Chapter 9

I phoned each of the guys and told them to stay put. I was going to visit each of them.

I knocked on Sam's door. His older sister Melody came to open the door. She saw who it was and just turned her head and yelled, "Sam, for you."

Sam hurried to me and we walked to his room. "Hi Wally."

"Hi Sam. Show me your computer please."

When we walked down the hall, we saw his younger brother Curtis already playing computer games in his room. When we got to Sam's room he said, "What did you want?"

The computer was already on and I fired up Internet Explorer because he didn't have anything else. I logged onto the bank in Trinidad. This was no simulation this time and perhaps not the last time either. I transferred twenty three thousand American dollars to the account Nadac kept.

I had proceeded slowly so Sam could see what I was doing. He saw the sum being moved or at least saw the figure. A note on the transaction listed the school Nadac was supposed to run. I listed Sam Lockhart as the person taking the course. A page came up stating the transaction was complete and asked if there was more. I got out of the program without printing a receipt.

Sam said, "What did you just do?"

"I enrolled you in a special electronic school."

"Did you just pay $23,000 dollars in US money?"

"Sure. Education does not come cheap. Now watch what I do now."

I logged onto the school page and logged in under my name and then filled out a form for Sam. I gave some data that I knew and checked that the funds had already been paid.

A moment later a new incarnation of Nadac came forward. His name was Sam too. I introduced the two and let them go at it. I didn't even say bye when I left.

Jerry was next. He came to the door to get me and one slightly older brother was in the kitchen. He had two more but they did not live at home. I did the same with Jerry as I did with Sam. Once introductions were made, I left.

Chuck got me at the door too. He had an older brother that was working. A younger sister that was at home and a girl cousin his age that was the daughter of his aunt and uncle.

Chuck had been playing a game and got out of it when I went to his room. He asked the same questions as the rest, and like the rest I asked him to watch and learn.

I went home then. The guys were going to be occupied for quite a while. Nadac acted... well alien to me but he acted very human to the guys. Well the guys and Betts.

Nadac had a present for me too. A larger supply of crystals. They came in a sphere about a metre in diameter. I threw in the money, the disks and all the paperwork I took from the warehouse after I removed the crystals. All I had left was some of the cash.

I fired up Bert's computer downstairs and looked at what Nadac found in the line of binoculars. I picked one of each and let Nadac handle the paperwork and the transaction. The military site had good watches and a few other things that would show that we were in some type of military organisation even if it were our own.

From another site I ordered mountain climbing equipment. There were very few mountain ranges within Greater Toronto but there were some tall buildings. Caputo's data processing facility would be a difficult building to enter. So far the only way I saw was to hit it from the roof. The roof was eight stories up.

On a different kind of search, Nadac phoned the local dojos to find if they would give private lessons to a group of five. Money would get anything we wanted but Nadac and I wanted quality.

People were not always available when you wanted them to be. I started processing crystals when Betts came down.

"Wally, did you show the guys this site?"

"I just signed all of them in. They're learning from their own tutor."

"I can see now how you did some things." She looked at the computer screen and asked, "What are you looking for?"

"A martial arts teacher."

"Any luck?"

"I can't get hold of some of them. I want somebody sympathetic to what I want, and mean to us personally so that we do what is necessary." Actually Nadac was taking care of this. I was just looking.

"Any more news... just news?"

"I haven't looked but I doubt that anything happens this fast."

There was a tiny knock at the front door. Betts let in Liza and gave her a kiss. "Hi Liza. Patty's upstairs."

"Thanks but... I was wondering if you guys would play with me too. I forgot. Is anybody else home. Mommy says I do not think about things enough before I talk."

"They are all at work."

"Good. Mommy says that she's sore and has work to do."

Betts asked, "That sounds like fun. What did you do to make your mom sore?"

"I only used my hand. We did this lots of time since Wally showed me. Mommy likes it a lot."

Patricia came running down the stairs and ran to her friend and hugged her. "Do they want to play?"

"I just asked them."

The girls turned to me not to Betts. I said, "You two go upstairs and have some fun. In a while Betts and I are going shopping. I guess we will take you two with us."

Liza said, "What are you going to buy?"

"I need a new computer. We need some headsets and networking supplies. I am going to buy some clothes and bathing suits. We then go to get some groceries and we bring home some steaks for our next barbecue."

"Do I get a bathing suit too?"

"I'll ask your mother first. If she says it is ok they we'll get one."

Patricia said, "Me too?"

"Yes the same goes for you."

