Authors: Bernard Lee DeLeo
Quenton nodded. “My associates and I will be leaving now. You will get a faxed sheet with the next CIA Director’s credentials on it. Make it happen Senator Dennis, and I mean right away. You better start coming up with a story for your face, and stick with it. I don’t have to tell you what will happen if any undue attention gets directed at us.”
Quenton motioned for Connor and Nate to follow him. He looked back at Senator Dennis once more with hatred, as if regretting the fact he still lived. Nate put an arm around his shoulders, and turned him again to the door.
“Derek, you have to learn we mutant sidekicks never get the last word,” Nate instructed. “We always leave quietly, while the Terror of Beal Street gets to make the final threat.”
Quenton smiled in puzzlement, despite the seriousness of the situation. “Terror of Beal Street?”
Nate looked back innocently at the Vulcan Death Stare he was receiving from Connor, and then back to Quenton. “I will explain it to you in the car while Thomas tidies up.”
Connor allowed Nate to get Quenton out the door before returning to Senator Dennis. “Let your men out of the closet in about fifteen minutes. You will never get better advice than Derek just gave you. We can all work together for a better country. Some must have a special incentive to do it. You have yours. Tell your friends when you see them, that their lives will be tied to everyone in our organization. They are all under my personal protection, and Howie,” Connor bent close to the cringing man, “I will know what you do from now on.”
Connor joined Nate and Derek in the Lincoln. He had stopped in the bathroom, wet down a washrag, and brought it and a towel with him. He handed them to Quenton in the backseat. Quenton looked down at his bloody hands, and took the items gratefully.
“You have some splashed on your face too Derek,” Connor told him. “We can’t do much about your shirt, but you can just take the jacket off. No use frightening Kim.”
Quenton started scrubbing as Nate took off for their business. When he finished toweling off, he looked back to Connor. “What will your crew think of all this?”
“Business as usual probably,” Nate chuckled. “They know this ain’t Disneyland.”
“They know we will tell them whatever we can, and keep everything else dangerous for them to know to ourselves,” Connor added.
“They must be some good men,” Quenton said sitting back.
“And getting better every day, huh Thomas,” Nate asked.
“Hard to believe how I ever lucked out with that bunch,” Connor agreed.
Connor filled the time on the way telling Quenton about how he had met up and recruited his crew. Quenton enjoyed the telling of the story, and it took his mind off of the days near tragic end. Fifteen minutes later, they were pulling into the business parking lot, just as twilight began to darken into night. Nate had called ahead to make sure the boys did not freak when they came in.
Connor opened the door, and stepped aside for Quenton to hurriedly brush past Barf, who had met them at the door. Barf ran back ahead of Quenton, leading him into the recreation room, where the whole crew sat around with Kim, watching a movie. Barf put his head under Kim’s hand. Only then did she notice her Father standing a few feet away. Her whole face lit up, and she jumped to her feet and into his arms. Tears streamed down both of their faces, as they clung to each other silently for many moments. Henry had turned off the movie, and turned up the lights.
Connor smiled, and gestured for the boys to come over with Nate and him to the bar. They sat down together at the bar, leaving Quenton and Kim to finish their greeting. Barf followed them over, and came to sit down next to Connor. Connor stroked his head absently as he watched the father and daughter.
“Well boys,” Nate observed. “I guess we had a more exciting day than we had planned on. I am sure glad you guys hung around long enough to get our call.”
“I would have come from home Mr. Johnson,” Sammy stated. “Call us anytime. Kim told us what happened. I guess things came out okay.”
“We all did good today boys,” Connor agreed. “Tomorrow we will try to have a more mundane day.”
“Will we be working the weekend Mr. Connor?” Jeff asked.
“It’s up to you guys,” Connor replied. “In a couple of months we will have to have a couple of shifts at least; but for now, we can pace this anyway you want.”
“We all want to come in on the weekends until we get this down pat,” Jeremiah stated. “This place is nicer than our homes.”
There were sounds of agreement from the others. Connor looked at Nate, who nodded his willingness. “Okay then, even if Nate and I are not here, you guys can work and run the business. We will work the weekends with you until we get it all worked out. No questions about what’s happened today?”
“We know better Mr. Connor,” Luke said. “All this new stuff s confusing enough, without having to think about your stuff.”
Connor and Nate both laughed as Quenton and Kim walked up arm in arm. Kim introduced each of the boys to her Father, who shook hands solemnly with each one, thanking them. Connor gestured at Derek.
