Chapter 59

"That would be nice but we need to get back to the resort. You can leave your place because you have Carlos and Juan. I got guys who need their hand held daily," Jeremy said.

"Alright we will go home, but I'm going to tell you all something, I'm going on a bike trip come summer. I have been a good little soldier for almost a year now. I'm going to take the summer off damn it," I said.

That's how I came to walk into the Church Camp at 1 AM the same night we closed down the DC operation. We weren't met by anyone, just showed to a cold cabin.

"Ah, all hail the conquering heroes," I said. I also went about laying a fire. It finally got warm in the cabin after 1:30 AM. I went to bed all stinky and exhausted.

At five the damn bugle call floated over the compound. I pulled on my clothes and prepared myself to run. I went to brush my teeth with the brush I found in my backpack. I shared the bathhouse with ten or more people preparing for the morning run. I was dressed in my running outfit from the stored backpack.

It was well over 30 degrees when we fell in for the run. I was surprise by the warm temperatures. When I left the week before the temperature was far below freezing most every morning. Maybe spring was coming. Spring always came late to the mountains I reminded myself.

When 'X' arrived without a word we began to run along the well worn path up the mountain. Then we ran around the top. Then back down to the compound. If it had all been up hill, I would have made it even less of the way before falling out. I did manage to get all the way to the top, but couldn't keep up going around the top of the old worn down mountain, or make it on the run down.

I was always amazed that some of the men wore backpacks while they ran. Crazy I thought. Still it was all about doing things others couldn't.

"You can become someone else in a matter of hours. Not many people can do that," The sergeant major in my head advised me."

"Well that is what Mission and Sylvia always said," I replied also in my head. Where you been anyway?"

"You have that strange couple to help you with your self image. You don't need me any more. Now and then I look in on you like today. I have to keep you from the depths of depression just because the Syrian girl can run father and faster."

"I know but how is she on a stripper pole?" I asked.

"My point exactly," Liam said.

Jeremy and Alice had showered while I ran, so I shared the bathhouse with strangers. Most of the shower heads were in use by men, so I waited my turn and took in the scenery. To bad some of the guys used steroids. It was obvious to me who did and who didn't from my shower view.

When my turn came, I did a quick shower first, then soaped my hair three or four times to get the stink of DC off me.

I'm sure more than one of the guys had some complimentary remarks, and just as many complained that I took too long. My jeans and other clothes had been laundered and had been waiting for me in the cabin, so I brought them with me to the bathhouse. I left it dressed in jeans, a short sleeved knit tee shirt and long sleeved pull over cotton sweater.

I carried the coat to the dinning hall, where I found Jeremy and Alice already engaged in conversation. I guess that's what they called it. They were trying to converse with the Muslim chic from Syria. I walked by them on my way to the buffet service line. I loaded down my plate with scrambled eggs and bacon. I chose the biscuit under a heat lamp, rather than the limp toast.

If nothing else the coffee was good. I considered myself lucky the coffee at the Camp was good, the coffee at the Crossroad Diner was good, and the coffee I made at home was okay. I hadn't had a decent cup of coffee, since I left CC for DC.

I sat with Jeremy and Alice who had been joined by the whole DC team by the time I got to the table. I just got my tray on the table when it started. The mercenary soldiers began with that commandos versus pretenders shit. The argument hinged on who could have done it without the others?

"Tell me something, do you think the pros would have gone to war without being paid?" I asked.

The consensus was not very likely. At least not against armed men at the embassy. Maybe they would have beat the shit out of the priest, possibly killing him. It was at that point that I tossed the bag on the table.

"While you heroes were killing the killers in that cluster fuck of an ambush, we were arranging for them to kill each other. That, my killer friends, is the payroll for the four of them. They were not going to be paid, so they most likely would have taken the loss of their funds out on the not so Good Father." That shut them up.

Finally the woman asked, "If you had the money, why did you let us kill them?" she asked.

"Do you really think I wanted them to come looking for their payday," I asked.

"You used us?" one of the men asked.

"Someone was going to use you regardless. I just figured it might as well be me," I replied.

He pushed his chair from the table so violently it turned over. He leaned across the table to grab my sweater.

"Now you can turn loose of me or pray they can get you to the doctor quick enough to save your life," I said.

