Chapter 27

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

As Jake was finishing his breakfast, Boris sat down and ordered. Jake told him about being followed to the airport and his worries that Cox’s goons might be able to get their location from one of the air charter’s employees.

“Plus we have a problem on Thursday,” Jake said.

He explained that both Jake and Boris had to go back to town that day.

“I don’t like that,” Boris said. “If there’s the possibility that the opposition will learn where we are then we’ve got to be here to protect Nina.”

“How about Ellen? How much protection will she be able to give?”

“She’s learned some things from me and some things from you, but she’s not proven.”

“She was good when they attacked Nina. She seemed to react well when my father attacked her, too.”

“Actually she did. Even though she only winged him, her instincts were good. She was brave and smart on Friday, too. The problem is that this is no ordinary job. She’d have to be ready to take on multiple gunmen. That’s risky for an experienced protector. It takes an aggression that she hasn’t demonstrated yet. She’s just not ready for that.”

“Her mind-reading skills are maturing. With her long range, she’s probably more effective than me.”

Boris raised an eyebrow. “So you’re no match for a girl?”

Jake laughed. “It’s worse than that. The other two have almost twice my range. I’m the weakest of us all. They could be planning to topple me even as we speak.”

Boris snorted. “Machiavelli says it’s better to be feared than loved. You’ve demonstrated that that’s not necessarily so.” He looked up at the ceiling for a minute. “That really does change things. What we should do is get all three of us together, game some scenarios, and think about tactics that combine the reach that a handgun gives her and the close-in control that a mind reader has. We should include Kara, too.”

“I agree. Arrange it at the earliest practical moment.”

“Yes, boss. But we still haven’t decided what we’re going to do between now and this coming Monday.”

“The safest thing is to get out of Dodge,” Jake said.

“One advantage of this place is that it provides diversion for everyone, especially the teenagers. If we packed them off to some remote place like a cabin in the mountains, there would be grumbling.”

“But a couple of days in the wilderness would be a diversion of its own. What if we go camping Wednesday and Thursday? When we get back, we can take them immediately to some new location to spend the weekend.”

“That leaves details to work out, but the strategy is sound as far as those two days are concerned. That leaves us with the problem of today. Each hour that goes by increases the chance that someone at the air charter will talk. Cox could have someone here within hours.”

“Then we need to get out of sight,” Jake said. “Fortunately we have a huge lake right next door. I have an idea that will keep us together and out of sight”

Jake went back to his room fully intending to get everybody moving. Instead, he was strong-armed by Ellen, Kara, and Leanne onto the bed where Leanne gave him another twenty-minute blowjob. He had to delegate the task of mobilizing the party while he recovered. He didn’t know what he had done right that they had started giving him blowjob parties, but it surely made for a spectacular start to the day.

When everybody was ready, Boris brought the vans up to the entrance of the hotel and took a look around the property.

“I didn’t see anything while I was scouting around,” Boris said to Jake and Ellen when he got back. “Before we go down to the lobby, I want Ellen to scan around for anybody who is showing a suspicious interest in us.”

Boris and Ellen went to the lobby several minutes before Jake had Leanne and Kara get everyone else moving.

It looks clear, Ellen sent to Jake. Jake signaled to Kara and the exodus started, the servants following their orders readily, the teenagers coming as they felt like it.

They got in the vans and headed to the marina. Boris and Ellen had driven ahead in the car and found nothing of concern. The vans pulled up to the docks. Jake led everybody to a large houseboat. Brian, who had picked up boat handling readily, took the helm with Andy and Randy as his backups. He steered the boat out of the marina and then generally to the west, keeping to the middle of the lake.

The day was full of swimming, jet skiing, and laying out in the sun. Jake, Boris, Ellen, and Kara spent an hour in the morning and several hours in the afternoon isolated on the forward deck talking about tactics.

“I like having Ellen in the advance guard,” Boris said. “Being both armed and able to read minds she can detect subtle threats better than I can and respond quickly with force if needed. For the duration of this situation, I’d like us to conduct our mass movements like we did this morning.

“So let’s game a scenario. For instance, we might decide to go to breakfast tomorrow morning at a restaurant. We pull up to a boat dock. Ellen and I are the first ones off the boat. How are the rest of you set up?”

“Nina should be kept within the walls of the boat and out of sight until we are sure it’s safe,” Kara said.

“Right,” Boris said. “At worst the rest of us are potential hostages. If I were them, I would deploy snipers to pick Nina off. If they use that tactic then as long as Nina is out of sight, we don’t have to worry about them shooting her, and we don’t have to worry about anyone else getting hit by accident.”