“Mr. Quenton here runs the NSA, who we work for. We will be gathering intel for the agency as part of our business. You probably guessed safety was not the whole reason for the surveillance gear and the super station.”
“If I can do anything for any of you, please let me know,” Quenton said seriously. “You have probably realized Thomas here really runs this new show, but I can smooth many things over quickly. Any undue harassment from the police or anyone else, you call me.”
“They know enough not to abuse it either,” Nate added.
“I am not worried about any of that,” Quenton replied looking around. “You have a free ticket. I will tell you if you go too far. I’m going to get Kim home now, but we’ll come back and visit.”
Kim hugged each one, and came over to Connor last. “I don’t pretend to know how you did what you did, but thank you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly.
“We are all one family now Kim,” Connor explained. “You and I have a connection now, and anyone who approaches you in anger from now on will get very ill until they get away from you.”
Kim released him, and stepped back with a puzzled look on her face. “You mean…I…never mind, I guess I will get used to it.”
“Don’t try and understand honey,” Quenton said, as he guided her. Nate had gotten up too. He would be giving Quenton and his daughter a ride back to the Center to pick up Quenton’s car. Quenton shook hands with Thomas, who then saluted smiling. Nate pushed him in the side of the head, before leading Quenton and his daughter out. Barf escorted them and received another hug from Kim.
After they were gone Connor looked up at the boys. “What movie were you guys watching with Kim when we came in?”
“Man, Mr. Connor, she was making us watch
An American Quilt
,” Luke said with a sigh. “That movie sucks with a capital S.”
This brought laughter from everyone. “Well at least she found something to take her mind off of today,” Connor replied.
“She was really shook Mr. Connor,” Sammy added.
“Being bound in place to enough C-4 to blow up a small house will do that to you,” Connor agreed.
“Damn,” Joseph said. “This business may get hairy, huh?”
“I won’t lie to you guys,” Connor replied. “I have no idea where this operation will finally take us, or what danger you may encounter. Anybody wants out, I will give them a handsome check to get them going elsewhere. You guys have earned that. Friday’s your first payday, and there will be bonuses, because of the extra duty. I have looked into a 401k retirement plan for you guys. I will match any amount you put in to it. I have already started you out with two thousand dollars each. The details on the accounts will be coming in the mail soon. In addition to that, I have also started a one hundred thousand dollar life insurance policy in each of your names, done through the business. I will be giving you the forms for you to fill in your beneficiaries tomorrow. Soon I will be depending on you guys to start recruiting new workers, and things around here will be getting more business like. Anyone want out?”
There were a chorus of no sirs, and Connor nodded. “Good, in the short time I have known you guys, I want you to know I have never worked with better. I.” Connor paused, and then smiled. “We have company.”
Barf had moved to the outer door. It opened to his wagging tail, and Karen peaked around the door. When she saw Connor and the boys at the bar, she gave them a little wave. “Am I interrupting anything?”
“Come on in Karen,” Connor said. As Karen walked over with Barf, Connor gestured to her for the boy’s benefit. “You met the National Security Agency head tonight. Karen Blakely here works as Quenton’s second in command. Karen, meet Jeff Turbin in the corner there, Sammy Baldwin next to him, Jeremiah Decker in the middle, Luke and Joseph Melius here in front, and Henry Etheridge over here on the other end.”
Karen shook hands with each of them. “I am pleased to meet you all. Connor has told me a lot about you.”
Henry stood up, “Mr. Connor, you mind if we watch the end of the basketball game?”
“You mean you don’t want to see the end of
An American Quilt
?” After the laughter died down, Connor gestured for them to go ahead. “Stay as long as you want guys. Karen and I are going to go and walk the Barf.”
With Barf walking quietly by Connor’s side, Karen held onto Connor’s free arm. A fall breeze blew lightly by with a feathery touch. They walked on in silence for a while, enjoying the regular sounds of street traffic, and the lights of nearby buildings.
“Nate filled me in about what happened Thomas. I sent housekeeping over to clean things up. Do you think there will be any more attempts of this kind of thing?”
“You got me Karen. I did not see this coming. We all survived, and we learned more about handling it. We also took appropriate steps at the same time to strengthen ourselves against it. We have a lot more work to do, so I would expect something more in this area of attack. I know Nate will be taking extra steps with his family.”
“Barf seems to be fitting right in.”
Connor looked down at the prancing dog. “He loves it so far, and the boys can’t get enough of him.”
