Steve and Chuck Changes and Life AdjustmentsChapter 6
- 1 year ago
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Chuck
There was a noise in the room. I couldn’t place it right away, but I finally realized it was my cell phone that was still in my pants pocket. I moved over Tiani and Lena and hopped to my pants. I pulled the phone from the pocket, flipped it open, and said, “Johnson.”
The voice was very dry, very curt, “We have a job for you. You need to be in DC in four hours.”
I said, “Who are you?”
The voice once again with a very curt response, “We have a job for you. Get in your plane and get here. You have four hours to do it.”
While I was listening to this, I slipped on my leg and went to the kitchen. I responded to the caller, “I don’t know who you are or why you are even calling me. I’m on vacation, leave of absence, possibly not working for you any longer, that is if you are one of my employers. Who are you?”
The same voice said, “This is an order. You must comply.”
Now I was pissed, “When you find someone who knows who they work for and has a name, call me.”
I pushed the end button and closed the phone. I needed to pee so I was standing over the commode when my phone rang again, the caller ID showed ‘Restricted.’ I answered again, “Johnson.”
The same voice began all over again, “This is an order. You are to be at Andrews within four hours and the clock has been ticking.”
I said into the phone, “Hang on a second.”
From the bathroom I went down the hall and into my office. I found my tiny recorder and plugged it into my cell phone. As I pushed the power button on my PC, I spoke to the voice on the phone.
I told the voice, “You know what; I don’t work for anyone any longer. You can’t order me to do anything. I’ve given you a choice and I will repeat it so you can write it down or push the button for your recorder. If you want to talk to me, you will identify yourself, who you work for, and who you are calling for. I don’t recognize your voice and for all I know, no one knows I’m even back in the states yet.”
Continuing, I said, “I’m going to hang up now and probably go back to bed. Have a nice day.”
“Wait, wait, you don’t understand, I cannot talk over an unsecured line. You must do as you’re ordered. I’m in charge now, John Scott is no longer here and I am in charge of missions. You are the appropriate person for what is needed. Now get your ass in gear and get here in about three hours and forty minutes.”
Now I was really pissed, “Or what? You’re going to dock my pay? You’re going to take my office away from me? If you’ve taken John Scott’s place, you have a long way to go to fill his shoes.”
The voice was now pissy. “I’ll have you know I have almost fifteen years in federal law enforcement. I have been an FBI agent and head of offices for over five years. I know my job and will probably exceed anything your John Scott ever did because I was FBI. Now I’m ordering you, get in one your airplanes and get here.”
I said, “I didn’t want to do this, but it looks like it is necessary. Don’t call me, I’ll call you. I’ll make arrangements with the local station chief to turn in any equipment that is checked out to me. Goodbye whoever you are, I am no longer a deputy.”
“You can’t quit, you are sworn to uphold the law and sworn to follow the commands of this office.”
“You know, you’d better talk to my Marshal. I know he is only head of my area and not necessarily over all of the areas I used to oversee, but he can help you understand my position.”
The guy wasn’t going to quit, “Your position has already been slated to be eliminated. I should have authorization to close your office and transfer you to DC within the week.”
“You don’t listen, do you? I don’t work for you any longer. As of a few minutes ago I am no longer a U.S. Deputy Marshal. I will go to my local PC and send you my resignation right now. I’ll send it to you and the Marshal over my specific area. That should just about cover it. Now goodbye and go take a Dale Carnegie course. You need it.”
The voice was still sputtering as I closed my phone. It rang again, but still showed ‘Restricted’ so I just pushed the button for the call to go to voicemail.
Just to be sure, I played what I had recorded back before hooking up the USB cable to the PC, transferred, and saved the call as an MP3 file.
It only took a minute to compose my resignation letter and to send it off. Oh yeah, I didn’t get his e-mail address. That’s okay; I’ll send one to John’s address, the general office mailbox, and a copy to the Marshal.
