Chapter 30

It was a bit over a month later that Dire finally returned to full duty. And when talking with Lucy we invited the Knight family over for dinner.

And I let her give the presentation, as she knew far more about this kind of thing than I did. We were not quite ready to put in any more houses, but how about a trailer? She could get something like a ten meters long trailer, and we could set it up on a pad.

“This would actually make sense, as you can get used ones fairly cheaply. We can put an awning over it, and that will help keep it cooler in the summer, and the roof last longer. Clint, tell her the best part.”

“Alicia, I was thinking I can put a small shed up there next to it, with a hidden entrance to the tunnel network. They already run all throughout the property, but we put just manholes over some of the entrances. We can build the shed over that, and you could just go in if you need to go to the other house.”

She thought about that a moment, and after looking at Gloria and Bo she nodded. But then Gloria asked if we could not just make the shed part of the front of the trailer. I thought about it, and shook my head. “Nice idea, but building codes will not let me attach a permanent structure onto a trailer.”

“Then don’t attach it” Lucy said. “Trust me, my family is good at avoiding those kinds of regulations. Have it like, oh, one of those airport terminal thingies. Still have a shed, but also like a mud room with a front door. Then you park the trailer almost against it, and put like a thick pad between them. Gives a good seal, but it is not actually attached. And that way, she can go from one to the other without being seen.”

I thought a moment, and called Harrison at home. Since he knew far more about local building codes than I ever would I asked him what he thought of Lucy’s idea. And it turns out, she actually was right.

“Clint, so long as there is nothing attaching the two together, there is actually nothing against it. No more than say your putting a building up around the trailer to protect it. A bit unusual, but so long as no fasteners are used between the two and only pressure holds that seal, let them complain. They might change the code after that, but I can guarantee we could get that grandfathered.”

I laughed, and gave them all a thumb’s up. “OK, put that on your list then for sometime in the next four months. In fact, we have a total of five manholes over various plots, right?”

“I would have to look at the layout, but that sounds about right.”

“OK, do the same for each of them. This might actually be a good idea for either the younger ones who want to move out on their own when they turn 18, or for visiting Paladins that have an RV. And it will not be a problem if in the future we just have to rip them out to put in a house. Want me to get an architect to do up some plans, Harrison?”

“Naw, my daughter can do that. She is going to the community college, and has a major in landscape engineering and a minor in architecture. Who do you think mostly did the drainage plans? I will just hand it off to her, she can even do it for a class project. Give us about three weeks and we can start construction. Figure a week, the longest part will be pouring the slab and waiting for it to cure.”

I told him to go ahead and do that, and told everybody the news. “Alicia, I will have him put in a large concrete pad more than big enough for a trailer. Figure one around ten meters, most of the newer ones have pop-outs on the driver side so that will actually not be far off from the size of a small loft apartment in town. Harrison told me it would be about a month, but we should be ready by then.”

Everybody was happy with that, and Alicia started looking at trailers on her phone as the rest of us talked. And she found several that she said she wanted to check out. And as we talked, I reminded Bo he needed to take my area next week.

“Relax, Clint. We got it taken care of. Gabe will handle your patrol area, Di will handle the training. Go ahead and take your trip. Wednesday through Monday, right?”

Lucy grinned and agreed. “Yep, my family finally got all the red tape cleared, and the town of Cutinha will officially be dedicated on Friday.”

Gloria cocked her head to the side, and asked what the name meant. “I mean, is it an Indian name? It sure sounds like it.”

“Oh no, it’s actually a person’s name. After a lot of talking between the family and others, we named it in honor of Nicholas Cutinha. He earned the Medal of Honor in Vietnam, and after a lot of discussion we decided that to name it after our family would seem trite. And as far as we could tell, there is not one city named after a Vietnam vet. So it just seems appropriate.”

They all nodded at that, and asked who else would be there. Lucy then said some of the dignitaries that were supposed to be there, including some of his surviving family, the Governor, an Undersecretary of the Army, as well as at least one businessman that was setting up in town. “As well as the new Chief of Police, and the Chief of the local Fire Department.”

They did not seem to think much of that, until I said the Police Chief would be Susan Mila, of the CCPD. They all looked a bit surprised at that, until I pointed out that BO also knew her as Carol.

“Wait, Sergeant Mila is Carol? She’s a Paladin?”

“Yep, and this is going to be a very different city. Mutants are a legally protected class there, and no discrimination against them will be allowed. Lucy and her family started working on her early on, and she took the job. She is already there with her daughter, and we got another mutant who was with the Chicago Fire Department as the Fire Chief. His mutation is not Paladin class, it’s just enhanced prediction. But he has been able to use that in putting out fires, and another is an “almost Paladin” that can cause rain. We hope he can work on that more, as it is a lot more humid in the Florida Panhandle than in Utah. The greater humidity might make him even more powerful.”

They all nodded, and Bo asked if it was going to be some kind of mutant refuge. “Oh no, nothing like that! But as Clint pointed out to me and my family, you all are not a protected class legally. Harry is already building the next phase of Omega there, it will be the main manufacturing center. That way he can stop importing things from China. And the entire community has been supportive so far. The factory will be bringing in a lot of new jobs, and they are in talks with three others to set up there. And a lot of mutants will likely be moving there in the future.”

Lucy then grinned, and said they were even breaking ground next month on a new BMA office. “It will combine BMA and Control, kind of what Clint here described that the local VA clinics were like. Representatives, and they can handle administration and testing. Nothing like what we have here in Compass City, but it will serve a lot of the local communities even into Alabama.”

Well, we took the truck and the trailer, and I was not even surprised when we got to the compound that her parents had put in a concrete pad with all utilities near the main house on the other side of the drive. Her dad came out as I pulled in and helped me get it set up as Lucy went to talk to her mom and grandmother. “Clint, this is always going to be set aside for you two to use. One of the hands is actually renting her old trailer now, so this is a better long term solution.” I thanked him for that, and soon we were all inside having dinner.

The town dedication went off as expected, and even I was surprised at what all they had done. They had even made a classic “Town Square” not far from where Harry’s factory was going up. Four cross streets with a small park about 100 meters by 100 meters in the center. Facing it was the new town hall, as well as the police station and fire department. And the foundation for the new BMA building and other structures.

I asked about that, and it seems that was once a school. “When the county unified the school districts about twenty years ago, it was left abandoned. The family bought the land back, and we demolished most of it but the gym. That’s it behind city hall. This was the old football field, we just extended the streets back to where they had been before the school was built before WWII.

I was not surprised that Carol had selected a rather plain uniform of dark blue for her and the other officers. And as it was a small department, she elected to just go with the silver eagle of an Army Colonel as her insignia of rank. Rather unpretentious, and appropriate I thought. I had a lot ask me if I was moving there, and I just shook my head.

“Naw, but Lucy’s family is here so I will be visiting from time to time. And Chief Mila knows she can call on me if she ever thinks she needs help.” She nodded, and said that should not be likely very often. Of course, with this she finally discarded her disguise and was not openly living as a Paladin. And over drinks at the pavilion that night she said she was really happy.