Chapter 2

On the drive back from Pat's place Joe had quite a bit to think about. First and foremost was Pat herself. Pat was somewhat unique as a woman in that she had a muscular body but at the same time she was very feminine because of her flat stomach, small waist and firm breasts. She was an excellent lover who was not embarrassed to freely express herself when they made love.

Joe was still a little bothered by how she said good-bye but if she was in a hurry to get to the White House that could explain why she acted that way. Her saying what her forthcoming assignments were made Joe think that she wouldn't be available for him to see for at least two months and maybe even longer than that if she was given more assignments that involved travel. With her being unavailable Joe could now just spend his time planning his trip out west.

He was back at his condo which when he first rented it was classified as a studio apartment. Later the owner decided to convert the building to condos and Joe purchased his. Joe took a shower and changed into casual clothes. He placed a call to Greg Emerson at Custom Motorhomes.

When Greg learned who Joe was and that he wanted to come in and see his motorhome, Greg told him he could come at any time as Greg would be there all day.

At the dealership Joe met with Greg and in shaking hands Greg said, "That was a hell of a shot you made when you killed that terrorist."

"How do you know about that?"

"I have been working with Tony Stanton on outfitting this motorhome and in the course of conversation the subject of you came up and Tony told me. Do you know anything about motorhomes?"

"No this is a first for me. I need for you or someone to explain to me how everything operates."

"I will do that but you aren't going to remember a lot of what I say. Here are some brochures and the various owners' manuals you can refer to. Let's go look at this baby and I can give an orientation on its features and on some cute things we have added."

In walking in the storage yard Greg pointed to the mini motorhome. Joe's initial impression was that it was an eye catching vehicle because of its light color and the dark stripping. At the vehicle Greg mentioned that most of the factory options that you could add to this motorhome had been added. He pointed out a number of these added features as the GPS, the small refrigerator, the satellite antenna and the ac unit that was on the roof. Also mentioned was that this was an all-electric vehicle with an extra alternator added to the V8 engine which kept the added additional lithium batteries charged. Joe was shown where the cable for electricity and the hose for the water hook-ups where located as well as for the television and internet connection.

Greg said, "Tony said some of the donors to this project wanted to give you certain additional features, some of which are not available to the general public. Let me show you what some of them are. The captain chairs you see here will not only make you comfortable when you are driving and swivel around when you aren't, but they also afford you some personal protection."

"How so?"

"Notice the three buttons that are above the switch you would use on the driver's door panel to adjust the side view mirrors?"

"Yes"

"The first button is for the shotgun chair and the other two are for the other two chairs. Well it's not like a James Bond movie where you push a button and the passenger sitting along with his seat goes flying through the roof. When you push these buttons that will send a Taser into the person sitting in that seat and immobilize them."

"On the wall do you see what looks like a thermostat there?"

"Yes."

"Well that really a retina eye scanner which when setup and used by you will open a floor to ceiling gun safe on its left. It also has room to safeguard other things you may want to put in there. Contained in the safe are two Glock 9mm handguns, two Taser guns, a double barrel shot gun and their ammunition. The kicker is besides that armament there is also a Barrett M107 50 caliber sniper rifle. The tag on it says it is zeroed in for 500 yards. I don't know what you are getting into but whatever it is you will be well prepared and well-armed. Oh yes, if you pull down on the driver's door panel you will find another 9mm Glock there. Before you leave I will help you activate the eye scanner."

Taken back by what Greg had just said, Joe said, "Anything else?"

"Let me show you the backup generator which you can access by lifting this panel here. This one is only about one third the size of the generator that normally would be purchased from the factory for this motorhome. While this unit it is small it puts out twice the power the regular one does and is extremely quiet. This must be military issue because to my knowledge it is not available to general public."

When it looked to Joe that everything had been covered he said, "Thanks for the orientation Greg. If it's okay with you I would like to store the motorhome here when I am not using it and my car when I am."

"No problem with you doing that, Tony already had told me you may want to do that. He also told me were to send the bill."

On leaving the dealership Joe remembered that Tony had said the motorhome came with all the 'bells and whistles.' Hell thought Joe, that's probably the only things it didn't have.

Driving back to his place Joe was now excited about driving out west and knew he had to make some arrangements before he could do that. Seeing an Ace Hardware store he stopped and had some extra keys made to his condo and to his mailbox.

