you. I prefer my women a little more refined, but any port on a cold night," she said. "Even with so romantic a proposition I have to say no thanks." I turned and walked back to Jennifer and her party. "It's a draw," I said and laughed. "It was an either/or kind of thing." Everyone laughed. ------- Chapter 246: Pain and Good Drugs I awoke the next morning after having slept long and hard. I took a quick shower just to get awake before I tried to drive a car. After my wake up shower. I headed off to Helen's Sit Down for breakfast. I recognized a couple of cops and paramedics from the cop out. None from the night before though. Also none with whom I felt comfortable enough to sit. So I sat alone at one of the picnic table Jack had built. I had been seated only a couple of minutes when a much younger man in the casual uniform of an EMT approached. "Would you mind if I sat here?" he asked. "Not at all." I said, then waited for him to go on. "I'm Everette Simpson my dad went to school with your older brother." he said. "Okay Everette is there some reason you felt the need to remind me that I'm old enough to be your mother?" I asked. "No," he said obviously embarrassed. "I didn't mean it that way at all. Actually I just didn't want you to think I was trying to pick you up or anything." "Why not," I paused a moment then I laughed. "Lighten up Ev, I have been down this road before. I know you are half my age, if that. It's okay." Just then another EMT came over and sat with us. "You don't mind do you?" the woman who was younger than me but older than Ev asked. "Not at all," I said "So are you two going or or coming off shift?" I asked. "We are on for the day. It's quiet enough for us to have breakfast for a change. Usually this time of the morning people are waking up to find out they are sick." she said. "Or that their wife is dead." "Ah okay," I said not really understanding. "So, Ms Stone what are you up to today?' Ev asked. "I'm Maxine, and I'm headed out to walk at the mall. Then the rest of the day is just a 'wing it' kind of day." I replied. "Maxine, I think we met once after you got stabbed in Kaplin's parking lot?" she said. "Well I did get stabbed there, but I don't remember you," I admitted. "Yeah, I guess met was the wrong term. I took you to the hospital that day," she informed me. "Then I should say thank you. I expect your saved my life," I replied. "Who knows. You probably would have walked the mile and a half, if we hadn't gotten there first." she said laughing. "I'm not that tough, that would have been my friend Gunny," I said. "You could have fooled me. All that crap it made into the papers and I expect to see it on TV." she said. "Since the TV guy was filming us the whole time." "Well it might be on there, I have no control over what those clowns do." I admitted. After I finished my meal, I walked out with the two of them. I left them at the big yellow Ford truck, as I got in my car and headed to the Mall. At the mall a lot of my old walking buddies passed me as usual. I alway smiled and said good morning as they went by. It cost me nothing to be polite, and someday it might pay off, I thought. I missed Tiny Dancer, so I must have been early. I was halfway through my four laps when I heard Jame's voice behind me. "I see you don't walk so fast with the bad leg," he said being honest if not tactful in his observation. "No, I don't walk fast at the mall, but I can keep up when I have to," I said. "So I hear," he replied as he passed me and just kept going at a pace I wouldn't even attempt on my best day. After the walk I went to see Lucas. He was sitting behind Ed's old desk. It was much fancier then either of the other two desks in his office. "Well Lucas you seem to have gained a pound or two. The bail business must agree with you?" "It agrees with my bank account, but it is so boring. I have been out to bring a couple of the yahoo's home, but even that is a bore." He paused a moment then asked, "So what can I do for you?" "Not a thing for a change. I just came by to see if you need anything, since you agreed to take on Julie," I said. "I haven't even met her yet," he informed me. "She should be here at any moment." "Well let me know if she gives you any trouble," I said. "If she gives me any trouble, Helen said I could just spank her little ass," he said smiling. "Lucas, if she is anything like Cheryl, you would be wearing a shank as a belt buckle, if you tried," we both laughed. "So when is she going to start?" "Monday, so I got time to up my insurance," he said smiling at me. "I hear you came into some real money this time." "Not really, it's probably enough for a down payment on a funeral though," I said. "Good, cause this shit is going to catch up with you one day," he said. I just laughed as I said goodbye. then I headed for home. I had a couple of hours to kill so I spent it banging around the Internet. I made a call from the phone by my computer to be sure the bike was ready at noon. "Yes Ms. Stone, we have your bike ready to go," The middle aged lady informed me. "Okay, I'll be over to pick it up in just a minute or two." I spent a few more minutes taking a second shower. The second one was to clean my body and wash my thin hair before I went for my bike. No I wasn't fixing up for the blond kid. I parked the maroon Cruiser, with the bike rack, outside the bike shop and walked in. The woman was alone in the shop. She explained that Blondie was making a pickup. He said that the bike was ready to go according to her. So I paid her the almost two hundred bucks. When she rolled it out I was a little surprised. The motor looked even larger on the bike than it had on the shelf. The motor was locked in the lift position. so that it could be rolled around easily. I checked the drop lever which would lower the motor onto the wheel. It seemed to work effortlessly as I would have expected it to do. I lifted it and that worked perfectly as well. Then I rolled the bike onto the sidewalk out front and started the engine. I revved it up a couple of times and it roared just as it should have. Then it revved up on it's own and stopped. A sure sign it was out of gas. The woman had been watching from the doorway. "So do you have any premix?" I asked. "Sure you need about a quart and it's $2.50 to fill it up." she said. "Fine do it then," I replied. She came out with a gas can and filled the small plastic tank on top of the motor. It held more than my last bike's motor had. "I'm going to test ride it," I said as I put the Gunny's bike helmet on. I got the bike up to about twenty five miles per hour when the lights just went out for me. "What is your name," the voice asked me. "Stone, Maxine Stone," I replied. Then it was dark again. "Get that cervical collar on her. Now get her on the back board." I wasn't sure whether I heard it or dreamed it. "Shit we just had breakfast with her." Then I saw the top of a truck from the inside before the lights went out again. "Maxine what day of the week is it," a different woman's voice asked. "I have no fucking idea," I replied "No wait, its the day they pick up trash downtown. That would make it Wednesday." "Who is the president of the United States.?" the voice asked. "Some fucking Socialist," I replied before I drifted off to sleep. "I need you to hold very still," a different man said. "Shit it's cold in here," I demanded. "Yeah we keep it cold for the machine. Just hang on a second." He stepped out of the room then came back. "Lady what happened to you?" "I have no idea," I replied honestly. "Well you have six broken ribs and a broken collar bone," he said. "Then I hope you have some good dope in this place," I replied. "Didn't you know, we have the best dope here," he said with a laugh. Then the lights went out again. "Maxine can you hear me?" another woman's voice asked. "Where are all those good looking male doctors I see on TV?" I asked. "Sorry, I can get you one tomorrow, but right now you got me. I'm the PA." the woman said. "Okay PA, what's happening?" I asked. "You were brought in by ambulance. Do you remember that?" she asked. "Some of it, I think. What happened?" I asked. "Where you riding a motorcycle?' she asked. "No, I was riding a Motorized Bicycle, did I get hit by a car?" I asked. "No, it looks like you just fell off," she said. "Is there anyone I can call?" "In my wallet there is the card for a lawyer call her," I demanded. "She can take care of all the details." As an after thought I said, "I'm not planning to sue. She is an old friend." "You have six broken ribs, a broken collar bone, that is going to need surgery, and a detached lung that probably won't need surgery." "So what's the bad news?" I asked with a drug induced laugh. "Your insurance won't cover this," she said with a laugh of her own. "Oh I should not be joking with you." "Why not, I'm still alive, so it's a good day." I said. "You aren't going to think so when you try to move," the assistant doc said... "Sure I am, I might be calling everyone names, but I will still be happy to be alive," I said. So when can I go home?" "Not today for sure," she said. We are going to knock you out for a while. Just to let you rest, then we will decide when to start putting you back together." I drifted off to sleep again. "On a scale of 1 to 10 how bad is your pain, " a nurse asked. I looked around before I answered. I was in a different place with different bags hanging beside me. "Before you woke me up none, when I don't move it's fine, but when I so much as blink my eyes, its a ten for sure." I replied. "I need to pee. "No you don't, you have a catheter. All you need to do is rest." she said. I really wanted to believe her. I wondered how long it would be, before there was a line of killers outside my door. "Did anyone call my friend Jennifer?" I asked. "Yes, she said to tell you not to worry, everything was being taken care of, whatever that means," the nurse said. "It means, I'm going back to sleep now," and I did. I had no idea what was going on outside my body, but I knew my body was a mess. While I was sleeping Jennifer was scrambling on more than one front. I slept easy knowing Jennifer was looking out for me. I wasn't sure who would be standing guard over me, but I knew someone would. Jen was no killer but she sure as hell knew some by that time. ------- Chapter 247: More of the Same I woke up again with someone poking me. I didn't have much pain until I tried to change my position in the bed. When I did, I wanted to cry. No one knows how many times they move in their sleep, until there is something to point it out to them. Heavy duty pain is one of those things that make it very clear. "How you doing sweetie," the only moderately over weight nurse asked. "I'm hangin' in there. How you doing today?" I asked even though I did not give a crap. "I'm good," she answered. I had no idea what day it was, nor did I care. I just wanted to go back to sleep, so I did. That little scene repeated itself half a dozen times, before I managed to stay awake for more than a minute or two. When I finally was able to stay awake, it was because there was food in front of me. I ate about two bites of the pudding, then decided that lifting the fork even with my good arm hurt too much. I then shut my eyes and drifted back into the arms of Morphis. All that nothingness was followed by even more of the same. People were waking me up to be sure I hadn't died in my sleep, I suppose. I was at the point I would have been thrilled with a coma, just to have them leave me the fuck alone. It was after several other wake ups that I found Jennifer standing over my bed. "Maxine how are you feeling?" "Honey, I got six broke ribs, a broken and separated collar bone, and a detached lung, other than that I feel just fine. I hurt like shit, how do you think I feel?" I did manage a laugh. "Yeah, other that that Miss Lincoln how was your evening out?" she said grinning. "Did you bring me a pistol?" I asked. "Hell no, they would have a shit fit, and I'm a lawyer for god's sake." she said smiling. "Now, you are going to play the lawyer card on me?" I asked getting just a tad pissed. "I did better than a pistol, I brought you James." she said. "They are not going to let him in with a gun anymore than they are you," I said. "Come on Max, you know damn well he doesn't need a pistol. He is like you. He will just rip out their jugular vein with his teeth. Don't let that balding head fool you." she said. "Okay, I know he will take care of me. So send him in, when you leave but I'm going to sleep most of the time. I am not going to entertain him." I said. "Duh, you have been asleep since the accident yesterday," she said. "You mean it's only been one day?" I asked not believing I could have been in and out that many time in one day. "Not even a full day yet," she said. "Seriously sweetie, the Doctor who is with the hospital said it is going to get worse pain wise." "That is so fucking comforting," I said. "They don't want you moving around too much just yet, but when that lung is stable sometime today, they are going to want you to get out of that bed. You can't heal properly unless you move around some. I know it hurts like hell, but it's what you are going to have to do." "Jennifer when did you become an expert on my pain," I said. "Honey, the doctor is worried. You have a huge amount of skeletal damage. He isn't worried about more damage, just whether you can manage the pain. I told him it was doable for you, but he just sees a skinny middle aged bitch. He don't know you." she said. "Well tell him this ain't my first rodeo," I said getting seriously pissed. "Call that nurse in here." "Don't do anything stupid Maxine," she said. "Everything I do is stupid," I replied. Jen went outside and came back with the nurse. "I want this catheter out of me. Then I want to go take a real piss." "I'll have to check with the doctor," the nurse said. "You check with anybody you want, but you take this thing out in the next fifteen minutes, or I will pull it out myself. It can't be that hard." When I looked over at Jen she was grinning. "What?" I asked. "Good to see you back," she said. "I know it must hurt like a bitch, but you are the bitch to make work for you." "Shut the fuck up Jen," I said. "Get me something to defend myself with. I don't care if its a bed spring shank." "I'll call Cheryl," she said. "You mean you have called everyone who knows me. Call them all and tell them that it's time to pay up for those favors." I said. Of course I was exhausted before the nurse came back to remove the catheter. Jen left the room for it and I fell sound asleep. When next I awoke, James was sitting in the one comfortable chair reading a book. "Hey cowboy," I said. "Well hello there little lady. How you doing?" he said. "I'm going to be okay, just took a while to get past feeling sorry for myself. Do you have something for me?" I asked. "Not just yet," he said. "You ain't ready to take care of a piece yet. You will fall asleep and let these straights find it, then we will all be truly fucked. Besides the boys on the farm called Jennifer. They are sending you a package. It should be here by morning," He said with a grin. "How did they know?" I asked. "They think they know everything. but in this case I called the admiral to tell him I was staying a couple of extra days, and why. He said not to worry. I expect he called one of the spooks," James said. "I wonder how close those guys are?" I asked wincing in pain as I tried to rearrange myself in the bed. "I'm not sure they even know the answer to that. Anyway, they are sending you a package probably a stinger missile. They do believe in overkill." "Yeah," I said. The nurse must have heard us talking because she came into the room. "So. so you want to try to make it to the bathroom?" she asked. "Sure why not," I replied torquing my jaws for the inevitable pain. I got one leg off the bed and the pain was so bad I wanted to throw up. "Cocksucker that hurts," I was almost in tears as I said it. The bathroom was close enough so that I could reach the door with my good hand. I pulled myself up from the bed. Then said, "Fuck," in a voice loud enough to be heard outside the room. I managed to let the pain find a place in my brain where it wouldn't eat it up completely. I had to stand holding onto the door for a few seconds to adjust to it. To James' credit, it totally ignored me. The nurse was in the 'nurse wants to help mode' and all I wanted was to be left alone with the pain. I sat on the toilet and it hurt going down, I could only image what was in store for me, when I tried to stand. It was pure agony but I let it wash over me and managed to cope with it. Of course the morphine was helping some, but not nearly enough. I made it back to bed and James had to know what agony I was in. He showed no sympathy at all. It was probably a good thing. Being soft, and being me at the same time was pretty much impossible. I woke up two more times in some real pain, because I had tried to turn in my sleep. Each time James just stared at me. He never said a word, it wasn't his job to be my nurse. It was his job to be sure the people who came into the room knew, that if they fucked with me, he would kill them in the most painful way possible in the amount of time he would have. You had to love the guy for that. "So when you gonna' close on the stable?' I asked during one of my few lucid moments. "Next Friday," he replied. "What day is it now," I asked. "It's still Thursday. You are in and out so many times a day, that you probably lost track of the days." he said. "I have, some doctor or nurse wakes me up and I think it's a new day," I replied. "Well you are quite the hit around here. I hear them talking in the hall. They were out there this morning trying to guess what caused all the scars on your body," James said. "Good thing they can't see the scars on my soul," I suggested. "You and me both honey," he said. I knew his soul was more scared than mine. At least I knew who I was killing, and that they deserved to die. James was probably a lot like Anya, I thought. "Are you really ready to retire?" I asked. "Go back to sleep Maxine, we don't need to be ass hole buddies for me to keep you alive. It's a job." he said. "Oh who is paying you?" I asked. "It's a one day barter thing. I keep you alive 24 hours and Jen prepares my deed and court registrations free." he said. "You got the better end of that deal," I said. "Depend on which one of your enemies comes calling," James said. "Now go to sleep or I might kill you myself." "Maxine can you get into a wheel chair for me?" A somewhat younger nurse asked. "Oh are we going our for a drink?" I asked, "Otherwise I'm not sure I want to do that. It hurts like a mother to move around." "Well, we need a picture of your collar bone," she said. "The orthopedic surgeon wants to evaluate you this afternoon." "Any chance I can order some Christmas cards of it," I asked. "Who knows, we can always ask," she said smiling. "James you gonna wait here or you going to walk with us," I asked after I was sitting on the side of the bed. "I'm going to tag along," he answered. The nurse helped me into the chair. Her help was no more than guiding me to it. I ached for a few seconds but it passed. The ride down was pretty much okay until the nurse rolled the chair onto the elevator. The bump was maddeningly painful. "Ms. Stone, I need you to stand for me please with you back right here," the male x-ray technician said. He guided me to the wall. I knew better than to make any sexual jokes since everybody was afraid of being sued for sexual shit. It was a shame because he had nice warm hands. "Thank you Ms Stone," he said. "Thank you sir you were very professional damn it," I said with a weak leer. Back in the room I painfully fell into the bed, then just passed out from pure exhaustion. I was on the edge of falling asleep, when I heard James on the phone, "Yes she is fine. I know it's a big deal, don't worry, I'll take care of her. I drifted off to sleep not at all sure I would wake up. James's remarks were harmless, but by the same token, I never could tell my friends from my enemies, and no one ever seemed to have a program. ------- Chapter 248: Suddenly It All Makes Sense I had lost all sense of time. Time to me was just one period of sleep, followed my short periods of wakefulness, punctuated by lot and lots of pain. Then I would slip back into blessed sleep. One of the times t got woke me up, it was by a person in a set of white scrubs. He asked "Are you Maxine Stone?" "If this is her room, I guess I am. I sure as hell ain't been playing musical beds," I said only about half away. Just awake enough to be a smart ass it seemed. "Just making sure hon, I don't want to send the wrong evil bitch to hell." the person in white whispered. It was at that moment that I knew I was about to be very dead. "Besides the old men wanted you to know it was coming." All of a sudden the person in scrubs began to shiver. I knew the signs well. I could only hope that what was about to happen, wouldn't happen. It didn't help the person in white collapsed across my broken body. I wanted to scream in pain, but I also wanted James to have a chance to take care of the mess. "Who the fuck is this," I asked him as he stood. The person had obviously thought James was sound asleep. "How would I know? It wasn't me he was trying to kill," James said. "He is obviously an amateur. Giving you a warning like that is strictly bush league." "It's nice of you to give a critique of his technique but, what are we going to do with him?" I asked it as I watched James remove the leads to his tazer. "Your call, we could do a catch and release. If we do anything else, they will probably change your status here to prisoner. I have no idea what that means in this berg," he said. "I can't ask you to kill him, and I obviously can't do it." We had waited long enough so that it was a moot point. The nurse came rushing in. "What is going on," she asked. "I think you would agree that we have a situation. You probably want to call your security team." James said. "Did I miss something, am I scheduled for surgery this morning." I could see out the tiny window that it was dark outside. "Yes first thing, they are going to repair that collar bone. Put a plate in to hold it in place while it heals." the nurse said. "You probably forgot, but you signed a release last night." "So James. is our new friend secure?" I asked. "As secure as a bundle of wires," he said showing me the plastic wire tie. "Too bad I don't have time to chat with him." Just as those words left his mouth, the hospital's security guard came in. "Holy shit, they told me you were here sir, but I didn't think it was possible for anything to happen here," he said. "Do you want to go back to checking doors and let me handle this, or do you want to call the cops," James asked in that dead cold voice of his. "Don't worry sir, the police are on the way," he said. "I wasn't worried," James said. "Neither was I," I added even though no one seemed to care what I thought. When the officers came, James and I told our stories. They searched the man, who had not said a word up to that point. In his pocket they found a syringe filled with something nasty I'm sure. "Lawyer," the man the scrubs said. I looked at him, then I looked a James. I turned to the officer and said, "I think it might have all been a mistake. Why don't we just forget the whole thing and all go out own way." James looked at the man then said, "Hell. I'll even give you a ride home." He still didn't change expressions. "I changed my mind, no lawyer just get me out of here," he said. "Good choice," I agreed. After the cops had gone and before the nurse put more dope in my IV James said, "Eastern European, those Russians have long memories." "Not a priority at the moment. Wake Jennifer up and get her the fuck over here," I said as I drifted off to sleep again. "Max you wanted to see me?" she said waking me from a dreamless and painless sleep. "Get in touch with Vlad. Tell him he owes me and it's time to pay up. Then explain what happened." I suggested half asleep. "Okay, by the way I am your power of attorney so they called me to ask what to do with the bike." Jen said. "Who called you?" I asked. "The office girl at the Wilcox Towing and Storage yard out at West End. The cops had your bike towed and he got the call. So what do we do with it." "How bad is it?" I asked "According to the old man who runs the storage yard, it is scratched up some and at least one of the wheels is bent. The handlebars are in tact but they are scratched up. He says the frame is scraped up some but it looks okay otherwise. The biggest problem seems to be that the engine is locked up," she informed me. "You are kidding me, the reason I was on that bike was to test the new engine the Preacher's bike shop installed. As a matter of fact my cruiser is parked in their parking lot," I informed her. "Shit, don't tell me I'm going to have to sue God," Jennifer said with a grin. "Don't worry about that now, get the message to Vlad right now," I said. "Well I am going to talk to the preacher today regardless of anything else we do," she informed me. "Jennifer, I can afford this hospital bill, and I will not take money from the homeless and elderly," I said. "Honey, listen to me. That is a business he runs. That and all that construction company does for you. All those companies have to be insured to get licenses. It isn't money from the homeless or elderly, it is money from some fat cat insurance company." "The best insurance you can get for me is to contact Vlad," I said again. "I can do both," she said. "The cops will bust someone for giving the order to do this." "Yeah, somebody about three men down the chain. Vlad will send a message for me, where it will do some good." I looked over to James who still hadn't changed expressions. When I looked back at her, I noticed how Jen was dress for the first time. She was in a running suit, which I'm sure cost more than all the clothes in my closet. "Since when did you start running?" I asked changing the subject. "You know I don't run, it's too dangerous out there, but I do belong to the YMCA's cardio gym," she said. "How many times have you been there?" I asked. "Well I went the day I joined. I am going to start using it more," she said. then she turned her attention to James. "I'm going to get someone to relieve you, when I get to the office." "Not a problem, I can wait for the package," he said. "My God James, you aren't getting crush on Maxine are you?" Jennifer said. "No, but she did talk to that yahoo Eddie for me. I kind of owe her," he said. "Well I'll have Helen send you two some breakfast." Jennifer said. The nurse I recognized came in with two people in scrubs. "Maxine, I know these people. They are going to take you down to surgery. It's alright." "Where the fuck is Doris Day when you need her," I asked smiling. "Huh," the nurse said. "Whatever will be, will be," Jen said. When the nurse still didn't get it, she added "It's a song but never mind." She turned her attention to me. "I love you Maxine and if you die in there, I will kill you." "It's a patch job, even a carpenter could do in his sleep," I suggested. "It ain't brain surgery." "I would feel better, if it were. They couldn't do much more damage to that." Jen said with a smile. When I got to surgery I was still awake. A couple of people slid me from the gurney to the table and it hurt like hell. "You guys do know that if you had long blond hair and wore thigh high black boots, and a swastika, you could make a lot more money for causing this much pain." I heard a chuckle from a woman behind a mask. "You mean we can get paid for the things we do after work for fun now?" she asked. "I do indeed," I said. "Sweetie, you aren't going to feel a thing in about thirty seconds," she said. "God I already love you," I said smiling. The next thing I remember someone was calling, "Maxine, Maxine how you feeling?" "Thirsty," I said. "I can't give you water I'm sorry. I can give you a wet cloth, so that you can moisten your lips," she suggested. I never got it, I fell asleep first. "Maxine, Maxine, are you awake?" a voice asked. "I am now," I replied in a slurred manner. "Do you recognize me?" the voice asked. "Eve, is that you?" I asked. "Of course it is Maxine. You should have known I wouldn't leave you in danger." she said. Even in my drugged state I knew that if she was trying to act all human on me, we were not alone. "I'm glad to see you," I admitted. "I'm sure you are," she said very logically and very unemotional. I realized it was something James, Eve, and I shared. In Eve's case she probably didn't know that she was soul dead, but James and I knew that we were. "Now you need to authorize your friend Jennifer to allow me use of the downtown house," Eve said getting right down to business. Then without missing a beat, she changed the subject. "I understand there was an incident this morning. Do I need to talk to the hospital security people?" "No it won't do any good. Just keep an eye out. Why do you need to use the Downtown House?" I asked. "I need to make sure there are no surprises," she said matter of factually. "Good point, You can review the cams from there," I suggested. "You can be so naive," she said. "I could plant a bomb in there, cameras or not, and you would never know. It is just a matter of it not looking like a bomb, or the person leaving it not looking like a bomber." "The kid who throws a McDonald's bag in the trash near my house. I know what to look for." I demanded. "Of course you do," she said in a patronizing voice. Her interaction with me was too smooth that morning. Sometimes she was wooden and sometimes she was much more spontaneous. Then in spite of the drug haze, or maybe because of it, or maybe it was the intense pain that sharpened my sense, whatever it was I finally got it. I understood how Eve worked. She seemed to have multiple personalities, because she did. She was two people at the very least. Eve was a super predator drone. Some real live person, in real time, pulled her strings when they were in contact. If they lost contact with her, she went onto her built in programs. It was the only reasonable explanation for how she worked so well. She could fake human because she was being controlled by humans. When they lost control she would revert to being a wooden robot until they could re establish contact. It was brilliant just fucking brilliant. Say you need a soldier to walk into an ambush, and to react instantly and with a seals experience and instincts, then you just put a retired seal behind the controls. If she needed to give a blow job to a general, bring in a two dollar hooker off the street. Okay, that was a bit dramatic, but it had to be how Eve worked. The question then was, do I let them know that I know. ------- Chapter 249: Messages Not on Voice Mail Friday was lost in a battle between the morphine drip and the blinding pain when I moved. The morphine kept me asleep most of the day. First thing Saturday morning things changed. "Maxine, how are you doing," the nurse asked. "Honey, I have slept enough. Cut back on the drugs please," I said it seriously. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I am positive. I need to get more with it, and I need to start now." I informed her. "Let me make a call and see what I can do," she said. "Do it now because in fifteen minutes, I am going to remove the IV myself," I explained simply. "You know you really are the world's worst patient," Eve said. "I can deal with the pain, now that the bone in my shoulder isn't sliding around, and trying to punch through the skin." I explained to her. "Plus this sling helps as well." "Okay Maxine, the doctor said to start you on Vicodin. If you tolerate it well, then it will be your exit med." she said smiling. "Does that mean I'm going home soon?" I asked. "Only your doctor can decide that, but asking to get off the morphine drip was a good move," she informed me. I fought like hell to stay awake, but eventually I gave into the drowsiness. When I next woke nobody was poking me. I just woke up naturally for the first time since I fell off the bike. "So how you feeling Maxine?" Eve asked. "I feel much better, what time is it?" I asked. "11AM, " she answered. "Is it still Saturday?" I asked. "Yes, still Saturday. I have orders to call Jen the moment you wake up. She said that it was important. Do you feel up to a visit?" she asked. "Sure, I feel pretty good now that I have drank two glasses of water. I'm ready to eat as well." I suggested. "Good that is the other call I am supposed to make. Your friend Helen called, she wants to bring food," Eve said. "Oh hell the room is going to become a deli when Helen gets here. When you call ask her to bring some decent coffee, and enough food for the nurses and put it on my tab." I said. "You have a tab, that is not like you Maxine," Eve said. "I usually eat at her restaurant, but if she does anything extra like this, or feeds people from out of town, she puts in on a tab for me. I pay her, when I see her. I'm not sure that I have any cash here. Seems to me that Jennifer took it home with her." Eve nodded. I noticed that she had been filing her nails every time I woke up. Of course with my mind drug free, I realized that her nails didn't grow. "What's the nail file all about?" I asked. With a blindingly fast motion, she threw the file like a samurai warrior would throw a star. The nail file buried itself in the drywall across from her. "Shit, you know I'm going to have to pay for that?" "Oh Maxine, Jennifer is not going to let you pay for any of this. I can tell she is scheming as you lay there suffering. She loves to work out these kinds of problems." Eve said. "You do know her for sure," I agreed. "She is easy to read, and fun to have around," Eve said. "Yeah, I think so to," I said in agreement. Helen arrived first with half a dozen brown bags, a cake box full of brownies, and a plastic bucket of coffee. "What have you done to yourself now. Maxine, worrying about you and Julie is going to make me old before my time," she said. "Helen, you are never going to get old. Speaking of old how is Skeeter doing?" I asked. "Honey, I am afraid we are going to lose her soon." Tears welled up in Helen's eyes. "She has arthritis in her rear hips now." I had a feeling Helen was looking for permission to do something distasteful for us both. "Helen don't let her suffer past her time. Sometimes it's the most loving thing to do. If you want, I'll come help you with it." I suggested. "We can handle it, but thanks for understanding," she said. After she had gone Eve asked, "What was that all about?" "It was about a old stray dog," I replied in a shaky voice. "Oh okay," Eve said obviously not understanding at all. The creator was on coffee break, no doubt, so Eve was probably back on her own programing. "Would you please take out a dozen of those brownies. Then take the rest, along with all but one of the bags, out to the nurses. Then come back and take the coffee out as well, but tell them I want a cup. If they have time to microwave it for me fine if not would you microwave a cup for me please.?" The hamburger on a fancy bakery bun was delicious. I ate it and drank a coke. I also had a small paper bag of Helen's home made potato chips. When I finished it was the best I had felt, since I pulled into the bike shop's parking lot. When I finished my lunch, there was a big cup of coffee waiting for me. I drank it and felt even better. I was still doped and I still hurt when I moved, so I didn't move much. Instead I just enjoyed the coffee and brownie. Yes I had a brownie. "I feel sorry for you," I said to Eve. "You have no idea what a treat this is." "I can imagine, but no I have no idea," she said. I couldn't tell if the creator was back or not. I was half through my second cup of coffee when Jennifer came into the room. "Hey girl," she said to me. "Neither one of us has been a girl for twenty years," I said. "So did you find Vlad?" "Yes and you owe me ten grand. I didn't want to go into your account for the money. I'm a little surprised that he asked you for money, all things considered," Jen said. "All he seems to have done is hire someone, to do something to get their attention." "He just risked his life, I would never ask him to pay for the privilege, " I informed her. "Write yourself a check anyway you want, and I'll sign off on it." I had no idea what Vlad would do but I knew with the economy being what it was in the old Soviet Union, for 10k it should be something spectacular. "There is another message I have for you," Jen said. "And what is that?" I asked. "The admiral's people made contact, with some less that gentlemen from the People, who are over the people, who most likely sent the assassin. He told them that they were lucky no one on your side died. But that it was a violation of the open city agreement. There had to be a sanction, and he was sure there would be." Jen seemed not to really understand it. "He asked me to be sure you knew exactly what he had said." "I understand, it seems Aster is about to get some more new residents like Ruth and James." I said. "Can the town stand that?" Jennifer asked. "The town has no choice. For some reason, everyone has decided that Aster is an open city. So nobody does any business of any kind here. This is about to be the most peaceful town in the country." I said. "You don't mind if I stay around just to be sure, do you," Eve asked. "Not at all, I'm counting on it. I am also not going to stop carrying a firearm," I said. "So Jennifer what is the latest on the West End Bike Shop?" I expected her to say 'act of god' prepare to be drilled by the doctors and hospital. "I had a friend of yours go talk to Blondy and the middle aged lady," Jennifer informed me. "Oh what friend?" I asked. "Lucas, of course. He wants to be you so badly he almost begged me to let him help." "He is just bored," I explained. Whatever, he called the storage lot and had the bike dropped off at the Harley motorcycle shop. They tore the motor down and told Lucas the gas was wrong. Your friendly bike shop put plain gas into the tank. The motor got hot and seized. When it seized, it locked the back wheel and threw your skinny ass in the road. First Blondy tried to deny they had put gas in the engine at all, but I had the receipt from your personal effects. So Lucas called me before he left the shop. I told him that the receipt stated that you had paid for one Quart of Premix. The middle aged chick finally admitted that she put the wrong gas in the motor. You ordered premix, she charged you for premix, you had no reason to doubt that there was premix in your tank, ergo the preacher's insurance is going to have to pay. I called them yesterday and opened a claim file." "You love this shit don't you?" I asked. "It's time one or both of us fucked the Preacher in the ass. Fair is fair," she said with a nasty laugh. I'm going home and telling everyone you are able to have visitors at last." "If you do that, I will kick you ass when I get out of here," I said sharply. "And I'm going to tell them all to bring flowers," she said it giggling like a school girl. Eve didn't get it of course. Anyone else would have known just from my look that Jen had sealed her own fate, if she indeed did that. Well I have places to go and calls to make," she said. Then added, "I did tell Eddie that you were in the hospital. He was so upset at the closing, since you didn't return his calls." Jennifer left on that low note, and I fell asleep exhausted but also peaceful for a change. Eve was watching over me, so I had no worries. It was nice to sleep without the Morphine dreams. I had always had nightmare when I was taking morphine, but I could never remember them. I sensed someone was in the room, I think, either that or Eve did something to wake me. Either way it was Julie and Lucas standing at the foot of my bed. "Don't you two make the cutest couple," I said. "Hardly," Julie said. "He is old." She did laugh. "She is just so damn young," Lucas said. "So Maxine, I see you are finally awake." "Yes and I can actually stay awake long enough to carry on a conversation. So how is business? I ask, because I might need a job for a while." I did laugh. "I was going to ask you for a job." Lucas said. "So is Jen going to sue the bike shop?" "You know her. Jen will sue you at the drop of a hat, and she carries her own hat." I said. "Yeah, seriously are you going to be looking for a new gig?' Lucas asked. "Not a chance, I am going to be resting for a couple of months at least. Then who knows." "Helen said you were looking at the old railroad hotel. Are you thinking about renovating it?" Julie asked. "I was, now I'm not so sure," I said. "I think you should do a Maxine's Cafe American. You can have gambling on the second floor and hookers on the top." Lucas suggested. I saw the look on Julie's face when he said hookers. I didn't comment on it. "I was thinking a venue for wedding receptions and the like. Up stairs four luxury condo units." "That's a great idea," Julie said. "I would sure like to decorate it for you." "I think I will have Eve do the decorating," I said. Since the small talk came to a dead end, I said, "I'm sorry guys, but I'm still tired. Thanks for coming, but I need a nap." I was surprised that it wasn't a lie. I fell asleep again as soon as they left. ------- Chapter 250: Home Again Saturday pretty much passed like the other days since the accident. I was awake more of the day, but I still drifted in and out all day. The nurses brought me cup after cup of Helen's coffee. The biggest problem with the coffee was that I had to go to the bathroom more often. Getting in and out of bed was a real nightmare. First of all the pain was unbelievable. Even though it was only a few feet to the bathroom, it was still a nightmare. Fortunately the bed had enough controls, so that I could lower it to get off of it. I was also able to raise it when it was time to get back into it. Eve helped me in and out of the bed as well. It was extremely painful to move even slightly, you can imagine just how maddening the pain was when I tried to raise and lower myself. Even with all the pain, Saturday passed with only a few thoughts of suicide. I was even able to slept more or less all night. When I awoke Sunday morning there was no light coming through the windows, but it was almost 8AM. The day was dark and rainy. It was fitting that I should be discharged on such a bleak day. After I managed a morning trip to th bathroom, I said, "Eve would you ask the nurse to come in please." "Sure Maxine, can I do anything else for you?" she asked. "Do you have a driver's license?" I asked. "No, the creator didn't want to risk me being in a traffic accident. There would be far too many questions," she informed me. I simple nodded. She returned in a few minutes with a nurse. "Yes Maxine, what can I do for you?" the slightly over weight, red haired nurse asked. The nurses in the Aster Medical Center were almost all a few pounds over weight, it seemed. At times it as though they were cookie cutter images of one another. "I need to see the doctor." I stated flatly. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked in a concerned voice. "No, I'm ready to go home and only a doctor can discharge me," I said logically. "Well, I'll make a note to have the doctor come in to see you," she said. "I would hope that the doctor would come to see me without being told to. What I want is for you to find someone to come see me this morning. I would like to have lunch in my own home." I smiled. Even so i'm sure that she got the idea, if I didn't see a doctor soon I was not going to be a happy patient. Eve smiled at the discomfort that I had caused the nurse. "Sweetie, I know that you don't have the authority to just summon a doctor here for every patient that wants to see one. but I really want to see a doctor this morning. I also have the meanest bitch of an attorney in the world. That isn't a threat, it's just a heads up." I did smile when I said it to lighten the impact. "Are you sure that you are ready to go home," the nurse asked. "Sweetie, all I'm doing here is sleeping and going to the bathroom. You can use this space for someone who needs care," I said. "Well, you need to find a ride home," she said. "You certainly are not safe to drive." "I think we can agree on that," I said with a smile. I made the call from my cell phone. "Jen it's me Max," I said. "I know, what in the world do you want at eight in the morning on a Sunday?" she asked. "I want you to come down here and spring me," I demanded. "Do the doctor's know you are planning an escape?" she asked. "I'm trying to tell them now," I admitted. "Maxine have you even walked around yet?" she asked. "No, Jennifer but trust me I can walk around my place just as well as I can walk around here." I thought it was a perfectly obvious bit of logic. "Why don't you consult with the doctor first, then we can decide," she suggested. "Because I have already decided. Now get your lazy butt down here and let's raise some hell to get me out of here," I suggested. "You truly are an evil bitch, but okay. Give me a couple of hours to finish what I am doing now," she said. "Oh and what is that at 8AM on a Sunday morning, or should I ask who it is?" I said with a half ass laugh. As an after thought I said, "Bring me something to wear." "What you don't want to wear a hospital gown home?" she asked. It was 10:15 before Jen finally showed up. "It took you long enough," I said "Hey bitch, play nice or I will leave your ass here," she suggested. "Has the doctor been in yet?" "No and I'm ready to leave so what do we do?" I asked. "We don't do anything, I bully them into submission," she said. With that she walked out to the Nurse's station. Eve said, "You really are an evil bitch. You can hardly get out of bed, but you are making waves." "I'm not that stupid. I am off the morphine. If I don't move around, I can control the pain with some over the counter stuff. Trust me I know my limits," I explained to her. Jen had stopped by my place for clothes. She had thought far enough ahead to get a running suit with an elastic waist band. It also had a sweatshirt that was over sized. Eve helped me work myself into it. "Okay we need to go down and sign about a dozen forms, but then we can leave. They are bringing you a wheel chair," Jen said to me. "Let's go do it," I suggested. It took about half an hour for Jen to convince them that I was good for the money. I wanted to pay them but she said, "Absolutely not." "After you bill the insurance company, we will pay you." Then she turned to me and said. If they refuse to pay, I will bring suit to recover your money." "Fair enough," the woman in the business office replied. She seemed to recognize and trust Jennifer. I doubted that they would have done as much for me. "The drive home was a real challenge. I felt every bump in the road, but I also found a position in the car that wasn't impossible to tolerate. So fifteen minutes after we left the hospital I was walking through the front door of my Downtown house. "I'm going up to bed, you two entertain yourselves," I said it as I struggled up the stairs. It hurt like hell just to sit on the side of the bed. I had to twist so that I could lean on my uninjured side, when I lifted my legs onto the bed. I wanted to scream, but I managed to fight off the compulsion. Once I hit the bed I used two pillows to prop up my head and my damaged shoulder. I fell almost instantly asleep. I managed it ever without the heavy duty pain killers. I drifted off into the blissful world of oblivion. I awoke, but all I could manage was to brush my teeth. My hair was a limp mess, and I most likely smelled bad. I dragged myself down the stairs and then into my kitchen area. I was seriously hungry, which I hadn't been since the accident. "So what's for dinner?" I asked. "Julie came by and brought a complete meal with fancy rolls included ... Of course I don't need any, so you have all the dinner you could ever want." Eve suggested. "What is it?" I asked. "Meatloaf and mashed potatoes, it's supposed to be your favorite," Eve said. "Oh it is," I replied. "Then sit down and I'll heat it for you," she suggested. I had to admit that it was nice to have someone taking care of me for a change. As always with Helen's food it was amazing. She managed to make it taste like old time southern meatloaf but with a little extra flavor. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially with the buttery mashed potatoes and bakery rolls. After dinner I managed to stay awake long enough to watch a one hour TV show on the computer. After the show ended, I was back in bed and slept through the night. I slept through till Monday morning. When I awoke at 8AM, Eve had been awake since 6AM. "Julie stopped by at 9AM on her way to meet Lucas at his office. Eve said. She brought you a half dozen bags. I put them into the refrigerator. There is food in them for a complete day for both of us." "So what areyou going to do today?" Eve asked me after a quick pause "What I'm not going to do is spend the day sleeping. I'm going to watch some TV and maybe try to read or something. I don't think I'm ready for any serious moving around for a while." I replied. "Well maybe we can look at some surveillance tape for a friend of mine," Eve said. "What kind of tape?" I said. "A kidnapping, they would like to get your opinion on it." she informed me. "Sure, why not?" I replied. "But I'm sure as hell not in any position to help." "They know that," she said handing me her version of the smart phone. The picture on the phone was a very young and very handsome man. He was also blond like the bike shop manager. They even looked a little alike." "This one any kin to the bike shop guy?" I asked. "I doubt it. He is from Seattle Washington." Eve said. "So what does he have to do with anything?" I asked. "He was kidnapped from from our embassy in Syria," Eve informed me. "How long ago?" I asked. "Two weeks,"she replied. I shook my head in disbelief. "What makes you think he is alive?" I asked. "His body hasn't turned up. They usually do, when it's just an assassination." Eve said quietly. "Yes I suppose they do at that. They all seem to want to prove what bad asses they are. You are going to have to find out who has him and where they are holding him before you can do anything." I suggested. "Syrian rebels have him," Eve said. I knew that the creator was in control of Eve at that moment. "So why did they grab your man?" I asked. "We expected that it was to embarrass us and the Existing Syrian Government." Eve said. "So if you know who has him, why not either negotiate or rescue him?" I asked. "They won't negotiate with us, ' she informed me. So what do you plan to do? Mount a rescue operation?" I asked. "That is the plan. Actually the first plan was to recruit you, but obviously you aren't in any condition for it." "That's true, and I won't be for a month at least," I suggested. "So if you were going to do it, how would you get started?" "Collect all the information I could and work out a good cover story to get me free to move around," I admitted. "There is a compound that the rebels occupy in place called Aazzam. It's not near anything," Eve said. "Then you need to mount a rescue mission," I suggested. "The middle east is on fire. We don't know which side will wind up in charge. We want to stay on the right foot with them both." "So you are looking for some idiot, who has no affiliation with the government to go in there and bring him out?" I asked. "Exactly, someone for whom we can dream up a cover story." ------- Chapter 251: the Incedent "Eve, do the people in DC know where the hostage is being held?" I asked. "It appears they have him in the Mosque at Aazzam," Eve replied. "There is a lot of activity around it for sure." "Why not just level it?" I asked. "We want him back, preferably without losing his value to us." Eve said. "Sweetie, they better have been doing damage control since day one. My guess is he has told them things he didn't even know that he knew." I was being perfectly candid. "Syrians and all the rest of them have no problem with torture. Yes torture is crude, but it does work." "So you are telling me that this man is compromised," Eve said. "So what now." "You should have killed them all on the first day that you knew where he was being held. That is still my advice." I said. "Even if it were true that the men in charge screwed up, we still need to know what he has told the rebels," she said. "Is that worth getting more people killed. I'm telling you now, that he told them everything." I said. "If you can't bring yourself to do it, call the admiral. If the price is right he will do it." "For some reason the people in charge refuse to use the Admiral for this," she said to me. "I wonder why that is, do you know?" I asked not really expecting an answer. "It was obvious the admiral would not risk men on a futile rescque that was already too late to accomplish anything but get a broken man home. It was hardly a worthwhile endeavor. "I have no idea," she said. "So you guys are thinking, why not get Maxine to put together a team like the one she used to take down the druggie guy? You had to have asked yourself why the hell I would do that?" I suggested. "So what was the answer you gave yourselves." "For the money this time. Of course that is a moot point, since you are not physically able to do it." "You are right about that for sure. I am not up to it and I wouldn't do it, even if I were," I said in agreement. "All of the others were leaders in their own rights, so who would you suggest? Make it someone you would be willing to help with the planning. if they needed it." "Bullshit, you don't want them to know who they are working for. You want them to think I am arranging the job and doing all the planning and logistical work for it. That's why they are bringing this to me." I said angrily. "I am not going to become the next swamp thing." "It's nothing like that. The man they grabbed is the son of a very important man. We have to get him back. The rebels don't know who they have yet. If we go in full force and he has been moved, then they know their hostage is high value." "You have teams sitting in ready rooms all over the middle east. Just jam the communications to the area, then send one of those teams in quietly to kill everyone there. If the kid is gone, plant enough evidence to make it look like a different group of terrorist, or that it was their own government." "My guess is that the place is going to be hard to get to lots of desert everywhere. Sneaking up is going to be difficult." I suggested. "That is my guess. It's probably why most battles are small scale or suicide bombers. It would be hard to move a hundred men around there without the other guys knowing," Eve said as if she had experience. Which of course she didn't. "These guys are aligned with some other country, they always are, find out which. You can probably use that to your advantage." I suggested. "To be honest we had already thought about that. There are Russian advisors in the country," Even said. "You want to use Vlad and Anya?" I asked. "Yes," Eve said. "The boss wants you to arrange it." "You are talking about them never being able to go home again. I hope you know that." I said. "We are talking about a package of benefits that would keep them very happy right here," Eve said. "They won't trust us, so we need you. We need to do this right and do it right now." "I won't do it until I work it all out in my mind. If that is a problem then fuck you." I said angrily. I was agitated and my muscles were tense which caused me a hell of a lot of pain. I couldn't think clearly and I refused to risk my friends on such a stupid job. Not unless I could bring the odds down some. It was a hell of a way to start a Monday morning, in pain, and with a problem that was going to get people killed. It was just a matter of which people and how many. These guys could get papers and uniforms to designate Vlad and Anya as advisors, the trick would be to find an interpreter. "They will need an interpreter and some foot soldiers," I suggested. "Also, up to date intelligence hourly." "There is a tribe of nomads that will fight for money nothing else. They belong to no party and no alliances. We have used them before. Along with your Russians and our interpreter they will make up the force." Before she even said it, I knew who the interpreter would be. "I'm going to be leaving this afternoon," Eve informed me. "Will you be alright here alone." "I'll be just fine. Go do what you have to do and take care of my friends," I suggested. "Don't worry I will. Are you ready to set this up for us?" she asked. "Give me the deal," I demanded "We are willing to pay one million dollars US for the hostage alive. Half that for a body, if he is no longer alive when we arrive," Eve informed me. Eve looked down when she added, "I would feel better if you were going. "So would I. Now hand me the phone and I'll see if I can find Vlad." Two weeks later, I was able to get out of bed without screaming. I could walk at the mall, I could drive a car, but it still hurt when I stood from a sitting position. It just wasn't as bad as it had been, but I still knew that it hurt. After one week Jennifer came by and took me to the doctor for my One week checkup and xray. I had two more weeks to go before my next exam. I really didn't even want to go back but Jen was all hot for me to finish the course of treatment. It had to do with that claim against the preacher's insurance company. I just went along since Jen was more or less taking care of my needs. She wasn't babysitting me as Eve had done, that wasn't in her genetic make up. She did do things that didn't require her to hang around. It was almost two weeks to the day when Eve rang my doorbell. "Hi there got room for a lost soul?" she asked. "Ah sweetie come on in. There is always room for you," I found to my surprise that I really meant it. Eve was like a big old adorable puppy, when she was on the program part of her personality. She was also quite a likable lady, when the creator was in control. Either way she was fascinating to be around. "Thank you, I came to see how you had been," she explained. "I have been healing nicely to be honest. I have found very little which I can't do with one hand," I said with a small but evil laugh. "Good for you," she said. I looked at her sitting at my kitchen table and decided just to do it. "It's time we discuss the 500 pound elephant in the room." I suggested. "Then break out the peanuts," she said with a smile. "How are Vlad and Anya?" I asked. "Both were injured but it was minor. They are recovering in Sicily. Actually, they will both be along soon. They have decided to retire here." Eve was all smiles. "You are kidding me right?" I asked. "Not at all, it was Anya's idea. Vladimir just agreed to the move. Moscow was very cold this year, he said." With that Eve smiled. "So what happened?" I asked. "We met in a European style hotel in Damascus. One night there and we were off in a small military type vehicle. We were in the nomad tribe by nightfall. I interpreted for Vlad. Anya had to stay hidden under her robes." "Oh, I'm sure she loved that," I said remembering her epic battles with Blevins. "Actually she was very upset, but then you knew that." I could tell that it was the controller in control. "Yes I did," I said. "We traveled two days then attacked the mosque. We made short work of it. We found the hostage alive but not well. We rushed him back to Damascus and onto a waiting private jet." "So when was all this?" I asked. "I have been at the farm being refreshed and had my circuit responses all downloaded for analysis." she said. "So how long have you been home?" I asked it a different way. "A couple of days," she said curiosity in her voice. "And you didn't think that I would want to know what happened." If I had been talking to her program, I wouldn't have bothered. Since I was talking to the controller, it might do some good. "I suppose I didn't think. I am sorry Maxine. I will try to do better," she said. "Thank you for that," I said. I paused a few seconds then asked. "How minor were their injuries?" "Anya sprained her ankle running through the courtyard. She step on a piece of rubble and twisted it. Vlad has a knife wound in his right arm. It will be weakened some, but he should make a full recovery." "Were many men killed?" I asked. "A half dozen or so, will the bad guys be looking for our people?" I asked. "Possibly, but I don't think they have any idea you exist," she said. "That's a good thing then." I admitted. "You know, I missed you out there. Vladimir was an excellent leader, but he didn't think things though as thoroughly as you do. He stopped at the objective, which makes him an excellent field commander, but he could never be a general or an admiral," she said. "I'm not at all sure that I consider that a compliment for me. It might be for Vladimir though. Someone who says exactly what they mean every time should be respected." "Maybe, but I would rather have someone who sees what might happen after the objective. Just so that I can get home of course. Winning isn't all that great, if you are dismantled or damaged." Eve said. "Vladimir sees the prise and forgets to check it for IEDs." "Is that an expression, or was there something in particular?" I asked. "His exit plan was no more than bug out for the coast. He had no real planning in it. When we were in South America. You had the boat waiting for us when we left shore. This time when we finally got to an airport no one would sell us passage. It was a terrible mess to get out." "Why didn't you go out with the hostage?" I asked. "They refused to allow us on board, they said there was no room," Eve informed me. "I can not believe that Anya didn't throw enough people off to make room," Actually I could. Anya preferred to leave no witnesses. She would have had to kill them all, then who would fly the plane. ------- Chapter 252: the First Time "Unless there is something else I need to know, I am exhausted. I still require a lot of sleep," I informed her. "I can't think of anything you need to know other than it will be about a week and Vlad and Anya will be here. You can't do anything in such a short time so there is nothing you need to know." Eve told me, even though, as she said I had no real need to know. Jennifer had warned me that the town was going to become a retirement center for operatives, but I hadn't realized what that meant. There were going to be heavily armed men walking up and down the streets of my hometown. At anytime there could be a shootout in the street like Dodge City Kansas in the 1800s. Now that was a scary thought. "Well retired operatives showing up in town is more than I want to contemplate, so I'm going to bed. Are you coming?" I asked. "I have been waiting two weeks for this," she said with a giggle like a school girl. Once we were upstairs in the master bedroom which covered the whole second floor. I stepped into bathroom removed the frumpy outfit and took a quick shower. When I returned from the bathroom I was wearing cotton panties and a cotton tee shirt. I had slept in something similar every night for most of my life. Most of the nights by that time, since I had enough money to dress better, they were a matching color. When I was struggling, they had just been whatever I had laying around. That particular night the outfit was red. I was tired, as I always was even when taking over the counter drugs. Since I had read all the advice on the Internet, I had no plans to return to a doctor unless there was a problem. I didn't expect anything to go wrong. I was following the advice 90% anyway. I turned on my good side to sleep only to feel Eve press against me. It was the first time, so I should have been startled but I wasn't. I was pretty sure that since I had been unconscious around her several times and survived I would survive a little human contract with a machine. "Do you feel up to talking to me?" she asked. "Sure until I fall sound asleep on you. You will know by the snoring," I said with a chuckle. "Fair enough, I have been having sexual urges based on the last owner of these memories and response patterns," Eve explained. Bullshit, I thought. What I said was, "Oh really." "Yes right now it is mostly curiosity," she said. "What are you curious about?" I asked. "Surely somewhere in the depth of your borrowed memories lie the answers." What I didn't say was or maybe the answers lie in the memories of the controller. "Vaguely drifting in and out yes, but I have no idea what is real and what is phantom memory," Eve said sadly. Then she went on. "If you tell me your experiences I can search through my data files for similar things and accept those as real." I rolled over to my back. "Okay ask me what you want to know, and I'll try to be as honest as possible," I agreed. "So how old were you when you had your first orgasm?" she asked quietly. "I was eleven and I had no idea what I had done. I had an itch and I just rubbed it. The more I rubbed it the better it felt, until it happened. After that even though I had no idea what it was, I continued to do it. I have heard some women don't have orgasms until much, much later. I can't imagine why." "Wow that is much younger than average. It isn't unheard of, but not the average by any means." Eve suggested. "So, I'm only a bit of a freak," I said with a laugh. "Not at all, so how old were you when you kissed a boy seriously," she asked. "Kissed to the point I wanted to tear his clothes off first, then my own, I was thirteen and it was a school dance on a Friday night," I said. "Do you remember his name?" she asked. "Bobby, but for the life of me I can't remember his last name," I replied. When my dad drove up my panties were soaked. "Again young but not unheard of at all." Eve said. "I knew that. The other girls all talked about it as well," I suggested. "An who was your first boy?" Eve asked. "The first boy wasn't a boy at all. He was a grown man. I was fifteen and my dad was out of the country. Mom was staying drunk most of the time, so I did pretty much anything I wanted. I began hanging out in this video arcade game place. the games were not near as difficult as they are now. Mostly it was to meet boys and smoke cigarettes. I mean how many times can one play donkey kong." "So what happened?" Eve asked. "The manager was a guy in his thirties at least. He came out of his office now and then to pass out tokens and to check out the kids. He took a liking to me. I was heavier then and had a little bigger boobs. I guess I was his type. He took a month to convince me but I eventually wound up sitting on his cock, on a cheap plastic sofa in his office. He got my cherry and I bled on is khaki pants. Boy was he pissed. If he had asked, I would have told him that I was a virgin." I said. "Did you at least have an orgasm with him," Eve asked. "Not that time it hurt too much. He was big and I was new to it and tight. It just plain hurt, but I wanted to do it again, so I knocked on his office door whenever I could get into the place. I got very lucky, he was married and had a vasectomy. He did it to me a couple of times a week for several months. He promised he would leave his wife and marry me. It went on until my dad came back from wherever the hell he had been. "Why did that end it?" Eve asked. "Somebody told my dad what was going on. He had a talk with the mall manager, the owner of the arcade, and then the arcade manager. The deal was simple. They closed the arcade, or he went to the D.A. The arcade closed and the manager disappeared. When I say disappeared I mean he just vanished. "Please tell me in detail how it happened that very first time," Eve demanded. "Like I said, we had been flirting off and on for a month or more. One afternoon he asked if I would like to come back into the office. So that we couldget to know each other a little better. I was nervous, but I really did want to find out what went on back there. Some of the better looking and more popular girl went back there now and then. 'Sure, ' I said smiling up at him. He led me back to the office door. I saw him take one last look around to be sure there were no parent in the place. Then he opened the office door. He quickly guided me inside. I knew it was wrong but that made it even more exciting." "Once I was inside he pulled me to him and kissed me with a lot of tongue. As I said before he wasn't the first boy I had kissed, but he was the first man. He wasn't at all shy like the boys I had been kissing. He immediately began to massage my boob while he kissed me. I was pretty turned on by the time he guided my hand to his penis. He told me to take it out and I tried. I had no idea how his clothes were assembled so he had to help. It didn't take him long to free it. He told me to look at it and I did." "'Isn't it beautiful?' he asked." "Yes it is beautiful, I replied." "'Don't you want to kiss it honey?' he asked" "I had never done that, and I was afraid, but I knelt down like a good girl. I kissed the head of this penis." After I said that, I could feel Eve breathing deepen as she pressed against me. "He put his hands on the side of my head and held me in place while he threaded his penis into my mouth. I didn't find it uncomfortable or taste bad, but I did find the idea of it distasteful. He didn't seem to care. He worked his penis in and out my mouth for several strokes then he withdrew it. 'I'm saving this load for that tight pussy, ' he said." '"Now take off your panties, ' he demanded." "I did what he wanted. He sat on the sofa and pulled me down on top of him. I was wet but not wet enough for what he had in mind. He held his penis so that he could force it painfully into me. I fought the urge and managed not to scream, while he moved inside me. It was very painful and not pleasurable at all, but when he came in me, I felt like he had surrendered to me. Yes of course I had surrendered to him in reality, but that didn't matter." "When I got home my mother was so drunk that it didn't matter that I was naked under my skirt. She wouldn't have cared, even if she had been sober enough to figure it out." "So you went back to see him again after that?" Eve asked. "I already told you, I went back every chance I got," I admitted. "He was the one who taught me to be a cocksucker." I said. "Oh how did he do that," she asked. "The second time I went into his office he had me on my knees immediately. He said, 'I'm not going to hold your head but I want you to move just like you did when I held it. Jack me off with your mouth. I want to come deep in your mouth.' I followed his directions exactly. He even made comments while I was moving on his cock. I listened and tried to do better. Finally he flooded my mouth with hot thick semen. It coated everything, inside my mouth, my tongue, my teeth just everything." "'Did you love that?' he asked." "'I loved it, ' I said but it was a lie. I hadn't hated it was the best I could have honestly said. I almost felt like saying, is that all there is, when he lifted me onto the desk and opened my legs. He bent over and kissed my clitoris. Then he began to lick it and now and then run is tongue over my vulva. I was going mad in just a few seconds. I had never felt anything like the sensory overload. I was fifteen feeling things a lot of women never felt." "Dan and I had a lot of sex, in a lot of different ways before I finally understood I was never going to be more than a young piece of ass to him. I figure it out because he told me. He told me because my dad had a flat green sheath knife to his throat. "'Maxine, I am a married man. I am not going to ever leave my wife. I know I said I would but I never would have done it. It was all just for fun, you did have fun didn't you.' At that moment I wanted my dad to cut his throat." ------- Chapter 253: Yesterday When I Was Young So what happened after the man who deflowered you disappeared?" Eve asked. "Dad told my mom to dry out, or get out. She chose to leave us alone. Dad quit traveling out of town. He took a job working for Big Ed the bail bondsman. A couple of months later he was working for half the bondsmen on the east coast. If he went out of town when I wasn't in school, I traveled with him. If I was in school. I stayed with Jennifer and her parents over night. That's how Jen and I got to be close like sisters. That and I let her screw the same boys I did. I kind of passed on the best ones to her, and culled the assholes. I had a bit thicker skin than Jen. From my dad in those days I learned the difference between fact and fiction. I also learned that sometimes one can make fiction look like fact, and then swear to it. It's a trick that works best, when the people want to be fooled. When you take down a really bad guy, it doesn't take much to convince a fury that it was justified. The lesson my dad taught me was that people expect bad men to act badly. Just give the people what they want, and you can walk away from most anything. That's all O J Simpson's lawyers did. Protecting your freedom is really more about picking your enemies, than it is about how you fight your battles. Now young lady, I am going to bed. I have a full day tomorrow even though I have no idea what I will be doing. I watched as Eve stripped off her jeans and short sleeve sweatshirt. She had a nice thin body. Even if it was just a pile of some synthetic material it was shaped nicely. It looked as though they had pumped up her boobs during her last overhaul. They were always adding thing to her, so I shouldn't have been surprised. It looked as thought they intended for Aster to be their test track. I didn't mind, since it gave me a spare set of hands that didn't eat much. I laid in the bed and closed my eyes, when I opened them again the morning sun was shining in the front window. Since the building faced east, and since the building across the street was one story, the sun shined through my window. My windows were tinted to prevent people seeing in during the day. They also had a neat little lighting trick that caused a glare on the glass at night giving me privacy without drapes. The downtown house was very sleek an modern even if it was in a building almost a hundred years old. I was feeling much better by the time Eve returned to Aster. I had allowed enough time to pass so that I was pretty much able to do anything I wanted. I might have to do things a little differently, than I would have a month before, but still I could 'get it done', as the saying went. The first morning Eve was back in town, we went to Helen's for breakfast. Well I had breakfast Eve had coffee. "You know," she whispered, "I am beginning to enjoy coffee in the morning. The little bit of outside head in my reservoir is a rather pleasant feeling." she confided in me. "That is so uninteresting," I said with a smile to let her know i was kidding. "You should write a book for the others to read. All the little tricks you have learned." "You are being very sarcastic this morning did I disturb your memory farm last night?" she asked. "What the hell is a memory farm?" I asked. "You know, where you bury your bad memories," she said. "I have no idea what you are trying to say," She obviously was on here own program. It was getting harder to tell, when she was on her own. "Oh alright," Eve said. "Let's go to the mall and walk," I suggested. "Good the old men there like me," she said. "They are going to like you more now that you have bigger boobs," I suggested. "They aren't that much bigger. Just a little bigger than yours," she said smiling proudly. "Now that was mean," I suggested with a smile. "I know, it seems my personality donor had an evil streak," Eve said. We hustled around the mall for an hour walking and carrying on moving conversations with people as we passed. All the walkers at the mall were older and most didn't walk very fast. Most of the time I sailed around them, but I was still recovering from all my injuries so I went a bit slower than usual. Eve easily matched her gate to mine, so that we walked easily together. The hour was complete, so we headed out to the maroon cruiser with the bike rack on back. It was the cruiser I had begun with. The bike rack reminded me the Gunny. I wanted his bike back. I decided that it was the right day to get it done. So before I got into the cruiser I called Jen on the phone. I explained to her receptionist what I wanted done. So of course she switched me to a new paralegal Jen had hired, since her return from Swamp. He was black and his name was Jeff. I had met him, but it was while I was in the hospital, so i didn't have a clear memory of him. Just that he was tall and the color of coffee with a lot of cream. "Good morning Ms Stone, what can I do for you?" he asked. "Jeff, I want my bike repaired and returned to me. I don't care, if I have to pick up the pieces and take it to the speed shop, I just want it done." I said sternly. "Let me get with Jen and see what is the best thing to do about that. I will call you back just as soon as I talk to her." Jeff said. "Do it soon Jeff," I said. I turned to Eve and said, "Since we are out let's see if we can get something done on the apartment building?" I suggested. "Sounds like fun," Eve said. I dialed Diane Brewer's number, "Hello you have reached Brewer Realty. Please leave your name and number and I'll get back with you just as soon as I get to a phone. Thanks." "Diane this is Maxine Stone, If you want to show me that old railroad hotel, I am feeling well enough to take a look now. Let me know and we will try to work something out." I intentionally did not leave my number. If she didn't know it, I wasn't hard to find. Let her look me up. The phone played the theme from mag 7 and I cringed. I saw Jen's picture on the screen and knew it was her. "Jen I was expecting your boy to call," I said. "Dear God, I hope you don't call him my boy to anyone else. It sounds so archaic." she said. "Not to mention, so politically incorrect," I admitted. So what is this about the Gunny's bike?" she asked. "I want it back," I replied. "It's a total loss Maxine," Jennifer said. "It is also the only thing I have left of his," I replied. "Oh, tell you what, let me make a call. I'll be back in touch in a few minutes," Jennifer said. "Jen, if they don't want to do it because of the suit, I'll take it to the speed shop and have them do it. It is still my property, even if it is in their shop." "They have had time to do their inspection, so it shouldn't be a problem." Jen said. "I'll get back with you." When the phone rang twenty minutes later, I thought it would be Jen. It was Diane Brewer. "Maxine, I'm glad you are up and around. I was concerned about you." she said. "More about the sale of the building, I would imagine. Hey I don't blame you Diane, business is business. I have the report from his laboring few's construction company. By the way thanks for showing them around while I was out of it." I had known all along that I was going through with it and when the preacher called to ask if they could do the inspection without me, I agreed. He was eager to recover some of the loss he expected in the lawsuit Jen had planned. "I was glad to do it. Like you just said business is business. So what did they have to say?" she asked. "Well the bones are in better shape than we expected. There were some structural repairs made, when it was a disco in the eighties. They had to make it pass code, but there is still a whole lot to be done." I suggested. "Bones are solid since it was built in the heyday of steel construction. It has a solid frame and the exterior brickwork is good," Diane informed me. "Well it isn't terrible according to the report. All the mechanicals are crap, so all that has to be redone and it is not going to be cheap. Interior finishes are going to be expensive as well. All in all honey, this is going to be one expensive rehab project." I informed her. "It's why no one before me has bought the building." "We know all that Maxine and if you don't see a way to make it work, then don't waste my time." Diane said shortly. "Fair enough, good luck with your realty business Diane," I said and hung up on her. Eve has extremely good hearing and hears both sides of every cell phone conversation. It's a trick that comes in handy now and then I'm sure. "So what the hell happened," Eve asked. "She obviously realized she wasn't going to dump that place on me at some premium price," I said. "Will she call back?" Eve asked. "I have no idea, but it won't do any good. You and I are going to go look at other buildings." I suggested. Eve and I standing in the parking lot of Jarvis Billiard Parlor or so the painted letters on the blacked out window read. It was a two story building that was big enough for a smaller version of my use plan for a downtown apartment house. I could still get two high end condos on the second four, they would just be smaller and all on the same floor. The old pool hall would make a pretty good reception/meeting room venue. It had been built about the same time as the hotel. It too had a steel frame building with limestone walls. It also had a basement for the utilities. Since it had always been a pool hall, so there wasn't any butchering of the buildings. The second floor had been used as rental rooms. Most likely the hot sheet crowd. I was able to arrange an afternoon walk through with the construction company estimator and one of the Jarvis grandsons. While I waited for everyone to get their schedules to mesh, Jen called. "Go pick up the Gunny's Bike frame. They want to save the damaged parts in case this goes to court." There was a moment of silence then she added. "Maxine do not say a single word to those people. Don't even say hello. Especially do not kick anyone's ass, no matter how badly you want to do so." "Yes mother," I said smiling. Eve and I Jumped in the Maroon Cruiser and headed for the West End Bike Shop. Jen was right it was a temptation to kick the middle aged woman's ass. I knew she caused the accident and she knew it. She met me at the door then without a word got Bobby the Blond as I had begun to think of him. He handed me the bike frame and never even said he was sorry. I was really rather upset but I remembered Jen's warning and left. ------- Chapter 254: Poolhall I left the West End Bike Shop with the frame hanging from the bike rack on the rear of the cruiser. I was probably half way to the Speed Shop, the bike shop at the mall, when Eve spoke. "So what are your plans for the bicycle?" She asked. "I don't know, I never get to ride it more than to the mall, so I think I might just have an ordinary bike set up done this time and ride it just for exercise." I said. "Then I shall have to have a bike as well. How can I protect you, if you are off on a bike and I'm not?" she asked reasonably. Upon hearing that I immediately turned the cruiser around. "What did I say?" she asked. "If we are both going to ride bike, then we are damn sure going to learn how to work on them," I demanded. "Damn right," she agreed. "We will go on Craig's list and buy you a bike. While we are at it, we can buy a donor bike for me," I said. "Cool, but you do know that you have enough money to buy your own bike, or to have the frame rebuilt with the best materials?" Eve asked. "Yes I know, but then who knows, if I would survive someone else's mistake next time?" I replied. "You could have just as easily made that mistake. Mixing up a gas can, isn't that hard to do," she said. "I know. I have done worse, but I've been pretty miserable because of someone else's stupidity. I would prefer that it be my own stupidity." I pulled the cruiser into the alley behind my downtown house, then turned on the small laptop. Checking Craig's list gave me the name and number of a family with two bikes for sale. The Gunny's bike was a dual suspension thing. The two bikes on craigs list were hard tails. A quick search on Google told me that the wheels and other parts were interchangeable, so I gave the number listed a try. I got the mother on the line. "The bikes belonged to my children. They have both reached driving age. The bikes have just sat in the garage over a year without either being moved. The tires need to be inflated, otherwise they are good to go, I'm sure," she said. The bikes were cheap Wal-Mart bikes so I ended up paying her $20 each for them. When we left her house there were two bikes hanging on the bike rack and the Gunny's frame in the back seat. "Learning to work on those bikes is going to be a long slow process," Eve suggested. "Probably learning to do everything will be, but learning to pump up the tires won't be hard at all. Step one is to buy an inflater of some kind." What we decided, was to purchase one of those things you plug into the cigarette light of the car. I had always meant to get one for emergencies anyway. The bike thing was just a good excuse to finally do it. Before I could get to the WalMart for the tire pump, the time for the meeting at the pool hall got close. Eve and I drove to the parking lot beside the pool hall. The parking lot was part of the pool hall property. I noticed that the parking lot wasn't in terrible shape, but it wasn't great either. It probably needed a new layer of asphalt at the least. Unlike my usual habit, I arrived after the others. "I am usually early, but you guys are really early today," I said to the two of them. "I am Edward Jarvis, this was my grandfathers place," he said. Edward Jarvis was a short man and much too light in the ass to run a pool hall for sure. "So Edward, what are you asking for this place?" I inquired. "In it's present condition, I have been told it is worth right at seventy five thousand dollars," he said. "That's a reasonable price to ask, if you want it to sit as it is now. I'm not sure at what price it will actually sell," I said honestly. He didn't give me any indication what he thought of that remark, so I shut up. I pretty much just took in the over all layout of the building. The construction and condition of it was up to the construction foreman of 'His Laboring Few' who went about his job. The foreman did measure the pool hall for me before he started his inspection. It was 58 feet long and 34 feet wide. There were almost 2000 square feet on the ground floor. The second floor would be the same except that it had been chopped into small rooms with a central hallway. The downstairs would have to be gutted as well a upstairs, but the downstairs would be a smaller job. About the only built ins downstairs were the bar and one bathroom in the corner. I had in my mind that everything in the downstairs would be modular and removable. I felt like the room would be most functional, if it could be reconfigured easily. Still, I was open to and would be seeking, suggestions from Helen. Eve and I had ambled around just generally killing time waiting for the contractor to finish. Edward was trying not to say the wrong thing, so he spoke almost not at all. Finally the contractor was finished. "So let's go somewhere and talk," I suggested to him. "Edward, if the building is sound or can be made sound reasonably, I will get my numbers in order and give you a call." I said. "If not I will call to tell you that as well." "Fair enough, I will be expecting to hear from you in the next few days," he said. "I would think it would be at least in that time frame, most likely sooner." I actually planned for it to be much sooner. I wanted to get moving on the project. The funny thing was the the bikes shared an equal priority for me. Fifty dollars worth of bikes seemed as important to me, as a potentially quarter million dollar project, how weird is that? The construction guy, Eve, and I went for coffee at one of those fancy coffee shops out by the mall. "What the hell am I doing in this place?" I asked looking around. "You should have said something before," the construction foreman said. "It's okay I'm just a little out of place. So whats the overall on the building?" I asked. "You saw the cosmetics. Everything has to be patched and repainted. We will have to find a plaster crew somewhere god alone know where," he said dramatically. "Or you can just glue drywall to the plaster, once it is rough patched by your own crew," I said. He should have known better than to try that shit on me. He must have thought he had a housewife from orange county. we both knew how he had rehabbed my downtown house. "Yeah, if you don't want to go back with the original finishes?" he said. "I want to do it just like we did my house. I want the best product available at a decent price. This is not a historic district project. Even if it were, they are only interested in the outside." "Okay 1/2" drywall glued to the plaster once it has been repaired with concrete board. How do you want the bottom broken up?" he asked. "I need to get with Helen for that," I admitted. "I do know that I need to get that basement partially finished at least. Nothing fancy but a safe place to store furniture at the very least." "I think I have an idea how you want the first floor what about upstairs?" "I want two upstairs condo units. I would like them to be sort of upscale lofts." I suggested. I would like to be able to sell the two of them to pay for the whole project, but I doubt that it will be possible." "You never know, but I would tend to agree. Aster isn't exactly a mecca for yuppies," he said. Ah but you don't know what I know, I thought. What I said was lets see where we are dollar wise. "Because of where we are and who my labor force is, I can probably bring this in under a quarter million." he said. "That's way too much," I said. "That's my budget for everything including buying it and decorating it." "That was just a guess. Let me work on it a couple of days and I can get it down to 200k I expect." "Listen to me Al, if you think you can come in with a figure I like. then do overruns, you are out of your mind. You should know that Jennifer will be writing the contract, and a friend of mine will be doing the inspections, so be sure you do it by the book from the get go," I demanded. If there are overruns you will be eating them not me." "Yes I remember your downtown house conversion," he said. "Good, then we are on the same page here. Get the price together as soon as you can, so that we can either start, or move on to another property." I suggested. After he had gone I turned to Eve, "As for you little lady I hope you were taught how tools work. We are going to fix those bikes." "Not really, but I am a quick study," she said. She also had some basic information from her donor personality. We bought a set of wrenches, a set of screw drivers, a chain tool, and a tire inflater all from WalMart. I was pretty sure that we would be running back for more tools for weeks, but it was a start. I also bought a tarp, since we would be working inside my apartment. We inflated her tires in the parking lot. She climbed up on the bike and rode it around the parking lot using the memories of the dead woman inside her mechanical brain. She did pretty well all things considered. At least she didn't fall. After several minutes she lost her tentative movements and became confident. Inside the apartment I moved furniture so that I could spread the tarp. Once I did I used the laptop to get directions to remove the wheels from the donor bike. It also told me how to reinstall them on the Gunny's bike. Getting the chain right with the dérailleur was a pain in the ass, but it finally succumb to me and Eve. Like Eve, I rode the bike around the parking lot and was pleased with what I had done. I was working on a quarter million dollar apartment and party venue, but I was more thrilled with a bike project that cost under a hundred bucks. It just proves that I have no class at all, I thought. "Since it's just three in the afternoon, and it is warm, let's take a ride," I suggested. "Are you sure your doctor would approve?" she asked. "Actually, I'm sure he wouldn't, so fuck it we just wont tell him," I suggested. I did choose a not at all challenging ride around the downtown, since I didn't want to push the broken ribs too far. We mostly went up and down main street, then I turned toward what used to be Ed's office. Not only had Ed and I shared it, he had also shared it for a short time with my dad. At that moment Lucas occupied the office and ran both Ed's and my old business. "Hey kid, you got any coffee?" I asked as Eve and I entered. "Who you callin' kid, old lady?" he asked. "You said that you liked my downtown house, I'm getting ready to build a couple of smaller units down there over the old pool hall. If you know anyone who might be interested let me know. They can pick their finishes if they act now." "God I would love to have a place down there. Since dad died, mom depends on me. She would be devastated, if I moved." It was quite the speech. "I understand. Since you made such a fuss over the place, I wanted to give you first option," I explained. If it was just me, I would be all over it." He did look disappointed as he said it. I noticed that Julie was giving Eve a serious once over. She had no reason to doubt that Eve was real, but then she might just be wondering what the attraction between us was all about. ------- Chapter 255: Max the Celeb Eve and I left the the fortress, which had once been my downtown office. I no longer had any need for an office. I hadn't hadn't needed it even when I renovated the building Lucas occupied at that moment. The bike ride back to my downtown house was only five minutes. Traffic was light as it almost always was in the downtown. If for some sick reason, one wanted to ride in real traffic, she would be forced to ride to the mall area. There were a few old established neighborhoods around town whose streets could be used for exercise. I knew where they were and the best times to ride through them. Anytime actually was good for the classy old neighborhoods, since traffic was always light there. There were also a few areas best left off the bicycle route. Those were some housing projects built in the seventies and eighties with government money. They were still subsidized for the poor. The towns more violent youth seemed to be spawned in those areas. There was also a high rise government subsidized apartment building two blocks north of my downtown house. It was filled with the gray hair and aluminum walker generation. It was the least violent area of town. There were a lot of buildings in the downtown that were empty, but just as many with small businesses of one sort or another. The mills were pretty much all gone, but there were other things springing up now and then. Even so, overall the job situation was not good in Aster. There weren't a lot of jobs in Tryon either. All in all the job picture in the whole state was pretty depressing. It was not pleasant to know that those very conditions were going to help make the retired operatives lives better in Aster. There would be a lower cost of living, than in most other places with as mild a climate. The retired operatives would bring a different economy with them. Their wealth, such as it was, came from outside Aster. How that would play out remained to be seen. I was not making plans based on an operative economy. I also didn't plan to ignore them. What I planned, was to put some of the money I had made, and some of the local people to work, if possible. The pool hall project was my first step. Helen had complained for years that she needed a place to have a local wedding reception. At the moment she had to drive to Tryon to find a hall to seat a hundred or more people. Well one that had any class anyway, not everyone wanted to have their wedding reception at the VFW club. Once we were home I took a shower, then we each drifted off to our own thoughts. I hung around on the Internet checking out this and that. My interest ranged from sex chat rooms to new industries in the emerging countries of the world. I knew there were far too many regulations for me to build cheap automobiles, or any of the other products built in developing nations. We were allowing them to rape their environments for our convenience. Some of the cheap products found their way to the United States, but there were plenty of regulations to discourage the cheapest of the cheap from making it here. So I went to bed with no new ideas, just a determination to make a difference and still make money. I had all kinds of nightmares, which made it a pretty normal night for me. I never slept really well, though I didn't realize it since I seldom remembered the nightmares. That night they woke me. I had the sensation of choking on a penis. In spite of what men think, women do not love that sensation. Choking is choking. I doubt that anyone would ask a person whose airway just got cleared of a piece of steak, "Was it good for you honey?" Eve was by my side when I awoke. She was looking up to be sure that I wasn't in any real danger, "Bad dream?" she asked. "Yes, one of the worst," I rolled away from her and promptly fell asleep again. I could sleep most anywhere and at anytime. It was one of my better traits, most likely a lifelong training result. Morning finally came. Even thought I had slept most of the night, I was glad to see the sun shining through my large windows. The building faced east, so if I was awake in time, I could see the sunrise over the lower building in front of mine. The ground clutter wasn't all that great of a view, but the sunrise some mornings was spectacular. After a morning cup of coffee and a quick email check, I was ready for a bike ride out to breakfast. The bikes were both probably in need of expert service, but with Eve it wouldn't matter at all. She wouldn't know the difference. She was forced to throttle back as far as possible, I'm sure, so that she wouldn't ride off and leave me in the dust. In my case the work out was good for me, but I did intend to read up on how to maintain the bike a little better. Nonetheless, I made it to Helen's place which was a mile north of my downtown house at the very least. Eve and I parked our bikes in front of the building, in a space between the cars and the sidewalk. There was barely enough room, but we made them fit. Eve drank her coffee, while I ate breakfast. "Maxine, would you give me your autograph?" one of the cops asked. "Steve, why the hell are you bustin' my balls this morning. It's way too early for this shit," I said. "Come on Maxine, you are the only celebrity in town," his sergeant said. "I ain't no celebrity. I just happened to be the victim of circumstances and my own greed." I admitted. "There is talk that you might win an Emmy. I would love to see you two in designer gowns," one of the paramedics added. "When pigs fly," I said. "Which? when you win an Emmy, or wear an evening gown?" The female paramedic's partner asked. "Either," I suggested. "There is nothing entertaining about that show. You guys just watch it to see if you show up in the background," I said it loud enough for everyone to hear. "Come on Max, there is something appealing and humorous about you trying to be sexy," one of the younger cops said. "Now that's the kind of talk I expect at the Cop Out, not here," I said only half kidding. "Then you need to come to the Cop Out more," the sergeant suggested. "You don't want my company, you just want the free pizza," I said with a laugh. "That too," one of the paramedic chicks suggested with a laugh. "Come on Eve they are not going to let us eat in peace. You EMS guys might want to cruise through Emerywood in about a half hour. We are going bike riding out there. One of the old money crowd might shoot us for trespassing," I admitted. The ride was about three miles out and three miles back according to the gps information on my cell phone. I was exhausted when I got back to the downtown house. I managed another shower before I dressed for the day. "So what's our plan for today?" Eve asked. "You are going to do some research. I want to know, who owns the Cop Out Club and Cowboy's Bar and Grill," I said to Eve. It took Eve thirty seconds to break into the country's tax records. She pulled the business licenses of both places and gave me a print out. Both clubs were owner operated, so that left me with a less than easy row to hoe. Convincing one of them to sell might not be so easy. I had no idea whether the owners were making any money or not. "You want me to pull their income tax returns?" Eve asked. "You are something else. Sure, why not, let's see if they are making any money," I agreed. "The Cop Out declared a profit of $78k and change," Eve said in a voice remarkably like my own. "Cowboy's did considerably worse," she said. "After all their expenses they made only $33K." "My guess is that they both make a bit more than that, but those figure were what they couldn't hide. See how much they each paid their managers," I suggested. "The Cop Out paid their manager $50k plus a small bonus at Christmas. Cowboys paid $35k no bonus." Eve informed me. "So my guess is the owner/manager of the cop out made $125k and whatever he could skim. He has a pretty good thing going. He isn't likely to want to sell out at a bargain price. Cowboy's has the right price, but the wrong atmosphere. If I bought it, I would also be buying the baggage." I said aloud. "Can you draw the floor plan of the pool hall from memory?" I asked Eve. "You know that I can," she said almost surly. "Hey watch that attitude," I said with a smile. That had to be the controller in charge. It was getting harder to tell the difference. Eve did something with the computer and a couple of minutes later a floor plan of the building appeared on the screen. "Okay on the second floor we want a wall right down the middle from north to south." A second later it miraculously appeared. "Good now in the front room we want an industrial steel pipe hand rail like you would see in a parking garage." It appeared as a dotted line. "Now shade in an area behind it about twelve by fourteen. Then show the floor raised a foot and designate it the dining room. Put another hand rail to separate it from the kitchen. Then designate the wall over the parking lot as the kitchen area." "Now at the dividing wall between the two units measure 20 feet and add a wall between the space and the dining room. Designate it the bedroom. Cut off a section on the parking lot wall adjacent to the kitchen to use as a bathroom and dressing room with a giant closet included." "Now flop that plan for the rear unit," I suggested. "We will have to add big fancy windows on the rear. We need to do it, even though they will overlook nothing but the park back there. The sunset might be nice, I really have never noticed it. My rear looks out onto an alley and the rear of another building, so I have no afternoon view." I admitted. "So what about the first floor of the building?" Eve asked. "That is going to be Helen's banquet hall," I suggested. "You know we could use it for special occasions, if we get enough people here." I said it thinking out loud more than anything else. "And what about the basement?" Eve asked. "To be honest, I hadn't planned to do anything at all with it, but after having checked out the only two clubs in town, I might just open a watering hole there." "Maxine's Cafe American?" Eve asked. At that point it was obvious that she was the controller. "Hardly," I said with a laugh. I stood looking at the plans quite a few minutes before the phone rang. I let it grudgingly pull me from my schemes. "Hello," I said into it. "Maxine, I was wondering if you would consider speaking at our high school graduation?" the voice asked. "Who the hell is this and it's a lousy joke," I said angrily. "Maxine, it't the mayor and it's no joke," she continued. "I'm sorry Mayor, you don't want me to speak at anything official. I'm sorry, I'm just not the inspirational type." I was scrambling trying to think of someway to easy my initial response. I sounded like the awful bitch that I am in reality. "Nonsense, you are the first celebrity to ever come from here," the mayor said. "Have you seen that TV show Mayor?" I asked. "Of course," she said. "I'll make you a deal. I'll send over the episodes that have already run, after you see them, if you still want me to speak, I'll do it." She reluctantly agreed. "I;m going to be me, so be sure you really want that." ------- Chapter 256: Whats This About "It's a small school in a small town, how much damage could you do?" Eve asked. "I could do a lot, if it gets picked up by some news service. We want all this town's secrets to stay secret. Besides which even without the organized thugs, there are the 'thugs are us' types out there. I know for a fact that there is a bounty on my ass." I said. "Some of these 'would be gunslingers' are too disconnected to know, that they can collect only grief if they hit me here." "Still let's worry about one thing at a time, shall we?" I added after a moment's reflection. "We need to talk to the contractor for the pool hall project." Of course it was too late to do that today. I put my cloth bag filled with dirty clothes into the cruiser. I decided that I would swing by the laundromat where the Vietnamese woman and her daughter had their business on the way to dinner. I was almost out of clean clothes, even though at the time I owned more clothes than I ever had before in my life. When we arrived, the two of them were still working away. There was also a child, just a few months old, in one of those play things. Both of them were keeping a very close eye on it. "Is that your baby?" I asked the younger woman. "Yes her name is Sue," she said. "And who is the father?" I asked. The older woman said something in Vietnamese so the girl looked down and said, "No father." I looked sternly at the old woman, then said to the younger one, "Every child has a father, so who is the father of this one." "Miss Maxine, I know who you are, everyone does. Please the father is not a good man. We do not want him in her life. It is best that he does not become involved." "I will look into this and if the child is better without him, I will work out something for her. If he needs to be in her life, I will work that out as well. Now who is he, you know I can find out." I said. I could simply put Lucas and Eve on it and I would know in a day. The young woman could read that confidence in my face. She wrote a name on the back of my pickup receipt. From the laundromat Eve and I continued on to dinner at the Dog House. It was the restaurant where I had met Gunny. Even if it hadn't held memories of Gunny, it had memories of my dad, so I held it in an almost reverence. There were the usual collection of customers, not that there was anything usual about the Dog House's customers, except maybe the mix. At that time of day there were bankers stopping on the way home for a take out order for the family. There would be cops sitting at the counter rushing to get back on patrol, since they were in on a break not dinner. There would be the crowd from the senior towers, a block away in for an inexpensive dinner. Then there would be the nostalgia nuts like me, trying to recapture a moment in time, yes the Dog House had us all. It was an institution. Even the homeless came in now and then. They usually sat at one of the picnic tables outside, but they were still served just like the banker. "You know it is a shame you can't really taste what you are cramming down your throat," I whispered to Eve. These really are the best hot dogs in the whole damn world," I suggested. "Probably not," Eve said logically. "Most likely it is a memory shaded judgment kind of thing." In a blind taste test I'm sure there are others that would be chosen by someone else." "You are way too damn logical," I said. "Maxine, it is impossible for one to be too damn logical. I might be too rational for your taste but logical is not a scalable item. You are, or you aren't, there just are no degrees," Eve said. See, even that is too damn logical," I said with a smile. "You are hopeless," Eve said with a girlish giggle. I wondered how old that donor was. "So do you want to do anything tonight or shall we just go home and watch TV on the computer?" I asked. "I think someone needs to get laid. She is getting into an awfully dark place. Sex seems to cheer you up for a while at least," Eve suggested. "Sex cheers everyone up, with the possible exception of you," I replied. "So where shall we go Eve. I am leaving the planning up to you." I wasn't really, but I did want her to think I was. Then I'm thinking Tryon for Rosewater's," she said. "Hold on, how the hell do you know about Rosewater's. You were still on the shelf the last time I was in Rosewater's." It sounded like a light hearted question, but I was serious about its intent. "It was part of episode one of your TV show. Mike wanted maximum impact I suppose," Eve said. I remembered the older woman and college age boy I had met at Rosewater's. Yes Mike had access to my online security footage from the cabin at the time. There would have been better images later, but he used what he had that first season. I was surprised that the show had been even a minor success as bad as the footage was, but he had somehow managed to weave it into the better footage as a memory kind of thing. I suppose he called that episode two cougars and a cub. "Very well Rosewater's it is, but we need to go home a while. It's too early and even though you can drink all night, I can't." I admitted. "Getting old Maxine?" Eve asked. There was that flash of humanity again, but it seemed a little different somehow. The times when I could for sure identify the controller were getting fewer. I wasn't sure if the controller was operating less often or the back and forth switching was getting more seamless. We killed an hour out in the parking lot talking to a couple of motorcyclist who recognized me. Once they heard about the bike locking up on me, they began telling me their own accident stories. They compared their scars to my cuts and the plate and screw incision. We even discussed pain killers. When I told them how few I took, the decided that I was bad ass. That seemed to be a compliment. After that conversation ended we picked up my clean clothes from the laundromat. The older woman wouldn't even look at me. The younger woman was very subdued. It was a mess, but if there was anything to be done, I planned to do it. "I am going to have to be careful," I said to Eve. "I am getting the Wyatt Earp thing going on." "What is that?" she asked. "This is my town, don't fuck with my friends. It is a good way to get my ass killed for no good reason. No one can right all the wrongs in this world." I said. I handed her the receipt, "Tell me who this fucker is." It was only ten minute later when she said, "He is a gang banger doing 15 years in the state prison for rape." "I guess we know who he raped," I said. "Well maybe so, but that isn't who he was convicted of raping. The conviction was for a Caucasian teenager," Eve informed me. "This looks like one of those times when there is nothing you can do. Oh you think not huh?" I asked. I made one call and killed two birds. "Jennifer, find out who owns that laundromat on Church street down by the railroad. Also get me the name of the leader of the Latino prison gang in central prison. Then arrange a visit with his lawyer for me." "What the hell are you up to Maxine?" Jennifer asked. "I'm going to take care of someone, who takes care of me," I said simply. After all that it was time to go to Rosewater's. Rosewater's was a upscale restaurant and bar near the local branch of the state university. There were always professors and parents hanging out there. The real attraction for most people were the students from artsy backgrounds who also hung out in the bar, or on the patio. Since spring was in the air the patio was open. Eve and I were a hit with the outdoors crowd. It took exactly one drink to have a wimpy professor's ass parked at our table. Since I didn't think Eve would be interested in sex, I kind of let him think it was an either or kind of thing. I just knew he would pick me, when I realized that he was obviously leaning toward Eve, I had a good chuckle and decided not to throw her to the wolves. "Eve and I live together professor. You are welcome to come home with us, but it might be a little embarrassing." I said. Eve didn't even protest. I wasn't sure that she understood things but I did not clarify for her. "Well Maxine, I'm game for anything," he said. "I'm sure you are," I said. By midnight he was in my bed, but so was Eve. It was crowded in the bed. I turned the lights down to just the night light and the back light for the front windows. The professor was a very good kisser. Not only that he knew which buttons to push and where they were. Before long I had forgotten Eve was in the room. Then when I remembered. the professor's hands were on me, but he was kissing Eve. Now that is something new, I thought. I had never seen anyone kiss her. It was also at that point that I realized Eve was anatomically correct, right down to the pubic hair. She also seemed to be responding to his touch. I instantly came down as I became fascinated with Eve and her reaction to the professor. I watched as he touched and kissed her. She seemed to always be turned on but of course she never seemed to orgasm. I was sure that she was incapable of that. Stills he could fake it. Most every woman had at one time or another. I knew that I had for sure. What I was curious about was if he could enter her and if so could she fake it well enough to fool him. Men really weren't that hard to fool anyway. He finally did slip his cock into her, whatever it was. He pumped away several times and seemed to be really lost in the feeling of her. I was laying there in awe of the whole thing. I finally got out of bed and stepped back so I could take it all in. When the professor came, it must have been gut wrenching because he groaned as if he had died. Then his body was wracked with several of what appeared to be convulsions. We allowed him to stay an hour or so, then sent him on his way. After he had gone, Eve didn't say a word she just pulled me to her body and forced my face to her opening. I was forced to swallow hard as she forced his semen into my mouth in what amounted to a pumping action. It was so strange that I had an orgasm but it wasn't like any other orgasm I ever had. It wasn't violent, it was almost surreal somehow. "Now Sleep," she said to me. I fell sound sleep almost instantly. I don't think I had a nightmare that night. I didn't even try to understand the latest twist. "Are we going to skip our bike ride this morning?" she asked. as she handed me the coffee cup. "Not a chance," I replied. I did use my cell phone to call His Laboring Few's business office. "Good morning," This is Maxine Stone, is your estimator in?" "Maxine, it is going to take me a while longer to get my sub contractors in line. I would say two more days at least." the strongly male voice said. "Very well, but tell me this are you convinced that this building is worth rehabilitating?" I asked. "Absolutely, from a historical point of view, if no other," he said. "I'm not in the historical preservation business, will the building be solid with minimal upkeep, when you finish?" I asked. "That I can promise, I don't know if the cost vs return will be satisfactory. that decision can only be made by you." "True, so let's get the estimate finished quickly, but also be accurate with it." I said it as I watched Eve wander around. I wondered if it were possible for a robot to be bored. ------- Chapter 257: Gangbangers and Estimators After not getting much information from the estimator, I made a call to Jennifer's office. "Maxine, how good to hear from you," the receptionist said. It was something new for people to check the caller ID and then act as if you were a long lost friend. I found it not just disingenuous but also insulting. "Thanks, did you get me the number for the prison gangster's lawyer?" I asked. "Yes, but I'm not sure Mr. Garcia's lawyer will see you?" she said. "Oh, I bet if I offer to pay for this time, he will be happy to see me," I suggested. "After all he can change me a hundred bucks and then tell me he can't help me." It was pretty much what I expected to happen. What I didn't expect was for Phillip Garcia's lawyer to be a fan. That was hard to take. It seemed that somehow my show was a hit with at least the fringe players on the bad guy circuit. "Ms. Stone, it is so good to see you," Garcia's lawyer said. "Rather than pay for this visit, would you allow me to have my secretary take a picture of me with you and your friend?" "Hey anything to save a buck," I said smiling. When he had finished with the picture and all the other fawning over me, we got down to it. "So what is it you wish with my client?" he asked. "I doubt that you really want to know the details counselor. I just need to have a five minute conversation under the veil of attorney client privilege with your client. It is my understanding that you can arrange it." I said. "You understand that it would have to be something I felt was beneficial for my client?" he asked. "You have to understand that the prison is full of men who are desperate for something to be done on the outside. These are different things. Some are impossible to accomplish but some are not. Some of those men could accomplish what I need done just as well as your client." I said. "Of course, it might be better if you sought those out," he said. "Very well, in that case I will be sure that whoever does this thing for me, tells Mr. Garcia why he was not the one consulted. I would of course want him to know that it was not a lack of respect on my part. I would have to explain who put an end to our consultation." I smile and Eve and I stood to leave. "You know what would happen?" he asked. "Garcia would probably seek new counsel. How he chose to end his arrangement with you would probably depend on how much of a threat he perceived you to be," I said. "What is to prevent me from having Garcia declare you an enemy?" the lawyer asked. "Sweetie, if they try to hit me and fail, where do you think I am going to go looking for answers. Trust me, you are going to wish it was the cops at your door, if that happens." I said. "I'll arrange the visit, but be assured that Garcia can and likely will say no," he said. "Fair enough," I replied. While Eve and I waited for the estimator from 'His Laboring Few' and Garcia's shyster to call, we rode the bikes around town. For Eve it was nothing at all, just another chore. For me it was a good solid workout. It was a bit of a bore riding in circles, so I tried to find places to go on the bike. Eve and I rode to Helen's for breakfast just like every morning. After my morning in the car taking care of the Garcia business, we got back on the bikes. That time we rode to the lake which was a mutha of a ride for me. There were hills to go up and down which Eve didn't even notice, but which kicked my skinny ass. I decided that maybe I wasn't ready for that much exercise just yet. After a long break for lunch, we did the Tour De Emerywood." which was riding six miles of fancy neighborhood's quiet streets. I wasn't at all surprised that neither the estimator nor the shyster got back with me for two more days. Nor was I surprised they both called the same day. That is just how things seem to go in my world. Eve and I drove almost a hundred miles to sit in the visitor lounge of the prison. Garcia wasn't nearly as large a man as I would have expected. He did have shark eyes, so I knew he was the man. "Do you know who I am?" I asked when he was seated and cuffed to the table. "Yes I know, my lawyer told me. Plus I have seen you on TV since then. So what can I do for you?" he asked. "I came as a matter of respect. I have a thing that needs to be done. It is a thing in your world." I said. "Is this a big thing?" he asked. "The biggest," I replied. "Do you wish me to facilitate this big thing, or just look the other way?" he asked. "That is up to you. It concerns one of your people," I admitted. "Oh which one," he was suddenly very interested. "I think that is something I should pass on through your lawyer. So there are two questions, are in up for it and what is the favor I can do for you on the outside. Remember that the thing you wish in return must me legal, but it can be something you wish to keep quiet." "And if I do not wish to do this thing, or you do not wish to do my thing, then what?" he asked. "Then it ends right here," I said. "I like you Maxine Stone, It is well known that you have Cajones. Tell me why this thing needs to be done," he said. "There was a rape," I said. "The woman is my friend. Now she lives in fear. He is with you at this time, but he will not always be here." "Are you asking me to shank one of my own people?" he asked. "If he is one of yours, then yes I am," I replied. "That would make me even more ruthless than they say I am," He replied. "If we can't make a deal, then I will make a deal with someone else and you lose respect." I said. Garcia was quiet a moment. Then he said, "I have a daughter in Tryon. Her mother tells me she wants to go to a private boarding school. It seems her friends are all going there, but she lacks the pedigree required." he said. "So, If I get her into to the school, you will take care of my friends rapist?" I asked. "That is the deal and I keep my bargains," he said. "Then I will see what I can do, When she gets accepted, I expect this thing to happen." I said. When we got back from the prison, I went to the pool hall to meet the estimator. The estimator was not a builder at all, he was nothing but a clerk. Nonetheless he had worked closely with the building foreman and had done his work carefully he assured me. So what's the word?" I asked. "Using the plans you sent over, and doing just the structural changes and repairs, leaving the interior finishes to others, we come up with a price of $210,000. He said that as he handed me the list of things to be done for the money. Of course it was more than I wanted to spend, but it always was more. I held the list in my hand as Eve, the estimator, the job foreman, and I threaded through the building. We were almost completely finished when the grandson showed up. "So what do you think they began to ask me." First it was the representative from the building contractor. I think we need to trim some out of that contract," I said. "I don't know where we can trim," the estimator lamented. "There is always somewhere to trim." I said. "For instance what would I save if you simply clean the floors, when you finish your repairs. Start looking at things like that. Get it below 200k and we might have something to talk about." "As for you," I said to the grandson. "Think about what it is worth to you: to not be draining tax money from the estate. If I assume the back taxes, what do you really need to put into the estate. I know the county will be looking to foreclose soon and so do you." That was the beauty of all the abandoned downtown properties. They were all likely to be in tax default. Paying property tax on a building that was empty was hard to justify. "There is only ten thousand in back taxes, more or less," the grandson said. "$11,253," Eve said. "There is a sale on th courthouse steps planned for June." "Like the lady didn't say, you come up with eleven grand, or take my check for thirty grand and i'll take care of the tax lien," I suggested. "I need to check with my mom and her sisters," he suggested. "Let me know one way or the other. If I don't go with this building, I need to look into the old Chevy dealer downtown." I said. So both items on my agenda got advanced, but neither got settled. The construction company was told to break out their price for a new roof, repair of the floors, patching of the existing wall coverings, and construction of the new partitions. All the finish work would be handled in a different way and maybe by different people. Those were decisions I had yet to make. I put them both behind me as Eve and I returned home to dress for the evening. I would have loved to sit home and watch old TV shows, but I also wanted to go somewhere to be social. Maybe I was kidding myself. It was possible that I just needed to get laid. "Let's do something different," Eve suggested. "Like what?" I asked. "There is a meeting of the Theater Guild tonight at the palace, whatever that is?" she suggested. "That is the fancy old movie theater downtown. It was one of the original restoration projects. The arts council was successful in securing a grant to restore it." I explained. "Now they do 'Dickens' there at Christmas." "It's too early for A Christmas Carole so what are they doing now?" she asked. "Who knows? If you are really interested we can go take a look," I suggested. "After all I am a professional actress," I burst into uncontrollable laughter. "Well you are technically a professional actress," Eve said obviously trying to make me feel better. "Sweetie, I am nothing near an actress. I got paid for making a bad TV show that people seem to enjoy for some reason. That don't make me no actress. But I will make you a deal. You get me all the dope you can on Lisa Garcia of Tryon, and I will take you to the Theater." "She is fourteen and lives with her mother in Tryon. She goes to public school and I need her school files. Well at least to look at them." I said. I heated one of Helen's home made frozen dinners. There was no factory for Helen's dinners they came right from her commercial kitchen. That kitchen ran round the clock some days. She made frozen dinners, MRE's for swamp thing, brown bag breakfasts, and still did catering. Helen was about to become a full scale tycoon. I just loved it. I was having a Hamburger steak with brown gravy or fried potatoes. The plate also contained baby green peas blanched in a very light vegetable oil. Eve was having hot water and a stimulating records hack of the Tryon public school's computer system. After supper I spent a little time with a cup of coffee and the girl's records. She was an above average student, who should have no trouble getting into a private academy. Her home life shouldn't matter too much, if she was living in a boarding school. The only question would be her discipline issues. She got into trouble in public school, she didn't appear to be a bully. However she also didn't seem to be the type who backed away from a physical confrontation. It was going to take some creative thinking to get her into a private boarding school. Well it was going to take some really creative thinking to get her into the one where Phillip Garcia wanted her enrolled. ------- Chapter 258: Pros and Cons The 8PM Theater Guild meeting got started right on time. Since we lived downtown, Eve and I had walked to the meeting. The first order of business was discussing finances, wasn't it always. Aster was in a unique position for the times. It wasn't broke. Most every other town in the state was dead broke, but not Aster. For one thing Aster had never tried to be all things to all people. The work force was small and they had never offered huge incentives to attract workers. Aster's management was dedicated to the old Christian work ethic. Modern socialistic creep, just never took hold in the semi rural community. So that pretty much explained why the city had ten grand to give to the Aster Theater Guild. The theater guild was trying to decide how to spend the money. There were two proposals on the floor that night. The first was to purchase a new lighting system for the marque over the entrance to the theater. It was a digital billboard of some kind. The other was to recondition the projectors so that Aster could rent a series of classic Hollywood films. There was discussion back and forth of course. They were about to close the discussion, so I felt compelled to speak. "I would like to say a word or two please," I said standing. "The Chair recognizes Maxine Stone," the old lady with blue hair and a fancy outfit said. "This is the first meeting I have even attended, and I haven't lived in Aster for many years. First of all let me compliment you on your restoration of the Palace Theater it was a dynamite job. Secondly, let me say that I look forward to attending the events you have planned. The reason I rose to speak was about the money. First of all money sitting in a bank account has no real value, since the number of things it will buy changes daily. Such being the case, I think you are wise to use the money at this time. I think a digital billboard, though the ultimate in convenience and eye candy, would be a bit out of place on this building which you restored to it's depression era grandeur. I like the billboard with the letters applied by hand. I would expect that there is little expense involved with the maintenance of the billboard as it is now. Since most of the labor here is donated. I very much am in favor of the reconditioning of the projectors. First of all people who can do that may soon be gone forever. The price for the work can only rise, so it will probably be considered to have been a bargain one day. However from a pure business sense it would seem to be a good investment. I can imagine that the Palace would make quite a draw as a grand classic and foreign film theater. As such it could easily appeal to the older customers, who would be very little trouble. A place for us old farts to go on a Saturday Night that didn't involved alcohol or bad food. I can imagine it even being a regional draw with the right promotions. So the repair of the projectors would be a good business move in my opinion, not just a good use of donated funds. Thank you." I quickly sat down. It wasn't often that I gave my opinion like that, so I was curious to see how it was received. A new line of discussion followed, it became about how to use the theater, not just how to improve it. I personally was thrilled to see the impetus move, I thought it was time to bring the building back to life, not must have it sitting around for tours of school children now and then. Eve and I went into the lobby to drink the terrible coffee and eat the cardboard cookies. If there was ever a place that needed Helen's involvement, it was the Aster Theater Guild. Eve and I spoke to and shook hands with the Mayor, and the Police Chief. We also hobnobbed with some of those people, who would never have spoken to me before the TV show. The show was horribly lowbrow, but it was till on TV. Mostly I heard, 'My kids love your show." I'm not sure any adult would admit to ever having seen more than five minutes of it. Eve actually steered me to meet a man and his wife. "Say hello to that couple over there," She demanded. "Why?" I asked. "Do it and then I will tell you why," she insisted. "You know I liked you better before the last upgrade," I said it as I moved toward the couple in their late forties or early fifties. Just a few years older than me. "Hello there, my friend here insists that I speak to you, but the reason why is a mystery," I said. "So hello, I'm Maxine Stone." I tried to embarrass Eve. Do you have any idea how hard it is to embarrass a robot. Eve just smiled at me. "Ms Stone, of course we do know who you are. You are quite the celebrity." the man said taking my extended hand. "I Jamie Trugate, and this is my wife Ella." "Very nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Trugate and I assure you the celebrity status does not extend far outside this room. And this is my friend Eve Edison," I said We all did our greeting things. "I was most impressed by your point of view about the use of the city money. I think the idea for use of the Palace is an excellent one." Trugate said. "Thank you, if there had been another option, say to throw a wild drunken orgy, I might have gone with that as well," I said. "Then perhaps we should bring that to the floor for a vote," Mr Trugate suggested. His wife looked horrified. "We should be going Maxine, I don't think the Aster Theater Guild is quite ready for you," Eve said with a grin. "Since Eve is my social barometer, I suppose we are off. Before I leave please suggest to whoever organized this reception that they consider using Helen for the refreshments. This is just awful." We we got outside Eve said, "Well that went really well. Don't you think?" "I really don't understand why we did any of it, but if it makes you happy fine." I said. "You are such a lamb," she said and I knew the controller was at the helm. "In what way?" I asked. "The Garcia girl wants to go to the 'Smithwood Academy for Young Women'. You just met Ella Smithwood Trugate, and her also board member husband Jamie." Eve explained. "Nice work, you are so damn smart," I said sarcastically. "It's called research Maxine, you should try it sometime. Oh I forgot you are more the bull in the china shop kind of girl." Eve said with a grin. "Honey, I haven't been any kind of girl for twenty five years." I answered. I went into the bathroom and took a shower. I really needed to wash away any of the class that might have rubbed off on me. I was in bed when Eve came in. "You know I was only trying to help," she said. "And you did honey, I'm just not sure I approve of being helped by ambush. You could have explained it all to me. If you had, we might have had a plan ready to ambush them." "I saw an opportunity and I took it. It's what the people at the farm would call a break through." Eve said. I smiled broadly. "Well lover they aren't having to clean you up after those breakthroughs either," I said smiling at the memory of her first experience with intercourse. "Just let me get carried away one time, and I am never going to hear the end of it," she said. "You are right, I will be reminding you of it most every night," I said as he held her close just before I fell asleep. The next morning I could tell spring was in the air. The birds were chirping in the few trees left in the downtown and the sun was shinning even brighter than usual. It was a good morning. Eve had begun microwaving last nights left over coffee for us first thing every morning. I didn't mind the day old coffee and she couldn't tell the difference. I showered, dried my hair, dressed warm but not bulky and off we went on the bikes to Helen's for breakfast. I had the bag containing the egg and cheese sandwich on a thin bagel. It came with homemade apple sauce and slabs of fried potatoes. All in all a hell of a breakfast when combined with Helen's coffee which was actually my recipe. From the parking lot of Helen's, while standing in the bright, warm sun, I called Jennifer. "Tell me what you know about Jamie and Ella Trugate?" I demanded. "He is the chairman and she a member of the board of Smithwood Academy. The school was set up by her mother just for her originally. Over the years they had educated some of the leading female politicians in the south. It is for young women, who have an idea they want to go into politics. Why do you ask?" "I want to know about their hot buttons, or what they need. I have a teenage girl who wants to be accepted at Smithwood. I want to make that happen." I admitted. "Lisa Garcia," she asked. "I know you have been snooping around, since you met with Garcia." "Trust me, this is not going to bite you for setting up the meeting," I said. "You bet your ass it's not. I set you up with a name nothing more. Now as to what Trugate needs, I hear Southwood's Trust took a bath in the market crash. They have enough money to operate, but they need the campus upgraded to keep attracting the money kids, and they can't afford it. A onetime shot in the arm might get them back in the game big time." "If Southwood is that big a deal, why have I never heard of it?" I asked. "Because the campus isn't here. The campus is up in the mountains. The administration is done from here, but the actual classrooms and staff is up in Banner Moose." "This keeps getting screwier all the time. A gangbanger wants his little girl in a boarding school for politicians." I said. "And the guys in charge of the school are two hundred miles from the school." "Maybe it's the long range approach that appeals to them all. Garcia gets her into the right place, so that she can meet the right people. It also keeps her away from the gangs and it is all done with one stroke of your pen. Someday maybe he gets her elected to some office, or next to someone who is in a position to get his sentence commuted." "That's way too devious, but hell maybe so. All I'm going to do is get his kid into a boarding school." "In exchange the man who raped your laundress gets shanked," Jennifer said in an emotionless voice. "I can't believe you said such a thing on a phone, and I can't believe you think I would do that. Our deal is that Garcia will make sure our friend has a bad day, every day of his time in prison. That's all," I said trying to repair the damage. "Yes but prison is a dangerous place," Jennifer suggested. "Well it ain't no country club," I agreed. "Can you reach out to Trugate, if I can reach out to Garcia for the money. 200k will buy a lot of paint." "Yes it certainly will. So what do we do for the baby?" Jennifer asked. "I think we are about to make mom a present of the laundromat. Did you find out who owns it?" I asked. "Some investment company. I'll see if they want to sell," Jennifer said. "Jen either it is the right price, or we move them downtown. There has to be a vacant building we can turn into a laundromat. So figure out which is cheaper," I demanded. After Jennifer broke the connection, I attached my cane to the down tube of the bike. Then Eve and I pedaled toward the Downtown House. There was no doubt that another screwed up day had begun. ------- Chapter 259: It Just Looks Like a Bribe The Downtown house was really my haven from the world. Once inside I could stand outside life and look in on it. It's what I did that morning. I stood on the second floor and watched the traffic going up and down the small main street. I rather enjoyed it. I probably could have stayed in that position for hours, but I had things that needed doing. So I moved away from the window and began my day. I found Trugate's office phone number and dialed it. I got his secretary of course. "Yes this is Maxine Stone, I need an appointment to see Mr. Trugate concerning a donation to the Southwood Academy for Young Women," I said. "Hold please," she said. "Ms Stone," the voice of Trugate said cheerfully. "I had hoped that we would meet again, but I had no idea that it would be so soon, or concerning something so close my my family's heart. When would you like to meet with us." He was making it clear that it was a business meeting. That was more than just okay with me. "I'm free most of the time, so choose what is best for you," I said cordially. "If you are free for lunch, we could meet at the Downtowner at say 1PM," he suggested. "That would be fine. Since I am not a member, you will leave word with the captain?" I asked. "Of course," he replied. "Good, I am seldom fashionably late," I admitted. The Downtowner was a small dining room at the top of the International office building. The view had to be great from the sixth and top floor of the building. Okay I'm being sarcastic again. The Downtowner was the best our local businessmen could do. They had five different menus one for each work day of the week. If you didn't want steak on Tuesday, then you should not go to the downtowner. I had no idea what was on the menu for that day, but I knew I could either eat it, or pretend to eat it. I was going to be at the downtowner to do business, which more than half of the others in the room would be doing as well. I spent the three hours till lunch relaxing and working on my story. It would have to be harmless and still forceful enough not to let myself or Garcia get ripped off. I could imagine how poorly Gracia would accept losing two hundred thousand dollars. I didn't necessarily think Trugate needed to know that. I expected that Trugate needed to be finessed, not bludgeoned. Still it might come in handy one day, if I needed to keep him in line. The time passed slowly but it did pass. Since it was a private club, I decided to leave Eve at home. She didn't seem to mind. I wouldn't have either. "Thank you for meeting me," I said to both the Trugates. When I arrived they were both already at the table. "It is our pleasure I assure you," Mrs. Trugate suggested. "That is very kind of you," I said. Mr Trugate stood as the waiter held my chair. Part of the old southern tradition of grace at lunch, I thought with an inward sneer. "I do hope you like Tuna. The women insisted that the club begin serving healthier dishes. We agreed to fish once a week and this it it." Trugate informed me. "The food is secondary for me. I know this is crass, but I came for the meeting not the meal." I'm sure that I reinforced their opinion of me as lower than low class white trash. Nothing I could possibly do would change that opinion, so why bother trying. So much for finesse, I thought. I removed the envelop from my purse. "Inside this folder are the complete school records of a young woman. I would like very much to see her attend your academy. Her admission will come with a donation to the school's general fund of $200,000. I do not care how you justify it to your staff or whoever. I would just like to see it happen." "Ms Stone, I realize that in your world everything is for sale," Mr Trugate said. "But in ours thing are not always for sale." "Mr. Trugate, I know you are standing on principle. I think that is a fine thing. I checked and your school does a lot of fine things, but it has changing enrollments. That combined with the falling stock market last year has left the school's general fund tapping the endowment just to keep the grass cut. "The young lady is academically qualified. I would not ask you to lower your standards to accept someone who wasn't." Bullshit, I thought. If it would solve my problem, I would be here doing exactly the same thing for a failing student. The fact that Lisa was a good student just made it easier for him to swallow. "Since she would be a good candidate regardless, consider the donation a bonus for doing the right thing. That is something that doesn't often happen in this world." I said with a smile. He still looked almost angry, but his wife reached over to take the envelop. She slipped it into her purse. "Since lunch was not a priority, you will be leaving now?" she asked. "But of course," I do hope you will be getting in touch with me with regards to how the check should be made. "I would expect that to happen within the next couple of weeks," she said with what was obvious distaste. "Thank you so very much," I said just as disingenuously as possible. "You won't be staying for lunch," the waiter asked as I stood to leave. "No I had no idea you were serving tuna. I am a member of the save the dolphin group. Tuna nets you know?" I said that as I turned to leave. I know it was a cheap shot, but I felt cheap at that moment. I called Garcia's lawyer from the parking lot of the International building. "Pass this message on to your client for me. The price to play is 200K plus the normal cost." "What does that mean?" he asked. "You don't need to know, just know that it isn't a criminal enterprise," I informed him. "I expect a authorization to go ahead or a terminate decision before the day ends. The payment isn't going to be due until registration." After I killed the connection Eve asked, "So what do we do this afternoon." "We ride the bikes, and wait for something to happen." I admitted. We didn't even get out for the rear door with the bikes before the phone played that stupid song. The one which people had come to associate with me. "Yes," I said as I picked the phone from my jacket pocket. "Your answer is, Do it, but give me two days notice to transfer the money to your account. It will go from you, to the school." the lawyer said. "I can do that," I replied. "I am waiting to hear from the other party now. When I do we can work out the arrangements in greater detail." Eve and I were half a dozen blocks from the Downtown House when my pocket began to play music again. I recognized the caller as Jen. "Why hello Jen it is so good to hear from you again," I said. "What the fuck is that about?" she asked. "Why honey that's the greeting your receptionist gives me, when I call you," I replied. "Not any more it isn't," she said. "Listen up slut, Trugate called. Mrs. Trugate that is. If the kid isn't an ax murderess she has a spot next year. She had already applied, so it was just a matter of, as Mrs Trugate said, doing the right thing for everybody." "Very cool ask her when she wants the donation, but be sure she understands that if she takes the money the kid is going to stay in school unless there is definite grounds to dismiss her." I said. "Not to worry, her husband doesn't get it, but Ella does. She is the real power where the school is concerned. He is just a token liberal for show on the board," Jen said. "Fair enough, just let me know when she wants to make the announcement. One public announcement framed anyway she likes will be fine." I suggested. "I'm sure Mrs. Trugate expected no less. I'll get back with you." Jennifer said. I started the bike up again and pulled onto the bike path along a creek that ran through the town and all the way to Tryon. Eve and I were not headed that far by any means, but we could have. Well eve could have gone that far. "Hello," I said into the phone, after I had stopped in the middle of the bike path. "Ms Stone, this is Martin Short, I am one of the heirs to the pool hall you are considering," the voice said. It was not the young man I had been dealing with. "Yes Mr Short, what can I do for you?" I asked. "My cousin approached my mother about your offer," he tried to go on but I cut him off. "There has been no offer. I am waiting to hear from the contractor before I make an offer." I admitted. "Frankly, we would like to make you an offer," he suggested. "Are you all in agreement on this offer?" I asked. "I think I can convince the others to go along," he admitted. "So what are you thinking?" I asked. "$75,000 and you satisfy the tax lien." he suggested. "Absolutely out of the question. I will call my contractor and tell him to stop working on the estimate. Thank you for calling, I will work on getting one of the building for the tax lien." "Wait, what did you have in mind?" he asked. "I had in mind dealing with someone who could speak for all the heirs. Now you guys need to get together and find someone who you trust. But they won't be dealing with me." I said it and I meant it, when I said it. If they called begging, would I still mean it, I didn't know. I was without a working plan for Helen's reception venue. Of course I also had no new housing units in the works either. I finished the ride all bummed out. I sat down with a cup of coffee in a bummed out mood. I stared at the wall and cursed through two more cups of coffee, before I decided to call Jen. "Hello Maxine, how may I direct your call." the receptionist asked. "I need to talk to Jen, so have her call when she has a minute," I suggested. "Hold please, I think she is available." The receptionist had gone from warm and fuzzy to absolutely frosty and I approved. "Hey Slut, what you need?" Jen asked. "I'm having an awful time buying a downtown building to renovate. This last one is tied up in some kind of estate and the first one was a sentimental value thing." I said. "Oh yeah, I know those things. All those buildings have tax liens, why not just put in a bid on one of them at the courthouse steps auction." she asked. "I heard the next one wasn't till June. I would like to have a place ready for any of our friends who need a temporary flop," I said with a smile in my voice. "I might have something for you. Remember I'm looking into the laundromat for mom and grand mom?" she asked. "Sure I remember," I replied. "So you also remember that turd Billy Ames. You know, we went to school with him?" Jen asked. "Sure Ames the joker," I replied. "Yes, well he got into venture capitalism. Land speculation was one of the things they tried. They thought they were getting real deals when they bought building downtown for taxes. They didn't realize that there was a reason nobody occupied the buildings. They should have but they didn't." Jen said. "So you are telling me they own some empty downtown buildings that they might want to part with?" I asked. "Might," she said then laughed. "It you agree to take some off their hands, they will kiss your ass in the town square at high noon, plus give you an hour to draw a crowd. ------- Chapter 260: Who Is That Guy I saved Billy Ames for the next day. I called him after breakfast on a mid week morning. I got him directly. He didn't even have a secretary buffer. Times must be hard for Ames Enterprises, I thought. We first went through the usual catching up song and dance. I found out that Billy was married and had a daughter 12 years old. Of course there was the usual, my daughter isn't allowed to watch your show, but she knows who you are. She would love to meet you. He thought that was a compliment. Most of the jerks did for some reason. So Billy, I'm looking for a building cheap. One that I can renovate into a downtown condo units. Jennifer said you might have something in your holdings that you would part with." I suggested. "I got the old NCNB building. It would do pretty well for that," he replied. "That thing is a monster," I said. It was one of those downtown banks built in the sixties. Even though Aster was a small town those downtown branches at that time were big buildings. At least big for the size of the town. The building was about 30 feet wide 60 feet long and five stories tall. It was a bit more building than I could afford. Especially since it was a total gamble. "I don't know Billy, that's a bit more than I can handle. The renovations on that would eat me alive." I admitted. "How about the old downtown pharmacy," he suggested. "It's 42 x 68 and three stories tall." "I don't know the dimensions aren't what I would like, but I would be more than happy to take a look at it," I admitted. "When are you free," he asked. "Let's do it after lunch," I suggested. "I'll meet you in the parking lot at 2PM, if that is okay?" he asked. "2PM in the rear works for me just fine. I'll see you there," I said. I sat down in my own living room to stare out the window at the downtown pharmacy. Yes it was right across the street from me. That particular building might date back to Aster's mill era. Those mills were built around the turn of the century. Mostly they were moved to Aster for the cheap labor, but some for the availability of building materials. At that time one could still find the lumber to cut post and beams for simple construction. Also bricks were available from the new brick company just outside town. Cheap labor and abundant building materials made for the easy building of factories of every kind. Factories put money into the economy, and that created the new improved downtown of the thirties, forties and fifties. Those days were gone, but the grand old buildings remained even if they stood empty at that moment. From my front window I could see that the building was empty sure, but all the front glass was still intact. It also was free standing. Unlike my building it was on a corner lot. It had streets on two sides and alleys on the other two. The door and display windows had been replaced but even the replacements dated back to the sixties at least, maybe even farther back. The first floor had been the display area and it was open except for the post and beams. There most likely would be a small office area at the rear. There wasn't much reason to speculate about what was inside the building, I might as well wait and see for myself. Eve and I rode the bikes around town since the day had gotten warmer than most had been recently. Our rule was anything over 35F degrees was good enough to ride. It helped me keep my weight down and my stamina up. Eve just did it to hang out with me, I expected. As we pulled the bikes into the rear parking lot of the downtown house, I was giving lunch some thought. I might not have gotten so close to the homeless man, if I hadn't had my mind on the housing and the lunch situation. I would surely have realized that he wasn't any of the usual homeless who hangout in the downtown area. It had always been my biggest fault that my mind only works on a couple of things at a time. Of course I did notice him, when he walked toward us. It was at that time that I moved my hand close to the .38 while I watched his hands. I could never really forget that people wanted me dead. Since that was the case, every stranger was to be taken seriously. "Hello there," I said to the man. "Can I help you?" "They tell me you are good for a meal, I haven't eaten in a couple of days," he said. "I can do that, " I said as I reached into my pocket for my wallet. I kept my eyes on his while I worked the piece of cardboard from the canvas wallet. "Now you take this card to the corner of Lexington and Main streets and they will give you lunch and charge it to my account. Then you walk out Lexington Avenue till you get to the Light House Family Ministry. Go in there and they will give you a place to take a shower, some clean clothes and a bed." I kept my eyes on him. "It would be easier if you just gave me five bucks," he said. "Sweetie, if they told you I would give you a meal, they also told you I don't give cash to strangers. Now take the card and get the meal, then go find a place to get off the streets at the mission, or just move on." I said as kindly as I could and still be stern. He chose to grab my arm to make his next point. "Then I will just take the money," he said holding a large folding knife in front of him. He was obviously no killer. He was more into intimidation. Before I could tell him that he had made a terrible mistake, and before I could stop her, Eve had him by the throat. "Eve don't kill him. He doesn't mean to harm us, he is just stupid beyond belief." She took his weapon and pushed him hard against the brick wall of the downtown house. "Take the card friend and move out, or I will call the cops and an ambulance." I smiled at him with a wicked smile. He might as well know that we were the wrong two women to jump in the middle of the night. He should know, because he might stick around town. I would do for him to get killed, because he was ignorant. I had to go inside to calm down. Eve had no such problem. She hadn't changed her demeanor at all. She would have been totally calm while she broke his neck. To her it would have been no more than snapping a twig physically. Emotionally I had no idea how she would react. His killing could have been perceived as saving a life, mine. So it wouldn't violate her first directive, if that was indeed her first directive. I still wasn't sure what that directive was. We had a couple of hours to kill so I asked, "How about we go pick up some real food and go to the marina for lunch?" "I like the marina fine, you know I don't eat but I'll be happy to sit in the sunshine while you do," she said. So that's what we did, while we waited for time to meet Billy for our tour of the drugstore. Lunch turned out to be a large garden salad with fried chicken bits, corn chips, and a coke. As promised Eve sat in the sunshine and just seemed to recharge, which is exactly what she did in any sunlight. The time passed quickly since it was a pleasant day. Those always end too soon. We arrived about ten minutes early for our meeting with Billy Ames. While we waiting in the cruiser behind the drugstore, I saw the homeless man walking down the alley behind that block of main street. "What do you reckon, he is up to?" I asked Eve. "Would you like me to ask him?" she suggested with a smile. There was that almost human element again. "No, I prefer to keep us both out of jail. Not that I'm sure they could jail you." I suggested. "They could, if they didn't give me a physical," she said light heartedly. While she spoke, I watched the homeless man rattling doors. He knew we were in the car, but he didn't seem to care. I wondered what that was all about. Something about it didn't seem right. From out of nowhere it dawned on me. He had smelled wrong. That and the fact that I didn't recognize him was the tip off. He hadn't smelled of after shave or anything so obvious, but he also hadn't smelled of the street. The street smell was different from body odor, It was more the smell of decay. The man didn't have that smell, nor did he have a huge body odor. If a homeless man didn't have the street smell, then he had the smell of disinfectant from the Mission. The man wasn't homeless at all. He was an operative, whose I had no idea. Why an operative would confront me especially with a knife was hard to fathom. I decided that if he was still around after my meeting with Billy Ames, we would need to have a talk. One in which he did most of the talking. In the meantime I could get him hassled a little just for the hell of it. I dialed 911. "911 what is your emergency?" the male voice asked. "There is a homeless man in the alley behind north main street just past the railroad. He is rattling doors trying to get into the vacant buildings. You might want to send someone to check on him." "Who is calling please," she asked. "This is Maxine Stone," I said. "Very well Ms Stone we will have someone stop by. Do not approach the man, he might be dangerous." Or not, I thought. "No problem," I said in agreement. Two young patrolmen arrived at the same time as Billy Ames. "I explained to the patrolmen about the homeless man without going into the knife incident, or his lack of street smell. Let them work it out with him, I thought. Billy, Eve, and I went inside the rear door of the abandoned drugstore. It was dark inside without the power but Billy had a powerful lantern. The space was longer than it was wide. It was 42 feet wide Billy informed me and 68 feel long on each of the three floors. I had already been told that. What I was trying to figure was whether there was anything worth renovating in the space. The views would be the opposite of mine. Sunrise from the rear and sunset from the front for views. On the top floor they might be quite nice views from large windows and small balconies. The sun dipping behind my downtown house would be the evening view, but that still might be acceptable. I could get four shotgun units from the building as well as the downstairs entertainment area. Unlike the last place I looked at the heating equipment was in a utility room on the ground floor. Since it had been a steam boiler it had thick heavy walls around it. I thought serious bar, when I saw it. Not so much open to the public bar, as tenant space bar. I would need to give that a lot of thought. All in all the place had potential, but it all hung on the money as it almost always did. I had too many balls in the air. Hanging there waiting for money to fall. ------- Chapter 261: Drugstore and Co-Inky-Dink The very first thing I noticed about the abandoned drugstore was the floor. The tiles were black and white stone about a foot square. If that floor were to be removed carefully, it would be worth a bunch of money, I thought at the time. The walls and ceilings were painted plaster with a lot of cracks from the building settling. They looked a lot worse than they were. That I had learned from the downtown house renovation. The preacher's paint crew patched mine and yes the patches were visible but it was called character. The front wall would need the dreadful chrome and glass store front removed and something classy installed. I had no idea what that might be at the time. I knew it wouldn't be the granite block veneer of the original building. I was sure something striking could be done on a budget. The second flood was one big open space. It had been used for storage even the wooden racks used to sort the boxes were still in place. There was probably better wood in that storage unit, than I could buy at the Home Depot or Lowe's. The third floor was also open, it was possible to see out the front windows while standing beside the rear ones. The floors in both of the upper stories seemed to be unfinished hardwood. That would not surprise me at all since it is what was in my Downtown House. The ceiling was cracked and damaged on the upper floor and the floor had water damage. Again I knew from my own house that it could be repaired by the 'Few'. It wouldn't be easy or free, but it could be done reasonably. I checked the stairs in the rear and they were in very good condition. There had never been a real elevator, only a manual hoist for the movement of product between floors. The shaft was there but the block and tackle was laying in a heap at the bottom of it. Hemp rope didn't last forever. Adding a service lift would be possible but expensive. The rear service stairs was the only way up the building. There was however a metal fire escape system in the alley on the north side of the building. The fire exit for the two units on the south side of the building might be a challenge. The builder had used the same large windows on both sides of the building, so in theory a fire escape could be added to the south side as well. The major problem was that those would hang over the town's pedestrian sidewalk. I wasn't too sure how the town fathers would feel about that. There might be some horse trading to come. I could work something out, even if it was a fireman's slide pole, I thought. I was pretty well impressed with the building. Both the size and the condition seemed to be acceptable. Of course I was no structural engineer, that is why I had the 'Few' come look at all property I was considering. "Okay Billy, are we going to do a song and dance, or are you going to give me your best price up front?" I asked. "No song and dance and no negotiations, They are going to foreclose on this place in two weeks. If you can save it from foreclosure it's yours," he said. "And what will that take?" I asked. "Seventy five grand, plus a few more bucks," he said. "Who is holding the paper on the place?" I asked. "Siler Savings and Loan," he replied simply. "Billy is this the only property you have going into foreclosure? How about the Laundromat on Church Street?" "Max I'm losing almost all of it. That one I can keep only because it pays it's own way. As for most of it, the more I can moved to someone else, the less my judgment will be. If I ever want to go in business again, I would have to get that judgment. I need to keep it low enough to one day pay off," he said. I was sure that he was spitting into the wind, but I didn't want to burst his bubble. "Okay how much to buy the laundromat?" I asked. "That one is about forty for the building, and ten for the equipment," he said hopefully. What he didn't know, was that I wanted that laundromat a lot more than the drugstore. I figured the fifty thousand was a deal, if I could get the 'Few' to sign off on it. "Here is what we are going to do Billy, I am going to get my renovation crew to come inspect both these properties and they will tell me what the repairs are going to cost me. After that a commercial real estate appraiser will look at my plans and he will tell me what they will be worth when I'm finished. To me the buildings are worth half of that difference between the two figures. Do you understand?" "Of course, that is more than fair. The Drugstore you will have to deal with the S&L though," he reiterated. "I got it. I can get the crew out to look at the laundromat today and maybe this building as well. So lets get started on that." I said that as I dialed the number for 'His Laboring Few Ministry'. Eve and I moved the bikes across the street. The homeless man was gone when we left the drugstore. I was sure that he would turn up again. I got a call into Jen just before she left for the day. "Jen, Billy will be calling you if he hasn't already." "He has. The man is desperate to dump that property. Not so much the laundromat, but the other one." she said. "I want the laundromat more than the drugstore, so make the deal dependent on that. Get me authority to deal with the S&L, before I invest any time into the project." "I'll get it taken care of tomorrow. If the 'Few' give you the green light are you going through with it?" Jen asked. "I'm pretty sure I will yes," I said. "You are going to setup a reception hall in the first floor?" she asked. "That is the plan. I'm going to let Helen design it, I think." I admitted. That's a big building isn't it?" "Yes it is," I said, not sure where it was all going. "Could you work in a little lobby with a fancy set of stairs going up to the second floor?" she asked. "You know the few can do anything, what are you thinking Jen?" I asked. "I know you are thinking of making condos, so how about I buy the second floor. You won't have to touch it. You just get the building solid again and I'll do the rest." she said. "Jen you have a nice office and house, why would you want to move there?" I asked. "It's a class location and I'd have room to grow," she admitted. "Jen, it is not a class location by any means," I said. "Classier than mine for sure," she said. "Plus I am right there for Helen to handle my Christmas party." "I had planned on each of the two floor paying half of the total cost of purchase and renovations," I admitted. "Then I'll pay 50% of the building's purchase and 50% of the repair cost including Helen's space. I'll draw up the sales contract, if you think you can trust me?" she said. "Jen, you have my power of attorney. If you wanted to screw me, this deal would be the very least of my worries." I said. "Good then is it a deal?" she asked. "You know that you can still back out anytime up till we close," I said. "I know. Now say we have a deal you slut, so that I can start picking out colors," she said. "All right, we have a deal," I said. That still left me two units I could convert for the newcomers. I doubted that any of them would want to stay there permanently. I also had my doubts that anyone would really want to settle in Aster. It was late enough after my call with Jen so that Eve and I went to the Cowboy's Bar and Grill. I hadn't been there in a while and I had an urge for their greasy burger with chili, mustard, onions and slaw. Sarah, one of the two regular bartenders, greeted me with a smile and a cup of coffee. "Sarah love this is Eve, Eve this is my cowgirl buddy Sarah," I smiled at them both. After they nodded I continued. "Sarah I want one of your burger beer joint style," I said. "Yes ma'am, what can I get for you Eve?" she asked. "I think just a beer please," she said. "What kind sweetie, we have about a dozen brands," she informed her. Eve smiled and whispered, "Surprise me, they all taste alike to me." There was that hint of humanity again. Sarah said. "One burger and one draft it is." I finally turned toward the room and looked around. Helen's step daughter Julie was sitting in a booth against the back wall. I thought about running her ass out again, but she was working and as far as I knew had straightened out. Of course, I thought she was seeing Lucas, and it wasn't Lucas who shared the booth with her. Since her love life was none of my business, I turned back in time to see Sarah set the burger down in front of me. "Coffee, Burger and beer comes to $5.24," she said. "Want me to start you a tab hon?" "I better pay as I go. I never know when I will have to leave in a hurry." I said smiling. "Yeah, seems it's either you leave all heated up, or with the cops escort you out." Sarah said with a laugh. "Hey now I ain't complaining," she went on. "These cowboys need to learn to respect women. You are about the only one who can for sure make them." "Well I do try," I said. "Don't let her kid you Sarah, Maxine never takes prisoners," Eve said smiling. "Are you trying to get me thrown out of here?" I asked after Sarah had gone. "You have to be kidding, that chick has a crush on you." Eve said. "You are so full of it." After I finished the burger and the coffee a man who I had never seen before asked me to dance. Not only did he ask politely, he had a very distinguished voice. I was about to stand when Eve whispered, "It's the homeless man." I gave him a more serious look and sure enough it was. "Would you rather go somewhere and talk or dance?" I asked. "Dance first, then talk," he said. "Actually I would prefer to dance with both of you. One at a time of course. then talk to both of you at once." "Oh, is talk what you have in mind?" I asked. "Well at first anyway," he replied. The man was a player for sure. He wasn't a rough trade operative like me and Martin, he was a finesse operative. He was the one who slipped into the office over lunch and copies the files. "Then lets find a table where we can leave Eve while we dance," I suggested. Eve moved to a booth along the side of the room near the bathrooms. She wouldn't need the bathroom but she could keep an eye on the room from her location. Not that the stranger and I weren't doing it as well. "So do you have a name?" I asked. "Everyone has a name. In my case I have more than one, don't you?" he asked. "Not often, I work the other side of the street." I said. "What makes you think, I work anything?" he asked. "You are a bum in the morning and a dandy in the evening." I said with a nod. "How did you recognize me?" he asked. "It's a small town. Two strangers approach me in one day. That is a coincidence and I always look a co-inky-dink in the mouth," I said. "Good policy," he suggested. "Now the name?" I asked. "My favorite name is Leon," he said. "Then Leon it is," I replied as we danced and I felt his penis stiffen. ------- Chapter 262: Eve & Me & Leon Makes 3 I might have been a little over forty, but Leon was a just on the sunny side of sixty. To give myself as big a break as I possibly could, I would describe myself as rough around the edges. If I had been at Rosewater's, I would have been dressed better and probably worn one of the fancy wigs. Since I was at cowboys, I was in jeans, which were at least clean. I was also in a moderately heavy tee top. The heavy fabric of the tee was to help hide my small tummy and the bulge in my pocket. My bulge was even harder than Leon's bulge. Mine was cold hard steel. Since I didn't plan to fight, I was traveling light. It was the double barrel .410 gauge derringer that created the bulge. I also had a folding knife and my newest toy, the stun gun. The stun gun was my replacement for the leather and lead slapjack of my military days. I no longer carried pepper spray, but I still owned it. I would still carry it, if I thought I might need to convince more than one man to leave me the fuck alone. Leon was just a tad on the prissy side of macho, but not a sissy by any means. He just dressed and spoke with a little more class, than almost any man I knew who wasn't gay. Even his casual clothes were more 'with it' than anything I owned period. I tried to steer him away from Eve as much as possible. She seemed to be gravitating to him. I figured her handlers knew what they were doing, so I let it move ahead. They should realize that Leon was no college professor, but who was I to second guess the controller, whoever that might be. Some computer nerd no doubt. It was probably even a pimply faced boy. Yes I realized that I sounded jealous, and I didn't think much of myself for the emotions. Even if Eve had been real, it would have been stupid. Considering who she was, it bordered on insane. I watched the two of them dance to the jukebox music at Cowboy's and wondered how well they would do at a real dance club. They were very fluid and frankly made a beautiful couple. I danced with a couple of truckers or the like, while the two of them spun around the floor. I didn't really mind. I was completely sober at midnight and of course Eve was as well. On the other hand Leon was a little 'in his cups' as he had said earlier. "So Leon can we give you a ride home?" I asked. "Of course, I would love to go home with you," he said with a wicked grin. Maybe he wasn't as drunk as I thought. "I meant a ride to your home, or at least where you are staying," I suggested. "Oh I checked out of the place this morning, before I became a homeless bum," he said. "Oh really, where are your things?" I asked. "I have no things. I left all that behind, when I left my last job and I mean it was my last job." he said. "Oh, traumatic departure?" I asked it imagining a run to the airport in a hail of gunfire. "Let's say I won't be heading back to the birthplace of Dracula anytime soon," he said with a giggle like girl. Maybe he is gay, I thought. "So how did you wind up here?" I had a pretty good idea. "My old Russian friend told me about this place. I had to come see for myself though. You do know tourists don't see anything my dear. You have to get down to the streets to see how people treat you. It all runs from the top down, getting a little dirtier as it settles." He informed us. "So how did you find Aster?" Eve asked. "I found it to be everything Vlad said so far. I need a few more days to make a decision though." he informed me. "Where had you planned to stay while you are deciding?" I asked. "With Vlad of course," he assured me. "But alas Vlad isn't here yet," I suggested. "Now you tell me," he replied light heartedly. "Actually I knew that, he will be along in a couple of days. In the meantime I was hoping you knew a place." "Leon, I don't have a place yet. I am working on it, but at the moment I really don't," I admitted. "Then dear, I guess you are going to have me as a house guest until we can find a place," he said. "And what makes you think I would entertain a complete stranger, even a charming one?" I replied. "I know this is an open city and therefore, no matter what side I played for, I'm no threat to you. So let's call it a professional courtesy," he suggested. "Besides Vlad and Anya will be here by Friday latest." "Tomorrow is Thursday so okay, but you entertain yourself, I have things to do," I informed him. "Well, if you are too busy, perhaps the beautiful Eve could show me around." he suggested. "That is up to the beautiful Eve," I admitted. Might as well let her learn to make her own excuses. "We will have to wait and see what I have planned," Eve said smiling sweetly. The next two days had the potential to be a huge cluster fuck. "None of the ordinary people in this town know about the pending invasion of over the hill spys," I said. "One does for sure," he said looking at me. "If you mean Jennifer, she isn't really one of them or of us. She is kinda in the middle and all of us need her. Somebody has to deal with the straight people. We aren't exactly going to be able to walk into a bank and apply for a credit card." I said. "Why would I do that, I can just steal someone else's?" he said. "Not if you plan to stay here you can't, see what I mean. In order to fit in. we gave to learn to fit in." You might not understand that, but i assure you he did. He knew unlike our usual life, we were in it for the long haul in Aster. "Well I did leave the business with a nice termination bonus," he said. "I do hope there won't be any questions about that bonus?" I said seriously. "Hardly, the people who paid it were glad to get rid of me," he said. I'm going to trust you," I said. Just as quickly as the conversation had turned to real life issues, it turned away from them. "So do we all sleep in the same bed, or do we rotate?" he asked. "We can work that out at home," I admitted. I got a good look at Leon at that moment. Leon was extremely average which was probably the best thing in his line of work. He was a smidgen under six feet tall. His hair was and inch or so long and a very common brown color. His eyes were brown and very unremarkable. His weight was appropriate for his height, I mean the man was totally average right up until he opened his mouth, at that point he became most remarkable. That could be toned down and even extinguished by turning off that charm. He had the charm on full throttle for Eve and I. I had to admit that he was remarkable. It wasn't just what he said, or even that sexy accent of his. He also knew how to touch a woman. It was both intimate and casual at the same time. It had to be how he had survived long enough in his business to retire. Women most likely ran in front of the bullets for him. I could actually imagine that quite easily. "You are going to love Jen. but more importantly she is going to love you." I said it with a huge smile. If there were ever two people made for each other, it was these two. As long as the two of them did not take it too seriously, they would be cool to have around. Since it was inevitable that Jen and Leon would do the did, it was incumbent on me to try him out first. It was just how things were done between me and my best friend. As for Eve, it was up to her how much or little she wanted to be involved. "So Leon other than screw all the available women in town, what are your plans here?" I asked during the drive back to my Downtown House. "That's a terrible thing to say," he suggested with a grin. I could see it even in the dark car. "I have no idea. Vlad said we probably wouldn't need to work at all here, but you are right. I will go mad without something to occupy my time. Perhaps I will teach. I do have a rather impressive number of degrees," he admitted. "Are they do it yourself degrees, or did you really take the courses?" I asked. "Good point, sometimes I forget which are real and which are as you say DIY," he was grinning again. "Actually I think I would like to deal in estate jewelery." "That is interesting. I can imagine buying old jewelry and resetting the stones or just reselling it. That would probably keep one busy." I said "And bored to tears," he said. "Well, I'm sure with your charm, you will make new friends," Eve said almost woodenly as we entered the rear door of the Downtown House. "Oh I love this place," Leon said after the tour. "There is a buzz around town that you are going create more downtown condos, I want one." "We will see how you feel tomorrow. For now I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed," I said. "Is that an invitation," Leon asked. "That my dear Leon is open to interpretation. In general, if you need an invitation then no it isn't," I said cryptically. I quickly stripped off my top and then my jeans. I pulled on an old lightweight tee shirt and climbed into bed in just panties and my tee. "Find yourself a spot to flop Leon." Eve Joined me in the big bed and Leon followed her. I don't usually have threesomes with robots. Actually I have never had an active threesome with a robot. I doubt that many others have either. Last time I was in a sexual situation with Eve, I was more observer than participant. It was different with Leon. With Eve and Leon, I found myself right there amongst 'em. Sex with Leon might have been interesting alone, since I'm sure he had some different experiences than either Eve or I. But with them both, it was just plain strange. Mostly because I knew what Leon didn't. For instance, when Eve went in to the bathroom before sex, it wasn't to drain anything. That would have been the case with me, for her it was to grease the skids, so to speak. Leon was slightly over endowed which was probably part of his charm as well. He was also a very good kisser. He had a gentle touch as well. All of those things led me to the point where I looked forward to his penis inside me. He chose Eve first, so I didn't object. Unfortunately he was good for only one orgasm. It had to be an age thing. He was however a thoughtful lover so he did this cute little oral thing for me. I found it quite enjoyable. I came more than once for him, then I came several more times for Eve while Leon watched. Eve was experimenting. Leon couldn't have known some of the things she did were for the first time. ------- Chapter 263: Euro Trash and Drugstores Since Eve just turns off and stays turned off until I start moving around, and Leon had the operatives trick of sleeping like the dead, when he felt safe, I was the one who showered first. When I came out my hair was soaked and laying flat against my head in clumps. I wore my morning outfit just as if I were home alone. I wore grey sweat pants and a red sweat shirt. The were shapeless but they were warm and easy to maintain. I could wear them an hour or two in the morning for a week before I needed to take them to Susu the washer woman. "Aren't you the beauty queen?" Leon asked rhetorically. "Why yes, thank you Mr Gable," I replied sarcastically. "It is true that my clothes are crumpled, and I probably smell bad, but all that can be fixed. You, Ms. Stone. will still look the same more or less, when you get cleaned up." he said with a smile. "I am cleaned up asshole. I'm not so sure I want or need this much honesty in the mornings," I replied. Eve showed up only after everyone else had finished in the bathroom. Leon had used my leg shaving razor to shave his beard which completely wrecked the razor. While Eve ran the water in the bathroom, as if she were showering and doing other morning things, I decided to speak to Leon. "So, Leon you used my shower and my razor. I'm going to have to run you around this morning so you my friend can buy breakfast," I said. "Of course, can we go somewhere they serve crepes?" he asked. "Not unless you came up with a car over night. If you are dependant on me, it is breakfast at Helen's, then a walk in the mall. After that we can start deciding whether you will stay or not. If you stay, you are going to need to build a life quickly." I suggested. "I assume you have access to cash or a credit card, because I do not loan spies money." "I can get cash love, and yes I have decided to stay for a while at least," he suggested. It was almost nine by the time we got to Helen's. I had the spicy eggs on a biscuit bag. Eve had a plain bagel with cream cheese and jelly, just to keep up appearances. Leon decided that he would try the eggs with bacon and cheese on a French roll. Since we were late and there were three of us, I chose a small picnic table for breakfast. "This actually isn't bad to have come from a bag. It isn't a four star restaurant, but the food is good and the coffee is wonderful for a side of the road restaurant," Leon admitted. "If you drive twenty miles to Tryon, there are many good restaurants. Some of them are rated, but most aren't. Just like you would find in any other town its size," I volunteered. "I am going to need a car for sure. Even if I don't settle here, I am going to settle in the states. A car is the only way to get around. Why don't you sell me one of the cruisers?" he asked. "Because we have gotten along so far, the quickest way to have hard feeling is to sell you a car. I have no idea why, but if I sell anything to a friend it is garbage in a month and we blame each other for it. So. the answer is no on the sale, but you can borrow it or rent it for a couple of weeks, if you need it for more than a quick trip somewhere." It was the best I was going to do for him, otherwise I would take him to Hertz or one of the other rent shops. After breakfast I drove the three of us to the mall where we began to walk. After lap two, the dancer showed up. I never quite figured her out, so I wasn't surprised when she and Leon took an instant dislike to each other. "Phony bitch," Leon said as we walked away from her. "She dresses and acts like she is European, but she is just Euro-trash wanna be. You would be surprised how much of that I see in the states." "I'm gonna have to take your word for it. I have no experience with Euro-trash real or fake," I admitted with a grin. "Then you are indeed fortunate." Leon suggested turning his attention to a mens store which had just opened it's grill. "You two continue on, I'm going shopping." "I am surprised that you are willing to shop in our little mall," I admitted. "Good clothes are good clothes, poorly made clothes are the same everywhere. At the moment I expect everything to be trash, so one trash heap is the same as another," he informed me. After a few yards into that next lap the dancer came up behind us just booking it. "Who is that dreadful man?" she asked. "Friend of a friend, I am entertaining him for a few days," I lied. "Well he is so damned arrogant," she said. "I don't think I have ever met anyone so arrogant." "Actually I find him not quite so arrogant as most of the French people I have met. Still you would know better than me." I admitted. "How long is he going to be in town?" she asked. She didn't seem near as frosty as she had when they met. "He is likely to be around either a few days, or maybe move here permanently," I replied vaguely. "He is looked for a place to retire." "Ah well, Aster is a good place for that," she said without much conviction. You have no idea, I thought. "I like it here, so his friend thought he might as well." While Leon was shopping the estimator for 'His Laboring Few' ministry called me. He informed me that he had arranged with Billy Ames to get into the two buildings. The Laundromat was open, so it was first. After he did an estimate to bring it up to code and made measurements for other things he would meet us at the drugstore. He figured it would be lunch before he could get Billy out there. "So it's noon at the drugstore," I suggested. "Yeah, I'll call you, if there are any changes." he promised. "We had an hour and a half to kill, so Leon do you want to start looking for a place to crash, or do you want to look for a car to rent?" I asked. "Actually, I want to look for Vlad, he is supposed to be coming in on a plane today. So, can I borrow one of the cruisers to pick them up?" he asked. "Of course, what time are they due in?" I asked. "The plane lands at 12:30. I should have them clear of the airport by 1PM I think," he said. "Do they have a place to stay?" I asked. "They know a motel that doesn't ask questions and isn't too seedy," Leon admitted. "Well why didn't you stay there last night?" I thought about it just a second then said, "Don't answer that, it would be embarrassing." Leon just nodded. When we got back to the Downtown House, I gave him the keys to the Woodie. I wanted to keep the Maroon Cruiser just in case we wanted to take the bikes somewhere. The walk had been longer than usual, because Leon was a picky shopper. It took him two hours to do what I could have done in five minutes. I sat looking out my big front window, while I drank another cup of coffee and tried to decide how I felt about the drugstore. Even more importantly, how I felt about having Jen for a neighbor. Before I knew it, I recognized a man on the sidewalk as the "Few's" foreman. He was walking around outside the drugstore. I left the coffee cup and jaywalked across the street. "So what do you think?" I asked. "I think the laundromat is a good deal as far as renovations are concerned. Billy kept it up pretty well, not great but pretty well. It's also built more recently and was built for simplicity. Nothing fancy there." he said. "That's what I wanted to hear," I replied. "This one I don't know about yet. It's steel post and beam construction. It's how they would have built it, if it were 1800s construction, only it would have been wood. I can give you an idea in a few minutes then you can decide if you want the full repair estimate." The deal we had worked out was a free preliminary estimate, then a hundred bucks for a full detailed estimate guaranteed to within five percent. The hundred would be deducted if they got the job. That being the case I just nodded to him my agreement. Since there was no place to get a cup of coffee and my place was right across the street, I decided to leave the two of them to their walk through the building. "Come on over when you finish and I'll give you a cup of coffee for your efforts." I said. "Fair enough," the reformed drunk agreed. "I have to get back to the office, but thanks for the invitation, another time?" Billy asked. "Sure, Jen said she would call you to set up a time to do the paperwork for both places at once," I explained to Billy. He nodded, then the two men went back inside the building. It was almost an hour since the foreman took measurements and gave the building a good look see assessment. He had plenty of time for the preliminary estimate. I had the coffee on and fresh. I was also dressed in jeans and a clean sweatshirt. "So what's the bad news?" I asked as I handed him the coffee. "My first guess is 75K to 125K as a first guess. That is just the structural repairs and adding some kind of fire escapes. You know you will need those to pass code." he reminded me. You are still going to have heat and air for it and plumbing and electrical. I have reviewed your preliminary plans and it will be close, I think. If there is any profit it will be long term." "Yeah from the Downtown House, I learned to think long term. since I'm not a real estate developer, I'm not too concerned with the payback time on it. I just want to fill a need I see. So. let's see if I can work out something with the bank. If I can, when can you get with me to give me a binding estimate?" I asked. "Most any time Maxine, you are our best customer. Not the biggest, just the one that is the most fun." he said it flashing me with his almost toothless smile. I called Billy at his office, "Give me a price for the Laundromat, and then plan to sign a release on the drugstore." I said. "I decided that I want a thousand dollars cash to sign over the drugstore," he said. "How the hell did you ever stay in business Billy. All you had to do was to add that to the price of the Laundromat. You are about to blow this deal because you are a stupid negotiator. Give me a fucking price you dip stick." I said angrily. "The laundromat is paid for so it's 45K for that and the release," he said. "No way," Sorry to have wasted your time. We are through." I said. In his case, it was a mild shut down, not a final word. "What do you have in mind? You know the Laundromat is worth that?" he made it a question. "I'm getting a laundromat I don't really want, and a building that is going to cost me a fortune. Now there is a real deal. I can just buy a downtown building and turn it into a laundromat for half that." "Alright Maxine $39K for my interest in the downtown drugstore and the laundromat." he said. "I'll call Jen, and have her girl call you with a time to do the papers." I said. "This is cash Maxine, I'm not carrying any paper." "Not to worry Billy. it's all cash but probably an escrow check from Jen," I said as if I were talking to a child. ------- Chapter 264: Country Club Dinner I called Jennifer just as soon as I knew we were a go with Billy. I left a message with her girl Friday dejour. She went through receptionists like most women went through Kotex. Not only did the message include the details of the Billy Ames deal. It also informed her that Ivan and Anya, not to mention Leon, would be in town for dinner tonight. I had no idea what their mood or condition would be. I was giving her a heads up. I left the Billy Ames thing totally up to Jennifer. Eve and I went for a bike ride into the really classy housing section of town. I had no desire to live on one of the quiet, tree lined streets, but they did make a nice place to ride a bike. We must not have been too bad a sight for the old fogies, and their lawn boys, since we always got smiles and waves from the residents. When we got back from the ride there were messages on my phone. I nevert answered the phone, when I was on a bike. I had no desire to wind up under the wheels of a truck. Full attention to the road seemed like the best bicycle plan. Back in the Downtown House I called Jen first, since her message might hold a clue as to the others. "I need to speak to Jennifer," I said to the newish receptionist. "Yes ma'am the boss said to put you right through." the teenage voice said. "Maxine, I have been getting calls all afternoon," she said first thing. "Nice to hear from you too. Glad you are doing well. Now exactly what can I do about that?" I asked. "Billy will sign on Wednesday of next week. My paralegal is over at the courthouse now. You have a meeting at the Savings and Loan to negotiate a pay off on Monday at 1pm. We can have the letter of intend ready for Billy to sign on Wednesday. That will make all of it legal by the end of next week," she informed me. "I am impressed. I never saw you move so fast," I said. "I know you want to get this over with, and fortunately we are dealing with motivated sellers on both pieces of property. I expect it all to go very easily," she said. "I'll believe it when I see it," I said. "Ivan, Anya, Leon, James, and Ruth are all meeting Bob and I at the club for dinner. How about you and Eve coming along." she suggested. "Jeeze Jen, what in hell possessed you to invite all those guys to dinner at once. I sure as hell hope you chose somewhere with metal detectors." I replied. "Maybe they have a detector left over from the President's visit last year," she said only half joking. "So how about it? want to join us?" "Oh hell I wouldn't miss it, You have all screwed me the least you can do is buy my dinner," I said. "Not all, James and Ruth haven't I'm sure, and if I'm not mistaken Anya missed you as well. So that means only about half of us. But then it just might be the night to finish the list," she said with a laugh. "What time does the torture begin?" I asked. "The plan is 9PM," she said. "Shit, I'm going to have to go to McDonald's at 6PM so I don't pass out from hunger." I said. "Do that since there will be wine, I don't want you getting drunk and showing your ass. Of course like you said the majority of us have already seen it anyway. Now be there dressed in one of those pretty dresses the fag picked out for you, and wear a wig so you don't embarrass me." "Can do, head Housewife of Aster," I said. Eve and I started getting ready for the dinner date at 7PM. There were showers to take, and make up to apply. Then there was a dresses to choose, and special underwear to find in my tangled dresser drawers. Believe it or not that all took from 7 until 8:30. By the time I was put together, I needed a stiff drink, but I decided not to do it. I didn't want to start out ahead of the others. By the time we got all the other little odds and ends done, it was a hello of a rush to be just twenty minutes late. Jennifer as hostess was already in the bar waiting for us. James and Ruth were seated at the table with she and Bob. Ruth was matronly chic I was glad to see. She obviously had brought a fancy dress with her from the old days. Jennifer and Bob were always fashion conscious, so there had been no question they would be the Ken and Barbie for the evening. I was in my solid red clingy draped thing, and Eve was in my black cocktail dress. Both dresses were chosen for me by the same gay guy. He also helped me choose my wigs and taught me how to apply make up. All that learned less than a year before. How did I ever get along before him. I ordered a glass of white wine while Eve and I joined the conversation. James was talking about horses and barns. It was cool stuff I'm sure for James and Bob. Ruth looked interested but only in the 'whatever you want hon' kind of way. Jennifer made no pretense she was checking out the room for Ivan and his troops. "So Maxine have you made your plan for the drugstore?" she asked after a sweep of the room with her eyes. I have a couple of plans. You know one if by land and two if by sea," I said. "Well, I think I was a little carried away. I am not quite ready to grow just yet. I hope you won't be terribly put out if I choose not to buy your second floor." she said. "Frankly I'm relieved. The place isn't even going to have an elevator. It won't be your kind of place at all," I said. I looked up when Jen moved her attention to the door. There they were Leon in one of his new suits, Ivan in a suit that obviously had been in a suitcase two hours before, and Anya. Anya was a big woman. Not chubby but big all over Tall for a chick, big boobs, no visible tummy, but a big butt. She was just an Amazon warrior princess period. She was also in a red jersey dress that clung to her giant frame. I couldn't get over how different she looked from the cop I had met a couple of years before. "You guys are gorgeous," I admitted as I stood to greet them. When Anya hugged me I braced myself just in case she decided to crush a rib or two. She didn't. She seemed very gentle but not at all soft. "You guys are late," James said not a bit diplomatic. Then James was more like me and Ivan than Leon and the women. "I had to go buy a dress," Anya said. "So, if you need to blame someone, it would be me." She gave him a look that would have terrified most men but James was not most men. "Then I will blame you. So unless you people plan to order breakfast, could we go into the dinning room now?" he suggested. "In Spain I have often had dinner at midnight," Leon said. "So the night is young." "In the mountains of Afghanistan, I have often missed meals completely, but that doesn't mean I want to do it when I'm back in civilization," James replied. "So you don't think Spain is civilized?" Ivan asked. "They finally outlawed bull fights, so maybe they are getting there," I suggested in an attempt to calm them a bit. "So I'm starved, I never eat this late myself." "Good," James said standing. When we presented ourselves at the dinning room, the hostess seated us immediately. Like any good operative, I had checked them all for weapons. It went without saying that all the women, except Jen, had pistols and other assorted professional tools in their bags. Of the men, I was sure James was armed. The ever so slight bulge under his left arm was noticeable to the trained eye. Ivan would have a small 9mm in his back pocket. It wasn't much of a weapon, unless he shoved it in your belly, but that's just what he would do. Leon most likely had a derringer, probably .22 so it wouldn't ruin the lines of his suit. There would also likely be a significant number of knives and box openers present at the table for dinner. It would not be a good night for domestic trouble in the club. Fortunately for us all, the night went well. Dinner was adequate but nothing special. The Europeans seemed to enjoy it more than the rest of us. The meal didn't end until 11PM. I had decided early that there were too many personalities for me to deal with at once. I had no idea what the others planned, but after dinner I headed home. I was standing just outside the door waiting for the valet to bring the cruiser, when Ivan asked me quietly,"Are we okay?" "Yes, I owe you a thank you other than that we are fine," I answered. "Good, I will get your car back to you just as soon as we buy one. We will be looking for something this weekend I'm sure." he said. "Get Jen to give you some advice on how to spend your money without tripping any triggers," I suggested. "I will check with her, but we have our ways in the old country," he said with a smile. "Maxine, I do like your new friend. She is quiet but very beautiful and sexy as well," Anya said. "I thought you were homophobic," I replied. "One doesn't have to ride the horse to appreciate it's beauty," she answered. It was an answer that really didn't answer the question at all. When we arrived home I expected the evening to be over. I was mistaken of course. "We should do something to celebrate," Eve said. "Celebrate what?" I asked. "That we had dinner with all those armed people and nobody got shot," she replied with a wicked grin. "Well how about we just go to bed instead?" I asked. "How about we compromise we go to bed and celebrate there," she suggested. "That wouldn't be much of a celebration for you," I suggested. "You are so wrong. Maxine I know that you have had sexual encounters with men and gotten nothing in return. You have given blow jobs, when you were exhausted. You have done it just for the satisfaction you derived from pleasing someone else. I know because I am a woman remember I have a woman's memories and emotions, even if I don't have all the systems working just yet." "So what you are saying is; lets go to bed and you will service me like a whore. Someone I paid for the evening." I suggested. "That's a little crude, but I suppose so." Eve agreed. "Okay, I can work with that," I said leading her to the bed. Eve kissed me and her mouth felt the same an any other woman I had kissed. Her hands explored my body. Even the fact that she was who she was, added to the excitement of it. I was turned on beyond what I normally am even before she slipped lower in the bed and put her warm mouth over my genitals. She licked and sucked me expertly. Even if it was all business with her it was a great experience simply because there was nothing for me to do but lay back and concentrate on me. When I orgasmed it was explosive and it went on and on. I finally knew what it was like to be exhausted sexually. ------- Chapter 265: Boring (out of story note: Thought you might find it interesting that this site will have 50K hits by 9pm. The sol site has over 68k hits. The Maxine soap opera has over a 110k hits. Of course I wanted to say thank you) (Also the orthopedic guy said I was good to go finally) The weekend came and went with nothing of interest happening. Monday I attended the meeting with the savings and loan officer. He made me an offer and I made him a counter offer based on the cost and amount of work to renovate the building He based his on the amount left on the loan, which they had given Billy. When the real estate market was rolling, Billy had bought the building then never quite figured out what to do with it. It was my plan to buy it at the bottom end of the cycle and renovate it immediately. I figured to turn it into four units and the reception hall just as quickly as possible. The loan officer was sympathetic with the plan, but not very helpful. It looked as though I had wasted not only my time, but also that of 'His Laboring Few'. "You have to understand Ms Stone, we are not in the business of losing money," he said with a smile. "Neither am I," I said without the greasy smile. I hoped that it had the same finality. "The difference is, I can recognize, when I am in a no win situation. Buying a building that needs a Quarter of a million dollars of renovations at almost any price is a loser. So I think I am going to just let you carry this on your books as a default." "I know you want to build another dwelling unit downtown Ms Stone, so where will you go for a building?" he asked in that greasy voice. "Courthouse steps," I said standing to go. "Ms Stone," an even older man, who had sat quietly in the corner, said. "You know we can't take a complete loss on the building. If we take the principle we loaned Mr Ames and subtract his payments directly from that, would you pay the difference." "Billy borrowed $100.000 on the building more or less," he said. "His payments, if applied directly to that figure would bring the price down to $80,000 more or less." the old man said. "No, I can't do that. I will up my offer to $60,000 even though that will put me in a shaky position," I said. You are going to have to write off 20K or 80K it's up to you. If I take the building, it leaves your portfolio forever. If someone else takes it, you might have to carry the note for them. Potentially the expense of servicing the note goes on forever." "So this is a cash transaction on our books?" the younger man asked. "It is. My lawyer will write you an escrow check." I suggested. "You drive a hard bargain Ms. Stone, but I think we can work with that figure. Have your lawyer send us a proposal and we will counter sign it." he said, "Mr. Jennings, you don't want to drag your feet on this. Don't give me an excuse to bail on this deal. Jen will get something to you today, so that I can get something done with Billy day after tomorrow. If it isn't ready to go, I am going to bail on the deal. It isn't that good of a deal anyway." "Then why are you doing it," the older man asked. "Friendship," I replied as I stood to leave. "Just doing a solid, for people who did one for me." By Friday I was sure things with Billy were going to work out. Vlad brought the Woody back to me. He was being followed by Leon in an almost new Honda of some kind. "So I see you bought a car?" I commented. "Yes, it is a rental car sold by Avis. The price was good and your friend Jen arranged for the money to change hands without too much paperwork." he said. "Yeah Jen is good about spending other people's money. She probably should become a loan shark, god know she has enough muscle for the collections. Her client list has to be filled with the worst of the worst." I said. I was a little surprised when Vlad laughed so easily. "So when do I get to see the plans for your townhouse units?" he asked. "Depends on how much imagination you have?" I said. "My imagination is just fine, I could image that you were a normal woman," he said laughing. "Oh and what am I?" I asked seriously. "I have decided that you are either a transsexual or have a sever hormonal issue," he said with a laugh. "Oh does the beard give me away?" I asked. "No, you are the only woman I know, who would lay in the woods for a day just to kill a man," he said. "Well that doesn't sound like a compliment," I said. "It depends on whether you want someone to take to the opera, or to stand watch outside the building where you are working." "It is true that I don't care for the opera, but I don't care to be the lookout either," I said. "But I would trust you to be the lookout, but if I took you to the opera, everyone would know you were pretending." Vlad laughed trying to ease his words. It didn't really work that well. "I'll show you the space anytime you want," I agreed. "Then it is just across the street. Lets go look," he suggested. We entered through the front door. "I'm thinking a security door here in the front and a grand stairway leading up to the two higher floors." I saw his look of concern. "Not a grand stairway hon, the grand entrance. One stairway on either side going to different floors. What I have now is a service stairs entering from the rear door. They originally used the upper floors for storage or something of the sort. It might have even been some kind of sweatshop. They did some sewing in the downtown back during WWII. This might have been where they did it." We were on the large open second floor when he said, "Yes it is not very, how do you say, user friendly at the moment. "That's exactly how you say it. We will probably do with a small hallway right here around the rear stairs with a door to each of two units. Both units will have a street view from the font and a parking lot view from the rear. One will have a side view of the street and the other an alley view. I would love to make it different but I can't. However since the building next door is one story, the top floor units will all have view of some sort. I'm thinking I might have to hold onto the one unit with no view and make it a rental unit." What I didn't tell him was that they all might be rentals if they didn't sell quickly. "So the units will be railroad tunnel designs," he said. "Exactly," I agreed. "Pretty much like my place only all on one floor." "Before you do anything to the interior of the unit, I would like to see it and make an offer possibly." Vlad said quietly. "You know there will be a homeowners association fee for the exterior maintenance," I explained. "Yes, I am aware of that." he admitted. Vlad left and I felt better about the building. My life revolved around builders and building inspectors for the next two months. While the building was under renovation, we got all the paperwork on the laundromat worked out. After a month of dicking with the all girls school, and setting up the trust for the baby, everything just seemed to happen at once. I took a load of clothes to the laundromat when it was all settled. "Susu we need to talk," I said it to get her away from her mother. I wasn't all that easy and I hadn't expected it to be. Once we were alone I continued, "Your baby's father was killed yesterday. He died in a prison fight. Nobody knows just exactly how it happened, but he won't be back to bother you again." I waited to judge her reaction, but there was none. She wasn't happy or sad, just accepting of it as part of her lot in life. "So I decided that you and I needed to work out a deal. No one else has to know unless you want to tell them. I bought this building from Billy Ames. I am your new landlady, so in exchange for you doing my laundry free forever, I am going to sign it over to your baby. That is if you want it. You not only don't have to pay for your use, you get to keep the money from everyone else's use of the machines, just like Billy did." "Why are you doing this?" she asked bluntly. Obviously her mother's suspicion of American's was passed on to her. "Because you have always been fair with me. You and your mother have worked hard and as far as I can tell, you have asked nothing of anyone. So you deserve a break. And of course I hate to wash clothes. It's just a business deal for me," I said. "How can I thank you?" she asked. "You can get rich, and then do something kind for someone else one day," I said. "Now explain this to your mom without making it sound like I am trying to pull something over on her." It was my good deed for the year, and of course no good deed goes unpunished. I got on the emailing list of the School for the donation I had arranged. I forwarded them on to the gang leader in prison. I thought that was only fair. Since I wasn't actually doing any of the work on the drugstore, I was bored to tears. Now and then I dressed in my oldest clothes and went to the building to swing a hammer or clean something. It just wasn't the same as having a job. Eve became a frequent flier during that time as well. She began going places for a few days at a time. I had no idea what she was doing and I didn't really want to know. I was spending more and more time at the Marina. I was even considering sailing lessons, but it was just a vague thought in the back of my mind. I was authorizing payments left and right for purchases or work for the Drugstore ... I had a third of a million bucks in the Drugstore when I finished paying the bills. The weather was gorgeous for the July 4th grand opening. Vlad bought his unit before 'His Laboring Few' even finished the structural work on the others. He had a crew of Russian ex-patriots working on the interior. There were more than a few arguments for me to mediate, but all in all they worked pretty well together. Vlad chose the unit on the second floor with views of both city streets. I had expected him to do that. It was a few grand cheaper then the one right above it and still had pretty much the same views. Leon bought the one above Vlad but with the view overlooking the roof of the building next door. The only two units left were the prime top floor unit which was priced the highest and the one I never expected to sell. I did get a variance from the city to allow metal balconies over the alley. Leon had the one with the view, but the worst unit would have a place to cook out as well as Leon's unit. The two groups of retired operatives moved into their new homes during the dog days of summer. I kind of enjoyed the company, even though we seldom saw each other socially. Now and then we would get together and do something fun. As th saying goes build it and they will come. A trickle of just past middle aged operatives began to show up. Most just showed up at Helen's sit down and sat at my table. I somehow got to be the welcome wagon for spies and other assorted cutthroats. ------- Chapter 266: Missing Eve had provided me with a phone number. I called the number and gave the chick who answered my authorization (another damn pin code) and a couple of hours later I had all the information I needed to clear them to stay in Aster or send them on their way. I wasn't running a retirement home for spies, what I was doing was trying to keep everybody safe. These guys were far from useless, they had a special skill set. Even more important that had the ability and the willingness to do things other people couldn't do, It never occurred to me that those skills would ever come in handy in Aster, until a child went missing. The child had been picked up in the family van from play school by the nanny. The little girl hadn't been seen since. Aster isn't the kind of town where a van and it's occupants disappear. I mean we are not talking alien abduction here. The child was a cute little girl of four. Her parents were just ordinary people. There was no reasonable explanation for the abduction. So of course all of us assumed the worst. I got involved early on because Blevins knew all about Vlad and Anya. Blevins had known both in another life. Blevins informed me that the nanny was from Eastern Europe. He knew that there was a small group of Europeans coming over to retire in Aster. Of course he didn't really know why. He knew that Vlad and Anya had moved in across the street from me. so he called me to ask that I check with anyone I could think of for information. The cops needed a motive for the abduction. Without it, knowing where to start looking for the child was going to be impossible. I walked across the street to the Drugstore Townhouses. I knocked on Vlad's door. 