Chapter 103

Present – Glen – At the cabin

I heard some rumors of what happened and I couldn't fucking believe it - it sounded like some weird science fiction novel. I want to hear it from my own daughter's lips so I ask, "Jennifer, what the hell has gone on here and were you sure you needed to use the doomsday device?"

Jennifer replies, "Daddy, we've had a hell of a battle here. First it was the Columbian drug lord's army that attacked us; then some sort of remote control grizzly bear; then I guess a remote control cougar; then rats that were trained to only eat human flesh; then killer bees and cockroaches; and finally this last wave of the drug lord's army. The cabin was inhabited by dead and half dead rats, killer bees and cockroaches and I was sure there was no way to effectively clean it other than purging it by fire."

I look and can see she's tired as hell and silently curse myself for not getting here sooner. I want to clear up one more thing so I ask, "So what got the Columbian drug lord so upset at you?"

It's good to see fire in her eyes when she confirms, "Daddy, it was my fucking so called best friend Megan! She left after she tried to kill me at the mental hospital and now she works for him. I have heard she is using her psychological training to add compounds to his drugs that make them even more addictive."

Maria adds, "Sir, we sent a team down there to capture Megan but all the members were killed except for three."

This jibes with what I have heard so I question, "Which three survived?"

Jennifer answers, "Thom, Byron and some woman named Inga - I think she's a friend of Masha's."

I continue to assess the situation, "Tell me, are Jack and Masha here now?"

Maria replies, "Yes Sir, I just left Jack and Masha at the workshop door."

I further explore for verification, "And is that Byron the Marine that looks like Santa Claus?" (And yes, I do keep track of some former Marines.)

Jennifer confirms, "Yes Daddy it's that Byron."

I order, "Okay Jennifer, I assume you have a meeting room somewhere in the tunnels. We need to have a meeting in thirty minutes. I want your whole team there." Then I look at my men and order, "And I want twenty of my men to circulate and gather any thoughts or questions because we will address those in the meeting."

I smile at Jennifer and ask, "When was the last time you ate?"

A large black lady walks out and states, "Not for a long time Sir, but you can be sure I'll have food for everyone in thirty minutes if I can borrow a few of your men."

I order, "Okay. anyone that's helped cook before can volunteer to help..." I look at her and apologize, "Sorry, I don't know your name."

She replies, "It's Mabel."

I finish, "Tell them to help Mabel. And thank you very much as we're all tired and hungry."

Present – Maria – At the cabin

Well King Boss (my new nickname for Jens' father) isn't anything like the stories I had heard. I was impressed as hell how he came in, took change and gave my Princess Boss a break. I looked at Jens noting her hair was a mess, she was dirty as hell and for the first time I ever remember she smelled - and I don't mean like a daisy. I was pissed at myself for not being here for her, since she was my primary job, not chasing all over hell and back after Linus.

I grab my Princess Boss's hand and order, "We need to get you cleaned up before the meeting."

She follows me into the tunnels and I ask, "Where's your room."

The response I get surprises the hell out of me...

Present – Jens – At the cabin

Maria asks me where my room is and I realize my room, my wonderful room that I was going to share with Ben is gone! I burnt it up to kill the rats and the bees and the yucky cockroaches! Oh, it can all be replaced except for one item - Ben's Hero Of the Russian Federation medal. I'm sure he will hate me when he finds out. I remember him telling me that was the only medal he ever got that was worth a damn.

I collapse to the floor and begin to cry...

Maria helps me up and says, "Jens come on, things are over now and King Boss is here to help."

I look at her, wipe my nose and question, "King Boss? Who the fuck is that?"

Maria laughs, "Well if you're the Princess boss then..."

I giggle, "Daddy is King Boss!"

Maria walks me into one of the sleeping quarters, helps me off with my clothes, puts me into the shower and turns it on. I complain, "Maria this is cold as hell because someone shut off the propane tank."

She replies, "Should I have someone turn it back on?"

I answer, "Not right now, I need to turn off the doomsday device first."

Maria says, "Jens, Todd is here and signed that he can turn it off if you would like and start the water heater."

I wonder how the hell he knows how to do this but then he's always been a mystery so I yell, "Yeah if he can do that it would be great."

Maria says, "Todd also signed he's going to shut down the whole security system because with this many people around it will cause problems."

Damn! I owe Todd big time and will have to figure out a way to repay him. I answer, "Tell him he's in charge of control of the house and to do whatever he needs to do."

Maria questions, "Do you have any clothes down here?"

I reply, "There's a supply room that has MCCUUs¹ in a variety of sizes."

¹ MCCUU – Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform

She states, "I'm getting some for the both of us and I will be back to make sure you're okay."

To be truthful I was glad she was gone since all I wanted to do was to be alone...

Present – Todd – In the tunnels

I was extremely pleased to be placed in charge of the whole house and planned to make some changes. First on my agenda I turn off the alarm system and later I plan performing some serious modifications to its programming; we have enough Marines here right now that we don't need the security system and I'm not going to let that thing go crazy and try to kill me or anyone else again.

Then I turn off the doomsday system on the upstairs part of the house, I head outside to turn the propane back on and I see something that I hadn't thought about: I need to get back inside and warn everyone as soon as possible!

I run back into the house, hurry to the first terminal and I execute a command. Now to find Jens and explain what I just did and why...

Present – Maria – In the tunnels

I haul ass out into the hallway and finally find the supply room my Princess Boss told me about.

Linus comes up and asks, "Hey sweetie do you have some time for me?"

I give him a kiss on the cheek and say, "Hey lover, not right now. My Princess Boss is trying to have an atomic meltdown and I need to take care of her. By the way you're expected to be in a meeting in..." I check my watch and say, "Shit twenty minutes."

