Chapter 22

The bright morning sunlight had everyone sleepy by the time they got to the retreat. As they got out of the vehicles and grabbed their bags, the back door opened and Frank and Margaret rolled a cart out onto the stoop.

Jeff opened the hatch on the Escalade he had been driving, then stood looking at the two on the porch. "Where did you get that?" he laughed.

"Just down the hall in its closet," Frank responded.

Jeff and Diana both started laughing for real.

"What's so funny?" Margaret asked, as she helped load the cases onto the cart.

"Do you know how much stuff we've carried back and forth by hand? And you casually roll that thing out. Man, I feel like a fool. I guess that's one closet I didn't look in."

"There are other carts downstairs in the lobby entrance closet," she said. "Sorry, we didn't think to mention them."

After another chuckle, Jeff introduced Fred to everybody, and Margaret hugged him, giving him her condolences. Frank shook his hand and did the same.

As soon as they were inside, Jeff turned to Laura, "We need..."

Kathy finally got around everyone else and launched herself at Frank, interrupting Jeff. As she hugged Wainwright, she quietly said, "Thank you so much for the job. I know I don't have any experience, but I'll make you proud of me." Then with tears and a shaky voice, "And thank you so much for paying off all my bills. I was about to get desperate, and the bonus... I just don't know what to say. I still can't believe you did it."

Pulling away from Wainwright, wiping her tears, she hugged Margaret. "I know you had a hand in this, too. Thank you so much. You've made my life just wonderful."

Margaret chuckled, finally untangling herself. Holding Kathy at arms-length as she wiped her tears with a tissue, Margaret said, "We've paid for schooling and other things for a lot of people. When we can, we like to think of our company as a great big family."

After a while, Jeff tried again, "Kathy and Bill have got to be exhausted..."

"We've got it Jeff," Jennie and Melissa said in unison. Then to Captain Madison and Kathy, "Come on, Guys. We'll show you to your rooms." As they helped with the luggage and took off down the hall, they were talking a mile a minute with the pilots.

As they rounded the corner, Kathy waved back at everyone else, as Jennie continued with, "We'll get you up in plenty of time to eat and get dressed before the wedding..."

Jeff, realizing what was about to happen — grabbed Helen. Lightly kissing her, he then whispered. "You'll be mine tonight," then nuzzled her neck as he hugged her.

Whatever Helen started to say didn't get said, as Diana and Laura took an arm each and pulled her away. "Now, none of that. You can't see your bride until tonight," Diana teased as they herded her in the direction of the honeymoon suite.

"We'll take care of these," Arlene said, as she and Ann turned the cart bearing their luggage toward their suite.

Just before they rounded the corner, Ann yelled. "Get some rest Husband. You're going to need it." Laughing, the girls disappeared, pushing the luggage cart.

Wainwright grinned at the girls, then asked Jeff, "Are you going to sack out for a while?"

"Yeah, but not right now. Didn't I see a lot more people working on the security system when we came in?"

"Yes, you did. Let's stop by the kitchen and get some coffee, and we can catch you up on what's going on."

"Sound like a good idea," Evie said, walking up.

"I'm going to go be with Helen, Margaret said. I'll see you in a little while, Jeff."

Jeff acknowledged her, then started to turn into the kitchen, when Evie said, "I'll bring us some coffee. Why don't we sit down in the living room? I'm sure you're tired Jeff, after being on that plane most of the night."

Jeff objected, saying that he wanted a sweet roll or two, but Evie shooed him away, saying, "Quit worrying about being sexist, Jeff. You bring us coffee, and do other things for us all the time. Now go sit down in the living room. Margaret and I made a surprise for you. I'll be right there."

A few minutes later, Evie pushed a serving cart with coffee and fresh-baked cinnamon rolls into the room. "I've had this recipe for a while, but have never tried it, so when Margaret and I got up early this morning, we decided to give it a whirl. I don't know whether these will be as good as your wives could make, but we made plenty of them, and we tried to stick right with the recipe..."

They shortly found out that they were great. Dave, who had also joined them, winked at Evie as Jeff, Frank and Fred seemed to inhale the pastries.

Fred looked up with a guilty look as he reached for his third roll. "Man, those are good they're..."

