Chapter 27

"Would you mind telling me why we have driven across the country rather than taking a plane?"

William looked over at Colt with a wry smile and answered, "Tradition."

"Tradition?"

"Yes. This whole practice of staying away from home for several months to write a dissertation is a tradition in our family. My father, John Carter, started it when he left everything behind so that he could focus on writing. Ed Biggers was the first to continue the tradition. Then, in turn, each family member who was ready to write their dissertation left for some isolated place to work without distraction. Leroy Jones, John Carter, Jr., and Beth Carter have carried on the tradition," William answered. He was silent for a minute and then added, "In a way, I'm breaking tradition by having you and Rock come with me."

From the back seat, a sleepy Rock said, "Nothing is going to keep us from fulfilling our contract with Ling."

"And what does that contract say?"

"You're to be protected from all threats to your well being," answered Colt.

"Even when I do something stupid?"

"Especially when you do something stupid," said Rock.

William nodded and then said, "Good, because I'm planning on doing something very stupid."

Colt nearly drove off the road. Rock sat up and asked, "What?"

Chuckling at the frantic reactions of the two bodyguards, William replied, "Just seeing if you were paying attention."

Rock didn't take the dismissal at face value. He asked, "You aren't planning on running off on us."

"You bet," William answered with a grin. He got the reaction he was expecting.

"You might get away for a bit, but you won't be able to hide," Colt said. He looked in the mirror at Rock. The men exchanged knowing glances. They had taken some special precautions so that they could track him down.

Shaking his head, William said, "You both know that I'm not real happy about having the two of you around while I'm trying to write my dissertation. The whole idea is for me to be able to concentrate without any kind of interruption. I'm worried that having the two of you hovering around will represent an interruption."

"You are going to give it a chance to work," Colt said. There was a degree of hope in his voice that suggested he didn't believe it for a minute.

Rock shifted nervously in his seat. He recalled the episode with the bullets and knew that he wasn't dealing with a normal person. It wouldn't surprise him if William had already set up everything necessary to escape before they had been hired. Even Ling had said that the young man would slip away at the first opportunity. The fact that even Ling didn't think they'd manage to keep William under wraps was enough to depress him. He muttered, "There are times when you are scary."

Colt pulled onto the dirt road leading to the property that William had rented and said, "It'll be hard to take us by surprise during the day. This car is kicking up so much dust you can see it coming from a mile away."

Turning to look out the back of the Hugger, William said, "This is nothing. You should see it on the reservation."

Colt didn't feel comfortable with the idea of spending time on the reservation. He knew that he and Rock would stand out like sore thumbs as the only Whites within ten miles of William. The inability to blend into the background would only make their jobs more difficult. At least at this place, the two bodyguards could dress like the locals and be discreet in their service. He grunted, "We're almost there."

Looking out the window at the green grass and trees, William said, "I think you'll like it here. It's very peaceful. The river is right down the hill behind the house. I understand that it is full of bass and the fishing is very good."

Colt didn't bother to answer. He was on the job and it didn't matter to him where he was staying. At least this area was open enough that they would be able to see anyone coming for at least one full minute before they could arrive. Rock just grunted as he wondered just how much fun they would have there. Rock stared at William for a moment and then mumbled, "wonder how long it will be before he dumps us."

Parking the Hugger thirty yards from the house, the two bodyguards got out to investigate the surroundings before letting William out of the car. Arriving at an unsecured location was always one of the most dangerous times as a bodyguard. They would have preferred to have an additional bodyguard, but they were stuck with it just being the two of them. Knowing that William was well trained in operating a car in an offensive fashion, they would leave him in the car while they scouted around. Following their standard procedure on arriving at a new location, Colt said, "Stay in the car until we've cleared the premises. If you hear us declare an emergency over the radio, get the hell out of here."

William watched as they went around to the back of the house. Once they were out of sight, he slid over in the seat and engaged the motor. Before either bodyguard had a chance to realize what was going on, William was headed back towards the town and the storage locker that held a second car with a new cell phone. He smiled at the two cell phones on the seat beside him and wondered how long it would take Rock and Colt to realize that he had taken their phones.