I sprint toward where I left Jennifer, enter the room, go into the shower and fuck! She's sitting on the floor and hasn't done anything.

I strip off my clothes, walk over to her and yell, "What the fuck is my Princess Boss doing sitting on the floor!"

That wakes her out of her stupor and she answers, "What the hell did I tell you about calling me that?"

I counter, "Well, we have twenty damn minutes to make you presentable for the King Boss. Something tells me you better not be late or he just might put you over his knee and spank you."

I begin to help her wash and curse that I wasn't here to help, then the fucking water turns off...

Jens complains, what the hell is going on now?

Present – Todd – In the tunnels

I run to the room that Jens is using and pound on the door. Maria comes to the door in a bathrobe and complains, "We don't have any water."

I nod my head and sign, "Yes I turned off the water because until we can have the well tested, we can't be sure the drug lord didn't poison it."

Maria yells, "Jens do we have any water stored in the basement?"

Jens comes to the door wearing a bathrobe and says, "Damn Skippy we do! Why?"

I sign again, "Jens, until we can get the well tested, we cannot be sure that the drug lord's army didn't poison the water."

Jens says, "Shit, I didn't think about that! Fuck! Mabel is cooking and probably using the water. Todd you need to stop her because she tastes the food as she cooks. Maria you need to spread the word to everyone else about not drinking the tap water."

I run to the kitchen, get there just as Mabel is bringing a spoon toward her lips, I nock and arrow, fire and knock the spoon out of her hands. She turns with an angry look on her face and yells, "What in the world did you do that for?"

I sign, "Sorry Mabel, but we cannot be sure the water wasn't poisoned. You will need to destroy all that food and use the water that Jens has stored here in the basement."

She says, "Well, I've already tasted some of the food."

I drop my pack, pull out my small medkit, take out the bottle of syrup of ipecac and sign, "Drink this and I will try to find the doctor."

Present – Linus, Jim and Matt – In the tunnels

Maria is running down the hallway in a robe and I tease, "I could help you off with that robe."

She states, "Linus, not right now. We need to tell everyone not to drink the water because Todd thinks it might be poisoned."

I look at Matt and Jim and order, "This is serious and we need to get the word to all the troops as soon as possible."

Jim says, "I'll take the front of the house."

Matt says, "I'll take the workshop entrance."

And I decide to cover the rest of the tunnel complex, which is awesome! I could only dream of having someplace like this.

I decide to head to the meeting room...

Present – Glen – In the tunnels

Well it's been thirty minutes: I'm here, my twenty Marines are here, Jack and Masha and their cute little boy are here, Liz and Bernie are here ... But where the hell is my little Princess Boss and the rest of her crew? Someone has been thoughtful and put out pitchers of water. I pour some into a glass get ready to take a drink when Linus runs into the room, yells "No!" Then dives across the table and tackles the hell out of me...

Present – Linus – In the tunnels

I barely stop Glen from taking a drink of water and the next thing I know I hear about twenty Marines yell, "Slowly, get the hell off our General."

I look around and see all of them are pointing their M4's at me and I explain, "Sorry about that but I had to keep Glen from drinking the water since we're not sure the drug lord's army didn't poison the well."

Glen squirms out from under me and orders, "Stand down men. Damn, I didn't think about that but it's a real possibility. Who can we thank for coming up with that idea?"

I rise, help Glen up and answer, "Todd did. Until we have the water tested we need to use the water that Jens has stored here in the basement."

Jack says, "Damn that's another one we all owe him. He was smart enough to cover the door into the cabin while the rest of us were at the workshop door."

Masha adds, "Yes, his forethought in this situation has been excellent. I am embarrassed I did not perceive the risk."

Glen asks, "So where are Jennifer and the rest of your team?"

I reply, "Maria, Jim and Matt are telling everyone about the water. I'm not sure where Jens is."

Glen orders, "Well, what are you all doing standing around. We need to get the word to the rest of the Marines as soon as possible. We also need to arrange to have some water hauled in here."

The Marines take off Glen looks at me and says...

Present – Glen – In the tunnels

I shake Linus's hand and say, "Thanks, I owe you another one."

He replies, "Another one? I don't understand."

I smile and explain, "Listen, I know all you've done to help my daughter. You have been more than a good friend to her, you've been like a big brother. Now if you could go find Maria and have her make sure Jennifer is okay I would appreciate it."

Linus blushes and says, "Yes Sir!"

Linus leaves, I decide I need to make a call so I head outside and start to dial...

Present – Linus – In the tunnels

I rush out of the room before I get too damn emotional! Damn, Glen sure has changed from what he used to be. I remember when he was a bastard to everyone, especially Jens. Jens always blamed her mother for her influence over Glen. If it's true then he should have done something about it years ago.

I see some Marines gathered around someone on the floor – oh hell no!

Present – Masha and Jack– In the tunnels

Jack's old General leaves as does most of the room so I lean over and whisper, "Jack what is wrong."

He states, "Masha, not here. We need to find a room for a private chat."

We leave the conference room, find an empty sleeping room, close the door and Jack confides, "Masha, I know that everyone loves the hell out of Glen being here, but I have a fucking hard time forgiving him."

This is surprising so I request an explanation, "Forgiving him for what?"

Jack spends the next ten or more minutes relating to me how Glen had messed up his and Ben's life because of Jennifer's love for Ben. He culminates by saying, "But worst of all, he never mounted a rescue attempt when Banzai was captured. Yeah, he broke the cardinal rule of no man left behind. In fact, I blame him for most of what has occurred since then. Hell, Banzai and Jens should have been married by now and living a happy life."