Chapter 4

We returned from Roger’s and all collapsed in the bed around 10:30 that evening. The girls were really excited, and all they could talk about was the children. It had been an exciting day and we were all tired. Eventually, they settled down, snuggled up to me, and we all managed to get to sleep.

It was just after 2 AM that I got the first warning from the building security system. It stated that an unauthorized vehicle had entered the underground parking garage. All of the residents’ vehicles had had a little device added to them. It returned a signal from the transmitter at the entrance of the garage on entering. The residents were mostly unaware of this as it was a passive system and added to the vehicle mostly without their knowledge.

While we got unauthorized vehicles during the day – deliveries and such, it was very rare at night, especially this late at night.

This warning was followed several minutes later by another, indicating that there were unauthorized passengers in the elevator. All the residents’ keys have a chip in them that is detectable by a system in the elevator. If the elevator is moved without a resident’s key inside it, it set off the alarm. This warning meant that strangers were in the building.

There are four New Samurai that resided in my building. Richard and I are on the fourth floor. Will (William) was on the fifth floor, and Gilbert (Gil) was on the third floor. We were all connected by the security system. I had immediately alerted them on the first signal, as I had a bad feeling about it. It definitely was not a good sign that unauthorized people were in the building at this hour.

The elevator also operated at a much reduced speed when there was no residents’ key activating it. I had time to check the camera in the elevator. It showed four very tough looking men, and the security system was reporting that the elevator was headed for the fourth floor. I relayed the information to the others while reaching over and opening the finger print operated secure box next to the bed. I removed the large caliber automatic pistol it held, along with two spare clips. I woke the girls and told them to go into the bathroom and lock the door. They were to stay there until I knocked on the door and told them that it was clear.

One last check of the security system showed three of the men in the hall of the fourth floor, and one left in the elevator to hold it in place at the fourth floor.

As the three men neared my apartment door, it was obvious where they were going and what they were after. I’m in the end apartment and they were headed right for me and the girls. Just before they got to my door, I sent a signal that locked the elevator door closed and prevented it from moving. This took care of the fourth man.

As the three men reached my door, they all drew weapons, one a gun and the other two large knives. I could see all of this from the security cameras in the hall. I also saw Richard’s door crack open. One man knelt down and was looking at the lock on the door. He had a set of old fashion lock picks in his hand. These could never have opened the door as the lock required a key with the chip in it to release.

I had no intention of allowing them in the apartment. So as he started to probe the lock, I said ready to Richard over the security system. I threw open the door, and kicked the one trying to open it in the face. I then shot the man behind him, one of the ones with a knife. At the same time, Richard emerged from his apartment and shot the last man, the one with the gun drawn.

In the meantime, Will was checking the elevator, and Gilbert was in the garage checking the vehicle for a driver. The clown in the elevator on hearing our shots got nervous and tried to activate the elevator. He panicked when he discovered that the doors were locked and the elevator inoperative. In his panic he tried to shoot through the door - a big mistake. This was a specially built elevator, and was solid steel and very heavy. His bullets ricocheted all around the inside of the elevator. One of them killed him.

Gilbert found the driver in the van they had come in. He was snoozing when Gil found him and was easily captured.

So we had three dead. The fourth died shortly afterward. He was the one with the lock picks. When I kicked him, I broke his jaw and crushed his throat enough that he was unable to get much air and he soon expired.

I got the girls out of the bathroom, and sent them to Richard’s apartment to stay with Colleen and the kids for a while. They really panicked when they saw the bodies and blood in the hallway. I reassured them that everything was under control.

Gil brought the unconscious driver up to my apartment so we could question him. I had to unlock the elevator first and then we had to clean it out.

I then had to deal with the other two residents of the fourth floor They knew that I was the owner of the building. On my assurance that things were OK, and that Richard and I would take care of notifying the police and getting everything straightened out, they went back to their apartments for the night. Because the building was so well insulated the sound of gunfire had not reached the other floors. The marks in the elevator would be repaired later.

With all of that taken care of, we prepared to question the driver, as he was the only one left alive. Gil and Will took the other three bodies down to the van while Richard and I did the interrogation. We donned our New Samurai uniforms of black and pulled the black balaclava down over our faces, so we couldn’t be recognized.

We woke the driver with a pail of very cold water. He sputtered and tried to sit up. He didn’t get far. I had a knife at his throat and Richard tickled his nuts with the point of another knife.