I wanted to call the guys. I was never given a cell phone. My link with Nadac was much better anyway. I only wanted one because I could use it to make calls that had to be made in front of my friends. The same was true of a computer. I may not buy one today though. I could find what was good and Nadac could have it delivered to the house.

Betts ran next door to check and I called to her, "You be back here in ten minutes or less with or without a smile on your face."

"You are cruel but I love you anyway."

I made the calls and asked the guys to bike over. We would go into town in a minivan taxi. Nadac and I plotted out the places to go so we could get the best use of the taxi and still get a bit of exercise in.

I phoned up Lillian and got the receptionist. Lillian came on later.

"Hello Wally. Is there anything wrong?"

"Nothing. I want to go shopping. I want to take Betts, Patricia and Liza. The guys are coming too to protect me."

I heard her laugh. "You can go."

"Thanks Mom. I am buying a new bathing suit for me and one for Betts. Can I buy one for Patricia? She will want to wear it."

"Is it going to be naughty? I can't have that."

"Speedos for us all. It is only the guys suits that look like the bottom portion that a girl wears. We will just have all the same pattern."

"That is fine then. I don't want you wasting all your money on the girls."

"I won't. Every cent is worth it."

"You are a good boy but you do not always think like an adult. In the future just leave a note with Tess the receptionist if she cannot find me."

"Thanks Mom. Tell her that I asked if she was as pretty as you."

"Go on. You are going to have all the girls after you."

"I do not need many. I am selective. I just want the best. The best is not necessarily the ones that look nice."

"Go have fun Wally. Give my love to the girls."

"I will. Bye Mom."

The guys arrived soon after. There was a lot of talk about the web site but they didn't go into details with people present that were not in our unit. Chuck had purchased a new bathing suit but he did not mind owning another if we all wore them.

The guys didn't mind shopping but not escorting two younger girls. I said, "We are a unit now. They are civilians to be protected." This made a world of difference to the guys.

A taxi came and dropped us off downtown. The guys didn't mind the suits at all. I just picked out ones that looked a bit like camouflage and got the same for the girls too. This was a joke because all the girls we met would be looking at our skimpy racing suits or I hoped they would.

It was only ten minutes to walk to the computer stores. There were a lot in this area and most were run by orientals. They competed against each other and the prices were quite reasonable. The guys searched for headsets but I let them choose what they wanted. The laptops had come down in price. I hated all of their keyboards. We didn't buy until the third store and here it was just the headsets.

Nadac said, "There are better laptop computers for sale that you have not seen yet."

"What do they look like and how are they better?"

I got the graphic and the details. "That is impressive. Could you produce a computer that looks like it was made here on earth but uses some crystals that I make? I guess we have to have a lot of security on it."

There was a longer than usual pause then Nadac said, "I can make substitute. There are enough crystals here to complete the unit. To get the benefit of this unit, it will use your neural interface."

"What if somebody is looking at me when I use the computer?"

"I can put an operating system that looks normal and even add a keyboard."

"That sounds great. How fast will it be?"

I found that Nadac could get a bit angry. He was so closely bound with a computer that he objected to my terms and ideas of what a computer would be like. Operating in five dimensions made the best computers of today look... the best I could say is bad.

I looked at the cat 5 cable to interface with Betts' machine when I thought again. "Nadac could you make a communicator that will plug into the guys' computers to allow us to communicate? I was going to just connect to Betts' but it would be good to connect to the rest too."

"I will send you some different crystals that will operate in one of the ultrawave bands."

"Thanks Nadac. I am sorry for my remark about computers. I can only go by what we have on earth now."

"It is of no consequence."

I knew that it really was but said nothing.

Our walk led us by a different kind of sporting goods shop. This one had guns and ammo. It was slanted to both the hunter and the military. I lead my troop inside. We stayed as a group and looked around in wonder. I liked the thought of guns. Chuck and especially Jerry must have gotten an erection in here.

I shifted the group over to some awesome looking CO2 rifles and pistols. I was set to buy five of them when we found out that we couldn't do this legally. The guy behind the counter gave us a few pamphlets and we had to be content with these.

There were camo outfits and all sorts of equipment to get close to an objective without being seen. Besides this were the knives that I could see being used to take out a sentry.

Next to this was a wide variety of t-shirts with slogans to match the American, British or the Canadian military. Packs made for soldiers along with various types of headgear. There was even clothing for babies with words about their army dad. There were black shirts in our sizes and picked up a few and directed the rest to gather them if they found them. The younger girls did too but I didn't stop them.

This equipment the store stocked looked nice but I had to consider that others would see how we dressed and one day put two and two together. Even black shirts were only for the night.

