Chapter 28

Predawn, Wednesday Morning.

He was awake again. His alarm wasn't set to go off for awhile, yet. He lay there and thought about how he'd acted the previous afternoon and evening. He'd been foolish as hell. He lay there and wondered why he hadn't been arrested by his little brother. He'd committed assault on that woman and her colleague. That was plain as could be to anyone who understood the law. He'd pointed a loaded weapon at them and threatened murder. He had to wonder why he wasn't in juvenile detention.

I've got to retain control. And I can't be drinkin' like that! That was too much!

And I've got to think about how to get Cindy and Donna to join Jan and Susie in meeting with Shirley and Debbie. Tasha too. Tasha! Who would have thought it possible!

He mulled over these considerations as he lay there while the world outside his window lightened. He finally got up and turned off the alarm before it would go off on its own. He went ahead and took a shower. Once finished with that he stepped into the hallway and found the four girls moving about. He quickly collected four kisses to his uninjured cheek. He noticed that both Susie and Jan had especially twinkling looks as they approached him and took him into hugs.

He mostly kept quiet as he greeted the girls. Once he got back into Don's room he slowly dressed. He went over the memories of Don with Tasha. There was no mistaking what he was reviewing. He'd been in the Thomas house a couple of times since getting out of the hospital and Don's apparent memories of encounters with Tasha matched up with his more recent memories of its interior. It all fit together with how she'd recently acted towards him. She was Don's lover and was probably desperate to re-start their sexual relationship.

He just shook his head at the very thought of it as he exited his room and headed down to get some breakfast. He got there and found Gwen and Henry already preparing breakfast. They both greeted him and then watched him as he ate. As he drank down glasses of milk, orange juice, and a cup of coffee he realized that the Nichols couple were observing him and checking his behavior.

It figures. I have a hell of a bad day and then lose control for a minute or two and now I'm bein' watched all together too closely for my comfort.

He could have groaned. But he stuffed that down and continued at trying to act as normal as possible. Then he remembered that he was planning on meeting with Debbie Chen. He allowed a bit of a grin to cross Don's face. He turned to Don's father and stepmother.

"I spoke with Dr. Chen yesterday. We agreed that Jan could drive me over to her place on Sunday to talk about things. I think that might help me with some of this craziness I've been experiencing. Also, I keep thinkin' I'm remembering things from before the accident. It's just imagery and impressions of discussions that I seem to have had. I'm gonna ask Susie, Tasha, Cindy, and Donna to go along with us. They're the ones — along with Jan — who seem to be in the memories."

Gwen just smiled. Henry nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds good, Don. Do you know where Dr. Chen lives?"

"Yeah, she's moved in with Shirley Waters. Shirley said she now lives in her grandparents' farmhouse. We'll all go over there and have a good talk, I think. Having Shirley there will be beneficial, since she was with me a lot as I came out of that drug-induced stupor I experienced when I woke up."

The couple looked at him and nodded in agreement with his evaluation or his condition when he'd first awakened from his drug-induced coma.

Don finished his coffee and rose to get himself another cup. Henry also got up and went over to the sliding glass door at the rear of the kitchen dining area. He opened it and looked outdoors. He turned back into the kitchen and picked up his own cup. "Don, let's step outside and sit on the patio. I want to discuss some things without having the girls interrupting us."

Dan heard this and knew that a lecture was about to be delivered. He nodded and followed Henry out onto the patio. They sat down at the table and each took a sip of his coffee.

Henry spoke first. "So Don, do you want to explain to me about how it was that you decided to point a loaded weapon at two officials of the federal government? Your Uncle Matt and my friend Darryl from the FBI were very concerned about how you reacted to that situation. Your Uncle William would seem to be the least upset of us, but for Lester. Lester told us he thinks you reacted about as naturally as anyone could expect, given what happened yesterday. Mark Mullins is just perplexed and upset over what has been happening. He thinks you're more a victim than an actor. I'd say that Martin Anderson is trying hard to not think too much about how he owes you for saving his daughter from rape. What are your thoughts about this?"