From inside the house, Rock and Colt heard the unmistakable sound of the Hugger driving off. Colt couldn't believe that they had been so stupid to leave William alone in the car. He swore, "We're not even here two minutes and he's run off."

Rock reached for his cell phone to let Ling know that it was time to start tracking William's Hugger. The clip on his hip was empty. He swore, "Damn, he's got my phone."

"Mine too."

"Should we call him on the radio?"

Colt shook his head as he answered, "You know what he's going to say."

Rock keyed the radio and said, "William. Get back here."

Maneuvering the Hugger down the country road, William answered, "Sorry, guys. Don't worry about Ling. She'll understand you didn't have a chance. Enjoy your vacation and catch some fish for me."

Colt shook his head and looked at his partner. He asked, "What do you want to do?"

"We've got to go through the motions," Rock said as he pointed down the road. He broke out into a slow distance eating jog. He knew they only had to reach the nearest house and get a ride into town. Both of them had pocketed enough cash to entice even the most reticent neighbor into giving them a ride.

"Ling was right. We couldn't keep him here a day," said Colt as he jogged beside his partner. He hoped that they would be proved correct in being able to locate William.

"At least she expected it."

It was the next day when William pulled into the driveway of a house in Texas. He waved to the middle aged man standing by the front door. Getting out of the car, he said, "Hello Dave. Thanks for taking care of the arrangements for me."

"My pleasure, William. It's been a long time since a Carter was in this house. I don't think your brother has been here once since he inherited it from your grandparents."

"I know. He was pleased that I chose to come here. How're your mother and father?"

"They're fine," Dave answered. His father had retired the previous year from managing the accounts for the Carter Clan and was working part-time on the Soup Shoppe chain with his mother, Jenny. The Soup Shoppe chain had grown to over a hundred little shops, most of which were in strip malls.

"How's Karla?"

"She's fine. She'll be back tomorrow from a show in New York. Her work is selling like hotcakes," Dave said with more than a little pride in his voice.

"I know she's been very successful. You might say that my family has followed her career ever since the very beginning. In fact, I own one of her first works, a small watercolor of my father. I think she painted it when she was about fourteen," William said.

The information surprised Dave. He had not known that William had taken one of the early watercolors done by Karla or that he would be so proud of owning it. Amazed, he said, "Wow, I didn't know that."

"I've made it a point to purchase one of her paintings every year."

Dave didn't know what to make of that information. Rather than continue the discussion, he asked, "Do you want to go in the house?"

"Sure," William answered. He retrieved his suitcase from the car and followed Dave into the house. It was a small house, just three bedrooms in a lower middle class neighborhood. Inside, the furniture owned by his grandparents was still arranged like it had been on the day they had passed away. William remembered one of his early visits to the house and how quaint it had seemed, but it had also been very homey and filled with love.

"I had to replace the water heater, washer and drier. I had them run fiber to the house. You've got a brand new entertainment center. I hope that is okay with you," Dave said.

"It is very nice," William replied. He wouldn't have noticed the minor changes to the house that Dave had made.

Pointing to some boxes on the dining room table, Dave said, "Your computer is over there. I would have set it up for you, but you had mentioned that you had wanted to do that."

"You're right."

William wandered down the hall. He reached his father's bedroom and looked in. Ansel Adam's prints hung on the walls. The closet still held some of his original camping equipment. Turning to look at Dave over his shoulder, he said, "My brother could open this house as a museum and make a ton of money."

"I doubt it. No one would believe that John Carter led such a simple life. Visitors would believe that most of his possessions were removed," Dave said pointing to the nearly empty room. The bed, the bookcase filled with books, and closet of old camping gear was all that was left of John's childhood.

William smiled at the comment about his father's simple life and said, "His room at the house in Phoenix was the same way."

"Which room will you sleep in?"

"I'll use the guest room," William said as he turned around and went to the guestroom. At one time it had been the bedroom of John's older brother, but almost all traces of that older brother were gone. William dropped his luggage at the foot of the bed.