We didn't even get into the store very far before Jerry stopped at the small compact crossbows. "Man, I would love to have one of those."

Chuck said, "How much you want to bet we can't get those either?"

The girls didn't seem to see anything they liked but I guess most girls wouldn't.

Under a counter was a wide selection of watches. This to me was acceptable. They were almost a hundred dollars each for the one I wanted.

I asked the clerk, "How much for five of these watches?"

"We can give you a 10% discount for that many."

The guys pushed over to see but Patricia pushed harder. "How about 25% if I get two of those watches over here with a smaller face." They looked like the ones I was already looking at."

"I'll have to ask the manager."

The guy walked away and an older man came back. "How may I help you young man?"

"I would like five, no six of these watches and two of those. I think that deserves a 25% discount and you swallow the tax. I will pay cash to get this price."

"That is a hefty chunk of our profit."

"If I do not buy then there is no profit. I am not going to drop my offer."

"Those are high quality watches worn by the airborne."

"The men know how to fight but that does not say their watches are any good."

"How about 20?"

"I am sorry sir but my last offer is the only one I will offer you."

"Show me the cash and you get the watches for your discount."

"And you swallow the tax."

"Ok I will accept that too."

I took out the fifties and the bundle of twenties from my pocket. There was no bill or cash register receipt. The shirts were added at the posted price. We got the watches and the staff helped us get them fitted to our small wrists. Some bands had to be adjusted and all of them had a strong buckle that had to be adjusted like a belt. They all looked large on us and the girls' watches though smaller looked large on them.

We left the store with everybody looking at their gift. It did not look too fancy but we knew they were good and strong.

I led the way into a restaurant that was not aimed at children through cartoon characters. I encouraged everybody to get something that was different from what they usually ate. I wish I had more information on the food because I was shooting blind. The guys were unusually interested in the current time and I felt good to be wearing the watch too.

The last place was the grocery store. I ordered steak for all of us and I made sure we had extras.

The taxi dropped us off and we went to the back yard to exercise. The munchkins joined in. Each of us had a turn to lead the rest. Pushups were not popular and we could not do more than a few before we did something else.

The munchkin unit were sent away to clean the barbecue while the rest of us suffered. We were just not up to this though I think we tried harder than we would have before.

We got some water and I marched the unit over to see Gail. She was a good hostess and invited us in like a lady. Her nose sniffed the air and I was ashamed of our smell. Apparently Gail liked it though and I could see that her nose was trying to suck all the smell in.

I handed Gail the last watch still in the case and said, "Put this on please." She looked at the man's watch but did as I asked. It didn't suit her long white arms.

Once she had it on I said to the guys, "Soldiers!" This was said with a loud voice. "Mrs Watson has agreed to train you to in one facet that an officer must know. If you fail her tests you fail the officer course. Your other courses could fail you too and you will remain grunts until you die. Do as she says. She outranks any of you."

Gail was quite surprised but she did pull through after looking at her watch. "Hello gentlemen and lady. Your commanding officer and I talked recently about your need to knock off a few rough edges. He believes that I have the necessary knowledge and skill. You will learn how to talk to a lady, how to dress, how to keep yourself clean up to military standards and beyond.

When this course has ended you will be able to function within polite society with ease. You will be able to talk to girls your own age without stuttering. You will talk about current affairs or politics without mentioning sports or yourselves. You will in fact be able to charm some young ladies out of their shorts."

The last promise seemed to do the best. I asked, "How do you wish to do this Mrs Watson?"

"One recruit at a time I believe is best. The time element will be a problem. The recruit must always be a gentleman but this may vary at different times of the day. I would like to have them for a day at a time.

"I see no problem Mrs Watson. The recruit will simply state that he wants to sleep over. He will come here to await further orders."

"That sounds satisfactory."

I took a few steps and said, "Gentlemen. A military academy puts out gentlemen not grunts. You know what others of your age knows but that is not enough. Your failures as well as your successes reflect on our unit. Doing callisthenics and unarmed combat are only a small part of what an officer must know."

An idea suddenly struck me. I was being monitored by Nadac but probably by King Rontem. "One day you will be reviewed by your king. He will look you in the eye and see how much of a man or a woman each of you are. At that time you will be happy that you took the training that is now being offered to you. I took a step back and tried to make a turn the way someone in the military did. I said to Gail, "We have brought provisions to feed our army and more. Will you honour us with your presence?"

"I would be more than happy to do this. Would it not be better to have this meal at my home? I have a large grill."

"That is acceptable. The troops should learn about KP from the bottom up. I make a good baked potato stuffed with bacon and onions."