I included the MP3 file in the e-mail so anyone who saw the message would be curious enough to listen to it. On the cc: of the e-mail to the Marshal, I included the note, “Listen to this and be sure to send the man to Dale Carnegie.” I figured he would get a laugh out of that.
The time on the PC said six thirty. Oh boy, less than three hours sleep. I can see this is going to be a tough day. I went back to my closet to put on some shorts and my sport leg. I was going to get back into the habit of exercising.
I had just begun to walk before running, when my cell rang again. The caller ID said, ‘Jeff Davis.”
Flipping the phone open I said “This is Johnson, how are you, Marshal?”
“Not worth a shit, you asshole. That sanctimonious prick that was hired in John’s position just called me to tell me you refused a direct order. He wants to prosecute you.”
“Marshal, take it easy. He can’t prosecute me for anything. First, even if I was still a Deputy Marshal, you can’t prosecute someone for refusing a mission that could have dangerous risks beyond what the deputy is willing to take. Since the man wouldn’t tell me what he wanted, I have to assume it is dangerous. Second, if you will turn on your PC and check your e-mail, my letter of resignation is there. He can’t prosecute a civilian. There is no federal law that says a citizen has to do something for the feds except pay taxes. I do that, I do that a lot.”
The Marshal said, “Wait a minute while my PC boots up. Didn’t he tell you what was up?”
“No Sir, he called and gave me four hours to be in DC. He didn’t even tell me his name, and in the beginning, would not tell me what agency he worked for or any details about what he wanted of me.”
“Okay, here it is. What’s this MP3 file?” The Marshal asked, not knowing what it was.
“Click on it and make sure your speakers are on. You’ll hear the second call he made to me. Listen to his tone of voice and his manner. It definitely isn’t very likeable.”
I could hear the Marshal listening to the recording. When it was over he asked, “Did you tell him you were recording him?”
“No Sir, the man was threatening me, and I had a need to protect myself, so I recorded the offending conversation.”
“Oh, Johnson, why didn’t you take the job instead of letting the DOJ hire someone? I did like your suggestion for him to take a Dale Carnegie course. He sure could use it. That’s not the whole problem, though. He is lobbying Justice to get rid of a few Marshals, me included. He thinks that we should be put out of the service as we are too old and not up to his standards. I’m not sure, but he may have his head up someone’s rear end. Oh, you’re not recording this, are you?”
“No Sir, you talk straight, I know who you are, and your name came up on my caller ID.”
The Marshal said, “Oh yes, another big deal with him. He has all of our calls being listed as restricted because he doesn’t want anyone to caller ID him or us. I like to let people know I’m calling. I get a lot more respect that way.”
“So when was anyone going to tell me the man is closing the office here. What about Wanda and the girls?”
Marshal Davis said, “He did say that, didn’t he? He can’t close your office without the consent of all of the Marshals, and I only know of one who might side with him. That’s the northern Midwest Marshal whose regional you put in jail. He might not be over that yet. He knows it was necessary, but he feels he should have been the one to catch him.”
I said, “You guys are the politicians. It’s your job to get us funding, equipment, and give us some support and guidance when we need it, or at least when I used to need it.”
He said, “Don’t go off half-cocked. Our nemesis may have overstepped his authority. You’re still on leave of absence, right?”
“Yes Sir, I have at least another thirty days of injury leave I haven’t used. Do they pay me for that?”
Jeff Davis said, “You get that, your vacation that you haven’t taken, and any other expenses that we might still owe you. Your Wanda keeps a tight reign on your expense vouchers. She splits them between agencies very well. That’s another thing Ronald was bitching about. He doesn’t think you should work for two separate agencies, even though you are paid only one check. He hasn’t been told what agency, only that you are a covert agent when needed.”
“So the man’s name is Ronald, huh? What’s Ronnie’s last name?”
The Marshal chuckled, “Oh yeah, he didn’t ever give you his name, did he? His name is Ronald Evans and you may be right, he could be a Ronnie but that’s no excuse for his actions ... I think the DOJ person that put him in place may also be a flamer. Just what we need, you guys will have to learn to give good blowjobs for promotions.”