"... fabulous," Jeff finished for him, laughing. "Wow. Don't lose that recipe. Diana is going to want it when she tastes these."

Fred laughed, taking another big bite, then reaching for his coffee. "As far as I'm concerned, you've got this one nailed. Don't change a thing in that recipe, Brenda will..." he stopped, embarrassed when he realized he was talking about his wife as if she were still alive.

Jeff cleared his throat. "She would have loved them, Fred."

After another long pause, Jeff, trying to change the subject, said, "Okay, you were going to tell me about the extra people working on the security system."

Frank took another sip of coffee, and then held the platter so Evie could get another roll. Sitting the platter back down a moment later, he looked at Jeff, "With the wedding tonight, and the couple of days of bad weather we've had, I thought it would be best to get enough people up here to finish the job. A crew finished up an installation of something else they were working on, and when Tingle mentioned it on the phone, I had him fly them over. They worked late yesterday and finished everything inside the house. They still have a little to do on the drive, then quite a bit on the back side of the property, but they should be out of here before late afternoon."

"Frank, this is costing..."

"A trivial amount, but should add a large amount to your security, and maybe even mine and Margaret's, if it ever becomes necessary to use this fortress that we're going to build. We've set this system up so that it can be drastically expanded. So don't get your panties in a wad... Oh, crap, Evie. Sorry about that."

Evie laughed as she wiped her fingers with a napkin. "Mr. Wainwright, I work around a bunch of construction people. If that's the worst I hear in a day, then I must have gone deaf. We only have a few women working on the crews, but trust me, they can hold their own in the language department, and then some."

"Okay, Frank, I'll quit for now," Jeff sighed. "So we're almost done with the security installation. What about the falls for the indoor range?" he asked turning to Evie. "I saw the company van in the back? How in the world did you get them out so early?"

Dave chuckled, glancing at Evie. "She called them yesterday and told them we were going to be preparing for a wedding Friday night, and Saturday was out of the question. They usually send two people out to assist in the initial assembly. They sent four. She has a gift," Dave laughed.

Yes, she certainly does. But how much that thing cost probably had a little something to do with it, too, Jeff mused to himself.

Note: The indoor range that Evie and the crews are building has a backstop that has a man-made falls which traps particulate matter (Lead particles, and powder residue, etc.) in an indoor range. Instead of water, the falls uses an oil, similar to olive oil. When the fired round goes through the falls, it hits an angled steel slope, also flowing with oil. The round is directed toward the top through a baffle system where its momentum is canceled. The projectile falls back down the slope to an oil-submerged conveyor system. This systems moves the projectile to a container, where when full, is automatically sealed to go back to the bullet manufacturer for reuse.

"We had our crews come in early today, as well," Evie said, smiling at her husband. "We'll get the initial setup going, and pick back up Monday. The falls, and most of their other equipment are pretty much all modular. They said that two of the techs would come back Monday, though, but I think we could handle it without them if we had to. But the way we're building it, the falls has to go in first, other than the extra shielding and the support network behind it.

"The indoor range is going to be time consuming, but everything else is straightforward. Everyone is going to knock off at three, since they came in so early. That will give us plenty of time to get set up for the wedding without having to worry about someone outside the family minding our business."

Jeff was touched that Evie included herself and her husband as family. "Thanks Evie. You and Dave have done a wonderful job with everything you've been involved with. And Frank, that, of course, goes for you, too. Hell, you're even fronting the money for the fortress," he finished, laughing.

"Well, I'm not worried about my money — I'll get that back, and besides," he kidded, "We haven't really spent any money on the fortress at all, yet, and we can chalk up the security enhancements to testing new equipment — which it is — and Wainwright, Inc., is paying for that."

"Okay, okay," Jeff chuckled. "Who's going to bring Fred up to speed on the new system, not to mention, me? One of the reasons for his visit is to show him what we've got, and to get his input and guidance for a total security system. Not for just our home, but for the whole thing, fortress included. If worse comes to worse, and one of our 'friends' should bring some nuclear backpacks into the states and do away with several of our cities, we want a security system in place that will protect us from aggressors, domestic and foreign, as much as is feasibly possible."

There was quiet for a while as everyone digested this, and the emphasis that Jeff had put on his statements.