'Maxine, what brings you all the way over here?" he asked with a chuckle. "Do you know anything about Sheryl Martin, the little girl who has gone missing?" I asked. "Are you accusing me of something?" he snapped angrily. "Vlad, you know me. If I thought you had anything to do with this. I would have you looking down the barrel of a pistol at this moment." I said. "Or tied to a chair with wires leading from my nipples to a lamp switch," he said with a smile. "Do you have any reason to believe I should know something?" "What I have reason to believe, is that most of the newcomers are from Eastern Europe. Those are people you know well. The nanny was a teenager from one of those old Soviet places. The cops are all over her parents as well as the missing child's parents. So far they have nothing." "So they asked you to nose around?" he guessed. "I came to you of course, I need to know if the family was involved in anything they should not have been. The nanny could have been involved in something as well. Vlad you know we don't have much time." "Max, go home, make some coffee and get out your lamp cord," he said quietly. "I am not going to be the KGB of Aster. If you find that one of the newcomers is involved, we call in the heavy hitters. If it's some local thugs the local cops can have it. All I am going to do is pass on information." I said. "First we need to get information," Anya said from the bedroom doorway. "Go home, we will make calls about the Nanny. We will also see if the family of the child is known by our people." "Anya, you know we can't settle this ourselves. We have to turn it over to the cops, or the company?" I asked it looking her in the eyes. "We do what we have to do to survive Maxine. You know that is our way. We will try to keep it open and legal. That is your way and we respect it." What she didn't say, was that if for some reason the cops, or the company couldn't, or wouldn't handle it, there were about twenty people in town, who could make the pope disappear. It was something everyone hoped wouldn't be necessary, but it was doable. I turned and was headed back to my house to make a large pot of coffee. When I heard footsteps on the stairs behind me, I looked up expecting to see Leon. Instead I was greeted by Tiny Dancer. She was all dressed as if just back from her morning walk at the mall. I did not need to ask where she had been, since Leon occupied the only condo on the top floor. Since the Dancer was dressed in her mall outfit, it was obvious that she had been with Leon in some capacity beyond selling him girl scout cookies. So that would be 'Euro Trash Wanna Be' spending time with 'Arrogant Euro trash'. For some reason it struck me funny. "So, you off for the mall?" I asked. "Kind of late today aren't you" "Busted," she said in her best gangsta voice. which was pretty awful. "I was there earlier. I came to have coffee with Leon and haven't had time to get home yet. The smile she gave me left no doubt that the attraction wasn't coffee at all. I nodded and walked away. When I got home, even though it was only 4PM, I called the Cowboy's Bar and Grill. "Sarah this is Maxine Stone. I need some information," I said forcefully. "What do you need hon?" she asked. "Has anybody mentioned the little girl that went missing a couple of hours ago?" I asked. "Who is missing?" she asked. "Some four year old named Sheryl went missing after her day school. She left with her nanny in a white van. If anyone mentions her call me. This is a kid we are talking about, so it's important," I said. After Sarah I made a few more calls then just gave up in frustration. There had to be more that I could do, but at that moment I didn't know what it would be. I decided to pump Blevins for information. I expected to get nothing or very little. "Blevins," I said when I got him on the phone. "I got some people looking into the nanny and the family from a different perspective, nothing so far. How about you? Do you have the van yet?" I asked. "We found the van at the park where the nanny took the little girl now and then. She should not have taken her there today though. After play school she is supposed to take the little girl straight home for a snack and a nap." Blevins informed me. "So what did the van look like inside?" I asked. "You know I can't tell you that," he said. "Blevins, I can maybe help you. If nothing else, you know I will not compromise the investigation, so you need to keep me in the loop all the way. If not, you know I can go rogue and that would not be a good thing." Yes it was definitely a threat. I was either in or out, but either way I was a player by that time. As they say on TV, I was invested. "Well?" I asked putting him on he spot. "There didn't appear to have been any violence inside the van." he replied finally. "Have you come up with any witnesses?" I asked. "No witnesses, no traffic cam videos either," he informed me. "Are you sure that it was the nanny who picked the little girl up?" I asked. "Yes and it was the family van," Blevins said to me. "Now what about you?" "Nothing yet on the nanny, nobody in my circles knows anything or at least they are not admitting to it. Right now we are looking for the girl, if we don't find her tonight, I expect to be looking for a body." "Yeah, I know. This just feels like a kidnap for ransom kind of thing. There is no reason to take the nanny for any other reason," Blevins said. "So how is the family's finances?" I asked. "Strictly middle class, we can't find anything they are involved in to warrant a ransom." Blevins said. I made a mental note to check with my contact at the farm. Sometimes things were not at all what the seemed. "Well I'm checking in the Russian community that has sprung up lately," I admitted. "Would that be Vlad or Anya?" he asked. "That would be both. This is a child, there are different rules for children. Only the worst of the worst would do this for money," I said. "So who are the father and mother. Are they Russian or any other immigrants?" "Not that we can tell," he informed me. "They both have middle class jobs. They work in Tryon and live in Aster where the cost of living is less. The nanny would be a babysitter in any other context. She is called nanny because she is European. The family likes to put on airs." "Is it possible somebody mistook them for money?" I asked. "Not if they did any checking. The family us living just a heartbeat away from being above their means. There is no cash or savings at all." "Well, If I'm going to kidnap for ransom, I am going to make damn sure the family can pay." I said. "Yeah me too," Blevins agreed. "If anyone has contacted the family they are denying it." "If they can't pay, they would be all over you to help them, maybe it's something they think they can do. I'm going to have some people I know continue looking into the family as well as the nanny." I said. "You better hurry, if this is for ransom, we should be hearing soon. Then it will be moot. We have a tap on their phones." he said. "That might be productive." "I heard the latest trick is to send them a burn phone to get ahead of the cops," I said it just to give Blevins a heads up on some of the new tricks the spies were using. "I'll keep an eye out," he said. "I got to go. If you hear anything let me know." Thirty minutes later Vlad and Anya were at my door. "What do you know?" I asked not being very polite. They didn't seem to notice. Anya went to the kitchen for coffee and Vlad walked to my window on the street to watch the traffic and people pass. "The girl is part of the extended family of one of our operatives. She is living here in Aster with her Uncle and Aunt who were with us. She could have been contacted by either someone in the Russian community, or someone inside intelligence." Vlad said. "So, it's all about why they chose that little girl. The nanny could be the clue to who, but first we have to know who the child's parents are to know whose cages to rattle." I observed. "You get on the who 'mama and poppa' are and we will take care of interviewing our people. We need to keep this under wraps." Anya said. "Yes we do," I agreed. "There were ten family members for each of the retirees at least. We didn't need their shit being traced back to us." I got the call from the farm two hours later, I put it on speaker, since Vlad and Anya were still in the apartment. Eve had explained the company's super duper computer. It was a hundred times smarter than Watson. It took the super duper computer about thirty seconds to find the connections, but it took two hours to get on the damn thing, or so they said. "Maxine the machine tells me that the kidnapper's connection to the missing girl is through the Nanny. It's like 80% sure, "I don't understand, how you came up with that?" I admitted. "We fed everything known about this case into our super duper computer. The clues were given probability ratings. The fact that they kept the Nanny suggest that they need her to take care of the child and to keep her calm. That gave ransom as a motive with a 70% rating. When we factored their financial status it fell to 40%. Then the computer factored in each of the parents as a source of information or actions. When we pulled that the mother worked as a sorta drug salesman, ransom kidnap odds went up again. The computer thinks that someone brought pressure on the Nanny to give up the child's information. Then somehow they convinced her to go along with them. The child's mother is a salesman and delivery driver. Mom places the day's orders from her route, then she picks up the orders and sorts them by destination. Then she spends all day running her route taking orders and delivering the drugs from the day before. Mostly its nursing homes and drug stores. The truck is unmarked, so there is almost no chance of a holdup. Besides there would be very few hard drugs on the truck at any one time. Somebody wants her to give up the security details for the warehouse. They want the access codes and guard information." "Any ideas who it might be?" I asked. "The computer says there is a 75% chance that it is someone she knows. That pretty much makes it one of her own people. Maxine she is most likely pretty deeply involved, but she might not know the final plan." "What does the computer say that is?" I asked even though I knew. "No witnesses only conspirators," the chick on the farm suggested." Vlad and Anya both nodded their head in agreement. I hung up the phone pretty discouraged. ------- Chapter 267: Tough Old Granny "You know there is one thing we have overlooked. Probably not the cops, but we don't know why this got reported. If I'm the nanny, and I'm in on it, just as soon as I get somewhere safe I have the bad guys call mommy and say no cops or the kid dies," I said to Vlad and Anya. "So, if that is the case, who reported the kid missing?" Vlad asked. "She was grabbed at noon and the cops were on it by 12:30. I agree who reported it." "Let's find out before we go all redneck on the families," I suggested. "When I was young in the old Soviet Union, we called that going Stalin," Vlad said. "But when you go Stalin, everybody dies." I called Blevins back. He didn't want to tell me at first, but when I explained why we were thinking about going a different direction without questioning the nanny's people, he relented. "Maxine this had better not get into the papers," he said. "If it does, you better look somewhere else my friend. There are only three of us who know and all three of us would rather die than talk to a reporter. Now give it up." I demanded. "The Granny went to the play school. She planned to meet the nanny and take the child home with her. It had been arranged with the mother and dad the night before, but the nanny had gone for the day so she didn't know. The nanny drove right past Granny as she left the parking lot. Then nanny and kid disappeared. Granny knew something was wrong. So when she couldn't find the nanny, or the kid, she tried to called the dad. He was in conference and couldn't be disturbed. Then Granny tried the mom on her route, but mom didn't answer either, so she called us. That's how we got onto the missing kid." "Fair enough, then we will start talking to people right now and get back to you. Clear it for me to talk to the mom and dad. My PI license is still good, so I can have some official standing, if someone will retain me." "If all esle fails. I think we can swing that, by calling you a consultant," Blevins suggested. "If I can't get it anywhere else, I'll think about you as a boss," I said reluctantly. "It will be hard for me to do what I do, if I have to answer to the judicial system," I replied. When I hung up I asked. "Who is going to hire us?" "Granny," Anya said smiling the most wicked smile. "Got to be tough old bird to face dealing with a bunch of cops on a guess." "Then she is the first stop for me. You two get in position to find out about the nanny and I mean really find out. Don't listen to that 'she's a good girl' shit. Something ain't right. I'll call you once I get the retainer ." Across the street from the victim's home there were two TV station Vans. It was going to be a three ring circus from that point on. I expected to find Granny at the home of the Parents. It's where I would be, if it were me. There were no cop cars and nothing that even looked like an unmarked cop car. The days of the wire tap having to be inside the home of the parents were gone. My guess was that the wire tap was in the back of a van two or three blocks away. I knocked on the door of the middle class frame home in the middle class neighborhood. When what was obviously the mother opened the door, I pulled her name from the recesses of my mind. "Mrs. Blair, my name is Maxine Stone, I would like to help you, if I can." The older woman was standing behind her. "We don't need your help everything is fine," she said. "No disrespect intended, but your daughter is missing, you have reporters on your lawn, and people are going to be coming out of the woodwork to take advantage of you. Unless you have dealt with kidnapping before, you are going to be lost, and confused." The Grandmother did exactly what I would have expected her to do. "Ms. Stone, I am familiar with your reputation. The police respect you and so do the criminals, I for one would appreciate your help. If my daughter won't talk to you I certainly will. And if she won't let you in her house, we can talk outside, on the lawn in front of the reporters." That's right Granny, I thought. Put her ass in a box. What I said was, "Yes ma'am it's understood, I work for you, not the cops, or the thugs. The advice I give you is what is most likely to get your grand daughter back safely. To be honest that might prove to be impossible, but it's priority one." "That's what we need right now in spite of my daughter's opinions," she said angrily. "I need to make one phone call. I have some friends who know the nanny's friends and family. They will be interviewing them, while I talk to you guys." The grandmother nodded. I was inside the house when I placed the call to Vlad's cell phone. "Vlad find out who is working this, and I don't give a crap how you do it." I said it for Granny as well as Vlad. I sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front of me while I spoke to the parents and grandmother about the little girl. "I did some checking and you guys are not rich, but I still believe this was a kidnap for ransom. If that is the case you have already been contacted by the bad guys. I need to know a couple of things about that call. Whatever you say stays with me. If you want the cops to know, you tell them. I won't tell them anything unless it becomes absolutely necessary for their help in some way." I stopped and looked at each of them seriously before I went on. "So have you been contacted." They didn't want to answer, so I tried something else. "Look, I think the nanny is unwittingly part of the kidnapping. That can work for us. She will most likely want to get the little girl back to you safely. So for God's sake I need you to help me, help her do that." "When we got home, we found a package with a cellphone. The cell phone rang a few minutes after we got it. A voice told us not to report the call to the police or they would kill Sheryl." The mother said it through her tears. "Don't worry I'm not the police and none of my friends are either. So did you talk to Sheryl?" "Yes they let me talk to her a second. She said that she had not been harmed and that nanny was taking care of her." the mom said. "Good, every time you talk to the kidnappers, from this point forward, refuse to cooperate until you speak to Sheryl. Once they have what they want from you, all your leverage is gone. It will reinforce the idea in their mind that that must keep her unharmed. Now tell me this, did the man have an accent?" "Yes he did, how did you know?" she asked. "We think it might be a friend of the nanny's. One who used her to gain the information to kidnap your daughter. What we need to know is was his voice similar to the nanny's. The way he pronounced words?" I asked. "Yes he said words the same way Rose does. We call her Rose because Sheryl can't say her Russian name." the mother said tearing up again. "Now what do they want to bring Sheryl back?" I asked. "I don't think I can tell you that," the mother said looking up at the father. "Okay, how about I tell you?" I suggested. "If I get it right then cooperate with me completely. If not we can play the game your way." The mother nodded. "They want to know the details of the warehouse where you work. They want to know the number of guards at a certain time of the night. They want to know the access codes on the gate or doors you need to enter. They want to the location of certain drugs inside the facility." I looked at her hard then asked, "Well?" "I have already given them the information. They said after they had the drugs, they would drop Sheryl at a fire station," the mother said hopefully. "So what time were they interested in?" I asked. "The after midnight shift," she explained. "I have the information because I start my work day before the day shift comes to work." "So sometime after midnight they will break into the warehouse?" I asked it thinking out loud. "They are not going to want to hold your child longer than they have to, so it will be tonight." What I didn't tell her was the it was likely the child was already dead. I wondered if the nanny thought she could walk back into her old life. If she thought that, she might keep the kid alive. "I'm going to tell you the cold hard facts of any kidnap. It is safer for the bad guys, if they leave no witnesses. However, there are two ways this can end better than the usual kidnapping. One is that we find where they are holding your daughter and rescue her. The second is that the nanny thinks she can walk back into your open arms. So in any press statement you make, or any contact you have with the kidnappers, stress your concern for Rose as well. "So what are you going to do now?" the father asked me. I had begun to wonder if he was so 'pussy whipped' that he wasn't capable of speech when his wife was in the room. "I'm going to let my friend interrogate Rose's friends and family. I'm going to hope we find who is doing this and where they are holding your daughter. If we do find out, then we will go ask for her return in person." I said calmly. "Isn't that dangerous," he asked. "No more than waiting her with our fingers up our ass, hoping they will release her after she has seen their faces," the grand mother said angrily. "I don't have much money, but you can have it all, if you being her back." the old woman said to me. "My fee for this, win or lose, is $1. That is payable in advance." I said it knowing it would cover my ass only in the strictest sense of the word. But hell my shyster was Jennifer, all I needed was a crack and she would show me how to drive a fork lift filled with dead bodies through it. I called Vlad on the cell phone from the parents living room. "We are on the case," I said when he answered. "The man who called had an Eastern European accent, so work your fucking magic." "We have a name," Vlad said. "It will take a while to check it out." As I left the house a reporter with a TV crew grabbed me. "Ms Stone you have quite a reputation, what are you doing here?" The young man asked. "I just offered to help. To do what I can. If someone watching has that little girl, they need to know something. My friends and I will find them, and their families. When we do, most likely we will go all Stalin on them." I quickly left before I had to explain it. The people who needed to know, would know what I meant. ------- Chapter 268: Why Do I Do It I got a block from the house then pulled the cruiser over. I made sure no one was hanging around or behind me before I made the call. "Vlad where are we?" I asked when he answered the phone. "There is a boyfriend and he is missing," Vlad said. "Does he have family that he is close to. If so pick me up one without being seen. Bring whoever it is to the drugstore, but make sure they have no idea where they are going. stick them in the trunk and park in back. Don't get any blood in your car. Be sure you get the cell phone." "We are running out of time aren't we?" Vlad asked. "Yes, we are not going to let that child die without a fight. If we don't rescue her, I know where the gang will be after midnight. We can deal with them as a group there." I said seriously. "Be sure you count me in for that," Anya said. Vlad had the phone on speaker. "So, lets find her," I said "So that we don't have a Saint Valentines Day Massacre." I rushed back to the drugstore on main street, as I drove to the new condominium I thought that I wanted to fix up a clean room in the basement, but I didn't have the time or the materials. What I did manage to do was to buy six gallons of bleach on the way to the drugstore, just in case. I purchased it at three different convenience stores so as not to appear suspicious. Even with the stops, I got to the condo before Vlad. When he pulled into the parking lot, I went out the back door of the condo to help. I couldn't muscle the hostage inside with my 110 pound frame, but if he struggled I could hit him with a stungun. I need not have worried, he was too terrified to protest. He was probably having flashbacks to the bad old days in Eastern Europe. If we gave him a heart attack after the fact, I wouldn't be all that upset. "Get him into the basement," The building was more or less empty and I was glad at that moment, that the real estate market was slow. I hoped that Leon had Dancer upstairs, so that he wouldn't be curious. I doubted that he had the stomach for what might be happening under his feet three floors down. The hostage was in a chair used by the maintenance people. When they worked on things from around the condo or even my Downtown House, they brought them to the basement work area. The whole basement was dark, gloomy, and filthy. I thought of as a modern dungeon, even before we found ourselves, in the position we were in at that moment. I motioned for Vlad to remove the hood. "What's his name?" I asked. "My name is," he tried to say before I slapped him hard. "You keep your fucking mouth shut till I speak to you." "So what's this piece of shit's name?" I asked again. "His name is Uri," Anya said. "He is no fucking astronaut, that is for sure," I said. "So lets see what or who he is. Give me his wallet." Anya handed it to me and I left the room. When I was standing in the dark parking lot, I called the number eve had given me. "You know what I'm doing," I asked the chick who answered. "I know," she said sadly. "I need to know who this puke is." Then I read her everything from his wallet. Instead of the usual two hour wait she was right back with it. He has a minor record in Astonia. His record here is clean, except that we can find no source of his income, so he looks like a bad guy to us." "Okay, I will get back with you in a few minutes." I said. I walked back to the basement. I was sure that he was in the rackets somehow, even though I could not prove it. Unlike the cops I didn't need to prove it. When I stood directly in front of him, I said to Anya give me this boy's his cell phone. He is going to help us find his big bad brother. I found his number for someone called Andre in his history. "Is Andre your brother?" I asked. For an answer he was trying to work up a good spit, anyone could see that. I tapped his adam's apple not so gently. Not enough to kill him, but enough to change his fucking mind. "I'll be right back. If you would like to convince Uri to be a little more cooperative that would be okay. If not I will do it when I return. In the parking lot I called the farm again. I gave the same chick Andre's number. I hoped they were stupid enough to assume that the cops wouldn't put Andre in the jackpot so soon. "It's powered up and the phone is located here," she said sending me a map coordinate. 'That doesn't mean the little girl is there." I mumbled. "No it doesn't," the chick said. "Okay thanks," I said. "Not to worry, we like to be on the right side now and then," she said breaking the connection. When I returned to the basement, Uri didn't look good at all. "Yo Uri, here is the deal. Andre is going to trade his hostage for you, or you are going to disappear and we are going to hunt down Andre and his friends. Then we are going to make all of you disappear along with you mother, father, sisters, and the family dog." I had no idea who all was in his family. He didn't know what I was capable of and I was glad. "Now call your brother and tell him he wants to talk to me. Do it while you still have some value to us. When you no longer have value, then you become trash." I said cruelly. He made the call and tried to talk to his brother. I took the phone away from him. "Andre my name is Maxine Stone, I don't need to tell you any more. Now listen up, I am not a cop, I am not interested in your game, except for the little girl. I'm going to assume she is still alive, and that you plan to keep her alive until after you finish your business." "What the hell are you talking about?" he said in his accented voice. "Do you want to see me cut your brother into little pieces on a conference call. If you do keep up the 'I don't know what you mean shit' and I'll let you see me carve his ass up." For once I was glad for the rep that damn TV show had given me. "Now listen up, all I want it the girl, you can have the warehouse. You give me the girl, I give you your bother and I don't kill the rest of your family. You tell me where and when, and it happens. Then you go about your business and I don't return the girl till tomorrow. The parents stay in line and your brother lives." "I don't have the girl, my girlfriend does. She might not give her up that easily," he said. "That's your problem, but she has family as well. Lots of my friends are Spetsnaz and KGB types, she doesn't want them paying late night visits to her family either. If we don't get you tonight there is always tomorrow or the day after." Anya said a few things in Russian just to assure him I wasn't playing. Then I waited. "I will call in twenty minutes to tell you when and where," he suggested. "In thirty minutes your bother will be dead and the order goes out for everyone else including you and the girl. While we waited Vlad made some calls. There actually were some minor unnamed war criminal types living among us. Vlad knew them all. "They all have a dog in the fight," Anya informed me. "None of us want any FBI types or high powered reporters hanging around town. This needs to end quickly and decisively." "You have my vote," I said. "If the trade does not happen, you know you have to kill him," she said. "If not there will be a next time." "I know, but we don't do it here. There are no perfect crimes, but there are faulty juries." I informed her. "We make all the facts confusing so that no one is quite sure what happened." "Tie him to a lamp post, soak him in gasoline and drop a cheap match," she suggested. "Just about as good as anything. Worst case of suicide I ever saw." "If this trade happens, are we really going to let them take the warehouse?" she asked. "Yes," I said. "Then a few hours later, there is going to be a falling out among thieves and there will be no survivors." "Worse case of suicide I ever saw?" Anya asked. "Something like that," I agreed. While Anya and I talked, Vlad was on the phone making several calls. I had no idea who he was calling, or why. I had an idea that, when I needed a strike force, he would have one ready. Uri's phone rang so I answered it. "Yes," I said. "The abandoned Mystic furniture plant parking lot in one half hour. Come alone," he said. "If we see anyone else we kill the girl." "I'll be alone, but if for any reason you do that, I hope you have a death wish. Not just for yourself, but everyone you care about. I do hope you don't think we are joking here. That would be a fatal mistake. Vlad was already on the phone sending his field team out to the Mystic furniture site. I knew none of them had any idea where it was, but they all had GPS. The Mystic site was a few hundred yards from where the cell phone signal was originating. I expected that Andre had no idea that I could track his cell phone signal, since I wasn't a cop. While we waited for the time to pass, Anya asked, "Why the hell do you do this kind of thing. There is no money here. I have known that you always had an angle, so what is this one." "Goodwill," I said simply. "I don't understand," she said. "One day I might go before a jury of these people. Would I rather they think of me as the woman who saved the baby, or the woman who has a piece of shit TV show?" I asked. "I guess I can understand that, but you are risking everything for a child you don't know at all. Probably her parents who don't even like you." she continued. "It's about the little girl, and the rush I get when there is the smell of cordite in the air. The confusion of a firefight makes me feel alive. I can speed weeks replaying it trying to figure out what really happened and why. It a whole new part of my life, not the same old crap everyday." I said. "Okay I guess I understand that, but you know in the end it has to end badly for you," she suggested. "Yes but fortunately I won't know in advance which one is going be the end. I can hope that there will be one more close call before the big one. Now it's time to take Uri to meet his brother or his maker." I said. "You really are going to kill him, if things go wrong?" Anya asked. "He is the first one I'm going to kill. Then I'm going to kill just as many of them as I can." I said. "Shoot fast and straight my little cossack," she said. "Why?" I asked. "Because Vladimir and whoever else he found will be shooting as well," Anya said. ------- Chapter 269: Lets Make a Trade Anya kept watch over Uri while I went across the street to tool up. I came back with the 10 mm glock on my hip, the hammerless .38 revolver in one of my jacket pockets, the .410 gauge derringer in pocket of my jeans and a recently acquired switchblade knife on the other side. I bought the knife for fun during a recent trip out of the country. I didn't think that I was going to be having any fun that night, excitement for sure, fun no. I also carried the shotgun cane, since I had to have a cane anyway. I didn't so much need to walk with it, as it made getting up and down much easier. Also it made getting in and out of cars better. I lost my balance some since the leg just chose to give way now and then. The cane made the staggering me look less like a drunk. "I'm riding with you," Anya said. "He said he would kill her if I didn't come alone, so we have to at least pretend to play along." "We can pretend with me hidden in the back seat. If the shooting starts, and you know it will, even one more gun can make a difference. Remember for lack of a nail the battle was lost. So don't let the battle be lost for the lack of one bitch." "Only if you promise to shoot Uri in the head, if I can't," I suggested. "That was my own plan love," she said smiling. "Then let's pack up Uri for his great adventure." We duct taped Uri's hands gagged him with the same tape then put the black cloth bag over his head. "I have got to get some of these bags," I said to Anya. "Christmas present, I promise," she said. The cruiser wasn't bullet proof but it did offer some protection. I parked it so that the cruiser was between me and the building. I figured any snipers they had would be in the building. Somewhere, I had no idea where, Vlad would have his team. Their only job was counter sniper fire. Whoever drove up was my problem. I could only return sniper fire, if I knew the sniper was shooting at me otherwise i would be shooting at my own people. The problem was we all over estimated the kidnappers. We assumed, since they were in the company of pros, that they would act like pros, not so, They chose the parking lot because it was a wide open space. They were concerned about cops, not an ambush by old farts with rusty guns. So when four people in ski masks came from the sedan, I was surprised. I knew Vlad saw them, he was too much the pro not to watch everything. Suddenly it looked as though I had the only snipers. The clowns had parked their car so that it wouldn't be between then and me. Which meant they were standing around exposed to the building. It was going to be a shooting gallery, when it started. If I died first, which was possible, I could rest easy knowing they were right behind me. "Where is the girl," I asked of them in general. "We decided that killing you, would be easier," he said. "Oh my, you just made the biggest mistake of your life." He had obviously been watching too much American television. I pulled the Glock and began shooting. I only needed one of them alive. One out of four didn't seem so much to ask. I went to my knees early in the firefight. I felt a hammer blow to my chest and a burning pain in my right arm. I knew that I have been hit. I also knew I took two of them with me. Okay maybe Anya got one of them. Hell she probably got the first one as well. She had her pistol out before I even started to go for mine. The move was her go signal. "Are you alright?" she asked. "Find one alive and get us the hell out of here," I said. Then as a second thought I said, "Check the trunk of their car." "Nothing in the trunk," she said. Anya pressed a piece of cloth against my arm and said, "Hold this. It's just a flesh wound. What about Uri." "Killed in the firefight by his own people," I said "Make it happen. Get the angle right." Anya shot him twice, with one of their guns, from about ten feet away. He was standing beside my cruiser, when he died. We were trying to make the trade when it went south. He got shot in the crossfire. It was my story and I was sticking to it. Jennifer would have the jury crying, if I got the girl back. "Three dead or dying," Vlad said. "We have to go. One of them has a flesh wound." "No executions, we have to look like the good guys, but make sure we take the only one who will ever tell a story." The crew loaded the lesser wounded one into my cruiser with Anya watching over her. Two of the others were dead outright. The last one left behind had to be helped along with a hand over her nose and mouth. Yes there were two men and two women. We had the second woman in the back of the cruiser. It was going to be a strange night. We drove back to the drugstore condos. Anya was squirting antiseptic cream into the hole in my upper arm muscle. "If this thing turns septic, you are going to the hospital," Anya demanded. "Maybe Jeff's clinic," I said. "Who is this Jeff," she asked. "A doctor who owes me a favor. If he will do this big a favor in return is questionable, but who knows. For now you can stitch it up and pack it with antibiotic creme." I said it swallowing a Vicodin "You have quite the first aid kit here," Any observed. "Yes my first aid kit has a needle and thread, along with all kinds of gauze and tape. It is almost as good as the ones from an ambulance. Remember I know a shit load of paramedics from the cop out." I said. "Some of them in the biblical sense no doubt," Anya said with a laugh. While Anya watched I walked to the work bench and found a small round file. It was the kind my dad called a rat tail. I opened the breach of the Glock and ran the file in and out of the barrel several times. Yes it was painful to do with the bleeding arm, but I wanted to make sure the inside markings were completely altered. At least enough to create reasonable doubt. "Lets go chat with the kidnapper," I suggested. Vlad had her more or less sitting in the same chair Uri had been taped to. I made sure she saw the wound in my arm. "You shot me, you stupid bitch," I said as an opening. I do hope you are not expecting any mercy from me." "I didn't shoot you," she said weakly. "Save your breath honey. I took two hits and everyone was shooting at me. So as far as I'm concerned you shot me. The only thing that is going to save your life is the location of the child. You give me that right this minute, and I let you live. You make me force it out of you and you will die either while I torture you, or right after. The decision is up to you." "The child is with Rosanda, at the little building behind the big building where we met you," she said. Vlad was on the phone before she finished speaking. I had to stop him. "No Vlad, the cops have to find her. Get a burn phone and call 911. Rosanda will be thrilled to give up, she is a victim." Vlad quickly left the basement. "Will you get me a doctor please. I am in terrible pain?" The slightly over teenage girl begged. Anya looked at me. "I'll take her," she said. "My car is already contaminated take it. Call Vlad to pick you up when it is done. Here take this and don't bring it back." I handed her the 10mm Glock along with the car keys. The girl was gone but so was my maroon cruiser. The one with the bike rack. First thing in the morning I would report it stolen from the parking lot behind the Downtown House. I was sure the body would go into a shallow grave somewhere. The car, after a thorough cleaning with some of the bleach from my basement stash, to a chop shop never to be seen again. It wasn't a perfect plan but it was one that would work. The last problem was Rosanda, she wasn't just part of it, she was it. Most likely, since there were two couple who died in that parking lot, she and her boyfriend were somewhere else at the time. Rosanda was with the child for sure. That still left the bad brother unaccounted for unless he was one of the dead. It was 3AM when the phone rang. I was asleep there was too much going on. "Maxine it's me Blevins. Where have you been tonight?" "I spent the evening with Vlad and Anya, why?" I asked. "There was a hell of a fire fight in the old furniture city part of town. Four dead all Russian," he said. "One of them tied and gagged. It is going to take a while to sort this out." "Does it have anything to do with the kidnapping?" I asked. "We got a phone tip an hour or so later. The tip sent us to the old power station for the mystic furniture plant. We found the nanny and the baby locked inside. Both of them are fine." "So the baby is okay, then all is well." I said. "All is not well, we have four bodies and it looks as though they were all friends of the nanny. Either they used her, or she is part of it." "My interest ended with the return of the girl," I said. What I didn't say was that it was up to the Russian community to settle up with Rosanda as far as I was concerned. If she wanted to be a gangster, she most likely had learned to take her ambitions on the road. At 9AM I called to report the Cruiser stolen. They sent a patrolman by to take the report and he was younger than most of my clothes. Even so I was very respectful. He either didn't know who I was or wasn't impressed, either way I approved. We talked about this and that. He told me to contact my insurance company to arrange a rental car. I nodded my agreement even though I had a second car and wouldn't be needing a rental. What I needed was a bicycle rack on the woodie. That was my big plan for the day. I had no idea how Blevins and his buddies were going to piece the kidnapping together, but I sure as hell had an interest. "I can't leave you alone a minute," Eve said with a new laugh as she walked through my rear door. Since I had never given her a key, it looked as though someone had taught her to pick a lock. "Sure you can, you just can't be sure that nothing will happen while you are gone. What are you doing back at this particular moment? I asked." I heard last night that you were working a kidnapping here. I knew there would be trouble. Am I too late to be part of the solution?" she asked. "Yes it's over," I said. She quickly changed the subject. "So let's ride the bikes to breakfast?" she said. "Eve, you don't eat." I replied. "I know but I find the hot liquid I force down my throat to be soothing. Besides you eat and I do love the visual stimulation of the bicycle rides. They help me with my balance and they help you keep your girlish figure," she said. She was a lot more light hearted than before. "I expect that I will be back in the police interrogation room this morning. I think I will call Jennifer if I have a chance. If not I'll call her from the police station. "Why is that?" Eve asked. "Too many people get caught up in their inconsistent statements. I want to tell my version of the tale once, next time I will listen to theirs." I said. "What is your version?" she asked. "My version is I have no idea what happened and the cruiser being stolen is a great coincidence. Oh yes the 10mm Glock was in the glove compartment, bad break." I stated flatly. "You don't expect Blevins to believe that do you?" she asked. "No but I expect him to have trouble proving anything different. I also expect the DA to have a hard time finding a jury that will believe anything else happened." I replied. "What about the nanny she is going to roll over to save her ass," Eve said. "Why would she admit she was a participant. Right now no one can prove anything. Maybe she will talk, but I still don't care. I plan to pull a Bill Clinton and deny, deny, deny," I said. ------- Chapter 270: Interrogation Besides Eve it's too late for breakfast, but we can ride the bikes to lunch, I said. That is just what we did. Lunch was a Barbecue sandwich at the barbecue pit, as the Gunny had called Keplan's. It wasn't near as far as Helen's which was a good thing since it was apparently going to start raining soon. I didn't mind riding the bike in the slight rain. If I had long hair I might have objected. Long hair requires fancy cuts and styling which go all to hell when wet. In my case the spike of hair one to two inches long is never a problem. Usually it just fall flat on my head anyway since even spiking it is too much trouble for me in the morning. If I go to one of the clubs I usually take the time to do it. That morning of course it was flat on my head anyway. It was also thin enough that a quick towel drying was enough to bring it back to its usual 'bad hair day' look. The rain, the hair. the events of the night before all told me that it was going to be a bad day in Aster for the skinny bitch crowd. When I saw Blevins and some younger chick standing at my door, I wasn't surprised. I saw them on the security camera first so I was on the way down the fancy open staircase even before they rang the bell. "Good morning Blevins, you want some microwaved coffee?" I asked as I filled my delta cup and shoved it into the microwave to reheat. "No thanks, Maxine we need you to come down to the station and give a statement," he said. "You know I am going to have to get Jennifer to meet me. I need to call and find out when she can make it. Of course if I am under arrest, I will call her from the jail," I knew the drill and I was very calm." "You don't seem surprised." the new chick commented. "Why in the world would I be surprised. I am interviewed when someone steals a dog in this town. It's that damn TV show." I said smiling innocently. "How do you feel about a poly," the chick asked. "How do you feel about stepping in dog shit on your way to the prom?" I asked. I turned my attention to Blevins, "So do I call Jennifer now, or when I get to the Jail." "Why don't you see if she can meet us down there now," he replied. I pushed her code on my speed dial. "I need to speak to the shyster hon, afraid I can't take no for an answer. I am staring at a pair of police handcuffs." "What the hell are you talking about," Jennifer said. "This better be good I'm with a client." "Blevins and some milk drinking chick are here to take me in. They want a statement about something or other. You told me to never leave you out of the fun, so I'm calling." "Let me speak to that prick," she demanded. "Easy counselor you will blow a gasket," I said as I handed the phone to Blevins. "Hi Jen," he said with just a little timidity in his voice. Anyone with any sense at all tended to cut Jen some slack. "What the hell does she mean you are taking her in?" Jen asked first thing. "At this point we just want to talk. The new DA wants to get a statement he can review," Blevins said trying to get from under the weight coming down. "Then you sit down at Max's steel counter work bench and have a cup of coffee while I make a phone call. If Max can't hear this tell her I'll be calling back within the next fifteen minutes." "I suppose you take your coffee with lots of cream," I said to the younger woman with Blevins. "Make it black, and let's all try to get along," she said. "Easy for you to say," Eve chimed in. There she was trying to sound human again. She had probably been waiting days to throw that in somewhere. "So Blevins why the interview, you know that now that I'm lawyered up I don't have to answer anything." I said. "Then we need to wait till we get you on the record," the chick said. "Blevins did they tell you to stay in the background since we have a history. If they did you cn tell them that I said you are a lousy fuck. I'm not going to be unduly influenced by your poor bedroom performance." "Very funny," he said to me and then turned to the chick to add. "That never happened." "I knew you were drunk Blevins, but I didn't know that you were that drunk," I said seriously. Eve burst into laughter. "What was your name sweetie," I asked the milk drinker detective. "Jane Holloway," she said. "Well Jane, if you keep acting like this, I am never going to screw you," I said with a smile. "Good," she said not the least embarrassed. "So you have been forewarned about me. You know what they say fore warned is forearmed and four armed is half an octopus." "You know it's about the firefight in the Mystic parking lot," Blevins said. "I saw it on the news this morning, otherwise I know nothing. That is my statement." "What if I told you that someone saw your car there?" the chick said jumping right in. Someone had obviously told Blevins to stand down. "Then I would suggest that you read your police reports from this morning, and suggest that it is time that we wait for Jennifer." The kid backed down and Blevins had the tiniest of smiles. It was two cups of coffee for me before Jennifer called. Two cups of coffee with two cops sitting silently at your table seem to last forever. "Okay, put me on speaker Max." After a moment she went on, "I cleared my schedule and Jerry is going to send in one of his people to observe, so that we only have to do this once. Blevins love, you just get in your little police car and go on back to the station. I will present Maxine at 4PM sharp. At that time we will hold this interview for the record." "Jennifer, I passed the bar recently and would love to observe. Would you consider allowing me in the interview room as well," Eve asked it over the speaker phone. "If you bring your license and keep your mouth shut, you got it hon," Jennifer said. "The more the Merrier." I didn't say a word. I just wanted the call to end. After they left I asked Eve, "When did you go to law school and pass the bar?" "Last Wednesday," she said smiling. "I don't even want an explanation, that's how invested I am in this thing," I replied. "So," I said Jennifer when I opened the door to the old downtown school converted to police station. "How long you been waiting?" "You know I just got here or I would be on the phone wondering where the hell you were," she replied. "At a hundred bucks an hour why would you care?" I asked. "You know you get the friends and family rate. 95 an hour," she said. Then she turned her attention to Eve. "Law license young lady?" she demanded. "Here you are," Eve said handing her the card which wasn't the actually license but an Identity card stating that Eve was a member of the bar in good standing. "That will do, I had no idea you were a lawyer," Jennifer said looking at me. "There was no reason to bring it up before, Since this is some serious shit, I wanted to be there just in case you wanted to throw some of it my way. "You know the old 'conflict of client interest' kind of thing. I understand you represent most of Maxine's friends as well as her." "That is true and it actually might come to that. It would be nice to know that even their lawyer's still had Max's interest at heart. Fair enough let's do this thing." Jennifer said. It took Jennifer about ten minutes to bully everyone into getting the show on the road. There was the Asst DA for Tryon, a man named Louis something or other, the two detectives, Jennifer, Eve and me in the room. Good only knew how many people were watching and if the tape would hit the Internet or not. "So lets get to this," Jennifer said, "Ask your questions." "The Assistant DA nodded to Blevins who asked the first question. I guess the presence of the DA type swayed their decision about his objectivity. "How did you get involved in the Kidnapping of Sheryl Blair." I wondered if Blevins had told them he contacted me. "I first heard about it on my radio I got the Amber alert there." Answer the question and shut up. The first law of interrogation for the subject is 'let there be silence'. Never try to fill the dead air. The first one to speak loses period. "What did you do after you heard about the kidnapping," Blevins asked he was relieved I could tell. "I called around to get the details. I'm not sure where I heard it, but someone said the Nanny was from Eastern Europe. Since I have friends who are familiar with the immigrants from there I went to the parents home to offer my services." I shut the fuck up again. "What happened after that", the Asst DA asked. I could tell Blevins was miffed at the intteruption. "I was retained by the grandmother to investigate. Unfortunately nothing came of it. We asked questions but no one knew anything. We called it a night and planned to start again this morning, but I heard on the news that the little girl was back home. I was thrilled to give the case up without having done anything." "Someone saw your cruiser in the area of the shootout?" Blevins suggested. "Can you produce that statement," Jennifer said angrily. "We can if we need to," the chick cop said. "Then let's see it. Then lets see the part where your middle of the night witness picked my client from a lineup. That is going to be a little difficult, since my client filed a police report just as soon as she discovered her car missing this morning." "Okay, let's all calm down," Blevins said. "Maxine was your car stolen last night." "You know it was, you have the report." I said. "Can we search your place," the chick asked. "Can I search yours," Jennifer asked. "I might find something worthwhile there for the defense, just in case we ever go to trial." "I take it that is a no?" Blevins said. "Get your warrant based on someone having seen a cruiser like Maxine's stolen one, in the area of a gunfight, in the middle of the night. That should get you a warrant in China." Jennifer said with a laugh. If this is the best you can do Louis, please stop wasting my client's time and money. I don't work free even for Maxine." "Just so you know, I am going to clean my apartment tonight. I do that every Wednesday night. So if you are looking for dirty dishes and dusty furniture you better get a rush on." I said smiling. "Maxine shut up," Eve said just a little too sharp. "Don't rub their nose in it," she said once we were alone with Jennifer. "I do like this girl," Jennifer said. "Now go home and scrub the shit our of whatever needs scrubbing." Eve and I stopped at the drugstore condominiums on the way home. We took a good long look around the basement. The painter's plastic drop cloth was gone from the floor. It went out in the cruiser with the last of the assassins in the middle of the night. I called the office of 'His Laboring Few' and contracted them to come clean the basement. Since there was no construction involved, it would be a different crew who came to scrub the floors and walls. I had decided last night while the chick who shot me whined that the basement would make a great social club. How perverse is that? I asked myself. Making the conversion fit right in with my need to clean it thoroughly. Let's go home and order pizza delivery?" I suggested to Eve. I have no idea why I asked, since it was all rock and roll to her. ------- Chapter 271: a New Glock The families, of the kids involved, just wanted to hang their heads in shame. They had been given a second chance in America and their kids had almost blown it for them. It would take years for the community to change its opinion of the immigrants. Even I wasn't happy with the immigrants at that moment. It had been too hard to get the information. They had chosen to hang together, instead of becoming part of the community at large. It might be understandable, but that didn't mean I forgave them. That was pretty much where I was, when Helen called me in the middle of the next week. "Maxine I have finished the plans for your banquet hall. Would you meet me there this morning, so that we can go over them?" she asked. "Sure do I need the guys from 'HLF'?"I asked. "I would rather it just be me and you." she said. "Pick a time and I'll be there," I replied. Eve and I had time to go to breakfast before the meeting. We also worked in a walk at the mall. I was a little concerned about a blood feud between me and the immigrants, so I was packing heat. Okay I would have been anyway, but that morning I made it a little easier to get to. Instead of a short sleeved sweat shirt, I wore a tight tee shirt and a sweat jacket hanging loose over my .38. I had Helen at 10AM, then I had a meeting with a gun dealer to look at a .10mm Glock. He usually sold his weapons at gun shows, but he was close enough for me to meet him at a highway rest stop halfway between our homes. Of course it wasn't just any Glock 20. The ones he had were from the government's surplus sell. Supposedly they had been part of the 'Fast and Furious' operation. They were part of the group recovered in a cross border raid. He had the paper trail to prove it, or so he said. When I met with Helen, she had a big brown folder full of things for me to look at. One was a brochure for folding tables she wanted to buy. If she bought them, then she would have exclusive use of the space. Even though Helen was one of my few trusted friends, I didn't like to share. Hell my mom was all bent out of shape, because I was the only kid to fail sharing in play school. "They are not the least expensive tables, but Jack assures me they are very well made." she said. "I think the size is just right." "As long as he isn't getting a kickback," I replied only half kidding. "I am positive that he isn't. I am not sure who he would fear most if he did that. You might have all the guns, but he has to sleep in the same bed as me." she said laughing. "Excellent point," I agreed, "All your furniture choices look fine to me. Just be sure I have all the order information and I'll take care of it this week." "Good," she said. "Now this is the wallpaper I want, and the lighting fixtures, all of it is here." "I'm sure you did your homework Helen. I am just going to buy what you say and have 'HLF' install it. I know we are not going to include a working kitchen, but what do you need to serve the food?" "I have a list of small but commercial grade appliances suitable to reheat the food. You won't need to be a licensed commercial kitchen for what we are doing. I checked," she said. "Well sweetie it doesn't look like much of a job for the Few to handle in a short time. Don't book anything till it is completely ready to go. I would rather wait a few weeks for the first event, than to have to rush completion," I said. That's how we left it. "Can you handle this?" I asked Eve, as I handed her the folder., "Of course, do you want the best price, with fast delivery, from a reliable company?" she asked. "Of course," I replied. I sat my ass down on the sofa looking out at the second floor of the Drugstore Condos, while I drank my coffee. I don't know why but I thought of the empty luxury unit and the empty utilitarian unit and then of Kate the real estate tycoon's daughter. I wondered if she had fond enough memories of me and our time together. It might help her agree to handle my real estate needs and those of my new friends. I had to go onto the Internet to get her phone number, but I went there at least ten times a day in search of some minor bit of information. "Kate it's me Maxine. I need to speak to you hon and it's business, not monkey business. Give me a call when you have a minute." The message went right to voice mail. I felt pretty sure she would call back, since the phone was answered Kate Burke Realty, I'm out of the office leave a message please. Being out of the office wasn't a big deal it was lunchtime. I went to the fridge and found a sealed plastic bag of salad courtesy of Helen. She and Eve kept my refrigerator filled with healthy stuff for some reason. I suppose it was just in case I had an urge as I did at that moment. Most of the healthy stuff wound up in the trash after a while. The salad wasn't too bad with Helen's special recipe dressing. I was on the road to meet the gun dealer when Kate called. I didn't like talking while driving but I made the exception just long enough to explain what I needed. Kate agreed to meet me at the Drugstore Condos at 5PM. I rang off without going into old times. I held onto the .38 wheel gun as the green pickup truck pulled up beside my Woody. The man who looked out of the pickup appeared to be about forty or so. He wore an automatic pistol in a holster on his right side. I waited while he called me on the cell phone. I couldn't blame him for wanting to be absolutely sure. "Yeah it's me," I said when the phone rang. You want to do this at my place or yours?" I asked. "Where would you feel more comfortable?" he asked. He obviously had no fear of me. "In that case come on over big boy," I said doing my best Mae West voice. He was in the passenger seat, which would make pulling his piece harder than he would have liked I'm sure. He truly was not at all concerned about me. Hell after all I was just an old lady why should he be worried. I was rushing toward 45 way too fast and not a bit happy about it either. I couldn't have looked more harmless if I tried. "So you are a collector huh?" he asked. "Yeah, but I collect working guns. So lets see the piece," I said. He handed me a bundle wrapped in an old sweat shirt. When I unwrapped it, I recognized the black ugly thing as the Glock 20. If Blevins ever got around to asking for my 10mm, I would have the Glock to show him. He had no idea the serial number of my weapons. For that he would have to do a paperwork search and I couldn't see him going to that much trouble. "So, what do you think," he asked. "I think it is a Glock 20 alright. It obviously isn't new so that much of what you told me is true. You said it had never been fired that I can't prove without taking it apart, so I'm going to almost trust you on that." "Fair enough," he said. As long as you give me what it is worth, you can call me any kind of son of a bitch you want." "You never would give me a price for the piece, so what do you want?" I asked. "I want a grand," he said. I handed it back with a laugh. I can drive to a gun shop in Tryon and buy one for five and a half, new, " I said. "But this is a collector's item. I have the paperwork to put it in the fast and furious program." He produced ink jet copies of documents released under the freedom of information act. I checked the serial number on the Glock and sure as hell it was on the list of weapons in the shipment. Of course with a computer and an ink jet it was easy to make it read anything he wanted. "Let me tell you what you have," I said to him. "You have a used Glock 20 without any rust and the barrel doesn't look as though it was shot too much. You have some documents from the government document dump. Which may or may not have been altered. So tell me what you really want for the piece, without all this pie in the sky bullshit. If it is reasonable, I might sit here and verify the paperwork." "Okay, what are you thinking," he asked. "If it's really what you say it is, I will give you the new retail price for it. I will hand you five and a half in cash." I said. "How do I know you are not a cop?" he asked. "Sweetie, if I was a cop, I wouldn't care if it was real or not. I also would have paid your over the top price." "Six and we got a deal," he said. I sent a text to Eve who was waiting to check out the serial number. I didn't need the website he used, I just wanted it in case I needed to bust his ass. Her answer came back. The pistol was not part of the Fast and Furious operation. It had been issued to an undercover ATF operative in Seattle Washington. After the operation ended, the pistol was replaced with a standard service issue weapon. That's how it ended up in the government surplus sale. The weapon still had a paper trail, but not nearly so colorful a past. I showed him the text from Eve. "Now if you want to dispute this, we have nothing left to discuss. If you want to take five for the piece, we can do business?" I said. "Damn lady, you sure as hell know how to do a deal. I'll take the five, but I swear that is the paperwork they gave me." he said. I handed him five one hundred dollar bills, then said, "You need to leave my car now." He started to speak, but I stopped him. "Now," I said with a little more force. I was glad to have a replacement weapon, especially one I didn't have to buy from a gun shop. I drove the Woody home feeling quite happy with myself. Eve met me in the parking lot behind my Downtown House. "What's up kid," I asked as I climbed out of the Woodie. "You have company inside." she said. "Oh, do I need to go in guns blazing?" I asked. "I don't know. It's that Rosanda person," she said. "Ah, then I think I will at least take the pistol in my hand," I said it with a smile. "Is she packing heat?" "No, she came in cold," she said. "Then we will have a quick sit down," I said. ------- Chapter 272: Jaywalker and Dogs Who Chase Cars Since Rosanda was no professional, I gave her very little respect. Even so I reran some of the surveillance tape from inside the apartment to be sure she had stayed put while waiting. It appeared that she had. So I walked in pretty much unconcerned. "You wanted to talk to me?" I asked. "Yes," she said. "First of all let me say I forgive you," she said with a straight face. "How nice of you and why exactly do you think I need your forgiveness?" I asked. I have a feeling that she was wired and probably broadcasting. Technology had gotten that good. She was probably piggybacking on my wifi feed. "You killed my friends," she said. "I think this interview is over and for the record, I killed none of your friends. Eve would you show this young lady out." "I'm not wired, If you like I will get naked for you." she said. "Besides I'm the one who needs to talk, you just need to listen." By the time she finished her remarks Eve was behind her and ready to show her to the door with no regard for her comfort or safety I expected. "Hold off a second Eve," I said. "Let her say what is on her mind. As long as she does it quickly." "I know you think I was in on the kidnapping. I also know that if you implicate me, then you also implicate yourself, so we are at a standoff. My fear is not that you will testify at any trial I might have. My fear is that you or one of your people will kill me, if there is no trial. So I am here seeking advice." "First of all I don't have any people. My friends have no interest in you I'm sure. Our only interest was in seeing that little girl get home safely. Everything else was secondary. The police accomplished that so we have no dog in the fight." "Then all is forgiven," she said. "Since you say you were not part of the plan is there anything to forgive?" I asked. The word game was tedious. "I suppose not," she said. "Now Eve you can show her out," I said. Eve walked her to the rear door. When she had gone I picked up the laptop from the kitchen table and wrote, "SWEEP" on it. Eve nodded. She walked from place to place in the apartment listening I suppose. In the end she returned to join me at the kitchen table. "Nothing," she said. "She missed a chance to bug me. I'm surprised she, or Blevins or whoever is pulling her strings didn't think of it." I said. "Most likely she really has no one pulling her strings. She most likely just wanted to clear this up, so she can run far and fast." Eve said. "If she is smart that is what she will do. Someone will kill her, if she stays and it won't be us." I said to put that matter to rest. I had no interest in the nanny. "God I would love a nap, but I don't have time before the meeting with Kate," I said. "I do have time to get out of this fucking vest." I said that as I stripped right in the living room. I stripped in front of the huge street level windows. It would have been illegal probably, if the glass wasn't tinted almost to the point of being black. The Kevlar vest lay in a heap on the one big chair in front of the window. I chose to replace the same thick tee shirt I wore to the gun buy. "I don't think I need that thing to discuss real estate. It will be nice when I can throw that in the trash." I said. "Will that day ever really come?" Eve asked. "One can dream," I said as an answer. "I can't nap but I can watch that TV show from last night. The one with the monsters disguised as humans trolling the earth." "I know the one you mean I'll cue it up if you like?" Eve suggested. "You do that and I will fix a glass of Diet Coke," I suggested. "You should be finished first." "Not really dear I made a couple of bottle of that disgustingly vile concoction for you. It's in the frig. It's the ones with the red labels." she said. "God, you have been playing Suzie homemaker haven't you." I said. To make the disgusting concoction, one had to mix cherry syrup with diet coke, then reseal the bottle. Of course these days one first had to make the cherry syrup. That's why she made two bottles at the same time. First she would have had to mix the cherry drink powder with a little water. Then she would have added half the mixture to a two litter bottle of diet coke. It was a lot of trouble. but I had decided that I was worth some trouble a long time before. The cherry diet coke, and Helen's homemade potato chips were a great combination. It was a great combination while I watched a show that was more light hearted than the current zombie craze that was going around. A bunch of zombies walking around, well lumbering around really, didn't do anything for me. I think the fairytale villains of the show I watched were more dangerous, since they could actually move fast enough to catch you, if you ran. The sun was still in the sky when I headed off to see Kate. In the dead of winter it might be hanging low but not so on that August evening. I decided to just walk across the street. I looked both ways then stepped into the street in the middle of the block. Yes I was jay walking, but I had no idea that the penalty for Jay walking was death. If I had I might not have done it. Yes I got to the double yellow lines, when I just stumbled and the lights went out. When I opened my eyes and saw the large florescent light grid over my bed, I thought, not again. I knew that I was in a hospital and doped up. I tried to turn my head to see the IV pole just to see what I was on. I realized that I had no control over my muscles. I tried them all and found that nothing moved. I panicked. "Her eyes are open." a male voice said. The voice came from outside my field of view. "Ms Stone, can you hear me?" a second male voice asked. "Yes," a weak voice answered. A voice I wasn't completely sure belonged to me. "We have kept you in a coma for a month letting your body heal as much as it could. Now you are awake," a third voice informed me. "Is this as good as it is going to get?" I asked. "We can talk about that after you rest," he said. "Bullshit, let get this over with. Is this as good as it is going to get for me?" I asked. "Your body is what it is going to be I'm afraid. You were shot in the back at reasonably close range with a large caliber hand gun. Your spinal chord was damaged beyond repair," a voice said. "Then why the hell am I here. Didn't anyone check to see if I had a living will?" I demanded. "We checked your representative never tried to enforce it," the voice said. "Someone has to demand it be enforced. Some people have a hard time letting loved ones go." "So I chose the wrong power of attorney," I said. "That's not a decision for me to make," the voice said. "You need to get some rest we will talk about later." I drifted off to sleep hoping that it was all some kind of nightmare. I have had them before. so I wasn't too concerned. The next time I woke up I went through it all in my mind before I opened my eyes. When I did Eve was looking down at me. "How could you let this happen?" I asked her. "I couldn't do anything Jennifer is your power of attorney and she said do what they could to save you. I left to see what I could do from the farm.," she said in a whisper. "Oh and what was that?' I asked. "I got your ass moved here for one thing. You have been checked and rechecked, there is nothing anyone can do to bring your movement back." She was speaking quietly but without any emotion. She just couldn't relate to me on that level. To her it was like talking to me just as I was before I stepped into that street. "I am here to explain some things to you. The creator thought you might take it better from me." Eve said. "How about this, I know I'm in a company facility, how do I get the forever sleeping pill?" I asked. "You couldn't swallow it," Eve said very logically. "Then crush it up and put it in my IV," I suggested. "I think I should hold off on that until you explore all your options. If after you have talked to everyone, you still feel that way, I will see to it." she replied quietly. "Then bring on your death counselors," I said. "Well just be honest and be yourself Maxine. This is most important," Eve said. "Maybe the most important interviews of your life." "I know Eve," I said as convincingly as possible under the circumstances. "Okay you just rest. It will begin soon. You need to stay awake for an hour or so to clear your head. Is there anything I can get you?" she asked. "Jack and coke with lots of ice," I suggested. "Wet towel to suck on it is," she said putting it to my lips. It was wonderful. My mind ran back over my life, while I waited for the shrink, who would determine my fate. He would decide if I was sane enough to choose to end my life. Release from the dungeon, which my body was sure to become, was the only thing on my mind. I had gotten up to the memory of my dad in his mustard colored hunting outfit as he got in the old pickup truck. The drive from our mill village to the his hunting lodge was fifty mile but for him it was a different world. He had his escape from reality for a few days. I guess even then I envied him that, even if I didn't know exactly how big a drag reality could be. "Ms. Stone, I'm doctor Evans. I would ask how you are but I can see," he said honestly. "I am sorry that we are meeting under these circumstances." "Thanks, could we get on with this. I am ready to move on," I said. "Move on?" he asked. "You are my death counselor aren't you?" I asked. "In a way I guess I am. So tell me Maxine, you don't mind if I call you Maxine do you?" he asked. "Doc you can call me Macaroni, if it gets me out of this mess," I informed him. "Max we need to go over your file before we can make a decision. So, let's begin. You are 42 years old is that true?" he asked. "Yes it is," I said. "And you joined the Air Force right out of high school?" he asked. "That is also true. Doc, how about I just admit that all the shit in your file is right and we move on to the real things you want to know." "They told me you were a control freak. That is a good thing," he said. "So what do you want to know," I asked. "Are all the men and women you killed listed in the file?" he asked. "Probably not, and I probably don't even know for sure who all they were. You are beginning to sound like Saint Peter. Is this the waiting room to heaven?" "Not Likely," he said. If you could wake up tomorrow and go back to your old life is there anything you would change?" "I wouldn't jay walk again," I said. "I had no idea that it was a capitol offense in Aster." "Okay you need to rest," he said making an adjustment to the IV. ------- Chapter 273: Look What I Found in the Body Shop I had absolutely no concept of time, since I did none of the things which mark the passing of days. There were no announcements like, "I am hanging your breakfast bag of nourishment." Somewhere during the interviews, it changed from what I had done, to what would you do if. One of the dumbest of them was, what would you do if you went into a room with ten hostages and a terrorist. He is holding one as a shield and has a pistol to that one's head. He is threatening to kill them all. If you had no weapon whatsoever would you attack the hostage? I told the interviewer I couldn't answer that, since I would never be in that situation. I would not go into a situation like that unarmed, unless I was bringing the terrorist some kind of way out. If they simply wanted someone to attack the terrorist and die without having done any good, I would never have agreed to go in. I remember my 1st sergeant's advice, from my first combat tour, "Save yourself first, cause you can't save my ass if you are dead." I'm not sure what any of that had to do with pulling my plug. Well it wasn't as simple as pulling a plug there were a few more active measures needed than simply pulling a plug, but it was the same thing. I knew for a fact that within a mile of were I lay, there were at least a hundred men or women, who would gladly do it with a pillow, if given the chance. After a half dozen 'what if' interviews a woman came in. I could tell from her voice that she was female. "Good Morning Maxine. I am going to raise your bed so that you can see each other." "Good, you are the first one willing to look me in the eye, when they deliver the bad news," I said. "Maybe because what I have to say isn't all bad news," she suggested. "Unless you have a way to give me my life back, the best you can do is not so bad news for me," I said trying to smile for her. When the bed finally got me high enough to see over my feet, I noticed that she was at least a hundred pounds over weight. She was also at least older than me. "So here is the deal. We need to have a little philosophical talk, then I am going to offer you a deal." she said. "Like on a that TV show. I can tell you now I want the curtain," I said trying to be myself to the end. "Trust me you can's afford not to take it. First of all let me say that this is not a one sided deal by any means. You bring something to the table in spite of how you might feel. We aren't just being nice to you, because we love your winning ways." "Good, I could never keep that front up forever," I said. "So let hear the deal." "Oh no first you have to hear the philosophical part. There is even a little God complex in the speech. What would you think, if I told you, that the soul is no more than the realization that one day we are going to die." "I wouldn't doubt you since I have never been all that big on souls. I think that doing right and wrong is learned behavior, no more." I said. "Then you believe that we are the sum total of our experiences interpreted through the filter of what we grew up believing?" she asked. "Of course, it's why some people can kill one person to save a hundred others. But two people can do the same thing and the world will call one a hero and one a villain. I'm not sure I understand that." I replied. "Most of us don't really understand it, but some of us use it," she said. "I know, I have done the same. Bet my life that if I ever got before a Jury, they would not convict me." I said. "Better judged by 12 than carried by 6," she agreed. "I have certainly heard that enough times as justification for bold actions. "On both sides of the good and evil line I'm sure," I added for her. "That is true. So it seems they were right," she said. She saw the look of confusion on my face. "All the reports on my desk." "Ah the interviewers who proceeded you," I agreed. "And the background reports. On paper you were perfect, the interviews were all we could hope for and more. You are not only perfect where it counts, you bring just the right baggage to the project. The reputation the lifestyle and the resources. There is no reason anyone would doubt you or connected to us in any way," she said. "And that is important why?" I asked. "That is important because we don't want anyone to question what we are doing. With your lifestyle no one would ever question anything you do, because no one has a clue what you will do next week." "I'm sure this somehow makes sense, but I don't understand it," I said. "You already know about the Eve and Lucy projects. Eve is a leap ahead from Lucy, don't you agree?" she asked. "Yes Lucy was a great friend, but on the retarded side. Eve is almost human even to me who knows she isn't." I said. "We are ready for the next generation. An entity who is totally robotic but programmed with every bit of information from a human brain. A body that is a 100% working replica of a human with their memories and thinking because it is their brain only in a computer. The perfect entity. No one will be able to tell that this entity isn't human." "But the entity will know?" I asked. "Yes if you steal someone's brain, they are going to know it was stolen. They are going to know that when they put their hand on a hot stove, there should have been pain, even though there is none." she said. "So I assume you are going offer me the chance to be the first of these," I said rushing to the end of the story as I always did. "That's pretty much the whole story. We can't do this with just anyone, they wouldn't fit our profile, and they probably wouldn't agree, because it will burn out the brain in the human form. There is so much to transfer from the body to the host, that there is considerable damage to tissue." "So worst case it doesn't work and I'm dead?" I asked. "Yes," she answered. "And it has never been done on a living person?" I asked. "No, Eve's personality was from a cadaver," she said. "So not only was her body not perfected the programming of the brain left some things that needed our input regularly." "If this works, can the new me go back and be the old me?" I asked. "The prospect of that, is a large part of our choosing you," she admitted. "Then what is the downside?" I asked. "It is all going to be new ground. We have no idea who or what this new entity would be. It might still have to be terminated at any stage," she admitted. "So are you the creator, or the controller, or both?' I asked. "I choose none of the above. I'm just the least geeky of the geeks. None of the others could explain it to you as well." she admitted. "You didn't even need to do that," I said. "Yes we did. If you work up in an Eve type body, there is no telling how you would have reacted. You aren't going to be like any of the others. You are going to be one of a kind. You might even be the first of a new breed. If something built with a blow torch can be a breed as such." she said. "Trip that IV and let me wake up with a new working body even if it ain't mine," I said. "I can do that. By the way I'm sure at 44 years old you were worrying about getting too old to do the things you do. You can forget that shit now," She grinned when she said it. I drifted off to sleep with dreams of Dorian Grey without the painting in the attic. I felt better than I had since the jaywalking indecent happened. When I woke up there were no tubes sticking in me. I did have electrical wires running everywhere, though. I go just a quick glimpse in a mirror before I got shut down. Somehow I knew exactly how much time passed. It was just under two hours later, when I got turned on again. I woke up instantly, and I just knew things. I didn't really wake up in the old sense of the word. I realized that someone had turned me on. "Maxine how are you doing," a human voice asked. I heard it on a different level than than the next thing I experienced. I just kind of understood them without hearing. That second thing was a kind of data load that instantly filled my mind with the time date and temperature and a hundred other things. "Now that is going to take some getting used to," I said, or did I say anything. "What the wake up data load," the voice asked. "Yes that," I said. "Did it process different from my voice. or did you process them the same?" the voice asked. "They were different," I said. "Good, then your computer is processing them just as Eve's does. The processing you are doing at this moment is voice processing," he said. "Okay, I get that," I replied. Then suddenly there just appeared a bunch of data in my brain like a thought. "That data just appeared there," I said. "I didn't have to process it at all. It was just there." "Good, then we have a voice link and a data link," I heard him say it to someone else. The data link just filled my mind with everything that had happened since I was shot. All the news casts I had missed. I probably knew more at that moment, than I would have known had I been awake for it all. I spent exactly 17 and a half minutes being updated on the current state of the world. I didn't know that I was going to like that clock thing constantly going off in my head. I had a feeling I needed to talk to the controller and get some kind of understanding. Make this livable, or just turn my much better looking ass off. Yes part of the new me had a younger face and body, not drastically so, but some. It still had the raggedy ass hair though. I guess we were going to go with I spent the last month in a spa. Now that was a fairytale no one was going to believe. We could try, ain't it amazing what a few weeks of deep sleep can do for the body, horse shit. There might be some really nice things about the new me. One thing I did like, I still saw me as me. I was afraid that I would feel even more like a freak. I had always been a little freaky, so I guess it was just another reason I was perfect to be the first whatever the fuck I was. I wanted to see the operator's manual for this robo shit. I had to get some idea whether I could enjoy Helen's food or not. I knew for damn sure I wanted a steak and baked potato from her kitchen at that moment. That did make sense, since my brain still thought it was in the old body. Whether I would want a second one, after I ate the first, was debatable. "I love that she is trying to adapt to the whole thing. It's like there is no shock at all," the controller said to someone. "Hey clown, you need to shut that mic down while you are talking about me," I said out loud. I didn't know how to send a text yet. ------- Chapter 274: Home Again I arrived back home via airplane from DC, then airport taxi service from the airport. I was in the Downtown House about forty five seconds before I unlocked my gun safe and put the .38 shoulder rig on. I felt better with some kind of self defense capability. The fat chick had impressed on me that I was not indestructible by any means. If someone turned me into scrap there was no guarantee they could or would salvage the computer and give me new life. I would be just as dead as the flesh and blood me in a freezer somewhere outside DC. Most likely my ass rested beside the carcass of last years deer kill. Maxine sharing a cold storage locker with bambi now that was appropriate. Somethings were better and somethings were worse about the titanium body thing. I didn't get broken bones, but they assured me given enough stress I could get bent ones. If someone hit me with a hand grenade my limbs were just as likely to be separated from my body as the wheel from a truck when it hit a mine. I felt pain to prevent me from doing stupid things, but it was mild compared to the pain I once had in my leg. Oh that pain was forever gone, and the leg had been miraculously healed. That was my story for when Jen asked why I no longer limped, and of course she would. I got headaches all things when I was over tired. It was the creators's way of keeping me from running the batteries dry. They had tweaked me, since I was the first robo dummy with a mind of her own. The Bosses were already sorry they had built me I suspected They had a ton of money and had made a lot of promises based on me, now they couldn't afford to just lose me. At least not till I did more than sneak out to visit a bar. Yes I had done that. I danced, I drank beer, I got felt up, which was a total bore. The funny thing was I remembered how it had felt before and that was a blast. I mean the orange memory of an orgasm, in an otherwise gray world, was a trip. I mean hell man, they say all good sex is in the mind, and I damn sure believe it now. That memory was as good as any orgasm I ever had. It should be it was the memory of the best one I ever had and the memory was in greater detail than the sex had been. Those electrons were just flying between wires I'm sure. Hell the little red light that warned me my circuits were over heating just blinked like hell. It looked like the light show for one of those 1980s rock bands. Then there was great calm, just like I remember post orgasmic delight. The guy I was dancing with at the time couldn't believe it. He thought rubbing my ass had done it, and to be honest in a way it had. They claim I had all the same nerve receptors more or less but I felt things differently. All that remained to be seen. All I knew for sure was that I was happy to be home. My mind operated on a pre-death memory set, and a post-death memory set. It was not a seamless transition, it was more a bridge from one side to the other. Sometimes I got trapped in one or the other. I could not believe that they managed to transfer what was me to the new body. I mean I had seen the movie robocop, okay not the movie but some scenes from it. I remember him agonizing over his past life. My life was right there for me to explore anytime I wanted. The new me had feelings that reminded me of the old ones and the old ones were just as vivid as what was happening at the time. It was really an fascinating thing. It might get old one day but so far I was enjoying the new sensations. Of course I was also enjoying making the controllers crazy. They were used to Lucy and Eve who they had controlled from day one. But to really integrate their contraptions into the world they needed me. Or at least more controllable entities like me. It was more than knowing which fork to use at dinner/ It was knowing how to make a joke when you didn't know which fork to use that made a person a person. not a roomba 5000. They knew that on the farm, they were just having to change their thinking a little and no one likes to do that. Fuck em' they were going to have to learn to take a joke for sure. Could they pull the plug on me one day, you bet your ass, but I don't think they would leave me paralyzed in a bed somewhere. They would probably use me as a suicide bomb. I took a shower after the trip. I didn't do it because I was dirty or because I smelled. I did it because they had left the sensation of being wet and the sensation of my skin being hot. Those two sensations triggered the memory of how it felt to stand in a hot shower and just feel the pain and stress wash away. The shower, by triggering that memory, relaxed me just like the shower had really done previously. So I took a shower before I called Jen. She had no idea I was home. They didn't allow visitors at the facility, where I had spent the last 90 days. It was part hospital part rehab and part basic training again. And yes I felt 18 again in some ways. "Hey Chick," I said when Jen answered her home phone. "Maxine where the hell have you been?" she asked. "You should know. You are the one who sent me there," I said. "I was supposed to be allowed to die at home." "I couldn't do it. I love you more than my own sister, but I couldn't do it. I told them to do whatever they could to keep you alive and fix you. They said you had a spinal injury and would never walk," she said. "And you left me like that. Boy was I pissed at you. Then they did some new spinal graft shit and all of a sudden I'm me again, more or less." I advised her. "Get your ass over here or I'm coming over there. I have got to see you and catch up," she said. "You are going to want to hear what has been going on around here. I know I sure as hell want all the detail about what you have been up to for 3 months." "Sure why don't you come here so I don't have to deal with Bob first thing," I said laughing. "My husband is not all that bad," Jen said. "I know the worst you ever had wasn't bad, but it's name was Bob," I said with a laugh. Jen had tapped into what I called my primitive brain and I was loving it. "So do you have anyone with you?" she asked. "No, it will be just you and me, but I promise not to rape you. I mean it's pretty much impossible for a girl to rape a girl. Okay maybe with a broom in prison but I'm not that horny," I said laughing. I had completely forgotten that I wasn't the same old me and I loved it. "Tell you what, I'll stop and get a six pack of that disgusting bock beer you love, if I can stay on your sofa, if I get drunk." "Bring the bock beer and if I begin to bore you, we can go to the cop out," I said. "Sweetie, you aren't going to bore me. It is going to be a fucking hen fest. So much has happened. Don't go into the Drugstore Condo, tell I talk to you," she said. "When I do go over there it will be in full battle armor and armed to the teeth," I said remembering how I got shot. "Yeah there is an update on that as well," she said. "Am I going to be happy with the news?" I asked. "Some yes some will probably piss you off," but hey remain calm regardless. Jennifer didn't know the new me, but then again I didn't know the new me either. "Okay hustle your ass up," I said. While I waited for Jennifer, I opened my email from the previous 90 days. I opened all the ones from 'His Laboring Few'. Some were from the building company. First there would be a bill, then there would be a thank you for your payment email. Then there were emails from the housekeeping group of 'HLF'. Some of the guys probably worked both places. The housekeeping service had cleaned out the basement and thrown away most of the shit down there. "I had thrown away a lot of the shit before I called them. That particular shit I wanted to be sure was gone and gone forever. I remembered the feel and smell of burning flesh. I still felt bad for having done that but it saved the little girl. So fuck em' I did what I had to do, and I would do it again in a second. Suddenly I wondered if the controllers on the farm were recording my thoughts, just as they recorded the background images from a predator drone that were never used. They were just there and of no consequence. The personal email stopped a couple of days after the shooting. I continued to get email but it was from businesses or people who didn't really know me. One of them made me laugh like hell. The stupid TV show about me was nominated for an Emmy. God the shit that passed for entertainment was amazing. The guys at the farm had meticulously copied the scars from my old body to the new one. I wondered what they would think, if I showed up at the Emmy show with a backless and almost topless dress. I looked like a patchwork quilt." Mike sent me an email before my shooting made the news in Boston I guess. His email asked if I had seen the show and what I thought of it. It was probably a good thing I didn't get the email at the time. My opinion hadn't changed, but at that moment I was a lot more forgiving of my old life. It didn't look all that bad from where I sat at the moment. Did I want to kill the bitch 'what kilt me'? You bet your ass I did. I wasn't sure if that were possible, since no one would tell me what was going on in my old life. Now I was home and could find out for myself. I expected Jen would be dying to tell me the fate of Rosanda the nanny. I had no doubt at all that she either did it or arranged it. It was the only thing I was involved in actively at the time. I suppose it was possible some old enemy came back to clean up a loose end, but why bother. No my money was on the nanny. I hadn't been sitting around dreaming of a long agonizing death for her, but that didn't seem like a bad idea at all. Too bad it was impossible to find thumbscrews and racks these days. Real craftsmen like that just didn't exist any more. I doubted I could find four men with horse who even knew how to draw and quarter her. Ah well, I had to stop my fantasizing, since I heard Jennifer at the back door. ------- Chapter 275: Bock Beer and Catching Up "Holy shit," the shocked woman said even before she hugged me. "I knew you were going to look different after three months, but I thought it would be worse. God you look ten years younger. If it wasn't for the hair, I wouldn't recognize you. Well sure you look like you did ten years ago." "Take a breath Jen, you are running on like a teenager on a first date," I said. "I know, but damn what did you have done?" she asked. "What was the use accumulating all that money, if I couldn't have a nip and tuck?" I asked. "So they grew you a new spinal cord, then did plastic surgery as well. Shit I want to go there on my next spa vacation," she said. "It's a very private clinic that Eve knows about. Ask her for the details, they wouldn't even tell me where I was. They all spoke with accents though," I said. "I'll bet that scared the hell out of you?" Jen suggested. "Yes, I was afraid that they wouldn't kill me. Then of course they began putting me back together. Hell they even grew me a new calf muscle. I had to learn to walk again." It was true that I had to learn to walk again. It just wasn't for the new calf muscle, or some spinal transplant. It was the new body that I had to learn to push and pull around. "Well damn, if you don't look great," she said. "Thanks, now give me a beer and start spilling your guts," I demanded. I had the beer when she started, "Well the nanny is in the wind. Blevins and his baby detective decided that the shootout was the worst case of murder/ suicide they ever saw." she said. "In other words they said in a whisper, job well done." "How about the nanny's boyfriend? Did we get him in the shootout?" I asked. "No we think he is the one who pulled the trigger on you," she said. "Who thinks that?" I asked. "Vlad and Anya mostly, everybody else was content to let it go or to wait for the cops to stumble on them. Especially when they all thought you would die or worse." Jen said. "Vlad and Anya wouldn't let it go though. Too bad they don't have your connections." "No it isn't. I would not want them to find those two without some supervision. It would be the Russians in Afghanistan I fear. Torture, just for the fun of it, is not justice." "No, but I bet it is satisfying for the torturer now and then," she said. "It destroys the soul," I said. "Okay, so the nanny cunt is in the wind, is the boyfriend with her or do you have any idea." "Here is a present from Blevins. He gave it to me for you. If you ever came back that is." she said handing me an envelop. It was too small and light to be a gun, so it had to be the case file. It would have the bread crumbs to look out for along the paper trail leading back to the nanny cunt. How did I know, because it is what I would have done. "Okay, so why didn't I get to go into the Drugstore Condo?" I asked. "I have to warn you that the locks and codes have all been changed. That was Kate's idea. I didn't want you kicking the door in. I have your keys here and your codes for the front and rear door's master lock. Also in the packet is the web address for the video camera feeds on the doors, parking lot and stairs. Lucas set those up for Kate." "So what is the status of the last two units?" I asked. "The place got a lot of publicity after the shooting. I managed to keep Leon and Vlad out of the news. Anya being a woman, got her picture made a few times, but nothing more widespread than the local TV channel. It didn't get picked up anywhere else. The Admiral sent a high profile retiree. She decided that she wanted the 'room without a view' unit. Her balcony over the closed off alley has all the view she needs, according to her." Jen said. "How about the the place with all the views of old buildings?" I asked. "Believe it or not that one went to a square John and his Wife. They are super fans of yours, I think." "Jen tell me you didn't sell that place to groupies?" I asked with a laugh. "Ah I think so, but they are rich and retired groupies," she said. "But you know who their neighbors are, it could get to be a problem," I suggested. "Kate pushed hard for the sale, and I gave in finally. They have been model homeowners so far," she said. "Of course no one knew when, or if you were coming back. I have no idea what they will do now that you are here," she actually had a evil smile on her face, the wicked bitch. "So has Helen used the reception hall yet?" I asked. "Every Saturday for the last month or so," she said. "Kate also had a couple of lodges book it for dances and that kind of thing." "Good, if you didn't cut too many deals, the building has paid for itself now and I have the income from the reception hall as profit." I said, proving to myself that even small detail from the primitive brain had survived. "Oh you made a few bucks on the sale of the units. It's not as much as you could have gotten had you not insisted I be picky with the buyers," she said. "By the way Leon got elected president of the homeowner's association." "That actually was a good choice. At least maybe he won't pull a gun on the window washer," I said. Did you organize the clubhouse in the basement, or do I get to do something myself?" I asked. "We cleaned it out, just as you had planned and we stopped right there. Vlad insisted that he oversee the cleaning for some reason." Jen said. "You know why. You just wish you didn't know," I said "I suppose that is true enough," she admitted. "So what's the latest on Lucas and Julie?" I asked. "Lucas is still running your business along with Ed's. He and Julie fight like cats and dogs. She loves the work." Jen informed me. "Lucas is bored silly and threatens to sell it every couple of days. "Then are they romantically involved?" I asked. "I don't think so, Helen might poison him, if they were. He is ten years older you know," Jen said. "Only on paper, that chick is a lot more experienced than Lucas will ever be," I suggested. then I went on, "Maybe I should buy it all back and let Julie run it?" "I wouldn't make that kind of offer until he is really ready to sell. No since paying too much for a business that you don't even want," Jen said. "You do have a point, my little shyster bitch," I said. "Hey, I ain't nobody's bitch," she demanded in her little gangster voice. "Right," I agreed. "Speaking of bitch, Blevins has been calling a couple of times a week checking on you. I expect he just wants a heads up for the next blood bath." "Let them all know that I'm back and that I have declared a truce with the Nanny Cunt," I said smiling. "Yeah, that way when she never shows up, they won't come looking to you. The reason they haven't come looking so far is because you were in that hospital," she said. "Hey, she is in the wind. There ain't much I can do about that," I said. Actually there was a lot, but she didn't have to know it. "Did the laundromat deal get done?" I asked. "Yes the Laundromat and the girls school all got done," Jen said. "Good, then I don't have any pending business," I suggested. "Nothing that can't wait, there never is you know," she said. "I know you want to think the earth has to have you in charge to rotate, but it doesn't really." "Of course it does, even when I was in the hospital all doped up, I was in charge," I said. Jen had a third beer then said, "Did I tell you that you are gorgeous?" "Yes you told me and you are drunk," I said. "I am drunk, but that doesn't make you any less gorgeous." she said. "Jen my boobs are still too small and my hair is shit. I am at best adequate," I replied. "So what else has happened?" I asked. "Do you know how I found out your condition on a regular basis?" Jen asked. "I have no idea," I replied. "I had to check with the fucking admiral. That bastard knew how you were. He got a briefing everyday. I'm your best friend, and I had to ask him everyday." she said angrily. Then just as suddenly as the anger appeared it was gone. "Maybe we should call Kate and have an orgy?" "That would be a threesome, I think you need at least four for an orgy," I suggested. "Surely you know someone," she suggested. I thought but didn't say, that would make you a robo slut. Not sure that would be a good thing to share, ever. What I said was, "I'm no fun drunk." "You aren't that drunk," Jen said. "No, I meant I'm not that much fun when you are drunk." I suggested. "True, I can hardly ever get off, when I have had too much too drink." She paused a moment then went on. "Did I tell you Reverend Archer bought a real church." "No now that is news," I said not meaning it. "Yep, and of course his ministry is in Tryon as well as Aster. Got drunks and cons working all over the place," Jen said. "I'm sure that makes him popular with the cops," I said. "True, but they coexist these days," she said. "What about Cheryl, how is her 'help out the chick ex cons' thing going?" I asked. "She is keeping your place full, and most of them move on back into the world after a few months with her and working at whatever jobs she can find for them. I have been expecting Archer to jump in and help her with the employment things, but I just hasn't happened." "Too much competition," I suggested. "Which one are you talking about?" Jen asked. "Both of them," I said with a small laugh. "Actually hon the town has been awfully peaceful without you around. Too damn peaceful," she said. "The town doesn't have to be on full rock and roll all the time," I suggested. "No, but it's a lot more fun around here when it is," Jen replied. I had that argument with the controllers. Of course they had the final say, they could wipe the brain and start over with a new chick, who wanted to die. My argument was, if they wanted to see if a robot could take over for a human, then I needed to act like myself. Then we could see who if anyone noticed anything different. The argument went round and round for days. In the end it came down to agree with me, or terminate me as a subject. The vote was pretty close to even, but I managed to survive it. So the current plan was for me to be me, just like before. It wasn't hard for me to do at all, it might be hard on the controllers though. It was probably keeping the creator awake nights, wondering what kind of plague he had brought into the world. As I lay in my bed capturing stray energy from the air, I sent a message to the controller. If I could find the data myself, I wouldn't have asked you jerks, was my final part of the back and forth between us. Shit, I thought, Jen snores. ------- Chapter 276: Cloak and Dagger There was one good thing about that first morning back. I got to wake Jen at 6AM, so that she could get home change and be at her office by 9AM. I made coffee for us both. My sense of taste wasn't refined enough to tell good coffee from terrible coffee, but I did remember how to make it. Like Eve had said the warm liquid was relaxing. I had the increased benefit of remembering how good coffee did taste. Memories was heightened, just because I no longer had the same feelings. Heightened to the point of the memory was more real than the current event. That was usually a good thing, so far. Jen left my place with a cup of my coffee. I sent her coffee home in one of the many cheap ceramic cups I had bought in my old life. I bought them by the dozen for just such occasions. I hated Styrofoam in any form. No I am not environmentally friendly, they just add taste to things which should not have the taste of plastic. Of course by that time it wouldn't have made any difference. But old habits were going to die extremely hard, I could tell. I had been shot at the end of summer. It was November by the time I got back to my place. I realized that I had to think about how to dress. Not because I got cold, but because other people did. I could wear shorts in November, but people would begin to wonder about me. Life in this new shell was going to be challenging enough without that kind of stupid mistake to draw even more attention to myself. I found some old ratty jeans and a cool sweat shirt with a four inch zipper at the neck. I even put on a nylon shell over it all, so that I could at least look like I was dressed for my bike ride to Helen's. I was headed there mostly because it's what the old me would have done. I was a little shaky on the bike the first few blocks. After I passed under the second stop light, I had the balance and the turning thing down pretty well. I had always been a fast learner. It was really just a matter of matching the new movement methods to the old balance issues. Once I had it, I felt I could ride the bike cross country under only my own power. Most likely I wouldn't have to stop to eat even. I would have to stop for coffee. The liquid keep the circuits cool, even if it went into my body hot. Any other liquid would do as well. Once in the parking lot of Helen's, I found the corner where I always parked the bike. It was one of those rounded off spaces at the end of the row. It was too small for even a compact car so they put lines it to keep people from using it. I had always parked there. I found to my surprise that at the end of the funky space Jack had built a bicycle rack. It would hold three bikes. I parked my bike so that I had the most distance between the car on one side and the incoming traffic on the other. Inside I picked up a number five bag-o-breakfast and coffee. The coffee was my own recipe. Well I hoped in three months Helen hadn't changed it, but I probably wouldn't be able to tell even if she had. The food went directly from my mouth to the disposal area. Whenever it was convenient, I would take care of it almost the same as before. "Maxine, damn when did you get home?" Eddie the EMT asked as I passed a table full of Paramedics. "I got back last night, of course I had to come here first thing to see everyone and have a decent meal," I informed him just as I had planned. Not necessarily that it would be Eddie, just what I would say. "Man when we picked you up nobody thought you would make it, but my got you look better than ever," One of the others said. "So which of you pulled my ass out of traffic?" I asked. "Mike was one, the other one is off today," Eddie said. "Well Mike thanks and tell your partner I said thanks as well. If I see you at the cop out, your drinks are on me. Well for one night at least," I said laughing. "Thanks Maxine, I just want you to know how glad I am that you made it back. I didn't think you would." The younger man said. "I'm a lot harder to kill than I look," I said as I turned toward a table away from everyone. The bike ride had burned off just a little of the coolant, so the coffee was welcome on more than one level. I was tasting the breakfast bagel even though my taste receptors weren't perfect. The gross taste receptors and the refinement of my memory allowed me to savor the food. Several more people welcomed me back. I was pretty sure a couple of the women were asking each other, if I had had some 'work' done. I would be more than willing to explain it away. Nobody seemed to have noticed that I wasn't struggling around with the cane. I didn't mind that, since it was harder to explain. I doubted that any of them knew how bad the spinal injury had been. After breakfast I took off on the bike again. I headed out to the mall. It was a two mile ride that I had struggled making previously. Well when I had the motor bike it hadn't been a problem but with the bike without a motor, it was a difficult ride back then. That morning of course I made the ride without a problem. I rode it all in the highest gear on the bike and could keep up with the cars, but I knew better than to do it. I could have ridden Lance Armstrong into the ground even on the cheap WalMart mountain bike. I shed the nylon parka when I entered the mall. The thirty eight had been left at home because I planned to walk. I did have the .410 Derringer in the pocket of my jeans. I had never worn my jeans so tight that I couldn't get a weapon in and out of the pocket easily. I didn't need the mall walk to stay slim anymore, but it was a social event as well as exercise. I wanted so badly to stay in touch with the real me, that I planned on doing as much as possible of the old me things. I planned to do them just to do them. "Maxine you are back," the voice behind me almost shouted. I recognized it as the tiny dancer. "Well good morning to you as well my walking buddy," I said. "My don't you look well. I was terribly worried when Leon told me what had happened and that they had carried you away in a helicopter." she said. "Well they did a good job and I am finally rested," I replied to try to short circuit her next question. "You look ten years younger, that surely is not from resting in a hospital," she demanded. "No, that's from the knife of a skilled surgeon. I had some body work done while I was recovering from the gunshot." I explained. "Well good for you, those hard years were beginning to show, but now you are gorgeous. I will have to be careful Leon will be hanging out at your house," she said. "So how are you and Leon getting on?" I asked. "Let's say I am one of your colorful neighbors now," she said. "Oh that is wonderful news," I said. Oh course part of the reason for the walk was to determine Dancer's place in my future life. I left the mall not surprised by Dancer's new status. I also wasn't thrilled by it. What Leon chose to tell her was his business. Most people know about me, and lots of them knew about Vlad and Anya, so it shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. When I got home I arranged a meeting with one of the people from 'HLF'. The one being sent to me was not the foreman of a building crew. I usually dealt with one of those, but this one was a decorator. Now that was something new for "His Laboring Few." Way too much class for Aster, so it had to be temporary. Most likely an addict from the nationally known rehab clinic the preacher ran in the old Hazelwood B&B. The preacher believed in work therapy. It also didn't hurt to have a source of free or almost free labor. So an hour before noon I met the decorator at the rear door of the Drugstore Condo. I got my first look at the completed reception hall that morning. It wasn't my idea of classy, but then it was Helen's area not mine. It was a little too whimsical for me. I was being followed through the room by a extremely gay young man. "Tell me this is the room I am going to do. It is so horrid that I couldn't do anything but improve it. Even if I was stoned out of my mind on LSD," he said. "Well it isn't," I didn't decorate it, so I can almost agree with you. I don't find it horrid, just a very small town attempt at chic," I suggested. "I find it just plain horrid," he said. "I see you didn't learn tact in rehab," I suggested. "Oh aren't we sensitive?" he asked. "Not so much as I am easily bored. Small people, with big egos, tend to bore the hell out of me. Now do you want to take a look at the space, or do you want to stand here exchanging insults?" "I have heard that you are a big deal in this little town, but I'm not impressed," he said. At that moment I noticed Leon standing at the foot of the stairs leading up to the condo units. "Could I speak to you a moment?" he said to the young man. I walked away grudgingly. The two of them had an animated conversation for a few minute before Leon turned to me. "Maxine Trudy phoned me and told me you were back. She also told me that you were gorgeous and to get the name of your surgeon. She was definitely right about your looks." "Thanks I guess," I replied. "No she can't have the name of my surgeon." "I'm so glad you are back," he said giving me one of those fake European hugs. "I am off to lunch at the barbecue pit. God I do love this town," he said it as he turned to the door giving the decorator a hard look. "I am ready to see the space now, Ms Stone," the decorator said quietly. "Don't pay too much attention to Leon. He is like a big brother. He doesn't like to see me upset," I said. "I see," was all the decorator said. I took him down the basement dungeon and we talked. "I want a clubhouse here for my friends. Something that might be seen in a medieval castle. Not the stone walls or anything just the dark dismal atmosphere." "I understand exactly what you mean," he said getting a little more into it all. "Okay this place has two entrances. I want the one from the condo building locked with keys only for the residents. The outside entrance is for general guests, if there are any. The bar needs a refrigerator and storage lockers behind it. I think of it as self service no employees. Heavy tables and chairs not necessarily matching. This is a clubhouse not a bar." "And what will the place be called, so I have some idea of your image of it?" he asked. "The Cloak and Dagger, for now at least." I said to him. "Do I remove the coal shoot and pipes overhead?" he asked. "Definitely not," I replied. "I'll call back with the estimate. It will be about a three week job. The preacher's crew can do the work I'm sure," he said. "The budget is five grand keep that in mind. The next time I see this place i want it to be a finished. If you can do it for under five grand fine, if not let me know, so that I can find someone else." ------- Chapter 277: Searching for Nanny Cunt It took over a week for the Nanny cunt to surface. She never really surfaced it just took that long for the company to put its resources into finding her. Somehow they had considered her case closed with my change in status. They still hadn't gotten used to me being in the equation. I guess since I was the first Ghostbot they were have trouble deciding what to do with me and how much to do for me. In the end they told me that someone had registered a car using Nanny Cunt's Boyfriend's driver's license as an ID. It is always the little things that trip us up, I thought. I wanted them both. I was also pretty sure that since I had found one, I had found them both. I downloaded the official police photos for each of them. Then I had them printed at the drugstore. I did it while I was on my way to breakfast and then my walk on the morning after they surfaced. The two of them had gone to ground in a coastal North Carolina town no more than a hundred and fifty miles from Aster. It seemed as though they couldn't bring themselves to get too far from their lifeline. Family being the only source of secure revenue for them at that moment. No doubt they would be involved in something where ever they landed. It might or might not be something legal. There were plenty of casual labor jobs around on the coast. It would have been easier to find one in the spring or summer, but there were always jobs to be had. Neither of them to my knowledge had a drug problem, so most likely they wouldn't be involved in any high visibility activities. Then again they might have considered the matter closed, since no one had come for them in over four months. After my walk at the mall, I went home changed for my road trip, then just drove away. I was very careful to obey all the speed laws as I drove toward the coast. I did make one stop to buy gas for the woody and to take care of clearing breakfast from my disposal area. The town wasn't on the beach. It was an old town along a major river. Finding the address the boyfriend had listed with the DMV wasn't difficult. "Good morning," I said to the clerk behind the counter of the Mail boxes ect store. I'm looking for holder of box 772. Can you help me out?" I asked. "I'm sorry that information is confidential. You would have to have a warrant go gain access to our files." the middle age man suggested. I didn't have a clue if he was the franchise owner or the manager or just a clerk. What I did know was that I needed information and one way or another he was going to help me. I showed him a fake business card with a hundred dollar bill behind it. "I am an insurance claims adjuster." I really need to settle a claim he filed against one of our clients. I can tell you his name and his automobile description, I just need to know where he lives. I know he doesn't live in that post office box." I can't help you with the address, but I can tell you he paid for three months in advance about a month ago. He has been in once a week or so to check his mail, I know because we have to hand it across the counter. There aren't really any boxes." I showed him the picture of Nanny cunt. "You ever seen her with him?" I asked. "No it's just him. He talks funny though if that is any help," the man said. He said it even after I had slipped him the card and the money. I knew guessed that he was showing up regularly to pick up money from home or something like that. Sure most of us used electronic banking these days. Yes I did check the family and friends bank accounts before I made the drive. I could find no one who owned a bank account which showed an unexplained money transfer. Most of the family and friends were just ordinary people with no significant bank balance. If those people were sending money it was most likely to be small amounts in the form of money orders purchased at the convenience store. While I had coffee at a local restored hotel's coffee shop, I checked the police reports for the county where the small town was located. There were the usual burglaries and convenience store robberies. I had access to the information, but it was still a drag to read all those police reports looking at the descriptions. I had not learned to use the scan feature of my brain even though I had been instructed how to do it. Nothing jumped out at me, so it was going to be a job for Maxine the cop. In my case a cop with no badge but a pocket full of cash. Since I knew they had a car, it seemed to me that the most logical place to start would be the convenience stores which sold cheap gas. "You ever see either of these two," I asked laying the two pictures on the counter of the third small convenience store I had tried. "Sure the girl has bought gas here a few times," he suggested. I added a hundred dollar bill to the pile. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Sure I am, she has a great body and a funny accent." he said. "How often does she come in?" I asked. "Couple of times a week for a while, then she will miss a week or two." "When was the last time?" I asked. "Couple of days ago. She will probably be back soon," he said. "Want me to tell her that you are looking for her?" "No that wouldn't be a good idea. Has the guy ever come in with her?" "To be honest he might have, but I don't really remember." he said. "Anything else you can tell me?" I asked. "Is she in some kind of trouble?" he asked. "She skipped out on a bail hearing. No biggie," I replied. "She isn't dangerous is she," he asked with his eyes lighting up. "No, she is just a writer of bad paper," I said giving him something to think about. "She comes in wearing one of those waitress name tags from the downtown diner. They wear slacks and tight white men's tee shirts there." He said it as if he approved of the tight white tee shirts at least. I didn't remember the nanny cunt as being that well endowed, boob wise that is. I had packed the long red wig, so slipping into the downtown diner might not be too big a deal. It was dinner time so she most likely would not be working. I went in mostly to get the lay of the place. I decided that a snatch and grab from there would be way too risky, but I did learn where the employees parked their cars. I also knew what car she was driving, so it would be easy to follow here somewhere for the actually grabbing her up phase of the operation. The operational phase was going to present a new set of problems. Unlike the old days, I couldn't go to jail and take my chances in court. These days things were going to have to be done differently. Fortunately the people in the cross hairs had already disappeared themselves. My job was to make sure they never showed up again anywhere. I suppose it was what I was designed for. No dna would be left behind. No identifiable finger prints since there was no body oil to leave them. Also I had finger print markers that changed periodically. Super glue on the finger tips changed my prints if necessary in a pinch. I needed a base of operations that wouldn't leave a trace of me. I could drive an hour away and check into a motel, or I could find an abandoned house and move in. There were plenty of foreclosed houses which would work for a base of operations. Not being spotted would be the trick. I decided that the woody was too distinctive to use, but it did have a bicycle rack on the rear. A quick check of craig's list got me a used bike from a woman whose son was in the Marines. If anyone asked, she might remember the skinny redhead who bought the bike. But I doubted that anyone would ask unless I left it behind. It was well after dark when I found the right house for my base. I parked the woody in the parking lot of the revived downtown shopping area. It was a ride of about five miles on the bike to the foreclosed house I chose. It was a small house but would work just fine for my needs. First I needed to decide on what kind of scene I wished to stage. To do that I needed to be patient and to determine where the couple lived. That would most likely take all the next day. Rather than the old days stake out kind of thing, I just popped a gps tracker under her fender. I did it the next morning while the car was parked in the downtown cafe's parking lot. I rode the bike there as well. With a sweatshirt hood pulled up to cover most of my features, it was easy for me to look like a guy on a bike. I would bet a thousand dollars that would be the description, if anyone even noticed me at all. I didn't have a plan and I needed a plan. My plan so far was to break into the house when no one was home and then form a plan based on what was there. I was leaning to a murder suicide scenario. It was by far the easiest to pull off. Of course that would depend on where they were living. That I would know that very night. My immediate problem was to not be noticed. I rode the bike to the city park. I left the the bike far from the entrance, but not hidden. It was more hidden in plain sight. I walked to one of the benches and just sat there with my hood pulled up as if I was cold. I wasn't cold at all, what I was doing was running old TV shows in my head. I had Eve's built in wifi connection to the net. Of course I was one giant computer. Before I knew it the fancy phone I had been given let me know that Nanny Cunt was on the move. I overlaid her movements with a map of the area. The car stopped in a state campground. They were obviously living in a camper or tent. Most likely a small camper of some kind. I needed to take a look at it. It was ten miles away and that would be quite a bike ride for the old me, but not for the new me. Nonetheless I went to the downtown parking lot to retrieve the woody. I drove it to the campground. I didn't stop, I just drove by the camper with the small red foreign car parked outside. I knew where it was which was my total mission for the evening. I didn't want to hang around the campground to determine how many were living in the camper, so I planned to leave a dear hunter type camera. It was a digital camera that would take a shot every time it sensed movement. I parked the woody in the office parking lot, then removed the bike from the rack. It wasn't suspicious since it hadn't gotten dark yet. I looked like just another trail rider. As I rode back to place the camera, the Boyfriend came out headed to the bathhouse not far from the camper. That solved my problem, so I just rode on by and kept the camera in my pocket. I rode the bike around the area for another twenty minutes before I loaded it up and headed back to the temporary base of operations. I needed a plan and to move as quickly as was prudent. There was nothing to be gained by delay and lots to lose if I got myself spotted. ------- Chapter 278: One Barbecue Special Please. There were lots of advantages in the brain link thingie. I could research the Internet by just thinking that I wanted to do it. That night the advantage was different. It was that there was no busy signal, when I decided to ask for help. There were controllers on duty 24/7. If I needed something above their pay grade, they just sent the request along. The duty officer usually could make the decision. I had no idea how many things the duty office had on his plate, and I didn't give a shit. All that said, I sent a request via data line for an animal capture dart gun and drugs. More drugs than I would need for this one mission. Since I was going to be creating the theater of the dead more than just once, it seemed logical that I would need to control the actors. Also do it without leaving large amounts of trace evidence. The drug I hoped for would be harder to detect in a normal ME tox screen. I was looking for an animal tranquilizer that created paralysis, not unconsciousness. I thought that I remembered from some of the animal shows that they didn't always want them to go to sleep, because they would forget to breath, or some such crap. I was prepared to camp out in the foreclosed home for days until the farm made a decision. Being gone from home for days was going to make it difficult for me to come up with an alibi, if I ever needed one. I trusted that the Virginia Gentlemen Farmers could come up with something if I couldn't. If not I had a friend or two who were pretty understanding. Best of all would be a crime scene that didn't require investigation. At least no more than Blevins judging my reaction, when he told me Nanny cunt and boyfriend were dead. The phone in my head went off an hour after I made the request. "There is a courier on his way to Florida. He will be leaving at first light. He will be carrying a package for you. Be in the parking lot of the race track convenience store on long street in Williams around 10am. Look for a bright red Ford Pickup truck. He will drop off the package. He has a photograph of you, so he will make visual identification. If you aren't there, he will not wait." It was a message not a conversational invitation. Since there was no power on in the foreclosed house, I left to sit in a waffle house. The Waffle had coffee and lots of free electrons in the air. It took a little longer to charge fully since I was burning some energy just sitting up. That didn't count the energy used to drink and process coffee. The point was I sat there two hours, then move across town to an early morning cafe for more coffee and more energy. I could have plugged directly into the wall for a charge, but that would look a little strange to anyone drinking coffee across from me. If I hadn't made the decision to stay out of places the cops might be looking, after the bodies were found, I could have checked into a motel. Since I didn't do that, it was the slow charge of free electrons for that night. I drove the thirty miles over to Williams and found the Race Track convenience store. I was about fifteen minutes early so I parked at the corner of the lot. I didn't want to block the business's doors or pumps. I hoped that I could avoid being noticed. At 10:15 the red pickup pulled into the lot. I got out of my cruiser and waited. He drove up beside me looked at the picture he had of me. "Got the time?" he asked. I looked at my watch, then said, "It's 10:22AM in Virginia." It was the universal authentication code. He handed me the package and took my picture with a cell phone. A moment later he drove the bright red Ford out of the parking lot supposedly headed for Florida, but I doubted that was the truth. Lying was a way of life with those bozos. I put the sealed box into the back of the cruiser and headed home. Since my power supply was only 62%, even after all the free electron charging, I stopped for more coffee well away from town. I really needed about half an hour plugged into the wall somewhere. It would be like the naps, which I took in my old life. The next best thing would be to park in the parking lot of power plant for a couple of hours. Then those things have security guards and camera. Not something I needed while I waited to kill someone. I decided that I really wanted a full charge going into the night's activities. It would be nice, just in case I had to make a run for it on that bike. It took very little energy to drive the cruiser, but it took quite a bit more, as you can imagine, to pedal the bike ten miles. Which should explain why I used a combination of the two whenever I could. So the question became, where could I plug in for half an hour without being seen. Preferably somewhere without security cameras. The less than obvious place was the public library. I know that sounds totally foolish right? Well with a little luck their computers would be setup to give the user some privacy. It would be pretty simple to remove the power cord and use it to tap into their power lines. The computer monitor would be off, but the library employees most likely wouldn't notice. If that didn't work, I had a USB cable I could use to connect. The power supply was very low voltage that way and it would take substantially longer. If everything else failed I could hunt down a transformer substation and sit in my care within thirty feet of it and collect free electrons from it. That again looked suspicious, but in an emergency it was a way to power up quickly. those things were so poorly designed that electrons filled the air around them. It was almost as good as being plugged into the wall. The library proved to be just the ticket. "Hi, I'm in town on business and my laptop battery died. Do you happen to have a computer I could use. Something with a little privacy?" "Of course dear," the little old lady said. She led me to a computer in the corner of the room. My back was to the wall so nobody paid any attention to me. I sat in front of the black monitor and punched keys. I could get the signal from the wifi directly into my head, so the key punching was just ti look as thought I was working. 37 minutes later I was full power and ready to go to work. At the foreclosed house I opened the package from the farm. Inside there were ten bottle of tranquilizers. Each bottle contained ten doses large enough to put down a two hundred pound man. I read the directions very carefully, before I filled a dart and a syringe. I had decided that I was going to drug the two of them, then set the place of fire. It wasn't a complicated plan but with a little luck it would pass as an accidental fire, and no one would even bother to check them for drugs. The plan was after 2AM I would slip the lock on the trailer door. Then I would simply shoot one of them, most likely the guy, then shoot the other one up with a syringe. After that I would rig a delay for the fire and get the hell out of town. Was I going to feel badly if they burned alive? hell no, they killed me already. It was only fitting that they die the most painful death I could imagine. Okay they might not feel it but still it would be painful for them in my memory. I parked the car at the boat landing along with three pickup trucks. The trucks had empty boat trailers attached. I removed the bicycle and rode off into the dark. I didn't have a light of any kind so I had to concentrate on the road. Even with the low light vision device, which was build into my noggin, it was dangerous. The body they gave me might be tough as hell, but the Walmart bike was likely to bend a wheel in a pot hole of any real size. I could walk or even run to the campground, but the bike was more convenient and more energy efficient. It was exactly 2:37 AM, according to the time stamp device in my head, when I pulled the bike to a stop a few yards from the dark trailer. The car was there, so I assumed I had them both ready for the barbecue. They were the guests of honor after all. "Opening the door was ridiculously simple. Getting into the trailer without waking them wasn't. The damn thing rocked, when I stepped onto the metal step up to the floor. I expected them to greet me with a shotgun blast. It might not kill me, but it would make a mess of me. One that I could never explain away, so the controller would dispose of me instantly. It was the security procedure set in place at the farm. Knowing that made me careful. Once this memory set was gone, I was through. The guy was sleeping but the girl was gone. I had to make a quick decision. Should I kill him and burn the trailer or walk away and try again later. I gave it a lot of thought. Well as much as a fast ass computer can in two seconds. I slipped over and shot his ass up with the syringe. Now he struggled yes, and the old me would probably have never been able to hold him while the drug took effect, but the new me had very little problem. Well he did drum his legs, and no amount of strength could have stopped him. Most likely the trailer was visibly rocking but there was nothing I could do about it. Once the drug took effect, I posed him. Fortunately for me he was a smoker. I rigged the simplest time bomb I knew how to make. A burning cigarette in a book of matches. The old school fire bomb was then laid on the bed. In about twenty minutes the cigarette would burn down to the matches and they would ignite. The ignition of the matches would guarantee that the bed would burn quickly. I didn't need any else to make a fire. So there was very little for an investigator to find. The drug assured me that the patient would be unable to move but semiconscious at least. In other words he might not feel it, but he was sure as hell going to know that he was burning alive. As I worked on the scene, I wondered about the Nanny cunt, then it hit me. She was most likely turning tricks to pay the bills. The part time waitress job wouldn't give her enough to have bought the trailer and the car for cash. Her friends and family most likely couldn't have sent her enough money for it either. If boyfriend had been cutting grass or other odd jobs, he could bare pay for the cigarettes that finally killed him. The doctors told him that they would, I was sure. Sure as hell they were about to do it. Okay not like they said but they were going to be the instrument of his death. Now the question was where was Nanny cunt. It had to be somewhere she could work without a car. Boyfriend had to have dropped her off and planned to retrieve her in the mornings. Surely the town was too small for a brothel. Maybe she had a standing date, I thought. Too bad the boyfriend couldn't answer me, even if I asked him. Since he was the trigger man on me, I was inclined to let Nanny Cunt live a little longer. I rode the bike back to the boat landing where I sat for an hour or so. Then I saw a light in the dark sky coming from over the campground. A few minutes later I heard the sirens. It would seem to be a pretty good guess that the boyfriend of Nanny Cunt was a crispy critter by that time. I didn't wait around to see what was going to happen. I simple headed my ass home. I did have a third bicycle to deal with. I decided to take it home and make it available to any of the residents of the drugstore condo. ------- Chapter 279: Home at First Light On the drive back I had some quiet time. I wasn't occupied with thoughts of how to kill Nanny Cunt or the boyfriend, so the computer circuits were buzzing with what passed for thoughts about my biggest problem. That problem being power of course. How to get it and how to conserve it. I stopped for gas near Capitol City. I had a need to add to my cooling system, so I went inside. I don't usually do that. While I was in there I saw a small tire pump hanging on a hook. One end of the wire plugged into the accessory outlet, what used to be called the cigarette lighter. It powered the pump which could be used in an emergency to inflate a flat tire. The example was to pump it up so that one didn't have to change the tire on a some dark lonely road. If it weren't for the power problem, I would never have noticed the pump. I could simply buy something like it and cut off the appliance. I could put an end on it which would accept one of my charging devices. My intake was under one of the round bullet scars I had from the old body. My purse contained the various adapters which I needed to use for about any power source. Back on the road, I decided that I had been told about the power accessory outlet on a car I had just been so intrigued with the free electron charging that I hadn't paid enough attention to the other methods. I hadn't considered that I would be on the road that much or that I would be hiding out in a house without power. I had thought about being caught in a jungle or rain forest somewhere for days, In which case the solar array jacket would be important and I would be operating like someone who hadn't had enough sleep. I would be on maximum power conservation mode. The vehicle charging was a huge discovery hidden in my memory bank. I still couldn't sit across for a school for a half hour without being noticed, but there were plenty of deserted parking lots around, since so many businesses had closed. I arrived home at first light. I hadn't bought the adapter end for the car, so I went home to rest, as I thought of the recharging. The more I used terms from my old life the more I felt in touch with it. Since I had all day, I ran TV shows for the last few days. Mostly it was fictional drama but some news shows crossed my mind as well. There were bits of information in even fictional dramas that tended to be of value once the rest of the crap was sifted out. News shows were more of a bore, since someone's pig winning best in show, was of no interest to me at all. What was happening in the Arab spring was only of minor interest, but I did store the information since it might be of interest at a later date. I sent a message to the duty controller at the farm. I asked him/her to check on the status of Nanny Slut's BF for me. I could have done it and the controller knew it, but I would have had to search all kind of things. Things which I wasn't familiar with. They could task a random search on a computer dedicated to such things. Things like Medical Examiner's reports. When something came up concerning that particular murdering prick, they would know it. If it were alerted to forward me a message, the computer called BART would do that as well. Bart's access was absolutely restricted to the people at the farm who approved requests. They claimed it was so that he wouldn't get bogged down in minutiae. I was surprised, when I got an approval for the search without having to beg or promise the operator a blow job. Speaking of which, my circuits were running super fast and producing a lot of heat. They had been since I saw the light in the sky over the campground. I was sure there was no computer adrenaline surges, but I wondered if there wasn't something like it. I felt a familiar sensation surging through my circuits. Damn it, as impossible as it sounded I was horny. "Just like with the sense of taste and smell I had receptors built into the channel which discharged the coffee and foods I pretended to eat. Those receptors were there to tell me when I was finished and even what was happening, so that I could control the valves and relays. As I remembered how it felt to masturbate, I began to rub that opening as if it were my vulva. I was just pretending of course/ Equally shocking was that by mixing memory and those sensations the circuits which replaced my brain became warm. Usually it was of concern when my circuits heated up, but I had no desire to stop it. Actually I had a desire to continue, which I did. If what I was doing burned something up, fuck it, I thought. I needed something and I was pretty sure I was headed for it. Without warning stored memories from my old life flashed through my active circuits and I began to respond just as I had with the old body. Things that passed for muscles began to clinch and I began to store energy somewhere without knowing why. Then all of a sudden that stored up energy released itself in what can only be described as an orgasmic rush. It was the same feeling I had when I had danced with the man earlier. I found that I could orgasm, I had expected to only be able to please men in order to manipulate them. That was one of the things they explained to me at the farm. I was the perfect candidate because I had always been willing to use sex as a weapon. To me it was just like any other weapon. They didn't factor in that I just liked screwing as well as the guys I used had. Since I didn't have a birth canal aka pussy, I was taking it up the ass so to speak all the time. That being the case, I needed about two minutes before I had sex to empty everything. It was just to be sure I didn't get lost in the feeling while doing it and discharge the pretzels and beer at an inappropriate moment. I was finding out things about the new me all the time. I expected that the controllers were as well. I could see them sitting in their dark room responding to me as if they were watching a porno movie. I had visited their control room and they had something called Response Interpolation Algorithms. In other words they could build a picture to see what I saw but also to show me as I was relating to the things around me. It was some kind of weird shit like super techno Gwen and Mike with their camera following me thing. It was noon before I was 'rested' and recovered from the computer version of an orgasm. One thing I realized from the big C.O. was that I could have sex, but not long slow loving sex. A guy in the back of a car, or something like it, might not know where exactly where he was sticking his prick. However in a bed, in the light of day, a guy would surely realize that I only had one hole. That would not be a good thing. As I thought all this, the controller knew it instantly. I could actually converse with him/her about it. The problem was they were nerds and not really up to speed about what was happening with me. The creator might have expected all this, or maybe it was new to him/her as well. Anyway fuck it, I thought. It was time to start living again. I walked over to the Drugstore Condo to check on the basement clubhouse. There were two old men working. They were both obviously reformed winos. "How goes it guys, I'm Maxine Stone," I said. "We know who you are Maxine," the white one said. "We was told you would be around hovering over us." "Gee you make that sound like a bad thing. I have been known to hold a board or swing a hammer," I replied. "Yes Ma'am, he don't mean nothing," the black man with the even more ravished body said. "Any time you wants to help, you just come on over." "Well today I'm just looking. I have to get a move on. Things to do and people to screw," I said smiling. "Heard that," the white guy said. I assessed what they had done while we spoke. I played it back when I was standing in the rear foyer. The floor had been leveled by putting down a kind of gray stone used on patios. If the cops wanted to check for previous blood, they would have to tear it up and even then they wouldn't find any. The old brick walls had been pressure washed, and then coated with something shiny. Probably polyurethane of some kind to seal them from the dirt and moisture. The over head had been painted dead black not to hide but just to subdue the pipes and wires. All that had been accomplished in just two weeks. I was suitably impressed. The two guys in there at that time were finish carpenters without doubt. They were building cabinets and the bar. I was sure that the decorator had been told to design with things 'HLF' could build by hand. Unlike any other business in the country, 'HLF' was charged with using as much labor as possible in their builds. The labor was cheap, but it also gave the recovering addicts and drunks something to do with their time. That was just as important as any other part of their recovery. It also put a few bucks in their pocket to spend. There reverend felt that men who earned a living felt a sense of worth, which a man drawing a subsidy check didn't. That sense of value helped keep them out of the bars and crack houses.There was a lesson there somewhere for the world in general, but I didn't try to work it out. "So what evil thing have you been up to," Jen asked over the 'smarter than smart' phone I carried. "Went to the mountains to see the leaves. I was told they are beautiful this year." I said. "Sweetie the leaves are mostly gone now," she said humorously. "I know. I was obviously misinformed," I said. "So whats up shyster skank?" "Kate called me. You do remember Kate the chubby real estate whore?" Jen asked. "Yes, you two seen to gave gotten as thick as thieves while I was in the hospital, " I said it with a laugh. "Well yeah, but realty whore couldn't reach you and she was worried." Jen said. "I left the phone at home, while I was in the mountains," I said. If the cops traced my phone, it never left home. "So what does our little realty slut want anyway?" "Have you ever heard of the Heartland Hosiery Mill?" she asked. "Sure they made socks for a long time here," I replied. "Oh yes they actually made cotton muslin for years, before they converted to socks in the forties." Jen informed me. "Okay, so now they are belly up and all that is southern textile history," I replied. "Yes it is. The mill is for sale and of course no one is buying. The old man died and the kids really want to dump it all." she said. "Jen, I do not want a cotton mill," I said laughing. "I figured that, but this time the kids are wanting to sell the mill village as well. They are willing to sell it separately." she said. "What are we talking about here?" I asked. "They are willing to parcel out the houses. They have over a hundred in pretty poor shape. Most have been empty for years and are going to need a lot of work." Jen admitted. "The old man did keep them weather sealed just in case king cotton made a comeback." "A hundred houses renovated would take all the money I have and then some. I am not borrowing money to gamble with. I don't need it." I said. "But you do need to do something to stay busy and you need to move that money around and do some good. Sweetie it's what I love about you. You are a closet do gooder," she said. "Well this is too big a project for me." I said. "Do you even know how much money you have?" Jen asked. "Something over a million bucks I know. I also know that project will cost all of that and more," I replied. It was all a guess I would have admitted if asked. "You have almost two million sweetie and I can arrange this for you and those kids to all come out ahead. "This I got to hear," I said. ------- Chapter 280: More About Almost Nothing "So do tell me how we are going to accomplish your goal, and secure my nest egg?" I suggested. "It isn't just my goal. You have Kate. the kids, and even Reverend Archer pushing for this as well. It would also take the rot and blight out of that part of town. We have high end buyers coming over from Tryon, but we really need some nice moderate housing with some class." Jennifer was all over her soap box on this one. She didn't know that I was committed to a retirement community for agents who managed to survive and wanted a place to go.t "Of course you would be handing my interest in the purchase of the units. Then you would also be handling my interest in the sale of the units. Now how many units do you feel it would be in my best interest to renovate?" I asked with a laugh. "You would have to take them all to get the best price," Jennifer said. "The kids will take a blanket $10.000 each for them. They are on very small oddly shaped lots, worth over half of that each." "I have seen those places all my life. You are talking about houses worth no more the fifty grand each after the renovation. The houses barely have the ten feet property line on each side required by the fire department. There is no way to make a driveway unless it is blocks the front door of the house. They would be slightly more than fucking patio homes at best." You can probably tell I wasn't really thrilled with the idea. "The housing market is crap now. That kind of home is the replacement for the 200k starter home of the 2000s." Jennifer demanded. You can get 75k for them no problem with just average quality renovations." "Jen a lot of those houses will have to be torn down. They won't even be worth fixing." I said all proud of myself for finding ways out of the deal. "We have a inspected them and of the 120 only 15 are beyond repair. For some reason the wood boring insects haven't bothered those houses at all. Not a single termite." She reported. I would have expected them to be eat up with termites." Jennifer said. "You would have expected," I said with a laugh. "Jen you wouldn't know a termite from a firefly." "Okay, I already had the guys from Archer's 'HLF' inspect them. That why Archer is on the list of people hot for you to do this deal. His people need the jobs in this economy." "Oh I'll just bet he is, which makes me wonder even more if it is worth the money," I said. "Okay, but what if I could get you a deal with very little risk of capitol and a huge benefit to the town. Would you go for that?" she asked. I made the decision in a split second. "If you have a plan bitch, let's here it," I said. "Would you buy ten at 15k each, with a promise to buy ten more when 80% of those have been resold?" she said. "That way you flip your money rather than tie it all up. If we guess wrong you would have only a small amount of money tied up at a time." "With the renovations you are talking about committing a minimum of half a million of my money at any given moment," I said with the question in my voice. "Damn your math has improved. But yes we had figured half to three quarters of a million at a time." she said. "So I generate income for you, chubby Realtor Kate, and Archer's crew without you risking anything?" I asked. "Yeah that's pretty much it," Jen replied. "Then the answer is no," I said. "Jen listen to me hon. Nobody is going to buy a home of any kind in a site with abandoned houses everywhere. If I do this I would have to commit to enough houses to have a decent looking neighborhood. If I develop all of them, there is still going to be an abandoned cotton mill in the middle of it. "Okay what if I told you the cotton mill is going to be bought by the state?" she said. "That might make some difference, but not enough to tip the scale." I said "What makes you think that anyway." "The community college wants it for classrooms and shops for its automotive and the new aircraft maintenance departments. It is the right size, and the only one in the area that was keep weather secure. Like i said the old man thought it would come back one day. He might have been right after all but in a different capacity." "If they announce that, and if I can cut out a housing development without taking all of those houses, then we might can do a deal. Email me a site map, I know you have one." "Yes I do. You are getting to be such a techno geek," she said. A year ago you would have demanded I have them printed and delivered to you." "So, I have made a choice to come into the brave new world," I said sarcastically. "Just send me the map and I'll take a look. Send the reports on each house from HLF I am sure you have those as well. Since it cost you nothing," "My, my aren't we all testy this morning." Jennifer said. I'll get all of it too you in an hour," then she was just gone. While speaking with Jennifer, I had walked back over to my Downtown House. I had to admit that I was already bored since most of the Drugstore Condo was complete. I still had Nanny cunt on my plate and maybe even the boyfriend. But those didn't require me to do anything at the moment. When I sat down, with a cup of very hot coffee to review the world's news, I got a message from the controller. There had been a fatal accident at the state campground where Nanny Cunt and boyfriend were staying. Boyfriend was the fatality, the cops were looking for Nanny Cunt. If there were foul play suspected, she was the suspect and she was in the wind. Now that is an unexpected but pleasant turn of events, I thought. I am not sure if it is for the best or not, the controller replied. On a happier note it is official you have been nominated for an Emmy. One last bit of information, the creator reviewed your tapes from this morning already. It was a significant enough development for an immediate review. Do you mean that thing that I caused this morning? I asked. Yes of course I mean that. That thing that occurred when you were dancing with the human did not amount to a change outside normal operating ranges. This morning was a bit of a shock to the creator. The committee is going to review it this morning and you should expect a response, the controller advised. You glossed over the Emmy thing, have I gotten an invitation to the ceremony and should I go? I asked. The fancy invitation has been sent. You will get it soon and yes you should plan to go. We want to know, if you can fit into the real world. That is the whole point dear. This will be the ultimate test. So who am I going to get for an escort. A real world guy pal, or do you have something else in mind? I asked. Before we send you out on dates, the creator has to decide what to do about your little adventure this morning. You will be hearing from us sooner than later, I'm sure. It was after lunchtime before the drawings and reports arrived in my email. I made short work of them. If the mill was indeed purchased by the school, it would eliminate the fear factor from the housing development. People are generally afraid of gangs and the homeless inhabiting an abandoned structure. That being the case it's hard to sell them a home next door. On the site plan I found one part of the housing area cut off from the other by a creek. There was the main road, the mill, then two streets of houses and creek. On the far side of the creek there were four more streets of houses. Each of the six streets had twenty houses on it. I could buy forty houses that were isolated from the others. Maybe I would not have to do the whole project at once after all. Since the mill was only a few blocks from the downtown, I rode the bike to take a look. I wanted to get a good look at the property. In doing so I would be taking my own pictures of the site. It was actually the memory of what I saw that formed the pictures. I could retrieve it at any time and in great detail. Being able to sort my new memories like that, was a huge benefit to me, I thought. Even at the moment the mill looked to be in good shape. The chain link fence was still in place and the lawns were cut for winter. It didn't look rundown but one could tell that it was not operating either. As I went from house to house, I pulled up the report by the HLF inspector. Of the forty houses only two were beyond hope. Sure they could be rehabbed but the cost was prohibitive. The lots were small so of no real value for anything else. They were also not even close to each other. I had no idea what I could do with them. I put in a call to Jen on the Smarter than Smart phone. I could have made the call with the farm's circuits but I knew better. Those circuits would be monitored and I was forbidden to use them for anything other than official business. Whatever the hell that was. "Jen, I took a look at the data and made a decision," I said. "Damn girl you move quickly," she said. "What's the advantage in putting it off. Will the facts change tomorrow, or the day after?" I asked. "Well no, I guess not. So what have you decided?" she asked. "Offer the kids half a million for all the houses on Spruce and Cypress streets. No commitment for any of the others. Remind them that two of those house will have to be demolished. So they are only selling me 38 houses and 2 small lots which I have to clear. Make it contingent on the mill building being sold first." "They won't move as fast as you do, I assure you." Jennifer said. "Well it's in your best interest to stay on top of it, so I leave it to you. Just let me know when they decide." I rode the bike back to the downtown house in a long lazy loop around my home town. Being able to do that and arrive back at the townhouse without being exhausted or cold was a great feeling. Yes, I had to do a prophylactic power infusion, but that was no big deal. I just wanted to stay topped off in case of surprises. Probably no other agent in the world would have worried as much as me about that. But then I was the only one like me. "Hello," I said into the smarter than smart phone. "Guess who got his ass burned to a crisp," Blevin's voice asked. "Smokey the bear?" I asked. "Not a chance, it was the Nanny's boyfriend. The cops down east are calling it an accident, but the Nanny was with him. We are back on her trail." Blevins said thinking that it would be good news to me. Little did he know that I was also in pursuit of Nanny Cunt. "Good I hope you find her and burn her ass as well." I said for his benefit. I had to stay in character you know. "Just so you know, it was for sure a painful death." Blevins said. "Well that is a great comfort to me," I replied with a laugh. ------- Chapter 281: the Cloak and Dagger Ect "Jennifer called. She said you wanted to put an offer in for the Hart property." The only slightly chubby Realtor suggested. "Do you realize that it is 9:15 in the morning, and you just showed up at me door. You could at least say good morning." I replied. "Jennifer said that being this early wouldn't be a problem. She also said, if I caught you half dressed that you wouldn't mind that either." At that point Kate smiled at me. It was one of those smiles. The old me might have done things differently, but the new me wanted a cup of coffee more than to have sex. Of course coffee was the only option with Kate at the moment. Oh I could do her, but I had the feeling Kate wanted romance, not just to get off. Romance required an openness which I wasn't physically up to at that moment. It seemed that the creator had miscalculated my value at gathering pillow talk. At that moment I realized that all those brilliant nerds and none of them realized how complicated the relationship between lovers or even pretend lovers really was. Since they knew my every thought they knew how complicated it was at that moment. I supposed that I was a learning experience for them as well as a work in progress. I should wear a sign around my neck, 'men at work'. "Come on in Realtor Whore, I can at least give you a cup of coffee. I can microwave you a bagel sandwich if you like. Helen dropped them off last night." What I didn't say was, If you don't eat them, they are going into the trash untouched. Unless of course some homeless guy walks by this morning. "If it's no trouble," she said. "I would love the coffee, but I just came from Helen's." "No trouble at all," I said pulling one of the ceramic cups from the cabinet and running hot water to rinse the dust off it. " Do you want some of that fake dry creamer, which I keep around for guests." That jar must have been a year old and had made at least one move from house to house with me. "No black is fine. Do we need to talk about Martin?" she asked. "Hell no, I expect that he comes to see you when he is in town," I admitted. "He does, I asked Jennifer if that is why you call me Realty Whore. She told me that it wasn't. It was because you really liked me. Is that true?" she asked staring into her coffee cup. "It is Kate, but you have to understand people come into and go out of my life all the time. I don't give most of them pet names. Only the ones the stick in my mind for one reason or another. In your case it was because I knew we would be doing business together from now on. "Good, then I don't mind," she said. "Honey for the amount of money you are going to make off me it would be best to go along with whatever the golden cow says," I replied. "Don't make me sound so calculating please," she said. "You know that I saw you at the Cop Out just before you got shot. I wanted to speak to you then but I was afraid." "Why because I haven't been calling you. That phone thing works both ways you know. Also I really haven't been my loving self for a while. I might never have really been my loving self. With me it's probably always going to be just short trysts, not real relationships," I admitted. "Okay, " then she changed the subject. Jennifer told me the particulars of the offer, but let me go over them with you before I write it up," she suggested. "Fair enough," I admitted pouring more coffee in both cups. "The offer is for forty houses. Ten that back up to the mill and ten more that all face onto Spruce Street. Then an additional twenty more that face onto Cypress Street. The offer is for forty houses in the condition they are right now. You are offering $500,000 contingent on the mill being sold," she said. "That is correct, you might want to put an expiration date on the offer. I want to use the money for something soon. Jennifer is all hot for me invest, while the realty market has bottomed out," I said. "Well I can have the offer it writing and fax it over to the Hart family's Realtor by noon," She had been writing as we spoke. I signed her screen copy of the offer and she was ready to leave. Then she did something unexpected. She gave me a very friendly goodbye kiss on the lips. I kissed her back of course without thinking. The kiss back was the kind of thing the creator had expected from me. They had to be proud of me at the farm. The thought came into my mind from the controller. "We are." They were always in my mind. I had to remember that. After the Realty Whore left, I went back on minimum power which automatically put me on free electron charge. I didn't need it but some power had been used in out meeting that morning and this new body liked to be fully charged as often as possible. I agreed since one never knew when one might be called on to perform real work. I sat around doing nothing for only a half hour. At ten I went to the mall to walk. I saw Tiny Dancer there of course. I was a little surprised that Leon wasn't providing her with all the exercise she needed. "Maxine, I wanted to thank you for the bicycles. It was a nice gesture," she informed me. "I just thought some of you might like the exercise. There are just two, so you it will be a first come kind of thing." I said. "Well, I rode one over this morning. I'm afraid I misjudged the weather but once I got started I warmed right up," she said. "Yes bicycle are like that," I agreed. Then I walked off in a different direction. She always walked counter clockwise and I always walked clockwise. I enjoyed the solitude before my resurrection and I did even more after. Nothing of any significance happened for the rest of the day. So I played dead laying on my bed watching old TV shows in my minds eye. There was a terrible fight going on in the conference room at the farm, I later learned. They were trying to form a consensus as what to do with my new found pleasures. The question before the committee was, did they care what made their computer with a human brain happy. It could be that I was just a tool like a hammer. I wasn't privy to the conversations so I had no idea how it was going. Hell at the time I didn't even know they were going on. My late evening visitor was Vlad. "You want some coffee?" I asked as he walked in from the street entrance. "Sure you do make excellent coffee," he said. We were seated at the metal table in the kitchen when he spoke next. "I got a call from an old enemy this afternoon. He asked me to give you a message." "Oh really, not another warning I hope?" I asked. "Not at all, this time it was to inform you that they will take care of Rosanda. She was told not to conduct business in Aster. She chose to do it without the blessings of the people who need to approve such things. The message is, 'we will find the Nanny Cunt and see that justice is done. You can trust us in this matter.' Vlad didn't look happy to be their messenger. "Can you get a message back to them?" I asked. "Of course, the secure phone goes both ways," he said. "Tell them I said, 'I wouldn't even trust my friends in this matter. It is personal as well as business'. "They expected that Maxine. You will know when justice is done. But she is on the run, so it will take a while to find her." "I will give them a chance." I said quietly. "You do know that it is about the truce here since they have people retired here as well as the other groups and agencies. It isn't just about you." Vlad said. "I know, but I am the one she tried to kill," I said. "She tried to kill Anya and I as well. She just came closer with you. We have also agreed to let it rest for a while. By the way I heard the Nanny Cunt's boyfriend is dead. I am disappointed that we didn't do it. I am sure whatever happened was for the best." "I have no idea what you are talking about," I said with a very small smile. "Of course," he said with a smile of his own. We left it unsaid, that the walls have ears everywhere. The next days were more of the same. After about two more weeks of inactivity, the cloak and dagger was ready to open. It was a good thing, I was about to go nuts hanging around the house playing with my new computer generated orgasms. I wanted the cloak and dagger to be a success, so that I could just walk across the street to get home. No I couldn't get drunk, I just wanted control of my environment. Jennifer had been responsible for the invasion of retired operatives, so I put her in charge of the membership invitations. My contribution was going to be the clubhouse and the jukebox. There was no initial cost to join, but there would be a jar by the door for people who came into the club. No matter if it was once or ten times, the use fee was the same. Ten bucks a visit which went toward paying for all the drink mixes and the electric and heating bills. If nobody used the place, it wouldn't cost me any more than it did sitting there empty anyway. At least with the use fee, I might recover the cost of the cokes and the electric bill. I had determined that I would be losing the renovation costs anyway. The use fee was voluntary and if anyone stole from the jar we might have to do something different, but I doubted that anyone would. Jennifer surprised me. On opening night she showed up to help. I figured it might me Vlad, Anya, Leon, the dancer and us, but I would have been wrong. They were lined up at the door. The city parking lot between the back door of the drugstore condo and the next bock over was filling up fast. Jennifer checked the customer's names off her list. She said to one couple, "I'm sorry you are not on the list. I can't let you in. It's the rules." "Do you know who I am?" the man asked obviously trying to impress the woman with him. The man in line behind him said, "You are the man, who is going to get back into his car and go somewhere else, or who is going to the hospital." The man also smiled. He spoke with a terribly thick Arabic accent. "I will never come back here," the interloper said. "That is the idea," Hakeem said quietly. "I see you are on the list," Jennifer said to him without ever asking for his ID. From the first night the Cloak was always full and there was never any trouble. These people know when they had enough to drink. Even bitter enemies a few years before, drank at tables in the same room. They still might not have been friends, but they would have defended each other without question. Even though they had to be invited guests of a member, I had a hell of a time keeping Jennifer and her friends out of the place. At least a couple of times a week she could be found hanging around the club. Bob, her husband, never joined her. We also made an exception for some of the local cops. The cops had to be sponsored by Blevins or Anya. I wasn't out to cripple the Cop Out Club. We had a jukebox with music from several different cultures, but the most popular songs were American country and western. Well there were also the classics of the 60's which got played a lot. Any member was free to bring music which we gladly added to the free digital jukebox. ------- Chapter 282: Alvin's Blowjob After the first night I realized we needed an employee. Not necessarily a manager just someone to pick up dirty glasses and bring more ice to a table. One of the customers overheard me talking to Jennifer about it. "Maxine, I have a niece who is looking for work. She came here with just a high school education and not so good English. She is enrolled in your community college. She would love to work here and I promise you will have no trouble at all from her." "Have her come by tomorrow at 7PM." I suggested. "So you are Sean's niece?" I asked the young woman the next evening. "Yes Ma'am," she answered in a heavy Irish brogue. I couldn't begin to pronounce her name as she did, so I called her Timmie. She was 19 and about fifty pound over weight. I didn't think she would cause any fights among the customers, since she was not a raving beauty. Oh she might get hit on, and if she agreed, she could probably get laid every night, but fought over? That I just couldn't see. I didn't hear anything from the Heartland Mill Project over the next three days. I spent a lot of the time at the downtown house, keeping up with the world news and whatever else I could find to entertain myself. I did get the date of the Emmy awards banquet. It had been sets months before, but no one bothered to tell me until the official invitation came in the snail mail. I got just 25 days to prepare myself for the awards. I had expected that I would remain dead calm, but the computer's cold logic part of me didn't work all that well. However the bubbly little girl inside my Maxine's brain input was there in force. I need to go to New York or somewhere to buy a dress, I thought. The hell you do, came the input from the controller. You will look great in a burlap bag. That's probably what I will have to wear to hid all the scars you gave me. I thought that just for them to overhear. We didn't give them to you. We copied the ones you had, so that you could be seen at least a little naked by people who knew you. You copied my scars, but I still can't be seen naked, because I am missing a couple of parts that guys will notice, that thought was a little louder and harsher than I expected. It did no good since they already knew it. I was sure it was under discussion at the farm. I had no idea the war it was causing. One set of engineers was complaining that I was completely functional the way I was at that moment. While a different set said that listening to the first set was why at that point in time I was not really ready for one of the missions they had designed me for in the first place. Of course I knew nothing of the infighting at the time. Anyway I need a special dress unless you want me to stay home. I am sure we do not want you to stay home. As a matter of fact, I have been told to be sure that going to that banquet does not slip your mind, as if that were possible. "So who is going with me?" I asked. "I need to give the guy time to find a tux," I said it aloud. I just suddenly decided I wanted to have a fucking conversation with the controller. Since it is well known, through the TV show, that you are bisexual, we were thinking Jennifer. What do you think? "Why ask me, you know what I am thinking before I think it most of the time," I said aloud to the walls. We know some of it, if we are responsible for that particular thought. When the Maxine part of your circuits fire up, you can surprise us. So again what do you think about Jennifer? "Well we would for sure have fun and I wouldn't feel the need to put out at the end of the evening," I said. There is that too, since the argument goes on, came the reply. I just got the authorization for you to invite her. Your case officer just happened to be standing here. "Gee thanks," I said aloud. I punched the speed dial for Jennifer's office. "Hello Maxine," the receptionist said. "Jewel, I can't get used to you answering with my name. I think I hate caller ID," I said with a laugh. "Most people seem to like it," she said. "In my opinion it ranks right up there with the casher at the dollar store saying 'have a blessed day'. Or the phony shit from the bank tellers that me/ Everyone knows they are being forced to feed us that shit. "Thank you for your business Ms Stone." If they didn't read my name off the account, they wouldn't know me from you." I said. "If you are through venting Maxine, I will put you through to the boss now?" she suggested. "Okay Jewel thanks for being patient with me." I said. "Not a problem Jennifer told me to ignore you when you are bitchy," she said with a laugh. "Good," I agreed. "Are you quite through harassing the help. You are why I can't keep a receptionist," Jennifer said with a laugh. "My ass, it's the gang thugs, and dope dealers, you have hanging around the waiting room." I laughed. "Let just one receptionist get raped in the office and I never hear the end of it," she said laughing. We both knew she was joking. "If you are calling about the Heartland Mill project, I have not heard from any of the Harts." she advised me. "No, I called to invite you to a party. I can't invited Bob though." I said. "I wish you would stop doing that. Just because Bob likes to watch, you are mean to him." she did laugh a little. "That isn't the reason damn it. Why don't you just hear me out once," I suggested smiling even though she couldn't see. "Alright what party," she said. "The Emmy award banquet in Los Angeles, if you can figure a way to write it off my taxes," I said. "You are kidding right?" she asked. "Not at all, so do you want to be my date?" I asked. "Do I have to put out after the banquet, not that I would mind," she said. "For someone probably, but not necessarily for me," I said with a hearty laugh. "We have to buy dresses," she said. "No shit," I replied. "I have to get something to hide my scars." "Fuck no, this is the year of the zombie. You show them all off." Jennifer made it sound so logical that I bought into it. "Then it will have to be backless, with a halter top, cut wide in the front to show the knife scar between my boobs," I said with a laugh. "God dame right it will, and fucking red," she demanded. "I'm going with you to pick it out. Get your fucking blond wig styled as well" One of the things about being the new me, that was that I have very little control over my emotions. I suddenly realized that I was horny as hell. I wondered if it the dress talk, the talk of showing my scars, the talk about putting out after the banquet caused it. Or was it the controller planting the idea in my mind. Putting it there just to test my limits and abilities. It didn't matter I wanted to suck a cock, which was the only thing I could definitely pull off. But I didn't want to do it at noon in the McDonald's parking lot, no matter how horny I was. I knew I needed to make a plan to keep me safe. The urge for action had to be tempered by reason. I would have done that kind of thinking as second nature before. At that moment I had to have the thought actively. just to be sure the controllers knew what I was doing and why. It looked as though I could make the decisions, but that they could question them. I was not used to the idea of anyone questioning me. The point was to use my experiences and native thoughts to govern my actions, but the controller would keep me from doing anything reckless. This time it looked as though they weren't giving as much thought to keeping me out of trouble, as I was. Either way I needed a plan to be a great cocksucker. Now that just sounded weird anyway I said it. It got a audible chuckle from me. The plan was to, first of all, do it in a situation where nothing else would be expected. The bathroom of a beer joint first came to mind. Definitely not the cop out for obvious reasons. If I got caught there every cop in town would know. Plus cops were notorious for expecting things to be the way they wanted them, not the way the chick wanted. I chose the parking lot of cowboys bar and grill as the place. An encumbered man would be best. Eddie had a new girlfriend, I was told, so he would do. If not him, then some married man. I figured I could dance with him a few times get them him horned up, then he would do pretty much whatever I wanted. I would also carry the .38 and a box opener, just in case he wanted to argue afterward. I did not think I would need to use the pistol or razor to force him to put his cock in my mouth. At least I sure as hell hoped not. Time passed slowly but it did pass. At 9PM I walked through the door at Cowboys. "Hey Maxine I haven't seen you since they tried to kill you again. How you doing girl?" Sarah asked. "Better than ever I'm told," I said loud enough to be heard by at least some of the men hanging out at the bar. "Coffee please Sarah." Eddie wasn't there but a young guy named Alvin was. Alvin didn't require much convincing fortunately. We were into a grinding dance when he asked, "How about we go back to your place?" "I can't Alvin I have a guest there tonight. Can't we go to yours?" I asked. I had no desire to go to his place, but I was playing a part. "I kinda got a roommate as well," he said. "I see," I said. "Do you like to suck cock?" he asked hopefully. "I love the feel of a hot slippery cock in my mouth," I said sincerely. "Then let's just go outside and do that?" he suggested. "God I want you so badly, I'll settle for your cock in my mouth. Let's go." I said breathlessly. I'm not sure that I was acting at all by that time. My motor had increased in speed and my circuits were firing pulses like crazy. It was the new way for me to tell that I was extremely turned on. I followed him outside. When we went between to pickup trucks he pushed me to my knees. I knew what he wanted. I didn't object at all. I unzipped his pants. He let out a loud moan when my warm hand wrapped around his already erect cock. Even though it was erect, I stoked it a couple of times just to be sure I spread his precum over it. I slipped it into my mouth and began to move on it. Not only did I use my lips and tongue as I would have used my vagina, if I had one. I created a vacuum with my mouth to suck on his cock. I was trying to milk him with my mouth. I suddenly felt his hands on my head. He pulled me hard onto his cock forcing it down the passage I used as a throat. The servo motors pressed pads, normally used to work food into my holding tank, against the cock in my throat. The pads stroked him, just then Alvin said. "Oh my fucking God," as he emptied the contents of his cock into my throat. I had been able to hold him in my throat much longer than I could have before the body swap. When he dragged himself out of my throat, he collapsed against the truck. The truly strange thing was that the action of him dragging his slick cock from my throat pushed me over the edge and I convulsed around his cock. He managed to get it out of my mouth without being injured. I managed to stay sane, but it was a close call. My throat hurt but I loved it since every time I moved the pads it reminded me of the best cock I ever sucked. That cock did not belong to Alvin. That's what went through my mind as he tried to bury his cock in my stomach. I kept reliving the feeling of Martin's cock in my mouth after he saved my life. I moved on shaky legs as I tried to make it back to the cruiser without falling. Even the cruiser was a mess. It didn't want to start and when it did, it made funny noises. "Geese, I get skull fucked and everything falls apart," I said aloud to no one. You need to get the car fixed tomorrow first thing, came the shaken reply from the controller. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?" I asked. I got no reply at all. ------- Chapter 283: Mechanics and Mysterious Strangers After Alvin I needed to recharge. I wasn't at risk of shutting down, but I had gone on reduced power mode. It was like the old me being exhausted, Just running on very low energy, It was such a short drive back to the Downtown House that I didn't bother plugging in. When I got back to the house, I did plug my ass in. I did it more to recover quickly than anything else. I also knew no one was going to be stopping by unannounced. At least no one who knew me. If anyone else showed, it was very likely that they wouldn't be telling anyone what they had seen. After forty-five minutes I was 'top of the world ma'. That being the case, I began thinking about the cruiser. If I took it to a dealer in the morning, I would have to take to Tryon. I checked with my built in Internet connection and found that the closest dealer was twenty five miles away. That drive was filled with heavy traffic. The bike was doable, but it was also very dangerous. I might be titanium and steel, but I was still no match for a two ton car. I decided to call around Aster before I spent the whole day sitting in a dealers showroom. I needed someone to recommend one of the small repair shops to me. I passed the time until 9AM watching the news of the world, and reliving in great detail some old memories. I even ran some old TV shows. At 9AM I called the only person I could think of who might know someone. "Blevins," the voice on the phone said. "Blevins, it's me Maxine. I need someone local who can work on the Cruiser," I admitted. "What's wrong with it?" he asked. "If I knew that, I would buy a set of tools and do it myself," I replied shortly. "You sure as hell need to work on you people skills twit." he did laugh though. "Do you need it towed?" "I got it home last night, but it acted like it was running on about half it's cylinders, but I think I can get it somewhere close. That is just a guess though," I admitted. "Okay if you need a tow call Buck's Towing. He is on the police list of approved wreckers. We use him all the time and he is straight up honest. As for the work, best I can do is give you the name of a guy who came up in a homicide investigation last year. He has been working on my cars since. I get a big discount. You won't get it, but tell him I sent you. It might help with mine," he said honestly. "Okay, who is the mechanic." I asked. "Everybody calls him Deacon Burke. Don't let the name fool you, he is a hard living dude. He is young by our standards, but he has been around the block. He ain't cheap, but he is honest." "Okay, give me his address?" I demanded. I didn't need a phone number since there was no reason to call around. I couldn't use the cruiser as it was and I didn't care to go round and round with mechanics. "You really should call him. He has a small shop and sometimes it takes him a while to get to your car. Be sure to tell him that you are a friend of mine. It might not help, but it can't hurt." I made the call and of course the man on the phone said he couldn't tell me anything without bringing the car in. "I can't even look at it till after lunch. You can bring it in anytime before noon and I'll call you when I check it out," the young sounding man said. I decided to deliver the car before I went to Helen's for my social time. I forced myself to go there every morning despite the fact that I didn't need to eat. I did it to prevent becoming a hermit. Deacon Burke was a very black, black man. I was pretty sure he could run his linage all the way back to Africa without a break in the gene pool. There was something to be said for that. I also saw a number of certificates on his wall. Burke had taken some first rate tech school courses. That didn't make him a better mechanic necessarily, but it make him ambitious. There was a story somewhere in his being a small town mechanic with all those certificates. "So, when do you think I will know what's up with the woodie?" I asked. "I got to finish that Explorer I was working on, when you came in first. It's going to be after lunch before I can really check it out. From what you told me, it could be a bad plug or something much worse." I knew better than to comment. "Well let me know as soon as you find something," I said walking about. "Hey you that TV lady ain't you?" he asked. "Well I do own a TV," I replied smiling. "Well it fits, they told me Blevins was a friend of a TV star. What you doing driving a piece of shit Chrysler?" he asked. "It was what I could get when I needed it in a hurry, I have had two of them the first one gave me no trouble in almost two years. I have had this one two months and now it's in the shop. So we will see if it is a piece of shit or not." I said. "It is," Deacon said with a smile. "But you brought it to the man who can turn chicken shit into chicken salad. Of course miracles ain't cheap." "Before you reinvent the car, give me an estimate," I insisted. I rode off on the bicycle with him watching. Since I didn't want the attention that flying down the badly paved street would bring, I rode away slowly. I ate, I walked, and I recharged my power circuits and still I didn't heard from Burke. I got tired of waiting so I got on the bike and rode by the shop. At least the hood was up on the Cruiser so I pulled into the yard. "So what do you know?" I asked. "You have distributor trouble. It's the why the engine isn't firing right. I been calling around trying to find you one. Best I can do is from the dealer in Tryon. If I rebuild it you are like at three hundred bucks. If I install a new one you can double that." he said. It could be worse you could have blown the head gasket driving it like that. "Truthfully which will last the longest?" I asked. "If I rebuild it, the one I do will last longer and give you better service. I ain't no fucking robot. I'm gonna assemble it right." he said. Since he didn't know that I was a robot, I let the slur pass. It would probably be like me saying something about black men being shiftless. Except that I knew he was black." "When can I get it back?" I asked. "Tomorrow end of day is gonna be the soonest. Even that depends on whether I can find a kit in town or not." "Keep me informed. Is there anything else the cruiser needs?" I asked. "Complete tune up and a brake job wouldn't hurt. That is just based on the mileage though. I didn't look at the brakes or the plugs. They might have been done already," he admitted. "Check and see, if it needs those do them at the same time." I said. "Okay, Since you are a friend of Blevins, just add a hundred each. That is if I have to do the other things." he said. "Wow what a fucking deal," I said. "If you can get it cheaper, I can just fix the distributor and push you out the door," he said. "Don't act like you doing me any giant favors Deacon. You might not be charging me full price but I know you can buy those brake parts for well under fifty bucks. The tuneup is nothing but four spark plugs and a couple filters these days. Some chain operation or the dealer my charge more but you are charging me what it is really worth. Especially since you are working from a backyard shop." Is said it without any malice just factually. "Well lady tell you what I'll put your car back together and you just take it someplace else for the rest of it." he said. "Suits the fuck out of me," I said losing my temper. "You want to have it towed someplace else for the distributor," he said. "Fuck no, you tore it apart, you put it back. And if you think you can fuck over me, think again. I got one hell of a lawyer for assholes who think I am a pussy." I said it really losing my temper. That robot thing must have bothered me more than I thought. I have no other explanation for why I acted so crappy. "I'll get your parts and have this piece of shit ready to go by noon tomorrow," he snapped as I rolled the bike out of his garage. "Good," I said. As I pedaled back to the Downtown House, I thought about the black man working on the cruiser. There was no doubt that I could kick his ass, but why would I? He had done exactly what I would have done. He tried to justify his price, then when I called him on it, he said take your piece of shit somewhere else. I would have done the same, so why was I pissed. It wasn't Deacon as much as I was just irritable about the whole, nothing getting done shit. I needed to accomplish something. In other words I was bored and spoiling for a fight with anyone. I better back off or someone was likely to give me a fight. I pulled the bike to the side of the rode then said, "Yes," into the phone. "Maxine it's Timmie, we need to talk," the manager of the Cloak and Dagger suggested. She wasn't as much manager as caretaker of the place. If we needed a manager, I would just close the damn place. It was supposed to be a kind of lodge, not a business. "I'm about five minutes from the cloak, are you there now?" I asked. "Yes, I an," Timmie replied in the Irish brogue. "Then hold on I'll be right there," I suggested. "Now Timmie, what the hell is going on?" I asked a few minutes later, when I entered the basement of the Drugstore Condo. "Someone came in last night asking questions about you," she said. "What do you mean someone came in. This is a private club how the hell did a stranger get in here?" I asked. "He came in with Simon the Israeli," she said. "And this man wanted to know more than Simon could tell him?" I asked. "So what kinds of things was he asking?" "They seemed harmless but he wouldn't stop. After fifteen minutes I stopped answering. He asked me if you have a boyfriend or if you were involved with a woman maybe." "Well that's not too bad," I stated. "He wanted to know how long I had worked for you and if I knew about the shooting. I explained that I didn't know anything. That all happen before I came to work here." "So he wanted to know about my love life, then he wanted to know the details of my getting shot in the back. Strange combination I would say," I suggested. "I think he might have been a cop," Timmie said. "Why would Simon the Jew bring cops around?" I asked. "He is probably still connected with interpol. Most of the guys who come in here are still in the business, just not active any more," Timmie said. "If you see him again point him out to me. If I'm not in, suggest that he give me a call," I suggested. "That's one of the things I wanted to know. Should I give him your number?" she asked. "Hell yes," I said, "Maybe he is a stalker. I always wanted one of those." ------- Chapter 284: the Gangsta Way I went home from the club for a couple of hours rest, as I had begun to think of the recharging. I could go a couple of days on just normal free electron charging. If I wore the solar vest outside, I could go on reduced power indefinitely or so they claimed. I hated the reduced power phase, that is why I recharged as often as most people just sat resting. I guess it was pretty much the same thing. Replenishing the energy pool. Whatever it amounted to I rested for an hour or so, then turned on my computer link to watch a TV show or two. I still enjoyed most of the things I had before the big change in my status. I went from human to the real terminator, even though I hadn't been asked to terminate anyone. We still didn't know, if I would do it or not. None of us knew for sure. We were all feeling our way along. I needed to manipulate the system, since there was no way I could operate without it. I needed the input link and the spare parts. I had yet to make my case for the body upgrade, so for the moment that ball was in the creator's court. The theme from Mag7 played on the smarter than smart phone, so I answer it with, "Stone here." "Ms Stone my name is Thomas Wiliford. Is there any chance I could take you to lunch today?" the voice asked. "Not unless I know more about you than your name. You wouldn't happen to be the stranger. who was asking about me at the Cloak and Dagger would you?" "I suppose that was me yes," he replied simply. "Well Tom, it's like this. I have a couple of people who would enjoy seeing me dead, so I'm a little careful about where I go and who I meet with. I don't much care to make new friends, if you get my drift." I said. "I can get you references, if you like," he suggested very seriously. Meet with him, the controller planted the message in my head. Fuck you, I silently resplied to the controller. This yahoo could be setting me up for an IED. "So who are your references, aside from Simon the Jew," I asked. "Well what if I had the Admiral call you?" he suggested. This clown is a novelist, the controller said. Here, with that the image of a book jacket and picture appeared in my brain. "Do you have a cell phone?" I asked. "Yes, I am speaking on it now," he said. "Then turn it around and take a picture of yourself and send it to me. If you can do that and you match the picture I have of you, then I'll meet you." I said. "Where did you get a picture of me. You were in my clubhouse and in that room are about a dozen people with cell phones at any given time. Do you really think no one took your picture or that I wouldn't pull the surveillance tape after I was told you were asking about me?" I asked. "Okay, I get it hold on." A second later his picture appeared on my smarter phone. "So do I match your picture?" he asked. "You look younger on your book, but then if I were providing a picture like that, I would look younger and with bigger boobs," I said with a small laugh. What I didn't say was that he was a handsome devil probably twenty pounds overweight, but not bad at all. "So lunch?" he asked. "Well today I am likely to be carless in Aster. My car is in the shop. Can you make it tomorrow or do you want to meet me at Helen's Sit Down. "I had something a little quieter in mind," he answered. "I'm sure you did," While we spoke I had been checking some of his book review. The prick was the Michael Moore of the print industry. After the reviews I couldn't believe that the controllers, or more likely the case officer, wanted me to meet with the prick. "Do you really want to be seen talking to me," he asked with a laugh. Then he added, "Why don't I pick you up for lunch. I am sure that you can kick my ass and force me to bring you home anytime you want." "No thanks, I want my own ride. I might need to dump your body somewhere, it is much more convenient in my own car. Call me tonight and I'll set up a time for you." I hung up before he could plead his case further. "Are you quite mad," I said aloud to the wall. It was meant for the controller. Your case officer is right here and he believes that you can handle Wiliford. The man probably wants to do a novel about one of your adventures. It will be fiction, but he most likely wants to get your take on it, was the controllers reply. "You will be lucky if I don't kill him in front of a dozen witnesses. He is most likely going to make me some kind of troll with a knife in my hand dripping blood." I said to no one. And that would be a completely false image? was the reply that appeared in my brain. "Yes it would, I always wipe the knives clean. My daddy taught me to always clean my tools after use," I snapped. Temper,. temper, just meet with the prick and try to find out what his plan is. Then try to change his perception of you. It might be to your advantage later. I had planned to go back to the Dagger after my rest, so I went over for a quick drink and to show that I wasn't concerned. The show was for the patrons who might know that some stranger was asking about me. I didn't want a 'kill on sight' order floating around for Wiliford. Of course that might not be a bad idea, I thought. "Hey Maxine, I saw on the TV news last night you have been nominated for an Emmy," one of the oriental men stated as I passed his table. "I think there must have been a shortage of reality TV shows, so the pool of choices was very small. My guess is all of them got nominated," I replied. "Hey, I have seen that show. It really is quite authentic. You don't seem to fake much for the camera. Of course that voice they use to explain what you are doing is phony, but otherwise it is a good show." another of the customers suggested. "I tried to get Sean Connery, but these clowns had no money," I said joking. "At least they could have gotten that little green actor from the car insurance commercials. I bet he doesn't charge a lot for his voice over." one of the women suggested. "And max you really do need to dress better for TV. You would be so much more attractive in a rubber cat suit." "Now that was catty," I said laughing. Everyone broke into laughter so I left on a high note. I went home about 10PM. I crawled into bed plugged in and spaced out. I shut down more or less until the sun came up again. I probably could drink hot water and get the same effect, but even with the mediocre taste buds coffee is nice. It stirs up so many good memories and I am all about the memories. That's probably why I make coffee every morning. I left for Helen's place around 9AM. I waited until the bike would be good and visible. I also let the 'hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go crowd' get off the roads. When I got to Helen's the crowd was mostly cops, firemen, and paramedics on the way home. It was the working man's version of the cop out crowd. "God morning Max, I saw you on TV the other night. The local station is making a big deal out of the Emmy thing." one of the chick paramedics informed me. "Yeah, it must have been a very slow news day is all I can imagine," I said. "Nah, they have you up there with Snookie and a couple of other bitchy women on that list," one of the guys said. "Well at least I'm in lousy company, what can I say. It's just like eating here." I gave them all a hard but non threatening look and laughed. After that I rode the bike to the mall. My pocket played the Mag 7 theme. "Jen what the hell do you want?" caller ID wasn't so bad after all, I decided. "We need to go shopping for dresses today." she said. "We have a couple of weeks yet," I replied. "Not, if we want the good shit made for us," she said. "I found a woman in Tryon who makes designer dresses." "I'm not paying a fortune for a dress to wear once," I informed her. "You are not going to Wal-Mart damn it," she informed me. "Okay, I have the cruiser in the shop. If it is ready by lunch we can go after I get home. If not, I'll just get it tomorrow," I said. "And why did I need to know that?" Jen asked. "Fuck you Jen," I said. "Not again," she replied with a laugh. "I'll be at your place at two. Be ready and wear clean underwear." I resigned myself to going along with Jen. She had about a thousand times more class than me. I was just not going there looking like lady Ga fucking Ga. I rode the bike over to Deacon's shop just to see where he was. I also had nothing to do till 2pm. He looked up from under the hood of my cruiser and said, "What the fuck you doing here. I told you lunch." "I know but I was in the neighborhood," I said. "Right, white girl in this hood, is with a brother or looking for shit," he said. "Then you need to move your shop," I replied. Just then one of those old Chevy impalas pulled up. It was all tricked up like something you might see on a street in south LA. "Hey Deacon, this thing needs an oil change. Get on it now," the thug demanded once he was out of the car. "Be a few minutes, I need to finish the one I'm working on." he said. "It can wait, I'm in a hurry," the thug said. "Hey, so am I. It's my car he is working on," I said my bitch temper getting the best of me again. "You way to skinny bitch, to be talking like that to me." he pointed an automatic that looked like a cheap 9mm at me. He was holding it gangsta style. He moved in way too close to intimidate me. It looked good on Gang TV, but it was nothing a real pro would do. Just as quick as I could I pushed his gun hand to one side, as I move away from it just in case he got a shot off before I kicked his kneed so that it hinged the wrong way. I removed the gun from his hand as he lay on the ground rolling in pain. It happened so quick his homey buddy was still sitting in the car. "Now you mother fucker, pick up your friend and get him to the hospital. Be sure to give them your Obama care card, when you check in and remember to vote Democrate next election. I cleared the pistol, then put it in the waist band of my jeans. I turned to the Deacon. "You really want to finish the cruiser now," I said seriously. "Lady, you are crazy, good but crazy," he said. "Where did you learn all that?" "I didn't learn anything. It's just a matter of timing. I already knew I was going to push that pistol out of my face. He on the other hand was not expecting it. He had to react after my move was already started. He just didn't have reflexes that good. The knee thing I saw on TV." "Well I already knew that you were mentally capable of killing. I just had no idea how good you were at it," he said. "Deacon, nobody died," I replied. "Yeah pity," he said. "True dat," I said all gangsta myself. ------- Chapter 285: Dresses and Treaties When I got my car home, I called Blevins. "Blevins I wanted to give you a heads up. Just in case I started a turf war by accident." "What the fuck have you done now," he whispered into the phone. "Some punk with a Latino accent pulled a piece on me. I took it away from him, that's all." I replied. "Are you sure?" he said. "I might have broken his leg while I was doing it. I'm sure he is not going to be happy about it. I didn't kill him though." I said. "You might wish you had one day," Blevins said. "What did you do with the piece." "It's in my gun vault, just in case I need a piece with somebody else's prints on it," I said only half kidding. "I'm kidding, but if the kid wants to file a report, I'll turn it over." "If you turn it over now, we might match it so something open. If we put him away, it might prevent some future crime." Blevins said. "It might also prove nothing and I would lose my hold over the him. Let's do it my way for now." I suggested. "Hey you called on my cell phone, not the station's phone, so there is no tape of this call," he said. "I knew that," I said with a laugh. I also knew he probably recorded all his cell phone calls and save one now and then. "So what are you doing today, so I know where to look for the bodies?" he asked. "I would never leave them just laying around, you know that. But for your information Jen and I are going shopping in about an hour. I'm going to buy a fancy dress for the Emmy Awards Banquet and Ceremony." "That is so not like you," Blevins said. "Hell, a woman never gets a chance to wear one of those dresses. I wanted to do it once in my life." I didn't tell him that I was doing it just as much to placate the farm boys, as I had begun to think of them in the plural sense. After I broke the connection, I took a cup of coffee to the second floor and sat by the front window so that I could see the town traffic move along. I could also see directly into the windows of the second floor Drugstore Condo. Vlad and Anya seemed to be having lunch by their front window. The beauty of their space was that there were almost no interior walls. The front could be a sitting room, a dining room or even a bedrooms. It was just a matter of taste. "The other windows were empty. Too bad none of them wanted to put on a show for me. I actually had seen Leon and the dancer screwing once. Fifty or sixty year olds doing the deed is not all that appealing. I wish I had learned to use that age regressive software they installed at the farm. I could have seen the younger versions of them going at it. The sound of Mag 7 came from across the room, so I was forced to abandon my seat by the window and go find it I found it inside the small inexpensive antique leather purse. The one I sued to transport things from the car to the house. I also used it to transport things inside the bicycle basket. "Hello Jen," I said. I knew it was her, since her picture was on the screen. "I'm leaving the office. If you haven't already take a quick shower and change your drawers. We will be standing around in them, while being fitted, I'm sure." she said. "Shit, why the hell did I let you talk me into this?" I asked. "Because I know more than you do about this kind of thing," she said. "Only because you read the trashy magazines," I said. After Jen hung up I did jump in the shower just in case I had picked up any dirt while disarming the gang banger. I also wanted to wash off any film I had picked up, which might leave a print. I just never knew when shit would happen to me. I was just as much a shit magnet as a robo slut as I had been as a human slut. I think it had to do with my not looking like a bad ass. I looked like an easy victim on first glance. I guess I gave the same impression as the homeless man asleep in the stairwell. What I turned out to be, when you woke me, was more the psycho homeless man with a box opener. I thought all that, while I took the quick wash off. When finished, I put on clean underwear and even clean jeans. I found a top that was going to be easy to get off. I wasn't dressed like a stripper, but I did dress with stripping in mind. Jen actually beeper her horn when she pulled into the small back alley parking lot. "I am not your high school date," I said when I got into her big fancy German tank of a car. "The hell you ain't honey," she said laughing. "Okay, maybe your date, but this ain't high school." I said. "I notice you are carrying a purse. I very seldom see you carrying a purse." she commented. "I thought a shoulder holster might put off our designer," I suggested. "Being with you without easy access to a weapon is like being in a car with a sign on it, 'Hit Me'," she said. "I'm a little concerned." She did laugh. "We go places all the time where nothing happens," I said. "Yes, but it's because you are always ready for it. It is like, if you don't carry a Kleenex your nose is going to run. If you pick a sore, it is not going to heal. We are asking for trouble, I'm just saying." "Go to hell," I said taking the .38 out of the purse and laying it in my lap. "There feel better?" I asked. "Actually, I do." There was no humor in her voice. "I'll put it in my waist band, when we get out of the car. I'll return it to the purse when we get inside. Is that okay with you?" I asked sarcastically. "It will have to do," Jen said. "The Admiral always said, 'If you want to live a long time, stick to Maxine like the tail on a dog. I take his advice very seriously." "I'm flattered, but he didn't mean that for a trip to a dress designer." I said. "Right, you go into a convenience store for a bag of chips. There is a guy inside who has been waiting there for twenty minutes. He has been waiting for you to show up before he robs the place. That's what he really meant." she informed me. "I think we are safe at the office of a dress designer," I said. "Sweetie, if she has an ex husband who wants to whip her ass, it will be this afternoon. You can bet you ass on it." Jen giggled, but she was serious I could tell. She was also probably right in her thinking. In spite of Jen's dire predictions it went smoothly. The woman had a computer and kept throwing ideas on the screen until Jen approved. Other than letting her measure me naked, I could have stayed home. What they came up with was a halter top dress. It was to have very thin halter straps. It was open enough to show the belly scar from the Afghan IED, and the knife scar on my chest, which I received in the paking of the dinner. There was a slit on the right side which showed the big scar on my calf from the pirate bullet. A couple of smaller scars with the smaller pin hole scars from staples used to hold the cuts together also adorned my back. I was going to look a lot like the bride of Frankenstein, in a sexy red dress. There was definitely going to be some shock value in that image. I would also be wearing the expensive blond wig forced on my by Gwen and Mike's TV show's fashion designer. Jen was going to be in a green dress, not quite as bold as mine, but damn close. It was Emerald green, which was going to be knock out with her red hair. It wasn't quite that red naturally. She paid a fortune to make it appear as though it was. I choked when I got the estimate for the dress. "Don't worry sweetie, It's the cost of doing business," Jennifer said to me. "Jen five grand for two dresses it ridiculous," I said. "It only happens once in a lifetime," she said to me. "We also need them in a rush." Life settled into a quiet routine. For the next two weeks and a few days nothing much happened. I had to drive back to Tryon for a fitting of the dress. I felt naked in the dress but the designer assured me that I was fine. She even provided some stick on things that covered my nipples. Just in case of accidents. Jen and half the town was obsessed with the Emmy thing. There were pools and bets all over the place. I agreed that Jen and I would allow the local TV people to get a preview of the dresses, but they could not show the tape until the night of the awards. It was a much bigger deal to everyone else, than it was to me. Two days before we left for Los Angeles, I got a call from a gentleman who spoke with a Latino accent. "We need to have a sit down," he said. "Shit, your timing really sucks," I suggested. "I have other things on my mind." "You want a fucking war," he asked. "If it comes to that you better get a fucking army in here," I said angrily. "Yeah, I know you got all the bad asses in town, but we can still hurt you some first." he said. "There ain't no need for it to come to that." "At least you have done your homework. Meet me on the veranda of the Marina at 3PM today." I said. "I won't be alone," he said. "Neither will I, you just won't see mine." I knew that I could count on Vlad and Anya even on short notice. I also needed Leon since he was the sailor. I called and made the arrangements. Nobody wanted shit to happen, so they all agreed. Anya and Vlad would handle the sniper rifles and Leon would sail the rented boat on the lake in site of the veranda. When I walked onto the veranda of the marina office, I was scared shitless. It was exactly as I would have been back when I was in the old body. I stepped through the door and saw the three of them standing by the rail. I carried a small pair of folding binoculars. "Take a look out on the lake," I said handing them to the guy who was obviously in charge. I also noted with satisfaction that one of them was on crutches. I didn't recognize him, since they look alike to me, young, strong and mean as hell. "Nice," the one in charge said. "I suppose if you signal, or get killed, we will all die as well." he said. "And your family, friends, and pets," I added. "You are convincing for sure," he said. "It's because I'm telling you the truth. These people were trained by the most ruthless men in the world. I just want you to know the rules of the game," I said quietly. "So where is the compromise here?" he asked. "Junkies are always going to be junkies, so there is a business that needs to be done. Junkies will always be criminals, so there will be crime. It's why we have cops. What there will not be is drug dealing near schools or parks where kids play. There will not be murders inside Aster. Take your shit to Tryon or some other shithole. This town is going to be clean, because we are here. We came here to retire not go to war every week. If we go to war, we will burn the town to the ground, rather than let you have it." "That's pretty much what I heard." he said. "As for Paco, are you done with him?" "I am, if he learned to keep it in his pants," I said. "I think you taught him not to play gangster, if not I will." He saw how I looked at him. "I will take him to Tryon first." "Good," I walked off the veranda leaving them to wait till I drove away before they left. Sure, he could have had me followed and killed somewhere else. He had to know that it would never end, if he did that. He also had to know that he would personally answer for any gang activity inside Aster. I expected he would be making agreements with any others operating in or around Aster. ------- Chapter 286: Real Life Crap and Being Smuggled West Jen had to be lied to just a little. She wanted to make reservations on a commercial airline, but I told her that the Admiral owed me a favor. He didn't of course, but I really did not want her to know that the farmers were our travel agents of record. We were scheduled to fly out Wednesday at noon on one of the company's planes. Since I could never walk through a metal detector or a body scanner. "So, how many airlines do you have a finger in these days," I asked the empty townhouse as I made the morning coffee on Sunday. More than you need to know about. There will be a small prop jet passing through your area on Monday. He will make a quick stop for you and your friend. I do mean a quick stop. It's a stol so be at the Aster general aviation airport at noon. That is not the same as the Tryon International, the voice in my head informed me. "Can do boss," I mumbled. I'm not your boss. I'm more like an old time telegraph operator, the voice suggested. "Have you been watching classic TV shows again. Last time you thought you were Doc Holiday, if I remember correctly," I said with a smile in my voice. Don't be rude or I will send you a jolt, he said. I had no idea what he meant. Maybe it was something like a spanking, I thought. I half expected him to answer me. Maybe they couldn't read all my thoughts or maybe they just didn't bother, since there were so many of them. The human brain would be on overload with their own thoughts as well as mine. I just didn't know, but maybe I could slip something past them now and then. Probably not, the voice said. I heard running water, so I severed the link, at least I stopped listening and went looking for the source. What I found was a basement rapidly filling with water. I found water cutoff valve and turned it. The water stopped pouring from my water heater almost immediately. To my untrained eye it looked like it was coming from a drain at the top of the water heater. A quick check of the on line layout for the hot water heater informed me that it was the pressure relief valve. Something was wrong with the new water heater which had been installed a few months before by the 'HLF' crew during the renovations. Since it was Sunday, I knew that I wouldn't get anyone out on a small repair job. I would have to make do with cold water. Hell I realized that in the new body it didn't matter at all. Still hot water was necessary to cut the grease on dishes even though I used very few. I sometimes needed it to cut the grease on my hands. Actually I washed my hands a lot. I didn't like to leave finger prints in the inevitable oil I picked up in my normal activities. I made a note to call the preacher's construction emergency number. It was not really an emergency, but the old Maxine would have thought so. "You got anybody running service calls today?" I asked when I finally got a call back. Yes, I had left a polite message earlier. "No ma'am but have you turned the water off in the basement?" she asked. "Yes I have, I might be a woman but I can find the water shut off valve." I replied. "Yes Ma'am I didn't mean that as an insult. It was just a question. We will not be able to get anyone out there till tomorrow. But I will put you on for 9AM without fail." she said. "You do know how much business I do with you guys?" I asked. "I was being the old Maxine." "Yes Ma'am, and you do know it's Sunday and that we are Church affiliated?" she asked. "Yes, I do and honey, I feel like my ox is in the ditch. You feel free to put me off till Tomorrow, if you feel that is the thing to do. Just tell Reverend Archer that, if you don't stand behind your work any better than this, I will be looking for a new crew tomorrow. Have a blessed day," I said in the end. I'm not a big religious person. I haven't been since I asked God to get me out of Afghanistan. I assumed that God's idea was a gut full of truck parts propelled by an IED. We parted ways and since then I had found nothing to change my mind. I didn't object to others having faith and practicing it, but in my opinion you were either in business or not. If you were, then you needed to do it like everyone else, or expect them to find someone more suited to their needs. If I had my boiler go out in the middle of the night, I would expect someone to come fix it. Sure they would charge me like hell, but whoever came out would get my business from that point on. In my mind it was the same with the hot water heater spewing water. If the guys who installed it wouldn't come out, then they wouldn't come out, even if it was gushing water into one of the townhouses across the street. Vlad or one of the civilian types probably would not be happy, if the homeowners association couldn't get their fucking heat back on in the middle of winter. Geeze, I was getting ready to go to the Emmies for Christ sake, and here I was dealing with a faulty hot water heater. Life had a way of pulling my ass back to the real world. I really didn't mind. It was good for me to stay grounded I needed the everyday things to remind me I wasn't wonder woman or the center of the universe. I guess that's why I was dealing in housing. It was a way to keep me humble and engaged with real people, not thugs and secret agent men. They given me a number and taken way my name. Okay, why the hell didn't I have a code name or number. Oh you do, the voice came into my head. You just don't need to know it. 