"If you introduce me to your recruits I will endeavour to remember their names."

I introduced the boys. Betts was standing straight so I added her name as if she were not a neighbour. I stopped and Gail looked to the side. I then had to introduce her to Patricia then her own daughter.

This seemed to work well. Gail now took command and ordered her troops around. She called everybody by the first name of 'Private' except me. I was the Captain.

Gail's grill was cleaned by some and then food prepared by others. The steaks and fixings were fetched and she gave an impromptu culinary class. The boys were ordered to shower and put on their 'army' fatigues. The girls went next and they did not dawdle in the shower. They all came out wearing their speedos.

The boys got nervous as Gail gave an inspection. Her hand went out and felt the material of Chuck's suit. He started to get hard and she smiled and went to the next boy. I was sure she was salivating when she was done. "Those suits look very good. I should get one like that myself."

I went next door and put a note on the table mentioning our location. I spoke for Gail and asked that they come over when they arrived home.

I ran out the front door and down the walk when the doors of a red sports car opened and two guys got out. One was Tony Caputo and the other was one of his 'friends' from the party.

"Nadac call Betts on her cell phone. Use my voice and say I am going outside to see Tony."

"Very commendable. Did you know that he was being handed the reins of the company you entered?"

"No idea. You didn't tell me. He is going to be seriously pissed then?"

"I believe you are right."

"Hey asshole," Tony called out. "I want to talk to you."

I hope Betts and the rest came soon. I needed a lot of witnesses and quickly.

"If it isn't Tony the smooth talker. Did your parents teach you manners or did you grow up under a rock?"

"I am going to punch your face in."

"Threats now Tony. You, I think, are over 18. Hit me and I will have you charged with assault."

"I'll beat the fuck out of you and you will not be able to tell anybody, ever."

"Threatening me with death now? You are a poor piece of shit. You even have to bring a flunky to fight a twelve year-old. Does he beat babies for you too?"

Tony took a slap at me just like others had done. I stepped back though because I could not see any witnesses yet and there was two opponents. The flunkey moved much quicker and caught me. He dragged me to Tony and Tony grabbed my shirt just below my neck. "What were you looking at when you were at Frank's house?"

I was scared but I had to put on a front as best that I could. "A painting of you being fucked by a dog." The last was said with a gurgle because he tightened his grip on my throat.

"What were you looking at, I said?"

I could not breathe. I fought with my fists and even my feet but I could not hit him. It started to get dark when I could breathe once more. I was on the walkway on my back.

Somebody was on top of me. It took a moment to see that it was Tony. Standing over him was Gail with a long handled shovel. Beside me was the other guy. He was being beaten by the guys using shovels, fireplace tools and broom handles.

Tony got to his knees only to be wacked with the back of the head with the shovel blade. He fell back onto me.

In a moment the guys grabbed me and pulled me out from under Tony. When they got me to my feet I saw that Tony was bleeding a lot and so was his buddy. The buddy was conscious and very afraid of Patricia and Liza that were ready to stab him with carving knives.

Mrs Watson was excited. She said, "The police are on their way. I told them you were being killed by two men."

"I am sure glad you are in my army."

"We do our best, Captain." I didn't mind the title though it wasn't deserved.

Tony did not regain consciousness by the time two cop cars came. Though the girls had knives they did not draw guns on them. The thug started to scream that he was attacked by me and then the rest of our group. There were a hundred people around by now and many must have seen the truth but I didn't know if they would testify.

The questions had hardly started when Bert and Lillian arrived home. They raced to us and looked at the two guys now handcuffed in the back of different cars. One guy was still yelling. I figured he was really telling Tony his story so they could corroborate each other's testimony.

Lillian said in a powerful voice, "What happened here?"

I gestured to the cop taking notes. This way I could hear his interpretation. Lillian finally got him to talk.

"It seems that the two men came seeking some kind of information. There may have been some harsh words said by this young man. One of those arriving was struck. This young man's friends and neighbours came over and attacked the two men."

Betts came forward. I noticed now that she had an old VHS camera in her hands. "I think that you are trying to make that criminal sound good. I hate crooked cops like you."

"Young lady I could have you arrested."

"The people around here saw this. You never got their names. You never questioned them. I have a camera here and I photographed all of this. It shows your friend in the car as the one to attack Wally. Did you know that Wally is twelve? Did you know that he has difficulty walking? His kneecap never healed properly. I know that the two in the cars are over eighteen. They are men. We protected Wally's life when we came to his defence. How much is Tony or his father paying you?"

"That is it young lady. You are under arrest."

