I suddenly woke up, looked at the clock on the nightstand: nine o’clock. Damn. I took a quick shower. There was coffee in the pot so I poured a cup and walked into the living room. No one there; I looked outside and saw Sandy’s little car but the Mercedes was missing. I was alone in the house.
It was a good time to get a few things done without interruption. I got on the computer checked the messages, all Spam. Went to the Community Bulletin Board and found several things of interest and what seemed like a million questions about piercing. The class had really gotten a lot of peoples’ attention. I posted a notice for the next class, which would be the Friday after Christmas. I also asked for suggestions for other future classes.
Cora posted a notice that she would perform piercings by appointment at the dispensary during the coming week.
There were a lot of notices of private parties and social activities.
I called Jeff Fuller and was surprised when he answered on the first ring. We chatted a bit, the normal ‘how are you’ sort of thing before I got to the point.
"I would like to see you and your two helpers as soon as possible."
He chuckled, "I was expecting that, where and when?"
He was ahead of me again, "Here; say in ten minutes?"
"We’ll be there." He didn’t ask for my location.
I made a fresh pot of coffee and got as ready as possible to confront them. Not an easy task when they had a lot more information about me than I had about them.
They arrived right on time in a black Chevy Suburban.
As they entered Jeff introduced them as Jan and Patrick; we went to the kitchen and I poured coffee for all of us and set the cream and sugar on the end of the table away from Jeff. He grinned; he knew what I was telling him.
I finally had heard enough small talk about the piercing class and decided to make my move. "As long as it is just us there is no need for the clothes, you are making me uncomfortable".
Jeff grinned, "Sounds good to me, come on you two," as he pointed at his ‘helpers’. He had expected this; all he was wearing was a shirt and a pair of pants; no undershirt and no briefs.
Patrick began to comply, hesitated and then finished the job. Jan removed her blouse and stopped.
I noticed both Jeff and Patrick were wearing high top type shoes with zippers down the side. For some reason the right side shoes seemed bigger. I said, "You can park the hardware on the counter, people."
Jan looked at me as if she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Jeff laughed and Patrick got red in the face.
Jeff retrieved a snub nosed 38 from his shoe and reached behind him to lay it on the counter. Patrick was still red-faced but did the same. Finally Jan stood up and removed her skirt to reveal a holster strapped to the thigh. She removed the pistol and put it with the other two.
I had been sitting with my right hand in my lap and drinking my coffee with the left. Jeff grinned, "We showed you ours now you show us yours." Damn I was getting tired of him always one step ahead of me. I raised my right hand slowly to display a little 25 semi automatic as I lowered my left hand to my lap. While their attention was directed at my right hand I raised my left one with a 380 in it. Jeff lost his grin; finally I’d gotten ahead of him.
As I was the only one on my side of the table I laid a gun in the chair on either side of me. Mine were in easy reach and they had to turn around to get theirs. "Now let’s get down to business. I want the whole story and I mean I want it straight and complete the first time."
Jeff was now all business, "The information I gave you the other day is totally accurate. These two are here for my protection only."
"They sure as hell could have done a lot better job on their cover."
He was a little surprised at that, "How do you mean, where did they slip up?"
"First of all their records are perfectly clean, not so much as a parking ticket. There is no credit history for either of them. They both have Masters Degrees and are working in a hidden store in a closed community for probably half of the salary they could get anywhere in the country. They are not players and have not attended any parties nor even been to Jacob’s as far as I can tell. Right now it is obvious they are unmarked, no tattoos, piercings or even rope or whip marks. They just don’t fit in here, and that black suburban is a dead giveaway."
Jeff was totally surprised, "How could you possible collect that much information so quickly?"
Since they were trying to play games with me I think it is only fair I return the favor. "We have people all over the country who collect info for us. We can check anybody anywhere in a matter of an hour or so. This also extends into many other countries as well." I looked at Jeff, "And your picture is on the net if you know where to look for it." I told him the name he had used during that trial, where it was at and who the defendants were.
He just looked at me, "Then you verified what I told you?"
"Sure but then I began to wonder why you were here unprotected. A little digging was all it took."
"I am here because I answered an ad in a fetish newspaper and discovered what appeared to be a good place to be out of sight and might be fun also. I was a player until my wife was killed in a plane crash in New York several years ago."
Time for the bomb, "I hope all of you know that you have violated your contracts for membership here by giving false names and information. And you two," as I pointed at Jan and Patrick, "also by being married and entering as singles."
"Then we are being asked to leave?" was Jeff’s only comment.
I looked him straight in the eye, "What would you do?" He didn’t reply.
"I have a tendency to overlook your deception on the grounds it was justified but the other two went too far. If they are going to stay they will correct all the disinformation and get their spouses here with them within the next couple of weeks or the agency can send a married couple to replace them. Also, no more black Suburbans."
Jeff said, "I’m kind of attached to these two, I’ll see what can be done."
