Chapter 58

I sat up in bed when the alarm went off, since I usually don't use one. The clock said four, so I was confused for a few seconds before I remembered that the families were coming home. I shook the two girls in bed with me and heard them groan and protest about getting up before they were ready. "Come on, get up. Everyone's coming home this morning. I want to get out to the Airpark."

Tina's eyes popped open and she smiled at me. She pulled me down for a kiss then sat up, swinging her legs off the bed. Sharon slowly scooted around to sit up, looked at me, and smiled. The woman hugged me and said, "Good morning, Chuck. I slept a lot better with you holding me last night."

"I'll start some coffee, join you in the shower, and then we'll head out to the Airpark. I'll call Steve to see if he wants to ride out with us."

We didn't fool around in the shower and were dressed in less than fifteen minutes. I was pouring three travel mugs of coffee when both Lena and Big Tina walked in dressed. Both asked for coffee so I pulled two more mugs out.

When I called Steve to ask him if he wanted to ride out with me, he said, "I think half the park is leaving to greet them. I'll ride with Tiny.

The girls went out the family room door to go to the garage while I set the alarm and locked up. We could fit in the Lincoln and would have taken that, but Peaches, Sheena, and Timetra were standing there waiting to go with us. I had to go back in to get the keys to the Expedition.

We made it to the Airpark about four fifty and joined a crowd. It's amazing how the park people are so close and are always interested in each other. We were all standing in front of the charter office with a large bus as we watched the 737 settle onto the runway. The big bird came to a stop, turned onto a taxiway, and came back to the area near the charter office.

A surprise was Sue's and Lisa's faces in the cockpit.

The stairway began coming out from the side of the aircraft before the door opened. Both pilots were standing inside assisting some of the passengers to go down the stairs when it did open.

Knowing that getting the little kids out of their car seats and moving them to the bus was going to take some time, Steve and I went up the stairs to begin helping. Steve was hit by Mercy, and Jane attacked me. I saw into the cockpit that Sue and Lisa were finishing the shutdown and making logbook entries.

One of the pilots told me, "It's a good thing the girls are good pilots or we would have been over our flight time going over and coming home. They finished both ways for us. We could have done it but why take a chance when we have two good pilots on board."

I hadn't thought of that but they were correct. We need more people trained in the 737 so we don't have a flight time problem and violate the FARs (Federal Aviation Regulations) on duty time. We can always layover in route if it comes to that, but there isn't a problem if we have our own alternate crew with adequate rest.

The little ones were still groggy, but all began talking at once and holding their arms up to me. I kissed each of them and began getting them out of their seats. It took a half-hour to get the kids and seats off the airplane and into the bus. Some of the women went through the aircraft to clean up and had all of the trash picked up. The aircraft would need a thorough cleaning after two long trips with that many of the family on board.

Lisa gave me a very nice hug and kiss as I gave her a hand to get off the plane. Each of the ladies gave me and Steve a hug and kiss as they deplaned. Etta told me, "The stop over in Victoria was fast. Dewey was waiting there and was happy to see his family. He told me to tell you that everyone now needed to go stay in the new house for a week or so to break it in."

Cassie approached me with her eyes down until I pulled her to me and gave her a kiss. She brightened quickly and returned the kiss with enthusiasm. Izzy was following Cassie and was holding her arms up for me to pick her up. She smiled as I lifted her. Izzy wrapped her arms around my neck hugging tight enough that I couldn't get air. I pulled her loose, kissed her, and then gave her to Cassie to put her on the bus.

Something inside me felt better now that the family was home. I hadn't realized how unsettling it had been that I was home with the family gone. Not alone, but the family still made the house a home.

The bus dropped Steve's family off at the patio and then went to our house so the ladies/girls/women could unload and get the kids settled before running to the patio. Tina had abandoned me to visit with Lisa and the others, but Etta and Julie rode back with me. The two mature ladies told me how wonderful the new home was. They told me how they had spent the last two nights at the new place to get the feel of it.