He looked down at the steak knife I had slipped through his clothes and into his flesh. It was less than a quarter inch into his chest. I held it back just short of penetrating his bone bag. He suddenly pulled back, set his chair right and began eating, while he held a table napkin to stop the bleeding from the minor cut.

"You one mean bitch," he muttered. "You are also right someone was using us. It's what we do."

When we met with Sylvia, I handed her the stones. "What do you think we should do with these?" she asked.

"Weigh them, look up today's value on the Internet, divide 90% of the value by six and call it a bonus," I said.

"You know that little incident in the dining hall cost you over 50% of the stones sales price," Sylvia said.

"It was worth it," I said.

"Yeah, you guys made some friends this morning," she said.

"I'd rather have their respect I can count on than like me or not," I said.

"Yeah, you are right about that," Sylvia said.

It was noon before Sylvia settled all the finances of the mission. Valuing the stones took most of that time. When we got the call to meet her in Andrew's office after lunch, I was glad it was almost over. I was ready to get back to Farmer's Grove.

Once we were all assembled, Sylvia said, "You will find two checks in your pay envelope in the case of the strike team it is a check for your regular pay, plus a second check for 32K. That is the bonus from the estimated value of the emeralds Lilly's team recovered. So you better play nice from now on," she demanded.

"You three," she said addressing us, "have checks for your contractors fee plus the same 32K as the strike team for the Emeralds. Now go make nice then get the fuck out of here and sin no more."

We all shook hands and then got into our cars or trucks and left Church Camp. The three of us drove back to Farmers Grove without much conversation. It was after five before I got home.

The first thing I did was lay in a fire. The sun was below the horizon and the chill inside the Country Store returned, if it ever left. While the fire was building heat, I called Luis.

"So you did get back by the end of the month," he said without even a hello.

"I did, and hello to you too you mean old bastard," I said. "Are you packed?" I was surprised how quickly I changed mindsets. I was truly a mental case, I decided. I had just been lucky enough to find a release for it.

"When are you going to move me?" Luis asked.

"Well I just got in. I need to see what progress Carlos has made this week. We had two houses ready to go when I left town, so you have a place, just where I'm not sure."

"You know I have to be out by the weekend. That's in two more days," he said.

"If I look around the site in the morning, I'll call you and let you know what the plan is." I hung up before he could start with anything else. I reminded myself he was old and needed more reassuring than I ever needed.

After a dinner of fish sticks, mac and cheese served with garlic toast, a favorite from my youth, I moved on to the Internet. I was checking the email in my cover name, when I found that Rose Seabold had mail from a couple of chat acquaintances, mostly telling me they missed me and hoped I was well.

It was strange to realize I hadn't even thought of sex. Well I hadn't thought of having sex myself. I was constantly reminded that there was sex by Jeremy and Alice. It was impossible to forget about sex with them around.

I found myself in an adult chat room for about an hour. I became extremely bored quickly. Men had so many bad pickup lines that I was terribly disappointed in them all. After that hour I just went to bed. It was early but I told myself that I was still trying to catch up on my lost sleep.

"You know you can't really do that," Liam said.

"Liam please come to bed and stop that. Being a know-it-all is not very attractive," I explained.

I woke up in the middle of the night and thought, I guess I'm really home. I found the fire dying so after my middle of the night urination, I tossed a log on the fire, then went back to bed. I was a little surprised to find the bed empty.

I was up at five so it looked as though nothing changed. Of course things always changed, even if we didn't realize it.

I was sitting by the fire dressed for the morning ride and sipping on my coffee when the phone rang. "We are on our way," Alice said.

"Meet you at the end of the drive," I replied. It was a short ride from their house to my Country Store, so I had very little time to pull on a heavy sweater and my hunting coat.

It seemed as thought it wasn't as cold as I remembered, but it was probably the same. After all it had been just over a week. While I sat on the trike waiting for the two of them to arrive, I thought about the day ahead. It was as if the last week didn't happen at all.

I was saved from the thought that I might be losing my mind by the sight of small lights coming toward me. The lights on a trike weren't much good, since it only projected a few yards down the road, but that was better than nothing, I supposed.

I started before they reached me so I had some momentum going when they pulled even with me and ready to race. The race was neck and neck until we got within sight of the fast food restaurant. Then it was all out war for the final sprint. I usually pulled away, but not always. That morning it was Alice who pulled ahead because Jeremy pulled in front of me and slowed just a little. It was enough to allow Alice to win. I didn't mind it was her turn.