Chapter 23

With all of Mary's bad behavior, Adin and I were both pretty bummed out. That fact meant that there would be no sightseeing this day. I 'poured coals on the fire' and headed for home as fast as was legally possible. In fact I didn't even stay on the back roads as was my usual preference. As soon as possible we made our way to the pike and zipped along.

It was evening by the time we pulled our ride into the back of Rose. We went inside the living area and fell into bed were Morpheus took us instantly. Somewhere in the night, I began to dream of the rich aroma of a strong coffee. I finally realized that it wasn't a dream. I opened my eyes and looked at the clock. It was six, and the house was full of the wonderfully pleasant aroma of strong coffee.

However, now I was confused, as I could still feel my wife lying next to me. I sent out a scan to see just who was making coffee in my house. To my surprise Tony was sitting at the table sipping his coffee and reading the paper, waiting for us.

I got out of bed, and headed to the bathroom. I washed my face in cold water and then went to the kitchen. I was handed a cup, filled to the brim with the Italian coffee that Tony had introduced ... well, addicted us to. He then sat down again, and waited patiently for the caffeine to activate my brain.

"How did you know that we would be home?"

"My wife told me."

"Ahh ... sometimes it's good to be married to a seer. <long heavy sigh> Is there some problem that I need to make a decision about?"

"Well, yes and no. It isn't a problem really but that woman from the house place called, she said that you had arranged to review the plans for the new house but then just sort of never showed up or called. She wasn't angry, but sounded, well ... disappointed, ya know."

I smacked my forehead and said, "Damn I forgot all about the house meeting. I'll go call her."

"Kade?"

"Yes."

"You may want to wait until they open for the day. It's only six-thirty."

"Huh? Oh ... Yeah, I guess I should. Man am I messed up, or what?"

Tony wisely didn't answer that question, but he did ask if I wanted to wait until I was fully awake for the rest of his report.

"Is there anything that is absolutely pressing?"

"No, not really."

"Ok ... then I'm going back to bed. We can talk in a few hours," I said as I stumbled up the stairs to the bedroom and sweet oblivion for the next three hours.

The next time that I woke, Adin was lying on top of me. It seemed that this was her preferred sleep position when things were bothering her. I gently rolled her off of me and instantly felt a wave of relief. Without her weight on my bladder I no longer needed to pee quite so badly. I kissed her and then went to the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later I was at my desk drinking a coffee and making notes for the day (I had recently walled off my office from the garage). First on my list was the call to Connie at Down-East Modular Homes.

"Down-East Modular Homes, how may I direct your call?"

"Connie, please."

"Who may say is calling?"

"Kade Mohr."

"One moment, Mr. Mohr."

"This is Connie."

The woman's response was far cooler than it was the last time we spoke.

"Hello, Connie. First let me apologize for not keeping our appointment. There were extenuating circumstances that prevented us from keeping that meeting."

"Really?" This response was even colder than the first.

"Yes, do you remember the drug gang whose lab blew up?"

My question threw Connie off a bit and she said, "Yes it was all over the news. Some dirty FBI Agents were to blame, I think."

"That's right. Well their lab was on the property that I had just bought. That is also the property that the house you are working on is to be built. We, Adin and I, decided to go take a walk on our new property and stumbled onto the drug operation. Long story short we were both shot and Adin was seriously wounded. So you can see how our appointment slipped my mind."

"Oh mmmyyy ... I ... I'm so sorry! How horrible! I'm afraid I thought the worst of you. Please forgive me."

"Of course. Now are you free this afternoon? We can be there after four."

"Oh I'm sorry but I have a site inspection for a final walk through. How about tomorrow?"

"Let me get back to you then. I'm not sure when though. We'll have to play it by ear, ok?"

"Fine, I will look forward to your call."

We both hung up. I tidied up my desk, put my list into my pocket, and went out into the garage. Tony had taken it upon himself to clean up the Can-Am trike, and was just putting the polish and rags away as I entered the garage. I looked at the gleaming trike and complimented Tony on his work.

"Ok, let's finish that report over some coffee."

"Ok, boss."

We each got a cup of coffee in the kitchen then returned to my office. Over the next hour Tony gave his report: first, a general contractor by the name of Ralph Gant had been recommended, and had agreed to do the foundation for the new house. Second, a double wide had been selected by the women of Tony's family, and it was awaiting my approval. Third, the utilities were turned on for the new property —gas, electric, water, and sewer—surprisingly my property was on city sewage and water. The campsite and the two buildings (the garage and the maintenance building), were cleaned out, and repairs scheduled with Mr. Gant, as needed. All of the equipment, what there was of it, was serviced. At this point, there were only a small old John Deere tractor with a snow blower and lawn mower attachments, plus a walk behind lawn mower, and a gas powered weed whacker.