While on the way home, Etta told me, "Julie and I made sure that an abundance of patio furniture had been bought since we knew how much you men enjoy being out there, especially in the morning."

Julie added, "Brandy did a good job of designing the back of the house facing the ocean. She wanted the entire back of the house to be a covered porch complete with wood decking to make it feel like my porch on our island home. The pool and porch aren't screened but there doesn't seem to be a lot of bugs over there the same as down on our island."

I was now getting excited to go see how it looks. I know the architect was trying to make the gigantic home look rustic and quaint instead of like a palace, but all the buildings probably made you think of a small village.

The ladies put the car seats right into the carts to go to the patio when we were all out of the bus. They all put their bags away and immediately threw the kids clothes that had been changed today into the washing machine. The kids were exploring the living room, trying to open their toy chest to get some of their favorites out.

Brandy told me, "I have pictures of everything inside and out. I do have a surprise for you that you'll like a lot. I'll bet Etta already told you about the porch on the back of the house. If there is a problem with it, it would be the six-inch step down from the porch to the concrete area that leads to the pool. We can always remove the decking if we find that it's too much for us or the kids. It's perfect now the way you walk out of the house onto a deck that feels like a porch. I think you'll like it."

The kids were excited to be back home and were running from the living room to the family room/kitchen area, and then crowding around anyone near where the cookies usually are. Etta gathered them all and had them follow her into the living room where she sat on the floor and motioned for them all to sit with her hands. They amazingly all sat, including Izzy. My aunt and lover pointed to herself, and said, "Mama Etta." She then pointed to little Julie who was on one end and asked, "What's your name?"

Julie smiled and very plainly said, "My name is Julie."

Holy smokes; that was a full sentence.

Etta pointed at Nitika and asked what her name was. The tiny chocolate girl said, "My name is Nitika," with a huge smile.

She went right around the circle asking the same question to each of the little ones. They each answered with their correct names. Some giggled when they spoke, but they each very plainly said the sentence. Etta held up a children's book when all eleven had said their name, and asked what that was. A mass answer, almost yelled out, "Book." She then asked, "What do I read in the book?" A mass answer again of, "Story."

"Do you want me to read you a story?"

The "Yeses" were clear and loud. Etta opened the book and began reading a story about farm animals. Eleven critters listened intently while their mothers made ready to go to the patio. I was totally amazed.

Julie told me, "Missy and Beth taught Etta and me what they do and how they do it. The kids are very attentive and love to learn. I think Etta keeps them calm through her mental thoughts, but Izzy does the same as the others and she isn't one of yours."

Brandy came to me and said, "Isn't this great. We have so many teaching our kids that they will be far ahead of most kids their age."

Lisa and Tina came to me, and Lisa asked, "Are we going to the patio soon? Bonita and I want to do a little show for everyone later. We learned some of your stuff over there and she wants to show off. You know, you wrote a heck of lot of country back when. The 'Mistress of Music' has had a passion for the twang lately. You're going to have to change her back to blues soon."

I told Lisa, "She'll be fine. Blues is from the soul, and it comes to you when you least expect it. Listen to her and she'll be playing her riffs, and then break into something she's nurturing in her head. That's what blues is all about."

Lisa grinned as she told me, "As much as I love all our blues ballads, I love it when we come up with something new that's gentle and peaceful. The way I find my center to become peaceful is with some of the gentle Eva stuff. You've written a few, but not as many as you've written blues, jazz, or even country."

I was startled by that and told Lisa, "Get with Bonita to go through my music and find those that are gentle ballads or almost gentle hymns. I wrote a bunch during my high school years. Some kids were in a horrible accident that killed six of our friends. I went through a period of mourning that caused me to write some very sweet gentle music. There was also the loss of a dear teacher that I mourned. She encouraged my music where others thought I might be a bubble off. I lost a friend at school and a person who appreciated my music when she died of cancer."

