Chapter 24

In the morning I looked outside and saw Jack!

What the... ???

Jack???

Then I thought about. Jack!!!

Cool.

When I hit the yard he turned and said, "I was told you needed to replace the entire crew. Is that correct?"

I saw through it immediately. Jim had talked to him and sent him to look out for me. Colleen in my life, or no Colleen in my life, Jim was going to look out for those he loved. Jack did not want to believe it, but I could tell he knew the facts by the way he looked me over.

"You're the one that got shot all to hell, right?" that statement caused Teri to physically flinch. I hadn't noticed her come out until she recoiled from Jack's comment.

"I've had a difficult year in that regard," was all I said.

Jack looked contrite and said, "No offense meant, but when I was awakened with orders to hightail it to no-forks Carolina, it kind of ruined my day." He had an air of frustration about him that I wanted to get to and understand.

Norm showed up and they went off to talk about details, schedules, procedures, and dirty tricks, while I had breakfast with Teri and the kids. Once the kids were fed and sent off to their room to play with some of the toys I bought them, Teri sat down, gave me her version of the look, and said, "What was that all about? When were shot? Who shot you? And why?"

I wasn't in the mood for a long story, so I told her about getting shot on the floor of the Capitol. She made all the right noises, and once she was satisfied with the answer, got busy cleaning up the kitchen.

She didn't seem terribly anxious to get away from me, so I asked, "How are you liking the place, your rooms, and the job?"

Her smile replaced a look that was nearly blank, and she perked up immediately. "Kevin, I love this place. Your ranch is beautiful, and the house is great. Thank you for everything you've done for us. The children have a roof over their heads and food to eat. I have a job, a home, and I'm not living in absolute fear of what will hit us next.

"Thank you so much..." Her smile was a thing of beauty. Though she wasn't beautiful, her smile lit up the area around her. Teri seemed to exude energy, today. Having a roof over her head and a full belly must have played a part in that, so she felt the need to thank me again.

"I am very pleased that you and the kids are safe, well, and that you are willing to be my housekeeper. You do need to use the Highlander for shopping and errands, but I would avoid downtown Asheville, especially the west side for a little while.

"By the way, since you've had two good nights of sleep and some new clothes, you don't resemble the woman I met in that alley. Not even a little..."

We chatted rather pointlessly until me phone rang.

It was the Judge.

"Kevin, I hear the company has sent you their best man, Jack. I also heard all about your excitement last night. We are looking into things, but you need to be extraordinarily careful until we figure out who's who, and what's what.

"On another note, the President was briefed about your hunch, and how it played out. He knows you saved his bacon, again. You have earned a true friend there. That is something rarely seen in Presidential politics. The President of the United States is deeply in your debt, and you keep saving him by out-thinking the rest of us. Are you some kind of space alien or from the future? Only kidding, but you are a remarkably adroit analyst. America needs good analysis, and you give it to us for free."

He was a bit too worked up for this to be a simple social call, so I let him hoover all around like a vacuum, and waited for him to come out with the reason we were talking. When he did, I almost wished I hadn't.

"Your hunches about the Vice President are coming true, Kevin. There is far too much evidence of the VP playing footsie with people he shouldn't even know. As the noose tightens, we are concerned about how he will react. If the President were to be assassinated, AND the VP found complicit, the Speaker of the House would automatically assume power until the next election, and we are not looking forward to something that insane.

"The Secret Service is all over Bradford. He can't conceal a belch from them right now. His phones are busy all the time, especially the one no one is supposed to know about, but the calls are all to and from burner phones, so the picture remains cloudy.

"The fact that you put us onto him is the only reason the President is still alive, in the opinion of our best thinkers. The President is convinced of it, and wants to reward you, but is stumped as to how to do so without tipping his hand. He has asked me multiple times to give him suggestions as to how to properly reward you, but none of us can come with anything that works.

"Just know that he knows and will find a way to make sure you are properly taken care of, which includes our beefing up your personal detail. That is underway right now and will be in place before the end of the business day. We are determined to keep you from harm, somehow.

"So Let Us!"

When he hung up, I went inside with Sammy and rested in the living room for a little while. The view was as beautiful and captivating, but nothing so dramatically intense as the night view during a full moon. Once my feet were up and Sammy was plastered against my side, I drifted off to sleep.