“If Ellen stays within range of Kara or me,” Jake said, “then we can communicate silently, each of us channeling our thoughts to the others.”

“Yes and no,” Boris said. “There are times when we will want to talk secretly among ourselves. Then there are times when it’ll be best to shout. Other times it will be best to use your cell phones. Don’t fall in love with telepathy. It won’t always be your best option. We’ll have to decide each time what kind of communication is best. Furthermore, if you choose to rely on your mind talk, you have to be disciplined about your positions, especially with Jake and his anemic range.”

“Hey!” Jake protested.

Kara kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t listen to him, Jake. We think your little range is cute.”

“Hey!” Jake cried out again.

“Teasing aside,” Boris said with a smile, “we have to manage the range issue. We need to devise a doctrine about positioning ourselves and try it out. It will probably take several iterations to figure out the best compromise between flexibility and efficiency.

“Back to the scenario. I’m off the boat and scouting around. Ellen comes off the boat but goes no further than one hundred feet. She scans for hostiles.”

“That will only get me within range of people who are two hundred feet from the boat,” Ellen said. “What if there are suspicious people at a greater distance?”

“If she lets us know she’ll be out of range,” Jake said, “and then comes back within range as quickly as possible, she can make excursions to check further out.

“True, but don’t go out of range without a good reason,” Boris said. “Besides, you may not need to. Let’s think about that scenario. Ellen stops at a hundred feet. She sees suspicious people out of her range. What can she do while still staying in contact with the boat?”

“You’re out scouting with her,” Jake said. “She could have you go take a look.”

“Good. She sends me out. I don’t like what I see. Two men. They look a little out of place. They are wearing too many clothes as you’d expect of men concealing weapons. They are too wary. I come back and tell Ellen my suspicions. What then?”

“She tells us what’s going on and then she goes out far enough to take control of them,” Jake said.

“Sounds good to me,” Boris said. “She moves close enough to take control of them. She reads them to find out if they really are the opposition, what their plans are, how they are armed, and how they are deployed. Then she has to come back within range and report to the rest of us.

“Ellen and I resume our position at one-hundred feet. Ellen reports that the two suspicious men are part of a team of four people. The other two men are a sniper and his spotter. The goons know the snipers are set up in the woods overlooking the dock but they don’t know exactly where.”

“What can we do?” Kara asked. “Our lack of range is our weakness. We can only get back on the boat, keep Nina hidden, and head back out onto the lake. I wasn’t that hungry anyway.”

Jake chuckled. “Ideally we want to neutralize the whole team,” he said. “You didn’t say if the two on the dock could communicate with the sniper team.”

“Let’s say they can’t.”

“We don’t have to retreat immediately. If we can locate them, we can flank them, approach, and take control.”

“If we had binoculars, we could have someone in the boat scanning the shore,” Ellen said. “In fact, we should have been doing that anyway as we approached the dock.”

“Good, Ellen,” Boris said. “In fact, let’s put good binoculars on the shopping list. Jake’s right, too. We evaluate the situation and decide if we can exploit it. We retreat only when we detect an immediate danger or if we decide there is no advantage for us to stay.

“What if the two goons on the dock have communications with the sniper team?”

“The only difference is that we have additional ways to get to the snipers,” Kara said. “We could first try to get the snipers to tell the other goons where they are. Or we could coax the snipers close enough for Ellen to take control of them, too.”

“That about covers it,” Boris said. “Anyone else have an idea in this scenario?”

“How about some misinformation?” Ellen asked. “The goons tell the snipers that they see Nina but the snipers will have to go to a certain place to bring her into view. We get there first and wait for them.”

“You have to admire a cunning woman,” Boris said with a smile.

Boris continued to set out scenarios until they broke for lunch.

After lunch, and more time strategizing with Boris and the other mind readers, Jake joined Julie, Emily and Kate lying on the deck in the sun. Nina sat in her bikini in her wheelchair. Jake forced himself not to look at Kate. She had a gorgeous body to match her angelic face. He kept finding himself looking in her direction without actually intending it. He turned on his belly, facing in the opposite direction.

So, is it you and I tonight? Jake asked Julie.

Jake told her about Caldwell’s assassination.

Jake thought about it. He looked over at Lizzie who was sitting with Boris, leaning into him and laughing.

I’m not sure she’d leave us if the Russians had invaded and were massing on the shore.

Maybe not for herself, but she’s also got to be concerned about Emily.

Jake nodded.

Boris, tell Lizzie about the danger. She should be allowed to decide if she wants to risk being with us.