"One more thing, you need to talk to Robert and fill him in on this so that he can watch for any of your New York friends that might try to get in here, and if you think those guns are necessary, leave them under the counter or some such place but quit carrying them around before someone gets hurt. I’m leaving for a few days and will check with you again after the first of the year."
It was time to get packed to go home for the holidays. I got dressed; I put a few things in an overnight bag, grabbed my brief case and headed out the door just as Klaus pulled up. They had been at the construction sight and Klaus wanted to tell me all about it. I put my stuff in the van and returned to the house.
A fresh pot of coffee and I was ready to listen to whatever it was he had to say. Sandy began making sandwiches as Kathy sat on a chair with her legs as wide apart as possible.
"This is going to drive me crazy," she said, "it’s worse than a roller coaster. The clit piercing turns me on then the labia piercings get twisted and turn me off."
Klaus didn’t seem particularly upset, "Ah, the price women pay for beauty. Hopefully you will become accustomed to your decorations in a year or so."
Kathy groaned, "A year! I’ll be dead from frustration long before that."
Klaus laughed, "Well maybe only six months." Kathy groaned again.
Klaus reported that the construction was going well. My basement had been completed and was safe from the impending weather. His was nearing completion and if the weather held off for a few more hours his would be also. He was very pleased with the rate of progress but was also concerned about the cost.
He then changed to the problem of keeping the finances as well hidden as possible. He suggested I transfer all my assets ‘Off Shore’, a nice way to say, ‘Get it out of the country and away from prying eyes’ as soon as possible. He also suggested several ways to break any audit trails that could lead to either of us. He was pleasantly surprised to find I had accomplished most of the needed precautions.
Sandy placed a platter of sandwiches in the center of the table and then joined us at the table. The girls chatted about their piercings while Klaus and I continued to discuss finances. By the time I was finally able to get on the road it was noon.
Again, all was well at home. The nurse was doing a wonderful job of controlling the household and tending to my wife’s care. The presents I had ordered were all in a closet unopened. That would give me something to do for the rest of the day.
My wife was awake and smiling when I entered her room but she was noticeably thinner and very pale. I hugged her and we chatted for a few minutes before she tired and fell asleep. Time was getting very short for her.
I spent the next couple days just loafing around the house. Ms. Banks was glad to have me there as it permitted her to run a few errands without worrying about the time she was away from the house.
Thursday afternoon I noticed she was gone much longer than usual and I was beginning to be concerned; my wife’s next injection was due in less than an hour.
She returned looking a little disheveled and seemed to be covered in a fine white powder. I had seen that kind of powder before, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"How badly did you damage your car?"
"How did you know about that?"
"That powder is a dead give-away that the airbags went off."
"Well, if you must know, it’s being towed to the pound. A car ran a red light on Mockingbird Lane hitting the car in front of me. By that time he was in front of my car and I hit him right in the driver’s door. That damn airbag went off and before I could see what was happening another car hit the back of mine."
"Sounds like you’ve had an interesting day so far."
"I guess so, the driver of the car I hit was hurt pretty bad; broken ribs and a punctured lung. My car is a pile of junk."
"Why don’t you take care of my wife’s medications and we’ll go find you another car. I can’t have you walking to handle errands when I go back to work."
Apparently she was thinking in terms of a rental car and protested when I turned into a dealership. I ignored her and suggested she might want to come in and look around.
Surprisingly she walked past the cars to the vans that were on display. "I like these but they cost way too much; we need to get to the used car section."
"Which one do you like the best?"
"The blue one, I think."
I found a salesman and asked if they had a van like it that was ready to go, "Just a demonstrator that has about 5,000 miles on it."
"How much?"
"Five off the sticker."
"Make it eight off." He ran off to the floor manager and soon came back, "We wouldn’t be able to do the zero finance change at that price."
"When can we pick it up"?
"As soon as financing has been arranged."
I handed him my bankcard and said, "It is arranged."
Ten minutes later he handed me the keys, I gave them to Ms. Banks along with all the paperwork. She drove it back home.
She tried to hand me the keys when we arrived, "You keep them, it’s your van now."
‘How can you afford to do that?"
"My job pays very well."
"It must to be able to buy a new van on a bank card." I just grinned.
We had a nice dinner Christmas day and my wife was able to be at the table for a few minutes.
I gave Ms. Banks a gift card from Sears and she broke into tears; she wasn’t nearly as tough as she wanted people to think she was.
That evening I presented my wife with a new pillow that would help her sit up in bed and a whole stack of books she wanted.
The rest of the time at home passed slowly. My wife and I sipped a glass of wine New Years Eve and I hugged and kissed her. She died peacefully in her sleep a couple hours later.
The memorial service was beautiful and well attended but lasted much too long. I appreciated all the fine people that told me how sorry they were but I just wanted to be left alone. I was a bad time emotionally.
Ms. Banks and I returned to the house, it was no longer home, I handed the deed to the property to her and said that I would have someone come for my personal stuff in a few days. I cleared the computer completely and set it up for Ms. Banks to use.
It was already dark as I started for The Project; it seemed fitting somehow.
