Chapter 7

The pool room was quiet for a change when Ed, restless and anxious, stepped into the room. The lights were turned low giving it the sense of being larger than it really was. He stripped and entered the pool, enjoying the coolness of the water as it flowed over his body. It was the first time during the entire day that he was able to relax. The two new hires had moved into their rooms and Dan had returned home. Even Betsy had gone to bed early after meeting Lucy.

For some reason, the pool wasn’t helping him calm down and his restlessness increased. In order to work out some of the energy, he broke out into the breaststroke intending to make fifty laps. After the first five laps, he picked up the pace trying to work some of the tension from his body. He had only done fifteen laps when he stopped and stood up in the pool. His medallion was giving forth a feeling of warmth that demanded his attention. He climbed out of the pool and dried himself before putting on his robe.

Moving towards the front of the house, he ran into Claire. She was checking the front door to make sure that it was locked. Seeing her nervousness, he asked, “What’s up?”

“I don’t know. I have a bad feeling,” replied the black woman as she looked around the house. She wasn’t sure if it was first night jitters in a new place or an intuition about something real. There was one thing that she trusted above what her eyes told her and that was her intuition.

She was telling the truth about having a bad feeling. Concerned that his unease was justified, Ed led Claire up to the security center. They found Walt at the console scanning the surroundings with intense scrutiny. Noticing the tension in Walt’s posture, Ed asked, “What’s up?”

“One of the neighbors called and said there’s a strange car parked down the block. It’s an older model BMW.”

“Has anyone gotten out of it?” asked Claire as she looked around the security center. It was the first time for her to visit the room and she was amazed at the sophistication of the equipment that filled it. This was a very expensive setup that rivaled anything she had ever seen.

“I didn’t notice the car until after it had been there for a while. I’m reviewing the tapes to find when it arrived,” answered Walt as he pointed to another monitor that was showing the same scene moving in fast motion. It was a few minutes before it showed the car. He stopped the tape and backed it up a little. They watched as the car pulled up and a man got out. The man grabbed something and moved between the houses where he was lost from view. Walt commented, “He’s definitely acting suspiciously.”

“I agree,” answered Ed. Claire was nodding her head amazed at the business-like attitude of Ed and Walt. This was a first class operation and she knew that she could contribute.

Walt stopped the tape and pointed to the figure getting out of the car. He asked, “Do you recognize him?”

Ed examined the picture carefully, but couldn’t make out the individual with sufficient detail to identify him. Shaking his head, he said, “No, I don’t. Where’s George?”

“I already called him to come up here and get armed,” replied Walt.

The door opened behind Ed and Claire as George entered the room. Giving a short nod in the direction of the other three, he walked over to the gun cabinet and opened it. Taking out a couple of pistols, he took one and handed the other to Walt. After glancing at Claire, he asked, “Do you have a valid permit?”

“Yes,” replied Claire. It wasn’t necessary for her to have it on her at the moment, but her concealed weapon permit from her last job was still valid.

Ed nodded to let George know that she was telling the truth. George handed a pistol to her, but she looked at the pistol and then at the cabinet. Spotting a sniper rifle, she said, “Give me the rifle and I’ll go up on the roof.”

“The sniper rifle?”

“Yes, I’m a trained sharpshooter.”

“It’s sighted in at a hundred yards.” George took back the pistol and handed her the rifle. He also handed her a radio with an earpiece and microphone. He said, “We use channel 8. The local police monitor that channel as well.”

Claire checked out the rifle making sure that it was loaded and then slipped out of the room. It was a top of the line rifle with a special air-cooled barrel to prevent warping the barrel due to uneven cooling. She could fire several shots in quick succession without losing accuracy.

Walt turned on the radio that was built into the console while George attached his radio to his belt and fixed the earpiece in place. A moment later, Walt said, “We have penetration at the Southwest Corner of the property. He’s carrying a gym bag and moving fast to towards the back of the house.”

“Sound the internal alarm,” ordered Ed wanting to get everyone into safe locations. Since the kids had been born, two rooms had been turned into safe rooms. John had spared no expense and Ling had designed them to incorporate top of the line equipment. Once Ed had joked that the safe rooms could resist a direct hit by a nuclear bomb, but Ling had just winked in reply. It had made him wonder.