Lillian got in front of her daughter. "Arrest her you fool and I will have a legal team down on your ass so fast you will be on the unemployment line. Tell me why you did not question the witnesses and gather their names? That is not standard police practice or are you some type of trainee wearing a real policeman's uniform?"

Lillian turned to the crowd. "Wally was attacked by two adult thugs. Our good neighbours came to protect him. The police are not doing their job. I think I will talk to the Chief of Police to find out why this situation is being handled so poorly."

She did take out her phone and start pushing numbers. The cop in charge suddenly found reasons for his conduct. He may have not been paid by Caputo but he may have been trying to help the family and hope for a reward later. Another possibility was to not get the Caputo family mad at him.

My dad suddenly appeared and came next to me and put his hand on my shoulder. He said nothing though.

Mom was on her phone to the senior partner of the law firm she worked for. She used some colourful language and then stopped forward toward the cop and mentioned the number on his uniform. The investigation lasted much longer and the cop came over and apologised to Lillian. She was ladylike but was not swayed by his words.

When the cops left, Gail was in there with her shovel telling everybody about her actions. She made me out as defenceless and in a way that was close to the truth.

Dad came over to Gail's house and she started dishing out drinks. All the adults needed more than a few.

I pulled the guys together and said, "I want to thank you guys for saving me. Tony was seriously pissed."

Chuck said, "He sure was. Did you see how he got it twice by Mrs Watson? She is one mean woman when she wants to be."

"She is all woman. That's for sure."

Gail had heard this and looked at me. I figured she needed a reward.

We cooked the steaks or rather I did. I had not done this too much before. The guys got the rest ready and then served it to the slightly inebriated adults then we started to eat ourselves.

During the next hour the story was told a few times. The story changed each time by a little bit. Gail started to call the guys her army. She called them over and caressed them as she praised them up as she felt them up. Betts was smart enough to not let this happen to her or to the other girls. The boys didn't seem to mind this at all.

Betts and the girls were worked up too and looked at me with those predatory eyes. June came over later. It was not long until she found out about all the excitement. Women seem to sense something and they looked at me more and more. Lillian was the only one that seemed to only be interested in me as a person.

Mom and Pop helped Dad home or possibly they helped each other. The gang and June made sure Lillian and Bert got upstairs safely. We went back to Gail's home. She wanted sex and was taking her clothes off. The guys and I helped her strip and put to bed. She hugged the boys and kissed them often for their help. The fact that she was naked didn't seem to enter her mind or she was a good actress. She was now mentioning a personal reward for what the guys had done for her. Even the guys didn't think she meant money.

I tucked her into the bed with Patricia and Liza. I would have to cover the theft of a daughter in the morning if the parents sobered enough to remember. There would be three sore pussies by that time.

The guys were leaving and I said, "Thanks again for your help. I think you should tell your parents what happened but talk about Mrs Watson doing the deed. You guys were more than just a witnesses but not much. This way you are covered if you have to testify and you are free until then."

Betts and I got ready for bed. She said, "Wally, I don't want to sleep alone tonight."

"Neither do I, Sweetheart."

The next morning two adults were suffering from their drinking but they were still energetic even if they were in pain.

Bert wanted some better answers. I talked about the party at Wendy's house and how vulgar Tony was. I mentioned going into the open basement because it looked interesting. Other were in there drinking at the bar so it was open to those in the party. I confessed to not knowing what Tony was after. My suggestion that he may have been on drugs fell on fertile ground.

We were told to be careful today as they went to work.

As they left the driveway Nadac said, "There are some articles in the garage for you. You should get them now and start practising."

I was not sure what he meant. It was something in his voice that was odd.

The same invisible probe became visible. I opened the hatch and removed my new laptop. It was covered in an anodised titanium case. It was pretty but I didn't open it. There were five USB devices in a cloth pouch. What shocked me was the pile of guns underneath it. I took one out and looked at it. It took a moment to see that it was driven by CO2 and not powder. There were five very large boxes of what looked like 177 caliber pellets and then boxes of darts. The tins all had military nomenclature across them. The words on the dart cans stated that the darts were destined for the military purposes only. A quarter of these tins contained an anaesthetic dart. More stuff was in the bottom.

"What are the guns for Nadac?"

"They are to promote hand and eye coordination."

That was true but there had to be more. "What are you not telling me?"

"You will be told in time. You are required to use these weapons and be as accurate as possible."

There was something else. "We are going on a mission and we need these weapons. Is that correct?"

"Yes, your lives and those of many others is at risk. Learn quickly and learn well."

"What is this about?"

"Do not pursue this line of questioning. You are given some simple weapons. Train with them and become proficient."