I arrived well after midnight, opened the security gate with my electronic key and slowly drove down what was now called Main Street. There were lights on in the security office and a couple cars parked there. I stopped in: I needed something to take my mind off of recent events.
Bill and Robert were in the office drinking coffee when I entered and went straight to the coffee pot. "What are you two doing here this time of night?"
"Robert has been imitating The Lone Ranger again," was Bill’s reply.
I turned to Robert, "Okay, from the top."
"I was on patrol when I noticed a strange car pull up to the main entrance. I drove on by but doubled back with the lights out to find a guy trying to get the gate open. I stopped and walked up to within ten feet of him before he saw me. He turned, drew a gun and took a shot at me but it went wild, I shot that S.O.B. in the knee and told him to drop the gun or I would blow the other knee off too. End of story."
"Where is he now?"
"Cora is patching him up a little so that I can talk to him."
"What does his ID show?"
"His DL is from New York and the name he gave me didn’t match."
I called Jeff and told him to get down here pronto and bring his two tag-a-longs also.
Robert wanted to know what a storekeeper had to do with this.
‘Wait and see."
Jeff arrived with Jan and Patrick almost before I hung up the phone. I gave them a quick recap and told them to look at the guy in the next room. Jeff stayed behind for security reasons.
They soon reappeared, "He is an enforcer from New York. We want him!"
Robert jumped up, "I don’t think so; he is in my custody. And who the hell are you anyway?"
I told him to sit down and went over the whole situation with him and Bill. Robert wasn’t very happy about it but wasn’t able to put up too much of a fuss as he had approved all three of them for membership. Of course other people had to approve them too so he wasn’t the only one who’d slipped up.
I suggested they should call an ambulance and move him to Dallas as a federal prisoner. That knee was going to need some serious attention.
Patrick made the call to Washington and set it up. A local ambulance soon arrived and the bad guy was gone without having seen Jeff. Patrick rode in the ambulance as a guard while Jan followed in a brown sedan to bring him back here. No more black Suburban apparently.
Jeff apologized for the problem and I asked him where he stood on getting the corrections completed.
"They are both going to bring their spouses here for evaluation this week. Hopefully it will all be taken care of in a few days."
Good enough.
Robert was still a little upset but I pointed out that what could have become a major problem had been removed and it was unlikely he would be involved in it from now on. Also, Washington, not us, now covered the major costs of a trial and medical treatment.
I suggested that Jeff spend the rest of the night at my place, "No need, those guys usually work alone."
I looked at him, "Yeah, usually, let’s go," He shrugged and followed me to the van. I drove slowly taking the long way around and watching the rear view mirror. I didn’t see anything but I turned a corner and quickly pulled between two other cars and waited.
Within a minute a car with the lights out drove by. I looked at Jeff, "Usually, huh?" He didn’t say a word. The fence was going to need some repair undoubtedly.
When the other car was out of sight I backed out and drove the other direction without lights as fast as was safe. We arrived at the house and quickly went in. Jeff stood at the front window watching the road. After a couple minutes he said, "It just went past."
I retrieved the two handguns and gave the 380 to Jeff; he was probably a lot better shot than me. He looked at it, "Do you have anything with more stopping power?"
"Sure, a 30-30 and a shotgun."
"Bring me the shotgun then." I did and picked up the 380 dropping the 25 in my pocket.
Klaus came down the stairs yawning, "What’s happening?"
‘We have a prowler."
"Let’s go get him."
Jeff spoke up, "No need, this one will come to us."
Klaus recognized Jeff, "Oh, Mister FBI."
I brought Klaus up to date and sat down to wait.
"I suppose I should have a gun also then." I handed him the 25. "I mean a real gun." And he handed it back.
I pulled a 7mm Mauser bolt-action rifle out of the hall closet. He looked at it, "Much better." He checked to see if it was loaded; it was.
We sat in the darkness for over an hour before anything happened. A small scratching noise at the front door indicated something was going on. I reached for the wall switch that controlled a lamp on a table at the far end of the room.
As the door slowly swung open I was able to vaguely make out a shape in the doorway. As the shape moved into the room I flipped the switch.
He momentarily froze, and then shot the lamp.
Jeff shot him full in the chest from ten feet away with that 12 gauge shotgun. The force of the blast pushed him back outside. I turned on the overhead light and then the poach light. One look and I knew even Oral Roberts couldn’t heal this mess. I shoved his feet out of the way and shut the door.
The girls came screaming down the stairs. I stopped them and sent them to the kitchen to make coffee. It was now five in the morning and this old man was ready for bed but no such luck.
Jeff called his house and the Dynamic Duo had returned. He told them to get the meat wagon and come on over.
I had a cup of coffee as we waited and tried to tell the girls it was all over. I heard a car come to a skidding stop and the not so Dynamic Duo came bursting thru the front door with guns drawn.
Jeff laughed at them, "You missed the fun now put the hardware away."
The ambulance arrived, loaded up and again headed for Dallas.
I said, "Good night," and stumbled upstairs.