"Right. Foremost in my mind is how I went through a series of six to eight situations which caused me to become more and more wary and apprehensive as the day progressed. By late yesterday afternoon I was in a state of mind that corresponds to combat. It started on the way to school and continued up to that point where those two people showed up to take me into their custody."

Henry nodded. And he wondered a bit about why Don so quickly mentioned combat. "OK, do you think you're in a some sort of combat situation right now?"

"Not at this moment. Later this morning — we'll see." He shrugged his shoulders for the benefit of communicating to Henry the uncertainty or what he was feeling.

"Well, don't be surprised by who you see at the school. Agent Hanks and his partner may be there. Also, those two program officials might be there. I'd bet on that."

"Yeah, I already expected that. The FBI agents don't bother me. But if those two from the federal program try and detain or question me then I'm either walking or else they're gonna be hurtin'. I'm fed up with this damned program bullshit and I'm not lettin' anyone step on me. I'm just gonna finish getting' through this little version of 'Hell Week' and then that's it. It'll be over for me."

At least, that was what Dan hoped and expected.

Henry nodded in response to what Don had said. "I have a question to ask of you. You acted a bit strangely when you first met Agent Hanks and his partner. Why was that?"

Dan snorted. He couldn't tell the truth. But, he could make up something good 'n interestin'. "Agent Hanks resembled a figure I'd seen in a recent dream. It was spooky at first. But then I realized that it was only a partial resemblance and that it really meant nothin'. But after all that happened yesterday then it was just another weird thing for me to deal with. Uh, his partner Agent Jones is just a nice lookin' lady to me. Sorry if I worried you when he showed up. It was just one of those weird moments when someone looks like an individual you've met or known. Only, it was an individual from a dream rather than a real person."

Henry frowned a moment. "Do you have many vivid dreams?"

Dan nodded Don's head. "Yeah. Some of them seem to be related to the folks around me. I see the girls and their friends in my dreams. I think some of the dreams are real memories." He decided to risk something. "I think I may have recalled some visits to the Thomas' house. Tasha's in the dreams. We're talkin', studyin', and havin' fun. I want to talk to her about what I may be rememberin'. If these 'dreams' match up with what she knows about then I'm gonna think that they might be real." He shrugged his shoulders to indicate that he was unsure about this.

"That sounds like two wholly different types of dreams."

"Yeah. I agree. Don't ask me to explain it. I'm just telling you what I think is goin' on."

Henry frowned but also nodded.

"Back to the confrontation. Do you have anything else to say about your actions?"

Dan just had to say it. "Uh, Dad. You know, I wasn't the only one armed last night. Jan was there beside me. And Gwen, Susie, Terri, and Traci were all armed and ready for whatever might have come down. That was because of what those two officials had to say in demanding that I be handed over into their custody. If I was a bit crazy, then I wasn't alone..."

Henry snorted and then smiled. "Yeah. Well... I do suppose that the twins' training was shown to all last night."

"Yeah. But you noticed who was up beside me. Jan's getting' kind of tired of this stuff that's been happenin'. She's getting' close to bein' ready to kill somebody! Of course, so am I. So, I think maybe I should start trainin' her and the other girls in unarmed combat. That'd be something that they could use in case of more attacks on the family."

Henry just nodded. He was thinking that his son was making quite good sense with that suggestion. Still, there were questions. "Don, I haven't asked this question before. Do you know how you acquired your knowledge of hand-to-hand combat or your advanced skills with firearms handling?"

Dan shook Don's head in the negative. "Not a clue. I must have taken some sort of instruction in martial arts with someone. But, that's still a blank for me. I just know what to do."

Fuckin' lies. I'm gonna trip up at some point an' things are gonna come crashin' down on my head!

Henry Nichols knew that his son really and truly had lost all memories of his family. However, there were odd aspects to his son's knowledge that just didn't make much sense. He was an intelligent man and he was truly puzzled about how Don had turned out as he appeared within weeks of waking up in the hospital.

Their thoughts were interrupted as the cell phone on Henry's hip rang.