“Do you know who we are?” I asked.

“N ... no,” he stammered. He was about forty, balding, and getting fat. He didn’t appear very bright either.

“We are the New Samurai. Perhaps you have heard of us?” I asked.

“Yes,” he answered, hesitantly. Then with widening eyes, he asked, “How did you guys get involved in this?”

“We’ll ask the questions. Since you know about us, you know that we are serious. Answer our questions like a good little boy and you will get out of here in one piece. If you don’t... !” I didn’t finish the statement. Richard merely applied the point of his knife a little deeper in the driver’s scrotum.

“OK ... OK!” he screamed.

“Why are you here?” I demanded.

“Chuck, he’s the boss, saw the two girls the other night at the burger place. He knew that they belonged to Harold. He knew that Harold had been taken out by some... ! Was that you guys? Jesus, we thought it was the cops.”

“Go on,” I prompted.

“He saw them at the burger place with some guy, and followed them back here. This morning he had us watch the building and we saw them up here on the balcony. He figured Harold had them rented out to some guy, and since Harold no longer needed them, he figured to come up here and snatch them. They’re worth a lot of money, and he figured to sell them on the market.”

“Who else knows about this?” I asked.

“Nobody. Chuck aimed to keep the profits for himself, so he didn’t tell anyone else. He was paying us and said we could get a little bit of them before he sold them. It sounded like a good deal.”

“Well,” I told him, “it wasn’t a good deal for them. The other four are dead. They are in your van. You are going to drive it out of here. I don’t care how you get rid of the bodies or what you do with the van, as long as they don’t turn up around this area. We have your picture. If any of us ever see you again anywhere in this city or state, we’ll kill you, no questions asked. My advice to you is to move far away from here and stay away from here. Period. Do you understand me?” I asked.

“Y ... yes, sir. Don’t worry. You’ll never see me again, ever,” he stammered. We got him up and escorted him down to the garage. He got in the van, saw the bodies in the back, and lost no time getting out of there. Will and Gil had cleaned up the blood in the hall while we did the interrogation

Will and Gil went back to their apartments for the rest of the night with my thanks for their help. Richard and I returned to his apartment to try to calm down the women.

Richard knocked very carefully on the door and identified us before trying to open it. Colleen had gotten a lot of time and training on the pistol range and had become a crack shot over the last three years. She had a carry permit and had no intention of ever repeating the events that led to her meeting Richard. ( see the story “One Night”)

When Colleen was reassured, we opened the door and went in. The girls were huddled around Colleen in tears, shaking with fear. When they saw me they rushed over to me and did their best to become one with my body. They were shaking, crying, and moaning. They were scared to death. I hugged them close and kissed their faces and patted their backs to reassure them that the danger was past.

“Little Ones, the danger is over. You’re safe. Don’t worry. Those men will never harm anyone again. We’ve dealt with them,” I told them.

Richard was doing the same thing with Colleen. She was less concerned with her own safety, being able to defend herself, than she was about that of the children. They were still in their room asleep.

Richard and I talked for a few minutes to straighten out details, and we were ready to go. I would take care of getting everything cleaned up in the morning, which was rapidly approaching. It was already 3:30 AM. Where had the time gone?

I got the girls back to our apartment and set the alarm for 7 AM. The girls were still scared and clung to me in fear and desperation. I did my best to calm them down, a lot of hugging and kissing helped. Eventually, they calmed down enough so that we could all go back to sleep.

The alarm went off at 7 AM. It seemed like I had just closed my eyes. The girls were startled and grabbed me when the alarm went off. I turned the alarm off, and calmed them down again. A quick shower made me feel better.

I went into the living room and called the elevator company. I finally reached their maintenance and repair section and arranged for them to come out today and do the cosmetic repairs on the elevator. The bullets had done no real damage to the elevator, but the scars looked bad and were a reminder that something had happened. It cost extra to get someone to do the work today, but would be worth it to remove the evidence.

I then contacted our cleaning contractor and arranged for them to come in and clean the floors and walls in all of the hallways in the building, also all of the exterior windows and doors Last, I contacted the security system company to see if there were any updates or new equipment for that system. It had done it’s job well last night and I was very pleased with its performance. With all of that done, I lay down on the sofa and crashed for a while.

I was awakened about 11AM by the doorbell. It was Colleen. She was going to the range and wanted to know if the girls could go. I invited her and the children in and went to wake the girls. They were still cuddled together in the bed asleep. I woke them carefully with kisses, and told them that Colleen was here to see them.