Boris looked over at Jake soberly. Then he nodded. He pulled Lizzie to an unused corner away from the others. Jake watched as he started to explain the situation, gesturing occasionally at Jake and Nina. Ten minutes later Boris waved him over.

“Lizzie wants to ask you some questions.”

“How much danger are we really in, Jake?”

“What did you tell her, Boris?”

“The risk is like driving in rush hour traffic in the city for most of us. It’s much higher for Nina.”

“I guess I have to agree with that. But let me add that we are doing everything we can to reduce the danger. We are staying ahead of them. We’re planning for every contingency. Lizzie, I’ve got six million sitting in my bank account. I will gladly spend it all to keep us safe.

“Still, Tommy Cox raised the stakes yesterday. It’s significant enough that you deserve to know and decide for yourself what you want to do. If you want to leave our group, I’ll make sure that we get you to a place remote enough from us that you couldn’t possibly get entangled with our trouble.”

“Where would such a place be?”

“Out of Missouri. Perhaps a week in Disney World. Maybe there’s some other place you would prefer.”

Lizzie looked over at Emily who was chatting with Kate.

“No. If you are willing to risk your family, Jake, I’ll hang out with you guys. It’s been several years since I’ve seen Emily having so much fun.”

“Good. I’m glad you feel that way. We’ve all loved having you with us. And Emily is like the little sister I never had.”

Lizzie laughed. “Don’t let her hear that. She would be heartbroken.” Then she sobered up. “What is this thing you call your family? Ellen is the only one you bear any resemblance to. And why does it revolve around you? Is it your money? I’d bet anything these women are not gold diggers.”

“Do you remember what I told you about myself when we first met, Lizzie?”

“You said you are good at reading people.”

“Yes. And I’m not a bad judge of character either. These women are the best people I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t willingly give them up.”

“What about Kate? She doesn’t even like you.”

“Kate’s a house guest, not family. What does she say about herself?”

“I haven’t dared ask.”

“She’s had a hard life. She might unburden herself on you if you asked her.”

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“No. I’d rather see how she responds to your questions.”

“Are you a psychiatrist trapped in the body of a teenage boy?”

He smiled. “Only in the sense that we’re all driven to understand the people around us.”

“Now you’re just being evasive. I’m not done trying to figure you out, Jake.”

“Neither am I. If you are successful, let me know what you find out.” He stood. “I’m glad you’re hanging in with us, Lizzie. You and Emily’s presence makes us a happier group.”

After lunch, Emily begged Jake to take her out on the Jet Ski. They put on their life jackets and headed out, Emily hanging onto Jake’s waist.

Jake worked himself up from basic maneuvers to more challenging ones. Soon he began tailing the passing speedboats to jump their wakes. After a while, he swapped places with Emily. She was too cautious to do more than the most basic things. She finally navigated to the shore and drove the Jet Ski up on the beach.

Jake had realized what her intentions were almost from the moment they left the houseboat. She had finally gotten her courage up.

“You want to look for seashells, Emily?”

“No, I want to talk,” she said nervously.

“I am at your disposal. What would you like to talk about?”

“Is Julie your girlfriend?”

“She’s one of several girls I spend time with.”

“Like who?”

“There’s Carol. She’s a friend of Julie and me.”

“Who else?”

“Those are the two who are my age. It might not be a good idea to talk about the others.”

“My mom snuck out of the room last night. She didn’t come back until early morning.”

“And what do you make of that?”

“She went off to have sex with Boris, of course.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“I’m fine. It’s the first time she’s been with a guy since my dad left.”

“I’m glad you can let her do that. She’s been lonely. It might be better if you don’t let on that you know until you’re on your way back to Iowa.”

“You knew?”

“No. But I’m not surprised. In a way, it’s what a vacation should be. Your mom can do something that she wouldn’t allow herself to do in her everyday life. It’ll do her good.”

“So would something like that do me good, too?”

Shit, Jake thought. That was definitely an unforced error.

“I don’t think your mom will let you have sex with Boris.”

She slapped his arm. “No, silly. I mean with someone more my own age.”

“You mean with me, don’t you?”

She nodded her head shyly.

“Are you talking about sex with me, Emily? Or just kissing? Or something in between.”

“There are lots of girls who have tried sex at school. I thought this would be my chance. Don’t you like me?”

“I think you’re very pretty and very sexy. But it might not be that simple.”

“Why not?”

“Do you realize that I sleep with other girls? That I wouldn’t be exclusive to you?”

She nodded.

“And you’ll be going back home to Iowa while I head back to Texas. It would only be a short-term thing.”

She nodded.

“I wouldn’t be exclusive to you even while I’m here. I would spend time with other girls even this week.”