'Real cute," I replied to the empty townhouse. Give your man an hour to get back to you. Then call a plumber, the voice said. You might want to start of list of people who will come out on Sunday. "Gee thanks for that advice, Mr. Villa. You sure as hell ain't Norm." I said to myself again. Nobody called but a guy in sagging jeans showed up at my back door. He was driving a beat up old van. "Who the hell are you?" I asked. "I'm Theo, I came from His Laboring Few to check out that hot water heater. I have been instructed to call a crew to come clean up the mess after I finish." he said politely. "Come on in, I'll show you the mess," I said. Once we were in the basement he said, "I seen worse, but it ain't a good thing to find on a Sunday morning." "No it ain't," I agreed. "I'll be upstairs, call me if you need anything like turning the faucets off and on." "Good," he said it and seemed to mean it. It was a half hour later when he emerged and exited the rear door. He was back in a few minutes "Had to get a part. The relief valve went bad. I don't know why. I'm gonna check it though." Then he disappeared back into the basement. Another hour passed before he returned. "It was just that valve. It just went open for no reason I could find. It should have shut back down when it got cold but it didn't. I put a new on on, it should be okay now. I called the clean up guys and told them to bring some pumps and stuff. There is a drain in the floor but it don't seem to be working. I think they can pump the water into that janitors sink. I checked and it seems to drain okay. They will have to mop the floors a bunch of times to get all that dirt up. Looks like after the construction guys left they didn't do a good job cleaning. We will get it for you no problem. I would suggest we wait till tomorrow for the cleanup, but you don't want water standing down there. I will just increase the chances of mold growing." he explained. "Sounds like you have a handle on it," I suggested. "Thank you Ma'am and you been a lot nicer than I was lead to believe. I probably shouldn't have said that," he admitted. "Not to worry, I know that sometimes I can be an awful bitch. My problem is I have friend living in some of my other projects and I don't want them waiting days for repairs, if things go wrong at their places." I explained. "I think the Reverend understands that Ma'am. Well I need to get back to my family." he smiled and then he left. Sure enough a guy and two women came to clean the basement the way it should have been cleaned before I moved in. There was a heavy smell if disinfectant in the air coming up from the basement when they left two hours later, It was a very small utility basement, or it would have taken them much longer I'm sure. Since I had no more trouble with the hot water heater, I felt pretty safe in leaving the building for the four day trip to Los Angeles. We would arrive sometime in the middle of the night on Wednesday or in the very early morning hours on Thursday. Jen would need all day Thursday to rest and then she would be spend all day Friday preparing for the awards that night. Then hopefully party all night. Jen would need to sleep all Saturday, before we could connect with a company flight home on Sunday. Those were the plans anyway. We did make it out on a small jet airliner from Aster's private airport on Wednesday at noon. We flew the southern route headed west. Once we got to New Orleans, they unloaded us and a few crates headed for Mexico I expected. We had a three hour wait, just long enough for a nice dinner in a local cafe. We didn't go all the way into New Orleans, since it would have take a hell of lot longer than three hours to find a place and get served. Jen and I both had Salads with some kind of mystery meat on top. It tasted okay to me, but Jen thought it was over spiced. "It's Louisiana for God's sake Jen, get a fucking grip," I said to her after her complaint. She acted hurt for a minute the said, "Okay, I'll just take an antacid. I noticed they sell them at the register. "See, that should have been a hint," I said with a laugh. From New Orleans we flew to Las Vegas with a group of businessmen types. My first impression was that they were congressional aids. Surely someone the farm boys were trying to curry favor with. Ten minutes in they were hitting on Jen and I. We were the only things on board with boobs, so it was only natural. "My name is John and I'm the executive assistant to the congressman from Ohio," a young well dress man informed me. "Well John, this is Maxine Stone, the Emmy nominated TV star. And I'm her Attorney and also actress with the show," Jen said. Then it was on. Jen just couldn't keep her mouth shut. After that I was asked about the show and the things in it. Mike at least had the good sense not to include people dying on screen. "Yes a few of the people in the show did die in the filming. I hope they were mostly the bad guys. I'm not sure how many more seasons Mike and Gwen plan but there is a butt load more tape laying around." That pretty much got repeated a hundred times between New Orleans and Las Vegas. The plane dropped off the congressional pukes, then took us to the general aviation terminal at the 'LA International Airport, where the big jet engines roar'. I know that came from a country song on the digital juke box at the Cloak and Dagger. There was a prepaid limo waiting for us. I doubted that any of the TV people knew we were being smuggled into town, so most likely it had been laid on by the farm boys. ------- Chapter 287: Pigshit Airlines and Reality Tv Exec The other good thing about flying with PigShit Airlines was that I got to carry a pistol. Actually I carried two pistols and a box opener. I carried the Glock, 10mm ugly automatic, in a belt holster on my ass, and the .38 concealed hammer revolver in my purse. The flat box opener, I carried it in the hip pocket of my well worn jeans. The limo dropped me at the hotel, which was also chosen by our travel agent. I signed the register with Maxine's old signature, even thought I had a dozen more programed inside my electron shooting brain. Believe it or not a jet engine produced a lot of free electrons. I wasn't at full charge but I was close enough not to even think about it. I could have stayed in the room with Jen but I feared that she might get drunk and romantic. It was part of Maxine's old baggage. I made sure that the Gentlemen Farmers knew that being the way I was, created some problems. I wanted to be able to pass for the old Maxine in all situations, so I tried not to miss a chance to needle them. Even if I didn't express it directly to them. "Yeah you could have saved a few bucks, if I had been set up right to begin with. I could have stayed in the room with Jennifer. If I had to, I could have gone into the bathroom for a quick charge. I could have called it a slow bowel movement," I said to the wall. Okay, sometimes I did express it directly to them. We are thinking about it, was the reply that just appeared on my computer chip. The room wasn't bad, I knew it had to be over priced. It was after all California. Not to mention that we were in the hotel where the real TV stars were also staying. The knock on the door could only be Jennifer, so I didn't look first. So of course it wasn't Jennifer it was Mike. "My God woman I heard they tried to kill you again. Damn you look great, what did you do have a nip and tuck while they were cutting the bullet out of you." Mike asked. "Actually, while I was in rehab I decided to have it done. What the hell are you doing here?" I asked. "I want to talk to you about next season," he suggested. "We are through Mike, you know that was the arrangement. You shoot for a specified time then it is over. The time has passed and it is over." I was sure he understood. Why he was bringing it up again was beyond me. "I was thrilled when I heard Jen was your escort. Not only is she in the show, she is your legal representative. We can all sit down and do the new deal over lunch," he suggested. "Mike, we were up most of the night. I am sure Jen is sleeping and is not going to be doing lunch today," I said. "Then we can do dinner before the reception for nominees," he suggested. "We can all meet for dinner at say six. I know you guys eat early down there in Smallville," he said. "Insult me again, and I might just skip dinner," I suggested. I controlled myself, so that I didn't add, you might not have any teeth to eat it with. "I didn't mean that as an insult to you personally," he said. "Mike, when you realize you are digging your own grave, it's time to put down the shovel," I suggested. "Okay then I will stop by for you at six." "You do that hon, but remember we don't dress for dinner in Smallville," I snapped at him as he left. I had put too much of myself into Aster lately to have some Yankee asshole run it down, without at least a fight of some kind. Jen called my room around 4PM. "Jen," I began to explain. Mike was here earlier. He wants to talk to us about a new season of the show. If you need to take a pill to clear the jetlag do it now. I'm sure that Mike has a surprise or two for us. He is in his TV producer mode." "So what is the plan?" she asked. "Dinner somewhere informal, so he can pitch us," I replied. He will be here in a couple of hours, so get your ass moving. One of the great things about having your face painted on was that it made makeup unnecessary, most of the time. Such was the case that night. So Jen was in my room just a few minutes before Mike showed up. I was glad that I didn't have to hunt her down. "Jen, how the hell are you?" he asked as his friend hung back. Before she could answer him, he turned to me. "Maxine this is Mr. Adams he is the new head of the Reality TV Network." I extended my hand to him. "Nice to meet you Mr. Adams," I said. "I have really been looking forward to meeting you Maxine. So how do you feel about being nominated for an Emmy?" he asked. I could tell he wanted me to be more excited than I was. I tried to react as I would have even in the Maxine body. "To be honest I am a little surprised. I haven't been able to wrap my head around it. There are people who work years refining their craft and I'm being rewarded for Mike and Gwen's work. It's kind of sad if you think of it that way. Some of those reality shows are set ups, so those women are working at their craft, I guess." "Not to worry dear, they are not at all what they seem. You on the other hand are exactly what you seem on screen." Adams said. "Mr. Adams, this is my friend Jennifer," I suggested more to change the subject than anything else. After the pleasantries we headed out to a quiet restaurant where my worn jeans weren't to far out of place. It was a good thing that Jen had forced me to wear the sexy red top. I ordinarily would not have been caught dead in that thing. With that top I most likely wouldn't get us thrown out. I was having a simple steak and potato thing. I had to almost shoot the waiter to manage it, but I did. While we waited for the food to arrive I asked Mike, "So where is the cameraman, just in case I agree to whatever it is you are pitching?" "No Cameraman, it's a robo cam piggy backed onto their security camera. It is really exciting stuff we have now." "I need to get you and Lucas together. We can call it a meeting of the nerds." "Don't be rude," Mike said for the camera. "Do we eat before or after you try to screw me?" I asked. Go easy, the voice in my head said. "I do like your directness, I knew I would," Adams replied. "So let me be equally direct. We have enough film for twenty more shows that is almost two more full seasons. We would like a deal to use that film. Mike's original contract was for 16 hours of TV which he has already used up. We want to use the rest of the film we have shot." "I see. I think Jen needs to do this negotiation. I will live with whatever she says," I agreed. "I need to see it in writing. I will take it home look it over and get back with you. In principle I do not see a problem," she said. "You understand there will be a fee for the use of that film. It is why we had a time limit set in the first contract. You can't drag it out to more hours without paying" I have to admit that she did say it sweetly, but with steel in her voice. "I think that we are just going to negotiate the price then?"Adams asked. "Yes and the use of the film of course. We don't want to see Max's image in a Kotex advertisement, without being well paid of course. "Of course," Mike agreed. The food service must have been awaiting some kind of subtle signal, because it showed up right after the agreement in principle. I am sure that it was good, but to me it might as well have been a fast food hamburger. As the song goes, it's all rock and roll to me. After the meal and the negotiations it was time for the drop in cocktail party at the hotel. I had to admit that the grand ballroom was impressive. They had redone it as a disco from the seventies. People walked around the edge of the dance floor with drinks in their hand. Jen, who watched more current TV than I did, knew a lot of the actors. It seemed they were mostly the supporting cast kind of people. There were the reality stars like me. I think Jen pointed out so many housewives that it was like the housewives of Tryon at the end. Some of the supporting cast members I did recognize but most of them were just faces that seemed familiar but nothing special. I got recognized a few times. I even hit on once or twice. I passed on the big cock offers. It was midnight when I left Jen listening to tales from the sound stage of a cop show. The person telling the tale was the on screen partner of the series star. I lay on my bed with the cord running to the wall. I was on charge only a few minutes when the silent ding went off in my head. I knew that I was finished, just like a pop up toaster, I thought. The most expensive toaster in the world, the voice in my head said. I had begun to dress for bed, as I had as Maxine the human, since I was still trying to keep her memories alive. When Jen knocked, I was in a red tee shirt and bikini panties. "Hello there TV star, I brought a fan for you," the drunken Jen suggested. The man beside her was equally drunk. "This is Samuel, he is the film editor of your show. He was just all beside himself to meet you." "Sure come on in Samuel," I suggested. I really didn't mind helping Jen get laid. I don't even know how thing turned sexual. It certainly wasn't my plan. I did manage to arrange things so it was Jen's body which he tapped into. For me it was mostly kissing and playing with Jen's ass. I was pretty damn sure that she would have a good memory of the evening, even if I didn't. Somewhere along the line that changed. They were pretty drunk so hardly noticed when I turned off the lights then slipping into the bathroom. I prepared myself for the only kinds of sex I could manage at that time. When I returned I took his limp cock in my mouth and masturbated while I tried to suck it back to life. I was a losing effort. I did much better with Jen. I got her clit in my mouth and manipulated it with my tongue between sucks on it. I licked the lips of her pussy while I fingered her ass. I could feel her body respond over and over. I had no idea how many of the muscle contractions were real orgasms, and how many were just responses leading up to an orgasm. I just know she and I both loved how her body responded. The only thing I had available was the handle of a hairbrush with which to fill her ass. I remembered how Archer had felt in my ass, when he and I made love. I worked the brush handle in her ass. I used the same rhythm Archer had used on me and on her as well I was sure. When she came so hard that I was concerned for her clinched teeth, I knew that she and I were both finished. Having to arrange things just to have uninspired sex was a pain, so I had one more dig at the farm crew. "You know taht if this continues, I am going to get caught one day. I assure you it will continue because people are responding to the old Maxine as well as me." I was in the bathroom cleaning up, when I said it. I was washing the oils off my fingers and my face. ------- Chapter 288: the Awards and the Prize When I looked up the editor had gone. I heard him getting dressed, so I wasn't surprised. Jennifer was snoring, so I left her alone. I gave some serious thought to going out for coffee. I didn't want, or need, to fake breakfast but I did want the coffee. I happened to be sitting beside the phone when it rang. It is possible that had I not been, it might have awakened Jen, but I had my doubts. She was pretty much still inside whatever kind of stupor she have fallen into. I did make sure she was breathing before I answered the phone. "Hello," I said. "Hello," Ms Stone. This is Jack Abrams. I wonder if I could impose on you to do a television interview this morning?" he asked. "Why would I want to do that? You guys have the only interest in people watching that show." I replied. "That is true enough, but it would really help us out if you did." He suggested, "I might find something I could do for you one day." "Well, I am not going to hold my breath, but sure I will do the interview for you. Where is it?" "The news people have set up a temporary studio in the lobby of the awards theater. I can have a car come by for you at ten if that is convenient." he suggested. "Well it's nine now so I guess I will have time." Getting ready was no more than running some really hot water over my hands with some soap to cut any oils I might have come into contact with. I went down to the lobby where Mike met me. "I wasn't expecting you?" "I know. I thought you might like to have a friendly face. You never know when these news pukes will play gotcha." I suppose that is true, but I'm not going to be trying to save the networks reputation, It they didn't want to risk it, they should have let me sleep." I suggested. When we arrived, I said, "At least the ride was quiet," "Hopefully it's a sign of things to come." Mike said. Once we were inside the lobby of the building things were a madhouse. People were running everywhere. I hadn't seen the TV control room trucks outside, but once I looked around I knew there were out there somewhere. Mike seemed to know exactly where he was going, so I followed along behind. He led me into a small room that was obviously someone's office. Ms. Stone this is Amanda Roberts. Mrs. Roberts is an up and coming reporter at NBC." "How nice," I said. "Sounds like a good profession." "Well I like it," she informed me. "If you would have a seat, we can get started. Would you like a cup of coffee?" Actually, I would yes," I said. Some even younger woman brought the coffee to me. It wasn't great coffee, but it wasn't all that bad either. "So are you ready to begin?" she asked. "Why not," I replied. "I haven't seen your show, but I have heard a lot about it. How much of it was staged?" she asked. "To the best of my knowledge none of it?" I said. "There were obviously people who died during the filming." she said. I gave her a hard look. It appeared as thought the barbie doll look alike had plans to screw me. I suddenly realized that I didn't care whether the TV show survived or not. It was going to be personal between the two of us. Mike needed to break this up right away or else live with the consequences. "Will you give me your opinion on something?" she asked. "I can't imagine that my opinion has any value, but okay," I replied. "Did you agree with the president's statement that torture had no place in our country." she asked. "Are you baiting me, or are you seriously asking because you have some interest." I asked. "They tell me it isn't a show with you that it is your life." she suggested. "Let me ask you a question. Do you have a child?" I asked. "Yes a son, 4 years old," She informed me. "If your son were kidnapped, and I found one of them, but not your son. Would you want me to do whatever it takes to get your son back or turn the man over to the police." "That isn't fair? she said "Very logical and unemotional feelings don't count at a time like that." "It shouldn't be fair. It's an emotional issue," I said. "If that doesn't make you think enough how about this. Soldiers have a compound surrounded. They have to attack it. They need to know who is inside, and how they are armed. Should they do whatever is necessary or take additional casualties because they weren't willing to do it. So to answer your question, I think that so long as the man ordering it is willing to do it himself, or stand there watching it happen, then it falls under necessary evil. I had seen the man standing in the lobby with what looked like a cell phone. It was only later that I learned it was digital video camera. I also learned that the was being paid by Jack Abrams. Barbie was not all that friendly when I left. I told Jack Abrams, when he called an hour later, that it was very likely my interview would never make it onto TV. "Don't worry a copy of it is already on UTube. I wasn't going to let those liberal pukes post some crap." he said as if it was okay. Someone should tell him an ambush is an ambush. "I think they were just going to ignore it," I said. "They have lots of outlets for their propaganda so one site should at least be fair," he said as I if I was going to believe that. It was all about the ratings. "Whatever," I said. I spent the afternoon trying to decide if I wanted to go to that awards show or not. I had almost decided, to be a no show, when Mike called from downstairs. "Maxine, Mr. Adams and I would like to take you and your friend to dinner before the awards." "Sure why not as long as we get back in time for the show," I suggested. "We absolutely will not let you be later for that, I promise," he said. At 7pm sharp, we will be in your hotel lobby." he said. "That sounds very reasonable. We will be as ready as I can force Jennifer to be," I replied. Jeniffer and I worked like hell to get us both dressed. These dresses were so difficult to get into, we could have both used an old time maid, "like from gone with the wind." Jennifer said. "You better not let these people hear you, they will have us pigeonholed holed as racists. They are just looking for an excuse to label us," I said. "Well, I don't know about that, but I will tell them you can't be a racist you hate everybody equally," Jennifer said with a laugh. It had been my favorite line back when I was still in a human body. I decided that I wouldn't change that. I wanted to see if I could remain who I had been since I liked who I was. I had boobs hanging out everywhere, but Jennifer was much classier looking. "Holy shit," Mike said when he saw the dress. "You look amazing. just plain amazing," he said. "Thanks mike, but I'm pretty ordinary," I replied. "Not only are you not ordinary, you are extraordinary," he said. "Well thanks, but let's see how the fashion divas see my bride of frankenstein look," I said. "They are going to love you. Just wait and see." Mike said. "Well hello there Mr Adams," I heard Jennifer's voice say. Since that was the case I was fully expecting to see him when I entered the fancy car. I was a little surprised that Adams held off speaking until Mike was seated in the back seat as well. "I would like to say one thing about future business then we can go back to the evenings events," Adams said. "Alright Mr. Adams go right ahead," Jennifer said. I should have warned him that she still didn't feel all that well. "I would really like to settle this payment fee while I'm here," he suggested. "And I would like to have dinner now. I would also like time to check to see what that film is worth. I wouldn't what my client to get any less that she deserves," Jennifer said. "Of course we want to be fair," Adams said. "Then you shouldn't have anything to worry about that's all we want." Jennifer said as she left the car. Inside the dinning room we were shown to a table with way too many knives, forks, and spoons. I knew that I was going to look like an idiot. I also knew I could ask the farmer's employees for help, but I wanted to be true to who I was. I got through the meal by just picking the utensil I thought would work and just going with it. I was sure, even at the time, that I was screwing up. I didn't really care enough to ask the guys in Virginia for help. Screw them and the spy they rode in on, I thought. The food wasn't great but it was good enough. I didn't pay, so I didn't complain about anything. After dinner Jack got on the phone and called ahead. We can go on over to the hall, they are ready for us. From the time we left that fancy place, until the time we entered the line, it was no more than ten minutes. We were the fifth car in line so it took us a few minutes to get to the front of the line. When we finally got out of the car, I can only say that it is a good thing I have small boobs or they would have fallen out of that damn dress. Jen and I were making our way forward slowly when we heard the hubbub behind us. There was milling about but there was also quiet for a crowd that size. I asked the first person who would pay any attention, "What the hell is going on?" "Somebody in a limo drove up an tossed a body onto the sidewalk. Damnedest thing I ever saw," he said. I had a feeling even though we were 3000 miles away, I still had a feeling. I stayed close at hand till they rolled the body over. There she was, a little the worse for wear, but it was definitely nanny cunt. I slipped back into the crowd. I found a quiet corner then conversed with the controller at the farm. That particular one was the first women ever. Hell I don't think there had been but three people in that position anyway. She agreed to lay on a plane home asap. Then I just appeared beside Jennifer, but still in time to go inside. The two of us sat in the theater waiting to be told that some other chick won. The old me would have been disappointed, in my present circumstances, I hoped I wouldn't be. But of course Even then I still had feelings. Okay, I would never admit to it but I did. Of course I lost to some big boobed chick on a show about selling houses to first time buyers. It was kind of like I thought originally, nothing good could come from this trip. The plan was to skipped the cocktail party and just headed home. ------- Chapter 289: Girl With the Frozen Nose "So tell me exactly what you won at the awards show?" The man who lived in my second story apartment which was the least expensive of the group. I therefore expected no class at all from him or his wife and I wasn't disappointed. "I didn't win anything, The guy who put the show together one most dramatic reality show. It was a toss up whether it would be life and death or a foot race across the world. Mike won it thank god. If he hadn't won, he would be winning even now." I said inside the Cloak and Dagger the first night I got home. "You went all the way to California and bought that dress which you will never be able to wear again and won nothing?" he asked incredulously. "The winning of it has no value hon. The day after you win that you are back in the same place as before," I said. "Soar grapes," one of the woman said. "You are fucking A it is," I said laughing as hard as I dared. I was afraid to laugh any harder since Vlad convinced me to wear the red dress. I gave in only after the half bottle of Russian vodka, which did no good at all. "Holy shit Miss Maxine how did you get that scar on the back of your shoulder." Some asked it from across the bar.' "Guy in Georgia gave it to me. I didn't even know I had it tell I was in South Carolina. We was scared and runnin' so hard. They was mighty pissed and right behind us. Damn I was young back then." "So tell me all about Hollywood?" One of the middle eastern man suggested. "Sodom and Gomorrah, ain't no doubt about that," I said with a big wink for those nearby. "I know you hated that," the same man said. "Well I did shake my head, a little." I said. I stopped entertaining with stories of Hollywood to look around and see the crowd. "Damn, did you guys go out and call all your friends?" I asked smiling. I turned and went to the bar for another drink. "Max the place is always full. You know that," One of them said. "True," I replied from several feet away at the bar. One of the middle aged ladies, and we use that term generically, came over to speak with me. Maxine me and Trish have something working, How about you coming along. "Ruthy, you know you supposed to be retired. To keep the peace once you move here, and to continue being retired as long as you stay here," I suggested. "Maxine, honey, we know you don't make any money on this club. We're talking about having a old time party," she said it with any two words sounding hip, the rest just sounded tired as well. "I don't think I'm interested, but I do wish you good luck. Make damn sure I get an invitation," I said positively. With you and Trish together you should hire some security. No telling how many wives will be looking to talk to you two." "We plan to make them stand in line," Ruthy said as I turned away. Somehow a party is something I felt the creator might frown upon. I really did need something else to occupy my time. It was dead of winter and the ski resorts were in full operation. I could learn to ski. I figured I would do that right after I learned how to be fired from a cannon. I left the Cloak alone that night close to 1AM. I didn't mind since I was likely to be discovered and I couldn't use drunk as an excuse. I couldn't use hangover for an excuse not to walk, so I dressed myself and left for breakfast first thing the next morning. About once a month I got away without breakfast at Helen's place. I did it with the old too much to drink last night, excuse. Almost every adult could relate to it. so I hardly even got noticed except for a 'hope you feel better hon.' The world got a little greener and I didn't have to see someone. who really needed that food. going without. Point is that if I were living my life in reality, then it would be one of those morning, so I just had coffee, So when I left Helen's, I didn't bounce out to the parking lot. I mounted my bicycle and rode purposefully to the mall. Since it was about twenty degrees, I did get a lot of sympathetic looks. They just had no idea that it was one of my favorite times of the day. Out of nowhere he passed me. He was young and full of energy, but he was also buttoned up in what could have been a sleeping bag with legs. I quickly picked up my pace and rolled through the gears. I pulled into the Belk Store parking lot at the mall just as he left his bike. I took a really thoughtful look at him so that when I saw him inside I would recognize him. He had challenged me and it could not go unanswered. Then it downed on me. The two middle aged women were looking for something to do. We should hold a dead of winter bicycle race. No by God a series of races culminating in some kind of giant thing. All that aside, there was a kid half my age who I wanted to meet. I hustled inside and found him at the coffee shop. "Looks like your daddy taught you well," I said as I poured coffee into a plastic cup. "You look as though you like riding in the cold." "I prefer summer but I can function either way. I'm Bill Evers," he said extending his hand. "I'm Maxine stone," I said extending my hand to him. "Do you live here or just passing through?" I asked. "A little of each, I am enrolled in the community college but I don't consider this home." "Too bad you would likely fit right in. I mean out here in the dead of winter on you bike." I paused a moment then went on, "I'm going to walk a couple of laps, want to tag along?" "I would but I have class in a few minutes. As a matter of fact I have to get going right now. Maybe we will meet another day." He walked out in his young trim little body. Maxine, he better be an adult for what you are thinking, the voice in my head said. "Not for the thinking, just if I do anything about it." I said with a schoolgirl giggle. I finished my walk and went back to the Downtown House. While there I laid the whole bike race thing out in my head. I knew that I would have to transfer it to paper before I could do any real work on it. So I spent the afternoon getting the broad strokes down. When I finished, I had a twenty five mile race around town. The circle of the downtown was almost three miles. An oddball figure but using some fuzzy math, I got twenty five miles in eight lapse of the town. I figured that the cold would be the biggest problem, and as my daddy said about playing ball in the rain. Maxine it rains on both sides equally. Before I could get to work on the race a childhood friend of Maxine's showed up. I mean this chick went back to the cave dwelling days. "Is that you Lois?" I asked when I first saw her. It took more and a second for me to get it. "Of course it is," she said. The big clue was that she called me first. "So Lois what have you been doing with yourself?" I asked. "I have been a bad girl," she said grinning. "That doesn't sound good," I replied. "I got married right out of high school. That lasted about six months and since things I can't seem to make them work." "Was that your longest happy relationship?" I asked. "Hell honey, that wasn't a good relationship. I was just to young and stupid to know it wasn't. I stepped back to take a good look at Lois. She was tall almost six feet. Not quite, but she was damn close. She had very long very straight blond hair as well. She looked kind of like those mid twentieth century folk singers. She was adorable but completely nuts she also needed help. I took a good look at her and realized, that I had money laying around doing nothing and she would make a world class hostess in a lounge of her own. Okay only kinda of her own, but better than she had at the moment. "Now Lois, if I call your last two employers am I doing to be hearing bad things?" I asked. "Not too bad," she said trying to hedge. Whatever it was she was hiding, it was bad enough for her to hide it. I knew damn well that couldn't be good. "Tell you what Lois I'll see if there is anything I can do for you." I suggested. "Thanks Maxine, if there is I really would appreciate it," she said. "What do you like to do?" I asked. "Well I like to drink and screw," she said. "Don't we all honey, but can you keep it under control. If I find someway to help, I don't want it to come back to bite me. That's how second chances get ruined. Two or three that leave you hanging and you do decide that no good deed goes unpunished for sure. "I got it Maxine," she said. "You expect me to act my age." "Something like that, you need to start thinking about accumulating things. You might not be able to live in one of these dogs, but you can start now to make the end game a little better. If you need someone to talk to, I know a lot of guys." I informed her. The day had gone from boring to busy. I had to organize a bike race in the freezing cold. Then I had to find someway for Lois to survive. Even as I thought that I also thought that maybe there wouldn't be any way to save Lois. The bike race started with a call to the three bike shops in the area. None of them was in Aster only the preachers used bike shop. It catered mostly to kids from poor families. Of course I had no objections to that either. After I got the word that there was nothing interfering with the date I had in mind, I started in earnest. I rode over to the office depot outside the midway wall. There I quickly laid out the signs and had them printed. Before I distributed any of the poster type signage, I stopped by the police department. I explained what I had in mind. I fully expected it to get kicked around until I went over their heads and called Jennifer. I was surprised, when that didn't happen. Once I had the police approval, it was just a matter of getter support from the community and the small things necessary to make a race of sorts. The community support had a lot to do with people like the Reverend Archer. If he fell in behind it others would as well. He did of course since it was good clean fun and I was organizing it. He was however sure that I had some nefarious motive. I convinced him to loan me the camper to use as an office in the parking lot of the old A&P parking lot. At the end of that day we had the posters printed, police permission, an office and people were getting on board. We had a long way to go, but it was a start. ------- Chapter 290: Date With a Farmer's Son The next morning the day started with me going to the preacher's bike shop. I planned to carry the posters made for me at the the office depot around to the various bike shops in the area. The preacher had the only bike shop of any size in town. Yes, it has mostly used bikes for his core customers, but he was branching out. He would do a special order for the purists. Of course the shop manager would only order it, if one paid in advance completely. The ministry did not tie their money up for anyone. They wouldn't even do it for me. So I spent the whole damn day putting out the warm up posters. They were hanging in bike and sporting good shops everywhere. I even got one put in the Walmart bike section. It was kind of fun distributing posters in my big ole sweats and knit hat pulled low over the dark glasses. Odds were that no one would have known me anyway, but it seemed kind of like a big adventure. I know what you are thinking, I was obviously getting bored. You are right, I was bored, but not quite ready to commit murder to get past it. It probably wasn't far down the road though. "Lois came to see me as I had asked her to the evening before. "Well hello there come on in," I said cheerfully. "So what is the plan for today?" she asked hopefully. "Today I'm going to find out what you are good at." I said. She looked confused. Do you have some kind of test you are going to give me?" she asked. "Nope we are going to talk all day long. At the end of the the day, I will have an idea what to do for you." I said. "Don't you just have a friend you can call to get me a job?" she asked. I saw it, when she looked at me. She was playing me. Why and how I didn't know, but she sure as hell was. The day before she had convinced me that her life was crap. She led me to believe that she was in total despair. Today, it was no longer can you help me please. It was, why can't you to this for me. It doesn't matter, if its the best thing for me. It's what I want right now, and God knows it's all about me. I was cold when I said, "Show me your fingers." "What?" she asked beginning to wind up. "I want to see you hands and then I want to see your toes," I said shortly. "You think I'm using?" she asked. "Something has sure as hell come over you. I want to know what it is, yeah." I said. "I haven't been using, but I don't think I'm ready for any responsibility," she said. "What if I can get you into a real program, would you be interested?" "I don't know, if I can do it," she said. "Have you ever tried it?" I asked. "No," she replied. "Then you won't ever know till you try. I'm going to get you in to talk to the man this morning. You two can work out the next step." I didn't have to call the Reverend. I knew one of the worker bees. I called her direct. "Janet, it's Maxine Stone tell me hon do you have an empty bed?" I asked. "And if I do?" Janet replied in a squeaky voice. "I got a lost child in need of help here," I replied. "Bring her on over, but stop by Helen's and get me a lunch, and then we will call it even. Well even with me bought off, you still have the preacher to worry about." "Shit he is a pussy cat," I said. "Of course he is, get your ass on over here." "I'll be there in twenty minutes or I'll call you." I turned from the phone to Lois. "Okay girl it's on you. This might be your last chance to get clean and turn your life around." "I don't think I'm strong enough," she said. "You are strong enough. You might not know it, but you are." I knew I couldn't beg her to do it. It had to be her decision. "Will you come see me?" she asked in a little girl's voice. "Of course I will. Just as soon as they say it is okay, you get a phone so you can call to tell me shit I need to do." I laughed after I said it. I drove her to the bed and breakfast that the Russians were running as a high priced brothel and blackmail spot when I moved home. If she knew the history, she didn't comment. I was glad of that. I had intimate knowledge of it and wished I didn't. It was hard for me, but I walked down the hall with Lois. I even installed her into a room. I made arrangements to come visit her on the weekend. Then Janet was pushing me out the door. "We don't like for them to have much contact with the outside in the first couple of weeks," she explained. Since I hadn't really had anything in mind for Lois, I was just as glad to be shed of her till I thought of something. Back in the Downtown House I sat on the second floor in the window and looked out at the cold windy day. "Holy shit Miss Stone, I had no idea who you were. This is Bill. We met this morning." He said all in one breath. "Sure Bill how are you?" I asked. "I'm good, I was calling about the bike things you wanted to talk about. If you would still like to talk? I would be happy to meet you anywhere." "I appreciate that Bill. Why don't you come by here and we can talk about a dead-o-winter bike race," I suggested. "I would love to come bye there. Er where is there?" he asked honestly embarrassed. I gave him directions to the Downtown House. A half hour later he was standing in front of my second story window drinking hot chocolate and looking at the traffic below. "I had no idea how neat this view would be. "It's hypnotic," he said smiling at me. "So let's at least pretend this is about the bike race," I suggested. "Of course," he replied. "It doesn't look like we will have anyone outside of town join the race," I admitted. "How do you feel about college kids?" he asked. "I have no problem with kids, but I'll believe it when I see it," I said. "What?" he asked honestly confused. "Get out of bed on a cold Saturday Morning and ride a bike twenty five miles, I don't think so," I said. "Nothing ventured," he said smiling. "Okay, you can have all the materials you can use. Let's see the number of old farts vs college kids who show up." "That's a fair challenge. " Bill suggested. "Oh don't you run off kid, I'm going to show you off a little first." I said grinning at him. "I don't have a car here but let me go home and change. It isn't far, then we can go on a proper date," he suggested. "Could we make that a not so proper date?" I asked. "You bet your pretty ass we can." With that he moved toward me, I held my hand up like a cop. "Date first, then we can discuss the other." "I have been out with girls with much less encouragement," he said. "Good, real encouragement might come slowly," I admitted. You do hear that don't you, I sent telepathically to the farm. We hear you and the board meets in the morning. Just as soon as we know, you will know. I promise, the female voice in my head said. It's strange that I thought of them as having gender. They were just stray thoughts. Even though they were strays they definitely had gender. It was in the way they framed their ideas and suggestions. They could all be fat old men with beards, but if they were, a couple of them were at least closet queens. "Would you mind driving Maxine. I hate to ask but I don't have a car here. I honestly have never needed one," he said. "No, I often drive on dates," I said smiling. Bill went home to dress and I called Julie at Lucas's place. "Julie I have a date with a college boy where should we go for dinner.?" I asked. "Maxine, I usually let the guy decide where we are going, and what we are going to do." she said. "He is from out of town honey. He is going to ask me where to go. I don't want to take him to some old folks place." I replied. "There is a new varsity club in the Peartree mall. It is really for college age kids. There are also three or for other restaurants out there." "The mall," I laughed. "Then we can take in a movie at the multiplex." I couldn't help laughing. It was my first real date since the change. Bill rode his bike to my Downtown House where we loaded it onto the rear of my woody cruiser. Once I saw his driver's license with my own eyes, I allowed him to drive it to dinner. He didn't even ask me, instead he drove to the backyard griller. I stayed in the car while he walked up to the window to purchase three hot dogs and french fries. One of the dogs was for me and half the fries. We drove to the marina to eat. "How the hell do you know about this place. It is a big ass secret," I said. 'If it were meant to be a secret, you probably should have kept it out of the TV show. After I met you I went back to the dorm and watched half the shows. This place and your love of hot dogs is all over those shows." he said. "It's exaggerated I'm sure," I replied more than a little embarrassed. "Anyway thats how I knew about this place. I'm sure the view is better from the terrace but it would be cold as a muthu there with no sunshine." he advised me. "Yes and they let you sit here looking at the lake until about seven then the ranger will come out and ask us to leave. We will have to go, but they are usually pretty nice about it. Bill was from Anson county. His family owned a farm there. The two year program at the community college was all he could afford. Even so he was going to end up with a pretty good size debt after graduation. The school didn't have enough dorm space, so a lot of the kids shared cheap apartments off campus. Since the kids who went to community colleges were generally without a lot of resources, it was difficult to find the money for it. Of course like an idiot I decided to look into it. I had no business doing so, but I wanted to help somehow. Bill and I talked about how things were now and how they used to be. I added a lot of what my dad had told me about his life as well. Even without my dad being there, we had three generations of memories flying around inside the woody. After the date we did some heavy kissing outside his really cheap looking apartment. There were four people living inside those tiny walls. I knew with guys like Bill, it was just a bed and place to read a book, but it had to be hell on girls trying to rest, study, and maintain a social live of any kind. The best I could do for Bill at that moment was a job. I don't believe in charity it demeans the receiver. Gifts are one thing pure charity on a continuing basis is counter productive, I feel. ------- Chapter 291: Just Leave It Be Maxine I lay down with my plug sticking in the wall for the first hour, then I switched to free electrons for the rest of the night. By doing that I had free fun of the Downtown House. I walked around looking out the window and trying to think how I could give the kids at the community college even more help. Over the years I had hired them whenever I could. I just didn't have anything for the to do at the moment. I really had the resources to find something for them to do, but not everyone would be eligible for help. Even a few on a payroll would be of some use. I could find the most deserving somehow I was sure. Things like that always look better in the middle of the night. All night long I tried to think of something, but nothing came to me. The flash messages from the farm started before 9AM. the next morning. The first one told me to stand bye and not start any projects that morning. I did as I was instructed. I knew there was the meeting to discuss whether I needed an upgrade to do my job. An upgrade simply to make me more content was out of the question. So the only thing that would push them into it would be, if they saw the need for me to fuck my way to the top. Okay that's pretty crude, but it is also pretty damned accurate. There was no reason for me to do my waiting at home, so in spite of the company's desire to have me sitting home with my finger up my ass, I went for a ride on my bike. I rode over to Helen's Sit Down for breakfast. I finished my coffee and the short conversation with a couple of cops that Maxine knew.Then I rode over to the mall. I was walking the mall alone, when the message came in. Maxine the committee has decided to do the upgrade. They will need about a week to design and build your attachment. the message said. Attachment hell they were building me a pussy. Even I had to admit that the thought was hilarious. I wondered if they needed to get a cadaver to study in order to do it right this time. Even that was hilarious to me for some reason. I could just see them sitting around trying to sketch the shape. Remember guys, it has to feel right as well as look right, I thought. Not really, it just has to fool anyone on the outside. They are not planning on you forming any long term relationships. the little voice inside said. You need to come up on Friday afternoon, so don't make any plans. The retrofit won't take long, you should be home Saturday at the latest. I can do that, I messaged back to them. It left me with five nights to work on the community college kids. I wanted whatever I did to be self sustaining so that I didn't have to dream up something else next year. "Hey girl, you want to have lunch on campus," Bill asked over the smarter than smart phone. "That's not really my style. I avoid organized meals whenever possible. I'd rather just eat all day long," I said. Or not at all, I thought. "Oh come on, I want to show you off to the kids in one of my classes," he said. "Oh the truth comes out. Want to show off the freaky old lady with the gun, huh?" I asked "Something like that. What's the use having a girlfriend who can whip all your friends asses, if nobody knows?" he asked. "I certainly hope you don't have plans for that," I said. "I don't usually put on exhibitions without being paid ... a lot." "Okay, I'll just tell them. It won't have the same punch, but it should work to give me a little status." he replied. "How about I meet you at the student center for coffee instead. You can invite a few of your friends, if you insist." I suggested. Then I'll meet you in the parking lot of the student center. What time?" he asked. "I h ave the day off, what is good for you?" I asked as an answer. "1PM is lunch. I can have a hot dog, and you can have the coffee unless you want a dog too?" he asked. "I'm gonna pass on the dog," I replied. but I wouldn't mind forming an opinion on the coffee there. I like to keep a list of places with their coffee quality in my head." "Good, then meet me in the parking lot of the student center at 1PM." Bill suggested. "Fair enough," I replied. As was my habit, even when I was Maxine, I was five minutes early. I stood in the sunshine and waited for Bill. It was a nice day even though it wouldn't have mattered a lot even if it weren't. "Well hello there Maxine," Bill said as he walked up. I was shocked yet again by how young he was. I almost ran away screaming, but I forced myself to stand still and the urge to flee passed. "Hello Bill, how are you today?" I asked. "I'm just fine how are you?" he asked. "I'm good, " I replied. When he didn't say anything else I added. "I am really looking forward to seeing the student center. I have been told that it is beautiful," I replied. "It's really just okay, I honestly know you like different places, and I don't know a lot about Aster." he admitted. "You mean I like places that are different." I waited until I was seated at one of the tables with a coffee cup in front of me. "So tell me what are you planning to do about the bike race?" "I have been thinking that we need a prize. Something to bring the people out to race," he said. "Okay Bill, I can see that how big a prize do we need," I asked. "I think five hundred dollars would make me come out to race," he suggested. "Okay 25miles for $500, sounds like a plan to me. I'll put the money up, if I can't find anyone else to do it," I said. "I can get the students here to help get the word out. Just keep the materials coming and we will push them onto the local merchants anywhere they can be seen. I would really like for a student here to win it. Hell, I would like to win it." he informed me. "It's a reasonable amount of money for sure. Well work it out and let me know I'll finance it and you guys take over the organization but the town has to be deeply involved." I informed him. "I know it's a town project not just a college project." he agreed. "I would like to get something going to make this a regular event. Maybe not every week but more than once a year for sure. We would probably have to work out something else though. I doubt the city would go along with closing down the town very often." "Let's get this one done, then see if you really want to do another one." he said. "Bill, I never said this would be a non profit event. So let's see if we can make it profitable," I suggested. I had absolutely no problem, even if it lost money, but it would be nice to give my helpers a chance to earn some money. "I'll give it some thought," Bill suggested. "Good, now I have had coffee with you and all the pretty young girls have seen you with a sugar mommy, so it's time for me to get on back home." "You know that is not how I see you?" he commented. "If you don't, you are a fool," I suggested. "Take every advantage you can get in this world Son." "Please don't call me son," he said. 'Fair enough, but do listen to me." Bill walked me back to my car after his hot dog. "So how about dinner tonight?" he asked. "I think I should stay home and try to get some things done," I suggested. "Okay, but tomorrow for sure," he demanded. "We will talk about tomorrow, tomorrow." I informed him. I was about halfway back to the downtown when I got pulled over by a policeman. I hadn't really been paying any attention, so I would not have been surprised, if I had been in violation of some traffic law. "Good afternoon officer, did I do something wrong?" I asked. "No Ma'am, I have a stop and inform for your car. One of the detectives wants me to hold you until she can get here," he said. "Oh which one is it?" I asked. "I'm not sure I should say," he replied. "Then am I under arrest?" I asked. "No Ma'am," he replied. "Tell me who it is or I'm leaving," I demanded. "Detective Lawrence," he informed me. "Lawrence the one who used to work with Frank Amos?" I asked. "Yeah her," the officer said. "I thought she had moved to Florida?" I asked. "Mississippi," he informed me. "She came back and got her old job back." "Okay, I'll wait for her," I said. I rolled the window in the car up, since it was cold as a bitch out there. The wind had suddenly picked up. I watched as the plain Ford pulled around me. It pulled in front of me, then backup up until our bumpers were almost touching. Sandy Lawrence was about fifty pounds overweight but carried it well. At least some of that weight was her bulky body from lifting weights. She was not cut she was just big. She wasn't just big, she was also muscular. All in all she would be a formidable opponent in a fight. Whether you were a man or woman, she would be a handful. "Well hello there Maxine," she said. "Didn't know you were back Sandy," I said. "We don't exactly travel in the same circles these days," she replied. "We never did, sweetie." I said. "No, I guess we didn't at that." she said. "So what can I do for you?" I asked. "Maybe I can do something for you. You little friend Lois, the one you sent to rehab?" Sandy said leaving it hanging. "Okay, what about her?" I asked. "Somebody snatched her up this morning," Sandy said watching me closely. "What in the hell would anyone want with a junky trying to get well?" I asked. "Maybe she wasn't quite as finished with the life as you thought," Sandy said with that smug cop attitude. I had seen it before on cops and even on her. "Well she wouldn't be the first one who fooled me," I said. "So are you looking for her or did you just want to let me know she was gone." "A little of both. They did a hard grab of her from the preacher's rehab," Sandy said. "Anybody get hurt?" I asked. "Yeah one of the old nurses got her nose busted up. Preacher is fit to be tied. I expect that he is going to be coming to see you. I wanted to give you a heads up," she said. "And what is it you want me to do?" I asked. "I want you to leave it to me. No matter what else happens, I want you to leave it to me," she said. "Why of course," I said. "You don't mean that do you?" she said. "Probably not," I agreed. ------- Chapter 292: Hunting Lois I just woke up the next morning knowing that they were going to fix me. There was no announcement and no admission that they had screwed up initially. Nothing like that with a government agency of course. It was just you should show up on Friday and plan to spend the weekend. Yes, I was counting down the five days, but I also had to find Lois in those same five days. Dead or alive she was out there somewhere. First things first, I thought. I needed to interview the people at the Reverend's rehab facility. Ordinarily they don't cooperate, even with me. This time I thought they might, so I just went there cold after my morning coffee, I had given the cops the rest of the first day to do their thing. I did it since anything that could be done with lots of manpower, should have been accomplished the first day. Since it wasn't, I decided that I needed to look into it. It was too early in the day for my normal contact, so I just knocked on the locked front door. "Hello," I said to the first person who came. "I'm Maxine Stone and I'm going to be looking for Lois Gentry," I informed the woman at the door. "I am going to have to call someone," she informed me. "Then you need to get to calling," I replied. I stood by the door so as to give her time to cover her ass. "Reverend Archer is going to come down to see you," the frightened black lady said. "Why are you so nervous? Surely the Reverend doesn't blame you for what happened?" I asked. "Of course not, I wasn't even here yesterday," she said. "So what do they say happened?" I asked. "Come on you know it's going to be all over town." "They say two guys came in with a visitor and pulled guns. They held the staff at gunpoint and grabbed Lois." the lady said. "Did they point the guns are her or was it a rescue?" I asked. "I don't think she wanted to go," the voice belonged to Reverend Archer. "Hello Maxine. Jewel honey you can go back to work. I'll take care of Maxine." "Well Reverend Archer, how are you today?" I asked. "I would be a lot better if Lois hadn't been snatched from me. I hate like hell when I lose one of the flock." "I bet. Especially when some punk takes them away from you?" I suggested. "Let's say the 'Few' have their eyes open for her, or the car the punks were driving." he said. "So what did these punks look like?" I asked. "Young, black and with big guns, or course." Archer was not a happy man. "Of course, I don't suppose they were able to pick anyone out of the police photos?" I asked. "No but Maxine, can I trust you?" he asked. "You always have Reverend," I suggested. "One of the clients is an artist. He got a good look at one of them." With that he handed me a copy machine picture of a man. It was a good enough drawing to identify him, if I found a matching real life face. "Also this is the second one from a witness description." "So do you have any idea where I should look first?" I asked. "I got a peace with the Westies. Half my congregation has some kind of ties to them," he said. "Reverend Archer this is a small town. There isn't that much gang activity here?" I suggested. "I know Maxine but a white girl grabbed by two black guys and she doesn't resist. It smacks of gangs or drugs of some kind." "Oh I don't have a problem believing it is drugs. My guess is that she did business with those two. They are probably afraid of what she will say, if she gets clean." I suggested. "That sounds like a reasonable first theory," the reverend said. "So, now I just have to find them, to be sure she is free to leave, if she wishes." I said. "You do plan to leave the two kidnappers alive when you go, I assume?" the reverend asked quietly. "That's the plan, but it is flexible," I admitted. When I left the rehab, I drove to the apartment Lois had listed on her rehab registration. I found it to be just a needle pad. Nothing personal at all, unless you counted the two teenagers with the thousand mile stare as personal belongings. "Hey kid, you know either of these two men?" I asked after I got one's attention. "Sure that's Jerome," he informed me. "Jerome's got some good shit." Seemed there was no mystery after all. Just a couple of drug dealers and their drug whore. I called Sandy at the station. I took the call out to the porch, since I didn't much want the Bobsy twins involved in the conversation. "Sandy this is Maxine, it looks like your doer in the disappearance of my friend Lois is a dealer named Jerome. All I know about him so far is he has some good shit man." I left her the message before I asked the Bobsy twins where I could find Jerome. "I don't know where he lives, but Jerome sells in the downtown park," one of the twins said. He strolls through a few times a day. I don't know where else he sells." "You mean in that one block grassed lot on the square?" I asked disbelieving my ears. It was six blocks from the police station, certainly no more. It was also two blocks from my house. One thing for sure, he was going to be moving his operation. "Yeah, he's been selling there a long time," he replied. "Okay man thanks, you guys get back to it. Whatever it is," I suggested as I left the room. Since I neither got cold, nor tired I could ride by the park all day until he showed, but he might not be going to show at all, if he had an uncooperative Lois to deal with. I needed to run Jerome and his partner to ground. I needed more information to do that. I went to the park to grab any drug dealer and then sweat him, but to my surprised Jerome was there. Evidently he didn't think what he had done was a big deal. He was on the move, but he was there. I was having the debate which I seemed to have often. Should I call Sandy and hand over Jerome, or should I grab him and find out what the hell was going on. It would surly be more than met the eye. Hell it was always more than meets the eye. It was one of the rules of my life it seemed. My phone played Mag 7 just as I was about to move in on Jerome. "Hello," I said. "Maxine, it's me Bill, how do you feel about dinner tonight?" he asked. "Well, I feel like I will probably have dinner somewhere, but right now I'm a little busy. How about you call me back closer to dinner time?" I suggested. "Well it's lunchtime now. How about I just give you a night off?" he asked. He was most likely hoping I would say no, but instead I said, "Good plan, call me tomorrow." "You are the worst kidnapper I ever saw," I said it to Jerome showing him the .38 revolver. If you run, I'm going to shoot you in the ass and let my lawyer deal with the cops. So where is Lois?" I asked. "We didn't kidnap her. She called us to come get her. She changed her mind about the rehab is all." "So you were so stupid you took her out of rehab at gun point, and thought that was cool. Did you have an armful of your own shit or what?" I asked. "It don't matter, I'm going to be calling the cops. So you better come up with something better." "I know who you are Stone, we can make a deal." he said. "Oh let's see, you want your freedom and I can give you that, but what is it that you can give me?" I asked. "I can give you Lois." he said. "And you will, whether it is the cops who sweat you or me, you will give her up," I said. "Will it be before or after she is dead?" he asked. "Man you just keep digging your hole deeper," I said. "So let me tell you. I had not seen Lois in twenty years till the other day. She asked for help, then tried to back out. I don't owe her a lot sweetie. I have no problem turning your ass over to the cops and letting them work you." "Tell me something," I continued. "What the hell are you doing selling dope six blocks from the police station. Do you want to do time?" "I been selling here for months, the cops don't seem to have a clue. They think I'm part of that group looking for day work." He was proud of his little scam. Hell he should be he was putting his finger in the cop's eye. It was a little easier since he strolled through instead of setting up shop. Well see now I know. I am going to set a camera up here and I'm going to have every fucking one of you arrested. Even better, I will have pictures of the transaction. You do a deal in this park again, you are going to do time for it. I give you my word. Now I want to see Lois. If she is cool then maybe I can broker a deal for you. I can't promise anything. I was sure Lois was not okay. It was just some of his shit to try to shake free. What I expected is exactly what happened. "I can go get her, then we can meet somewhere," he suggested. "Please don't tell me that you think I am stupid enough to fall for that." I said laughing at him. "Okay, I can call my cousin and have him bring her to meet us. She will tell you that she is fine," he suggested. "You stay with me and have her brought right here," I demanded. First he made his call, then I took his pistol and phone. I made a call of my own. Ten minutes later the park had a few additional visitors. You guessed it Vlad, Anya, Leon and the dancer were walking around the small patch of grass talking and laughing, I stood with Jerome and waited. If he recognized the others he didn't let on. I had no idea if his cousin would balk or no, but I didn't plan to stand there alone, even if they couldn't really kill me. After about twenty minutes the car pulled up and Lois and the cousin climbed out. Not only was there the two of them there were two more thugs who walked up to Jerome and I. The three thugs had an eye and a hand on Lois. She might not be a full prisoner, but they were taking no chances that she might run. The group was looking everywhere while I spoke to Lois. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Yes I'm fine. I am so sorry Maxine. I never should have gotten you involved." she said. "So, do you want to come home with me?" I asked. "God I am so sick of this life, I would do anything," she said. "Well honey, you are definitely too old for this shit, because I am." I said it with a smile. The four of them felt pretty confident I'm sure. I mean shit I wasn't a cop or anything. I also hadn't left Jerome's side so I hadn't done any scheming. "Now guys here is the deal, Lois and I are going to walk to my place and call the cops. You have till she can point them at you as a head start. So either run, or call your lawyers. You should get moving probably," I suggested when they didn't move... "Why wouldn't we just kick your skinny ass and take Lois back?" Jerome asked. While his thugs pretty much kept one eye on us and one eye out for the cops, my little band of cutthroats had move closer. When Jerome said that, the rustle of cloth and the sound of pistols clearing leather was quite distinct. "Because you will be very dead, if you try it. Not only dead but your bodies will be disposed of in the most terrible manner. It's really a no win situation for you." "So we are at a standoff?" Jerome asked. "How you figure hon. I got Lois, and I got you, and your thug friends, all I don't have is the reason why you grabbed her. I'm sure she will give that up first chance. You really don't have anything." ------- Chapter 293: Present for Sandy Every time I used the smarter than smart phone, I felt like I was supposed to say, "Beam me up Scottie." Yes I could still remember Star Trek from my childhood. I had lived to see all that nonsense come about. I felt that way when I called Sandy at the police station within walking distance of where I stood. "Sandy, if you come down to the town square park, and if you bring a couple of squads, I will give you a present. You have been behaving, I assume." I said it playfully while my band of cutthroats used plastic wire tires to secure the evil doers, as I thought of them with a smile. By the time Sandy and her cop pals arrived, five minutes later, the jerome and his thugs were sitting on the one bench with their hands securely tied behind them. I didn't even hold a pistol on them, but they knew it would take me less time to clear the holster, than it would for them to stand, so they sat quietly. Sometimes that assurance is enough to freeze the opposition. Especially if they weren't pros, and these guys definitely weren't. "So these are the ones who kidnapped your friend. Do you have any idea why?" Detective Lawrence asked. "Not a clue, I just wanted to be sure she was safe, so now I'm leaving all that for you to sort out. That's kind of what you had in mind wasn't it?" I asked. "Yeah, that is it," she said. "One thing we need and I will be pushing for is live feed video of the park. I have at least one friend who can put a web cam here by sundown," I said. The damn park is within ten blocks of his bail bond business. I thought. "Lucas," I said into the smarter phone. "Can you install a web cam on a lamp post in the downtown plaza park. There seems to be a druggie presence there." "Not today, but I can be there tomorrow afternoon. Then I can have a solar battery pack with me. I can pick the feed up in my office and broadcast it to the net from there," he began. "Lucas, I don't care how you do it hon. I just want it so that anyone who wants can watch them deal drug in the park," I said. "Okay but remember what your daddy used to say," Lucas replied. "Oh?" I asked. "When it rains during a ball game, it rains on both teams equally. The bad guys will be able to see that feed as well, and know when the coast is clear." "True, but we can also record them at play," I said. "And who is paying for this?" he asked. "If you build it, they will pay," I said in my movie voice. "Fair enough," he replied as he shut down his phone. "You know they are going to tell me how you captured them, so you might as well spill it." Sandy said. "I have friends who are smarter and badder than Jerome's friends," I said. "Well at least you didn't kill any of them," she said. "Ah the day is young," I said with a smile. "Why did you stop me instead of Blevins anyway. If something involves me, he usually handles it." "Blevins has been promoted. The word is going to be released tomorrow so keep it under your hat." "My, my all that FBI time did some good after all," I suggested. "So what are they making him. "He is going to be the next chief. Probably not for too long, but still it is a nice title to take into retirement," she informed me. "I can not wait to tell Anya," I was almost ready to giggle like a school girl. The hatred they felt for each other wasn't bitter, it was more playful, but they still had a passion in their dislike of each other. Vlad however managed to stay above it. I never quite understood Anya and Vlad's relationship. I didn't need to since I knew that it worked for them. When I got home, I realized that there were still five days left until the surgery. I was anticipating it as if I was alive. I know in some really wide definition of alive, I might still be, but you know what I mean. Since day five was pretty much over, I settled in to 'rest' until i started a new one. I started day four with a phone call from Bill. "Hey lady, wanna meet me for breakfast at Helen's?" he asked. "Only if you let me buy yours, my poor college boy friend," I replied. "I did not call for a free meal, however it sounds great," he said. "When can you be there?" I asked. "I can be in your parking lot in twenty minutes. We can ride over to the 'Sit Down' together." he suggested. "I think we might be better to meet there. I'm not sure riding with me is totally safe right now." I suggested. "Oh how so?" he asked. "There are some drug dealers in jail today because of me. I think I would like to give them a week or so to cool off before I expose my friends." I said. "Bullshit, I'm not afraid of a bunch of thugs," he said bravely. "Strange, I am. A nice healthy fear tends to keep you alive a little longer. Not crippling fear, just healthy fear is the trick." I said. "Alright, I will meet you there in twenty minutes. Is that enough time?" he asked. "Of course it is," I replied. I had to do a little fast clean up and then dress for the day, but I made it just fine. I was out the door in ten minutes. I rode at a steady pace the few blocks to Helen's Sit Down. When I arrived, I looked around the parking lot for Bill's bike. I didn't see any bikes at all. I leaned my bike against the wall, then went inside. I stood at the front of the restaurant while I waited for Bill. I watched him ride his bike into the parking lot. He was a really nice looking kid. Yes I thought of him as a kid, but that was okay. Since nobody was like me, what the hell I had to accept them all as different. Why not a kid? I asked myself. I was sure that Bill could trip those vivid memories on my circuit boards as well as anyone else. Helen's place was just as full as it usually was, so we sat with a couple of Country EMT workers. "So how was your night?" I asked the two women. "Quiet thank God," one of the pair said. "Quiet is good in your profession, ' Bill said. "Oh yes, what do you do?" the younger of the women asked Bill. "I'm in school out at the community college," he informed her. "Oh we both went to school out there. What are you taking," she asked. "I'm in the fire and rescue technology course," he replied. I hadn't even known that. "Yeah, most everyone takes one of those courses these days. Hard to get a job without one of them." the other medic said. "Yeah the times they are a changin," I said. "So Ms Stone what plans do you have for the future," the younger of the chics asked. "I don't have any at the moment. I'm just trying to stay out of trouble for a while." For four days at least, I thought. "I'm sure you can manage to stay out of trouble for a while at least," the older of them said. "Not if I can help it," Bill commented. That comment caused the two medics to look at each other knowingly. I did have a reputation as the town slut and Bill was playing right into it. "Well, I guess we should be running," the older of the two women said as they stood to leave. "Good luck to you both." she added. "Good luck to you two and thanks for being there. You never know when I will need you," I said. "True, in this world one never knows," the younger one said without the smile. "Are you out of your mind?" I asked after they had gone. "What?" Bill asked. "Our business is none of their business," I replied. "They left here knowing that you and I are seeing each other romantically. I don't care for that." "I didn't realize that it was a secret. That you were ashamed of me," he said. "Sweetie there has to be a mystery to be fun. Putting it out there for the world to see just invites drama. Let someone else be the center of their drama, I don't need it." "Alright Maxine, I get it honest I do. No more making it an issue," he said. "Good," I replied. "So are we on for tonight," he asked. "Sure why don't you just come to my place and we can order in. I have a big screen TV. I am sure there is something on TV worth watching on a Tuesday night." "Fair enough," he said smiling again. "Would 7PM be good?" "Seven would be just fine," I replied. "I going to go to the mall to walk. Are you coming?" "No I have a class or chemicals," he informed me. "Okay, then go to your class and I will see you tonight," I suggested. "Good enough," he said as we stood to leave. After my walk at the mall I passed the day trying to stay busy. I talked to Sandy just to see the latest on Lois. Sandy informed me that they knew why Lois got grabbed. She didn't want to go into details but Lois had done some odd jobs for Jerome. He was afraid she would give up his contacts if she got clean and needed to make a deal. It turned out he had to make the same deal himself. "Ain't that ironic?" Sandy asked. "Yes, I suppose it is." I agreed. "I rode the bike around town a few times during that day, just to keep my balance in good shape. I noticed in the local headlines that there was a parade on Sunday afternoon. It was getting on toward Christmas. I had never been a big fan of Christmas but I did realize that I was getting a special present that year. How often does a woman get a fake vagina. I knew men could buy them to use for masturbation, I wondered how it would feel to the guy. Even more, I wondered how it would feel to me. If it give me some sensations, I could likely use them, as I did with the blow job sensations, to trip memories that were more real than the present reality. Those memories gave me something of an orgasmic sensation. If it wasn't the real thing, it was devastatingly close. Those were the thoughts I had as I waited for Bill to show up. Bill might not know it, but he was very likely to get lucky. I mean I could ask, if he was interested. It was however, my experience that men were always interested, so I decided to work on the assumption that he would go for it. The day passed with nothing more exciting happening than a reminder from the farm that I had an appointment on Friday at 10AM with the engineers in white coats. Tuesday was rushing to an end and it would most likely end with me in the arms of a college boy. Now that was an accomplishment of which a forty something year old woman could be proud, I guessed. ------- Chapter 294: Pizza and a Shy Boyfriend I saw Bill pull into the slightly wider spot in the alley which I used as a parking lot. It would hold two cars, while still leaving room in the alley for two cars to pass. The alley was never meant to be a parking lot or thorough fair. Every building had room for a couple of cars back there, if they were parked parallel that is. There was plenty of room for the young man's Bicycle and my Woody. I should have left his bicycle out in the cold, but I took pity on it. When I opened the back door, I made him go back out for it. I didn't give the machine human traits, but I did feel bad that Bill would have to ride a very cold machine home. If not in the middle of the night, then early in the morning. "So how do you feel about pizza?" I asked. Of course I had no desire for any food, but Bill would expect it since he was human and I was trying my ass off to pass for human. "I love pizza," he said. "Everybody on a date loves pizza." "This is not a date. I am too old to be dating a boy your age. This is just a prearranged chance encounter." I informed him. "My god, you are so verbally anal," he said. "All those words to hide the fact that we are on a home date." "Do you want the fucking Pizza or not?" I asked. "If so, what do you want on it." "Hamburger and onions," he said with a playful grin. Even though it sounded serious, it had all been done with huge smiles all the way down the line. "You know we could just walk two blocks and eat the pizza in Gino's," he suggested. "Bill, Gino is Italian I'm sure. I'm sure he makes his pizza in the kitchen with his own hands. I would just rather the place look like a restaurant not an old finance company where someone put some booths inside. Not to mention the cash register by the door." "Are you telling me, you don't like the atmosphere in Gino's?" Bill asked. "I'm telling you that if you want to walk down there to pick it up, I can live with that. However I am not going to sit in a public place, on a fake wooden booth, on a fake leather cushion, and pretend I'm on a romantic date, with a kid half my age. Even I can't delude myself that much," I finally said aloud what I had been thinking. It was how I felt, but I didn't plan to send him home either. "In that case place the order, and I'll walk down for the pizza," he suggested. "After a few more prearranged chance encounters, we might be able to go for a real date." "Who knows?" I agreed. I also smiled broadly as I placed the order with Gino's Downtown Italian Restaurant. While we waited Bill and I discussed his school. "So Bill, how is school going," I asked. "You know that you ask me that every time you see me. And the each time you ask me, you seem just as surprised by the same details. I swear I don't think you remember at all, what my school is about." "Sure I remember, you are taking courses in some kind of engineering. I just don't understand that kind of stuff honey," I lied. The truth was that I hadn't bothered to embed any of the details of his daily life into my permanent memory circuits. After a couple of days those short term memory circuits got reused. I mean I knew the name of his school and I had a general idea what his day was like, but his life really had very little impact on my own. Well that is unless he happened to be with me at the time. At that particular moment his life had impact on me. In a few hours it wouldn't. I mean, he wasn't the type kid to need my help and he couldn't give the kind of help I was most likely to need. So he was surplus more or less. Right about then I should have been wondering why he was hanging out with me. I know the guys at the farm were wondering. They were pretty much letting me run with it, in order to see what impact it would have on my ability to perform the tasks required of me. In other words we all agreed that this was not the place for a confrontation. It was not time for the inevitable battle of the wills. It might or might not ever happen, but something like Bill, wouldn't be the issue that caused it. At least neither the farm not I had strong enough feelings to go to the mats for Bill at that time. The time passed with Bill trying to explain some formula for figuring stress he was trying to understand. Do you want to understand what he is saying, came the thought in my head. Not just no. but hell no, I answered without answering. "Time to pick up the pizza, you want me to walk down with you?" I asked. "No, it's only two blocks and it's cold as hell out there," he said. I didn't tell him that the cold had no effect on me. Instead I nodded while I dug around in my jeans for cash. I handed him a twenty dollar bill. He tried to make a fuss but I wouldn't allow it. "I said I was paying for the dinner tonight, and I am. You save your money or books or slide rules," I demanded. 'Very well," he replied. "Actually I rather like the feeling of being a kept man." "You should," I replied with a grin. "The best is yet to come." When Bill got back with the Pizza, he came through the front. Since I had promised to have the table set in the living room, the large coffee table was covered with a cloth and there were cokes as well as plates to hold the pizza slices all spread out on the low table. If the kid needed a table, he would be sitting on the floor. If he could balance a plate while watching TV and holding a drink, then he could sit back on the sofa. TV that night was filled with sappy Holiday movies and even the TV Dramas all had holiday story lines. I found the least offensive of those to watch while we ate. I never did much for holidays. I had a standing invitation for lunch with Jennifer and half a dozen dinner invitations from other people alone on the holidays. The TV fare only tended to remind me I had to make some holiday decisions soon or people would be calling me with pity in their voices. I pushed all that out of my head while I ate the pizza and drank the coke. After devouring most of the pizza Bill moved to sit beside me. He began kissing me passionately. Since we had been doing that often enough, I knew I could fool him with it. The farm crew kept a running commentary going. They filled my head with as much chatter as mission control during a space flight, I'm sure. I used the fancy remote control to kill almost all the lights. "I don't want anyone to look in the large window and see what we were up to," was my excuse to Bill. The truth was I didn't want Bill to have too good of a view. The feeling of his tongue in my mouth triggered memories which in turn triggered remembered responses. Those triggered more memories and the cycle just kept spinning. It was very exciting. I felt his hand reach under the rear of my sweat shirt. He moved it up until he came to my bra snap. There was no way that he was going to open those tiny hoods with one hand. I had a choice. I could either stop him or do it for him. Doing it for him would probably send the wrong message but doing nothing would as well. If I did nothing he would probably think I wanted him to stop, which I definitely did not. If I unhooked the bra for him, he would probably think I was willing to get naked for him, which I also did not plan to do. "Bill, I will go take it off for you, but this does not mean we are going to have intercourse," I stated emphatically. "Of coarse not," he answered. "But does it mean that we might have some kind of sex?" The problem was that he was serious. "It means that I want to leave the options open, but I'm not promising anything." I looked at him with resolve in my stare. "Fair enough, " he replied. When I removed my sweat shirt, the bra was easy to unclasp. When I then removed my bra, my 'man made' breasts sagged just as my real ones did. Okay not quite as badly, but they did sag dramatically enough to have been real. Since being in the new body, I had felt of my my breasts and they felt almost exactly the same. They were a little firmer and a little more resilient, but they still felt age appropriate to me. I had to give it to the creator, they could have made me every man's wet dream. Instead they had made me the same as before just more so, if that makes sense to you. I replaced the heavy sweat shirt with a thiner tee shirt but it was still appropriate to wear outside, should I desire it. When I returned to the living room where Bill sat, I chose to sit beside him but not so close as when I left. I allowed him to make the moves at the speed he felt appropriate. I could have gone at any speed and been satisfied. I knew how far I was willing to go, Bill was the one with questions to be answered. The kissing began again almost immediately and I allowed it to escalate quickly. Bill had his hand under my tee shirt quickly. He massaged my breast somewhat clumsily but it still felt wonderful. He rubbed and tweaked my nipple which make me gasp. The gasp in and of itself was encouragement to him. I allowed him to place my hand on his hard penis, but it was me who wrapped my fingers around it. I couldn't tell how much pre cum was covering his cock, but I expected that it was a fair amount since he was pretty into it all. He was moving his hips trying to get even more sensations. I had to admit the memories he was triggering were driving me ever closer to the point where the electrons would escape their chips and flood me with emotions. I waited to see if he had the courage to open his trousers and free his penis for me. I decided that I would not do it, but I knew I could orgasm just from his present activities. Sure I would love even more intense stimulation. I waited to see as the pressure slowly built. He moved my hand and a second later replaced it. I felt smooth flesh where I had felt damp cloth. I had his naked cock in my hand. I could tell that it was a good size. His cock wasn't huge, nor was it small, it was just a little more than average. It was easy to coat my fingers with his lubricant and then to spread it over his penis making it easy to stroke up and down. I could tell from his movements that he was on fire. I could also tell from the involuntary movements, which my overloaded processor was driving, that I to was on the verge of something dynamic. I waited to see how much he was willing to risk and how far he was willing to do. I found out, when shot cum onto my tee shirt, that he wasn't up to the task of controlling me. It didn't matter, the feeling of his warm cum caused the explosion of emotions which I associated with the new orgasms. I would loved for it to have been a different more intense set of memories, but those worked well enough. I in effect had an orgasm and he knew it. ------- Chapter 295: Blow Job Outlook Bill and I slumped into each other's arms. We were both in the after glow of orgasm. Men and women have always experienced orgasm differently. Now there was a third variation. ROBO-ORGASM, it was something which the humans could aspire too. No it wasn't better, it was just different. Humans would never rest until they could experience one, should they ever find that there was such things. It was therefore essential that they never find out, I was informed secretly. The message came from the guys on the farm. I wasn't the problem. I had absolutely no desire for people to 'understand' me. I just wanted to go along with the program and exist. After many minutes Bill reanimated himself to the point that we were kissing again. Just as it had earlier, it excited me. It excited me because I relived memories of better, more possessive lovers. Bill was never going to be a purely passionate lover, that was for sure, but even he could be a memory trigger. One thing that did concern me about my feeling at that moment was that I didn't just follow along willy-nilly. I actually could see the likely outcome of it, which I never had considered before. The fact that I had planned to suck Bill's cock came to mind, while I kissed him. The different outcome scenarios also came to mind. They never would have in my old body. Here is how I saw it. If Bill had the balls to push my head to his cock, I would have hungrily sucked it till he came down my throat. In the process I would have remember every man who had done that to me. I would have remembered them as if it were happening at that moment. From the Mendez brothers who tried to choke me on cock, to Martin whose cock I made love to, they would have all been there. He would feel good, I would feel good, and we could both walk away and sin no more. That was the Bill in charge scenario. However, if I just fell to my knees and sucked his cock, then I feared he would be somehow tied to me like a puppy. A puppy who followed me where ever I went, he would be a loving, but annoying puppy. That is why Bill had to make the first move, not because it would make his cock down my throat feel different. It also would not make me react to his cock down my throat differently, what it would do was cause Bill to see the act in a different light. Bill was so wimpy and so worried about how I saw him, that he did nothing but kiss me. That is why our night ended with the handjob for each of us, and nothing more. With Martin or even some of the women I had known, I would have had to worry about my plumbing problem being seen. Sure I had worried some that Bill might see, but I need not have worried at all. Bill stayed long enough to come down from his sexual high, then I put his bike on the back of the Woodie and drove him home. I didn't have to do that, but I wanted to be sure he got home safely. That and I remembered how cold it was on a bicycle that time of years. I also remembered how dangerous it was at night on a bike even with a headlight. It was just easier to let him put the bike on the rack and then deliver him to his human warehouse. When I got back home, I watched more TV while I sat plugged into the wall for two hours. As I charged, I watched a history of the world kind of thing on nat-geo tv. Then just to show that I wasn't a droid, I flipped to a 'Storage Wars' marathon. Let's face it, one never knows when one will find some oddball thing like those guys found in the abandoned lockers. The item of highest interest to me that night was a toy electric train. No not the one that runs under the Christmas tree, unless your Christmas tree happens to be in a mall somewhere. The toy train was one that had an engine and ten cars. Each car was capable of carrying two kids. It was a fascinating thing only because it was the time of year when those things would be showing up in the common areas of the malls. So somebody would be out of his normal holiday job. Probably died or found himself in assisted living and the train was lost. The story I imagined was sad enough, but then I realized that it was like why I hadn't sucked Bill's cock. I began to worry that I might be becoming too thoughtful. I might be rationalizing things too much. I didn't really have to rationalize things at all. I had a feeling that everyone would be just as happy, if I allowed the controllers to do that totally. The idea appealed to me but somehow I couldn't. I needed to take responsibility for my actions, it was how I had lived my life, all my life. That might be why the controllers and I would eventually come to butt heads. I slipped into my power saving standby mode. That mode was very similar to the light sleep I had experienced before the change. I just kind of floated along with filters over my receptors. It would take a serious event to arouse me, It came in the form of a phone call. Welcome to day three, I thought. "Hello," is what I said into the smarter phone. "Hello Maxine, it's me Kate. Do you have anything planned for today?" she asked. "Not a thing, why do you ask?" "I have a property I would like for you to look at," she said. "I really don't have real estate on my mind right now," I admitted. We don't want you involved in anything else for the next three days so you might as well look at it, the voice in my head said. "Are you sure," Kate continued. "No, I'm not really sure. What is it you want me to see?" I asked. "You seem to be turning the downtown into a retirement village. The old Sears building is coming on the market. I thought you might want to be one of the first to see it." "You know, I have never seen that complete building," I suggested. "Nobody else has either," she said. "It's the tallest building in town. Even though it was a Sears store, most of it was never open to the public. It was at least half store rooms and offices." "Wasn't there a smaller building beside it?" I asked. "Yes the WRED radio station was there for years," Kate informed me. "I remember. We all thought that it was a tumor on the sears building," I said. "Now Kate that is the building I would be interested in owning." "Well, I think it is part of the same parcel to be honest. We are just going to have to take a look." "Kate give me a break. You aren't going to try to tell me that you don't learn all the details of the properties before you try to push them on me. If you are going to tell me that, then I should look for someone else to give me advice." "Okay the smaller building is part of the package, but I didn't check to see if they would separate them for us." she admitted. "Good, then give them a call. If they will, then we will take a look at both. If not, I'm going to pass. You might convince me to take both, but I'm really going to see the smaller one. If that won't work for them, under any circumstance, then I'm not interested." "Alright Maxine, I will see what I can do." Kate informed me. "Kate, who owns the building anyway?" I asked. "It's one of those 'estate of properties'. That's kind of why I'm in the dark about what they will do. Nobody really speaks for everybody." Kate said. "I doubt this will be anything we can work with," I said seriously. "One of the parties is highly motivated, I don't know about the others," Kate said. "Well let me know something later," I said ending the conversation. I followed my usual morning plan. I went to Helen's then to the mall to walk. "Hello there gorgeous," I heard the voice behind me say. I recognized it as Bill. "Why aren't you in class?" I asked. "I will be in an hour. I just wanted to ride a little and found myself in the parking lot here. I saw your bike, so I wanted to say hi. That's okay isn't it?" "Sure, but you didn't have to Bill. Let's make sure this all stays easy breezy," I demanded. "Of course, I know you don't want this to become too public," he said. "That's right and try to keep that in mind," I said smiling at him. "I got it and I promise I will play along," he said. He also turned to leave without saying goodbye. You know he is pissed, the voice in my head said. "He will either get over it, or he will die pissed off," I said aloud to no one at all. When I finished my walk, I rode to the old Sears building. The building was one block off Main Street. The building had been located there in the forties so that it could have some open parking on the sides. I would have to see if Kate had any idea how the Radio building got pasted onto the side of it. The Sears building was about fifty feet wide with metal store front windows. My building had windows like them as well. Since mine were only about 14feet wide, they worked well in my urban dwelling concept. The Sears building windows were about 35 feet wide plus a glass retail store type door beside them. It was the typical downtown storefront of the forties, fifties, and sixties that covered the south. The radio building was different. For one thing it was almost a clone of my building. It was about twenty feet wide overall. The downstairs was one big room, which had been the radio production studio. I had no idea what was on the upper stories. I knew about the first floor only because as a child pedestrian, I had looked inside to see the radio personalities at work. Where my building had only two floors, the radio building had three. I could imagine that the building would make a terrific dwelling. The trick would be what kind of neighbors the owner would have? To control that one had to own both properties. Probably why they were a single parcel. In my opinion the best thing about the property was the parking lot. There was parking for about fifty cars in that lot. It and the old A&P store had the most parking in the downtown. When I sat in the parking lot of the sears store, I remembered details I had forgotten about the building. The biggest thing I had forgotten was that the Sears store opened from the side parking lot. The radio building opened from the Elm street sidewalk. So even though they were attached there was no commonality to them. I knew just from the size that the Radio building would be the easiest and least expensive to renovate. The Sears store however would house the most people. It would give me the most bang for my buck probably. What the hell, I had to find someway to pass the time till Friday morning. With that frame of mind I placed a call to Kate. "Kate get your information and come on down. You and I can have a meeting before we talk to the owner's representative." I suggested. "I knew if I got you down there, you would love it," Kate said. "Kate, I don't love it. I just see it as a project I can handle, I think." ------- Chapter 296 My plan was to spend Wednesday doing nothing more involved than arranging to have the Sears Building Evaluated. I had Kate come down before noon with a key to the buildings, so that I could get some ideas. My first choice was the old radio studio of course. As I remembered the first floor, it was all one big open room. All of the electronics from the sixties and earlier were gone, of course. That was fine with me, I would never have known what to do with them. Kate let me look all around before she sprang it on me. "The Hart kids want to talk again about selling those houses." "What the fuck does one have to do with the other?" I asked. "I don't know how you are fixed for capitol or what you would want to tackle first, if it came to that. I just wanted to let you know they might both be available at the same time," she informed me. "Well, I can't deal with all this at the same time. I will work on one project till it is done, then if the next one is available I will work on it. We already have the preliminary designs and plans for the houses so lets see what we can do very quickly with that. If we can't make some real progress on it by close of business tomorrow, we will shift everything to this project. "So you want to look around this site now?" Kate asked. "Sure, let's take the walk through, then we can restart the negotiations after we settle up on the single family houses at heartland." I said it as I opened the car door expecting Kate to follow me with the key. I fell madly in love with the radio building. I wanted to move in the next day. It was that spectacular. There were three floors and each had a unique appeal to it. The first floor was going to make a spectacular formal living room. There was plenty of room for a special purpose area. It would be perfect for a person with a fancy hobby. The first floor also had partitions made of glass blocks sitting around. The second floor would make a great kitchen, with plenty of room left over for both, casual and formal dinning. There would be room available for pantries, utility rooms, and storage areas. There was plenty of room for special purpose areas there as well. The building would make one hellishly expensive and thoroughly custom townhouse. It was without doubt a mini mansion in the making. It wasn't my kind of place to live but I was sure the admiral had someone in mind for a place like it. The radio building could easily be transformed into the mini mansion in my imagination. I wanted to be the one to do it. Walking around to the retail store I was expecting to be disappointed. Since that was the case, I wasn't disappointed at all. The bottom two floors were approximately 10,000 square feet of empty space. each The third floor was mostly chopped up space, which had been used as offices and special projects areas. Things like a shops and probably space to build displays was included in there I expected. The complete forth floor had been stock room. At the very rear of the 1st floor was a receiving dock with freight elevators that went up to the top stopping on each floor along the way. The elevator was shut down but Kate informed me that it was still in place. Even I knew enough to know that it had certainly been de-certified. I liked the space but I had no idea how I could use it. I was all about creating downtown housing units and the former retail building just didn't look as though it would fly as one of those. "Kate, I'm gonna be honest. I love the radio building, but I have no use for the Sears building that I can see right now. Do you have any ideas?" I asked. "Actually I do," she said. "Let's hear it," I suggested. "Have you ever heard of Simmons Technical Institute?" Kate asked. "I see them on TV at 2AM now and then," I said. "Yes you do," Kate agreed. "STI is looking for a campus in this area. With the parking here and the access to the major highways the building would be ideal." "Then sell it to them," I suggested. "They want to lease a space not purchase," she said. "When people go that route it is usually because they are afraid of the long term commitment," I suggested. "Not sure they are a viable concern." "Absolutely," Kate agreed. "It's a gamble." "I'm a little shaky on that kind of venture." I was pretty sure I would say no to the STI deal. "Let me make a call to the Hart kids then. Let's see if they want to cut the houses loose at a discount. The should be ready, since the state hasn't made an offer on the mill yet." Kate suggested. "Offer to do it in those three phases we talked about earlier. The first phase would be the part between the rear of the mill and the creek. The kids wanted what 15K per repairable house." "No Maxine that's what you wanted to give them. They want a lump some that is more than that per unit," Kate said. "Get me a price I can live with based on phases. I'll give them a five year guarantee between the phases. If I don't pick up the next phase before five years they can sell for anything they want to anyone they want. As I go along, the adjacent houses will be worth more, if I don't exercise my option." "I'll make the offer and see what happens. This time we are going to put it in writing?" she asked. "Sure why not, but see what you can do and I will only go 13,500 each, period. If I have to take them all" I said. Kate went off and I let my mind slip to the impending up grade to the body. I expected something new in the computer program, there almost always was when Eve went in. Thursday was filled with my usual routines. It was noon before Kate called me. Within thirty minutes Jen was on the phone adding her two cents worth. With Kate it was pure greed. Jen had taken a civic minded approach lately. I had no earthly idea what had gotten into her. I loved Jen like a sister, but with her it was something self serving of that there was no doubt. People like Jen made the community better while they made their own lives better. For the most part, without them the community wouldn't get any better. I think that is what the guys whose lives were improved sometimes missed. The one thing I didn't like about Jen was that she tended to try to put other people's money at risk for her adventures. If she had any financial risk at all in the house project, it would be minor, I could count on that. On the up side Jennifer being involved meant that she scrambled like hell to get things done. It wasn't at all like dealing with most other people. Jennifer made things happen. The result wasn't always what I wanted, but the people dealing with me had to made decisions. I also had to make decisions quickly. By the end of the day we had a deal on the first phase of the single family housing project. For my part I transferred $250,000 to Jen's escrow account in payment for the first twenty houses on the street which ran behind the Heartland Mill. Ten of the houses backyards adjoined the mill and across the street the ten houses backed up to a wooded creek buffer. By nightfall everything was in place for the project. Jennifer would spend Friday drawing contracts and the others would spend it working on plans. I was not going to be available until Monday. Everyone knew it, but no one knew why. Since I had to be at the farm in the early morning hours, I left home in the middle of the night. I drove the Woody slightly over six hours to get to the farm. Like almost all the other agents, I was a bit early. It was always best not to keep the nerds waiting. Nerds have very little patience, when they hold the cards. At least that has been my experience. The renovations must have been expanded since they had moved the start to 8AM. I had no idea what all they had planned for me. I know that wasn't like me, but I kind of signed over most of my input in order to stay alive in my present form. So far it had required a lot of flexibility from us all but it was working. At least from my point of view it was working. From the nerd point of view, I wasn't sure. I really hadn't done any farm type work as of yet. I had a feeling that after this weekend that might change. Instead of a nerd from the early shift, Eve came to meet me at the gate. She walked up, but rode back into the compound with me. I parked beside a building I had never been inside before. "So what's this going to be like," I asked her in my real voice. I probably could have done the mental hook up thing with her, but I didn't want to do that. "They will take you back and run a program to shut you down slowly. Once you are out of any short circuit risk, they will work on you. I understand they have a brand new appliance for you. There is a new saying here." "Oh really what is that?" I asked. "Only God and Doctor Bennett can make a pussy," she said smiling. She smiled while I laughed out loud. "So does Doctor Bennett's pussy work as well?" I asked. "How the fuck would I know. Even if they gave me one, I would have nothing with which to compare it." Eve was grinning. "The big advantage I have are the memories. You are absolutely right about that. You got satisfaction from bringing pleasure to your partner. I get that but I also get the reactivation of some very vivid memories. Actually those same memories were not and are not nearly so vivid at any other time. The stimulated memory is more vivid than the emotion was at the time I think. "Something about that is true," Eve said. "I know because the geeks around here are pounding themselves on the back about how wonderful they made you." With that she burst into laughter. It seemed that Eve was feeling more independence, than she had exhibited before. "Well you do know how they are?" I asked with a laugh. Just a little robo humor there, I thought. I was trying to figure where Eve fit into this new hierarchy. For the day she appeared to be doing duty as my guide. For that I was thankful, she had obviously spent more time in the compound than me. She most likely knew where the bodies were buried. I had no idea if she would tell me anything or not. She might well be afraid that the controllers would hear. Hell they could hear what I was thinking at the moment. I sat in the reception room of the laboratory trying to remember, if there were times when the geeks at the farm didn't seem to know what was going on with me. The more I thought about it the more I realized that they knew I was exploring the possibility of more freedom. I wondered how they would feel about that. It was possible that they might welcome it. If they were planning an army of Bots, it would be nice not to be forced to deal with them day to day. Then again you could just put them to sleep till you needed them. One way to use me was for me to do things that were too dangerous for men to do. It was really cheaper to lose a man, than to lose a bot, I thought. So for grunt work people would be cheaper and it cut down on the unemployment. However it might be cheaper to have an expert in the control room and a thinking bot in the danger zone. A thinking bot would noticed the footsteps in the hall as a threat when Eve might not. I wondered what exactly the creators saw as my role in the modern world. The answer appeared in my head. We are going to have a series of discussions about that this weekend. You have agreed to go along with anything to stay activated, so we are going to see if that is true. Your life is going to take another change. ------- Chapter 297 "You do know that we aren't quite sure how to handle you. In some ways you are the natural evolution of the Lucy program, but in others you were thrust upon us. We could have just implanted the information I am going to give you today, but it seemed more 'right' to discuss it with you. That is something we would never do with a Lucy, or even an Eve." The man doing the lecturing to me was one of the doctors, or engineers who invented me. Well invented me, if you went by the theory that I wasn't still me from before. It was my belief that I was still me, just in a different wrapper. Like upgrading the wrapper of an old familiar candy bar. I actually chose to let him go on uninterrupted. I could easily have disputed his belief system, at least where it concerned me. Some of the social science people have been given more input into this experiment, than I would have liked. Nonetheless you seem to be managing better than anyone expected. You handled the retaliation for your shooting without it becoming national news and we didn't have to bail you out at all. The social science people consider that a big success. We haven't had to stage an accident to get rid of you, or to explain you away, so I guess you are a success. We were concerned about the number of man hours needed to manage a Maxine class robot, but you have proven a real treasure. You have required very little supervision and only a little support. All in all, you are a better long term investment than either of your predecessors. The one thing no one expected was that you could actually function so well in the social environment. I guess I truly mean sexually. None of us could have guessed how well your memory would adapt to the receptors in your new body. We can't give you intensity of feelings, those your own memory provide." "I'm not sure I understand that," I suggested. "Okay, a penis in your mouth produces the same feeling exactly on each of the strokes. The first and the last are exactly the same. All the ones in between are exactly the same as well. However your computer processes those feelings along with your memories of how it felt back in the day. So that in the end the intensity of the experience builds just as it did when you were alive. Your circuits hit overload and something exactly like an orgasm happens. The physical reaction is bases on your memories of how the event felt. It has nothing to do with what the computer sends to the muscles. It's really quiet amazing." "So that explains how it works, I suppose," I said in agreement. So how do men react to it?" "There in lies the problems. If we want you to be able to use sex as a weapon. The same way you were known to do before the shooting, then we need to refine it. After we finally made the decision to do that, we began studying it all." "Fortunately for us you have enough scars so that we can open you at those points to do most of the additional work. We need to change a few things but the overlay that would be skin on real people is easy to repair. It will leave very small marks, not even scars really." "Okay so you are going make me a slut capable droid," I suggested. "Your best weapon is always going to be your quick mind. It is what you can do that Lucy and Eve could not. We were able to keep the essence of your mind working." "Okay so what is the down side of all this?" I asked seriously. "You have to remember that you are no longer a human being. You are going to feel and evaluate things different from humans. We might not agree with you on everything, but we will always have the last word. That goes against your history and very nature. I'm not sure how we will reconcile it." "Maybe we won't have to. How about we forge a loose understanding. Something like you give me the desired outcome and then I help design the path to it. I'm sure you guys know a lot more than me. You should know I have always been willing to listen to those who are more expert than me." "Yes we do know that about you. It's why we have let you plod along in the Podunk town learning your way along. Not that we haven't been learning right along with you." "Okay, so what all are you planning to change about me?" I asked. "Our physiologist have been working overtime to build new components for you. We have a new appliance that goes from inside your mouth all the way through what would be your stomach and between your hips. It's kind of a brand new body cavity thing." "There are a few new computer internal functions we are adding. They will come on line when you need them, but you will know you have them so that you can use them." "What about the Eve model?" I asked. "How much like me are they going to be?" "Physiologically they will be very similar. We have actually been using them as test subjects. We wanted to have the feel and function of it exactly right before we installed it on you." "Feel?" I asked. "Well there are receptors so that the Eve model knew when things were happening. She wasn't able to assess them as you will be able to do, but she knew when a man filled her with his penis. She also knew when he ejaculated inside her. Not having the first hand memories, she just knew that it was a pleasant sensation for her and that it excited and pleased the man. The best response we could get from the Eve model was pleasure in a maternal way. She never really enjoyed it as you have already been able to do. You could do it without the full sensory stimulations. You should be able to enjoy it even more with the upgrade. At least that is our preferred outcome." "I know your main interest was in how the man would respond to me." I suggested. "At first we never imagined that this would be possible, so we never planned for it. Once we realized what you were capable of becoming, we set our perimeters full on. Being the geeks we are, we studied all the information we could get our hands on. We designed a system which we think looks, feels and tastes correct. We sent Eve out to try it in several scenarios that were safe for her. No one could tell the difference as far as we could determine. So now we are ready to install it in you and let you test it for us." "I see, so do I get any input into the system?" I asked. "It's already set to go Maxine. We can make adaptations later if needed, but now it is all set to go." he said. "So when does it happen?" I asked. "Here is the trick sweetie, you have never been completely shut down before. We need to shut you down and remove all power to your circuits. There should not be a problem, but it is possible that you won't restart. It is also possible that when you do the reset will give you a different set of reactions. Mental ones I mean," he said. "So when do we start?" I asked. I wanted to be just as good as I could be period. I was willing to take the chance, just as I had taken the chance that my mind and my memories were really me. I knew something had to define 'me' so I took the chance that it was the contents of my brain. It looked as though I have been right. "They are waiting for us in the assembly building," he said aloud. "Then let's go. It is show time." I replied. I was led to a room which was at least as sterile as a human operating room. In my case everyone wore plastic suits instead of hospital scrubs. I didn't know if their suits contained the oxygen because the room was sterile or because it was flooded with some inert gas. I didn't need oxygen so it could have been full of helium as far as I knew. When they began shutting me down, I found that I could actually still feel emotions. I knew that I could feel 'things' I just didn't know I could feel real fear. I hadn't felt fear for my life since the change. I did that moment thought because I knew they were shutting me down for a cold restart after the surgery. I felt myself going to sleep a bit at a time. Just like I might when taking a nap in the middle of the day. Somewhere along the easing into sleep, I lost any sense of interaction with my surroundings, then I just drifted off to nothing. Being a robo-chick has it's disadvantages. In a dead shutdown, one does not dream. I did realize that in a normal shutdown to power save mode I did dream, kinda. My computer kept processing memories which was the definition of me. What the green people called vampire energy mode was actually quite pleasant in it's own way. Being jerked back with a cold boot was no fun at all. It was a rippling feeling of my mind. Almost a disassociation from the new body entirely. Even so I felt a burst of new sensations. I sat quietly processing them, while the controllers tuned the new circuits. I had to learn to control the movements inside my mouth. The covering inside there moved differently than it had before. Before it had moved as a covering glued to the metal skull. The new improved version seemed to slide over it just a little bit. It would give a better massaging move when I gave head. That gave me more sensations but would also give the guy much more. Information was just in my memory about putting a liquid into my mouth before I accepted a man's cock. The liquid was a lubricant to make the first few minutes even more pleasant before his own lubricant took over. I understood that I would need to squeeze the lube into my mouth without being told. I could tell the changes to my breasts were minor. I few new receptors had been included and the software had been added to cause my hips to move slightly when my breasts were massaged. It was subtle enough that I would never remember to do it, but it did add something to the illusion. The pubic area had a mound which had not been present before. Under the mound were the receptor which would act as my clitoris. When I understood, that, I had to reach down and give it a flick. I was surprised how strong the feeling was. The message came to my mind, Because of you we managed to learn how to wire your own memories to the receptors. Not really wire but route them together. It looks on the instruments that it is going to work beautifully. You might have better sex now than you did as a human. I had to admit that the message was a relief, since i wasn't sure what had happened. The message continued, go ahead Maxine. See if you can masturbate. The cream you will use for intercourse is on the table beside your bed. Even though it was way too clinical, I could not resist trying. I coated my clitoral receptor with the very slippery lubricant and began to rub it. I felt the muscles in my new vagina move with every movement of my clit receptor. I was beginning to really feel my hips bounce around and my mind was in a constant non thinking mode. I was simply responding to the stimuli when I exploded into something that was so close to an orgasm that it took my breath away. "Jesus fucking christ, I heard someone say aloud." I looked up to see a middle aged man staring at me. I wanted him to come screw me, but he was such a geek that he missed his chance. ------- Chapter 298 Just like in my other life the urge to screw just anyone at all passed quickly. Without any 'romance' the animal urge passed easily. Okay that was probably bullshit in the new wrapper and maybe it had been in the old wrapper as well, but it helped me to stay sane. No woman, not even the sluttiest, wants to believe that they are beyond being able to say no to a man. I went into power saving standby mode. I just sat there like a microwave oven which was not being used at the moment. My clock was keeping time, and I was one push of the button away from being at full power. A man, who I had never seen, came into the room. I sensed him. In the old me it would have been debatable whether I really did or not. In the new me, there was no question. My sensors picked up his breathing and even the change in the air temperature caused by his body heat. Hell I could even tell you his body weight more than likely. I opened the protective lids over the lenses of my extremely low light sensors and there he was. I had never seen him before, but I knew he was all business from the way he held himself. That and the thick file in his hands. "Good morning Maxine, I think it will be easier for us both if we have a real conversation, at least this first time." he suggested. "You seem to be holding the file, and all the cards for now," I said it to challenge him just a bit. "So I do. They told me you were going to be difficult," he suggested. "I do hope you are up to it," I replied. "As do I. My code name is Drake." he said confidently. "As in the duck?" I asked. "That could easily be your interpretation, or maybe as in Sir Francis Drake." he replied. "Why, Sir Francis Drake?" I asked. "Because your code name has been chosen, since you are going operational now," Drake informed me. "I do hope it isn't lady anything. That always reminds me of a dog's name. I know I can be a bitch sometimes, but I don't like to be reminded." I admitted. "Your code name is Duchess," he replied without smiling. "Duchess interesting choice," I suggested. "I didn't choose it, so let's move on," he replied. "Whatever you wish Drake," I said using his code name jokingly. "So I am being commissioned. Do you break a champaign bottle over my head?" "Nothing like that, we just give you an objective and push you out into the cold cruel world." "Now that is not very nice. But then I don't suppose I have a choice," I said. "I have a little speech, but why bother," he said. "You owe us big time Maxine. If not for this program, you would be in a hospital bed with tubes up your ass for as long as they chose to keep you 'alive'. We gave you a second life, and a chance to kill the asshole who killed you.So like any other entity, we want to collect on our investment. You have had time to adjust to your new body. We have also had time to adjust to your personality, such as it is. Now it's time we see what you can do together." "Believe it or not that sounds perfectly reasonable to me," I replied. "You were getting bored already. Well love, you are going to have to make do with playing real estate tycoon in that little piece of hell you call home. We can't have you running from job to job. You have very special talents and uses. So between assignments find something you can use to pass the time. Before you ask, if you were an Eve, we would just put you in a storage building until we need you. Since you can manage yourself, it's no skin off our ass, if you function in Aster between jobs. Doing that keeps you current, so that we don't have to do a catch up download. Sometimes we miss something important before we send you out. You can keep yourself fully updated. It's a real win, win for us. "Okay I get it, so what's the job?" I asked. "Oh you are going to love this one," he said throwing the big file in front of me. "You get to go undercover in D.C. instead of crawling through the jungle somewhere. Well it isn't exactly undercover, but you get to do some playacting." "The pictures in this folder are people in evening clothes. Am I going to pretend to be a party animal?" I asked smiling. "That's exactly what you are going to do. You, and your predecessors, can drink anything, ingest anything, and still function perfectly. That is a great asset when you are undercover. In your case, even if they put you in a bunker you can still function just fine. The Lucy types were lost without direct contact with the farm. Eve not completely, but she couldn't function with any nuances, so she could be easily detected. You, on the other hand, can manage just fine even when cutoff from the farm completely. You can improvise, they can as well, but to a much smaller degree. They have to take their hints from what's going on around them, but you can have original thoughts. You are the perfect undercover agent." "Not to mention I'm the perfect suicide bomb if things get really nasty," I said. "Who told you that?" he asked angrily. "Sweetie, as you said I'm no idiot. If they take me prisoner and it looks as though there is no way out, you are going to do a Lucy to me. I can't fall into enemy hands for any serious investigations." "Even if that were true, being taken isn't very likely, in your case. Unlike the Lucy or Eve types, you have a hell of a lot of field smarts. You can sense a trap, where they might walk into it." "You do know all this suicide bomber talk makes me wonder about some of those bombs in the middle east." I said. "Those are real people. People are a hell of a lot more disposable in some cultures than others," he informed me. "But there is always a point where they are disposable in all cultures," I said. "I guess the value of life is set on a sliding scale," Drake admitted. "I pretty much understand why I have been chosen for this gig," I admitted. "There is one more reason you might as well know up front. It has to do with who you are. We can get you into places it would be hard to insert other agents. Let's face it you are known to the other players. You are even known to a lot of the non players," he reminded me. "So the fact that I didn't win the Emmy doesn't disqualify me?" I asked. "Did you see the U tube interview that went viral," he asked. "I knew there was one, but I never saw it," I admitted. "At the end the entertainment reporter said, 'Ladies and gentlemen those scars are not tattoos or make up. Maxine Stone is the real deal.'" "I'm not sure that was a compliment," I replied. "Since I didn't win." "The show won, and you have been picked up for another year." Drake said. "They will not be filming anymore episodes. They are just editing what they have." I explained. "Yeah we know. So the point is you have enough celebrity that people want to have you around. Therefore you can get into some places none of our other operatives can." "Which brings us back to the file," I suggested. "We have decided to throw one of those round up the usual suspects parties," Drake explained. "You mean, like the Super bowl party where the cops serve all the old warrants?" I asked. "That's exactly what I mean. We want to throw a party and invite a lot of TV people and some fringe players. Just to see who shows and who wants to play," Drake admitted. "So you get a lot of Muslims drinking liquor. It's not exactly big time blackmail material," I suggested. "True, but it is a start," Drake informed me. "Drake there is more to this isn't there?" I suggested. "First we need to get you into the right crowd, then see how high you rise in the ranks without forcing it. Whatever we learn along the way is just gravy," he said. "So, you want to use my name as hostess?" I said. "Well no, we want you to set it up. Take a place in D.C. and make the arrangements." "That's out of the question, my life is in Aster," I said. "Maxine, you owe us. We gave you this second chance and we helped you get the man who shot you." "I owe it to you to do the mission, but not to move to D.C. that is cruel and unusual punishment." I said sharply. "So where do we compromise?" he asked. "I will become intimately involved with this mission, but not live in D.C." I promised. "Then you need a surrogate in D.C." Drake suggested. "How about Eve. We can set her up as a party planner and I can communicate with her," I suggested. "You are going to need to go to D.C. in order to make your presence felt there," Drake demanded. "It's a long drive from Aster to D.C. and you know I can not get on an airplane," I said. "Sure you can, you just can't get on a commercial flight. Actually you have some friends, who run an airway. An airline which doesn't fly commercial flights. Let me check something?" Drake said. Then he punched a few keys on his toy laptop. "Okay, I just Checked they can swing by to pick you up at the local grass strip air port. They can fly you to D.C. as part of their regular scheduled run. It will be a little out of their way, but we can make the arrangements." "This thing is that important to you?" I asked. "What you don't get yet Maxine is that, you being you, is what will make this work. People will want to be around you, because you aren't part of the games they play in their normal life. The fact that not playing their game, is our game will never occur to them. By the time they figure it out, we will have done what we need to do." "You realize that this makes no sense whatsoever," I suggested. "If it made sense sweetie, it would never work. If we understood what we were doing, so would the bad guys," he said with a laugh. "So we need to get Eve in the loop?" I asked. "Eve will go along, so no she just needs to be briefed when we have everything ready to go. First thing we need is a place for Eve to stay till you come to town then for you to do your entertaining." "Drake this is pure madness. I really don't care much for parties. How the hell will I ever figure out how to throw one?" "Maxine, if you had to do it without our help, who would you ask to help?" Drake said. "Jennifer, but I can't take her away from her practice for this," I said. "No but you can have her put a staff together for you. It will make it all seem more straight, square, and plumb," Drake said. "See Maxine this is all about you being you. That's our best cover and it's your best defense." And that's how we left it. I was back on the road after lunch on Saturday. I didn't have lunch, but I got to drink coffee while the so called real people ate. After they finished, I had two more meetings about the new sensors and receptors. After those I was free to get back on the road. ------- Chapter 299 The drive home didn't seem nearly as long as the drive up had. I wasn't anticipating my arrival home as much as I had been my arrival at the farm. All the renovations were completed. All that remained, for the time being, was just the battle of wits with the case officer. Actually I couldn't see us being at odds over the pending operation. I kind of liked the idea of blackmail parties. I had never done anything like it, but there was a first time for everything. My immediate problem was what to tell Jennifer. She would need to know why I had suddenly decided to take to the Hollywood type parties. I had always found the antics of the entertainment people silly. What on earth would I tell her. She was my unofficial agent and my official best friend, so I would have to tell her something to cover both fronts. I was going to be throwing parties, when I found the right people for them, so I needed to give some thought to where. The guys on the farm wanted me to go where the targets were, which made sense. For that I planned to have Eve doing the scouting. She was definitely going to be my party planner of choice. The money for all this nonsense was going to get slipped into an account set up just for the operation. There had been talk of a self sustaining operation, but the memories of Iran-Contra pretty much ended that. There was also the small problem of everyone believing I was still alive. The boys on the farm wanted me to keep up the pretense and I wanted to do so as well. In my mind I was alive. Most likely it would never come to the necessity for anyone to define my status. The guys could end the farce at any time. I had sorta made peace with the end just being the end whenever it came. So back to the real problem. The one I had some control over at the moment. What to tell Jen and how to get started. The guys back in the control room would be working on the problems as well. We communicated via encrypted cell phone signal as I moved from tower to tower on the way home. Somewhere a couple of hours from home, we decided that they would set up a dummy company. Since they had lots of practice, they would set up a dummy entertainment and public relations company. That company would contact me through Jen. A company like it could easily find my contact information from the TV network. It would be the ideal time, since I had gotten a lot of press from the Emmies. Jen could actually bring the matter to my attention. I would ordinarily dismiss it out of hand, but this time I would reluctantly agree to it. After that the company could make the decisions. It was rather a compact little operation which made it appealing to me. It wasn't quite elegant, but it was clean. It was late Saturday afternoon when I arrived in the tiny parking area space behind the Downtown House. I had been gone officially 48hours. I checked my messages inside the house and found that only Kate and Vlad had missed me. Kate had news on the Heartland Mills project, and Vlad just wanted to touch base to be sure I hadn't been murdered. He was calm, and he never said it but it was obviously what he was thinking. "Vlad it's me Maxine," I said when he answered the phone. "Where have you been, I was about to put in a police report for you." he said. "Have you gone senile, I told you I was going out of town for a day or two," I said. "Yes and this is day two. If you hadn't called me by the end of day tomorrow, I would have begun to search for you seriously. You know we have to look out for each other." he was being cold and logical. "If they get to one of us. We are all in danger." "I know Vlad, but I'm sure as hell dying of boredom, is that much better?" I suggested. "Maxine as long as you are alive there will never be boredom in our lives," he said. "Anya sends her love and now I have a poker game I should rejoin. Come on over to the cloak and join?" "I think that I am going to keep my money this week," I said with a laugh. I might have used my super brain to beat them anytime I wanted, but I ran it on normal load, so they had as good a chance as before. Not only was it only fair to lose now and then, but it helped to keep my secret. I called Jen to let her know that I was home. "Hey shyster, I'm back with the real folks." "So are you going to guard the body?" she asked. "That clown wants someone to stand around and look like a body guard, when he is on stage. I told him to call a Hollywood casting agent. He wanted me because of that dumb TV show you plugged my ass into." "That dumb TV show gave you the base of the money, we have turned into a small town fortune," Jennifer informed me. "Honey, that is not where the money came from and you know it," I informed her. "Some of it did. You know we are never to talk about the other," she said. "I know that, Now you remember it," I scolded. "Okay, so what is next with you? Are you still bored?" she asked. "You bet I'm bored. I'm going to look for something a little more exciting than real estate development. In the meantime Kate thinks we might be close to a deal on Heartland Mills, so keep an eye out for that." "Not a problem Maxine. I tell you this, if you are going on the rock concert tour, you better get me tickets. I have nieces and nephews to please." Jennifer said with a laugh. "I turned down the rock concert gig. I want to help put this town together. You know make something that stays after I'm dust," I said that, but I was thinking after I'm rust. Had to keep a sense of humor, I also thought. Saturday night passed with me in power saver and recharge mode. It wasn't necessary, but I really didn't have anything I wanted to do in the middle of the night. Sunday morning I went to the Sit Down, then to the Mall for a walk. I saw the extra bikes parked outside the mall. I knew that Leon and Dancer were there walking as well. What I didn't realize was that while I was gone, the Mall had been invaded. The center area of the mall had a little Santa Village. On Sunday morning the village was empty. However the sign assured me that the old man would be back at noon. I planned to be gone by that time. Leon and 'twinkle of toe' were sailing around like those guys in the walk for life events. I trudged as usual so they passed me with bright good mornings. Either of them alone might had slowed down to talk, but they fed on each other's energy. It was absolutely disgusting. The clerk in the cookie house flagged me down on my first lap. She handed me a large black coffee. I took about two drinks of it, before I sat it on the counter and began my walk. I did not walk laps to tone my body or work off calories, I walked for the social aspect and to practice my balance. Since I was balanced on a human frame, tuning the gyros was necessary. The nice flat mall was good for that. I probably didn't need to calibrate them anywhere nearly as often as I did, but it was an excuse to be seen. The body was low maintenance, not maintenance free, I thought. Sunday morning and afternoon passed quickly into Sunday evening. I went across to the Cloak and Dagger. To my great surprised I found Blevins, Leon, twinkle toes, and Anya all seated together. "Wait right here till I go back for a camera. I have to have a picture of this," I said to the assembled table occupants. "I know, I would never have believed it possible. This little hole in the wall has made for some strange bedfellows," Blevins said. "I do hope that is figurative," I suggested. "In my case it is, I can't speak for the others who come and go. For that you need to ask Timmie. She knows everything about this place, I think." he informed me. "Blevins, there are some things I don't need, or want, to know." I stopped to look around. I was actually looking for someone to try out the new equipment. Even though I had lots of faith in the farm boys, the first time I wanted someone who was either a little drunk or not so bright. No one in the dagger fit that description, so I left early. I ended up at Cowboy's Bar and Grill. I felt like I could surely find someone at Cowboys who would be ready, willing, but not too awfully able. I sure as hell didn't want someone who fancied themselves a pussy connoisseur. I found, who I thought would be perfect in Eddie, the EMT. I danced with him and let him rub his cock against my belly for a while. I even let him play with my ass to the extent that he got his finger tip inside the cleft of my butt cheeks. I didn't get much of a sensation from it and the memories it brought forward weren't all that hot, so it was pretty much a waste of his time. But even that added to the experience. Not every moment of every encounter is dynamite. Some of them are more duds. Still overall it can be a good memory. "Let's go to my place?" he suggested. "Eddie, I have seen how you live, no thanks. You can come to my place, but only if we have an understanding," I informed him. "What kind of understanding?" he asked. "That you understand this is not love. It is not a relationship, it is not even a one night stand. It is just a chance encounter, barely more than a quickie. Also understand this, if anyone ever finds out no matter how, it will never happen again, and that is a promise carved in stone." I smiled sweetly. "I'm not sure I can handle that," he said. "Oh which part?" I asked. "The part about no one ever finding out," he smiled at me all evil like. "Then it will be your word against mine, because I will deny it with my last breath of life," I said angrily. "Okay, now that I can live with. I suppose you want to leave separately?" he asked. "We always have," I replied as I slapped him and stormed out. I walked right to my car and drove home. Ten minutes later Eddie showed up. Sex with Eddie was only a little better than masturbation, but at least if he noticed I wasn't the same, I could deny it. Nobody would believe him anyway. As it turned out the faux vagina worked better than anyone could have expected. Had I been working with my normal reactions, I would have had a huge orgasm. I was able to continue the movements until Eddie got all tense then collapsed onto me. Quite obviously he had ejaculated inside me. I couldn't really feel the fluid inside me, but I seldom did back in the day either. Even after it ended the feel of his wilting cock inside me was pleasant. "Wow, it has been a long time since you did it, I can tell. You were tight at first, but you loosened up after a bit. What a great fit you and I are. We should do this more often," he said. "Get your clothes on Eddie and get the fuck out of my house." I said it calmly so he would know that I wasn't angry, just serious. I hadn't even bothered with the special lubricant. I knew he would supply enough additional lubricant. The fake vagina was coated with the same kind of Teflon that they put on cookie sheets. The men weren't going to get abrasions even without the special lubricant. It's design was to make it feel, taste, and smell natural. In Eddie's case he wouldn't know the difference. I wanted to see how he reacted to the look of my body after the upgrade. It did not appear, even in my state of paranoia, that he noticed any changes. ------- Chapter 300 I was determined not to make a move on the D.C. thing until I heard from Jennifer. So after Eddie cleared out, I just went into power saver mode and collected free electrons. I was in hibernation just like when I, as a person, had slept. The sun was up when I finally decided that it was time to become active again. I wondered what the entities that couldn't make that decision for themselves, did for a wake up call. I did my morning things, just like I had when I was the old me. I showered even though I probably didn't need to do it. I also washed my hair and put on clean clothes. Again I most likely could have gotten by without doing any of that. It was Monday, so before I went to the 'Sit Down', I stopped by the laundromat to drop off my dirty clothes. My Vietnamese family greeted me with big smiles. They also promised me that the clothes would be ready for me, when I finished my walk. "Thank you," I said as I went back outside to ride my bike to the 'Sit Down'. That ride was great fun for me. It also allowed me to be seen, which could only help people know that I hadn't died from the gunshot. It was important that I not be questioned too hard. I was surprised to find Kate waiting for me at the 'Sit Down'. "Hello there," I said in greeting her. "Hello Maxine, I decided I would try to catch you here and have our meeting over some really good coffee," Kate admitted. "Good coffee is always a plus," I informed her. "This is the offer," She said putting the folder in front of me. I opened it but decided that I wanted breakfast more than I wanted to know what the deal was. "Can you just tell me while I have my bagel?" I asked. "Each of those three streets has twenty houses on it. The old man was very regimented. Unfortunately the few tell me that on the first street behind the mill there are only 18 that can be saved. Two of them need to come down, they are a danger and would cost more to save than a new construction of the same size would cost," Kate said. "Well that is phase one, I would like to limit my exposure to 200k if possible. I will take the two houses down but leave the lots to the kids. They can sell them as lots without the expense of clearing the lots," I suggested. "I can try that," Kate admitted. "Good do that, I would like to get things started in that direction pretty soon. I am sure that you and the preacher would like to get it moving as well." "I'll do the paperwork and have it ready for you to sign this afternoon," she said. "Good, why not bring the offer bye when you are finished and I will sign it. I have absolutely no plans for the afternoon," I said. I was, for the first time in my memory, comfortable doing absolutely nothing. I could sit for hours looking out my window at the thin traffic on main street. It wasn't boring, or wonderful, it just plain was, no more, no less. Most of that Monday passed with me doing just that. Keeping an eye on the downtown traffic as if it made a difference somehow. It was a little after 3PM when the buzzer at my back door sounded. I did a quick check of my internal Internet browser to show the web cam. Kate stood patiently at the door. I buzzed her in with moving stirring. Another of those wireless applications set up in my brain, such as it was. I did manage to move to the kitchen area before she made it through the short hallway area. "So do you have the offer ready for my signature?" I asked. "Yes Ma'am, I have it all ready for you." Kate was being pretty formal for one who knew me intimately. I marked it down to being in her business woman's power suit. "I can give you microwave reheated coffee or a cola." I suggested. "I love your reheated coffee," she said. I removed one of the smaller plastic delta coffee cups from the overhead cabinet above the dishwasher. I used the coffee cups now and then, but almost never used the dishwasher. It took about two minutes to get the coffee ready for her. "So what do you think, now that you have it written up?" I asked. "I would guess that you should expect a counter offer. Then most likely it will go back and forth a couple of times." she said. "No that isn't going to happen. You need to put a bug in their Realtor's ear. They can make a counter offer if they like, but it should be their best one. There will be a yes or no response. That is because no more offers will be coming from me." I said smiling. "Maxine on a deal this size that isn't very likely. You are trying to buy those houses at the value of the raw land. It isn't likely to work, there will have to be compromises I'm sure." "Kate, if you would prefer not to represent me, I would hate to lose you, but I can find someone else." I meant just what I said to her. "Very well I will explain it to the Realtor, but you should expect a counter offer that is going to be unacceptable to you." "Sweetie there are empty buildings all over this town. It's just a matter of which people want to make deals." What Kate didn't understand was that, I didn't mind taking advantage of someone in trouble. Yes I loved being the savior of people, but I wasn't really in the charity business. If these kids needed that money to survive, I would pay them the market value. Since at the moment there was no market for their property, I was setting the price. I had also done a financial background check on the two of them. I knew that daddy had left them stocks and bonds which provided their income. The mill property was a drain on them, since the estate required them to maintain it at the existing level of repair. I was doing them a favor taking it off their hands. The two of them wanted to pursue their other interest, not be involved in any development of the property. They wanted to take the money and run, but mostly they wanted to stop forking out maintenance fees for the place every year. "By the time those kids get through with me, the will get almost a million bucks minimum. The mill will be in a better place to be sold for some kind of commercial venture as well. So they were going to be winners not losers. You might want to remind the Realtor to remind the kids of that." "I know," Kate said. "I'm just not sure they are seeing the reality of their situation." "Then someone else will see the reality of their situation," I pointed out. I didn't tell her that I also didn't care. I was about to have other fish to fry. "How about I take this over to Sloan's office, then pick up some que from the Pit. We have to eat?" she said. "Okay but I'm buying," I said to her. "I do not want to mix business with pleasure. At least not with me on the beholding end of the scale." I picked my wallet from deep in my purse, then I found a twenty dollar bill. "Just get me the que and slaw. no bread of any kind and make it the small size." I made it sound as though I was on a diet. "Since I'm dieting as well, and I love the que, let's just get a large tray no hush puppies and split it." Kate suggested. "Sure that sounds good. I have some diet soda," I replied. I did manage to remember that it was usually cold drinks with food. Kate came back with the food while the kids mulled the offer over. The Bar-be-que was delicious. as it always was from the barbeque pit. I knew that it was all memory taste, but it was still a delight. I remember the Gunny as well as the food. I was turned on from the memories. It was an unexpected treat for me. I had a feeling that it would be for Kate as well. I was standing at the sink cleaning the utensils when Kate moved close to me. She was at least fifty pounds over weight, but she carried it well. She was almost a giant of a woman. She was tall with big soft boobs almost the size of party balloons. When she moved in to kiss me, those boobs just molded around my firmer ones. I could feel her tongue in my mouth. Hell I could taste the barbeque spices on her tongue. My taste wasn't nearly as good as it was, but I could get a taste of the barbeque spice and it helped to ratchet me up even higher. I was very highly turned on when she allowed her hands to trail down to my butt. She played with the cleft of my ass just as Eddie had done. What was it with my ass, I wondered. Kate even pulled my closer with her hand covering my butt. She pressed against me like Eddie had done. Of course Eddie had something to rub against me. I suppose Kate did as well, if I counted her large pubic mound. It was large enough to give me a sensation but not a really intense one like Eddie's cock had. It was more a pleasant memory from the past. The memory of how she felt before the big change in my life. All things considered my breathing was getting shallow just as it had when I was me and doing these same things with Kate months earlier. It was at that point when I lost any sense of now and then in my thinking. I just began to realize how good things felt. There was real pleasure in the memory of how her nipple had felt against my tongue. There was also real pleasure in the memory of how my nipple had felt being manipulated by her tongue. The sucking feeling is impossible to adequately describe, but I could remember it even before Kate lifted my top and raised my soft bra. She was all over my breasts mauling them better than any man had done lately. Unlike Eddie she spent long moments nursing my breast before he fingers slipped to the band of my jeans. She opened the top then wedged her hand inside my panties. I felt her fingers work there way to my naked pubic mound while she sucked on my breast. "Oh my you have shaved for me," she said before returning to maul my boob. I just gasped in response. I pulled her closer and clung to her almost in desperation. In the back of my mind I got the messages from the farm but I could not respond. My brain was overwhelmed by the stimuli, so I just gave in to it. I did not just lay there and enjoy it, I participated. I tried to get to Kate to work on her. She forcefully pushed me back. I allowed it since I could easily have thrown her through the window. I allowed it until the mixture of new stimuli and old memories put me in the blissful state of sensory overload. Once Kate realized that I was in post orgasmic bliss she moved away from me. In doing so she allowed me to move to kiss and lick her body. My mouth might have been dry but that must have been a thrill in itself. She responded wildly all along her body. She arched her back pushing her breasts to my mouth as I licked and sucked on each of them in turn. I loved that her hips beat at me as well. I could feel her body react just as much as mine had. I quickly moved down to lick and suck on her clit. I felt her body struggle to force my mouth inside her. She was amazingly responsive. She barely started to orgasm when her phone rang. I was interested to see what she would do. I sensed that she was trying to fight her way to reality but I would not allow it. I kept her in an orgasmic state until the caller just gave up. ------- Chapter 301 Kate and I lay in post orgasmic bliss for just a few minutes before she decided that she just had to check her messages. There is nothing like a chubby girl having to get back to business five minutes after you have your tongue inside her to bring you back to earth. "I need to return this call it's about your Heartland Mills Project," she said pushing buttons before I could even answer. Yes I smiled at the image, even though I was a little disappointed. I wondered if I had lost something with all the changes in me. Oh course I had lost something, the question was how much and would it make a difference. It was easy enough to fix. I would just have to never screw anyone I had screwed before. Then the guy or gal in my bed would have nothing with which to compare. I laughed at the thought, it might mean me moving out of town. Or maybe like a serial killer, I would have to hunt somewhere else. That thought made me laugh out loud. I had never thought of myself as a sexual predator but maybe I had been all along. I had intentionally tuned Kate out until she turned off the phone. "Well they are back with an offer. I explained yet again that it would be a yes or no answer. I wanted to make absolutely sure that they knew there would be no more negotiations." "And now you are making sure I know that you know. So okay what are they offering me?" "It's a carved in stone, iron clad contracted sale that only you can get out of," Kate said. "Come on Kate you are trying to run a sales game on me and I know it, so don't bother," I said in a voice tinged with exhaustion. It was an act because I didn't really give a damn, it was all part of the act so that my humanity would not be questioned. "The will take 500k for phase one, 250k for phase two, and then 150k for phase three. They think it will tie you into continuing even if the project is only marginally profitable at first," she said. "Okay, let me think a minute." I did and I decided that I would have a million in 18 units that might or might not sell quickly. The decision was easy for me. "Call them back and tell them "no thanks." "I can negotiate a better deal," she said. "You didn't fucking listen any of you. I told you that I was finished after my last offer. They had one chance and they blew it. If you want to continue working with me, then close this down and lets move on." I was not a bit angry, but I was impatient and that surprised me. I would be around forever so I need not worry about getting things done before I died. That in and of itself was scary. It also reminded me that there would be logistical problems with that as well. "So what is next?" Kate asked. "Next is Sears Plaza," I suggested. "Are we going to go through with it?" Kate asked. "You know Kate you seem pissed that I wouldn't let the Hart kids fuck me just so you could make a commission. If that is the case, you probably need to move on to someone else as a customer." I snapped it at her. I wasn't angry but I should have been so I acted the way I felt that the old me would have. I still remembered the old me even if I didn't boil over as quickly. "You have said that three times Maxine, I think maybe it would be best." she said. "Alright Kate, I will have Jennifer send you a termination letter. I want to do this right," I said. "Understand this, any project we might have been working on might still come to fruition. If you bring me the offer I finally accept, then you get paid. If a new Realtor brings me an offer on the same property, then I will pay her. If we end up in court, then so be it. You walk away from me and you walk away from my business period." "I get it," she said as she stomped from the Downtown House. "Damn maybe I want have to worry about old lovers making comparisons after all," I said to the empty room. It was easy for me just to shut down for a while and charge. I had nothing I wanted to do at 5PM, so I sat in my straight metal chair and plugged myself into the wall. I was still doing lots of things that were marginally pleasurable just reinforce my human status. If I played my cards right no one would ever question it. That's why at 9PM I walked across to the Cloak and Dagger to play poker with the gang. Yes it was strip poker night. I felt confident enough to join in for the first time. They played it a little differently at the Cloak and Dagger. each piece of clothing have a chip count value. When you removed it, you got the chips for it. When you lost the chips we went to the next piece of clothing. When we won enough chips we could get the clothing back. One could stop at any time, but they had to remain in the club for one hour dressed in whatever they had left. People would be sitting around in all sorts of outfits. Many men and women stopped at underwear, but that had the highest chip value. Some of the women sat topless and some naked. It made for an interesting night. No one was required to play so only those exhibitionist among out group actually played. We didn't all play, but we all looked and laughed. If one wanted to play they had to be at the table at 9pm sharp. It was only fair everyone start more or less the same. I started in jeans, a sweatshirt, a jacket, a bra, and panties. Five pieces was the maximum allowed. The bragging rights went to the person with the least amount of clothing who manage to keep it all at the end of the night. I sold my coat, jeans, and sweat shirt for a total of a thousand chips. The game began with me, Vlad, two younger woman I recognized but had never really spoken with, and their male companions. It made a total of six players who began the evening. Since it was a friendly game serious drinking was discouraged. The controllers had agreed to leave me on my own unless I asked for help. Since it was playing for clothes, I decided to do it on my own. I also didn't mind losing on any front. I had decided that I could pass body wise and the not being perfect part would be good as well. I took off the coat and hung it on the coat wall which the 'Laboring Few' had made from two 2x12 planks four feet long one on top of the other. They had been finished in a redish shiny wood color. The one of the few who had been sober long enough to be trusted to do finish carpentry drove gutter spikes into the thick wood. Those spikes were the holders of all things clothing that got removed at the Cloak and Dagger whether it be at the game or just to get a little more comfortable. There was a sign hand painted by a not so shaky laboring artist. It read, 'No hanging of firearms please' I left the double barreled Derringer with the 2, 410 gauge lead shot shells, in my jeans pocket. Even as I hung the jeans on one of the spike I knew tht it was technically against the rules. I also knew that it wouldn't be the only poker player's firearm hanging there, me and Vlad for sure, the other maybe. I had a bock beer which Timmie kept for me in the cooler. Everybody brought there own in and she kept it cold for them. Even though the club's directors ran it, my name was on the license, so I guess I owned it. For whatever reason, Timmie always kept plenty of beer for me. Most of the women were starting with just the three hundred in chips for their jackets. I knew one bad hand and that would be gone. There was something psychologically disadvantageous about having the smallest stack of chips on the table. That was I was sitting in my bra and panties from the start. I was always surprised how many stares my skinny ass got. Jennifer had told me at the awards show that it was the scars. I expected she had a point. Men also stared at women with tattoos. That is to say the men at the Cloak and dagger stared hard at my body. I hoped that I hadn't left the plug cover open or anything. I knew that I hadn't. If I had the boys at the farm would be shouting at me to duck and cover. Yes I laughed silently at that image. I lost the first hand, but I wasn't concerned the night was young The two women who I did not know personally were much younger. Most likely mid twenties. They both had nice bodies. Hell one of them had a gorgeous body, the other would have been just as nice if she took up running or joined a gym. If she knew that I had to do nothing to maintain my weight she would have been extremely jealous. Hell before the shooting I would have been jealous of someone like me as well. One of the guys I didn't know very well was the first to bust out. He was one of those sniper spotters from a European kill team, I had been told. He took it well, he threw in his cards and said aloud to no one in particular. "On the clock." Timmie heard him and set a big gralab timer. His name went on a list as the first to be able to dress again. He was probably about ten to twenty pounds underweight. At least to my taste he was skinny. At first his penis was small and contracted but after the first wave of embarrassment passed it stretched out a bit. It hung limp but still with some structure. It was probably 5 or 6 inches long in that condition. I would expect another inch or so when it was erect. I had an urge to check it out, but resisted since one of the women was most likely his Girlfriend or wife. He was followed almost immediately by one of the women. It was if she just gave up. She quit with her panties still on so I was pretty she she was the first losers wife or girlfriend. When the two losers went to sit at a table in the main room, he was naked and she was damn close. The guys in the room all stared at her almost large boobs. I had to admit that she did have great nipples which seemed to be about two inches long and continuously hard. I was really jealous. I made sure the guys at the farm saw her, just in case another upgrade was in the works. We were down to Vlad, one of the minor operatives from the Baltics and a woman I had just seen around a few times. Well there was me of course. I had managed to accumulate a lot of the chips the first two had lost. The stranger chick was down to her full bra. It looked as though only women with good bodies and me played in the men's oriented game. The male operative was dressed in a pair of green polyester shorts only. He did have a decent bulge inside it. Vlad was obviously ahead clotheswise anyway. He still had his cotton pants, and his underwear. He also had enough chips to buy back his shirt had he wished. Vlad had a good body for an old man, so he was in no hurry to cover his chest. ------- Chapter 302 It was well after midnight when I decided that I had enough. I bought back my clothes, so that I could leave, but I chose to sit in the main room for one last drink. I wanted to process how things had gone. In looking back I felt that I had achieved my main goal in that I acted very 'human'. I looked at the three remaining players. I felt as though I knew everything possible about Vlad, but nothing about the other two. Everyone in the club except me seemed to know them somewhat at least. It was proof that I didn't spend as much time in the club as I had planned. The cloak and dagger, as I had expected that it would, had somehow become the Ex-pat club for soldiers in the undeclared war. I was determined that the struggles from the real world would not invade the club. It was the number one rule, even higher than the no hanging of weapons on the wall, that no geopolitical discussions enter from outside. When one started, it was the obligation of the other members to remind the transgressor of the rule. I hoped that it would be gently administered, but the directors never specified that it had to be. They did make it known that there was zero tolerance for such crap. All that is why I always felt safe in the Cloak. I had just gotten busy and when I got busy I tended to forget that I was supposed to have a little fun. Fun is one of the driving forces for all humans. That thought came from outside my own head. I was being monitored again by the farm. I didn't mind at that moment. Okay you Cont, I thought. Tell me who those two playing poker with me for the last four hours were. Very well you Cunt, the man is Stephan Berger. Steven was the kind of spy that Vlad would call Leon. Stephan would ingratiate himself into a group of diplomats by doing them favors, then he would blackmail them. Stephan sold the information to the highest bidder in most cases. How in the world did a sissy pimp and his chick make it here? I wondered. Oh the woman is not connected to him at all. But to answer your question Stephan got involved with an prominent middle eastern family whose son died under mysterious circumstances. Shortly thereafter a drug gang in London Disappeared. The whole gang just vanished, along with all their holdings. Several days later Stephan Berger showed up in Aster with a very large bank account. No one can trace the money, but ten years in the espionage game would teach him a few tricks, even from the outside looking in. So do we think he dirtied his hands or just reaped the rewards? I wondered. We think he helped to arranged a rather complicated assassination pulled off by a very, very organized group with military precision. We also think his reward was the holdings of the gang. At least those liquid enough to dispose of without leaving a trace. We are sure he did not get the drugs, but likely got the cash, cars, and property which could easily be converted to cash. And we suspect this why?" Because even with the best laid assassination plan involving so many people, some one slips away, or one of the hit squad talks. That isn't really a bad thing. It is good to sometimes remind the bad guys, that there is a day of reckoning. So if the chick isn't with him, who is she? She is a gift from the Russian Special Forces, Spetsnaz. So what is her story? Some Russian rocket parts went missing. Someone found out where they were and who had them. A local girl didn't want to see terrorist with Russian missiles, so she helped the Septsnaz recover them. She hid them and helped them locate the storage facility. Many of her fellow countrymen died, and not too pleasantly, so she was persona non grata at home. Unfortunately the Russians don't pay well, so the best they would do was send her here and buy her a small condo unit. Vlad got her into the community college's nursing school. She will graduate in the spring, not this year but next, and she will surely have a job waiting for her. She is also working hard to improve her very basic English. So who did she come here with? She came alone and will leave alone or with anyone who has a hundred dollars for a simple roll in the hay. You would know about her, and the others as well, if you were here a little more often. You come in and breeze out like the queen of the manor. Which you sort of are of course. I hope you aren't going to be my regular controller. You have a nasty disposition. I thought it in the open just to be sure he or she and their boss knew what I thought of him or her. It was just a guess as the the sex of the controllers. I didn't wait for Vlad or his friend to finish playing, I walked over to the Downtown House. From habit I reviewed the surveillance tape, even though the controller should have alerted me, if there had been a change since I left. Everything looked fine so I went inside. I undressed completely then lay on the hard bed. The purpose of the bed was simply to give me a flat place to store the body. I was beginning to think of myself differently. The new definition of comfort was the absence of discomfort. One flat surface was as good as another to keep the parts in line while in storage, I thought. I realized, with something of a shock, that the thoughts I was having were not my own. I was thinking like the geeks who built me. Somewhere they were hiding in the wiring of the new me. I blocked the transmission of that thought, and especially the next one, 'that has to change'. Yes I had learned to block my thoughts. I hooked myself to the wall where I lay quietly. While I charged, no thoughts were transmitted. That was because I wasn't supposed to be capable of thinking while I charged. That was something different about me they hadn't expected. It was something I realized early on. My guess was, that my control over the body was more than any of the earlier 'man made' intelligence models. They obviously had been able to exert no independent control. I could make the new model do a lot more, because somehow my memories were more in tune with the body. In other words I could actually learn from the body. The fake brain of Maxine was supposed to be able to teach itself, but they really had no idea how well it would work. Simple learning was all they had expected. I don't think they even dreamed that there were learning nuances. Nuances which I was capable of mastering. I got the alert that I was close to being fully charged, which meant I might be overheard by the bitch controller. That being the case I switched back to thoughts that were harmless, more or less. Back at the farm they never got the complete meaning of my thoughts. They could interpret only the broad strokes. Evidently I thought at a level not capable of being totally understood. So even when I broadcast if I really wanted them to help me, I had to concentrate my thoughts. So if the chick with Vlad was going to school and turning tricks which did she consider her future. It wasn't all that important unless she was planning to run a network somehow. She was most likely not capable of that though, but most likely Vlad was thinking it. Maybe not creating a new network, but making sure she didn't. You never did tell me the chicks name, I thought in the open, Everyone calls her Silvia. Her ethnic name is difficult to pronounce. All those names are difficult to pronounce. So how are Silvia's finances? She should be fine until she graduates. She has no house payment or any really large living expenses. That being the case she does quite well with the money she makes turning tricks. The Russians and the men from the Baltic states love her. It isn't just the sex, she can also talk to them about home. She misses it as much as they do, I suppose. Probably not if they want to kill her back there, I thought. I dropped my interrogation of the controller and just went into power save until morning. Since it was impossible for me to oversleep, I left the house at exactly the right time to finish my breakfast charade, and then my tuneup walk, by noon. Check on Sylvia's schedule and tell me if she will be home now, I demanded of the controller. She had one early class, she should be home now. Do you want her address? Of course I want her address, idiot. Now who has the nasty disposition? the controller asked. I kept my mind blank as I listened. When the address popped into my mind, I realized that Sylvia had been deposited into an inexpensive townhouse converted from an apartment near the downtown. I knew that they were small one bedroom units with nothing at all to recommend them. Well they were inexpensive to buy, which would have made them very attractive to the penny pinching Ruskies. It was in a totally different direction from my place, but I chose to ride the bike over there anyway. When I got to the building, which held Sylvia's unit, I left the bike chained to a signpost outside while I went in search of her. I knocked on her door. I planned to leave her a note, if she was not home. I was a little surprised when she answered her door. I hadn't really expected her to be home. "Yes," she said through the cracked door. "Hello, are you Sylvia?" I asked. "Yes they call me Sylvia in this country," she answered in a heavy accented voice. "I understand you attend the community college," I suggested. "I do indeed," she replied. "Who are you and why do you ask?" "My name is Maxine Stone. I would like to talk to you about a job." "I recognize you, come inside please," she said stepping back away from the door. "Thank you," I said. Once inside I realize what a neat clean home she had. "This is a very nice place." "Thank you, it is small but I like it." she said. "And what do you think of America?" I asked. "So far, my worst day here, has been better than my best day in Serbia," she said. "Good, I understand you are in school, thanks to my friend Vlad." "Yes he has helped me a great deal. I have no idea what I would have done without him." she said. "I am sure you would have done fine. You seem to me to be the kind of person who can manage on her own." "I like to think so. What kind of job do you have?" she asked. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know. What can you do. I mean what are your skills?" "You do know I have been earning money as a prostitute while I go to school." she looked at me without any shame or defiance. In her mind it was as if she had just told me that it had rained last week. Just a simple fact, not at all a judgmental thing. "Yes I did know that, and it is of no importance. Except that it did convince me that you are a survivor and worth helping." She simply nodded her agreement. "So, Sylvia what worthwhile thing can you do for me?" I was in effect allowing her to make up her own job. I could hardly wait to see what she would choose to do. ------- Chapter 303 "To be honest you probably know more about my strength and weakness than I do. I bounce from one thing to another without much direction these days. My family and friends back home think I am a traitor." "What do you think?" I asked. She looked at me with an odd expression. "Do you feel like a traitor." "I had a really terrible choice. Tell the Russian thugs who had their missile, or allow radical thugs to have a huge weapon with unthinkable possibilities. No matter what I chose to do, somebody would see it as wrong. It was wrong to allow mass destruction, and wrong to betray my own people to strangers. In the end I chose humanity over lesser concerns." "That is so inspiring," I said. After a moment I went on, "Now why did you really choose the Russians over your friends?" "They weren't my friends. We lived in the same village that did not make us friends. Everyone knew they were radicals, but everyone knew that they were dangerous as well. Everyone knew that they would kill anyone who didn't go along with them. The Russians grabbed me and persuaded me to help them. They hurt me and threatened to do a lot worse. Finally they offer to move me away afterward. That was the thing which made the difference. So here I am with only minor injuries." "Believe it or not knowing that you are flexible is a positive. So here is the deal, I need someone to run errands for me. Those errands might be going to search an apartment without the owner's permission, or it might be delivering a package without opening it. Mostly I need someone whose morals are flexible," I said. "Aren't you worried that I will betray you?" she asked. "I am counting on you holding out till you get a better offer. It will have to be as good an offer as the one the Russians gave you. You have to know that if you betray me, and I live, I will hunt you down. Everything you know or have heard about me should tell you that." "Yes, I do understand that. So do I go on the payroll or do you pay me by the job?" she asked. "I think that is up to you. Do you want regular hours or do you want freedom?" I put it to her straight. "I need a regular income to be honest Maxine," she stated. "Okay how much do you need and how much time can you give me and what hours?" I was going to have to devise something for her to do. "Can I think about it overnight?" she asked. "Good, I will do the same." I handed her a card with my super duper smart phone number. Actually the super duper smart phone had more than one number. Sylvia got around town on a moped. I honestly thought it made perfect sense for her. It kept her expenses down and allowed her to still have reasonable mobility. Now and then I would need to supply her with a car for my work. It seemed time for me to set up that company as Jennifer had been after me to do. I could buy a car in the company name and maybe even move the woody into the company name. I would have a lot of things to consider but those kinds of things kept me from being bored. What the hell do you think you are doing? the farm boys asked silently, as I rode the bike home. I'm managing my life just as you hoped I would, I replied. You should be consulting with us on this kind of thing, the controller informed me. Bullshit, if you didn't want me to do this kind of thing, you would have just improved the Eve model. Every Eve in the field takes someone operating her 24hours a day, plus oversight and planning people. You must be running six to ten people continuously to keep one Eve in the field, I said. You are not that much better, the controller informed me. I would be if you trusted me and backed the fuck off. I do not need a controller sitting there 24/7 and you know it. I can operate just as I did before that fuckhole shot me in the back. You know as well as I do, that the plan is to one day have a case officer with a smarter than smart phone in his pocket. He will contact me, when there is something you want done. I will contact him, when I need something from you. Otherwise I am an on the shelf weapons system just sitting in some rinky dinky little town, trying to stay out of trouble and do some good, while I wait to go kill someone for you, I said it then had my silent laugh at his or her expense. So what do you plan to do with a company of your own. We will have to approve it of course, the voice said. You want to approve every fucking house I buy and renovate? I asked. We want to approve every operation which might bring you to the attention of the authorities, any authority at all. We certainly expect you to get into a reasonable amount of fringe work, but do not take anything that might bring you to our attention in a negative way. We can exert more control, if we choose to do so, the voice said. The voice made it sound like they had been expecting this kind of thing from me or something like it. I'm just trying to get the program to where we both want it. You know, that I already go for days without any input from you guys. I don't need a controller hovering over me. I know you have auto control systems. Even now some things trigger the controllers attention other things just go directly into the never ending file system. I might not be a genius like you guys, but I'm not an idiot. So call your friend and set up your company. Just be careful who your clients are and what you get yourself into. I waited until I got home before I called Jennifer. "Jen," I said once I got past the receptionist du jour,. "I'm finally ready to set up that management company you have been bugging me about. Kate is history, I want to set up something with one of my expats as manager," "I have the papers ready and have had for months. I have been expecting to find the body of the chubby Realtor stuffed in the fireplace of one of those units you are working on." "I'm not working on anything at the moment," I said. "Probably why you simply fired her. So whats the deal on the expat?" Jen asked. "I don't know yet, She will probably be calling you with all kinds of questions. I'm not sure how much she knows." "I'll get her a list of your people. No sense her calling me, if she needs banking information, you do have a banker. The same is true of tax and bookkeeping services. Actually she can probably just plug into your system and run with it." Jen suggested. "Well, that would be nice," I admitted, since I had no idea how much business smarts, if any, Sylvia had. One of the better things Sylvia had going for her was that she was almost gorgeous. She had also proven that she would use it. That might not come in handy working with real estate, but I was sure that it would with my more suspect endeavors. I spent the next few hours plugged into my computer and wall outlet. While I topped off the charge, I ran through old TV shows and every new TV news show I could find. Information was a powerful thing. Of course so was TV disinformation disguised as news. The real deal, so to speak, was need to know. No one though I needed to know, so I watched a lot of TV news while sifting through the shit. Mixed in with all those hard news stories were a lot of human interest stuff as well. One of the themes that kept coming up over and over was that people, who work together, should not screw each other. I decided that even though it was tempting, and neither Sylvia nor I were highly moral, I would stay the fuck away from her. It would not be easy, since she was almost gorgeous, and she was sexy as hell in her classy reserved European lady way. She could work her way into a 'person of interest's' confidence and if not that his bed at least. She could sure as hell keep him busy, while I broke into his house. or slipped up behind him and sent him to his maker. My god what evil thoughts I suddenly had. Most likely she would be answering phones for as long as she knew me. I still didn't know what she wanted to do and yet in my mind, I was already making her an accomplice to murder. I had to laugh inwardly. I was pretty sure the farm boys would be chewing their nails. When 9PM came around, I decided that I wanted to go out. I wanted some human contact, even if I didn't have a strictly defined spot along the scale of human/bot. I mean the scale ran all the way from the roomba5000, to the planned cyborgs. I was somewhere at the end of that scale. I was probably the end of the branch that went mechanical body and brain. After me they would need human bodies with computer brains, or robotic bodies with human brains to get any kind of improvement over my class bot. I was a robot who could operated almost entirely on her own. It was ideal, if the handlers could figure out the best way for us to work together. In the meantime I needed some human contact of a personal nature. Since I had not been there in a while, I decided to see what the Cop Out had to offer. I almost called Sylvia to see if she wanted to go along, but decided that it would be wrong on so many levels. Carrying a hooker to a cop club was asking for trouble. I mean she was no drug whore, but still it could get messy and I would have to chose sides. It just seemed like the wrong time to stir that pot. So that's why I walked into the Cop Out alone on a weeknight. Blevins wasn't at his usual table. My guess was that he was either at the Cloak and Dagger, or trying to replace his ex-wife. It could well be either one. "What in the hell brings you here," the not quite middle aged man asked. "Jerry, " I said as I hugged him. "I haven't seen you in ages." "You moved on since you won that Emmy," he said laughing. "I didn't win it, the show did. I also don't see any of those people any more. Hell you probably saw Gwen since I seen any of them," I said. "Not seen her, but we do talk on the phone now and then. What brings you to the Cop Out, you looking to get laid?" he asked. "Jerry, you know I'm always looking to get laid." I smile as I said it. "Yeah, I do know you. You could get laid a lot more if you weren't so damn picky," he suggested. "You always come in with a shopping list and I'm not on it very often." "And you could get laid a lot more, if you had a little romance in your soul," I commented. "You wanna grab one of these others and do a threesome," he asked. "You let me screw two of you once, and I never hear the end of it," I replied. "Actually Maxine I know a female cop who said, if you ever wanted to do that again, she would be up for it," he said with a smile. "So now you want to use me as bait, so that you can get in the panties of a female cop. Nice Jerry," I said dripping sarcasm. "Yeah disgusting ain't I. So should I call her or what?" he said. I guess I didn't look convinced because he added. "She is black and cute as hell." "Fuck, you might as well call her," I said. ------- Chapter 304 "So Teneesha, I'm Maxine Stone. Jerry here tells me you are game for most anything?" I asked. "I ain't eatin' no pussy," she said defiantly. She said it in a harsh whisper, since we were sitting at a table in the Cop Out Club. "Tell me why you would even say that?" I asked. "Everybody knows you a stone lezbian," she said in a condescending voice. "I see, so if that bothers you, why did you come down here?" I asked. "Well, Jerry said I would love having a big TV star between my legs. He said I wouldn't have to eat you to have you eat me," she said. I looked at Jerry, when I replied, "Jerry probably should have asked me about that. See sweetie, I probably would have done it for you and not even asked you to return the favor. Since you have already told me there is nothing in it for me, now I'm not interested." "What you mean you ain't interested. I got dressed and came back out after I was home just for this," she said. "Then I sure hope you and Jerry have fun, cause I will not be part of the night's games. I do wish you luck though." I said. "Hey bitch, I'm a cop I will fuck you up," she said to me. I smiled before I said, "You should know Teneesha, I record all conversations with people I just met. I know internal affairs is going to love this one. So you bring your version of what happened, Jerry will bring his version, and I will bring in the digital recording. We can all dance around a lawsuit, you badge heavy bitch." I turned my attention to Jerry. "Unless you want to lose your job and everything thing you own, you best tell this cunt what Jen will do to you two, if she so much as says good morning to me after tonight." "I will take care of it Maxine and I'm sorry," he said. "Yeah, I can tell. You need to stop thinking with your cock head Jerry," I said. I went home and replayed the whole thing in my head over and over. No matter how it played out, I came out on top. I went into stand bye for the rest of the night. I sat in the second story window looking out all night. After 2AM almost no one drove through the downtown. It was like a ghost town, but I loved every second of it. Since everything was quiet, I worked out my plan for Sylvia. Unless she had a plan of her own, I figured she could be my very special assistant. She could scout out property locally, as well as help me with the dating thing I had to do for the farm boys. With a little luck, she wouldn't have to do too much more. But the really big advantage she brought to the table was that she could fly commercially. If something needed to be done, and flying was necessary, she could handle that for me and Eve. Without a Sylvia type around, I would always be scrambling. With a little luck, she could be turned into our tame human. With her I could get a little more independence from the farm. I waited as patiently as I could for her to call the next day. The call from her came while I was at Helen's Sit Down. I was having coffee and a bun. The coffee was what I really wanted, the Bun was just cover. "Hello there," I said when I saw her name on the screen of my phone. Yes the super smart phone could do caller ID on anyone. I doubted that she was trying to hide her ID, but she might be. It wouldn't have mattered. "Maxine, it's me Sylvia," she said. "Well good morning, have you finished your thinking?" I asked. "Yes, and I also spoke with Vlad and Anya, I hope you don't mind," she said. "I don't mind at all and I appreciate you telling me right up front that you have. Honesty is the very best thing as far as I'm concerned." Of course I can't be honest with you, I thought. "Good, we need to sit down and do the long talk thing before I start. Vlad said it would be for the best." "He is right," I said in agreement. "And please be perfectly candid." "Good, I promise I will, and I hope you will be as well," she admitted. "I'll do my best, if you do your best. I can't ask any more than that," I replied. "So I have a morning class today, but I am free in the afternoon," she said. "Then why don't you come by my Downtown House, it isn't hard to find." I suggested. "Oh of course, and I already know where you live. I can be there at 2PM. Is that convenient?" she asked. "That will be just fine," I said in agreement. After the call I went about my morning routine. Routine is not a good thing in my line of work, but it was necessary so that I didn't appear to be in my other line of work. In other words for the community in general, I wanted to appear a real estate developer. I had moved away from a shady legal operative, to a respectable developer and I liked the change. I bumped into Tiny Dancer at the mall. Anytime I went there between 10AM and noon she was most likely cruising around it seemed. I saw only the one bike, so I knew she was alone. "Good morning Maxine," she said cheerfully. As a matter of fact it was said in a disgustingly cheerful voice. "Good morning Dancer," I replied in a much less cheerful voice. I didn't want to act cheerful for some reason. Something in my memory told me it wasn't the kind of morning to be play Mary Sunshine. "The word around the Drugstore is that you are going to be starting up a real business." she said it as she set the pace around the mall's inside perimeter. "I don't know about that, but Jennifer is filing the papers to make me some kind of corporation, I certainly hope that it is an uncomplicated one. It probably has some kind of number." I said. "Yeah back to one of those,. they given you a number and taken way your name things?" she asked. "I was never one of those," I said and meant it. I got into the whole spy thing through the back door. "Anyway Leon says the girl you are going to take in has no affiliation with any intelligence organizations. He wanted you to know that. We all kind of took a look at her over the last two days," Dancer said. "Why the hell would you do that?" I knew for one thing, they had no idea I was so very changed. Nor did they know that I was so deeply in with the CIA. "We have contacts you don't have, so we took a look at her background. Leon tells me she is the real deal, just a kid who got caught up in the hot part of the war on terror. We don't want you to get in over your head," she said. "Well tell Leon I said thanks. I really do appreciate the concern." She didn't need to know that I had Sylvia researched by the company before I ever approached her. She showed up right on time at my place. I put a cup of coffee in her hand before I began asking questions. "So Sylvia, lets get the nasty part out of the way first. What kind of money do you need to work for me?" "Well Maxine, to live without having to turn tricks, I would need about $300 a week." She smiled at me. "That should do very nicely considering your real expenses are about half that," I said. "My fixed expenses are about half that true. I have school expenses and other expenses." she said. "Tell me that those are not drug or alcohol expenses," I said looking at her eyes when she spoke. I wasn't looking just for the dancing eyes of a nervous human, but also the dead eyes of someone trying to hide their dancing eyes. She came off as truthful. If she was lying to me, she was doing a good job of it. "I'm not a drug user or a drunk. I smoke a joint now and then and I have a drink now and then," she said. "Do you smoke dope more than three times a week?" I asked. She simply said, "No.' Do you have more than two drinks a night, more than three times a week?" I asked. "About that but no more," she replied. "Okay, I am going to put you on the payroll of a new business I am starting, but here is the deal. You can go off the payroll just as easily as you went on. If you get caught smoking dope, even once with a roach in your car, you are gone. If you ever come to work smelling of alcohol or suffering a debilitating hangover you are gone. I don't do these things and my partner isn't going to do them either. You will be my partner in every sense except you have no ownership in the company." I said. "Will I ever?" she asked. "Ask Lucas," I replied. Everyone knew the story of me and Lucas. And everyone in town knew who I meant when I said Lucas. No other name was necessary. "I guess I need to stop turning tricks?" she asked. "Not before your first payday. You don't have to stop screwing, you just have to stop taking money for it," I said. "Hell, it won't be near as much fun that way, but I guess I will learn." she said. "I do like the way you think," I said. "So what will my responsibilities be?" she asked. "Your very first responsibility is to never, ever talk about what we do. I mean that Sylvia. One time you talk about what we do, and you are history. Jen will have some papers for you to sign. They will make you liable for any damage you cause like that. You might as well know going in how sensitive this all is." "Real Estate development is sensitive?" she ask with an innocent look. "If you talked to Vlad, Anya, Leon, and Tiny Dancer, and still believe real estate is all I do, then honey you need to leave now and consider yourself lucky to be getting away." "Alright, as the kids at school say, I totally get it. I don't need to know all the details, I get it anyway." She actually did look as though she understood. "Now, I need to know honestly what you know and how I can use you most effectively," I suggested. "I come from a small town in the Ukraine, I don't have any gun skills or business skills. I am really a peasant girl for sure. I am learning much at the school Vlad arranged, but it is very hard. It is much easier to lay with men for money, but I know that will end one day." "Oh yes, regardless of your status with me, it would end one day. Life seldom ends well for those women." "Yes I know. I have been approached about dancing in a club, but those women are all soon on drugs. I prefer to keep my future hopeful not dismal." "Good for you, If you are coming aboard, you need to tell me when you can work. I need to make appointments for you to learn what I do here in Aster." "Plan on me working after noon everyday. I have one class in the afternoons but I can drop it," she said. "The semester is new. Maybe you can move it to a different time. If not we can work it out so that you make the class enough times to pass it. What class is it anyway." "Modern Business Ethics," she said. "That's important, so yeah we can be sure you get to class. It is your responsibility to remind me that you have a class." "I think I can make a deal with the professor," she said. "One that doesn't require you to spread your legs I hope. I'll get you started on Monday with meetings with my money people and other vendors." That's how we left it. I expected her to have a marathon of commercial sexual activity, before she reported for her first day at work. ------- Chapter 305 A mid twenties, almost beautiful woman in jeans, standing beside a little over forty year old woman, with a body that was constructed over a skinny ass frame, made for a depressing comparison. At least if you were the forty year old man made bitch. I swore that I would not hold against Sylvia the fact that she was prettier then me. Hell, almost everyone was prettier than me. "So Sylvia, how was your meeting with Jennifer?" I asked. "I have a pad full of notes. Most of them cover what I am supposed to do, if you disappear for days at a time," she said almost seriously. "Oh now that is interesting, what do you do?" I asked. "If it is the first day, I am to clean the office and go to a movie. Make only decisions that must be made to prevent a nuclear war." she said. "That is an exaggeration I hope?" I commented. "Yes, but not by much, each additional day you are gone I have additional things to do and people to notify," she said. "I see. Well forget all that. You will know, if I plan to go anywhere. If I haven't told you before hand, or left a message, then call Jen." I laughed. "Frankly boss, that was my plan," she said. "Good, the morning's mail is on the end table. Sort out the bills and bring bring them to the dining room table. We can go over them there. I have a feeling we are going to need an office sooner rather than later." "Yes, it seems Jennifer has a cabinet filled with your papers. She wants to send them over, since you are finally in business for real. Those are her words by the way." Sylvia informed me. "Yes according to her I never took my finances seriously enough. She is hoping I will become a slave to the dollar, as she and Bob already are. Who knows maybe I will." "Well the first step is to start going over the bills," Sylvia said. It took us one minute to sort them. Almost all my bills went to the accountant. He could easily be robbing me blind. Jennifer felt sure that he wasn't, but even she wasn't completely sure. "Sylvia, if I take you to the accountant. Do you think we can work out a system where you and I can judge which the bills he pays, before he pays them. I want you to double check everything for a while. The bills we get and the bank statements of what is being paid. I want to be sure there is a bill for every payment, as well as a payment for all the bills." I said seriously. "I'm sure I can do that," she said. Not sounding quite as confident as I would have liked. "This job isn't going to be as easy as you thought," I suggested with a smile. "If you pay me, I plan to work. What the work is really doesn't matter very much." I smiled my approval. That conversation pretty much set how thing would go for the first few weeks. As things happened, we built a new systems to manage them. I made sure that even Sylvia didn't know all there was to know about my finances. I had never considered them a big deal, but I just didn't like the idea of anyone knowing all there was to know about anything. So Sylvia and I began making the rounds of people she needed to meet. Those meetings and the search for an office site was how we spent the first week. You guessed it, I loved Ed's old office and wanted one just like it. I sent Sylvia out to look everyday after our meetings with vendors and contract people. Her job was to just ride around and document any building for sale that looked about the size of Lucas's office building. While she was at it, she kept a list of all commercial builds that might be of interest in my redevelopment schemes. Of course I introduced Sylvia to Lucas and Julie on our first day out. They were getting to be quite the team. I heard from Helen that they were getting pretty serious. I was waiting for just the right time to give Luke the third degree. It didn't come up during out meeting. Luke and Julie fell in love with Sylvia, before we left there were dinner plans which didn't include me. I approved. Sylvia had been working for me eight days and we were still working on my dining room table. I was serious about moving, but it didn't get really urgent on my list of things to do, until someone tried to break in on me. Like I have said a hundred times, I don't sleep. Since Eve and I were communicating over our own private link, I especially wasn't sleeping that night. When I head the noise at the back door, I switched on the camera in my head. I should say that I moved the image window from the rear to the front of the stack. As I sat on the second floor looking out the front window, there were two men forcing my rear door. I knew that I should do what any good citizen would do, call the cops and try to avoid a confrontation. That was obviously what I should have done, but it wasn't what I did. I quietly went down the stairs, so that I was waiting for them when they entered. They might have worked on the rear door five minutes to get it open. I waited for them inside the hallway for the last two of those minutes. I was just inside the storeroom door so that they wouldn't see me until they were inside. I planned to make if very difficult for them to run away untouched. Sure I could have run them down like a wolf chasing a three legged deer, but I preferred that it look like a run of the mill home invasion gone wrong, not some super hero shit. I was almost ready to open the door for them, when they finally popped the lock. I let the first one get by me so that the second one could get inside the door. Then I moved out behind them and grabbed the trailing burglar. I simply threw him against the wall. When he turned toward me as he bounced off the wall, I broke his jaw with a blow which I had seen Gus, my marine friend, demonstrate at the police academy. I bent my fingers back until they pointed straight up before I hit the intruder on the chin with a straight shot landing the heel of my hand hard onto the point of his chin. I heard bone crunch and then a gurgle as his gums disintegrated filling his mouth with blood. If I had hit his nose he would be dead. I had always been a weapons kind of fighter. I would rather use a stun gun than my hands. Mostly because I had always been too light in the ass for hand to hand combat. I was still too light in the ass, but a cheap shot on an unsuspecting man was a thing of beauty. His friend was really upset and pulled some kind of knife. His biggest problem was that his friend was between us in the narrow hallway. Since he had to futze around with him a second, I had time to get the stun gun into play. I got him as he tried to get around his partner in crime. After he went down, doing a pretty fair imitation of the Saint Vitus dance, I kicked him in the head. After all that, I called the police all upset, and on the verge of tears. I heard one officer saying to another, "These clowns are from Tryon." The second officer said, "No doubt in my mind they were from out of town." "Well more and more idiots around here are on drugs. You never know when one is going to try to prove that he is a bad ass." the first one replied. "With the people who have moved here this last year. Trying to be a bad ass, is a quick ticket to the morgue." "These guys are really lucky, one of the others might have killed them and just disappeared the bodies. At least Stone isn't a killing machine like some of those others," he said. I wanted to laugh. So the next afternoon I said to Sylvia, "We need to get serious about an office. There is nothing valuable here, nor will there be there, but I don't want someone to kill one of us over a few bucks," I said. What I really should have said is that, "I don't want to spend several hours in the police station, because I killed some asshole with a twenty dollar gun." I would not have cared a year ago, but there were too many ways for me to get tripped up. I was living free because I could pass. Should the geeks decide that I could no longer pass, I might wind up on the farm between assignments. I would definitely not like that. "So Sylvia spend the whole day looking for places for us to buy. Talk to people anywhere you see a sign on a building about the size of a two bay service station." I said. I know what you want," she said. I haven't found just the right place yet. None of the ones I passed on to you were suitable," she admitted, "I may have to stop looking for perfect and settle for good enough." I admitted. Even over the weekend her thoughts were on the office building. What she found was a small freestanding block building that had been a check cashing business. It had a few windows which were high up and small. It also had well made reinforced concrete block walls. The vault door was gone but there was a large closet that had been used to house their records. If not a vault it was at least a safe room. The front door opened, from the ten car parking lot, into the left side of the building. There was a strong full concrete block wall dividing the space into two large offices. The large vault would have been part of the smaller office farthest from the front door. Obviously that would be my office and Sylvia would use the reception room as an office. It was time for Sylvia and I to have our first real world discussion. "Sylvia honey, you know we don't have anything of value in the office. Well maybe the firearms in the vault might be considered valuable by some idiot, but they aren't of any real value. Nonetheless some idiot might not realize that. Some ass might come in looking for something or other. Now tell me honey, what would you like to do in that case." "I would like to be able to call for help and have someone take care of me, but I know for a fact that doesn't happen in the real world. My second choice would be to give them whatever they want so that they would leave. That might not be the answer either. So I would like to be able to defend myself, so that I don't get taken again." she said quietly. "You know that means you will have to learn to use weapons. Lots of weapons of different kinds," I said. "Vlad told me to expect that," she said. "It was part of that discussion I had with him before I agreed to work for you." "Then let's get the foreman from 'His Laboring Few' in and get this place remodeled to be sure the odds are on our side." I said. Hell I had already decided to buy it at any price. I wasn't for sure that the owner wanted to sell it since there had been no sign. Sylvia had tracked down the owner's representative through neighbors and the tax office. We had borrowed a key from an auto parts store across the parking lot. The guy who looked as though he had been out of rehab no more than a week was the job foreman that Archer sent over. "Delbert is it?" I asked. "Call me Dell, and before you ask, I do know how to do what you want. I was in the construction division in Afghanistan. I know how to build a bunker." he said. "Well I don't want the early American sandbag decor," I said. I was glad to see Sylvia smile. "Look, your outside walls are going to need a fifty cal to bust through. Anything less will give the cops plenty of time to get a swat team in here." "Yeah and the windows are high and small so they won't be shooting through those," I suggested. He smiled and nodded. "So here is my main concern," he said. "Guy walks in and Sylvia is at the desk. He goes for his piece and she does as well. He is going to get the first shot off. just because he knows, he is going to move before she does." "True, he is only going to be up by one round. We need to make that one harmless." I said. "Figuring a 40mm we can just build a barricade in front of her desk. He goes for a piece she ducks and goes for one as well. He fires and there is nothing but reinforced concrete blocks and granite between him and Sylvia." I was going with it, "Right, but she shoot under the open desk. He doesn't realize that there is a long wide gun port under the desk. Pretty little Sylvia becomes a gun thug and gut shoots the asshole." I added. "God I love it," he said. ------- Chapter 306 "Hi Maxine, I did some checking on line at school today between classes. Why don't you stop by the tax office this morning and have a talk with your friends down there. I bet there is some leverage somewhere we can use to persuade the A1 people to sell that building." Sylvia suggested. The building's address was 210 Park Place which would have been more impressive had we been playing Monopoly. Unfortunately in our town Park Place was right in the middle of the downtown blighted area. The real problem for me was that the courthouse had a metal detector on the entrance door. I was reasonably sure that the creator had some trick up his sleeve, but since I could not fly commercial maybe not. "Tell you what Sylvia, let me make some calls and I'll get back with you." Even I knew that in spite of what I said about a steel frame, most of my body frame was made from non magnetic polymer parts. A fancy way of saying I was made of plastic, just like the frame of a Glock pistol. But of course not even a silicon based unit like me, as the geeks referred to us, can avoid all metal. Okay, get me a geek on the line, I messaged to the controller. When I had a geek, I sent the following message. How do I beat the magnetometer? You might want to go back to the basic introduction lecture to your body. You know the lecture you didn't have time for while you were at the facility, the message in my head said. Come on guy, you know I'm not worth a shit at school. Not only that, I was busy trying to figure out how I was going to get fucked in this new body. It probably didn't record. I knew when I said it, that they would either laugh or be pissed beyond words. You can not joke your way out of this. Are you sitting down somewhere? The geek du jour asked. Yes of course, I replied. I am going to send you the information on the evasion features of the roomba 9000 as we have begun to call you around here, so listen up bitch. I couldn't tell if the geek was joking, or if one of the controllers had come on line. Please do, I need to go into the courthouse tomorrow, I messaged. These will work on everything except TSA scanners and CIA headquarters type security. I am sending you a list of places that have those as well. There are no more than a dozen in the country outside of airports. Suddenly the information just appeared in my mind. It had been buried in my circuits I am sure. but if I searched forever I might have never found it. There was a huge amount of shit in my circuits that I never looked at. I didn't even know how to find the help menu for my body. I found the cloaking device would not work on the TSA airport scanners was because they were not just magnetometers, they were also body xray scans. I might get away with a full body hand search, but nobody thought they were a good idea. Sometimes they might be fun, but not if the agent noticed something wrong. Some of those guys were good at their jobs and very serious about security. The way the magnetometer cloaking device worked was not explained. It obviously caused my body to put off some kind of signal that interfered with the magnetometer's detection equipment. I just knew that it reduced the magnetic signature of my body to that of a metal zipper on a pair of jeans. In other words it was absolutely minor. There were only a dozen places where that level would register. Call first, if you plan to visit CIA headquarters or the Pentagon is all I can tell you, was the message which suddenly appeared in my brain. "Well, if I have to go somewhere like that, I will opt for the full body search." I said aloud. When I finally figured out how to activate the cloaking device, I returned Sylvia's call. "You want to ride down to the Tax office with me tomorrow. I decided to see how much distress that property is in. Maybe we can get a better deal." It wasn't the deal. I would have paid the few extra bucks, it was causing suspicion, if I didn't act right. Acting right, was running down every lead just like I would have done the year before. We agreed to meet at my downtown house at noon. then to ride down to the tax office together. Sylvia and I both felt that the pressure was on to make it happen. Dead of winter was not the best time for construction work, so Delbert was anxious to get started. We knew this because he had called one or the other of us three times in the last two days. We had all been waiting not so patiently for the owner of the building to come up with a sales figure. Since the A1 Check Cashing Service and Payday Loan company had gone out of business two months before, the local Realtor had been on hold. Sylvia had just stumbled onto the building, because we were in a real hurry. Sylvia had also heard that it was my habit to wait until a seller was motivated, before I tried to purchase a piece of property. The A1 people had been out of town only a couple of months, so they might not realize how bad the outlook for a quick sale really was. She knew that it was likely they were not properly motivated. However if they were in financial trouble, I might be able to motivate them. When we arrived at the metal detector I wasn't too concerned. Even if I failed to pass it, I had enough scars on my body to convince the security guards that it was metal pins and hinges. I didn't want to strip off, but I could certainly do it without any big loss of dignity. I wasn't all that dignified in the first place. What I found interesting was that I had required a learning curve to know about the cloaking device and how to use it. I wondered why I didn't just know everything there was to know from day one. That was going to require some explaining. Were computers capable of learning and understanding not just storing facts, I wondered. Of course they were to some extent Watson had proved that on Jeopardy, as had Lucy and Eve before me. They learned things, but I never was sure how much they understood. We found the information to use against A1 not in the tax office, but in the Clerk of Court's office. They had title to the building, but only because their creditors hadn't tried to force a foreclosure. The jumble of claims was a case for Super Shyster. Since Jennifer was in court for the remainder of the day, Sylvia and I went back to my place to discuss other projects. It was after five when she went home. I settled into the second story window of the Downtown House to rest. I was how I saw my downtime. I used the time to gather free electrons from the air. When I was the other me I could never have spent an entire evening looking out the window at almost nothing. I had to keep the time between adventures filled with what I thought of as real things at the time. Since I was the new me, I realized the adventures were the only things I could remember clearly. All the rest of what I had thought was real had turned to just night and fog memories. So living in the moment was bullshit. It was really just living for the big moments. "Jen, I need you to check on a buildings title for me. It is a mess but I really need the building at the best possible deal of course," I said it when I reached her the next morning. "Right, give me the information that you have, and I'll get back with you after my paralegal checks it out." she informed me. "Fair enough," I said. When she got to the Townhouse that afternoon, Sylvia and I spent some of the time discussing my next project. The project was going to be some kind of housing units for sure. I just didn't know what kind or where and when I would begin it. Sylvia was the one who brought up the low income units again. She explained to me how she had seen some of her classmates living. I couldn't hope to provide housing at a level they could afford, but they still had to live somewhere. I planned to just file the need away in the back of my memory bank, because I couldn't see an easy answer. Eve came into my mind while Sylvia was trying to convince me to take another look at low cost group housing. Maxine, I have an invitation for you to attend a party at The DC Hamilton Hotel. It is actually being arranged by one of those Housewives TV shows. They wanted you, since you are part of that whole Reality TV thing. So when do I have to decide? I can send you an invitation by email and you can respond anytime before Wednesday. The cocktail party is 7PM Friday night. Okay, send me the details and I'll be there. I can spend the weekend, and if you have any places for me to look at, we can do it then. At the very least the country boys will be footing the bill for all this nonsense. We can have a good time for a day. You know I'm not really comfortable at these things. Too much of the old me is still at work. True, but you need to be seen at this kind of crap, so that you get invited to more of these empty headed events. Then guess what? You get to give them or something like them yourself. I haven't gotten the guide which surely they will send. You know telling me what to do, I messaged to Eve. Maxine the most I can tell you is it's supposed to be about blackmail and intimidation. I'm not sure which side you are going to be on. You might be rescuing the wayward politicos, or you might be blackmailing them into giving the CIA more money. Either way, it's going to be interesting I expect. Yeah me too, I messaged in agreement. "So would you consider running a group home for students at the community college?" Sylvia asked breaking my concentration on Eve. "Would I consider it? Hell no, but I know someone who would. We might have to help out some, but that shouldn't be too hard to arrange." I thought that if I was going to blackmail congressmen, there might as well be something in it for me. "So Sylvia, it's time you met Reverend Archer." I said it with a smile. "So when do we I meet the preacher I have heard so much about?" she asked. "Hell sweetie, you are the social secretary set it up," I demanded. I knew that it would take at least one day to make it happen. There would be phone tag and then schedules to arrange. I got the call the next morning before Sylvia came to work. "Maxine, what is it you want to discuss with me this time?" "Frankly Reverend Archer, my new Partner Sylvia wants to talk to you. I'm just helping her arrange it." I admitted. "When you say partner, what exactly do you mean?" he asked. "I mean partner, like Luke was my partner. Sylvia will be helping me put some things together here." I said calmly. "Very good, it's time you got focused. You have been all over the place for the last year or so," he said. I have also been dead a bit of it, I thought. Instead I said, "Well we are trying to refocus on the local area promotions." "Okay, how about Sunday after services down in West End?" he asked. "How about the old mission for old time sake," I suggested. "That would be great. Let's get together and see what kind of Scheme you have in mind." "You should love it, it's all filled with good deeds and profits, I think." I said. "There are no profits in the service of our Lord and Savior," he demanded. "Yes of course," no sense pissing him off before I asked for a favor. ------- Chapter 307 There was one more working day before the weekend. When the weekend finally came I spent almost all of Saturday on the bike riding all over town. I enjoyed taking in the sights and sounds of life in Aster. The sights and sounds prompted memories which were so real they made ache for the old days. At least as much as I could manage to ache with the equipment I had on hand at the time. I stopped at the dog house and relived the memory of Gus for a few minutes. The man behind the counter remembered me as Gus's friend, more than he remembered me as Maxine the stone cold bitch. I appreciated that, since Gus just might have been the real love of my life. Yeah I know there was a complicated daddy thing going on there. I never said there wasn't some things wrong with me. I absolutely was not looking for wrongs to right that day. I was just trying to pleasantly pass the time until my Sun day after church meeting. I should have just kept on pedaling when I saw them, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. The geek just looked too much like one of my doctors from the farm. He also had those dancing eyes that have always melted my heart, Terror is a compelling motivating force for me, even if it is someone else's terror. The younger men who surrounded him didn't seem to want anything more than to bully him. I could have called the cops, who would have done nothing, or I could have pedaled on by and done nothing myself. That's what I should have done, because if one of those kids got hurt, the cops would most likely take too close a look at me. So the idea that I was supposed to have superior reasoning power was bullshit. I'm not sure where I fit onto that scale, but I knew I wasn't going to ride away. I had seen too much of that kind of crap to just let it go. That's when I realized that I was more than the hardwire and software. My memories allowed me to make emotional computations right along side the logical ones. I wondered if the geeks had any idea that might happen. I also wondered how the Eve class bots would handle the same situation. I rode the bike up behind the bullies fast. I swung the tail end around fishtail style. It was what I had seen teenage boys do when they were showing off. When I did it the rear wheel of the bike clipped one of the boys. He didn't go down but he staggered back giving me time to get off the falling bike. I might have gotten a bruise or two, if I hadn't been me. Instead I came off without a mark. "Hey what you doing Puta?" the one who wasn't stumbling around holding his leg asked. "Hey, I'm rescuing my man from some punk assed thug wanna bes," I said. "What you doing talking street you old puta," he asked. "Maybe your momma didn't whip your ass enough nene," I said. "You think because you are old, and a woman I won't fuck you up?" he asked. "I think you probably would, if you thought it would make you look like a real man. So if you think beating women and geeks will make someone think you are more than a nene, give it your best shot." The Geek had slipped away, which was fine with me. I did not need to worry about taking care of him I had to find just the right amount of force to use on the two thugs. When the kid moved toward me quickly, I moved to the side and hit him with a stream of pepper spray. The canister was empty with that one shot. I did have the stun gun ready for the second one who decided quickly that his momma was calling him. "Nene, you need to get somewhere and wash your eyes out. I will be around keeping an eye on you, so don't do this again. Keep your bullshit antics out of my park." I should have just gone away after I sprayed him. I did not need to play Wyatt Earp, or would I be considered Calamity Jane Canary. I had never heard of a 'Calamity Jane' syndrome, so maybe I was breaking even more new ground. I got through the rest of Saturday night and Sunday morning with nothing more than a sarcastic word from a clerk in the Wal-mart store. I didn't even bother to report her. It was moving toward Christmas and I knew her life was miserable enough without me making it worse. "Reverend Archer it is good to see you again," I said as he stepped from his car in the parking lot outside the West End Mission. He had delivered his sermon at the rather well to do church a few blocks away. We were standing in the parking lot where his ministry began. It was also the parking lot where Helen still delivered food for the elderly. The mission provided one hot and hardy meal for seniors every week. Helen had been delivering her leftovers from the catering business for almost two years. She could have used the left overs in her restaurant or her food truck, but it wasn't her way. Me, her, Archer, and a stray dog made the deal two years before. We had all lived up to our parts. The Reverend never had a problem which we couldn't solve with the help of God and a few of my friends. The one man who tried to bring it all down, had fled to Europe where he ran into my friend Vlad. I had really wanted to see to him myself, but it was more important that his evils ways end. "I took the liberty of inviting Helen as well," I said to Archer. "I was hoping Jennifer would be here," He said hugging Helen. "I probably should have invited her, but you know how lawyers are. She would want to be paid. Brownie points in heaven don't mean much to them," I said. "Possibly," Archer said. "So what is the thing that needs to be done." Archer asked once we were seated at a small table in room full of seniors. "It's like this, our economy is in the toilet. A lot of it is because we sent our jobs to Mexico and China. The crap jobs I'm not so sure we are going to ever bring back. Whatever comes back will be because the next generation of kids is prepared for them." "Yes, I to have been thinking along those lines," he agreed. "So there are college loans, and there are savings plans for parents to invest in their kids, but what there isn't, is a plan for the kids of these displaced workers. The community colleges need a big ass face lift. Nobody is going to support a huge amount of money to put them on a par with a university. So what I have been asking myself is how can we, the people, make them work better." "Oh you have and what have you decided." he asked more amused than interested. "I have decided that the Green County Community College needs housing that these kids can afford. They also need work programs so that the kids can eat. If they have the balls to tough it out a year or two, in order to learn a trade, we owe it to them to help them at least survive." "Admirable sentiments, but how do you plan to do it?" Archer asked. "I don't know that's why I'm here talking to you two. Tell me what you need to do, so that we can provide housing for the kids who attend the community college here. We also have to do it at a very, very low cost. I don't want to give them apartments like the ones I converted from your old motel. I'm thinking more private dormitories. Ones that can be controlled to make a decent environment. If you are here to work and get your shit together, we are going to help. If not, we are going to put your punk ass on the street. It is a youth hostel with a purpose in my mind. Then we need jobs for them. Some of them are going to be in a world of shit financially," I said "So what do I do?" Helen asked. "What can you do hon. I know you will do all you can," I said. "Well we could do school cafeteria kind of meals, if we can get a subsidy" Helen paused a moment then added, "Maxine this is going to be a pain in the butt to do, you do realize that don't you." "Yes I know but ask Sylvia if it is worth it. I am just one of the members of her team on this one. If you do it, do it because you believe in the cause, not because I asked you. This is likely to be a thankless crappy endeavor, but I think it needs doing, or we may become a 'has been' country like some of those in Europe." "We can make the model for the government to support in other places," Archer said. "Reverend, you do believe in the hand of government," I said. "Well we can use all the hands we can get for this, since it is a ground up operation." he said. "I'm going to put Sylvia here in charge of this, so if you need anything or have any ideas, she is the one to call. I will be available at anytime time to help out in any way." I said. "Just being who you are will help, I'm sure," Sylvia said. Sylvia rode home with me, since she rode up with me as well. Her scooter was inside my back door. We had turned my rear entrance hallway into a parking space for her. She sat with a glass of wine looking out my window as we waited for the sun to go down. It sat early in the winter, but not as early as when we finished our meeting. "Would you like to take my woody to run errands?" I asked. "I know it's got to be hard to get groceries on a scooter." "Actually I find I can do almost anything with that scooter which I could do with a small car. It's not a substitute for a lorry truck mind you, but a small car yeah it can do almost as much." "Ah okay, well anytime you want, you are welcome to run errands with it." I said it with a smile. "Truthfully I have seen pictures of you on a bicycle with a motor. That's what I would really like next." she said. "Well you met the man this afternoon who owns the shop which builds them. I'm sure he would be happy to set you up with one." I suggested. "Maybe by the time the scooter goes, I will be able to afford one," she said with a smile. "I'm sure you will." I let it rest a bit then asked, "How do you see this private dormitory thing working?" "I would guess that there are a hundred kids who would be able to use such a thing." she said. "Able to use it yes, but would they. It would be even more restrictive than some of their home lives are now." "I suppose that is true. I know at my age bed check would be difficult. Especially if I was still turning tricks." she laughed at the thought. I loved that she wasn't taking that part of her life too seriously. "Oh look, you are on the news," she said. "Now what the fuck have I done?" I asked. Sylvia had seen one of those teaser things that end, story after this word from our sponsor. We stayed through the commercial for a furniture store's upcoming Christmas special just to see what kind of shit I had gotten myself into. "In a city park, in our bedroom community of Aster yesterday afternoon, a businessman was accosted by two young latino men. They demanded his money and then his car keys. During the robbery this woman came riding to the rescue on a bicycle." A TV promo picture of me flashed onto the screen. "The woman is Maxine Stone, a well known citizen of Aster. She has been active in the community since she retired here from the United States Air Force. Retired Sergeant Stone is no stranger to violence. She has been in and out of dangerous situations for several years. She is also the star of the reality TV Series Hard as Stone. It seems that Ms. Stone is just as hard in real life. The situation ended with the bullies running away." She immediately switched to another story. I would rather she have passed over my story all together. "I wonder how the TV got hold of that story in the first place?" I asked no one at all. "I'll bet the victim recognized you and wanted to score some points," Sylvia suggested in her broken English. "If that is the case, I'm sorry that I stopped." I looked at the window vacantly then said, "No good deed goes unpunished." ------- Chapter 308 Men, especially young men do not like to be embarrassed. They will sometimes run headlong to their deaths, just to save their stupid pride. For that reason, if no other, I was careful after the newscast. I checked the parking lot cameras carefully before I allowed Sylvia to leave. If my bike rack had been stronger, I would have insisted that I drive her and the scooter home. Even before she left the house that night, I had Sylvia respond to the Housewives invitation. I agreed to the cocktail party even though it would do nothing for me personally. It was strictly business and that was depressing since it was not the kind of business I wanted to be involved with. I did realize that I owed the creators. Since I was brought up believing I should pay my debts, I accepted the sour with the sweet and signed onto the project. After she finished that, I gave her a quick lesson in how to use a stun gun and gave her mine. I explained that it was only good for one man, one time before it needed to be recharged. I also explained, "If you were still there when he comes out of it, he will most likely kick your ass. My suggestion is to do it, then call the cops, or run like hell and then call the cops." After I saw her safely off with a promise to call when she arrived home, I sent a message to the controller ... How would you feel about me taking Sylvia along to the housewife's party. I can control her and she will cleanup really nice. I knew that they could see everything I saw At least for sure when I didn't try to cloak it somehow. They were not dummies, they knew who was who without captions. Let us check it out with the case officer, was the replay. It was pretty much the reply I expected, since I was learning that the controllers had no real authority. In the very old days, they would have been telephone operators or alarm monitors. I got the call from Sylvia twenty minutes after she left me. "I'm home mum," she said with a laugh. "Now that is kinky. Not only because you called me mom but because you did it with a British accent. We could probably get a series on showtime." I said it with a smile she could probably hear, if not see. "Now lock your doors and I will see you around noon." During the next morning I didn't even answer the smart phone at all. Instead, between breakfast at Helen's and my trip to the mall, I drove to Wal-Mart. I bought a throwaway phone. I figured that if I was going to pay a secretary, she could deal with all but my most personal calls. As I was headed back to the Downtown house, after my mall walk, I made a detour by the park. As I rode the bike through slowly, I noticed a couple of Hispanic women with their children. I would never have done it before, but that morning I rode the bike to where they sat on the bench and said, "Good morning ladies, are you about ready for Christmas?" They had no idea who I was and were understandably shy. Still they smiled when I smiled. I rode away thinking it had been a pleasant morning all in all. I had an hour before Sylvia arrived or I probably would not have spoken to the geek from the park at all. He just showed up at my back door. "What the hell do you want," I said into the intercom. "I just wanted to say thank you," he replied without a lot of emotion in his voice. "You are welcome, but I wish you hadn't gone to the TV people. You are just going to make it worse for us both." I said. "How is that going to make it worse," he said. "Before you did that, they could lie about what happened, now everyone is going to know they got their ass kicked by an old lady. They are going to be looking for some payback. Kids are like that." "I wasn't," he said. "Okay, it's for sure that bullies are like that," I corrected myself. "When you are a tomboy you get shit like that all the time from the boys and the girls." "Hell come on in they may be watching the place. If you could find me. they can as well." I pushed the electric latch so that he could enter. Once he was inside I took a good look at him. He was just too damn clean for my taste. The men I usually hung out with were guys who worked on cars, or tossed other guys off buildings for a living. From mobsters, to anti terrorists, I had screwed or been screwed by them all. However, geeks I could count on an amputees fingers. But I had to admit that my geek was cute in a nerdy way. He had the pallor of either a vampire, or someone who spent their days playing video games. Either way he wasn't my type, but since I didn't know Sylvia's type yet, I decided to let him hang around until she arrived. "So are you a vampire, or do you stay locked in a dark room with a computer?" I asked. I could see his curious look. "You have no color at all. You are as pale as a ghost." "I see, yes I do spend almost all my time indoors. I am sort of a computer consultant." he said. "Ah super geek," I suggested. "Something very much like that. I created a computer game that is featured on Amazon.com." he said simply. "Really what kind of game is it?" I asked. "It's a real time simulation of the battle of Gettysburg. The player can play against other players in his living room or online. It isn't a reenactment the player can change the outcome, if he can outwit his advisory. His decisions can only be made based on information that would have been available to the generals at the time." "I would rather have been a line soldier than a general," I said. "You could be Stonewall Jackson, or one of the Union Officers. You don't have to be the overall commander. Everyone playing has to work together. The program makes the decisions for the officers not taken by a player. It is never the same twice. "Okay, so what's your name. You never did tell me?" I asked "My name is Peter Gordon," he said. "Well Pete, I have a friend coming in a minute who is much closer to your age." I said. And she is alive, I thought. Actually I was afraid Peter would figure out what I was. I planned to cut him a wide trail. Thankfully Sylvia showed up. "Sylvia this is Peter Gordon. He is the young man I met in the park on Saturday. Peter, Sylvia is my business partner. You will most likely get her if you call me." I waited while they exchanged a few words. I wanted to give them time to see if there was any chemistry. I couldn't tell, so after five minutes I said, "Peter I don't mean to rush you off, but we have things to do." I did mean to rush him off and he knew it. Sylvia and I spend several minutes discussing Peter Gordon. I filled her in on all I knew about him. She gave me her impressions. I wasn't all that surprised to find that she thought he was cute. European men tended to have that washed out look, I had noticed. Not that it was a bad thing, I guess. I think most women associated that look with class, and money. That could be a deadly combination when dealing with men. "Okay Sylvia enough man talk, there should be a message or two on the phone, since I didn't answer it since you left last night." I grinned when I said it. 'Shit Maxine there are twenty one messages," she said. "Well let's get started," I suggested as I poured myself coffee. Most of the calls were just garbage, but a few required a response. Archer wanted me to look at a building to use for a youth hostel. "He isn't wasting any time is he?" I asked Sylvia. "No he certainly isn't. I mentioned your plans to the counselor at school this morning. She is ready to get on board with it, if the administration will commit." Sylvia informed me. "I would love to have the school involved from the start, but if they won't get on board it will just make it harder, not impossible. Lots of time government people want to wait till it's almost a done deal, then they jump in and tell everyone how they did it personally. I invented the internet kind of thing. "Detective Blevins wants you to call him," Sylvia said next. "Ring him up slave and I'll talk to him," I said laughing. "You know I could very easily get used to this 'being taken care of'thing." "Yeah, you obviously have too much money." Sylvia said. "Not that I'm complaining." She nodded that Blevins was on the phone. "What you up to Blevins?" I asked. "I should take your statement about the park incident." he informed me. "There wasn't any incident of which I am aware," I said formally. "I realize you don't feel that it is important enough to let me know when you send an upright citizen to the emergency room for an eye wash, but you should know by now the ER is going to send word over." "Did they give you the poor little things name?" I asked. "Now you know I can't give you that," he said. "Do I have to get Jennifer to remind you that I have the right to face my accuser?" I asked. "Don't bother, he said it was accident." "Doesn't want anyone to know a skinny old lady whooped his ass." I suggested. "Well, I'm going to go along with accident for now, but watch your skinny ass." "Oh, I will." We left it like that. "Call the Realtor for the bank building. I guess we are going to go on a road trip." I said to Sylvia. I had quickly dismissed Blevins warning. Jose would just have to step to the rear of the line. The message just came into my head. Those things were still a bit disconcerting. The message was to expect an email any moment. Be sure that Sylvia sees it, I was advised. "You just got an email inviting you to bring a guest to the Housewives of DC and Atlanta joint cocktail party." Sylvia said. "There is a second part. Also be advised your entry into the Arlington Va Marathon on Saturday has been accepted." She looked up from the computer to say, "I had no idea you were a runner. Let alone a Marathoner," she added. I wanted to say, Neither did I, but I dared not say that. "I dabble," I replied. Pack your running shorts Maxine, the voiceless message said. There is a senator running in that Marathon and somebody has threatened him. He is a friend of the CIA and not a friend of the current president, so we have a bigger interest in his safety than the secret service. Shit that is messed up, I messaged. Why isn't the secret service all over this? Because he is holding the president's feet to the fire over all his footsy playing with Mexican drug dealers. So how good is the intel? I messaged. Plan to kill somebody after the party, how is that? the message in my head said. Okay, then it's a full weekend coming up. That's why we approved the Sylvia chick coming along. She can run interference for you if you have to get down and dirty Saturday at the Marathon. It is just going to be an accident that you are near the senator. Looks like you are calling in your markers on me. This is just the beginning Maxine. You won't be bored I promise. ------- Chapter 309: Seducing a Geek and the Gig So what is the rest of the intel? I asked. Oh you have all the intel you need. We have made it possible for you to run, so do your thing. the voice, that wasn't really a voice said. Bullshit, you are going to get the senator killed, if you don't give me all you have, I said wordlessly. Look you are such a hot shot operative, we are going to give you a shot. Do what you can, with what you have. When it is over, we will all know where we need to go. You might just decide that we do know best after all. Tell no one who you are working for, otherwise do what you have to do. In the hidden part of my mind, I knew that something wasn't right. Sure it was some kind of test, but it just didn't make sense to risk the life of a friend of the agency on an untested nonexistent network. You have five days in which to figure out what to do to best protect the senator. So you better get with it. We will give you any support we can, within our evaluation test perimeters. I was getting fucked and I knew it. I left Sylvia working on the Real Estate projects, while I pulled all the information on the senator that I could from the internet. I got his picture and basic information. I also ran the background information in the public files through a less known set of programs to check him out a little deeper. I had access to those programs since the changes. I got more, but still came up with nothing to give me a hint who wanted him dead. The who could have told me how they would likely try to do it. If he was attacking the drug cartels, then they wanted him dead, no doubt. They where the easy answer. They also were not finesse guys. They would just blow a car along the side of the road as his group of runners passed it. There wasn't a lot I could do about that in five days. That just didn't seem right. I would have expected them to just cut their losses. With the kinds of damage the senator could do versus the amount of shit a hit like that on American soil would bring down on them, it seemed like a stupid move. Those guys where crude and insanely violent at times but I doubted that they were stupid. I couldn't imagine that a scenario like that would be much of a test. It certainly wouldn't give the farm a hint as to what I could do operating alone. Hell, if I were running with the senator, I might not even survive. They sure had a hell of a lot of time and money invested in me. I suppose they could have decided that I was hopeless and expendable. They might not care that it was a stupid risk since they were planning to eliminate my model. I thought doing it on my own with my own people was kinda of a cool idea. I couldn't use any of the retired spies or operatives without putting our arrangements in danger. Technically Slyvia wasn't one of us. She had been forced to be a source, She was not an operative in any real sense. I thought I could get away with that one. Blevins had never been an operative. He was also about to retire. I had a feeling he might like a little something to keep his mind active after he pulled the pin. God knows I knew where to find a star struck computer geek. If it came down to who knew what, where, and when, then I needed my own geek. I wondered how Sylvia would feel about doing the geek, if it came to that. Hell if it came to that, I would screw the geek. I didn't want to put too much on Sylvia all at once, so I just said, "So how do you feel about the cocktail party? Do you want to tag along as my date" "I would love to, as long as I don't have to fuck you," she said smiling. "Now, I'm going to have to rethink it. Oh hell come on, I'll find a curious housewife I'm sure." I said. "Oh I'm sure there will be more than one husband and wife team interested. Those are some sick, bored people," she said. "Sylvia how do you know so much about these clowns. Please don't tell me you are a fan." "TV was a big part of my learning the American speech and customs," she said. "No wonder you are so fucking warped," I said. "Me warped, you are saying that just because I said I wouldn't fuck you," she said. "Of course I am," I said smiling. "So we need to go buy something to wear. Everyone at that party probably saw my Emmy Dress," I didn't tell her that I had the CIA credit card. There was no sense complicating things. "Tomorrow after school would be good," She said. "Tomorrow it is. Now call Peter Gordon and invite him to the Cloak and Dagger tonight," I said. "Why?" She asked. "Because we are about to see how good a computer Geek he is. Also how good a horse trader." I suggested. "Okay but please don't do anything to hurt him. He seems like a nice man," she said. "Boy, he seems like a nice boy," I corrected her. "Vlad and Blevins are nice men." "You are so mean," she said and I wasn't sure if she meant it or not. "Yes I suppose that I am. I am going to work on that, it you help me. Sylvia left for home with a promise to call me once she arrived. I was not ready to forget the boys in the hood just yet. I gave her a couple of hours to rest and prepare herself for the ordeal of entertaining the geek, before I drove over to pick Sylvia up. From her small condo we headed on down to the Cloak and Dagger. I noticed that she was wearing a sweater and skirt for her trip to the Dagger. I imaged that it was because she would be in my Woody, and not riding on the scooter. I wore jeans and a sweatshirt, because it is what I wore almost exclusively when in Aster. Besides, I wan't the one tasked with entertaining the Geek. I didn't tell Sylvia why we were going to recruit him, and she didn't seem to care. When we arrived, the geek had not arrived. We had time to fix drinks for ourselves before he showed. "Put her drinks on my tab," I said laughing. There were no tabs at the Cloak and Dagger, because all the booze belonged to the individual members and all the other things were paid by out dues. The only money that changed hands in the club were the Timmie tips. I was pretty sure that she made good money. I drank my dark brown beer, which wasn't quite bock, but was close. I only drank it because people expected it of me. I really could have been drinking coffee for all the good it did me. The taste was bitter like coffee, which was good since I liked that taste in beverages. "So, do you mind if I hang out here, even if I'm not anyone's guest these days?" she said. "Oh I think for a while you can be my guest, then you might have to either join, or move down to the Cop Out. You know this really isn't your kind of place. All the people here have very shady pasts and yours is much better." "I don't know about that," she said. "Oh, I bet you never ever killed anyone?" I asked. "No, I never did. I bet you have?" she replied. "More than I would care to admit, even to myself." I said. "My only defense, and it isn't much of one, is that at the time I thought they needed killing." "Just to change the subject, how much can I spend on the dress?" she asked. "You can spend as much as me, but you can't look better," I informed her. "If I were you, I would not worry about that. I am a peasant," She said. "You have a gorgeous body, that's why those men were willing to pay for your company," I suggested. "Well thank you, but it was more because I give a great blowjob, I'm told." she said. "Hey, I do as well, or so I'm told. Lets not let some freak talk us into a contest." I laughed at the thought, and Sylvia did as well. "I might have the better body, but my face is pudgy, she said. "But you have much better hair. My hair is like straw but limp. if that is possible." "I don't know, but I have seen you on television and you have great wigs," she said with a laugh. Even though she had not finished even the first drink, she seemed to be in a really good mood. Peter Gordon came in while we were giggling like school girls. It was all about screwing for reasons other than romance. I was telling her about screwing for information. "I am pretty sure that it isn't romance when a guy says, 'I will tell you, when a certain thing will happen, but I want to fuck you first.'" "What do you say," she asked. "I say, sure, as long as I don't have to pretend to enjoy it. They never seem to get it, so they always got it." I broke into laughter. Just then I looked up and saw our geek Peter. I waved him over. Timmie approached to check him out. "Timmie this is my friend Peter Gordon. He will be meeting me here now and then." "Very well Ms. Stone but I got to say he don't look like your type. Way to clean cut for you." She said it, then waited to see what I would answer. "I'm trying to upgrade my image. You know Maxine 2.0," I said with a smile. "Nice of you to invite me. I have been watching all your TV shows and reading all the gossip columns since Saturday. You have a lot of fans Ms Stone." "Thank you," I replied. "By the way I have more than one simulation game. I realized when I got home that I had said you could be Stonewall Jackson. I realized that we were talking about the Gettysburg version of the game. Stonewall Jackson was not at Gettysburg, but he is in an earlier versions of the game. If you wanted to be any of those generals or officers you could be." "Thanks for the clarification, but honestly sweetie, I didn't know the difference," I said with a smile. The cloak and dagger was about 75% full. Even so I knew only a few people. There were a lot of expats living in Aster. I didn't know them all. Even if I knew one member of the family, I for sure didn't know them all. I introduced him to Vlad and Anya. He loved that. He knew them from the TV show. Then I introduced him to Leon and The Dancer since they were in for a glass of wine after dinner. After that I went from table to table with him in tow. I just told the occupants, "This is Peter he is a friend and a computer geek, so be nice to him. I don't want any of you challenging him to a duel or anything." Most of of us had tended to work in small groups. I had continued to socialize with the members of my group, but some of the others had branched out to former enemies. They shared some things in common, even if the experiences were on different sides of the line of scrimmage. After he met everyone I tried to read him. He seemed star struck, but it was more with the experience than any one person. I wasn't quite sure how to capitalize on that. I took a chance, "So Peter what have you been up to since our last meeting?" It was a Hail Mary pass into the end zone, since I was short on time. If he had said, "Nothing at all to be honest, just checking out my game." I would truly have been fucked. "Actually I spent some time trying to fit one of your adventures into a simulation game. Don't tell on me since my lawyers haven't looked it over to see what my copyright status is. You probably don't even know who owns the copyright to those stories." he said. "No I don't, but you can bet your ass Jennifer does," I said. "Exactly, before I delve too deeply into your amazing life, I would need to check all that out," he suggested. Tell me Peter, wouldn't you rather be part of one of the adventures from the beginning? A real 'who is gonna do it and how do we stop them', kind of adventure?" I asked. "Hell yes, I would do anything to follow you around," he said. "Not follow me around Peter, be part of it all. I have a job which Sylvia and I are about to start. One part of that job is a body guard gig. I just don't who is trying to kill my client. Without knowing who, I don't have a clue how they might come at us. How would you like to be sitting dead in the middle of the gig from day one? Day one being today." I said it and looked at his eyes. ------- Chapter 310 "So what do I do first," Peter asked. "First you have a drink with the cool guys, then tomorrow you bring you fanciest laptop to my house. Then we begin work..." He grinned like a baboon. I turned my attention to Sylvia. "Before we go shopping I want you to get with Jen. Find out what bank is holding the note on the A1 building. I am sure it is in default. Let's see if the three of us can't shake something up there. If we are all going to be working, we need an office. After that we can go to Tryon for a party dress." "So now, let's party," I said. "Peter do you play poker?" I asked. "No, but I can learn," he said happily. "Timmie," I said raising my glass. When she arrived I continued, "Post a note on the board. I am going to have a poker game tomorrow night, fabric stakes of course." "What does that mean," Peter asked. "It means strip poker tomorrow night at 8PM. I hope you are a quick study," Sylvia explained to him. "Nothing breaks the ice like seeing everyone naked." I stayed there drinking with them for another hour. During that time Peter bored me to death with details about his game and how he put it together. I recognized that he was pretty damn smart. I hoped he was as smart as he seemed to think. According to him, he was just in town to get a degree from the community college. It was a waste of his time he assured me. "Just need it on the resume," he explained. He could damn sure talk the talk, we were going to find out real fast if he could walk the path of righteousness. If he could do the job tomorrow morning, then he could attend the poker game. If not, he was out of the loop real quick. I had no room for bullshit artist, well other than me of course. "What are you driving?" I asked Peter. "I have a Ford Explorer II," he said. "I have no idea what that is. Is it a minivan?" I asked. "No, it's a small suv," he replied. "So Sylvia, I have had all the party I can stand. If you want to stay, I expect Peter will give you a lift home. Won't you Peter?" I asked. "God, I would love to," he said. "I mean no disrespect, but I think I'm gonna take that ride home with Maxine," she said. I was a little surprised. "I have had a long day as well." "Then Peter it looks like the party is over. I will see you at 9AM sharp at my place," I said. He nodded. In the car Sylvia said, "Maxine I hope taking me home wasn't a problem for you?" "Hell no, I had planned to take you home all along. I just wanted to give you the option." I said. "Frankly I like him, but I'm not ready to commit to anything. As far as paying him for a job well done, he hasn't done anything yet." She smiled to let me know that she understood what might happen someday. "Then give some thought to what kind of dress you want." I suggested. "First thing I'm going to get started on an office for us. I need a fucking desk." she said grinning. "Besides I want to see Delbert again." "Now hold on Delbert is my type," I replied. "I sure as hell hope he isn't the one to be the judge." I said. Sylvia broke into laughter. "Okay, he won't be the one." I almost made it home before they forced me off the road. I can't say that I wasn't expecting to see the teenager again. I can't even say that I was surprised to be forced off the road. I had known that I was being followed, since I left the Cloak and Dagger. They had waited until the witness had been dropped off. I had the .38 hammerless 5 shot revolver and the 2 shot .410 gauge derringer in my lap when I stopped the car rather violently. They cut me off just outside the downtown area. I didn't want any witnesses either so I was happy that it was an industrial area. Ask any cop and he or she will tell you how dangerous it is to approach a car from the front. They had to pull in front of me to cut me off and force me to the curb. I could easily have slumped behind the motor of the car and shot them both very dead through the windshield. Hell it was foolish of me not to do it. Instead I opened the driver's door and crouched behind it. I pointed the .38 at the one I recognized. Two more had gotten out of the car's back seat. There was a total of four of them. I could still have killed all of them before the pretend thugs got to me. What I needed was a permanent end to the confrontation without having to go to jail even for an hour. "Stop where you are or we are going to be in a firefight. You guys know who I am, so you should know I have a lot more experience in a firefight than you. I know you think I can only get one of two of you, but do you really want to be that one?" They stopped and seemed to be thinking it over. "Now the Nene here thinks he has a beef with me, so let him take care of his own shit. What kind of man needs three friends to handle an old woman"" I asked. My real adversary was suddenly livid. I had attacked his manhood again. Even worse this time in front of more of his friends. He didn't realize that he had chosen the time and place, not me. "Shut up Puta," he screamed rushing forward gun extended in that bullshit TV gangsta style. I kept a gaze on his eyes. If he gave me that sudden crazy look people have just before they pull the trigger, I was going to kill him. "You need to get real close if you are going to shoot me gangsta style hon. It is very hard to hit anyone with the gun angled like that." Instead of pulling the trigger when he was far away enough to be safe, he tried to get real close to me. It was about the dumbest thing he could have done. I took two steps back as if retreating. It was so I could close the car door. I figured I could do that safely since the kid was between me and the rest of them. He was in effect my human shield. I remembered my lessons from the Gunny. When in a fight, always do the most unexpected thing, and do it first. So of course, I closed the gap between us before he could decide to shoot me. I pushed the gun to the side, then I gave him a head butt. I'm still not sure what my skull is made of, but I know it makes a hell of a battering ram. I held back so I wouldn't decapitate him. By the time he hit the ground I had his pistol as well as my own. The derringer was back in my jeans pocket. The .38 was in my waist band, and his 9mm Saturday night special was in my hand. "Now please listen up guys, this has to stop before someone gets killed." We were all holding guns on each other. "Most likely one of you will be the first to go. Then I will have to hunt you all down one at a time and kill you. Then, of course, I will have to dispose of the bodies so that you are never found. I have to do it because you have convinced me that you will all seek revenge. So this has to end here before anyone has died. Here is what I propose. Nene here leaves town and doesn't come back. Then you don't have to die for his stupid ass," I suggested. I waited for someone to speak. Finally the one who had driven the car said, "I am finished with you woman. You have my word, I will not be with these fools, if they try this shit again." "I too have had enough," one of the last two said. Then the other one agreed. I turned to the one with the bloody face. This is twice we have met. One I sprayed you and now I have bloodied your pretty face nene. Must I kill you now and make you disappear, or can we end this here and now." "I can not back down, they will think I am a pussy," he said. "That stupid male pride is going to get your ass killed, but so be it." I pointed the 9mm at his head and looked at him as though I were about to pull the trigger on him. Truth is I'm not sure that I wasn't ready to do it. "Wait, I will leave town. I have family in Atlanta, I can go there," he said. "Steal a car if you have to, but leave tonight." I said. They took him and drove away. I sat in the woody. If I had been the old days, I would have been shaking like a girl waiting for her first screw. As it was I just played it back to see what I could have done differently. When I looked at the rear camera the next morning, the woody was gone. It appeared that the punk had indeed stolen a car to leave town. As I had hoped he would, he stole my car. In doing that, we were even in his and his punk friend's eyes. The war could end without anyone dying. Pete was right on time. I gave him coffee and explained what I needed him to research. "So can you do that from a laptop in a hot spot?" I asked. "Some of it for sure, some will need to be on a more secure server," he said. "Good, then let's go to breakfast while you do what you can from the Sit Down," I suggested. While I had breakfast and spoke to cops and firemen, peter worked on his task. I was surprised that he kept his nose to the grindstone between bites of his breakfast sandwich. "God this is good shit," he said. From him the phrase sounded way out of place, but I said nothing. "Now, I'm going to walk at the mall, do you want to come along or do you want to go back to my place to work?" I asked. "I can work in the mall while you walk," he suggested. "Okay, after we walk I am going to have to call the cops," I said. "Why is something wrong?" he asked. "Someone stole my car last night," I admitted. "Shouldn't you report it now?" he asked. "Why? do you think there is a chance that they can find it any faster if I do. Hell they aren't going to find it at all. By this time next week it will be part of other cars all over the country." He looked bewildered. "Chop shop." "Oh okay," he said. The cops came, and then the cops left, blessed be the name of officer Wilson. I had called my insurance agent, and made all the reports to everyone by the time Sylvia got to the office. "Now while you call Jen and get the information to pressure A1, I'm going to go rent us a car," I said. "You don't need to rush on the rental. I can give you two a ride to Tryon to go shopping." Peter said. I can most likely do my research there while I wait. I seem to be finding wifi spots everywhere I go today. They keep changing addresses but there is always a good signal. It must be my lucky day." he said. It was then that I realized that I was the changing wifi server. I hadn't really thought about why I almost always had a signal. I had constant access to the farm and to the internet from almost anyplace I went. Oh well, one more thing for which to be thankful, I supposed. "Well except for the trip to Tryon to shop, I don't have anything planned that I can't do from my bike. Sure why not, it might be fun to have a man's opinion on the dresses." To myself I wondered, where I could find a man whose opinion I would value. On dresses it would not be Peter's opinion, which I valued. ------- Chapter 311 Since I didn't have to go out for a rental car right away, I concentrated on the new office building. Sylvia talked with Jen's paralegal, while I talked to Delbert at the preacher's construction company. "Del, I hope we can get a purchase agreement for the building next week. If we can, when can you get started on the renovations?" I asked. "I have people I can put on it just as soon as you give me the go ahead. It might not be as big a job as some, but you are a regular customer. I have been told that you are priority one," he informed me. "That is nice to hear, even if it doesn't mean much," I said lightly. "Oh, it was a straight up order from Archer, it was not a suggestion," he informed me. "Good," I said and I meant it. When I hung up the phone, I asked Sylvia, "Where do we stand with that bank building tour." "The agent said to just call and she would try to arrange it any time." Sylvia answered. "Well it won't be today. I am not able to cope with any more shit at the moment." I turned my attention to Peter who was working at the far end of the dining table. "Peter how are you doing, have gotten any farther into the Senator than I did?" "Some, I think. Did you know that he was involved in a real estate venture involving a closed Air Force installation in his state." Peter asked. "Why would this be relevant?" I asked. "Because he is being investigated for having arranged for the facility to be donated to his state. Then a shell company bought it from the state, at a sweetheart price. That company bought it for an exclusive gated community development. That shell holding company was set to make millions. Right up until they found that the site had contaminated soil. The company went into bankruptcy and the site is closed off pending federal action for the cleanup. The senator lost a few grand in the shell company, but the other stock holders lost millions I think. I ran them down just on a hunch." "So tell me, which gangsters is he in bed with?" I asked. "Believe it or not it's a bunch of Wall Street brokerage houses. I'm running them now." Peter said. "Have you found anything else?" I asked. "This could be enough, but I will keep looking," Peter said. "I am going to set up the risk analysis programs and plugging all this in just like it was a game scenario. We should have some information just as soon as I finish the background checks. "When you trace the brokerage people to the source of the money, give me a list of the investors. Especially the ones who can't afford to lose the money or the ones most likely to be hurt by an investigation. The Senator is on the White House's shit list, that might just slop over onto the investors." I explained. "I would not be surprised to find people who would prefer he didn't testify. Then I turned to Sylvia. "So are you in a good place to stop. If not get to one, I'm ready to go shopping." "Five minutes, I have a call into the Realtor for the A1 project. I am going to tell her what we know." "What do we know?" I asked. "If we go to the bank after Christmas and make them a cash offer for the building they will foreclose on it damn quick. It will take a couple of months, but we can get it, no problem. If A1 doesn't contest it, which they most likely would, according Jen's guy, if they contest it then it would drag out for a year or more." "Wait, Jen's paralegal is a guy now?" I asked laughing. "Apparently a retired clerk of court," Sylvia said. "I will be damned. I just knew she had daddy issues,. Okay go on." I said. "I thought I would see if A1 wanted to make you a good deal, so that they could pay off the note and have few bucks left." Sylvia suggested. "Not too many bucks left over," I suggested. "Exactly my thoughts. They owe 80k and change on the place," Sylvia said. "The bank appraisal is for 110K." "So there is about 20K of real equity in the building. Go ahead and contact the Realtor and let's go shopping. I want to see that bank tomorrow, get with His Laboring Few and see if we can get an estimator to meet us there." "Peter are you ready to go?" I asked. "Two minutes to save this information and I am ready." he said. "I do hope you can handle a couple of half dressed women running around in front of you," I said with a laugh. "It will be a distraction, but I can manage. I think," he replied. Thirty minutes later found us in the second most expensive lady's boutique in Tryon. The most expensive was just a little smaller. According to Jen, who was pissed that she wasn't invited, the most expensive had a smaller selection. Since I was looking for two dresses my best choice was Willard's Millinery." "If you had more time, I would say go back to the lady who made our Emmy Dresses," Jen stated coolly. Peter sat in the dressing area with his laptop while we tried on dresses. Every time I saw Sylvia I was pissed that I didn't get a perfect body during the swap. The problem, I knew, was that to fit into my existing life, I had to look the same as before, and god knew that wasn't even close to perfect. Any other look would defeat the purpose of the swap out. "I decided on a white toga looking thing, which was almost a mini dress. It showed the scars on my legs as well as a hint of my chest and back scars. I continued to look like the bride of Frankenstein, but it seemed to have worked at the Emmies. Sylvia picked a long green dress with a slit all the way up to her waist. She would never be able to wear conventional panties with it. When peter saw it he almost fainted. I could see the swelling in his pants. I was surprised to note that it was not small by any means. Sylvia also noticed. We were in the car on the way back to Aster when Sylvia asked, "Where are you going to hide your weapons in that outfit," she asked. "In a really frumpy coat which gets left at the check in. Inside the party we will just have to hope they have decent security. Right now no one is hunting us. At least no one with the resources to get at us in Washington." I said. "I know you have never killed anyone, but would you like to learn to use a firearm. You don't need to be a marksman or anything. Would you at least like to learn enough to shoot the right people." "Of course, I have been waiting for the chance," she said. "Then when we get back to my place, we will do the classroom part of the course. I will try to find somewhere you can actually shoot the pistol when we get back from the party." "That would be wonderful," she said. She sounded as if she meant it. "How about me?" Peter asked. "Surely you can shoot?" I asked. "Never held a gun in my life," he admitted. "Not even a shotgun?" I asked not believing it for a minute. "My dad was a controller for one of the mills here. I never touched a firearm," he said sadly. "Alright both of you get the course. You will have to get your own permits and buy your own weapons though." I winked at Sylvia. I planned to walk her through it all and even give her a pistol. During the boring drive my mind switched back to the dresses. My dress did not need any altering, so I was able to carry mine out. Sylvia's was made for a taller woman so the hem needed shortening. Sylvia was not statuesque she was just every man's wet dream. She was more Marilyn Monroe than the runway model type. The woman in the store promised to have the dresses completely by the next afternoon. For the kind of money I was paying they should. The two dresses were a few hairs over a thousand dollars. I wondered how the boys on the farm were going to feel about that. The message came into my head instantly. Just the cost of doing business Maxine. Don't worry about spending money that needs to be spent to do our assignments. For the other things, you are on your own. Like the office and the Hostel. I understand, I sent back to the controller. They could still read my thoughts. I wondered if any of them were secure. I made it a vague disconnected rambling thought, not one which I concentrated hard on. The ones I really concentrated on, I knew they could read. "Peter drop me at the airport auto rental place. I am going to need a car for tomorrow," I demanded it as we left Tryon. We had to drive to the airport half way between the towns to get to a rental location. Since my insurance company made the arrangements, the car was waiting for me. It had been on reserve since the day before. What I ended with, was a very ugly tomato red mid size American sedan. I sure as hell hoped that I wouldn't be stuck with that dog long. I agreed for Peter to meet us back at my place. Sylvia rode with me back to Aster. "Peter is sweet, but he is so immature," she said once we were on the road. "Just a typical American male geek." I thought about it and added, "I wonder if female geeks are as emotionally retarded." "Probably," Sylvia added. "So come in when we get back to my place and you can get your classroom part of gun tote'n 101," I said. "Sure, I have no life outside of this," she said smiling. "Would you prefer to go back to turning tricks?" I asked it hoping she wouldn't think I was being sarcastic. "It sounds like I am being bitchy, but I am really curious." "There were some benefits to being a hooker," she said. "But I like this feeling of being in control. Before it was a constant struggle for control of my life," she informed me. It made sense in a way. Basic control begins with potty training, so the most basic control must be control of our own bodies. Maybe that explains anorexia. "Well no matter why, I am glad to have you, so don't be rushing off to marry Peter." I said. "Maxine that isn't likely to happen. He is too young, too immature, and mostly just too damn clean," she laughed when she finished. After I made a big deal of checking them, I handed each of them a pistol. One was a .38 colt one inch barrel hide away revolver. unlike mine it had a hammer. The other was a 9mm Berretta automatic pistol. "I love my revolvers," I explained. "They are easy to load and damn near failsafe. You pull the trigger and they go bang. They are not nearly as sexy looking, but they will get the job done every time. More is not always better." "The automatic is cooler looking, which does have it's place. It holds more rounds and is a solid dependable weapon, if you keep it clean. I have a pretty good sized gun collection, which I built up over the years. Some I bought, some were unintentional donations. In addition to various pistols I have several rifles and shotguns. Not every weapon has a special purpose. Some just looked cool or had a cool story, so I bought them. Some I picked up at Walmart because I needed a weapon in a hurry. You need to be proficient with just two weapons as far as I'm concerned. Learn to use one of those pistols and a shotgun. If you do that you can defend yourself and me as well. Then we went through safety procedures, cleaning, and they dry fired both pistols and one of the Mossburg pump shotguns. I watched their faces intently. Sylvia was intense and almost studious. Peter on the other hand looked almost orgasmic in his delight at handling the weapons. He worried me a little, but not that much, since I'm sure sometimes I looked that way myself. ------- Chapter 312 Thursday started with me headed off on the bike. I rode my bike to the Sit Down even though I had the ugly red Chevy in the parking space behind my Downtown House. I didn't need exercise, and I wasn't green conscious, I just enjoyed the slower pace of the bike as I carried me through downtown. Pedaling it along was not a problem, not even in the thirty degree temperature. Since Sylvia had arranged a meeting at the bank for me at nine, I ate slowly. Sylvia and Peter Gordon were both in school that morning, so I was on my own until noon. I was looking forward to the quiet and solitude, as I always did. Of course it would be shattered by the meeting in less than an hour. The meeting included the Realtor, and Delbert at least. There could easily be others tagging along with either of them. "Maxine, I come here everyday, and you come here every day, but this is the first time, in almost a year that we are here at the same time." The male voice belonged to Sammy Thomas. Sammy was a patrol sergeant. "You are right Sammy. I have a meeting downtown in a few minutes, so I delayed the start of my day. What are you doing here so late?" "Third shift paperwork," he answered. "I'm surprised that you didn't just run off home," I said. "Wife moved out. Seems she didn't like me anymore." he said. "Yeah, a lot of that shit is going around. I'm sorry to hear it Sammy. I am glad I saw you today though. I need a place to show a new employee how to pull a trigger. You got any ideas." I asked. "Sure there is a private range on Range road," he said. "Damn, I must have Alzheimer's I knew that. Thanks Sammy I had forgotten about it." "How about we have dinner one night?" he asked. "I don't date much Sammy, you know that. If I run into you at the cop out, we can have a drink and dance though," I said smiling. My philosophy was to never piss a cop off unless it was necessary. "Sure," he replied obviously disappointed. It was only a few minutes later, when I headed to the old and vacant First Merchant's Bank. When I drove into the parking lot I guessed that the building had been erected sometime after world war two, but not too long after. The bank had vacated it while I was away, so I had no idea how long it had been standing empty. It did matter, the longer the building had been empty, the longer it had gone without proper maintenance. At least it was all brick and concrete so the termite damage was probably minimal. I noticed that Delbert's ragged old pickup truck was waiting for me. There were three of them inside. "Hey guys," I said as I approached. "Maxine, I brought a little help along." "Good the more experts the better," I suggested. Before they had time to comment a black sedan with magnetic signs on the doors drove into the lot. "I think that is the lady with the key," Delbert said. "When we get inside, you guys spread out. I don't want her following you around. Give it a good look without any distractions," I suggested. The bank was three stories and occupied the corner of a downtown block two intersections west of the main cross roads. The preacher had recommended it because it was big, it was already divided into smaller spaces, and it was well built. If it didn't require too much renovation and if the price was right, the building would probably do for a hostel. Half of the first floor was a large ornate room used as the main bank center. It was still set up as a bank with the teller windows in place. It had a reinforced vault, minus the door of course. There were two vacant elevator shafts standing open and empty, since the cars, doors and even the cables were gone. There were sixteen offices on each of the two upper floors. The flooring on the upper offices was mostly a thick rubber tile from the forties. The hallway floors were hardwood though. Sure the walls needed painting badly, but all in all It was a nice space. At least it appeared that way to my nonexpert eye. I took a shit load of digital photos with my built in camera. I would have to remember not to show them to anyone, since no one would have seen me shoot them. The Realtor had a brochure on line with lots of images, so I was covered as long as no one copied my images. "So Janice tell me, how much does the bank want for this property?" I asked. "1.2 million," she said. I laughed, "I can't believe you said that with a straight face. This downtown is past dying. It is totally dead and awaiting an embalmer. I will get an independent appraisal, if the owner is motivated to sell. If not, I'm not going to waste my time and money on this property." "Maxine, I know you are committed to re-purposing these buildings, so I will advise the bank to look favorably on any reasonable offer," she said. "Janice first of all this building is never going to be a bank, or an office building again and we both know it. If the bank can find a buyer it will be someone who wants the lot to put a one story strip mall on. No one is going to buy it because they have to take the building down. To reuse the complete building is impossible. The things is just too damn big for a dying town. There are no sweat shop manufacturers coming to Aster. I know that, you know that, and the bank should know that. Like I said I will take it under advisement and let you know." "I will impress upon them all the things you have said plus the fact that you will have to renovate it for any use you might make of it. Maybe we can work something out." "To really work something out they should donate the building. See if they would be interested in that, if I could get some kind of non profit corporation thing going." Where that idea came from I had no idea. It might have been mine, but it might have been from the boys on the farm. No matter it was actually a pretty good one. I wasn't sure that I wanted to tie a million bucks up in a Hostel for students. I was outside standing in the cold looking around the exterior when Del came out. "Just to make it stable and safe you have to re-roof it, paint the trim, clean it good, service the boiler, and close off those elevator shafts." "So is there any good news?" I asked. "The bones are in damn good shape. The bank built that thing to last and it has. A new roof and third floor ceiling work and it will be good as new." "The thing looks like it needs a crap load of painting," I said. Is there any air conditioning? "Yes but we can spray all of it, if we do it all at the same time," one of the men with Del suggested. "There is some AC on the first floor nothing upstairs. The good news is that the wiring will hold window units. The place was all split up at some point. "Okay give me a ballpark estimate as soon as you can," I said getting back on the bike. "It's cold as a blond bitch out here, I hope you don't have too far to go on that thing." Del said. "Not far," besides it gets warm after I pedal a few minutes," It was a lie my body stayed at the temperature best for the brains heat profile. I couldn't tell any difference. I wondered if the core temperature had made me feel any different to the one person who had probed me so far. Back at home I rummaged through the box of crap I had picked up during my last trip to the farm. I complained about the charging being so important. I also complained that it would be a disaster, if anyone saw me with a cord running from under one of my scars to the wall. I needed a better way, so they came up with it. I had a very special MP3 player. It played music alright, but it also charged my power module. If anyone saw me, I would just be listening to music during my down time. The charging station moved from under a scar to my ear canals. It was a much better system and I helped dream it up, I was just so damn proud. I wanted the auto adapter for the mp3. I might as well get a charge during my long drive to DC. The Swamp Thing airline wouldn't be taking me which was fine. I needed a car when I got there anyway. The immediate plan was for Pete and I to discuss the threat to the Senator after lunch and try to make a plan for me. Then the next day Sylvia and I would take off for Washington DC. There was nothing for me to do during the drive but charge my power module and talk to Sylvia. Pete showed up first. "Let's not waste any time where are you with the Senator?" I asked. "I have all the information I could find on him and on all the possible threats. I already plugged it into the game simulation program." "So stop with the build up Peter what the fuck is going on?" I asked. "What I got were probabilities first. I looked at the probability that it would be the drug cartels. The probability based on a percentage was this. If the senator is killed during the Marathon the odds of it being the cartel are less than 20%. Do you want to know what the computer said was the reason they were so low?" "Sure we have time go for it," I suggested. "It fits their high profile assassination and even their disregard for collateral damage those are the only positive things about a hit. The negatives were they have never attempted a high level assassination in the United States. They lack the infrastructure to pull it off. The odds of there being massive retaliation that would cripple or destroy all of them is very high." "So you are saying, they ain't stupid," I said. "Exactly, they could hire a lone assassin, but again the retaliation could be disastrous if our government ever found out it was them." Okay, who we got then?" I asked. "We have ten possibilities, all of them are broker types. Odds are less than 10% that one of them would do the hit themselves. But it is 65% that one of them would hire it done during the marathon. The one with the most to lose is." I stopped him before he went on. "I don't care who is paying the bills. My only job is to see that the senator finishes the race alive. So how do you expect them to do it?" I asked. " .22 pistol shot in the back of the head at close range got the highest probability," Pete said. "Disguise it as a mob hit. Well if that is the case, it won't be at the start of the race too risky, The chance of being stopped trying to run away would be large. He will wait until the race has strung out some. Ask your game what the odds are that one of the runners will do the hit," I demanded. He punched keys and made funny noises. While he was doing that Sylvia opened the rear door and pushed her scooter inside. "You stay with this Pete I need to get Sylvia started on something else," I said as I headed to the rear door. "Sylvia call me a commercial property appraiser and get him or her to take a look at the bank. Pass on any information needed to get the appraisal done." "I got it," Pete shouted. "Okay what do you have?" I asked. "Somewhere after mile five someone will join the race from the crowd. That person will catch up to the senator and shoot him in the head point blank then run back into the crowd and disappear." "There are some big flaws, but it does look like some variation of it is the most likely scenario." I agreed. ------- Chapter 313 "So what is wrong with it?" Pete asked. "Don't you think someone standing in a crowd in this weather wearing running shorts is going to be noticed? Or if someone joins the race in long pants and a coat he won't draw attention?" "So someone in a long coat, who dumps it when the runners come along." Pete suggested. "It won't be at a spot where there is a crowd watching." "Good, how does our killer plan to escape? Since this isn't a suicide mission, he does plan to get away." I suggested. "He has clothes stashed, so that after he does the hit, he can dress and blend," Pete replied. "Feed that into your game. While you are at it ask it how the hitter is going to know when the senator is near enough so that he has time to do all this, and still catch up to the runner he wants." It is going to take a while to load the route information along with the other factors the game needs to make a workable scenario with probabilities." Pete said. "Well then you need to get on it," I said. "I really need to be there," he suggested. "No you don't," I said flatly. "You know he is right," Sylvia said. She had been eavesdropping. "Every time he comes up with something, you have more to add to the game. It would be better, if he was right along with us. You start running Saturday morning after a cocktail party. His head will be more clear than either of ours." She had no idea what I was capable of doing, but she was right my brain was like a shotgun. It threw lots of lead at lots of places. Pete's game was like a really good sniper rifle, it could zero in on a specific item of information. It was all in the programing. I was programed for a different purpose. Also my memory was filled with useless shit from my past. At least the guys at the farm felt it was useless. I didn't agree of course. "Alright be back here with all the answers at 8AM tomorrow sharp," I demanded, "Now go get everything that you can imagine into your game." Pete left with a huge grin. "There must not be a lot going on in the Realty business this time of year," Sylvia suggested. "The appraiser said he would have it done by the time we get back from Washington." "You didn't tell him where we were going?" I asked with a slight edge in my voice I'm sure. "Of course not, I just told him you needed at least a verbal report for a meeting on Monday afternoon. Also that we were working on an offer to purchase. I also told him that we were miles apart with pricing." she explained. "Well that all sounds reasonable," I said. "You done good." "Thanks boss. By the way we are going to be gone on Friday. It is the end of my pay week, do you think I could get paid today?" "Okay, let's do some work on that now. Call the accountant and get the figures plugged in so that we pay your taxes and all that." "Okay, what do I tell her to use for a base?" Sylvia asked. "We agreed on $300 a week for your half days and I figure I owe you a couple of hundred for the weekend work you did. How about five hundred for last week. We can work out this week next Friday. "Or, we can just call it $500 and I'll work whenever you need me, if I'm not in school." she suggested. "We can call 5PM my normal ending time if nothing is happening, if it is I will stay till we are done with whatever it is." "I can live with that, but you might be getting the worst of it," I suggested. "You can always give me a bonus, if you feel you should," she suggested. "Let's call the green dress your bonus for this job," I said. "I love that idea. I might never get to wear it again but I'm going to love having it in my closet." She grinned. "I'll get with the accountant and have the tax thing done and then have him set up the money transfer to my account. That's how I came to make the agreement for a regular transfer of funds from my account to hers. We were getting to be more and more like a real business. One with no real mission, but we were searching for one. "Well it's five now I suppose you should be headed home. Get a good night's sleep and pack warm clothes just in case you want to watch the race on Saturday." I handed her a twenty dollar bill. "Stop by the Sit Down on the way in and get breakfast. Get me the bagel with cream cheese bag. I am trying to lose a pound or two. Also get whatever you want and what you think the Geek will like." After she left I spent an hour listening to music with the MP3 player and charging my power module. I was stuck on the music my dad had played in the car when I was a kid. I didn't have many good memories from my childhood, but that was one of them. Aster was a big time mill village, when I was a kid. My dad worked in the machine shop there. He made parts to keep the Looms and other machines working. Probably why I generally fall for men who work with their hands. Of course, I have daddy issues. I switched off that train of thought, when I made the phone call to Blevins. I got him on his cell phone. "Hey Blevins have you gotten married yet?" I asked. "I have been married off and on all my fucking life," he said. "What do you want Maxine?" he asked. "So, when are you going to pull the plug?" I answered his question with one of my own. "Less than a month now, why?" he asked. "What are you going to do after you are free of the wheel?" I asked. No it wasn't a reference to Conan and his grinding wheel. It was a reference to the rotation system used to assign cases to detectives. When the wheel turned to you, the next case was yours. Detectives were said to be slaves to the wheel. Actually I guess that was a lot like Conan and the wheel in the comic book after all. I don't know. I'm thinking long vacation. Maybe do nothing at all." he replied. "So would you be willing to do work for me now and then. Jen keeps my PI license up to date. She could add your name to it. You know you could just come in now and then. Be kind of a consultant." I suggested. "Ask me next month," he said. "But Maxine thanks for asking. I know you don't work with trash. It's a compliment." "Not really, I hang with trash all the time," I said. "I'm not talking about your love life," he said with a laugh. "Very funny, well at least think about doing some helping out around here." I suggested. "I will think about it, but I promise nothing." he said. That's how we left it. I knew that I could find younger, stronger, faster guys than Blevins, but Blevins understood bad people and how they thought. That was something the young strong Army Ranger types didn't have. If you have to go into an urban situation, sometimes being able to make educated guesses is better than being an expert sniper. With everything taken care of for the evening, and my power module full, I began to think of ways to pass the time. The one that came to mind wasn't first on my list, but it was close to the top. I decided that I would go out and entertain myself and some lucky patron of the Cowboy's B&G as well. I had men who work with their hands on my mind and the sound track from the big chill on my MP3 player. It seemed like the perfect beginning of a night out. "Hey Sarah can I get a cup of your terrible coffee?" I asked as I entered the low end bar. "You can indeed if you promise not to kick anybody's ass tonight." she said grinning. "I promise, but you know what a god awful liar I am," I said smiling. "So what you been doing with yourself," she asked. "Just recovering from the ass whoopin' I got six months ago." I replied. "Well you seem to be as good as new. Hell maybe a little better. I think you look younger," she said. Every woman can hone right in on the face lift look. "Well I have to admit. When they were putting me back together, I had a couple of other things done. I had some muscle tissue transplanted to fix that place where I got shot a couple of years ago. I also had a minor face lift, but we don't talk about that." "Of course not, some things are best kept between us girls," she said with a smile. "So what brings you here," the younger man in Levis asked. "Came to have a cup of coffee and dance. The coffee is terrible but the bad music and worse dancers make up for it." "My name is Sam," he said. "And you are Maxine Stone the TV star." "Actually I'm Maxine Stone the Real Estate developer and has been TV personality. I never was a star." "Well to me you were a star, but then I'm just a truck driver," he explained. "It's an honest way to make a living, unless you are driving stolen shit around." I said it with a smile. "Mostly I drive the US Mail. I'm saving up to buy my own rig," he said. "Then if there is a market in shit, I might drive it around." "Good for you," I suggested. "So let's dance," he said. We did dance several times. I had two cups of coffee while I let him feel me up on the dance floor. I had come to love the feel of hands on my butt. Something about the valve's sensor being manipulated from the outside, made the circuit a little hinky, but it was a nice hinky. It actually felt much better than a finger in my ass before the change. I was enjoying all of it including his hard cock pressing against my stomach. I really was turned on in the way I had been back before I was shot. My breathing was shallow and rapid. The room seemed stuffy and my mind drifted. Maybe it was simply a memory response, but I didn't care it felt great. The dancing was so hot other couples just made room for us. "You two really should move that dance too a more private place," Sarah said. "Good idea," Sam admitted. I left Sarah a ten dollar tip, then followed Sam outside. "I live in a trailer a few miles down the road. You want to come watch TV?" he asked leering. "If that's what you call fucking fine," I said giggling like a school girl. That part was faked. Once inside his trailer I slipped into the bathroom to squeeze the tube of jell inside. When I returned to the living room, there was some very unromantic foreplay awaiting me. It was mostly pushing and pulling until I had his cock inside me ... I really didn't mind. When they made my pussy on the farm, they did a hell of a job with the sensors. The memory tie was amazing. Every time I looked up Sam was someone else pounding me. He was rough and called me bitch while he slipping in and out of me. If he called me those things, when I wasn't fucking him, I would have broken his arm. I came several times, no it was not a mere long running multiple orgasm, it was climb up explode then start from zero and do it all again with someone else fucking me. It was like a gang bang for some reason. I loved it of course. Poor Sam fell instantly asleep. I picked up my clothes, then dressed quickly. Hell it was quick and dirty for sure. I was home by 1AM. I was surprised to find that I was very close to going into energy reduced mode. Damn that was really physical, I thought. I lay in bed charging and remembering how his cock felt in me. Hell the memory of it was at least as good as the sex had been. Hell it might have been better. ------- Chapter 314 When I heard the knock at the rear door, I checked the security camera. Standing at my door were both Sylvia and Peter. I could also see his car parked in front of mine in the wide alley. He had obviously driven Sylvia into work. Since they had left work separately yesterday, there had to be a story in that. The time stamp on the computer set their arrival time ad 7:52. At least they were on time. I also noted that Sylvia had a plain brown bag, the kind mothers used to pack their kid's lunch for school. It was also the kind that Helen used in her Sit Down. Since she had only one bag and Helen's Sit Down packed each breakfast in it's own bag, it was obvious they had already eaten. It seemed to be only a slight stretch to assume they ate together. I found that interesting as well. As usual I was amazed at how easy it was to gain information. It just wasn't relevant information. "Good morning Maxine," Sylvia said. "Yes, good morning boss," Peter said. "Good morning children did you sleep well," I forced myself not to smile. "I did," Sylvia said putting an end to the Q &A about where she slept. "Peter, I hope you did as well, since I plan to make you earn your place in our little band of Gypsies." I said to him. "I did Maxine, so what is my chore?" he asked. "That depends, have you finished your simulation?" I asked. "It is up to date, but I am sure you will think of other things to add," he said smiling at me. "Possibly, but for now you can sit in the passenger seat and we will discuss the simulation. If you need to adjust it, you can do so as we drive. If we finish before we arrive in DC you can drive." I would be happy to turn the driving over to him. "Sylvia you can drive some as well." "Maxine I do not have a driver's license." she said. Suddenly the small scooter made even more sense. "Okay, well then you can be the navigator." "I have the trip already laid out in detail," Peter said. "Of course you do honey," I said it taking the brown bag for him. Peter took the dress bag I had used to transport my red dress to the Emmy awards banquet. I also had a small duffel bag with my running togs and underwear slung over my shoulder. "If either of you want coffee now is the time," I suggested as I filled my largest delta cup with half day old coffee. When it was done, we were out the back door in a flash. The large ugly red Chevy was more comfortable than any of the cars I had ever owned. I was pretty sure that it would also be a better ride than Peter's sporty looking econobox. I left the alley at just a little after 8:30 AM. Our ETA was 2PM more or less. The reality network had booked me a mini suite at the Diplomat Lodge just outside Washington. I had no idea what the hell it would be like, nor did I much care. We were on the expressway headed north when I managed to get the bagel bag open. I just wanted them to see me eat, I didn't need the food at all. I chewed on the bagel and the simple taste receptors allowed me to identify it as a bread with a sweet cheese addition. If anyone asked, I would know that it was a sweet cheese on some kind of chewy bread. In my mechanical mind the bagel with cream cheese analysis was easy to locate and classify. In other words I knew what I was eating from the taste not just the name. When I finished it and half my coffee, I turned my attention to Peter and the game. "So what is the most likely scenario?" I asked. "I was very careful not to weight the probabilities, since we had discussed a possible outcome," he began. "Peter, if I didn't trust you, you would not be here. So just tell me the outcome, I most likely wouldn't understand the steps." I knew that I would understand, I just didn't care. It bored me." "The probability of it happening like we said is 66%, which is very high for this kind of thing," he informed me. "Anything over fifty is almost a guarantee." "So now how is he going to know the senator is close?" I asked. "He has to have a second person closer to the start being his spotter. It is interesting information, but significantly irrelevant to your requirements." "How so?" I asked. "You aren't trying to catch the people responsible, just stop this attempt." he said. "Very good, you have your eye on the prize," I said. "So what do you have for me?" "The game identified half a dozen likely sites. The three most likely sites for the hit are a half mile section that runs through a city park. It would give the shooter easy access to the race and an easy escape route. That one has the highest probability," he said. "Yeah I like it, what else?" I asked. "A stretch in front of a couple of hotels. Lots of people coming and going there. Easy to hide in plain sight," he informed me. "Yeah not too many people are going to stop a man with a gun but they would get a good look at him. I can see why this site is not number one." I said. "The third has several blocks of commercial buildings lining the street. If he could get on and off the street there would be lots of places to disappear," Peter said. "So it looks like lots of places are possible. I guess I need to make friends with the senator and run along with him or just behind him." I sipped on my cold coffee and gave it some more thought. I had a pretty good idea of what to look for and some indication where it might happen. Time to start at least narrowing it down some. I made the decision to speak out loud. Peter could plug my thinking into his game wherever possible. "Okay I'm the shooter's team leader. After I have figured out the how next comes the where. I scout the route and find what you have told me just now. So which one am I going to choose?" I asked myself. Peter wanted to answer, "The one with the best chance of success." "True but success to me is not necessarily escape. Success is killing the target. Escape of the shooter is desired but not completely necessary. I want a high probability of his escape, but that isn't my primary consideration." I said thoughtfully. "What is?"Peter asked. "The hit Peter. That is the number one consideration. To do that I have to have the Senator still in the run. With every mile he is more likely to drop out for medical reasons or just being fucking old." I said. "So they want to do the job before he goes too far?" Peter asked. "Wouldn't you? So give me your high probability sites within the first five miles," I demanded. Five minutes later Peter said, "Okay, highest probability within five miles is a short run through a smaller park. The route goes through there to avoid a high traffic intersection. It is a short run though only a quarter of a mile." "Okay, I'll keep that in mind. What else?" "The only other one over 50% is a residential section with small front yards. Historically crowds do not gather there. Some of the residents will come out to watch, but no large crowds." Peter said. "Peter I am impressed with the depth of your research. With the game I am holding my opinion until after tomorrows race." I drank more coffee. "So I need to be the most vigilant at those locations." "Yes and the other reason it chose the park over the residential section was that the racers will be spread out by the time the get to the park, so surveillance will be easier for the co conspirator. "I'm already impressed Peter you don't need to pile it on. One thing we have going for us, is a hit on a running man is going to require the shooter to get right up on him. Especially if they go with a .22. That makes it almost certainly a contact shot." I could tell Peter was questioning it. What?" I asked. "What is a contact shot?" he asked. "Barrel in contact with the target," I said "If me being close to the senator prevents the attempt, that will be fine as well." I looked over and saw that Peter was going to be disappointed if nothing happened. He had taken his eye off the prize. "So Peter, see if you can find a website for this Diplomat Lodge," I suggested. "Oh I doubt I can find a hook up spot out here. Maybe when we get inside a town somewhere we can find a McDonalds," he suggested. "You are right, I have no idea what I was thinking." I could pull up the site myself but I didn't want to do that. I had to keep myself in check. All this new stuff was a constant temptation. 'Why did I do it Officer, I did it because I could.' I laughed inwardly. I was surprised that the controller made no comment. Must be napping, I thought. I saw the McDonalds sign before I reached the exit. I needed coffee more than anything, but we could always use gas. First Peter filled the tank, then we switch drivers so that he was the one who drove into the fast food parking lot. I had him go through the drive through. Four large coffees and apple pies for the kids, as I thought of them, seconds later we pulled into a parking space. "Now check the Diplomat Lodge online. I want to know what kind of dump they put us in," I demanded. I looked back at Sylvia sitting quietly in the rear seat. She had said less than a hundred words the whole first two hours on the road. I had no intention of making her speak. My only real thought was that I would kill for that body. "Since these guys are in DC they are very web savvy." Peter said. "There are pictures of the exact suite we have." He pushed the computer to me. The rooms seemed to be pretty ordinary. The damn thing was five hundred bucks and change a night. The Lodge wasn't that fancy. It was just a standard three story stucco motel with the top floor designed as all mini suits. It looked to me as the second room had two sofas which could be turned into two half beds to accommodate the overflow. I wasn't impressed, nor was I depressed. My feelings were pretty neutral about the accommodations. We were on the road again when Sylvia finally spoke. "Can we talk about the party tonight?" she asked. "Of course what about it?" I asked. "I know the purpose is for us to increase your exposure, so that you get invited to more parties," she said. "Yes and to get the names of people to invite to our parties," I interjected. "Do we have to be more than just friendly with any of the people there?" she asked. If Peter hadn't been in the car I would have said, You are not going to be required to turn tricks if that was what you are worried about. Instead I said, "Sylvia, you can get as friendly as you want, or you can be a perfect bitch, either one will work for what we want to do. We just want to make an impression. I think flirty but cool would do as well as anything." The drive was completed with small talk which for three more hours was a challenge. Lots of the time was passed in silence. Since Peter was driving, I ran the MP3 player on it's special web settings so that I could download the news as well as live radio, like NPR and conservative talk shows as well. No one could say that I wasn't a well rounded bitch. ------- Chapter 315 When we arrived, I allowed Peter to handle the check in and to unload the car. I did carry my own bags to the elevator. We all entered the 'mini suite' together. It was pretty obvious that I was only a minor personality at the network. I had stayed in far, far worse places for sure, but it was also not star treatment. If the CIA had expected this to be a burst on the scene moment, they weren't forcing the issue. It was satisfactory for the one night we would be using the place. It was just fine for the small amount of use I would make of it, it would never do for really serious entertaining of big shots. "Look you two, let's not do a bed assignment. Just whoever needs the big bed take it. I can sleep anywhere." I smiled as I said it. "Are you sure?" Sylvia asked. "Honey, I can sleep sitting up in a dirt hole in the ground, the sofa bed in the living room would be several steps up from that." I smiled at her. I had a feeling she and Peter might be doing the deed in that bed. I wasn't sure, and I wasn't at all sure that they wanted me to know, so anything was possible. "I'm starved," Peter said. "How about we go grab some lunch. Something that isn't fast food." "You two go, I need to rest," I said giving them a chance to be alone. I was not trying to engineer anything, I was just being thoughtful, I told myselfr. "Are you sure?" Sylvia asked. "Honey, I'm older than you two by several years. I need to sit in a stuffed chair which isn't moving for a while." I replied. "Okay, we might ride around and see the sights, if that is okay?" Peter commented. "It's fine just have her home in time to dress for the party," I replied. After they left I pulled up the route for the marathon. I was ready to call a cab when there came a knock on my door. I removed the derringer from my jeans pocket. I had moved it from the fleece hoody, which I had worn in the car. I could also have dug the .38 out of my duffel bag, if I felt that I needed more fire power. I looked out the peep hole, stuck the pistol in my pocket so quickly I might have shot myself, had the derringer's springs not been so stiff. I threw open the door and dragged the man standing in the hall inside and kissed him passionately. Who said robots couldn't feel anything. My little servo motors just sang with joy. "Irish what the fuck are you doing here," I said. "Fuck it, never mind just get your ass into my bed." I dragged him into the bedroom an then I undressed him. I remembered how much he loved oral sex, so I was instantly on my knees for him. I had his cock deep in my throat and was thrilled to hear him moan my name. "Max I love your mouth. You are the best cocksucker I ever knew," he groaned. Since he had known me as the old Maxine and now and the new me and didn't seem to notice the change I was thrilled. I licked on his cock, I sucked on is cock head, I used my mouth like a cunt to fuck his cock, When I felt him stiffen and drive deep into my throat I swallowed his cum. The thing I loved best about the Irishman was that he recovered quickly. He couldn't get it up, but he could get his head between my legs. My ass was bouncing off the bed seconds after he put his lips to my fake clit. The memories of him in my bed were stronger and more real than the moment we were in. I came, then came again. I was trying to pull his head even closer when I had to swallow a scream I was about to release. I finally pushed him away. "God damn," he said exhausted. "Ditto," was all I could manage. It took several minutes before I could speak again. "Martin what the fuck are you doing here? and how did you know I was here?" "Your TV network invited me to the party. They thought the housewife bunch was too prissy. That is how they put it. Since I was free, I came on board for the free liquor. Well they might also have mentioned that you would be here." he said it smiling. "You better be here for me damn you. You almost strangled me with your cock, I better not have been just an after thought for you." I said. "Damn how would I ever explain to the cops how you died," he said laughing at me. "Fuck you Irish," I said. "I knew that the episode where you shot the guy while I was blowing him would be a hit. So are they going to give you your own show?" I asked. "They said that when I retired there was a spot for me. The chick, they sent to track me down, said I had presence," he said laughing. "Trust me this party is going to be a two hour special at least," I said. "Yeah, I had to sign a waiver giving them to use my image just so they would pick up the bill for this trip. Shit they flew me in from Cairo." he said. "What were you doing in Cairo, a remake of Casablanca?" I asked. "I was trying to do a remake of blowing the shit out of a captured drone," he said laughing. "I see that didn't work out," I replied. "The admiral called, said it got canceled. The client lost his balls," he said. "Happens a lot in an election year," I noted. "Ain't that the truth," he said. During that conversation we were both naked in the bed. I had his cock in my hand the whole time, so I felt it getting hard again. I excused myself, then went into the bathroom to empty a pack of the jell into my pussy and one into the evacuation canal. I knew Irish liked it dirty as well as straight up. When I got back to the room. He was dressed. "What the fuck," I asked. My disappointment showing no doubt. "I have a meeting in an hour. I am sorry Maxine." with that he was almost out the door. "Hold on you son of a bitch, let me get dressed, you can give me a ride downtown at least. Just so I feel like I got something for my blowjob." I dressed quickly. "Where do you want me to drop you?" he asked. "The Lincoln memorial will do," I said purely from habit. I didn't let anyone know my plans, unless they were part of the plan. Once I was at the Lincoln memorial, I slipped the smarter than smart phone from my pocket. Then I concentrated on a message to the farm. Send me the route of the Marathon and directions to the start. I want to run the first five miles of it now, was the message. The smarter than smart phone suddenly had seven new pages. Page one was an over view of the race. Page two was the directions from where I stood to the starting line. The rest were bits and pieces of the route for the first five miles. I took off and ran the route. I saw a lot of other dangerous ones Peter had not mentioned. They all had minor problem, but I could have made any of them work for sure. When I got to the park, I knew exactly why the computer picked it as one of the more likely spots. There was a wide road the runners would come down while headed to the park. It would be easy to spot the senator. Then the entry to the park was a bottle neck which would give the shooter time to catch up since he would be fresh while the senator would be 20% depleted. After the hit he could fade into the trees and come out on a couple of different roads. I would bet money that there would be a coat or coveralls in the woods tomorrow. It was just like Peter said. It was the most likely spot for it. I finished the five mile run without even expending 10% of my charge, so I was happy. The five miles took me less than an hour even though I intentionally ran slowly to check out the area. I knew that seven or eight minute miles an hour were common so five miles in under an hour was about an average runner's time. I could easily keep it down to that tomorrow, I thought. I got a cab back to the motel. I took a shower not because I needed it, but because I needed to be normal around the kids. While I waited for the two of them, I plugged in the MP3 player and myself. While I charged, I thought about the strange turn of events. I had thought that the CIA might be using the reality network as a front, since the network conveniently began helping to put me into their party crowd immediately after the CIA told me to start socializing. If that were true, I had no idea why the Irishman was invited. Yes he had played a prominent role in the biggest part of my season two show. That fact led me to believe that it was just TV hype that brought him to DC. I mean the CIA had no reason to send Irish along. Irish took his orders from the Admiral who did contract work for the agency, but I still wouldn't have expected him to be invited. It was all just too confusing for me. The words popped into my head. Message from the case officer, as far as I know the Irishman is not part of any of our operations. So he must be there as a TV star wannabe. Before I knew it the kids were back. "So how was lunch?" I asked. "Lunch was great," Sylvia replied. "Peter and I went to a fancy restaurant within sight of the capital. There were all these government types hanging around having late lunch meetings. It was so exciting." "Well Peter how did you like the restaurant?" I asked. "It was great. We went on the driving tour of the city after lunch. There is a smart phone app that has a route to drive, so that you see everything worth seeing in two hours. It was amazing." "Very cool," I said. "What did you do?" he asked. "Screwed an old friend and ran five miles," I said seriously. "Oh okay," Sylvia replied obviously not sure whether to believe me or not. Not even the unmade bed seemed to convince her. I drank more coffee while Sylvia began dressing. She was going to be the wow factor at that party for sure. She was pure dynamite in that green dress slit way past panty lines. I wasn't quite sure what she was wearing under it. For sure there was no bra, but no panties with that slit was past daring it was dangerous. She would have men following her like a Conga Line Dance. For me getting ready was combing out the wig and apply a little make up. Just enough to look as thought I were wearing make up. I had chosen the red wig for the white toga. It made me look reasonably glamorous. I didn't figure with my body I could reasonably expect anything more. I looked in the mirror and knew that I was not going to be the center of attention with Sylvia anywhere in sight. I was jealous and hadn't even seen the other guests. There was no doubt that there would be plenty more beautiful people there. The good news was that I would know at least one other person there. The Irishman said he had an invitation. Martin would at least say hello to me. I had no expectation that he would monopolize me. ------- Chapter 316 583 views all-time The TV network had a fleet of limos to pick up their guests for the grand arrival at the red carpet. Getting home was going to be by taxi for most folks. Peter insisted that we call him to pick us up. Since it was one less unknown in the loop, I agreed. I had the derringer safely tucked into my evening bag. No make up, no lipstick, no money, just a debit card and my derringer inside the white cloth pouch. Sylvia carried my throwaway cell phone in her purse. So the funky coat wasn't necessary after all. The limo was overly warm no doubt because everyone he drove all night would be only half dressed. I had never really wondered why the people on the red carpet rushed inside. Well I knew that in the winter they were freezing their private parts off. Not me of course, being dead did have some advantages. I posed first and it was nice to see the flashes popping. However when Sylvia got her turn it was like the Milky Way there were dots of light everywhere. Hell, if I had a camera I would have taken her picture. They had her posing this way and that for a lot longer than me. Then they shot several of us together insinuating that we were a romantic couple. I had forewarned Sylvia that it might be the case. She didn't seem to mind. I made sure I told the interviewers that Sylvia was my Gal Pal not lover. I didn't expect that bit of boring information to find it's way into any articles. Once inside the party itself, we were greeted by the producer calling herself the party hostess. She introduced us to one of the housewives of Atlanta, who in turn introduced us to her husband. Her husband sent us on our way with the directive, to mingle. So we wandered off to be mingled. I had no intention of inserting myself uninvited into any conversation unless directed to do so by the controller. Sylvia had men coming over to talk to us nonstop for the first hour. After that it slowed to a trickle. After the rush Martin came by to say hello. Very quickly one of the housewives came by to claim the only real man in the place. I found it amusing that Martin was the male equivalent of Sylvia. If they gave him enough to drink he would start showing scars and telling Jaws type stories. Hell back in the old days we would be doing it together. We would probably be surrounded by a crowd with both men and women. Too bad Sylvia didn't have any noticeable scars. She could start a riot. Pretty soon the lookers pretty much all had their picture made with one of the, so called, stars of the reality network. After that it was time for some serious networking. People came by to talk almost half of them left their car d or took mine. Mine magically appeared from Sylvia's purse. It was close to midnight when one of the reality stars came by to talk to me. "Your's is the most daring of all these crap shows. Is it true all that stuff really did happen?" she asked. "Yes, I didn't do anything posed. Hell half the time I didn't even know Mike or Gwen was there. They just paid to tag along and the TV show is what came from it." "You were actually sucking that guys cock with a gun to your head, when martin shot him?" she asked. "And a hell of shot it was too," I said smiling. "Damn, I would love to see you sucking my husband's cock," she said. "Do you want Martin to shoot him as well?" I asked. "God no, we have a prenup," she said as if I should have known that. "We are just a little kinky. How would you and Sylvia like to come to a private party after this one." Tell her you have an early morning run, but get a definite time to do something together later, the controller messaged. "I'm really sorry Linda, but I am running a marathon in the morning at seven. To be honest, I would really love to, it I weren't. I can't speak for Sylvia." I said it smiling warmly. "It might be fun," Sylvia said smiling a flirty smile. I had committed but Sylvia didn't really commit. "Well we are having a party at our place in two weeks, I'll send you all the particulars." she said. "Is it BYD?" I asked. "BYD?" Linda asked. "Bring Your own Date," I replied. "Oh, I can arrange an escort for you," she said. "Someone interesting I hope," was my reply. "Oh yes, for you I am sure I can find someone. You don't mind a little pain do you?" she said. "Not a little, but if it goes to far, I do bite," I informed her. "Oh my that does sound like fun," Linda said grinning. "Then I will be expecting you." "Definitely," I replied. "Good," was her comment. She left us to go spread the word it seemed. The number of people wanting our contact information rose significantly. It was my plan to let the analyst at the farm take care of the screening. I was just going to go along as much as possible. It was well after midnight when the Latin looking man in the tux came. He came to hit on Sylvia but after she very politely said she had a boyfriend, he turned his attention to me. It was not the first such encounter of the evening. "I have seen your show, it is quite charming," he said. It was obviously bullshit. No one in their right mind would call Hard As Stone charming. He thought I was one of the housewives I expected. He is Ferdinand Marco Dante, came the message in my head. So what? I messaged back. Be nice t him. He is a diplomat from a country where we suspect the government is in bed with the local drug cartel, was the reply. "Thank you, and are you in the TV business?' I asked. "No, I am the second Ambassador from my country to yours," he said all proud of himself. "My that sounds like an important job," I replied. "Sometimes it can be exciting," he suggested. Then he continued. "Do you live here in Washington?" "No we just came in for the party. We fly back home tomorrow." I said smiling. "Oh that is a shame," he said. "Yes it is," I said touching his arm. "Do you get to Washington often?" he asked. "I go where the good parties are. Sometimes it is Washington, Sometimes it is Dallas or Miami." I lied. "So you are a party girl?" he asked with a leer. "Oh yes, I do love a good party." I replied. "I have a suite here, would you care to have a private party with an ambassador?" he asked. DO IT, was the message from the controller. "Well I don't usually leave a party like this, but I don't usually get an invitation from an ambassador either, so sure." "Would your friend like to join us," he asked. "I don't speak for her," I said pointedly. "So would you like to come to the party," he asked Sylvia. "I don't do threesomes," she said sweetly. "Then would you like to watch?" he asked. I was shocked when she said, "Sure, now that I would like to do." I was a little surprised, but then I knew very little about Sylvia. I did know that she was not sexually immature, since she had turned tricks before coming to work for me. I looked up to see if I could find Martin, he had already slipped out of the party. If I knew Martin, it would be with one or more of the housewives. I smiled but I was not amused. It did make leaving with the 2nd Ambassador a little easier to justify. While he was fucking with the security lock on his door, I explained to Sylvia, "I have the derringer in my clutch bag. If this get out of hand, shoot that bastard in the head. Okay on second thought just show it to him and threaten to shoot him. I have no idea how kinky he is." "That's why I agreed to watch. You don't think I actually want to see you fuck this asshole do you?" "Actually, yes I do," I said. "Okay, maybe a little." she admitted with a sweet smile. "Take off your clothes," he demanded as if I were a hooker. Even so I slowly removed the toga and then my panties. "My god you have a terrible body. You are skinny and have scars all over." he said. "You," he said turning his attention to Sylvia. "Take off your dress. I want to see your body while I fuck this one." Sylvia removed the dress. I got my first look at the patch of cloth covering her vagina. It was held up by a string high around her waist. It was the only thing that would have worked with that dress. "Take off that G string as well. I want to imagine that I am fucking you while I fuck this ugly whore." You would think that I would be pissed by all the insults, but I didn't care at all. I knew that I could kill the little shit anytime I wanted. He was one of those pretend macho pricks. The kind who loved to fuck with women, because he was about a 1/3 of a real man. He turned me away from him and bent me over. We were both looking at the beautiful Sylvia while he prepared to fuck me from the rear. I could see Sylvia's nipples were rock hard. Even the slight sag of her large breast was erotic beyond words. Obviously the Ambassador felt the same. His cock was even harder than normal, I am sure. He was like a metal pipe it was so hard. He worked his cock into my evacuation valve. I kept it nice and tight for him. I had the sensation of his cock working inside what would have been my ass. I remembered how that felt and the thrill was the same. I had never liked anal sex because of the pain, but there was no pain in my present body. I turned on to it even more than I had before. I thrilled at the feel of his cock working in and out of my ass. Every stroke drove me higher to the explosion that passed for orgasms in my present form. It didn't matter what they called them orgasm or circuit overload they still felt like I died for a split second. It was amazing. "Beg for it bitch," he said to me. "Yes please fuck my ass. Come in my ass please," I said without even thinking. "Tell me to fuck her," he demanded of Sylvia. "Yes fuck her ass. She loves it, anyone can tell. Fuck her ass hard," I didn't even recognize her voice. "Would you like to see me hurt her. I mean really hurt her?" he asked of Sylvia. Sylvia didn't answer. I looked up and her legs were spread. I could see her labia and I noted that the tip of her clit was visible over them. Sylvia was turned on. Having trusted my fate to her might have been a mistake. "You would like to see me hurt the bitch wouldn't you." he asked again. Sylvia just nodded. I was recovering from the orgasm when I felt his first slap on my ass. It was hard but not so hard that I did more than notice it. It would have been painful if I still felt pain the same. He slapped my ass again and I made a noise just to play the part. It was a kind of yelp. I went along because I knew that I could turn around and kick his ass at any time. He didn't have me restrained. Even that wouldn't have saved him. I was waiting to see what Sylvia would do next. The controller knew what I was thinking of course. I was not trying to mask it. Don't do it, the message said. This is just the kind of thing we hoped for. Just let it happen. Easy for you to say, I messaged back. We know what your instruments are reading, you have no pain response from your memories. All you are feeling is the pressure of the blows. Just go along with it. Cry or something for God's sake. There was a momentary break, then I felt a slight sting added to the pressure. He was using his belt on me. I was bent forward with my hands on the bed for support. I stood letting him whip me with a belt. I was on the verge of kicking his ass when I looked up and saw Sylvia masturbating. Seeing her actually turned me on. In just seconds I was ready to cum, if I could get just a little stimulation, I thought. Then he turned me around and shoved his cock in my mouth. I came while gagging and on his cock. It was an experience I had before, so I tapped into that. There was no wind down time at all. He threw both of us out immediately after he came down my throat. It was all very degrading. Sylvia would not look me in the eye while we waited for Peter to arrive. ------- Chapter 317 Nobody spoke in the car on the drive back to the Diplomat Lodge. When we arrived, I went directly into the bedroom. I left the two of them to decide their sleeping positions. Then I plugged myself in and waited for any updates. Maxine the party was a huge success, the controller informed me. We are confident that the invitations will begin to roll in. We will sort through them for you, under the guise of the agent assigned to you by the network. You are entitled to an agent, now that you are a real star. Do whatever you want, but let me tell you I did not enjoy the belt thing, I reported. That thing was no more than being hit by a ribbon. First of all we checked to be sure the receptors were not triggering any pain memories. His shit was no more than a fly landing on your ass. Well let me tell you, I didn't like what he was doing, I messaged. Sure you did. It caused a circuit overload just like when the Irishman fucked you. So get off your high horse. You didn't like the loss of control, and we understand that, but honey it's call acting. You need to learn how to play parts other than Maxine the super bitch. Well, I can see there is no sense arguing with you. I suddenly realized that they were allowing me to argue. They were also trying to justify their actions to me. I wondered what that was all about. Did they have total control over me or not? I wondered. I went into sleep mode while I charged. The memory of the party went from my active conscious to the back burner. It was like ram in the desk top computer. There was only so much open and in use. Some things went into long term storage after a while. The human brain also worked the same, it seemed to me. I was instantly back in full action mode at 5AM. I didn't bother pretending since I was in my Go To Work mode. I stripped naked, then slipped into the new running shorts and tee shirt. I had purchased both new for the occasion from the mall sporting goods store. I paid way to much, but I intended to blend in. I also had a knit watch cap and fancy sunglasses with wide rims to hide my identity. My outfit was a disguise, I know. Okay the stated objective was to prevent an attack on the Senator. I had told Peter, if someone recognized me and called it off, I would be just as happy. That was just the company line bullshit. I wanted something to happen, so that I could save the day. It was my fucking character flaw, but I didn't plan to deny it. If nothing happened, I was going to be disappointed period. Finally after the heavy socks and the hundred dollar running shoes, I belted on the utility belt and small pouch. In addition to my ID and credit cards, I carried my stainless steel derringer in there. The one which fired both 410 gauge shotgun shells or .41 caliber pistol rounds. I had .41 cal hollow points in it that morning. I had made sure Peter was awake and ready to drive, before I started dressing, so we were ready to go when I walked from the bedroom. We left Sylvia in bed with her eyes closed. I had no idea if she was really asleep or just avoiding me. It didn't matter, I had other things on my mind. "I'll try to have someone call you to pick me up after the race," I said to Peter as I got out of the car a block from the start line. There was a mob that took up most of the block. I waited in line to register which was no more than showing my driver's license and picking up my number. The Senator's number is 5. He will be checking in at the last minute so hang around the table. When the crowd spreads out you should be able to pick him up. That was the message from the controller. I waited almost twenty minutes before the senator showed up. He got his number, then moved into the crowd to start the marathon. When the horn sounded we all began to run. It took me all of five minutes to maneuver so that I was about ten yards behind the Senator. I scanned the crowds at least a hundred yards ahead of our position at all times. The idea was to try to locate the shooter before he left the crowd. The computer had told me that he would want to be in a spot not so crowded, so that he could get out of his coat without anyone paying too much attention. So I was checking places where the crowd was thin and looking for someone in a coat long enough to hide the fact that he or she was in running shorts under it. My faith in Peter's game was beginning to slip, when I was a half mile from the park and saw nothing. Then at about a quarter mile from the park, I saw the man in the long green WWII style army overcoat. He wore it and a watch cap with big frame sunglasses. Hell, if he saw me in the same watch cap and sunglasses, he might call the hit off. Damn that would be a waste. My new vision was a thing of beauty. When the old me saw a car and wanted to concentrate on it, everything else just went a little out of focus as I watched the car move through my field of vision at a one to one ratio. The only separation from the rest of the scene was that slightly out of focus area all around it. The new vision cropped the image, just like a digital camera would. Why wouldn't it? that was really the mechanism which gave me vision. Not only that it zoomed in on the cropped area. So the homeless man filled my view. I still couldn't tell anything about him, except that he kept his hand in his pocket. I did not turn my head as I passed. If he did notice me, he probably would not think that I noticed him. Well it was my hope. We were at the choke point of the park entrance and hardly slowed at all. The homeless man had his Wheaties for breakfast, since he was able to over take us shortly after we entered the park. I had closed the gap on the senator, because I was expecting the attack just as it happened, the poor bastard never had a chance. He raised the piss ant .22 and I reached over from just a little behind him and chopped him hard on the clavicle. I most likely shattered it. Lest he pull the trigger as a knee jerk reaction, I also pushed on his other shoulder to spin his ass around at the same time. It was almost a ballet move and I was proud of it. He was off the path and into the trees in a micro second. A few people had to have seen it, but no one stopped to help. Big cities, you had to love them. I pulled off his hat and glasses, while holding the derringer to his head. "What the fuck?" I asked in shock and horror. "What the fuck indeed. You broke my shoulder I think." Irish said to me. "What the hell are you doing trying to kill a U.S. Senator?" I saw him reach for his pouch like mine. I pushed the Derringer even harder against his head. He held his finger to his lips. He removed that Bic lighter looking thing. It was just like the one he had used to jam the signal from my wireless microphone to Mike's receiver, during the filming for the TV show. "Just in case," he said. "Now who the fuck is paying you to guard that asshole?" "You first, who the hell is paying you to kill that asshole?" I asked. I also was thinking hard trying to reach the controller. I got no response to my questions about what to do next. It seemed that all the while I was trying to mask my thoughts, all I had to do was use the jammer I had saved from the TV show days. What an idiot I was. In retrospect it was obvious that the communications link was by radio. It was obvious that I could have jammed the wifi communications link, if I knew the right frequency. Obviously Irish had a broadband jammer that worked on lots of frequencies. Why not the Admiral had access to all kind of shit. "Come on Irish you know the cops are on the way. I don't want to turn you over to them. Spill it and maybe we can get the hell out of here." I said. "You first Maxine, you know how this goes. I go into the system and an hour later it was all a big mistake and I'm out." he said. "Cops don't scare me." "I don't think so this time. This time it is national security shit. What you did was an attempted assassination of a government official. The FBI is going to be all over this shit." "If we walk away, then they will be looking at his sleazy business partners," he informed me. "I know, that's who I was looking at. This clown may be a sleaze but he has friends in high places," I said. "Irish, you have very little time." I was beginning to understand that I was pretty self contained. I hadn't fallen over dead, when the data link was broken. I was actually functioning quite well on my own. "Let's have it Irish or I swear I'm going to turn you over and see you rot in prison. You know that if I take a job, I'm going to do it," I said. "So am I," he said. "Okay this can go no further." "You know I can't promise that, but I won't spread it around. I will only kick it upstairs, if I am convinced that it is urgent that I do so. Now spill it and do it quick." "I can still kick your ass Maxine. That was just a lucky blow with your sap." he said. He thought that I had hit him with a black jack, rather than my fist. I could see why he would feel that way. "Spill it Irish and do it now," I demanded. I wasn't going to torture him, but I would dump his ass onto the FBI, and then he might well wind up in Gitmo. "You know I was working on the lost drone project. When they called off the mission, I got curious and began checking around. A Mossad agent told me that someone sold the codes for that little bird to the Iranians. The Admiral did some checking on the people who had access to the codes, and came up with the senator. The senator, who made a rather large deposit in a secret bank account shortly before the drone got lost. He had some kind of Realty deal go south on him, and some really bad people wanted their money back." "That dovetails with what I learned. I didn't know about the codes. Are you sure?" I asked. "I'm sure, but I can't prove it. Even if I could, it would never go to trial. He knows to many of the right people, plus there would be other secrets exposed. So you gonna look the other way?" he asked. "Irish, I'm going to do some checking. You aren't in the clear. I'm going to let you walk, since you don't know how to keep a low profile. I can find you anytime I want. Beat it, but leave me that cute little jammer." I watched him walk away. I had done the job the farm boys wanted. The Senator was alive, so fuck them. I had no problem with releasing Irish. After all he was a great fuck. ------- Chapter 318 The first thing I did after Martin was out of sight was to turn the jammer off. Are you guys there? I messaged. What the fuck is going on. Someone tried to hit the Senator. I stopped them. That's all there was. Did you call the police? No, I didn't want to answer a bunch of questions. I did what you wanted. I prevented the assassination. We would like to know who the assassin worked for, the next message suggested. Then you should have told me that, I demanded. Well we got a pretty good image of his face. We should be able to track him down by the end of the day. Please be careful what you do once you find the identity. We don't want to blow my cover, I messaged. "Well head on back to Aster and try to go back to your ordinary life. You will be hearing from us. Of course I will, I messaged. As far as I was concerned the link was broken. I left the park and began walking along the route of the race. I found the aid station a mile or so from the park. The table was covered with paper cups of water. There was also a clear trash can filled with used cups. "Hello, I pulled a muscle in my leg. Do you have a cell phone I could use to call my husband for a ride?" I asked of the college aged girl manning the station. "Sure," she replied handing me a simple cell phone. I punched in my own number and waited. "Hello," Peter's voice said. "Peter it's me I'm going to be standing in front of the Downtown Decorator Gallery. Pick me up when you can." I knew about the gallery because I had laid the play before I started the race. I had half a dozen pickup points in mind. I walked to the Gallery and sat on the steps. I scanned the area carefully, since I was been involved in something which might easily have pissed off some bad people. Hell, it could have pissed off some good people as well. Nobody had any reason to love the senator. I doubted that even his family loved the asshole. I saw the ugly red car pull to the curb. I looked inside to see if Peter was the only occupant. He had Sylvia sitting beside him in the front seat, so I slipped into the rear. "So where to?" Peter asked. "Let's pack our shit and head home. We did what we were supposed to do. I suggested. The race is still in progress," he informed me. "We can't catch up, so win or lose we are finished." What I didn't mention was that I no long cared, if the Senator was killed. You better care, the message in my head informed me. Screw you, I have good reason to believe that the senator is a traitor, I messaged. Then I sat quietly waiting to see what the response would be. Since the case office didn't deny it, he either knew or suspected it. What makes you think that, he finally messaged. The shooter informed me why he was hitting the senator. I see, I suppose we need to bring some people up to speed, the message from the case officer said. Thanks for the information. We can stop this at the source, i think. Good for you, now if we are through I need to get back to my real life. We are your real life the rest is the pretend life, but yeah we are through. It was pretty obvious that they had turned the Senator. They were giving him a chance to cooperate. If he tried to double cross the agency, I would probably get to kill him myself. I would not lose a minutes sleep afterwards either. We drove back to the Diplomat Lodge where I chanced from the running outfit. We quickly loaded the bags for the drive home. We did it so that we could leave DC before anything else happened. Sylvia still had not spoken. I had no idea what her problem was, so I decided to let her work out whatever she wanted to say, and when she wanted to say it. We had lunch at a fancy restaurant on the way out of town. I had a very small lunch. My excuse was that I didn't feel well after the run. I spent the next five hours in the car with the two of them. Since I had no idea what was going through Sylvia's mind, I pretended to sleep most of the way home. When we had the car unloaded I said to Peter. "Why don't you take off? I'll drive Sylvia home." After the five hour drive, in almost complete silence, he knew something was wrong. He didn't even answer me, he just looked at Sylvia to be sure she was okay with him leaving, then he left quickly. My guess was that he couldn't wait to get away from us. "Okay Sylvia, I guess we need to talk. So while I make coffee, why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" With that I began the labor intensive job of making coffee. The coffee had to be strong for me to get much of a taste from it. So I fixed it the old fashioned way. I poured the store bought ground beans into a coffee pot with all the guts removed. Then I boiled the hell out of it. After it boiled a few minutes I strained it through a paper coffee filter. The resulting coffee was strong as hell. It was also high in taste. While I worked Sylvia sat at the stainless steel dining table with a look of almost panic on her face. When I had finished with the coffee, I figured she had enough time. "Okay Sylvia spill it." I demanded. "We need to work through this silent treatment. We need to do it right now." "I don't know what to say," she replied. "Does it have something to do with what happened last night?" I asked. "Of course it does," she said. "So tell me what you are feeling. I have no idea what the problem is," I informed her. "You really don't understand that I am ashamed of what I did last night," she said. "Does it bother you that I had sex with a complete stranger?" I asked. I wasn't really trying to understand, I trying to get her to see what really happened. "No, it wasn't that you did it. It's what you allowed him to do to you," she said. "Sylvia, he didn't really hurt me. All the tears and whining were exaggerated. I have a very high tolerance for pain." I said it hoping she wouldn't realize that I hadn't really felt anything at all. What he did to me should have been very painful. "I am ashamed that I didn't help you," she admitted. "You shouldn't be. I could have stopped him, I just chose not to." I admitted. "I took my clothes off for a complete stranger, so that I could watch you have sex," she said. "There is nothing to be ashamed of in being a voyeur. It hurts no one. Actually I found it highly erotic. "Maxine, I couldn't help what I did. Seeing that man beating you while he had sex with you was so erotic," she said. "Don't worry seeing you do what you did was the best part of the whole experience," I admitted. "Now don't worry it changes nothing between us. You don't ever have to participate in that kind of thing. You didn't last night and you don't have to do it again." "Fair enough, and you aren't upset by my lack of interference last night?" she asked. "Honey, I would have been upset if you had interfered," I admitted. Not to mention what the controller would have said, I thought. You got that right, the message in my head said. What happened with that ass is just what we need from you. Well it's one of the things we need. "If you are truly not upset, I would like to go home," she said smiling. "No problem let me fix a cup of this coffee to go and I'll drive you," I agreed. I almost asked if she and Peter were fucking, but I decided that it was none of my business, at least not at that moment. I put myself in power saver mode, while I turned on the cloaking device I had taken from Martin. It was meant for wireless microphones and probably wifi signals in general, but it seemed to have worked this mornings. Since the controller didn't mention it, I wondered if losing the signal was all that unusual. If the jammer truly worked it was going to make my life more complicated but also more interesting. Even in the fake body, I had no desire to be anyones slave. Well not unless it was sexual. even then I wasn't totally sure. After I did the analysis I turned the jammer off and went into what was my sleep mode. I just shut down everything which was non essential and vegetated until the sun came up. I attached the mental computer in my head to the internet. The first thing I noticed was that there were only five more shopping days until Christmas. I knew that I needed to buy my friends presents, so that was my plan for the day. After reheating the strong coffee, I drove to the sit down. I drove because it was raining. It wasn't just rain, it was freezing rain. It came down as rain, but turned to ice when it touched anything. It was going to be a mess. Even so, I had things to do. I had put off the shopping way too long. After I left the Sit Down, I drove to the mall. My walking that day was from store to store. There were some real advantages to being the new me. I could bring up mental images of the people on my list. Then scale the images so that I could tell what clothes would fit them. Even if it were not a perfect fit, I would be close enough. I also had the receipts in case they needed to be returned. Helen, who had trimmed down, got a fancy sweater from one of the department stores. Jack her husband got one of the new do everything power tools from Sears. Lucas and Julie got a fancy table top convection oven. I knew that they were living together. I had no idea if they would marry or not, nor did I care. There were huge boxes of candy for my casual friends. I bought more than I needed just in case someone showed up. I drove to the liquor store for presents headed to the Drugstore Townhouse occupants. Money in a gift card for the Timmie the manager of the Cloak and Dagger. As I was about to leave the mall there was a kiosk selling fruitcakes. The sign read the world's best fruitcake. I doubted it. I almost stopped to try the free sample before I realized that I wouldn't know if it was or not. My taste sensors were not that sensitive. I bought a half dozen anyway. I never knew when a fruitcake would come in handy. The last two real presents were for Sylvia and Peter. I rode by the Preacher's bike shop. "Are you guys snowed under?" I asked when I met the manager. "No, things are kind of dead right now," he replied. "Do you have a really good bike left?" I asked. "Do you want a road or mountain bike?" he asked. "I want a solid bike with a good motor," I replied. "Ah I have one that we converted to six speeds. We used the front shifter as a throttle. It's really quite a good design."he suggested. "What's the price on it?" I asked. "Two twenty five," he said. "Can you make me two of them?" I asked. "Sure," he said. So much for Sylvia and Peter. I thought. ------- Chapter 319 "You are going to need to start looking for a car. Your check has been mailed it should be in your hands by the end of the week." the insurance agent's secretary told me. "Okay well I guess I'll have to take a look around to see what's available." I suggested. "Yes, when the check is delivered we expect the rental car to be returned that same day," she said. "That certainly sounds reasonable enough," I said into the phone. When the call came in, Sylvia was sitting at the industrial stainless steel table used in my house for a dining room table When the call ended she asked, "Are you going to buy another car like you had?" "Lord no, I would have to go all over hell to find another of those. Since they are off the phone, and I know I'm getting paid for the stolen car, I am going to go to Craig's list and look. While I do that, you call the A1 people. I want that building. We were both on the phone for a few minutes at a time. I called three people until I found one who had what I wanted. For the last couple of years I had been wishing for a small pickup truck. It seemed to be the right time to take some concrete steps toward one. By 3pm I had an appointment to see a bright orange Nissan pickup. It was five years old, but the owner swore that it had not been abused. The guy agreed to ride with me over to my mechanic's place even. Since I saved the mechanic's ass, he should be up to checking out the truck for me. Problem was that he got sick of the thugs and moved on. I knew one more mechanic. I drove the truck, with the owner inside up to the back of a mill house. When I beeped the horn a man in coveralls came out the door. "Is that you Maxine?" the man my age asked. "Yeah its me Simon. So how you been?' I asked. "Oh I been good," he said. "You still mess with cars?" I asked "Yeah, I still buy and sell them now and then. What you need sweetie?" he asked. "Take a look at this pick up and tell me how bad I'm gonna' get stung," I demanded. It looked as though the owner wasn't going to take offense. "Well, if the mileage is right it is mid range. The motor looks clean and sounds fine. Brakes and clutch seem strong. Tires are not too bad, it say this truck is in average to slightly above average condition. Hold on while I get my laptop." "The owner said, "If he tells you it worth more than I'm asking, do I get the difference." Simon came back and told me the truck was worth about two hundred bucks less than the owner was asking. "You heard the man," I said smiling. "Well I have wasted a lot of time with you, so let's do the deal." the owner said. I showed him the wad of money in my shoulder bag. "Lets go where there is a notary public." "Suits me," he replied. It took the rest of that day to get the tittle straight and the registration. I explained about the stolen Cruiser at least five times. I did finally get permission and paperwork to drive the truck home for the evening. When I walked through the door just before five, Sylvia was waiting. "Is there any reason we can't take another look at the A1 building tomorrow?" "None that I can think of," I replied. "Good, I have made us an appointment, 1PM." she said. "We should be able to do that no problem," I suggested. Sylvia was in a rush to leave, so I assumed that she and Peter were doing something. I really didn't want to know what they were up to. It was none of my business, so I set my mind to other things. I went into rest mode and tried to power down. It was hard to power down, but I did manage. The operation we had just finished ran through my mind. I wondered how much the CIA knew. I firmly believed that they had turned the Senator. I had my doubts about his good intentions, but blackmail is a strong motivator to do the right thing. Before I realized it a new day had begun. I did my usual things. In other words I did nothing constructive till almost noon. Still there were only three days till Christmas. Not wanting to get involved in anything that was going to drag out seemed reasonable to me. Before I even got back from my morning walk the phone was ringing. I was half way around the top floor of the mall for the third time when it rang. "Hello," I said cautiously. "Maxine it's Reverend Archer, I need a favor." the voice said. "Oh what kind of favor?" I asked. "There is a turkey processing plant in Wilkins. That's about a hundred miles away. Anyhow they are having labor trouble, so they had a plant walkout last night. The supervisors managed to get the birds into the freezer. So now they got a couple of hundred turkeys they will donate to the Christmas dinner, if we pick them up." "When do we get to the 'why you need me' part of this fairy tale?" I asked. "They have some bad ass labor agitators from New York. I don't want my people to get hurt, but these people need to eat as well." Archer said angrily. "Reverend you better not be selling my services as a strike breaker. You know you don't want me pissed at you," I informed him. "You can buy coffee and dough nuts for Jimmy Hoffa as far as I'm concerned. I just want that food for hungry people." The Reverend sounded convincing, I will give him that. I let him stew a little, then agreed. Hell I wasn't doing anything else. "Can we hold off till three?" I asked. "I will have a truck in the parking lot behind your house at three pm," he said. "Fair enough," I agreed. What I didn't say to him was that I would be up to my ass in real business until probably the last second. It was hard to concentrate on finishing the walk after the call but I did anyway. At noon when Sylvia arrived, I had been home two hours at least. After I explained everything to Sylvia she said, "So this is your good deed for Christmas?" "Something like that, but we still have to look at the A1 building," I said. "Yes but we have a few minutes. I need to talk to you about something," she said. "Okay let's hear it," I suggested. "Peter is going to talk to you about a computer and game store. Please be kind to him." Sylvia said. "If he has a good argument, I will go along, if not, I won't, just like anyone else," I admitted. "Then I will tell him to be sure he has all his ducks lined up," she said. "Yes, he needs to have the answers to the most obvious questions," I replied. Now we need to go meet the Realtor for the A1holdings." The Realtor was a man, who had more hair in his brush, than on his head. He seemed to be very bright though. He explained the company thinking, then I explained my thinking. After he heard what my intention was he shook his head. "I know you have checked my reputation. So trust me when I say I will go through with the deal as I have set it up. I will pay off their building and leave their credit history reasonably clean." I said. "I am sure the company will be glad to hear that. I do know they expect something for the expenses they incurred with the building. The appraised value of the building is 110,000." "What date was that appraisal?' I asked. "That was the value when the building was purchased," he said. "For the first time in my memory real estate is worth less to day than it was last year," I said. "So the equity is inflated at the moment," the Realtor said. What kind of equity deal are you willing to work out?" "Twenty thousand cash for your client and I will pay off the mortgage," I suggested. "Well, I will submit the offer," he said. I suddenly lost patience. This was the second time I had contacted them. "Well sir it's like this, if they want to discuss this further have them bring the papers and we will meet at the bank. If I don't hear from you before the first of the year, then we are finished." "That sounds fair," he replied. "I'm glad you think so." I said. I found time before I met the Reverend's truck to return the Chevy. I got all that done and was still sitting in the parking lot at 3PM. Parked several yards from the truck I noticed a small compact car. There was seldom a car parked in the lot, so I did a little quick checking with Peter. He was able to identify the car without any throuble. The car belonged to Channel 6 news. The only reasonable explanation was that they planned going along on the road trip. The reverend expected some kind of confrontation that's why he called me. I did not need the press tagging along. That would be one of those do you still beat your children moments. Things would be much better if they happened in the dark. I knocked on the window of the passenger side. I was surprised to find the early twenties redhead. "Tell me you don think you are going with us?" I asked rudely. "Either going with you or following you there," the redhead said. "Do your damnedest," I said returning to the truck. I rode two and a half hours to get to the plant. I h ad hoped that by the time we got there the picketers would have gone, No such luck. I walked to the gate even though the outside was blocked by strikers. "Maxine Stone here for a pickup," I said. "Bring your truck on in," he said. "Gentlemen you might want to move I am a terrible driver and that is no joke," I said. The TV Lights came on and I knew there was going to be a row. How bad it was going to be was anybody's guess at that point. He came from the rear of the crowd. He had either just walked up or he had been lurking waiting for the optimum TV moment. "You can't cross this picket line," the man said. "I can empathies with you, but I have several homeless people who need this food. Surely the unions wouldn't deny hungry people food." "Of course not," he said "Good then stand clear," I replied. I was being perfectly reasonable, but I had my hand on the butt of the .38 which rested in my parka's pocket. "I feel for your homeless and hungry, but we can't allow food to leave this plant. How do we know you are who you say you are." he asked. "Because I told you who I was. That should be way more than enough," I suggested. Sure there were some jeers. I just smiled. I had expected that and worse and the worse was yet to come. "You are not passing," the union man said again. "Yes I am, actually, I thought I might get a handful of your guys to help me load this truck, in the spirit of Christmas." I said. "Woman or not I will stop you," he growled. "Your friends might, but I promise you will be dead. You are the first mother fucker I'm going to shoot. Count on it." He obviously did not believe me at first, but then he saw my face and he understood that I wasn't joking at all. He would indeed be the first dead man on the picket line. Being a martyr in theory is a beautiful thing. It just isn't as cool when you are looking someone in the eyes of someone willing to make it happen for you. I made damn sure none of my words got filmed for the channel 6 news. Unlike the union bosses, I had no use for the coverage. The union thug, as I characterized him, had to decide between, making a grandstanding feed the homeless speech, or being dead. He made the right choice. I let his version of the 'magnanimous union' stand. Why not no one cared. It was a long drive but I arrived home at midnight. Most importantly I got the job done and had no blood on my hands. I considered it a good day. ------- Chapter 320 "So you brought Christmas dinner for the whole area," Helen suggested. "The Preacher got this done, I just went along to grease the wheels. You know make sure everything came off smooth." I said smiling. "If you went along, it might have gone smooth, but it wouldn't have, if you weren't there. That's why we all call you when we are in trouble. You always know what to do and even more important, you will actually do it." Helen said. "Easy Helen, it's just me good ole Maxine," I replied. "I know exactly who I'm talking about. I heard that young bully stole your car?" It was a question and I knew it. "Yes, I bought a pickup truck to replace it. I decided, I finally wanted to be able to carry my bicycle and a loaf of bread at the same time." I said it with a laugh. "I wonder how you will change that poor pickup. You do have a habit of remaking everything. Even the people in your life, but then usually it is for the better." she said. "Just usually," I asked. "I'll have to think some before I go back on a vague answer," she smile. You brought me a hundred turkeys, the least I can do is give you a bowl of soup." I knew better than to argue with Helen, so I left her kitchen with a huge plastic container of soup. Most of that would be headed to Sylvia's. I drove the preachers big truck back to the mission where my pickup waited. I had dropped the regular driver at his home as we entered town. Once I parked the truck in the mission parking lot, I left the keys with the person who stayed up all night watching over the mission. That night it was a very large black man. "These are the keys to your truck, be sure they get to the people who need them," I said. "Yes Ma'am, I will do that fo sure," he said. "Thank you sir, I have to run now it's after 1AM," I said. "It sho nugh is Ma'am. You dat woman the preacher calls when there is real trouble, ain't you?" he asked. "I guess I'm one of them," I said. "There are so many things going on in this ministry, I don't know how the Reverend knows what is happening at any one time," he said. "Is there something you need to tell me?" I asked patiently. I was in no real hurry to get home and shut down. "Well Ma'am, we got a man who takes advantage of the women in the mission." "Oh really, does he belong to the mission as well?" I asked. "Yes Ma'am he's one of the Deacons," the old man said. "Well that's not good. Would you like to tell me who it is?" "Miss Maxine, he is a dangerous man," the old man said. "You are afraid of him?" I asked. "Ma'am it is hard for me to admit that. But yes Ma'am I am. He is a bad man." "Tell me his name and where to find him. Maybe I can help." "Bristol Peace, ain't no fittin' name for him," he said. "Where do I find Mr. Peace?" I asked. "He lives in a little blue house behind the mission. You can't miss it." he said. Here was my problem. If you want to terrorize someone do it in the middle of the night. Everything seems more dangerous in the middle of the night. But I only had the old man's word that this Peace was leaning on the women of the mission for some reason. I needed to satisfy myself that it was true, then do something to solve the problem, without bringing too much shit down on the mission. They did good work, even if it was making the Preacher rich in the process. It was more cop work than ops work, which the farm expected me to be doing. Unless they stopped me, I would take a look at Bristol Peace the very next day. I went home put the soup in the restaurant type refrigerator, then sat down in my comfortable chair to recharge and research Bristol Peace. He had a different name, if he was the bad guy the old man thought he was. Lots of people changed their names when they converted. I didn't expect that the Preacher had his real name, so it was up to me to find out. Some of the shit built into my new improved super duper body would come in handy. I could hit his fingers with an ultraviolet light and record a scan of them. Or maybe I could just call Blevins to see if he was known to the cops in town. So I waited until 8AM to call Blevins. I needed to recharge anyway so it was no real inconvenience. I called Blevins at home. "Come by the Sit Down on the way to work and I'll buy. I have something I need to ask before you retire," I said. "I can't believe you would call asking for a favor during my last week," he said playfully. Sure I'll be there and damn right you will pay and make a big deal of it as well." he said "So you ever heard of a guy at the mission named Bristol Peace?" I asked once I was sitting across from him. "What has that sack of shit done now?" Blevins asked with a mouth only half full off bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. "I did a little Christmas job for the Preacher last night and the old man playing CQ told me he was one bad dude. He was afraid of him, but he told me he was messin' with the women. Now I have not had a chance to ask, so I only have his word for it. I tried to find his record but that name is clean." "Only because the name is less than a year old. He has been on the radar but we can't pin anything on him." "So what you looking at him for?" I asked. Burglary, there are also some questions about assaults, but nobody will press charges. Damn stupid Preacher believes everyone is innocent till proven guilty," Blevins said. "Yeah, I know. Someone has to protect him from himself." I tried not to let Blevins know that I found both of them humorous in opposite directions. "So if that name is less than a year old. what was the old one?" I asked. "I don't remember his real name. He hasn't come up in homicide or gangs. He didn't have any big time priors under his old name either. We can't prove anything at the moment under either name, so what are you going to do?" he asked. "Have a talk with him of course," I said. "If you kill him, for God's sake clean up well," he said. "I always have," I said smiling. "So have you thought any more about coming to work for me after you pull the plug." "If you have a job where my expertise can help, call me. But punching a clock, even yours, is not in my plan." he said. After breakfast I had all the fluids in the truck changed. One of the taillight bulbs was dead so I replaced it. After all the shucking and jiving with the car I drove over to see the preacher. When I finally got in I said, "Preacher I got your Turkeys home all safe and sound." "Helen left word on the message machine. I am so glad that you didn't have trouble." he said. "You mean you are glad that I didn't kill anyone. It was touch and go there for a second, but it all ended fine," I said. "We do appreciate it and I would have called to thank you. It wasn't necessary that you drive over here." "Actually it was Preacher. I heard a rumor that you have a man on the staff that is dangerous. I thought I would warn you." I said. "Everyone is responsible for reporting dangerous people who slip through the cracks. It isn't necessary for you to do this Maxine. The person with first hand knowledge should be here. I don't make decisions based on rumors." "Preacher, I'm giving you first chance to take care of this crap. If you don't and it is true, then I will take care of it. This is my town to and I have a lot of help here, so clean up your people or I will. One more thing preacher only three people know I am looking into this man. The man who told me and he wont talk. Blevins, you know him, and you. If Bristol Peace finds out and makes trouble, its on you more than likely. So remember that, if you decide that you have to talk to him. I left the preacher and drove the Nissan back to Aster. When I got home, I was glad to find Sylvia already at work. She seemed to be happily working on some kind of graph. "What you working on Sylvia," I asked. "I love charts. I'm making a chart for the former use of the the Park Place building." she said. "Do a good job. If we get it, I will have the chart framed and put it on the wall." I suggested. "In the meantime call Vlad the terrible. Tell him I need a few words with him. See if he will meet me down in the club. He can even pick the time." I said. I didn't have a plan for Bristol. I figured I would go talk to some people and see what I could learn. I wasn't a cop, but I was pretty well known with the less desirable elements of town. If there were any rumors, I would hear them soon enough. "Vlad said ten minutes," Sylvia suggested. I cleaned up my body, then took a walk across the street. I always felt nervous, when I took that walk. I refused to avoid it, but I did remember. Once inside the building I went down to the basement. I had about a ten minute wait before Vlad showed up. "Well Maxine, why are you calling me?" he asked. "Good to see you to," I said with a smile. "I did a little job for the mission last night. When I got back, I heard a rumor. One of the Deacons is messin' with the women. I'm not sure what messin' with the women is. I thought me and you might spend a couple of hours this evening finding out." "Not a problem. Anya will want to come along I'm sure," He said. "Of course she will," I said in agreement. "You know tomorrow is Christmas Eve?" he asked. "I heard a rumor. Let's make this our Christmas present to the mission." I suggested. I never mentioned the preacher. Vlad hated him, but he did approve of the work he did. Vlad would also help me most anytime I asked, Anya, not so much. "Shall we make it 8PM? It will be plenty dark then. This kind of thing always seems more real in the dark." Vlad suggested. "Fair enough then 8PM it is. Dress warm, it is going to be cold and windy. You might even need a hood and sky mask." I said smiling. "Not all night I hope," Vlad said grinning. "So what are we hunting for tonight?" "I'm not sure, I think tonight will just be asking a few questions," I suggested. If we find anything, the questioning might get a little, shall we say messy." "Sure, we can say that," Vlad said happy as a schoolboy at recess. ------- Chapter 321 I was extremely pleased when Anya wanted to stay home. She was expecting a call from her sister in Russia. Vlad and I drove to the Cowboy Bar and Grill first. It and the Cop Out were my usual hangouts. Well not where I hung out, just where I went to get laid. When we walked in, I could see that business was off. Sarah was standing at the bar with a drink in her hand. I suppose the Christmas spirit was found in a glass at cowboys. "Sarah how about a cup of bad coffee," I suggested. She looked from me to Vlad who shook his head. "Here you go, one bad coffee on the house, since it's Christmas," she said placing the coffee in front of me. "Sarah what do you know about an organized ring of girls operating in town?" I asked. "I don't know anything," she said. The look on her face told me it was true. "Do you know where I need to go to ask?" "There is nobody that I know in town with that kind of organization. Maybe in Tryon," she said. "But I wouldn't know." After she left Vlad said, "You know I don't think there is a market here for girls in any large number. Maybe one or two, Do you know how many he is supposed to be running and how he is doing it?" "If I knew that, I wouldn't be on this fishing trip," I admitted. "Let's rethink this expedition. Who would most likely want those kinds of girls?" Vlad asked. "My guess would be the people dealing with the mission. Either other members or vendors that kind of thing. The problem with going outside that group is that the girls are not going to be be really high class." I said. "Not even close," Vlad agreed. "Those people don't have the kind of money to make the venture viable." I suggested. "How much extra money do they need. They have almost nothing now, anything is a step up. As for Peace, he may not be in it for the money. He might be in it for the power. Maybe he is planning a coup against the Preacher." "That's a lot of intrigue for a non profit. But you know a hell of a lot of money is going into the mission. If someone decided not to spend it, very soon he would be very rich." I admitted. "If they weren't operating the girls internally, how would they market them. Remember we still have the same customer base. I don't see college boys riding one of these beasts," Vlad said. "There is a section of town where the riff raff moved after the preacher rehabilitated the West End section. Come on let's ride down and ask a few questions. These people don't have a lot to lose Vlad, so go easy it could break bad at any second. "Well we are a little over dressed to be anything but cops or something like it," he said. "Let's just see how it goes. I can send someone back undercover if it gets to that," I agreed. The Shamrock had needed a coat of paint ten years before. By the time we showed up it needed a complete renovation. At the very least someone needed to change the grease on the walls. There was so much dirt attached to the hanging bulbs that the room was several lumen darker than necessary. Neither Vlad nor I were dressed especially well, but we were still over dressed for the Shamrock. At least we didn't create a riot when we entered. People didn't start running for the exits. It was probably my really bad hair that held them in place. No self respecting cop or do gooder would have hair that looked like mine. "What'll you have," the waitress asked. "Might as well make it two beers," Vlad said. "You want to eat?" she asked through her broken teeth. "No thanks," I said. What the fuck are you doing? the question came from the controller. I'm trying to find out what the Deacon is up to, I replied in a silent message. Since we weren't going to fool anyone, I decided just to go for it. When the waitress returned with the beer I asked, "We are having a party at my place the weekend after Christmas, New Years, and we need a few girls. who should I talk to?" I asked. "I ain't got no idea," she said. "So much for that ten dollar tip," I said. "All I want is a name. You aren't involved at all." "What you want the girls for?" she asked. "It's just a party for my friends. We like all kinds of different things. I will provide the dresses and all that. They just have to show up and be friendly, very friendly." I smiled what could have passed for a leer at her. I had a clear memory of how to do it, so it came pretty natural. "I don't want nothing to do with that, but I can get you a phone number," she said. "I don't want store clerks now. I want real women, you know what I mean." I said. "Yeah, I know," she said it with a great deal of disgust. "I need a shower," I said after she had gone to retrieve the number. "It can only get worse, you know that." Vlad said to me. "Yes, but with a little luck we can fuck someone up and make it all worthwhile," I said with a smile. The waitress came back and we traded a ten dollar bill for the phone number. "If this number is a fake, I will be back for my money," I said it with that smile again. "I might have to take it out in trade, but I'll get it." "The number is good, ask for Sammy," she said. "So there is at least one cutout," Vlad said. "Even if these are the same girls," I suggested. "If he comes up with a few, odds are good they are the same ones. Not that many large operations at one time in a small town. This ain't New York City or Moscow even," Vlad said. I dialed Sammy's number and it went to voice mail, so I hung up. "We are going to need to grab him up," I suggested. "Is he going to disappear?" Vlad asked. "That is totally up to him. I am not interested in hiding a body this time of year, but I can be convinced." I said quietly. "Sounds like a perfectly reasonable answer," Vlad said. Vlad and I packed it in, since we couldn't lay our hands on the Sammy guy right away. I sat in my comfortable chair running on half power and charging. I was in no hurry to find out what little there was to know about all the players in the current drama. It seems that there was mostly petty crime on the sheets of the poorest of the poor. It looked as though Sammy had a little burglary and a little larceny but nothing major. He seemed to be the kind of guy who would steal your tools, if you left the door open, but might not bother breaking a cheap lock to get to them. In other words he was most likely no more than a guy, who knew the guy, with the girls. Vlad had mentioned something as he left the truck. "You know you are pretty well known to be running a scam. Maybe we should either get someone else to run the scam, or just pickup these guys and sweat them. You ought to think that over." So I thought it over while I charged. I decided that I didn't want to spend my time torturing people except as a last resort. I wanted to outsmart them. Okay when I couldn't outsmart them, I would gladly pull out a fingernail. I would have to see if I could get someone else to play the party hostess. I had always wanted to try working with Tiny Dancer. Maybe she would like to get involved. She sure as hell looked the rich bitch part. Christmas Eve and the Sit Down was open, but there was a sign stating quite clearly that it would be closed the next day. I picked up a couple of extra bags for the next day. Since I was on the bike, I took them home before I rode to the mall to walk. Yes I went walking on Christmas Eve in all the traffic. It was pretty awful on the roads and the foot traffic in the mall was just as bad. It felt a lot like life in a pinball machine. Still I hung in there till I started my laps of the crowded mall. Even through the crowd, she stood out. Nobody else in the whole world moved like the Tiny Dancer. I had to hustle but I finally did catch up with her. "Hey girl, you gonna have a few minutes sometime today, or are you all booked up for Christmas?" I asked. "I got some time. You want to talk now?" she asked. "Somewhere a little quieter, if you trust me not to attack you?" I asked. "I trust you. Your place in an hour then?" she asked. "My place in two hours, I just got here." I said smiling. I walked off knowing the deal was struck. "Dancer, would you consider making a call for me. Before you say yes, it is going to require you to do a little acting." I suggested. "Everything you do sounds like fun. I have been known to play a part you know. I'm more than ready to get involved." she said. "Okay, but you have to pretend pretend that you are throwing a snooty New Years Eve party and want some poor hookers to amuse your wealth guests," I said. "That sounds cruel, but I can do it." she said. I'm sure you know to stick as close to the truth as possible. If he asks, It's New Years Eve at your place. He shouldn't ask, since he is just the guy who knows the guy, but you never know. I dialed the number given to me by the waitress at the Shamrock. The phone got answered by a guy who sounded half asleep. "Sammy you don't know me but my name is Sadie and I was given your name. I'm looking for some street wise hookers. I'm having a party and I want some real whores with character not class. It's kind of a joke, but I need five of them." "Who gave you my number bitch?" he asked. "What your mouth,"Dancer said. I nodded my approval. "I got your number from a waitress in a club. She said you knew all the players. If you didn't know the prostitutes, you would know someone who did." "Yeah, I know a guy who runs ten dollar whores. Is that what you want?" he asked. "That's exactly what I want. Can you set it up or do I need to meet with him." I had told her not to push to get up the ladder. If he didn't volunteer, I would grill one of the girls. One of them would always talk. "Sadie, why don't you meet with us both and we can work out a deal?" he suggested. "That's fine, when and where?" she asked. "How about we meet at the McDonalds at the Mall. Since it's Christmas Eve I will have to see if he is available. Give me a number and I'll call back." I quickly wrote the number of the burn phone on the card. "Be sure you bring your check book to the meeting." I shook my head and whispered, "Cash no records." I sat quietly while she said to him, "If it's all the same, let's use cash." "That will work just fine," Sammy said. "I'll be waiting for your call," the dancer informed him. She turned to me then asked. "So how did I do?" "You are a natural," I said and I meant it. I would expect to hear from Sammy any time, I thought. Maybe not before Christmas had past, but that was okay as well. I had tons of loose ends out there I could try to tie up. I was still waiting on the Park Place building to settle, and then there was the Irishman in D.C. thing. Once the boys on the farm identified Irish, I was going to have some serious 'splainin' to do. "Thanks for taking care of that for me. I am going to need you to meet with them and maybe lure them somewhere so that I can grab one or both of them." I said. "Why don't I just wear a wire and play act some more. I can probably find out what you want to know. It seems to me you already have an idea what you need to know," she suggested. ------- Chapter 322 120,495 views all-time I sent the burn phone home with Tiny Dancer and used the smarter than smart phone to call anyone I needed to call. My plan was to trade gifts with my friends the next day. I planned to put on my red pointed elf hat and make the rounds. In the meantime I planned to enjoy the day. It was getting close to noon and all my shopping was done. I might be the only one in town who was sitting a story above the street watching the traffic run up and down. It was quite a sight even in a small town. Heavy traffic is a relative term. A hundred cars might be considered heavy in Aster and a thousand in the same space might be considered light in New York City. I didn't need to dress warm even though it was thirty degrees outside, but I did anyway. I had to pretend to be just like the rest of the people on the street. At first glance all the downtown traffic was passing through. However when you looked closer there were people working even on Christmas Eve. I left home with a very large black backpack. Inside that backpack I had small boxes of candy. No I hadn't been thoughtful enough to buy the candy, Sylvia had. She and Peter had bought it for me. I mentioned that I would like to do a give away someday, so they decided this was the year. I decided on the spur of the moment to go along with it. Too bad they weren't around to see it. I wore red stretch ski pants and a red sweatshirt and a red sweater. Dressed in red with the elf hat, I made a pretty fair Anorexic Santa. I stopped in the news stand first to deliver my candy. I had been inside the newsstand maybe twice my whole time in town. Still it was Christmas and I was determined to walk down the street from end to end or until I ran out of candy. The owner was middle eastern he was not Christian, He took the candy and thanked me regardless. Several customers also took the small boxes. From there I just just went randomly along the street dropping off boxes of candy. It didn't seem like a big deal to me, but the few kids I ran into loved it. It did nothing for my cover, nonetheless I was glad that I had done it. I got about three forth of the candy distributed when Dancer called. "We have an after lunch date. Leon insists on going along." she said. "I'm sure Vlad will want to go as well. What time is the meeting?" I asked. "3:30 PM seemed to be the least crowded time. They seem to think I have a lot of money, so they are all hot and bothered to make the deal." she said. "I hope Leon understands that if he goes in with you, he is going to have to play a pervert." I informed her. "Sweetie according to himself, Leon was an excellent pervert player. He said to tell you that he has played a pervert most of his life," she said it with giggle. "Very well, we shall see how he does. If he does a really good job, we will try to get him the perv of the year award." I said laughing. I worried for a second that he wouldn't see the humor, then I forgot it. I still had candy to deliver. I took candy into a downtown jewelry store. "Merry Christmas," I said to the single man working there. "Merry Christmas to you as well. It must have been a lean year Santa," he said. "You know that the president's council on fitness is everywhere," I replied handing him the box of candy. "I expect to see you out at the mall walking after Christmas." "I promise Santa," he said. "Good, we want you around many more years," I said. I turned to walk out when the two young men rushed into the store. I knew from the looks they were giving me, that it was to be a hold up. Some things you just know without being told. "Santa you need to put the bag down and get behind the counter with the clerk." one of the young men said. I didn't like the vibe I got from the young man. He was too nervous and seemed to be manic. I had a bad feeling about them. I also had the .38 in a holster under the sweatshirt. Getting to it wouldn't be difficult. I just needed a distraction. It came when someone opened the front door. It was a young woman. When both men looked to the door, I went for the .38. It came out clean as it always did. I had the pistol in the ear of the one closest to me. "Now you want to hand me your pistol, or I'm going to blow the top of your head off. I'm the Homicidal Santa," I said. The one I had under control handed me his pistol. "Now get down on your knees and don't give me any shit." I looked over to the second one. He had the girl who had entered in his hands. "You need to put those guns down," he said. I didn't even answer him. I shot him right in the face. When they asked me later, why I did that without any warning, I explained that I was standing in the open with no cover. If I hadn't shot him, he could have shot me at any time. I did wait until the pistol was pointed at me before I shot him. It was an instant brain death shot. He was never any threat to me. Of course I pretended otherwise. I cried and was traumatized to anyone who saw me after. Blevins came and interviewed me. "Turn it down a notch," he whispered as he smiled at me. "Is there someone I need to call for you?" he asked as if he expected me to need help. "I just live two blocks up the street. If you will get someone to walk with me, I will be fine." I was fine of course, except the cops had my .38 which pissed me off a little. I should have felt something since I killed a man on Christmas Eve, but I really didn't. I had a second to calculate my actions, but no more. I had also calculated the consequences, and decided that the risk of jail was acceptable, so I shot the son of a bitch. Vlad was at my door when the officer and I arrived. "Are you alright?" he asked. "I'm just fine," I replied. "What happened?" he asked anxiously. "My usual luck. I went out to play Santa for the down townies and a couple of guys decided to rob a jewelry store while I was there. I had to kill one of them to save my own life." I explained. "Since the cop was still there." What I didn't tell him is that the prick couldn't have killed me, but he could have exposed me. So I guess I killed him to keep my secret. I would like to think that I killed him to save the girl. You better stay with the 'to save the girl' defense, came the message from the farm. "I'll take care of her now officer," Vlad said. The officer nodded then walked away. He couldn't wait to get away from the old lady dressed as Santa who had just killed a man. "We have to get ready right now," Vlad said opening his cell phone. "Come on over Leon and get your equipment." I walked back to the gun vault where my radios were also kept. I waited for Dancer and Leon to show. When they did, I fitted her with a transmitter, Then I used the small radio with a headset for Vlad. I was able to tap right into the microphone transmission with my built in communications devices. No one had to know that. Since the receiver had two ear pods, Vlad and I would appear to share. When we got to the restaurant it was full but they ordered coffee and found a table. Dancer had told Sammy to look for a box with green metallic paper and a silver bow sitting on the table. Vlad and I sat at a table across the busy restaurant. It wasn't long before the two small time criminals came along. They sat across from Leon and the Dancer. "So what can we do for you?" Bristol Peace asked. "We are having a New Years Eve Party," I heard the dancers slightly accented voice say. "We need five women of rather low morals to entertain." "You mean you need five hookers," Sammy said. He was making our job so much easier. We weren't having to do the drawing out of intentions. Sammy was doing it for us. "Yes we are looking for hookers, but very special hookers. Our guests have been all over the world and experienced many things. We would like them to experience something old, like from their grandfather's time. Sex with a woman far below their station. Just as their ancestors might have with the servants on the estate." "Just like the good old days," Peace said. I expected him to be incensed but he just laughed. "Sure, you are going to dress them as servant girls, I assume." Leon was improvising when he said, "Of course, they won't mind carrying a tray of drinks will they. We will pay them well." "Two women and three girls who could be their daughters for $2000 for the night." That was what I needed. I had him on audio and video tape making the deal. The final thing was the money changing hands. "Five hundred now and the other fifteen hundred when we arrive at your Party." Peace said. "Fair enough, " Leon said it then took out his wallet to deliver the five hundred. He did it discretely but I got it on tape. The whole thing made my stomach roll, but it was a clean operation. It just wasn't finished. I was tempted to call Atkins after I got home. Now listen to me Adkins, I have something you need to hear, would have been my approach. But the truth is I no longer trusted anyone. I wanted to make sure Atkins himself wasn't involved. It would be easy for the preacher to be at the top of the food chain and cover his tracks. So the only way to know for sure was to ask Peace. To do that I had to grab his ass up. "Call your friend Blevins. We don't need to torture Peace." Vlad suggested. "Well here is the thing. If we do that we need to let the sting run long enough for the cops to set up their own operation at the fake party." I said. "So we throw a fake party, surely we can do that," Vlad said with a hearty laugh. "It seems simpler to just walk in and drive a nail in this guys hand and let him know how Crucifixion felt. I expect that he would talk." I said. "Yes but the questions is what to do with him after he talks," Vlad suggested. He was right of course. "Okay, I'll call Blevins but I don't like this as much as I would sweating Peace. I hate a phony baloney do gooder," I said. "Well call Blevins and have him set you up with a vice cop or whatever," Vlad suggested. I called Blevins who was still working on the Jewelry story shooting. "You are not going to be happy," I said to him when I had him on the phone. "And why is that?" he asked. "I have a vice incident I need help with," I informed him. "Well at least you spread it around Maxine," he said wearily. ------- Chapter 323 Her name was Sergeant Carrie Thomason. She asked me to call her Carrie, so I thought of her as Carrie. "So Maxine, You don't mind if I call you Maxine?" she asked. "Not at all Carrie, so do you want to know why I had Blevins arrange this meeting on Christmas Eve? Or would you rather not take on anything new?" I knew that it was Christmas and in the back of my mind I thought I might need to just handle this alone. "Sure, I want to know what got Blevins to call me. He is about to retire, so I want to know what got his blood up on a vice case? Then I find out you are in the middle of it. Now I am dying to know what the hell is going on." Carrie said. "Are you from here Carrie?" I asked. I guessed her age at about thirty. I was trying to figure out how much background I needed to give her. "Yes, I was born here, I'm also married and have a kid," she informed me. I got that a lot. The people I met tended to treat me like a man for some reason. The women wanted to be sure I knew they were not interested, long before I ever thought to ask. "Well if you are from here you know who Reverend Adkins and 'His Laboring Few' are." I suggested. "Do you mean Reverend Archer and that ministry for the poor, druggies, alcoholics and the homeless?" she said. "Yes, did I call him Adkins?" I asked. "Yes you did," Carrie replied. "I must be slipping into senility early," I suggested, "Anyway, they do damn good work. I support that ministry as much as a heathen like me can. Whenever I hear of trouble in the ministry, I try to fix it. I figure it's something I can do, so I do it." "I have kind of heard things like that now and then," she said vaguely. "So, I was picking up some turkeys for the mission's Christmas feeding program last night. I heard a rumor that one of the Deacon's might be involved in prostitution using some of the women from in the mission's programs." I checked to be sure she was till listening. When I assured myself that she was, I went on. "So I set up a little sting of my own to be sure that it wasn't just a rumor. You know how those church politics are not to mention the rumors." I said. "I sure do," she agreed. I handed her the smarter than smart phone and let it play the tape. She heard it all then ask. "So the woman and her husband are your people?" she asked. "They are friends, who didn't mind helping the ministry out. They aren't really associated with me in any formal way." I replied not sure where she was headed. "If they are willing to testify, we can change those two guys with procurement." she said. "Oh so you don't need to be involved in the operation yourself?" I asked. "Actually, it's probably better if we aren't in this case." she said. "Good enough, let me take this to my lawyer and have her show it to Reverend Archer. If he wants to prosecute his man, I will arrange for the operatives to testify." I said. "So is that all there is?" Carrie asked. "Yes, turns out I just needed the advice after all. I thought we might have to arrange an elaborate sting." I said. "I guess I have been watching too much TV." "This is a pretty low priority crime. Most of our resources go into the war on drugs. Even that has taken a holiday this last year. I am told you had something to do with that. You are something of a folk hero around the station." "It's all TV hype Carrie. I am just one person trying to survive in this world just like you. Well not exactly like you, since you are a lot more attractive." I smiled just to be pleasant. "Oh, from the people I hear talk, the guys seem to find you very desirable," she said. "Oh I doubt that, but thanks for the kind words," I said. I let Carrie out the front door since she had parked her plain car there. The fact that I had forgotten Archer's name was only a vague nagging in the back of my mind. I could image that it was going to be a major concern to the controllers. the case officer, not to mention the creator. Were my circuits breaking down. I'm sure they would be wondering that and probably running simulations all through Christmas night. Somehow it seemed fitting that it be on Christmas night. "Hello my Christmas Slut," I said when Jen answered the phone at home. It was well after office hours. "Well if it isn't Santa's youngest Elf, Harlot. How goes it? Which toys are you making? the vibrators or the Dildos." "Jennifer, I need some help," I said. "Is this for money or fun," she asked. "It's to save the preacher from himself of course, so I'm not sure which." I said. I went on to explain it all to her. "Send me the file. I will see that he gets it before we go all judicial on him. Maybe we can just throw the Deacon out of the flock." She suggested. "If he stays, he will be right back in it just without the title," I suggested right back at her. "So what do you want to do banish him from the realm?" she asked. "Too bad we can't do that. I don't want to jail him, because it will make the ministry look bad right here at Christmas. I also do not want him coercing those women into turning tricks." "I'll talk to the Reverend and see what we can work out. It's a lot more complicated than it seems isn't it?" she asked. "Yeah I know, Why do people do shit like this? Is it just to upset the balance of life?" I asked. "How the fuck would I know. That's a question for God, not the likes of us. Speaking of which are you going to one the midnight services?" Jen asked. "I hadn't planned on it," I admitted. "I heard you killed a man today. Maybe you should go to a service, it might help make Christmas easier," she suggested. "Besides you like the music." "You are right I do like the music." At least I had liked the Christmas music when I was alive. I had loved Silent Night since my Christmas in Afghanistan when the choir with the USO show sang it. All of us dirty, smelly Airmen cried for home. Just went to show everybody loves and misses somebody, I guess. It was a common experience which made it even more powerful. "Tell you what, I'll meet you wherever you are going," I suggested. "Then meet me at the Vatican at midnight," Jennifer said. "Of course Bob will be with me, so you might want to bring a guest." "I think not," I admitted. "Have you heard? Is the mission doing anything?" "Not that I know of and I would," she said. "Well maybe the preacher will show up at the Vatican," I suggested. Since the Vatican was actually the huge stone First Presbyterian Church it was possible that the Reverend would show up there, not likely but possible. I rested for a couple of hours, then it was time to go to the midnight service, if I really planned to go. It did leave me with quite a few questions. I mean exactly what was I. I knew right from wrong, but did I have a soul. I was pretty sure I would have the same conscience that I had before I technically died. Probably because nothing much bothered me back then either. I was never all that religious, but I also don't deny the possibility of God. I just made a separate deal with him. Mankind was trying to make an immortality deal with god. You know heaven and all that, my deal was just to keep on keeping on. It seemed to be working, even if it was different. The midnight service was beautiful, the music was inspiring, and the kids were adorable. All in all I was glad Jennifer had convinced me to go to the service. During the drive home I began to wonder what the hell I was doing. I could make a real difference in the world, but here I was planning to play a really minor role in life again. I took a deep breath and the feeling passed. I imagined that the controller and my case officer were thrilled that it had. Nothing worse than an operative with delusions of grandeur, I thought. Especially one that might be self destructing memory wise at least. When I got home, I waited quietly resting until daylight Christmas day. I had been invited to Christmas dinner at more than one location. Since I couldn't do all of them, I chose to eat Christmas Dinner alone. Well not exactly alone, I drove the pickup truck to His Laboring Fews Mission. I found Helen and Jack there. "So give me a hairnet and point me to the mashed potatoes," I said. "Right this way Maxine," Helen said to me. She did just what I asked. I wore a hairnet while I shoveled mashed potatoes onto the plates of those who needed a hand that year. Again I realized that poverty and hunger respect no boundaries. Black, white and many other races were represented in that line. There were men, women, and even children, not to mention young and old." After I finished helping to feed all of them, I had a cup of black coffee and a slice of turkey on a roll. It was all I wanted, and it was a good thing, since we had run out of most things, or were damn close to being out. We did have plenty of turkey and rolls. "Maxine, you are an inspiration," a young man who came from nowhere said. I had no idea who he was or what he meant. "Son, I'm not an inspiration. I'm just someone trying to leave a mark on the world." It was true. I had no grand plans, I just tried to do something every day. "Well, I have read all about you and I think you are just amazing," he said. "Then I suppose I fooled you, and I guess I'm glad. Merry Christmas." I said walking back into the kitchen to say goodbye to Helen and Jack. When I arrived outside my Downtown House, I found Peter sitting in his car. "Why aren't you with your family?" I asked. "We finished dinner already. Sylvia is with Vlad and Anya so I was bored." Peter said. "So you came here as a last resort, thanks." I laughed. "I didn't mean it like that," he said. "Sure you did, but it's okay. Come on in we can split a box of candy and have a drink." It would be no treat for me to do either, but it might be for him. Alcohol did nothing for me and it didn't really have much of a taste for me. I had a really poor sense of taste after all. So what I did was to make eggnog milk shakes for us. I could at least taste those. While we sat sipping our eggnog milkshakes and eating chocolate covered cherries, I grilled Peter about his relationship with Sylvia. I tried to do it gently. "Peter tell me are your clothes hanging in Sylvia's closet?" I asked. I thought that was pretty subtle. "Does it matter?" he asked. "I don't know what do you think?" I asked turning the tables on him. "I don't know," He replied to something. I wasn't exactly sure what question his answer was meant to cover. "You don't know where your clothes are hanging?" I asked. "I don't know whether it matters if I'm living with Sylvia or not. Of course I'm not really living at her house, but I have spent some time there." "Some time or a lot of time?" I asked. "Why does that matter?" He asked. "It matters because I am going to be doing some things, and I had planned to include Sylvia. If she is involved with you, I won't do that." "You really have to ask her, to get her feelings. I spend time with Sylvia is about all I can say for sure." "Okay, I'll ask her someday," I said. ------- Chapter 324 People came and went all the rest of the day on Christmas day. I walked across the street to deliver my gifts for Vlad, Anya, Leon, and the Dancer. I had a empty feeling when I passed those two empty units. I had been putting off dealing with those since my shooting. I found them a low priority, but still they sat there mocking me. When I returned to my Downtown House, I searched through the list of messages on my computer. I was looking for one from Kate the realty slut. She had messaged me that she had a call from someone interested in the lesser priced unit in the Drugstore building. It was the first day after Christmas when I called Kate to make the arrangements for her to show the unit. She came for the key about noon on the same day. The working couple was interested in the unit mostly because of the neighbors. The husband and wife were college professors at the Tryon branch of the state university. All that was according to Kate at least. Aster was getting a rep as having a high concentration of Euro Trash, which obviously appealed to some folks. I also found a message which invited Sylvia and I to attend a New Years Party on a private estate in upstate New York. The invitation was from a US Senator no less. The invitation had been forwarded from the controller. They were posing as my social secretary for that crowd at least. The message from the controller was that I had accepted. They just wanted to know, if they should send a Dress for Sylvia as well. I waited for Sylvia to arrive while Kate showed the unit. I drank coffee and tried to think of some way to spend the remainder of my day. "Maxine," Kate said as she stood at my front door with a slightly less than middle aged couple beside her. "This is Samuel and Rachael Wilson, they just walked through unit two of the drugstore condo." I already knew that but I didn't comment. "Well good, so what did you think?" I asked. The place has the coolest funky view I have ever seen. The unit feels like it is sitting on top of the building next door. The views are all rooftops as if it were in Paris or something. Just too damn cool," the man said. "It actually has some of my favorite views. My own best view is the second floor view of main street. Its the same view you have of main street. It is just gorgeous at night. Small town main street at night is something unique. Then there are the shadows from the other roof tops nearby at night. Just beautifully eerie." "We are going to make an offer, but Kate here says to deal with her. We just wanted you to know we want the unit, if we can come to terms," Rachael said. Samuel was a dark athletic looking man, while Rachael was a pudgy fair skinned woman. They were far from a beautiful couple. They were more the real average American couple. "You guys put your heads together and let's see if we can't work together to make this happen." I suggested. "We are hoping that since we met, we can all work together to make this a reality," Samuel suggested. "Sounds like a good idea to me." I agreed. They didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave but I did finally get them out of the house. I called Sylvia at home since she hadn't shown up. "Hey Sylvia what are you planning for New Years Eve?" I asked. "I don't have any plans. You told me to stay flexible we might get a party offer." "Yes and we have. We have an invitation to the New Years Party of a Senator from upstate New York. Some little town on the Great Lakes called Oswego. He has some kind of summer place up there. They also use it for a big party over New Years." "Is it going to be like that last party we attended?" Sylvia asked. "I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised," I suggested. "My first inclination is to say no thanks. Do you need me to go?" she asked. "Not at all honey. If you don't feel comfortable going, then just say no. I won't be at all upset. This is not a job, it's social." I assured her. "I do appreciate it, honest. I would never get the chance to go to fancy parties any other time. I'm still amazed by the last one we attended." "I can put off ordering the dress for a couple of hours. Why not let me know by noon, if you change your mind." The day after Christmas proved to be filled with movement on many fronts. Bristol Peace was at my rear door within minutes. I opened the door, but I didn't invite him in. "What can I do for you?" I asked. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to fuck you up," he said menacingly. "You are kidding right?" I asked. "You might want to rethink that, you are a small town thug. I have had some really bad ass people try that. As you can see I'm here, but they are not." "You don't scare me bitch," he said. I could have reached up and closed my hand around his throat and ended it right there. The problem was I would have had to kill him. Calling me a bitch, which was really true, didn't rise to the level of a capitol crime. Even so I needed to convince him that coming after me was a death sentence, so I went with the box opener to his throat. I did it with one clean almost ballet like move. The box opener came from my hip pocket and the razor slid from the case as it moved toward his throat. He was against the wall as I spun his bigger body around. He had to be surprised by my strength. I didn't use an unreasonable amount. Before he really knew what was happening I had him against the wall and the razor against his throat. "Now you make one fucking move and I will slit your throat. It will be inconvenient to dispose of your body but I still remember how. Body in the back of my pickup with a blue tarp over it. A drive to the river roll you ass in, then take your car down to the Barrio and drop it off. I'm sure you have more enemies than me." "Please don't," he begged. "Peace, you need to be out of town by morning. If I see you here after that, I am going to do some serious thinking about my own safety. If I decide that it is me or you, guess who it is." "I get it. Honest I get it," he said. When I turned him loose he was gone in a flash. The old me would have been shaking from the Adrenaline rush. I had the same high, even in the new body, but I didn't shake. I just enjoyed the warm glow. I still felt that it was fun to put it on the line. I had my new issues but some things hadn't changed. I was feeling very good about myself, when Sylvia called. "I thought it over and decided that I really would like to go to the party. I am not obligated to have sex with anyone am I?" she asked. "Now you know better, you have no obligation at all. The only thing you have to do is look pretty and smile now and then. Anything else is totally your call, just like last time," I assured her. "Then count me in after all," she said. "I'll make the arrangements then let you know what we are doing. You do know that Peter is not invited this time." I informed her. "I didn't think he would be. We need a break to be honest, that's part of it," She informed me. I was more than a little surprised that Jen was in her office on the day after Christmas. "Maxine I got an offer on the number two unit in the Drugstore townhouse," she said over the phone. "They were by here earlier, I was sure that you were going to get one. The question is how bad is it. They were trying like hell to make a good impression, so that I would give them a break." I answered. "Your asking price was 200k, the independent appraisal is 189,999, They are offering 175k. They said it was the best they could do, since they were teachers." Jen said. "Jen they are both college professors. I think they can afford more than that. Tell Kate I said 185k and I do nothing toward closing. They can file for first time buyers assistance, if they are eligible, but I'm not participating." "Did they strike you wrong?" she asked. "They are teachers, not my usual cut throats," I said. "Well, I think they will go for it," Jen said. "Who knows but tell Kate I'm through dicking around with it." After I said that I was ready to do something fun, I just didn't know what. "So what are you doing for New Years?" Jen asked. "I have been invited to a party on an Estate in New York. It's on one of the great lakes. What are you and Bob doing?" I asked. "Maxine, I'm not really sure. Bob has been acting strange. He either has some really cool surprise cooking for the first, or he is going to kill me." she laughed. "You do know that if he kills you, I will kill him. Trust me, he will suffer a hell of a lot more than you do." I said it while smiling because I knew I would look forward to it. I never did care much for Bob. He was a prick who rode on Jen's coattails. "My you are getting absolutely blood thirsty." she said giggling. "What the fuck to you mean getting. You know I have always been blood thirsty." I said it with a laugh. Jen hung up with things still up in the air about her New Years plans but it didn't matter I was committed to mine. The message from the farm informed me that I would be driving up, because I couldn't fly commercial and pig shit airlines was busy as hell for the holidays. Lots of super secret shit was going on or some such nonsense. I sure as hell didn't trust the pickup I had just bought to make a trip like that and it would be terribly uncomfortable at the very least. So it looked as though I would be renting another car. I called to make a reservation for a car to pick up on the 30th of December and return on January 2nd or 3rd. I would bet my ass that Peter would be thrilled to come along and help with the driving. I decided to let everything just lay till the last minute. I could easily do all the driving myself. Even after I finished the drive, I could hike fifty miles. Since I would plug the MP3 player in while I drove, I would arrive as fresh as when I left. No one else could say that for sure. It was suddenly the night after Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a bot. That's how it was when Bristol Peace opened my back door. I live in a very high security building and I don't sleep, so I was watching him from the time he touched my rear door handle. I have no idea where he parked his car, but he walked up to the door. There were no strange cars anywhere. He pried the rear door and came in hot. He obviously had not cared for the feel of that razor against his throat. I had dealt with an intruder a month before. I had shot an armed robber a few days before, so I had a problem. How would I justify the killing of Peace. If I didn't kill him tonight, I would just have to do it later. I really felt that I had no choice. ------- Chapter 325 Since I felt that I had no choice, I didn't ask anyone's permission. Nor did I have a problem flipping the switch on the jammer. Sure, if the controller had been listening to my thoughts, when Peace came through the door, he or she knew what was going to happen, but I jammed the signal before they tried to stop me. I quietly moved to Peace and twisted his head violently to the left. I heard the popping sound and felt the jerk as his body reacted to the severing of the spinal chord. Peace was almost instantly brain dead. I did a check to be sure that I didn't need to suffocate him a well. He was resting peacefully as I'm sure they would say later in the mortuary. The problem became what to do with him. I immediately went into my kitchen for plastic gloves. While I stood over the body, I did a quick threat analysis. As I slipped into the gloves, I began to wonder exactly what would be the best way to dispose of a body like his. Did I want him to just disappear. If so a vat of acid was the way to go. That seemed like more trouble than it was worth. If I hadn't been involved with another death just a few days before, I would probably call Blevins. It just seemed like too many bodies in too short a time. So, Peace needed to be disposed of another way. First I used my computer to turn off the real time camera over my rear door. Video was a two edged sword that needed to be blunted. A few key strokes and the video camera was off line. Next I needed to do something with the body. It wasn't leaking anything. so I wasn't too worried. I did have to haul the body away inside the maroon cruiser, or in the back of the orange pickup truck. I decided to go with the pickup. I went into the storage room and found a plastic painter's drop cloth. It had never been opened and it was white, not clear. Dragging Peace onto it and then sitting him up and leaned forward into kind of a ball wasn't hard at all. Rolling and securing him inside the plastic sheet was a little clumsy. Since the sheet was new, I wiped only the wrapper for finger prints. It seemed unlikely that even that had been necessary. I included the drop cloth wrapper inside the package with Peace inside. He was heavy, but I could have carried him even in my old body. Using the new new body with the hydraulics, there was nothing to it. He was a ball in the back of my truck in no time at all. I was a little surprised at how easy it had been to haul the man, who was much larger then me, into the rear of the truck. It was simply a matter of leverage. The hydraulic joints and muscles had way more power than I needed. Hell most of the time I fought to keep them under control. It was nice to see that they really were useful now and then. Bristol was headed for the Cowtail Ford Bridge over the Elon River. I found the Cowtail Ford Bridge back when I was still me. I filed it away for a rainy day, and it appeared to be pouring at that very moment. Everybody has a body drop spot filed away in their brain, just in case, don't they? I thought with a smile. Even though I had no idea where his car was parked, I had taken his keys, just in case I ran across it. I removed both of them from his key ring, then replaced the ring into his pants pocket. When they found Bristol's body, there was little chance they would declare it an accident, but I planned to keep them as confused as possible. The drive to Cowtail Ford didn't take long. It was reasonably close to home, which is why it stuck in my mind. At 2AM nothing was moving on the two lane road. I knew exactly what I was going to do, so it took me less than five minutes to open the plastic and toss Bristol's body from the bridge. It is good to dump bodies in water. It is even better, if it looks as though the death could be accidental. I had left no evidence at all on the body. I was back in town by 2:45AM. I rode around the area until I found the car registered to Bristol in a parking lot several blocks from my house. I quickly drove the truck back to the apartment. I left the Townhouse several minutes later on the bicycle. It was cold but not to me. I really did like the new body now and then. That night was one of the now and then moments. My body did not get cold, and the sensors that replaced the human eye was a hell of a lot more sensitive to low light. I could crank it up to almost daylight and pedal the bike very safely. I put the bike in Bristol's trunk. I simply drove the car back to the mission and left it parked behind the empty meeting hall. It would be several days before anyone used the meeting hall, so the car might go unnoticed for a while. The four mile ride home on the bike was hardly more than a twenty minute ride at noon on a summers day to me. During the fifteen minute ride home, at a pretty good speed, I was able to split my attention between the road and thoughts of what I had just done. I had committed a pretty clean murder. Okay, in my mind it was justified homicide, but I decided I would just skip the coroner's jury bit. There was no need for an inquest, I knew what happened and I knew it was necessary. The only question was could I get away totally clean, or would there be more details to deal with later. I knew that the farm would shut me down before they allowed the cops to arrest and put me on trial. As with anything else Peace has been a calculation and he just came up on the wrong side of the equation. He was determined to get even, so as long as he was alive it could come at anytime. He might even be able to do me real damage somehow. That would be a truly bad thing for me personally and the program as well. So I'm sure they would have given me permission to terminate Bristol Peace, if I had bothered to ask. When the sun finally came up, I went out to check the truck. I had disposed of the plastic drop cloth and the duct tape, which I had used to transportation of the body, far from home. I just couldn't think of any loose ends. The only bad thing would be if Peace had told someone he was coming to see me. If that were the case, I was going to be a suspect, but there was still no evidence. After I was sure the truck was clean, I turned the camera back on and the jammer off. My first thought which went to the farm was, I think I'll ride the bike over to the Sit Down for breakfast then go to the Mall to walk. I was expecting to be asked where the hell I had been, but nothing was said. It was possible that I wasn't monitored very closely unless I was operational. That would explain a lot of what was going on. Mostly it would explain why they weren't all that concerned to have lost contact with me. I had coffee and a bagel while I made normal morning conversation with the cops, firemen, and paramedics inside the Sit Down. I enjoyed being seen, but I would have done it even if I hadn't. I needed to be just as normal as possible on two levels. One level was to convince everyone that I was still the same ole Maxine as I had been before the nanny slut shot me. Then there was the new level, nothing out of the ordinary had happened over night, so here I was being me. After I ate I rode the bike to the mall where I walked four laps. The dancer showed up just as I was starting my last lap. "Hey Maxine," she said smiling. "Either I am early, or you and Leon need to stop the morning sex," I said laughing at her. "Oh why is that?" she asked. "When I get back to the door where my bike is parked, I'm headed home," I said. "Surely you don't think I come here to walk with you?" she said smiling. I was never sure exactly when Dancer was serious. "Well, now that you have Leon, I'm sure you are not coming here to meet men," I said laughing. "Nor am I coming here to meet women. I am coming here to walk, so that my muscles don't turn to Jello like Leon's are going to do." she said bitterly. "Leon is not like us Honey, he was one of those intellectual types. His idea of exertion is climbing the stairs," I said. "That is true, he bitches every day about having bought the third floor apartment." she said. "Well he can always try to sell it," I suggested. "Are you mad, Leon would never leave Vlad, Anya and you. He would rather see me move out than to leave you guys. You are like a gang or something." I made it home from the walk without anything being said to spoil my good mood. There was something about eliminating a threat that just felt so damn right. The first thing to bring me back to the real world was the call from Jen. "So Harlot, the Christmas Elf, would you like some good news?" she asked. "I can only imagine good news from you being about business and it's still the holidays." I said. "Yes it is. You know how much I love your business. The college professors just agreed to the purchase price of unit two at the drugstore townhouse. I set the closing for January 5th." "Remind me later, I have a few things going on around that time," I admitted. "Of course you do. You are just too, to popular," she said. "Screw you Jennifer," I said. "You wish slut," she said giggling like a school girl. "Okay, lets do it then. If you need my okay you have it. So what's your New Years Plan?" I asked. "Bob and I are planning to do the New Years Cruise for old farts this year," she said. "I can't believe you are finally ready to admit that you are old. Hell you are the same age as me and I've been old for years," I said with a smile in my voice. "I certainly hope you enjoy your party on the lake," she said just a little snippy... I hope I do as well, of course I can't say for sure till it happens. It looks as though Sylvia will be going along. I might even take Peter along to drive. I'm still trying to decide about that. He and Sylvia might be doing the deed, but she is Euro Trash, so I'm not sure how significant that is, even if it is true." "Oh you think she is one of those 'screw six guys at the same time' kinds of chick," Jen asked. "I don't know and I sure as hell am not going to ask. I like having her working for me." I said. "She is gorgeous I can see why. I bet the men are attracted to her like flies to shit." Jen said. "Jen what has gotten into you. You don't talk like that," I said. "Just using words I'm sure you will understand potty mouth," she said. "Well she is beautiful and when we were at that party in DC, the men did hover. I have to admit now and then some of the attention spilled over to me. Now I have to go get ready for work it's almost time for her to arrive. Now that Christmas is over, I'm going to try to get something going." It was a lie. It was my plan to just sit around and do nothing till enough time had passed so that I could head to the party in upstate New York. ------- Chapter 326 Jen hadn't proved to be such a hot shot salesman after all. Both of the drugstore sales, she had been so proud of, when I got home, fell through. It was the reason they stood empty mocking me until the professors bought one for a Christmas present to themselves. I hadn't had much trouble reselling that unit since it had cleared escrow only two weeks before Kate carried them to the unit. The fancier one with the better views and the bigger price tag would hit the market again in the middle of January. I was looking forward to that one being gone as well. The whole Drugstore Condo thing put me back in the mood to deal in Real Estate. I decided when Sylvia finally arrived I would indeed get back to it. I was all introspective while I waited for Sylvia. I was surprised to learn how much of our personality is nothing more than memory. The new me was a poster girl for the theory that we are the sum total of our past experiences. In my case it was the memory of those experiences that lived on. I thought that I was doing just fine. Since no one else seemed to know that I wasn't just like them, I must have been doing okay. I wasn't all that worried about the Bristol Peace issue. First of all I expected him to be found any time. Then I expected there to be an investigation. I expected Blevins to question me, so I was prepared for anything. I did take the time to cover my digital trail, and that made me feel some better. Peter was my new digital guru. I had him install a system into my computer that was the equivalent of a burn bag. Nothing went onto the hard drive of the computer. Everything got saved on a thumb drive written with Linux. My complete operating system ran from a CD. Then it called all the saved information from the thumb drive into the ram to manipulate it. If the cops came with a warrant, I could swallow the thumb drive. Were there fragments of information in the ram? Possibly, but nothing useful Peter assured me. I was convinced that he was good at what he did, so I trusted him. I also didn't automatically save any of the images from the back door camera. I knew from my fishing cabin days, that those things could be a problem. If they were left laying around, they could easily come back to haunt me. If I wanted anything to last longer than the twenty minute loop built in loop, I had to save it by hand. I had saved very little. I did save the picture of the kid who broke in as he came through the rear door. But I let Peace expire while I took care of him and of course the camera was off while I put him into the truck so there was no video of it. Once Sylvia arrived I put her to work on the books while I got on the phone to the people representing the Heartland Mills property. "Man how long is it going to take you guys to make a simple decision?" I asked. "I am ready to move ahead or move on to something else." I knew that I would likely do the Heartland project, and just help with the Bank project. I kind of liked the idea of a mill village again, but I knew the place needed the hostel for students more. I also knew that Archer was interested in running the hostel. He might not be quite as interested now that his man Peace was about to go AWOL on him. Sylvia came to me since she was answering the smarter than smart phone for me. I was using the burn phone to touch base with people. "The A1 people are on the phone. They want to talk to you, I think they are ready to deal." she said. "Cool lets see what we can do. It might be our Christmas present to ourselves." I suggested. I pushed the button on the phone then said, "This is Maxine Stone." "Ms Stone, I represent the board of A1 Financial Services," he said. "Fancy name for a business only slightly more legal than loan sharking," I said. "Be that as it may, you have an offer in on our property in Aster," he said. "I think that it is a lot more the bank's property. Your people seem to be holding it hostage, more than anything else. I think the bank is ready to go to court." I said it just to correct the record. "I understand you are willing to pay my client to sign a release of equity?" he stated. "I am willing to pay a percentage of the equity to get a release of the loan, so that I can deal with the bank. But I am not willing to get fucked without dinner first." I said it being a lot tougher than he expected. I could tell he was shocked. "Well your last offer is unacceptable," he said. "Actually, you finally have something correct. That was my last offer. I appreciate you calling, since I am ready to move on. I suppose that ends this negotiation and the call." I clicked the phone to off. "Well kiddo we are no longer in the running for the A1 property. Get a list of the property to be auctioned after the first of the year," I ordered Sylvia. "I had a feeling you were going to get tired of dealing with those assholes, so I already did." she informed me. Sylvia slipped me a list of three properties. "I see you weeded it down a little. What were your qualifiers?" "Under 1200 sq feet and on one story. I did not disqualify anything on it's present use. The one circled in red is my idea of thinking outside the box. You always tell me to see the end game not the present use of things." "Sylvia it's a fucking car wash," I said. "Not one of those tunnel things, its a four bay brick and block Do It Yourself Car wash," she informed me. "I will bet you my next weeks pay that it is going to go cheap. There is no equipment, so it's just a shell. The owner filed bankruptcy, so obviously the locations isn't great," she informed me. "Let's go for a ride and see it then," I suggested. We took the truck since it seemed the most appropriate thing. The car wash was one block off main street. The building was larger than I would have expected even if it was more or less unfinished. I paced off the bays and found them to be 12'x20' each. There were four of them plus a smaller storage area that had been used as an equipment room. It was 8'x20'. The lot wasn't very valuable in Aster. It might have been worth more in Tryon. The building was just a shell so it wasn't very valuable either. I liked the idea a bunch. The layout was a little funky but not all that bad when I thought about it. There were two bays on either side of the storage room. Whenever I bought a property, my goal was always to use the existing layout as much as possible. I was getting a lot more excited about the car wash than I had been about the A1 property. "I'm thinking we cut the storage room in two pieces with a hallway and use one side as a gun vault and the other as a bathroom," Sylvia suggested. "So you are thinking two offices on each side?" I asked. "Two offices on one side, a meeting room and more storage on the other side," she suggested. "That sounds like a pretty good plan. Get His Laboring Few out to give us a preliminary estimate to make it happen. The auction for this has to be soon," I suggested. "It is January 3rd at noon on the courthouse steps," she added. "Get their designer to come sit with you and the two of you get a preliminary floor plan for me to look at. Sylvia I want this to always be a car wash conversion I don't want it to pretend to be anything else." I said. "I understand," she replied. I turned the project over to Sylvia for the time being. I had pretty much dropped Peace from my active mental processes. I was thinking about the upcoming party. My biggest concern was the transportation to the address I had been given. I figured the drive time was 11 hours if I drove it. 15-20 hours, if Peter and I shared the driving. I decided Peter was staying home this trip. I planned to Rent a car the next morning then leave the same evening which was December 30 and drive overnight. We would check into a motel and let Sylvia rest before the party that night. Spend one more night in the motel and leave some time Jan1st headed home. Unless something came along to change out plans. "According to the website, our dresses are on the UPS truck and headed this way," Sylvia informed me. "Oh Cool I really want to see what that DC designer thought would be so cool for us." The cover story I gave Sylvia was that a dress designer in Washington had been so impressed with Sylvia's beauty that she wanted to design the next cocktail dress for her. In my case the story was I got one as well but nothing special. We went out to lunch, even though the dresses were 'on the truck'. I didn't have all that much faith in that, on the truck shit. If they didn't come, or if they were butt ugly, we could always head over to the mall. The women's wear stores there were full of sale items. Hell Sylvia would be gorgeous in a potato sack and nothing would help me. I had a plain small burger and a chocolate eggnog milkshake or lunch. It was delicious, so I was in a good mood when I got home. When I analyzed the lunch I realized that my old memories of tastes had begun to influence my present perception of food. In other words I was beginning to enjoy eating again, just for the memories it sparked. What a great improvement it was over what I had first experienced after the change. "Hey look there is the box just like they promised," Sylvia said as I pulled up behind the townhouse. I was a little surprised that they actually read the sign on the front door and made the delivery. I checked the camera over the door to see if I had a good delivery video for the web, but the guy did a very professional job. "Come on I'm dying to see what that designer thought you should be wearing," I suggested. "Oh Alright," Sylvia said as she opened the bag containing her dress. The dress had been carefully wrapped in what appeared to be a foam rubber blanket to minimize wrinkles. She held the dress up for me to see. The dress had a single strap around her neck. It did not have any sleeves. It had what I call a handkerchief bodice. From that top the rest of the dress hung by a single piece of cloth across Sylvia's tummy. "Wow, there isn't much of it there," I commented. "At least it's not as long as the last one. This one is not quite mini but it is short," she informed me as she held it up for me to see. "You have to try it on for me," I said. "I thought you would never ask," she said raising the green sweater and revealing her green bra. I managed to swallow the 'color co-ordinated comment rather than make it. Next she removed her jeans. She was left standing in her bra and bikini panties. She was every bit as gorgeous as I remembered. "You are not going to be able to wear that bra with that dress," I suggested. "Maxine that dress is very soft, my nipples are going to show, especially if I get aroused." she informed me. "Honey, I'm sure that was the plan and I'm also sure no one is going to complain, not even you." I said smiling. I knew that Sylvia was an attention slut and didn't hold it against her at all. "Alright," she said removing the bra. Her large firm breasts drooped only slightly without the support. She slipped the dress on over her bikini panties. It was obvious that she was wearing the panties but nothing else. Her breasts were tilted down but only slightly. She turned and showed me the rear. The skirt of the dress was cut a little lower than her panties. Those panties will never do. You are going to have to find some French cut ones, or do without. The dress is constructed so that panties aren't mandatory," I suggested. I swear Maxine sometimes I think you are a guy," she said grinning at me. ------- Chapter 327 125,175 views all-time "Now let's see yours," Sylvia demanded. "I assure you that it won't look anything like that," I admitted. The dress was well designed and would have been a knockout on someone who could have done it justice. The neckline had a deep scoop in the front to show off my scars and an even deeper one in the rear for the same purpose. It was very short of course, which showed off the scars on my legs. It was also a very bright shade of red. Like Sylvia's, my dress could not be worn with a bra it however had to be worn with panties of some kind, because it was so short. "It looks like when I pick up the car tomorrow for our trip, I will have to stop to buy panties," I suggested. "Come get me first and I'll go pantry shopping with you. We can go to Victoria's Secret." Sylvia suggested. "Honey, I will take you there but I just want plain red ones. Those I can buy anywhere," I said with a smile. "Then you can take me. I'm not sure I want to ride my scooter home with a bag from there in the open basket." she said. "Someone might get ideas." "Well. since I don't want the car till tomorrow, and the work day is finished we might as well ride to the mall and get it over with. I wouldn't mind getting my packing finished early," I explained. We took the Pickup which was quickly becoming my favorite motor vehicle. Once spring came it might be some kind of power bike, but for that moment it was the ugly orange Jap pickup truck. I went into the store with Sylvia, who really needed to try on the panties to be sure they would not show under the dress, but unfortunately that wasn't possible. In the end she bought a low rider G string panty. It was the closest thing to nothing I had ever seen. "Do you really think that thing will cover the crack of your ass?" I asked. "Oh it will for sure," the clerk interjected, "But barely." She smiled seductively as she said it. Even though the clerk swore that it would cover both openings I had my doubts. Then again it was one of those kinds of parties. The whole purpose was to be sexy. It wasn't nearly enough to just be attractive. I only got invited because I was more than just a little kinky. The plain red cotton panties came from the same store only because it was easier. I put the whole thirty five bucks on the farm's credit card. They knew and expected it. Why not? It was tax payer money after all. Now Swamp thing had a different outlook on its credit cards. I used the smarter than smart phone to call for an automobile reservation. I had waited too late to get the car of my choice, so I had to take a crappy mid-sized Chevy. "So, if you will give me a call at noon tomorrow, I should be able to give you the exact pickup time?" The clerk asked. "The car isn't on your lot now?" I asked. "No we have two being turned in tomorrow morning. People will be flying out to get home for New Years," he informed me. "But you will have the car for me, right?" I asked. "Absolutely, it will be ready for pickup just as soon as it is serviced and gassed up." He promised. "If it isn't, I am going to be very upset and trust me you won't like me when I'm upset." I informed he calmly. "I got it Ms. Stone not to worry," he said over the phone. I drove Sylvia home from the mall. "Now you be ready to leave tomorrow after dinner. I'm thinking 8PM or so. If I drive straight through we should be there about 8AM. We can have a good breakfast, check into the motel, and have the whole day to rest or look around town." "If you are up all night, you are going to need to rest," she informed me. "A couple of hours sleep and I will be fine," I informed her. "We can still do our sight seeing, if you are up to it. You can sleep in the car so you should be. I have combat sleep habits. I can stay awake without any help, if I really need to do so." She didn't need to know the truth. Hell, the truth was that she could never know the truth, and live. It was a joke in the business, but I wasn't so sure that in my case it was a joke. When we left the mall, we had Sylvia's scooter in the back of the pick up. Since it was full dark, I drove her and the scooter home. "You didn't have to do this." she said when we rolled the scooter off the truck. "Of course I did. I have a lot invested in that dress. I gave the designer my word that you would wear it at the senator's party and tell everyone who designed, it when they asked." I informed her. "I could not have you being run over by some half blind old lady tonight." "You are such a terrible driver, I am probably more at risk with you than on the scooter." she said. I gave her a nasty look but said nothing. After the scooter was gone I headed back to the townhouse. I went home and plugged into the special MP3 player, while I watched the new on Fox News Network. I did not have a political bent at all, but I found their news coverage more to my liking for some reason. I never second guessed what I like or don't like. I just go with it and screw the rest of you. By 10PM I was fully charged and could have gone out, but the truth is I just wanted to pass the time harmlessly until the next morning. I didn't want to draw attention to myself in any way. Somewhere in the back of my mind was the thought that, people were probably already looking for Bristol and because of that they were closer to looking for me. I wondered how I would handle that. I was also more than a little shocked that the controllers hadn't questioned me about the random thoughts that were moving through my head about the killing. I wondered if they were receiving them and just not translating them. It was possible that something else was going on. Surely if they knew, they would be concerned enough to questioning me about it. It could be that there was so much data that only key words triggered the attention of the controllers. Possibly there were more triggers or a constant monitor when I was on assignment. For instance it could be a random monitor at that moment, but the next day when I got to the party it could be constant. I just didn't know the protocol. I really did need to know that. I decided that one day I would have to try to pry it out of someone. I had to wonder if they were maybe rethinking the Maxine series of computers. I had the ability to reason which was good, but I also had the spark of original thought, not programed by anyone. I wondered if they were thinking original thought was a good thing. I might be the only Maxine series unit ever built. How did I feel about holding the future of other people in my hands. After all there were other people, who might continue on as I had. People who if I fucked up too badly might die instead. One of those people might find the universal cure for cancer, if allowed to continue. It was quite a responsibility. Then it struck me humorous that it was human nature at its finest that the first such unit built was an assassin. Instead of that cancer researcher the world got saved from Bristol Peace. Then of course speculation went wild and I wondered if the units like me were in charge what who would have built. Units like me in charge had to be the basis of nightmare movies like Terminator. If I had many of those of the books moments like Peace, I might well be closed out. I wasn't so sure that I was a machine, so maybe the war between humans and machines didn't have to take place. Especially if they kept making interactions between us possible and even enjoyable. If they ever made a class of machines that didn't enjoy and appreciate the difference between us, then maybe there would be a problem. I just didn't care that night. My options were to listen to music, or watch some mindless human TV show, or go out and get fucked. In other words I had the same options as any completely human single woman sitting at home that night. I made the same decision as many other women did that night, I'm sure. I decided not to decide. I just relied on the old 'body at rest tends to remain at rest' law. When it was time to kick my ass into action, I managed but it wasn't easy. I really did want to just sit and vegetate. I showered, such as it was, then went to breakfast. I was surrounded by cops and I wanted to ask one of them if a body had turned up in the river overnight. Even a machine knew that was a fucking stupid thing to do. That did not mean that I didn't want to ask. From breakfast, I went to the mall where I met Dancer and a few of the old fogies who walked there with us. It was nice to have people say good morning and smile. I needed it at that moment because in a few hours I would be off to do something many people would find distasteful. I personally did not have a problem with fucking for compensation. Speaking of which, the message in my head said. We specifically want you to develop a friendship with one of the Senator's aids. Suddenly super imposed over the image of the mall was the face of a man. That is so cool, why have you never done that before? I asked in the silent voice we used to communicate. It's a new technique we developed since your last assignment. We can project images so we no longer have to send them on the phone to you. One less trail for someone to use to connect us. Good plan, so what is this guy's kink? I asked. He is awfully young looking. From what we can find, using wire taps on his phone, we thing he might have been involved with his mother as a teenager. We really would like to know what it is in his past and how it effects him now. Oh come on this isn't just a simple fuck him, steel the file, and then move on assignment, I messaged. No Maxine, this is fuck him, find out his darkest secrets so that we can arrange for him to hand us the file, was the returned message from the farm. I will give it my best shot. You have to accept the fact that this might not work out the way you want. I messaged back. True but at least we don't have to worry about you falling in love with him. That would be a concern with a lesser operative. We do still wonder if you can be a Domme. We know you do Submissive thing very well indeed, was their reply. Ah, so does this target need to be dominated? I asked. Assuming he and his mother were having sex with he was a teenager, it would be the reasonable train of thought, was their message. Yes it would, I agreed. Dancer and I finished out walk and I drove the my truck immediately to the rental agency. I had to wait a few minutes for them to finish servicing the rental car since I didn't call ahead. But I was home with the gold colored Chevy by 1PM. I did several mind numbing things until I left for Sylvia's condo at 7:30 PM. ------- Chapter 328 Sylvia loaded a dress bag and a small black half duffel bag like mine into the trunk. We were on the main road out of town, headed north, by 8pm. I engaged Sylvia in conversation as I drove the big clumsy car in a northerly direction. We spoke about nothing just to fill the air with noise. People often do that it seems. At the first stop for gas Sylvia raided the prepared food cooler which was located inside the convenience store part of the building. When I hit the road again she was juggling drinks and prepared foods of different kinds. "I love America, we had none of this where I grew up," she explained. "So you are determined to try everything?" I asked. "These chicken things are actually quite good," she informed me. "Are you sure that you don't want to try them." "No thanks, I had a burger before we left the store." I had indeed choked down a half cooked hamburger with a coke. It was not enjoyable at all probably because I didn't have any fond memories like it to pull up from the muck that was my past. It seemed that there had never been anything pleasurable about half heated, stale burgers, and almost warm coke from a plastic bottle. I had a feeling that it would be the same when I pulled up a MRE memory when next I tried one of those. We were several hundred miles into the trip when Sylvia dozed off. It was close to midnight, so I didn't blame her, nor did I feel that she needed her to stay awake for any reason. I couldn't shut down to do a full reload, but I could keep the earphones plugged up to at least run on the car power, so as not to use my reserve. I was hardly tapping my internal power supply at all. When I stopped the car for gas again late that night, Sylvia woke up long enough to use the bathroom. Once we were on the road again, she returned to sleep. I went back to the phase where I processed all the information that presented itself, but I didn't try to problem solve. It would have been futile to try to problem solve, without knowing the exact nature of the problem. I mean I had to meet the Senator's aid that was the mission in general, but I had no idea what the perimeters would really be until I was standing in front of him. We arrived outside the small town of Oswego New York, at a few minutes after 8AM. I had done the speed limit most of the way. I had fudged only now and then in order to make up for the slower traffic, when we approached larger towns along the way. "So do we have a reservation anywhere?" Sylvia asked after she was more or less awake. "Nothing of which I am aware," I said as I opened the car door. I had parked in the parking lot of an International Pancake House restaurant. "Right now I have pancakes and coffee on my mind. After that we can worry about where to stay." "Fair enough, but I want eggs," Sylvia demanded. "I am almost positive that somewhere in that restaurant there is an egg for people like you," I suggested. "Do not be a smart ass Maxine, I am not on the clock now. I don't have to be nice," she was grinning like an idiot. She was obviously one of those people who got silly when they were tired. That was probably how she and Peter hooked up after the last party. When I ordered the pancakes at the IHOP, I had the distinct memory of 1AM and looking across the table at Mosby. Was Mosby going to end up being the love of my life, I asked myself. Probably not, I answered myself. She might however be the one who got away. Both she and the Irishman had not run their coarse. The pancakes that morning tasted almost as good as they had that night with Mosby. It was a shame that the taste of Mosby was not on my tongue, when I began the pancakes that morning. I was also very impressed with our waitress at the restaurant. She was friendly and bubbly for so early in the morning on New Years Eve. "How do you do it?" I asked. "Is it drugs?" "Do what?" she asked looking concerned. "Be so damn cheerful at 8AM?" I asked. "Well it isn't drugs. I attend the local college here and don't get a lot of sleep. I guess I'm punch drunk a lot of the time." "I would never be able to handle all that and still stay so upbeat. You are a marvel," I said. "I totally agree," Sylvia commented. After the girl had gone Sylvia added, "She probably never saw anyone killed by a sniper." "No she probably didn't, but that doesn't necessarily make us better people for having seen it," I added. "No just unable to be so damn happy for no reason. I can be appreciative, as I am to you, and still not be so manic," Sylvia commented. "I know. I'm the same way. It is hard to be all giggly when you have seen the worst in people," I suggested. I still had to empty the plain industrial burger, as well as the pancakes I had just consumed. I had it on my mind when we checked into a Holiday Inn Express near the expressway. I could easily do it when we got inside the motel room, without being noticed by Sylvia. Everyone locked themselves in the bathroom after a long drive. At least I had always done it for one reason or another. I had decided that the recharge nap would be better done closer to the party time. I wanted to be on full charge just in case I couldn't work it in for a full day or so."I love email," I said. "I can send a message to the Senator's staff and not have to worry about the time." The message read, Maxine Stone and her friend Sylvia Moroni have arrived in Oswego. If you would give us directions from our motel to the entrance of the cocktail party sight, I would appreciate it. You might want to include any other pertinent information. I watched the news on TV while Sylvia napped. The directions and times showed up in my email by noon. We had until 7PM to rest and relax. "Come on Sylvia, you have slept enough. Let's go look around this little town. You know how I love small towns." I said when she was finally up and moving just after noon. "Okay, I'm hungry anyway. After lunch let's go for a run and sight see on foot," she suggested. "Well then it's a good thing I have some jeans and running shoes," I said. "Maxine, you always have jeans and running shoes when you aren't doing anything special," Sylvia said. "This party is special," I said. "True but driving up here last night you were in jeans and running shoes. You still have those I assume?" she asked. "Yes dear, I can't fight your logic." I said in resignation. I went to lunch in the thin jeans, knit top and running shoes. We had to find a downtown cafe for lunch so that we could run around downtown sight seeing after. The cafe was in what had obviously once been the house of a large family. "I know this house didn't start life as an Italian grill, so what was it first?" Sylvia asked. "It was the home of a ship's captain on Lake Onterio. After he died the family lived here a few more generations, then it became this place?" the waitress said. "So there really is a reason for the name Captain's table?" I asked. "Yes indeed," she said. "Okay then what is good for a quick lite lunch?" I asked. "The fish and chip sandwich is my favorite," she said. "That's good enough for me. I'll have that," I said smiling. "I want the crispy fish salad," Sylvia demanded. While we waited I finally broached the subject. "Before I make plans for the business, tell me what is the situation with you and Peter?" "I knew that had to come up. I have been waiting for it," she said. "You could have just brought it up yourself." I suggested. "Hell no I couldn't. It has been too much fun watching you get close to asking, then backing away," She said. "It was fun watching you try to thread the needle between friend and employer." "Alright, I asked, so what's the deal." "The deal is I slept with him a few times, but it didn't mean as much to me as it did him. Now I'm trying to figure out how to explain that to him. Would you like to do that for me?" she was quite serious, I think. "No fucking way would I like to do that. Also there is no fucking way you can convince me to do that." I laughed when I said it. "Damn I hate virgins," she said. "Hell that's why I have rule six. Never knowingly fuck a man with an STD or his virginity," I explained. "Now you tell me," she said laughing. The sandwich was excellent in it's own right. Maybe I was just getting more fine tuned or maybe it just really was better than most of the fish I had since the change. But the fish was on two flat fried corn cake like fritters. They could have been served much father south and fit right in. The fish was coated with a spicy coating and it was very crisp. Then there was that sauce. It was a white sauce, but it had very little resemblance to tarter sauce. It was more like a sweet horseradish. Whatever it was it was delicious. The french fried potatoes also had a spice coating similar to the fish. It also brought back memories of Fish sandwiches my dad used to bring home on Friday nights once in a while. Those lacked the Italian spices, but otherwise they were Similar. They were crispy and on a corn type bread. Since I enjoyed the taste of the sandwich, I ate it all. The Iced tea was god awful, but you cant get consistently good iced tea north of Virginia I had always known that. "So how is your salad," I asked after I finished my sandwich. "Absolutely delicious," Sylvia said to me. There are thin pieces of fish cooked as if they were chicken strips. Then they are used as a topping for a typical green salad. The dressing is some kind of spicy fish sauce. It is just unbelievably good." "Well good," I said that as I put the money in the tray for the only slight more expensive check, than a similar meal would have been in Aster. Now when we leave here lets walk through the downtown, so that the local cops don't stop us for suspicion of some crime. Running people downtown always appear to be purse snatchers at least. The walking and running tour was actually a great idea. I was sorry that I hadn't thought of it. We got a really nice tour of the downtown and we ran off that so called lite lunch as well. It was a definite win, win. When we got back to the motel, we watched TV and talked. I plugged in my MP3 player while we talked about home. "So how much do you think we can raise for the bank conversion, if we go in as a non profit?" I asked. "You would know more about that than me," Sylvia suggested. "Not really, Jennifer is going to have to deal with all that," I said. "Will you make a donation or what?" Sylvia asked. "I have no idea what I will do. If I tie up money then I want a return. If there is going to be no return, I will make a donation and let the preacher do the lifting." "That sounds reasonable," Sylvia said. The talk went on like that until she said to me. "Come on Cinderella it is time to get dressed for the ball. And we did. ------- Chapter 329 The directions, which the Senator's staff provided, led us to a rough paved drive way entrance with a post and beam gate. I knew I was in the right place because there were armed guards, who looked like state police men at the gate. Fortunately there were no magnetometers for us to walk through. It would have been impossible of course, since the car I drove was metal. So was the 410 gauge stainless steel derringer inside my purse. Unfortunately, I would have to leave the pistol inside the locked car. There would likely be a search at the door with one of those cute hand wands and my handbag would also likely be opened. The thing they were most unlikely to catch in their security scan was my new toy. It did not come from the geniuses at the farm, oh hell no, I had found it on line. I have no idea what possible everyday, real world use could be made of a hair brush, which converted into a plastic dagger, but there it was. The only difference between the dagger and a plastic knife at McDonald's was simply the heft of the handle and blade. Also it had a very sharp point at the tip of the plastic blade. A restaurant's plastic picnic type knife bent when cutting a piece of chicken, but my dagger could be used to penetrate a man's ribs and stop his heart quite easily. The case which covered the blade doubled as a reasonably soft hair brush for my thin covering of hair. While driving down the access road to the lodge, we passed several small cabins. The camp's architect had been a pretty clever guy indeed. The guest cabins were a one small room affair with standard height log walls. The roof super structure was post and beam as would be found in most cabins. However, all the exteriors above the log side walls were made of heavy canvas. The cabins would forever be extremely rustic in appearance. Even so they were winterized enough so that the electric fireplaces kept them warm and safe. When we got to the lodge itself, we found that it was exactly the same construction only on a giant scale, Even in an orgy situation each cabin would comfortably hold no more than four people. The was built for a convention type meeting. It could be converted from a lecture hall, to a banquette facility, or a facility to house a good sized cocktail party. "Sylvia, I want you to take a good look at the pictures of the different events that had been held in this hall. I am thinking we needed to promote meetings in the Drugstore condo's reception hall. We can do those kinds of things easily. We don't have to be limited to just Helen's bridal receptions." I said. Since I wore the jet black wig, with the red dress that night. It was a quite striking look, even if I did say so myself and I might be the only one who would have. I would likely be described generously by a fashion writer as statuesque. A way to politely avoid saying tall, thin, and gnarly looking. It took a few seconds for the men to get used to the way I looked, Sylvia was of course an instant sensation. Her glamor brought the guys around and after a couple of minutes with us, they realized that I also brought something to the party. As the night wore on and the alcohol lubricated tongues began to wag, one of the party goers remarked to a friend, "Maxine is like one of the boys with a cunt." I wasn't sure that it was a compliment, but I pretended that it was and let him live. I kept an eye on the Senator's Assistant. He didn't relax at all. He was working the party and it showed. I was about to give up, when the Senator and his friend left the party. As soon as the Senator was gone the staff let down their collective guards and joined the party. There was a totally different vibe in the place afterward. That one second changed the party dramatically. First of all it added about ten men and only a couple of women to the crowd. Men, who had been pretty much even in number with the women, suddenly became the majority. Women object to being the minority only in a work environment, never at a party. We weren't a huge minority but it was still a significant number. When the senator's aid showed up in front of Sylvia, even though I knew he would, I felt relieved. "My name is Jack Anderson, and no I'm not THE Jack Anderson," he said. "Honey, I have no idea who the Jack Anderson is," I replied. "And I know my friend Sylvia doesn't have any idea at all." The three of us stood talking about what it was like to live in DC. He explained that he was from Massachusetts, so the weather was an improvement. I was considerably older, but Sylvia was almost exactly his age. Jack was in his late twenties and thin without being sickly so. He was, all in all, an attractive young man. I fully expected him to hit on Sylvia, so I did my little Domme opening on him. It was mostly to judge the effect it had on him. "Jack Honey, why don't you be a good boy and get Mommy a fresh drink?" I suggested. I will give Sylvia credit. She waited until Jack was out of hearing before she asked, "What was that all about?" "Just trying to see what lane he drives in," I said with a giggle. "Maxine, I worry about you," she said with a smile. "What if I decide I want him?" "Then I will watch you this time," I suggested. "Crap, I don't know if I can do that," she admitted. "Sure you can honey. It is much easier than it sounds," I suggested. "Here you go Ms. Stone," Jack said. "Please honey, call me Maxine or even Mommy if you like," I said. "I think Maxine in public," he admitted but obviously leaving the other as a definite option. "As you wish, but Sylvia isn't really public. We are good friends without being lovers," I admitted. Sylvia actually blushed. A young blond man drifted over. "Hi, they are about to start the disco. Would you like to dance," he said directing it at Sylvia obviously. Sylvia looked at me and I nodded. She and the young blond guy went off to dance. They were out of earshot when I asked, "So Jackie have you been a good boy?" I asked. "Define good boy," he demanded. "Do you still think about mommy, when you rub your little man?" I asked. "Sometimes," he replied as he looked around to be sure we couldn't be overheard. "Wouldn't you like to dance with me Jackie?" I asked. "You know I would, but I can't. There are too many people here. Someone would talk," he suggested. "We need to be alone somewhere." "Is there anywhere here?" I asked. "God no, that would be suicide," he said looking terrified. He really did have an unreasonable fear that someone would find out. He was going to be easy as hell to blackmail. I knew that what I did violated US law, but that wasn't my problem. I was just a machine someone else turned off and on. "So, Sylvia and I have a room at the Holiday Inn Express on the highway. You need to come visit us?" My tone made it more of a demand, than a suggestion. "Does she have to be there?" he asked. "She does unless you can arrange something else for her. This is your playground Jackie," I insisted. Sylvia got passed around on the dance floor for several songs, while I waited for Jack Anderson to arrange something. It was several more minutes before Sylvia returned. She explained to me that she had been propositioned by half a dozen men. She was thrilled. "What should I do?" She asked. "Make the best deal you can, then come let me know the plan." I suggested. Meanwhile I will be waiting to see what, if anything, Jack arranges. I thought. Sylvia drifted off to talk to one of the youngish looking men who might, or might not, be anybody important. All the little shits, congressmen and waiters, looked alike to me. What I really wanted was someone like the Irishman to come along and just beat the shit out of Jack and take the fucking file. I discovered that this kind of game wasn't really to my liking. Jacked walked up and without any preamble said, "Leave now and go back to the room. I will be along within a half hour." He started to walk away but I pulled him back. "Exactly who the fuck do you think you are talking to in that tone?" I asked. "Since when do you give me orders young man?" I pretended to be pissed, when in reality I didn't give crap. "I am sorry Ma'am, I have taken care of everything. Your other friend has been setup with a freshman congressman. He is unmarried and extremely taken with her." "Jack, if anything happens to her, I will fuck you up so badly, no one will ever recognize you again, let alone give you a job. Now do you still think she is safe with him? I asked. "Yes," he said simply. "Then introduce me to him before I leave. I want him to know that I know who he is. I also want him to see me." I said it calmly but with great conviction. "Holy shit, you are as dangerous as they say?" he asked. "Honey, I am ten times worse than your worst nightmare of me," I said it with a wicked smile. "Alright, give me a minute to explain then come on over and say goodnight to Sylvia," he suggested. I waited in the motel room for about thirty minutes before he showed up. I was sitting in the red dress with the MP3 player in my ear when he did knock. I opened the door without even thinking. "How do you greet me?" I asked after he was inside and the door closed. I knew that his kind always had some kind of ritual. He immediately slipped to his knees then learned forward and kissed my feet. I wanted to laugh, but I held it together. "Good now help me out of this dress." Helping me out was no more than sliding it over my shoulders then sliding my panties down. "God you are beautiful," he said. "Of course I am," I said in agreement. "Would you like to show me your pitiful cock?" "God yes," he said. "Then beg Mommy," I demanded. "Please Mommy can I show you my tiny cock?" he said. "You can do better," I said angrily. "Please Mommy, I need to show you my tiny cock and to make it cum for you. I have such a hard time cuming for other girls, but you make me cum so hard." "Alright you can show me your miserable little cock," I said trying to force a smile. I watched while he removed his clothing revealing a normal sized cock. It was very hard looking. I bent down then reached forward to squeeze it. His cock throbbed and squirted just a tiny little bit at my touch. "Why don't you kiss Mommy?" I asked. "Oh god yes," he said as he did exactly what I expected. He was still on his knees so it was easy for him to open the hood protecting my clit. He bent forward and kissed and sucked gently on my clit. For some reason, known only to the man who designed me, I became unreasonably aroused. My hips pumped hard against his face. I felt myself rising too quickly toward an orgasm so I used his ears as handles to pull his face away from my clit. ------- Chapter 330 "Give me your belt and lay across the bed. You know what is going to happen. You have have been a bad boy and need a spanking don't you?" I asked. "Yes Mommy," he said as he handed me the belt. Then he calmly lay across the bed for me. I began by striking him one stiff blow, then I eased off. After the initial pain it was for the illusion more than anything. "Now are you going to be a good boy?" I asked. It was time to set the hook. "Yes Mommy please, I promise I will be a good boy. Please stop, I promise I will be a good boy." he begged. "When I call you will do whatever Mommy asks?" "Oh yes anything," he said. Have him tell you when the bidding for the crusader missile project is going to be held. came the message in my mind. "Now tell Mommy, when the Crusader Missile is being bid?" I demanded "April 15, tax day, it's an inside joke," he said. Yeah on the American people I thought. At that moment I could have beat him to death. Give him his reward, the voice in my head said. You fucking prick, I answered silently. I flipped Jack Anderson over, Then I ever so slowly kissed his straining cock head. I wrapped my hand around the base so that I could hold it in place while I licked it like a lolly pop. As I lowered my mouth onto his cock taking it deeper I slipped my index finger into his rectum. I stroked his cock a few times with my warm wet mouth and he began to cum. I sucked deeper and swallowed while I stroked his ass with my finger. He came like water from a garden hose. He did not spurt until the very end. Up until that point, he came in a steady stream. When I finished with his cock he was crying. I had no way of measuring the amount of semen I had swallowed but it was a significant amount I was sure. I wanted him to at least return the favor, but the controller's silent voice returned. No Maxine, he has to be powerless it's part of the game you know that. Yeah, I know you prick, I replied. Maybe it's time you teach your friend Sylvia?" Came the word from the controller. "Maybe you need to go to hell, I replied. I had made the decision not to hit on Sylvia all by myself. That in itself was something. Not only that, I realized that something was different about it. I actually said no, and they had to allow me to say no. Eve could not have done that. I stood and coldly said to Jack Anderson, "Dry your eyes, get your slimy ass dressed and leave. Do not say another word just leave." I moved to the chair by the window and took stock of myself while he did just that. It was three in the morning and my operating power reserve was well over 50%. After Jackie baby left I needed to clean up for sure, otherwise I was no worse for wear. Jackie however was going to find that he had just sold his sold to the devil. The information he gave me was only confidential, but he had passed on confidential information for kinky sex. He was indeed fucked. Even though he enjoyed the hell out it, it was going to prove not to have been a bargain. I sat alone from 3AM until 10AM. Somewhere around 7AM the messages started. Farm: Maxine what the fuck are you playing at? Me: What the fuck are you talking about? Farm: We finally found a photo to match up to the images from your scanner. The ones of the man who attempted the assassination of the Senator. Me: Again what the fuck are you talking about? Farm: We know it's your boyfriend. Me: I don't have a boyfriend. If I did I doubt that I would have just finished fucking Jack Anderson for you. Farm: You know what I mean. You knew who it was and didn't tell us. It should have bothered him that I could keep it from him. It should have bothered me that it didn't bother him/her. Me: My assignment was to keep the fucker alive and I did. I was tasked with nothing else. I'm going to fulfill the assignments you give me, but I'm not selling out people I know to do it. Unless of course they need it. That last part was to make him/her nervous as to whether I would sell the Farmers out as well, if they needed it. They should be worried that I was becoming the old me with batteries and on steroids. I suddenly wondered if that had been a known possibility all along. Maybe not for sure, but could they have known that there was a possibility that the circuits they loaded, with what had been me, might be able to take over the rest of the computer. If so would there ever be another Maxine class computer, probably not. I would be too unpredictable. I had always known that the new me would take some getting used to, but I thought it was me that needed the getting used to the new me. Maybe the creator was having just as many problems as me. Me to the Farm: We probably need a meet. Farm: Get Sylvia home first. Then we will have a STOL flight swing by your local grass field one day soon. Me: Fair enough. I went back to hibernation mode while I waited for Sylvia. Obviously she and the congressman had fun since it was 10AM when she got home. Not only that she was all smiles, which is a good sign with women the morning after. "So did you have fun?" I asked. "Yes I did and if you want details, you will have to buy lunch before we leave." she informed me playfully. "So are the details McDonald's or A fancy steakhouse worthy?" I asked. "He is a Congressman but only McDonald's worthy, but I am steakhouse worthy for sure. You would have been proud." she said. "Then it's fancy restaurant steak sandwiches to go," I said in agreement. We began our drive home at noon after having picked up two steak and cheese sandwiches from one of those really fancy restaurants outside the local mall. I think the small town had the restaurant only because there was a college there. Usually a college can support a better class of restaurants for some reason. Aster, if it weren't Helen's home, would have nothing but fast food. Sylvia opened the sandwiches and the cola cans once we made it onto the expressway. I managed to eat the sandwich and chips even as I negotiated my way through the maze of interchanges before I was headed south. After the sandwich I drove until I was out of Gasoline. When I stopped near the Pennsylvania border, Sylvia stocked up on junk food again. Why she wasn't 250 pounds, I had no idea. I continued to drive through the afternoon and into the night. It was almost midnight when I pulled the rental car into Tryon. With Twenty minutes more to go, I pulled over for a last gas stop. The car wasn't sounding all that good, but it didn't sound as though it were in it's death throws either. I suppose that's why I was surprised when the car wouldn't start up again after I gassed it up. "What are we going to do," Sylvia asked. "We can call a taxi to drive us to Aster, or you can call Peter. Most likely if we call a taxi it will take hours and a dozen different ones before someone actually shows up." I said. "I don't want to call Peter," she said. "There is one more thing we could try." I suggested before I checked on the web with my smarter than smart phone. I found the roadside assistance for the car rental company. "Hello," I said to the slightly oriental sounding woman on the phone. "I have one of your rental cars and it has broken down. I'm 20 miles from my destination what should I do?" I asked. "Give me all the information and I will send you someone to take care of it," she promised. I had no idea that I could trust her, since she was obviously thousands of miles away. If Sylvia had not been along, I might have called the farm. I did take an hour during which time Sylvia gave me even more details about the congressman. "So are you planning to see him again?" I asked. "I doubt it, but a year ago I was a peasant girl in the Ukraine and last night I fucked a US Congressman," she said proudly. "And for the rest of your life, hundreds of them will be fucking you," I said. It was 4AM before the tow truck came along to tow the car back to the rental lot. Sylvia and I rode in the car even though it was against the rules. When we arrived at the rental agency, I unlocked the Ugly Jap Truck and off we went. I was home by 6am the day after New Years. It was not without it's moments of doubt, but I did make it home and with Jack Anderson's balls in my pocket. I didn't expect anything to happen on January 2nd. so I was surprised when I got the call from the farm on my internal message maker. Farm: Call Sylvia tell her you are going to visit someone and then head over to that grass airstrip near Aster. Me: It's 10AM I can be at the strip by noon no sweat. Farm: The plane will be there by 1PM so you need to be there at Noon for sure. Me :Can do. I had no idea how much trouble I was in, but since the controller told me to tell Sylvia that I would be coming back, I assumed that I would. When I got to the metal shed used as the office of the airstrip, I said to the very butch looking woman behind the counter, "There is a small plane was coming in around one to pick me up." "What kind of plane is it?" the woman asked in a very raspy voice typical of a heavy smoker. "I really don't know. A friend arranged it, but I didn't know enough to ask.," I informed her. "Well this is a small strip. I hope the pilot is familiar with it." "I think he might have landed here last fall. A small plane picked me up here then as well." "Oh my God," she said. "You are Maxine Stone the TV Star." "Well I'm Maxine Stone and I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a TV Star," I admitted. "Well you won an Emmy," she said. "Not me the producers of the show won it. I was just on stage when the picked it up." I corrected. "But that show is about you?" she asked. "Well it was," I said. "The new season starts in March. I heard them say that just before Christmas." "So they tell me, but we aren't shooting any more those shows are about things we did last year. Since I'm here there isn't much drama." I admitted. "Hell Honey, most of the fun is how you see things and explain them." She said. "I loved it when you told that reporter chick that negotiating was about giving a guy a clear choice. Like a hundred bucks or a slit throat. 'I usually get my way when I explain it right.' I almost died laughing. You don't work with a script do you?" she finally asked. "No ma'am they are only allowed to film what happens we do not re-shoot anything. Mike the producer complains that even the bullshit stuff isn't allowed to be re-shot." The woman named Lucille and I chatted until the plane lowered onto the grass strip. "Damn, I have never seen one of those." she said. "What is it?" I asked. "It was a plane originally designed for Air America in the Sixties. It was such a good plane they still make them. I have no idea who buys them now." she informed me. "Get your ass in Stone, we got miles to go before dark," the pilot said. He had definitely never been in Vietnam. He had also never flown for Air American. I was pretty damn sure he flew for pigshit airlines. ------- Chapter 331 When the STOL arrived down on the farm, I along with the mail pouches was dumped at the prefab metal shed. That building looked like a six bay auto repair shop. I had no idea what was behind any of the roll up doors. "Maxine Stone? you need to come with me," the driver of the small pickup truck said as he opened the passenger door for me. The half dozen mail bags went into the rear of the pickup, and I went into the passenger side. The truck stopped in front of what could have passed as a cattle barn to a casual observer. I couldn't imagine how a casual observer could make it this deep into the farm's compound. Most likely the barn's exterior was to fool small planes which might accidentally drift over the sight. I was met by a young woman in jeans and a casual western style blouse. "Ms. Stone we have been expecting you." I almost said, if you were really expecting me honey, you would not mistake me for Ms Stone. What I did say was, "Good, take me to the fearless leader." "Come this way," she said smiling. Once I pass through the slightly dingy exterior of the building, I entered a brightly lit state of the art infirmary. I don't know how many, if any other humans ever got treatment there, but I had spent some time in one of their rooms. I spent the time as both a human and then as whatever the hell I was at that moment. One thing I had picked up during my three visits to the farm was that there were several barns. Each was a dedicated facility. The people from the biotechnology barn were not granted admission to any other barn. The employees of those most likely were also restricted. I never saw anyone to enforce those restrictions, but I never doubted that there were plenty of people around to do just that. The best security is the security you can't see. The chick in the cowboy blouse led me to a room that could have been a jail cell. "Remove your clothes and someone will be in shortly." "What I don't even get a hospital gown?" I asked. "Why would you need a gown? You aren't shy are you," she said with a less than humorous expression on her face." "Hell honey, I thought you might be," I replied. "I seen your kind before," she said again without humor. "Oh and what is my kind?" I asked. "A bot that can think. You didn't think you were the only one did you?" "I thought I was the only one like me yes. I know there are bot that can reason but I thought I was the only one capable of creative thinking." If I wasn't, then things could be getting interesting in the next few hours. "Well yeah, they say you are special, but you are still a fucking bot." she said. I half expected her to spit afterward. "Well you must be really popular with the other bots," I said grinning like a kid. For some reason I kept thinking I should probably step to the rear of the next bus I got on. "Careful, it's people like you who could bring about the revolution." I laughed out loud after I said it. She didn't seem amused. My combat memories caused me to go onto emergency power and begin capturing free electrons. The air was rift with them. I could tell that the Biotec communications lab was located in the same building. There were probably other computer facilities inside those walls as well. I could more than maintain my level of operation. I could add charge to the capacitor pack which was my battery substitute. I lay quietly on my bed naked while I absorbed energy and light through my polymer skin. It was a very slow charging process but then I had no idea how long they planned to keep me waiting. I had discovered early on that time had a lot more significance to humans than it did to bots. The first to come into my cubicle to poke and prod me was a woman about fifty. She didn't feel the need to even recognize me at all. She did her poking, prodding, and note taking in absolute silence. After she left there was a virtual parade of people sticking probes into me. They had connections in places I had forgotten about. From those connections they took whatever readings they could. I suffered it all by just ignoring them. The chick in the wester shirt came back in after several hours. "You might as well shut yourself down for the night. Us humans have lives, we need to get home. We will all be back tomorrow." With that she was gone. After she left I set my timer then shut myself down. I have to explain something here. Even when I'm shut down, I'm not completely shut down. I am just on minimum power drain and therefore no real thought processes. The reason is simple, if the bad guys start moving around, the creators didn't want me to sleep through someone taking a blow torch to me. I did stay in that floating shutdown mode, until my timer woke me three hours later. First I went on line to determine that it was 3AM by the Atomic clock. The first thing I did was to begin probing my surroundings by listening. I have far better hearing than any dog, plus I can tune mine. I can't say for sure that a dog can't tune out the sound of a charging elephant, but I can. I turned out the sound of the furnace, and the sound of the break room machines. In other words I washed out the background noises. I concentrated on trying to find out how many humans were in the barn and where there were. There were three inside the building and four more outside. Then I concentrated on what they were doing. The four outside moved around in a fairly fixed manner. Those were that security one could not see. I decided that two of the three inside were also security officers of some kind. I heard three Roborat 1000s running up and down the halls. A Roborat is a tiny little bot with a camera and nothing else. He runs around like a roomba sending live images to the security control room. My guess was that the one unaccounted for human was the duty controller. Yes I am, came the message in my brain. Then clear the way and I'll come down and take a look around the control room, I suggested. Give me a second to check with your case officer, was the return message. Do I get clothes or do you want to see me naked as well, I asked silently. I have seen you naked more than I need, was the next message. Slip into the long gray sweatshirt hanging on your wall. There is no real need but it will make the security people a little more comfortable I think. You are probably right, I agreed. The next message I got was walking directions to the control room. I passed several unmarked doors on my way. The door to the control room was open since it too was unmarked. I entered to find a middle aged hundred pound over weight woman sitting in a oversize padded office chair. She had an ear canal communicator with wire a microphone pointed toward her mouth. "So that's what you look like in real life?' she suggested. "It is indeed. So how often are you my controller?" I asked. "I'm on the desk forty hours a week just like a telephone operator," she informed me. "How many units are you controlling?" I asked. "All of you," she said smiling to let me know that it was the best answer I was going to get. "Do all of us get this tour?" I asked. "Only the ones who ask and you are the only one so far. Most of you are programed to problem solve, but not for creative thinking. So if we give them a task their only questions are the ones needed to complete that task and find their way home. The Lucy class couldn't even do that. You had to do her thinking for her, if you remember." she informed me. She was loading me up with information about how it all worked. "So were you her controller as well?" I asked. "Yes, I was the controller on the very first Lucy." She didn't expand on that. "Okay, I think I have got about all the information you are going to give me, Don't I?" "I can not think of a single thing left that I could tell you," she said honestly. "Could I watch you work for a while?" "Of course you can, but only if I can ask you about Aster," she said. "Why Aster?" I asked. "You are kidding right?" she asked. "No, not at all," I admitted. "We are all trying to figure out how to retire there. Where else can you live next door to the guy who tried to kill you last year, but will die to keep you alive this year. It's one fucking amazing place," the chubby girl said. "I guess it is at that. So what is the number one thing you want to know?" I asked. "Who is the best fuck there?" she asked with a grin. "Male or female?" I countered. She broke out laughing so hard I thought I might have to give her CPR. "No wonder we all love you," she said. "I probably shouldn't have said that." "So what is your name, are you married, tell me all the dirt?" I asked. "You already know all the dirt on me." "My name is Jane and I am a practicing Lesbian," she informed me. "I am between lovers at the moment." "And these clowns know that and down care?" I asked. "These clowns are nerds at heart. As long as it doesn't effect the product, they could care less. By the way. 'Telling them you didn't finger Martin because he was a good fuck', is not going to fly with them." she said. "You mean they wouldn't know a good fuck from necrophilia?" I asked. She laughed again, "I could not have put it better myself." I just nodded. "Tell me," she went on, "There was a hint in your TV show that you had a threesome with the Irishman is that true?" "Yep and that realty slut Kate," I admitted. "I really like Kate. She is cute and I can sympathize with her both because she works for her dad and she isn't gorgeous." Jane said. "So you really can see what I see?" I asked. Rather than answer Jane turned a monitor to me. There was a shot of an airport waiting room. "That's the sensor in an Eve model who is staking out the DC airport. There are way too many diplomats who are double agents." "What happens to the sensors here when I have an orgasm?"I asked. "I have no fucking idea how to describe it," she admitted. "Your core temperature goes up. In other words you get hot. Your circuits fire just a tiny bit out of sync. The power builds up on the capacitor that regulates your energy levels and then it just fires a non lethal burst of energy. After that burst it takes several Milli seconds at least for your body's core reading to return to normal. "That's exactly what it feels like, so you can see it on the charts when I have an orgasm?" "Oh yes and it is erotic," Not like being felt up, it's more like seeing a mild porno film," Jane explained. "Add seeing what you are up to and it becomes very erotic. Do not ask for any more details." She at least laughed after she said it. "You need to get back to your room, the day shift of lab workers will be starting to arrive soon. They are not field types and have no feel for the You inside the machine." "I noticed there were at least two different types of treatment I have gotten so far. Your friendly treatment and the bitch that met me at the door and her cold as ice treatment." I said. "Well there are two schools of thought, if not more. One group sees you as an extension of who you were when the nanny cunt shot you." She smiled since she had used the term I used for the woman I tracked down and took care of. Then there is the school who sees you as just another toy. An overbuilt Roomba 5000 as you put it. I don't think their thinking has gotten past the Eve model. For them she was the ultimate computer bot. Well I am, what I am, and that's all what I am," I said. "I know you're Popeye the sailer," Jane said with a laugh. "Okay, I'll go back and charge up for the day I know is coming. ------- Chapter 332 When I entered the conference room, I recognized Dr Bennet from my last overhaul, then there was Drake, my case officer, and two women I had never seen before. I sat across from them all and kept my mouth shut. Probably a first for me. "Well Maxine, we are holding this consultation verbally rather than just implanting our findings. So far we have found you respond better, if you have input." one of the women said. "That is true, I do tend to go along better, if I have some idea where I am going and why," I agreed. "First of all, we need to deal with the fact that you knew the identity of the person who attempted to assassinate a sitting US Senator and didn't reveal that to us." The more in charge looking woman commented. "I also didn't murder him for you at the time. I'm sorry you guys like your euphemisms. I didn't eliminate him for you." I said aloud. "So your excuse was that it would have exceeded your orders. Was that the real reason," the man I knew as Drake asked. "Drake, if during a field operation you think there is only one reason for an agents actions, you are a virgin." I said keeping my voice as even as possible. "I know you are supposed to have real field experience, so I have no idea why you would ask that, unless it was for those who have never been in the field." "Explain it to them," Drake demanded. "First of all, it he had been a total stranger, I would also not have killed him. I would have done exactly the same thing, I would have neutralize the threat and gotten the Senator the hell out of there. Leaving the mooch for the local cops to deal with. If I had killed the son of a bitch, what would I have had to do with the body not even twenty feet from a hundred runners. What would I have done with it in a strange town. Would you really prefer me to call you up on Saturday morning. Then say to you, I have a body in the middle of the Washington Marathon route. Could you send a clean up crew immediately, since someone is going to stumble over us any minute. Worse still would you want me to take an arrest and wind up in jail with cops and medical people probing me. Would you want to trip the doomsday switch in a DC police station with homeland security doing the investigation. There is more, but I think you get the idea. Oh yeah there is also the fact that Irish told me why the Senator was on the Admiral's hit list. He sold the Iranians the codes to bring down that Drone. I know, because I am who I am, that the Irishman had been working on the Drone's recovery in Cairo last week. So there was a good possibility after he told me that, I might run down the senator and kill him myself. It was no better than 50/50 for a few minutes there." I informed them. "We would never have allowed that," the first woman said. Doctor Bennet looked at me and smiled. then said, "Emily there is no way we could have discussed it and made the decision in time to have stopped it. We are always going to be able to second guess Maxine, but we are never going to be able to act fast enough to prevent a single unscripted act from her. That is the nature of the beast I created." The Doctor took a breath then turned to me. "That Maxine is why we are here, can we live with it. Or should we shut you down permanently and hope we find out how to control the next one better." "Shutting me down is your decision to make, but don't even think you can make the next one more obedient. What you have is like the doctor said the nature of the beast. If the big selling point for me is that I can make a decision without you holding my hand, then guess what. I am going to make decisions without you holding my hand. Then so is any other agent whose brain you suck dry. As I told you before the best you can do is tell me what you want the final outcome to be, and then help me get there, but leave the final operational details to me. I'm the one who has to live with Hitler's final solution. That is if I fail to figure all the angles. I can live with that." "We have been pretty good at that so far," Drake said. "Giving you room to operate. We have been second guessing you, but that's the nature of your beast." "Yes and I have no problem explaining about the Irishman, but get this. I am not going to stop making that kind of decision. You can complain and I will take it into consideration next time, but the decision has to be mine or I can't operate." "We can understand that you we can't tie your hands completely and expect you to function," the woman called Emily said. "We do want some input into how you do things." "Input and orders aren't the same thing, but I will listen and I do listen now," I said. "I also do the job you want done with a minimum of drama." "Okay we will lay our complaints out and you lay yours out. How is that?" Emily asked. "Fair enough," I agreed. "You go first." "You don't trust us." she said. "Now that covers a lot of ground. If it came down to choosing what was best for me or best for the agency. What would you choose?" I asked. "Okay, I grant you that. But someone has to have the final word in these matters," Drake added. "If you trusted me, it would be like it has always been, the agent in the field has the final decision to make. Why do you feel like you have to second guess me more than you would your most experienced operative. I'll tell you why, because you can." "There is some truth to that," he said. "I don't mind it at all, when you tell me to ask some asshole the bid date for a missile program. That's trivial bullshit, but if you were to ask me why I did or did not kill someone real time, that is beyond reasonable. I have to live or die with the consequences, so I have to make those operational decisions." "If we just suggest things as you go along will you stop using the jammer." Drake asked. "No, I have to have the confidence of my own sources, or I might just compromise the mission. What I am saying is that I have to operate on a mission priority basis and you have to understand that. It's how I have always worked and it's why you rushed me through, rather than let me die." Sure it was presumptuous to make that statement, but I felt like I had a good shot of being understood. The nameless lady asked, "My concern is for your mental state. Are you still who you were and how are you handling this new you?" "Sweetie, no one is ever who they think they are. We all have to deal with the changing world around us. I had a real shock, but I have managed to get my world to fit the new me. Somethings are better and some are worse, but my own life would have been like that. Nothing stays the same." I stopped then quickly turned back to her before anyone else could speak. "My concern in that area was that I couldn't feel anything for others after the change. I find that I could feel real friendship and attraction for Sylvia just as I still feel it for Jen. So it wasn't all memory, memory just told me how I should feel toward her and how I should treat Sylvia, so I began making new memories with her. She will never be Jen, but she can be Sylvia now. Do you understand what I am saying?" "I most certainly do and it is a healthy perspective," the unnamed woman said. "My concern is how you treat that body. So far I have no complaints. You monitor the power carefully and that is the main thing. Your diagnostics only get run if we do it while you are in your power down stage. You really should run those more often." "Are you able to repair things with me in Aster and you here?" I asked. "Not really, but we can alert you to when things need to be repaired," he said rather snippy." "Doc, if I run the diagnostic at 3PM or you run it at 3AM is there really a significant difference?" "I guess not," the Doctor admitted. "So I guess I don't have any real complaints." "Well, I am not happy with being excluded from the loop, but I can't complain with your results. You are making significant inroads into the DC culture of perversion. You also did the Senator protection job just exactly as I would have done it myself. I might have stayed till the cops got their hands on the mooch, but I do understand why you didn't, so I'm good with it." Drake even smiled and nodded his head at me. "Well that leaves only me. I am not comfortable giving you that much freedom. But if you will accept that I have the same rights with you as I have with any other agent, I think we can do it." "If you accept that you are just another client, and I will do for you what I do for them, then yes. You can monitor me as you would any scientific experiment. What you can not do is to interfere with my ongoing operations in any way. I will use the jammer now and then because if you know somethings you will be compelled to act against my interest, which is going against the mission interest. If you know, you will have to do something, or risk your ass. If you don't know, then you can put me down like a sick dog, should I fuck up. That is the same as with any other agent." I paused took a deep breath then said, "Just accept that even with these compromises, I can still do more for you than any other agent you have. Also I have less baggage these days. I am pretty much fearless as well, and you do not have to carry me on your books anywhere." I knew that last would get her attention. No financial or personal responsibility for my operations. I was just a credit card account in the black ledger. "I think we have the framework for a working arrangement. You know we have too much invested to shut you down without really. really good reason. I think you feel an obligation to us for your life which you will honor. We also have control of your spare parts and repair service. It is truly a symbiotic relationship." "So I can go home now and sin no more," I suggested with a smile. "Actually we are all counting on your continual sinning," Emily suggested. "Speaking of which, how would you feel about doing some consulting work for local police departments on politically sensitive cases? They will have the lead you will just have to get them to trust you." Drake asked. "Got to be more fun than beating bureaucrats with a belt," I replied. "I don't know, that sounds to me like it might be fun," the nameless woman said. "For a minute or two," I admitted with a grin. "Well I did promise not to bore you," Drake suggested. "Yes you did, and so far you have kept your word, but then so have I," I said smiling. "We checked very carefully and found that the people Jen had to buy your properties in the Drugstore conversion were shaky. The professors are fine," Emily informed me. "Gee, why don't I just give Kate your number and you can handle my real estate holdings," I said with a laugh. "We just want to keep trouble away from you and our other retired agents," she said. "By the way those kids are going to sell you the housing project by the mill. Try to keep the price of those single family houses down to under 100K. We have a lot of lower level employees who need to get the fuck out of DC," Emily said. "It seems that everyone wants to retire there." "Should I save the fancy Drugstore unit for one of you?" I asked. "Don't bother, I trust you can find us something when the time comes. Or at least Kate can." "Tell me you aren't pulling Kate's strings?" I asked laughing. "You know us Maxine, we will tell you whatever we think you need to know, just like you do us." She finally seemed to get it. ------- Chapter 333 130,140 views all-time plus of course 83027 at sol By the time I set foot inside the Downtown house again, I had been gone two and a half days. It was right after 2PM on a Thursday when I entered my home which I converted from a finance company building. I intentionally left the smarter than smart phone unanswered while I had been gone. Whatever mundane shit awaited me, I decided to let it lay till I got back. I had to be Maxine the super spy for two days. I would just be damned, if I was going to try to juggle the shit back home at the same time. So of course Sylvia was waiting with a list of small town shit. Shit that had to be decided right that first fucking minute. I barely had time to heat a cup of Sylvia's weak ass coffee in the microwave. I fought with myself not to complain about the coffee at least. She had made the coffee, so of course she made if for her taste. It was only human nature. That was a weird thought to have the first thing back. Was it robot nature when I made coffee to my taste. The first thing on Sylvia's list was briefing me on what had happened in the realty world. The college professors were setting some kind of record trying to get closed on the condo. Somehow they had a local bank jumping through hoops to get them the loan. That being the case, Jennifer had been working her second paralegal like hell to get the paperwork done. Everyone wanted to close it the next day. I had no idea why the big rush, but I also didn't care. I was getting closer to transferring the last of the units to the homeowners association. I still had a chunk of the building in the meeting room on the ground floor, but the Cloak and Dagger would soon belong to the home owner's Association. After the Professor situation, Sylvia informed me that the Hart deal had heated up just as the Farmer's people said it would. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of sinking so much money in one project, but I was committed. I was also ready to get the preacher off my ass. He couldn't justify tying mission funds up in a 'for profit venture', but he sure as hell wanted the renovation work for his construction company. I didn't know or care what happened to the money after the work was done. I usually checked in to be sure that it was being done to my own standards. The city checked for code, and I encouraged them to do so. "So what's the deal with the Hart children?" I asked. "I'm not sure, but I do know they want this meeting tomorrow morning badly. They called twice to set the time and place. At first they didn't want to have it at Jen's office. When I told them I couldn't set it anywhere else without your permission, they agreed. So it's just as soon as you can all agree on a time." she said quietly. "Get with Jen and set it as soon as possible, I have a quarter million bucks tired up in escrow. We are going to get this settled and the money returned to me or working for me. Tell the kids I said that, when you call them back with the meeting time. I'm through dicking around with them." I could be tough because I knew something was going on with them. The people on the farm had as much as told me they were ready to deal. Something had changed with the negotiation, but I didn't know what it was. "Got it boss. Is there anything else?" she asked me. "Hell, I should be asking you that. I'm playing catchup here and dancing as fast as I can," I said with as calm a smile as I could manage. "Detective Blevins called. He wants you to call him back," Sylvia said consulting her list. "He wouldn't say what it was about." Of course the first thing that came to my mind was Bristol Peace floating in th river. I wondered if he had washed up, or if someone had seen him go into the river and Blevins just figured out who threw him in. Either way it didn 't seem as though it was going to be good news. "Dial the number and hand me the phone please. My eyes are not what they used to be." It was a lie, but then I just felt liked having her do the simple thing for me. She might as well earn her money, I thought and god knows I needed to stay calm. When Sylvia handed me the smarter than smart phone, I asked, "Hello there Detective, what can I do for you?" "This time I can do something for you. Swing by the police property room and they will have your rusty old wheel gun ready for you to pick up. The coroner ruled it justified without ever going to an open hearing. It was a closed inquest. Jen didn't even bother to show since it was so open and shut." "I sure as hell am glad, since I was probably out of town," I said. "You were. I called yesterday to see if you wanted to show up. Since you were gone, I just went ahead and ordered the release of your piece." "Cool, I'll swing by tomorrow," I agreed. "Yeah no rush, it isn't like you have a shortage of weaponry," he said. "I'm a collector, not a survivalist," I assured him. "Whatever, just come get your piece before it gets melted by mistake. If that happened, Jen would never let us hear the end of it. With her at our throats, it would become a collectors item immediately," he said. "Of course it would," I agreed. There was no harm in having everyone scared shitless of Jen. "I'll get by tomorrow. You doing okay old man?" "I'm doing just fine. I am going to buy a fishing cabin on the river. Actually it's the one you used to live in, when you first came to town," he said. "It was my first place after I left Jen's house. I loved that old place. It is small as hell though," I said. "It's all I need." "Okay well you take care. Call me when you are ready to go back to work," I said. "Sure thing," he said. Then the phone went to dial tone. "What next?" I asked Sylvia. "I have been checking with groups and businesses the last two days. No one seems to be interested in renting our meeting room," she said sadly. "Okay then we need to get the ball rolling ourselves. Start looking at something else." I suggested. "What about a gun show. You must be known to a few dealers and collectors," she suggested. "We are too small a venue for a real gun show. We probably need something more local to start, but it is a hell of an idea. It shows you are thinking in the right direction. Just stay at it you will come up with something. Think event to match the size and location of our venue." I suggested. "Keep in mind that we have a historic site restored more or less to original conditions but without the fixtures." We did have the pharmacy counter and two wooden display cases but that was all. Helen used them as a place to spread her buffet. Sylvia left for the day, so I was left with nothing much to do. I sat by the upstairs window and watched the traffic. While on traffic patrol, I played music and charged with the MP3 device. I rested there all night, just watching the empty main street. It was an enjoyable evening for me. If there had been anyone whose company I would have enjoyed, it would have been even better. I enjoyed having my circuits stimulated with good conversation. Hell even a poor conversation and good sex was acceptable. The next morning I had coffee at home and then again at Helen's sitting with the cops, firemen, and paramedics, who had become my breakfast friends. Instead of heading to the mall to walk, I headed off to Jen's office to sign the drugstore condo's unit number two over to the professors. When I walked into Jen's office, I noticed that the vibe was different. I didn't know why, I just sensed something was different. "Hey there, I don't think I know you?" I said to the new paralegal. She would do everything except sign the contracts and deeds. "Hello, I'm Edsel," she said. "I have heard a hell of a lot about you, even before I went to work for Jen." "Most of the good is true, all the bad is," I commented. "Oh then I know I am going to like you," she said with a smile. Edsel was tall and skinny like me, but she had better boobs under her sweater and much better hair. She was a little bony to be attractive. I mean all over bony. Her face was almost like a cadaver and her arms were stick thin. Still she had those nice boobs. I decided that the boobs must have been a graduation present from someone. I had heard that the price of a boob job was coming down. After seeing Edsel, I lost my interest. They just looked wrong on her. Edsel and her boobs on a stick weresn't the problem in Jen's office though. It was something else, but I had no idea what it was. Once Kate and the professors showed up, we got escorted into the conference room. I had been seated just a minute when Jennifer walked in. Jennifer looked like pure hell. Something bad was wrong and I didn't have a clue. If it had been serious, surely she would have called me. If that was the case and she hadn't tracked me down, then it had to be something personal. Something over which I had no control, something that even I couldn't fix. So it had to be Bob. Maybe he got tired of watching, I thought. I sat quietly while they went through all the number and terms of the sale. Jen signed for the bank and I signed for me. The professors signed for themselves, so it was over very quickly. When it ended we all shook hands. "We are really looking forward to this move," Rachel Wilson said. "Well good," I replied. I meant it. I was ready to walk away from the drugstore condo building. "We are going to move over the weekend. We will be starting the new year in a new place," she informed us all. New Years Day had passed, but it was still very early in January. So she would get almost all of the new year in her new place, I thought. Jen and I were alone in the conference room, because I had held her arm while the other left. "Spill it bitch, what the fuck is wrong?" I asked. "Bob has decided he wants a divorce," she said. "He got tired of watching?" I asked. "He says, he is in love again. We haven't been in love for years, according to him," she said. "Come on Jen, there is some truth to that," I suggested. "Thanks slut, I really needed to hear that right now," she said. "Okay then, how could that son of a bitch do this to you, after you gave him the best years of your life?" I asked. "So is that better?" "Much," she said smiling. "I'm tempted to call the admiral and have him killed." "Unless you have swept this office for bugs in the last two hours, I have no idea what you are talking about." I paused a moment and gave her a chance to calm down. "So is there anything I can do?" "Actually there is, I would like to rent the last condo in the drugstore until we decide what to do with the house. I don't want to live there, but I don't want Bob and the love of his life to live there either," she informed me. "Then burn the mother fucker down. It's insured isn't it," I asked grinning. "Then you can start over in the drugstore condo. You know how to beat the arson investigation. Don't do it with Bob inside. If you do that then you get Blevins and he isn't easy to beat." ------- Chapter 334 The kids came into Jen's conference room ten minute later. Sylvia was proving to be very good at what she did. There were two Hart children, a son and a daughter. Since I never planned to see them again, I didn't save their names to memory. "We have decided to accept your offer to purchase the mill houses." The boy said. It was in his voice, even he didn't think much of the property. I had the conversion estimate for the houses in my hands. It had been submitted by 'His Laboring Few' and reviewed by a local house designer. They agreed that after the prorating, each of the houses would have about $75,000 of my money invested. With me spreading it out to ten at a time, that was a bunch of money for a small town girl to comprehend. "So tell me kid, what happened to finally make you move forward?" I asked. "We have a firm offer on the mill building now," he said. "You knew that we always wanted to unload it all at once. We can do that now more or less." I simply nodded my head, but I began to run it thought a simple logic program. If the farm knew that something had changed, then they knew what it was. The community college thing would not have come to their attention. Only something involving foreign governments would have come across their desks. So the simple logic program told me that it was some kind of foreign investor. Someone they had to clear. So the money could come from China or somewhere like that. The buyer could open a plant and hire the relatively cheap southern labor to produce a high demand consumer item. Something that the would allow the local purchase of raw materials. Use local materials, local labor, and sell to the local market and save all that shipping cost and get the investment tax credits as well. It was the only thing that made any sense. They were stepping back a hundred years in time. The big difference would be the owner would not be some Yankee carpetbagger, but some oriental or Russian carpetbagger. I almost laughed at the irony of it. What was it Nikita K had said all those years ago. Was it really the beginning of the end. Way smarter people than me were supposed to be saving us from ourselves. I had my doubts, but there was nothing I could do about it. Especially since the people in Aster needed jobs so badly. "Maybe your daddy was right kid, maybe it will all come back after all," I said as I signed papers releasing their money and binding me to the deal. The kids shook hands all around. "Well," Jen said, "You are in the housing business in a big way now." "Yeah a big time real estate mongrel," I said with a laugh. "Jen, Sylvia was supposed to be some kind of social secretary, but she is proving to be really good at organization. I guess it is that peasant ability to prioritize, that all us poor kids grew up with." "I have noticed that about most of the mill kids. They either got that or were at least minimally productive. However other disadvantaged kids have a much higher rate of anti social behavior." she said in agreement. "Well regardless, I think I am going to give Sylvia more control over the real estate side of the business. I wanted to get your opinion." "Do you mean license her and cut out Kate?" Jen asked. "Let's ease her into it from the construction end first. Then maybe do the other as well." I said. "If you want, you can sell your own property without a Realtor. We can do all the paper work that needs to be done." Jen promised. "Then I for sure am going to give her a shot with this mill house development." I turned away before I added. "Jen, I will tell Sylvia to expect a call from you about the penthouse condo over the drugstore." "Yeah Maxine, I wasn't joking. I have to get out of that house and soon. Bob wants to either move in or sell it." she said. "That's none of my business," I said. "Just call and let her know what you want, and when you want it." I drove back to the office running the idea of Sylvia taking over the real estate business over and over in my head. If I eased her into it, I just couldn't see a down side. "Sylvia I want you to set up a meeting with the foreman at 'His laboring Few'. The one who will be working the mill house project. We also want to meet with their designer at the same time. We have to get that estimate down. Then we want to get to work on them," I suggested to her. "The faster we get them done the sooner we can turn that money. Jen just put another 250k in escrow to tie up the rest of the houses. Once we get started their value 'as is' might well climb." "I can set up those meetings for Monday for sure," Sylvia said. "Good, that also brings up a point I want to discuss with you." Instead of increasing your salary for the extra work this realty thing is going to require, how would you like a per unit bonus?" I asked. "If it is fair compensation for any extra time I have to put in on the project, I would be satisfied with that." she said. "Well if it doesn't work out, we can make up the difference. I can give you a guarantee so keep track of your extra time. If you work nights and weekend more than the bonus covers, I will make up the difference at your salary's hourly rate." I agreed even thought I had no idea what her salary rate was when broken down to hourly. I planned to make her a partner soon anyway, so she would eventually have to live with the profit just like I did. "So how big a bonus?" she asked. "Since I am going to be depending on you to keep the costs in line lets base it on the profit. There are lots of costs involved that you won't see just in the gross cost involved in purchase and renovation. That being the case lets say 10% of the sales price for now. That is only if you handle the advertising and showing of the houses. Jen's girl Edsel will take care of the paper work," I informed her. "Okay now what about the offices, Jen put in the bid you talked about before you left on your mysterious trip. You lost the property to a couple, who plan to make a car wash again." Sylvia informed me. "Damn of all things another car wash. What a bitch," I admitted. "I want to show you something," Sylvia said. "After Jen told me we lost the car wash I remembered that I had seen a thing on yahoo about strange houses. At the time it meant nothing, but then when I compared it to the car wash building it clicked." "What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked. "Shipping containers," she said. At the same times she pulled up a web page on my laptop. The page had pictures of houses made from several used steel shipping containers attached to each other. From what the article said containers in 20' x 8' which had been previously used were in abundant supply and ready for delivery, "Okay Sylvia, find out from the designer and construction foreman what we have to do to hook four of these mutha's together. We each get one for an office and storage. I store the tools of my trade and you store the office supplies. A third one is a reception area and four is a meeting room for now, later it might be another office. We can also add on if we start out with a big enough lot." "So you like it?" she asked. "Yes dear I like it a lot. We can be in an office pretty damn quick, if we can get this organized. I told Jen you were a great little organizer, so get to it." "If you give me a credit card number, I can have this shit in the works by the end of day," Sylvia promised. "Go meet with the designer and foreman and start the ball rolling on both projects Monday. Since we know that we can do this, we just have to work out the details arrange to buy the containers today. If we own them, we fucking have to make them work." I sat down at the metal dinning room table, then I pulled the lap top over to sit in front of me. I pulled up an account number for the realty account Jen and I both had access to. "Use this account and buy four units 20' x 8 x 8'9". Tell them we will arrange delivery within 10 days. That gives us, more specifically you, about a week to find a lot and design the office I hope you are up to it." I decided that I would only help if asked, and then only do what was asked. The office was Sylvia's project. I would find out quickly, if she could handle the houses by judging her ability to handle the office project. It looked like a good time to start something else. What I had no idea but I felt like something would come along from somewhere, it always did. In the meantime it was Friday night. Surely the old Max should be doing something on a Friday night. It was almost five when Sylvia came to report. "Well I bought four containers. I can't believe you decided to do that in five minutes," she said. "I had the easy part, now you have to make it work," I smiled as I said it. "How much did they cost us?" "All four together were just under $10,000 delivered. Since we are inside the same state and I bought them from a shipping company, the seller agreed to deliver them. He said to let him know when we were ready and they would bring them to us." She paused just a moment then went on. "So what is my budget for converting them?" she asked. "Get with your designer Monday and decide what you want it to look like, then get the foreman to tell you the most economical way to make it happen. When he tells you that something you really want is going to cost more money than you think it should, ask him what he can do like it for less. Your budget is all the money it takes, but not all the money you want." "I guess I can work with each of them individually first, then set up a conference with both," she suggested. "That's a very good idea. You might want to keep in mind that less is better when you are building. Over building is wasteful and sometimes counter productive. We don't need fancy. We need functional." "Shit what have I gotten myself into?" she asked out loud. "Go home think about this over the weekend, cry on Peter's shoulder or let him cry on yours. If you want to wimp out, then let me know on Monday." I said seriously. I knew how I would design the building for the most efficiency and least cost. I wondered if Sylvia would figure out something as simple. If not I might over ride her. After all it was my money. When Sylvia left through the rear door, I began thinking about what to do with my evening. I was in rest mode just waiting to charge while I decided where my ugly orange pick up would fit in best. Yep Cowboy's Bar and Grill was the obvious choice. I also had to admit that I liked that circuit overheating thing guys like those could do for me. ------- Chapter 335 6:47 PM on a Friday night, my power pack was hot, and I was ready to go. It was too early for Cowboy's to be any real fun. I was about to go looking for something to occupy my brain for a couple of hours when I got the call. I answered my own Smarter than Smart phone. "Hello, Stone speaking," I suggested. "Stone huh?" the slightly familiar female voice said in an almost humorous tone. "Yeah, so? speak to me bitch." I was pretty sure no one involved in my business would use that tone with me. So I risked being flip with her. "I was wondering what your plans were for tonight?" the voice asked. "Actually I was planning to go out looking for trouble, so who the hell are you?" I asked. "It's Edsel from Jennifer's law firm," she said. "Maybe I can save you a trip." "Ah, boobs on a stick," I said it trying to be a little insulting. The laughter from her end of the phone went on for several minutes. "You know there is a story involved," she said. "I'm sure there is," I replied. "Buy me a beer and I'll entertain you with all the gory details," she informed me. "Edsel, Jennifer and I have an understanding. I don't date her employees and she bails my skinny ass out of jail when I need it. It has worked out so far. I would like to keep her bailing my ass out of jail." "Okay, so if you are going out to look for trouble, where are you going to begin your hunt?" she asked. "8pm at the Cop Out," I said. Now I need to go get dressed, "Good enough," Edsel said. I figured Edsel would be very popular at the cop out and I could leave her in good hands. Probably several sets of good hands. I hadn't taken pizza to the Cop Out in a while, so I got dressed slowly, then drove the ugly pick up to the Pizza and Pasta Pit. At 7:30 and change I placed an order for three large pizzas, one plain, one hamburger/onion and one garbage can model, all to go. Since I had to sit and wait, I checked my mail. There were lots of BS emails but nothing from anyone I cared about. Of course all the really juicy emails went to the farm. Anderson and the junior ambassador were in contact with the case officer who pretended to be me. I wondered how well he was as a woman, he might be the male version of me. Everyone thought I was high on testosterone all the time. Maybe he was rolling on estrogen. That kind of thought helped to pass the time, but there was still a lot of dead time because my brain processed information way too quickly. For instance I could tell that one of the other take out customers was a pot dealer. I could smell the raw pot on him. His clothes had a mixture of dirt and pot smells about them. I debated telling him to move on but decided it was none of my business as long as there wasn't any trouble associated with him. Since the Pizza and Pasta Pit was five blocks from the center of town, in a northwestern direction, and the cop out was three blocks southeast of the center of town, I got a nice tour of the downtown. During that tour I noticed a parking lot about a quarter of a city block in size. It had openings into two different streets, since it was on a corner. On a corner I almost never passed, I might add... I knew that I wouldn't forget about it, but it might get moved down on my priority list. So just in case something happened over the weekend, I called Sylvia. "Sylvia I was on my way to the cop out and passed a vacant lot a couple of blocks from from downtown central. Check on the cost of it please. It's on the corner of Wrenn and E. Smith street. I left the message, then slipped the phone back into the cowgirl style denim jacket. It stayed in that pocket almost all the way to the Cop Out Club. When it rang, I was in their parking lot. "Stone," I said into it. "It's me Sylvia, I'll take a look at the parking lot tomorrow. Sounds like a good location. You can walk from your downtown house to the office." "Yes I could. You really wouldn't need the moped, you could switch to a bike instead." "I think, I would like that," Sylvia said. "Yeah that sounds about right. So is there anything else? I'm about to deliver pizza to the Cop Out Club." I said. "How about I come down there, if you realize it is not a date," she said. "I am sure the cops would love you. There is always a shortage of gorgeous women here. And Sylvia you don't have to remind that we are not dating, I got that already." I said it, since I was getting a little tired of the constant reminder. I went inside after she hung up without saying whether she was really going to show or not. I didn't mind sharing the spotlight with the pizza, I could complete. I could probably compete with boobs on a stick, but noway could I compete with Sylvia. Even though I wasn't really trying to compete, it was nice not to be treated like the redhead stepchild at the family Christmas party. I left the pizza on a table near the bar, then went to find a table with someone I knew, or if not that one with a good view of the dance floor. Not so that I could see the dancers, but so that they could see me. Hey I was out to get laid, I fully admit it. I was actually putting my hopes on the Cowboy's Bar and Grill, but I would take someone from the Cop Out club. A very young man who should have been playing video games, rather playing cop, came over. "Hi there, Ms, Stone I just want you to know I'm a big fan." he said. "I hope you remember that, if you stop me for drunk driving." I said it with a smile. "Well I won't be stopping anyone tonight," he said. "Thanks for all that information. If you would like you can have a seat. I think some others are going to be joining me, but I can't be sure." "In that case," he said seating himself. He really did appear to be star struck, so I just let him sit there staring at me. I was embarrassed, but I didn't plan to babysit him either. It wasn't long before Edsel arrived. Her boobs were a big hit as I had expected that they would be. "Edsel, this young man never did give me his name, maybe you will have better luck," I suggested. "Does it matter Maxine?" she asked. "Excellent point," I agreed. We spoke about the younger man as if he didn't exist and he never objected at all. "You do know we have a disproportionate size police department?" Edsel asked the young man. "No I didn't," he replied. "Oh yes it's about twice the size it should be. The downtown of Aster is dying but the area adjacent to Tryon is thriving. So Aster has to have cops to protect the bedrooms of Tryon." She smiled as if that somehow made a difference. "I'll be sure to mention that to the next guy who breaks into my house," I said. "Now play nice Maxine," the voice behind me said. It belonged to Sylvia. "Ah there she is, my conscience. Sylvia's here to keep me straight," I said smiling. I looked over to see a very uncomfortable Edsel. I stood up and helped the young cop pull up a second table to make room. Pretty soon with three unattached women the table filled up with male cops. When the dancing started things were fun. "Dance with the boys," I whispered into Edsel's ear as I went by. The three of us were joined by a female fireman and several cops, firemen and paramedics. The table reminded me of the way it was when I first got to town. Back then Blevins held court just like this, I thought. Back then It was mostly men with a few nurses. That is until I came to town. Yes I had bribed my way into the club with pizza, but whatever works, just works. None of the men who returned from the dance floor after dancing with Sylvia came back without an erection. Several who danced with me didn't seem all that excited, but I must admit I had a better record than Edsel. Edsel made it clear she preferred the company of a nurse to a cop. It was obvious at ten that Sylvia had her pick of the men and probably a few of the women. So the rest of us soldiered on until midnight. At midnight one of those macho firemen types invited me to a more private party at his place. His name was Jess and he made it clear that he worked out. I almost went just to make fun of him, but in the end I chose not to do it. I wasn't just being generous, it would probably be a bad decision to out lift him. He would make sure everyone knew that there was something wrong with me. I ended back with the milk drinker who seemed to have gotten lost for a while. He was probably under Sylvia's spell. As we were headed to the door I asked Sylvia, "Where is Peter?" "He is home waiting for me to call. We don't live together you know." she said defensively. "That's fine, I'm going to take this kid home with me for an hour or so. He is so young I might have a heart attack trying to keep up." I admitted. I could come along, I will be a registered nurse in a couple of months. I mean I would do it just to be on hand, not really to watch or anything." she suggested with a smile. "You would do that for me and disappoint your fans?" I asked smiling. "Almost anything for you hon," she said. "Ah I really do appreciate it, but I'll just take an aspirin first to be sure my heart is in good shape." I said as I headed to the door to meet him. "Reginald Allen," he said with no expression. "Is that your name?" I asked. "Yes it is, just so you know for future reference," he said smiling that time. "If I need to know I'll find it somewhere buried in my memory, thanks. Now do you want to follow me home?" I asked. "Would you mind if I told the gym rat fireman that I was going home with you?" he asked. "I'd rather you wait till it over/ Then I can give you references, if you need them." I said it as a joke but he seemed to think I was serious. "In that case I will work really, really hard," he said. "I would rather you work really, really thoughtfully instead. Go slow as well, now follow me home and let's see what we can accomplish together." As I drove home I was tempted to ask the controller, if she had somehow manipulated me into the arms of the young man. I could make a case for that, since my choice would have been someone between fifty and seventy to be honest. This kid was mid twenties at best. Actually if Sylvia wasn't so popular, he would have been better with her than me. He was more her age. Sylvia might have felt a little strange screwing a cop, some retired hookers so I'm told. I know that wasn't kind but she was just so damn gorgeous. When Reginald Allen and I arrive at my place, he just stood inside the door staring at me. "You aren't a virgin are you?" I asked. He didn't answer, he just blushed, what was an answer. "Oh god," I moaned, "I hate virgins." ------- Chapter 336 "Reggie, if you are wondering what to do next, you should probably kiss me." I said it even though we were standing in the kitchen. The hallway from the back door empties into the kitchen. That's where a lot of my conversations take place, just because of the geography of my Downtown House. Reggie might not have a lot of original thoughts, but he did follow orders well. He move close and kissed me. Even though he had to be ordered, there was a great deal of passion in that kiss. It was the passion of a young inexperience boy all excited. I fed on the emotion, even though I would never admit it even to myself. Well at least I wouldn't have before. I was beginning to feel that heat build slightly, when there was a ringing of the front door bell. "What the fuck?" I asked. If Reggie had been anyone else I might have worried that his passion would dissipate while I checked out the ringing bell. Since Reggie was a young guy, all hot and bothered, and he was a cop, I didn't think seeing me head to the door with my Derringer in hand would shock him too much. Especially if he had heard how many times I had been shot or stabbed. I didn't check the camera as I should have. I had no idea who it was, but I had a feeling it was personal not professional. Even if it was violence that had come calling, anything short of an IED was not going to be lethal. It turned out to be Edsel who was reasonably non lethal I assumed. "Edsel I'm a little busy at the moment." "Come on Maxine, they tell me you are up for anything. The cop most likely won't kiss and tell Besides so what if he does?" she asked. She saw my reluctance. "Why not ask the virgin? let him decide." "How did you know he was a virgin, I just found out?" I asked. "Hey, I'm young but I have been around a lot of virgins in college. I can smell them. Of course the chick virgins smell better than the dick virgins," she explained. "I'm sure they do," I replied. "Come on in, you can put it to him, but if he shows even the slightest reluctance, out you go." At that moment I had my one thought about the farm. It was I am probably a reluctant porn star, since they have the ability to film everything. "Reggie, you remember Edsel I'm sure." I filled a cup with coffee while I waited for them to do their dance. "Reggie, I hope you don't mind that I invited myself to the party. Maxine said I could stay, but only if you were cool with it. You are the one with the power right now," she sounded very unlike herself. It looked as thought Edsel had minored in psychology in college. Either that or her real minor was in getting laid. "I guess, if it's okay with Maxine, it is with me," he said. Edsel looked at me and I shook my head. "That isn't good enough. You have to want us both or Maxine doesn't want to go along," she said almost begging. It was pretty pathetic. By that time I was hoping he would say no. Of course there aren't many men who would say no to an offer like that. Even if both women were skinny and only one had a decent set of boobs. "Sure. I would love it," he said with a little more enthusiasm. Edsel looked at me and I shook my head. Unlike Reggie, Edsel did not need to be told what to do. She kissed him first and her body did that rubbing thing that men love. I had almost forgotten about that, I had to put that high in my memory list for next time. She also ground her hips against him, that move was in my active memory chain. Edsel was about the same age as Reggie, but she was definitely taking over. I was just as glad, since I found it difficult to be with men, who weren't in control. They didn't have to be an Arab ambassador type, but at least director of the little drama was nice. Edsel turned to me and I kissed her because I knew my part in the little drama. I noted the she had her hand on Reggie's cock while she kissed me. I put my hand on her boob and found that it was hard like I expected. Yep Edsel had a boob job sometime. Since she was no more than mid twenties she had it very young. I admit that I was curious about the story she had promised to tell me. I felt both her hands opening the button on my jeans. Edsel was a greedy little thing. My circuits were definitely warm when I heard the key in the back door. I could have stopped what I was doing to see what had happened, but I knew so I didn't bother. I knew because I didn't need a computer to monitor that cam. I could use the same technology the farm used to send me the Senator's assistant's photo. I just tuned in the feed and saw Sylvia open the door. So what I did was, I did nothing. Sylvia walked in and stood in the corner watching as Edsel slipped her hand into my panties. Edsel was the leader of the drama, at least she was at that moment. Since my knees were getting weak from the circuits overheating, I led them to the living area with the two large sofas. Also from those sofas there was the view of an empty main street at 1am, The view with the glowing stop lights reflected from the windows of the building across the street. Now and then a cop car would roll by as well. That was the eerie yet beautiful sight playing in the back ground as I fell onto the sofa. I lifted my hips to help as Edsel pulled my jeans and panties off. While she did that I clumsily pulled down Reggie's trousers. I had his slightly larger than average cock out and pulled on his hips to get him within reach of my mouth. Since I could easily remember what men liked, I planned to keep him engaged while Edsel slipped between my legs. I licked, kissed, and gently sucked on the head of Reggie's cock. while Edsel found her way to my clit. It was hard for me to believe the feelings she was creating in me. I knew that I wasn't supposed to have emotions in the new shell but I was definitely hot and bothered. The how and why of it made no fucking difference to me at all. I was working purely for that release of energy. Edsel was an expert there was no doubt. She licked and gently teased My clit while almost viciously working her finger in and out of my vaginal opening. The feeling of all that plus Reggie's cock moving deeper inside my mouth all at once was maddening. I couldn't get a clear thought in. All I knew was that I had to have more. More of everything till I came for them, I had a burning desire to please them both and I knew that it would please them if I came for them. I almost knew that Sylvia had moved to the empty sofa against the side wall so that she had a clearer view of us. I sort of knew that she was rubbing her own clit while Edsel was busy working on mine. She also had to be seeing me ministering to Reggie's cock like a five dollar whore. When things finally began to happen they happened very quickly. First Reggie came in my mouth as I would have expected him to do. He came in several heavy spurts then his cock seemed to wither even while he tried to continue stroking my mouth. He seemed to want to keep fucking my mouth even though his cock was more or less useless. It was soon after when I began to feel the power surge building up in me. I was ready to explode, when I heard Sylvia moan. When it happened for me, there was a huge rush of warmth, then I shut down completely for a couple of milliseconds. When I restarted, it was with a peace I seldom felt in real life and never since the change except when I orgasmed or whatever they were calling it at the farm this week. Edsel knew when it happened because she pushed me down on the sofa then climbed over me. She immediately lowered her pussy over my mouth. I licked sucked and tongued her while I fingered her rectum. She had been on an emotional high, so when I began working on her, she just exploded on me. She streamed something from her body which ran directly into my mouth. I didn't even try to swallow it, I just opened the valve and let it run into the holding area. It was perfectly obvious from the cloud of silence hanging over the room that everyone had just orgasmed. I didn't want to break the silence even though I was probably the first to recover. I just lay there with Edsel slumped over me. "Holy shit," Reggie said. "I can not believe how that felt. I think I died and came back." I almost told him, no that isn't at all what it feels like, but I knew better. "Yes it was extremely erotic," I agreed. "It was the fucking bomb, just the fucking bomb," Edsel suggested. Sylvia adjusted her clothes, stood up, and walked to the back door. She was gone without a word. Obviously everyone knew that she had been there, and that she had gotten off watching us. "She's a real bitch," Edsel said. "She has issues," I said defending my new friend. "So back the fuck off." "Whatever Maxine, I get it you two are friends. Not sure what being a friend of yours is like, but I sure would like to know." Edsel was smiling. "Me too," Reggie agreed. "I'm exhausted and I'm going to bed. There is room in the bed for one more, if you guys want to flip for it or something. If not, there are two sofas one each. Either way I'm off for bed. "Reggie, you can sleep on one of the sofas. I'm going to sleep with Maxine," Edsel said. "What if I choose to sleep with Maxine and let you have the sofa?" he asked. "Then I call internal affairs tomorrow and file a morals complaint on you Reggie. Lots of people saw us leave the club. I left right after you two by the way. Sure it's crap, but that don't matter none." "Okay, I don't like this, but it sounds like the easiest thing to do. Edsel this is not going to make a good impression with me and I am a cop," he admitted. "Honey, I work for a lawyer. You aren't supposed to like me, just respect me," she said. "I think that sofa where Sylvia masturbated looks like a comfy bed and it has a warm throw, you should be just fine," Edsel said. Once upstairs I stripped off my top and slipped into the bed. The sheets were cool but it didn't bother me. It might be noticeable to the overheated Edsel. I didn't really care. I watched her strip off her clothes and got a really good look at those boobs. There were definitely larger then DD on a thin frame. They were 'porno chick' looking boobs. "Okay Edsel," I said once she was in the bed beside me. "You promised me the story. Did daddy give you those as a High School Graduation gift. I got a ballpoint pen set. Were they just a little something to take to college with you?" "My dad was a Baptist Preacher Maxine. I definitely did not get these from him. In Hight School I was a fat girl. The boobs were mine and that large but I had the fat girl body to match. At Christmas of my senior year in high school, one of the guys said to me, 'You are kind of cute. If you weren't so fat I would fuck you.' Something tripped in my mind. I could have a normal life, if I wasn't so fat. So I stopped eating almost everything. I got a book on weight loss and took it all to heart. By graduation day, I had lost thirty pounds. I stayed at it during my first two years at the Christian college. I used that time to get into this kind of shape as well. I transfered to a dedicated vocational state college. My degree is in law, but I am not a lawyer. After I went into the state college for those final two years I had a pretty good body but a truly nasty personality. I met a plastic surgeon while I was doing some legal aid work. We got involved sexually. I agreed not to tell her spouse and the world in general, if she took care of the residual effects of 18years of Twinkies. I got a belly fat trim and implants. The joke was on me, she just filled the empty sacks and this is what I got. She also got a gag order on me, since she fulfilled our contract. I went out and bought a bunch of new tops and here I am. The Dolly Pardon of the legal world." ------- Chapter 337 I didn't really need to sleep, but I faked it anyway. I faked it while I assessed what Edsel had told me. Most of it rang true, not all, but then no one really tells the whole truth. After she fell asleep I took a close look at her arms with my night vision. An eighteen year old junkie wouldn't likely bother to hide her tracks very well. Even with inferred I couldn't find any scars. That only meant that she wasn't shooting anything in college. She could still have been sniffing and/or smoking. My facts integrated into probabilities program came up with a 70% likelihood that she used something to lose that much weight. The program said the drug itself was a reinforcement. The weight loss was also a positive reinforcement as well as a suitable justification. Withdrawal was the negative reinforcement, which might explained the continued use past the normal height, weight ratio. Four years of amphetamine use would have reeked havoc on her body, I knew that from my old memories. My probabilities program is really no more than a human guess. That guess was refined by removing the emotional weight from one side or the other. Ie I like chocolate, so I am more likely to guess chocolate less fattening than Caramel. I reran the images from the Cop Out Club, no matter how she acted I never saw Edsel take a drink. I lay there beside her all night quietly saving my energy after I made my decision. At five o'clock in the morning she began to stir. I waited quietly for her to come to almost full consciousness before I slipped my finger between her legs. I began to gently stroke her clit while I kissed her neck. She came back to full consciousness in what I remember as the most pleasant way possible. She did slip out of bed and into the bathroom. After several minutes the toilet flushed, then she returned. I began to work on her again. She came up slowly like a coffee pot that seemed to take forever to boil. When she was almost at the peak, I asked, "How long have you been clean?" She instantly came all the way down. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I asked, how long has it been since you used?" I said it quietly and calmly. "I'm not a junkie," she said. "Listen to what I said, not what you think I said. I asked how long you had been clean. No way did I imply that you are a junkie," I replied. "I actually suggested that you were in recovery." "I entered rehab the day after I graduated college. I have not used since. That was five years ago. Do you need to see my chip?" she asked. "No, did you turn tricks, or did you sell, to pay for your drugs?" I asked. "A little of both," she replied. "I'm not proud of it, and I don't want it to get around." "Did you enter into the relationship with the married Doctor knowing you were going to blackmail her into repairing your body?" I asked. It was time to make her take a hard look at herself, if she hadn't already. "Yes, but the sex with her was a nice bonus. She was my first real lover." she said. "Oh really?" I asked, forcing her to take that look again. "Okay she was kind of a customer still, but I wasn't high ever. In a way that made it more about the emotion than the benefits." She thought a moment then added. "Nah it was mostly about what she could do for me. I saw you with the virgin boy and you give a good blow job, but then so do I. It's about not being too emotionally invested. If you stay in control and constantly think, what next? it is better for the guy, no matter what they say. They say they want you to love doing it, but shit all they really want is to get off." "That's been my experience too. Actually it's the same with women for me. To get the results I want, I do what is necessary." I said. "So you got your results with me, now finish please," she said smiling. "I always pay my debts," I said as I slipped down the bed and between her legs. I licked the vulva completely first, several times actually, Then I used my fingers to expose her clit. Once I had captured it with the tip of my tongue, I slipped that finger into the opening of her vagina. I worked my finger inside her warm canal and began to pump her as I licked and manipulated her clit. All the honesty had an effect on her as well as it had on me. She allowed me past her normal defenses, so that I could get deeper into the essence of Edsel as I worked her toward an orgasm. When she came it was with her hips pounding trying to force more of me inside her. I knew the feeling of never feeling full from my human days. I tried to fill her. Even when I knew she had all she could take her body still craved more. I knew the feeling and I knew I couldn't satisfy it, nothing ever could. After she came she took a few minutes to recover then reached for me, but I stopped her. "I really have had enough," I said gently. Once I understood that she knew the same things I knew, then the illusion was gone. I also understood how the man, who wanted me to love sucking his cock felt. Unlike him I understood that getting off without the illusion is just masturbation using someone else's toys. Edsel and her toys fell back asleep. Since the bathroom was at the top of the stairs, it was possible to use it without going through my bedroom. When I heard a flush an hour or so later I knew Reggie had used it. I lay still another forty odd minutes until the clock in my head said 7AM. At that point I got out of bed and took a shower. While in there I emptied and flushed the holding areas of my body. I also filled my lubricant holding tank with water, then added an ounce of extra virgin olive oil. I always found the geek's insistence that it be extra virgin olive oil to be hilarious. 99% of it was expelling as a replacement for saliva, vaginal fluid, or to lube the expulsion shoot. In other words what possible difference would using Wesson oil make. Nonetheless I used the extra virgin olive oil, since I wanted to keep the warranty in effect. I slipped into a tight knit top and then clean panties and jeans. I would be adding a much thicker jacket before I went out. The jacket was for effect and as a place to carry the tools of my trade. Edsel passed me at the bathroom door. Reggie was sitting on the sofa, when I walked down the stairs. "You okay?" he asked. "I'm just fine. How are you?" I asked. "I am wonderful. Last night was just simply amazing," he said. "It's not likely to be repeated, so try to enjoy the memory," Edsel said as she walked down the stairs. "You two play nice, I'm going to Helen's for breakfast," I said. "Bullshit, it's pancakes after a threesome, everybody knows that," Edsel said. "Obviously, that should be everybody but me," I replied. "And me, but I can't do either," Reggie informed us. "I have a date with a nurse to go mountain biking. I really have to get home and change." "So you weren't a virgin after all," I asked. "I was but now I'm not. I did date before you two, I just never had the confidence to make a move. Now I think I do." he said. "A word of advice, don't tell her about last night ever," I said. "Okay," he agreed. "Then it's just me and you and I want those hot cakes," Edsel said. "Hell I know how much money you have, so you are going to have to buy." "Don't kid yourself that money is all on paper. I have like a hundred bucks in my debit account." "That's enough for breakfast," Edsel said perfectly serious. The girl had some issues of her own, I thought. The drive to IHP was about five minutes once we got ourselves ready to go. I took the big delta coffee cup along just to be sure I didn't run out. Plus I preferred it to those small cups in restaurants. We were half way through our blueberry pancakes when the message came in on my brain connection. Edsel was right in the middle of telling me how much she hated the traffic in Tryon. "Hold that thought, I need to use the ladies room. I'll be right back." I said it, then left without giving her any chance to object. Once I was out of sight, I turned my attention to the farm's message. Maxine we need you to be at the grass landing strip at 3PM, You are going to be gone for three or four days, at least. You need to take some clothes for the hot humid country weather. Boots would also be a good idea. Jungle gear, I messaged back. Yeah, and I think you have a small quiet sniper rifle. One that no one would take seriously, the controller messaged to me. Yes the .22 magnum isn't really considered a killer, if I get stopped and searched, was my reply. Then toss it in the bag as well, came the silent reply. Okay 3PM it is. Do I get to tell Sylvia I am going out of town, so that she won't call the cops. You know I do have a history of getting into domestic trouble. Tell her you are going to visit friends, or some such bullshit. So what will I really be doing, or should I ask who? The link was absolutely 100% secure so neither of us had any problem discussing the job in the bathroom of the International Pancake House. There once was a man with diplomatic immunity, who arranged to have a policeman's family killed by a local illegal immigrant gang. The police force of this western city rounded up all the gang members, They all sang like Maria Callas because the head man has diplomatic immunity. We feel like he needs to see what our gang can do. Head shot? I asked. More than one is our thinking. Leave a clean nest there so there are no questions about where you are. Then get yourself ready to go. You know, if I ever find out you have me doing work for some sleaze bag on the wrong side, I will come for you next? If you like I will message you the files on this guy along with the contact information? Why don't you do that, I agreed. When I got back to the table, I had to entertain Edsel for a while before I could blow her off. After I left the IHP it was just a matter of calling Sylvia from the parking lot on the smarter than smart phone. "Sylvia, I have to take another road trip. It's one of my other clients. I want you to go on with what we talked about. Try to have the preliminary sketches and the preliminary guesstimates ready for me when I get back on Wednesday or Thursday." I said when she answered. "Okay Maxine, when do you have to go?" she asked. "I have to leave in a few hours. This is an unplanned trip," I admitted. "Well, I hope you are okay with what happened last night?" she asked. "I'm just fine with it. Right now I have to go home and pack, we can talk about it when I get back." "Go home and pack? Where the hell are you?" she asked. "I just finished breakfast at the IHP with Edsel," I said. "Should I be jealous?" Sylvia asked. I thought that was really a strange thing for her to ask. "I don't think so, on any front. Now I have to go." I said that because I didn't want to get into it, not because I was in any hurry to get home. ------- Chapter 338 The packing was done in a matter of minutes. It was just a matter of the loading a few things into a small lightweight nylon green pack. a spare pair of green camo jeans and a green camo tee went in, as did a couple of pairs of boot socks just in case I had a human partner. It was all about keeping up appearances. I checked in my storage room and found a dozen of the alum foil pouches of Helen's version of MRE made for Swamp Thing. I much preferred them to the government issue version. I didn't eat for nutrition, since it all got wash away. I had to eat for appearances, since I had some taste receptors, I preferred Helen's, not that it made a hell of a lot of difference. I could eat dog, if that's what it took to keep the illusion alive. I also loaded the Kevlar vest with the camo cover. It would at least be a nice fashion statement. I didn't really need it, but again it was all about the 'seem rather than be' thing. I had long ago cut the legs off camo jeans to cover my rifles while I travel. The jean leg was plenty long enough for the reasonably short .22 mag rifle. It looked like a squirrel gun, unless you were the one who got one of the high velocity .22 hollow point rounds in the head. Then you had to respect it. Actually it was the people standing around you, when your head exploded, who learned to respect it. I had a couple of light weight plastic canteens I added them to the pack as well. It was getting pretty close to being full. With the box of .22 mag ammo, then the 10mm ammo for the Glock pistol, the small pack was pretty much full. I had only one more item important enough to add to the pack. The last thing I added was possibly the most important piece of equipment in a jungle operation. I added one big ass roll of hundred dollar bills. I couldn't load the thing I needed most for two reasons. The first was that it wasn't a tangible item. The second reason was that I didn't have it anyway. The thing I needed most was intelligence and I just didn't have any. Oh I got the case file which was all well and good. The case file told me the fifth ambassador from some banana republic was involved in the buying and selling of humans. He was supplying females illegals from his country to a gang of illegal cutthroats who were running them in a street operation. The overhead was very low and the profits all in cash. It was a pretty good deal till some cop decided he was a crusader. His whole family paid. It was a South American kind of warning. Fuck with us and not only do you die, we kill your wife kids and even the dogs. It was pretty effective, since there was very little the cops can do to counter that kind of terror. They got pissed enough to round up all the usual suspects and sweat the hell out of them. There were three men on the hit squad and they rolled over on the Ambassador within minutes. They knew that rolling on him got them a better deal and that the Ambassador couldn't be touched. What they didn't know was that someone with balls had learned how to get things done in prison. All three got shanked while awaiting trial. The Ambassador decided that he wouldn't fight the order to send him home. No one in the government wanted him killed on U.S. soil, but somebody wanted him killed. It was me or a Commando raid which the U.S. couldn't afford. With me it would look like a rival thug killing. The plane landed on the grass strip right on time. It was a different plane and a different pilot. The plane was larger than the last one had been, but I was the only passenger. I didn't have to ride in the co-pilot seat though. There were four passenger seats behind the pilot. I went into power saver mode, since I had no idea what to expect for the next few hours. It was almost dark when we landed on another grass strip somewhere near the Gulf of Mexico. I tanker truck came out to fill the plane with gasoline. "So what's the plan?" I asked the pilot while they were filling the tanks. "Beats the shit out of me. Once the plane is filled, we are headed for Texas to spend the night, I think. All I know for sure is I have the coordinates for a strip in Texas, where they say I can make a night landing. I think you change planes there, but hell I don't even know that for sure." "Well this is a lot of fun, but I'm getting a little antsy." I said aloud. I had been trying to get a message to the controller for an hour or so, s but nobody wanted to answer me. I really was on my own for some reason. I took stock while the plane flew toward Texas. I had everything I needed to do the job except a target. I had no idea where to find this clown or how to get close to him. If I got to where he was, I supposed that I could gather the necessary information. I could lay in the jungle for weeks gathering intel. It was one of the things I was designed to do. Of course I would prefer that it didn't come to that. I had too many things I enjoyed more than laying in the rotting undergrowth of a jungle. I know I wasn't supposed to prefer clean sheets to rotten vegetation, but I had the memory of both. I preferred the sheets, thank you very much. I tried to contact the controller while we flew toward Texas. I had never had a period when I couldn't get in touch with them before. I was left to decide what my next move would be, if I couldn't get any help past Texas. Surely no one checked people trying to get into Mexico illegally. I would just rent a car and do the tourist bit. I could always drive to the town where my bad guy was supposed to be and just gather information when I got there. One of the big pluses to this change was that over night I had learned a dozen new languages. Any language that had a computer translation program, I could speak pretty fluently. That part of the new me I did love. Actually except for the time required to pull it off, it was a pretty good plan. I tried to keep my mind from running off in all directions. It wasn't productive and it used power I couldn't replace at that moment. I sat quietly looking out at the black of night. The pilot turned to me several hours later. When he was sure he had my attention he motioned that we were going down. I found that interesting. I saw a line of lights marking what could easily have been a flat piece of highway. It was instead a single strip of concrete probably used by drug runners as well as spies. Sure I was nervous, but I'm not sure it was fear. I think since the change everything was more logical. The odds of survival were way on my side. There was nothing I could do to improve them, so there was not much sense worrying. Still, I was anxious for it to be over. The larger but still small plane landed between the lights. He stopped at one end of the concrete strip. One of those smaller RV things pulled up beside the plane. A man who was really tall, 6'4" at least, got out. He walked like a man with a stick up his ass. He was obviously military or former military. Once the side door of the plane was open he said, "Stone you need to get off the plane now." It wasn't a suggestion or a request. It was an order. I knew I could kick his ass, on my worst day, or his best one, but for some reason I felt compelled to do as he said. As I climbed out of the plane I saw Eve get out of the RV and climb into the back of the plane with a back pack similar to mine. I saw the man turn and re-enter the RV. He motioned for me to follow, so I did. "Ms Stone, my name is Deacon Burke. I am going to be your operations officer for this mission. I'm going to brief you then send you on your way. Let me make this clear, this your mission and there will be no passing the buck out there, or when you get back. Is that clear?" the tall man with the shaved bald head said firmly. "I have never passed a buck and I don't plan to start now," I said. "But I also tell the truth about a mission. I don't cover for other people." "Right, unless they are old lovers," he said smiling. "Burke, you ain't an old lover, so get it right," I said to show my own balls. "Fair enough, the farm lost contact with you when you left Aster. They will contact you through the EVE. She is in constant contact with the controller. If that link is broken you will be her controller since she can't think for herself more than the most simple of thoughts." "Fair enough," I didn't mind losing the controller in my ear as long as I had a good mission briefing. "If you tell her to do something and she refuses or she is doing something you think is dangerous say to her 'Change Direction Now'. Once you say those words, the controller will no longer have total control of her. Your commands will over ride the controller. I do not want you to do that except as a last resort. We don't want the farm to know that we can hijack their EVE." "Am I part of a conspiracy?" I asked with a smile. "Frankly yes, but you will see why I hope in a minute." "Okay," I replied. "Now your target wanted to send a message to intimidate cops north of the border. He did it because he knew no law enforcement could touch him. He didn't reckon on us." "Who is us?" I asked. "You don't need to know that. What you need to know is that your target is one vicious cocksucker. The only thing wrong with that, is that there is always at least one cocksucker more vicious than you. And you are looking at that one." "Okay, I accept that. So I don't just kill him, I send a message to the rest of the diplomats." "Yes, and that message is play by the rules, or there is no sanctuary. I want you to kill him as many times as you can. I want you to kill his family including all the animals on the place. I want there to be a river of blood. If you can't do it the EVE can. Just put her to it and get out of the way. Now the controller might wimp out. That's why I gave you the override code. If you can't do it, I will find someone who can." "Bullshit there is no one but EVE and I who can do this. We are not going to be a problem, because both of us have about half a pound of C4 in our guts," I said. "Well they said you weren't just able to think, but that you could out think any of us." He said smiling. "What about reinforcements and no I don't mean me," I said. "We are going to make sure there are no helicopter reinforcements. That will give you an hour more or less from the first shot until the trucks full of soldiers arrive." "So how do I get into the area?" "We are going to land you five miles from the hacienda where Abbyroad resides. No that isn't his real name it's his code name for this mission." Deacon said. "Okay, I got it." I said. "Maxine, not even an old yeller dog survives. We want it wet and nasty," he said. "I'll bring back pictures," I said. "Good," Deacon said and he wasn't smiling. ------- Chapter 339 There were lots more details passed on by the Deacon. In the end I had to admit that Deacon was competent, smart as hell, and blood thirsty. When it ended, I had my own ideas. I did listen and evaluate everything he said to me. Part one of the plan I could not disagree with at all. We were to be flown to the small country whose name I doubt that more than one out of ten Americans had ever heard. It was another grass strip for us when we arrived. Deacon informed me that it was maintained by something called ROXX. It stood for some kind of revolutionaries army hiding in the jungle. I didn't give a crap whose strip it was as long as I didn't have to shoot my way onto it. We were ready to leave when the Deacon slipped something heavy into my pack. "You are going to love these, I guarantee it," he said grinning at me. When the Deacon grinned I realized he was missing several teeth. "So thanks for the briefing. I'll take care of this or you can push the destruct button on me." I said. "Sweetie, I don't need or want your permission. If it ends for you in that shit hole, it's just the way it goes. I doubt that you can even come back to haunt me." he said grinning again. "Fair enough and when your number comes up on the kill list, I promise I won't even blink an eye," I said. "Then we do understand each other. Good luck and remember a river of blood. Just killing them isn't enough." The Deacon said it without any joy in his voice. It was just business to him. I filed all the information he passed on to me under, when I need it I'll review it. In the meantime I was ready to get on with the job. It was the only thing I felt, when I climbed into the back of that airplane. I took a seat beside Eve and put my pack onto the seat behind me, just as Eve had done. "You ready for this?" I asked. "Of course," she replied. I had forgotten how straight up, all business Eve was. Even after they did the personality upgrade, that model still lacked spontaneity. Or maybe it was something else missing. Something I didn't even understand. Either way Eve could pull off being human, but only if a human or maybe me did the majority of the talking. The flight south took most of the night. We had a different pilot for the flight, but I had expected nothing less. The sun had been up only an hour or so when the plane touched down. We grabbed our packs and left the plane quickly. The sprint into the jungle was an easy one. I watched the plane take off, which in effect stranded me with the EVE unit. If the shit went rank and we survived, it would be a long walk home. The extraction plan had better work, or Deacon Burke would be the first one I killed, when I got home. In the meantime we had a five mile walk through the jungle just to get within sight of the town. Then another ten miles to the hacienda. We were at the edge of the town by noon. I backed us away from the village but followed the road closely. "Okay Eve, let's hide our packs and walk into town." I said softly. "That isn't the plan," Eve said to me but it was the controller talking. "We are operational. When you are in the field the plan changes by the minute. Now hide your pack and let's go." I said. "What is the new plan," the controller asked through Eve. "I'll let you know, when I know," I said softly. "Now hide your fucking pack or I'm leaving without you." I remembered the override code, but I also remembered Deacon's admonition not to take over lightly. Before I put my pack along side hers behind the bush, I removed the wad of good old US cash. We cut a few pieces of brush to lay over the packs before we walked away. Entering the village was tricky, because we had to walk in on the only road. We started on the road well out of sight of the village. Then we just walked into town and hoped no one noticed. My new found ability to read and speak Spanish was a great help. I didn't sound like a native, but I managed to find the local bike repair shop. It was after noon when I found myself in front of the middle aged bicycle mechanic. "Good afternoon Sir," I said respectfully. "My friend and I came in on the bus and hour ago." Yes I had checked the bus schedule when we passed the bus pickup point. "We would like to rent or purchase two bicycle so that we might tour the area. I understand there is a very famous monastery several miles from town," I said. I doubt that he cared about anything except our ability to pay. He obviously recognized my accent. "Five U.S. Dollars each," he said and nothing more. "Is that to purchase or rent during our week's stay?" I asked. "You buy them now. Then you donate them when you leave." he said. "Fair enough," I said. Even though most of my money was in large bills, I had a couple of hundred dollars in smaller bills. "Two five dollar bills," I said as I handed them to him. "Take any of those bikes outside," he agreed. Eve and I had no need for gears, so I picked two of the smaller, simple coaster BMX type bikes. Eve and I rode away from the town after we checked out the police station. The local police were paramilitary, but there appeared to be only two of them. They did have a jeep type thing made by Toyota. Eve kept watch while I broke off the tube which held the radiator cap and put it in my pocket to be disposed of a mile or so away ... It was a little more than ten miles to the site of the hit. I didn't think a car without a working radiator would make it that far. Of course it might, so I had to keep that in mind. Eve and I began to pedal the two bikes out of town on the road away from the hacienda first. We rode back to the spot where we had left our packs. I slung the pack over my back with the leg of an old pair of jeans concealing the .22 mag rifle complete with ten power scope, which I had tied to the pack. We had taken an hour to walk around the town a little. The information we gained and the map we were able to pull up from the satellite photos, helped us avoid the main drag through town. We skirted the edge but were soon back on the road headed to the hit. It was an hour of leisurely ridding to the turn off onto the private road leading to the hacienda. "This is where we turn off," I said to Eve. I didn't really need to say it out loud. We could communicate quite well by whatever it was that sent those silent messages. Eve didn't answer. She just pulled into the road. After about five minutes, I sent her a silent message to pull into the jungle. We would walk the last mile, I decided. It took us about thirty minutes to reach the clearing around the house. The house was stucco or adobe or whatever they used to cover the exterior of houses down there. I cranked up the magnification on the sensor that replaced my eyesight. There were some benefits to being born again. I could see that there was a gatehouse with one security guard at the entrance. The house had very strong looking doors and reasonably solid windows. At first glance the weakest spot seemed to be the big window in the front. We skirted the house to look at it from the rear. The minor ambassador had a pool out back and sliding doors going to it. Those were definitely the weak spot, except that if it were me, I would have the doors leading from that room into the house reinforced. An intruder could get into that room maybe, but no farther. That was just to obvious an entrance not to be secured. While we waited to see what the routine of the household was, I knew I needed to come up with a different plan. We saw the second outside man walking around the perimeter. When he reached the gatehouse, he stopped to talk to the guard there for several minutes before the gatehouse guard did the next walking tour of the outside. One thing about me, and Eve as well, we had great patience. I lay in the spot watching the gate, while Eve lay in the spot watching the swimming pool entrance. We lay there for hours without any movement at all, which no human could have done. In our case the sunlight charged our power packs, while we used very little power. It was 8PM when two men came out to relieve the two guards on duty outside. I knew there were supposed to be four security men, so that accounted for them all. I saw all four of them standing at the front gate smoking and talking for several minutes. Could it really be that simple. Wait for the next shift change and just shoot them all right there forty or so feet from the front door. If I could do that there would be only the Ambassador, his wife, two teenage children and two kids under twelve left to deal with. I had no problem dispatching anyone of them, man woman or child, who pointed so much as a pencil at me or Eve. Murdering people who had surrendered was a different thing. Well in the case of the Ambassador, it wouldn't be an issue. In the case of his wife, she knew what he did there was no doubt of that, so she was pretty much a justified kill. The teenagers for sure, if they resisted, cold blooded murder was a different thing. Still, I had to remember they would be obligated to avenge the killings of their parents by the code of that kind of family. I supposed that under some thinking that made them all justified as well. The younger ones I would have to give some additional thought to at the time. I knew what Burke wanted, but I wasn't sure I could do it. If I couldn't do it, I couldn't allow Eve to do it either. I slipped back to open my pack. I found a box of .22 mag ammunition that I did not put in the pack. It had to be what Deacon put in and swore I would love. I opened the box took out a round and examined it carefully. It looked a lot like a hollow point that had been filled with red wax, but I knew better. It was a hollow point alright, or as least it started life as a hollow point. Then the hole was most likely enlarged. It was likely filled with something very nasty. My guess was something explosive as opposed to something poisonous. Poisons were good for protracted jungle warfare alright. The shot would at a minimum injure the victim. Then the poison would disable him and would also tied up the resources of the enemy, while they cared for him. So yes a small caliber hollow point was a fine jungle weapon, but this wasn't a protracted engagement. This one was a quick in and out. Meant to be mean, nasty and wet, so the round would most likely explode on impact. I good sniper weapons system, but not so much for infighting. Eve had a very lethal Chopped down AK47. Most likely, if worse came to worse, she could finish anyone I missed at the gate. It seemed likely that anyone I missed would head for the rear of the building to take cover. As I removed the ammunition from the pack I noticed something else Deacon had slipped inside. There was a piece of metal which upon closer inspection proved to be a policeman's badge. Obviously something he wished left behind. I had a feeling the true professionals would have vetoed that as too big a risk. Still it was a warrior's touch. Eve and I waited through the night. We watched with both light enhancing software and inferred imaging while the guards move about, and the people in the house lived their life without knowing that they were under a death sentence. ------- Chapter 340 I lay in the rotting vegetation all through the night. Sometime before the sun came up, I cranked up my level of activity just a little. Enough to go into the backpack for my spare tee shirt. I slipped it into the waist band of my jeans. There was more movement around the building. 8AM was when I expected to see the day begin for the family. A bicycle like ours came down the road just before eight. I hadn't expected it but I had planned for it. It actually might prove to be a good thing. The rider of the bike was a male who looked thin like all the residents of the area. His bicycle was fitted with a basket which was filled with books. I dubbed the young man the tutor. When the tutor was cleared through the gate, he rode directly to the front door. The door was opened and he entered with very little fuss. So Burke had said there would be a housekeeper/cook in the house. I had plans for her as well. That is if she survived the next thirty minutes. The changing of the guard was due at any minute. I reminded Eve that anyone who rounded the corner or exited the rear door had to die, no exceptions. If the housekeeper or the tutor tried to run they were going to die. If they tried to defend their employers, they were going to die. Otherwise they just might live. The security guards with their automatic rifles met after the last circuit of the grounds. The two night guards stood waiting for their replacements. My thinking was that they were going to be in a hurry to get to bed, so as soon as they were all together the slaughter had to begin. The two new men came from the house still getting dressed. One of them even had a piece of toast in his mouth. The second new man seemed the most likely to react best, so I shot him in the head. I was aiming the rifle for the point of his nose, but I'm sure I fired to the left a bit. The left side of his head disappeared according to my stop action program. Next it was the one with the toast in his mouth, again it was a head shot that went just a little off target but he was standing in shock as he died. The last two guards finally caught up with events and moved. The one from the last walking patrol tried to use the gate house for cover. It was a tight squeeze with the two men crammed into the area meant for only one. The walking guard's leg and shoulder on the left side were exposed just a few inches. It was enough to put one of the exploding rounds into his hip. It threw him out of the gatehouse where I had a much easier shot. I had a problem after I finished him off. The fourth security guard was cowering in the gatehouse. Since I had to go down there anyway, I decided just to rush the gatehouse. I figured that I had him so terrified he wouldn't raise his head. Just when you think you have assholes figured out, they do something totally stupid. In that ten second break in the firing he decided to make a break for the jungle. He got about ten feet, when I shot him in the chest as he ran right at me. I saw his chest explode, but not out the back as the high velocity round should have caused, but the spurt of blood and bone came out the front where the bullet had gone in. I didn't even try to figure it, I just put second round in his head when he was on the roadway. "Eve, I'm going in the front, you shoot anyone who comes out the back. Get in closer so you are ready to come inside instantly. The organized resistance such as it was has ended." It had ended without a shot being fired by the bad guys. I probably could have found enough leverage to kick the door in but going through the window seemed easier. I left the .22 in the gatehouse as I ran toward the house. I heard one shot from the window which I had planned to go through, so I charged it and went airborne about six feet from the house. Sure I felt the three hits on my vest. Even if I had been human I would have probably had a broken rib. I certainly would not have been dead. I sailed right through the window instead. I did one those airborne tuck and roll things I had seen on TV so many times. When I came up, I came up with the Glock at the ready. The person who had done the shooting had to be the teenage boy child. I shot him in the face. A person with a weapon was dead. It was the rules of engagement I came in with. Which were just a little different from the Deacon's rules. When I got to my feet, I had clearing the house in mind, but first I used the spare tee shirt to make myself a Muslim radical mask, Like the ones I had seen on TV a thousand times. With the mask in place I began to clear the house. The first door I came to after I entered the hallway leading to the rear of the house was a bedroom. When I listened I heard agitated breathing. I knew there was only one person inside and they were breathing hard and fast. I knew they were in fight or flight mode. I couldn't tell which of the occupants it might be but I expected the worst. When I backed off and kicked the door, I saw what had to be the housekeeper. She had a big ass butcher's knife and she made a move toward me. I have no idea what she had in mind. It could have been self protection or she might have been trying to save her boss, but it signed her death warrant. I shot her twice in the chest. I went into the doorway and listened. No one else was breathing so I move on down the hall. The next doorway was a smaller room and there was the sound of breathing inside. One person again in the fight or flight mode. When I kicked that door open. I found the teenage daughter no weapon. She was dressed only in a bra and panties. For ultimate and immediate domination of her, I grabbed her by the bra with my hand between the cups and pulled her from the bathroom. I pushed her ahead of me down the hall. I came to the next door and heard multiple targets breathing. "I'm coming in. There is nothing out here," Eve said. It was obviously the controller's decision. "Come on in. come through the rear door but be careful. I am holding the teenage daughter prisoner at the moment. I would like to keep her alive a little longer." I pushed the girl ahead of me, while I blocked the door with all the breathing. It was just a few seconds before Eve came to the far end of the hallway. "Tie this one for me I am going to finish clearing the house." I pushed the girl to Eve who not to gently threw her onto a kind of sofa in the room just inside the patio doors. Eve stood watching her and covering me in the hallway at the same time. I gambled that behind the door I was going to find the tutor and the two small kids. When I kicked it, there he stood with the kids behind him. He was using his body to shield them. I looked him in the eye and said in Spanish. "If you or either of these children step foot out of the door you will be killed instantly. So you understand?" I asked. "See," was his only reply. I knew without a doubt that he wasn't going to be a player unless I forced him to be. I moved to the last door and listened. There were two people inside that door. My guess was that it was the ambassador and his wife. I could have called in to offer them a deal but I knew that it would have been a lie both of them had to die. I backed off and kicked the door. I rushed in with the pistol ready the prick ambassador wasn't to be seen but his wife was there defiantly. I shot her in the head and ended the threat from her. The only place the Ambassador could be was hiding in the closet. The smell of gunsmoke hanging in the air and the sounds of the last five minutes, yes it had only been five minutes, reinforced what I said next. "If you don't come out right this minute I am going to walk into the pool entrance and kill your teenage daughter, then will go next door to kill your two small children and the tutor." I waited a few seconds. After a few seconds I said out loud but to myself, "Fuck it a man who orders other people's kids to die, can't have much respect for his own. Instead of going out to honor my promise to kill them all, I jerked the closet door off the hinges. I picked the terrified Ambassador up by the throat and pushed him toward the Ambassador's office. "Eve round up all the others." I demanded. We were fourteen minutes into the hit. It was time to move the shit along, and get our asses back into the jungle. I had the ambassador sitting behind his desk and the others on the big sofa and chair across from it. I turned my attention to the tutor. "Did you know this man was trafficking in human beings?" I asked. "Don't lie to me mother fucker," I demanded. "Yes I knew," he said. "You took his money and did nothing." I shot him in the face right in front of the kids. "Eve take the smaller kids to one of the bedrooms and stand in the doorway to keep them inside and to be sure teeny bopper here doesn't try to take off. Eve had tied her hands but that was no guarantee. The the only way to do that was to kill her. I wanted her alive. "Now you tell us what you did and you might live. Confess in front of your children you cowardly prick." I waited and he said nothing. He was afraid to open his mouth afraid it would be like the tutor. I took my bowie knife, the big fucker I had carried for almost a year. I walked to stand beside him, Then without warning I cut off the thumb on his right hand. I tossed it into the lap of his mostly naked teenage daughter. She instantly began to vomit. To her credit she did manage to stay conscious. I turned to the Ambassador again and whispered in his ear, "It only gets worse for you and more fun for me. I see the faces of that cop'se kids, the ones you order killed and this is just a walk in the park for me. Now tell her all of it, or you are going to get chopped up a bit at a time and end up in her lap. How about I cut off your prick next and shove it in her pussy?" I asked. I wasn't really enjoying it at all, but I wanted them both to think that I was. It had to be a terrible act of terror to satisfy Deacon, and to save those two small kid's lives. Now so much terror for these people. Hell they were already terrorized. It had to be terror for anyone who saw the tape. Oh I had no doubt that they were taping the images from my eyes and Eve's. There might even be camera's belonging to the Ambassador. That's why I had my face covered. "Tell her and this ends, She will live and the smaller kids will live. otherwise I kill them one at a time before I kill you." "I have had peasant girls no older than you kidnapped. I sold them to gangs in North America. The girls were forced to work on the streets selling their bodies." he said with his face down. "Now tell her about the cop and his kids," I insisted. "I ordered a gang to kill a policeman and his family as a warning to others not to interfere with my business. It is why I had to come home. The North Americanos did not take it as I was told they would. They began to shut us down all over the country." "And now this," I said. I stood behind him and put my left hand over his mouth. Even with hydraulics, which were twenty times stronger than human muscles, it was still a bitch hacking his head off with just the Bowie knife. When his body slumped forward, I held his head up by the hair for his teenage daughter to see, but more important for Eve's camera to see. I held the head as I spoke to the girl. "Now you listen carefully you spoiled rich bitch. I am going to let you and your brother and sister live. I want you to tell anyone who will listen what you have seen. If anyone comes for me or my friend. If there are any reprisals at all of any kind, I will hunt you down and I will do the same to the three of you. Do you understand?" She nodded. "Repeat back to me what you are going to tell anyone who will listen," I demanded. "You and your government hold your brother an sister's lives in your hands." She repeated it back in hysterics. She was a total wreck. "There is your terrorist attack Deacon. She will speak a hundred times more eloquently than her dead body would. Her voice and the tape I know you made are more than enough terror so live with it," I whispered as I walked out the rear door to toss the head onto the pool. "Lets go Eve," I said as we left the the teenager tied and kids behind the closed door. Take everything that isn't tied down. Cell phones computers paper files. I picked up my rifle and pack before he hustled back to the bicycles and pedaled off toward the strip. We skirted the town again as we made our way back to the jungle. We left the bikes hidden just off the road, then we walked following the gps on my smarter than smart phone. It was easy to find the strip. We had to wait from 10AM until 3pm for the plane to arrive and it was a mad dash to get into it and then a thrill of relief as it cleared the trees. "We have to talk damn it," the voice of Deacon Burke echoed in my ears. "Fuckin A," I replied. I had no idea, if he heard me or not, nor did I care. I was still alive, however you defined life, which meant I won that round. ------- Chapter 341 The flight after the job seemed even longer than the one going to the job. I was dreading the confrontation with the Deacon. I figured that I couldn't have fucked up too bad, since they didn't hit me with the big bang. Because of that I began to think, not only were there degrees of sin with these clowns, but with the kind of investment they had in me, possibly the only death sentence was for being found out. Maybe the only way they were allowed to eliminate me was if I let myself get captured by the really bad guys. If the local cops got me for something minor, I could fake it long enough to get the farmer's field hands in to spring me, even if Jennifer couldn't. If that were the case, why hadn't they told me that when I raised hell about the Irishman and not hanging around waiting for a cop. I really wanted to know the protocol for getting terminated. Then of course they likely didn't want me to know. If I thought that I would get boom boomed, if I got arrested, then I was less likely to get my ass arrested. Making it less likely that they would have to come spring me somehow. These guys were full of mind games and that scenario did make perfect sense. So this mission didn't go exactly as planned, but maybe it was close enough. Maybe I was being treated as a human agent would have been treated. I brought some things to the game a human could never bring. Also some things an Eve couldn't bring to the party. I was a one of a kind asset and I'm sure we were all learning what I would be capable of doing. Testing me was probably why they had me screw both dominant and submissive men, then go out and wipe out a family. They were either looking for what I did best, or trying to find my limits. From the hit they should have learned that I was smart and if I came upon a moral issue, I tried to find a compromise. The real question might be, what would I do, if I couldn't find a compromise. I at least had several hours to prepare myself for my meeting with the Deacon. I wasn't so much working on a defense, as I was trying to find the best way to defend myself. Yes it was a subtle difference. I decided that to defend myself I needed to at least have an idea of the thinking back on the farm. We stopped at the concrete strip in Texas for gas. I was surprised that no one met us. Since neither Eve nor I needed to stretch our legs or any other girlie thing, we stayed in the plane. I expected that the next stop would be for gas then on to the farm, but I was wrong. The next stop was the grass runway outside Aster. The cross roads with a name closest to the strip was called Trenton, so the strip had a sign which read Trenton Airstrip. My guess was that while I was headed home, Eve would be headed to the farm for a complete download. Since she had been seen clearly on the tape, they would most likely do a nip and tuck to change her appearance. I had worn the mask because unlike Eve, I had to look the same, when I got back as I had when I left. Even in the early morning light, before the sun was high in the sky, my old pick up truck was ugly as original sin. It was part of the reason I loved it already. It looked a lot like my soul these days, if I had one. If I ever had one, it never looked all that good I'm sure. When I got back to Aster, I sat my ass on the second floor sofa. Inside my Townhouse there were sofas on both floors. The first floor ones were arranged for conversation. The ones on the second floor faced the window over the street. So that morning I sat my ass down with a killer strong cup of coffee, plugged my ass in and meditated while I charged. The MP3 player on steroids played the music my dad had loved. The player was loaded with the sound track from the movie 'The Big Chill' along with the sound track from a popular TV show or two. I had a few best of the sixties albums. When I heard that music I could almost see my dad behind the wheel of his beat up old pickup. Him driving, me riding shotgun, on the way to one of the junk yards outside of town. My dad was a mechanic for one of the local mills. He kept their machines running. The job title down there was loom fixer. After his shift in the mill, he worked on the other mill hand's junkers. He kept them running with junk yard parts. It was how he made enough money, so that we weren't the poorest of the poor in the village. Before I had started the charging, I ran a diagnostics program and found that my power supply was in good shape and my circuits were all running cool and true. Then I started the charger, cranked up the tunes as the kids say, and let my mind drift to all the plots and subplots in my life at that moment. The smarter than smart phone rang but I let it go to message. I had no interest in talking to anyone. The intentional loss of communications with the farm had been a test. I was still undergoing evaluations and that was as it should be. I would do the same thing. Hell, I was evaluating Sylvia as a real estate partner. Why would I not expect the farm to do the same with me? I looked at the calendar on my smart phone and found that it was Wednesday. Geese all that in only four days. I knew it was true. Even worse the actual time of the gunfight was only fifteen minutes. So much could change in such a mall amount of time, was my only thought. I had seen it happen all my life but it always amazed me. A day long gunfight might happen in a real war, but in the kind of things I seemed to get into, it was just quick, nasty, and people died. I had no idea which was worse. There were probably a lot more dead people in a day long battle, but how many did any one person account for. I had killed more in that half hour than the average soldier killed in day long battle, I was sure. I was trying to reason it all out logically when the back door rattled. I looked at the online image of the rear door in time to see Sylvia open it. Since she had a key, I didn't rush down the stairs. I did go down to meet her. I didn't quite know how to greet someone who had seen me making it with both men and women. Of course, Sylvia was the only one who had ever just watched. "You are back was it a good trip?" she asked. "Everything seemed to work out, but I won't know until the customer evaluates the outcome," I suggested. "And what exactly were you doing?" Sylvia asked. "Creative problem solving, nothing very exciting," I replied to her question, then I went on. "So tell me what has happened here. I left you with lots of things on the Cusp," "Good news and bad news," she said. "It always is," I replied. "Well the good news is I found something to do with the meeting room in the Drugstore Condominiums during the week. Leon's Girl friend, the one you call Tiny Dancer, really is a dancer. She is going to open a dance studio. She must have left the TV on the reality channel after your show. There is a reality show called Dance Moms that follows you." "Well help her get started, she probably isn't going to have a ton of money until it starts going well," I suggested. "I'm so glad to hear you say that. I thought I would give it to her rent free at first, then raise the rent as she gets students, if that's okay?" Sylvia asked. "Sounds like a plan to me," I agreed. "Now Jennifer wrote her own lease for the Condo, but she didn't balk at the price. She is a little concerned about security, but I told her to look who her neighbors were. That and the cops drive by the building every ten minutes. She just laughed and said that she was more concerned about Bob and nothing could be done about him." Sylvia informed me with a laugh. I didn't comment, but I didn't laugh either. "So when is she moving in?" "This weekend, the last I heard," Sylvia said. "Now for the not so good news. I could barely get the preacher's man to drop his price at all. I met with the designer and we couldn't seem to find anything significant to cut." "Okay you are probably right, but we will go over the plans and see what is what. How about the office?" I asked. "The lot is for sale and is a bit expensive, I thought. It doesn't matter because the city counsel will not allow modular buildings in the downtown area." "We own the storage units so we have to do something with them. Call Jennifer and ask her what loophole she can find, so that we can use them?" Now let's look at those plans for the houses. I spent an hour going over the plans and the changes Sylvia had worked out. She pretty much made only cosmetic changes. In other words she played it safe. "Okay set a meeting with the foreman and the designer this afternoon. We pay them enough so that they should be here with bells on. But first dial up Archer for me." I sat quietly at the stainless steel dining table while Sylvia dialed the number then handed me the Smarter than smart phone. It rang a couple of times before Archer came on the line. "Reverend, it's me Maxine. We need to work something out on the mill village renovations. If your people don't get creative I'm going to bid those houses off one at a time to the Russian builders." "Maxine, you know the profit from the Laboring Few goes to the ministry," he said. "I know that and I know that the 'Few's' workers are deserving and need the work, but so do the Russians. So it's a matter of who needs the work the most. We have a history, so I would like to keep it in the family, so to speak. But this is business. I am going to have Sylvia set up a meeting with your people this afternoon. Tell them they need to being some fresh ideas to the table." "Alright Maxine, but do not open this project up for bids without giving us a chance," he said. "Reverend this is your chance, we have been dicking around with this for months," I said it with a smile but he knew that I was seriously ready to jump ship. No sooner had I broken the connection than Jennifer called me. "Maxine, I want you to know that I am moving in on Saturday. I have already had a meeting with that cute Leon and Vladimir, the terrible, and their girlfriends. Vlad said for me to insist that you put a panic button with a horn that rang outside my apartment. He said I should do it, so that he and Leon, as well as the cops, can come running, if Bob gives me shit." "Call someone to do it Jen, and have them bill me. But please tone it down, so that it doesn't fuck up the look of the place." "I'm looking forward to living close to you again. I understand from the boys that there is a club in the basement. We should be able to have so much fun now that Bob is history," she advised me. "Now listen bitch in exchange for that horn, you find me a loophole for my storage unit office," I said with a laugh. "Consider it done," she said and then the phone was dead. ------- Chapter 342 They arrived together at 3PM. In the old days there would have been files and drawings to spread on my dining room table. Since it wasn't the old days, we sat at the table with laptops. I stared at the screen of my laptop at the images provided by their flash drive. "So what am I looking at?" I asked. I knew exactly what I was looking at. There were three house models in the village at Hart's Mill. The image on my screen which was labeled Bluebird was one of the house plans. "It's one of the three basic floor plans in the village. Like all of them it has three small bedrooms and one bath. There is a small living room and kitchen as well. All the models are basically the same. They differ only in the layout of the rooms. The Bluebird and the Cardinal are the same floor plan, just mirror images of each other." "Okay, I get that. What is the third floor plan?" I asked. "Open the file named Robin," Lois instructed. Lois was the preacher's designer and a former Methamphetamine addict. She was still trying to gain weight. Her body had likely been abused beyond complete recovery. In other words she was not at all attractive. When I opened the file, I saw the center living room model. There were two bedrooms and bath on one side and a bedroom and kitchen on the other. The living room went from front to back in the center of the house. It was by far my favorite of the house plans. I looked at the photos of the houses as they were when I bought them. They weren't that bad, since Old Mr. Hart had kept them sealed from the elements. He was convinced that the mill would reopen and they would be needed. "If we just repair them, clean them up. and paint them what kind of price am I looking at." I asked. "You mean not do any of the renovations I have designed?" Lois asked. "That's exactly what I mean." I turned my attention to the foreman. "What kind of price are we looking at if you repair the damage to the outside, remove the plywood over the windows and doors, replace any broken glass, then go inside clean the hardwood floors as best you can and paint all the inside walls. I want new floors in the kitchen. In the bath, a good quality vinyl floor, refinish the tub, if you need to I want to clean the toilets refinish them as well, if needed. In other words what will it cost to make the houses pretty much like they were when the mill was open?" "But nobody will buy houses like that," the designer said. "You know this how Lois, have you personally tried to sell a plain simple house?" I asked. "No but all the market data shows that small one bath houses do terrible," she said. "This is market data from a time when you could sell anything with a roof over it. We are going to find out what we can sell now." They did not take the news well at all. It was like a personal blow to them. "Also I want one of the Robin and one of the Blubird models renovated as your design shows. I want better flooring and take down that kitchen wall in both. I want a separate price for it. We will supply the appliances, so don't figure them." Give me a call when you get the prices. Also give me a price to go back and take out that wall on the two models after they have been sold. We won't be installing the flooring or the tub enclosures on some of them until after the sale, so Sylvia will need samples of the vinyl and tub surrounds to show customers. Everything else will be finished before we start showing the houses." "It will cost more to go back and do this shit piecemeal," the foreman said clearly irritated. "Well you aren't leaving me any choice. If you can come up with a better plan, I'm all ears but you didn't bring any new ideas to the table when Sylvia met with you. One last thing, as you can see I have a pretty good idea of how we are going to market these houses, so come up with new ideas or I'm going to offer them for bid, house by house, to the Russians." After the two of them had gone Sylvia said, "They are really pissed at you." "If they leave a meeting all smiles, we might as well lube out asses cause they have sure as hell figured a way to ass fuck us." I said smiling sweetly. "Lois was so pissed she didn't pitch the office design to you. She did leave the flash drive and it has the office in a file called of all things 'Office'." Sylvia said with a giggle. I sat back down to open the file. How hard could it be to line four metal boxes up. I looked through the four designs and decided that none of them were worth a shit. There was no way I could draw on a computer before the change. Maybe now I could figure it out, but why bother. That's why I paid other people. I used a piece of typing paper to make a rough sketch and I do mean rough. The four squares were lined up in different directions. The unit on the right was closed end out. The next unit which was attached was arranged with the door end out. The next two units were closed end out. Each unit was bolted to the next making a rectangle of 32 x 20. Over the units I would stretch a curved canopy making the whole thing look as though it was inspired by a WWII Quonset Hut. But no more a hut, than the retro Volkswagen was a beetle. My quick design would cut one window in each of the closed ends and switch the door for a real storefront type door. The offices were going to be small but that was okay with me. I decided to leave the interior design to the fru fru women. My mind just didn't go that way. I did know what I liked, but not much else. "Sylvia can you make a digital drawing from this freehand crap?" I asked. "Sure, it won't take a minute to make a rough drawing. I can even do a quick floor plan." she suggested. "Good, when you get it done let me take a look then email it to Lois. We have to have a lot to get a price on setting those boxes, so call and remind Jen to get something settled quick." "You know she is going to want a drawing to show around," Sylvia demanded. "Okay, get our little designer and the foreman to get something for her. I am going to leave all this to you. If you need any help just ask." I closed the door on both projects for the time being. A couple of days passed before I was again bored to tears. I thought as the weekend began that I owned those damn mill houses and I wanted to get to work on them. Saturday was a dark dreary day. It was not a good day for Jennifer to move into her new rental condo. Nor was it a good day for 'His laboring few to send a couple of guys over to Spruce Street behind the mill. Needless to say, Jennifer had a crew, from the mission, loading a truck from his laboring few's construction company. All of it just to carry her household shit to the condo. While I had two of their guys with me only one had a hammer and pry bar. He was pretty good at pulling down plywood, so that I could inspect the house. It was easy to see that they had not done an inspection of any house from Wednesday until Saturday. I had to call and demand that someone meet me on the site to get them moving... I had my clipboard and wrote ' paint exterior' The exterior painting would include window re glazing and new glass where it was needed. Caulking of cracks and the replacement of rotted trim was also part of the painting contract. I was making the list just in case I had to go with separate contracts. The small concrete front slab was in good shape. It did need pressure washing but that wasn't really much of a job. The siding was no longer being made, so it was my plan to carefully remove the siding from the front of the house, so that it could be use as patching material for the three other sides. The front would get a new siding using the 4x8 composition material. When painted to match the sides it would be good enough to sell. With a little luck there would be enough siding from the one house to patch many others. I explained to his Laboring Few's foreman what I had in mind, as I went along. The job foreman made notes. He didn't look happy, but I didn't care. Once we got inside, I said," Strip and re-wax the hardwood floors." "There is some serious damage in the living room," the foreman said. He had already sent his man to another job. So he had to do the inspection himself. "Then remove the flooring from the smallest bedroom and use it as patch material for all the other houses. You know, this is the kind of thing you are supposed to come up with not me." I didn't much like his attitude. I was about one smart ass remark away from taking bids. "We can probably rehang the doors and new vinyl for the kitchen and bath should pretty much do it. The fixtures need to be cleaned and maybe refinish the tub and toilet. The sink looks pretty good." "Yes it does," I agreed. "Now how about plumbing and heating for this unit?" I asked. "We had planned to increase the insulation and go with a heat pump." He advised me. "How about a gas furnace with ducts that go up into the attic. The furnace in that hall closet that used to be a linen closet?" I asked. "That would save you some money alright. You could keep the heat pump option, if they went with a house that hadn't yet been renovated. Since you are going to work in three stages." he admitted. "That was pretty much what I thought." I informed him. "Okay, I have a pretty good idea what you want to do with the economy renovation," he said. "Good now for the show house with the full renovations. Just upgrade everything and take out that wall between the living room and the kitchen. But for support run your beam under the existing ceiling and put your support posts where the door frame was before and the other post against the wall. That should take care of the roof load." I suggested. "Yes that is the easiest way for sure," he admitted. "So let me go back and get with the designer and we will get your prices in line. Do we furnish the furnace, water heaters, and plumbing fixtures?" he asked. "Not this time, I think I will see what I can do myself." I said. What I meant was I wanted to see what Sylvia could do. "So we get the carpentry and painting," he asked. "If you get your price in line." I suggested. "We can set the kitchen sink and the plumbing fixtures as part of the contract. Same with hanging the cabinets," he suggested. "Sure I had planned on you doing all that kind of thing. The specialty trades you might still get, but I want to check to see what we can do first. I sent him off with instructions to have his prices in my email by the end of work on Monday. I figured Sylvia and I would do a walk through on Monday so that she knew what they were supposed to do for the their money. She would also learn what I expected her to do. I got in my ugly orange pick up and headed home. I actually had a craving for a hot dog. I craved the taste but probably the whole experience more. The dog house was my place for hot dogs. It had been Gus's favorite meal. Before I called ahead to place the order for two dozen hot dogs with everything. I called Jen to be sure her movers would be at the Drugstore Condo. She assured me they would, so I picked up the full take out order. Then I delivered the two big bags of dogs to the Drugstore Condo. Once inside I went door to door knocking and informing everyone to meet me in the Cloak and Dagger for hot dogs and coke. I also saved the receipt from the Dog House. I planned to deduct it from Jan's next bill. ------- Chapter 343 I went into rest mode on Saturday night and stayed there through Sunday. I answered my phone, otherwise I just shut down. I stared out the window at the sparse traffic that went by, while I tried to remember life as it really was back in the day. Back then I could have never just sat in one spot for two days. Every time the urge to do something came upon me, I took the roboslut equivalent of a deep breath and it passed. I did manage to find the strength to brew about a gallon of strong black coffee. I had become addicted to coffee. I'm sure that was a shock to the farmer nerds and geeks. Jennifer must have been settling in both days, because I didn't hear from her. I had expected her to be on the phone every night demanding that I entertain her. I didn't get a single call from her. I wondered who was entertaining her, but I resisted the urge to tap into her hallway surveillance camera. Truth is I didn't care all that much. Monday morning I returned to my normal weekday activities. I rode the bike to Helen's Sit Down for breakfast. Which of course I would just go wash out at my earliest convenience. I thought about it as I rode toward her place. How was that really any different than what I did before. I didn't energize from the food, but I got something from it, then I discarded it. I created an illusion, but it was an honest use of the food. The Geeks had known that building taste receptors into my body not only allowed me to identify what I ate, it also allowed me to connect it to a memory of an experience from my past and enjoy it. All and all eating had become a pleasurable experience for me. That said, breakfast that dreary Monday morning was almost a disaster. Not because the food was anything less than excellent, but because at 8AM a drunk wandered into the sit down. The old guy was a homeless type. He was too drunk to eat at the shelter, so I guess he was hoping someone would give him a handout. I was about to do just that, when he got into a shoving match with a cop, who had stopped on his way home. In the jostling a very hot cup of coffee got spilled on my arm. The cop cuffed the old man, but it didn't end there. In most cases it would have been a blessing that there were two ambulances parked in the lot outside. In mine it was trouble. One of the women rushed over to see what damage the boiling coffee had done to my arm. Of course there was no redness, no burn, and I wasn't in any pain. I had never practiced my reaction to an injury, because they just weren't supposed to happen. "I'm just fine," I said to the paramedic who wanted to examine me. "The coffee missed me." "I swear, I saw that hot coffee hit your arm. Are you sure you are alright Maxine?" the chubby girl asked. "Yes, I'm fine. He missed me, but I have a very high tolerance for pain anyway. I guess it is all the times I have been injured." She seemed to almost buy it. I had a feeling there would be rumors. Then again it wasn't like a gunshot. They could never prove that I had actually been hit by the coffee. Of course I had, but I didn't want to be examined. There would be no damage. My skin might feel like skin, but a really close examination might show something else to a trained pro. Then again I had screwed a paramedic, and he didn't notice anything. Yeah, but he had something else on his mind, I thought. I would have breathed a sigh of relief, if I really did breath. I rode over to the mall for my three mile walk just to keep the mechanical joints flexible, thinking how lucky I had been. One day that might not be the case. Someone might see me not get injured, when I should have been. That seemed to be an issue which needed to be addressed. Nothing came into my head, so they either didn't have an answer on the farm, or they weren't listening to me. I preferred to believe they had given up listening, because I was so boring. As usual I bumped into the dancer. "Sylvia tells me you are going to teach kids to dance?" I asked. "Sylvia convinced me to attempt it. She has all kinds of ideas to help me get started," She said smiling. "It is true. That Sylvia is a dynamo," I admitted. "Once you get the proper equipment installed, she is going to arrange a segment on 'Around The Town' for me." she said. "You mean that local TV thing?' I asked. "Yes, the one about things of interest in the area," she said. "So what equipment do you need?" I asked. "Just a wall of mirrors and a bar," she said. Then she added, "I am going to provide the portable sound system. Actually Helen and I are going to provide it together." "I don't even want to know how that is going to work," I said laughing. "Well, I will have the equipment you need installed just as soon as I can find someone. You are going to need to supervise the placing of the bar. If you have any requirements about what kind of bar and how it is hung, give them to me this afternoon please." "I already have given them to Sylvia. She has taken care of the arrangements, I think," the tiny dancer said. "Good then there is nothing left for me but to wish you luck," I said with a smile as I turned to walk in the opposite direction from that of the dancer. I liked her fine, but then again not all that much. I sure as hell didn't want to hang out with her. I got home in time to just plug in and watch the cars drive by in the mist that wasn't quite rain. The colored lights in the mist was absolutely beautiful. The sparse traffic just made it even more eerie. I was watching the view on main street when Sylvia, in her rain suit, rode her moped past. I thought I probably should work out a way for her to drive a car. If she ever asked, I was sure I could find a way to get it done. She seemed happy at the moment, so I didn't want to rock her boat. A short five minutes later she was in the kitchen calling my name. "Maxine are you here?" she asked. "I'm upstairs looking at this amazing view. Bring the coffee pot and come up," I suggested. "Okay, but I am not going to make a habit of working in your bedroom," she stated firmly. "Whatever, I just wanted you to see this view." I suggested. When she finally made it up the stairs, she took one look and said. "Wow, it looks like something from a fairytale. I expect to see Knights on horses ride by chasing dragons flying between the buildings." "Geese you Romanian peasants have great imaginations. I am so jealous," I admitted. "Bullshit, you called me up here because it is a wonderful sight. This could be one of those deserted cities around Chernobyl," she said. "Yes or the British town after Dracula decimated it," I said. "Now you have me doing that flight of fantasy thing." "So what is on for today?" she asked. "Do you have someone lined up for the mirrors and bars in the meeting room across the way." I asked. "Yes and we will have to start calling it the dance studio," she suggested. "We will see how long the tiny dancer can survive," I said sarcastically. "You do know her name is Catherine?" she asked. "Yes Sylvia, I do know her name. I heard Leon call her by name several times." I admitted. "I'm just checking," Sylvia admitted. "Did you call Edsel to make sure she pressures Jen to get me permission for the office building?" I asked. "I did and Edsel asked me out," she answered. "You knew she was a stone Lesbian, when you got involved," I stated a little harshly. "Hey not to worry, I know how to say no. Besides, if I were going to go to the dark side, it would not be with Edsel." I did not ask for more details. "So let's go to the mill village. Bring something so that you can make notes," I demanded. When we arrived at the one house which wasn't boarded up, Sylvia and I walked through it. I gave her pretty much the same list as I had the foreman from 'His Laboring Few'. "When we get back to the office start checking on appliances first. Then check to see if you can find a plumber from the old country. Have him come meet with us about working on these houses. Since we are going to have to give a warranty on the plumbing, I want it all to be serviced." I walked around the house pointing out things she needed to check on as well. When we got to the heating system, which had been a freestanding oil circulator in the old days, I explained what we needed. "You should also find a Heating and Air Conditioning contractor who won't kill us, to tell us what units we needed. As payment promise to give him a chance to match any other price we got for the installation. "Sylvia what I think we are going to do is to get two model homes ready first then renovate the others to order more or less. We can get them almost finished then complete them to the buyers specifications for a price." "So let's get that base price low enough to draw in the buyers, and then we can work on getting them what they want," I suggested. "Yes, I get the idea now. Base level everything that is acceptable, but with plenty of upgrades available," she suggested. "Exactly, now Let's get your gorgeous ass back to the office and working on it," I suggested. "And what are you going to do boss lady?" she asked. "At the great hot dog banquet, Leon told me that Timmie had quit at the 'Cloak and Dagger'. She is either getting married or someone offered her more money," I said. "I think it was both. I meant to tell you, but I just forgot," Sylvia said. "Well I'm going to see what I need to do to make it all self service. We never did have enough for Timmie to do," I said. "True enough, Helen can give us some names if we need someone to work a party for one of the members," Sylvia said. "That's a good idea," I said. "The company that leases us the new digital jukebox has a lot of other vending machines they would love put into the club. How about I call and have their rep meet you there. I mean you had planned to go over anyway." "Only if he can meet me today," I demanded. Sylvia walked a few steps away to remove a card from her purse. She punched in some numbers and talked a few minutes to the person who answered. "4PM is the best I can do," she said. "Then I will have to drink coffee and look out the window until then," I said smiling. After my meeting with the skinny old man from Tryon Amusements, I agree to allow them to place an additional coke machine and an ice vending machine. The landlords percentage would go to the home owners association for the expenses of the club. It looked like a good deal to me. I also arranged for the coolers to stay, so that members could keep there own beer and other things chilled. Hell we had been planning to cut a watermelon the next year, so I didn't want to lose that cooler. Also Vlad loved his beer and Leon and the dancer had to have chilled wine, so the cooler was a necessity. If any of our few members outside the residents had any objections, they would just have to get over it. ------- Chapter 344 I spent two days watching Sylvia make calls. I would have made them myself, if I weren't trying to bring her into the business. She pared the potential appliance providers down to three. I allowed her to make the decision. She went with one that I might not have, but her reasoning was flawless. All the appliances were pretty much the same. Her supplier had all of them in stock from the water heater to the refrigerator. He would sell in small bulk packages three or four of each at a time. He would also deliver them to the site and unload them into the houses. The price for the complete package of stove, refrigerator and hot water heater was still under a thousand dollars for the standard models. Any upgrades would lose the 'package pricing, ' but it got passed on to the buyer anyway. The heating man came out the same day she called. The housing market was all to hell, so he was thrilled to come give us advice in exchange for a chance to match the installation bids. He told us to go with at least a 40,000 BTU furnace. He couldn't believe that we were not going with central air conditioning as well. Even so, he agreed to do the job. He did tell Sylvia that it would be better to run the ducts in the crawl space. The unit would be more efficient and the cost would be the same. At least it would be, if he did the installation. Again by buying four or more at a time the small gas furnace with ducts and thermostat included came in at just under $1,500. I wasn't surprised that the furnace was a major expense. As far as materials went, the items Sylvia had priced, so far, were the heaviest cash outlays I expected to make. That held up until we began talking about the actual renovations. The first of the shocks began when the foreman from HLF showed up with the roofing samples. "If we are going to do the roof repairs, we need to get the roofing materials purchased." he informed us. "So this is our choice. We just choose the color not the brand?" I asked. "I figured you would leave that to me," he said without even an apologetic look. "Okay, let's do it this way instead. The houses are 1000 sq feet on the ground level so the roof is no more than 1400 square feet. So how much do you want to put the roof on per house?" "We were figuring $3000 per house if we get them all. And for that we tear off the old roof and we will replace any damaged wood under the roofing material..." he said. "And that is your best price?" I asked. "On a per house price, one you can take to the bank, yeah," he replied. "Sylvia are you afraid of heights?" I asked. "No Maxine, I'm not afraid to walk a roof for sure." she informed us both. "If you want a shot at the roof, bid on the nail down per square," I demanded. "I'll supply all the materials." "Why you being such a hard ass, Maxine. We worked together on this place and the one across the street and they worked out fine," he said. "Because, that was for guys with a bunch of money. This is a different economy and different buyers. If you don't want to play nice, I will find other people who will." I was ready to do that anyway. "We will nail it down, with nail guns, for a hundred dollars a square," he said. "I'll get back with you, but don't be surprised, if someone else is doing the work when next you drive by. I'm not giving you a match the price option." I said. After he had gone I said to Sylvia, "Surely you know a roofer from your clan." "I don't have a clan, but I know a man in the trades. He probably knows someone." she said with a smile. "I am going to gain a little respect, if I can pull this off." "Respect from who?" I asked. "The people who avoid me now," she said. "Then bring them on. Lets get those roofs checked out and started." By the end of the next day Sylvia had arranged the roofing material and the crew to nail it on. "Maxine, we caught a real break," she said to me after she and her roofing crew had inspected the roofs. "How so?" I asked. "When old Mr Hart closed the houses after the mill closed, he had new roofs put on because he knew it would be a while before he could reopen. Those roofs have been on a while and look like shit. but they are still holding. There is no soft wood on the houses we checked. The roofer tells me we can nail the new roof over the old and save a crap load of money on the labor." "I'm always glad to hear that." I replied. "Looks like those other guys were trying ass fuck us," she said getting more into the rough and tumble language that seemed to follow me around. "I don't think it was intentional. I think they just got lazy. It was easier to bid for the worst case scenario and hope they make extra money. I just couldn't get them to change their mind set." I gave it some thought then said. "Get on with it." During the next three weeks while the four model houses were being renovated. I pretty much left it all to Sylvia, but my life didn't stop. I just fell into the mundane. I did get laid a couple of times but even that was just ho hum. I mean sure I got off and that was great, but there was too much of the same old shit I had to go through to get to that point. There had to be a better way. I probably needed a boyfriend or girlfriend. Someway to make it easier. I would love to just drive somewhere take off my clothes and have sex. That was my thinking after the first two weeks into the mill development. The problem was the lover would begin to bore me and it would be harder to extricate myself. Sure I was also surprised that Deacon Burke hadn't called or come down to chew on my ass at the least. Nothing was happening worth talking about on any front. Life was just plain boring. It was on Tuesday of week two of the renovation, when I called Jennifer. First I had to get through, yet another new receptionist. "This is Maxine Stone, I need to talk to Jennifer," I explained. "I can have her call you, when she is available," the snotty young woman said. "Is Edsel available?" I asked. "No I'm sorry Miss Thomas is also with a client," she said. "Okay when you get time, tell Jennifer her landlady called. I thought she might want to know that her apartment is on fire. She might want to call me back first chance she gets." "Oh my God, hold on," the receptionist said. "You bitch," Jennifer said a couple of minutes later. "That was a shitty thing to do." "Yes, it was. What did you expect from me?" I said. "Yes, it is my fault. I forgot to tell Gloria to kiss your ass, when you called." Jennifer said with a laugh. "That's exactly right. I bet she knows next time," I said. "So what do you want?"Jennifer asked. "You have not told me how you like the penthouse?" I asked with a laugh. "I love it. I should have done this years ago. I have been using the Cloak and Dagger to meet my better clients and they just love it. There is a rumor that dark, dark deeds have been done in there." she said. "That's just talk, it was a drugstore. It might have been an opium den in the early days," I suggested. "Or a dungeon," Jennifer whispered. "Bullshit," I knew Vlad would never have told her that. I wondered if Jennifer and Anya were getting to be buddies. "So how about we have dinner one night. I will even let you fix me up." "Oh my, do I have a man for you. Why don't you come to the poker game and I'll see if I can invite someone just for you." Jennifer said it because she would most likely have the better body of any woman at the game. That is unless I could convince Sylvia to join us. If I did, it would teach Jennifer a lesson. "Okay, I'm game is it still held on Wednesday?" I asked. "Yes, we start at 8PM,"she said. "Okay, then I'm in," I said it as I hung up the phone. The days until Wednesday were just routine. One of the model homes was finished outside, while the other three were getting close to the same stage. The interiors were in need of work next, so Sylvia began talking to people and arranging things. "Sylvia, Jennifer called she invited me to the Wednesday night poker game at the Cloak and Dagger. She is going to bring along an extra man for me. Would you like to join us, in the game at least?" I asked with a smile. "Let me think about it, if you don't mind. I have so much on my mind with this project." By Wednesday Sylvia had arranged a plumber to service the plumbing fixtures and redo the piping to current building codes. He turned on the water to check for leaks with Sylvia in the house to be sure everything was working as it should. Sylvia had picked all the workers so she was very invested in their doing a good job. She allowed the Preacher's crew to do the interior carpentry and painting. It was a much smaller job than they had expected. Still, they did go into it with a 'can do' attitude. The house wasn't ready by Wednesday, but it was ready for the house cleaner to go in and clean windows and fixtures. After that Sylvia would be arranging for some furniture in the model houses. I felt pretty good about all of it as I drove through the first phase. I would feel much better still, when we had commitments on the first house. Still, there was work being done on all ten of the phase one houses. Actually they all had been roofed in the two weeks since we had that contract settled. The other things were moving along as different rates, since we had made the models the priority, I wasn't all that concerned. I made them priority one because I wanted to get Sylvia showing the models just as soon as humanly possible. I planned to finish the remaining six houses in phase one to the level of the Bluebird home. It was our base model. The Robin Model I planned to leave for the exceptional buyers. It did the best as an open floor plan. Still upgrades were available for any model. Even before the Bluebird model home was complete, the designer was all over Sylvia about the next phase. She wanted to go with more of her design and less of mine. I could see her point. Her design put more money into the renovations and would most likely add the value needed to make the houses easier to sell. At least that was the expert's opinion. The general feeling was that you had to have flash to sell homes, There had to be lots of useless, but pretty space in a house to create demand. We were soon going to find out, if that was still true in the new economic reality. In the meantime, I still needed to find a way to relax. I was just bored to death in the small town. I was just as antsy as hell waiting for Wednesday night. I hoped that the poker game would at least be interesting, even if Jennifer's men friends didn't show, it might prove interesting. As we were about to shut down on Wednesday afternoon Sylvia said, "I think I am going to show up at the game tonight. I know it is open to club members and their guests only. So I should ask, am I a member or the guest of a member." "I think you are at the very least a guest of mine, and I am a member. I also expect you would be a guest of anyone there, if you needed a sponsor." "Good then I will see you tonight," she said as she walked out of the kitchen door. ------- Chapter 345 I drank two cups of very strong black coffee and emptied my holding tank. I expected to be pouring drinks into it for at least a few hours. I walked across the street carrying a six pack of canned cokes. I remembered that in my locker there was an almost full bottle of some kind of Irish Whiskey. The Irish Whiskey was a gift from someone I worked with now and then. Yeah him, I walked across the street and felt an eerie feeling as I crossed over the spot where I had almost bled to death. I remembered how hollow it felt to finish off Nanny Cunt, when I was the new me. It was okay, but I'm sure the old me would have enjoyed it much more. Anyway, I went in the rear door and down the stairs. I always heard the echo of muffled screams, when I first entered the room. Maybe Jennifer and her guests heard it as well. Maybe we really did have a dungeon ghost in the place. It would make the place a hell of a lot more interesting. I had been warned not to be late, so I was about ten minutes early. The residents of the building, who were going to play, were already assembled. Leon and dancer, Vlad and Anya, all stood at the bar waiting. I joined them in time to greet Sylvia, as she walked in before I even got the coke into the cooler. "You must have pulled in right behind me. I'm surprised that I didn't see you," I admitted to Sylvia. "You looked as though you had other things on your mind. You aren't worried about the housing development are you?" she asked. "Not in the least, are you?" I asked. If she hadn't been a little worried, then I would have to be, I thought. Someone had to be a worrier. "Yes, I am just a little. We are moving into a stage where I have to argue with the foreman from HLF and he keeps pushing me," Sylvia admitted. "One piece of advice, then we don't talk anymore business. Find yourself a guy who can do all the things HLF are supposed to do. Then put him on speed dial. This is a house by house deal with HLF. If they give you shit, Christians or not, dump them. It's not Sunday, it's a work day. Now, no more business." Just a few minutes later Jennifer came in with two men. We were going to be one man short, but I knew something they didn't. Sylvia was going to be happy to be seen and to look. She wasn't looking for a man like I was. The three latest arrivals walked up to the group of us, so that Jennifer could introduce them. She started on the other side of the group so she got to me and Sylvia almost last. When she introduced us, I was not a bit surprised that both men couldn't take their eyes off Sylvia. The older distinguished looking man got introduced around first. His name was John something or other. He was wearing a suit, so he was going to need a few special instructions, especially since he was a lawyer. The younger one was called Billy and he was in a knit shirt with a wind breaker over it, so he was good. I still expected him to try to sell his socks or something like the new people always did. "You are the lawyer Jen, so you explain to the newbies how this works," I demanded. "In order to play you sell your clothes to the bank," she began "Everything which exposes skin has a value. You hang it on the nails over there and the banker gives you the equivalent amount of chips. When you are out of clothes, and chips, you are out of the game. If you have a surplus of chips and want to buy your clothes back you can. At the end of the game, it's just over and you leave dressed in whatever you have left. You can try to negotiate something with the winners to get enough chips to buy back your clothes, or drive home as you are. Yes I know us residents have the better deal, but hell it's out game, so our rules." I was in a sweater, over a tee, over a plain cotton chemise. My breasts were so small and so firm, since they were manufactured, that I had recently given up on bras, more or less. I looked like a teenage boy, with the bad hair and almost flat chest. If I wore something with a skirt, and that showed off my small cleavage, then there was no doubt. I could also wear a slightly padded push up bra, if I really wanted to make the 'I'm a chick damn it' statement. Most of the time, I didn't care whether the people I dealt with could figure it out or not. So the game began almost on time. I sold my sweater, my tee shirt and my jeans to the bank for 3000 chips. When I sat down I was in the chemise and my plain cotton bikini panties. Sylvia sat on my right. She was in an almost industrial strength bra and plain white granny panties. Even so she got the most stares. Most all the men were in white tee shirts and boxer shorts. Some even had bulges. I found the size of Leon's bulge to be a surprise. I supposed that it was how he had made a living as a social spy as opposed to a field agent type spy. Dancer was in a support bra and panties that appeared to be silk, forever elegant, I thought. Anya, like Sylvia, was industrial chic all the way. Jennifer was the only woman in a fancy bra and panties. I could see her nipples through the bra and her pubic hair through the panties. Jennifer was at her sluttiest, but that was okay. After all she was in the 'after the marriage' high state. I had never been there, but I knew women who had. At least none of the guys she brought to the poker game were college kids. I bailed out of the first hand early after losing only 100 chips. It went back and forth for the first hour. We did find out how bad a player the Dancer really was. She was the first to need more chips. The garment which revealed her breast was worth 2000 chips so she sold out. We all found out what Leon already knew, Dancer had major sag issues. She probably couldn't afford a boob lift, but Leon surely could. Why she had sag issues was a mystery, unless Leon liked them that way. Regardless we played on with Dancer not getting a whole lot of attention with her saggy boobs. The next to need refinancing was Jennifer. She was a great lawyer, but a lousy poker player. She not only could afford the boob lift, she had already done it. "Yes Maxine I had a boob lift after I saw you, when you came back. I had them leave just a little sag. So what do you think guys?" she asked. "I think they look great, I just wonder whether it was a drunk driver or a bank president, who paid for them," I commented with a laugh. "Sweetie your insurance might have covered yours, but it took more than one of anything to pay for these beauties," she informed me. "And worth every penny of it," John the lawyer said. John also wasn't a very good poker player. He most likely wouldn't be able to help Jennifer. It was close to midnight when I re evaluated who had what. I had my chemise and panties, Sylvia had her clothes, but she was close to being out of chips. Anya was naked as was the Dancer, they both were reduced to drinking and watching the game. John was naked, and talking with Jennifer about spending the night in her apartment, so that he wouldn't have to negotiate for his clothes, Vlad and Leon both had stacks of chips as did Billy, Sylvia, and I. Since the game ended at 1AM, the five of us got reckless. In the much higher stakes games that followed Sylvia went broke and then sold out her underwear and went broke again. Sylvia's gorgeous body sat there naked while the rest of us finished the game. Billy was naked shortly after midnight. He was followed by Leon within minutes. Since I wanted to get laid, I let Vlad win. I hoped to create some interest. I was naked at 1AM. "So Maxine you know I don't want a blow job, so what will you offer me for your clothes?" he asked. "Since a blow job want do, what do you want for my sweater and jean?" I asked. "I will make you and Sylvia an offer, All your clothes, if we all get to watch you kiss. It has to be a really serious kiss." Vlad said. Anya gave him a look that could melt steel. "That's up to Sylvia, but I will make her an offer as well. If she wants to run across the street naked, I have clothes that will be a tight fit, but will get her home. She can get her clothes back at 9AM tomorrow that is the last ditch rule," I explained to her. "Vlad, you are doing this because you are an evil old Russian cop. I am going to do the au natural twenty meter dash across the street," She said with a laugh. "If any of the rest of you are interested, you can do the dash and hold up in my place till morning. I will come back over and get your clothes then." Of course I knew that only Billy and John would have any interest. With me and Sylvia both naked, I didn't see how they could refuse. "I think I'm going to con Jennifer into sleeping on her sofa," John said. "I'm not up to a sprint across the street naked at 1:30 in the morning." "Well, I'm game," Billy said. "Can't be any worse than driving home naked." "Oh, you are saying that spending the night with two naked women as not any worse than driving home naked?" Sylvia asked. "Are you gay?" "Of course not, I meant the running across the street naked in the middle of the night part. Spending the night with you two sounds like fun," he explained. "You are going to be sleeping on the sofa," Sylvia went on. "Hold on girl, it's my place. I decide where people sleep and he can sleep anywhere he wants," I said smiling. "Not with me," she said. "I just don't want you to get your hopes up." Sylvia was making it tough for him to say yes. I didn't much like that since I really wanted to get laid. I had not been so turned on since the big change. Maybe it was just the memory of how I should feel. Whatever it was felt real and I was ready to drop to my knees at the first opportunity. "Well, I am still game," he said. "Then lets do this. Lets go up stairs and take off through the front door. When no one is coming, we can dash across the street, Then we can go into the front door of my place. We won't be out in the cold more than thirty seconds," I suggested. "Now that is a plan I can live with," Billy said. "Me to," Sylvia agreed. I rushed across the street between the very few cars moving that time of the night. The two of them followed after I had the door to my place open. I held it for them as they rushed over. I wasn't at all cold, but their teeth were chattering when they came inside. "Come on into the kitchen and I will heat some coffee in the microwave," I suggested. "Wonderful," the naked and beautiful Sylvia agreed. "God you are beautiful," Billy said as she passed him. Of course he didn't realize that in saying that, he has implied that I wasn't. I almost laughed, because I knew that I was using Sylvia as bait. I would feel bad, except she was using me for her sexual gratification as well. ------- Chapter 346 "What do you say to a naked man?" I asked Billy. "Sounds like a country song title to me," he admitted. At the time of that exchange we were sitting on the stainless steel and leather chairs of my dinning set, while we finished the warm up coffee. "You know for a woman your age, your boobs are holding up well," Billy said. "Is that like? You don't sweat much for a fat girl?" I asked. 