The activation of the internal alarm started the recorders attached to the internal cameras. Ed watched the internal monitors to make sure that everyone was responding to the alarm. Kelly was headed to the infirmary. Leroy had grabbed Betsy and was heading to the safe room with Ling. The staff was collecting in the hallway to head to the other safe room.

It was with some relief that he saw Bob standing in front of the door waiting for Mary to come out with Lucy. Mary came out of the room wearing a rather simple nightgown looking confused at what was going on. After exchanging a few words with Bob, she ran back into the room and emerged a minute later with a sleeping child in her arms. He led her to the safe room and made sure she entered it.

Once that was done Bob turned back to head to Claire’s room. Ed went to the intercom and said, “Bob, Claire is already in the security center.”

Turning to the camera, Bob gave a thumbs-up sign and returned to the safe room. The door closed behind him. Ed breathed a sigh of relief when he saw on the other monitor that Ling, Leroy, and Betsy had closed the door of their safe room. He had been afraid that Ling would slip out at the last minute.

There was silence in the control room as everyone watched the monitor aimed at the back of the house to see what the intruder was doing. George said, “I’m going to the back of the house to watch the rear doors.”

“Go,” replied Walt. He watched the monitor carefully trying to figure out what the man was intending to do. The man had set the bag on the ground and knelt next to it. Turning to the microphone, Walt said, “He’s at the back door and is opening the gym bag.”

Claire’s voice, in a whisper that wouldn’t carry, came over the speaker of the radio. “I’m in position and can see the individual.”

Chuckling at what he was watching on the screen, Walt reported, “He’s spray painting the fake cameras. Our guy has watched one too many movies and none of the right ones.”

A half a minute later, George said, “I’m in position at the back door. Let me know when it is a go.”

“Oh, shit.” Walt’s smile disappeared as he saw what the man pulled out of the gym bag. He tried to decide who should act to subdue the man. Coming to a decision, he spoke into the microphone, “Claire, are you in a position where can you take him out? He’s got explosives.”

“Yes,” whispered Claire.

“Do it.”

Three seconds later there was the telltale crack of a high power rifle being fired over the speaker. The figure in the monitor collapsed onto the ground, the package in his hand rolling away from him. Seeing that, Walt felt that it was safe for George to go outside and grab the man before he had a chance to recover. Walt said, “Get him, George.”

They watched as George opened the door and grabbed the man on the ground. He pulled him several feet away from the door and searched him for a weapon. A gun was tossed over to the side. The entire capture was over in just a few seconds. Satisfied that George had the situation under control, Ed said, “Watch the monitors while I go down and find out who he is.”

“Sure thing,” replied Walt. After glancing at the monitors, he added, “The police have just shown up at the front of the house.”

“Send them around to the back,” replied Ed as he opened the door and rushed towards the back of the house.

Stepping out the door at the back of the house, Ed looked at the man on the ground. It was hard to make out his features in the dark. He knelt down to get a better look at the man. A broken end of his collarbone was showing through the dark shirt that he was wearing. Blood had soaked the shirt, but it was hard to see it in the dark. The man glared at Ed as he accused, “It’s all your fault.”

It took Ed a minute to recognize the man as Howard Hardgrove, the former CEO of the airline company that Ed had revamped. They had finally gotten rid of him last year without having to pay the golden parachute for his departure. Rather than the executive appearance that he had in the past, he looked almost like a homeless man. He needed a shave and his color was poor. Shocked at the appearance of the man, Ed asked, “What’s all my fault?”

“You screwed up my life when I had everything all set up for the future, you bastard,” replied the man as though he was a victim of the fact that Ed had completely revamped the airline and turned it into a profitable company. Rather than recognizing the wisdom of what Ed did, he had fought it to the end. He had even gone so far as making an attempt on Ling’s life.

The Sheriff came around to the back of the house and took control of the man on the ground. His deputy went over to the gym bag and examined the contents. He whistled and said, “He’s got enough explosives in here to take out the back of the house.”