Instead of going straight home he took a little detour and parked his car in front of a business that said 'Margo Cassidy Realty.' Inside that office he told the receptionist he wanted to talk to someone about a short term rental on his condo. He knew from past experience that this realtor had an arrangement with various government agencies that had people coming to Washington for training to find them places to stay. Living in a condo at a good location was preferable than living in a hotel room.

In less than a minute a Lori Davis came up to Joe and introduced herself.

Joe explained to her that he was going to be heading out west for at least two months and maybe longer. He said that he was looking to have some peace of mind as to the security of his condo. If someone was living in it and it was being managed while he was gone that would be one less thing he didn't need to worry about. The only problem he didn't know how to solve would be the mail that would be sent to his condo.

Lori asked a few questions and then said, "Your condo is in an excellent location since it is just off of DuPont Circle. It should rent out for two thousand a month but we do take a twenty five percent management fee from that amount and the cost of any necessary repairs. Since you say you will have access to the web and you already do use the web to do online banking, your mail should not be a problem. We will pick up your mail every two or three days. The mail which are obvious bills we will open and email you the amounts and you can using the web have your bank issue the checks. What mail aren't bills we can tell you what it looks like and hold it or forward it to you. Obviously the junk mail will be pitched."

"Sounds good, here are the keys and what papers do I need to sign for you to do the things you say you will do. I will be leaving this Monday morning and will be gone for two months and it could be longer, if it is I will let you know."

Having left the realtor and driving home Joe's thoughts now were on what items he needed to purchase and pack in order to have the motorhome ready to go on Monday.

Joe did have a reputation for being a 'detail man' and he was. The next five days had him making lists and outfitting the motorhome. He was more and more looking forward to making this trip.

On Saturday evening Joe received a phone call from Brad Flinger his former supervisor at the Secret Service.

After some chit chat about what was new with them and Joe's plans to take off Monday on his trip Brad said, "I was hoping you could do me a favor."

"What's the favor?"

"I don't know if you remember meeting my younger sister Sara. She was at my twenty fifth wedding anniversary party two years ago."

"I remember all the good looking women that I meet. She was a blond, five feet four inches and with a very feminine figure. Is she still single?"

"Yes that's her and yes she is and just remember that she is my sister. She called me this morning asking if I could come out to see her as she said she is having problems with some local would-be-hoods who are bothering her son Jerry and have even threatened her. I would like to go out there but I can't as I am on the President's detail and we are scheduled to do some travelling. I was hoping you could stop by and see what you can do. She lives in Waterview, PA which is a small town about twenty miles south of Pittsburgh. That is in the general direction you would be heading."

"Sure I can do that and I am heading that way. Give me her address and phone number. Is she home normally during the day?"

"Yes she is as she works as a story editor and works from her home."

After ending the call Joe thought he now knew the first place on his itinerary where he would be heading. He also wondered if Sara was as good looking as he remembered her to be.

When the dealership opened on Monday Joe was there and anxious to get started on his trip. He had made arrangements to store his car at the dealership and gave Greg the keys.

He was a little apprehensive initially to be driving the motorhome but quickly became comfortable in doing that. The V8 engine was very responsive. The feature of all three of the video cameras being on at the same time and displaying a combined picture of were traffic was on both sides and at his rear of the motorhome eliminated any blind spots and gave Joe a secure feeling in driving this vehicle.

Switching to the GPS, it directed Joe efficiently to Sara's home.

In response to his pressing her doorbell button Sara opened the door. She did look as good as he remembered her. The only changes he noted were that her blond hair was a little longer and a little darker. Her figure was as tantalizing as he remembered it to be. Her breasts had to be in the 35-36 area with at least a C cup.

"Sara, I don't know if you remember me but I met you at Brad's anniversary party. He asked me to stop by and see if I could help you with a little problem you were having."

"Of course I remember you Joe, I remember all the good looking men that I meet."

Her saying that just made Joe puff up his chest a little.

She followed that up with, "Brad did call me and tell me you were coming."

That remark was like she put a pin in Joe's chest and let all the air out. It also confirmed to Joe that he may not be as good looking as he thought he was.

Sara invited him in and after getting him a soda told him what the problem was.

"Jerry my son who goes to college has been approached by Benny Rathe a school dropout and would-be-hoodlum who is only a few years older than Jerry. He wants Jerry to be his distributor of marijuana on the college campus. Jerry told him he didn't want to do it. Benny said that if Jerry didn't he wouldn't be in any shape to go to school and they would come here and show me how it feels to be with a real man. I don't know what to do. I contacted the police but they said there is no proof of anything so there is nothing they can do."