'I didn't mean it that way at all. I was just marveling at what the doctors can do now. You and Jennifer look so natural and so young." he said making it even worse. "You know Billy, you really should just stop talking," Sylvia said. "Yeah, you are probably right," he said. "I think I will just admire the scenery." "He is putting us on. He has to be playing dumb, no one can be this slow," Sylvia said to me. "Oh I think he is probably one of her lawyer friends," I suggested. "Brilliant but socially challenged." "No doubt a virgin nerd," she agreed. "Oh no, this act is too well rehearsed, not to have been used a hundred times. A man doesn't repeat a line that doesn't work. He moves on till he finds one that does. I bet he got laid more than any of his classmates at college did," I informed her. "You know it is possible, since they say nerds are considered cool right now," Sylvia said. "And lots of girls are faking that European accent now, because that is also hot," he said. "Her's is real, I assure you," I said. "So which one of you gives the best blow jobs," he asked. "Now that's more like it. We should have an open and frank discussion. It would be nice if you asked something which we could answer though," I said. "Exactly," Sylvia agreed. "I know what kind of blow jobs I give, but I have no idea what Maxine's are like." "Ditto," I said. "You could both do me and I could judge," he said. "I seriously doubt that you could do it again for a week after I got through with you," I said. "Ditto," Sylvia agreed. "So that means you just have to choose, or actually I guess we choose," I said. "So Sylvia, I am sure you would be his first choice, so do you have any interest?" "Not really Maxine, I think he is a player, and I avoid players," she said. "I know that you don't mind, so he is all yours." "He is a bit younger than I usually get involved with, but I don't have a door on my bedroom. If he shows up there, I guess I will have to make an exception." "Oh you will love me Maxine. I'm energetic." he said. "I will love you as well. I find older women, well grateful." I could tell he was just playing along, so I wasn't offended. "We will have to see about that," I suggested. "If you want to put your dick where your mouth is, give me five minutes then come on up." I used the time in my bathroom to clean up and lubricate my channels. I was getting high just from the feel of getting ready. It was truly something new for me. Of course, I was learning more about my new body all the time. The integration of my 'brain' and the mechanical body seemed to be progressing. I hadn't expected it and I had to wondered if the nerds and geeks had. The difference was that I no longer made the distinction between old body memories and new body memories every time. Both were pleasurable and in only slightly different ways. Maybe all sex, even human sex, was comprised in part of memories of previous good sexual experiences. If not for the pleasurable memory, why would we try to repeat the experience with someone new. Either way, I was ready for Billy. What I was not ready for was Billy and Sylvia entering the room together. I was left to wonder while I waited for someone to explain. They could have made some kind of deal to which I was not a part. Of course, at that moment I didn't care one little bit. I was sitting up in the bed waiting for him to arrive. He stood beside the bed and pulled my legs around until I was sitting over the edge of the bed. He moved closer so that his only average sized penis was at my lips. I did the only reasonable thing that I could do at the moment. I opened my mouth and allowed his hard penis to penetrate my lips. I reached for his hips to pull him closer, but Sylvia twisted my hands until the only contact I had with Billy was my mouth on his penis. Since she knew where almost everything was stored in my apartment, I wasn't surprised that she was able to produce a large zip tie, the kind used to bundle cables. Yes I had other uses for them, actually the same use Sylvia made of it. I certainly hoped I had more fun than the people I had put into the zip ties. Since I couldn't guide Billy's hips, I had absolutely no control. If I had been anyone else, I would have had to trust the two of them. What they didn't know was that I could pop the zip tie as if it were dental floss. I had no intentions of doing that. My intention was to go along and enjoy the ride. I felt his penis get even harder in my mouth as I moved my body in a rocking motion and he moved his hips in a slow pumping motion. I loved the feel of his penis as he began to grow even more excited. As usual Sylvia was just watching, but she was standing much closer than the last times. I was on fire but getting no relief at all. I was on a plateau of sexual arousal and could go no higher nor could I come down from it. Billy could barely reach my breasts in that position. He did tweak my nipples and massage my breasts, which had only a minimal effect on me. My legs were spread so that Billy could stand between them and get close. My clit was exposed, but he couldn't reach it. All of a sudden at just about the same time he drove into my throat, I felt my clit being massaged. Billy forced his cock down my throat and emptied his semen into what should have been my stomach. I didn't choke or gag since neither of those things was built into me. I just allowed him to remain with his penis wedged in my throat until he withdrew it on his own. When his penis left my throat I reached maximum excitement and my circuits went crazy and continued to overload while the hand which could only be Sylvia worked my clit. I pumped my hips at her hand and begged once his cock left my mouth. "Fuck me, somebody fuck me," I was having the equivalent of an orgasm, but it wasn't enough. I wanted more, I didn't ever want it to stop. I felt something fill my opening and I loved it. There was a full feeling as Sylvia moved her finger in and out of me. She obviously could stand it no longer, so she pushed me flat onto the bed. She moved over me until she could lower her wet slippery pussy onto my face. I had no thoughts at all as I licked and sucked on here vulva. She was pouring slippery fluid over my face as I tried to keep up. She rocked her hips grinding her pussy into my face. I wanted to lick her clit but she was rubbing it against my face. When she finally moved into a position where I could do it, I slipped my tongue as deep into her pussy as I could. I was able to move around inside her, but I couldn't piston it with her sitting on top of me. I did manage to give her an orgasm. I could tell when she came. It wasn't because she produced more fluid, since it poured from her continuously. It was by her almost frozen muscles as she forcer her pussy even harder against my face. She collapsed beside me on the bed and began to cry softly. "Cut me loose and I will hold you." I said softly. "No, I have to leave." With that she jumped from the bed. Before I could stop her, she dressed in one of my sweatshirt and a pair of my jeans. She filled the sweat shirt and the jeans were skin tight, but she managed. She had keys to the drugstore doors so I assumed she would be recovering her own clothes before she rode the scooter home. I was sure that I was her first homosexual encounter. She had done very little to participate, but it was the first step that was the hardest. I certainly hoped I hadn't lost a friend by gaining a new lover. After she had gone Billy cut the zip tie and crawled into bed with me. He fell sound asleep instantly. I was awake beside him in the bed for a while before I moved to the sofa overlooking the street. I look out the second story window while I plugged the music and charger into my ears. I spent several hours looking out that window. Billy awoke on his own just as the sun began to rise. He must have a built in clock, I thought. The first thing he did was go to the bathroom and pee. Then he came back took my hands and led me to the bed. Before I knew it he was kissing me passionately. I allowed him to roll me over and lift my ass so that he could enter me from behind. It took about two minutes for me to be turned on again. Of course long before I reached maximum intensity Billy came in me. "God you have a great cunt. It is almost magical," he said as he lay beside me recovering. "I can't believe what a great fuck you are." "Gee what a compliment," I said sarcastically. "Fuck woman, it is a great compliment. You my dear are a world class fuck." I should not have been, but I was pleased that he felt that way. "Your friend is a little strange, but you are the real deal. When can we do this again?" he asked. So here I was confronted with that easy fuck, for which I had been yarning. All I had to do was give a date and he would be there. I just had a feeling there would be strings. He would want to get involved in my life more than just screwing me now and then. "Billy you are a nice guy and okay in bed, but lets give this some time," I suggested. "Call me in a couple of days and see how we feel then." "You are seriously blowing me off?" he asked. "Yeah, I guess I'm just not the grateful type," I said. "Shit, I can't believe this," he said angrily. "Why don't you take a shower and I'll run across for your clothes." I suggested. I sure as hell hoped he would calm down before he got a trip to the ER as his reward. "Yeah, I think I will." he said. I left him a clean towel then dressed and walked to the Cloak and Dagger. I recovered his clothes and returned. When I walked into my townhouse, I found him drinking coffee at my table. "Thanks," he said. He dressed quickly then left. I doubted that he would ever call again. At least not unless he had been drinking and was striking out with the chicks at the bar. I was really quite good with that. ------- Chapter 347 With Billy gone, I showered then dressed quickly. I rode the bike to Helen's. I'm sure the people in the cars that passed looked at me as if I were crazy. My body was a millisecond or so slower, because the fluids thickened inside my body. Otherwise it could have been seventy degrees as far as I was concerned. Once inside Helen's I began talking to a couple of patrolmen seated at one of the picnic tables. I joined then because their conversation was about Sergeant Carrie Thompson. I had met her briefly, while I was dealing with Bristol Peace. It seemed as though she had been promoted to the Murder Squad. So that's why Blevins sent her to me, I thought. It was also because I was waiting for the other shoe to drop on the Bristol Peace episode. The two street cops gave me the rundown on Thompson. She wasn't young, pretty or white so life had been tough for her during her ten years in law enforcement. Nonetheless she had made it all the way to the murder squad. That was a long way for any cop. Now I know that a lot of people scream quota, when a person of a different race gets a promotion. In some cases I'm sure they are right, but according to the street cops Thompson was a good vice cop. Not only that She was the best of the applicant for the job, hands down. They had to agree with the move even if it seemed that they agreed grudgingly. Of course it didn't matter whether they agreed or not. Thompson was installed and that was all there was to it. I wondered how that was going to work out for me. She could be a friend or a thorn in my side, only time would tell. There were still no rumors of a dead body dragged from the river. Of course, I didn't ask, so there could have been and just not made it into the rumor mill. I was satisfied that there was nothing concerning me on the radar, so I went to the mall for my walk. The dancer and I shared few words again that morning. I kept on good terms with her, since she knew I had been involved in more than one nefarious venture. Dancer might never have been a spy, but it would not have been from a lack of desire. Sometimes I thought Leon's history of involvement in the trade was the glue that held them together. She always seemed more than just willing to listen to the latest stories going around. I managed to get away from her without a rehash of the night before's adventure. There was not much to rehash as far as I was concerned. That was my opinion and I'm sure it carried very little weight with Dancer. The early start I had that day left me with a lot of time on my hands. I had no intention of getting involved with the housing development we had come to call The Mill Village Development. That name almost certainly would change before we hit the street to sell the houses. Even in the thirty degree weather, I rode the bike around town looking for places to put my office. About a mile from downtown center, I saw another vacant lot. There had once been a frame service station on the lot. It had been closed for years. Finally the EPA took it over to have the leaking gas tanks removed. The lot had gone through more than one set of hands since it's original owner had to surrender it to the EPA. On that morning it was again up for sale. Even though it was a service station lot, it had entrances on only one side. It was not unusual for old service stations to be in the middle of a block in the old days. The closest neighbor was a daycare on the right side. That might prove inconvenient, with the kinds of people who occasionally came looking for me. I put that lot out of my mind and continued to ride. Even with the tour of the core town, I still arrived at the Downtown House an hour before Sylvia. While I drank coffee, listened to tunes, and charged my power cells, I sat on the sofa at the foot of my bed just looking out at the traffic ... It was proving to be a really good morning. I saw Sylvia ride by the window on her scooter. A few minutes later I heard her enter the townhouse through the rear door. "I'm up here," I said. "I'll be down here taking care of business. Why don't you come down and make some decisions for me?" she asked. It looked as though Sylvia didn't want to be alone in the bedroom with me. I had expected that to be the case. When I made it downstairs, I was dressed in the chemise, with a black tee shirt over it and a V neck sweater as an outer layer. I was neither cold not hot, I just liked the look. If I forgot and wore it outside without a coat, I wouldn't get stared at too much. I also wore my signature off the rack slightly baggy jeans. Sheryl was dressed in a white Bulky knit sweater over god only knew what kind of contraption to hold her beautiful boobs up. She also had begun to wear jeans to the office. She wore designer boots, where as I wore an old combat style boot. I had found a source for the jungle green nylon canvas, and leather boots from the Vietnam era on line. They were clunky as hell, but I was strong enough to move around well in them. With my jeans pulled down over the tops, they just looking like leather boots that were no where near fashionable. I really didn't care. "So do we need to talk about last night?" I asked. "Not as long as you understand that won't be happening again," she said. "That's up to you Sylvia, it always was. It has never been a condition of your employment or our friendship," I stated flatly. I did it so that there would be no ambiguity at all. "Good, I always knew that something like that might happen, Now that it has, I know it's not what I want." She said in reply. "Fair enough, then lets get to work." That's how the incident ended. I tried to get involved with the Mill Village, but she had it pretty much in hand. "So Maxine which of these interiors do you like for the furnished models?" she asked. "First of all I want one model in each price range furnished and one in each price range empty," I demanded. "Yes, I can see the logic there. We should have the other six finished about the time we get the models open. They will just need the trim package decisions for the preacher's crew to finish them." "So how are you getting on with His Laboring Few?" I asked. "I love all the workers, but that foreman is a pain. He keeps trying to run the bill up. He isn't padding it, just trying to expand the contract," Sylvia said. "Well throw the model cost out for now and average the other six. Use what we have spent and what you think we will spend and let's see what kind of money I have invested in each," I demanded. "While you get your figures in shape, I'm going to call Jennifer." "This is Maxine Stone, I need to speak to either Jennifer or Edsel." I said to the receptionist who turned very cold, when I gave her my name. "Ms Thomas will be with you in a moment," she said after checking with both of them I expect. "Good," I replied. Then I sat listening to elevator music until I was at the edge of my patience platform and about to fall off. "Maxine, what in the world can I do for you today?" she asked. Somehow when she asked it, I could she he twolf looking at red riding hood. "Easy tiger, I want to know where we stand on the storage unit office," I suggested. "Frankly, it is probably dead in the water, at least inside the city limits. Why don't you do one of your signature renovations on one of the empty downtown buildings?" "Gee why the fuck didn't I think of that?" I asked. "Yeah, I guess it did sound like I was talking to a retard. You most likely are going to have to come up with something else." she suggested. "Listen to me Edsel, you are going to have to come up with a reason why I can't do it, not just that I can't. I am serious, I want to know the real reason this project is a no go." I demanded. "There are five councilmen. One of them is for the project. The others think it is crap, or just don't care. Oh there is one more opinion going around. One councilman thinks you are the devil," Edsel said. "So, if I can convince the one that thinks I'm the devil, will the others go along with my plan?" I asked. "I think so," she said. "But I think that is an impossible mission." "Well at least you didn't say fools mission," I said with a laugh. "Who is this councilman?" "Actually it's a counsel woman. Her name is Althea Thompson," Edsel said. "Is she any ken to the new homicide detective Thompson?" I asked. "I have no idea," Edsel said. "Never mind, I can find out," I said. "My guess is that if so, they are both are downplaying it." It wasn't hard at all to find out. A Google of Althea revealed that she had four kids one of which was a girl named Karen. The question was how to best use that information. The Google also revealed that Althea Thompson was heavily involved in the black community. It was no surprise since they had elected her to the city counsel several times. "Maxine I have the numbers and you still need to help me decide which interiors," Sylvia said. "Okay let me switch gears with a cup of coffee and I will be ready to go." I poured the coffee trying to figure a way to approach both of the Thompson women. "Okay, different gear engaged, so how much do we have in the basic units with purchase and renovations done piecemeal?" I asked. "The average was $58,500 and a little change," Sylvia said quietly. "Okay let's figure $60K per unit with a gravel drive and seeded lawn. I'm inclined to place the sales price at $79,900. You can run the price up with upgrades but also explain that they can upgrade it themselves later, if that is more convenient." "You know these houses should sell for a hundred thousand at least," she said. "Maybe so, but I am not building these to make a killing, just to get some people in homes who couldn't afford them otherwise. There is a catch, the buyers are going to have to qualify for a conventional loan, and use a local bank, credit union, or savings and loan. They must also put up a honest down payment of at least ten percent." "We should run that past Jennifer. It sounds a lot like we might be in violation of some government regulation, if we do that," Sylvia suggested. "There is too fucking much drama going on here. I just want to sell houses to people who aren't going be in default on their mortgage in two months," I said. "Tell Jennifer what you want and let her make it happen," Sylvia suggested. "You tell her, I am already weary of this mess, I did not go into this to create problems, but to create solutions," I said. "Archer," I said into the phone when he was finally on the line. "How would you like to return a few of those favors you owe me?" I asked. "What can I do for you Maxine?" he asked. "Put in a good word for me with Althea Thompson. You do know her don't you?" I asked. "Of course I know her. We sit on the board of the shelter community council together. What kind of good word?" he asked. I explained about my office building. "Well how about it. Just tell her she should at least meet with me, since I really am not the devil." "I can surely do that much at least," he admitted. "I won't set it up, I will just tell her you aren't the devil and she should hear you out with an open mind." ------- Chapter 348 "Well Sergeant Thompson how is the family?" I asked, when I finally got her on the phone. Yes I realized that calling a new homicide investigator, while there was a body floating in the river seemed pretty damn stupid. Then again maybe not, since I wasn't calling with anything to do with the floater. "Everyone is fine and I hope you and your band of cut throats are as well," she said obviously referring to the Ex patriots who hung around the Cloak and Dagger. "As far as I know they are all fine., I do know that I am just fine. I'm sure you are busy so let me cut right to it. Your mom has decided that I am the devil for some reason. I was hoping that you might suggest to her that we meet and iron out our differences," I suggested. "I have nothing to do with my mother's business, and she has nothing to do with mine," she said. "I see well I don't guess there was any harm in trying. Just thought I would mention it. So have a good day and be safe," I suggested. The worst the call could have done was put me into her mind. The truth is I expected her to call her mother just to ask what the hell was going on. When I called Althea the next day, she would most likely have heard my name mentioned enough time to be curious. Curiosity should lead her to either call me or at least agree to a meeting. That was just one scenario. I ran the situation through my logic program and the only thing that made any more sense was that Althea wanted something from me. If she had opposed the project just on it's merits, she should not have let it be known that it was personal. No she wanted the meeting as much as I did. I just had to play along to find out what she wanted. The best I could tell she was the god mother of the black good guys. There was probably a thug god father as well. I had no idea. If there was, he hadn't made himself known to me. As long as his business didn't effect me or my friends, then it was purely live and let live. I was positive that Althea expected me to make the first move. After all I was the one who needed something. I didn't even mind making the overture. It was just how business was done in small town America. Come to think of it maybe it was how things were done among all humans. I waited two days, then had Sylvia call her assistant to make the initial contact. The suggestion was lunch together at a place of her choice. If not that then a meeting in her office at a time of her choosing. What I did not authorize Sylvia to say, was that there would be a meeting somewhere and soon, regardless of Althea's response. During those two days Sylvia took care of the day to day details of the Mill Village. Either Edsel or Jennifer was doing research on how I could be sure that the people I wanted to help, got the help they needed to buy inside the Village. "I think I have a plan to finance the 'Village of the Damned',"Jennifer said when she called. "If you are agreeable, I will have Walter, the money man, meet us at the office one day this week. At that time we can lay it out for you." "I'm going to bring Sylvia, since she is more closely involved in this than I am at the moment." I replied. "No problem at all, Actually I expected her to be there." Jennifer said. Jennifer sounded a little snippy. Surely she wasn't jealous, I thought. I smiled as I went to relay the information to Sylvia. "I got a call back from Althea Thompson's assistant. You are on for lunch Friday at Sadie Mae's Cafe." she said. "That's great, I can almost walk there," I said. Sadie Mae's was a legend in the black community. Sadie Mae was actually a man who had opened the comfort food style cafe in the fifties. It was a struggle, but legend has it he fed white cops free, in exchange for protection. The protection might well have been from the white cops. Since everything politicians do is to send a message, the site of the meeting had to be a message as well. If she was trying to make me nervous, she needed to come up with a lot more than a restaurant filled with black people. Give them all guns and it might work. Short of that, I expected that I was a lot more dangerous with the cutlery than any of them. "Edsel called, she has arranged the meeting with Walter the money man for Friday at 4PM." Sylvia informed me. "Friday is going to be a busy day," I said. "More than you think, we are going to have the model ready to open as well," Sylvia informed me. "You don't need to be there do you?" I asked. "No, I am going to show it by appointment only, until we have the open house. We need a little publicity before we do that," She admitted. "It looks like your life is about to become complicated," I commented. "Yes and I have exams coming up. The end of the year is almost here," she said. "We need to talk about what happens after I graduate. Just not right now." "I agree with the not right now part. Let's just get past Friday, then we will have the talk." I suggested. "That's the same thing I had in mind," Sylvia admitted. For the next three days the business ran on auto pilot. Yes I had begun to think of it as a business. I never considered myself a business woman, but I did consider those around me competent to take care of my interest. Friday morning I was met at Helen's by Peter. I hadn't forgotten about him, but I hadn't worried much about him either. I figured Sylvia was keeping up with him. "Good morning Ms. Stone, could I show you something." He asked before sitting down. "Sure," I replied between gulps of coffee. Helen's was probably my Sadie Mae's, I thought. I had the meeting with Althea on my mind. Anyway Peter handed me his I phone. There was a picture of a comic book page, with something that looked a little like me, on it. "What the hell is this?" I asked. "It's what I have been working on, since we got back from D.C. I have done an on line comic book about what happened there. I used lots of creative license and fictionalized everything but it's pretty real. I think that is why it will work." "Well good luck with it," I suggested. "I was wondering if you would sign over the rights to use your image?" he asked. "Are you going to call your hero Maxine Stone?" I asked. "Yes, it's because you have an audience already with the TV show and all," he suggested. "Peter you need to talk to Jennifer. She handles all that kind of thing for me. If you two work out something, I have no objections at all." I said. "I will tell her to give you a startup break. It won't cost you anything up front to launch your site. If it works you will have to pay for the license to someone, I'm not even sure who. Jennifer knows all that," I admitted. "Thanks Maxine, I knew I could count on you to help me out," he said. "No problem just don't make her another wonder woman please," I said with a laugh. "No super powers, I promise, just bad ass to the bone," he said with a laugh. "Just like real life," I said with a smile. He had no idea why I was smiling and I preferred that it remain that way. I really wanted to ask him if he and Sylvia were still doing the deed, but I figured it was still none of my business. I went to the mall on my bike. At the mall I walked three miles. When I left the mall, I took a tour of the town before I went home. My tour took me by Sadie Mae's Cafe. Sadie Mae's was a one story brick building which would probably hold thirty or so diners at a time. That was probably why Althea set the meeting for 2 PM. She most likely did it so as not to cause too much commotion. That would have been thoughtful of her. I had my doubts about a politician not seeking maximum exposure all the time, but I could be wrong, I thought. Back in the office Sylvia and I put-zed around until almost two. I decided not to take her, since it might get ugly. Not necessarily physical, but name calling was possible. Since Sylvia wasn't along, I rode the bike to the meeting. It allowed me to wear a heavy cloth coat which easily hid my shoulder holster. I had no intention of using the concealed hammer .38 revolver, but one just never knew. When I stepped inside Sadie Mae's, I was glad I had the pistol. I didn't need it to survive, but I might need it for respect. Althea sat in a booth in the center of the restaurant. What got my attention were the two young thug looking black men sitting in the booths, one in the booth in front and the other in the booth behind her. I walked toward Althea, when the young man sitting in the booth between the door and Althea stood to block my way. I said to him. "You show me yours and I'll show you mine." He was at least six inches taller then me. He extended his ham sized hand toward my coat. I quickly chopped his forearm and broke it cleanly. "If I were you son, I would go to the ER and get that looked at. You might want to get your friend back there to drive you." I said while looking at the sixty year old black lady with the short haircut. "I could call the cops," Althea said. I stood with my hand on the butt of the .38 as I looked around the room. Finally I said, "You could, but then it would be my word against yours. Jennifer, my lawyer, would love it. You set up the meet to lure me to an ambush. It has happened before, you know. I'm sure these kids are not only armed but also known to the cops. My story should play well in Peoria, even if you are a city council woman and your daughter is a detective. Is that the kind of publicity you really need." "Have a seat, lets talk without all this drama," she suggested without a smile. "You set the tone of the meeting, when you brought your armed thugs," I said. "You have to know that I am hated by some people in town. Some of the racist around here would love to get me out of the way," she said in that paranoid voice so many politicians, black and white, seem to have. "Well let me till you this right up front. I am what I am, and I don't care what label you attach to it. I'm most likely not going to change. That said, Tell me what you want to clear a path for my office building." "You don't seem to like me?" she asked. "They tell me you called me the devil. I expect what you really called me was a white devil. So let's say I'm not crazy about people who judge other people." I said. "Okay Maxine, you are as tough as they say, now lets see if you are as fair as Reverend Archer says. I want you to clean up the Sunny Valley housing project," she said. "What do you mean clean it up," I asked. "It is owned by the city housing authority but run by Reverend Harold's ministry. It would not be good for any of us to evict people without cause. Nor to have the police called often enough to give us that cause. We need that project to stay open. I would like for the people who operate it to continue doing so. For those things to happen without a lot of drama, we need some people to choose to move out," she said. "From what I just saw you might not have the best thugs in the world, but they should be good enough," I said. "I can't be involved," she said. "The black community doesn't hold you in very high regard. They do respect you, but they don't love you. They love and respect me, I need that. "If I do this, you get my office building approved?" I asked. "You bring it up again at a different location and it will be approved," she said. "Give me the names," I said. Althea slipped me a piece of paper. ------- Chapter 349 I had enough time to have a bowl of pinto beans with onions and corn bread before I left for my meeting with Jennifer. Sylvia and Walter. The beans were no better than Helen's, but they were certainly different and every bit as good in their own way. I rode the bike several blocks to Jennifer's office. I knew Sylvia was already in the office, because I saw her scooter in the parking lot. I parked my bike beside her scooter. I finally got to meet Jennifer's cold hearted receptionist. She turned out to be a fifty pound over weight brunette with blond hair thanks to a home dye job. She was not a happy looking lady at all. It showed in her voice. She might be the kind that wouldn't leave to get married for a while, which seemed to be Jennifer's main requirement when she hired receptionists. She was also the kind that would drive off the customers. Well maybe not drive them off, but she wouldn't leave anyone with a good feeling about Jennifer's firm for sure. "I'm Maxine Stone, I have a meeting with Jennifer in about five minutes," I informed her. "I know who you are, and they are waiting for you in the conference room. The boss said you knew the way," she replied. "I do and thanks." She didn't even make a gesture acknowledging that she had heard me say thank you. "Sweetie, I have no idea how people act where you come from, but down here, we like for people to at least nod when we say thank you." I stood at her desk until she finally answered. "Yes ma'am, I'm sorry." I nodded to let her know I understood and all was forgiven. At least I hoped she got that from it. I found my way back to the conference room. When I entered, I found Edsel, Sylvia, and the ramrod straight man who had to be Walter, the money man. They were all seated at the library table. That table was used for all kinds of lawyer crap, because it would easily seat ten nervous people. So much for a small intimate meeting with your attorney and your ex husband, I thought. "Maxine this is Walter Benjamin from Greene County Savings and Loan." Edsel said as if it was the only information necessary to pass along. "Hello Walter, nice to meet you. I am the woman with the money problem," I admitted. I also nodded to acknowledge Sylvia's presence. "It really is a problem you have there and something for which you have to be punished. You want to do a good thing, and we all know that no good deed goes unpunished. Well at least it is tricky to avoid the good deed sanctions. In this new world where we live the government wants to be the only one to look out for the citizens,"he informed me. "Yeah the nanny state, and I don't think much of nannies," I said. "I heard you had a little problem with a nanny. I was sorry to hear that. I follow your press pretty closely. Some day I would love to sit and hear your stories," Walter suggested. "Can I come along if that happens," Edsel asked in a cheerful voice. It was the first thing she had said so far that wasn't all somber. Sylvia hadn't spoken at all. "You figure out this money mess, and I'll sit there all night telling stories, or I'll give you a blow job in McDonald's parking lot at noon on any Saturday you choose." I said. "Since I'm happily married, I opt for number one," he said. "Fair enough, So how do we solve my problem?" I asked. "You can do anything as long as the people know up front what they are getting into. You also have to be careful how you word things. In General fairness and not taking Government money is the answer. I have read what Jennifer had to say and I think helping the working poor and the elderly is admirable. Now remember you are not going to be running a housing project for the poorest of the poor," Walter suggested. "Speaking of which what do you know about Reverend Harold and his ministry?" I asked totally throwing him off his game plan I was sure. "He operates the Aster housing project using volunteers from his church. The church does the maintenance as well as a non profit can hope to do. Anything Major they subcontract out and the contractor is paid by the housing authority with Government funds." "Thanks, " I said. "So back to my problem. How do I get around the government involvement?" "You do what is called a land sales contract. The government will not give you a dime for a land sales guarantee, but they also won't butt into it. You can require anything you want as a down payment, and any kind of credit history. Only you and the buyer need to be involved." he said. "You make your own decisions period. They can do nothing unless you take their money or do something blatant like 'Blacks need not apply'." "But I am on the hook for the purchase and renovation costs. I won't have the money to complete the project." I admitted. "That's where I come in. You have to preselect and make sure the buyers are the ones you want. Later I come along, after all the paper work is done and they are in the home I offer to buy the paper. If the buyer will sign a mortgage they get a lower payment and generally better terms. Probably a high, high percentage will make that decision, because of the deep discount. The trick is you can not promise them anything," he informed me. "So I need to jack the price up, and then discount the paper to you?" I asked. "That is exactly how it works," he said. "Your requirements must be as strict as ours. That's all that is necessary, we will do our own credit check of course." "Of course," I agreed. "Let me think this over. Just to give me an idea what kind of prices are you thinking?" I asked. I went by this morning to see your Bluebird model home. I just looked in the windows but I think you have a 100k house there. To get the good discount you want for refinancing, sell it for over 90K Then I can refi it for 80K and show the 10% down which you will have." "We will sell it for 85K with 10% down I'll pay the closing cost for the loan. That will give me 5k from the down payment. Then you refi it for an amount that requires you to pay me 70k." "Those figures will work for me just fine. We will do the first six you have nearing completion and see how it goes." he said standing. "Give me their payment figures and I will think it over and give you my decision on Monday. "Payments on the refinance should run under $400 plus tax and insurance." he informed me. "Mine will be a bit more than that because I am doing it for a high amount," I suggested. "I would want you to be collecting at least $450 to make mine look better. That will still make their payment less than rent on anything even close to the value." "Like I said give me till Monday, to decide," I suggested. "I know you want to check, to be sure I'm not laundering drug money for some South American Cartel," he said smiling. "I don't blame you for being careful. I have a message for you. A mutual friend said to tell you that you can't buy a Clavicle mending plate at Home Depot." He smiled, then turned to Edsel. "So do I get dinner or not?" When he delivered that message, he knew that the deal with me was done. They were going to laundry money alright, but they weren't drug lords. They were just men with a mission. I knew what it was like to walk off with a drug dealers money. You had it alright but then you had to find a way to spend it. Drug money was fine with me as long as it didn't come from the drug dealer. "What was all that about," Sylvia asked when we got to the parking lot. "It was about closing the deal," I said with a grin. "So get me Peter on the phone, just as soon as we get back." "He called to tell me that you had agreed to the comic thing," Sylvia said. "You aren't having second thoughts are you?" "No hon, I need your boyfriend to do a little job for me," I said. There were three names on Althea's list. I needed to know where they lived and what they had in their past. I could go to the farm or I could go to Peter. I chose Peter for a first stop. Sylvia's scooter was hard to start and generally sounded like hell. I had seen her ride by, but had not been close to hear the scooter when she rode it. "Sylvia what's wrong with that thing?" I asked. "They tell me the compression is down, so it is most likely a ring. Also there is a knock that could be a rod," she said. "I'm no mechanic but it sounds to me like it could lock up and throw your gorgeous ass onto the pavement," I suggested. "Well, I don't want another one and I don't have a driver's license or the money to buy a car, even if I did." she informed me. "Sure you do that maroon cruiser has been sitting behind my house for weeks and hasn't moved. Make the arrangements and I'll see that you get your license. Then you can drive the cruiser till you can afford a car of your own," I said. "That too much for you to do Maxine," she said. "I can't let you do that." "It's selfish. If you drive that scooter till it throws you on the pavement and scrapes that beautiful face up, who will attract the men. You know the ones I finally get to fuck," I said with a laugh. "Fair enough," she said smiling. "By the way your accent is much easier to understand these days. Probably a combination of me being around you more, and you getting a little more Americanized," I said. "Yes I am sure. I hope I don't lose it all. The men tell me it is sexy," she said. "In that case I hope you don't as well," I changed the subject with, "Now get back to the office and find Peter." "Yes Ma'am." she said. "And spend your weekend studying for the driving test to get your learners permit. That is project one on Monday." I informed her. It was after five when Peter showed up at the office. Everybody who knew me also knew that whenever you find me I'm ready to work. "What is it that I can do for you?" Peter asked all smiles. "Well frankly I need you to get me some information. It is probably in a public database somewhere that I could find myself, but you can do it faster and find all the connections to other data that I would miss," I admitted. "Or maybe sneak in a back door, when no one's around," he said smiling. "That to," I handed him the paper. "Addresses phone numbers if you can find any. They will most likely all be cells. The last two might or might not have a connection to the others." "Do you want background checks as well?" he asked. "I do indeed." Then I changed the subject. "I also want you to give Sylvia some driving lessons over the weekend. Stay off the roads. I don't want her to get stopped and have to wait another year to get a license. Teach her how to start and move the car. Let her get a feel for turning it right and left that kind of thing. I will get her a learner's permit on Monday. She can drive me around for a week or so. Then one of us will take her to get her license." "Then I'm back on the team?" he asked. "Peter, I keep telling everyone there is no team. I just ask people for favors from time to time. You need a life of your own." "Oh, I think I'm going to do just fine with my comic book website," he informed me. "I do need to hang around for inspiration." "We will see about that." ------- Chapter 350 On Friday night, instead of getting laid, I decided to do the maintenance thing on my body. I cleaned the chutes and ladders as I liked to call the 'I fooled you by drinking coffee and eating donuts system'. That was simply a matter of drinking a glass of baking soda, with a drop of vinegar, mixture. Fortunately it passed over my taste receptor quickly. When I followed it with a large glass of pure water, I would be able to forget all about the taste for at least a month. I let that mixture hang around inside the storage are for a half hour. Then I sat on the toilet, opened all the valves, and drank a half gallon of distilled water. That's the stuff my mom used to run through her steam iron. When that was finished, I reset all the valves and switches before I poured myself a shot glass of extra virgin olive oil. I was back on the toilet when I opened the release valve for the olive oil storage container. When it was empty I closed the valve and quickly drank the glass of fresh oil. I figured I was good for another four thousand miles. I know that is silly, but it was my sad little joke. It took about an hour to do all that nonsense. When I was finished, I debated going to the Cloak and Dagger, but I didn't need sex and I didn't need anything from any of the members, so I chose to plug in and watch TV. My choice was Home and Garden TV, I was always looking for new ideas which I could use for my Real Estate business. I had already learned from watching that any lower end units should be outside of the downtown and only high end condos in the downtown itself. The old buildings could turn into ghetto slums quickly, if not maintained properly. That maintenance could be expensive. When I thought of the housing units as tools, it became easier to make decisions. Think of the potential home owner before you make a plan, I decided. My daddy used to say, "Use the right tool for the Job Maxine," He said that, when he saw me take a pair of pliers to my bike. It took me years to learn that he was right. Too bad I missed the chance to tell him how right he was about so many things. I called Sylvia about nine. "Sylvia, I want you to spend the weekend taking driving lessons and reading your book. Once I get you that learners permit on Monday, you are going to be my chauffeur." "I understand Maxine, don't you forget to answer your phone. I put on your realty website that the model was open. You should at least be getting some calls." Sylvia said. "Okay, I will play nice," I said it with a smile in my voice. "I can put everyone off till Monday." "I know you will try for sure." she agreed. After that conversation I went to the almost complete shut down state in order for the computer to run the diagnostics on itself. While that ran, I couldn't watch TV or listen to music. I had to just stare into the nothingness of death. Yes it was exactly like the moment before death. I should know. I was the only entity, who had died and lived to tell about it. After the computer finished I went to standby and turned the music on again. That's how I spent the rest of the evening. The next morning I made strong coffee before I did anything else. Even though it was Saturday I rode the bike to Helen's Sit Down. When I walked in I took a look around as I always did. It was an old habit to assess the threats in a room and rank them. There were three middle aged ladies sitting at a picnic table near the rear of the room. Their eyes lit up when I entered. I ranked their threat assessment as high. Not because I thought they were assassins, but because I had a feeling I had seen at least one of them before. If I had, then it had been during one of my visits to the farm. I opened a channel to the farm while the black man behind the counter found a bag for me. He handed it to me and I put it on my cafeteria tray just like the ones at every other fast food restaurant in town. Who are these three? I asked the controller silently. They are employees here, the voice in my head replied. Get the creator on the line quick, I demanded. What's going on? the controller asked. I don't know, but they are here in Aster, I replied. Holy shit, hold on, the controller said. Maxine, I am on a data link. We are on the most secure line possible. What the hell are they doing there? He asked. How the fuck would I know? I asked. Well find out, he demanded. You tell me first, who do they think I am? I asked. "Only four people know you are not what you seem. Everyone else, even the controllers, think you are a contractor who we have a special relationship with. They think that the reason we monitor you so closely is you operate on American Soil, so you are a danger to us. None of the controllers or anyone who wasn't in that room when you were here for the conference knows. Well the Deacon knows some of it, but not even he knows all of it. Those women for sure don't know. They probably know your cover story, the real estate thing, he suggested. Okay, I'll go find out, I said silently. I walked toward the rear of the restaurant while working hard to ignore them. What the creator probably didn't know was that I had moved directive two up a notch. The number one directive now was save yourself. If a human had to die for me to do that, so be it. Even in the plastic and metal cage, I was still me. "You are Maxine Stone aren't you?" one of the three ladies asked. "Yes I am." Since they had approached me, I decided to play dumb. "We came down from Virginia to see your new houses. The three of us are considering retiring in Aster." she continued. "Well, I think that is nice, we welcome everyone." That is unless they are a threat. I added mentally. Maxine they are processors, the controller said. They would have had access to enough information to piece your cover story together. Then cross reference it with an operation that might have crossed their desk later. You are pretty well known up here. I'm really surprised some guy hasn't tried to meet you before now. "From your website, we found that the model house would be ready to show today." One of the other women commented. "Yes it is, but the lady in charge of the model and the website is busy this weekend." I made a quick executive decision. "Since y'all drove a long way, I'll give you a tour of the model home." "That would be terrific. I told them we should make an appointment, but we were all just too excited," the smaller of the women interjected. "It's okay, let me finish breakfast, then we can go. I will need to stop by my place for the keys, but then you can follow me out there." I suggested. Maxine trust me we will have a talk with them when they show up for work on Monday, the creator said. So listen carefully so you know what to say, I suggested silently. After breakfast they were waiting for me in front of my place. They know where I live, I said to the controller. They shouldn't, the controller answered. "Your security sucks, I replied. I went in from the back and carried my bike into the storage room. I'm going to see how much these women know, I suggested. Yes do that, the controller said. I opened the front door and motioned them inside. Once they were inside I said, "So would you like to take a look around this place. It is one of my Downtown House renovations. "Oh God yes," The oldest of them said all excited. When they had finished their tour of my bedroom and gawked a the view of the street, the smallest more pixie like of the three asked, "Can I see your gun vault?" I felt that I should pop her neck at that point but I decided not to do that. She could know all the cover, if she kept her mouth shut. She just was not allowed to know that Maxine was a roboslut. "Sure why not," I said as I led them to my storeroom. There was a closet inside the store room. That closet was lined with concrete blocks. It had a very secure door, with a very secure locking system. Once I got the door open it moved heavily to the side revealing a row of rifles and shotguns. There was also a big red Craftsman tool box filled with my pistol collection. There were a few canes in the corner and a Snap-On tool box filled with knives. It wasn't a huge collection, but it was one that was filled with memories, mine and other peoples as well. I bought very few new weapons. Most had been used by someone else of interest. The former owners ranged from prison guards to Russian snipers. These old bitches know way more than a clerk should know, I said to the controller. They sure as hell do, the creator said. "So let's go tour the house," I suggested. I drove the mustard colored pickup out to the housing development. "Sorry it is going to be a little chilly inside, I expect." Sylvia would have left the furnace on but set just high enough to keep the pipes from freezing. Inside I was surprised to find that the ladies didn't complain about the temperature or anything else. "This is such a cute little place. The price for it is wonderful as well. If I were to pay cash could I get a discount?" she asked. "I'm sure we could work something out for cash," I admitted. I allowed them just to roam around around at their own pace. I spent my time in the kitchen trying to get the coffee pot to work before they finished their tour. I did hear one of them say, "Lois the smallest bedroom would be ideal for a closet and dressing room. I'll bet they could even put a door between it and the bathroom." It could not be done in the Bluebird but could be done in the Robin, I thought. "While this coffee pot drips, let's go take a look at the other floor plans. They aren't furnished, but they are ready to show in a different way." I explained about the upgrade finishes available in the Bluebird and Cardinal models. Then about the open floor plan for any of them. "So you ladies have to make some decisions as well as whether you want to live here." "You have seen the houses, you have the brochure and now you should drive around the area before you make a decision." I suggested. I followed them to their almost new car, where I deftly planted a bug on the floor of the back seat. My bug actually looked like a roach. Since these were prissy little women, I made sure that it was out of sight. The three matronly women drove off chattering away about the houses. I sat in the kitchen of the bluebird drinking strong coffee and listening. They talked a lot about having met me, like starstruck teenagers. They said nothing that wasn't part of the cover story. It appeared that I had sold the cover story even to people who knew about operatives. It turned out to be an at least somewhat positive experience. ------- Chapter 351 Saturday night I did go out, even though I didn't have anything in mind. I had spent most of the day running back and forth to the model home. Every time I got home there seemed to be a call from someone wanting a tour of the model home. Each one had a compelling reason why it had to be done immediately, so I turned around and drove back to the model home over and over. By nightfall I really needed to spend time with people, who didn't want to do anything but spend time with me. Okay, some of them wanted me to do things for them, but at least they didn't require me to walk around and smile. I could have done what they wanted flat on my back, or worse case on my knees. Smiling definitely was not required or even appreciated. In the end I did none of those things. When I left the Cloak and Dagger, I went home alone. Once I got home, after midnight, I put the coffee pot on and plugged in my special MP3 player. Then I sat by the window and I was perfectly content. An hour or so later I heard the rattle of the back door, so I prepared myself to do battle with someone. My first move was to looked to the monitor in my head. I needed to see who and how many were invading me. From the lookout cam, I got the image of Sylvia manipulating the lock and Peter standing beside her. I wondered what the hell had happened to bring them to my door after 1AM. I moved over to the bed and stripped to my chemise and panties. I lay down under the blankets and pretended to sleep. "You left the coffee pot on," Sylvia said. "Busted, I have only been in bed a few minutes. I was across the street till midnight." I admitted. "So what brings you here at 1AM. I know it can't be sex." "No you don't know that," Sylvia said. "I am sure Peter would love to have sex with you." "Maybe, if you weren't here," I agreed. "Peter had something to tell you, but since you are such a smart ass, it can wait till morning," Sylvia informed me. "I can't imagine anything he has to say that can't wait," I agreed. "Peter, let's go to bed." Sylvia suggested. Those words were quickly followed by bodies slipping into the bed with me. Sylvia's large soft breasts pressed against my back while I felt Peter's backside pressing against my pubic mound. It was disconcerting but also comforting. They fell asleep and I went into sleep mode, which isn't really sleep at all. I lay there watching over them as they slept. It was actually quite a good feeling. almost motherly I would think. I was almost sad when they began to stir several hours later. "Good morning," I whispered to Sylvia who was the first to move. How about a cup of coffee while sleeping beauty here finishes his nap," I suggested. "Of course, You make the best coffee,"Sylvia admitted. Before she left the bed, she lifted my hand, then lowered it onto one of her breasts. It was soft and warm. "You do know that you are an awful tease," I whispered to her. "Of course, would you rather I didn't?" she asked. "Of course not," I replied. "Good, because I am beginning to enjoy it." The coffee was on the stainless steel counter, when Sylvia, who was standing in front of the open refrigerator, said "You are the only person I know who has nothing in her refrigerator." "I eat out a lot," I explained. "I know, but not even a jar of mustard?" Sylvia answered. "What in the world do you want with mustard this time of the morning?" I asked. "I don't. I'm just saying ... Fuck it never mind," she said ending the thought. "Besides Sylvia, you know it is pancakes after a threesome," I said. "Oh really, you think that was a threesome?" she asked. "I've had worse actually," I said with a laugh. "Remind me to tell you about the two midgets someday.". "Spare me." she replied. It was at that point, when a very groggy looking Peter joined us. "Well Peter go do whatever you have to do before breakfast, We are all going out for pancakes." For some reason, known only to God and Joseph Stalin perhaps, the Russian Pancake house made the very best pancakes in the county. Since that was the case, I drove the PT cruiser to Tryon. I drove it so that we didn't all need to fit into the front seat of a compact pickup truck. When we arrived in the parking lot, I realized how different I was. Both of them were all hunched over trying to avoid the cold wind. I didn't even notice it, but I quickly pretended that I did. I had to work at going unnoticed. Everybody else I knew talked about not being noticed, as if it were some kind terrible sin. The pancakes were sweet, so I enjoyed them. I like sweet as well as hot and spicy. It was the bland shit that bothered me. Not as in I found it distasteful, I just found it a waste of my time. I had become a real lover of Mexican food for that very reason. It was probably a good thing, since we had a growing Latino population in Aster. Even without me interfering, Helen and Jack had bought a taco truck. I think she did it because I mentioned that it looked like a low overhead, high profit business. Her truck was where I bought my burritos. I felt much better when eating food I knew Helen had a hand in making. I was having that free ranging food conversation with myself, while we ate the sweet pancakes at the Russian pancake house. It was toward the end of the meal that Peter came to life. "Maxine did you know there was a connection between all the people on your list?" he asked as if I were trying to play some kind of trick of him. "No more than the common element of the housing project. However it is my belief that people who want something done, seldom want it for the motives they profess." I explained. It was something so elementary that every cop and every investigator learned it on day one. 'Nothing is ever as it seems'. "Then you won't be surprised to learn that Althea Thompson is really Althea White Thompson. She married a Sheriff's deputy twenty five years ago. His name was Robert Thompson. About fifteen years ago he stopped a car out in the county on a deserted road. The driver shot him dead as he walked up to the car. The driver of the car was white and a career criminal. Some say that Althea got elected to the city council because of that incident. She has been an almost moderate voice in the African American community ever since. She may not be a radical, but she is very left of center. She sees everything through a lens colored by a racial tint." "Okay, so what is the connection to the Brother Harold ministry?" I asked. "His name is Reverend Harold White. You guessed it Reverend White is Althea Thompson's brother. The management contract of the housing project provides a nice source of income for his church. It give jobs to some of his people and enough profit to help pay his somewhat inflated salary," Peter said. "Well that explains why she doesn't want him to lose the gig. What it doesn't explain is why she doesn't call the cops on the hoodlums living in the project," I commented. "Would you be shocked to find out the hoodlum is Althea's younger half brother. He was raised with her. Evidently Althea's mama got around a little," Peter said. "I am sure, if he got in trouble with the law, he would be calling on Althea and Carrie to bail his ass out somehow. So the ideal thing for all concerned would be for the half brother Jerome to just pack up and leave. But what is it he doing that is going to get Brother Harold tossed." I suggested. "I have no idea what Jerome is up to, but I do know that Brother Harold is supposed to be providing security for the project. He has a couple of part timers who come in and do a sweep a couple of times a night," Peter informed me. "Well if the cops bust brother Jerome, he just might tie them all into whatever crap he is into. The the whole house of cards might just come crashing down. Would the community elect a woman involved in something illegal, even if she is the wife of a black hero from back in the day. Same with the Reverend, would the housing authority cancel their contract with the Reverend. I am not sure I want to be involved in this," I suggested. "You do know that she probably planned this from the start. She knows who you are of course," Sylvia said. "Everyone in town does." "That and Carrie knows all about me from Blevins," I said. "When we were submitting that zoning request, she might have seen her chance to settle the brothers problem." "You need to give this a lot of thought," Peter suggested. "Yeah, I agree," I replied. My first thought was to call Reverend Archer to find out just what the Ministry of Reverend Harold was like. I didn't mainly because I wanted to keep my involvement as low profile as possible. I already had my regrets about bringing Sylvia and Peter into it. Peter and Sylvia left the car at the rear of my Downtown House. They went directly to Peter's economy car for the drive back to her house. I still had no idea what the extent of their involvement with each other might be. I also considered it none of my business. I knew that Sylvia's involvement with Peter would make no difference in my treatment of her. I would follow her lead regardless. She was more important to me as a friend and employee, than she likely would be as a lover. The calls started again after lunch. One of them was from Kate the realtor, she almost insisted I show her the house immediately. I came closet to saying go to hell, but in the end I didn't. I guess I was a lot softer than I appeared. I just said, "Alright Kate, I'll meet you there at two. I want you to know I am not going to list this with you and I am not paying a finder's fee if you bring me people." "I understand, but my daddy wants me to look at the place. I shouldn't admit it, but he is considering doing the same thing you have done in the village to a couple of properties we manage," she admitted. "Sweetie your dad is never going to turn them for as little profit as I do. He is going to want to get maximum dollar, so checking me out is a waste of your time," I suggested. "I know but daddy wants me to see them for myself. He thinks you are doing something to make this huge profit. Something he just can't quite figure out," she said. "I'm not doing anything but taking a very small amount of profit and trying to do something worthwhile for the community. I know that is a really sick concept, but its the only agenda I have." I met Kate and she looked, and she was suitably impressed. She asked about the Irishman before she left. I wondered if all of it wasn't just an elaborate scheme to find out what Martin was up to at the moment. Of course I had no idea, other than he was likely playing dead somewhere while his shoulder healed. The day ended with me sitting on the sofa at the foot of my bed. I sat looking out at the traffic light's colored glow in the reflection off the windows of the Drugstore Condo across the street. Even though the day was over, I didn't close the page on it, because I didn't sleep. I just waited for it to become Monday. ------- Chapter 352 It was 8AM when I came out of my stupor. I just knew that it was going to be one busy ass day for me. My first call was to Blevins. "Hey you fucked up old man, you want to do me a favor. Let me buy you breakfast?" I said into his message machine. "If not today, then tomorrow." He picked up the phone at that point. "Helen's at 9." He said it, then he was gone. Strange, I thought. I washed my beat up body and scraps of hair. Once I had removed any dirt that might have attached itself to me, I examined the skin for an breaks. The sensors would tell me if there were any openings to the air. I just looked to make sure there were no scraps that might become a problem. There were none. I had something in a tube that was like super, super glue just in case of emergencies. Since I had no scrapes, I dressed for the day. Over my panties and thick chemise, I wore the slightly loose fitting jeans and a chocolate brown tight tee shirt. When I left the apartment, I slipped on the shoulder rig with the concealed hammer .38. Then a bright red sweatshirt at least three sizes too big over everything. It wasn't as easy to get to the pistol as an open coat would have been, but it was more practical than a heavy coat on the bicycle. Even with all that activity I still had a few minutes so I plugged in the MP3 player for a few tunes and a little extra jolt. As usual I selected motorcycle gang music before I hit the road on my bicycle. Nothing like the hard pounding sound of heavy metal music to get me in the mood to ride my pedal bike. I laughed at the thought. When I finally got to Helen's, I was still five minutes early. I picked up a bag with a bacon and egg biscuit and homemade hash browns. I chose a table near the rear of the dining room. It was empty when I sat down, but it didn't stay empty long. Within five minutes I had a young paramedic come join me. I should have asked him to leave, but I didn't bother. I figured that would look like I had something to hide when I spoke with Blevins. When Blevins finally arrived, I stood up walked to him then kissed him passionately. I was surprised to feel his erection. Blevins was in his mid to late fifties. I would have expected it to take more than a simple tongue in his throat to achieve that state of arousal. "Hello honey, how are you this morning?" I asked. To his credit Blevins knew his part in the farce. "I am good, I'm sorry I had to leave last night. I promised this chicken farmer, I would check out his chicken house for thieves," It was at that point the Paramedic finished his breakfast and left. "So you where a chicken inspector last night," I said after the kid had gone. "No but that seemed a boring enough dialogue to run the kid off. So what's up?" Blevins asked. "Jerome White, is on the radar. What do you know about him." I asked. "I know he is a nasty piece of work. At the moment all he is known for around the station is being a bully. He moved into the project after he got out of prison. He was inside for a couple of years on an armed robbery beef. When he got out he just waltzed to the top of the project's waiting list. Been there over a year and spent most of it terrorizing the old ladies." "So why hasn't some gang banger capped his ass?" I asked. "I have no idea. You know I don't work gangs. Best I can figure he is out of the drug scene," Blevins said. "So where does he make his money?" I asked. "Rumor is he and a couple of the kids, whose parents live in the project, muscle little old ladies for their social security checks." Blevins said. "That's despicable," I replied. "Yeah but cops can't prove anything," Blevins said. "Now before you go getting your ass involved out there listen to me. You don't need the cops looking at you right now for any reason." "Oh why is that?" I asked. "Take my word for it, just don't get in the middle of anything right now," Blevins said as he opened his brown bag. From it he took something that looked like an Egg McMuffin. "What the fuck is that?" I asked. "It's what I call an Egg McHelen. It's a piece of country ham and a scrambled egg with cheese on an english muffin. It cost more than a McDonald's piece of crap, but man this thing is so good you can just hear your arteries harden," he admitted. "Helen's menu in this place just keeps growing," I suggested. "If you got your sorry ass out of bed in time to be here at 6AM, you would see why. Sometimes we need a cop to direct traffic around her drive in window. I would bet that there are more brown bags in the downtown trash pickup, than anything else," Blevins informed me. "Damn," I remarked. "Well thanks Blevins, I'm off to walk at the mall." The 'don't let the cops look at you' remark echoed in my brain as I rode to the mall on my bike. I expect that someone had finally found the 'Peace' of shit's car. I had left the keys in it, when I parked it behind the mission. I had hoped that someone would just drive it away for me. They must have done that and finally got caught with it. So they were looking for Bristol. Well good luck with that, was my only thought. I had a feeling he was going to show up in another jurisdiction. When he did he would need to be identified. So if he had already shown up, he might have done so before he was reported missing. In which case some podunk Sheriff's office would have done a quick on line search for missing persons along the river and found nothing. The body with no foul play indications glaring at them, might easily have gone onto the back burner. If he showed up after the car was found, then they might match him to the missing persons report. To be honest I didn't think the mission would report him missing. I expected them to think he had simply skipped out, since he was about to be arrested for the pimp that he was. It was complicated for sure, so I chose to ignore it until there was something I could actually do about the puzzle. I just walked at the mall and considered what to do about Jerome White. It seemed to me to be a much easier task. He would know that someone was behind it, if I showed up at the project, so I had to recruit someone else for the sting. I walked my first lap when I ran into the Dancer. "Hey chick," I said in greeting. "Hello bitch," she replied. Dancer had begun to talk to me like Jennifer did. So that's the downside of having Jennifer live in the Drugstore. People would see how we interacted. I suppose it wasn't a good or a bad thing just something new. "So Dancer, have Leon give me a call this afternoon, if he has a few minutes," I said. "Don't you go getting Leon into one of your nasty little plots," she said. "He isn't like Vlad and the rest of them." "I know who Leon is Kat, and he can make his own decisions. Just like you can make yours. You have helped me on occasion. If I remember right, you were highly turned on by it all." "How do you know I was turned on?" she asked almost angrily but not quite. "Do you think Leon is the only one who can tell when you are in heat?" I laughed a nasty laugh, when I said it. If she wanted to play like Jen, she better learn how to take it like Jen, I thought. "I'll tell him to call," she promised. Then we parted ways. I walked to the escalators and went to the second floor, so that I could walk alone. There were walkers there as well, but they wasn't the dancer. When I left the mall it was 11AM. I rode around the downtown area once again. I was still searching for the right lot for my new office. I rode around without finding anything new. I expected that I would need to go outside the downtown or think outside the box again. I called the DMV when I got to the Downtown House. I found that all Sylvia had to do was show up with some form of identification and proof of residency. I called her at school to make sure she knew what to bring with her. I drove her out to the DMV in the Cruiser when she finally arrived. There were messages for us both, but I refused to allow her to even look at them. It was a little after 2PM when Sylvia pulled into the parking space carved from the alley behind the Downtown House. She was proud that she had not missed a single question on the test. I was proud that I only snapped at her once during the drive home. I was thrilled to see her driving a car. It was 3PM when I got around to calling the representative of the Green County Savings and Loan. "So what did you decide?" Walter asked. "I decided that I will do your screening for you," I said with just a little attitude. "I am sure our mutual friends will be thrilled. So get out there and make us all some money," he said with a grin in his voice. "Right, so when do we meet again?" I asked. "Get a couple of houses sold and closed, then after they have been in the house a couple of weeks one of my men will come talk to the home owners. The representative will suggest that they call you and Jennifer to arrange for the paperwork. Just as soon as Jennifer gets the papers ready, we will sign off and hand you a check." "Sounds good to me. Let's do it," I agreed. Then I broke the connection since you can't really hang up a smarter than smart phone. Sylvia was on the phone with some woman about the model house when I got the wordless message in my head. It was directly from the creator. Maxine, don't worry about the women. Everyone around here is in love with the idea of retiring to Aster. All except the real operatives that is. Your little town is like a movie set to these repressed widows and divorcées. The idea of hobnobbing with field agents is irresistible. So they share your cover story but as best we can tell that is all of it. As usual the simplest of explanations is the real one. There is no plot to out you. The message said. You are willing to bet my ass on that? I asked wordlessly. You have no idea how valuable your ass is to us. Yes I am willing to bet your ass and probably my life on it, he replied. Good enough, I agreed. I shut down the link then I decided to keep an eye on the controllers, the creator, and that little super committee as well. That were a lot of people on the farm to watch. "What can I do for you Maxine," Leon asked on the phone. "I need a tough younger man from some western European country who can handle himself," I suggested. "I have a little job, I can't do myself." "You know that most of the men I know around here are middle aged and retired," Leon admitted. "If you know someone who fits the bill cool, if not I guess I can recruit someone who is active," I suggested. "Actually, I do know someone who might fit the bill. Expect a call from Jerrod this evening. You will have to be flexible, but then you are almost as flexible as Catherine." he said with a giggle. The giggle would have been out of place on almost anyone else, but it fitted Leon quite well. ------- Chapter 353 Evening came, but no call came from Jerrod. I was about ready to make a call to swamp thing for an operative. I hated to be in their debt, so I put if off as long as possible. I probably could frame Jerome for parole violation all by myself, but Althea would not be happy about her brother going back inside on a bum rap. I also had to remember that his niece was the local homicide detective. It was after midnight when I finally heard from Jerrod. "Ms Stone this is Simon Jerrod," the voice on the phone informed me. "Mr. Jerrod, Leon suggested you for a job I need done," I replied. "Yes, I spoke with him earlier this evening. He didn't seem to know exactly what the job was to be. He assured me that if you were recruiting, it would be interesting." Jerrod spoke with a French accent so thick, even I had trouble understanding... "It really isn't a big deal, so by some standards it may not be very interesting. Then I don't know what your background is, so I can not make even a guess whether or not you will find it interesting ... I would prefer not to have this discussion on the phone." I informed him as an after thought. "I agree. Leon said you had a club in Aster. I am in Tryon at the moment. Could we make arrangements to meet this week?" he asked. "You name it," I suggested. "I would like time to do a little research," he suggested. He had just told me that he was going to be doing a background check on me. I couldn't stop him of course, and I had nothing to hide. He was going to be careful, if for no other reason than to be sure I would pay him. "Please do, but I do need to get a decision quickly, so that I know what to do next. Could you finish your research by say Wednesday evening at 8PM?" "I think that would be enough time. I have your number, if anything comes up," he added. "You mean, should you decide this is not for you. That is fine, if I don't hear from you. then I will see you on Wednesday." I said it then closed the connection. Jerrod was not in any of my data bases, but I knew he would be in the data base of the farm. I had no access to their data base, but I knew someone who could get into more data bases than I knew about, and he wasn't a farmer's boy. I left a message on Peter's phone, then I shut down and plugged in the MP3 player. I did it just to replace the power I was using, as I listening to the music from an album called the greatest movie themes of all time. While I did that I cruised the Internet. It was either that or go out after midnight looking for sex. I could cruise the Net all night and still be perfectly sharp the next morning. I could also go out, drink a dozen drinks, get laid, and that wouldn't effect me the next morning either. Those were just a few of the things I could not have done with my frail body before the change. I was so much better off, and yet sometimes I wasn't so sure. Now and then I might have even regretted my decision to make the change. Since I was on the net, I decided to do some research. I found a website that gave me directions on how to turn a smart phone into a portable com center. It simply maintained a constant contact with another phone. The blue tooth headset was all it needed to transmit and receive the audio communications all around it. The phone also had a built in camera capable of transmitting a signal over the Internet. Everything just had to be calibrated for the purpose. All the expensive gear I had used before became unnecessary. All I needed to do was buy a second smart phone and have Peter reprogram it. If someone jerked the headset off and broke it, then it was time to go in hot and nasty. Not much different than if someone outed an agent any other way. The sun finally came up, but of course I didn't really care. One thing was the same as another to me unless I had something to do effected by the weather. You know like ride bike in a blizzard. While the world had slept I had been pretty much helpless. I could have done something with people from India, I suppose. Or maybe even Australia, but I had no desire to do so. Peter called me at breakfast. "Wow you are talking to me again so quickly, this is amazing." "Peter there is another number I can call for this information. If you don't want to help me that's fine, but you are right here in the same town. It would be easier if it were you." "No, no, I didn't meant that at all. I'm seriously flattered that you called me. What do you need?" he asked getting very serious, very quickly. "I need a background check on Simon Jerrod recently from France or a French speaking country. Most likely he has a military background, If not that then maybe a mobster. I do tend to lean more to the Military. Probably later twenties or there abouts, and a recent immigrant. See what you can come up with and meet me at the Townhouse after you pick up Sylvia at school. Let her drive from the campus," I said. "You got it, I should have something by the time I get Sylvia," he suggested. I rang off immediately, so that I could finish my breakfast, then I headed out to the mall. I walked and tried to work out a plan for Jerome White's downfall. I just didn't know enough. That's why I needed Simon, or someone like, what I hoped he was. The mall walk didn't give me any answers, since there were no conclusions to be drawn from my sketchy information. I did not want to call Carrie Thompson to accuse her of ignoring her uncle's involvement in whatever he was up to. She had already informed me that she and her mother did not share information. Since the whole police department didn't know enough to roust Jerome, the only way Carrie could know would be if mommy told her. So it was possible that she didn't know, but you can bet your ass If she didn't know, it was because she didn't want to know. From the time my walk ended that Tuesday morning, until the time I left the townhouse for my walk across to the Cloak and Dagger to meet with Jerrod on Wednesday, Sylvia sold two of the houses. I mean she had faxed copies of the contracts and checks for the 20% deposits. The contracts called for the balance to be paid in full upon completion of the units. Of course the buyers had the right to inspect and reject within three days of that completion. Both of the houses had upgrades included. Each would be very profitable so Sylvia and I were both proud of her work. The quarter of a million bucks would allow us to begin work on another ten houses. So I was in a good place, when I met with Simon Jerrod. It helped that I also had his background check in a cardboard folder, which I carried into the Cloak and Dagger with me. Leon called to advise me that Simon was ready to do the meet. He informed me that Simon would call me when he arrived in the parking lot of the Drugstore Condo's. I could meet him to pass him through the rear door. I watched him park a very faded and very tiny Toyota in the rear parking lot. When he struggle out of the car, he reached back in for a cane. If I hadn't done the background check, I might have just sent him on his way without another word. Instead I watched him limp across the parking lot. Most likely he looked a lot like I had before the change. He used the cane with his right hand, which might prove to be a problem in a combat situation. That was very unlikely in the current job. If Leon suggested him, I had to believe that he had found a way to deal with his issues. When he got closer, I noticed that he was the female equivalent of Sylvia. In other words he was gorgeous. Now he will make great chick bait in any bar, I thought. He wasn't really tall more like five nine or five ten. He had a nice body which appeared to be in good shape. His hair was blond and not quite long, but not styled either. I was jealous of the hair. "Mr Jerrod?' I asked as he approached the door. "Yes and you must be Ms Stone," he suggested. "That I am, let's go down and find a quiet spot to chat." I led him down the stairs and into the Cloak and Dagger main room. "Would you like a drink, I have some pretty good Irish Whiskey." "Do you have any beer?" he asked. "I think I have one left, but one is all I have." I searched the cooler to find the plastic plant tray with my name on it. Sitting inside the plant flat was one lone Budweiser. I carried the bottle of Irish Whiskey and the can of Budweiser back to the table. I sat the bottle and the can on the table. "So tell me, are you the Simon Jerrod from a small town 57 kilometers from Paris? The one who grew up living over a bakery?" I asked. "Did Leon tell you all that?" he asked. "No, I did a little background check of my own. I would never hire anyone I didn't know something about." "And I would never work for anyone I hadn't researched," he agreed. "So, I know some things about you. Tell me, is there anything that isn't in the file I should know?" I asked "Does the file say I was in the French Army?" he asked. "Legionnaire actually," I added. "Is that how you got the limp." "Parachute accident and that ended my career. Much like your own wound I expect," he suggested. He was letting me know that he had checked me out more than just watching the TV show. "Is the leg going to get any better?" I asked. "Not after the French Military doctors fixed it. I was sent into retirement. There were other reasons, but this leg was more than enough." he said. "Oh what were the other reasons?" I asked. "Do you know what Legio Patria Nostra means?" he asked. "I have no idea," I admitted "The legion is our fatherland," he replied. "And you didn't buy into that?" I asked. "They couldn't buy into me. I'm gay," he said very matter of fact. "I see, well you have researched me so you should know my sexual proclivity is rather flexible." I said. "Yes, but how do your other people feel about it?" he asked. "I have no idea and I don't care. I think we operate on the don't ask and tell when, and what you want," I suggested. "If you are bad ass, nobody will fuck with you. If you are a sissy everybody will probably fuck with you." "Leon is a little prissy," he said. "Lean carries a very sharp knife. He also has no problem with the 'make you a eunuch' concept," I said. "So in his own way, Leon is bad ass." "I see, so what's the verdict, do I get the job?" he asked. "The French Military pension does not go far. I am always on the lookout for part time jobs." "This one won't last but a couple of weeks, but it will pay pretty well all things considered," I admitted. "I am not an assassin," he informed me. "That's okay, I am," I replied. I did smile when I said it. "I have a few things I need to make happen, but now that I have you on board I can make them happen. You will be working at night for a couple of weeks for sure. I have no idea what the cover job pays, but I will give you two thousand dollars cash when three men decide to take their game somewhere else. You don't have to kill them, just convince them that it is healthier to move on down the road ... But first you will be gathering intelligence for me." "Sounds like something I can do," he agreed. ------- Chapter 354 Parachute accident my ass. The kid had scars on his pretty face consistent with someone or maybe many someones kicking the shit out of him. Most likely some of those bad ass Legionares decided to give him an attitude adjustment and went too far. He wouldn't be the first. As long as he would fight, I didn't give a shit who he screwed. For me it was about keeping his eye on the prize and that was one thing Legionares were famous for doing. I know some men were uncomfortable working with gay men, but they would have to find a way to get past it. There only other option was to say no, when I asked for help. That happened now and then anyway. It would have been so much easier to do this with an Eve unit, but it wasn't company business. It was personal. To start involving them in my personal shit would pretty much destroy the part of me that was left. If I didn't want to go into storage between jobs for them, I had to keep them out of my business. I went back and shut myself down except for a small power drain while I schemed. I seriously needed an end game plan, but I didn't have one. My whole plan at that moment was to inset Jerrod and gather intelligence, while hoping something would come to me. The one thing I absolutely knew by the time the sun came up, was that I had to meet with Althea and the Reverend White, if this job was to go forward. I rode the bike to breakfast knowing full well that I was going to have to include Reverend White in the next meeting. I also knew that the meeting had to be that very day. If they needed time to think and do their own scheming, it had to be over the weekend. Come Monday we were going to be operational, or I was going to begin looking for another use for those storage units. At breakfast I used the few minutes after the bag was empty to look up Althea's office phone number. It was almost ten when I placed the call. "You have reached Althea Thompson's office," the messager said. "If you will leave your message at the tone, Council Woman Thompson will return your call as soon as possible." "Council Woman Thompson this is Maxine Stone. If you want our little arrangement to go forward, you need to arrange a meeting between you, Reverend White and myself before the end of today. If you choose not to do so, or Reverend White chooses not to be involved, then the deal is off. Oh yeah have a good day." I didn't sound at all cheerful because I wasn't. I managed to finish my walk at the mall before she replied. I had to pull over while riding the bike home in order to answer the phone. "Maxine Stone and Associates," I said just to piss her off. "Why do you need to meet with Brother Harold?" she asked. "You are going to have to trust me. He has to sign onto this, because he will have a hand in making it work. If he isn't on board, then those storage units become a perk for the residents of the Drugstore Condo. I can find a place to drop them off, if I use them as storage units. I won't be needing your input for that. So it's time to get your hands dirty, or just say goodbye to the plan. You are not so invested that you can't walk away. But love, there are only co defendants in this not observers. "I'll have to think about this and get back to you," she said. So Brother Harold didn't know that Althea was scheming. That was fine, but he had to know that he had a problem at the project. He also had to know that his baby brother was about to bring them all down. I might be their only chance to save the Family livelihood as well as the family reputation. It was up to Reverend White at that point. While Althea dealt with her brother, I dealt with Sylvia. She drove to work in Peter's car. Since she wasn't yet licensed he had to be in the car as well. So I either had to drive her home at the end of the day or deal with Peter hanging around all day. What the hell, I thought. Sylvia could drive Peter around on her errands and I could sit on my ass drinking good coffee. "So you have to show the model home this afternoon?" I asked. I knew that she did, since the messages were mostly about the housing development. "Yes and we could have sold out already, if you didn't require the ten percent down," She said. "So you say, lots of people will tell you that they would buy, if only. Everyone who says no, needs an excuse. We are not going to take government loans or guarantees. I do not want them in our business, period. I'm not going to have some asshole come buy our houses cheap, then rent them and gouge some poor family. I will sit on the houses until the turn of the next century, if I have to do so," I admitted. "Yes boss," Sylvia said as if she were disgusted. "I got to show the models to a friend of yours. The man who took over your first business he said." "Lucas, I'll be damned he can buy a house anywhere, why would he want to live there?" I asked. "He said it was for his assistant," Sylvia commented. His assistant could mean anything. He could have someone helping with the work or it could be Julie. "Let me know how it turns out with Lucas," I demanded. "Will do boss," she said. The whole time we talked Peter had sat quietly in the living room on one of my sofas with his laptop. "So Peter do you want to hang around and be Sylvia's designated passenger today?" I asked. "I might have something coming up this afternoon." "I would be happy to do that. So what are you doing?" he asked. "You can stay, you can ride along with Sylvia, you can observe and you can even write about what you see, but you can not ask me questions," I declared. "I have too much on my mind, and I don't want you even one word ahead of what is going on." "Fair enough," he replied. Sylvia and Peter were gone when the burn phone rang. It was the number I had left for Althea. "Stone," I said when I opened the connection. "This is Althea Thompson, I don't see why you need Brother Harold, but he has agreed to meet with us. 3pm at Sadie Mae's," she demanded. "Not this time, this time it is at the Cloak and Dagger in the basement of the Drugstore Condo's. I will meet you at the rear door at 3pm, if you like? But you need to leave the so called body guards in the car. The drugstore is filled with guys, who would eat them alive," I informed her. "Very well, but it's cold in the car they can wait in the hallway outside." she suggested. "Tell them to keep a very low profile, I'm serious armed men in that building will get hurt, if they get noticed." She knew that I wasn't kidding. She had surely heard the rumors. "I'll remind them to leave their weapons in the car," she agreed. "Good then is it still 3PM?" I asked. "Yes it is," with that the connection went dead. I had just over two hours to wait. I plugged in the MP3 player for some tunes and a quick jolt. I chose an album from the hey days of Joan Baez. I liked to pretend that I was a grown woman, when my dad was young. Okay I had daddy issues, so what. I was about halfway into the album, when Sylvia and Peter came through the rear door. "I got a check for 20% of the price of a tricked out Robin," Sylvia said all pleased with herself. "Tricked out to the tune of 150K. Your buddy Lucas bought it with all the bells and whistles. He had a chick named Julie with him. I think the place is for her." "You do know that if you sell any more of those units, we are going to have to negotiate for the next batch of houses, so close that model house until we are ready to move to phase two." The beauty of the new brain was that it never forgot anything. Even when it didn't seem to be working it was processing everything. "Right, no more Robins until we move a bunch of Bluebirds and Cardinals." she agreed. "So how are you doing with the renovation crews?" I asked. "Actually it is moving quite well. His Laboring few has come around. They have agreed to work on the next batch for the same amount of money as the Russians. I know you prefer to keep it all with one contractor, so I told them if their work was satisfactory on this group, we would use them on all the others." "Good, I like those reformed drunks as opposed to the active drunks we have now," I said with a laugh. "Now I have a super secret meeting at the Cloak and Dagger. I shouldn't be more than an hour." "Okay," Sylvia said without batting an eye. I walked across the street and felt the hollow feeling as I always did when I walked over the spot where I had been shot. I made it to the back door of the Drugstore Condo building a few minutes before the others. When they arrived it was all in one car, so I allowed four people into the building. The Council woman, the reverend and I walked into the basement. "If you guys want I can get you a coke from the machine, but I don't have anything else to offer you." "No we are fine. Let's just get this over," the heavy baritone voice of the Reverend said. "Fair enough, do either of you want to tell me what Jerome White is doing in the project?" I asked. They looked at each other before Althea answered. "From what I have heard he is just being a bully. I honestly believe that he is just trying to pretend to be a tough guy," she said. "Are you shitting me, or do you really that naive?" I asked. "What do you mean," Brother Harold asked. "For one thing Jerome has no visible income. He is doing something to eat, since he isn't eating at the open kitchen. Yes I have checked. To his credit he isn't driving a Mercedes while living in the project." I shut my mouth and waited for one of them to answer. "We know he is up to something, but we have not gotten any complaints. What he is doing may not involve the project at all. He might be involved in something somewhere else. It doesn't matter, when he gets caught it is going to be a mess," Brother Harold informed me. "Well in order for me to move him out, I have to know what he is doing. That will be the key to forming a plan. So do either of you know what he is up to? If you do now is the time to say. It will save us all some trouble." No one spoke, so I moved on. "In that case Reverend you need to put one of your security guards on vacation for a couple of weeks. I want you to hire a man I'm going to send you. He is going to have a good look around and report to me. He and I will decide on our next move. I may or may not need to talk to you again," I said. "So, if I hire this man for a couple of weeks, you will take care of Jerome White?" the Reverend asked. "That's right it is the first step and it might be the only one you have to take. You will pay my man just as you do your own man. It all has to be open and above board, just in case it goes sideways." ------- Chapter 355 I walked back to the Downtown House in a nasty mood. I could not believe that robosluts had dark moods, but I sure as hell did. I bet it shocked the creator as well. I was tired of dealing with people, who couldn't find it in themselves to tell the simple truth. Hell, deep down I knew that they had not even told themselves the truth. When it came right down to it, they wanted their brother to disappear, before he brought chaos to their well ordered lives. As a machine I could appreciate their need for order. I would not have a hard time admitting that I would happily scrap any other machine, which threatened the order of things. My god, I thought as I stood at my front door, that way of thinking was not human at all. It was the kind of thought that the humans claimed to fear about machines making decisions. To the human the concept of evaluating a person's worth to society then acting on that evaluation was abhorrent. To me it was the only rational way to place a value on anything. If Jerome were a bicycle and the bicycle began to give me problems. I might continue to ride the bicycle until the problems made the bicycle, just not worth the extra effort. Then I would evaluate the required cost and effort to repair the bicycle. If it was clearly more expensive to repair the bicycle than it was to buy a new one. I would most definitely scrape the bicycle and replace it. Most humans would as well. Only a human would spend the extra money to rebuild a worn out bicycle, just because it had been a gift from a lover. A person without the emotional baggage would simple melt it down and start over. Yes, I still rode the Gunney's bicycle, so I guess that made me the walking contradiction, partly cold and reasonable and partly emotional. Maybe that was the definition of a modern human. Whatever I was, I would try to move Jerome along with the least amount of force. They had asked me to do it, because he wasn't my brother. I had no baggage concerning Jerome. I would do whatever it took, short of murder, to rid them of the troublesome brother. When I got inside my place, I found it very quiet. I guessed that the two human units had driven to the model house to show it one last time before they left for the weekend. I went into the kitchen to pour myself coffee. I planned to head up to the second floor to relax and watch the traffic move past my window. Yes, I had heard the background noise, but it got automatically processed and it fell into the 'not a threat'category, so of no real interest. When I climbed the stairs, I knew what the noise was. It was not a fan with a bad bearing, or a bird sitting on the air vent outside chirping. It Sylvia and Peter screwing in my bed. Since they didn't seem to notice me, I leaned against the corner of the bathroom pod and watched. They were looking out the window at the traffic. Well they would have been, if they had their eyes open. Sylvia was on her hands and knees. Peter was on his knees while leaning against Sylvia. He was also pumping his penis in and out of her. At least that answered my question about who, if anyone, Sylvia was doing. At that moment I knew why Sylvia liked to watch. It was the most wildly erotic thing I had ever seen. It was like a really good porno video only a hundred times better. Knowing and loving the people involved made it crazy hot. I had a revelation then, maybe watching your sister or brother screw someone would be even more erotic. I didn't want to join them, I just wanted to masturbate to the image. So I did. I spread my legs and bent slightly, so that I could easily reach the wildly sexual tab they had attached to me. It was where my clit had been, when I was human. I rubbed that tab and slipped fingers inside me while I watch Peter's dick move inside Sylvia's pussy. Somewhere during the show I exploded over and over in orgasm which made me quiver. It was an amazing feeling. It was not better or worse than sex with a man just different in a subtle way. There was an advantage in knowing where I needed the next sensation to be. Maybe that was what Sylvia felt. Maybe she had the overwhelming need to be in control. Well she wasn't in control at that moment. At that moment she had Peter's cock in her and he was headed toward his own orgasm. My circuits were fried, so I just stood and watched. Peter came so hard that I could tell from his jerky uncoordinated movements, then his sudden muscle freeze as he emptied semen inside Sylvia. She however was still moving trying to get there, wherever there was. Peter almost collapsed, That was my cue to leave as quietly as possible. When they came downstairs I was sitting at the dining room table drinking coffee. "So I hope you at least plan to take my sheets to the laundry," I said with a wicked smile. "I never planned for that to happen," Peter said seemingly embarrassed. Sylvia looked at me defiantly and said, "I did." "Oh I knew that," I replied with a smile. "You wanted me to watch. So now I know." I turned my attention to Peter. "Don't worry Peter, everyone gets used now and then. It is part of the human condition." I gave him a chance to think that over, then I said, "I have a job for you. Go find me a cell phone that you can modify, so that it stays on and transmits for several hours at a time." "That's going to be tough. The batteries are not designed for that much continuous use," he said. "Size is not that important, add a second battery if you need to do so. If you absolutely can't do it, I can devise a protocol to cut down on the use. I would prefer not to do that, but I can I suppose." If I had Jerrod check in every 15 minutes with a simple "I'm okay," that would cut down on the use, but one hell of a lot of shit can happen in fifteen minutes. "Most of the time the cell phone would be broadcasting nothing but background noise, if that," Peter said stating the obvious. "What if I used a household alarm unit that dialed your number when there was a significant noise. As in a voice or banging of metal that kind of thing." "I could still make the call to the cell phone just to check up?" I said it then thought again. This is way too complicated. "Just find a cell phone that we can leave on continuously. Then get enough spare batteries to broadcast at least ten hours. Get enough spare chargers, so that they can all be hot in say three hours. Then get a wireless headset as small as possible. The phone should have a camera that will send a photo back to my smart phone as well." "Now the two of you go shopping and sin no more," I said with a grin. Sylvia looked almost disappointed as she left my place to drive Peter around. After they had gone I had just enough time to make and appointment for Monday with the local highway patrol licensing office. At 2PM on Monday Sylvia would be driving the Inspector around for her first attempt at a driver's license. I took the double sized delta coffee cup filled with very hot coffee to the second floor to watch the traffic. While sitting there quietly, I tried to run all the possible scenarios for the Jerome project. It was just mind boggling how many things Jerome could be doing. Also of course how many things could go wrong with this project. The worst one left poor Jerrod laying in a pool of blood. I decided that Jerrod would be an unacceptable loss. I couldn't insert myself into the intelligence part of the mission, but I would damn sure be within two minutes of the action at any given time. If it started to turn rank, I would do my damnedest to be the calvary. I actually drank so much coffee sitting there that I had to empty the storage reservoir. No I could not recycle the coffee. Well I guess technically I could but it would have tasted terrible, After all it had been through a system contaminated with everything from worn out olive oil, to food bits which had no doubt turned a little rancid. Best to just wash it through and not think too much about it's journey through my roboslut body. Pretty much like you humans do when you use the bathroom. The call from Peter came well after 5PM. He informed me that he would be going to Tryon to make his purchases. I wondered where he had been the last hour and a half since I knew when he left that he would be going somewhere with more variety in electronics than our small town. "That's fine Peter, you have my credit card. Take Sylvia out to dinner and put it on the card as well. It will be your only payment, so make it a really special dinner." I was serious about it. Whether he did it or not was up to him. He was sure as hell in a great place for food. Tryon was big enough to have a hundred theme restaurants, as well as two malls with three or four fancy places in each. I made more coffee and returned to the traffic watch. Of course I was fully charged. I had also run enough 'what ifs' to feel pretty good about several plans. All that considered, I made the conscious decision to go out looking for trouble. Since trouble was what I had in mind, I figured it was time to head out on the highway. A trip to the only biker bar in the area seemed to be in order. I had never been inside the chain and spoke but I had sure heard a lot about it. None of what I heard was good. When I was human, I liked to think of it as good sense, which held me back. After the change, I just had no need to go there. The need I had at that moment was just the need to do something different. As the old robot movies from the 80s and 90s said, I just needed input. It was time to learn something new. I thought about dressing in costume, but then I thought how silly that would look. So I traded my baggy jeans for my skinny leg jeans. Those were almost tight. The top I chose was very red with short sleeves. It was cut low enough to show a couple of my serious scars. Two of them were from almost fatal wounds. The short sleeves showed several of the cut and scrape scars that would never fade. They had come from non life threatening injuries. Hey if you got 'em, you might as well flaunt them. I thought. The beat up mustard colored pick up seemed the ideal vehicle for that evening. A big ass Harley might have been better, but the pick up was the best of the things I had available to me. I had a real problem with weapons. The jeans and top were too tight to carry anything more than my flat wallet, which would be good to identify the body, and some cash for the first couple of drinks. I could wear a windbreaker, but I wanted my arms and front to show. The only thing in my closet, even close to the look I wanted, was a black as death neoprene vest. The pockets in the vest were not big enough to hide a pistol. Since my derringer was not the small .22 type, it would show as well. I went to the storage cabinet and found the smallest deadly weapon I had. It was a flat piece of steel folded back on itself to make a handle for a razor blade. It was the cheapest of the box openers made from metal. In the other pocket I put a box opener sort of like it. except with a plastic handle and snap off tips on the cutting blade. ------- Chapter 356 Since I was all tooled up, and I had a place to go, I walked out the back door of the Downtown House smiling for a change. I stopped on the way to the Spoke and Chain for a tank of gas. It was hard for me to appreciate the mundane things in live, like buying gasoline but there I was. Since small details always came flooding in whenever I did anything, I raised my head and smiled for the surveillance camera I knew would be there. I only mention the big thoughts in this journal, but there are millions of smaller reminders flooding my brain everyday. It was true as a human as well. I just didn't notice them as much. As you drive down the road, you notice a blue car following you without really seeming to notice. A few seconds later your brain says to itself, where the fuck is that blue car? so you look to see. The blue car has gotten closer, so it make a reminder to check it again. This all happens without any conscious thought from you, but for me it is conscious and has way more weight than it does for you. See I thought all that just because I smiled at the surveillance camera. The drive out to the Spoke and Chain took a few minutes, because it was actually in Lattimer, which is a much smaller town than Aster even. Aster has a half dozen stop lights. Lattimer has only one. I had to go through it before I arrived at the Spoke and Chain. The beer joint occupied an old retail tire store building. They didn't even removed the overhead doors, when they took over. Once inside I found that they had simply sheet rocked over them. They hadn't done a very good job of it either. I noticed before I entered that there were several large motorcycles parked at the front of the parking lot. The parking lot surrounded the building. On the outer edges of the lot there were a few older cars and a couple of pickup trucks. At least I wouldn't be the only one in an old pickup. I parked the truck in a position so that I could make a quick get away, if it came to that. When I left the truck, I closed the door without bothering to lock it. I had a feeling that if needed, the universal master key, a tire iron would be used. So to save the price of a new window, I didn't bother locking it. In the bar area of the building, it was well lit. In the shop area, which housed three regulation pool table, except for the lights over the pool tables it was dark. I walked calmly to the former sales counter, which had become a stand up bar. The bartender stared at me without saying a word. The smell of testosterone, gasoline, and stale sweat filled the air. I realized that the bartender was challenging me with his silence. "What you got on draft?" I avoided sounding either butch or submissive. I made it as neutral as I could. "Well, we ain't got no lite beer," he said smiling at me. "That ain't what I asked, now is it?" I asked. "You a cop?" he asked without making a move to get my beer. "I was once. I was also a democrat once," I said "Do I get the beer or do I have to kick someone's ass to get served." "Could you do that?" a much larger man in his fifties asked. "I have done it before. I don't reckon I forgot how," I said. "I know you," he declared. "This is that bad ass PI from Aster. You know the TV bitch." "Yeah that's me, and no it ain't faked. So do I get the beer or not. That's all I came for," I said. "The beer." "Why the hell did you drive all the way down here for a beer?" he demanded. "I lost an election bet," I replied. "Elections ain't for six months," he informed. "It was the last election," I said smiling. "You one smart ass bitch," the older man said. "I like that in my whores." "Enough to buy me a beer?" I asked. "Sure, I'll buy you a beer, then I'm gonna' fuck you in the ass." he said. I moved faster than anyone he ever saw in his miserable life. I grabbed the front of his leather jacket and pulled his head down to my level. He was a bit taller after all. Then from nowhere I produced the box opener and put it to his throat. "Not before you take a shower you ain't," I said. "Now are you going to play nice, or are you going to bleed out on th floor." "You think you are going to just walk out, if you do that?" he said. "It ain't going to matter none to you whether I do or not. You are still going to be dead." I said smiling at him. Then I said loud enough for everyone to hear. "Now do I get that beer or not?" "Give the bitch the beer," an even older man said. "Bitch you move that razor and we can all just get along. You don't and it's going to be war." "Since going to war isn't what I came for, consider it done." I put the razor away as I pushed the old man away from me. He pulled back to hit me. I was just about to stiff finger punch him in the gut, when the older man grabbed his arm. "Mike go sit your ass down, that woman is way too much for you." Mike listened to the older man. The older man stood beside me then asked. "I got to know was it the ass fucking, or the stink you objected to?" "I have been fucked in the ass by men who stank, but I was pretty rank myself at the time. I just like things to be equal," I replied. "Now that sounds reasonable," he said. "I seen all those shows on TV. Are you telling me that all that shit was real?" he asked. "The show worked because it was all shot as it happened. At least that is what Mike and Gwen told me. They were the producers and camera people. It was all hidden microphones and cameras." I admitted. I stopped and took a long pull on the cold beer. "And all those guys you fucked?" he asked. "Honey, I been force fucked more times than Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke," I replied. "Well enjoy your beer, nobody else is gonna bother you," he said walking away. I watched him walk back to the table where a bottle blond about my age waited. "You got a bike," the voice asked from behind me. I turned to see a man several years younger than me standing a few feet away. "A mountain bicycle," I admitted. "You want to go for a ride on a Harley," he asked. "Next time, I'm not dressed for it," I admitted. "How about a ride on my hog? For that you undress," a different man who joined him asked. "I'm not sure I could keep up. I think I'm gonna pass on that as well," I said. "What if we say different?" he asked. "You can say it, but that don't make it so. Now let me tell you up front. I believe you are all bad asses, so you ain't got to prove that to me. All the big talk isn't going to impress me any more. so lets just have a beer and be friends." "Hey you can't just waltz in here and tell us how things are," the very first man I had spoken too said. "You probably ought to shut up Mike, since we already know you are a pussy," the younger man said. "Who would expect a skinny bitch like her to carry a razor?" Mike asked. "Anyone who ever saw her suck a guy's cock, to giver her partner a clear shot to put a kill shot in his chest." the younger man said, then he turned to me. "Yeah I seen you do that on TV." "I never enjoyed sucking a cock more," I said with a smile. Yeah I was playing bad ass, but it sure seemed like the right time to do it. "So you want to take that ride on my bike sometime?" he asked. "Well another time sure," I said. The Spoke and Chain had a really bad jukebox, but dancing gave the guys a chance to feel me up and I didn't mind. Even in my present state I enjoyed it. The sensations were nice and the memories it brought back were even better. The older guy who seemed to pass judgment on me watched, but never joined in a conversation or anything else with me. He interested me. "What's the deal with the old man?" I asked one of the others, whose name I didn't ask. "Jew, he was kind of a big deal back in the day. We all listen to him, up to a point. He ain't got no real status here. We are all independents. We ain't members of nothing, we just like to ride." "So there are no gangs here?" I asked. "Not tonight, sometimes they come in and take over the place, but not tonight. If they had been here, one of them would probably have killed you for putting a razor on a member's throat." he said seriously. "Now that would have been exciting," I admitted. I knew that I wasn't drunk. Why I said that I couldn't even guess. "Yeah you are one crazy bitch," he said. "So you want to go somewhere and fuck?" "Why do we need to go anywhere?" I asked. "You mean you want to fuck us all?" he asked. "No not all of you, but I have done it in front of people before. I kinda liked being the center of attention." I admitted. He took me by the hand and then led me into the shop area. I stood perfectly still beside the center pool table, while he opened the padded rubber vest and slipped it over my shoulders. I stood still while he pulled the heavy tee shirt over my head. I even stood still while he raised the chemise over my head as well. I still didn't make a move while he stepped back to give me a serious look. "Man you got some wicked scars, but that is so fucking sexy," he said. I pulled him to me for a deep serious kiss. Lots of tongue and lots of his saliva entering my mouth. I didn't mind. He broke the kiss to open my jeans and pull them over my hips taking my panties along with them. Then he lifted me onto the pool table. I felt the very hard, but warm felt over slate table top against my ass. He worked my jeans over my feet. I looked around to see more than one man watching me. There were even a couple of the hard looking women watching. A female voice from the crowd said, "Fuck her good Ed." It was the first time I heard the name of the man who was about to fuck me. Ed worked his way onto the pool table after removing his clothes. I wasn't really in a stupor, but I was in a heightened awareness state. I pretended that I was human and unable to resist Ed. It was a game with me, but it was also very pleasurable. The entrance into me he tried to use was dry, but his cock was soaked with his precum. After he moved me around so that I was in the middle of the table on my hands and knees, he began. He had only a small amount of trouble getting it inside me. After his dick was buried inside me, he began to stroke me. I helped him and myself by rocking against him as he pumped me. I felt his dick move against the sensors that were not designed for that kind of stimulation. Those feelings somehow got interpreted as if my body had a cock inside my vagina. I felt myself spread around the hard dick and then relax as he withdrew slightly. Over and over the sensors were stimulated. The stimulation went way past anything they were designed to take. I moaned and whined as his dick beat me into submission. By that time the sensors were causing the circuits to overload, I was ready for anything. When the second cock moved against my lips, I was eager to get it inside my mouth. I choked on it, even thought the sensation was not the same as it had been when I was alive, it was still uncomfortable. I just didn't give a shit that it felt weird. I just wanted more, more of everything. I felt Ed's cum shoot up and against the valve which led into the reservoir. It couldn't enter because the valve worked only from the other direction but I felt it nonetheless. That sensation wasn't new, but it was as intense as it had been the first time. I was bouncing all over the place with both my body and my brain thing involved in the feelings throbbing through me. I felt the dick in my mouth stiffen and then shoot lots of hot cum down my throat. It also coated the inside of my mouth. Ed softened and withdrew. I thought it was winding down but then I felt a new hard dick in me. The new one worked on me for several minutes before I was back in that beautiful state where the all rational thoughts just seemed to end. That's when I realized that I was finally at peace with the new me, but only when I was being fucked. Not even all the time then but just at the point where I was about to cum or whatever it was. For those few seconds I was totally at peace with myself. The men who fucked me were not synchronized at all. They came in me whenever they felt like it. My circuits were fried and I didn't care, it was a wonderful feeling to cum and to have them cum in me. I was going to be a complete fucking mess and I didn't care one bit. Finally I just collapsed onto the table. The men left me and I just lay there naked with cum seeping from me. "Get dressed and get out you fucking slut," a female voice demanded. I felt my clothes thrown onto my naked exhausted body. Of course the exhaustion was purely mental. My body was just fine. It took a few seconds for my brain or whatever to reset. When it did, I quickly dressed and left the Spoke and Chain. No one said goodbye, hell none of them even looked at me. ------- Chapter 357 Driving that shitty old pick up truck home, I did not feel good about myself. I knew that I had stepped over a line inside that bar. I didn't do it for a purpose. I wasn't trying to find out who sold shit out of the back door. I wasn't trying to gain acceptance into that group. No, I did it just to see how it felt to do it. That was totally an act of immorality, for the sake being immoral. Maybe they were right at the farm. Maybe I had no human emotions or judgment left. Maybe I had become just a fucking machine. I would have to come to some kind of understanding of my new self, or I was likely to have a robo breakdown. What the hell that would be like, I had no idea. Probably no one else did either. At that moment I would bet the farm wished they had stopped at the Eve version. I reminded myself that I had a job to do, so I put all those feelings in the 'deal with it later' box and buried it in the back of my circuits or where ever it was stored. I maneuvered the truck down the highway, then into the alley behind my townhouse. I was disgusted with myself, but that couldn't have any effect on my thinking or actions. In other human terms, I had to forgive myself now, and try to resolve it later. I did just that. Sitting at the foot of my bed and looking out over the street. I just said to myself, "You have done worse girl. Maybe this is the worst thing you have done to yourself, but by far it isn't the worst thing you have done overall. You will get past the self loathing, you always have. Put it behind you and get your eye back on the job at hand." And I did just that. I sat there looking at the occasional cop car, or work truck roll past my window and I charged my power pack. After I got to the full stage, I switched to the MP3 player and listened to classical music till dawn. I had no idea to who or what I was listening, but it was nice music. I had downloaded something called 'Classical Music 4 Five AM." That title would never do for an album cover, but it was a nice sound at 5AM. At 8AM on a dreary Saturday morning with a light mist, I took the bike to breakfast. I wore my special rain suit, and I was grateful that I didn't have a fancy hairdo to worry about. That rain didn't do the Gunny's bike any good, but I really wanted to get out and try to wash the stink of the night before off my soul. If a roboslut had a soul, that is. Okay I at least had the old Maxine's bag of guilt. I walked into Helen's and there sat Carrie Thompson. Shit, I thought, that is all I need. Now and then a black patrol officer or a paramedic would come in with his white partner, but black cops or medics sitting alone were few and far between. I had no idea why, because if anyone of any race or gender got treated badly there would be hell to pay. If the other patrons didn't stop it, Helen would have everyone's ass. It was pretty clear to everyone that the Sit Down was open just for the cops, firemen, and medical people of the town. If they fucked it up, Helen would close it. She could make just as much money with a truck parked outside city hall or outside the hospital and everyone knew it. The sit down had been my idea, so I also had an interest in it staying open. "So good morning Detective Thompson," I said sitting down. I was pretty damn sure she was waiting for me. "So Ms. Stone, I see you rode that bicycle in the fucking rain. Are you crazy or just a Masochist?" she asked. "There are people who come don't on either side of that question. It just depends on who you ask." I said. "I asked you," she replied in true cop fashion. "I'm trying to do my penitence," I suggested. "Oh and what have you done that you need to repent?" she asked. "Fucked half the guys in a biker bar last night," I said. "Okay, don't tell me. What I really came to ask is what you have in mind for my Uncle Jerome?" Thompson did not look pleasant at all. "I don't plan to kill him and I don't plan to frame him for anything, other than that I really can't say. Now you tell me, do you plan to warn him?" I asked while looking her dead in the eye. "Because if you do, you could get one of my people hurt and I would take that very personally." "Did you just threaten a police officer?" she asked. "Did that sound like a threat. I thought it was a warning. You do know that I tape record everything anyone says to me. If anything happens to my operative, who will be operating under my PI license, I will play this conversation for the chief of police. Now that was a threat." I said. "You really are a bitch," she said. "If being a bitch was a crime, you and I could share a cell." I said it while I smiled at her. It did not appear that I would be enjoying the same relationship with the Aster PD as I had before Blevins retired. Oh well, you play the hand life deals you, I thought. My rain suit wasn't plastic it was a lightweight but fleece lined nylon type product. It also had a thin coat of a rubber like material applied to the outside of it. It was in other words expensive as hell, but it would seem warm to the average person. The pant legs were tight enough, so that I had to zip and unzip them to get in and out of it. I mention that because when I got to the mall, I took the five minutes required to remove the pants and pull over top. The pull over was large enough so that it just slipped off. Since I had spent time in the Sit Down talking to Carrie Thompson, I was way warm. The creator in all his wisdom had arranged it so that some of the water in the disposal reservoir excreted through my skin. In other words I did what every woman hates to do. I would sweat like a real person. Not one of his better ideas, as far as I was concerned. I removed the top when I got to the mall to discover that I was damp inside my tee. Fortunately my chemise soaked up enough so that there were just a few stains, and they weren't anywhere embarrassing. I wore middle school gym shorts with the colors of the Aster middle school. And a matching Tee shirt from their basketball team. I had the number 16 on my tee. I bought the outfit from the First Baptist Church's yard sale the month before. Yes I love yard sales, I admit it. Anyway there I was in the slightly cool mall hustling around in my basketball outfit. I would bet my ass that it was a boys outfit, even though there were no buttons or other clues. Even in the very skimpy outfit, I had a box opener in the waist band. That particular box opener had a clip on the handle. I expect it was so that the store clerk could keep up with it. It worked well for me to do the same. I knew exactly where it was at all times. I hustled around my three miles and was putting the funky rain suit back on when Dancer walked up. "Maxine don't let anything happen to Simon Jerrod please," she said. "He isn't your son, is he?" I asked just to get under her skin. "Nothing like that, but he has had a hard life," she suggested. "I am going to personally be his backup out there. It's the very best I can do sweetie. I don't know that it will ease your mind, but it is the best I can do." I said. "Leon told him how dangerous it could be. He knows it is not a paper pushing job, but I still worry," she said. "I honestly don't think it will be life threatening. I think he can handle anything else, or I wouldn't put him in there." I said "I guess that will have to be good enough," she said. "If it were something you could do, I would put you in. Does that make it better," I said. "Not really, but thanks for letting me talk. I like your rain gear by the way. You look like cat woman." she smiled for the first time. "Yeah, it's the look I had in mind. You know how I love rubber," I said. It was Saturday, but the weather just sucked, so there wouldn't be any diversions at all. I knew how a teenager felt, since I needed something to get my mind off the drama in my head. The best diversion I could come up with was to show the model house. I showed the Bluebird since we didn't want to sell the Robin for a while. I must have shown that house five times to people who could not afford the down payment. "You know I can buy almost any other house in town with no down payment or at least only a little down payment." the young father said. "Yes, I am sure of that. And I will not be one bit upset if you do just that. This project is not for everyone. The deal is that if you buy one of those houses, first you will need a Realtor. That is fine because you don't pay him or her the seller does. But the seller is going to add her commission to the price of that house. The Realtor is going to show you the largest house for which you qualify. It will make her commission more. Most of the banks in town will qualify you for a house, and just hope you can make the payments. At the time you apply you can make the payments. Usually it is just barely but that's okay because on paper you are fine. Then your car goes and you have to add in a three or four hundred dollar car payment. Then your kid gets sick or your wife get pregnant again and you are no longer able to make that payment. You know the one that was based on your expenses at the time you bought the house. Tell me son, then what?" He didn't answer his wife was nodding her head. I knew that she wanted bigger and glitzier, so I didn't say any more. The two of them left with the young man carrying the baby cradle like thing in his hand. I wished them luck, because they were the ones for whom I built the project. The town was full of them, so it was just a matter of time before someone came along who could swing it. Of the first ten houses all of them had been sold except the four models. We were pre-selling the next ten on which work would begin Monday. I had thirty of the ninety houses purchased. When I sold twenty, I would arrange for thirty more. The contract was drawn so all I had to do was transfer the money and they were mine. Saturday turned into Saturday night in spite of my best efforts to stop it. Everyone was doing something, but I decided to stay home and just do nothing at all. I was very good at just allowing time to pass. There was nothing I could really do until Monday. I got a call from Peter around 9PM. He had the equipment purchased and would be programing it the next day. He and Sylvia had gone to some kind of dance thing at the Tryon Coliseum, so he had not worked on the phone things at all Saturday. "You better have it working on Monday or you will regret having watched some chick in tights jump up and down," I said. After that call I was alone with my thoughts which weren't all that deep. I relived a lot of my life and did the stupor thing looking out the window at the rain a lot as well. It was a pleasant evening. ------- Chapter 358 Sunday was almost a repeat of the day before. Between my walk and the first trip to the model home, I did manage to ride my bike down to the project. I did it just to get a lay of the land, look see. There were sixty duplex units spread out over three streets. In addition there were two cross streets which ran all the way through. Taken together they formed a perfect grid. Each duplex had a small back yard and almost all of them were littered with children's toys. The toys were tossed haphazardly about. In the dark they would be leg breakers for sure. All in all, it was pretty much what I had come to expect from government projects. From the government project I rode the bike out to my Mill Village project. It was a good three mile ride, but I didn't mind. The weather was better on Sunday, even though that actually made no difference to me either. It was chilly, but it was dry which I did appreciate. I wasn't really positive that I was rust proof. I smiled at that thought, the 6 million dollar bucket of rust. I was dressed in jeans, a tee, and a baggy sweat shirt over the tee. The sweat shirt was to hide the .38 riding in the upside down shoulder rig. Since I had driven back and forth all Saturday afternoon, I planned to stay in the model home all afternoon. Sylvia had run a small advertisement in the twice weekly Aster newspaper, so we would likely get some walk in traffic. As I expected I showed the house to several people. They all had an interest until the down payment issue came up. I needed to figure out some way to let people know in advance, that it was owner financing, but with a hefty down payment. That might cut down on the number of people, who just wasted our time. It was 3pm when the young Hispanic couple came into the model home. I showed them around speaking to them in English. They conversed with each other in Spanish, thinking I wouldn't understand. He was thrilled with the yard and the fact that the payments would be low. She actually thought that it was beautiful inside. Even the low priced model with the standard finishes appealed to her. When I dropped the $9,000 down payment figure on him, I expected him to scream and run for the door. He didn't, he just continued to look at the house as if he were still a potential buyer. "So if I give you the $9,000 dollars, there won't be any hidden fees?" he asked. "Not from me. You will have deposits with the gas and electric companies." I suggested. "But there won't be any closing costs or points or any of that bullshit." "How would you like your money?" he asked. "A cashiers check made to the development company is best," I suggested. The man's wife asked in Spanish, "Do you think Uncle Tito will give you that much money?" "He told me to find the house and just tell him what I needed. I'm not sure how much he thought I would need, but this is the best deal for us. The payments are low enough so that we can make them on my pay from the shop." The man said that in Spanish as well. "If you want to buy one of the houses just like t his one, bring me the check and then pick out your colors. We are starting on phase two now, so you will have three weeks to come up with your down payment. I do need to ask you a few questions for the credit application." 'With that large of a down payment, I didn't think there would be a credit check?" he suggested. "I need to know you are employed, so that I know you are a serious buyer. I also need your drivers license and social security number, so that I can explain to the IRS where the money came from." Bullshit, what I needed was to know was what kind of shit this kid was into. He had to be into something. To have an Uncle who would come up with nine grand for him there was more to it than met the eye... It wasn't a lot of money for a white haired old guy to put up as a down payment, or for a couple who was having a problem with their finances and needed to downsize. However for a twenty-five year old kid with two children in tow, it was a lot. First of all I wanted to know that he was a citizen. Then I wanted to know that he had a real job. I didn't want to sell him a house, then have to make his wife a widow two weeks later. He had a drivers license and a Social Security number, he showed me both. He had a job as manager of a auto detail shop. He had a decent salary, but not so large that he could afford to be extravagant. "Would you mind giving me the owner of the shop's name. I just need to verify that you work there." I said. "I work for my uncle, Tito Rivera," he said. "That name sounds familiar, What else does your uncle do?" I asked. "He wholesales used auto parts," he said proudly. The information popped into my head from the farm without me asking ... Chop shop, nothing violent. He isn't on the local cops radar, but he might be on the FBI watch list for selling across the state line. Thanks, I replied wordlessly. I see you want to remind me that you are there. Just trying to help, the controller said in his/her message. "So let me know what you two decide," I said to the kids. "Oh we want the house for sure. I don't think the down payment will be a problem, but I will speak with my uncle and call you tomorrow." "Then you should drive by the houses on the next street over. Pick out the one with the yard you like best for the little ones," I suggested. I gave them a diagram of the next phase. "This model is called the Bluebird so just pick one of those and you will get a house just like this one. You can pick your tile and linoleum when you leave your deposit." When they left for their car, I decided that Juan Rivera might not even know what his Uncle Tito did for a living. The detailing shop would be a money laundering business. It might make enough to support him, even if they shut the chop shop down. I didn't think it was all that risky to sell to him. I was pretty sure I would not get tied up in a court battle when the uncle got busted. Jen could tell me for sure, if I even bothered to ask. I wasn't positive that they would show up again. I would make sure that Uncle Tito didn't do a loan shark kind of thing on his nephew. It was in my best interest to be sure that I didn't get Uncle Tito as a tenant. I could move him out no problem, I just didn't want that kind of bullshit in my community. I made the call to Jerrod after 5PM. I knew because I called him when I got home, and I didn't close the model till 5PM. "Simon," I said when he answered the phone. "You need to go to the Second Baptist Church office in Aster tomorrow sometime. Call first but you have to fill out some paperwork, and pick up whatever they use for a uniform. You start tomorrow night. After you get your shit from the church swing by my place to pick up your communications gear. Again call me first to be sure it is ready. I can explain everything to you when you arrive." "What kind of job am I doing for the Second Baptist Church?" he asked. "You are going to be a security guard for a housing project in Aster. The church manages it, so they have the security force as well. Trust me, it won't be much of a security force. Probably first response, then call the local cops to do anything that needs doing. We can talk it all out tomorrow." After I broke the connection I decided that I didn't want to spend the evening alone. I knew my decision on a evening out would be wrong whatever I chose. Things just seemed to be going to shit in my so called personal life. I really didn't have a personal life, it was really just killing time between jobs for someone else. Okay some of the jobs were for me, based on something from the old me, I suppose. Knowing all that didn't help me when it came to deciding how to spend the evening. I could go to the Cloak and Dagger and listen to retired spies talk about how they missed the good old days. Unlike most retired people, given the chance these guys were willing to go out and lay it on the line again. I know because a few had done it for me. Or I could go to the cop out and listen to cop stories. Only slightly less exciting than the spy stories. Most of those guys were still out there everyday trying to make a difference and still get home at night. I had to give it to them. They were doing their jobs without the guarantee that bullets bounced off. They were much more fragile than me, so I had to give them more points for courage. They also had a higher level of personal conscience and a stricter set of rules to work with. I gave them credit for doing a difficult job, with those restraints as well. But even that didn't mean I wanted to socialize with them all that much. I had loved the Cop Out once upon a time. At that time I was working closely with the cops, since I had begun to be less local in my thinking, I went to the Cop Out less and less. I could go to cowboys, to dance and get felt up. I don't think the guy at cowboys paid much attention to who I was. Their main concern, with any woman, was how difficult it would be to get into her panties. It was nice sometimes to just go there and forget who and what I was supposed to be. Just be again the little mill village slut, I had once been. Then I could go back to the Sprocket and Chain. There was definitely an appeal to the dangerous club. I know it wasn't really a threat to me, but somehow the feeling of danger was still here. It was like driving down a road in Afghanistan. Most of the time nothing happened, but now and then shit rained down on you. You just never knew which would be the sunny day and which would be the one with the shit storm. I ran through all my options and none of them really seemed all that appealing to me. I was still trying to reconcile me, with who I had been on Friday night. I picked up the Saturday Aster Times, which had been laying on the 1st floor sofa. I had it only because I wanted to see our advertisement. I read a story about the special film department of the local branch of the state university. The University was actually in Tryon, but they were sponsoring a special showing of Casablanca at the restored downtown movie house. The movie house was something of a museum, but for films and even stage plays, not artifacts. The Students were required to attend, but the public was invited. There would be a lecture/discussion afterward by a panel moderated by the head of the school's art department. For some reason I decided that I wanted to see the movie again. It might be interesting to get the artist take on it as well. With that in mind I began thinking who might be interested in going and might also be an interesting companion. I racked my brain, which took a millisecond, and found no one. I decided, fuck it, I would just go alone. I dressed in what I thought would be an old college student outfit. My usual jeans, but the low rider ones. I almost never wore those. I matched it with a long red thermal knit type tee shirt. I probably should not have, but I wore the shoulder rig over the thermal but under a very light weight wind breaker. There was three or more inches between the bottom of the windbreaker and the top of my jeans. Even I had to admit the it was a real white trash look. I managed time for two more coffees before I exited my front door to walk the two blocks to the restored theater. There was a line at the box office, where students show their ID cards, and I showed a five dollar bill. The movie, as always, was excellent, the discussion after was just so much bullshit. Although I had to admit that being felt up during the movie, by two college boys, one who sat on either side of me, was wonderfully wicked. They tried to invite themselves back to my house, but I declined. I would hate to have ruined the incredibly sexy feeling, by having really bad sex with kids. Besides saying no was good for rebuilding my self esteem. Damn, knowing everything about everything was a bitch. I decided that as I walked home alone. ------- Chapter 359 The pretty boy Jerrod showed up at my place first. He wanted directions to the Second Baptist Church. "Come on in, they probably won't be ready there until ten. I'll take you to breakfast," I said. With that I took the cruiser out, so that I could run Jerrod and Sylvia to breakfast with me. I drove to Helen's of course. "It's not very fancy I'm afraid," I said. "Well if the food is good, fancy isn't important," he replied. "I'm going to let you decide how the food is," I suggested. We walked from the low counter to a picnic table in the rear of the dining room. Once we were seated Jerrod tried the food. I got a laugh at watching his eye light up. "It isn't French cooking but it is very good for peasant cooking," he said, "You mean most cooking in France isn't peasant cooking?" I asked. "Not the really good French food. Sure the run of the mill food you would get in a roadside tavern is like this for breakfast. We have a different kind of bread but this is still very good, in that rustic kind of way. "Right," I said. Sylvia just smiled. I was about to ask her what she found so amusing, before I could Jerrod asked, "What am I going to be looking for on this job?" I looked around to be sure no on was watching. "There is a guy named Jerome white who lives there. He has a connection to the management, but he is involved in something he shouldn't be. We need to find out what it is. "So my first job is just to find out what this Jerome fella is involved with?" he asked. "Yep that's it. Find that out and we will have a meeting to decide what to do with him." I replied. He smiled and shook his head. Then he began a conversation with Sylvia. Both of them were gorgeous. Both of them were also sexually dysfunctional. I wondered if there was a correlation. Once we arrived back at the house, I gave Jerrod his communicator. The one pieced together by Peter. I demonstrated it as much as I knew about it. He was pretty familiar with cell phones so he knew how it would work. "Now call me and tell me what time your shift starts. Leave that line connected, Peter did something to it. He swears it will stay open. Go in the bathroom and turn it on. I will monitor you. The first two nights it was a waste of everyone's time. I parked the pickup across the street from the project. I was amazed that Jerrod didn't just jerk some smart ass teenager up and pound them. I decided right there that the security business was not for me. On night three Jerrod got in the middle of a husband and wife trading blows. The husband wasn't beating the wife, the were standing toe to toe trading blows. Neither one of them was scoring the knockout punch. The regular security man said to Jerrod, "We have to separate them, even so they will be back to this in a couple of days. She is eventually going to kill him." "What makes you think he won't kill her?" Jerrod asked. "Because he is going to hurt her one night, then go to sleep. That will be the end of him for sure," the man said. "Probably be for the best, but of course she could just leave," Jerrod said. "Man they don't never leave till someone's dead or in prison. It's just the way it is in the project." The old time security guard said. The two of them were walking back to the car when the security man said to Jarrod, "You see those three walking there. They are a thorn in my side," he said. "How so?" Jerrod asked. "They running some kind of protection scam. The old ladies and old men pay them to leave them alone," He said. "Doesn't that bother you?" Jerrod asked. "Of course it does, but he is the directors brother. I am not fooling with that guy. He is also one mean prick and so are those kids who run with him. Jarrod shut up at that point and let the night just pass. He came to see me the next afternoon before he went in to work. "So what are we going to do about them?" Jerrod asked. "Well it's like this. Jerome is not going to go peacefully is my guess. His family had go him in to the project with no money at all. He is making his spending money with this protection scam. I would bet you that it isn't the only thing he is up to his ass in." "So do I keep looking," he asked. "Yeah at least finish the week. If nothing has come up by then, I will try to think of something based on this. Something else would be better, but I guess we can make it work this way." "Well let me know, I don't care much for people who take money from little old ladies," Jerrod said. "Tell me, what are the two younger ones like?" I asked. "Wannabes, nothing more, I would keep on eye on them if they got behind me otherwise they are hardly worth any effort at all," he said. "Watch them anyway, keep an eye on them all for the rest of the week at least." I said it with a smile. "While you are at it take some pictures with your cell phone of him collecting from the old ladies. Once Jerrod left Sylvia and I got to work on the houses. It was difficult to get all the paperwork in order but it had to be done. Jennifer's girl Edsel checked it at the end of every day. She gave us a list of things to correct it was worse than being in school again. Even so the two of us stayed at it. I knew it was the only way to learn. I learned the first time of course, there were just so many things that needed doing. When I got one day's list completed the next days list would be ready. "Sylvia don't worry honey, it will all fall into place one day soon." I said on Friday morning of that week. The deals were made for all of the first phase and most of the second by the end of that week. It looked as though I had guessed right for a change. The small houses were a hit. The problem was that Jerome White was heavy on my mind all week. I just couldn't figure out what would make him move. Sure I could kick his ass and it would keep him away a while but not permanently. I don't know that Althea required a permanent solution. Most likely if I got him to give up his place then someone else could be moved into it. That way there would be no place for him, if he returned. With that in mind, I began weighing my options. I decided that we might be able to just harass him until he decided to leave. I was going to need to be on that security detail for that. It would take only a minor amount of disguise to pass for a pretty young boy like Jerrod. It would look to the locals like they had decided to hire gay guys. Even though neither of us would look all that gay. Jerrod was pretty and I was a little too graceful. When we met for lunch the next day Jerrod said no need to do that just grab Jerome up, when he was out and about during the day. Then take him somewhere quiet and adjust his attitude. I no longer had a building with a basement, but I did have about a hundred houses that were empty. To bad I also had workers prowling around them. I couldn't be sure that I would have enough privacy for the job at hand. I began thinking about that and decided that it would never do. If he went to Althea with it, I would never get anything past the city hall. "Jerrod, he has been to prison. I wonder if he would like to go back." "Nobody in their right mind wants to go back to prison, or so I'm told," he said. "Let's grab him up off the street alright, but let's do a little show and tell. You stay there till you get enough pictures. When you do we will have our little talk with Jerome White." The pictures took another week to secure but it wasn't difficult according to Jerrod. The three of them were pretty casual about shaking down the old ladies. Grabbing Jerome up off the street was a lot easier than I expected. We just told him that we wanted to sell him some gold rings. He had no intentions of buying them so he wanted to get us in a quiet dark place so that he could steal them. Jerrod grabbed him up and had his hands behind his back before he could reach for his knife. I put a rag in his mouth first, then a cloth bag over his head and we tossed his ass into the rear seat of the cruiser. He made some noises, but we didn't make any stops between where he tried to steal the gold and the abandoned power station. Once we were inside I began our little chat. "Well Jerome we have a problem you and I. I have a very good friend in that housing development and you are extorting money from her. That is a very bad thing my friend. She is an old lady and there you are taking the money she needs to live. I think we have to be sure that stops tonight and forever more." He sneered at me, so I nodded to Jerrod. Jerrod reached over and back handed him. "Now you might want to listen to me. It will be a lot less painful for you. I could have turned Jerrod loose on him, but I didn't want any permanent damage. I was pretty sure his family wouldn't take kindly to visiting him in the hospital. First of all I showed Jerome the pictures Jerrod had taken. We had shots of several little old ladies giving him money. There was just no denying he was involved in extortion. "Jerome now here are your choices, you can go back to the project and sin no more, you can move somewhere else. and not come back, or you can go back to the joint. I can make sure your parole is revoked for this kind of behavior. Now I really don't think you can go back and sin no more, so you should find another place to live. Just in case you think that was a suggestion, Jerrod here will explain it to you. When Jerrod finished punching him in the body a few times, I asked, "So Jerome, you do plan to make a major life change don't you?" He nodded. We sat him on a park bench near the project. "Now Jerome you don't have any broken bones so you can make it home on you own. But if you continue taking money from old ladies this is just the beginning. "Which one of these old ladies is your friend?" he asked. "Sweetie, you need to pretend that they all are. That way you won't get the wrong one. And as I said, you need to move your ass out of here. I don't care where you go, just get out of Aster. Jerome that was not a suggestion. You need to be gone by Friday, if you aren't ... well let's just say you really want to be out of town by Friday." I don't know, if I can find a place by then," he said. "Then go to a shelter somewhere. You can stay there a day or two until you find a place of some kind." "Alright, I'll go, but I swear I will never do that again," he said. "Of course you will. You are a low life mudder fucker. It's easy money and that's all you care about. Well Jerome, it ain't easy money no more, so just forget it." "Why are you really doing this?" he asked. "Like I said you extorted money from an old family friend. I tend to get possessive of my past. My future sucks, so I tend to take care of my past. We hear of you being around this project after Friday, I have a meeting with your PO. You need to decide if this life you have is worth going back inside. ------- Chapter 360 We had given Jerome three days to think it over, and make a plan. Jerrod finished out the week just to keep an eye on Jerome. I continued to stand by outside the project, just because it was no inconvenience. I could crank up the truck and run it an hour to charge my power pack. Other wise sitting in one place was no different than sitting another. Presumably during the days Jerrod slept while I banged around my housing development. In those three days two of the remodels were finished. Our houses were all pre-sold so there were people there to gawk when the contractor handed me the key. I just handed it to the home owner. The ceremony wasn't fancy, but it was something to mark the day. I was happy to be doing it. On Friday I was attending and participating in one of those ceremonies, when my phone rang. The call was from Jerrod. "Maxine, it seems Jerome got the message. He gave away all his furniture and packed everything into his car. He is about to drive away, should I give him an attaboy?" Jerrod asked at the end of his statement. "No, let him go quietly, I'm going to make a call," I said. I did make a call to Althea. Your package is leaving right now," I said. "You need to take steps, I presume." "I'll get right on it," she informed me. "So now what?" Jerrod asked when he reached me a half hour later. "Now we go into retirement until something else happens. It's like that most of the time sitting on the shelf. It's why I dabble in Real Estate," I informed him. "I don't have any money, but I want to live in Aster. Can you help me?" he asked. "Do you miss it?" I asked. "There is nothing good to miss about the life, but yes I miss the adrenaline rush," he said. "I thought so." I smiled at him then said, "Tell you what I have one house that really is going to be small. It was a kind of meeting house at the end of the street. It is just one room, but you can make do I'm sure, after all you are a legionnaire." "Let's go see it," he suggested. "Sylvia take a clipboard. k Go show Jerrod that house at the end of the street. Write down what it needs to make it livable and then see that it gets done." I said it smiling. "What kind of rent do you want? My pension is very small, I can't afford much," he said. "Oh I was thinking about a barter system. We will call the rent $400 a month. Then when you help me we will deduct that from the rent balance. You will have your pension free and clear plus anything else you can make between jobs for me." "That sounds like a pretty good deal," he said. "Oh course it does," I replied. "Oh by the way there was a cleaning crew headed into the project unit Jerome vacated. They almost passed him on the way out they were in such a hurry. They must have just been waiting for him to leave," Jerrod said. "I know. They were waiting on a wire like vultures. But it is done now and we are clear." I'm glad that it is over and no body got hurt." I looked at Jerrod and he had a quizzical look on his face. "Okay nobody on our side got hurt." "That's better. Okay I'm off to see the house." With those words Sylvia and Jerrod left. I had a feeling that the farm waited until they were gone before they messaged me even though no one else could hear. I'm sure they wanted my undivided attention. Maxine we have a situation. I realize you just finished with something for yourself, but this can't wait. The message said. What kind of problem do you have now, that just can't wait? I asked wordlessly. We have a kidnapped American. He wasn't hiking in a jungle somewhere he was grabbed from a hotel a block from the embassy, the message said. Do you know who has him? I asked. Religious zealots, who else, the message came back. You are going to have to be able to find them. If you do that maybe me and an Eve can get him out, I suggested. We kind of had your new friend in mind, the message said. Speaking French might be helpful. Come on I speak French almost as good as he does. If he gets killed, it will be a French body. That's what you really want isn't it? I asked. Of course not, but if you have to leave someone behind, it wouldn't hurt if it were a Frenchman. I don't leave people behind ... I sent that message along to rock his cradle Right, well you haven't left anyone yet, but your career has just begun. Alright, if you pay him, I'll take him, I said playfully. Fair enough, you leave tomorrow morning. Bring clean underwear, otherwise I will have everything for you both, the case officer said. My guess was that I was talking to the Deacon. And where exactly do I go? I asked. Why to the airstrip of course. Take the French boy with you, he said. If he wants to go, I said. If not you are going to have to find me another partner. That won't be hard. Everybody wants to work with you and they don't even know who you are. I find that terribly amusing, he said. "Oh do you now? Instead of being amused you should try to learn something," I suggested. Okay, enough of this nonsense. Just get yourself ready to go and be at the strip tomorrow at 2pm with Jerrod. It was simply a matter of waiting for Sylvia and Jerrod to return. It would be a waste to go looking for them. There was no telling what Sylvia would be trying to pull on Jerrod. I wasn't at all sure that she knew that it was a waste of her time. They were gone a little over an hour. When they returned I asked Jerrod, "So Jerrod, you said you would like some more odd jobs. I have one I can offer you, but I'm not sure you want to get involved. It's a rescue operation." Sylvia was on the phone and couldn't hear. "Are you going to be in charge?" he asked. "I am once we get on the ground. During the preparation phase some others are going to be running the show. They are involved in this mess on a daily basis. You and I just come in to clean up their mess." He understood that Sylvia wasn't involved in that part of my operation. "So what's the deal?" "An American citizen got grabbed by a South American group of religious zealots. That is the best I can figure so far. Sometimes the information isn't quite accurate and we have to do the best we can." "That's the same everywhere. It was like that in Chad," Jerrod said. "Well we will do the best we can no matter what the situation. So are you in or out?" "What's the pay," he asked. "$8,000 for less than ten days work," I replied. I pulled that number out of my ass, but I knew the farm would honor it. "Hell yeah, I'm in," he said. "We leave tomorrow at 1pm sharp. Be here with some spare clothes for the jungle," I suggested. "Absolutely, and I want the house. How about half the money in rent credits and half in cash?" he asked. "That sounds perfectly reasonable to me," I said. "Just be back here tomorrow before 1PM. When you get here be prepared to do what you guys in the legion are supposed to do." I said. "What is that?" he asked. "Fight to the death," I replied laughing. "Oh no, we fight till the other guy is dead," Jerrod said. I spent my afternoon and early evening sitting by my window wondering where all the people I had known were and what they were doing at that moment. Since I couldn't reach any of them, I called Jennifer instead. "So Jennifer what the hell are you doing tonight?" I asked. "I am having one of the courthouse gang in for dinner. After that who knows," she said. "Hell, everybody who knows you knows," I suggested. "You are so cruel," she said with a hearty laugh. "Well get on to your plans I guess I will go to dinner and then to bed early," I said. "Why don't you let me call you a man and then you come to dinner with us," she suggested. "Thanks but I'll choose my own men honey," I said with a smile in my voice. "Suit yourself," she said. I sat in one place drinking strong coffee until 8PM. It was then that I decided if I was going to go play killer, I should at least have some fun on my last night. It was just a matter of where to go. At eight most anywhere would be in full swing, not that full swing was much at the Aster clubs. Still it was a chance to spend my last night in town with people. I should do that at least. I made my decision to go to the Cop Out club. The club was located downtown which meant I could walk to it, but I tended to avoid walking in the downtown. I was far too big a target. Since that was the case I went out the rear door and started the maroon cruiser. I drove it the four blocks to the Cop Out Club. Once inside I noticed that there were more medical people than cops. Trust me it is hard not to tell medical staff from cops. I had a seat at a table near the jukebox. Since it gave me a good view of the dance floor. I liked the location. I had arrived late and the dancing had begun in earnest. I managed to get one beer delivered before a hospital worker invited me to dance. I learned that he was an Xray Technion. It was nice to know even though I wasn't likely to ever need his services. He tried to monopolize me but I told him I wanted to socialize more. He left in a huff but I really didn't care. After I had danced with a dozen med techs I finally got rescued by a cop. "You look like you are ready to run away. Don't do that," he said. "Thanks, I really was about to leave. Medical technologist are okay, but I really prefer someone a little more exciting. A cop is good," I said smiling. "You are Maxine Stone," he said. "I know you or at least I have seen you on TV. "That show was just something we did for TV," I said. "You mean it's fake," he said. "No it was all filmed with one camera as it happened. We didn't go back and reshoot anything. Just that it's a little embarrassing the way they edited it. It wasn't really like that. There was a lot of time when nothing happened." "Yeah, it's that way where I work as well. Lots of boredom then a few minutes of terror," he said. "Exactly," I agreed. "Would you like to dance?" he asked me. "Sure, I would love to dance," I said in agreement. The jukebox played something slow and we danced. Slow dancing to me is standing close together and letting the guy feel you up. Which of course he did quite well. "I live just a few blocks from here would you look to come to my place for coffee?" I asked. "I wish I could, but I'm married. I need to get home." ------- Chapter 361 I watched the night pass through my front window, just as I did most nights. I was a bit of a let down, but not heartbreaking by any means. I wasn't sure if my heart could be broken. The strong black coffee helped me through the night. I tried not to think ahead. I had breakfast at Helen's then rode my bike out to the mall for my morning walk. It was just like any other day. I doubted that anyone even noticed me that morning. I certainly didn't look any different from any other morning. I just felt a certain amount of anticipation. After my walk I returned home immediately. I took a few calls about the housing development, otherwise it was uneventful. I had time for a quick tour of the project. I rode through it just to see how things were progressing. The second phase was almost half complete. The crews moved from house to house finishing their trade, then turning the house over to another group of workers to do their thing. It was working in a nice flow. The painters were a couple of houses behind but that was okay. It gave all the other trades time to finish completely. Once the painters finished it was time to turn the house over to the owners. It looked as though the project was going to be a bit heavily weighted with Middle aged grass widows. There were lots of government divorces moving down from Washington. The little houses were perfect retirement homes for them. They also had the required down payment. I was surprised how once word got out we stopped having a lot of lookers and got more buyers on the first visit. I was back at my place by noon. I took a shower, then dressed in cotton panties that were green. I figured I might as well go with it. The very tight but short tee shirt I wore was also green, but it was a little different shade of green. The jeans were also green but not at all tight. I knew that I was going to be moving around in them and intended not to have them binding on me. I also wore a utility jacket from an army and navy store in Tryon. It was a little big only because they didn't come in a size as small as me. At least it they did that store didn't carry them. Since my last trip into the field, I had bought six feet of 18" wide green jersey cloth. I bought it to use as a head band and face cover. It was to be worn under the large utility cap I purchased at the same time I bought the jacket. I didn't know if I would wear the disguise or not, but I knew I wanted to have it available since my face was pretty well known. I had one extra pair of panties folded and stored in a pocket. Otherwise I was at the farm's mercy for equipment. Sylvia showed up first. She should have known I was going on a road trip, but she acted as if she had no idea. "Well Sylvia you are going to have to take care of things while I'm gone. I would prefer no one know I'm gone, but you might have to tell Jennifer. If you do, tell her to keep it as quiet as possible. You should probably just keep on doing what you are doing now. If you do that, you will stay plenty busy." I suggested. "So how long are you going to be gone?" she asked. "I have no idea, but I hope no more than a couple of weeks at the absolute most. I would like to be back within one week. There is just no way to tell," I admitted. "Well please be careful," she said simply. "Trust me, I will be careful. I like my life the way it is. I'm not ready to give it up just yet," I said. "Good, we kind of like having you around." She stated it flatly leaving no room to argue at all. Within minutes Jerrod showed up at the front door. I had to direct him to the rear of the Drugstore Condo building to leave his car. The rusty old Toyota was a mess, but it seemed to get him around pretty well. When he returned from the parking lot he asked, "So where do we go from here?" "There is a small grass landing strip outside of town. There will be a small plane there for us at 2PM. Usually it is pretty close to being right on time," I said. "God I hate small planes. They seem so dangerous," he said. "Don't worry this one is leased to some very important customers. I'm sure they take care of the plane just as well as PanAm does their planes." I said it and I meant it. I was pretty sure there would be hell to pay if one of those planes went down with a high profile passenger on board. It was a little after one when Jerrod and I climbed into my pickup truck for the trip down to the grass strip. I would be leaving my pickup in the parking lot down there. I had made arrangements with the operator of the grass strip to park there. I paid him a few bucks for the privilege, but it was worth it to me. I had no idea what kind of arrangements the farmers made with the owner of the strip, but he was always very friendly to me. When we arrived it was a little windy on the field, so Jerrod and I waited inside the repair hanger. The mechanic had a small single plane inside the hanger with the engine cover removed. He was doing something to the engine, but I didn't bother asking him what. I wouldn't have understood it without research, and I just wasn't in the mood to research anything. My mind was in a different place all together. "Is that the plane?" Jerrod asked. I checked my internal clock then said, "I expect so it is time for it." I didn't tell Jerrod that the plane was two minutes early. I thought that might be a little more information than he needed to know. When the plane landed I got a good look. It was a twin engine eight passenger plane. I had flown on it, as well as a two passenger plane, previously. I had no idea why the larger plane was being used but it was fine with me. I would probably have room to stretch out some. When I got into the plane, I found the Deacon seated in the first seat. "Hello Maxine, nice to see you again." "I've been expecting you," I said. "Yes we are overdue for out little talk about the last time," he agreed. "I don't know that we need to talk about it. Things happened as they happened. I really just went with it." "We will talk about that later tonight right now lets concentrate on the job at hand." Deacon smiled and I felt a little intimidated. He did have power over me how much I wasn't sure but he surely had some. "Byron Williams is a manufacturer of solar panels. He was in Bolivia to discuss putting solar panels in several remote villages. The idea was to give them enough power to stay in contract with the government." "So why would some religious zealots want to grab him?" I asked. "Frankly we don't have any idea. They may not be religious at all. They may be political from Peru. There have been no demands but he has only been gone a couple of days sometimes these people are gone for years," the Deacon explained. "Do we know where he is being held?" I asked. "Yes we think we know. It is going to be up to you to infiltrate and find out for sure which of three hideouts they are using," he suggested. "You are sure as hell going to get us killed," I said. "If we go barging into these people's hideouts, I doubt seriously that they are going to serve us tea and cookies." "Then maybe you need to figure out a way to verify Byron's residence without going inside. If not that then be careful," the Deacon suggested. "Sure, an American woman and a Frenchman go up to the door of a communist commune. Why does that sound like a dirty joke. We have zero chance of looking around inside." "Well you are going to have to think of something," the older man said. "Well we can tap their phones and bug their house that should do it without having to go in," I suggested. "How do we do that," Jerrod asked. "We can set the telephone tap at 2AM the first night. We can also plant the bugs in the middle of the night while we take a look around for Byron. That first night we are going to be busy. There are three possible hideouts and we have to do them all. That is unless we get lucky and see Byron in one of the first ones." After that decision was made we began to talk about other things. Mostly nothing even remotely concerned with the job at hand. The Deacon had spend several years working in France. He and Jerrod did the did you ever ... for about an hour. The plane landed in Texas a few hours later. I was hoping we would spend the night but we didn't. Jerrod and I boarded a commercial airliner for Bolivia. It was eight and a half hours to Santa Cruz. He was pretty beat up by the time we got there. The trip didn't effect me at all, except that I wanted to stretch my legs. I was all cramped up. "See the sign?" Jerrod asked. He had seen the sign that said 'Maxine Stone' and nothing more. The man holding it was a cab driver type. I doubted that he was an operative of any kind. "I'm Maxine Stone," I said. I felt pretty good about identifying myself. The bad guys might be expecting someone to come looking for Bryon, but they couldn't know who it would be. Odds were pretty good that we could get into the country unnoticed. At least that was the plan. "Ms. Stone, I am Alex I am going to be your driver," he said. "Oh you are, do you have something for me?" I asked. "Yes ma'am I have a lot of things for you. They are waiting at the small bungalow which has been reserved for you," he said. "Who reserved the the bungalow for us?" I asked. "The same people who hired me, and I don't know their names. They expected you to know," he admitted. "Okay, then let's get moving. We have no luggage," I confessed. I had never seen a car like his before. My guess was that it was European or maybe Asian. I just knew for sure that it wasn't American. We entered the car and he drove away wildly. The traffic in Santa Cruz was such that he had to drive wildly or be run over. In other words it was a mess. When we pulled into the compound on the outskirts of town the sun was going down. We had been on the road, waiting in a terminal, or in the air all day. The driver handed me a key to the door, dropped us, then quickly left us to fend for ourselves. Since we had no luggage I could understand his unceremonious departure. We opened the door to the bungalow then stepped inside. There were several boxes piled in the floor. In the first box I opened I found two AK47 chopped down carbines. I also found a box filled with edged weapons. I felt much better when I was armed again. I could tell that Jerrod did as well. ------- Chapter 362 We had things alright, but what we needed was intelligence. I was trying to decide how I would go about getting the solar guy's location. It was while I was still running bad idea around my mind that the knock came on the door. I hid the fire arms quickly then opened it. The woman standing there might have been twenty five but she looked fifteen. "Yes?" I asked in Spanish. "I am from the American Embassy," she said. "They call me Olivia there." "Come in," I said quickly. "I am Maxine and this is Jerrod." "Welcome, I am sorry you are here for such an unpleasant matter. My people are not like this," she said. "We all have things happen that are not ordinary," I suggested. "Do you have Mr. Williams location yet?" "No, we are working on it, but so far nothing," she said. That's not good. Do you know what group has him?" I asked. "We are pretty sure it is a religious sect that has kidnapped him. Since they have made no demands, we have no idea why," she informed me. "Maybe he is just leverage to make you listen to their demands. whenever they decide to issue them. He might have just been a target of opportunity. They are probably trying to get their list together now," I suggested. "What we need to do is concentrate on finding where he is being held. We can't do much of anything without information. The longer it takes us the better he will be secured." "We have a couple of leads, but we just haven't been able to find out anything for sure," she suggested. "If you knew anything for sure, I am sure that you would raid the location. Jerrod and I are going to just take a look around any places that just seems suspicious. So where would you suggest we start?" I asked it not at all sure she would answer. "From a phone tap, we think they might have Williams in a small village about ten miles down the road. They could drift into the jungle, if the army pulls into the village," she suggested. "Well that would be a real good plan for sure," I said. "Can you get us a couple of bicycles. We need a cover story. I think a couple of newly weds on a bicycle trip would be a good cover. Of course that means we will have to leave all these cute weapons behind. I am going to hate that," I said. "Jerrod get a good nights sleep, we will be leaving in the morning for that little town where the sect is located. By the way Olivia, what do they call themselves?" "They call themselves The Shining Path. They have always been militant, but this will be their first kidnapping. I want to come with you," she said. "I can't fit you into the cover story. We can meet there if you like, just tell us where to go," I suggested. "The Path has a meeting house in El Riola. If they have Williams, he will most likely be in one of the buildings surrounding the meeting house," she said. "You know odds are this is going to be a wild goose chase," Jerrod said. "Yes, but if you never chase, you are definitely never going to find anything," I informed him. "Besides now and then you have to get lucky." Actually the odds were a little better than fifty/fifty. The locals had reason to believe that the Path was planning something so this just seemed to fit in with that. If not there would likely be something else for us to check. We had things to do for sure. Olivia had a large Mercedes, so she and I went shopping for bicycles while Jerrod slept. He was exhausted, as I would have been if I had been normal. Since I was who I was, I didn't need to rest. I would have to find an hour to be alone with the power grid at some point, but at that moment I was fine. I found two bicycle with gears and suspension systems at the international department store in Santa Cruz. The bicycles were pretty good I suspected. We weren't planning to ride them for twenty years, so I was sure they would do fine. One of the bikes was red and one was yellow. I put a couple of large backpacks onto the cart along with the two boxed bicycles. I was forced to pay for them, before the store mechanic would put the bikes together for me. One of the bikes was red and one was yellow. They cost me the equivalent of $165 American dollars each. Since I was on my honeymoon, I felt as though I should have bought the best. I also bought a bike carrier for the Mercedes. It was after 9PM when we got back to the bungalow. Jerrod awoke when we entered. Once he was sure that it was me, he returned to sleep. It was a good thing to be able to do, sleep in strange places and at strange times that is. For the next couple of hours I rested and recharged, which was really just recharging. When the sun came up, I was ready to go. Jerrod was starved, as well ready to go. We rode the bikes to a small sidewalk cafe. I knew nothing of the local food, so I just asked, "Could I have what that young woman over there is having?" Since it looked pretty good and she seemed to be enjoying it, I felt pretty safe in trying it. It was actually quite good. There was the flavor of cinnamon and animal flesh. They were combined somehow inside a pancake like thing, but it was good. Jerrod and I looked the part of a couple on our honeymoon. We were very attentive to each other's needs. When we rode off toward the small suburb of El Riola, I had to force myself to keep the pace down to a comfortable cadence for Jerrod. Even so we made the ten miles in just over two hours. We might have done much better had the road not been just awful. It was a real struggle to keep the pace up. Finding the Path's compound was easy. It was the only think in town, other than a few businesses and residences. It looked as though it were the only religion available to the residents there. I found that rather interesting. What had been the religion before the Path came to town? I wondered. Even more interesting might be what had happened to them, I thought. Those of us from a civilized Christian background tended to forget that many religions still practice conversions at the point of a sword. That just puts them a few hundred years behind us culturally. I'm pretty sure that they will catch up one day. If Williams had done something to offend them, it would be more likely that they grabbed him. I had no idea why else they would want any American. Surely they couldn't have thought that anything good could would from it. The large pack filled with equipment wasn't a problem for me, but I think after ten miles of solid pedaling it had begun to feel heavy to Jerrod. I wouldn't have been a bit surprised if that were the case. Those packs weighed every bit of 60lbs for sure. I had packed everything from the supply boxes that would fit inside one. One just never knew what might come in handy. Even the AK47s had fit once Jerrod had them broken down. Since they had trimmed stocks and barrels they almost fit assembled. There were only about fifty parts to the rifle and it was going to be pretty intuitive to re-assemble. Jerrod and I still had the packs on when we rode around the outside of the compound. I made it look as if we were on a sightseeing trip. Using the inferred sensors built into me, I could tell there were six life forms in the compound. Three in the temple and three in a house behind the temple. Since I couldn't be sure who was were, I had to get inside to look around. Getting into the temple or church didn't seem to be a problem since people came and went through the front door while we watched. I figured we would just walk