"For now," Frank said, picking up the carafe and offering Evie more coffee. She pushed her cup toward him on the table. Topping her coffee up, he continued, "Margaret and I can train you on the system." Looking over at Fred as he filled Jeff's cup, he said, "We're developing the manuals now, so as you learn, we would appreciate your input as to what we need to add, or change in the wording."

"Damn, is your stuff so new, it doesn't even have a manual, yet?" Fred asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin and contemplating another roll.

Wainwright laughed, "It doesn't even have a name yet, and we've already sold several installations to Uncle."

"I thought everything had to be bid on with the feds," Dave said, almost musing aloud.

Wainwright sat back down after offering everyone else coffee. Taking a sip, and gathering his thoughts, he said, "Basically, you're right. We frequently bid on things, but when we have a product that no one else has, such as Jeff's 'radar, ' it doesn't go down quite that way. Particularly when the items we sell are, shall we say, a little more than confidential. Oh, it's probably just about general knowledge in certain circles that the U.S. is 'experimenting' with a 'new type' of radar. When only one contractor has an item, and it's patented or copyrighted, the politicians get approval through the houses, and the government just buys it. Then if the company is a public company, stock gets bought by our 'friendly' — say corrupt — politicians before the sale is approved. Then the sale goes through.

"But there's a bump with my company. I own it, lock, stock and barrel. A lot of the politicians don't like doing business with me, because I can't be bought or bribed, and I'm not a bit interested in giving the bastards kickbacks if they vote to buy my products. And they can't buy stock in my company. Only problem is that they can't buy my stuff anywhere else.

"The military big dogs get to biting at the politician's asses about new technology, etc., and I have a damn good PR department to let everybody know that there is new technology ready to be released. When the military folks hear about the new stuff, and that a foreign country is going to, maybe, get it before the U.S., the pols (as I like to call them) have to get off their asses and make sure our country stays ahead, if they expect to get reelected.

"If I have to go through a whole lot of bullshit, I just up the price, and tell them what the price would have been, if they had been realistic. Politicians hate to be honest. It just goes against the grain with them. Right now, they're fu... uh, messing with us about Jeff's radar. They're going to buy it. I know it, and they know it. If they don't come around shortly, I'll start talking to Britain and Canada. I've already demonstrated it to several of the big dogs in our air force and navy. It's just a matter of time.

"I've told the pols that the price is going up shortly, so chances are, I'll have a sale on a few hundred units for 'testing' by the time we reach our final size optimization," he concluded, seemingly a little embarrassed by having mounted his soapbox.

Before the conversation could go further, Arlene and Ann burst into the living room. Grabbing Fred by his hands, they pulled him to his feet. "Time for a tour," they said in unison.

As everyone laughed, Arlene added, "We put your bags in a suite, but we need to show you around."

Fred was whisked out the door before he quite knew what was happening. Arlene winked at her husband as they walked by.

Both girls made sure that they occasionally brushed a breast against his arm as they showed him around, keeping up a near-constant stream of chatter, interspersed with questions to take his mind off his sorrow for a little while.

Fred knew what they were doing, but was flattered that they cared enough to help him as best they could. Soon, he was into their play, as anxious to see what was in the next area, as they appeared to be to show him.

Jeff took a short nap, but got up around eleven. Finding Margaret in the kitchen helping to prepare lunch, he asked her where Frank was.

"He said he was going to check out something about the security system." Grinning, she stepped over to the system's keyboard and typed for a moment. After only a second or two, one of the monitors high on the kitchen wall above the cabinets lit up with a view of the area well past the outdoor range. The camera zoomed in on two men, a green box highlighting Wainwright's image, as they talked near two large trees.

Margaret smiled at Jeff, and without comment turned back to lunch preparations.

Yep, Jeff thought, there's a lot I need to learn about this thing. Looks like — a whole lot.

He went out the back, found the last remaining ATV, and took off for Frank.

As Jeff pulled up next to the two men a few minutes later, Frank finished their conversation and climbed on behind Jeff. "Just in time. Now I don't have to walk back. My ride went somewhere else while Carl and I were talking."