"I bought a new battery for the tractor and changed the oil. I also cleaned the plugs in all three machines, so they are all ready to go. Right now I can take care of the rolling stock, but I do think that what we really need is a general handyman/mechanic. My van is getting long in the tooth, and you will want something else besides that trike when the snow flies. Also, I'm sure that your other women, as they come along, will need vehicles too."

"Tony! You deserve a raise! You have covered everything, perfectly. Oh, wait a minute. What about the firearms and martial arts training? Where are we on that?"

"I called that security fellow that you chose ... ah ... Jack Blackbear. We all have an appointment at his place, next Wednesday."

Of course I knew that I would be implanting all of the training that we would need into my people as soon as I met the security man; however, I had already given each of my people the fluid motion and fast reflexes needed for self defense.

While we were in the office talking, Adin was making lunch— cold Louisiana blackened salmon on a bed of Caesar salad. The beverage was a strong Jasmine iced tea.

It was a very tasty meal. I didn't want to ruin it for my wife so I waited until we were all sitting outside in the shade of the awning fifteen minutes later to bring up the next thing on my list.

"Adin, I need to go back to the bunker to see what needs to be done before the house comes."

My wife shuddered violently, but then she said, "I need to go too, Kade. If I don't go there soon I will never be able to live in the new house knowing that horrible place is underneath me. Each day that passes I am more afraid of that place, it even invades my dreams."

I turned to Tony and asked him to see if Mr. Gant could meet us at three this afternoon. While he made the call, I went to Adin and pulled her into a long loving hug.

"Ralph said that he has an inspection at three- thirty but that he could come now if that is ok with you, Boss?"

I looked at my watch and saw that it was only twelve forty five and said, "That's fine with me, Tony."

Not ten minutes later, a converted ambulance rumbled down the access road to our site. I thought about the repurpose of such a vehicle and realized that such a truck would be perfect for a general contractor. Where the original emergency lights had been there were now large flood lights. The roof now had a work platform and there were ladder racks along the upper edge of the driver's side. The truck was painted a dark forest green with gold leaf lettering that said, 'RG CONTRACTING'.

The truck pulled to a stop behind Tony's van and a small but very muscular man jumped out and walked quickly toward us. He was about forty, but was obviously in excellent health. I noticed that all of the women in the other camp sites were watching this man, he was that well built. He was a true Chippendale type in tight jeans and tee shirt.

Tony did the introductions and as I shook hands with Ralph, I noticed his hard calloused hands and his steady gaze as he looked me right in the eye. I didn't need to scan this man to see that he was an honest and hard working person. I offered him a drink but he refused and said, "I really would like to see the site, sir. There is no telling if we might find a problem that will require more time to address."

I was surprised, as Ralph sounded more like a college professor than a contractor. I nodded and we all walked off toward the camp site at the edge of the wood.

"Ok, Ralph ... I own this last camp site and I would like to know if this pad will support a modular house rather than a double wide trailer," I said as we arrived at the large slab of concrete.

On the way to the site Ralph stopped at his truck and pulled out a steel rod about four feet long and three quarters of an inch thick and at one end was a rubber cane tip. As we walked along his quick step began to slow, then he started to limp. By the time we reached the campsite he was leaning heavily on, what I now thought of as his staff and I could see that he was in pain. However this man was tough and he would not allow that pain to have dominion over him. I said nothing and just walked slightly slower, without being obvious about it.

Ralph nodded at me in answer to my question, and flipped his metal staff end for end and began to walk around the slab banging the rod down every two to three feet. Even I could hear the differences in the sound quality.

"Mr. Mohr I am afraid that this old slab has seen better times. There are at least four major cracks and at least three minor ones that, no doubt, will become major after this upcoming winter. Because of that, I have to say that this slab is only good for a summer season motor home or trailer, and that will only be for, perhaps another two to three years. If you plan to put anything here for year round use you will need to replace this pad."

I turned toward Tony and said, "Tony put that at the top of the list and then second to that have the girls ready to go to Down-East with us tomorrow. I really would rather have something better than a double wide, here"

Tony nodded and made a note, and then called his girls as we now walked into the woods toward the other site.

I turned back to the contractor and asked, "How soon can you have your people here to start? I'm under some rather tight time constraints."