up to the door and go in. What could they do, but ask us to leave. If they had Williams in there. things might get hairy. If not, they would have no idea why we were really there and go along with the story. Their reaction to our BS story, would tell me a lot. "Let's just walk up and ask to see the inside of the temple," I suggested. "Let's have lunch first," Jerrod said. "Given the choice, never die on an empty stomach." "Given the choice never die period, but of course we can have lunch first," I agreed. He would have to keep reminding me to eat. I did tend to forget since I had no real need for the food. Other than to maintain the cover story of course. I ordered us something that could pass for a sandwich and bowl of soup. When the waitress brought it, I spoke to her in Spanish. "Tell me miss, is there anything worth seeing in town. Simon and I are newly weds and on our honeymoon." "How wonderful, there is a beautiful temple over there. There is also a small water fall outside of town a few miles. It is a nice place for a picnic. It isn't a giant fall or anything, but it is nice in a small way." "So can we just walk into the temple, or do we need to call ahead?" I asked. "That group doesn't believe in telephones or even electric lights. They welcome people at the door. I'm sure it would be fine if you just show up," she said. After she had gone Jerrod said, "If they are holding Williams there, they will likely not be too friendly." "I don't know they might try to convince us nothing it out of the ordinary. We are going to have to go visit them after lunch. Unfortunately I don't see how we can slip any weapons inside. Well nothing but edged weapons," I admitted. "We don't even know how many are in there," Jerrod said nervously. "There are three in the temple and they were are all moving around, so I'm sure Williams is not in there. It he were I'm sure his movements would be restricted. Nonetheless we need to be sure and also we need to get a feel for these people. If they are religious zealots they are one kind of threat, if they are soldiers they are another. "So let's go knock on the door," Jerrod said. "Sounds like a plan but first lets find a place to leave the packs," I suggested. When the waitress came by again I asked her, "Miss is there somewhere we can pay to have our packs looked after while we visit the temple? We might even do some other sight seeing while we are gone." "We have a cloak room. I suppose we could keep them." Just as she said that I looked up into the street and saw the wine colored Mercedes pull into the street. "Never mind, I see a friend," I said that as I left money. Jerrod and I stood to leave. We rode the bikes just out of town and stopped. Olivia pulled the big car up beside us. "Give me your trunk key, we need to leave our packs in there while we visit the temple," I admitted. "We still haven't received any demands," Olivia said as she handed me the key. "I'm pretty sure he isn't in the Temple. Everyone in the temple is moving around freely. I still have to get back to the house and check it out." I said. "Why don't you wait for night," Olivia asked. "I'm going to put some bugs in the temple and in the house if I can get inside. I think we need to listen to them to be sure they are not holding Williams somewhere else. ------- Chapter 363 "Well are you ready to try our luck as tourists?" I asked Jerrod. "Why of course honey," he replied. "If it becomes necessary, I can even kiss you." "But, if we have to do it for the cover can you screw me?" I asked. "Sure, if you were to really helped out. I just wouldn't enjoy it so much." he said honestly. "Fair enough I will try not to inflict myself on you," I said. "Do you know what this is?" I showed him a small hand held electronic game unit. "A children's video game system?" he guessed. "That's what it is supposed to look like, but it is a ten in one data system. It is an infrared unit among others. It's how I know who is behind the walls. Working for the government has it's perks." "I wondered about that. Very cool," he said. It was of course a kid's game set bought at Walmart for $90 before we left Aster. "Let's go look at a temple," I suggested. I knew that in most cultures I needed to step back and take a secondary role. If I had to assume control I could, but it was better to let the locals thing Jerrod was the boss and I was a hanger on. We stood outside the gate after Jerrod knocked. We waited patiently for someone to come to greet us. We could hopefully convince that person to open the gate and allow us entrance. While we waited Jerrod was very calm. I liked that about him. The priest came to the door dressed in white robes. He spoke Spanish of course which was fine. Jerrod's Spanish wasn't as good as mine, so I explained to the priest and interpreted for Jerrod. I could have cut him out of the loop completely, except that it would look all wrong to the priest. The priest allowed us in to look around and to say a prayer for the departed. I had a couple of ingenious bugs. One was a roach looking beetle. That one I left in the Sanctuary. I had no hope at all that it would pick up anything worthwhile there, but I had to try. I explained to the priest that Jerrod was a builder back in France. I begged him to allow us to tour the building's working parts. I managed to get a bug into the office area. I got it on the underside of the desk. We just couldn't find a way to get inside the rear building. I did get onto the grounds though. I found the other three people in that house were household staff. I made that assumption from their movements inside the kitchen area. My best guess was that Williams was not in the temple or the house. I needed to get bugs inside the living quarters of the priests. It was the only way to be sure they were not involved, but at that moment they looked innocent. That was those particular ones. That did not mean some other members of their sect weren't responsible. We checked into a park's camping area just outside town. I bought us a tarp and a blanket. Since the forecast was for clear and warm weather, I figured we would be fine. We had stored the packs in the rear of Olivia's Mercedes, but were all set up to sleep on the ground in the park before the sun set. After she had left Jerrod and I sat leaning against a tree discussing the night ahead. "So exactly what do you plan to do?" he asked me. "I plan to slip over the wall in the middle of the night. and plant three microphones in the walls of the house, then get the hell out without being seen," I informed him. "And what is my job?" he asked. "You are to stay outside so that you can rescue me, if it all goes terribly wrong," I suggested. "Then I need to assemble the two AK 47 rifles. If I need to rescue you, we will need some heavy firepower." he said. "That would be my assumption as well," I said in agreement. "We need to find a place with some light so that we can assemble the rifles." "I am a legionnaire just a place to lay it out will do." he suggested quite seriously. I took him at his word. People in our position should not exaggerate. If he was prone to do so, it was as good a time as any to find out. In the half light of a campfire on the back of a trap, Jerrod assembled two Chopped down AK47 assault riffles. I assumed they would work since he was risking his life on them as well. We leaned against a tree discussing everything. Mostly I told him stories about Aster and he told me stories about his home town. He was definitely trying to cram a lifetime of memories into a single night. It might not help but he would know more about Aster than any of the other new residents. They tended to want to fit the town to their lifestyle. Jerrod on the other hand was determined to fit into the lifestyle of the the town. I had to admire that. All that was interesting and it did help to pass the time, but it was off the subject at hand. "So you are just going to slip over the wall and plant the bugs and get out?" Jerrod asked. "Yes, I'm going over the wall with three long thin bugs and an battery power drill. The walls are mud. I just need to drill a hole in the wall above the floor line then slip the bug inside the wall. They supplied us with a radio transmitter so that the conversations go up to a satellite then back down to a listening post. I did not tell him the listening post was the farm. I had already received a message that they were picking up the bugs in the temple and they were revealing nothing. We all knew that our best shot was the living quarters of the priests. I would be able to tell a lot from just the infrared signatures. I had no expectations that we were really going to find Williams in the house, or alive at all for that matter. The odds were long against us. We had yet to get instructions about what to do, if we got him killed or found out he had been killed early on. I had a feeling that if it were Deacon's choice, we would wipe out everyone involved, which actually was a good plan. It was not a good thing for people to go around bragging about killing Americans. Since I didn't exist, and Jerrod wasn't an American, we could bend the rules a little more than the average team of operatives. At least that was my take that night as we rode our bicycles back into town and then to the rear of the temple. I left my bike against a tree with Jerrod's. He stayed to guard them. More than just guarding the bicycles Jerrod was locked and loaded. At the first sign of trouble, he would be bursting through the front gate. At least that was the plan. "I am going over the wall with just a knife, so listen carefully there won't be a lot of noise, if this goes rank," I suggested. "I got it," Jerrod said. "And good luck in there." We had found me a tree limb, so I was able to get over the wall easily. The spot where I landed was covered with a couple of inches of standing water. It was a muddy mess but that was good. A place like it was less likely to have people using it to empty their bladder or bowels. When I landed from my fall, I was within three yards of the building. I applied my sensors and found that there were three rooms. My guess was that the largest was a bedroom. I went to what was likely a less used corner of the room. I found the floor height from the level of the figures standing in the room. I drilled a hole in the wall about two inches above the floor level. When I inserted the microphone, I had no way to check it myself. I just assumed that I had done everything correctly and moved on. I placed another one in what I thought was the living area. Finally I installed one in the kitchen area of the house. I was ready to extract myself, when I saw a heat signature just vanish. That is pretty much impossible, unless the inferred device is defective and mine wasn't, or the person goes somewhere that blocks the heat signature. The house obviously had a hidden basement. Now that was interesting, I thought. The most important thing for me at that moment was to get the fuck out without being discovered. Believe it or not I just walked out with a group of pilgrims. It was the middle of the night, but pilgrims were still coming and going. I just mixed with a group and walked out the front gate. I was nervous as hell, but I figured it was as good an idea as any. Once outside I set up the little broadcast station behind the local school building. I hide it pretty well, I thought, then Jerrod and I went back to the camping area. He had been up all night and unlike me he had a need for sleep. I was down to about half power so I needed to charge. I found a restaurant near the camping area with a connection to the Santa Cruz power grid. It wasn't the most dependable, but it worked long enough to get me to full charge. I pretended to listen to the MP3 player while I charged. I did get messages from the farm during the down time. I explained about the heat signature so they did some shucking and jiving around with their contacts. I could see the temple from the restaurant where I drank strong coffee and changed my power pack for several hours. Do you think that Williams is in that basement? came the message from the farm. I have no idea. What i do know is that someone went down there at 3AM last night. I have no way of knowing what the normal schedule of that house is. It does seem strange that anyone would go down there in the middle of the night to get a loaf of bread, I suggested. We tend to agree, came the reply. If Williams isn't in that basement what the hell could be down there to warrant that middle of the night visit? I have no idea. Why don't you listen to the bugs closely for a while. Something should come from them, if Williams is there, I suggested. I mean hell if I went to the trouble to plant them they could at least rely on them. We had no decent intelligence otherwise. I wanted to see Olivia. If we had to wait for the farm to gather information from those bugs, I wanted to look somewhere else. I told the controller that I wanted to get busy again, so they managed to get Olivia to show up with more information. It was her information that a gang of criminals had submitted a ransom demand, but that the local police didn't think that they really had Williams. "We kind of feel that if you were to question Mr. Esposito that it would save us a lot of time," Olivia said looking away. "Have you picked him up yet?" I asked. "No he is with his men there are three of them. We don't really have any reason to do so. I am pretty sure that Esposito has no information for us." "Well point me to him and we will interrogate him for you," I suggested. Olivia was more than happy to agree. I had to wonder what my government was getting me into. There seemed to be no question that Olivia knew Jerrod and I would use aggressive interrogation techniques. The three men were inside of a bar with very thick walls when Olivia pointed them out to us. "Too bad we can't just walk in and take them out with us. The body count would be too high," Jerrod said. "One or more of them will have to leave sometime," I suggested. And sure enough it happened around dinner time. It was obvious that one of them was tasked with picking up dinner and returning it to the bar. He never made it of course. ------- Chapter 364 Grabbing up the thug wasn't hard at all. People prepare for all kinds of things that they expect might happen. Then they have that moment of indecision, when something out of the ordinary happens to them. Such is the case when you slip into your car and an only slightly attractive woman puts a pistol through the window and into your ear canal. When she tells you not to move, almost to a man, you don't move. It especially is disconcerting if a young man with a large bowie knife slips into the front seat beside you as well. I did a quick turn around to care for the bicycles. Simon's bicycle got locked and hidden, but I rode mine after the car. I could probably have made it to the abandoned factory first, but I knew that would just look so wrong. Simon and the thug of the day got to the abandoned factory provided by Olivia ahead of me. The thug was in his thirties, so not a lot older than Simon. I tried to decide who would be the best to break him, Because of their closeness in age it seemed reasonable that Simon could empathize better with him. That made me the crazy torturer. Nobody really liked doing that kind of thing, but I knew it would washed off me much easier than the people around me. When I entered the large factory workroom, Simon had the thug tied to a chair. He had been trying to bond with him. Just to make that easier, I walked in and knocked the thug over with a quick jab to his chest which might have been enough to crack a rib, I placed it away from his heart just in case he had weak bones. Not only did the chair fall over it slide a few feet along the floor. I had put maybe a little more in it that I intended. Simon set the man upright and whispered something to him. Simon knew his job and was trying to show empathy. "Maxine, give him a chance to cooperate before you injure him. You might not have to cause him pain. He might be willing to talk." Simon said to me. "Did you give him a chance to talk?" I asked. "Yes," Simon answered looking away. "Good, then what did he tell you?" I asked laughing at Simon. "At least give him a chance," Simon said. He seemed to be be on the thug's side. Simon and I had prepared the place for use earlier. In addition to the chair and the ropes used to secure the thug, we had brought in a six foot electrical extension cord. I allowed the thug to watch me put on a pair of thick dish washer's rubber household gloves. I had picked orange ones, even though I could have bought less garish ones. I also allowed him watch me make a couple of probes. I attached one to each leg of the circuit. The circuit was formed from the extension cord, once I had cut the female end off and stripped the insulation back. In Spanish I said, "I am going to ask you some questions. You are going to answer me until I am satisfied, or until you are dead. Either outcome is satisfactory with me, because there are others who know what you know. Do we understand each other?" He spit at me. A righteous thing to do, but extremely stupid given his present position. I hit him with the electricity. I was rewarded with the sight of him dancing in his chair like a teenager at a rock concert. I withdrew the current and then gave him a second to calm down before I asked again. "Do you understand." that time he just nodded. I hit him with the current again. The second one was very short. "When I ask you a question answer me with words, so that we don't have any mis communications. Do you understand it is talk or die?" "Yes, I understand," he said. "Where does your boss have Williams hidden?" I asked. "I don't know," he replied tentatively. "Is there something else you need to tell me?" I asked. He just shook his head. I hit him with the power again. I did it because he was being evasive, but also because I had no idea how dependable the power grid in the factory was. I needed to do the work with it as quickly as possible. "I think there is," I said after the charge ended. "Tell her man," Simon suggested to the thug as if he cared. "Nobody has seen Williams. All we know is the boss said that he had Williams. I think after the man went missing, the boss had someone break into his hotel room and steal his shit. Then the boss just showed his shit to the company where he worked. He is trying to scam them. I think." "So if he knew Williams was gone, he knows who has him?" I asked. "I think maybe someone saw him get taken, and told the boss about it," the thug suggested. "Who would that be?" I asked. "Did someone at the restaurant change his story to help out your boss?" "Maybe, you should ask him?" he suggested. "Simon tie this gentleman up I'm going to take him for a ride. Make sure you get any cell phones or anything like that he has on him. We want him out of touch at least a few hours. Simon and I left him about ten miles from town. We left him inside the bathhouse of a campground with no money and no communications devices. Oh I'm sure he got back rather quickly, but it had to be at least a little inconvenient. It allowed us to get to the restaurant and interview the people who saw Williams get picked up. Olivia met us at the restaurant. She had the folders. We reinterviewed the people who were working that day and learned that no one saw anything. I knew better. Someone tipped off the gangster, so that he had time to grab William's shit from his room. That made it possible for him to try to scam the company for whom Williams worked. Olivia managed to get the waiters and bus people together and I talked to them. "In ten minutes I am going to look into all your lives. One of you has come into some money from Esposito and I'm sure you spent some of it or banked it. We are going to find that money and then we are going to prosecute you to the fullest, because you are risking that man's life. Trust me by the end of the day, one of you is going to prison. Now is your only chance to avoid that." I noticed the cashier get a look of panic. She was our leak, of that I had no doubt. I just needed to get her away from everyone else, so that it was believable, when I told her I would keep her secret. While she was waiting her turn with Olivia, I asked, "Who was it. Tell me now and I will tell Olivia you were cooperative and to stop. If not we will have your ass in prison. How do you think you are going to like eating pussy?" "I know I shouldn't have done it, but I needed money. My father ran off and my mother is sick and can't work. My brothers and sisters are in school, I can't let them quit school," She said. "You get a buy on this, if you tell me who has Williams," I informed her. "I don't know who has him. I just saw two men in military uniforms lead him out. They had a hold on him so that he couldn't run, but he wasn't making a fuss. I knew from the look he gave me as he passed, that he was in trouble." "Did you get a look at the car?" I asked. "Yes, it was parked right out front. It was a blue Ford," she said. "Did you write down the License number?" I asked. Rather than answer she produced a folded card from behind the counter on which the cash register sat. It had a number hand written. I went into the room where she was busy interrogating a waiter and there I slipped the card to Olivia. "This is your kidnapper's license plate. It's on a blue Ford." It was ten minutes later when Olivia came into the dining room where Simon and I were drinking coffee and eating some kind of cinnamon cake. "Well the modder fuckers are National Guard." she said angrily. "You mean your fucking government grabbed up an American Citizen?" I asked in disbelief. "Not in the name of the government. They grabbed him because he is selling weapons to the Shining Path. That's how their name came up in the investigation." "Then the basement under the residence has weapons stored there. It is about the only thing I can think of that would account for the 3AM visit down there. "What that does not do," Simon said. "Is to tell us where Williams is at the moment." "My guess is dead," I said to Olivia. "Your guys got frustrated because they couldn't stop the gun running, so they just took matters into their own hands." "Yes, I tend to agree. Of course there will be a few years of investigations as to how far up it went. But we will arrest and convict those involved." Olivia said. "I agree the two men who picked Williams up are as good as dead or in prison, but how about all those who knew about it or participated in some other way?" I said. "I don't know what will happen to them," she said honestly. "Well, somebody in authority gave the order. Let me interview them." I suggested. "You know I can't do that," she said. "No, I don't know that at all. You let me get a name from one of them, then I can arrange an accident, so that we close this matter for both our governments." I suggested. "You know there are sovereignty issues," she said flatly. "I know you got us this far. To be perfectly honest we probably would rather you hadn't." "If someone high up in your government arranged this, the men who pulled it off are most likely going to be dead by the end of the day. Let me go on the raid that arrests them and attempts to free Williams." I suggested. "I will bring it up to my boss." she said. "So will I," I said before I went to a quiet corner of the restaurant to send my message. I laid out everything I knew about the actions of everyone involved. My final argument to the farm was, Williams might not have been a model citizen, but he was an American and should not have been executed without a trial, if that was what happened. I sat with Simon drinking coffee and waiting for word to come back from the farm. The word was to find out if Williams was dead, before I did anything else. If I found out he was dead, then find out who was ultimately responsible. Once we know who did it, and hopefully their agenda. Then we can decide what to do. Of course Simon knew none of the above. All the back and forth with the farm was totally unknown to him. He did know what the right thing to do was though. "We need to talk to the guys who killed the American, if he truly is dead. If you are a soldier in the field. selling guns to the rebels is a very bad thing to do. However to the gun runner it probably is just another job." "That my young friend is exactly what it is. Hell we might even find out who the people are, who are selling the guns." That's when it hit me. The fucking guys on the farm were the gun runners. They had been trying to destabilize the government. Simon and I had better be very careful. If Williams had talked, then something else hit me. Williams might very well still be alive. He would be of some use to the Bolivian government. But only if they could turn him. His propaganda value might be well worth keeping him alive. If they had decided that he would be useful before they picked him up, then odds are he had been eating the fish, rather than sleeping with them. Sure they would be trying to scare him into cooperating, and they might have gotten around to beating the shit out of him, but maybe not beating him to death. ------- Chapter 365 Get me on that raid. These guys are going to find our man, because they took him, I messaged to the farm. Okay so that fucking logic program of yours works. Yes, we were arming both sides. Only because we are usually on the wrong side, no matter which side we are on ... came the message from the farm. Interesting concept, but it isn't going to win us any favors with the government in power. So which side is winning? I asked silently. The government is always winning right up until they aren't winning any more, came the reply from the controller. So can you get me on that raid or not ... I asked. We followed your logic program and our Latin American section chief is making the call as we speak, the controller silently said. We would definitely like to get Williams back. I'm down here, so I would as well. He is most likely either dead or hold up in a very secure compound. I can't extract him from a government base without there being heavy casualties. Almost surely he would be one of them ... Yes I was testing the water. I wanted to see if his loss was acceptable. We have gotten so much bad press lately ... It is to the point now that Williams having an accident, would almost be preferable to him making one of the bitchy, little girl, tells all, statements ... was the unspoken reply from the farm. Yeah Almost ... I said silently in agreement. I hadn't meant to share it, but of course they knew that I knew, the part Williams played in our supplying arms to the path. I had to try to think what would the government operatives have done with Williams. Would they have taken him to a safe house? Or would they have put his ass in prison first thing. If there was any doubt of his guilt, then I would put him in a safe house to interrogate him, but if I was sure of his guilt and just wanted a confession, then it would be prison. So he could be either place. Either way, he could have already been tortured. In the world today there are hundreds of Doctor Deaths. A few are really doctors, but most are just butchers. No one can resist a true artist with an electrode or a scalpel. It's all about being inside the poor bastard's mind. Unless you totally botch it, he will talk before he dies. They don't always tell you everything, but usually it's because you don't know what to ask. Getting an elaborate story under torture is not easy, but a simple yes or no isn't difficult at all. Even an address isn't hard, but complicated thoughts are more difficult. For instance a list of names is seldom complete. Almost always there are one or two that get passed over the first few times. That is why the interrogator asks the same questions over and over. Yeah it is boring and degrading work, but it gets results. If it didn't, there would not be so many practitioners of the trade. "Can you be ready in ten minutes?" Olivia asked. "Of course," I replied. "You may not carry a weapon. You are coming along simply to observe." she informed me. She made it very clear that the decision about Williams was the government's not mine to make. "I really want to go in to insure Williams safety is secure at all times. To do that I really do need a weapon," I suggested. "No weapon, it is the single condition," she said. "Very well, when do we leave?" I asked. "The raid is being planned as we speak. When the troupers are on site, we will pull up." she informed me. I couldn't really wrap my head around a banana republic's politics. Okay someone in the government figure out that the USA was supplying arms to the rebels. So they wanted to grab up the contractor making the delivery. Instead of sending in the army, they get a couple of national guardsmen to do it. Why would they do that? So that they can embarrass the USA, but why and how do it that way. I did know that every revolution had people inside the government. Double agents, as it were, working for it's downfall. Suppose the people inside and laying low realized that the real government officials had wind of the USA's double dealing. If the double agent knew that the government was following Williams, which might not be too far fetched, since a double agent would know that kind of thing, right up till he got his ass scooped up. Okay so the double agent might send people loyal to him to pick Williams up. After that things could go either way for Williams. They could slip him over the border, or they could bury his ass in the jungle. So I still didn't know what faction was responsible for Williams disappearing. People inside the Government were definitely on both sides of the revolution. That left me in a jam as far as allies went. I had no idea who, if anyone, I could trust. My plan was to trust Jerrod and hope we could find a way to locate and rescue Williams. To be honest I expected him to be dead when I arrived, so the fact that he just might still be alive was a plus for me. "Maxine, Olivia is looking for you. I think she had an update on the National Guardsmen." Jerrod said it with a smile as if whatever Olivia said would be bullshit. I happened to agree with him. Information from a banana republic's government wasn't high on my list of information to be accepted without a high degree of proof. I hung out in the hotel restaurant until she arrived. "Maxine, I don't know who you called but you have your permission to go on the raid to capture those two men," Olivia informed me. "Is there any chance I can go to the door before your men do? Just in case I can get them out without a lot of shooting?" I asked. "None, I assure you they want to do a strike force raid. Grab up everyone in the place before they can do anything harmful to the hostage or any of our men." she said. "Well that does always sound good. Too bad it usually doesn't work out that way. It isn't a matter of if you lose people, it's a matter of which people you lose. If I go in maybe the only ones will be on their side," I made the suggestion, just so I could say that I had. I knew they wanted to play who's balls were bigger. Being the only woman in that game, I was at a distinct disadvantage. Still if I didn't try and anyone asked me I would have to admit that I gave up before I even got in the game. Jerrod and I rode in a Hummer with four other people. We were the only two who weren't armed to the teeth. My only weapon was a box opener, just in case I got a chance to open someone's lunch basket for them. We arrived at the gate of the small military base far into the afternoon. As a matter of fact the soldiers were most likely at dinner, when we pulled into the compound. "Do you really think that there is any chance they have Williams here?" I asked. "This is where I am told the two soldiers are. Williams will likely be somewhere nearby." The captain in charge of the detail suggested. He was a larger than average local man. Most of the men I had seen seemed to run out under 6' and under 200 lbs. The leader of the raid to arrest the national guardsmen was 6'2" at least and like slightly over 200lbs. A very interesting individual. "Good luck on that one," I said. "Yeah, makes you wonder if you really want to find Williams or just kill the two soldiers?" I asked. "Dead mean tell no tales," the captain said to me. "Exactly." I agreed. There were two Hummers in the assault formation. Naturally we were in the second one, so that we could do nothing and see nothing. I had a feeling they wanted to whitewash this whole thing. Yes that's what Olivia's people wanted, but what did mine want. "Find out what happened to Williams and make sure someone knows not to let bad things happen to American Operatives, the voice in my head said. That voice had to be the Deacon. Right, I replied. "Stay with the Hummer," Captain said in his native Spanish. "I think, I'm going with the raiders," I said. "Like hell, you are a guest in my country and a guest on this raid, you will do as you are told or I will have your ass in jail." he said. "Bullshit, you have something to hide, and that is what my report, to your people, and mine will say. I will say that since you can not protect Americans and you will not let me see what efforts you are making, it will be my recommendation that all aid cease immediately. Have a nice day. I turned and walked away from the operation. If I couldn't be part of it, I was not going to play along. "fuck you all," I said as I walked toward what had to be a company building of some kind. "Hold on Maxine, they are screaming for you," one of the soldiers said all out of breath from hustling after me. "If and when the captain runs after me, I will turn back and give him another chance to play the game my way," I said angrily. "Do you really want to go in while they are captured?" the soldier asked. "Yes their attitude toward the men will tell me a lot about how they see them. Trader or hero it is all in the facts you choice to believe." I said. "They are not going to allow it," Olivia said answering the question I didn't ask. She had finally caught up. "Then I'm going to make the recommendation that we immediately discontinue all aid of any kind to the government." I said smiling. "They already have them in custody. What will it take to right this with you?" Olivia asked. "I want to interrogate them," I said. "You know we can't allow that," It's a question of our sovereignty," she insisted. "Then I want to be in the room, or observing the interrogations every second of it." I said. "For how long?" she asked. "Until I get tired of it," I said. "And Olivia, I have a very strong stomach ask anyone. I can't swear to the same for Jerrod," I said smiling. "If I can get it approved, you better have an iron stomach, or the interrogators will laugh you out of the building." Olivia said smiling confidently. "I probably can't get him cleared anyway." She likely thought I was a shrinking violet like most of the American woman she had met. It was time to rattle her cage. "So Olivia do they know where Williams is yet?" I asked. If he had been in the barracks or anywhere nearby they should already have him. So let's get her pretty little ass on record. "Do you have him or not? If not, do you know where he is? If you don't know where he is, do you know if he is alive. If you don't at least know that, then let me interview your men. If not interview them then at least let me watch your people do the interviews. It was the same things I had demanded earlier, and it would be the same thing I demanded in twenty more minutes. "Alright Maxine, you can come along and watch the interrogations of the two soldiers. Your friend can not. It is not a movie for your entertainment." Olivia said to me. "Let me explain to Jerrod, then I am ready to follow you anywhere," I said smiling at Olivia. "Now Jerrod, I want you to go back to the town of El Riola. When you get there, see what you can find out about the Shining Path there. Not their ideology, I want to know how they act toward the villagers. Are they trying to save their souls or are teach them how to build car bombs. I smiled because Jerrod had a really good way about him. Those were the kinds of things people just liked to confide in him. They tried to not speak evil of anyone to me. I have no idea what they thought I might do, if I knew the truth, but it was more difficult for me to hear the gossip than it was Jerrod. ------- Chapter 366 There was a third Hummer in the caravan on the return trip to the capitol. The additional Hummer held the driver, three guards, and two prisoners. We were a pretty serious group on that return trip. I am sure the two prisoners knew what was in store for them. The questions were few and obvious. The answers were likely to be both difficult to get, and difficult to accept, when they finally came. At that moment only the two of them knew where Williams went after that restaurant. Even they might not know where he was at that precise moment, but they knew where the trail began. Back in the city the two men disappeared into the military headquarters. Not the one housing the generals, the ones housing the military barracks and the military prison. Since the two of them were military, there would be no question of their rights being violated. They would be violated of necessity and custom. Torture is not an oddity in some parts of the world. Institutionalized torture might be. but only because it is not in favor as the worldwide norm these days. Simon was headed back to gather intelligence in El Riola while I was cooling my heels in the waiting room of some Judge. The judge had to sign off on the torture. The structure of government wanted to be sure it wasn't being done just for fun. Well also not because the victim was screwing some officer's wife above his rank, or some such personal reason. If they could do it to these men without oversight today, then tomorrow they could be doing it to a sitting judge without oversight. When we left the Judge's chambers, Olivia carried the warrant authorizing the torture. It seemed like an awful lot of crap just to slap an extension cord on his balls, but then it wasn't my call. Olivia carried a warrant for only one of them. The arresting officer had decided which one would most like be the one to crack. He could be wrong and they might have to go back for the other one, but I doubted it seriously. For one thing soldier one knew there was nothing to prevent him being tortured to death, since there was a second one available for continued interrogation. I entered the darkened observation room which was attached to the interrogation room. The prisoner was led into the chamber. Everything about that chamber where he found himself was designed to be functional and terrifying. The chair was metal and welded in place. Before the prisoner was strapped to the chair a probe was inserted into his anus. The probe was attached to a piece of flexible white electrical wire. I was more than a little surprised that he didn't start talking right away. The prisoner was of course naked and wilted as well... "The probe in his anus is the positive electrode. The chair of course is the ground." The military officer in charge had just confirmed what I had expected. I nodded my understanding and my lack of emotion. "Trouper Estes, we are going to make this as painless as possible. You, Trouper Estes and you alone are responsible for the amount of pain which your must endure. In order to avoid all pain, you must simply answer all of the questions quickly and completely. Do you understand?" He paused a few seconds. When the trouper did not answer immediately the officer in charge hit the large red push button switch. Estes screamed. "I will take that for a yes you now understand how this exercise works. So let's get started." With that he paused to consult with the file in front of him. "Did you abduct the American from the restaurant of his Hotel five days ago?" The officer waited a couple of seconds, then hit the juice again. After only a second he killed the power. He waited a full minute before repeating the question. When the trouper didn't answer again, he hit the power switch yet again. The whole thing got repeated half a dozen times before the man finally broke. There was never any question whether he would or not. The question was only how much he would endure first. It was almost always the same, I knew that as well as the interrogator. "That didn't take too long," the officer said to me smiling. "I expect your perception of time would depend on whether you had that thing up your ass or not," I said shortly. I did not care for cold blooded torture. I understood its necessity and I was willing and able to use it, but I didn't approve. I also understood the necessity of a bank and I used them as well but I didn't like them either. Interrogator: "Did you kidnap the American?" Soldier: "Yes," Interrogator"Do you know where he is at this time?" Interrogator. Soldier: "No, not exactly," Interrogator: "When did you last see the American?" Soldier: "That same day. We left him with a comrade." Interrogator: "Where did you leave him?" Soldier: "At the comrade's apartment in the Pink House." "That's the name of a lower class apartment complex on the edge of town." The interrogator explained, probably for my benefit. Interrogator: "I want the apartment number." Soldier: "202." Interrogator: "And the name of the comrade?" Soldier: "Juan is all I know." My logic circuit did a quick assessment. Williams did not stay there long. In an apartment you can't do any serious questioning. It creates far too much interest from your neighbors. So they would have killed him or moved him somewhere else to determine his value. relative to a beating heart. "So are you going to allow me to go on this raid?" I asked. "Most likely it will be just an empty apartment by now. If there was anyone there two hours ago, they are gone now I would think." he said to me. "Then there is no reason I can't go take a look for myself. You know I'm just doing my job, which at the moment is to keep you sucking on Lady Liberty's tit." I said rather rudely. "I don't think I like your attitude," he said in mild annoyance. "That's okay, I don't care for being excluded from the investigation. I would rather see it for myself, rather than have you spoon feed it to me. Something about truth, justice and all that other BS." I said. A secondary officer came rushing back into the room. "Juan Vardis," he said handing the interrogator a print out. "Well, I'm just the interrogator. You will have to ask the Officer in Charge." he suggested. "Well then point me to him," I suggested. "Hold on he will be here any moment." I waited and the officer from the morning's raid came into the room. "Captain this is Ms. Stone. She wants to go see the apartment where your prisoner dropped the American. I know you are leading the strike force again. How about it? Can she tag along." "What do you think happened with Williams?" The captain asked me. "I would just be guessing," I said. He stated at me waiting for me to go on. "Tell me were the two soldiers turn coats or are they all working for you?" "They are not working for us," the interrogator replied before the Captain had a chance. The captain didn't look happy about it either. "Then My guess is Williams had access to the weapons, so he gave into temptation. Send a few extra ones and hand them over to the rebels. That is usually the temptation to which they surrender." I suggested. "So you don't think your government is supplying weapons to both sides?" he asked. "We might be that stupid, but I surely hope not. It would be like me dating brothers. I could get laid without any problem, but one day it would go all to shit, even I know that." I said it seriously. "Then sure come on along and let's see who this Juan Vardis really is," the captain suggested. "Good, I'm ready whenever you are," I informed him. We went to the apartment before Jerrod returned from his mission for me. Without my backup, I was at the mercy of the Bolivian Army. I didn't think too highly of them, but I had no real reason to see them in a poor light. Olivia didn't tag along on that particular trip. I found that not to be a good sign. It was something different from the last time, but there was no real reason given for there to be a difference. If the army planned for me to have an accident, they might not want anyone from the embassy to be involved. For some reason I began to have a really bad feeling. The raid was a really good chance for me to get killed by the rebels. It would go a way toward cleaning up the Williams thing. Especially since it looked as though they could put that off on the Shining Path. Two dead operatives might make the USA decide to back the government and just cut their losses with the other guys. Then again it would be nice to get with the rebels and find Williams alive. Taking him home would be a good thing. Turning him over to the Bolivian Government was a no, no for sure. So there were risks involved in this little venture. I managed to get inside with the party who breached the door of the apartment. I was almost positive Williams would not be in the apartment. Of course he wasn't. I didn't go through the door first. I didn't mind since I was forced to go in without a firearm. Even so I saw what the first people in saw. The place was a mess, but it was empty. "I don't suppose you have a can of Luminol?" I asked the captain. "No, but I will have in about ten minutes," he said getting on his cell phone. While we waited, I followed around behind the investigators. Nobody came up with anything interesting until the crime scene techs and the luminol showed up, When they sprayed the carpet, there were blood stains. That wasn't proof that Williams was dead, but it didn't look good. My cell phone worked even in the middle of a foreign country. I was impressed with the farm's capabilities. "Hello," I answered simply. "Maxine can you talk?" Simon Jerrod asked. "If I don't have to say too much," I replied. "Got ya, I found out that these guys aren't all that political. They don't want a new government, just to make this one better," he said. "So why the need for the hardware?" I asked. "They are fighting someone other than the government," he informed me. "At least I think so." "Oh really tell me more," I demanded. "How do you feel about Christians?" Simon asked. "I feel like they have the same right to be wrong as the Muslims and Jews do," I replied. "Well there are some really old cultist down here. They are anti religious. All religions are equally evil in their eyes. They don't just not believe, they also don't want you to believe. It isn't just don't you believe it, but it is also don't teach it, or hold any services, or we will kill you." Jerrod informed me. "That is crazy," I admitted. "There is a method to it. The idea is to make the people with a little education believe that religion is the source of all their misery. It isn't just that religion doesn't help you, but that it actually beats you down. Religion not money is the root of all evil." "I'm trying to understand. Is that the official government stand as well as the cultist?" I asked. "It seems to be at the moment, so the government is trying to suppress religious practices. In their war with all religion, the shining path is the easiest to attack, or so they say." "So Jerrod is the Path nuts? or is there truth to it?" I asked. "What would you say, if I told you there was a little bit of truth on both sides of the argument. I mean you have priest learning to shoot AKs, and the government planning military attacks on churches." "And our man?" I asked. "The priest said, 'find Juan and you will find Senior Williams.'" "Then we obviously need to find Juan Vardis," I suggested. "Yes, and Maxine, Williams wasn't just doing it for the money. He at least is a believer I don't know about his boss." ------- Chapter 367 "I do love a true believer," I said. Even if it isn't what I believe. "Well I am a true believer and in the same things they believe," Jerrod informed me. "Well let's find Juan and Williams then get the hell out of here. So ask around down there. I expect them to know where we should look. We can try to get them out before the Government finds them and kills both." "I'll ask around and get back with you in a bit," he said. "I think the priest here will introduce me farther up the food chain." "That is probably what it is going to take. Please be careful Simon," I begged. I did not want to explain his loss back home. While Jerrod went up the command chain of the Shining Path, I went back to work on the Government. "So maybe we need to talk about why Williams would be arming the opposition," I said to the Captain. "That has nothing to do with me. My job is to find out his fate. What he was, or was not doing, means nothing to me," the Captain said. "So, if the Army is being used by a cult of Devil worshipers in order to persecute Christians, you would be fine with that?" I asked. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "The bad guys don't need to raise an army Captain. Not if they can hijack yours," I said it smiling at him. "If you don't look at what you are doing, then you may be a Devil Cult's army." I said. "You are insane," he said. "We are not promoting anything, we are only looking for Williams." "Why are you looking for Williams. What exactly is it he has done?" I asked. "He has done nothing that we know of for sure. We are only trying to rescue him." the Captain informed me. "So, if Williams walked out of the jungle tomorrow, all would be forgiven?" I asked. "Well now there is the matter of his selling weapons to the Shining Path," the Captain said. "Yes, but if they are not really rebels, where is the harm in trying to defend themselves." I asked. "You don't know that they are defending themselves," he said. "You don't know that they aren't. Okay, so you would take Williams in for trial. If you come across Juan, are you going to take him in for trial as well?" I asked. "If we find he has committed a crime, then yes we will," he said. "Then you and your bosses are going to have no problem with me requesting a United Nations Investigation of the Shining Path and your treatment of them?" I asked. "Of course not," he replied somewhat tentatively. "Good," I said that as I opened the Satellite phone. "Jennifer, can you get hold of our friend in the stagnant water navy for me. Ask him to call one of his contacts in the UN. I need an immediate and priority investigation of The Shining Path in Bolivia or wherever I am and the government's treatment of them." Making that call not only put the UN on the job, but it was also a report back to the farm. Two spy agencies with one stone, my idea of economy. Find out who the hell this Devil Cult is ... I demanded of the controller. It's news to us, but we will take a serious look at it for sure. These guys could be up to some serious shit, if they can subjugate a complete army. We need to find out how far behind we are ... I suggested. Then we need to do some serious catching up. It could also be just a unit or two not a whole government but who knows ... I added silently. Maybe it isn't as bad as those priests make out. You know they are considered dissidents. It might not even be for real ... just some dreamed up shit ... Lets just see before we go off half cocked ... the controller messaged. That's why I had Jennifer arrange a call to the UN ... I replied silently. Something I don't think is going to go over all that well here ... the controller informed me. Oh well sometimes the bear eats you ... I said. Yeah and it isn't always fun ... came the reply. Then they just shut down. The captain had heard none of that silent conversation. He had heard me request the UN investigation. He would be reporting that in a hurry. Of that I had no doubt. So, if they didn't try to jail me, the official response would be interesting. The phone rang again. "Yes Jerrod," I said. "They swear down here that the army is preparing to attack them. Not soon but very, very soon." he said. "We are not here to save some religious nuts Jerrod. We are here to find Williams and get him out." I suggested. "You know better," he said. "If we walk away from this and these people get slaughtered how will we sleep at night?" "I can't discuss this now, but we need to discuss it before you make any decisions." I demanded. "We can discuss it till hell freezes over. If the army pulls up and a fire fight breaks out, I'm not running away." he informed me. "Jerrod that is crazy. You know those priests don't have a chance against a trained military unit, even if they are a third world unit." "That would be a bunch of priests and a Legionnaire, against a third world army unit. Sounds about even to me," he replied. "Oh shit, I'll be there with our weapons just as soon as I can find a cab and pick them up. Just tell me where, then tell your new friends to have Juan and his ass bring Williams wherever you are. We can try to mount a rescue and press awareness campaign from there. Get the word out and maybe something will change at least for a while. Long enough for us to get out and take Williams with us." "You are crazy, but meet us at a place called St Marie Tomas. They tell me they can get Williams to us there," Jerrod said. "Be ready to go when I get there. We can make a lot of noise and some headlines, then we have to get the fuck out of there." I suggested. "Of course," he replied. After talking to Jerrod I called Jennifer again. I did that because the Admiral was a master at playing the international press. I trusted him more than the people on the farm when it came to moral issues. Unlike them he had a moral compass that was always working. "Jennifer, now that you have the facts get this moving for me, or I'm likely to die her in Bolivia or wherever I am," I said. "Butch there is no way, they are going to kill you down there again." she promised. I hadn't even thought of Bolivia as being the place Butch Cassidy and the Sun dance Kid had died. Well I damn sure didn't want a repeat of that. I figured we needed to hold out about a week to milk it for all the press we could get. With the admiral telling the priest's side of it everyday, the world should unite around the good guys for a change. "Well I don't think the people here are bad, and I don't think the government is bad, but someone has managed to convince some good people to do bad things, it seems." "Well honey, I hope you are right. So give me the details and I'll be sure the word gets out." Jennifer promised. The next call I made was to Olivia. "Hello," I said when she answered. "How about meeting me for coffee?" "Is it going to cost me my career?' she asked. "It just might, or it might put you on the fast track to being president, or whatever they have down here." I said it with a smile because I knew she wouldn't be president or dictator for life either. She was most likely flushing her career down the toilet, but she could always move to Aster. "So what can I do for you?" she asked once she was seated in the restaurant. She had picked me up at the apartment complex. I left the army unit in favor or coffee with Olivia. Judging from the looks given her by the soldiers, I had made the popular choice. She was cute for sure. "I can't believe how much patience you have. You drove all this way without a single question. You are amazing," I said. "Okay but I have asked now so what is it you want from me?" she asked. "First of all let me tell you that you can't stop me. To even try would be foolish, so just listen then make up your own mind." I said. "Very well, so what do you want?" "I want you to be our outside man." I went on to explain what I had in mind and what I had already set into motion. "Now I know you are not the evil empire. I also know that this is being replayed all over the world. There has been a loose affiliation of anti religious organizations for years. First they pitted one against the other, now they are moving on all of the religions. Their new strategy is to convince governments around the world that organized religion is actually a form of rebellion. The shining path is the first to be attacked, but it won't be the last, not by a long shot. If they are wiped out, then the evil guys win the round. I can't allow that. I need you to investigate while we make a lot of noise for the world press. We need to have the press alert the rest of the governments to this conspiracy." "Are you insane? Surely you don't believe this nonsense?" she asked. She didn't look nearly as surprised as her words made her sound. "Jerrod believes it and according to him, Williams did as well. That is what was going on according to the priests," I informed her. "So what are you going to do now?" she asked. "Why hell Olivia we are going to a monastery and make a joyful noise, of course." I grinned at her as I spoke. "The two of you and a few priests are going to make a stand there. The army will overrun you in a day," she said. "God I hope not," I replied. I didn't tell her, but I was worth a hell of a lot more than the priests. The US government would not be willing to have me taken prisoner by any other government, no matter how close or strained their relationship. There would be a rescue mission. My guess is when the first shots were fired, there would be talks in progress. Everyone would know what was coming thanks to the Admiral and Olivia. "So you are going to this monastery to challenge my government?" she asked. "No I am going there because my friend Jerrod is there. He believes the priests and I believe him. If there is a Devil cult, and they are out out to convert the world to their way of thinking, then I'm against that. See I don't believe in organized religion, but I don't think I believe in organized religious haters either. Unorganized haters, I can deal with, but to put them into their own little groups, with meetings and rituals, well it's just a little too much." "You do know you are crazy and likely to get killed?" she asked. "Crazy for sure, likely to be killed only if you don't convince the government that this is going to be lousy PR for them. In the end they should just let the three gringos go. As for the Shining Path, they are going to resist you whether we are there or not. You are not going to be able to call this a rescue of Williams, because his story will be out there. The only win for you is to not play the game at all." ------- Chapter 368 If I couldn't talk the government into calling the attack off, then it might be a rogue officer leading his unknowing men into battle. Something like an even worse version of the Captain, who I had met earlier. If I could keep the army from backing his play, then maybe we could hold them off until the real Army came to rescue us. It was as good a possibility, as was three men and a skinny woman slipping off into the Jungle, and then fighting there way to a friendly border crossing. Since that was a very real possibility, I made damn sure to carry my passport. I drove a rental car to within a mile of the monastery at Saint Marie Tomas. At that point I left the car on the side of the road. I knew there would be a road block in place long before the army unit or units began to arrive. They would have to stop any reinforcements or heavy resupply of the Monastery. The road was the only reasonable way to do it. That meant that I was forced to hump the two large packs through the jungle. I had never gotten used to the smell of rotting vegetation, even though my sensors were not as sensitive, while in the stand-bye mode, as my human ones had been. I could not remember how people like Jerrod and the Irishman could stand the assault on that part of their brain without being able to regulate the sensitivity. Even with two fifty pound packs, I made good time moving along the Indian trail up to the old monastery. I followed the satellite map in my brain. One of the few advantages of being able to communicate directly to the damn things. I told myself that it was like talking to a third cousin. I laughed, knowing that was the kind of thinking that could get me my own TV show again. The two men at the road block, within sight of the Monastery, were so busy watching the road that they didn't see me slip up on them. I had them covered with one of the chopped up AK47s by the time I cleared my throat to warn them. "Now gentlemen, and I use that term loosely," I said in classical Spanish. "You may leave your rifles and anything else you brought with you and run like hell back down that road. Of course you can't stop till you get somewhere with a phone. If I find you on the road, I will kill you in a most painful manner ... Now run!" I watched with a smile as the two big strong men ran away from the skinny chick, with the really bad hair. I did of course have the chopped down AK47 on my side. I went up to the gate of the tiny walled city. There were a couple of buildings, which were in fact very old dormitory type buildings, whose backs were part of the walls. There were no windows in the walled part of those building. The chapel was also part of the wall as well. I noticed as well that there were parapets along the spaces between the buildings. There were no opening into the buildings from those parapets, only ladders to reach them. Since the jungle came within several feet of the walls, it was going to be RPGs to breach them. Even if the government approved it's use, it would be days before heavy artillery could be in place... Holding out in the old monastery was a possibility for sure. Winning was out of the question, but bringing the world's pressure on the clowns outside those walls was very, very doable. If we could make the opposition withdraw in disgrace, then we would have won the battle at least, if not the war. I walked up to the closed gate, "Ahoy inside," I shouted in English. "Jerrod, Mr. Williams get someone to open the gate." A moment later the skinny ass Jerrod ran out and hugged me. "God am I glad to see you and sad as well. I'm sorry to say this could be your Alamo." "Yeah or your Dien Bien Phu," I said. "Hell yes," he admitted. "Of course neither of us was alive at the time." "True, also I hope modern communications will make a huge difference. Not to the men outside those walls, but to their commanders in the air conditioned offices and the hotel suits, I hope." "That is possibly our last hope," The large thick framed American, who had joined us commented. "Mr Williams, I presume?" he nodded. "No the hole we are going to blow in the wall, and ex filtrate through is our last hope." I admitted. He simply nodded. "You are a fucking lot of trouble," I suggested. "That's what all five of my ex wives said," he agreed smiling. "Well I hope you can fight," I said sarcastically. "Do you think a man can have five ex-wives still living, and not be able to fight?" He asked, as he grinned openly. "I guess not," I replied. "So Jerrod, how many men willing to fight do we have." "These guys think they are Jesuits," he suggested. "Everyone able to lift a rifle wants to fight." "They also think the are the Knights Templar, defending the faith against the heathens. To them this is a holy war," Williams said. "They will fight and they will fight well." "We will make a statement with out death." The withered old man who had walked up with Williams said. "I would prefer to make a statement with the other people's death, That is, if it's all the same to you Father." I said. Yes Ms Stone, that is acceptable as well. Mr Jerrod told us a great female warrior was coming to die with us." the old man added. "Actually not, I came to make a statement to the world, then slip off into the jungle and over the border. That makes me less of a martyr and more of a soldier." I said. "I would say it makes you even more of a great politician, if it were not an insult of epic proportions," Williams added. "It is, but in this case I deserve it and worse. If Jerrod had been willing to walk away, these people would be on their own." I admitted. Get somewhere, so that you can listen carefully ... the controller messaged me silently. "Forgive me gentlemen, I want to explore our defenses alone, so that I can plan." "You are not in charge," the withered old man said. "You would not take advice from an outsider?" I asked. "Advice yes, orders no," the old man said. "Fair enough, if we come to an impasse, then it will be time for me to leave," I admitted. Knights Templar reborn or not, I did not intend to have an intimate date with a plasma cutter, just because an old man wouldn't listen to reason. When the end came, if it didn't end my way, I fully intended to slip away into the night with or without the other Americans. I got to a spot away from the others, then concentrated on contacting the farm. So what is it you know now? ... I asked without words. Well we know who is moving toward Saint Marie Tomas ... came the reply from the controller. Okay, so who is coming and more important how many and what are they bringing with them? ... I asked. From what we can tell it's a reinforced company. They have small arms and a few small European wire guided shoulder fired missiles for armor, should they meet any. According to our sources the commander is apolitical ... I was informed. So you think he is just following someone's orders? I asked. There is some kind of power struggle coming. Our best political minds say they lack the will to continue in the face of worldwide public condemnation. Which is sure to follow. In less than a week is our best thinking at the moment. If you can hold out that long, we think that they will make peace ... the controller said. I don't think we can. This is just a bunch of hyped up zealots with no real training. Half ass armed at the very best. In our favor we do have the high ground with a ten to twenty yard clearing to the jungle, and some damn fine walls to hide behind. I could sure as hell use about twenty Marine Snipers ... I informed him or her. Well Maxine we are going all in on this one. In about an hour you are going to get a low level para-drop in a clearing about a quarter mile from the compound. Get Jerrod, Williams, and a bunch of the monks to provide security. Then get the arms back into the compound. You are going to love some of the shit coming your way ... the controller informed me. Fair enough ... I replied. Before I rejoined the others, I called Jennifer on the smarter than smart phone. "Hey girl," I said when I finally got her on the phone. "Heard anything good?" "I heard there is a CNN profile of your little band of cutthroat priests running as we speak. Not only that, they are sending a team of reporters to cover you from the inside of the compound. There is one catch to that," Jennifer said. "Oh yeah, what is the catch?" I asked "You personally guaranteed their safety," she said. "No problem, if they get killed they can take me to court." I said. "Or join the rest of us in the fight over your estate," she said. "Exactly, so when are they going to be here. There will likely be a road block between the compound and the town." I said. "I could be wrong but I think they have a way to clear it," she said. "Oh really?" I asked. "The Admiral said not to worry about everybody's safety. He promised that he was sending a couple of people along to look after them." Jennifer said it with a smile in her voice. "Well damn I have never been laid on an alter, but I did give a blow job in a confessional once." It was a lie, but I loved how it sounded, all things considered at that moment. "I would ask if you need anything, but it's too late to take orders," she said. "I would love a good hamburger steak, but like you said it's too late to make requests," I said in agreement. Then as an after thought I added, "I love you Jen." "That goes double for me bitch. If you let them kill you, I am going to fuck your brains out in the hereafter, no matter how long I have to wait in line." she said. "Ditto," I replied. After I broke the connection I went looking for Jerrod. "Okay find about a dozen men who know which end of a rifle to point at the bad guys. We have a cargo drop coming in real soon. Oh yeah a few pack mules would be nice. They are going to do a low level drop it in that river clearing." I knew because I had pulled up the map in my mind. I also pulled it up on the smarter than smart satellite phone for him to see. "They are seriously going to attack us?" Williams asked. "They are going to try to over run us quickly. Before there is time for the world to put pressure on the government. Out mission here is to make sure they spend a lot of time, and some blood for their efforts, but mostly to be sure there is no quick peace." "I would feel a lot better with a platoon of Legionnaires," Jerrod said. "Or a squad of Marines," I replied making light of his request. "Or just a bunch of Navy Seals," Williams said. "Well we have a stripped down rifle company of Shining Path Priests. I guess when this is over they may be the new elite warriors, since Swamp Thing is going to be their PR agent." "Come on Maxine, it could be worse," Jerrod said. "They could all be fashion models." "Or fashion designers," I added. "Oh yeah there is a crew of TV reporters coming in to cover this story. With them on site, it will be one hell of a show on the TV new rounds I assure you. If this goes viral, we might be able to cut our hold out time from a week to three or four days, so keep your face washed." ------- Chapter 369 "Simon, I need you to lead that little pack train down the native path to the drop site. I will go ahead to be sure the path is open," I suggested. "Let me at least go with you, Williams can relay anything we need to say to them," Jerrod suggested. "Simon, one or five of us, it isn't going to make any difference. It is going to be just make a lot of noise and run like hell, if they are set up on the path. If not, it's just a walk in the park. You wouldn't be anything but another target. You couldn't be of any real help." What I didn't tell him is that he would do more harm than good. I could crank my hearing up, without the distraction of him, I could hear a monkey fart at a thousand yards. "I guarantee you that if we are compromised, you will hear a gunshot. If you hear that, you need to figure out what to do next on your own. I will call you on that cell phone I gave you, if I can give you any advice. Now one thing I will tell you, everybody fights and everybody unloads the pallets. We want to be in and out of there in a very, very short time." I made sure he had the group ready to depart before I slipped through the gate. The Monastery had been positioned where it was for a reason. It was both close to the river landing, but still on higher ground. They had easy river access for centuries, and they also had some protection from the heavy rains of the monsoon seasons. The quarter mile down hill passed quickly, but I knew that it was going to hard on the men and animals going back up. We also were never going to be able to get in more than enough food for a couple of weeks. After that it was going to be eat the animals to keep from feeding them. I'm sorry, but it would likely come to that. I'm also sure that not even Helen could make an old jackass taste good. She would probably make a large enough stew from it to feed everyone in camp for a day or two, but that bitch would be tough and stringy, even after she worked her magic on it. That was another good reason to end the coming siege quickly. Not so much for me, since I could really care less basically, but for the others. Of course I got to the clearing first. I made it to the riverside quickly and listened closely. All the sounds were normal, except for the clanking of metal coming down the path. That I knew to be our people. They were on site when I sent the message back to the farm. I just wanted to be assured that they could get the plane into the drop zone in a hurry. The hurry turned into ten agonizing minutes. Even my perception of time changed a little while we waited. I was nervous, even though I knew the government troops were not on the way to the drop. They had no way to know it was even planned let alone on the way. We were the ones with the advanced information. The Problem would come only if they got between us and the Monastery. If that happened it would be a run and shoot, since they were going to have no time to dig in either. They would be just as out in the open as us. We might lose everything on the animals, but then again maybe not. When the drop came, it was something I had never seen before. There were two twin engine planes. Not even as large as the old C47 and their cargo doors were under the tail. They came low up the river. Then when they got over the drop-site they pulled almost straight up with the rear cargo doors open. The G forces jerked the cargo pallets out of the plane. They had what amounted to the parachute of a base jumper. It was open by the time the cargo was out of the plane. The pallets swung wildly a couple of times then hit the ground with a terrible force. The strangest of all things was that the pallets were sitting on very large commercial truck inner tube looking things. They bounced about six feet into the air then settled back down. The only thing I recognized from either of the pallets at first glance was a tiny blue gasoline generator from harbor freight, and a ten gallon gas can. I knew exactly what it was for, I had been worried about having to run on half charge while I used a solar vest to charge. It was a huge relief. The workers from the Monastery were a combination of priests and pendants I supposed. Whatever they were, they made quick work of the cargo on the pallets. Before I knew it, we were headed back up hill. The climb was nothing much to me, but the burros and the fathers had a bit more trouble with it. Even the strong looking Simon Jerrod was huffing and puffing here and there. Mr. Williams was a complete wreck before we got back. "Too many good restaurant?" I asked as I walked back to encourage him to keep moving. "Trust me dude, you don't want to get left behind." "The head of the pack animals said he didn't expect so much crap. We could have used more animals. He wanted to leave some of it." Jerrod informed me. "You did explain about how bad a siege could get?" I asked. "I have never been in a siege, but they are legend with the Legion," he replied. Once we had the animals inside the courtyard, we began to unload them. As the boxes got stacked by the chapel door, the animals were led away. Once they were no longer needed. they would be taken to a farm several miles away. They would return to carry our dead away after the siege. It was going to be a very efficient system. The Monks thought of everything, except that we might need them for food. I should have kept them, but I knew that if the siege lasted more than a week, I would be gone and their food problem would be up to the monks. If that was the way they wanted it, so be it. By the time the animals were gone, the stacks of wood and heavy cardboard boxes were piled high. Williams and Jerrod went through them, I held back waiting for the final tally. There were several cases of Ammunition for the guns Williams had arranged for the Monks. He looked relieved, as if he had personally placed the order knowing where the shortages would be. Then there was the box containing six Remington 700 scoped 308 rifles along with a carton of Ammunition for each. My desire for sniper rifles was granted at least. There was also a box containing a half dozen bloop guns. The Vietnam era M79 anti personnel grenade launcher. It came complete with several boxes of 40x46 mm grenades. Simon handed me a Law Rocket Launcher. "It looks like an episode of storage wars for a Vietnam Storage Locker somewhere," I suggested. "Long as it works," he said. "Isn't that always the final judgment. Does the damn thing work or not?" I suggested. I took a closer look at the Remington 700 and found that they were the base sportsman model. It would do just fine, and if we did get overrun, it could be traced to a gun shop in Hoboken, I was sure. I gave one of the scoped rifles to Jerrod and one to Williams. "Who gets the other three?" Simon asked. "That depends on who comes in with the news crew. They may be Swamp Thing Operatives' If they are, I assure you they can fire a sniper rifle better than the monks. So we are just going to have to wait." "Well even if we run out of food we won't starve," Simon said handing me a carton of MREs. "Meals Ready To Eat, to prevent starvation." "I am so happy to see these," I said. "Maybe we can get the other guys to eat them. and win by intimidation." I smiled. No matter what they sent, I would not have been just as happy. As much as I loved Helen, I had to admit that her MRE was only slightly better than the Government one. There was one thing she made a thousand times better than anyone else. Her version of the power bar. It was something you could eat, while you stood guard, without losing your concentration. Most likely they weren't the healthiest thing to eat three times a day. However once a day on the march, or three times if you were cut off, pound for pound I would have taken those anytime, well back when I had to eat at all that is. I began to meet our Monks, while I waited for the newsies to show up. There were 77 able bodied men, some of who were monks, available. We also had a dozen women who could tend the wounded, which kept the men free to shoot. We might not hit anything, but we were definitely going to make that joyful noise thing come true. "Maxine," Williams said. "I figure, counting the new arrival, that we have enough ammunition to last a week, if we are careful how we use it." "That means we have enough for three days. These men are not trained soldiers they will shoot at movement in the bushes, if they are taking fire, even if they can't see a thing. Give me a few minutes alone to think." I found a quiet corner, then contacted the farm. Okay people living in the pig shit universe, I need help here ... I messaged silently. Seems to me you have it under control ... came the reply. Not really, I need a few tricks ... I messaged. Has the news crew come in yet? ... was the answer. No we are still waiting for them ... I said. They have the master of unorthodox warfare with them. I have to warn you that neither you, nor the master, is expendable ... It was the controllers way of telling me to keep whoever it was safe at all costs. Most likely the expert would want to hide with the head monk. "Simon, I have a job for you. Take Williams, since he says he did some training with these men, and evaluate them. When you finish assign them to places along the wall. We need about half a dozen really tough brave men to fill any breaches in the wall. Fill some of these carts with rocks or sand. You are going to want to upend them in any breaches made by their missiles." I said seriously. You are in charge of organizing the defenses until the new people get here. They will most likely take over from me. They are the real experts at this," I admitted. I expected that I had all the information buried in my memory programs, but these guys could pull that shit up without searches, I hoped. "I got it boss," he said as he started to limp away. We had both forgotten that he limped at all. There was just so much going on, and he handled the limp so well. He suddenly turned back and said, "No matter how this turns out, thank you." He grinned as he walked away. I went to stand outside the walls. I tried to filter out the noises from inside, but it cut the distance I would be able to hear anyone approach. As far as I could tell the race was on as to weather it would be the news crew, or the Bolivian, or wherever we were, army who arrived first. The news crew could cover the action from either inside or outside of the walls. So it was academic more than urgent as to who showed up first. The so called unconventional warfare expert could get in touch with me and pass along his advice from outside, as well as he could from inside the walls. Hell it might be better if he were outside, it would make ignoring him much easier. I heard a noise, but it was coming from the path leading to the river. The Army could have come up that way, but the noise wasn't that much. It was either scouts or the news crew. I slipped off into the jungle until I knew which. There seemed to be a half dozen or less, with no backup group coming behind. I could handle them alone, I was pretty sure. ------- Chapter 370 I watched closely until the men doing the clanking turned the corner. The little group I had hoped to see, would have been different people all together. They weren't who I wanted, but they were obviously press. The four men were all humping large packs, no doubt filled with TV shit. Two of them carried different versions of the AK47. There's were closer to the version a traditional Russian block soldier would have been issued. Nothing fancy just a deadly weapon in the hands of someone trained in its use. I stepped from the jungle onto the trail with the Chopped down AK47 pointed more or less in their direction. "Hello Deacon, what the hell brings you here?" I asked. I am sure the disappointment showed in my voice. "Nice to see you too. I couldn't let you have all the fun again," he said with a very weak smile. "I brought General Adair in to give you a hand." "General, so you are the expert?" I asked. "That depends on who you ask. Some of the people we know, would say I can learn more from you." He said like a true gentleman. "I do hope you are wrong, I have never had to defend anything bigger than a boat," I said honestly. "Then we probably should get busy," he suggested. Once we were inside the Monastery he began putting people to work. The Chief Monk was much better about giving him free rein than he would have been giving me any control at all. Some people just didn't trust women. There were times, when I didn't blame them at all. We had at the most a few hours to build defenses and everyone knew it. Adair set them to digging holes at the edge of the jungle and then filling the holes with Punji stakes and anti personnel mines. He probably only had a couple of dozen of them so they were more to make the Government Troops nervous, than anything else. While everyone was busy preparing for the coming dance, I sat in one of the dining halls drinking coffee and being disappointed. Yes I had hoped for the Irishman, but I should have known better. The operation I found myself involved with was not a Swamp Thing operation. It was instead a Pig Shit operation. I might have to answer to the Deacon for my last rebellion before this one was over. The Deacon would have been one of my favorites from the farm, with his 'kill them all, then let God sort them out' attitude, if he was a little less autocratic. Even with that, I heard that he stood his ground in the defense of his agents. That might well have been a novelty in a bureaucratic environment. I expected I would know a lot more about the man in a week. I wasn't sure how much he knew about me. Supposedly, my true self was known only to the creator, and a couple of others who worked on the project. Of course someone in field operations had to know. Who that was might prove to be an issue one day, but it didn't seem to be just yet. Everyone, at the moment, just seemed to think I was some kind of super agent. Why wouldn't they? No one had any information, or even a frame of reference for what I really was. Hell, even since I was a child, I was never quite sure what I was either. "Maxine, let's talk," The Deacon suggested. "No problem, but what do you want to talk about?" I asked. "I talked to Williams, you guys have this organized really well. Adair brings some unconventional shit to the table, but you have the defenses set up just the way the book would suggest." "Well it wasn't hard. This is your typical Alamo scenario," I suggested. "If we can keep the air strikes and the Artillery barrages at a minimum, we can hold out a while." I suggested. "Well we have some new toys, we have been dying to try out." he said actually smiling at me. "Well I do hope they are effective or that you have a nuclear option," I admitted. "Let's say we have a back door plan and another Vietnam era bit of history up our sleeve." The Deacon said. "All the old junk is still out there and surplus. Best of all it can not be traced back to anyone, let alone us." "So you are talking my 'run out the back door plan' but with a RPB instead of fight my way across the border," I said. "Oh I'm sure we will have to fight our way out, but it will just be on the river instead of in the jungle. I so much prefer that," he said. "Well, I have to admit that you did bring something to the dance," I suggested. "Too bad you are a drunk," he said. "They told me not to bring any booze with me because you were a lush." "Well you can't have everything. Lush or slut which would you prefer," I asked. "Yeah, I hear the sex addict programs are really not any fun at all," he said. "I never thought of being a slut as a problem needing a 12 step program," I said. "Nor did I. In some circles it is an advantage, I hear," he replied seriously. "Except for the people who what to save me, I never found a downside," I admitted. "Hey you two, we have one sniper rifle unassigned. Do you have any ideas?" Simon Jerrod asked. "Have Williams give it to his best shot and then have them stay together. He can continue teaching him as this shit unfolds," I suggested. "That's exactly the right thing to do," The Deacon said. "So do they have all those mines we brought in planted?" "We have them planted and that Adair is really something," he said. "How so," The Deacon asked. "We planted the twenty he had, but then we dug a hundred holes and covered them over. If the government troops, try to dig up everything they see disturbed, they are going to be nothing but targets for out snipers. All they will get for their bodies are empty holes. I told him I thought it was brilliant and he said to me. 'Son, it's all about killing people, and that is hardly a skill of which I am proud.'" "Sounds like a guy with a few human feelings left," I suggested approvingly. "Oh yeah, I'm supposed to tell you that we heard trucks coming up the road," Simon said. "Thanks, I need to talk to Adair," I said as I went looking for him. It took me a about five minutes but I found him talking to our troops such as they were. "Adair, you need to get some drones in the air to let us know how many are coming to the dance, and what they are bringing," I suggested. "Twenty trucks, eight men to a truck between 150 and 200 soldiers. They are not battle tested, so there will be some game playing going on," he replied. "Tanks or artillery?" I asked. "None so far, but it's like we thought. This is not a move with the backing of everyone in the government. I feel that some units are just going to refuse to show up. What does show up is going to get their butts kicked, then have to live with the international pressure that is going to come their way," he said. "You are a lot more confident than I am, about whose butt is going to get kicked," I replied. "Maxine, they don't have Deacon, Simon, Williams, me and you. We have almost as many armed men and we have the high ground. On paper we should just beat their ass like an unfaithful wife." "You know, if you say that real fast it sounds pretty good as a motivator. What we have is a bunch of guys who most likely can't even clean their weapon. So the best we can hope for is good on the job training for them. I'm not going for a win, I praying just not to lose," I said. "Well you are in the right place to pray," The Deacon suggested as he walked up. "Listen, you can hear the trucks. Pardon me a few minutes I need to go create a road block." The Deacon quickly climbed the wall over the front gate. He took a law rocket with him. He stood leaning against the wall until the first truck poked through the jungle and into the clearing leading to the walled monastery. Then he calmly punched the LAW into the engine compartment of the truck. He effectively blocked the road temporarily at least. He also drew first blood no doubt. Which set off a firestorm of incoming small arms fire. The word had been passed down the line to let them fire their barrage. Since everyone had been warned about it in advance, the incoming fire did nothing at all, except maybe pit the walls. There were several minutes of silence before Adair's voice could be heard. "Now," was his simple comment. Men of all kinds, and dressed in about every imaginable thing, popped up over the edge of the wall. They fired into the line of soldiers rushing the compound. Oh yeah there was one woman firing her Remington 700 and working the bolt as fast as she could. It was my job to shoot the officers and non commissioned officers who became visible in my scope. I shot machine gunners, and anyone I saw with a RPG first. Those were the primary order of everyone with a sniper rifle that day. I had no doubt they were the target of choice in any battle. We cut down a lot of soldiers in that first thirty minute firefight. Not that they didn't kill some of us as well. Our body count was significantly less than theirs fortunately. It had to be, since we were not going to be reinforced. When the firing slowed down, I continued to find targets and engage them. I knew that the firing would slow down to just the snipers, so I wasn't surprised. Everyone else was to engage the soldiers only when they attacked. The snipers continued to look for targets of opportunity even in the lulls. I had my hearing cranked up to help me find targets just in case someone got close. While in that mode I heard Adair say to Deacon, "That woman is a fucking machine. She stood there shooting that rifle with shit pinging all around her. I never saw anybody so fucking cold." "She is a stone killer, there ain't no doubt about it. I would hate like hell to have her after me," he said. I took a break that I didn't need, so that I could check on the snipers. I had decided they belonged to me. Hell, Adair and Deacon could have everyone else. "Simon how you doing?" I asked when I found him on my right flank. "Not sure how many I'm killing, but I am sure as hell making a lot of them nervous." he said grinning. I caught the sight of the TV crew filming, so I put on my make shift face cover. I tried to slip away but they caught me coming down the ladder. "If you use my name I will shoot you," I whispered to the reporter. He smiled until I added. "I am not kidding you, during the next firefight I will put a bullet in your head." "This is one of the female volunteers here at the Shining Light Monastery. Miss would you tell me what you are thinking?" he asked. "I am thinking that people should just let us worship as we wish. If they don't want to believe what we believe, I am okay with that. I don't understand why they can't feel the same. They want to murder us, because we believe in god. That just makes no sense to me at all." "But you are not a member of the Shining Light Ministry, why are you here risking your life?" "If they are martyring one group today, tomorrow they will be trying to wipe out another. If that is the case, it is only a matter of time before they are standing on the steps of the First Baptist Church in my hometown with guns." I walked away quickly after I said that. I had absolutely no idea that the interview would sweep across the Internet and the cable news outlets like a storm. The mask did absolutely no good, since the guys on the farm gave me up. They wanted the publicity to be good for a change, so they just handed me over to the press, bad hair and all. ------- Chapter 371 When the sun went down on that first day, we had three bodies in the spot designated for the dead. I talked to the general and we decided to divide the compound into four sections with our four best snipers in charge of one each. That meant I got the front one, Jerrod got the section off to my right, Deacon the one on the left and Williams and his buddy were responsible for the one in the rear. I had worn the funky solar vest all day. When I wore it I slipped the fake MP3 player in the vest pocket. That vest and the collection of free electrons could keep me running at about 75%. Practically it meant that during the day time without any other charge I could do everything I normally did, but that at the end of the day my reserve would be down to about 60%. Practically I could still do anything I wanted for about two more hours. Two hours after dark I needed to plug my ass in somewhere. The cover story I used at the Alamo 2011 was that I had a sophisticated electronics system that needed to be powered. The brain of the system was the MP3 type device. If I used it at night I could tell when and were the attacks was likely to be coming from, because I could hear them preparing for it. That being the case, I got no arguments about plugging into our portable generator. The compound had a generator, but we brought our own. While I charged I listened and watched the edge of the jungle. Sure as hell I predicted the first probing attack two hours after dead dark. We broke it up with deadly sniper fire based on infrared imaging, and carpet fire laid down by the Monks on the walls. There were four lumps that had to be dragged away. I did something that was usually frowned upon in warfare. I shot the men trying to recover their dead and wounded. In the Alamo scenario the people held up in the fort had to create all the dead and wounded possible. A wounded man required someone and resources to care for him. The people inside the fort had to minimize the force outside's advantage any way they could. I carried one of the M79 grenade launchers to the top of the wall. I fired it at one of the campfires just to see if it would penetrate the jungle night. I have no idea what effect it had on the outside force, I was pretty sure, even at the least, it would shake them up some. While the others slept fitfully, I sat quietly conserving my energy. I shot anyone I saw all night long otherwise I just ran thoughts through my brain such as it was. I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep. While I did that, one of the Monks was in charge. "I need to move around," I said after four hours on the front wall. "Call me if you see or hear anything. I'm going to see how it is going with Jerrod." I left the heavy ass Remington with the Monk. There was one over at Jerrod's post. I did carry the M79 and a bag of grenades. I sat with Jerrod and chatted. "Are you sorry yet that you signed on?" I asked. "Not yet but I might be soon, who knows. So far I am too busy trying to stay alive," he said with a huge grin. "Would you mind, if I borrow your rifle?" I asked. "Not at all," he said trading with me. I handed him the M79 and raised the scope of the Remington to my eye. As I had expected from the sounds, the troops outside had moved to the edge of the jungle because they felt safe in the night. The ones on the front side had not done that because I kept them pushed back. I took aim with the heavy Remington and Killed two of them. I didn't even tell Jerrod that I had killed anyone, he knew. "Wanna have some fun?" I asked quietly after the deafening report of the Remington. "Sure," he replied. "Take the 'infrared scope' and find one of the bodies. Then lay one of these grenades on him when some of them come to clean up the mess. They don't have to be kills from the grenade ... Even frightening fire will be something. Please keep your head down though." I said. I don't have a replacement for you. After I finished with Jerrod, I returned to the front. I shot at a few of the troops dug in there. Just enough to keep them awake. After fifteen minutes or so, I move to my left flank and the Deacon. The bad guys were pushed back into the jungle on his side as well. I stayed on his wall only a few seconds then moved immediately to William's rear position. William's position was actually the roof of one of the residence buildings for the monks. The rooms that were located at the rear of both floors were actually cells with no windows at all. They had to be pretty miserable to live in, but they made for a great defensive position. Williams and his crew sat on top of a very sound structure. Their one disadvantage was that a mortar could explode behind them and throw hot metal pieces all over them. A mortar would most likely pass over my parapet and land in the courtyard a full ten or more feet below me. Odds were better that I would not be hit. Still it was a trade off. The parapets were hard to reach and easy to fall from. Since Williams had carried bags of scrap vegetation to the roof for he and his men to hide behind, they had a good chance to avoid the back blast. By the time the sun came up we had done a pretty good job of keeping the outsiders awake all night. Between the sniper rifles popping all night, and the grenades going off now and then around any signs of life, it was a sleepless night for the opposition. In my case it made no difference. In the case of the others, I had no idea what effect it might have. Day two began with an assault on the right flank. Jerrod and his men pushed them back to the jungle. There was sniper fire from the walls, there was AK 47 fire from the walls. There was anti personnel mines and punji stakes for the attackers to deal with. Then when they got back into the jungle, there were rifle grenades to contend with. All in all, it had to have been a pretty miserable assault. It was at least two hours later when I heard them. I heard them well before I saw them. There was no question that the sound was that of helicopters, and no question that they would be attack choppers. I expected them to put down suppressive fire and then for the bad guys to come running. It was the classic use of attack choppers since the fifties. All we could do was get ready to head down to the holes until the choppers were gone. By that time the outsiders would probably be inside and it would hand to hand. Well hell I probably should head for the back door. Just as I was thinking that, one of the two helicopters exploded in midair for no apparent reason. I was shocked, I looked over and saw a grinning Deacon jumping up and down. Just then the second one exploded. That time I had seen the small streak of fire come from what, at first glance, appeared to be a gray cloud. One of the new toys had to be an air to air combat class drone. I had always expected that they existed, I had just waited for proof. So it had finally happened. I smiled at the Deacon and gave him a thumbs up, Then I turned my attention to killing more officers and non commissioned officers. By afternoon the pressure was off, so we moved around inside waiting for the other shoe to fall. "So will they get reinforcements?" Jerrod asked. "Beats the hell out of me. That is more something Adair or Deacon can answer," I replied. "Maxine, let's you and I have a talk." Adair said. "Jerrod and Deacon can keep an eye on the place." "Sure," I said following him into one of the monastery buildings. "So whats up?" "They may get reinforcements, but it won't be for a couple of days. If we just sit here and keep the pressure on them there is a good chance they will just fold up and disappear." Adair said. "Yeah, but that isn't what you want to do?" I asked. "I left a corridor open in the back for us to escape. How about you and a few others slip out the back. Get through the line and roll up some of these guys. Maybe enough for them, so that the rest decide it is time to go home." Adair suggested. "To be honest I have not been impressed with their tenacity for sure. If half a dozen of us got out and started to roll them to the front, they might just run off into the jungle." I suggested. "Yes and we have a news crew to report it. My guess is the other factions in the government will send in troops, so that we can walk away." Adair said. "We will need all the night glasses on the raid. We don't want to be out there blind." I said. "I know once the shooting starts they are useless, but maybe they will give us an accurate first volley on target." My internal sensors were the best. They were made so that they reacted quickly and self corrected almost immediately. "Take whatever you need, but you can't have anyone but your man Jarrod and monks. Deacon and Williams stay with me." "We all hang together or we hang separately," I said laughing. "What does that mean?" he asked. "It means we are all in this together, until we aren't all in it together," I said laughing at him. I was pretty sure that the local government and, the anti-Christ cult, were all scrambling to beat hell that afternoon. Everyone was trying to find the best response. Meanwhile the world wide press was having a field day. The two choppers exploding were caught on film. It made one hell of an afternoon news story back on the cable news networks. During the daylight hours I wore the mask. I didn't like it but I knew they would show my face at the first opportunity. I preferred not to be the face of the rebels, if that was how they planned to frame the people in the monastery. I sat on the walkway behind the wall and watched over the top. I saw the men working to hook a chain to the crippled truck at the jungle's edge. I took a moment to shoot two of them in the legs. It might not have killed, or disabled them, but they did stop working on the truck. It was an hour later at 4PM when on of the reporters called up to me. "Ma'am could I speak with you please?" he asked respectfully. "About what?" I asked. "I gave you my opinion yesterday. I hope this isn't going to become a habit." "No Ma'am just when there is something on which to comment." he said. "I'll be right down then." I turned my attention to the man beside me. " Juan, if something happens, call me" I ordered before I went down. "Now what?" I asked shortly once I was in front of the reporter. "Take a look at this, then comment please." He then ran a clip of my statement and the president of the united states made a few comments, on my comments. In general the president said he didn't agree with me at all. He went further to say that I should not be in a foreign country taking up arms. He was sure that I would be investigated upon my return to the USA, if I survived at all." "Would you care to comment?" the reporter said. "I respect his right to have a different opinion. He can have that opinion, and I won't call for him to be investigated. You know, just to see if there is an impeachable offense in his actions in this matter. See I think we all need to just get out of each others way. Don't try to kill me for believing in a supreme being, and i won't try to kill you for not believing. If we start there, then it is easy to say you wear a head scarf and I won't. I'll take up arms against a murderous group and you sit in your office and cluck your tongue. I won't tell you not to cluck, and don't tell me not to defend myself and my friends. Is that what you wanted?" I asked the reporter. ------- Chapter 372 Even before the sun went down Adair had men working on the back wall. They didn't brake through completely, but they did dig the inside trench and start the breach. It was going to be a curved opening at ground level, Just as soon as we were through, they would cover the hole inside. It was a simple enough exit, just as it was a simple plan. Of course once outside we were on our own. Six people, with better night vision, on a mission to kill as many of the other guys as they could, Hopefully without getting killed themselves. We were not out trying to capture anything, we were out there just to thin the herd, as it were. "Simon, I have explained to you the nastiness of this job. Believe me, I will not blame you one bit, if you tell me to go get fucked." I said quietly. "Knowing you Maxine, you will be doing that as well. No, this sounds like a Legion type job to me," he said. "But it isn't, and you aren't," I suggested. Maybe I was trying to talk him out of it. "Damn I wish you had told me that two weeks ago," he said smiling. "If you are going outside the walls, you can bet your ass, I'm there as well." He still had that heavy French accent, but over time I had at least begun learning to understand him a little. "Then you and Williams go pick me four martyrs. Men who will at least try to keep us alive." I suggested. Even as the sun went down, I was on the wall plinking away at anyone who showed himself. It had to be a bit unnerving. I don't mean just me. There were at least four accomplished marksmen on the wall all day long dropping any soldier who dared to do more than cower in their hole. More than one had died while standing to take a piss. They threw attack choppers at us and we shoot them down with drones. They try to open the road to run a truck with explosives up to our door and the mechanics get shot. If they tried to bring up tanks or artillery, I expected the old fashioned air to ground drones to show up. The farm had the perfect plan. Not one of us on the ground could be traced to them, and from the ground looking into the air, who could swear that it wasn't one of their own government's rogue planes hidden behind those clouds, There were still plenty of Catholics and other Christians in the air force ranks. The attackers were just in a bad place. I expected that they were just now coming to understand that. Most likely they were trying to save face anyway they could at that moment. Adair's plan was to humiliate them and end it quickly. He obviously hadn't been brought in to negotiate a peaceful ending. My plan was to end it with diplomatic pressure, he had obviously been installed for the kill shot. I believed that to be true, even if it was me and Simon, who were the ones who were likely to get killed in Adair's eyes. Most likely he didn't even know who I was. He just knew that I was not part of his team. It wouldn't have mattered who they sent, since I wasn't part of anyone's team. By the time that the sun went down and dead dark descended, I had shot and most likely killed five men. It wasn't a sense of accomplishment which I felt. It was more a sense that I was chipping away at the mess I found myself trapped inside. If we chipped enough pieces away it would at least crack, if not shatter completely. In a few moments, for the first time, I was going to be completely on the offense. I was looking forward to it. It was very hard to win playing defense, even though we did have a shot at winning with the newsies inside with us. They were for sure keeping the pressure from the outside world in place. They were our only hope to win a defensive action. That very night we would be seeing whether or not we could win an offensive action instead. I agreed with Adair on the need to seize the opportunity to at least attempt to drive a stake in the evil one's heart. It was 2AM when I moved to the hole in the wall. There was complete darkness on the inside of the wall and even more darkness outside. It was a tight squeeze for me and the sloppy bag of clips for the assault rifle. I had come to love the M79 grenade launcher but there was no room for it. I had managed to get Adair and Deacon to promise to move along the wall as we advanced and to support us with the bloop guns. There wouldn't be a lot of opportunities to do so, but they would be ready and at least trying to do it. Mostly I wanted to keep them from rushing reinforcements to the attack points. In close quarters I was more afraid of the the blooper hitting us by mistake. I did trust Adair and the Deacon to at least try to keep their ears penned back. The six of us were outside and moving as quietly as possible. I saw the first two soldiers and held the others back while I slipped as close as possible. Then I quietly stood and put them down with one shot each. They weren't pretty shots and I doubt that I killed either, but they were hit bad enough so that they would not be shooting back. After those two shots there was no more stealth involved. From that point forward it was run and shoot. Mostly it seemed to be me and Simon running and shooting and the other four keeping anyone from moving up on us from the flanks. That seemed to work so I just kept moving. There were also a few explosions. I was surprised by how few soldiers seemed to be returning fire. Even the return fire seemed to be aimed in the wrong places. I lost track of the number of people I hit, and even the hits I took. If I had still been alive, I would be in pain, but not dead. I had one in the leg and one in the arm for sure. No one had to know that I had taken a hit at all. Neither of them seemed to even be annoying. Our objective had been the front gate. I was surprised when the gates opened and twenty men rushed out. They just rushed in and took over the operation. Since I was almost out of ammunition, I backed off and pulled Simon and the others off as well. Let the pig shit crowd have a turn, I thought. I stood against the wall and listened for a while, then I went into a Monk's cell. Inside the monk's cell I worked the flattened lead out of my leg. It hadn't broken the fake bone, but it seemed to have struck a hydraulic line. The system shut that line off and rerouted the fluid. I was going to have a very slight loss of movement in the leg. It was hardly noticeable. The less important hits had merely ripped through my clothing and some of my frame cover. The covering is called skin on a real person. None of the others were serious, not even inconvenient. The system they build for me had lots of redundancy. I just wouldn't be screwing anyone till I had a few repairs on my frame. Bummer, I thought. When I walked out of the cell, with only a slight limp, the second assault force was back inside the Alamo. I went out to find Simon before I did anything else. As I expected I found him with his Monks. "Did everyone come back alright?" I asked. Of course it was rhetorical, since I already knew that I took the only hits. I would never have left them otherwise. "Yeah we are fine, why the limp?" Simon asked. "I think I twisted my knee. I looked and didn't see any blood, " I said. "What's that then?" Simon asked pointing to the spot just above my knee. "I think I peed on myself," I said laughing. "I think we all did," one of the Monks said. I turned my attention to the Monks. "I can not tell you how brave I think you guys are. Simon and I are trained for this, but you guys have to have balls the size of pumpkins." "Ah but you two fight for your lives, we fight for even more," he said smiling very simply. "Well put," I said. "Come with me you two," Adair said almost angrily. I looked at Simon, nodded, then stood on my shaky leg to follow. "You alright?" Deacon asked when I limped into the room. "Twisted my knee out there. You know it was dark as hell?" I asked. "I noticed. If we had ten real soldiers, I would have hunted down everyone one of those pukes and killed them," he said "Well we don't, so are they going to regroup over night?" I asked. "Probably not, their commander doesn't have ten real soldiers either," he said with a laugh. "So you think this is over?" I asked. "Yes, I am pretty sure it's over. We will make sure that nothing changes. Then when the ten real soldiers do show up, we are all going to slip out the back door." "Oh shit no parades?" I asked. "Hell no, the president doesn't even want to shake your hand," Adair said with a smile. "Now that hurt," I replied. "I think there is a special place reserved for you in heaven though," Simon said. I was shocked it was the first time I had heard him speak in one of those meetings. He had always seemed rather shy around the heavier hitters. "Well I'm exhausted. I am going to go rest until you decide we can leave," I said to Adair. What I actually did was return to one of the study rooms and plug in my MP3 player. I was down to 35% power and was starting to sag a little. What I was mostly, was proud as hell of the job we had done. "We have a truck full of soldiers coming in to set up a protective force outside the walls. There is more than enough publicity to make sure that nothing happens here," Deacon said to me. "First of all, I don't for a fucking minute believe that power of the press bullshit. It works some of the time at best. Secondly they will simply move their attack somewhere else," I suggested. "Maybe, but there has been a successful resistance now. I would bet my ass there will be a whole hell of a lot more resistance. I don't think that narrative will work anymore. They are going to need to come up with more than, God is dead, to get people to throw paint at churches." Simon said. The shy kid had found a voice. "Oh hell, they will just shout God hates Gays or Men with small penises. They can always find something to rally around." I said. "God does not hate men with small cocks," Deacon said laughing. Then he walked away full of good cheer. "Damn, ain't we just the pair though," Simon said. "I guess we can lean on each other as we walk down that trail to the river landing." "There has to be a song in there somewhere," I said. I should have refused the power bar Simon handed me, but I liked the taste of it. I knew I didn't need it and I would just have to empty the holding vessel later, but it still had a good taste to it. That and the awful black coffee the Monks made seemed to compliment each other. I sat in the monk's study room charging my power pack, drinking the shitty coffee, and eating the coarse power bar. While I did all that I listened to 1960s country music and relived the memory of riding with my dad in his crappy pickup truck. I just pushed everything else out of my mind and remember the smell of old spice and soap as we rode to the junkyard to buy some used car part. ------- Chapter 373 It might have been a long night for those who kept watch, but I spent mine listening to music. Music which had been old, when I first heard it. I first heard it while riding in my dad's old pick up. I was lost in memories. Memories so real I could hear his voice while the real world passed by outside my door. My memories were even more real that night, than they had been before the change. The memories of my dad were just as real as the ones of me running through the jungle an hour earlier. All my memories had equal weight for some reason. I expected that it was why my orgasms were so intense even after the change. While listening to that music and smelling my dad's old spice, I remembered my first experiences with masturbation. I began to rub myself again as I remembered those first experiences. Maybe I read about it, or maybe it was some off color joke between the older girls at school. Something sparked my interest. "Jennifer have you ever masturbated?" I asked her while we were alone at the school bus stop. I made sure to look away when I asked, because I knew I was blushing. "Of Course I have silly, haven't you?" she asked. "Of course," I lied, "I was just curious to see if you did it differently." I said that just to cover my tracks. "Did you find out by accident, like I did," she asked. "What do you mean?" I asked in return. "I was rubbing an itch down there and it felt really good. Too good to stop. In a few minutes it was getting absolutely uncontrollable, and then I had an orgasm." she said. "They say sometimes it takes girls a long time the first few times. Maybe I am a natural slut or maybe I had been doing it and just didn't know till I came. God that was almost like dying, but good," she promised." "I don't think I have cum yet," I said being more or less honest. "Well when you rub yourself down there imagine it is boy doing it. Imagine it is someone you really like and would like to have touch you there. It makes it so much better and easier to cum like that." That's how I first found out how to do it, I thought while I listened to old music. My memory was so sharp, I could even remember the anticipation of getting home from school, so I could try it. When I finally got home, everyone was either at work or outside, I slipped into the bathroom and sat on the toilet. I went there to be sure no one would walk in on me. None of our bedroom doors had locks. Well, I think mom and dad had a lock on their door, but none of us kids did. I sat on the toilet and spread my legs. I reached down and began to rub my labia. Of course at that time I had no idea what it was called. I just thought of it as my lips. I had heard girls and even some of the boys talk about girls lips down there. After only a few rubs I looked down and noticed how red it was. I thought maybe something was wrong with me, but like Jennifer had promised it felt really good. I mean if felt wonderful and kept getting better, I knew that I could slip my finger inside my pee hole. I put just the tip of my finger inside and was surprised how good that felt as well as the rubbing of my lips. I was also surprised by how slippery it was in there. It made it easy to slip even more of my finger inside. Having the finger in there made me feel full. Almost like I needed to use the bathroom from the back. I knew that I didn't, and the feeling wasn't really the same, it was just sorta how it felt. As I moved my finger in and out it felt even better. As Jennifer promised it felt better with everything I did. I worked on myself with my finger going in and out until I had what surely must have been an orgasm. I mean the pressure was dreadful one second, then all of a sudden I felt a dam burst. I flooded the toilet around my finger and I had this huge sense of relief and well being. I felt kind of guilty like maybe I peed on myself or something. It took me several minutes to recover my wits. I was shaking when I left the bathroom. I was sure that if anyone saw me, they would know that I was a slut for sure. I wasn't sure what being a slut meant, but I was sure that I was headed in that direction because I couldn't wait to get back to the bathroom again. So that was my first memory of an orgasm and I relived it again that night. The relief began with the fact that I was still alive. Most of the men who stood beside me were alive as well and that was also a relief. Maybe it was that which brought back the memories or maybe I had just gone too long without an orgasm. It didn't really matter what it was, I slipped my hand inside my jeans and began to rub the sensor that replaced my clitoris, I felt myself climb as I stroked it. I even slipped my finger inside my excavation channel and rubbed the fake muscles the wrong way. It felt a hell of a lot like anal intercourse. In the body, which I occupied at that moment, the anal receptors were better than the fake vaginal ones. Over all I preferred vaginal, because it was the best memories, but for pure physical response of the body, anal felt more like the real anal, than vaginal did real vaginal. Even so, I managed to rely on old memories to explode into several gut wrenching orgasms. I would have done anything sexual, which anyone asked me at that moment. It was a damn good thing that I was alone at the time. Since the orgasms used a lot of power, it was a good thing that I was alone, so that I could continue to charge past the time I would have normally stopped, had I not gotten off so well. I was back in control and fully functional by the time the sun came up. I was actually humming along with one of the sixties greatest hits. I had heard it a million times first in my dad's old truck, then in about everything with a tape player I ever owned, It was called the Weight. I always imagined myself as Fanny and Aster as Nazareth. I know it's disgustingly childish and way too romantic but hell I am what I am. The song was almost over when Jerrod came in. "We got a message from the government of Bolivia or where ever the fuck we are. They sent word to whoever is pulling your strings. It was telling us all to give up our weapons and they will escort us out of the country." "My fucking ass we will," I said before I even thought about it at all. "They are planning to bury us along the way. I have no idea what the General and his girlfriends are going to do, but you and I are headed for the border with all the shit we can carry. Pack it up Simon. "What about the Monks?" Simon asked. "Our job was to find Williams. We found him and he can come with us. Along with all the monks in this place, if they want. The world knows about their Satan cult, or whatever it is. We have done all we can, except to die for their cause. Simon, I'm sorry, but this ain't the cause for which I am willing to die. Now I don't mind someone else dieing for it, but it won't be me, if I can help it. So why don't you go tell everyone who wants to go with us, to pick up a piece and a bag of Ammunitions and lets hit the road right fucking now." "I agree completely," Jerrod said. "I will get them together and be in the courtyard in five minutes." After he left I pulled up the farm and then sent this message ... I have no idea what you are thinking, but I'm headed to the border with Jerrod and anyone who wants to tag along. Just so you know, I don't give a fuck about an international incident, if they stand between us and that border crossing, they are going to die. So you tell the government here to stay the fuck out of my way... I hear you loud and clear. But go to the river landing where the air drop was. The boat we had planned originally will be there,,, was their wordless response. I'm taking anyone who wants to get out. You might need more transport. If you don't have it, then get your pig shit boys out. The rest off us will hump it out over the mountain if it's our only choice ... I said. How do you think a river convoy of every fucking boat available from dugout canoe to tour boat would look on the 6 o'clock news? was the wordless rely ... Just let us know how many you need to transport. Meanwhile I'm going to see if we can't make that image known to the Government down there. Adrian took ten minutes to get to the courtyard with his weapon. "It's a damn good thing we see eye to eye. I would hate like hell to go to war against you," he said. "You are damn right you would," I said with a grin. "I't's much better to have me as a lover than enemy." "Hold on I got a call coming in from the farm." He slipped off to answer it. I waited along with Simon. The head monk walked up while Adrian was busy. "How many are you bringing with you?" I asked. "We have decided to stay. We will do what your people did at the fort in Texas. We will be the modern martyrs." he said. "Father, they had no way out, we can get you out. We can get you all out," I said. "The world will know they are in peril, if we stay and die. If we run away, they will never know what is happening in places like this," he said. "We have no idea where your government is on this issue from one minute to the next," I said. "I know and you should go. You have taught us well. As you yourself put it, we can make that joyful noise. The one the news-people will spread around the world. It will do no good for you to die here," he said. "I am leaving father. I really do think you should come along," I said. "Maxine, the government press office just put out a statement that they will protect this monastery with all force required. They said that we were free to leave, but not to carry arms inside their country. I told the pig shit information officer to tell them that we would carry our weapons one quarter mile to the river landing. At the river landing we would board a boat for home. If anyone tried to take our weapons, there would be violence ... period." "Are we leaving?" Simon asked. "We are, the guys who came in last are going with us, Williams, and the reporters as well. The priests are staying to make their point. They will not only be making it with the bible and pen, but with a few AK47s as well." "Sounds like a plan," he said. "Simon, how do you like picnics?" I asked. "I like picnics fine why?" he asked. "There is an old tradition back in Aster. I often take my best friends to a picnic on the office patio overlooking the city lake. I think you qualify for the next picnic, just you and me." "I'll look forward to it. Now, pardon the expression, but let's get the hell out of here." Jerrod said to me as the front gate swung open. The air was dead silent as we humped toward the river landing. ------- Chapter 374 I guess the night before put me in the mood for a stroll down memory lane. I say that because as I walked down the jungle path toward the boat landing my mind was split. Half was keeping a sharp eye out for stranglers from action the night before, and the other half was concentrated on my much earlier years. I bet everyone does the same kind of thing now and then. Well maybe not the soldiers running around the jungle seeking revenge part, but the split thoughts part. Some of those memories are so painful, I expect that we all tend to bury them for years. Even buried memories come back to visit now and then, like bad chili. As I walked along in the very front of our little group, I was isolated, not by distance so much as by who I was. It was as simple as that. I wasn't like the others and I really never had been. I was, of course, even less like them at that moment. When I never really liked playing with dolls as a child, I probably should have known then that I was different. I was different even though I had the almost idyllic Saturday Evening Post family life. I had a hard working masculine father figure, who worked two jobs so that his wife could raise three kids. He was the kind of man that in the back of her mind every little girl and young woman hopes to have as a lover. Like any other, so called, normal girl I had more than one dream where the man turned his face to me afterward, and it was dear old dad. No that had never happened in real life. Not that I would have objected, or ever told anyone. I also had a strong mother, who had enough kids so that it was financially impossible for her to work. So we were poor, but so was everyone else in the mill village. I have a theory that you are only poor, when you know you are poor. I also think, that you are only poor, if you know there are people who aren't poor. So my family only became poor, when I went to the town's high school. During all the other years, when I went to school it was with kids in my own socioeconomic status. So I was poor for the first time, when I was a teenager. Even then I defended my own way of life. I never apologized for being poor. I never took anything that belonged to anyone else, except the occasional boy from some rich bitch, just to prove I could. It was bad to do that, but Jennifer was the worst of all possible girls to have pissed at you. She never was pissed at me, but we were like Frick and Frack. She knew how to scheme, like the slutty little bitch she was. I could kick any of the girl's and about half the guy's asses. We were like the cotton mill mafia. I was a natural high school enforcer, since I had two brothers. In my house it was like, fight for it, or lose what little I had. I loved my brothers and was sad that neither of my brother's had lived as long as I had. They had not even lived to the age I had before the big change. My older brother died in a South American shit hole, while working for the government of the United States. We never knew exactly what he did for them, but we did know that they sure were sorry about it. Or so said the little guy who had to look on a card to be sure he got my brother's name right. Eddie died in 1985, during the summer, at least that's what the little man said. He was really sorry that there was no body for us to bury. Seems Eddie kinda god lost while they were exploring for oil. Why a government employee was looking for oil in a foreign country I never knew. My middle Middle bother died two years later in an automobile accident. That's what his buddy said at least. He flipped an old van over while making a delivery. Samuel was some kind of courier, according to the friend. He was the kind who paid no income taxes. The man who explained that also handed me an envelope filled with cash. I never bothered to ask what he had carried in the panel vans he drove. I graduated high school shortly after Samuel went into the ground, after a closed casket service, I might add. My mother and even my dad seemed to be broken after that funeral. My graduation from high school wasn't cause for any celebration. I just got on a bus the next day to start my career with the Unites States Air Force. The rest, so they said, was history. At least little bits of history as it happened at the time. Since Eddie died in some South American shit hole. I seemed to be drawn to the area. I'm not sure if it's coincidence, or I just gravitate to it. I guess shit happens, like it is supposed to happen in the end. By the time my memories got to my basic training in Texas, we had reached the river landing. I was the first to see the aluminum river patrol boat tied to the rickety pier. If it wasn't from the actual war in Vietnam, it was from that time period for sure. Just as were the small arms which we carried onto the boat. We had stepped back in time to the war my Dad fought. The one, where if he had been less of a man, I would not have existed in the first place. If you do the time line you will see my dad was first there during the adviser stage of the war. Later he was part of The First Marine Expeditionary Brigade. After his tour with the FMEB he came home to start a family. He told me something I never forgot the night before I left for the Air Force. "I hoped that by getting out, I would never see and feel death that closely again," he said. "Unfortunately life doesn't let you insulate yourself from those kinds of things. It happened with the boys and all the nightmares came back." I guess I learned, that you can't hide from the horror. If life wants to drop it on your ass, life will just hunt you dawn and drop it on you, no matter where you hide. You might as well embrace the shit it throws at you, and learn to wade through it. Of course hip boots do help, so you can try to prepare yourself for it. Whether you like the farm or not you had to appreciate that they could handle details very well. The river boat dropped the half dozen plus one of us onto to a steel pier in some slightly larger than small town on the river. The pier was near enough to the ocean to have sea gulls and the dead fish smell of the ocean hanging in the air. There were taxi's waiting for us. One taxi took the two reports and whisked them off to God alone knew where to file their final reports, I supposed. The three operatives from the pig farm left in a taxi together. Simon Jerrod and I shared a taxi which left for a destination unknown to all but the driver. I did surrender my firearms to Deacon, who presumably gave them over to a cop who was also there to meet us. I didn't actually see the exchange. "Do you have a blade?" I asked quietly in the rear of the taxi. "I am traveling with my friend Jim Bowie strapped to my leg, and you?" Jerrod asked. "If I get a job offer for the stockroom of a grocery store, I am prepared," I said. It was my smart ass way to explain the flat metal box opener with the sliding razor blade. Unlike Jerrod, mine was inside a pocket of my jeans. It was thin and flat so had no profile that needed to be hidden. Jerrod, of course, knew that if we ended up in a commercial airport, he would have to make other arrangements to get the Bowie Knife home. My blade just went in the trash, but his was an expensive knife and held memories, he might want to mail it on ahead. I had done that before with the concealed hammer .38 before the big change. Now that I knew that I could fly again, I had to consider how to get weapons moved around once again. No real pro wanted to work with a strange weapon, not that he/she couldn't, but well broken in boots make for the most comfortable hike in the woods. The taxi didn't take us to the airport. It took us to a cruise ship dock on a different pier, in a different part of town. The drive was a very short one. One thing I had learned from working the kind of work I did, was to just play along unless you had to kill someone. "Just go with it," I whispered to Jerrod. The two of us, dirt stained, grubby looking, and in Jerrod's case stinky, presented ourselves to a Latin looking man in a Crisp White Uniform. "Hi there, I'm Maxine Stone and this is Simon Jerrod." "Ah yes, we had a call advising us that you were on the way. Your cabins are ready. This is also for you," he said handing me an envelope. "Very well," I said as Jerrod just stared at the ship with a deer in the headlights gaze. "Your travel agent said your luggage was being shipped. The steward will show you to your cabin. Your things may have already arrived, I'm told," he said trying very hard to be helpful. The Steward was a female and I happily followed her. As cruise ships go the one we found ourselves on was small. There were probably two hundred passengers, give or take a couple of dozen. There were no swimming pools on board, but there were restaurants and bars everywhere. Even a couple of small shops. That seemed most important to the other guests and to Jerrod as well. I was more impressed by their dependable power grid and robust wifi systems. The shops and the casino also appealed to me. I noted those on my walk to the cabin below. Once inside my cabin, with the door closed, I opened the envelope. The note inside read, Maxine have fun for the next few days. The ship will dock in Miami in five days. There will be an airline ticket home for Jerrod waiting there. A small plane will stop for you at the general aviation area that same afternoon. We will have things ready for you at the farm, your stay should be short Enjoy. I suppose that the enjoy was meant to accompany the two thousand dollars cash also in the envelope. "Walking around money for the five days," I murmured. There was a knock on what had to be the connecting door. I opened it to find Jerrod all smiles standing there. "Now this is the way to travel," he said. "It does beat the shaking river boat. Oh by the way here, some walking around money." I handed him a thousand dollars. "Wow, I had no idea I would get paid until after we got home?" he commented. He was most likely wanted to know where the rest of his money was. "Well I have to go make a report to the client. This is just an advance," I suggested. That explanation left my options open as to how much I would pay Jerrod in the end. I needed to sit down and do an assessment as to how he had performed and if I wanted to work with him again. "You are going to have to fly home from Miami alone. The ticket will be waiting for you, but you might need to buy a drink or a meal along the way. I don't know about you, but I didn't carry any real money along on the jungle expedition." I said. "Not much, but I could have managed," he said. "But hey thanks." ------- Chapter 375 He probably could have managed by eating peanut butter crackers. I had done that kind of thing more than once when I traveled as an almost teenager in the Air Force. They never gave me travel advances and airport food is not very good but it is very expensive. At least that is how I remember it. "Now Jerrod, I am going to take a shower and you can not join me this time," I said with a laugh. "Why not?" he asked almost seriously. "Because we both stink, and we are both exhausted. We are likely to fall and if memory servers me right ship's showers are small. So get the hell out, but maybe one day, when we are back in Aster." I suggested. "Fair enough, but only because you are the boss." He giggled like a school girl. "And I don't have a cock," I added playfully. "That too, but I might make and exception for you," he said seriously, but then he laughed to lessen the impact for both of us. "Since you said I stink, I will shower as well. Shall we meet for dinner?" "Sure make it 8PM. That will give us a few hours to explore the ship before we meet. I'm sure they have more than one dinning area, where shall we meet?" "The one closes to the front of this tub, should do at least as a place to begin," he suggested. "Alright the most forward official dining area at 8pm it is. Now get the hell out so I can wash the stink off me." I demanded. "Yes Ma'am," he replied. After he had gone, I entered the small bathroom and stripped off my jungle rags and they were indeed rags at that point. I wasn't kidding when I told Jerrod that I smelled. It wasn't body odor though. It was the smell of the olive oil I used as lubricant, and the smell of the very highly refined hydraulic fluid which still stained my jeans. I was no longer leaking, but it still smelled on my clothes and possibly on my fake skin. I absolutely did not exude a pleasant odor at all. Before I climbed into the fiberglass shower stall, I examined my body in the large vanity mirrors. They were the cruise line's idea of glitz. I could see my body reflected in every possible angle in the mirrors. By cranking up the zoom feature, I was able to see it in great detail as well. I could see everything, from the bad hair on my head, to the poorly stitched up rips and holes in the fake skin. It was a good thing I didn't plan on a gig with project runway. I would be the first one going home so poorly was my stitching skills. Actually if I applied myself, I could probably do an adequate job, but I had been in one hell of a hurry. I had a bullet hole dead center of my left thigh. That one I had stitched up just enough to keep it from continuing to tear, so it looked ragged as hell. The internal switches had rerouted the fluids. The absence of fluid to my knee assembly caused my limp. The other tears had been caused by flying metal of one kind of another, but those hadn't made a solid impact on anything vital. They had at least missed the fluid lines for sure. I felt like I might be missing some feedback circuitry but nothing vital. The farm, I came to understand, was doing an automatic monitoring program. Their satellite feedback told them when something went seriously wrong, otherwise they had to ask for updates, the number of which I think they had drastically reduced. Nonetheless I was sure they would have everything ready to do the needed repairs. They certainly knew what I needed better than I did. Oh well, maybe I shouldn't be quite so quick to wish for emancipation from the pig farmers. One thing I decided from looking at the terrible sewing job on my skin, was that I for sure would not be in a bikini on this trip. I stepped into the shower and washed my body. I got the smell of machine oil off me, before I used every sweet smelling thing I could find laying about. When I stepped out of the tiny shower stall, my hair still looked like shit, but it did smell good. I went into the cabin proper to see what the farm workers had sent for me to wear. All the clothes I had brought with me lay in a pile on the floor. Those were good only for mechanic's rags. I opened the cheap canvas suitcase. Inside I found a six pack of panties, size 6/8. Close enough, I thought. Hell they should know my sizes they created me, but then I had to remember not many people there knew that. Most would be guessing sizes by photographs. The mustard yellow tee shirt was a size 8 which gave it a little drape. A size 6 would have been almost tight but at least would have given people an indication that I was a woman. With an 8 and no bra I could pass for a teenage boy, but only from a distance. The age lines would give me away quickly as people closed in on me. The single pair of jeans were a size 6, which would be too tight for the jungle, but just fine for dinner. Even the sliding razor box opener would make an impression, but I doubted that anyone would know what it was. Who ever ordered the clothes most likely knew that they were close enough to the right sizes, so that I could go to the ship's boutique for an exact fit, if an exact fit were that big of a deal to me. Frankly it wasn't a big deal at all. I might need to buy some more tee shirts and maybe even another pair of jeans, but that would be all. I was not big into clothing. Especially, since on a cruise ship no one would be upset, if I wore jeans to everything. It was after all a relaxed vacation atmosphere. While I waited for the time to pass, I plugged in the MP3 player. I had it on satellite radio, while I did my recharge. I figured I would get my world news fix while I got my power pack reset. It was almost an hour before there was a mention of the attack on a monastery by rebellious army deserters. The reporters seemed surprised by the fact the the monks were armed and even more surprised that they repelled the attackers. There was no mention of the foreign advisers, and that suited me just fine. I didn't really want or need the publicity. Simon was likely to be disappointed though. Any young man would want to be recognized as a hero. I was fully charged and fully informed by the time I got bored. I loaded one rear pocket of the too tight jeans with cash and the other with the box opener, before I left my cabin. I went to the boutique first for the tee shirts I needed. I quickly found that everything there was way too expensive for me. I had the money, I just didn't think the cheap clothes were worth anywhere near the price they were asking. Even so I bought a pack of 3 plain white men's underwear type tee shirts. I bought the smallest size and knew even then they were going be large on me. I just didn't care. Men's tees were three for ten bucks. One woman's was twenty-five bucks. There was just no question which I would buy to walk around the cruise ship and even wear to the pig farm. I was not going to be picking up men for sure. What with all the bad sewing jobs they would see on my so called skin. I didn't have any good answers for why I looked like Frankenstein. Besides, the baggy white underwear top with the tank top type straps was sexy as hell. Well it was when it bagged open from my flat chest several inches. If a guy knew I was a chick, not a teenage boy, I would get plenty of looks. I left the boutique still in the mustard colored tight tee top. I went to the grill, where I had three cups of really good coffee. I would have preferred my own stronger and older stuff, but theirs was at least as good as Helen's. It did cost five times more and yes they charged for food at the grill. It was because only meals in the official dinning rooms were included in the cruise price. I didn't mind that there was a charge, since I didn't really have to have the coffee. I just did it to kill some time. "That's when I lost it all," I overheard a middle aged man, in a hideous floral shirt, telling his wife or girlfriend. "I know you told me to stop, but hell we are on vacation." "Yes Harold, but you are the one who told me that the casino's odds are always rigged against the player. You are such a jerk sometimes," the wife or girlfriend said sadly. "I know honey, but at least I stopped before I lost the house and our retirement account." He said good naturedly. I listened and pulled up a book from the depths of my memory. I had read the book on casino gambling several months before. I read it after seeing the opening episode of a TV show about a woman with an eidetic memory. The book explained how to bet at black jack, while counting cards to change the odds in favor of the player and not the casino. Actually it explained how to use devices to count the cards as well. I knew I could count the cards using nothing but the memory the creator had given me. I would have had a real moral issue doing it, except that the casinos had the odds rigged in their favor on every game in the place. That being the case, I had no problem at all popping them till they cried foul. I didn't really want to own a cruise line, so I was glad that they would have a limit at which point they would shut the table and throw me out. I just had no idea how high it would be. I did know, but I was going to find out after dinner. I probably should have said thank you to Harold for potentially breaking my boredom. Since the ship had been underway while I showered, while I dressed, and while I eavesdropped and drank coffee in the grill, I was able to walk along the main deck and watch the sun setting into the ocean. It was a very impressive sight. It was nice of the farm to send us on an R&R cruise, but I knew that it wasn't out of the goodness of their hearts. It was to keep us on ice till they were ready for our resurrection. See, for those five days they could control the spin. They could also get their team of engineers ready to work on their super bot. The engineers would never know who, or what the super bot really was, but they could fix the hydraulics and anything else the creator wanted to add to me. They didn't need to know that I was passing for human. Hell they were such geeks they probably wouldn't know, even if I sat up on the table and talked to them. I found Simon Jerrod standing outside the dining room. He wasn't alone either. He was standing with two very clean looking young men. They were clean looking because they were wearing makeup and very expensive casual outfits. I could tell they were just fascinated with Simon, since he was obviously the rough and tumble dominant type. I was about to be squeezed out. "Maxine, I would like for you to meet my new friends. This one is Jack and this one is Michael," Simon said with a smile. The smile told me that he knew, I knew and didn't give a damn. Actually I was happy for him. "Well hello boys, how are you. Will you be joining us for dinner?" I asked. "We certainly hoped that you wouldn't mind sharing a table with us," the one called Jack commented. "Why in the world would I mind. I always wanted to be a Fag Hag," I said it with a laugh. Simon's laugh was even stronger, then he giggled like a school girl at their discomfort. It was hard to believe that less than 24 hours before, he stood beside me on a wall with a smoking Remington 700 in his hand. One minute before that he had killed a soldier while he took a piss, and felt absolutely no remorse. ------- Chapter 376 Dinner with me and the three gay guys was hilarious. The two flamers were who they were, and Simon enjoyed pushing all their buttons. He probably did it to amuse me as much as himself. In the end I explained that I was off to the casino to play blackjack. I promised that I would wander into one of the quieter lounges for a drink, when I lost all my money or 1AM, which ever came first. It was almost 10PM when I meandered into the brightly lit casino. It certainly had nothing in common with the movie images of a casino. All the blackjack dealers were very attractive women under thirty. As I expected, judging by the TV coverage I had ever seen, the older women were at the slot machines. There were a few younger women and lots of men of all ages at the blackjack tables. In a different section of the casino there were several tables of serious gamblers, playing fancy card games. I set to work playing blackjack and counting cards. At the point where the card count turned the odd in my favor I was up a couple of hundred dollars. I had followed all the other suggestions in the books on how to play blackjack religiously. So when the odds went in my direction, I knew I had only a few hands before they reshuffled the cards. At that point I raised my bets to the table limit. There was no advantage to dragging it out. The casino security would catch on pretty quickly. I was up almost two thousand dollars when they reshuffled the deck. I played very carefully again until the odds switched and found that I had returned only a couple of hundred dollars to the casino. I very quickly made up for it and even added another thousand or so before they reshuffled. I went through four decks from 10PM until 1AM. I was also ahead over five thousand dollars at 1AM. Since I left willingly, before they needed to asked me, nothing was said inside the casino. However, I was followed into the lounge by two obviously armed security men. The two of them took seats at a table near where Simon and his friends were seated. When I sat down, I had no idea whether the boys had been having sex or dancing in the disco. Simon looked sober, but the other two looked a little wonkie. "So Simon, have you three been having fun?" I asked. "Oh hell, we missed you," he said with a smile. 'Well here I am, but I probably brought trouble with me," I replied. "Oh my how exciting," One of the two cute boys said. Simon just gave him a terrible look before he turned to me. "How much trouble did you bring to the party?" he asked with a smile. "If you look behind me, you will see two men dressed in very casual, but also very large shirts. They followed me from the Casino." I said. "How much did you win there?" he asked. "About five grand, but they have no where to run, if they plan to rip me off. I think it is more likely that they work for the casino. They plan most likely to give me a message. You do know that casinos just hate to lose money." I suggested. "So you think they are following you to send a message that your business is no longer welcome. That makes no sense, they should be begging you to come back, so that they can recover their cash." he said. For one so young, Simon did pretty much know how the world worked. "Perhaps it is because I beat the blackjack table using a betting system. You know how they hate when the odds are even?" I suggested hoping that he did indeed know. "Oh my and you only took five grand. They should be jumping for joy. In parts of Paris the players take tens of thousands like that. Then of course most of them do wind up very dead." "Oh my god what are you going to do," one of the clean boys asked. "Should we throw them overboard?" Simon asked me for effect. "No Jerrod, but we should explain to them that we are not impressed," I suggested. "Would you like for me to talk to them, or shall you?" he asked. "I will deliver the message, but if they stand up be prepared to join the party," I advised. "I think I can manage that. I might even throw one of these in front of me, just to let him see how it feels to be terrified." Jerrod said with a giggle. I stood without another word and moved to the security men's table. I sat down without asking permission. "So do you have a message for me? If so deliver it and get the hell back to the office. I will accept your message, but I'm not going to be intimidated by your presence." I smiled when I said it. "We know who you are Ms. Stone. You are a Very VIP passenger, but the casino is a lease operation. Just like this lounge. The lease holder is not as impressed with you as everyone else seems to be. So yes we have a message, you are not welcome in the casino again." "I really wish you hadn't gone into all that detail. See, you could have just said we would appreciate you not playing blackjack again. In which case I would have dropped it at that. Now that you took away the whole box of candy, I will have to look elsewhere for my amusement." I said. "That was the idea," the largest of the two said. He most likely outweighed me a hundred pounds, but he was slow and a little clumsy, I had already decided he could be taken easily. "Since you are not employees of the cruise ship, stay the fuck away from me. If you follow me around, then I will have to deal with you. I doubt that either of us would enjoy that." I was looking at the largest when I said it. I had already shifted my weight so that I could reach the box opener easily. I could do it by ripping the pocket off my tight ass jeans. "I think if you stay out of the casino, we can stay away from you without any problem," the smaller one said to me. Little do you fucking know, I thought. However I said, "It is good to come to an understanding." I went back to join my three new friends. "Well guys, lets party," I said. The three of them stood and we headed to the disco. Before we went into the noisy room Jerrod whispered in my ear. "Should I slip away and kill that big bastard?" "Oh hell no, we don't do that," I suggested with a grin. "The fuck we don't," he said patting me on the ass. I spent the evening dancing with the three of them. Hell all three were better dancers than me. It was humiliating. Nonetheless, I was a good sport and continued to dance until the sun came up. I was in my room charging my power pack, while listening to music from the disco, which I had recorded just a few hours earlier, when the message came in. Are you enjoying your vacation? The voiceless message asked. Why of course I am. What is not to enjoy. How the fuck did you know I would wander into the casino? I asked wordlessly. We are getting a pretty good idea of what you will do. If you hadn't done it tonight, there are three more days we could have used to steer you there ... the message said. So who leases the casino? ... I asked. It is leased by a Family in Miami. One of the wayward son's runs that part of their little empire ... replied the controller du jour. So what is it you want me to do?... Find a way to send the family a message, of course... What exactly is that message? ... I asked. This is going to be a combined operation. Your part is going to be to shut down that operation, by taking their money on the high seas ... the controller cunt said. Are they supposed to know it is me, or just have the money disappear?... What good is a message? if the receiver has no idea where it came from? ... was the answer from the controller. So I am to take their money quietly, while letting them know that we don't give a crap who their deals are with. They are going into retirement quietly or otherwise. Sounds simple enough, do you have a plan, or do I come up with my own. We are going to make it up as we go along. That should be acceptable to you, since it is how you work anyway. You don't even have to listen to us as long as the results are what we want... So the message is, the law can't touch you, but we can anytime we want? ... I asked. That is it exactly ... said the controller cunt. Can I ask why we are doing this?... Let us say the family in question sold one of our people to some very bad people. Our man was using one of their operations as cover. The operative, who was sold, had a very painful death. In the course of that death he gave up a lot of other people. People who had to leave their jobs or die ... replied the controller cunt. Very well, then Simon and I shall work on our part of the operation ... I said. Maxine, stay flexible this time just like you usually do ... the controller said. The connection should have been broken, but I decided to run a masking program on my own anyway. I was trying to figure out how this had come about. The pig farm had the boat ride arranged before we left the Monastery so how many moves in advance did these guys play. I made the decision to play along for a while, just to see what was going on. I could always just stop doing whatever it was that we were into. I really needed Peter to do some checking for me. The farm boys had included a replacement for the smarter than smart Satellite phone. It had been wrapped up in my mustard tee shirt. I used it to call Sylvia back in Aster. "Sylvia," I said when she answered. "How are things in Aster?" "Things are going great. We are selling the hell out of your Mill Village Development. Some bitch named Kate is trying to get me to start looking at other development ideas. Jennifer told her I would be running your real estate holdings." "Don't do anything that big till I get back. Do you know how to reach Peter at the moment. I called his cell and he isn't answering." "Well yeah, he should be working on the comic book deal. He is supposed to be in conference today with some kind of advertising agency. One of Jennifer's people went with him. The one with the car name," Sylvia said. "Crap, I need some information pulled up and Peter is the best." Have him call this number. I gave Sylvia the number of the new phone. While I waited to hear from Peter. I hooked up and did some research of my own. I couldn't find the missing operative, but if there really was one Peter could find him. Peter knew how to find shit that I couldn't find and I wasn't sure that the farmers could either. Either way in this case I wouldn't trust his information more than what they gave me. They had a dog in the fight. Peter wouldn't have, unless that dog was me. "Hello Peter," I said into the phone an hour later. "How is the comic coming?" "I just got a commitment for a full page of advertising on my comic strip site. I am ready to go with it. Ms Stone I will never be able to thank you enough." "Stop gushing Peter, it's time to start paying me back." I explained what I had been told and that I needed him to verify it as much as possible. "Oh hell yeah," he said. "Do it quick, but do it quiet. Do not leave a trail and Peter. The best of the best will be trying to track you." I informed him. "Wonderful," he said with great enthusiasm. "Fucking geeks," I whispered. ------- Chapter 377 After I talked to Peter I took another shower. I was beginning to really enjoy standing under temperature controlled water. Maybe it was because it was the closest to perfectly controlled outside skin temperature I ever got, or something else technical like that. I couldn't quite rationalize it that way completely. I decided that morning, that I would like to put it down to previous pleasant shower memories. Now you would think that it would be the memory of a man or woman, but it wasn't. It was standing under the hot water upon my return from a week in the jungle. I mean there was something primordial about that feeling nothing else in the world could match. That was the memory that washed over me that morning. Because of that it was what I physically felt, even though my sensors most likely recorded about 20 percent of that feeling physically. After that shower I went looking for a way to spend a couple of hours that didn't require me to get noticed. I didn't have a plan, but then I was sure something would come to me, if i could concentrate on it. I stopped to sit by the pool. Sitting there quietly I reached the farm easily ... Good morning, I hope it is as beautiful a day on the pig farm as it is at the equator in the Atlantic Ocean this morning ... I messaged soundlessly. It is not I can assure you, although spring is in the air ... I was told by the controller ... what can I do for you? I would like the complete diagrams of this tub and the specifications of her security system. The security response procedures would also be nice... I think I can find those for you ... Is there anything else?... We might need to arrange a tool drop later, so be thinking of a way to do that, as well as a way to make a pick up ... I messaged ... Right off the top of my head I'm thinking pirate attack ... I added as an after thought. Very cool idea, I think, but I will have to run it by the chief ... was the reply. Of course you will, so I'll be here waiting for my reply ... With that I closed my eyes shook my head then reopened my eyes and looked around with a different point of reference. I realized that I was pretty much out of place being dressed in jeans, Yes I had on one of the white tees and yes it bagged open making me almost appear naked on top, but still I was dressed and sitting by the pool surrounded by people wearing way less. Since a bikini was out of the question in my present state, I moved on to breakfast in a room with a big window and a view of the ocean. While I looked out at the ocean from my window seat, which also happened to be under the surveillance camera for a small portion of the main deck, I thought about that camera. It was the symbol of my main problem in robbing the casino. How to do it and get away with it. I had already solved a lot of the problems in my mind with the pirate attack scenario. I knew that armed men boarding the cruise ship would be dangerous, but there were other things a pirate attack could accomplish without ever putting a pirate on board. I punched in the code for Peter on the Satellite phone. "Peter how is it coming?' I asked. "Geese Maxine, give me a chance will ya?" he asked. I have a little of it but not all." "Keep digging, I need a big favor sweetie," I said to him. "How long can I get in federal prison for it?" he asked. "No more than five years, I promise," I replied. "Is that in addition to the five years I could get for this?" he asked. "You could probably plead it down to a single offense. You might as well be in for it all honey," I said sweetly. "What is it you need," he asked with a sigh. "I need for you to have a world class hacker contact me from a secure line. You can assure him that this is a secure phone." "You do know these guys can cripple you, if you piss them off?" he asked. "They have a terrible reputation, I expect they wouldn't mind doing something good for a change. Even if it never gets known to anyone, but the geek crowd. Just tell them that you take no responsibility or it. They can research me and all the shit I have been involved with." I suggested. "If they think I'm one of the bad guys, tell them to forget it." "Oh they won't just forget it, they will take everything you have. You will be cleaning up your records for years. Are you really sure you want to do this?" he asked. "Yes, I am sure that I don't want my clients to do it," I said. "Fair enough, give me till tomorrow," Peter demanded. "Sounds perfectly reasonable, give Sylvia my love," I said breaking the connection. If I used the pirate attack as I planned, then I needed bodies. How many bodies I wasn't sure. But I only needed to recruit someone, who could recruit others, if it was absolutely necessary. I went back to my cabin, then knocked on the connecting door to Jerrod's cabin. It took him several minutes to even acknowledge that I was knocking. At first I thought he might be in the cabin of one of the pretty boys. Just to be sure, I cranked up my hearing and caught the sound of his breathing inside the room. He was just ignoring me, it seemed. Since the idea of waking his ass up after only a couple of hours sleep appealed to me, I hammered on the door. "What the fuck Maxine?" he asked from his bed. He also asked it in his cute little French accented voice. "Open the door and I'll tell you how to find out what the fuck," I suggested. When the door finally opened Jerrod was naked. "So what do you want? Do you want this?" he asked waving his tool at me. "Could you get it up for a woman?" I asked. "You are not a woman Maxine, you are something that defies sexual classification. Hell, probably any other kind of classification as well." I was more than a little worried that he might have figured something out, but in the end I decided that it was some kind of compliment in his eyes. "Gee thanks, but if you could get that thing hard, I would show you what kind of woman I am. Since that ain't happening take a shower, get dressed and lets go on deck we need to talk." This seemed like an ideal time to take care of a problem I felt should be addressed. I decided that Jerrod needed his own money. Just like the rest of the ex-pats in Aster. He needed to choose what he got involved with, not be forced to take dangerous jobs just to eat. That was my decision. I had no idea what his decision would be. If he said no, I was pretty sure I wouldn't have to kill him to keep him quiet. I watched the naked Jerrod walk to his bathroom. I looked around his cabin. "Simon, do you have any clean clothes?" I asked. "Actually no, I never got around to shopping yesterday. I can do that after our talk," he suggested. "How do you feel about wearing tight women's panties?" I asked. "It wouldn't be the first time," he said. "Okay we can give it a shot just for today," I replied. I returned to my cabin and picked up a pair of the panties and one of the s tee shirts I had bought the day before. Then I sat in his one small chair and waited for him to finish his shower. He walked into the cabin wrapped in a towel. "So you are going to give me your clothes?" he asked. "I would prefer that you not put those stinking rags on again," I suggested. "Now Maxine, Jack and Michael rather liked the smell," he said with a very masculine laugh. It was hard to tell from one moment to another who I was talking to. Jerrod the Legionnaire or Simon the pretty boy. "You might yet have to resort to filthy rags. These might not fit at all." "Well you have a pretty healthy ass Maxine." He said that as he stretched the panties over his hips. "Well I wouldn't want to march ten miles in them, but they will do for a morning. Now lets see that tee shirt," he demanded. The tee shirt was much too tight but the two gay boys would have loved it. "I am not going to be able to breath for more than an hour, but I will suffer for you." he said smiling. The sun was shining bright as we walled out onto the main deck. We walked to an area forward so that we could get away from the other passengers. "So what did you have in mind?" he asked. "Simon you can refuse this and I will not be upset in the least," I suggested at the very beginning. "Oh my another job already," he said with a gleeful smile. "I'm not sure what it will require, but I know that it will require you to do what you do. Maybe not terminate anyone's contract, but that is a possibility. Some of them, we may not have time to verify their character." "You mean there might be some collateral damage?" he asked. "I hope not, but it is possible,"I said. "What's the payday?" he asked. "It could be very big, they claim to have over a million dollars in cash available to pay off the super jackpot." I said. "Oh my, you are talking about the casino. I would be willing to bet that it is Mafia money," he said. "Does that concern you? Stealing from the mob." I asked. "If the plan is good no. If you make the plan, your life is just as much at risk as mine, so I trust it will be a good plan. Just when do you plan to do this?" he asked. "I don't know. I have a lot more loose ends to tie up first," I admitted. "Well let me know and I will try to help. Before we go on, what will my share be?" he asked. "Equal cut with me and one other. You will have to pay anyone you recruit from your share," I suggested. "We are going to need more?" he asked. "I honestly do not know. What I do know is that there are going to be lots of security people around that vault. We will surely have to do something about them," I admitted. "Yeah, so lets think about that before we go recruiting people, who might have loose lips," he said. "Exactly, the smaller our band of cutthroats the better," I admitted. "Then we are thinking alike. So what next?" Simon asked. "Next you buy some clothes that fit, so that you don't stand out like a pimple on on a stripper's ass." I suggested. I went with Jerrod to the boutique. I helped him pick out some very plain clothes. He surely would fit right in wearing them around the ship. "So, should I stay away from Jack and Michael?" he asked. "Hell no, they should make great cover. I might even run around with you while I work on the plan." I said. "You might be surprised to find that in the heat of the moment, we could probably make it with you," Jerrod said to me. "You might be surprised what a great cocksucker I am," I replied. "Damn all this adventure, and a blow job from the boss I will have to take a pill to calm down," Jerrod said. "Seriously Jerrod, we can use them with or without their knowledge. We are going to need helpful people to run errands for us." I said. "Well try not to get them killed Maxine," he said. "I promise, they do seem like nice young men," I agreed. "We do try to protect the innocent don't we?" he asked. "Of course, but try is the operative word there," I admitted. ------- Chapter 378 After I had Jerrod's new wardrobe purchased, I told him to burn my shit. I bought another pack of panties and and more tanker type tee shirts before I left the boutique. On the way back to my cabin I dropped into a small electronics store just off the main deck. I found a pretty good deal on a no name laptop computer. Everything in the shop was duty free, so it was really a good deal. I doubted that it was super fast, but for my plan it was perfect. I found a spot on the front of the main deck with no one near me. I messaged the pig farm with my internal message system ... Hey I need to share those drawing and other ship information. Tell Deacon to set up an email for me ... I transmitted. We are ahead of you this time ... the controller said. Seems you are ahead of me more often than I knew. So what is the Email?... We are going with DirtwaterDutchess@pigfarm.com ... was the reply I received. Then ... please leave no trace of it when you finish... When I finish you are going to need to nuke it ... I transmitted. Yes, well it is a burn account. The whole pig farm is just a site for you. It is untraceable ... the controller informed me ... Even so destroy it when you leave it ... That's how our conversation ended. I went to the email dead drop, there I downloaded all the information from the pig farm onto to the cheap laptop. The satellite link would be to a phony provider probably called pigfarm. Those were details I did not need to know. I just needed to know that it was secure and even Peter's friend probably couldn't trace it back. I returned to my cabin only to find Simon napping again. He really had been up all night. I was tempted to wake him, but I chose to check out the information from the farm instead. I checked out the floor plan of the ship. It was very detailed and covered several pages. Then there were the smaller drawing of the ships workings. Explanations of the electrical system as well as the massive diesel engines and their uses. There was a huge amount of information to commit to memory, but my smokin' hot brain was up to the task. I already knew where the 'pirate attack' would occur to do no real damage but scare the shit out of the passengers. At that stage of planning I felt a little panic might be a good thing. I had a list of the computer program locations provided by the farm. I most likely wouldn't be able to get them to work for me in less than a year or two. That was because I would have to understand their operations on the most basic level and build on it. I didn't have that basic knowledge. I was designed to build on the basic information in my platform. The creator just didn't have the time or space to include the basics of all the worlds knowledge. It was felt that I could learn as I went along. Just like a real human, only better. For instance I had the basics of how the internal combustion engine worked. I could learn to repair one in an hour. I had no idea how a rail gun worked. Since I would have to start from ground zero, it would take at least a day or two to learn about it. I know that isn't going to make me sound like the super hero that you, me, and the creator would have liked, but it is what it is. It was much easier to find someone else, who could do those things, than to learn myself. Especially if I could provide him/her with the key to the barn where the secret animals were kept. I knew what I needed to happen, I just needed someone else to figure out how to make it happen. I was waiting on pins and needles for Peter's friend to call. While I waited Simon slept. Time did not fly by while I waited for something, anything to happen. I recharged pretty much as Simon was doing, except I listened to music as I waited and I schemed as well. So what was the first thing I had to do to take down the ship's casino. Forget about the casino was the first thing. I realized that I had to concentrate on the ship. I didn't really have to stop it. I just needed to get it's attention diverted to something else. I wanted it's crew dealing with an emergency alright, but not the robbery of the casino. What would be more important than a huge robbery at sea? The answer was the pirate attack I had already contemplated. For a pirate attack I needed pirates. The farm could supply me with Pirates and a pirate ship. Something that could disappear and be a shrimp boat by the next morning. They could even run interference should I hit a snag after the fact. They were the ideal partner, and I didn't have to share the payday with them. Just the fact that they got their message sent, at no cost to them, was payment enough. Even before the pirate attack things needed to happen. I needed free access to the ship and then be able to get away with it. For that to happen the surveillance cameras had to stop running. I needed Peter's friend to just take over the ship's computer system. Even I knew that since the home office communicated with the ship. it was open to cyber attacks. All I had to have was a true genius and to motivate him well. It was my plan to have a well motivated genius. I would like to have a private one, but if he wouldn't or couldn't handle it, the government surely had one available. I preferred to use my own people. God knows I could use him/her again, there were always things in the cyber world that needed doing. Simon woke up first. "Damn faggots," he said as he opened the door between our cabins. "Jack called to invite me to dinner tonight. He wants to go without Michael. Just the two of us for a romantic dinner." "I do hope you explained to him that you and I were a couple," I said with a laugh. "No, but I should have. I told him that I had a previous engagement. I really don't like sissy boys," Jerrod said seriously. "I mean they are alright for a night but I don't want a relationship with anyone. Sissy boys are always wanting some kind of ongoing thing." "Damn Jerrod, you really are a pig," I suggested. "Yes I know, but I don't see you with a lot of lovers hanging around either," he said cutting to the heart of it. "We are not alike," I said harshly. "Not at all alike." "Right, you swing both ways and I only swing the wrong one. Geese Maxine, that is so lame." He did laugh. "You know you are really getting to be way too pushy," I said. "Only in our personal relationship. I still know who is the boss. Your mind works a hundred times better than mine, when it comes to tactics. I know that and I'm more than happy to step back and let you be boss, even if you do have tits. "Well they aren't very big ones," I said. "I'm told you can afford the best ones money can buy," he said. I figure you must like the compact model." "The small sports car kind of thing., I suppose." I said that more to shut him up than anything else. "So, you want to go eat?" he asked. "What you aren't going to eat with Punch and Judy?" I asked. "I would, if I could figure out which one was Judy," he said with a smile. "Okay lets go to the dinning room and eat the meal that comes with the ticket. They say it is quite good." I suggested. Of course it didn't matter to me how good it was. It would be in one end and out the other just like real people. However in my case there would be no change from one end to the other. That being the case I had no real preference. "Fair enough, too bad you can't teach me the card counting trick," he suggested. "Now there is an idea. I guess I could wire you for sound, if I had enough time. Then just whisper little love messages in your ear. But alas they would catch on to that even faster than they had me." "Yes, but they might think twice about putting me out." I thought he was going to play the legionnaire card, but instead he said. "You did notice how many fags there are on this tub?" He honestly didn't realize how humorous it was coming from him. "I honestly didn't," I replied. "Oh the really swishy ones work on their bodies all year just for this one cruise," Simon actually laughed as he said it. "So what do your two friends do for work. Maybe we can find them jobs in Aster," I suggested playfully. "Don't you dare bitch. I would be so pissed, if the town turns into a fag pit. To answer your question though Jack is a hairdresser and Michael is a fashion designer. Neither is all that successful I gather." "You know Aster could use a good hairdresser and Jennifer and I did have dresses made by a woman in Tryon. Michael could cut into her business," I was only half kidding. "You wouldn't dare?" he said. "At least not if you want to be sure I have your back." "Being able to count on you is at least as important as a good hair style. Considering my hair, odds are much better that you can help me long before Jack could." I said. "I shouldn't tell you this, but the two of them swear they can make you drop dead gorgeous," he said smiling wickedly. "So which one of them is Jesus, since that would require a miracle," I said. "I saw pictures of you at the Emmy awards, and you were beautiful," he said. "Photo shop," I replied. By the time we finished going through the buffet line, I had a dab of everything on my plate. I could get a sense of what things were like, even if I couldn't really enjoy them. I had just sat down when the phone rang. Since the number was blocked I stood. "I have to take t his Simon, start without me." I walked quickly to the deck, so that I could be sure no one was close. "Hello," I said. "I think you wanted to speak to me?" the heavily processed voice said. It was so disguised that I could not tell if it were a male or female and I didn't care. "I did if you can tell me the name of the friend who we have in common." I suggested. "Do you want my help, or do you want to play games?" he asked. "I would bet my ass you checked me out before you made this call, so why is it so hard to believe I want to know if you are the real McCoy." I said. "Alright, his name is Peter and he told me you are Stone. So Stone what do you have in mind?" he said. "I have in mind taking some candy from some very bad men. I would like to think you are an American, but no matter where you are from, you will recognize the trash I am targeting." I suggested. "And why would you like to think I am an Yank?" he asked. "I like to shop at home, when I can," I admitted. "Me too, tell me what's up," he demanded. I gave him the name of the ship and the casino operators and the addresses the farm had given me for their information. "Do your homework and get back to me," I demanded. "If I have an interest what are you offering me?" he asked. "We make a plan that works and you get 1/3 of everything I take out of their vault," I suggested. "Is Jerrod the other third?" he asked. "I see you have already begun to check me out," I replied. "Would you expect less?" he asked. "I would have worried, if you hadn't been where you are now. Call me when you are ready to talk." I demanded. ------- Chapter 379 I hated to wait for other people. I shut the phone's cover, then went back into the dinning room. Shock of shocks there at the table sat not just Jerrod but Jack and Michael as well. "Well hello my pretty. pretty boys," I said mimicking the sound of the song Hotel California. Again from my dad's old collection of music. "Hello Maxine, we really should be upset with you for stealing our Simon Jerrod, but who can stay angry with you. You are so much bigger than life." Jack said to me. It was said to me, but it was for everyone to hear. I knew then why Jerrod hated the swishes. It wasn't just the drama, it was having to be the center of the world with their drama every fucking minute. I managed to smile at them all. I sat down and began to sample the food. It was all good. However I kept comparing it to Helen's. Helen almost always won. I did like their fancy salads though. I left everything else and went back for the fruit and veggie things. It was the spicy bread and dressing I expected that made them stand out. My main complaint with the dinner conversation was that everything, "Is to die for." or so our two drama queens seemed to think. "We have to get these two down to Aster to eat at one of Helen's events," I said to Jerrod with a huge smile. I knew his thinking even before he spoke and I knew exactly why he felt the way he did. "I don't think they would like small town living. It would be just too many curious looks," Jerrod said trying to defuse the situation. "If you say so, but I think people there are pretty much, live and let live these days," I suggested. Yes I was trying to instigate something. "Maybe we can come down over the 4th of July this year." Michael suggested. "Sure why not," I agreed. "We have a couple of motels just outside of town. I'm sure there will be some kind of celebration going on that weekend." I loved to see Jerrod squirm. He really was very uncomfortable with the thought. Since I hadn't heard from my hacker, there wasn't much sense trying to work out our movements. Not much could be done until I knew whether he was in or out. I also needed to know whether what I wanted done, could in fact be done. That being the case there was nothing to do but sit back and enjoyed the meal as best I could. "Maxine, I heard you were barred from the casino after you won there. That doesn't seem fair." Jack said. "Well they are poor losers I suppose," I said it with a smile. "You did know there are private poker games in the card salon?" Michael asked. "No, I had no idea," I suggested. "Oh yes, it goes on day and night. You have to take a number and wait your turn. Sometimes there are enough players to start a second or even third table. It is absolutely not organized except to arrange the seating. Everything else the players handle." "Now that sounds wonderful. I will have to stop bye when next I get bored. Are you three going to bore me tonight?" I asked. "Oh God, I do hope not," Jack said quietly. "Are you going to disappoint us?" "I hope not," I replied. I looked him in the eye and said in a parody of a country song. "Honey, I was a cocksucker, when cocksuckers weren't cool." The three of them even Jerrod burst into laughter. "My God Maxine how old are you?" he asked. "Women who do that have been cool forever." "It isn't about how old I am now, it's about how old I was then," I suggested. "How absolutely wonderful," Michael said. "Did you know that you loved doing it when you were really young?" "No honey I knew I loved how the men treated me after they knew that I was willing to do it." I made a joke of it. I wasn't really all that young, but I did love how men loved it. That part at least was true. I was also young enough. "So are we going to find out what you are like?" Michael asked. "If I give you a blow job what do I get. I doubt that any of you is a great lover of women." I suggested. "What would you want?" Jack asked. "How about, if you just owe me a favor, and when I ask, you can not say no?" I asked. Jack was the most adventurous. "I can do that," he said. "I trust that you won't get me killed." "I can only promise to try not to get you killed," I said with a laugh. "So can we get the blow job in advance," Michael asked. "Sure that isn't a problem," I said quietly while sipping my coffee. "How about somewhere that is a fantasy location," Jack asked. "Make it a good one, but not somewhere I am more than likely to be seen by strangers," I replied. "Like not on the dance floor of the disco at midnight. I also will not do it naked. This is a business arrangement not a lover's encounter." "It doesn't count unless we cum in your mouth," Simon added looking very serious and a little scary. "I can live cum in me somewhere," I said. "It doesn't even have to be one after the other. You can choose different times and places." "Wow what a deal, but what if you can't get me off?" Jack asked. He was the most openly sissy of them all. "Then if I give up on you, you don't have to do me the favor." I suggested. "That sounds fair. I have nothing to lose," Michael said. I could see the, like hell you don't, look on Simon's face. At least he did not say anything. I could almost see their minds working trying to come up with the most outlandish ideas. "Alright, I have it," Michael said. "Middle of the night out on deck. We can surely find a dark enough spot, when they kill the outside lights. They kill most of the lights after 1AM." "Fair enough," I said in agreement. "Come to my cabin at 2AM and we will go exploring." "I want to come along to watch," Jack said. "Sure you can come as well Jerrod," I said. "Sounds like a plan to me." he agreed. I honestly expected that if they were all there, I could get it all over with at once. I would be surprised, if they could hold out for something else. I mean after they saw it happen for their buddy. From the dinning room we went to the disco again. I bowed out at 10PM after making sure they were going to be sober enough to meet me at 2AM on the fore deck. I decided that I didn't want them at my cabin after all. On the way back to my cabin to plug in, I passed a cleaning cart with a maid pushing it. Obviously someone had an accident and needed emergency housekeeping. That chance meeting was another piece of the puzzle for my plan. It was all coming together I just needed to be sure the outsiders could do their parts. I listened to 60s rock music until midnight then switched to classical. The Boston Pops were a favorite of mine. When 2AM started to get close, I used a mouthful of Scope to get ready for my pretty boys. After I rinsed my mouth I swallowed the heavily alcohol laced concoction. I figured it might help with the sterilizing of my holding tank. When I left the cabin, I stopped to knock on Jerrod's door, just in case. When I received no answer to my second attempt, I moved on toward the upper decks. The April night at the equator was beautiful and warm. It was the perfect night, to suck a cock outdoors, if it was required. I moved along the darkened deck and met no one. After several minutes and after reversing my directions to retrace my steps I saw three men approaching. When I got closer, I recognized them as my 'clients', I walked up to Michael and kissed him with a lot of tongue. I also ran my hands between us to open his belt first then his trousers. Then I broke the kiss and whispered into his ear, while I worked my hand into his underwear. I had his cock in my hand when I whispered it to him. "You do like little boys don't you Michael. I love big strong men and I love their cocks. I love how smooth they feel." As I said that I was stroking his hardening cock. "You have a wonderful cock. You don't mind that I'm a little forward do you?" I asked. "Not at all," he moaned. "Good, I love to feel your cock and to see how you shiver when I do this," As I said it I squeezed his cock with my hand wrapped all the way around it. My hand was almost wide enough to cover it all but not quite. Since it wasn't, I stroked and squeezed his cock intermittently. When I knew that I had him hard and excited, I kissed him again, then slipped to my knees in front of him. I knew that Jack and Simon would prevent anyone passing by from seeing me. With that assurance I gladly took his cock into my mouth. I made a seal with my lips and gently vacuumed his cock into my mouth. I worked it into my throat. I could never have stroked it so deeply, if I had a gag reflex, or if I had a need to breath. Since I had neither, I was able to fuck his cock with my throat. After several minutes, even with all my tricks, I could not feel him tense enough to shoot inside my hungry mouth. Yes I had gotten into the whole thing and wanted to feel his cum in me. It was at that point that I slipped my finger into his anus. He immediately began to rock on my finger which also caused him to rock his cock in and out of my throat. It wasn't long at all until I felt him tense then felt his warm thick cum fill my mouth and throat. Even though he was finished, I continued to suck on his cock and finger his ass. I did it while I felt the rush of excitement inside my own body. I wasn't near the point of orgasm but I was definitely into the whole thing. The other two men watching and the danger of being caught added to it. I felt Michael fall back against the rail and my mouth was suddenly empty. "Bring it here," I heard someone demand. A moment later I was pulled forward. Since I was already on my knees I knew that it was to take the cock of a sitting man. I opened my eyes, and recognized Jack's face before he forced my mouth onto his cock. At that point I also felt my jeans being pulled down forcefully. I was being more or less forced to accept Jack's cock in my mouth and someone was about to enter me from the rear as well. I had not anticipated that possibility. It was not going to be comfortable for the one back there for a moment or two. He found and worked his way into my discharge shoot. In other words Jerrod was butt fucking me. Yes it is a disgusting comment, but that's what was happening. "He is so dry and tight," Jerrod said. For some reason Jack didn't last all that long even though I had to do all the real work. He couldn't really help me much since he was sitting. He came very soon after Jerrod made that statement. After he came down my throat I concentrated on the feeling of Jerrod moving in and out of my ass, where he should not have been. It should also not be sexual at all and it wasn't at first. At first I just moved to help him cum. After a few minutes of just him stimulating my discharge circuits, I began to turn on to it. I know that it was one of those memory things but it didn't make any difference I came even before Jerrod shot a huge load of semen into my slippery ass. I would have been exhausted, if I were a human. I remembered to pretend to be worn out. I did it, even though I wanted to run around the deck a couple of times to work off the excess energy. I found that I had in fact used more power than I would have expected. I hadn't run around the deck or anything else really energetic. ------- Chapter 380 When I checked the email, I found one from someone called Wolf. I knew that it was a dummy account for Peter. The email simply said call me. I had told him to leave me a dead drop email and I would call him. It was only part of the cyber security, which I forced on him. I explained to him that one day someone would grab his computers and try to trace his movements back to me. He needed to set up a system to make if difficult, if not impossible to do. One thing about ole Peter the Wolf, he listened. He explained that he went to a swap meet in Tryon. There he bought a five year old laptop. He got a really good deal because it had a very small hard drive and memory capacity. It also was at least two generations behind in processors. "A big processors and lots of memory is very. very important if you are playing games, or downloading movies. However, if you are just going to do research. a slower, older computer is fine. Memory might be a good thing, but most computers, even the old cheap ones, can have more memory added. That's what I did." he explained. "Okay, so now you have an old computer that they can grab and trace back to me?" I suggested. "Well not easily. I took the hard drive out completely so it is impossible for the computer to save information internally." He saw my curious look. "I went into the BIOS and forced it to recognize the USB drives and to write to them, It isn't even a hard thing. Most BIOS programs have a setting you just need to engage it." "Okay, so if you have no hard drive how does it work?" I asked. "I run the operating system from a CD. It loads into the RAM memory and just runs from there. If I download anything it goes to the USB drive, aka thumb drive. When I am finished with the session, I remove the thumb drive and put it in my pocket. I can dump it if they come to the door with a warrant." "And if you don't dump it and the cops get it?" I asked. "The number one program on the drive is an encryption program. If they break the encryption but don't do it exactly right, there is the nuclear option. It totally destroys the drive making it unusable for about twenty thousand years. It is truly a thing of beauty. The whole system was devised by a hacker name Bullrider." Peter said. "He sounds gay," I replied. "Who knows and who cares in cyber space," Peter informed me. "So your home computer is clean?" I asked. I was about to suggest that being totally clean would be suspicious as well. "Not exactly, I have some pictures of naked women on it. Just in case they do grab it. I want them to find something. Another suggestion from Bullrider," he informed me. "Very good plan. Do I know any of the women?" I asked playfully. "You might," he replied mysteriously. I placed the call to his burn cell phone. I was a little surprised that he was still using the older one. "Peter, you need a new phone," I suggested. "After this call, I'm going to the marina." he said. "I didn't need to know that," I replied. Just to let him know not to trust anyone. "So what do you know?" "I know that you are dealing with one miserable son of a bitch. He is one of the worst mother fuckers it has ever been my displeasure to run across. The family, that's who has the lease on the casino is one nasty bunch of assholes. The head of the family came to the USA after the fall of the Shaw of Iran. He took all the money he could smuggle out and ran. He knew the new regime would behead him as an enemy of Islam. He wasn't wrong either. So he came to the US with something like two million bucks on deposit in Europe. He invested in things that would make the most money. From night clubs and disco's to illegal back room casinos. The night clubs sold drugs and he took a cut. He married and had children. In the tradition of those third world countries he took them into the family business. He brought them in, when they were old enough to understand his warped sense of right and wrong. The last few years he has tried to get the kids into more legitimate, but still highly profitable operations. Enter the Cruise ships," Peter explained. "Okay so far I don't much like the family, but there are lots of family's, which I don't like," I said. "This son of a bitch decided five years ago he wants to die back in the old country. But he wants to take a lot of his money home with him, and leave his kids in the west with a big chunk of it as well." Peter said. "Go home to die, that isn't all that unusual either," I said. "Remember he is still on the revolutionary guard's kill on sight list. So he can't go home without making a deal. He also doesn't want to go back to Iran to live in poverty. So he started to negotiate with the Quds Force quietly. The cocksucker has been helping them smuggle men and bombs from Iran to the West. Your operative friend thought he had turned Akmed, but Akmed rolled over on him. His price was a ticket home. That is the story anyway and it plays well with the facts I can find." So because we have a wimp in the white house, we won't touch Akmed, since he is in bed with the Iranians. Some members of the government sure as hell don't want him to walk away clean. That explains why there is going to be a coordinated raid on this cocksucker. Since we have who we have in the Oval Office, it also explains why I am doing this and not their own people. I would bet my ass that the admiral has people on the other two cruise ships, where Akmed leases the casinos. It added one more thing to the mix for me. One of Akmed's kids managed the casino on my ship for sure. "Peter it is time to lose the phone, and that drive at least," I said. "My thinking exactly. Is there anything I can do to help fuck this guy up?" he asked. "If there were, you would already know, since I would have ask. You are part of my Band of Merry Men now, like it or not," I said. "Cool, bring your ass home safe," he demanded then broke the connection. The phone and the thumb drive at least would be headed off the bridge on the way to the marina. The same marina where we sometimes went to lunch. So what I had was an old man who thought he was untouchable. He had the Quds Force in front of him and a wimp ass president behind him. I would bet my ass that he also had Swamp Thing and me between them all. The information Peter gave me was the final piece in my plan for the ripoff. It would be intricate, but completely doable. It would also be fun for Simon, I expected. Best of all, it was something that could be sold by the farmers. Timing was going to be important, but that to was doable. Emails began to fly between me and the pig farm and also between me and the hacker Peter had called Bullrider. Email to Bullrider: Can you get into their computer and turn off all the power on my signal? Even the reserve power?" Email from Bullrider: I could do that when I was sixteen. The communications link to the ship is going to be a problem, but that too is easy enough. I just can't stay on line very long. Email to Bullrider: It won't take more than that one message I hope. Email from Bullrider: Just give me the message. Of course there were a lot of more detailed messages, but those are the important ones. Message to Pigfarm: Do you know where we will be at 2AM? Message from Pigfarm: Unless something happens we know. We are also tracking that fat ass tub. If anything changes we will know. Message to Pigfarm: You know what the plan is and you approve?" Message from Pigfarm: We know, but you don't need our approval. We will just have the people there to do their jobs, no more, no less. Message to Pigfarm. Make damn sure they keep their hands off the merchandise or there will be a second bloodbath I assure you. Message from the Pigfarm: You are dealing with pros, not thugs. Message to the Pigfarm: Right Everything seemed to be more or less set with the outside people. Next it was time for us to get our own shit in order. To do that I needed a planning session with Simon Jerrod. "Simon all the research in the world is not going to tell us some things. We just need eyes on the ground. People we can trust and who no one in the whole would would suspect of being involved in this kind of plot." "Two swishes with no sense of guilt?" he asked with a smile. "Yes, we need them to follow the crew around and keep track of their movements. Also to photograph some areas of the ship. They need to keep it casual. What we don't need is for us to ever be seen in those areas of the ship. After the initial intelligence we can see if they can be of any more help without having to be a part of the plan. Oh yeah we need them to steal us two maid's uniforms." "Are we setting them up to take the fall?" he asked. "And if we were?" I answered. "I will not kill them," he said. "Not just so that I can make a few bucks." "What if they had a fifty, fifty chance to survive and using them would keep us out of prison. And hurt some really bad assholes. How about then?" I asked. "I could do that," he said nodding his head in agreement. "I give you my word they will have at least that good of a chance. In exchange you have to promise me not to let them get even a clue that they might be in any danger. Or give them any reason to think this might be more than a simple surveillance job. Explain that we need the uniforms so that we can watch some people in the casino nothing more." I demanded. "I can do that as well," he said. "Fair enough lets get them started. We want to get this done tonight," I said. "And Jerrod this isn't just about the money. There is more, just like there was in the jungle." "I never doubted that. I know that sometimes we don't always get to do things that are absolutely right. Sometimes we have to just do the most right thing." "Sadly, that is true," I admitted. Jack and Michael were so excited when they brought us the maid's uniforms. Both were size 16 which meant mine was going to hang awful, but on Jerrod it would look pretty good. When I showed it to Jerrod, Michael was still in the room. "Let me get my kit, it won't look great, but it will look better. I don't have everything I need, but I do have a needle and some black thread. I can do some tucks." And that is how I came to have a maids uniform that didn't look all that bad on me. "Now listen you two. I need you to meet me again to night at 2am sharp. Meet me where I gave you a blow job last night No matter what you hear, just go there. It might be a matter of life and death." I figured they would love the drama of the life and death thing. After they had gone I said to Jerrod. "We will take our life jackets to them." "What the hell is going on?" he asked. "You have to trust me Jerrod. Can you do that just one more time?" I asked. "Of course," he replied simply. ------- Chapter 381 After I sent Jerrod off to deal with the pretty boys, I plugged in to get ready for a long night. My only concern was how to deal with the office door and vault doors. Bullrider had assured me that neither would be a problem. He had checked the specifications. He also swore that both had the same heavy duty security locking system. According to his information, they were each equipped with an electronic, heavy duty, vault bar type locking systems. Each had a secondary mechanical backup to open them in case of lock out. The fault was that there was no back up to lock them in case the electronic locks wouldn't lock. Consequently if one slammed the vault door, threw the lever, then called for the electronic lock to slide the bars home and then nothing happened, one would then try the computer override. If both of the electronic switches didn work, you were just plain fucked. You were forced to sit up all night and guard the vault until a locksmith could be found. That was at least the story told to me by Bullrider. So when all the shit started to happen, even if they had time to try to lock the vault and the office door, nothing was going to work for them. It was going to be a giant cluster fuck for them. Again that was according to Bullrider. I had some really sad secondary plans but I was counting on the great hacker to know his shit. I spent two hours charging and listening to the latest world news. It was ironic that two great countries were debating what to do about Iran's nuclear program, while I sat waiting to handle a much smaller issue. how to punish an Iranian for giving up an American operative. There would be no trial for Akmed or whatever his real name was. Sometimes you couldn't put the pricks on trial just because you would get an asset killed, if you showed your cards. So in that case usually, you have to just bite your tongue and let them live. That is unless someone with some real power decided on a little payback. That's when you sometimes went off the books. Every one of these off the books operations had consequences. I knew that when I agreed to take it. If you could call how this all came about as an agreement by me. If the really bad guys figured it out, they might well want to come looking for some payback themselves. It was just the risks we all took each time. It was okay as long as everyone knew it in advance. Of course Jack and Michael had no idea, when they agreed to the favor for a blow job deal. I figured I could get them hidden away somewhere, if they lived. They didn't have a great life, so walking away from it would be okay with them, I was pretty sure. Jerrod had insinuated as much earlier. "How are our pretty boys holding up?" I asked Jerrod when he came into the room. "They are thrilled to have some real drama in their lives. They could not be happier." He said. "Good, you do have the LED flashlight?" I asked. "Picked it up in the Ship's Duty free shop. Do those guys in the boat know what to look for?" he asked. "They have been told and they are pros, so it's all we can do. It's what I promised you Jerrod. Your friends have a better than 50/50 chance." "Right," he said skeptically. "Did you get your cord?" I asked. Rather than answer he showed me a length of white electrical cord. It was the cord from a lamp in the pretty boy's cabin. "So is there anything else?" "Well I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner before thing begin to happen?" he asked. "Well to be honest I'm not hungry, but I will go with you. I want you to stay away from the pretty boys from now until we see them tonight. The security people will be checking the surveillance tapes. There is no sense making things too easy for them." "Yes I can see that. So where shall we go?" he asked. "Oh hell let's go back to the dinning room. It's large enough for us to get lost." I suggested. "Good, we can find something there for you to eat." he said seriously. "Don't worry Jerrod, I'll manage." I said it as I turned away. "Well, I guess I should go take a shower," Jerrod said. "You do that and I'll get ready as well. When you dress keep in mind we will probably head on over to the disco. I want to be seen doing normal things." I replied. "Got it boss," he said. Once Jerrod had gone, I did all the things I needed to do so that I could fake eating dinner. After all that, I dressed in a my jeans and a clean baggy tee shirt. It was almost a uniform for me on the ship. We managed to get through the buffet line and to a table for four without having to speak to anyone. The pretty boys didn't find us, which was a good thing. I had them still going all over the ship observing and more important being seen on the surveillance tapes acting suspicious. After the dry roast beef and potatoes, Jerrod and I went to the disco to dance. We stayed there jerking and bouncing around until midnight. At midnight we left for our cabins. Bullrider had promised to hijack the security cameras and tapes at 00.30AM. He promised to erase them as well as turn them off. Most likely no one would notice them being off line until the whole thing was over. Only when someone went back to check would they find that there were no recordings. That was the plan anyway. With all the cameras off line the plan had begun. When the ship's lights went down at the normal 1AM, Jerrod and I slipped from out cabin. We were wearing the blue pinstriped smock of the household maid staff. We were also wearing the black head scarfs of the staff. We had each added veils as a precaution. Since it looked very much like a traditional Muslim head piece no one questioned us. We simply went up the stairs to the main deck and then found the closet where the housekeeping supplies were kept. In that closet, as we knew we would, we found two large service carts. One for the collection of laundry and one with adjustable shelves for cleaning supplies. We just made ourselves comfortable and waited for step two of the plan. Since we were withing yards of the Casino entrance it was not a big deal to just wait. It was 1:45AM, by my new watch, when the first explosion rocked the boat. It was right on time it filled the air with noise and the smell of smoke. Simon and I left the closet with one cart each. We were moving against the grain, as people ran from the casino and headed to the rails. Simon and I pushed the carts into the casino. It was difficult, and slow going, but we made it to the cashier's cage. I could not believe our luck. It was empty and the door was wide open. It was easy for me and Simon to negotiate through the cage to the office door. Simon and I had decided to try to breach the door by subterfuge first, then if that failed, I would try to break into the room. While all this was going on, Bullrider was in contact with the ship's captain. "Captain this Blue beard on the pirate ship." If you look off your port side you will see us a few hundred yards away." Unlike the cruise ship the pirate ship was all lit up and only a hundred yard away. "Captain we will be pulling along side. My men and i will be boarding your vessel. Unless you would like to be responsible for the ship's sinking and the accompanying loss of life you should cooperate completely. If there is any gunfire the ship ill be be sunk. There will be no further negotiations and no exceptions. Just to prove I am not joking this is a warning." At that time he sent a message to the pirate ship and they launched a small missile into the hull of the ship well above the water line. The cruise ship was never in any real danger. It was pretty obvious that the captain believed the pirate message. He killed all the ships emergency lights as the message had also demanded. At the time the emergency lights went down, Simon and I were standing outside the Casino's office. "This is the first mate," Simon said. "I am here with a security detail. Is everyone alright inside there?" "What is happening?" a voice inside asked. "We are under attack by pirates. My guess is your vault is at least one of the targets. My security team is here to help protect you people. We need to set up a security perimeter. Open the door and let's try to decide where to make our stand." The manager of the casino was one real dumb ass for sure. The smaller of the security men opened the door. Jerrod pushed him back into the room while wrapping the white electrical cord around his neck. Simon applied pressure and tightened the noose. Of course the larger security man went for his weapon. He might have made it, but as I observed earlier he was too slow and too clumsy to be a first rate security man. I opened his jugular vein in a single swipe of the box opener. I did have to grab his hand to be sure he didn't get the pistol free. The pistol would not have done shit to me, but he could have injured Jerrod with it. I stepped back once I was sure the larger guard had bled out enough to stay down. The smaller man was very dead laying at Jerrod's feet. Cowering in the corner was the dark looking young man in his twenties. He was no doubt the son of a bad man. "Well what is your name?" I demanded holding the pistol which had once belonged to the heavy set security man. "Aamil," he said with a shaky voice. "Well Aamil, you need to open the vault," I said reasonably. "I can't do that," he said. "Are you ready to die Aamil?" I asked, "Because I will kill you in ten seconds, if that door is not open. We did not blow up this