Lisa looked at me and said, "So all of the fun stuff you've been writing reflects your moods? Is it the babies, more women, or just a state of mind?"

"All of the above, Sweetness. Let's get this show on the road and go to the patio. It's almost lunch time, so we should get there and help serve."

The ladies were ready and moved the kids to the carts with the baby seats. I was standing with Tina and Lisa as we watched the multiple carts loaded with our kids move toward the patio. Etta was standing with us and said, "Just think, we'll have twice as many carts very soon."

That was something to think about, but I didn't have to do anything about it yet. The time would come and we would meet the challenge like we met all the others to date.

All the lunch people had descended upon the patio for their usual soup and sandwich, but today was special because all the ladies were back. Also important were the antics of the little kids running from table to table to say hi to people they hadn't seen for over a week.

Steve was sitting back in his chair with a broad smile as he surveyed those around him. He leaned over to me and softly said, "This is what life's about. These are our family. I wish we could pack them up and bring them all with us when we go gallivanting around. I really don't need Hawaii, Costa Rica, or even up in the San Juan Islands. Right here, with these people is who and what I need."

I had to agree, but I loved the gentleness of Julie's island at the same time, except for the resorts. I love Hawaii, but again not the resorts. Our new home should be my answer for tranquility. The morning sunrises were already on my personal agenda. I loved the peacefulness of mornings up in the San Juan Islands. The awakening of the eagles, muskrats, and seals is an amazing time. I was looking forward to sitting down on the dock watching the world wake up. The cacophony of the crazy birds in Costa Rica is a great way to wake up, of course. My heart was pulled into four parts, and they all held great appeal. The catalyst was these critters running around the tables and their mothers.

Wes was having lunch on the patio today, so I took the time to talk to him about what I thought would be a good project.

"Do you think you could put your mind to creating an aircraft that would be as plush as the 737-BBJ we've been using, but a little smaller version, Wes? The big bird we're using can be configured for a lot of people than we usually travel with. I want a plane to hold about half of what the capacity of that 737 is, but I also want it to do a few more things. One, I want an aircraft capable of extended range. We'll talk about how far as we go along. Two, I want an aircraft capable of taking off within three thousand feet, and it also has to land and stop that fast, of course." That got a chuckle. "Third, I want a passenger aircraft easily capable of Mach 2 without creating a sound disturbance."

I stopped to let that sink in before summarizing, "So, I want a very fast, very efficient, aircraft capable of hauling my family from here to Hawaii in half the time it now takes. You guys created the new technology for the quiet Mach 2+ military aircraft, so do it again with even more speed. I obviously want something safe for my family, but I want a fast workhorse capable of landing and taking off on a short runway."

Wes laughed and said, "You're describing every manufacturer's dream ship. That you don't want a behemoth helps, because I think that's been the holdup on most aircraft being designed. Let me begin some thought processes and see what might be possible. Your three thousand foot runway may be a deal breaker, but I'll work on it."

"Great, Wes, I think the general design you have for the military plane and the strange turboprop with the canards will probably be what you come up with, but look for extra lift for takeoff. Takeoff doesn't have to be fast, just short."

Steve had heard my conversation with Wes and told me, "Now you'll have Wes and Sal pouring over every design known to man to see if something out there would be good to incorporate. They will be doing handstands by tomorrow."

"Having a smaller aircraft that could be configured for fast intercontinental corporate travel would be a hot item, Steve. Those people don't care about money, they care about time. The time to get somewhere screws up their days and keeps them from making more and more money."

"You're right, Chuck, even the Arab princes have to constantly refer to time charts to buy and sell their oil. A faster aircraft would be a winner among those who could afford it."

I told Steve, "I'm sure we can come up with a design that's inexpensive and still be what we want. We can have it built out any way we want."