Henry pulled up the phone and answered the call. It was from Lester Thomas. Dan listened and then learned after the completion of the call that Malcolm Snottingham's apartment outside Greenville had been ransacked when the Pitt County Sheriff's Office had served a warrant at that residence. Nothing of any apparent usefulness had been left behind. Someone had gotten to the apartment and cleaned it out prior to the arrival of law enforcement. There was no evidence of forced entry, so the conclusion ran that someone working with Snottingham had entered the residence and cleaned it any incriminating materials.

Then, when the Danielville P. D. detective went by the residence of the two brothers who'd attacked Jan and Don he'd discovered that the residence had been abandoned. Furniture drawers had been emptied and there was plenty of other evidence that other items had been picked up and removed. He'd found a few disturbing items such as multiple rounds of various types of pistol and rifle ammunition and emptied ammo boxes.

Dan went over this set of news and wondered whether there was a connection between Snottingham's disappearance and the abrupt departure of that family whose sons had come after Don's family.

Soon, Jan and Susie had finished their own breakfasts. A quick discussion regarding safety and security caused them to add a bagged MP-5K to Susie's load that was carried out to Jan's car. She carried both her bookbag and that gun bag. Dan and Jan carried along their weapons bags and also brought along some folded beach towels and blankets.

While they were in the line of traffic leading to the school Dan fiddled with the zipper of his little CAR-15's bag. Susie sat in front with Jan and she had an MP-5K PDW in a bag placed between her feet. She was an adequate shot with the little sub-machinegun. Jan too had a bag at her feet, resting against the front of her seat. They had several towels and blankets in the car to cover the bags — if and as needed.

They finally got to the school and Dan noticed right off that there was an enhanced law enforcement presence around the school. He counted six marked cruisers parked around the front and sides of the complex. There were two or more other vehicles that looked like they might be official, unmarked cars. He sighed at the thought of further encounters with unwanted attention from various forms of officialdom. And especially not with his half-brother Darryl. That was too damned disturbing!

Damn! All of this insanity is makin' a little whiner outah me. That ain't my usual self, for sure. But this kinda shit is drivin' me around the corner into becomin' a pure nutcase. I'm goin' to be a gibberin' fool sometime soon if all of this doesn't slow down!

Jan pulled into the student parking lot and as they exited the car they adjusted things so that their weapons bags were concealed under towels and blankets. Susie shouldered her bookbag. Jan and Dan had left their own bookbags in their lockers at lunchtime on Tuesday and so they'd remained in the school overnight. Dan was thinking of walking over to check on his bike when he came up short. Still present in the parking lot was the car of his watcher. Apparently, no one had thought to retrieve it.

This thing might be informative.

He looked around and noticed Mitch Littleton standing at the nearest entrance to the school. He turned to Jan. "Can you whistle at Mitch? I don't think I can manage that with my cheek the way it is." He pointed at the officer in the distance.

Jan grinned. "Sure." And she let out another one of her long, warbling, hellacious, ear-splittin' whistles. Susie practically jumped at the sound. Dan managed to keep his own response down to slight flinch.

Damn! How can Jan make that kinda sound!?

Dan raised Don's arms and waved at Mitch while he wondered about the size of Jan's lungs. He dropped the arm-waving as he saw Mitch heading their way. Dan looked around and noticed that a number of kids still in the parking lot were now looking in their direction. The combination of Jan's whistle and his six-foot tall frame with waving arms had drawn that attention to them.

Mitch came up to them. "What's up Don?"

"Hey Mitch. This is the car that was driven by the guy who landed the punch on me. He'd been watchin' me and I noticed him behind the wheel on Monday afternoon. Doncha think it might be interestin' to have a looksee inside this vehicle?"

Mitch's eyes lit up. As did Jan's and Susie's...

"Really!?" Well, ain't that interestin'!" He grinned as he turned his head to the microphone of his radio. He immediately contacted the P.D. and quickly had a conversation with the detective who Dan had encountered on Tuesday. That man had evidentiary possession of the personal items of the four boys who'd attempted the ambush of Don and the girls. Jan had brought along her cell phone from her car and was now calling her Uncle Lester.