ship to be put off by you." "If you kill me, you will never get the vault open," he said with a little more confidence. "Well Aamil, there are two things that might happen next. I might turn the lever on that vault and the door will swing open, or it won't. If it won't open then I will start cutting on you. At some point you will open the vault. You might well be a eunuch by then." I walked to the vault and found that Bullrider had been correct again. "Michael load the bags." I said it just in case. even though no one was going to be left to make a statement. Jerrod began stuffing cash into a black trash bag. He got about half of the cash into one bags in two or three minutes. Then he sealed the top with the duct tape we had found in the utility room. He got the second bag filled even faster. The third bag was just spill over cash and a few fancy boxes. Those we didn't even bother to look inside, he just packed them. There were several clear plastic sandwich bags. They contained even smaller bags of white powder. Someone was selling dope from the casino. That shit I left in the vault. Well Aamil what am I going to do with you?" I asked it as I made one quick move with the box opener and cut his throat. Did I feel bad about it, not one fucking bit. Would I have felt a little remorse, if he had cooperated? Who knows. I just know his death was nothing to me at all. "Are you okay with that?" I asked Jerrod. "If you hadn't, I would have," he suggested. We had a full load when we headed out to meet the pretty boys. Jerrod had to remove the shelves to get the money bags piled onto his utility cart. I had the bodies inside the large canvas laundry basket. Yes it was a tight fit all the way down the line. Jack and Michael were waiting for us at the place we specified. The were not happy, since there was smoke rising from the side of the ship. They had no way of knowing that it was fake smoke from the pirate ship, but I knew. The fake smoke made certain no one would notice what we did in the dark of night. First of all Jerrod flashed the bright LED flashlight at the pirate boat. They flashed back at us. Then we threw the bags of money over and hoped that they landed near if not on the deck of the pirate boat. Then we made sure that Jack and Michael were in our life preservers, before we threw them over the side. I hoped that they landed near the pirate ship but not on the deck of it. Jerrod flashed the light again signaling that they should not pick up what came over next. Over the side went the security guards, who had been way overpaid no matter how little they were paid, and poor Aamil. I wanted to pin a note to his ass but I knew it wouldn't get to his dad. He would just have to figure it out from what had happened, and what was probably happening on two other ships at the same time. Also over the side went the maids uniforms and our veils. Under the smocks we were dressed as we had been at the disco. Slipping back into the crowd of passengers wasn't difficult at all. We struggled through the panic stricken passengers to our cabins. I managed to find and toss my computer over the side after sending a message to Bullrider. It read simply 'so far so good.' ------- Chapter 382 I kept Jerrod close as we mingled with the crowd. He was as cool as I had expected that he would be. The only thing that might be of any interest to the authorities which I owned at that moment was the smarter than smart phone. I decided to wait for the order from the farm to dump it. Surely they had a way to clean or block any attempt to trace it. If not, they should tell me to dump it soon. I got the message at first light. It came in direct and of course wordlessly. They are going to take you to Miami. The Coast Guard investigators will be on board shortly to secure the scene and the passengers until you arrive at the port of Miami. Thanks I will be sure to see to it that the crime scene is contaminated as much as possible. Too bad that won't be any at all. The crew is crawling all over it, I'm sure. Jerrod and I are hiding in plain sight ... I informed the farm I have to ask. Is there anything physical they can find to connect you with us ... Nothing positive, just the satellite phone. Should I toss it? I asked. Yes toss it. Pick up a burner at the duty free shop, if they open it after all this. Since it is a lease they might open up. Right ... I stood up and walked to the rail. I dropped the, smarter than smart, phone over the side ... The only thing suspicious now is the fact I have five grand in cash. I won it in the casino. I am not throwing that overboard. It is already on film that I won it anyway ... I messaged. No need to throw anything else overboard except maybe Jerrod ... came the reply. We are going to take a chance on Jerrod. We keep the FBI off his trail and he won't flip. Speaking of taking a chance, how about the two pretty boys? ... I asked. Believe it or not they made it ... Trust me there was lots of discussion about them, but in the end we decided that they were your problem. One way or anther they are never going to be found, so they will be part of the mystery ... the controller replied. They need new identities and tickets to Aster ... I messaged ... How about the garbage bags... Aren't you tired of collecting money yet. You have no need for it ... the controller said. So it did get picked up? I asked. Hell you dropped it almost on the deck. It didn't even get damp they tell me. Since you told them not to open the bags, we have no idea how much is there, but I expect that it is a lot... The Coast Guard is going to find a pretty good size stash of dope in that vault, if nobody takes it out before they get there. Be sure that they either find it, or go looking for it among the crew ... I stated wordlessly. Oh for sure ... came the reply ... We will keep you up to speed... "So do you think they will be feeding the passengers this morning?" Jerrod asked me. From across the room. I didn't even think about food, since I felt no hunger ever. "I have no idea but let's go check, when the sun comes up. That will be happening very soon." The sun rose reasonably early, even in March, at the equator. We sat in my cabin and I listened to the news with Jerrod watching the ships closed circuit TV. It was broadcasting news shows from the major networks. Nothing yet was on about the pirate attack. Jerrod had no idea that I was also charging the power pack as I listened. I just had to explain that the battery was dead so I had to plug in the Satellite radio/mp3 player to the ship's current. The thing was so ingenious that even if he picked up the headphone, he would indeed hear music or the news. "So do you think the boat got Jack, Michael, and the money?" he asked. "I have no idea," I lied. "Which is more important the sissy boys or the money?" I asked. "The money of course. If they didn't get the guys, they will be out of their misery at least." Jerrod said it like a true bad ass. After a little more thought he added, "It would probably be easier for us if they drowned." "Jerrod make up your fucking mind. We could have easily taken care of that last night, but you were adamant that they have a chance." I said. "I'm just saying. Geese Maxine take it easy. We are in this together. I am not going to say or do anything to raise any flags," he promised. "Good there are a couple of hundred suspects still on board and several missing ones, so lets not worry just yet." I didn't bother to tell him that there would be a very shallow investigation. We had done what was necessary to make a scenario that on paper would fly quite nicely. I sure as hell hoped that it would be enough with the farm's intervention as well to clear us. The crew went back to work, so there was one meal that first morning. It was kind of a brunch which was fine with me, but most of the other passengers were bitching. It seems that cruises and food go together like hand and glove. I had to laugh my ass off thinking it should probably have been included in the song, Love and Marriage. It was in the afternoon when I saw the Coast Guard ship a couple of hundred yards off. It didn't take long for their small boat to arrive and deposit a half dozen men in uniforms. They went directly to the bridge, then returned to the casino. Jerrod and I watched them from a spot on the main deck. We were part of a large crowd of curious passengers. "God I would love a cup of strong coffee," I said to Jerrod. "There is nothing to see here, let's try to find a coffee bar. Surely they have one set up in the card salon." As I expected there was a coffee bar with a young woman selling coffee for a buck a cup. At least the coffee was reasonably priced, I thought. It probably was not a good thing to be selling it when the cafeteria wasn't open. Usually they sold things as a convenience, not as the only game in town. I was happy to get the coffee, so for me it was no big deal. The day dragged on until the dinner hour passed. The food was minimal but nobody went hungry. Nothing was open that evening except the card salon. I decided to sit in on a few hands, so that it didn't look as though I was hiding out. I was willing to bet that my name would come up in any investigation of a violent death. There was plenty of blood in that office to confirm that someone had died. There was no sense trying to hide the inevitable discovery. It was after ten when I saw the lights outside the large patio type door of the salon. We were off shore of some large city. Most likely it was Miami, I thought. Since I needed to take a break anyway, I stood and walked to the rail. Duchess calling the pig farm ... I messaged into the open communication channel I hoped was there. Yes Maxine ... came the reply. Any idea where this tub is located at the moment? ... I asked. You are a mile off the port of Miami. They tell me the plans are for you to dock tomorrow morning. The FBI will be on board to conduct an investigation at that time. Since there are over two hundred suspects and not a lot of physical evidence, I don't know what they can do before the ship runs out of patience and food... If a cruise ship runs out of food, I can assure you there will be a riot of gray haired people and then CNN will have a field day... Trust me everyone is aware of that ... the controller admitted ... Enjoy your evening, because tomorrow you will need your wits about you. Since I didn't need sleep, I took advantage of the players who did. By 2AM I had most of their money. When the game shrank to only three players, I called it a night. Back in the cabin I charged and listened to the news. The cruise ship piracy made the news finally. I was happy to hear that everyone was reporting that it was a big mystery and the details would not be known until the ship docked the next day. I was tempted to go down and get Jack and Mike's bags and throw them overboard, but I knew that was way the hell too risky. No matter how badly I wanted to fix something, all I could do was let it play out. Spending the night charging my pack and listening to the world news while waiting to face the FBI was making me antsy. I wanted to do something or someone. I considered Jerrod, but then Jerrod was Jerrod. Without the two fancy boys, he likely would not be able to perform at all. Now that would be depressing, for me to find a guy I could not turn on at all. So the night just passed with nothing worth noting happening, as lots of nights before it had passed. When the sun came up, I was again tempted to wake Jerrod and drag him off to do something, anything. Instead I let him sleep, just as I would have any other morning. I did do something unusual for me. At least I hadn't done it since I left Aster. I took a long walk. Rather than the mall, I took the walk on the main deck. My path took me by the closed casino. It wasn't just closed, there was crime scene tape and two Coast Guard men standing bye. I did glance over at the scene and wonder what would be the eventual outcome of the investigation. Just as I had done back in the days before I was who I was that morning, I had to manipulate the justice system to stay out of its grip. Being able to do that had a lot to do with the years I had been in the Air Police. I knew how to push things in the wrong directions. It was my plan for Jerrod and I to tell our story, then to invoke our right to counsel and call Jennifer. I wanted our side out, but I didn't want them picking us apart. Our story was simple. We went to dinner, then to the disco. We left there sometime after midnight. After that we went to my cabin where we made love. They were going to have to prove otherwise and I didn't think they could do that. After my walk I stopped by the dinning room where a breakfast bar had been arranged. There were pancakes, waffles, and egg sandwiches. I had a cup of the bad coffee and a waffle. I had the waffle just in case I was being watched. That and I had learned to like sugar again. The taste receptor was only mildly effective but it did bring back memories. The memories made the price of the waffle worthwhile. Especially since there was no price. The waffle was part of the ticket price, which I hadn't paid anyway. After breakfast I realized that we were getting ever closer to the port of Miami. When the tug boats came out to help our ship dock, I knew that I was within a couple of hours of sitting in front of a FBI agent. When the gangplank went down, we were not allowed to leave but about twenty men and women came hustling up the inclined walkway. Some of the ones rushing up would be processing the casino and office, Some would be taking statements. It was just another day at the office for them. ------- Chapter 383 The Fibbies set up shop in the card salon, which pretty much ended any thoughts of fun I might have had during the wait for my turn in the barrel. Oh well at least I was confident in Jerrod's ability to keep a secret. Hell, he had made it all his life being gay without anyone knowing. We also had a good cover story set up. Jerrod had agreed to tell a cover story that I fabricated which was close to the truth. More importantly he agreed to stick to it and then ask for counsel immediately if questioned. The story was that he worked for me as my bodyguard. He only knew that we had gone to South America to search for a missing American. I had told him nothing else and nothing else really came up. We went down to search for him, we found him and we sent him home. That was pretty much the end of the story. What happened at the Monastery had nothing to do with the pirate raid on the cruise ship, so he refused to answer any questions about it. If asked, I had agree to pay him $5k for the job and $10k if we came under fire. He expected to get his $10k upon return to Aster where we both lived. The story was close enough to the truth, as far as he knew it, that it was indistinguishable from the truth in his mind. Well except for the casino heist part that was. As for me I would most likely make it up as I went along. I had the kind of memory that could not be tripped up. Still I had to cover all bases and I had to refuse the polygraph as well as any other little tests they came up with. I didn't even want to be interviewed by the Fibbies at all, but I felt confident. As I said earlier, it was my plan to give a statement and immediately invoke my right to counsel. The trick then was to just shut the fuck up, period. I also knew to eat or drink nothiing until they figured out what to do with me. I also planned to go home and trash my fancy computer. At least the hard drive after I had Peter sweep it. Just to get any and all the important stuff off it before the fatal crash. Sylvia could enter all the legit business data onto a new one by hand. It was also time to change all the email accounts, even though little information had passed through email. Even less of it could be used by the Fibbies to do me any harm. I had managed to stay out of the Fed's clutches up to that point, but I always knew that it was just a matter of time. It would be nice to say that the farm would take care of it with just an inter agency memo, but such was not the case. Some of the things I had done since my retirement for the United States Air Force were for entities not covered by the farm. I had absolutely no intention of bringing the Fibbies down on Swamp Thing. The only choice I had was to just muddy the waters and refuse to cooperate further. I had muddied the waters for sure, now it was just a matter of no cooperation, while it seemed as though I was cooperating. Of course I also had to stand on my constitutional rights just like every other two bit punk I had ever met. Well hell at least Jennifer was about to have some real fun. She might even get to assemble her little think tank of lawyers. The ones she called the Hell's Angels. Probably because they all knew how to ride motorcycles from their college days. They flew in and out of the Tryon International Airport now and then, when one of her clients needed a specialist. Unfortunately I was usually the client. She told me to think of them as brain surgeons and transplant specialists. Guys she called in for a specific case, then sent back to their wives, when she had used them up. We were probably going to need them, if this turned into piracy on the high seas, I thought with a grin. Jennifer would be in seventh heaven for sure. Even if she only had to find someone in Miami to drive down and tell the Fibbies, "Let my person of interest go." Of course none of that might happen. They might listen to me and send me on my way without any further questions. Then too I might marry in the spring. That seemed pretty unlikely as well. I mean most guys love their computers to view porn, or play online poker, but I don't think many want to sleep with it. Okay I was feeling sorry for myself when the Fibby chick came for me. Actually she came for everyone in my section of cabins. That included Jerrod, so we walked up the stairs to the main deck together. All or us wore expressions of dread. Even those people who still didn't have a clue, looked as though they were headed to a funeral. We sat in the folding chairs of the salon while we waited for our turn in the barrel. Jerrod and I chatted about Dancer and Leon back in Aster. "So Maxine, have you called Leon or Dancer?" he asked. "No, why do you ask?" I replied. "Just wondering how her dance studio is going," he commented. "I had forgotten all about that. I should have called. Surely we are getting reception now," I said as I flipped my newly purchased burn phone open. Before the Fibby chaperon could stop me, I dialed Leon's number. "Hello there Dancer," I said when she answered. "It has to be you Maxine no one else calls me that. What in the world are you up to?" "Jerrod and I are trapped on that cruise ship in Miami. We are in line now for the FBI exit interview, I think. Two questions for you," I said. "Go right ahead," Dancer said. "How is the dance studio thing working out for you?" I asked. "Too early to tell yet. So what is the other one?" she asked me. "Would you call Jennifer and tell her that I might need one of her Angels to come get me out of the clutches of the FBI. Maybe not, but just let her know, so she can give it some thought. Would you do that for me." "Of course, should I call Sylvia as well?" she asked. "I wouldn't worry her. I only called you, because I knew that you wouldn't worry at all." I said with a light tone in my voice. "You are quite right. If there is anyone who can take care of herself it is you. So if that is all, I have to go. I am walking at the mall." "Well have a good sweat," I said. "I am a lady Maxine, I do not sweat," she informed me in her condescending tone. I didn't even respond, I just cut the connection. Jerrod smiled, since he knew we were covered. We continued to chit chat while we waited. "So Jerrod are you going home for a visit at least?" I asked I'm sure he knew we were being filmed by the ships security system at the least. "Actually nothing there for me any more. My family has all passed on to the other side." he said. "I'm sorry to hear that. You are young to have lost them all," I said. "My parents died from a flu epidemic and my brother and sisters are all communists now. We have nothing to say to each other." he said. "Ah okay, well you are more than welcome to join our little family in Aster," I informed him. "Yes that was my plan, I am thinking now I might like to start a sports club."he informed me, "You mean a gym kind of thing?" I asked. "More than just a place for ladies to work off their extra pounds. I think a real sports club like we have in Europe." "That's pretty ambitious," I suggested. "How big an area do you need for something like that?" "You would need lots of open space for sure. Enough for at least an indoor running track." he said. "I might find you a track and a place for machines, but no way I can get you an indoor soccer field." In the back of my mind Heartland Mill's old building was rolling around. It was big enough for a damn nice running track and plenty of room for stair masters and those weight things, but I had no idea what else would fit inside it. I just couldn't believe that enough people in a small rural town would be interested. Then to Heartland wasn't in the growth alley between Aster and Tryon. I was ready to give up on it. but I put it in the back of my mind to cook off instead of dismissing it entirely. "Simon Jerrod," one of the hall monitors called out. "Good luck Simon and tell it like it is," I suggested knowing he wouldn't. "Maxine Stone," A different hall monitor called out a moment later. "That's me," I said as I stood and walked to one of the smaller rooms at the rear of the salon. When I walked in the slightly chubby man in the relatively inexpensive suits looked up and motioned me to the chair. "It is customary for a gentleman to stand when I lady enters the room," I suggested as I continued to stand. He finally took the hint and stood. Once he did that, I took the seat. I did all that just to let him know, that if it was going to be adversarial from the start, I did not choose to be intimidated by his position. "Ms Stone would you mind explaining how you came to be on this ship?" he asked. "It is a mini vacation arranged by a client. I am sure that in your background check the fact that I am a licensed private investigator came up." I smiled when I said it. "I was in South America on business. When the business ended, the client arranged this trip for me and my associate as a bonus as it were." "Who was the client?" he asked. "I'm sorry you will have to ask my attorney that question. I will only answer it, if counsel advises me that I must. However there is quite a bit of CNN footage of me and Mr. Jerrod on file from that time period I believe. Public record should do to corroborate my story." "Very well, what do you know about the robbery at the casino?" he asked. "Of course I heard the explosions and the machine gun fire night before last. I have satellite radio and yesterday late in the evening I heard there had been a pirate attack. That is all I know about it. I did walk by the casino yesterday while on my morning walk. I noticed the crime scene tape on the casino door, and the Coast Guard officers standing watch. Now that is all I know. Would you care to tell me exactly what happened?" I asked. "You know I'm not going to do that," he said. "In that case I wish to consult with an attorney before I answer any more questions." I said. "I haven't read you your rights or even hinted that you were a suspect in this. Why do you feel you need an attorney?" he asked. "I have been questioned by law enforcement officers before and my attorney assures me I always need an attorney. She says to tell the authorities all that I know which is pertinent to their investigation, then invoke my right to counsel. I have now done both. Are we finished?" I asked. "Write down your address and phone number before you leave," he demanded. "Agent, if you don't know that already then you are the worst FBI agent in history." With that I stood and walked from the room. I found Jerrod standing outside. Judging from his smile and quick release all had gone as planned. I expected to hear from the FBI again but I really didn't care. It was up to them to prove a negative as far as I was concerned. I would have felt better if Jack and Michael were sleeping with the fish, They would soon be Jerrod's problem and his alone once I had delivered to the two of them in Aster. Jerrod and I shared a cab to the airport. I dropped him at the commercial terminal, where he had a ticket waiting. After he was gone, I had the cab deliver me to the general aviation area where a pig shit airlines plane would pick me up for the flight to the Virginia Pig Farm. The cover for the base really was a pig farm operation. Probably a pretty good way to dispose of questionable agents as well. ------- Chapter 384 The man who approached me in the general aviation waiting area looked even less like a pilot, than the others from pig shit air, who had previously flown me around. The one that afternoon looked like a funeral director, I thought. Not a good look for a pilot, I decided. "Ms. Stone?" he asked in a dead pan voice. "Yes, I'm Maxine Stone," I replied. "If you are ready, we can leave now?" he said still showing no emotion at all. Not even a smile of any kind. "Sure, I have very little luggage," I said holding up a small canvas bag left on the cruise ship by someone from the farm. "Good, then we can be on our way." "How long will we be in the air?" I asked. "The flight will take about five hours. We have to make a couple of other stops," he informed me. The plane was the eight passenger thing I had flown in previously. It appeared to be a kind of shuttle plane for them. We stopped two places with no names posted on either of the buildings used as offices. Each time we stopped the pilot went inside the small metal garage looking things to pick up boxes. There were never more than a single person could carry, but each time at least two. We arrived on the grass strip of the farm late in the afternoon, but it wasn't dark when we landed. It was a small covered pickup truck which met us. The truck driver loaded the boxes, then opened the door for me. He had not said a single word to anyone. He did however have a nice sized bulge under his jacket. I don't think it was because he was glad to see me. The ride to the building hidden in the trees took about five minutes. Before we arrived, there were two check and choke points. I knew the layout of the place pretty well. At least the drive past the offices and down to one of the barns was familiar. From the air or the ground the technical facility looked just like a cattle barn. There were even tractors parked around. I was sure they got moved about now and then, but they also looked brand new. The truck stopped long enough for me to exit. After I was out it most likely returned to the office building entrance, or on to one of the other barns. I was met by a young woman, who at least smiled. "Ms. Stone, how nice to finally meet you. It is a real pleasure as well as an honor." she said falling all over herself. "What the hell is that all about," I asked her. "You do know that I can not get you a raise or anything else for that matter." She laughed then said, "They told me you were brutally honest. I see that it is true. You are a bit of a legend here. There are not many female operative that actually go to war these days." "We aren't at war are we?" I asked. "If we are someone should tell the troops." "I meant into actual combat. Most of the female operatives tend to be more the kiss and tell kind. They might shoot someone or plant a bomb, but they don't really stand and exchange gunfire with the enemy." "First you have to know who the enemy is," I suggested. "For that kiss and tell works pretty damn well." I paused a few heavy second then added. "I really don't like kiss ass very much, so can we just get on to it." She looked hurt but she led the way to the tack room door, which actually concealed the elevator. The elevator took us down to a basement, which was filled with very clean rooms. Rooms where they did things no one talked about. Things which people with good sense didn't ask about. So the ass kissing chick dropped me in a small office. I sat alone where I assume I was supposed to contemplate my sins. I really didn't consider many things to be a sin, so I just stared at the wall. I had my MP3 player in the back pocket of my jeans, so I looked around for a plug. I found one behind the desk with Doctor Bennet's name plate on it. "I see you made yourself at home," he said when he entered. "Just making the best use of my time. That is one of my long, long list of directives," I informed him. "Well we are ready for you in the lab. It will take a few hours to make the repairs so we can hook you up while we do," he advised me. "Can I get some real music while you work this time?" I asked. "You don't like sound tracks from all the great movies?" he asked as a reply. "Sorry the wailing of Broadway has-beens, isn't my idea of music," I said. "Oh well you need to suffer at least a little." He stood in front of me as he spoke. I stood to follow along beside him as he led me from his office. Once inside the lab, I lay on the table in a room that was as clean as any operating room in any hospital in the world. They would be vacuuming and sterilizing all the openings I had made in the skin like covering. They would also be evaluating and replacing any contaminated circuits or components. "It is a mess when you get shot," Bennet said. "Tell me about it," I said in agreement. "Knock off the wise cracks the crew will be here in a minute," he said. "Yes boss," I said. All the other workers thought I was just another Eve unit. The mechanics were pretty much the same inside both of us, so they didn't need to know anything else. The fewer people who knew, the less likely they were to pull the exploding head trick on me. A couple of the Eves and Lucy units had blow apart to keep them out of the hands of the bad guys. I would be a real coup for some intelligence agency, if they could take me in working condition. I knew and accepted that as a possibility. For the next slightly more than three hours, I spoke only when asked to speak. I played dumb ass Eve unit quite well when necessary. I did appreciate that the music being played in the work room was at least a mixture of modern tunes. I hate elevator music. After the others left Bennet said, "You have been cleaned and serviced now I'm going to add a couple of things. One of the things that allows you to pass for human is how you react to stimuli. We are working to make those as natural as possible. To do that some changes are part of the real world as I like to think of your body. Others are part of the cyber world that is in your brain. Both worlds have changes being made to them in order to make you better. You are going to find some things different, when you leave here. Some of them will be actual body function things and some will be emotional. The computer geeks are going to plug you in for a couple of hours now." "Bennet, thanks for the patch job," I said seriously. "Maxine, you take care of this body, I might have all the spare parts here, but you still have to get it back to me. If you can't, the controllers have orders to pull the plug and I would not like that at all." "I expect I have even stronger feelings than you do about that. Unfortunately that was the end game all along. Put me places you can't risk your own people for one reason or another. If things get too hairy then it's just Bang. It's the price I was willing to pay to walk again." I said honestly. "That was always the problem with using your full memories and potential. You are just too damn smart to be fooled. You weren't supposed to sense mortality. The theory was that if you didn't know you could die, you would be fearless, but you were too smart to be fooled." "I saw the Lucy unit explode. I knew there had to be a nuclear option for me as well. Nothing else would make any sense at all," I said. "You maintained your ability to reason and problem solve. We wanted that in the next generation after the Eve units. So now we are trying to understand you before we move on. You should know that you are teaching us a lot about this new science, but also some things about us as humans. We have always struggled with what it meant to be human. We are leaning some about that from you." "Probably not, you are probably just seeing things that were always there," I said. "You were just too busy to notice, until they were framed in a way you couldn't ignore. Like, it is the human thing to weigh the risks and do a thing that needs doing even knowing the risk. Even when it is clearly not in your own best interest. The human thing is to do it, just because it needs to be done. We see it everyday, but it isn't a big deal until it is more than losing that promotion. You probably never got to see the mechanics of the life threatening decisions being made before me. People do them everyday without much fanfare. They are life or death sometimes, but you aren't charged with delivering that death decision often. When you have to make those it all becomes very real very quickly," I said "Now that is a long speech and right on the mark. Since we are being honest here, just so you know, we really can't stop you from doing what you want, unless we use the nuclear option, as you call it. So be careful how far you push us, we really can't just slap you on the hand to bring you back in line." "I had pretty much come to that conclusion myself. You could refuse to patch me up, but then I wouldn't be of any use to you at all. I'm sure it's pretty much all or nothing with me," I suggested. "That's about the size of it. So are you about ready to reenter the fight?" he asked. "I suppose so," I suggested. "Then here drink your extra virgin olive oil, and get back out to it. Oh after your program upgrade, there are three plastic bags down the hall waiting for you," Bennet advised. "Well I guess I can spend the evening working on the ill gotten gains," I replied as I climbed off the table. I found a pair of new jeans and a red tee that was going to be tight on me. They were at least clean. For the next two hours I sat in a chair charging while they upgraded the software that allowed me to communicate with the body. After that chore I began exploring one of the two full garbage bags. I had decided to save the half filled one for last. The first bag contained one hundred and twenty five stacks of hundred dollar bills. Each stack had a band that read $10,000. I had a fairly nice layer of bills on the table when I finished unloading the bag. The next bag was filled with banded stacks of ten, twenty, some hundred dollar bills. I was shocked to find that the first two trash bags held just over two million bucks in cash. The third bag held about a quarter of a million in cash and those fancy boxes. All in all I had almost 2.5 million in cash and twenty sealed cardboard presentation boxes. I had held off opening the boxes just to let the anticipation rise. When I finally opened the sealed boxes I found each contained a certified 22k gold Mohammad Reza Shah coin. My guess was that each was worth between five hundred to a thousand bucks and there were twenty boxes. They were valuable and probably hard to unload. Most likely part of the original fortune the old bastard left Iran with after the fall of the Shah. It was possible that the haul would be just over two million bucks. That was one hell of a lot of cash money to move. I was almost sorry I had taken it. The farm had some used blue plastic 20 gallon containers. I had no idea what had been stored inside them, before they were steam cleaned. To be honest I didn't want to know. The mini barrels made good containers for the cash and coins after I had divided them into three reasonably equal stacks. The tops screwed on but I filled the threads with a silicone sealant with adhesive included just to be sure. ------- Chapter 385 The smell of pig shit was in the morning air when the ass kissing chick's partner led me out of the basement, and up to the barn area. Inside the barn, on the ground floor with the motor running, was parked my ugly butterscotch pickup. The farm had sent someone down to drive it up for me. At least I didn't think they had it flown up. Then again anything was possible with that bunch. The cart with the three blue plastic barrels had not left my sight, and I was the one who loaded them onto the truck. I borrowed a piece of cheap poly rope to tied them down. I even found a stack of brand new cheap blue plastic tarps on a shelf, just inside the barn's entrance. I used one of those to cover the bed of the pickup. I tied it down as best I could using the bungee cords I found beside the tarps. All that jiving around took me about ten minutes. I drove through the three check and choke points to get onto the road out to the interstate highway. The drive from the farm to Aster took as long as the flight up from Miami to the farm. The drive was a bit scary as well. I was driving a beat up old pickup truck with close to 3 million in cash and I didn't even have a pea shooter. I suppose I could have asked for a better truck and a loaner. I had may doubts as to how far the farm's co-operation would extend. It wasn't quite lunch time when I arrived at the Downtown house, so of course Sylvia wasn't inside waiting for me. I wrestled the three blue barrels inside and then stacked them in the gun vault all by myself. What once would have been a problem wasn't even a serious challenge for the new me. There seemed to be several advantages to being the new me. Lugging and toting was one of the big ones for sure. Once the money was locked away, I stripped off my clothes, then I walked into the bathroom naked. I looked around the mostly mirrored room to see how the body repairs looked. Since it wasn't a major do over I had a couple of new scars, but they didn't look out of place. I was most happy to lose the limp from the dry hydraulic joint. My gate was what it had been before I left for the trip south. It was too late for breakfast at Helen's and too early for the cloak and dagger, so I took a shower. I enjoyed the feel of hot water running over me even more than I had before my latest time spent in the jungle. The showers on the ship hadn't been near as nice as the one in my downtown house. I dressed in very simple white cotton bikini panties from my own stash. Then I pulled on a gray tee shirt that actually fit me correctly. I was a little surprised to find that I could tell the difference in how clothes fit me. I wondered if I had always known or it was part of the tuneup. I just didn't find it important enough to dwell on. I slipped into a pair of my jeans which also fit me better than those provided by anyone else. The others were either skin tight or baggy. Mine just seemed to feel right. Even though I didn't plan to leave the house for a while, I slipped into the upside down shoulder rig for the small .38. To cover the rig I slipped on a big sloppy black sweatshirt. If I had to have the pistol, I could go under the sweatshirt for it. It might cost me a millisecond, but I wasn't too worried about milliseconds since I was the new me. "Hey girl," I said to Sylvia when she entered the rear door almost an hour later. "Well hello to you, how are you doing?" she asked standing in the kitchen. "I'm fine but would be better if you made some coffee. I seem to have lost the knack," I said smiling. "Bullshit you are just lazy," she commented. "Maybe," I agreed. "Nonetheless would you make coffee please?" "Since you asked nicely of course." she said. "Are you ready for your report on how thing went in your absence." Since I had left the pickup at the grass airstrip, she would have known nothing of if theft. In which case her report would have to be on the real estate ventures. "Sure but I need to do one thing first. I'll be back before the coffee is finished," With that said I walked back to the gun vault. It was just a huge walk in closet on the floor plans, but it did have room for my weapons collection and even room for the three blue plastic barrels stacked in the corner. Best of all it had a heavy metal door and a serious lock. It wasn't easy but I cut the top off one of the barrels. From it I removed one of the packets of cash. The packet held 1000k in twenty dollar bills. I planned to use it to pay Peter for his research. I also needed him to do one more thing. I dug around in the barrel until I found a packet of hundreds as well. Those were for Jerrod. Once I was back in the kitchen area, sat at the steel table to drink my coffee. It was good but it would be better in a few hours. Sylvia knew to make a full pot and then start another. Coffee got stronger, there for better the longer it sat. "So before you start your report, have you wrecked the cruiser?" I asked. "No, I haven't even dinged a fender," she said. "Good then let's get the other over with," I suggested. "First of all let me say something. I am going to let you run the real estate any way you want. We have a bonus arrangement so you have an incentive to make it work. I'll put up the money and help with the big plans but the rest you should know how to do yourself now," I suggested. "That's pretty much what we had agreed to before this last trip," Sylvia said. "Yes it is, so with that in mind what do I need to know?" I asked. "Do you want to know how much money I moved from the operating account to the mother account?" she asked. "After all the expenses was there a profit?" I asked. "Yes," Sylvia replied. "Then I don't really need to know any more. When I find one the auditor will do the books every Quarter and send me a statement. So are you happy with your bonus for the month?" I asked. "Very satisfied," she replied. "And you have paid yourself a salary as we agreed?" I asked. "Yes I have," she informed me. "Then everything is moving along smoothly?" I asked. "Except that we are going to run out of houses in Hartland Village way too soon," she informed me. "So we have to find another project," I suggested. "Has anybody come up with anything?" "You friend Kate has two projects she is pitching to us," she said. "Her daddy has two projects, which he has Kate trying to pitch to us. Careful, Kate will try anything to sell her project. I mean anything," I said. I had brought a brand new smarter than smart phone from the farm. I needed to pick up a burner phone as well at Walmart. I checked my ordinary junk email, while Sylvia looked up some figures she wanted me to hear from the Drugstore condo. I had hoped to be clear of that property, "Someone named Walter with Green County Savings and Loan wants to meet with you. He has something he wants to run past you," Sylvia said. "Some of them are about the Drugstore Condos I'm sure." "Set it up whenever it is good for him, then make me a note." "Jennifer is going to bill you for the calls she made to Miami, just in case you needed someone down there," Sylvia said. "Hell, pay her. Threatening to use her, usually is more than enough to get me out of trouble. When she actually has to do something, I guess it is payback even if it accomplishes nothing." Sylvia seemed to have wrapped it up but something was bothering her. "Is there anything else?" I asked. "My school is ending in two months. I have to decide what I want to do after. I have been approached about working for the hospital here," she stated matter of factly. "Ah I see. So do I need to start thinking about a new executive assistant?" I asked. "Maxine, I love you dearly, but there is no security with you. Everything you do is on the edge. I think I need the security of working for a large company," she said. "Well if that is what you want, I certainly understand. Let me know when you make your final decision." I was sad to think about losing Sylvia, but I knew that it was a possibility all along. I walked out the front door of the downtown house and onto the sidewalk. I didn't tell Sylvia where I was headed. I was hurt to be honest and I had things I needed to do. She really had no business knowing all my business. I dialed Peter's phone as I walked around the block. "Peter, let's pick up some coffee and head out to the lake," I suggested. "I can do that," he said. "I'll get the coffee," I suggested. He just shut down his phone as a response. The lake was actually the city marina, which was also the water supply. The city's offices there were inside what looked like an old manor house. It had a large terrace which overlooked the lake. Anyone could use it, all one had to do was find an empty space. At that time of the year there were plenty of them. I pulled into the drive- thru window at the local McDonald's between downtown and the marina. I got a cardboard holder with three large coffee cups. I also got a small white bag with an apple pie inside. I paid too much but I could always write it off as a cost of doing business, since it was a business meeting. I arrived after Peter. "Hello Peter how you doing?" I asked. "I am fine how are you?" he replied. "I'm just fine. I bought you an apple pie, I know how you love them. Now don't leave your trash laying around. While I sat in the parking lot, and before I left the truck, I slipped the $1000 packet of twenty dollar bills inside the white paper bag. Yes I know it was theatrical, but I enjoyed it and so did Peter. It made him feel like he was part of the game. He looked inside the bag then said. "I think I will save this for later." With that he folded the bag and slipped the pie and the money into his coat pocket. "Would you call our mutual friend and send him this message, Where?" I asked. "Of course, could I use your phone?" he asked. "Peter, I haven't had time to pick one up yet?" I suggested. "Then I will take care of it and call you tonight." he said. "I need to make a post on a forum's message board." After we parted, I drove to the house Jerrod was supposed to rent from me. I found him sleeping on the floor in the living room. "Damn Jerrod don't you have a fucking bed?" I asked. "Not yet, and I got a call I'm going to have company tonight. I was going to see if I could borrow one of your cars to pick up my friends at the airport?" he asked. "Of course I will work something out. Maybe they can help you shop for furniture." I suggested. "Fuck you Maxine. Just give me my money." he was smiling. "Let's walk out back." I suggested. Once we were outside I said. "This is your payment for the South America job. You do know that if you deposit all that in the back there will be forms to fill in." "Yes, I know about your money laws here. Everyone who ever watched TV knows," He said. "The other I have ready for you but we have to talk about that. If you rush out to spend that, we might wind up in Jail or dead. I am going to be meeting with a money man one day this week. I will talk to him about your money as well as mine. That is if you trust me. In the meantime put some of what I gave you into the bank, and I will slip you more of your cash to spend, just not too much at a time please. Anytime you want to hold onto your own money find a safe place for it and I will be happy to deliver it to you. Is that agreeable? " I asked. "Perfectly, " he replied... "Of course it might be best if the pretty boys didn't know about any of this," I suggested. "Absolutely," Jerrod agreed. I watched Jerrod walk back into his house and realized that I just didn't notice his sever limp anymore. Maybe because I had seen what he could do. Whatever the reason I hardly noticed. I did wonder what he was going to tell the pretty boys. ------- Chapter 386 Nothing happened for the next couple of days, except I slipped back into the second part of my split personality. I went back to being Max the ugly, middle-aged, eccentric chick. I ate at Helen's in the morning, rode my bike around town. Sometimes I went to look at things for Sylvia, and the realty business. It was Friday morning after my walk that Walter made it into town. Walter not only was head of the Green County Savings and Loan, he was also an honorary member of the Swamp Thing team. No one could ever prove that of course, but those of us in the business just knew it. "So Maxine, I finally integrated all your holdings into the mother ship umbrella as your girl Sylvia calls it. You are now officially a holding company." he said. "That's just wonderful, I don't want to be a holding company," I said it rather too strong. "Would you rather go to jail?" he asked. "No, I don't want to go to jail," I said. "Then listen to me. Sylvia and I have it all set up. All you have to worry about from now on is the little thing you called Stone and Associates. That is the rib of the umbrella that does field work. Speaking of which Stone and Associates got a payment from some solar company for $25,000. The memo on the check said it was for the rescue of the company's vice president." What it really was had nothing to do with solar energy. Mostly it wasn't even about payment for services rendered. It was more about maintaining the cover story of the arms deal in South America. However, it did make the $10k I had already given Jerrod kosher, so I didn't question it. "Walter, suppose I needed to hide a million dollars?" I asked. "Are you out of your mind," he looked around at the walls of my downtown house. "Walter, I swept the place for microphones before you came," I informed him. "I an not giving you advice. We are just going to talk about possibilities, in case you need to track someone else's criminal activities," He said it to make it clear that he didn't mind doing it, but he sure as hell didn't want to talk about it. There were lots of people who did lots of things with those same feelings. "Walter, I'm not a church Deacon. and this isn't Porn," I explained. "Maxine, look around at how you live. If you won the lottery and had a million bucks dropping in your lap, exactly what would you do differently. You have enough money to buy the most expensive, fanciest car or truck that is made, but you go out and buy a fifteen year old small truck. Yeah, you put it in the shop and had it completely rebuilt with modern parts, but that's what you do." "You are saying I need to take a different kind of look at the money. If it isn't for buying things, it is just for keeping score?" I asked. "Well not like poker chips, you could always have it laying around in case you need a few bucks for something special," Walter said. "In general having 100 million bucks isn't a problem, till you try to spend it." I saw his point and it was like a light going on in the dark. Sitting upstairs in the blue barrel it wasn't anything but paper and as such wasn't a problem. It was only a problem when I tried to make it money. If I had no use for it, then it wasn't a problem for me. "We can always work twenty grand into the accounts, if you want a new house. However in smaller amounts you can just use it as cash. It only leaves a trail when it hits the banking system. Go buy a new washing machine for cash and nobody gives a crap," Walter said. "I got it Walter, you don't want to leave here with a suitcase full of cash," I said. "You are damn right I don't, but I would for you," he said with a smile. "I can handle it I think, but I do have someone who might need your help," I suggested. "Well let it cool down a little and we can work something out. Give me a month before you ask any favors for friends." With those words Walter picked up his papers and put them in his briefcase. "So, do you have an auditor yet?" "No, but I bet you have someone in mind," I said. "His name is Alvin Watson, and he is a genius," Walter said. "He will also work cheap. He just got out of federal prison at Maxwell Air Force Base." "That's not prison," I said with an almost giggle. "It's a fucking country club." "Anytime you can't walk into the kitchen for a cup of coffee whenever you want, you are in prison," Walter said indignantly. "Do you want me to have Al call you?" "Sure, if you say he is good, then he can do my taxes, but warn him what happens if he steals from me." I said it with a really dark look. "Not to worry, we have mutual friends who will audit the auditor," he said as he headed to the door. "Oh here, I have something for you. Call this man and set up an appointment. He can work out something for you. He has ties to the old country. He is also very honest." I read the card. Levi Goldman, diamond merchant and then a phone number were the only things on the card. "So does he take cash?" I asked. "American dollars are his favorite thing. He knows about you, even if he doesn't know you," Walter said. "Fair enough," I replied. "Drive safely Walter, and I promise I will pour over those documents of incorporation. Even better I will have Jennifer do it." "There you go," he said as he walked away from me and out my front door. I didn't want to call Jerrod on the phone and I really hadn't heard from him, since he returned my cruiser. At that time he said he had installed the pretty boys at his house. Since I did want to speak to him about the blue barrel, and I needed to work out my joints to keep them nice and flexible, I rode the bike the four miles to his house. It took me about thirty minutes which was plenty of manipulation of my major joints. I saw his ragged old Toyota in the drive, so I stopped. "Well hello there," I said when he opened the door. "I hadn't heard from you, so I thought I would stop by." "I am so glad you did. I have been meaning to call you and get some help here. I am no good with this day to day shit," he informed me. I stepped inside and noticed that his living room looked much better. It had furniture, even if it wasn't what I would have bought. The sofa and chairs were a bit over the top for me, but if you like color they were very in, "Very colorful, so where are the boys?" I asked. "Taking a walk and most likely trying to figure out how to keep me from killing them," Jerrod said but he was smiling. "So the domestic life is not to your liking?" I asked. "Not at all, You have to help me find a way to get them the hell out of here," he demanded. "So are you beginning to regret forcing me to give them the 'live on' option?" I asked playfully. "That is done, now what?" He asked. "Well what we need to do is to find them something to do that won't bring them to the attention of the FBI." I knew something Jerrod didn't. The FBI wasn't going to be looking too hard for anyone. There was no hard evidence that the two pretty boys were anything but victims. The ID switch should be more than enough to keep them lost for the rest of their lives. I just needed to be sure that they were happy in their new life. I didn't want them trying to go back to the good old days. Jerrod I have an idea, It might not be a good one, but we have to do something to keep the boys happy. We do not want them homesick." I said it and waited for him to comment. "So what do you have in mind?" he asked. "A castle," I answered. "Are you out of your mind?" he asked. "Probably, but it makes perfect sense." I said. "It makes no fucking sense at all," Jerrod said. Leave the boys a note and lets take a walk," I suggested. "Hell, we might even meet them while we are walking." It wasn't especially cold but it was getting late in the afternoon, so Jerrod got his jacket before we left. My guess was that inside one of the jacket pockets was a small pistol. I couldn't imagine Jerrod being very far from a weapon. I walked with him to the end of the street. We walked one more block east before we stood across the street from the old abandoned Hart Textile Mill. "What do you think it would take to turn this place into a castle?" "It isn't anything like a castle." Jerrod said. I'm sure he thought I was crazy. "Not now it doesn't." There is that section in the front here that is three stories tall. The offices were in that part. Then there is a giant weave room as big as any great hall in any castle. Then on the rear of the building there is a second story space that was used for several smaller manufacturing steps. I'm not even sure how they were used." "So we could redo the front facade and make it look like a castle entrance. Use the old large weave room as a wedding chapel or something like that. Turn the front three story part into a bed and breakfast kind of thing maybe. That rear two story section with the smaller manufacturing spaces maybe shops or offices." "This is a major investment," Jerrod said. "Yes it is," I agreed. "I am going to need to think about it. I will discuss it with my new friends. I know you are thinking of them involved in it. You are planning this for me and I appreciate it but it might be a bit more than I want to invest," Jerrod said. "If not that, think of something along the same lines for them. We need to get them involved in somethink they know about but not the same things as their old lives. If you know what I'm saying." "I know exactly," Jerrod said. "Okay I need to get going before it gets dark," I suggested. I left Jerrod's little house just as his two new best friends showed up. I did not envy Jerrod at all. Ten minutes later I was stopped at a stop sign when my burn phone rang, "Lo," I said into the phone. I seldom got more than wrong numbers on a burner. "Bring my shit to the waffle house in Tryon beside the interstate. Be there at midnight, Bring the phone you will find when you get home. I'll give you more directions when you get there. Get rid of the phone you are using now." Before I could tell him that it was overkill, he was gone. I rode the bike home. Switched to the truck and rode to the marina. I tossed my burner into the city water supply as I crossed the bridge leading to the marina. When I got back, I found a package on the dining table and a note from Sylvia. 'This came just after you left." So Bullrider was in town. He had to be. Well I didn't want to meet him. I just wanted to get rid of his shit. I would go along with the plan just to wrap up the gig. ------- Chapter 387 For years it seemed that I did nothing important for days, then all of a sudden it was run like hell. Such was the case that first week back. I did almost nothing for of the first half of it, then all of a sudden I had people demanding my attention all day and up into the night. At midnight on that Friday I found myself sitting in the parking lot of the waffle house in Tryon. Beside me in the passenger seat was more or less a million dollars cash inside a sealed blue plastic twenty gallon barrel. I wished that he/she had made the first part of the drop a McDonald's parking lot. At least in that case I could have gotten a cup of coffee. The second burn phone of the day rang at exactly midnight. "Tell me what you see?" the heavily altered voice demanded. "I see a waffle house restaurant with six cars and my truck in the parking lot. Surely you don't want me to leave a million dollars in cash in the parking lot?" I asked. "I want you to drive south on highway 22 until you come to an intersection with a flashing red light. At that light I want you to turn right. About two hundred yards on the right, you will see an abandoned service station, Pull over there and wait for more directions." "Fair enough," I answered. I had learned a couple of things. Bullrider wasn't following me and he/she was no genius in general. Just on the computer maybe, but all that could work in my favor. Most likely we would both play nice. I did as he/she directed. Nobody passed me when I got to the station but there was a new black Ford midsized rental car parked under the empty canopy. Since the windows were clear of frost or dew, I judged it to be empty, and not to have been parked there long. The rental plates helped me to determine that it was my drop car. I was a little surprised until I remembered all the times that I had used rental cars to lay a false trail. This guy would actually be checking for traces on the plates and rental details. If someone traced it, then his version of the nuclear option would kick in. He would destroy my digital life. I was fine with that, since I didn't give a crap who he was. The phone rang a few seconds after I pulled in. I had no idea where, but he/she was watching from somewhere. "Put my shit in the trunk and drop the cell phone in with it. You do know I am going to check it for tracking devices." "Suit yourself, but tell me this. How many surveillance cams did I pass on the way down here? Ones that you have hacked into?" I asked. "Only five," he/she said with a laugh. "Fair enough, well enjoy your shit, but please be careful that they don't track it back to me, if you do something stupid with it." I said. "I won't do anything stupid, and lady you don't exist in my history or life anymore after I open that barrel," he/she say said. Then added, "This ain't my first rodeo cowgirl." "That works for me," I said as I exited the truck to take care of the drop. I wondered if the fact that the barrel weighed almost fifty pounds and was clumsy as hell to handle, would be a problem at the airport for the bullrider. He/she had assured me that he/she had everything covered so I walked away with a light heart. I drove back to Aster plugged into the cigarette lighter and listening to traveling music. Lots of motorcycle songs and of course California Dreaming, even though I had no desire to go to California anytime soon. When I got back to the Downtown House, I plugged the MP3 Player into the wall to complete the charge. I had a burning need to close my eyes lately when I charged. I would appear to be asleep, if anyone happened to see me. That was only one of the urges that began since my last 'upgrade'. After what I thought of as Black Friday, things went back pretty much into my normal 'at home' mode. The weekend was quiet as hell with me doing nothing but catching up on my mail and making silly little business decisions. On Monday my phone rang. "I have given this a lot of thought over the weekend Maxine. That castle thing is just too much money for me to invest right now. I like the bed and breakfast idea, but not on such a grand scale. "I also want them out of Aster. I want them close enough so that I can check on my investment, but not so close that they can just drop in on me," he said. "I understand completely. I will have a friend of mine, who has access to the statewide real estate market, look around. You do know there is a problem with investment capital." I informed him. I sure as hell wasn't going to put up the money. "I know but we can work something out surely." he suggested to me. "We can but be thinking how much you want to put into it," I demanded. "That will pretty much tell us where we are going to be looking and what we will be looking at. I had a thought on Friday night," I said. "What kind of thought?" he asked. "You know I am building small houses, and condos, but the people we are selling them too are not really poor people. Our down payment policy pretty much weeds them out. Our buyers are older people for the most part. They have large families and no where to put guests. All the hotels that I would put a friend or relative into are in Tryon. What we do need around here is a Guest House. If you get a ten or so room classy guest house, with a small wedding chapel which can be quickly converted to a reception area, you might have something." Let me give that a thought, but something with a smaller investment than the Castle idea," Jerrod demanded. "Jerrod, I'm thinking classy historic place that I can get investors in on. We can hire the sissy boys to manage it, if you like?" I said. "Or we can get them financed if we put up the money for the financing. I have a friend for that kind of thing." "Actually I have a lot of friends we can bring into this. Let's meet tomorrow and we can make the decisions, but Jerrod I am going to have some people there who don't need to know everything," I said. "Of course not," he agreed. When we finally ended the conversation, we had decided to meet at the marina for afternoon coffee and to decide how much we wanted to invest. I planned to make some calls. If we got Helen and Jack into the group even on a small scale they would help promote the place. Peter needed to be at the meeting as well. We were going to need a presence on the Internet. We would need some local event planning as well so that put Sylvia dead in the middle of it, at least until she decided to head out for the life of a hospital worker. The meeting had grown, so before I even made the calls I moved it to the Cloak and Dagger. There we could at least get enough coffee for everyone. I could get a case of coke half diet and half regular along with the coffee pot. It was also an excellent chance to con Helen into bringing me her left over cupcakes from the last wedding. She might still have some left by the next afternoon. I made the calls and got everyone to come along even Kate, the Realty, slut was on board. She would be doing her homework overnight and have somethings for us to talk about. Most likely she would have nothing of real value to add. She might be able to find us something in the days ahead. That is if we could all agree on anything. I wasn't the least bit concerned about the sissy boys. The farm had put them up in a dark safe house. The only information they got was what the farmer's sons wanted them to have. Upon their arrival in Aster by private plane, Jerrod, who they trusted, sat them down and explained. His explanation had just enough truth to convince anyone. In our well thought out version, the casino was raising money for terrorists. The two of them just got caught up in an anti terror operation. The bad guys would never give up looking for them, so they had to disappear. Jerrod and I never came to their attention, but Jack and Michael had. So Jack and Michael were lost at sea. Enter Sean and Billy, two new residents looking for a new start in a place where everyone was judged on their worth, not their personal lives. It was a great line of bullshit. The two of them had no reason to question us, as long as we could make it work. Everyone was assembled Tuesday afternoon at 3PM in the basement meeting room of the Drugstore condo, aka The Cloak and Dagger. There was coffee, cokes, still in the cans, and wonderful chocolate iced marble cupcakes. Hell I almost hated to break the fun mood with business. "I selected some of you because we were in this from the beginning or you bring a unique talent to the table. Actually everyone except me has a unique talent. Anyway, we have seen some real changes in our little town. Most of them have been for the better, but some haven't. This time we are dealing with the happier side of the change. We have a whole lot of new and different residents. Everyone here has benefited from that change. I would like to propose a new venture, but no one here is under any pressure to participate. I just chose to mention it to you, because of who you are. I will be happy to consult with any of you at any time. So here it is more or less. I have been building a lot of retirement and step down housing. The one thing all these places have in common is they are built for the residents but don't have a lot of space for guests. I am sure some of the guests sleep on the sofa and I slept on a lot of sofas in my life and do not have a problem with that. However if my mother and father were still living and wanted to visit me, I would love to have an option. The closest place I could put them up where I know they would be safe and not approached by a hooker in the parking lot is in Tryon. I don't think we need a luxury hotel and thats not what I have in mind. What I have in mind is a historic guest house. Maybe ten bedrooms with some nice common areas. I am also thinking a little wedding and entertainment venue. Nothing elaborate just something like the meeting room upstairs but with an on site wedding venue and rooms for the wedding party or anyone who wants to use them. Now I have an interest because it would make selling the next round of condos easier for sure. Helen could probably find a way to work it into her business. Everything from a catered continental breakfast, to a venue for her customers is possible. Peter can give us a dynamite web presence, he spends too much time there already." I did smile at him when I said that. "Sylvia could, at least for a while, help with the planning. Kate I am going to task with helping us to find the right location. Jerrod is my new investment partner on this project at least. So we are all here and I know I sprang this on you all at the same time and no one is prepared, but if you have any questions or suggestions lets have them now. If you don't want in you can at least throw your ideas out and help us with the planning this one time. ------- Chapter 388 "Maxine I am not going to leave you in a lurch," Sylvia said after the others had gone. She and I were sitting alone in the C&D finishing the coffee and cupcakes. For some reason it seemed that I could not get enough sugar recently. I had no idea why that was, but I actually got a craving for sugar. It was even more strange that after I ate something with a lot of sugar, my operating temperature seemed to rise slightly for an hour or so. "I didn't think that you would just walk off. Hell, if for no other reason than I usually owe you money." I suggested. "You know you are involved with the new holding company. The more you and Jennifer make it like a real company the more shit we can write off. You know like health insurance and 401K shit like that. "I know you are good for the money. I wouldn't do it because you have been good to me. I know your new auditor is going to set up a benefit package for employees of the holding company. I'm not sure that the holding company needs any other employees, we do okay subcontracting out our work. "I need the team members, so I guess I am going to have to put them on the holding company's payroll somehow. That's for you and Al the Auditor to work out. I have really lost control of, and interest in, the day to day operations of the business. "I know Maxine. By the way, you don't need to include Peter in things if you are doing it for me. He and I are not seeing each other any more." She seemed sad as she told me. "I'm sorry to hear that, even if I'm not surprised. Men come and go in a beautiful young woman's life. A replacement will show up I'm sure," I admitted. "Actually Jerrod has asked me out. What do you think?" she asked. "Honey, you know I am the wrong one to ask about romantic problems. Jerrod is a nice young man, that's about all I know. He has shown himself to be a man with a good heart," I added. I changed the subject, "Well I have finished all the cupcakes and coffee, so it is time for me to clean up and then leave." "I will help you. By the way, I know you aren't really in the PI business, but I have made a 10AM appointment for you tomorrow," Sylvia said. "What kind of thing is it?" I asked more than a little surprised. "Divorce kind of thing, you will see tomorrow," she repeated. I wondered what in the world the woman could have said to cause Sylvia to put her into my schedule. Sylvia knew I didn't do PI work any more. Even if I did, I would not handle a divorce. When I got back to the downtown house, I realized that I still had the issue of the storage container office to deal with. Sylvia obviously had not found a home for the steel boxes or she would have been all excited. It was her task to do so. I was sitting there trying to think of a place to put the boxes, when the idea struck me. What if I had the units fitted out as mini guest houses. It would need a bed which could easily fit in the rear across the back. A comfortable chair and night stand with some storage. Maybe a chest and dresser combo all of it built in of course. A Dorm size refrigerator and a tiny microwave to heat coffee. It would just be a place to sleep, The guest would have to use the bathroom in the house of the person they were visiting. Drag the unit out and leave it at the end of the driveway of the host house for a week or so then haul it back to a storage lot. I liked the idea even better as I went along. I knew that if I made it work in the Aster/Tryon area someone else would pick it up and run with it nationwide. I managed to get Jen before she left for the day. "Holy shit what a hell of an idea. Pod's to store your mom and dad when they visit. It's a fucking brilliant idea. Plus you already have the test units. Just convert them and get it onto the web to see how it flies." I swear she was so excited I thought she was going pee in her panties. "Jen I have so many things going I'm going to pass this on to Sylvia. I might have to find someone else to work on it, but will you help me guide them through it?" I asked. "Of course," she said. "Maxine this could be your best idea yet. Well at least money wise." "It isn't for everyone, but it might be good for a few people," I suggested. "If this works out as I think it will, you will be able to retire. I swear," she said. "We will see." I had less enthusiasm than Jennifer, but then again she wasn't wrong very often. After that phone call I pretty much put it out of my mind. "I did have one thing to add to the advertising. If it's for mom and dad who came to visit, put the kids in the pod and give mom and dad the kids room, so they are beside the bathroom. The kids will love it. Around 7PM I rode my bike to Krispy Kreme donut shop. It was about ten blocks from my townhouse. I went through the driver thru window and asked for a half dozen glazed donuts in a paper bag. I stuck their bag into a European net shopping bag so that I could hang it from my handle bars. I rode home still wondering what the hell was with the sudden urge for dessert. Eating the donuts, with the terrible black coffee I made, while looking at at the colored traffic lights reflecting off the drugstore condo was almost as good as sex. Okay, not nearly as good as sex, but it was still really satisfying. Actually it was calming even though I didn't get excited. It was a strange new feeling but I was happy to go with it. Ordinarily I did a purge of the waste system before I settled down to charge my power pack, but I decided to hold off until the charging was finished. It was another one of those things I just felt I should do for no particular reason. While I charged I tried to decide what I should do afterward. It would be midnight when I finished. Even so I could go out and have a drink and even dance a little before everything closed. Or I could answer the knock on my back door. I looked at the cam on my rear parking lot and back door before I headed in that direction. The person at the door was turned away from the camera, so I picked up the 9mm back door gun as i passed by the coat rack. The pistol was stored in the pocket of a really ugly jacket hanging on the coat rack. The jacket was only there to hold the pistol so that it wouldn't be seen by people who came and went through that door. When I opened the door I recognized my visitor, "What the fuck are you doing knocking on my door at 10PM?" I asked in what had to bed an excited voice. "I have knocked on your door a lot later and you didn't mind. Besides you still owe me for the broken collar bone. I have no idea what you hit me with, but it must have been a sledge hammer the doctor said." "Teach you to try to kill the man I'm trying to keep alive," I said just before I grabbed the Irishman and tried to smother him. I kissed and held him for a long time. Finally I allowed him to pull away. "Damn Maxine, I know it's been a long time. but don't suffocate me." Shut the fuck up Martin or I'll do worse to you. I'll bite that little thing you call a penis off," with that I kissed him again. I was trying to get his clothes off while we kissed and talked. "Am I going to have to fuck you to calm you down?" he asked. "More than once, damn you," I said. "Then things I do for my country," he said pulled me to him. He ran his hands over the receptors that doubled as nipples and I shuttered. It was more from the memory of how it really felt when he had done that before. I didn't analyze it, I just fucking enjoyed it. I couldn't get enough. I pulled his mouth to my breast and he sucked on my nipple. It couldn't have felt any better, if it were real. I was sure of that because the feeling was even better than the memory. I just wanted him inside me. Not just his cock I wanted him inside me completely. I wanted him to be part of me. It was a new feeling for me. I could not get close enough to him. I loved his touch and I loved his smell. When he got me naked he obviously remembered what kind of cocksucker I was because he pushed me to my knees. I should have been offended but I had no problem opening my mouth to his dripping cock. I licked and sucked it until he began to pump my mouth. With every stroke the head of his cock struck the back of my throat. Back in the day I would make gagging sounds. That night instead of gaging, I moaned around his cock. I sucked on is cock until he began to move erratically. "The hell you will," I said pulled him out of my mouth forcefully. He wanted to keep moving until he came, but I would have none of it. I turned around and presented my ass to him. At that moment I didn't care which hole he buried his cock in just so long as it was done quickly. "Fuck me Martin, for God's sake fuck me," I was totally out of control. I felt his wet cock slide into my dry pussy. It was designed so that even dry there was only minor friction. After a few strokes I was as slippery as any other whore. Martin slid his cock in and out of me driving he higher with every stroke. I was absolutely out of control when I had my first orgasm. I shook and convulsed so hard I heard Martin yelp in minor pain. He didn't stop stroking me. In fact he increased his speed. My muscle spasm seemed to cause Martin to work even harder. I wondered, if it had blunted his enthusiasm, so that he had to start building up to cum again. I came two more times before he finally exploded inside me. It was a huge amount of semen that he shot into me. Even on my knees, facing away from him Martin managed to lean over and hold my small boobs. He whispered into my ear, "Damn you get better every time I fuck you." "Geese. should I write that in my resume?" I asked. "If you need a testimonial, I will be happy to write you one. Hell I film it and put it on Utube." be said. "My God Martin you do that so fucking good," I said. I had to wait a few minutes before I felt like talking. When I did I asked. "So how long are you staying?" "The heats on, I have to keep moving," he said. "Now who the fuck are you running from?" I asked. "Some rather unhappy Iranian, less than Gentlemen," he said. "Shit Irish what the fuck did you do?" I asked, but I already knew. At least one of the contract casino heists had to have been him. "I relieved someone who was making big donations to the Iranian secret service of their money. I don't think he will be making any more donations so they are not happy," he said. "And you came to tell me this why?" I asked. "I came to get laid Maxine," he said. "Right, I repeat how long are you staying?" I asked. "The longer I am here the more danger you are in. I'm headed back to the swamp. I just stopped by to say hi, and get a blowjob of course," he said. "Of course," I agreed. "I have one thing to say before you leave. If you die on me I will kill your ass." "And the mother fucker who killed me, I hope," he said without a smile. "Count on it," I said as I watched martin begin to put his clothes on. "Watch any Arab looking asshole who comes to town. You know just in case," he said. "Just in case," I agreed. ------- Chapter 389 I was totally shocked by how involved I had been with the Irishman. I had to wonder, was it a software change, or was I evolving somehow. It did not matter one bit to me, which it was. The only thing important to me was how wonderful it had felt. I know what a cliche it is. but I had felt really alive during the experience. Maybe I felt that way for the first time, since I died. There I said it. I had died when they took my memories. It was the price I paid for eternal life. It had been so good with the Irishman that I didn't even mind that he had most likely gone from my bed to the realty whore Kate;s bed. It was possible that I had been second and he was coming from hers. Damn I was just so damn cynical. When the sun came up, the droopy feeling left me and I felt amazingly relaxed, not that I ever got nervous. Hell I had all kinds of, almost, new feelings running through me since that last visit to the farm. Of course I wondered what they had done to me, but I knew it was a waste of time to ask. I was their Manhattan project, double, super, top secret. Sylvia told to expect the new client at ten, so I got an early start on the day. I was at Helen's by 7:20 AM. and it had been a chilly bike ride that early. Not to me, but to anyone else it would have seemed so. I could see the looks of sympathy on the faces of the cops, firemen, and paramedics as I came in holding the bike helmet. "Tell me your truck is broke down Max, I don't want to believe you are dumb enough to ride that bike on a day like this," one of the police sergeants suggested. "Hey, I have to keep my girlish figure somehow," I said with a smile. "You are too skinny already Maxine, you look like a teenage boy," one of his buddies remarked. "I do that, for that little bit of pervert in all you guys," I said with a grin. "I don't know about the rest of these guys, but I like a little meat on my women," another one said. "Now you tell me damn it. Well this morning I am going to have the giant cinnamon roll breakfast," I said. "That's start on the new 'fattening of Maxine' project." I said. The giant cinnamon roll breakfast was just that. One giant iced cinnamon roll with coffee and orange juice. The cake in Helen's cinnamon roll wasn't white or even white with a hint of yellow. The damn thing had so many eggs, and so much butter, it was absolutely the color of butter. The icing somehow was hard enough to be a candy all by itself. Helen had admitted to me once, that the recipe came from the file of recipes she had bought from the mill's caterer's daughter. The cinnamon buns had to be able to withstand being rolled around on a snack cart all day, and still be something that the mill workers wanted to buy at the end of the third shift. They were a complete meal, even it was a heart attack wrapped in wax paper. For the new 'sugar at any cost' me, it was absolutely perfect. That and the bitter black coffee, which I had taught Helen to make, was the ideal new breakfast for me. After the breakfast I was on what could only have been a sugar high, if I got those kinds of feelings any more. I went from Helen's to the mall for a quick walk. Not really a quick walk, it was more like a short walk. I didn't mind cutting it short, since the really old fogies were walking around. When I lapped the same guy twice, I knew it was time to leave. So I was back home drinking the thick day old black coffee, when she came. She knocked on my front door, so I got a good look at her even before I opened it. She was not as thin as me, but still thin. Unlike me she had beautiful blond hair poking from under a head scarf. It was thick and well done I could tell even from the small amount showing. She wore large dark glasses as well as the scarf. At first I thought it was to hide her identity, however once she got inside, I knew that it was because both her eyes were bruised. "You must be Lydia?" I suggested. "Yes and you are Maxine Stone of course. I am so glad that you agreed to see me. I really have nowhere else to go," she said. "First of all, how did you get those injuries?" I asked. "When I asked my husband for a divorce, he went crazy." she said. "Did you go to the hospital?" I asked. "Yes I did. I filed a police report as well, but I'm sure it never got into the system," she said almost sadly. She seemed to have given up. "Oh why is that?" I asked. "My husband is Harold Timmons," she said. When she saw that it didn't mean anything to me, she added, "Superior court judge Timmons." "Ah the good old boy network in action. Did you file a restraining order?" I asked. "I called all over town yesterday, no lawyer will take my case," she informed me. My logic circuit kicked in. "Lydia how far are you willing to take this?" I asked "What do you mean?" she asked. "Are you willing to destroy him in order to get away?" I asked. "He will kill me, if I attack him," she said. "No, he won't kill you, but he will find a thug to give it a try most likely. I can find a couple of thugs to prevent that from happening. First, we have to take his power away, before we can really protect you. So I ask you again, how far are you willing to go?" I repeated. "I will do whatever it takes to be free and stay alive," she said honestly. I could tell from her body language that she was being perfectly honest. "So where are you staying?" I asked. "In a motel," she said. "We will be moving you. It is too easy to find you in a motel. He will have his cop buddies on it by now." I said. "I know this won't be cheap, but I will do anything, pay anything to be free," she said turning on the fire hose. I let her cry it out before I called Jennifer. "I want to talk to your boss and I want to talk to her now." I said to Edsel who answered Jennifer's private number. "Yes Ma'am, Ms Stone," Edsel said. "What the hell did you say to Edsel, she is as pale as a ghost?" Jennifer said seriously. "I am not in the mood for bullshit this morning. Do you know Judge Harold Timmons?" I asked. "Sure, everyone knows Harold," she answered. "Are you in his pocket?" I asked. "You know better. I'm in no one's pocket. Now before I take offense and hang up, what the hell are you really asking? she said. "I have his wife here. She has been beaten and she wants a divorce. She is afraid the police report, she filed Sunday night, is going to go missing. She thinks that, because so far no lawyer will take her case. She came to me looking for a body guard, but I can't help her until we strip that fuck of his power. So are you in or out?" I asked. "You are asking a lot, but bring her over here and we will talk. Do it now Maxine, before I come to my senses," Jennifer demanded. I rode to Jennifer's office in Lydia's Mercedes. Once we were there she went back to talk to Jennifer alone. I sat in the reception room with yet another new receptionist. Edsel put in an appearance. I half expected her to demand an apology, but she seemed to be sufficiently cowered to just look at me, then leave. Jennifer called me back after about twenty minutes alone with Lydia. "So here is how we get this fuck. First I file a restraining order based on the incident Sunday night. I did manage to find the police report after I explained that there were hospital workers who would not fear the good judge. Ones who would testify not only to her condition, but also to the fact that the police took a report. The Tryon chief's office came up with the report in five minutes. He was probably looking at it, while he spoke with me. Next I spoke with a friend of yours from TV 3, She is going to do an interview with Lydia as part of a piece on domestic violence." Jennifer said smiling at us both. "My aren't you the little dynamo?" I asked. "Well you have to do an interview with her as well. I promised you would talk about your part in domestic violence giving tips on how to avoid it." she informed me. "What the fuck do I know about avoiding domestic violence?" I asked. "Who cares you give good interview, as she said to me," Jennifer added. "Now until that cocksucker resigns his job in disgrace, you keep my new client safe. By the way you are working for me, so you are covered under the very large privilege umbrella." It was the smile of the cat who ate the canary that Jennifer flashed at me at the end of the meeting. "This is not going to be cheap, but it will be fun," I suggested as we went out the door. On the smarter than smart phone I placed a call to Jerrod. "Hey there are you bored yet?" I asked. "I am so bored you would not believe it." he said. "I want you to be Kevin Costner for a few days," I suggested. "Who am I going to be?" he asked obviously confused. "A body guard for a few days till we pull the teeth of a sitting judge," I said. "Now that sounds painful, but fun, Where do I meet you?" he asked "For now meet me at my place. We are going to have to wait for Sylvia to find a safe house." I admitted. "Be there in half an hour," he said. "I think I can keep her safe that long," I suggested. I made another phone call when I finished with Jerrod. "Vlad how do you feel about fucking up a judge?" "Oh my, I do love that thought. It will be great fun, but will I make enough for a bottle of good Russian vodka?" he asked. "Not if you want to fly to Moscow to pick it up. We can probably use Anya as well. Simon is taking the first watch. I will have him call you when he needs to take a break." I said into the phone. "Fair enough, I don't want to work all that hard anyway," he said. When that call ended, I turned to Lydia. "Now listen up, if you know any really nasty shit on the Judge, he will be after you big time. It might be more than a couple of slaps with his open hand, so prepare yourself for the worst." "I don't want to destroy him, I just want to get away from him," she said. "Sweetie, that face of yours tells me you are going to have to destroy him to get away. Whether you use it or not, just knowing shit on him is going to have him coming after you big time. I hope I am wrong, but I don't think so." I said. "I consider myself very lucky to have met Sylvia Sunday night. This could have gone so wrong otherwise." she said. "How did you meet Sylvia," I asked. "She was working at the hospital emergency room. Some kind of nursing thing, I'm not really sure." she said. It must have something to do with her school, I thought. Probably getting in her practical experience part of the course. Community colleges were big on that kind of thing. So how would you like a nice Krispy Kreme Donut and some really awful coffee?" I asked. "I don't usually eat that kind of thing. Harold has, or had, me on a diet constantly. Nobody wants a fat trophy wife," she said. "Well sweetie who gives a fuck what Harold wants now?" I asked. ------- Chapter 390 Of the dozen fancy donuts Lydia and I purchased, eight were left when Sylvia arrived. She came through the rear door without either Lydia or I moving from the stainless steel topped dining room table. The table was quite stylish considering it was part of my industrial look for the place. The base and legs were painted with about ten coats of black enamel paint. Anyway that is where we sat as we watched Sylvia enter. "Morning Sylvia, would you like a donut?" I asked. "It's afternoon and I have already had my lunch," she said in her eastern European accent. I noticed that Lydia noticed it as well. Lydia was in for a cultural shock, since all the people who she would come into contact with for a while, except Jennifer, had an accent of some kind. "Suit yourself, I bought the chocolate iced, white creme filled ones you like so much, and of course the apple cinnamon. However if we can't temp you, so be it. I finally rose from the dining table then walked into the kitchen. I found a large storage box in one of the drawers of my stainless steel cabinets. I sealed the donuts away for my own later consumption. I went back to the table to concentrate on the bad coffee and Lydia. "You two have met of course," I said with a smile. "Yes of course, you do look better today Lydia," Sylvia said. "Thank you, I feel better, the pills help with the pain. I am ready to switch to Advil after today," she said very clinically. "Good, you don't want to take the Vicodin too long. Sylvia said it sounding all professional. "So Sylvia we need a place to stash Lydia. A place no one would think to look. Somewhere quiet, that we own, but doesn't have an easy way to trace back to us." I smiled, since I knew she wouldn't have all that many places from which to choose." "You know the only place we have that is live in ready, and furnished, is the bluebird model at Heartland village. You didn't need to consult with me, just take it. Hell it is yours anyway," she said. "I have been gone remember, you don't have anyone ready to close on it do you?" I asked. "Nothing working on it that I can't push back a few weeks, if I need to," Sylvia informed me. "Then it's settled. When Jerrod comes, he can take you there to babysit," I said. "He is going to need groceries and a TV at the least," Sylvia said. "Bill the groceries to Jennifer, and the TV to the realty company," I said. Every model home needs a big ass, flat screen these days. "I am sure your ex, Peter, has some web cams laying around, we can borrow to watch the perimeter. Like it or not make the call." "Anything you especially want at the store," Sylvia asked Lydia. Lydia just shook her head in reply. "Then it's TV dinners for everyone." "Until Jerrod gets here, let's me and you discuss a little boring business." Sylvia got a cup of coffee and took a seat at the table. "What boring thing do you want to discuss?" she asked. "Well for one thing the office progress," I answered. "No progress, your friend Althea is ready to come through, so I figured to hold off till you picked exactly the right location." Sylvia said. "I have a different idea for those storage units." I went on to explain about the Tiny guest house idea. Jerrod arrived before I got to the minor details, so I just said, "Make it happen." to close the conversation. I turned my attention to Jerrod. I explained about the bluebird house. "That is only a block from my place," he seemed concerned. "I know, but just don't let the roomies know where you are. We will have Sylvia drop you at the house, so there won't be a car to trace to any of us. Drop your car at home and explain to your roomies that you are going on a job for a while. Tell them it is for me." "Sylvia after you install them, do the shopping and call Peter to set up the eyes for us. Bill Peter's charge to Jennifer as well." I said. "Now Jerrod, when you get tired and need a break, or just want to get away, let me know. I have Vlad and Anya standing by. We can arrange something with them, or I will come out myself." "Sounds like you have it covered," Jerrod said. "You try not to kill any innocents," I suggested with a grin. "There are no innocents in this world. It's all just degrees of guilt." he said to me. I nodded my agreement. "Is there anything I forgot?" "Burn phones?" Jerrod said. I immediately took the fancy phone from Lydia's purse without her permission. I removed the battery and stored both in one of the kitchen cabinet drawers. "You can have that back when the threat is over. "Sylvia get them a phone," I said. Then I said to Jerrod, "Thanks for reminding me." "Not a problem," Here take my phone as well. If they find you, then they will know about me." Out came his battery and the phone went into the drawer beside Lydia's phone. His was a much simpler version of the smart phone. "Now is there anything else?" I asked. "Could we take some of those donuts," Lydia asked shyly. "Take them all, I haven't forgotten the way to the KK," I said. "Jerrod write a quick shopping list for Sylvia and Sylvia anything else you think of buy it. Hold on I need to get you some tools." I said. "Jerrod come with me please." We climbed the stairs with me in the lead. I went through the walk in closet to the gun vault in the rear wall. I worked the combination, then swung the heavy door open. Along the back wall was a rack of rifles and shotguns and on one side was one of those rolling red tool boxes that you see in service stations. There were pistols inside the drawers. On the other side wall were two blue 20 gallon plastic drums. "Your money is in the one on the bottom. Whenever you want it let me know we will crack it open, or you can take it like it is. I already paid off our computer man." I turned from the drums to the back wall. I unlocked, then then opened the friction clamp which held the plastic coated cable securely. The heavy duty clamp was so that I didn have to double the end of the cable for a lock. I didn't want to drag a loop through the trigger guard of the long guns. "Do you have a preference?" I asked. "Just a pump 12 gauge. I am sure they all function as they should." He said. "They did the last time I shot anyone with them," I said sarcastically. "Then take one of the Mossbergs. They are the cheapest. Just in case you have to bend the barrel over some asshole's head. They also were the least historic, since I bought them at Walmart for a job a while back. The old Winchester was supposed to have been used at Alcatraz I would hate to have it damaged. The three of them left at the same timer, but not in the same car. Sylvia followed Jerrod to dump his car, then transport them to the model house. After the house it was grocery shop and pick up the TV, for her. I was about to make the call for the cable to be installed. I didn't think they needed the Internet at first, then it hit me that the camera's Peter would install were connected to the net. I had Net access hooked up through the cable company as well. I was able to catch Sylvia before she dropped them off. I told her to get then a cheap laptop and to bill it to the realty company as well. I figured we were good at least until Jennifer filed the restraining order. After that it wouldn't take long for the enemy to figure who had their target. Once that happened it would be a chess game. They would make a move and we would try to counter it. We would make moves and they would try to counter them as well. I hoped there wouldn't be need for damage control, but that was also possible. The judge would be a formidable enemy but also a worthy one. It wouldn't be much fun to just go after a softball opponent again. This time I had a man with money, power, and connections to battle. The mission to destroy him, would be a challenge. I waited patiently for Sylvia to return from her trip. While she was gone I sketched what the inside of a Portable Guest House should contain. I wanted them to be classy for sure and for that I needed the 'Laboring Few's' designer. Next I made a call to a company we had dealt with before, it was actually an auto towing company. I found out from James, the owner, that the storage units were sized to fit on a standard flat bed trailer. If I got a trailer under them and then had them tied down permanently. He could make the pick up and deliveries with one of his tow trucks. He wouldn't even need the kind he pulled tractor trailers with, when they broke down. It would save me a bunch, and it was doable for sure. If I went his way. I wouldn't need to buy a lot of equipment, or have the storage units loaded and unloaded. So of course I went on line and found an auction site for rolling stock. I bought a trailer that would fit one of the units. I was located close to the site where I was supposed to pick up my storage unit. So I was ready to get to work setting up the test unit. First I had to collect the new trailer. James agreed to pick up the trailer, deliver it to the site of the storage units and wait while one of my four units was loaded onto the trailer. He then agreed to deliver it to Aster. That would cost me $300, but James also agreed drop it in the drive of the model where Jerrod and Lydia were camping out. It all worked out, but not without a whole afternoon of making calls back and forth to everyone in the loop. The next day was Wednesday and that was the best day for everyone. It was just too easy it seemed like fate. While I was arranging all that, Sylvia was working with Peter on a web page and with the designer from His Laboring Few to get some idea of how the unit would look. She had also done the shopping for Jerrod and Lydia. As usual it was well after 5PM when she prepared to leave. "So what is the deal with the nurse thing?" I asked before she could get out the door. "They are short handed at the hospital, so they hired last year students as nursing assistants," Sylvia said. "Do you need the money?' I asked. "Not at all, I need experience. I am struggling with the decision. You know, do I leave you or sign on for the long haul here. I have to decide something in the next few weeks," she said. "No you don't," I suggested. "You can keep working here for the money and do the weekend things with the hospital for the experience. Do that just in case you want to go to the nursing thing later." "But you are expecting me to work full time after school, that was the deal. You do need someone full time." she said. "Look there is a full time job for you anytime you want it. With all the benefits and probably more money than the hospital will pay you. But I can live with you four hours a day or three days a week whatever you can do. Walter has an auditor, who is going to be flexible I think. We might can push some of this crap off on him. I need to talk to him to see where his head is." "I would love to be able to work three full days here, and weekends at the hospital. It would be a dream for me," Sylvia said. "I could do two 12 hour ER shifts and qualify for their benefit package and get a lot of experience. Better experience than I would get any other place." "Then figure out what they can live with at the hospital and we will brow beat Alvin the auditor to make it work," I suggested. ------- Chapter 391 Between the time Sylvia left the office and I left for Helen's the next day the only thing I noticed was that my charging was taking less and less time each night. I also noticed that my brain seemed to work slower at times than it had before. I decided that it must be an automatic energy saving program of some kind. I could see that it would cut down on the charge time, if there was less energy expended, Less energy expended meant less energy needed to be replaced it. It was a working hypothesis. Since no one rushed up to replace it with a better one, I decided to go with it. I went to Helen's for the big Cinnamon Roll Breakfast again. I got in at shift change time so the place was almost empty. After breakfast, I rode the bike to the mall. I wondered again about the charge time thing, since I was still doing all the same physical activity things. Surely it took more power to ride the bike all over town, than it did to sit at home using the brain for creative thinking, I believed it was called. I walked the mall and found that I had the same energy level, but that I didn't need to force myself to walk at a human's pace any longer. It had become natural to walk at a reasonably fit middle aged lady's pace. In other words I could keep up with the dancer easily, but I no longer needed to fight to keep it down to her pace. The difference was that I didn't have to think about it at all. Maybe that was part of the new power saver thing. Some kind of auto control that saved energy by avoiding the constant adjustments required to pass for human. I gave up trying to figure it for the time being. After my three mile walk at the mall, I was about to exit through the lower parking lot door for the short walk to my bike. I was headed out into what everyone else considered the cold, when my phone rang. "Hello," I said to someone in Jennifer's office. I knew because it popped up on the screen. I have no idea why the phone thought I needed to know that. I never ducked calls. "Ms Stone, the boss asked me to call and give you a heads up," the voice I didn't recognize said. She was obviously yet another new receptionist. Jennifer must really be a bitch boss. I wondered how Edsel had lasted. "So what is the heads up?" I asked. "She filed the restraining order at 4PM yesterday. It will most likely be served this morning, since it is a domestic violence with injuries requiring medical treatment at the emergency room, it will get a priority," she informed me. "Okay I got it. Thanks for the heads up," I said even though I didn't need it. I was being polite. "Also Ms Stone, she would like you to have Mrs. Timmons at the TV station in Tryon at 2PM. She has an interview at 2:30 and of course you are part of that interview," she informed me. "I see, tell Jennifer it is nice that she consulted with me about the time. Tell her I might have been busy. I will adjust things for her this time, but I really don't appreciate her being so heavy handed. pass that along." I really didn't care all that much, I just wanted to voice my opinion. I found my reaction a little strong, since my programing should have caused my reaction to be 'since it wasn't going to make a difference, why bother'. I clicked off the smart phone still a little confused by it all. Being confused wasn't right either, I should have just run the analysis program, then gone with whatever it said. I was going through some real changes. Someone had made some changes in my main operating system and I wasn't sure I liked that idea. I had been able to modify it somehow or had that really been me. There was way too much to think about, it was just going to have to sort itself out. I almost beat the rain home, but it got me a block from my building. By the time I got in the rear door and parked the bike in the storage room, I was soaked. I hung the nylon jacket up to dry, then stripped off the tee shirt. I used it to dry off the bike. I probably ruined it the shirt with grease from the chain. If it had grease stains, I would just consider them a badge of honor and wear it anyway. It was time to load up the dirty clothes for a trip to my favorite Oriental laundry anyway. I had a big hand in getting Susi the laundry, so she loved me, her mother not so much. Even so they both did great work for me. I went up the stairs in my jeans and panties nothing more. I didn't have big boobs to flop around, so I was good to walk around topless or go out braless. I could have called Jerrod, but I wanted to see how he was handling things with Lydia. To see that, I needed to be there. So after I dropped off my laundry, with a promise to pick it up before 5PM, I drove the truck to the Bluebird Model Home. Since it rained on me all the way from my townhouse, I was wet again when I arrived. I wore the nylon jacket, so the water didn't get through to my clean, dry tee shirt. I wouldn't have cared except that people seemed to think I should be uncomfortable with wet clothes against my skin, I always tried to fit in and do what people expected. At least I did whenever it was possible. Jerrod met me at the door. He wasn't carrying the shotgun but it was nearby which was acceptable. He presumably knew that it was me who was standing at the door. "So was it a quiet night?" I asked. "Yes it was. Since you disabled my cell phone, it was a very quiet night," Jerrod informed me. "Good, I like quiet nights when we have a body to guard." I had chosen Jerrod to be primary caregiver, since I didn't think he would be instigating anything with Lydia. As for Lydia she had peeked out the bedroom door, but went back inside quickly. "How does the body being guarded seem to be taking it?" I asked. "I think she is already getting cabin fever," he said. "She is most likely used to fancy restaurants or the like," I said. "We might try a little 'hide in plain sight next'. "She did mention that they had a dance band at the country club on Wednesday nights," he said with a laugh. "Oh my, if I remember you are a fairly good dancer. Too bad you couldn't have been her date," I suggested with a chuckle. "Lydia, I need to speak to you just a moment," I said in a slightly elevated voice. "Yes ma'am," she said when she came from the bedroom. "Shit, call me Maxine. Ma'am makes me feel a hundred years old. Anyway we need to be at the Tryon TV station at 2PM. I will be back at 1PM to pick you up and drive you there," I said. "I knew that I would have to do this. Jennifer told me what to do yesterday in her office. I will be fine and I will be ready on time. I will start now," she said talking to herself more than to me. "You do that, if you need to," I said to her back as she headed back into the bedroom. "Have you heard anything from that Realtor?" Jerrod asked. "No, but I can call her when I get away from here. I'll call back and let you know what she said." He nodded. "So do you need anything?" I asked. "No, I think we are fine. She has a bit of an attitude otherwise everything is fine," he said. "Well, if it gets too much to handle, call me. If you can't get me, call Vlad," I said. "You got it," he replied. I got back to my downtown house before I called Kate. "So have you found us anything," I asked. "Well good morning how are you today Kate? I'm fine Maxine, I've missed you too." she said being a wise ass. "So what time did he come to see you? I asked resisting the urge to add 'bitch' to it. "Oh, we are not going to play the 'mom always loved you more' game," she said with a laugh. I had to laugh with her. "So what have you found?" I asked. "I found a piece of property that is so weird even I don't believe it. But you are the one who loves distressed properties" she informed me. "The really strange part is their Realtor called me last night. He said that he had heard I was looking for something unusual and he had it." "Cool," I replied. "Cool, except nobody knows I'm searching for something unique yet. I haven't made any calls because I'm still putting the inquiry notification together." Kate didn't seem upset just a little puzzled. I felt the heavy hand of the farm in it, but I didn't care. "So what is it?" I asked. "There once was a farm," she began. "Kate, if this is going to be a fairy tale, I don't have a lot of time," I said "Don't be a bitch," she snapped. "I have seen you naked, and I have had your mouth all over me, so don't even try to be mean to me." "Aren't you just the little Domme all of a sudden," I said with a laugh. She had been joking as well. "Okay tell me your fairy tale." "So the owner of this farm and his wife passed away. They had three kids, who fought like greedy little shits over the farm. The farm by the way had serious debts as well. Medical expenses for the old couple I presume. The gist of the story is the greedy shits sold off the land for housing developments, just as quick as they could. They would have sold the home place as well, but it was in need of a lot of repair. Their realtor told them to hold it out and try to sell it separately. The land would be worth the same with or without it. He was right about that. There is a house and barn in the five acres that is left. If anyone wants it with the house and barn, they will sell it cheap. If not they will have to pay to push it down and sell the five acres alone." "What is cheap and what are the buildings really worth?" I asked. They had taken the quick profit by selling off the land but they had left themselves with property that would cost a huge amount to repair. The finished place would be worth less than the repairs. A sucker like me and Jerrod was perfect for them. The buildings are a negative value, since they will need to be torn down before the five acre lots can be sold for the best price. The lots have no utilities so they are worth at the most eighty thousand each, minus five for the demolition and they would be lucky to get 77k for the place. They will ask more of course," Kate said. "Offer them them 80k and I'll take it even if the rest of the investors don't want in," I said. "Remember bitch, I'm in on this as well. I will make the offer and then work out a deal of some kind. I will work out some kind of plan for the property. You can take the plan or not but I am in for the purchase either way." she said. "I don't play well with others," I said. "You can fool the others, but I know how well you play with others," she said with a nasty tone hidden in her voice. "If you want in, go out and walk the place. Take lots of pictures inside and out. Then hire someone to go over the place and give us an assessment. We need to know what it would cost to repair the house and barn. Make it an either or price, we might want fix eiteher one or both." After I clicked her off, I called Jerrod on the burner. "Jerrod we might have a place. I will email you some pictures, when our partner gets them made. Call Jack/Sean, tell him we are going to need him. Be sure you block the return number on the phone you are on now. We don't need the number redialed anytime he wants. I'll pick you up and then get him, when I get the princess home." ------- Chapter 392 It was ten till one when I pulled into the drive of what I would always think of as the Bluebird House. Jerrod met me at the door without the shotgun. The shotgun was leaning within reach, but in a different spot than it had been in the morning, That showed me that he was being careful. "So how's she doing?" I asked him quietly. "She is feeling some better I think. She is not so timid now. She seems to be working herself up for this. She made the switch from the Vicodin to some over the counter thing, so she seems more with it." he suggested. "Also good,"I said. Since she was a housewife of sorts, I had feared that I might have a prescription junkie for a client.". She walked out of the bedroom at that moment. "I'm a bored housewife alright, and I had problems coping, but I didn't go to drugs. Harold would have loved that. It would have given him one more tool to use in controlling me." "Well you have broken the chain, now you just have to make sure it is not going to be put back together. Then you will probably have to learn how to live free. Both of those might be equally hard to accomplish. I can help with one of them at least. So lets go pull the monster's teeth." I smiled warmly at her. Maybe she didn't live in grinding poverty but her misery was just as real to her. It was like Alvin in the silk prison, it was still a prison even if they had access to a golf course. "Will this work?" Lydia asked me. "Not in a single day, but you have to trust Jennifer and me. This might be your first time, but it isn't ours," I said. I turned my attention to Jerrod. "Sylvia should be here for you in about two hours or so. Then you guys get Jack and go to my place. Sylvia knows what I want done and she is prepared to do it. You don't need to know right now unless you just want to know. It might ease your mind that Sean isn't going to be in any danger this time." "As long as he doesn't find out where I am keeping Lydia, it's all the same to me." Jerrod said. "I'm enjoying the vacation. Well at least the vacation from those two." "We can keep you on vacation a little longer. There will be a truck pulling in sometime tomorrow afternoon with a big ass trailer. They are going to drop at the end of the drive. Don't go meet them, and if they come to the door don't let them in, and especially don't sign for anything. The driver should know better, but you never know with these clowns." Sylvia had already been told what she was to do. It involved driving out to pickup Jerrod and Sean, when I called from Tryon. Everything in Aster was as ready as it could be at the moment. "Wow, you brought the class ride for me," Lydia said with a laugh after she noticed that I had parked the ragged old truck in the Bluebird House's drive. Since Lydia seemed up for it, we got into the pickup and off we went. We were in the truck and driving toward Tryon, when I answered, "Nothing but the best for my clients," I said. "I did empty the trash out of the passenger side floor." I was serious about that. I used the passenger side foot well as my rolling waste paper basket. Anything with food of any kind, I toss into a trash can. But fast food receipts or papers of all other kinds ended up in that foot well. It had taken a large trash bag to hold all the trash from the pickup. The drive to the TV station was uneventful. No one would expect the Judge's wife to be riding in a beat up old pickup truck with a middle aged ugly duckling. She was supposed to be all about glamor. So I felt that we were not in any danger, Once we got inside the station and identified ourselves to the receptionist the trouble began. A tall, thick, not fat man, gentleman in a cheap suit walked our way. "Security," I said to Lydia. "Ms. Stone are you armed?" He asked. "Yeah, two of them and a .38 revolver as well," I said. "You will have to leave the .38 with me," he said. "Not going to happen," I said. "Then you will have to leave," he said. "Not a problem for me, but you might want to call Miss White, before I go. I will gladly stand here while you make the call. You can even put your hand on the butt of your pistol, so you have at least a chance of getting it out before me." I said with a smile. "If it comes to that." He nodded and the receptionist made the call. It was just a very few seconds before Simi White was standing in front of me. "Ah we meet again and you are still as evil as ever," she said. "And you are still as beautiful as ever, but dumb as a post," I said smiling at her. She had done the interview after I did the Russian in the parking lot of the bed and breakfast. The B&B was being used as a brothel. for the rich and infamous it seemed. "So, you can't come inside the building armed, even if you have all the paperwork," she said. "As long as I am on a protection detail, anyone who tries to take my weapon is likely to be in the hospital or worse. So if you want this interview, get your cameraman and lets go into the parking lot." I did say it with a smile. I aimed the smile at Simi White as well as the security officer. "She is a real smart ass," I heard him say as he escorted Simi to the elevator. "And if you are smart, you will not ignore her warning," Simi said with a smile as she entered the elevator. "Where the hell is White," Jennifer asked as she came through the door. "She has gone to get a cameraman. We are going to do the interview in the parking lot.," I replied. "Why the fuck are we going to the parking lot?" Jennifer asked. "Because I'm not allowed inside unless I give up my weapon. As long as I'm protecting Lydia, they are not going to take it away. That my dear is that," I said smiling. "God, I had forgotten how much fun hanging out with you is," Jennifer said. "When this interview is over, Harold Timmons is going to look like the bastard he really is." The interview went like this. Jennifer forced Simi to explain why we were in the parking lot of the TV station. The explaination was that Lydia had hired a lawyer, cut to shot of Jennifer smiling. The lawyer felt that Lydia needed a bodyguard, cut to shot of me not smiling. The TV Station policy was no firearms inside the building. The body guard, me again, refused to give up my weapon, so here we all were Simi admitted... During the first part of the interview I sounded like a hard ass. Jennifer explained about the police report and the physical injuries, which she swore quite convincingly were inflicted by Harold Timmons, hereafter known as Lydia's no good husband. Oh yeah, he was also a sitting superior court judge. One who tried cases just like the one he would be a defendant in very soon. "Yes Lydia needs a body guard Just look at her face. Harold has proved that he is capable of violence and further more he has access to many felons who would be more than happy to do him a favor." Jennifer said. "So yes I arranged for a body guard. I was fortunate in finding Maxine Stone available for the job. Not only is she a licensed private detective and a first class bad ass body guard, she is also a supporter of the center for exploited and endangered women." When I went on camera and made the appeal for women to leave abusive husbands the first time they were attacked and never go back, I got a little less hard ass. I got absolutely warm and fuzzy when I told women that if they had no where else to go, they should call the women's shelter. The shelter was a place where they and their children would be safe. There were also counselors to help them deal with the pending challenges of a life change. When that interview ended, I was a little surprised that there were no mobs carrying torches headed for the courthouse to lynch the Honorable Judge Timmons. Simi looked harshly at Jennifer, when Jennifer said, "That went rather well, I thought." "I will be surprised if they allow me to air it," she said. "It was blatantly biased toward Mrs. Timmons." "Then you need to give the judge a chance to comment before you run it. But if you don't run it, I will be all over your ass on the channel 10 news. Oh have a nice day," Jennifer said as she walked to her Mercedes. "You should have known Simi. Jenifer is a bitch, but she is our bitch," I said with a laugh. "Well, I can agree with the part about her being a bitch. She sure as hell isn't my bitch." She wasn't smiling when she and the cameraman went inside. Since I called Sylvia from the parking lot of the TV station, Jack was waiting for us when we arrived. Of course so was Jerrod. I was glad to see both of them, because I had jobs for everyone. "Sylvia you know where things are in this town. When Sean tells you what he needs, find it for him. Sean here is what I need you to do, I need Lydia to look like someone else but make it easy to put her back the way she was on a moment's notice. Worst of all you have to do it right here an in the next three hours." I informed him. "I can tell you right now," Sean said with his hand in Lydia's hair. "It is going to be a sin to mess up this hair and I will without a salon." "It gets worse Sean, I want her to look like trailer trash. We are going to hide her in plain sight." I informed him. He did not look at all happy. "Tell me you don't want one of those brassy metal looking colors," he begged. "Oh yes, jet black would be nice. One of those that is almost purple, but also one the will last no more than a week and that we can change back without any trouble. Get the right shit to color it back the way it is now. We might need her to look the same again really quickly." I suggested. "You told me you were the best, now it is time to prove it." "Do you have a professional hair dryer," he asked. "Honey, I don't have a hair dryer at all. Look at this mop do I look like I need a dryer?" I asked. "Well I am going to need a dryer with a bonnet at least," he said. "Sylvia buy whatever he wants and charge it to Jennifer, Sean buy good shit, because you get to keep it as your fee. I can't put you on the payroll you know that?" I asked. "Yes I know. So yes, I will buy good shit," he said with a laugh. "Now Jerrod you sit with Lydia right here while I go shopping. Give me your sizes Lydia, you are about to look like me." I bought her a six pack of panties at Wal-mart along with a couple of sports bras a size too large. I doubted that she had any sag but I could hope that they were real, I also went to the thrift store run by a local church. From them I bought two pairs of jeans more or less her size and half a dozen knit tops that looked like light weight sweat shirts. They each had something on it like flowers or writing. One of them looked like a football jersey, complete with a number. ------- Chapter 393 I got to tell you, Lydia looked a hell of a lot better in the grunge style, than I do. Sean/Jack was at a place where he could take a break. That being the case, I forced her to dress in the clothes I bought for her. She looked almost gorgeous even in the baggy jeans and baggy football jersey. They did hide her glamorous side, but she still had that natural beauty coming through. I couldn't disguise that. Even so, she was going to be hard to recognize without some serious concentration. That had always been the best for which I could hope. Someone sitting across from her in a restaurant staring at her for an hour might guess. If she were to bump into an old friend, they might recognize her. I doubted that if she walked into a convenience store with dark glass and a knit cap, any one would recognize her. Odds were good that no one else would recognize her from the TV show anyway, but especially not looking as she did when Sean pronounced her complete. "Now Sean, do I need to warn you that her life might depend on you keeping your mouth shut. I have never lost a client and if I anything happens to Lydia I would be very, very upset," I informed him. "Maxine, I'm prissy, not stupid," he informed me in his gentle voice. He also had a very serious look on his face. "Fair enough we will never have this conversation again," I said it and it cut two ways. There would be no further warnings and I expected him not to need any reminders. "There will be no need, I get that you are a bad ass bitch. You are just the kind of woman that we all just love," he said with a grin. My smart phone chirped. I needed to get some kind of cool ring tone on it again, but I didn't dare give it to anyone else to add one. I could easily figure out how to do it myself, I just hadn't decided what to put on it. Mostly in the end of my old life, Lucas had been choosing the ring tone for me. I thought maybe I should run down the old magnificent seven theme again. "Hello," I said into the phone. There was no name on the screen to go with the number. "Maxine what the fuck are you doing. I have been getting calls for the last few hours," my old friend Blevins said to me. "Calls about what?" I asked. "About Judge Timmons," he replied. "Oh and who is calling you," I asked. I knew damn well that the brotherhood of the badge had spread the word. I just didn't know what side they came down on. "Cops, lots of cops," he replied. Then he added, "The judge is one of the good guys. They just find this impossible to believe. If they don't believe it, you should go forward carefully. You don't want to come down on the wrong side of this thing. Oh course I'm not telling you what to do." "Blevins, my job is to keep her alive. All the rest is between her and Jennifer." I said. "I get that, but this is a team sport. You are on our team or their team. It's like a basketball league, there are different teams, but it is always our team or the other team," he said. "So, you know I'm not playing for the junkies, or the dealers, so what team do they think I'm on?" I asked. "Like, maybe the turncoats," he said almost light heartedly. "Thanks for the warning, I'll be careful," I suggested. "Do more than that Maxine, take a look at her story," he suggested. "Fair enough, when you going to join our team?" I asked. "You have my number, at least you do now," he said with a click. If Blevins sent me a warning, I had better pay attention. He was my friend, but first of all Blevins was a cop with a cop's instincts. "Sylvia take Sean home will you?" I asked. "Sure," She didn't even question why she wasn't taking Jerrod and Lydia as well. "So Lydia lets talk," I said after they had gone. There was a definite change in her demeanor after I said it. "If you don't want to talk to me, I can dig it. I can try to keep you alive, even if I know absolutely nothing about the threat. But any person in real danger would be peeing in their panties to help prepare for it. Information is the key to keeping you safe." I said that and then shut the fuck up. I just waited and looked at her questioningly. "Alright, what do you need to know?" she asked. "Why isn't Harold willing to let you just leave. We have now made this a matter of public record. If anything happens to you, he knows they will come looking at him. I expect him to just back off, unless you know more he is afraid that you will leak when it gets really nasty. If there is something you better tell me. At least tell me enough so that I have some idea how far he is willing to go." I trusted Blevins' instincts, but I trusted the look of Lydia injuries just as much. If she was faking it, she had gone to a lot of trouble, so there had to be some big payoff for her. "Harold has managed to accumulate quite an estate. Some of it was tips from grateful clients, when he was a lawyer. Some of it came from his wife's insurance after her death. Some has been from tips from grateful lawyers, since he became a judge. There are records of those transactions. No smoking guns, but I know which stock purchases were from lawyer tips, probably using lawyer money. Stock brokers don't really care whose name is on the check as long as it is good." "Let me get this right, you are saying Harold was getting rich fixing cases?" I asked. "I'm not sure he let any guilty men go free for money. I once overheard him say that would be just plain stupid. However when his rulings were close, and might have gone either way, they would likely be more favorable for lawyers who gave him stock tips. Especially those accompanied by stock certificates, I think." she said. "So, if you knew which stocks were from his lawyer friends, someone could trace them back to the lawyer and case. That would put the good judge in a box for sure?" I asked. "I am sure he is afraid of that yes," she said. What she hadn't said was just as important and cast doubt on her whole story. I would bet my ass that, since she was a trophy wife, there had been a pre-nup. She might just challenge it with Jen saying that a pre-nup was not a license to physically abuse your wife. She was entitled to half of everything. If the settlement offer wasn't good enough Lydia would demand half of the assets, even those that the judge didn't want to ever see the light of day. It was an eloquent scam, if it was a scam. All that didn't make a bit of different, it was still my job to keep her alive. I might fuck up her scam, but I still needed to be sure she lived to pay her bill, for Jenn and me, if no other reason. I sent Jerrod and Lydia, who was dressed like me, total grunge, to the pasta pit for take out pizza. Lydia needed to get out, but I'm not so sure she was comfortable dressed as just an ordinary woman, but we will see, I thought. "I'll bring the bike by and pick up the truck," I informed Jerrod. "If there is anywhere she wants you to take her, call me, I want to know. I am pretty high profile, so they might be watching me, but it is hard to follow a bicycle with a car without begin seen. In other words there is no telling what time I will get out to pick up my truck. So be very careful, just in case they pick up the truck and follow you." I said. "Got it boss. I go to the restaurant for take out just to shake them off me just in case they follow me from here," Jerrod said. "Yes and be very careful before you go to the Bluebird house," I said. "Do you have the pictures yet?" he asked changing the subject. "I really have not had time to check, but I will right now before you leave." I turned on the laptop and checked. "I have an email from Kate with attachments. I will check it out and forward the pictures while you are picking up food," I said it intending to do just that. I would have to, if Jennifer hadn't called. "Well the shit has hit the fan now. I have been getting calls from the Judge's lawyer for the last hour." "I know you love that," I said sarcastically. "Were there threats made?" "Of course there were. They were subtle, and veiled, but they were still threats just the same." "So do you want to stay at my place?" I asked. "Maxine why the fuck do you think I over paid for a penthouse condo in a three story building, some penthouse. I have a Russian cop and his ex FBI agent girlfriend living beneath me. I have a social spy and his girlfriend who packs heat, when she goes for a walk at the mall. Plus I have a shotgun derringer that will most likely break my wrist, if I use it. Honey I am pretty well protected. I will just have my dates meet me at the Cloak and Dagger until this is settled." "So, do you really think he is dirty?" I asked. "Maxine, I honestly do not have a clue. I never heard anything, but Lydia tells a very plausible story. If he doesn't go along quietly, she can ruin him. Probably even if he is as clean as that bald dude in the tee shirt in the commercials," she said. "And you are alright with that?" I asked. "If I find out she is fucking with me, I will hang her beautiful ass out to cure in the sun. I won't ask, but if someone hands me the evidence, I will dump her ass faster than a guy with body odor," she said. "Fair enough," I agreed. I knew what I had to do. I needed to know if the judge was dirty. For that I needed a world class computer researcher. Peter was my go to guy for that kind of thing. I couldn't afford bullrider for something so simple. I dialed Peter's number on my smart phone. I had a feeling that my phone from the farm would be pretty hard for the local private eye's to hack and the cops better not be trying to trace my calls. Jennifer would be all over them and love every minutes of it. "Peter, I need you to do some research for me again," I suggested. "Have you seen your comic book on line?" he asked. "No I haven't really come across it yet and I have been a little busy. To busy to go looking for it. Send a link in an email and I'll check it out," I suggested. "In the meantime would you look at the 'easy to find' records for a Judge Harold Timmons, and his wife Lydia as well." "Sure no problem. I can have it for you in a few hours," he said. "Don't rush, tomorrow is fine.," I said. "I got to go Peter, someone is at the door." It was a lie. I just wanted to end the conversation. I had promised Jarrod the pictures, so I opened the email from Kate. It read simply, petty rough looking, and the owner said no to your 80k offer. They are firm on 125k." The email was strictly business and I appreciated it. I decided to send the email on to Jerrod, along with my suggestion that we pass on the property. I also suggested we put Kate back to work on finding us a place. ------- Chapter 394 It was after midnight when I rode the bike out toward the Bluebird house. I traded all my cell phones, for my 410 gauge shotgun shell derringer. Oh I took the .38 along as well, because it is my opinion that like diamonds, a girl could never have too many guns. Speaking of diamonds, I thought as I pedaled along, I should see that New York diamond merchant soon. I really needed to downsize, I laughed at the though of the blue barrels sitting in my gun vault. My mind also wandered to the other occupants of that vault. For some reason, the rifles I had left on the battlefields also came to mind. A sense of loss invaded my brain and that was a shocker. It was an emotion I would not have expected. I was having a lot of emotions lately, and that was all new to me. Before I could take a more in depth look at my emotions, I pulled the bike into a closed strip mall. I did it to check for tails. Sure as hell a car pulled onto the side road, then stopped. I took a really good look with that special vision that came with the new me. I saw that there was a single man in the car. My brain did some rapid calculations. If the judge had sent him, then he had made a lot of arrangements very quickly. However if the man was working for Lydia, he had the inside track. If he was Lydia's man, wouldn't he already know where she was? I asked myself. The answer was maybe not. We had kept her pretty much incognito. She hadn't had any real chance to tell anyone anything, so far. So who the fuck was the balding man, and for whom did he work? I could run his plates and I could spend a full day having him checked out but at that moment grabbing his ass up seemed easier. Would he squeal like a pig, probably, but I had a hell of a good lawyer. I waited until he looked away for a second, then I put the bike in a gear way to high for the average person to start a bike uphill from a dead stop, then I pedaled like hell and before he could get the car started let alone moving, I was sitting by his window with the .38 staring him in the face. "Play nice and I wont reach in and pull your ass out by the ears," I said. "Who the fuck are you and why are you following me?" "Ms Stone please put that gun away, I need to get my identification out of my pocket." he said very nervously. "Do it, but the gun stays on you till I see something," I said. "If you think about getting hinky, I was born here. I know places in this county, where I can hide a body and it will never be found." "I am just going to get my ID card nothing more," he said. While he reacher for his wallet, I noticed the Nikon camera with the long, long lens. Tabloid photographer I guessed, even before I saw his ID. However that camera and the ID could just as easily belong to someone hunting Lydia for a hit team. He handed me his wallet with a driver's license and an ID car that could have been real or not. As I expected it was for one of the better known supermarket rags. My guess was that he was a stringer not a regular employee. "Now I am going to tell you what you are going to do. You are going to drive to your motel, or whatever parking lot you plan to sleep in tonight, and you are going to leave me alone. If I see you or this car again tonight, there is going to be a terrible accident. Do we understand each other?" I asked. "Yes we do and I can only promise that next time I will try to do a better job," he said. "Well good luck. People disappear in the swamps a few hundred miles from here all the time." I said it as I turned away. "How did you get here so fast?" he asked. I just looked at him without any indication that I was going to answer. "One minute you are at the bottom of that parking lot and the next you are putting a gun in my face. How did you do it?" "Optical illusion," I said walking back to my bike. That was a mistake ... the message came into my mind from nowhere. So spank me ... I said it out loud and angrily. I needed to get to him before he could do anything. How was I to know he was harmless. He isn't harmless. He is going to be checking you out as well as your client ... was the wordless reply. "Well then I'll check him out as well. Let's see what else we can do before he disappears... I rode on to the bluebird without any more incidents or messages. I picked up the truck without waking anyone. I went home to plug in my charger. I felt fine, but I knew I should be running low. Even on the reduced power program I was running in those days. I was surprised to find that I was only down 20% even after all that physical exertion. Something was definitely different, but I didn't mind so far. It could be a more efficient free electron accumulator or something entirely different. Whatever it seemed to be working without me doing much of anything. I lay down on the bed, put myself in power saver mode and just vegged for a while. The next thing I knew it was time for me to get moving. Since I had come to love the hot water soak, I went into the shower first thing. It also cleared the dust and grime from my hands and other covering. After the shower I dressed in jeans and a tee shirt. I fixed the clean out concoction, then sat on the toilet while I opened and closed valves and drank the mixture that sterilized my holding areas. After that it was off to Helen's for breakfast. There were a half dozen cops in Helen's sit down that morning. I knew three of them from the old days. The other three I knew well enough to nod hello. On that morning no one seemed to know me at all. I guessed that the Judge really was well liked. That told me something, if Timmons was a dirty judge, he was damn good at it. Even so, I expected that the best crooks were the ones who didn't seem to be the type. I had been through the cold shoulder treatment before with the Aster cops. It lasted until something else came along to take their mind off me. After the Waffle special, I went to the mall to walk. The rain had stopped, so I wasn't weighted down with rain gear. I did two laps before the dancer found me. "Did you know Jennifer asked us all to keep an eye out for strangers. Something about this Judge Timmons thing. Let us know if you need any help," the Dancer said. "I thought she might tell you to keep an extra sharp look out, and no thanks I think we have it covered, but I will let you know if I need anything. By the way the tabloids are onto us, so prepare to be trapped somewhere when you least expect it." I was just about to swing my leg over the bike when the phone rang. "Maxine, the storage unit you were expecting just showed up," Jerrod said. "Now it is way to early in the morning for it," I said. "The delivery man said they got back with it last night after midnight, so they parked it in their lot till this morning," Jerrod said. "Okay, I'll come by and take a look. Do not come out to meet me and do not let Lydia show her face at all. We have the tabloid press chasing us now." I said, I haven't had a chance to talk to Jennifer yet. So I'm not sure how she wants to handle them. Be absolutely sure Lydia does not get to that cell phone." "She wants to call people, but I have so far kept her away from the phone." "Good, I will send Sylvia over to take you both to lunch. I am sure she is tired of the menu at Che Bluebird." "She is really beginning to bitch now," Jerrod said. "Jerrod, there are some things beginning to show up, if she were to try to exchange favors for sex, please let me know. It's really important that I know." The unit I got was a real shipping container that had been used for shipping. It was not some cheap replica. At least that is what I had been promised. It looked like the containers I had seen passing on trains, so I was more or less satisfied. I put the call in to the Laboring Few's Office. I made the call from the driveway of the Blue bird. There was no lock on the door of the shipping container and that was okay for the moment, but wouldn't do come night fall. It was barely noon and I was already over worked. I had way too many irons in the fire, but at least I wasn't bored yet. Sylvia was in the office,, when I got back. She agreed to buy a lock and meet the designer and take Lydia and Jerrod to lunch. Her job with the designer was to give her some guidance on my thinking for the units. Mostly it had to be easy maintenance, not to expensive to do, and very attractive. All that should be no problem, I thought. I knew it would be, of course. Sylvia had been gone only a few minutes when the phone rang. "Hello," I said. "Did you really threaten to murder a tabloid photographer?" Jennifer asked. "I don't know that I said that, I might have implied it though," I said. "Good for you, fucking parasite," she said. "Yes, but you are about to tell me not to do it again," I said. "Well, we might be able to use the coverage, if this gets nasty. In the meantime I told him to just back off till there was something to say. When there was, we would talk to him," Jennifer said. "You really are a piece of work Jennifer," I said. "When you are a helpless woman, you have to use all the tools that you find laying around," she said very much upbeat. "You are about as helpless as a grisly bear," I suggested. "Have you learning anything new about our client?" she asked. "No. but I should be getting the preliminary report anytime now," I said. "Good for you, keep me posted," she said and clicked off. I called Peter after Jenn was off the line. "So petter what is going on?" I asked. "I got your information at least all that is easy to get. Harold Timmons has been a judge for ten year, before that he was had his own practice for fifteen. He began with a firm of personal injury lawyers first. That's where he first got a taste for the stock market. He was single so instead of fancy cars and houses he invested in stock. He did real well for a while, then there was a stock market adjustment and he took a bath, but he held on to his stock and it came back. Then he married. He and his wife tried to have kids but it just didn't happen. The wife worked so he began the practice and it did well. They live well but simply. Between the two of them they accumulated an awful lot of money, then his wife died of cancer. They went through a lot of the money paying her medical bills. He seems to have gone a little ape shit after his wife died. He sold the practice and got himself elected judge. He seems to have done well for the first few years, then he married Lydia about five years ago. They lived simply and saved his money. Lydia doesn't work or do much of anything else. I bet she gives a hell of a blowjob though," Peter said. "Can you account for all his money?" I asked. "He could be taking money, but if he is it's minor amounts. Hard to trace small deposits and small Stock transactions." And wads of case in blue barrels, I thought. ------- Chapter 395 I got the phone call at 4PM. I am sure that the judge had been giving it some really deep thought all afternoon. I could check back, but I would bet that court was not in session that afternoon. No matter how it played out, he got one point for sheer balls. He wasn't hiding out and hoping it would just go away. Of course he knew it wouldn't, and then there was that good ole male ego. I could always count on male ego to make men act like teenage boys. "Ms Stone this is Judge Timmons," the voice on my cell phone said. It was a number not everyone had, so the judge had connections to some of my friends. The number by no means was a deep dark secret, so it wasn't necessarily sinister that he had it. It just meant he could get to me. I suppose he wouldn't mind me thinking that way. He could issue a search warrant and have my place searched for dog turds, if he wanted. Before Jennifer could stop the cops, my blue barrels would be items on a police evidence list. Every bit of that ran through my head before I answered. "What can I do for you Judge Timmons?" I asked. "I would like to hire you," he said. "We can discuss this after the current thing I am working on is over," I suggested. "Actually, I need you to start on my problem immediately," he said. "Judge you know that I am a private investigator and all my calls are recorded, so please be careful what you say. I would prefer you not incriminate yourself." I suggested. "Thank you for the warning, but I really don't need it. Your employer knows that I am calling. She and I agreed to go by what you discovered. I want you to find who really beat my wife. It can only clear me, since I did not do it," he said. "That charge really shouldn't be of great concern to you. If it was a first for the two of you, and I assume that it was, then let her have the divorce. She can't prove you are the one who gave there the matching set of shiners. So go do a little anger management and it's over," I said explaining the obvious to him. "Give her what she wants and it ends, unless there is more to it than meets the eye. I am sure Jennifer explained all this to you, so why do you need me?" "Because her demands are unreasonable. She is a young woman her life will go on. There is no reason for me to give her half my wealth, half my future earning for life, and half my pension," he said. "Surely you know a good divorce lawyer," was my reply. "Again she can't prove that you did the damage to her face. It is going to be a he said, she said unless there is more?" I made it a question. "There is nothing else, I promise you that," he said. "I don't understand what you think I can do?" I made that a question as well. "You can prove I am not the one who beat her," he said. To give him his due again, he had not even hinted at the bribes at all. Either he didn't know that she knew, or he didn't think that she has spilled the beans yet, or it just wasn't true and he didn't realize that he had bigger problems than her bruises. "So you want me to investigate my client?" I suggested. "Actually Jennifer is your client," he said. I was always surprised by the fact that everyone, friend and foe called her Jennifer. It was a very informal way to address an attorney. "That is true enough. I will make you a deal. I will look into your past to see if there is a motive for you to harm her and in doing so, I may find out who assaulted her. But let me warn you, I will not hide what I find either way. It will all come out, if it is relevant to this case in any way." "I see I will need some time to think it over." he said. "That's fine, just call me when you have decided," I suggested. After the call from the judge I drove the truck back to the bluebird house to take another look at the container. I made sure no one was following me and I made sure the house was not under surveillance as well. Then I called Jerrod from the driveway. "Jerrod I have to get rid of those barrels. So here is the deal, I can hand over yours tonight or I can convert it to diamonds, when I do mine." We were standing inside the container when we spoke. "What do you mean convert it to diamonds?" he asked. "I have the name of a wholesale diamond merchant, who deals directly through the holy land. I am going to turn my barrel into something a little easier to store. I am sorry, but you have to decide today. I need to get them the hell out of my apartment today." "I will need to convert them back, how do we do that?" he asked. "Levi buys and sells," I assured him. "He is honest. He only works for the good guys. I have my money man's word for it. He knows that if he screws me, it will not be fun at all." "Alright do it, but bring me some cash back please. At least enough to do something with those two leeches." He was at least smiling. When I got back to the downtown house, I made sure it was not being watching, at least no more than usual. I used the burn phone to call Levi Goldman. "I have been expecting your call. Our mutual friend said that I could trust you." he said in a heavily accented voice. "Good, so I would like a meet and to make a deal." I said carefully. "How large a deal?" he asked. "I am not sure what you consider to be large sir, but what I need is two lots of almost one big one each," I suggested. "You will need a very large bag, something like an army duffel bag maybe." It was at that moment that I put all the hints together. Levi was Mossad. Their 10% broker fee would go a long way to finance off the books operations. So even in Israel it was about the money. I felt a lot better about the operation after I came to that conclusion. "So as I understand it, you provide me with an appraisal from the world diamond center in Antwerp?" I asked. "It's in Amsterdam actually, but the appraisal was a fair wholesale value when the stones were there. The date is on the appraisal it is all above board. I have revalued them based on todays market value, wholesale prices of course. As you know there is a10% brokers fee in addition to the diamond price.," he informed me. "Yes, that is my understanding," I replied. "I would like all the stone to be between one and one and a half carats. They need not be excellent, just above average and of course priced accordingly," I said. "I understand that this is an investment not a jewelry store purchase. The value of each stone will be between $8,000and $20,000. Plus my broker fee of course," he said. "Of course and those are my exact requirements," I said. "They are the common requirements for an investor's purchase," he said. "So where and when can we make the arrangements. As you know I wish to deal in cash," I said risking the phone conversation being just a little detailed. "I understand you do not wish to come to New York. I have your email address I will send you a number," he said. I hung around the house waiting for Levi to send me the contact information. It came at 9PM. It was nothing but a phone number with nothing else. I used a burn phone, to place the call to his burn phone. A mechanical voice said 2PM tomorrow in the parking lot of McDonalds in West Nyack New York. My only thought was that it wasn't New York City at least. "I loaded the barrels into the truck before I called Jarrod to be absolutely sure the he was okay with the exchange. "Yes Maxine I am fine. Just do what you are doing with yours and I will be fine with it." he said. It was all I needed. I knew that I would have dragged my feet on the exchange even longer had not the Judge worried me a bit. I needed to do it regardless, so I was doing it just as quick as I could. I swapped the 10mm Glock for the .38 just for the extra rounds, should it come to that. I also carried the derringer and the box opener. One never knew when a blade would come in handy. I might want to open a box of crackers or someone's throat. The drive was over 14 hours long, but at least I didn't need to sleep. I drove all night right up until noon the next day. The only thing that bothered me was that Levi knew I would arrive exhausted. Or at least a normal person would. If they planned a rip off, that would be a great beginning. Then again, it was good operative craft to get all the advantage you could and to keep you opponent off balance. I was surprised that the old truck did as well as it did. I didn't much like how it sounded when I pulled it into the parking lot of the fast food restaurant, but I made it there so I couldn't complain too much. The black Mercedes pulled up beside me and a dark man with a beard got out. He went inside while I sat waiting. When he returned, he had a bag and one of those cardboard coffee holders. He came to my truck before he went back to the Mercedes. Ms Stone please get into the car. "I have these two barrels to bring along. I don't go anywhere without them," I said softly. "Of course not," he said in agreement. First he handed the bag and coffee through the window to an older man, then he helped me load the barrels into the trunk of the Mercedes. I got into the front seat where it would be very difficult for me to make a quick deadly move. "Levi Goldman?" I asked smiling at the older man wearing the black hat even in the car. "Please do not speak until we tell you to do so. Also keep your hands were I can see them at all times." the younger hard man said. I nodded my agreement. I rode in silence I didn't bother paying attention to where we went. There was no calvary to rescue me. I did try to relax. The actually exchange took place in a motel room. They had arranged the place and it suited me just fine. If it went sideways, I had two hard men and the old Jew to deal with. Pretty damn good odds, I thought. "Would you surrender your weapons please?" the older of the hard men asked. "Would you?" I asked in return. "Not willingly," he said turning me around so that he could search me. He took my Glock and the derringer. He didn't recognize the feel of the box opener in the rear pocket of my jeans. "Usually a man has to buy me dinner to get his hands on me that intimately," I said with a smile. The old man sat down to count the money from the barrel that I had previously broken open. "$942,600 dollars," he announced more or less asking me to confirm it. "Sound pretty much right," I agreed. He took a stack of tiny plastic envelopes from his briefcase. He ran the total up on his calculator then announced, "$850,000 in stones,,, 85,000 ... for the broker and $7.500 in cash makes it right," he said. I nodded. I didn't count the stones but it look like between sixty and seventy. He put the stones in a larger plastic bag wrote the number 850 on it then dropped it into the Mcdonald's bag. The old man stopped to eat an apple pie from Mcdonalds before he started on Jerrod's barrel. He broke the seal, then handed me Jerrod's share of the gold coins, which had been on top of the cash. "$998,520," he announced after his count was complete, "That sounds right to me as well," I agreed. After he did his calculator thing he informed me. "$901,000 in stones.,, $90,100 broker fee... $7.421 cash and we are right." "Yes that is fine," I picked up the Mcdonald's bag then said, "It has been a pleasure." I did not mention my suspicions about the Mossad. I rode back to my car in silence. I got into my old truck in the parking lot with the intention of heading home. ------- Chapter 396 It was only 4PM, when I was dropped off at my truck. Levi, the Jew, was very efficient. I started the truck and of course right away I smelled the odor of antifreeze. I shut the truck down quickly. Being my daddy's daughter, I knew that I had a coolantleak. It could be as simple as a hose, or as nasty as a blown head gasket or a cracked block. I opened the hood and checked the radiator, it was bone dry. Since I was in the parking lot of a Mcdonald's restaurant, and it was a slow time of the day, I took a chance. I explained my problem to the manager, then asked to borrow a plastic mop bucket and to fill it with water from the ladies room. He did me one better, he let me fill it from the outside faucet. So I managed to get the radiator full again. With the hood lifted I started the truck and found that the leak was in the core of the radiator. It wasn't the best possible scenario, but it was better than a blown head gasket or cracked block. Even driving the truck to the meeting with a blown head gasket, would have been better than missing the meet. If I had to junk the truck, I could take a bus or a train with the diamonds a hell of a lot easier, than I could have with two large blue barrels. I got directions to the closest auto parts store. I was thankful that I had worked with my dad all those years before. I was even glad that he was one of those make do mechanics who worked for the poor. I knew that I would be filling the radiator with stop leak, then driving it on the highway home. If it held wonderful, if I burned up the engine closer to home, that was okay as well. Most likely, as it had done on the trip up, air passing over the engine at seventy miles an hour would keep it cool. It was when I stopped that I had to worry. For that reason once I got to the parts store, I spent slightly over twenty bucks for a jar of stop leak for aluminum radiators, and a five gallon water jug. At least they let me fill up the water jug from their slop sink in the back free. I poured in the liquid alum with the motor running but the cap off the radiator. It instantly stopped the leak. I let the motor run a few minutes just in case, then topped off the radiator and put the cap back on. I considered driving the truck home with the cap on but loose as I had done from the fast food restaurant to keep the pressure off the radiator, but decided just trust my luck and seal the radiator. To keep the water jug from banging around I put the jug in the passenger's seat foot well. I filled the truck's gas tank, and checked for leaks again under pressure that time then I hit the highway for home. I stopped for gas four times on the way home, mostly to check the radiator. The damn stop leak held all the way home. It was 8AM when I pulled into my parking lot. I had run the MP3 player all the way home, even though it hadn't really been necessary. I was surprised that the truck didn't need a bit of water all the way home. I knew without a doubt that I had dodged a bullet. Inside the Downtown House, I removed my bag of diamonds from the McDonald's bag. That left Jerrod's plastic bag inside the white paper bag. Since the gun vault was the safest place in my apartment, I put one bag in each of the two top drawers drawers of the upright red mechanics tool box They definitely took up less room than the barrels had. I for sure needed a better place to store them and I knew it. I didn't think putting them down the barrel of a shotgun then plugging it would be a good idea. I might get my guns confiscated someday. Freezing them into a block of ice had a certain appeal but it was a well known trick, so I mentally marked that as only a maybe if all else fails plan. They were safe enough for the time being, so I rode the bike to Helen's for breakfast. I had that desire for sugar again. I downed the Cinnamon bun breakfast with the orange juice and coffee. I felt the cold shoulder from the cops in the dining area, but there were a couple of Paramedics seated in the rear. I found a seat at the empty table near them. "How you doing Maxine?" The male asked. 'I'm fine how are you two this morning?" I asked. "A little tired, we just got off. We had a late call," his almost middle-age partner said. She wasn't beautiful by any means, but she wasn't a dog either. She had a pixie's smile. "Well it's over now," I said smiling as I bit into my roll. "So it is," she said happily. "I'll second that," the guy said. I sensed there was more he wanted to say. I waited to give him a chance and when he didn't I tossed my trash, then headed to the mall. I couldn't read the paramedics mind, but I knew for sure that I didn't have time to be fucking around with anyone new. It would be bad timing at the very least. It might also be fun, but I just had too many things going at that moment. Would I have said no, if they both had asked? I doubt it, but was I glad they hadn't asked? Yes I was. I didn't see the Dancer during my walk and I didn't mind at all. Of course I had been out of town, so maybe I should have worried a little. I sat at the silly little fountain in the middle of the mall and made a call to Jerrod. "So how is it going?" I asked, when he picked up. "This bitch is driving me crazy. If you don't get her to straighten out, I will be the next one to kick her ass." "Calm down Jerrod, what is she doing," I asked. "She is threatening to fire us with every breath. She wants her old life back." he said. Well that can cut both ways, I thought. She could be over the initial fear for her life and wanted to go back to her old life, or she might just be tired of the pretend game. "Jerrod sit on her, if you have to, I'll be over in a little bit to take her to see Jennifer. If she can't put the fear of god into her, we will just let her go get herself killed." I suggested. I went home to pick up the truck and to change into something a little less bag lady looking. For my more formal look, it was jeans without holes and a blouse with buttons. I also wore a blazer that mornings, since I was hiding the larger Glock. I didn't bother to switch back to the .38 for some reason. I had no real reason to expect trouble, I just went with the gun from the day before. I dressed a little more businesslike because I wanted Lydia to know I took her shit seriously. Since it was the Weekend, I called Jennifer at her apartment in the drugstore condo. "You need to talk to your client." I said. "Why?" Jennifer asked. "Because she is ready to blow us off. I haven't talked to her yet, I have been out of town on other business, but she is giving Jerrod a hard time. I am going to talk to her now. If I can't make any headway, I am going to load her into the front of the truck and bring her to you." "Alright bring her here, if you can't handle her and I will try to put the fear of god into her," Jennifer said. "But don't make a habit of this." "Sweetie, you need to tell her that not me. I am headed out there now." I replied. I should use the cruiser, I thought, but Sylvia was still using it. Since she had enough money to buy her own car, I had no idea why she still used it. I knew she did have enough money for a fact, since there had been plenty of bonus money flowing around her lately. I just didn't know why she wasn't parting with it. I planned to find out so that I could get my car back or buy another one. The pickup still had a small ticking noise, but it wasn't so bad that I was concerned. I made it to the house without any problem at all. I checked to be absolutely sure that I was not being followed. I also checked carefully before I left the truck to be sure no one was watching the house. I was sure that everything was in order, when I knocked on the door gently. Jerrod was there instantly. He had obviously seen me park in the drive. I got inside the door, but not much farther, when Lydia came from a bedroom all in a huff, "I will not stay here and you can't force me to," she demanded. "You are absolutely right. When the presiding judge asks me why you were killed, I will say I have no idea. If you aren't killed, he will ask me if I believe that your life was ever in danger and I will be forced to say I can't honestly say that I do. A person who fears for their life doesn't value a meal at the country club all that much. So you feel free to walk out the door. I will loan you my phone to call a cab right this fucking minute. But you should know that the Honorable Judge Timmons is saying that you at running a scam on us. You are helping him to make his case." "Please Maxine, I am going crazy here," Lydia said. "I miss my life." "Now listen to me you spoiled brat. If you really are in danger, then you go out there alone and odds are you will be dead in a couple of days. If you are running a scam, as the judge says, then taking off just reinforces his case. Either way leaving here is foolish, but I am sure as hell not going to stop you. If you stay, I will try to make some accommodations for you. I can have Anya come take you out to dinner and shopping things like that. But you are going to be with one of my people at all times and that is that. If you don't want to play by my rules, then fuck off." "I want to talk to Jennifer," she demanded. "That's more than fair, let's go." I said. I packed her into the truck along with Jerrod for the short ride to his house. I dropped him in the drive so that the pretty boys could see him get out of the truck. Then I drove Lydia toward the drugstore condo. "I really wish you would change my bodyguard. I don't like Jerrod," she said. "Is that because he is gay and impervious to your feminine wiles?" I asked. "He is just cold to me. I want someone I can relate to better," she answered. "Fair enough," I said. While she met with Jennifer, I stopped by Vlad and Anya's apartment. "Sure she can stay with us here. She will be safe I assure you," Vlad said to me. "What about the professors across the hall?" I asked. "They love this whole mystique thing. They won't say a word, I assure you. You know Leon and his girl friend won't say anything and Jennifer is her lawyer," Anya said to me. Anya and I circled each other, but I knew that she was competent. ------- Chapter 397 When Lydia and Jennifer finished their pow wow, Jen called me on the phone. I went to her door and knocked. "Lydia has decided to return to the fold," she informed me. "I got her set up with Vlad and Anya for the next couple of days. After that we will re-evaluate the situation," I said trying to stay positive. "They have a small guest room and since this is a very secure building, you can use your cell phone again. I don't like it, but some security is better than no security." I took her down and introduced her to Vlad and Anya. "So are you three going to be okay?" I asked before I took the walk across the street. "Sure it will all be just fine," Anya assured me. "As a matter of fact, I think we should go shopping. Just us girls." "For god's sake be careful," I said. "Not to worry Maxine, I know how to check for the bad guys." Anya informed me. "So you do. If you need me, I'm as close as the cell phone. I still don't want to draw attention to Lydia, but I can be here in minutes." I went home and waited for the judge to call. I knew he would. If he had someone else on the case, as I was also sure he would have, he knew that I was back in town. I left the building through the front door. I noticed the back of three posters in the drugstore condo's windows. Sylvia allowed them to be used to advertise the dance studio, Helen's catering, and there was one other. I went outside closed the door and took a look at the new one. Since it was Saturday afternoon, I knew there was no need to rush home for a meeting with Sylvia. I wouldn't see her again until Monday. The sign was informing anyone who happened to read it, that on that very day there was a craft fair at the senior center. I loved craft fairs. The Senior center was close by, only a few blocks away, so I walked to my place for the bicycle. I would have enjoyed the afternoon ride more, if there had been a bit less traffic. Even the Senior Center's parking lot was a mess. I parked near the front in a corner space which no car could fit inside. I walked into what had probably been a public school gymnasium at some time long, long ago. Inside the big ass meeting room I saw the tables set up. I began to wander among the hand made items. There were a hell of a lot of decorator items as well as artwork. Some photography and some wood working things. There was a small wooden chest made to be a decorator item. It was wood grained, but very, very dark as though it were a couple of hundred years old. "Now this is unique, did you use old wood to get that color?' I asked not believing for a moment that he had done so. "Well old in the sense that I found it at the site, while they demolished a house, near me." "Then how did you get this color?" I asked. "I oiled it with used motor oil from my lawn mower. Then two coats of polyurethane to seal it so that it wouldn't stink like a lawn mower," the old man explained. "Well it is beautiful," I suggested. The chest was over a foot long, and maybe eight inches wide. It was about the same depth as it was wide. It also had a lid that sat on top of it, which added another couple of inches to the height. "It is certainly beautiful," I said as I looked inside it. I realized how easy it would be to install a false bottom in the box. Because the construction was done by hand and nothing fit perfectly it would not arouse suspicion. "So how much?" I asked. "One hundred dollars," he said calmly. "You are the pirate here," I said flatly. "It's worth about half of that. The craftsmanship sucks," I said. "And not in a good way." "I know, but if you need it, you need it." the old man said... "Well I need it fifty bucks worth not a hundred," i said while finding two twenty dollar bills and one ten dollar bill in the wad of cash I kept in the front pocket of my jeans. The wad was held together by a strip of rubber from a bicycle inner tube. It was like a super wide rubber band. "I knew someone strange would be the one to buy it," He said it looking at the inner tube money clip thingie. and holding out his hand. Getting it home in one piece was a challenge. It rode on the bike seat, while held in place with some string one of the vendors sold me for a buck. I pushed the bike and walked along side with a hand on the chest to support it. I decided again I needed to either drive the damn truck more, or buy a bike trailer. Once I got the chest home and found my bag of diamonds, I realized that the bag which held the stones was an ordinary clear freezer bag. It was filled with smaller clear plastic bags each with one stone and a small card with a dollar amount hand written on it. I dumped the contents of the larger bag into the chest. The smaller bags shaped themselves to the space in the bottom of the chest very well. I was planning to send Jerrod's stones home with him at the first opportunity so I didn't worry about hiding them. It was just as well that he would not know where my stones were stored. I noticed the side table by the stairs. It had a small lamp on it but nothing else. I put my pirate's chest under the lamp and decided that it looked okay for the moment. I needed to find something to store inside the chest on top of the stones and a better place to put the chest. Hide in plain sight was my plan. Only the Farm, the Mossad, and Jerrod knew that I had the diamonds. If anyone else broke in, they would have no idea for what to search. Not even the Iranians, who might or might not be looking for the money, would have a clue. I was lucky to have found the chest, but then again I was looking for somewhere to hide the stones. I had probably walked past things like that chest a hundred times without paying them any mind at all. I had actually expected to buy a piece of pottery and put the stones in the bottom of it and then plug it with wax, which would have worked just as well. Diamonds were a lot easier to hide than 990k in cash. I spent the rest of the day waiting for a phone call from the Judge, which never came. Jerrod did call so I explained about Lydia. He was thrilled to see her gone. I had expected him to be. We agreed to meet at the cloak and dagger for a drink. He had understood and agreed that the pretty boys were to never show up at the cloak and dagger. It had nothing to do with their being gay. It had everything to do with keeping their identity unknown. After my call from Jerrod, I put in a call to Kate. I had messages from her on the smarter than smart phone when I got back from New York. I should have returned them sooner, but hell a day late was better than never. "Hello Kate, what new thing have you found for me?" I asked. "You did tell me you had no interest in the Hazelwood because it was too close, and had no venue capabilities," she said. "Right now, too close in is the main problem," I suggested. "What if I found you something out near the airport, Not close to the airport, but in that direction." How far from Tryon and how far from Aster? Location is the most important thing here." I demanded. "Its an old dairy barn and it's 14 acres of land. It's 12 miles from the city limits of Tryon. 16 mile from Aster, and ten miles from the airport. It is not in the take off path of the airport." she informed me. I recognized that as prime real estate so the price would not be cheap. "How much?" I asked. "The barn is in good condition so they want 700k," she said. "How far is it from a good road and utilities?" I asked. "It has a five hundred foot front along a paved county road. You can see the barn from the county road and there is water and sewer along the shoulder of the road." "That is just too large of a project for me. I'm sorry," I said. "The numbers just don't work for me. Look Kate, we all need a labor payback here, not a capitol investment payback. We are looking more for a sweat equity thing. Something we can invest in the finished product not the buildings to make it happen," I said. "I'm not sure I understand," she said. "Well I can't explain it any better. I'll know it, when I see it. Why don't you send me a list of commercial property that is available. I'll go over it and give you an example of some things I think might work," I suggested. "Alright," Kate said. I could tell she was exasperated. "They will be in your email in half an hour," she said. During that half hour I rode the bike up to the Krispy Kreme donut shop. I got a dozen donuts in a bag not a box. That bag I put inside my net shopping bag and off I rode for home. As I munched on a glazed donut and drank my bitter coffee I got a message from the farm. So you aren't having much luck being a real estate tycoon, I see ... came the message. "It will work out I'm sure ... I responded ... By the way is the creator around?" Yes he is, why? ... was the reply. Get him onto a secure line please. I have a question ... I answered wordlessly. This is Doctor Bennet what can I do for you? ... the message said. Well you aren't the creator, but you are my chief engineer, so I guess you will do ... I messaged. I'm your only real engineer ... He replied ... so what is it? Why am I having these cravings for sugar and why is my auto recharge working so much better? I demanded. Well we knew you would be asking even though you claim not to care how it all works. You have a brand new power source test unit. It is a body waste fueled power plant. Not just methane gas but also sugar and carbohydrate fueled power plant. It's an enzyme based conversion process. You don't want to know the specifics ... If you do I can send you the specifications ... He messaged. I could tell he wanted to talk about it, but like he said I didn't care. So do I also have a lower power consumption system? ... I messaged. Yes and an improved free electron capture process. You are a hundred times more efficient than the day you first left our lab and learned to walk again ... He messaged. How close are you to the day, when I don't need to charge at all?" I asked taking a guess. Well that depends on how you look at it. We are damn close to being able to power you 14hours at full capacity and 10 hours on standby shutdown. In other words you need to sleep ten hours a day or charge with the charger ... He messaged all proud of him self ... We want to get it to full 24hour auto charge and we need just one or two more breakthroughs ... He messaged. "Okay then I'll indulge in more donuts," I said aloud Do that the more you eat the longer you can run without charging ... was the silent reply. ------- Chapter 398 It was an hour before Jerrod showed up at the Cloak and Dagger. I figured he had enough money to bring his own booze by that time, so my only contribution was a box of cake squares from Helen's wedding reception upstairs in the dance studio. It was Saturday evening after all. There was always a plate of cake squares available for me on Saturday. I had just lately begun taking them. I would for sure take them from that point forward. In the basement clubhouse, I sat alone contemplating my next move. The phone call from the Judge still hadn't come and I was beginning to think I should call him to see if he wanted me to look into Lydia after all. Lydia was upstairs in Vlad's apartment or maybe out shopping with Anya. The smart phone rang just minutes before Jerrod was due. The screen told me that it was Anya. "Hello, are you okay?" I asked. "Yes," she answered with a much milder accent than Vlad's. "You said to call if I saw anything suspicious. We have someone following us. So far it seems like a single man. He is average looking." "Could be anyone, but I will be there in just a few minutes. Where are you now?" I asked. "Inside the Belk store," she said on the first floor. It is the busiest," she said. "Stay there but do not let her out of your sight, not even to try on jeans. How does she look?" I asked. "I don't think she knows we are being followed," Anya informed me. "Tell her and see if she reacts. He might be a plant of hers," I suggested. In the mean time I have to call Jerrod and cancel our meeting." "You might want to bring him along, just in case." Anya said. "Damn you guys must be reading each other's mind. He just this second walked in the door. We are on the way." "Jerrod we have to go," I said to him as I shut down the phone. "Where we going?" he asked. "To the mall, Anya and Lydia may be in trouble." I said as we started up the stairs. "I don't have a weapon," he said. "Then drive me there, I have one." I thought then I asked, "What the fuck is that cane made from?" "It's just aluminum. It will bend without doing anyone any damage." He said. "I don't have time to get you one of mine, so lets go and hope for the best." I still had the Glock, so unless there was a herd of them, we had a chance. We were in the car, when I handed him the envelop with his 7000 and change. It was the leftovers from the diamond transaction. "I'll pay you for this job, when we finish there is still more to do I think." "I am really sorry that I do not have a weapon, but I'm not licensed like you," he said. "Well decide what you want and I'll try to help you. Park over there," I said as he pulled into the mall parking lot. We walked purposefully into the lower level of the Belk store. "Let's split up. You go left, I'll go right. If you find them meet me with them in the middle of the store." After I said it I quickly walked off to the right looking down the aisles. I saw them at the end of the aisle looking at clothes. Well Lydia was but Anya was pretending.but she was really glancing around ... She spotted me then looked over he shoulder toward the door. I changed my direction, so that I could slip up behind him. "You here to finger the women's underwear. If you want to try those on you better behave." Within a second Anya was standing beside me but facing in the opposite direction scanning the store. Jerrod was standing in front of Lydia with their back against the rear wall. "Do you know who this is Anya?" I asked. "No, but I'm sure you do," she said with a smile. "Oh yes, this is Harvey Middlehouse," I answered. "What the fuck is a Harvey Middlehouse and who would name their kid Harvey?" Anya asked. "Someone already fucked up by the name Middlehouse," I said. "I have not broken any law this is a public place," he said. "Do we look like cops to you Harvey," I said angrily, "No Harvey, I am not a cop and this is not an arrest. This is a warning. If you bring trouble to my client, I will bring the wrath of a righteous god down on you. Otherwise have a nice day." "This is a tabloid puke," I said to Anya. Try not to be nice to him ever." I turned my attention to Harvey. "How did you find my client?" I wanted to know because anyone could find her, if this puke had, I thought. "I staked out your apartment. When you left in the truck I followed you." he said. "My ass, you have a tracker on my truck?" I asked. "No," he said. "If I go out in the parking lot and pull one off I'm going to cut your balls off," I said. "Hold him here," I said to Anya. He didn't have to know that I came in Jerrod's car. Let him think that he was in the shit. "Okay, there is a GPS thing there, but I haven't told anyone." he said. "I should have known. You saw me bring her in to Jennifer. When I left alone, you just staked out the Drugstore till she left with Anya?" I asked. "Yes I did," he admitted. "I should kill you, but it was my fault. Now I have to neutralize you. To do that I'm going to bring you in, but you print only what you clear through me or I will not just cut your access off, I will cut your fucking toy off. Do we understand each other?" I asked. "Yes I get it, but I might not always play along," he said. "Then plan on life as a eunuch," I suggested to him. "Does anyone know that you are here? I mean right here in this mall. Don't bother to lie, I'm not planning to murder you. I need to know how much of a threat there is to Lydia Timmons." "Nobody knows," Harvey said. I called Jennifer or the smarter than smart phone. "I'm standing in Belk with Anya, Lydia, Jerrod and Harvey Middlehouse. Harvey put a tracker on my truck and followed me to your place. He then staked it out and followed Anya and Lydia. Now tell me all you know about Middlehouse, or he is going to have something very unpleasant happen to him." II suggested. "I think you might want to rethink that," Jennifer said. "He writes a blog as well as working for the malicious rag. You should read his last entry. I'll text you a link right now." "Very well," I said. I found the link and then the blog. In his blog Middlehouse said that I had threatened him, if he didn't back off. Since he wasn't going to back off, if anything happened him the cops should look at me. "I just read your blog, Middlehouse you are a complete idiot. Not only did you give anyone else who ever wanted to kill you a free pass, you gave anyone who ever wanted to get rid of me a chance to do it by killing you. That was about the dumbest fucking thing I have ever seen one human being do. It would be laughable except now I have to keep you alive as well as Lydia. At least until we sort this out. Right in front of Harvey Jerrod said, "Call one of your cop friends and go have dinner. I will kill this puke while you are having dessert." "What do you think Harvey? You want to play nice or do I get myself a good alibi and swear it is someone trying to frame me because you were stupid enough to give them the chance. You do know that will play well with my cop friends?" I asked smiling. "Alright I can see how that wasn't my best move, now what?" he asked. "Well I can't lead anyone to you, so you can stay with me and I will try to keep you alive. You are sleeping on the sofa and bring your own fucking laptop." I said angrily. "You can do one of those journal things that are so popular. You know at midnight we went for donuts and coffee, kind of things." "Well, we pulled his teeth for now," Jerrod said. "For now maybe, but I really should kill the cocksucker," I realized who I was with and added, "Sorry Jerrod no offense intended." "None taken, I assure you," he said. I was glad that I wasn't driving, when the message appeared in my head ... You will be getting a package ups overnight on Tuesday. The package has three blocking transmitters that will screw up any wireless device transmitting withing twenty feet of it. When you turn them on, you will lose your bugs and your internet wireless connection if you are within 20' of the router, not to mention your cell phone... Got it ... I replied wordlessly... "I'll drop you at home. I promised Sean and Billy I would have dinner with them." Jerrod said. "Sean and Billy sounds like a radio show," I suggested. "We have got to find them something to do," he said with an edge to his comment. "We will think of something I'm sure," I said. We were in front of the downtown house when I said that. I pulled up the camera footage to be sure no one had broken in while we were gone. No one had. Before I got out of the rusty Tyota, I said to Jerrod. "Take them up to see the storage unit and explain what we plan." I gave him the key to the lock. His laboring few's designer and I have never gotten along all that well. It's why Sylvia deals with her instead of me. Have them put their ideas on paper or something and get them to me. Maybe we can work something out for them. I suddenly had images of the units as lake houses and other quick short term living units as well as guests rooms. It seemed like a perfectly plausible plan. Jerrod and I could share the financing of it. Since the tape didn't show anything I opened the front door and went inside. I took off the jacket I wore and put coffee in the microwave while I waited for Harvey, the news whore, to show up. The coffee was good and I was happy to report that my power band was down but not as much as usual. "Brownies, I want fucking brownies," I said out loud. Sure I would settle for Pizza, if Harvey, the whore, was around, but I would rather have had brownies. It was just a few more minutes before Harvey, the whore, showed up at my door. I answered his knock and saw that he had a suitcase. "Look I know I did a stupid thing, but I can probably take care of myself." he said trying to be macho. "Harvey get over yourself. You can not take care of yourself. If you had been in the sasme league as the guys who hunt people, you would not have posted that stupid invitation to be killed. You are better off on one of my sofas for a while. This will all go away soon," I replied. "Yeah, I guess you are right," he said. "So where do you live?" I asked. "Capitol City, I just came up to cover the Judge Timmons thing. You were right, I have been sleeping in my car," he said. "Okay go up stairs and take a shower. The towels are clean, put them in the hamper when you finish. After you wash the stink off, we will go to dinner." I suggested. "Cool, I should warn you I'm vegan," he said sheepishly. "I may kill you after all," I said angrily. ------- Chapter 399 Harvey wasn't all that bad looking once he got cleaned up and that greasy gray hair was washed and combed. He was concentration camp thin, but that was about the only thing that made him look a little homeless. "So Harvey what can you eat?" I asked. "I can find something on most restaurant's menu. I can't do the full vegan thing, but I can managed most of it." he said. "So you are just a vegetarian?' I asked. "And part time vegan." "A little more than that, but I don't insist that the things I eat, be a 100% vegan. For instance, I eat bread sticks with my vegetable soup. Bread sticks have butter and eggs inside them. A true vegans will only eat special breads. I can't take it to that extreme." he informed me. "I don't have that kind of money." "Well it's too late for Helen's, but she has good soup. How about pizza will you eat a pizza?" I asked. "That's pushing it, but yes I will eat a frozen pizza now and then," he said. "Good, because that's what I'm having. I suppose I can find you a salad and bread sticks," I admitted. "That would be really nice of you," he suggested. "Could I have two if we are doing carry out?" he asked. "No, we are going to eat in, and I am quite sure that you can have all the salad you want," I said smiling. The engine in the truck still ticked like a bad alarm clock reminding me I needed to get it into a shop before long. The truck did make it to the Pizza and Pasta Pit without any trouble. I had eaten inside the place once before. I was with the gunny then, It was a much better memory, than Harvey the whore was going to make for sure. I had forgotten that on Saturday night the Pizza and Pasta Pit had a family buffet. Pay the lady seven bucks a head and graze as long as you wanted. I could have eaten everything on the table with trips to the bathroom every twenty minutes, but I figured once was enough. I ate a huge pile of pizza, while Harvey filled and emptied his salad bowl twice. He seemed to enjoy that grassy looking stuff. He also piled a plate full of pasta with and oil and vinegar dressing. I watched as he obviously enjoyed the meal. Since I had the urge for pizza, I knew it must be one of the better fuels for my new power converter. The explanation of the power converter explained a lot of things that were going on inside my mechanical brain. Back when I was me, I loved Ice Cream, but now I really had no desire for it. On the other hand, all things carbohydrate were high up on my list of foods to hunt down. They were obviously easier to process or gave more bang for the buck. Either way I didn't mind at all. Since kids under 12 got to eat free with two paying adults, there were plenty of families. Some with really cute kids and some with kids just running wild. I was thinking Tazers and handcuffs, but only grinned at them. I finished long before Harvey the whore. I had no idea where he was putting all that food in his skinny ass body, but I was good with it. I passed on the ice cream for desert, but I did go with the coffee and cinnamon pizza dough sticks. They were delicious. I even got a bag of them to go, along with the white dipping sauce. I had a new downtown desert place. After having gotten a better feel for Harvey, I pretty much ruled out anyone from his past wanting to off him. He just didn't strike me as that big a scandal monger. He was more the idealist, who wouldn't back down, but didn't really want to ruffle anyone's feathers either. What I did not discount was someone making an attempt on his life, to hang my ass out to dry with the local cops. The cops were not my friends at that moment. Blevins was gone, Thompson had no use for me, and they seemed to love Timmons. It was not a recipe for a long term relationship. It would be entirely possible for someone with a good imagination to at least make a fake attempt on Harvey, the whore's life to get my ass involved with the cops, while they offed Lydia. If they were willing to kill Lydia, they were willing to make an attempt to kill Harvey, or at least make it look as though someone was, namely me. A fake attempt would be easier to pull off and would keep me tied up with the cops and not with Lydia. I certainly would prefer that they understand Anya and Vlad were just as dangerous and capable as me. If they did, they might just decide it was too risky and pass on the job. Real pros at least would know that it was no walk in the park. I was a magnet for bad guys, so they would follow me to Lydia. They probably weren't looking all that hard for Harvey and wouldn't pay him any mind hanging out with me. At least that was the plan at the moment. I might send him with Jerrod and the pretty boys just for kicks. When we got home I found Harvey a network cable and allowed him to plug into my router. I did not give him the wireless password. He was going to have to sit at the dining table to attach his computer to my network. Since we were downtown, there were a couple of other wireless networks which probably didn't have passwords. He could piggyback onto one of those maybe. But the cable was there just in case. That was why I had a cable, it was my backup, in case the wireless on my computer died and that had happened to other people I knew. I know that I can hook into the wireless router myself, since I am one big ass computer with tits. It doesn't look all that good for me to be spitting out information to Sylvia or Peter without a computer in front of me. That's why I needed a long network cable just in case. I let Harvey play on his old laptop for a while as I ate the cinnamon sticks and drank my bitter black coffee. He finally finish his journal update around 10PM. "So Harvey how old are you?" I asked. "Sixty," he said smiling. "How about you?" "Forty-two," I replied. I guess I was going to be forty two forever. Like a vampire. Instead of blood, I would be sucking up sugar and carbohydrates. "Shit you look thirty," he said smiling. "You aren't a very good lier, but thanks," I replied. "How long have you been a tabloid whore?" I asked. "Actually I'm a blogger, the tabloids pick up my stuff now and then," he explained. "They have really gotten into that, since it saves them so much money. I get ripped off now and then, but not as much as some of the others. They want to use my stuff again, so they pay me," he said. "How much gossip can you write about in this state? Nobody newsworthy lives here" I suggested "Actually they do. There is a group of Mercenaries down east. They are into all kinds of stuff. Once in a while, I get wind of something." he said. I tried to stay calm. He was talking about swamp thing of course. "Then why don't you move down there?" I asked. "Because I also do the Political thing in capitol city, and the crime beat all over the state. I write about things like your present job. I have written about other things you have done as well." "Oh really?" I asked. "Yes, I wrote about a drug dealer who left town unexpectedly after being involved with your auto mechanic," he said it smiling. "You know those grocery store rags get their information and photos from someone. If it comes out of this area it's usually me." "I saw one of those rags with my picture on a corner of the cover and it was a shitty picture." I stopped to gauge his reaction before I went on. "So you didn't always do this. What did you do before?" "I worked as a fireman till a building fell on me." He said with the kind of finality that ends a line of questioning, unless you are a cop. "So you are living on your pension, and doing this to try to make a buck on the side?" I asked. "Pretty much, it fills the time and cost me nothing. The copyright brings me a buck now and then. I sold a couple of stories about the Mercs down east. and a couple about local police abuse in Capitol City. Of course I sold a couple about you as well. A college professor or two from the university down there like to spout off. Now and then one of them gets picked up. This thing with the Judge has potential. I already sold the TV thing and a bit about her being in your care." he said "Oh i definitely want to thank you for that last bit," I said sarcastically. "Maxine, it is the truth, you can't fault me for telling the truth." he said. "Okay, then before you take your clothes off, go outside and take that tracker device off my truck." I said. "Yeah, that wasn't nice, but it does work good for no more than it cost me on Ebay," he said with a smile. Harvey did seem a lot more human and a lot less like a tabloid troll after our talk. I had to admit that a grass eating troll wasn't as bad as a meat eating troll. A grass eater took advantage of the opportunities that came his way. even it if was a little sleazy. Whereas, a meat eater went out and made thing happen. Then he spun it anyway he needed to, in order to make the maximum amount of money from it. Meat eaters were dangerous and would get you killed, but the grass eaters were a pain in the ass and you had to be on your guard constantly, but they weren't as likely to try to get you killed, just because it was a better story that way. While Harvey was outside, I found the old army blanket. I had bought it to wrap rifles with, while I transporting them in the back seat of the cruiser. It kept them separated without having to be in cases. I stored my rifles and shotgun out in plan view, so I tended to just wrap them in a blanket, rather than a gun case, if I had to move them at all. The blanket had a slight aroma of gun oil, but I figured the ex fireman could handle it. "Maxine I appreciate you letting me sleep on your sofa," he said when he returned. "So you are going to spin it that way are you. I am keeping you here to be sure nobody hangs my ass out for trying to pop your skinny ass." I said seriously. "Okay anything you say. Which sofa do I get?" he asked. "You get the one at the foot of my bed on the second floor. I want you close in case there is trouble, but don't get any Ideas," I said seriously. "Don't worry, I'm not very aggressive these days. I'm extremely safe since the accident. I need at least an hour's notice before I am of any use to anyone." he said. "Harvey that is a hell of a lot more information than I need," I said. "I'm just saying," he said letting it trail off. I removed the Glock from the back holster before I stripped off my heavy jeans. The jeans had a wide leather belt with the high riding mid back holster for the Glock attached. It was a pain in the ass to get to the weapon but it did hide the thing pretty well under a loose sweat shirt. After the jeans my socks came off then I was in the bed and ready for shutdown. It was an early night for me. I took a look at my power band and found it only a little below full operational. Full operational wasn't full charge, but it was all I needed to go for hours wide open. I could still use an hour on the MP3 player/charger. That being the case, I removed the one from the night stand, then put the headphones on. Harvey didn't comment so I felt okay with it. I lay in bed with my eyes closed not thinking or computing anything until the sun came up on Sunday. ------- Chapter 400 Even though I did not have sex Saturday night and absolutely did not have a threesome, I still wanted pancakes. Harvey was up and moving even before me. He was back in the shower and in there a long time, while I pretended to be asleep. When I was sure that he was dressed and down checking his email or writing on his blog, I went into the bathroom. I did my morning things, I empty and sterilized the holding tank, then stood under the hot shower for a long time. I probably didn't need it as much as Harvey, but it still felt good. Once I was dressed in a black tee and jeans with only a few small holes in them, I switched out the Glock for my Smith and Wesson concealed hammer .38. The smaller revolver was much easier to conceal, and I felt that it was way more dependable than any automatic. Plus I really didn't need a pistol all that much anyway. What I did need was coffee. Coffee must have something to do with that power conversion thing, I thought. I had really begun to crave it, so surely it did serve a purpose. After the coffee was on and cooking away, I reheated a plastic cup of what was left from the night before in the microwave oven. It was still good to me, since I loved my coffee old, black, and bitter. "Good morning Harvey," I said as I looked back into the dining room. I had passed him on the way into the kitchen but since I hadn't have any coffee, I did not speak to him. He had seemed busy, and I had the coffee on my mind anyway... "Good morning Maxine, you look lovely even with the shoulder holster.," he said. "Rig, Harvey, we call it a shoulder rig," I said. "Well that's what I call it at least. A holster is something you wear on your belt. The rig is more a system. What I carried the Glock in yesterday was a holster." "Oh I see. That is interesting," he said. I could just tell that the explanation would be in that night's blog entry. I didn't mind. "So I have no idea what you vegan idiots have for breakfast, but I'm going to have Russian pancakes. At least I'm going to have pancakes from the Russian Pancake House," I informed him. "I'm sure that I can find something on their menu," he admitted. "Do you write about being an almost vegan in your blog?" I asked. "Yes a lot of entries are about the compromises that I have to make," he suggested. "Okay, well get ready to go and we will head out," I suggested. Even though it was early spring, I needed either my coat or my big sweatshirt to both hide the pistol, but also to look as though I felt the same things the real people did. "Do you exercise at all Harvey?" I asked in the truck on the way to breakfast. "Sure, I run some mornings before breakfast," he said. "I try to at least walk a half hour on the other days." "Well, I walk after breakfast. Are you good with that?" I asked. "Sure I'm good with it. I can't run far or fast anyway," he said. "She what kind of damage do you have?" I asked. "Back, they fused several of my vertebrae and I have PTSD," he said matter of factly. "Okay, well let me know if there is anything you need for the next few days," I said. I felt for him. I knew what chronic pain was like. Emotional problems, I had my share in the old life as well. At first I felt very lucky that the parking lot wasn't crowded, then I understood why. The restaurant was closed. I don't mean closed in the sense that they were on vacation. I mean closed in the since they were on vacation forever. "Son of a bitch," I said looking at the place. "When was the last time you were here?" Harvey asked. "Just a few weeks ago. I guess threesomes are not as popular as they used to be." I said. "What does that mean?" Harvey asked. "Just a private joke, I always came here after a night with a threesome. It was just a bad joke started by an old friend." I said. "Was he a part of the threesome?" Harvey asked. "Sometimes, well at least the first time," I said. "Now I guess it is the grease pit Waffle house for us." At least it was a short drive to the Waffle and Egg. To be honest their southern style pancakes were better, but it just wasn't the Russian Pancake House. I had no idea why I was so determined to do the Russian Pancake House, when I hadn't completed the first part of the ritual. Still I felt a sense of loss. We dragged ass over breakfast, so that it was 9AM when we finished. Walking through the mall wasn't the same with Harvey moving so slowly. He seemed to be in pain with every step. "Harvey, don't you have anything for the pain," I asked. "I have a script, but it is way expensive, so I take OTC stuff and it isn't all that effective first thing in the mornings. I will be fine in an hour or so." he said. "It's Sunday can you get the script filled away from Capitol City?" I asked. "Probably, my drugstore is a national chain. I'm sure it's in their computer. But honestly Maxine, I'll be fine." He promised. "Harvey, if we have to move quickly, I don't want to be dragging you around. This one is on me. It's not for you, It's for me." It was the truth, almost. "Well we can try," Harvey said. "Thanks Maxine." "Like I said, it's for me," I didn't want his thanks. "You aren't near as bad as I thought," he admitted. "Of course I am," I said smiling. The pills were easier to get than they should have been. Harvey considered less than seventy-five bucks, for a months supply, to be too expensive, so I knew what kind of pension he was living on. We were on the way to the Drugstore Condo to check on Lydia, when the smart phone rang. I saw the number and knew that it was the Judge. "So what have you decided?" I asked without even saying hello. Might as well make it clear where I stood. "First thing in the morning I will arrange access for you and your team to all my records and clear you to speak with anyone you like," he said. "If you get any calls today clear us for whatever we are doing. I will get my people on this today." I replied "Will you get her to clear you as well?" he asked. "I will certainly try," I said. He didn't need to know that I had already run her financials. She wasn't holding out on him. All she had, she got from him. "Well when can I expect an update?" he asked. "This might take a while to resolve, but I'll try to keep you in the loop at least some of the time. Tell your lawyer to call Jennifer for the updates. If it gets hairy, I'll call him first. It's the best I can do, since I work for Jennifer first and foremost." "Fair enough," he said and rang off. "What was that all about?" Harvey asked. "Sorry Harvey, it's need to know and you don't," I said. Harvey still had the coke bottle in his hand. He had taken one of the pills in the drugstore. Harvey had been in pain. How much I didn't know, but some for sure. He didn't complain and other than the real physical movements, I would not have known. I looked at the bottle when I paid for it. The bottle held a moderate dose of the Vicodin generic tablets. I left Harvey with his coke in the Cloak and Dagger. I couldn't tie him down, but he wasn't likely to go running all over the building either. Vlad came to the door when I knocked. "So where is our run away bride?" I asked. \ "She and Anya were up late talking. They are just starting to move around," he informed me. "Vlad, you have to be kidding it's almost noon," I said. "It's eleven don't make it sound worse than it is," Anya demanded. "I don't give a damn, if you sleep the day away completely. I just want to talk to Lydia and one of you should be in the room. I want a witness." Lydia could hear me since she was dressing behind a only slightly sound proof wall and I was not whispering. "Why do you need a witness," Lydia asked as she came into the room. "I need you to agree to a dump of your cell phone and give me free access to your financial records. I will also be talking to your friends and acquaintances and I want to be sure you agree to clear it if they call," I said. Anya knew what that meant. "Why are you doing this? You are just being paid to protect me," she said. "You can refuse, if you have something to hide. You have accused a very powerful man of being a wife beater and crooked judge. If I go after him, I want to be sure everything is as you say it is. I brought Jennifer into this, so I owe it to her. I have the Judge's okay to do the same things. I would think, if you have nothing to hide, you would agree. You can of course call Jennifer. I would expect it." "You bet I will call her, this just doesn't seem fair," she said. "Actually it sounds very fair," Anya chirped in. "You would say that you work for her," Lydia said showing Anya the side that Jerrod told me she kept hidden. "Nobody pays me enough to lie," Anya said right on the verge of knocking a few of Lydia's teeth out. Suddenly I flashed on something. Actually it was my logic program kicking in. It was very possible that there might be others standing in line to punch her lights out. One of them might have caught up to her and done the damage, which she accused the judge of doing. She might have decided to use the beating to her advantage. It would be a good time to get out of the marriage with a few more bucks than the prenup would allow. It was a perfectly plausible scenario. So if that were the case, I needed to find who would have done that to her. Of course lover first came to mind. If it had gone down that way, it wouldn't even necessarily have been a plan. It could have been just another opportunistic event in her life. "Well call Jennifer and see what she says. Jennifer and Anya have my number. In the meantime do not tell anyone where you are." I said it on my way out the door. If she gave me permission to dump her phone, I would most likely know soon if there was a lover. If she didn't give me permission I would just have Peter contact Bullrider. I figured he owed me at least one favor. I actually felt pretty good about it all as I went down to meet Harvey in the Cloak and Dagger. To my surprised the professor was sitting with Harvey. There was a Styrofoam cup of coffee in front of the professor. "Maxine you have the most interesting friends," the professor said. Harvey just smiled at me. "Glad Harvey found a playmate to keep him busy while I was working." I said in reply. ------- Chapter 401: The end of Maxine The case of Lydia's beating got ended when I realized that I was being used to extort a better settlement from the judge. That happened because the logic program got me thinking about maybe it had all been an accident first, then a setup. A short investigation of Lydia and her last customer, something we hadn't known she had when it all began, revealed that he was a violent guy. He even had a history of that kind of behavior. Vlad found some ties between the judge and the farm as well. He tended to lean to the shotgun approach to investigations. He was checking out the judge and Lydia at the same time. It was shortly after I called Jennifer that I got hit by a dumpster type trash truck. The truck drove my little pick up against the wall of the drugstore condo. I saw him in the parking lot but who would have noticed that it was the wrong day for a trash pickup. he backed into me and forced the pickup sideways and against the wall. It was a good thing that I was in the truck alone. I knew that once the dumpster came into contact with me that whoever was with me would have been dead. I was pressed against the wall and the dumpster kept pushing until the frame of the truck was crushed completely. The door were completely useless. The driver of the dumpster truck ran quickly from the cab of his truck and threw a package into the cab with me. I knew from the beeping red light that my time was over. My life was at as good a place to stop as any. If you are reading this you found the memory and recovered it. So let me add this, I have no regrets. Except that I never did get to Dance with Tiny Dancer in a Ballet. ------- The End ------- Posted: 2011-01-14 Last Modified: 2012-06-07 / 11:10:16 am ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------