“Do you want me to stay the night?” Karen asked.
“I believe I can fit you in,” Connor replied, putting his arm around her. “Derek wants to leave Senator Dennis on his own to get things straightened out without our personal touch. If he gets Greg in as CIA Chief, it will mean Senator Dennis and those other two turds are doing what they were told.”
“You mean you will not be playing Carlos Castenada tonight?”
“You will have my undivided attention my dear,” Connor replied. He stopped and gathered her into his arms, kissing her with a melancholy feeling Karen could feel right to her feet. She clung to him as Barf sat patiently.
“It hit a little close to home, didn’t it Thomas?”
“You better believe it,” Connor admitted. “When I saw Derek in that house, knowing his daughter was about to die, it ripped my heart out. Seeing him with her tonight did not ease the pain of being the cause of it all in the first place.”
“You plan on trying to blame yourself for this,” Karen asked in exasperation, as they resumed walking.
Connor held up his hand. “I know we all went into this with our eyes open, but I am still human, and watching Derek almost lose Kim. “
“Almost being the operative word here,” Karen broke in. “We all know how much you care Thomas. If any of us want out, we know where the door is. If you get any more powerful, you will not need us anyway.”
“In this town, I will need all the help I can get. The limousine business, and repairing vehicles, and eventually selling comic books keeps me going. I can see the better times down the road. I just want everyone to reach those times alive, and I am being reminded on a daily basis it may not be possible. I don’t think I can ever get to the point where I can project shields for all of you.”
“At the rate you are going, we will have to block you up within a cement bunker,” Karen offered.
“That scary huh?”
“Think about the things you’ve accomplished Thomas,” Karen said, her voice rising with excitement. “You are a one of a kind, and I have given up thoughts of ever studying your abilities. I guess we could dissect you.”
“Thanks a lot there Doc,” Connor laughed in appreciation.
“I’m only saying,” Karen continued, “do what you can, and the rest of us will take responsibility for our own actions, okay? Scary, you ask. Hell yes you’re scary, but the good you have done cannot be discounted. It gets damned exciting being Superman’s girlfriend. I am thinking of changing my name to Lois.”
“I hear you Lois,” Connor laughed. “With Haynes in as CIA Chief, we can keep a closer eye on things. Using NSA personnel can call undo attention. I meant to ask Derek if you all turned up any connections in the FBI we can exploit, and I do not mean our two kidnapping agents.”
“Derek did mention someone high up in the justice department we may be able to use. We can’t use them like Clinton did. The best we can probably do, would be some surveillance work, or permission for Greg to look into something domestic.”
“That will do for now,” Connor replied. “In time, knowing human nature, we can have tendrils into every department. All we need to monitor some of these agencies will be one or two well placed moles within the structure. Attila can do the rest under our guidance.”
“You feel any better about this stuff today?” Karen asked.
“I never did take it personal,” Connor pointed out. “I just felt helpless at a couple of moments. You should have seen Derek tear into that Senator when he knew Kim was safe. Derek definitely has the stones to run this up front, and he has you helping him, so I think the storefront seems solid. Once the intelligence sifting begins, you and Derek will be that much more safe, along with everyone else.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I began writing a program for Attila,” Connor answered. “using the various agency passwords and codes I have gleaned. Some of these jokers have the trail flowing from agency to agency, knowing how zealously the nitwit heads of these agencies hide information from one another. We will end that, just not with their knowledge.”
“How in the hell will you be able to do all this?” Karen asked laughing.
“Attila will do most of it. If an area comes up we think looks suspicious, we will turn it over to you and Derek. Nate and I will only get involved in it if matters require a heavy hand.”
“I think I will concentrate on my job and let you work out the details.”
“That’s the spirit,” Connor agreed. “Want to get something to eat?”
“I thought you would never ask.”
Connor looked down at the dog. “How about you Barf?”
Barf looked up at his name and barked a short note, much to Karen’s amusement.
Karen awoke, and felt the bed next to her, without opening her eyes. She felt something warm and hairy and sat up, jerking her hand back. Connor was out of bed already, and Barf had come up to keep her company. She bent down and hugged the dog’s shaggy head. She walked out of the bedroom naked to find Connor brewing coffee behind the bar. He saw her and came over to take her into his arms. She could feel the effect she had on him right through his sweat suit.
“It’s only six o’clock Thomas.”
“Barf and I already went on our morning jog,” Connor informed her.
“It didn’t do much to dull the edge of your energy level I see,” Karen observed.