“That is still no excuse to talk to me the way he did. As far as anything else, don’t include me, Marshal, I’m no longer a deputy. I still have my Secret Service card, but I can get rid of that too, if necessary.”
“Don’t do that, Chuck. You already have them nervous about you and Lisa dancing over staying in or not. They need you, both of you, and I’m going to make sure you receive no more CIA backed missions so you don’t have to work with them.”
There was a pause before he said, “Let me get this voice file around to the other Marshals and we will confront DOJ about the guy you’re calling Ronnie.”
As soon as I closed my phone, it rang again. It was the voice. “I am going to prosecute you for taping my call to you earlier. I’ve already applied for a warrant for your arrest. I’m also blocking the Marshal from any e-mail transmissions from his residence. I’ll show you, you homophobic asshole. I’m going to bury you.”
I answered him, “Hey, I even defended what may or may not be your life style. You’re out of line Evans.
I heard him exclaim, “Fuck you,” as he hung up on me. Now he was acting like John Scott.
I pushed the off button to my recorder and transferred the file to my PC. I put both of the files on two separate memory sticks then recorded three DVDs of the two conversations.
The man was obviously monitoring my cell phone, so I went up to Wanda’s apartment and knocked on the door. John answered it and said, “Need some coffee? I have some made but you’re going to have to put up with Wanda in her nighty.”
I followed John into his kitchen, and found Wanda sitting at the counter that divides the kitchen from their living room. John poured me some coffee, and I was going to ask Wanda to use her cell phone, but I had a better idea. “John, can I borrow your cell phone for a minute?”
He shrugged his shoulders and picked it up from the countertop by a wall outlet. He unplugged the charger and handed it to me. I handed Wanda a memory stick and said, “Hang on to this, it could become important.”
I dialed the Marshal’s home number instead of his cell phone. He answered, “Davis.”
“Marshal, this call is probably being monitored and recorded by Ronald Evans. He monitored our last conversation and said he has applied for an arrest warrant for the unauthorized recording of a federal conversation. I think the threat thing still applies, so I’m not that worried other than the harassment. I have a few important things happening right now. The man said he has cut off your e-mail access so you can’t advise any of the other Marshals. I do think you should find a pay phone somewhere and make a few telephone calls. If Evans is listening, he may try to stop you, so be careful. I’m going to be very careful of my actions until this is resolved. You are or were my reporting official and I have notified you of my resignation. I am not recording this call so be careful, Sir, and find a phone.”
Wanda was setting there with her hand over her mouth. She asked, “What in the world started this?”
I told her, “Go listen to the recordings and you’ll have an idea. Don’t get too pissed, just listen. We both need to go into the office real quick to get a few things and our telephone directory. Before you turn on your computer at the office, unplug your data cable so it doesn’t show on the server tracking. Go listen to the recording and get dressed; we need to get going.”
It took me fifteen minutes to SS&S. While I was dressing, Lisa came in, “What’s going on? I heard you talking on the phone and you didn’t sound very happy.”
“There are some CDs and a memory stick on my desk. Listen to the two files so you have an idea of what’s going on. You might even want to make several more copies to be on the safe side. Scatter them so they can’t take them all. Wanda and I have to get to the office right away to handle some stuff. You can call our Secret Service contact and advise him of what’s happening and see what they can do. Meanwhile, I gotta go.”
Lisa asked, “Shouldn’t I go with you?”
“No, you probably should get dressed and be ready, but don’t come into the station right now. Go listen to the phone conversations and get dressed.” I gave her a kiss and met Wanda as we were going out to the cars. Instead of using Wanda’s or my car, I used the girl’s Expedition and left the area by going out the trailer park entrance. I was watching to make sure I wasn’t followed, but I did see a car watching the business park drive.
Wanda asked, “Do you think they have my phone tapped too?”