Jeff turned the four-wheeler back toward the house at a sedate pace so they could easily hear each other as Frank continued, "They're just finishing fine tuning everything. They've been testing, and tweaking, for the last couple of hours. If there's anything wrong with it, we can't find it.

"Yesterday, I told them that we were having a party tonight, so they were here really early this morning and haven't even taken a break all day. They're a good bunch of people, and work well together, even though they're from two different crews.

"If this had been the usual government installation, they would have been gone as soon as everything checked within specs. (Not that this exact system has ever been installed anywhere.) They've pushed things beyond specs because they respect you. It didn't hurt that the R&D folks that you and Laura helped, bragged about how smart you and your assistant are, and what nice people you turned out to be. Not to mention the way you treated the first crew when they got here. They're just tweaking to make everything absolutely perfect. And, of course, it doesn't hurt that you're a friend of the boss," he laughed.

"I'm impressed," Jeff said, "and that's pretty much why I came looking for you. I know they've worked long hours, and just looking at the installation in the kitchen and the suite, I know that they went out of their way to do a class job. I want to give each of them a little bonus..."

"Not necessary, Jeff. First because it's their job, and second I've already talked to accounting to add a little something to their paychecks."

"Frank, I'm sure you did," Jeff said, trying to look over his shoulder at Wainwright, and hitting a small rut in the process. "And, knowing you, I'll bet that 'little something' is a bit larger than it sounds, still... I would like to make their trip a little nicer from my family and myself."

Frank chuckled.

"As I mentioned, before, Diana and I aren't too enthused about giving to large charities. Even by their own books, a large percentage of the money goes to 'overhead.' Makes us wonder how much really gets to the individual in need. We like to see the workingman and woman get a hand up, instead of always giving to people who expect a hand out. The ones that work their asses of all their lives are taxed the most by the government to pay for all the lazes that never had a job and never will. Diana suggested that we have lunch for your crews when they finish, and there'll be an envelope by their plates, if you don't object. Just a thank-you from the Matthews."

Wainwright laughed out loud, then. "Hell, there will be a fight to see who gets to go the next time we decide to send a crew up here. Yeah, Jeff, it's fine with me. Margaret and I appreciate it."

An hour later, the girls ushered the installation crews into the large dining room. Several of the people were obviously hesitant, probable because of dirty, and sometimes muddy work clothes. Two of the women had almost panicked when they were told that they would be eating with the Matthews in the large dining room. The Matthews were reported to be nice people, but eating in the elegant dining room with dirty clothes, regardless of how much they had hastily scrubbed their faces and hands in the beautifully appointed bathrooms they were ushered to, they were still very uptight.

Diana and Laura, anticipating this, had used the beautiful teenagers to direct them, and to try to make them more comfortable. As soon as everyone was seated, most obviously tense, Diana walked around the table, deliberately standing by one of the men who had spent the morning crawling about the boulders of the driveway, his clothes muddy and wet.

Placing a hand on his shoulder as she stood behind him she said, "Frank tells us that the installation is complete, and that you have gone out of your way even more by tweaking it beyond what is necessary for a perfect setup. He has also told us that you worked extra hours, and came in very early this morning so that you would be finished well before our little celebration tonight. For those things and for your caring, we would like to thank you. And... judging by some of your expressions, I and the rest of our family think that maybe some of you are a little uncomfortable because you didn't have time to dress for dinner."

There was a titter of laughter as a group of weary people looked at each other, and began to relax a little. "This beautiful place of ours, that used to be your conference center, still intimidates us a little, even after living here for almost three months. But remember this: three months ago we worked for a living like you people, and we respect hard work — always will. And know this: if you leave a little dirt on our carpet, and a little mud stain on our chairs, we respect that you got that dirt on you while trying to make our home safer. Now for those of you that are sitting up straight, afraid to touch this beautiful table for fear of leaving a stain on it from your sweat, put your arms on the table and relax. It will clean. Partake of our food that the women of this house prepared, and enjoy yourselves.

"We're the cooks here. Oh, we're going to have a caterer bring our food in for tonight, since it's a celebration, but all the meals in this wonderful house are cooked by us, not some chef. We're just working people that got lucky, so forget about the Mr. or Mrs., and all that. I'm just Diana." Then she introduced all the other women, then the pilots, Dave and Evie, and Fred.