Soon two more law enforcement vehicles arrived in the student parking lot. A small crowd of kids had gathered around and were watching things with some interest. That detective of the previous day and Captain Lester Thomas got out of their respective vehicles with 30 seconds of one another. They came over and there was a quick discussion of things between Dan, Mitch, Lester, and Nick Williams. Nick apologized to Dan for not having introduced himself the previous day. He mentioned he'd missed the excitement involving Don's earlier adventures as he'd been at a law enforcement training center for updated training on new investigative techniques and the re-certification required under a new state law. Dan just nodded in response to the detective's apologies and comments.

Lester had taken out his PDA and was checking something on it. Dan glanced at the screen and saw the picture of his note that Tasha had taken with Janet's phone. Looking around he noticed Leroy and his new girlfriend Debbie were approaching them. And catching up quickly with her big brother was Tasha. Dan recalled Don's memories and compared them against the approaching figure of a young girl. The contrasts and similarities between the two sets of images were striking.

Damn. It's gonna be hard to not give anything away with her being around so much. I'm just gonna have to have a talk with her.

He returned his attention to the happenings in front of him when Lester asked him to confirm that this was the car he'd seen being driven by his watcher. "Yeah, Lester. He was at the wheel."

Lester nodded and seemed to be reading something about the ownership of the vehicle. He spoke to the other two other officers present. "OK, Don saw his attacker in this car, and the car is registered to that kid's father. That's good enough for me. Let's go ahead and have a look at the vehicle, since it seems to have been used in watching Don."

The keys brought along by Detective Nick Williams were tried and soon the vehicle was opened up.

Dan stood by with Jan and Susie as Leroy, Debbie, and Tasha joined them. Somehow he wasn't surprised at what was found. The trunk contained some clothing that was used to cover a collection of porn magazines featuring young women who looked like teens. And underneath the clothing and magazines was a blanket covering some other items. Dan had an idea about what would be found even as the magazines were being moved aside.

His suspicion was confirmed when the folded blanket was pushed aside. There were several firearms of varying degrees of illegality. One was an automatic shotgun with its barrel sawed down to what looked like 12 to 14 inches in length. Dan leaned over and started identifying things. Lester was muttering while Nick Williams seemed a bit surprised by the arsenal they'd just uncovered. Mitch simply whistled. "What the hell is all of this stuff?" That had been Lester, once he got over his muttering phase.

Dan pointed. "I think that short one without a stock is an Italian-made Spectre. At least, that's the name I remember. It's really unusual for having a four-column magazine. See how wide the mag well is and the funny way the magazine is structured. That Uzi has its barrel nut welded. It must be a Chinese copy. Although, those were carbines. This one's had its barrel cut down." The Uzi had almost no barrel visible beyond the barrel nut that fixed the barrel within the weapon's receiver. This made the weapon illegal.

"That one with the black plastic stock is just an SKS with one of those replacement magazines. Looks like it must be one of those 50-round types. The barrel's cut down to the gas port and the butt stock has been lopped off. I'll bet you someone's played with the trigger group. It's probably an automatic, now — rather than a semi-auto." He leaned in and checked out the other item. It was really strange looking. Then it clicked for him. "The black one with the wire stock looks like an AK with a mix of old Warsaw Block furniture. Maybe parts from Romanian and Bulgarian designs — or, maybe Hungarian. I'm not sure, but that's what it looks like the most — to me. That sawed-off shotgun looks like a Remington 1100 or something similar."

Dan stood up and considered what they'd just uncovered in the trunk. He turned to Mitch, who'd been started on the interior of the car. Dan asked him a question. "Mitch, have you looked under seats, yet?"

"No, not yet, Sneak."

"Go slow. I'll bet you find loaded handguns. Maybe other things — sharp things."

Mitch nodded. "I guess we'll see, won't we."

Nick Williams was looking at Don Nichols with a very odd expression. Dan let a bit of a grin play across Don's face. "It's a hobby of mine. I picked it up after I got out of the hospital and had lots of enforced free time while wearing a cast. So, I studied stuff like this." He shrugged for the detective's benefit.

Another set of lies. When is all of this gonna catch up with me?

Nick nodded. "Right. Just like you shoot like a trained marksman. I've heard about that. I thought I was being kidded — setting me up for a big joke. I'm now guessing that I was wrong about that."

Dan shrugged Don's shoulders. "Yeah, I guess I do shoot good."