“They might, Wanda, so let’s do ourselves a favor.” I pulled into a big gas station and bought four cell phones with the minimum minutes each along with a regular charger and a car charger. I was almost laughing as I used one of my American Express debit cards to pay for it. Totally untraceable and the card would not trigger anything anywhere.
I plugged in one of the phones into the car charger and handed Wanda the phone, the regular charger and told her, “Put this on a charger as soon as you can and don’t call John as they have his number now, and if they have a court order, they can listen to his phone now too.”
It didn’t take long to get to the office on a Saturday morning. Before pulling into the parking area, I drove past and looked for any out of place occupied vehicles that could be watching the lot. We let ourselves in the back door, opened the seldom used private elevator, and rode up to our floor. We were in our office in seconds and went to work. We both pulled our data cords to disconnect our PCs from the server. Both of us downloaded our phone books to DVDs, I printed a copy, then began gathering personal stuff.
I had my gym bag in the office, so I loaded it with the stuff from the safe, along with a couple of personal things I definitely wanted to keep. When I looked up, Wanda was standing at my office door, ready to leave. We retraced our steps going down the private elevator and out the back door. We were driving out of the back lot quickly and I said, “Let’s go home now. It might be best to make our calls before we get there though. Oh yeah, let’s go to the library so we can send these files to the other Marshals, and I want to send one to the Secret Service.”
Wanda said, “Good idea, those guys don’t put up with any shit from anyone.”
We were at the local library in a couple of minutes where I set up all of the Marshals e-mail addresses. I was hoping good ole’ Ronnie had not killed their e-mail as well. I hit send and began calling the Marshals. Wanda called the Eastern and Central time zone Marshals and I called the Mountain and Pacific as those guys would still be asleep, or at least should have been. They were awake because my Marshal had already called them. Each of them advised me to be available if a deputy came to exercise a warrant. They were all trying to get through to the DOJ in order to stop this. When I asked if they had received my e-mail, the first Marshal said, “My e-mail isn’t working for some reason.”
I asked, “Do you have another e-mail address like Yahoo or Gmail?”’
The man said, “MSN, the same as my regular, just MSN.com. I sent the e-mail and he was watching for it to come through. He said, “I got it. I have everyone else’s private e-mail and will send it now.”
When I told him that his phone and probably the other Marshal’s phones were probably tapped, there could be problems sending the e-mail. He said, “Don’t worry, I’ll get through and whoever authorized these actions had better have the ear of the AG (Attorney General). This is beyond anything I’ve ever heard of, and I am not aware of any current or hot national security threat.”
I tossed the brand new, or at least reconditioned, once used, cell phone into a trash can before we left for home with another phone on the car charger.
As we passed by the location where the car had been parked when we left the park, the original car was gone, but two more were sitting there. I stopped at the turn around by the trailer park office and used another of the temporary cell phones. When the old sounding voice came on the line I said, “Good morning, Judge; this is Deputy Johnson. Once again, I think something is going on and I’m being tracked by my own agency. I want to ask you to find me an attorney to help me. If I’m right, I will probably be in the federal lockup in an hour or less.”
The judge said, “Does this have anything to do with the new head of the deputies? The man had the local station chief try to apply for taps on a bunch of phones. The problem was he didn’t have probable cause, so I denied them.”
I told the judge, “That’s the man and he was able to get someone to sign an order and is getting a warrant out for my arrest right now. He threatened me over the phone, so I had him hold until I was able to plug in my recorder. He threatened me again and I have it recorded. I resigned as a deputy, but he is still going to attempt to prosecute me for disobeying a direct order. I called my Marshal to advise him of the problem and as soon as I hung up, Mr. Evans, the new head of deputies called me and again told me he was getting an additional arrest warrant for illegally recording the conversation. That’s how I found out my phone was tapped. He also has put a block on all of the Marshals’ e-mails. So, Judge, I don’t want you to get involved in this, but please find a good attorney and have him call, ah, hang on a second.” I picked up another of the cell phones. “Have the attorney call 813-485-3235. That is a temporary cell phone my office assistant will have. I think her personal cell phone is tapped too. Oh, another thing, the cell phone I have been using is not an agency phone. I had my own phone and have kept it, instead of using one provided by the Marshal Service.”
