Chapter 66

I was sitting at the kitchen table sipping my beer, listening to the team talking to Tran. They were asking her if she had any sisters as beautiful as she was and the usual carrying on with single men. She was laughing and giving it right back to them when Butter skipped into the kitchen, sitting down across from me. I knew he wanted to talk and to get my take on it all so I started out by showing him the camera system and the little non lethal traps I had and where they were located. He laughed and asked me if I had always been so paranoid. I told him about the former owner of the cabin and the glass in the cabin and he just whistled as he heard me out.

"Damn Harry, you sure have a lot of safeguards for someone who lives so far from town. This place is almost set up like the sinkhole. Now, what was all that about this morning? I was watching Tran's face and I could tell she was worried."

I told him about my little hunting trip and how the other team had missed them coming in and about the mole that they had found. I told him not to take any chances because these people would not hesitate to kill one of his men if they thought they could get to me. I unrolled the aerial map Abe had given me and we went over the area from the bird's eye view of the map. He was looking at several of the weak spots I already knew about when he asked me a question that threw me a little.

"Harry, how important is this wedding to you and Tran? I am worried about security in the hotel and taking care of the girls. I want to make sure there are no weak spots for someone to get in."

"I have already rented the double penthouse and there is only one elevator up to it by a special key card that is issued the day we arrive. My friend is head of security there and he will shut down all cameras on that floor and have his people guarding the elevator. None of them will be allowed to come up for any reason. I have already told him if anyone other than my party steps off that elevator then he better call the coroner because they will be immediately shot. There will be no room service or maid service as long as we decide to stay. Tran doesn't know it but she is the principal owner of the casino. They will not do anything to anger their boss, and they are used to big wigs with their own security. There are cooking facilities with completely stocked kitchens in both penthouses. They will be stocked the day we are to arrive with all fresh food my friend's wife will buy personally. Tran is their kid's godmother and she will be in the wedding party along with my friend. He was a member of my team in Nam, the same as Preacher was. I think I have pretty well covered the bases on that, Butter. This is the weak spot with all the woods and a public campground at the edge of my property. I showed it to him on the map telling him the rest of the mountain and a lot of the other areas belonged to Tran."

"Ok Harry, you seem to have it well in hand. I will be splitting the team when we go to Vegas because I need to leave men at the other house. I know you have a lot riding on your shoulders right now but do you think I might be able to use a couple of Team Two to help at the other house? I know they let you down by your way of thinking, but I know all of them and they are good, Harry. As much as I hate to admit it, they may be even better than my own team. They all have been together and executing missions successfully for six years with Preacher leading them the whole time. Harry, he is almost as old as you and tough as old leather."

"Butter, I know more about Preacher than you could ever imagine, since we served together for almost three tours. Hell, I was the one who trained him. I will leave that decision to you because you're in charge as of now unless I see something that I think needs changed. I am going to be doing some running around tomorrow and I will take George with me so I can get to know him a little better. Like I told you before, I will reserve judgment until I am satisfied. I suggest you tell him I will be asking some direct questions and he better answer or he is out of here."

"No problem Harry, I warned him before we came out here, and he said you could ask anything. I think I will ask for a couple of Team Two to help my guys who are staying behind. I will have them work the other house since my guys are already set up with quarters here, thanks to the chief. God, did you see the way she led those men around like they were putty in her hands? Come to think of it, I was too! This is disgusting!"

I lost it and he was smiling the whole time he said it, so I knew he was happy she was here to do it to his men. I would never forget the look on his face when she jumped into his arms from the porch. I knew then he loved her as much as his men did, whether he complained or not. I got up, telling him I was going to get supper ready as everyone was probably starving. He said George was a good cook and if I needed help he would send him in. I thought about it for a minute before I refused, saying I didn't want to divulge my secret recipes to anyone. He just gave me that look before going back into the front room. I called the girls down, telling them to get the extra leaves for the table and the folding chairs out while I got busy. We got the leaves in and the girls got the table all set up then went into the front room to get better acquainted with the team. I was busy making corn bread when Tran came into the kitchen. I put the cornbread into the oven and she came over to me and kissed me.

"Harry, I don't want to appear crude, but those men need to be laid and soon."

I dropped the pan of green beans on the floor from the shock of her statement. She was laughing her butt off as she helped me clean the mess up. Since I was now out of green beans I got out the corn. She opened the cans as I recovered from the shock. I was trying to think of some kind of comeback but for the life of me I was tongue tied and just drew a blank as to what to say to her. I knew she was right but it still didn't help me any when it came to having to think about her statement. I decided to just keep my mouth, shut hoping she would forget about it. Boy was I wrong on that point. She was like a bulldog, as I found out in a few more minutes.

"Harry, did you hear what I said?"

"Well since half of our supper went on the floor how could I not hear you?"

"Well what are you going to do about it?"

I turned around to look at her and she had that smirk on her face again. Oh hell, I thought, how was I going to answer this one? I didn't know any women to send them to since the only place I ever went to was the ranch, but that was almost twenty years ago. I knew she had something on her mind, but I'll be damned if I was going to step into that one so I didn't say anything. I figured if I kept quiet she would tell me what she was thinking. It took about ten minutes of her giving me dirty looks, but she finally got around to telling me what she was thinking.

"Why don't you set it up with Butter and let half of them go to the gulch for the night? Tomorrow the rest could go since we will still be here. It's the least we can do for them since they are giving up their leaves to guard us."

"If I didn't know better, I would think you had an ulterior motive for even suggesting this. How do you think I am supposed to suggest this to Butter? Better yet since it was your idea, I will let you do it."

"Harry Hanson, if you think I would stoop so low as to suggest something like that, then you are right. I think it will be fun to see the expressions on their faces when I do it."

I almost dropped the platter of steaks I was taking to the table. She let out a giggle and twitched her way to the front room, telling me to hurry up with supper because she was hungry. I just stood with the platter in my hands watching her as she walked away. I set it on the table still in shock at her. Then I started to remember how bawdy she used to be at the ranch and started chuckling to myself, knowing she was going to do it. I couldn't wait to see the looks on the men's faces when she did. Damn, I had picked a hell of a woman, I was thinking to myself as I called them all into supper. Sandra sat at the other end of the table with the team and Tran sat next to me, rubbing my leg throughout dinner. The two girls knew something was going on but they couldn't figure out what. They kept watching us all through dinner. I watched as the team demolished everything I had cooked and the five cherry cheese cakes I set down. With this bunch, there wouldn't be any leftovers to store. When everyone was done, all the girls cleaned up the kitchen and the table while the team grabbed another beer and went into the front room. We all sat around and shot the bull. I noticed the girls were yawning so I sent them to brush their teeth and wash up for bed. They gave half-hearted objections but I knew they wanted to go camp in their tent so I went ahead and pushed it. I waited for about ten minutes and went up to tuck them in and had to unzip the entrance to go into the tent. They were all sound asleep with room to spare on the big air mattress. I went to my room and got the digital camera and took several shots for our own album. I was smiling when I headed back downstairs and froze on the steps just looking at the shocked looks on the team's faces.