Leroy snorted and Jan's musical laughter was simply wonderful to hear. "Right! You shoot good! We all know about what you did while you still had that cast on your left arm." Leroy was just grinning as he finished with that comment. He turned to the detective. "He shot all X-rings with a cast on his arm. Didn't miss a thing. I've been shooting longer that Don and I can't get more than three out of ten shots into the X-ring with the same type of gun. I've tried and tried. Don's just the best shot in the county!"

The detective just nodded.

While they'd been talking Lester had pulled out his cell phone and had made a call. Now Dan focused in on what he was saying. "Yes, we're out in the student parking lot. You should come out here and see this. Don just identified things that I've never seen before. Oh — oh no. He just knows this kinda stuff. Right! See you in a couple of minutes."

Lester looked around at Dan and the others. "I had Agent Hanks' number and called him about all of this. He wants to see it. He thinks that we may need to call BATF. Maybe we've got a bunch of gun-runners or something else in these people. I want you to stay here for awhile. You saw the perp at the wheel of this vehicle and you know what you're lookin' at when we find these firearms. Do you know how to unload any of these unusual guns?"

Dan again nodded Don's head. "Yeah. Even the unfamiliar ones are really just variations on familiar designs. I can unload 'em if you want."

They were interrupted by a curse from Mitch Littleton. Everyone turned around to see Mitch holding one weird little machine-pistol or sub-machinegun. Dan recognized it right off. He'd fired the design on a number of occasions during training. Now, though — he was wondering what a bunch of would-be teen-aged rapists was doing with a Beretta Modello 12 stuck up under a car seat.

Mitch asked the question that Dan already had the answer for. "What the hell is this thing?"

"It's an Italian Beretta Model 12 sub-machinegun, Mitch. Nothing too strange, really. It just looks a little bit odd to someone used to American or German designed firearms. What looks like a second trigger there on the grip is really a safety." He turned to Lester. "That really is an automatic weapon. It's the real thing. Kinda odd to find in the car of a high school student, don't you think?"

Lester looked to be about ready to explode. Nick seemed about to go off and look for another job. They both pulled out their own phones were making their own calls. The terms "Chief" and "Boss" were overheard. He heard his own name and mention of "sub-machinegun" and "arsenal". He expected more officials to be arriving shortly.

Mitch asked his next question. "Do you know how to unload this damn thing?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"Gawd, Don! How do you know all of this stuff?" Leroy was now looking like he might be more than a little bit surprised.

Dan yet again shrugged Don's shoulders. "I just read stuff and absorb things really well. You know — my head got emptied out and now I just pick up things really easily."

Jan was there and trying to hide a grin. Susie was watching and seemed to have an odd sort of expression playing across her face. The same might have been said for Tasha. She was studying him closely, as if she could decipher the mystery of his abilities from what little she really knew about him since his revival in the hospital.

Dan heard some discussion start up among the nearby students and looked around to see three people approaching them. One was his little half-brother Darryl. The second was Darryl's partner Agent Dara Jones. The third was Principal Prescott. Dan knew something would arise out of the presence of that third person.

And about simultaneously Janet Mullins arrived along with a group that included Cindy and Donna. The two girls came over and started asking him questions about how he felt and checking his facial injuries. He knew the black eye looked bad, but it didn't bother him in the way the sutured wound kept him from expressing himself freely. As he answered their questions he noticed Janet look into the trunk of the car and then whip out her cell phone. He figured that the President of the School Board would soon be arriving.

Marty Anderson had pulled up in his car and walked over to see what was happening. He too glimpsed into the trunk and quickly copied Janet's actions. Dan saw that and figured that the District Attorney's office was now being advised of what had been found. He caught Marty's eyes and was given a vigorous nod and thumbs-up.

Agent Hanks came up to the three law enforcement officers and growing collection of students. He saw Don Nichols and his stepsisters along with Captain Thomas' two children. Other students were still walking up and looking on at what appeared to be an attraction.

"Captain Thomas. Perhaps we should have these students move on while we investigate what you've found." Darryl Hanks glanced around at the surrounding crowd of students and then at the accompanying school official.