“Darn, Johnson, you get yourself in a lot of hot water. When are you going to settle down and lead a normal life? I thought you were on an extended rehabilitation leave right now. I know you took a sailing trip, but I didn’t know you were home.”
“Judge, I just got home yesterday. The call demanding I report to DC for an unspecified duty came at six thirty this morning. I have to get back to my house before these bozos come to arrest me. Thank you for helping.”
The judge said, “It’s my pleasure. You’ve always been a straight shooter with me and have helped the local station be one of the best. I know who you need and I’ll call right now.”
I gave Wanda the judge’s telephone number so she could report anything that might happen. I told her, “When we get home, there may be deputies there with a warrant. If I’m arrested, call the judge to let him know.” I dug through my wallet for another of the debit cards from the Riviera and thought I was getting the one with less money on it and handed it to Wanda. “There is more than enough money for you to pay my attorney, as well as take care of you in the event you are terminated. Take care of the two girls too, as they will probably be let go as well. Use the card to buy more cell phones and remember, use them once then give them away or better yet, turn them off and throw them into the trash. Go buy another dozen and charge them up just to make sure.”
When we drove around the corner of the street where the house was, there were three cars in front of the house and another in the driveway, blocking entry or exit. I leaned down so it would be difficult to recognize me. “Wanda, get down so they don’t see you.”
I drove past and straight to Steve’s patio. The place was full of people and they all wanted to know about the new babies. Steve recognized my troubled attitude and we stepped outside. I gave him a quick rundown on what was happening, handed him a DVD copy of the conversation, and he helped me unload the Expedition into Sue’s SUV. I told him Wanda would keep in touch and asked him if he would see that the girls in the hospital were taken care of.
“Damn, Chuck, you’re serious, aren’t you? Do you really think you can be arrested?”
I told Steve, “It’s easy to have someone arrested, but more difficult to make a charge stick. When whatever judge arraigns me, I should easily get bail, but it is Saturday, so I’ll probably be locked up until Monday.”
Steve said, “No way. I’m not letting you go to jail. Wait a second while I talk to Tiny and get my keys, we’re going to take a ride.”
I asked Wanda, “Call the house to see what’s going on. I know Lisa can handle anything there, but some of the others may be panicked. See if you can find Jan too. This may fall under her jurisdiction.”
When Steve came out, he told Wanda while she was still on the phone, “You should probably stay here to help the girls. Chuck is going to be gone for a couple of days.”
Wanda had an angry look on her face when she hung up. “There are a bunch of out of town, Chicago deputies searching the house and have carted off every computer there. Not just yours downstairs, but everyone’s. Even Jan’s, she is radically pissed and already on the phone to DC. She says she’s having difficulty dialing long distance though.”
I told Wanda, “They are blocking circuit access of any phone they might believe is associated with me. When you get home, have the girls go out and buy some more cheap pay you as go cell phones. Give them the rundown so they will know what’s going on. Stay in touch with Sue if you need help getting the girls home. Sue and Mercy will help. I’ll call you on this last cell phone as it hasn’t been used yet.”
After writing down the number, we left in Steve’s S&S truck going who knows where. Steve said, “I’d tell you to fly to Costa Rica, but they probably have someone watching the airpark. I have a better idea and it should be a place where no one knows about yet.”
We drove away from the park and stopped at a nearby Wal-Mart where I bought a couple of dozen pay as you go cell phones. I separated a dozen for Steve, telling him to give them to the girls. I know this was going to be overkill, but a knowledgeable fed can get access to lot of phone calls fast. We drove across the causeway to Clearwater, and across the bridge to the intercostal beach area. Steve turned north and went to what I figured must almost be the end of that intercostal island area, turning into a parking lot with construction equipment everywhere. There was a group of very nice docks with a couple of boats, including a big forty-five foot catamaran fishing cruiser. Steve said, “Want to take a little cruise? Tiny has the catamaran stocked for two couples for two weeks, so there has to be enough food for just you to last at least a month. It seems you know how to hide out in the Gulf and have done it before, so get near land every once in a while and call me.”
