Chapter 199: Saying Goodbye to All My Friends

I had a lot to think about. I wasn't even sure I wanted to leave the country for six months. I had only been in Aster making my new life for about 18 months. I wasn't really satisfied with the life, which I had made so far, but then again it wasn't all that bad either. Even so it looked as though I was going to be seeking temporary employment over seas.

The one thing I knew for sure was that I did not want to go back to the sandbox. There was definitely not going to be any dirt road trucking in my future. Six months of sailing back and forth on small uncomfortable freighters didn't appeal to me either.

Alex most likely was catching up with the freighters in route and staying on board just long enough to get them safely through pirate waters, but still even a couple of days on a small freighter didn't sound tempting.

The adrenalin junkie part of me was thrilled by the res-q-chic gig, but I could see months of boredom between actual jobs. Most likely sitting in some second rate hotel somewhere in some sinkhole country in South America or the Middle East. The down time again seemed pretty awful. I didn't want to trade Helen, Jen and all the rest for some stranger in a cheap hotel.

If I had to stay away for half a year, then my choice would be interesting hotels and sight seeing in Europe. Spending six months with a socially retarded roomba 5000 didn't really appeal to me all that much, but how bad could it be? I could always lock her in the closet and just go for a drive in the country. I don't suppose that would be considered robotic abuse.

"So Jen what do you think?" I asked after I had explained it all to her. Well all but the Roomb 5000.

"So you are going to just tour Europe without a job of any kind. That just doesn't sound like you Max," she said.

"Well nothing those old clients offered me sounded like any fun on a day to day basis. I thought I might hook up with one of those small tour groups and just wander around." It sounded like a pretty good cover story to me. "I can just hop around all over the place. They can set me up with places that are cheap and safe," I suggested.

"Since when has safe been an issue with you?" she said.

"Since I can't carry an m16 with me," I replied.

"Max you stabbed a man with a butter knife and watched him bleed out. Do you expect me to believe you have suddenly gotten timid?" she asked.

"Good point, I suppose." I said it but I knew that I would miss my tools. "Even so you know that I am going to feel naked. I really would love to have at least one real weapon maybe just a shotgun."

"Well there are some good ones made in Italy maybe you could buy one as a gift and carry it around wrapped in Christmas paper." Jen suggested with what was almost a teenage girl's giggle.

"It's June Jen," I said in a light hearted voice as well. "I'm sure that I won't be needing anything, but one just never knows."

I called the CIA Assistant, to the Deputy Director for Scientific development after my talk with Jen. "Okay you win, when do I start and where do I go first?"

"How long will it take you to get your affairs in order, so that you can be gone for 6 months without anyone looking for you?" He asked.

"I've got a five unit apartment building, which I emptied out to handle the Chinese mess. I need to figure out what to do with that."

"Call your lawyer friend, she can help you with that," he suggested.

"Yeah, I know that. I just have to do it and make the decisions. After that I suppose I should say goodbye, and tell the other people I won't be working for them." I replied.

"I'll have our travel office set it up and get with you," he said. "And welcome to the agency."

"Hey, I'm not signing up for the agency. I'm on board just to escort one agent around Europe." I demanded.

"Of course, and since you have never been there, it should be a fun trip for the two of you." He laughed as he hung up the phone. I didn't much like that he had laughed at me.

I drove the cruiser to my new office building. I found the van parked on the street, but not Ed's caddy. "So Lucas what in the hell is going on? Where is Ed?" I asked it because Ed wasn't getting any younger. I wanted to make sure he got at least a little older.

"Ed decided to retire completely. He sold out his bail bond business to me. Now I have both of your businesses to run.' Lucas said.

"It's going to get worse Lucas, I'm going to Europe for 6 months," I said. "At least you have something to keep you busy while I'm gone."

"I am not laughing, I want to come with you," he said.

"Someone has to stay here to look after everyone. That's your job don't let anything happen to our friends."

"Yeah I know, but they would survive without either of us, or not." he said.

"True, but still keep an eye on them," I said. He knew it was bullshit, I just wanted to make him feel better.

"I mostly hated to tell Helen goodbye. Helen was my rock. With Helen it was like Skeeter, pure unconditional love. It went both ways. There was nothing I couldn't ask of her and nothing she could ask that I wouldn't do for her. I found her on the farm just outside of town, which she and Jack owned. She was in the industrial caterer's kitchen.

"Helen what in the world are you doing?" I asked. She was obviously pouring over books, doing some kind of heavy duty research.

"Your friend, the Admiral, asked me to try to improve on the Government issue MRE. Frankly anyone could. I can make them taste better, but I'm not sure I can make them last and still taste better." she confided.