They were excited that Colleen had come to see them. They hurried out to see her, naked as usual. Colleen was a little upset at the nudity because of the children. I suggested to the girls that it would be better to put on their bikinis. They went to their room and each got a new bikini on. Colleen felt better at that. She was on her way to her mother’s with the children. Then she would return and pick up the girls to take them to the pistol range if that was OK with me. She would get them signed up for classes there, and they could watch her shoot on the range.

The initial training classes were held once a week for six weeks, and would be finished near the time Abby was ready to have her cast removed. Of course that meant we would need to be here for six weeks. That was OK though as it would save on some travel back and forth. Colleen left with her children. The girls and I had breakfast.

After breakfast, the girls spent some time deciding what outfit to wear to the pistol range. They finally decided on sleeveless blouses in light green and a pair of faded jeans. Their hair was arranged in a ponytail. Abby had her light blue sling also. They each had on a pair of brown athletic shoes. They looked very nice.

Colleen returned around one o’clock, and they took off for the pistol range. I had asked her to present them as her sisters and to use her maiden name as their last name. She had agreed to this. After they left, I went to check on the building repairs. The floors and windows were being done. The elevator was also being worked on. Things seemed to be going well.

That afternoon my building manager came to see me. He asked if I was aware of the repairs and maintenance that were going on. He was puzzled as he had not ordered it. I told him that there had been some vandalism the night before, and I had wanted to get it cleaned up immediately and had ordered the work done that morning. He was surprised at the mention of vandalism. I assured him that they would not be back as Richard and I had scared them badly when we caught them. He left mollified.

The girls returned around 4:30 that afternoon. They were somewhat dejected. Colleen explained.

“It seems that at seventeen they can take the instructional classes, but they cannot do any actual firing on the range until they are eighteen,” she told me.

“Girls, take the classes,” I told them, “and when you are finished, we’ll go to my country house. I have an outdoor range there and you can fire some of my guns until you are eighteen and can get on the range here.” The girls brightened considerably at this. It was by then too late to go looking for computers today, so that was put off until tomorrow.

Later we had dinner from things in the freezer. It wasn’t great, but it was quick and easy. After dinner I discussed with the girls the home school classes that I had signed them up for. They were not anxious to return to school. I told them that they would and that was that. They knew the Master’s voice when they heard it. I also told them that they would be going with me to buy the laptops tomorrow. They were excited about going shopping.

The next point of discussion was exercise. I had not gotten much organized exercise in the last two weeks. I wasn’t counting what we had gotten in bed. And I had done no training at all. We have a gym in the basement of the apartment house. It came as a part of the building and was available to all the residents. Usually Richard and I worked out together when I was here. Sometime Will and Gil joined us, although they usually worked out together at a different time. Colleen would join us several days a week. I told the girls that they needed to start working out also. I knew it would be difficult for Abby with her broken arm, but she would have to try. They would wear the sweats for exercise in the gym.

After all of this, it was time for bed. The girls were ready as they were both horny again. I knew we were going to have to work out a schedule, or they were going to kill me. What a way to go though. I managed to keep them to once each with me, and then they did each other while I watched.

The next morning we all went down to the gym and got in some exercise. The girls were soon wasted and reduced to watching us and taking care of Colleen’s children. The rest of us continued our workouts for a while.

After forty-five minutes or so, Richard and I took up our bokkens (wooden practice swords) and went through several kata (drills) for the remainder of our time. Being experienced in the use of the Katana (Japanese long sword) from many years of study and practice, we went through the kata at full speed and only pulled the strikes slightly. The girls were aghast at our demonstration. They were so frightened that they couldn’t scream. They huddled near Colleen and just stared as we practiced.

When we were finished and had bowed to each other, they ran over to me, plastered themselves against me, and cried like babies. I was seriously confused.

“Girls, what is the matter? Why are you so upset?” I asked.

“Master, we feared your being hurt. It was so fast and furious. We couldn’t bear to watch,” they moaned through their crying and sobs

“Little Ones, Richard and I have performed this for many years and are seldom injured. It’s a part of our education as New Samurai. We have even done this with actual swords. Then we must be very careful, but we have practiced that way. It’s the only way to keep our edge,” I told them. Colleen was over talking to Richard also. We just grinned at each other and shrugged. We all returned to our apartments, showered, and had breakfast.