Claire showed up at the back door. George noticed her arrival and the easy way that she held the rifle. Impressed by her shooting, he said, “Good shot. Right off the collarbone.”

She went over to the prisoner and examined the wound. It was exactly where she had expected to hit him. Satisfied that she hadn’t severely injured him, she replied, “I’m happy with it.”

The Sheriff looked at Claire wondering who she was. It was clear that she wasn’t a danger or George would have taken her out. He stepped away from the prisoner as he asked, “Who is this?”

Realizing that the Sheriff hadn’t had a chance to meet her, Ed answered, “This is Claire. She’s the newest member of our security team. Actually, she starts tomorrow.”

“Where were you when you shot him?”

Claire pointed over to the top far corner of the building. The Sheriff looked up and mentally traced the path the bullet must have taken. If it had been off the least little bit, she’d had taken him through the brain. He said, “Very impressive shot.”

“I was trained for SWAT operations at the police academy,” replied Claire with a trace of bitterness in her voice. It had made being a meter maid an even greater insult.

Amazed at her abilities and qualifications, the Sheriff asked, “Ed, where do you find these people?”

Ed chuckled, but didn’t answer. He tapped George on the shoulder and said, “Have Walt send the all clear.”

“Yes, Sir,” replied George as he reached down to his radio.

The presence of Claire and the other activities going on around him had distracted the Sheriff from watching the prisoner. He turned his back to the prisoner and asked, “Have you got a tape of everything?”

“You bet,” replied Ed.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Howard moved towards the explosive that he had dropped when shot. He had inserted a timer fuse just before he had been shot. He hoped that at least he could take Ed out with him by blowing everyone up. Before his hand reached the explosive, Claire kicked him in the stomach causing him to double over in pain. For a moment, she regretted not having taken a more lethal shot when she had the chance.

The Sheriff immediately grabbed the guy and subdued him. Putting handcuffs on the man, he said, “This is going to be painful, but you asked for it.”

Howard screamed as his left arm was twisted behind his back. The collarbone stuck out even more. The Sheriff lifted the man off the ground and led the prisoner around to the front of the house to put him in the police car. As the Sheriff guided him, Howard was shouting that he would sue for police brutality.

The deputy followed behind the Sheriff. He knew that he would be the one to drive the man to the hospital. He would have to stay there until the hospital decided if they would keep the prisoner or release him. No matter what happened, it was going to be a long night for him. The Sheriff would perform the rest of the investigation and then head back to the office.

It was an hour before things calmed down at the Carter House. Once he was sure that the police were gone, Ed wanted to talk to the security staff. He went into the security center with George and Claire pleased with how well they had handled the situation. When he had everyone’s attention, he said, “Good job, people. That was a great shot Claire.”

Claire smiled at the praise and said, “I think I’m going to like this job.”

“Why’s that?”

She looked at Ed and replied, “Because I was able to use my training for the first time in my career. You have a first class operation here and I’ll be happy to be a part of it.”

He heard the ring of truth in her voice. He said, “Ling said that you’re invited to show up in the playroom at nine for training.”

That Ling wanted to train Claire was quite a surprise to the black woman. She wondered if there was some hidden meaning behind the invitation. Did Ling doubt that Sonny had actually taught her the martial arts? He was the best instructor in the state and she believed that she could take Ling despite what Sonny had told her. Not really wanting to participate, she said, “Okay.”

Her hesitation was obvious and Ed tried to reassure her. “Don’t worry. Betsy will be there for training as well. George and Walt attend her training sessions on occasion.”

George said, “She’s the best instructor that I’ve ever encountered.”

Walt nodded his agreement as he said, “You can say that again.”

Now that the excitement had ended and his duties to the staff were over, all that Ed wanted to do was to relax. He said, “Well, I’m going to go finish my swim now.”

Floating on his back in the middle of the pool, Ed was alone at last. Staring at the darkened ceiling, he thought about the events of the evening. Claire had performed very well and it made him wonder how William knew that they should hire her. The boy confused him and he didn’t know how to support William in becoming the best person that he could be. He decided that John would have told him that the best thing to do was to get out of his way.