I stepped out after lunch to call Jan at the FBI to see how the interrogation was going. I really wanted to know about the men taken into custody yesterday. "Hey, Jan, how are you getting along questioning the men brought in yesterday?"

"Not worth a darn, Chuck. They haven't spoken a word since we processed them. None of them have any ID, and none of them have prints on IAFIS (Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System). Using your suggestion to track the investment holding company to Bering Mining, we might be onto something with photo IDs requested for these men to be on federal property to inspect uranium deposits. The facial recognition software has ID'd two, but the rest are still unknowns so far. The credit card used to rent their van is from the investment company so there is another link there. We're coming up on the time where we are going to have to charge them and let them get attorneys. The two men with an ID may not be who they really are, so we are at a loss. The U.S. attorney said they can still be charged and held without bail even without knowing who they are since they were involved in a terminal incident. It would be 2^nd degree murder at a minimum."

"Just to be on the safe side, Jan, I want your lab guys to scan these guys. They might have implanted tracking devices if they are agents of any kind."

Jan told me, "We did the thorough screening complete with all body hair, but we didn't do a scan. I'll have them do that right away. You know you're right, they could be agents of some kind, so we'll have to beef up security to be safe."

"Let me know what I can do to help the investigation. Right now, I want to make sure the park is secure and our family stays safe."

I went back inside to find Hap and Steve when we hung up. We went back outside where I asked them both, "Would it be possible to close the business park entrances off and to check everyone entering? I'm only thinking temporary but people can come through those two entrances as well as out the back of the hotel area. I'd really like to figure a way to have a better check on those who enter for a while. I know job applicants come in and buses deliver the workers in the morning but there are too many ways for people to get in."

Hap said, "That might hurt some of the businesses here because people come to buy carts, trucks, motor homes, and truck bodies. The strip businesses depend on the traffic from the outside world too. We have maximum security for the R&D center, and patrols in the trailer park as well as the business park. We could increase those but I don't think we could close off the parks altogether."

Steve nodded in agreement and said, "Maybe you and your family need to go to Costa Rica, up to visit Dewey, or out to your new place. I'd understand if you feel uncomfortable here."

"I'll talk to the ladies and get a consensus of what they think. I think I'm concerned for the safety of everyone in the park and not just my personal family. Anyone could be at risk."

Steve said, "We should be okay with Hap's people watching and all of us being aware. You'll just have to stick around instead of gallivanting around the country."

My cell phone dinged and I saw it was from the local Deputy Marshal's office. It was Sarah who told me, "We found the delivery driver who was bringing your new phones. He was dehydrated and still tied up, but he'll be okay. His division isn't very happy with these events and is trying to figure out how their phone security became compromised. I can imagine they're feeling the scrutiny right now."

"Well, they need to look inside as it almost has to be within the admin group, Sarah. We should suggest planting individual security phrases or words for each handler and see which one leaks. That might be the way to do it, but they have brighter minds than mine to figure it out."

Sarah asked, "How are you? Are you almost back to normal? Are you still restricted?"

"I've been released to fly, but still need to take it easy for a while. I think I want to stick around home until I know there isn't a threat to my family. I'm concerned for everyone out here right now. Those people are far to slick for us to be complacent."

The Assistant Deputy Marshal Chief said, "The men you brought in were just scanned. None have implants so they must be recent hires or immigrants. They still won't talk so the Federal prosecutor has them being charged with terrorism, accomplices to murder, kidnapping, and a few other charges. A judge has ordered them held without bail, so they are all in our special security area. We watch and listen to them twenty-four/seven so we might be able to come up with something from them. The FBI is visiting all of the investment company's offices and has warrants to search all the Bering Mining company offices."

That gave me an idea so I told Sarah, "Keep your eyes and ears open, and let me know if anything comes up. I'm going to work on this from another angle."

I went inside the patio and found Sal talking to Wes about ideas they might have on what I had talked about. I asked Sal, "Can we go somewhere to talk about another matter that has come up? It's important and it needs to be private."