Lester nodded. He looked at his own children and niece. Then he looked at Don. He turned to Dr. Prescott. "It would be best if these students were sent on into the building. Except, I'd like to keep Don with us. He's noticed some things and I want to have him with us while we investigate these things."

The Principal looked surprised at the last part of Captain Thomas' statement. The two FBI agents turned their attention to the boy with what could only be interest.

Lester explained. "Sneak's a firearms expert of sorts. He's already identified everything we've found. I want him to remain with us until we've finished going over the vehicle. Plus, he knows how to handle 'n unload some of these more exotic weapons we've found."

Darryl Hanks' eyebrows had gone up on mention of Dan's nickname. "Sneak?"

Corporal Littleton laughed. "Yeah we started off callin' 'im 'Sneaky' and then we just settled on 'Sneak'."

Agent Hanks seemed to be still thinking about that when Agent Dara Jones asked about it. "What makes him 'Sneaky'?"

Lester snorted. "He trains our SWAT team on takedowns and other techniques. You jus' oughtah see him work our training course with a silenced MP-5. It's spooky how quiet and just damned right he does everything. We've all learned things from Don. And I can't wait 'til he's old enough to serve. I just hope he stays home and we can convince him to serve with us."

Dara Jones' eyebrows had now joined Darryl Hanks' eyebrows in a high climb routine. Dan noticed that Dr. Prescott's eyes seemed to be about to bug out as he heard Lester describe his activities. He himself was wondering what his younger half-brother was thinking at this moment.

Damn. Damn. Damn! I used to brag to him about what my troops called me! And he knows one of my favorite weapons was the MP-5SD. SHIT! He's gonna start thinkin' 'bout that and put things together. Then I'm gonna disappear into some damned 'black' study project. Damn! What a fuckup!

Agent Hanks shook off the feeling of 'déjà vu' that he'd just had. Here was his old co-investigator's kid and he had the same professional nickname as his brother the General. Wait 'til he had a chance to speak with his dear ol' brother General Rhoderick. He'd get a kick out of hearing about a 15 year old kid with the same nickname and doing some of what Dan used to do with his own troops. Darryl grinned at the oddness of it.

Dan turned to Jan as he noticed that Dr. Prescott seemed to be trying to pull himself together. "Why don't you help Leroy with organizin' the public stripping. Maybe you can get Debbie to help you without yesterday's kind of spectacle." He jerked up an eyebrow while showin' half of a grin. Not that he could paste a full grin across his stiff and sore face.

Jan chuckled rather than giggled. Grinning, she whispered into his ear. "Sure, old man. I'll help keep things straight." She gave him a quick, sisterly seeming peck of a kiss on his good cheek and turned away to speak with Leroy. The other four girls had observed this and they in turn kissed his uninjured cheek before turning away to join the rest of the group of students knowing Don and who'd gathered around him.

Several adults witnessed this display of affection along with a crowd of other students. Dan just tried to keep it in and not let on about anything.

Yeah. Right! Like that's gonna help!? Everyone saw that display. And Tasha joined in on it!

He tried and checked to see if Lester had noticed Tasha's action. But, he seemed to have his head in the trunk of the car at that moment. He and Nick were bagging up the collection of pornographic magazines.

Dr. Prescott seemed to get his act into gear and started calling out to the gathered students that they needed to head on into the school. Once he'd made his instructions known the crowd had melted away. Leading them had been a cohesive cluster of Don's friends.

Dan's brother Darryl seemed to suddenly recall the mention of exotic weapons. "What kind of exotic weapons did you find?"

Mitch hefted up the Beretta Model 12.

Darryl Hanks performed a double-take. "What the HELL is that?"

Mitch grinned and pointed at Dan. "Sneak?"

Dan held out his hand and took up the compact machine-pistol from Mitch. He released the magazine and made sure the weapon's chamber was cleared. He simply couldn't recall if the weapon fired on closing of the bolt or whether it had a separate firing pin. He held up the now wholly unloaded weapon and stated. "It's a Beretta Modello 12 sub-machinegun. It's been a widely deployed weapon with the Italian security services. I'll bet this one is traceable to some theft or attack on their police forces." He shrugged.