I asked, “Won’t people know this boat is missing and know what to look for?”
Steve answered, “This is a boat Tiny just picked up at auction from Magellan before we got back from our sailing trip, and he was going to use it for a fun fishing trip for him, Henry, and their wives. I’ll tell him to use one of the other boats. He just had this boat gone over from bow to stern to make sure it was in as good a condition as it looks. He understands.”
“What is this place, what’s all of the construction?” I asked, looking around, waving at all of the construction in progress.
Steve said, “This is going to be our new yacht club. The other one has been successful enough that they want us to move most of our boats because of their size. We’ll keep a couple of fishing boats and day sailors up there, but this will be the place where all of our big charters will go out from and where we will dock all of our big boats. This should be done next month and we’ll move almost all of our boats over here. We already have about fifty yacht owners that want to dock here and join our club. It should be fun.” Steve was leading the way to the catamaran and said, “There are coveralls in the main cabin that should fit and there are always a bunch of swim suits. Use the washer and dryer to get the clothes you have on now clean so you will look fresh when you come back. You know you could hail me on our club frequency. That would bypass anyone monitoring what you’re doing. I have a handheld here in the truck. We’ll test it; now let me show you this beast.”
When I went onto the big boat, I couldn’t help but think about the big boat in Costa Rica. This wasn’t as big, but it was even more plush, and a lot better arranged. I wonder what kind of auction had a boat with this much class. Steve had keys and we entered the main salon through a heavy sliding glass or plexiglass door that had a bridge cockpit on a raised area in the front. There was great visibility all around, so whoever was handling the boat would be able to safely navigate around other boats.”
Steve began showing me all of the features on the boat, while turning on various items. He told me, “Since this is a motor cruiser only, you don’t need the standalone generator unless the engines are off and you will be using a lot of electricity. For most times at night, you can just use the batteries. The tanks are about half full so you have enough fuel to get you halfway to Costa Rica if you wanted to do that, so you can go anywhere on the Gulf without fear of running out of fuel. Here are all the charts for the Gulf, as well as the upper Caribbean. Let’s get the engines running so you can see how everything turns on and off.”
Steve had me throw switches, turning on the engine compartment fans, while he turned on the two radars and the weather monitor. When he had me start the engines individually, you could feel how powerful the engines were, even though they were well muffled and quiet. Steve said, “After your big sailboat, this should be a no-brainer. This is better than a sailboat for you right now because you can move faster. This thing will do almost thirty knots at seventy percent power. But if you’re going all out, you will cut your range in half. This has a second big tank, but it doesn’t have anything in it. If you fill it, you’ll have over a thousand mile range at near full throttle, more than triple that at sixty to seventy percent. You’ll like this thing.”
“You know Magellan was having trouble staying in business. They started to build more commercial boats such as this one but that didn’t even help. When Tiny found this at an auction, he investigated Magellan and we are working something out to keep them in business. You’ll hear more about it later.”
Steve showed me the locker on deck where the emergency supplies were. There was a couple of blowup rafts with sun covers, first aid kits, emergency rations, flare guns, and life jackets. He showed me the anchor set up and shore connection facilities. “That should do it, Chuck. Go out a ways and stay there. I’ll call you on the club frequency listed on the radio. It has the dual band receiver so you can monitor multiple channels at the same time. Ready? Let me help you with the lines. Oh yeah, all of the fishing equipment is in this rear locker. The whole side of the bulkhead let’s down to get at it.”
Steve tested his handheld with the onboard radio and the reception was a little fuzzy as we were right next to each other. Steve untied the three lines holding the boat and watched me coil them real quick. He waved as I stepped into the cockpit. I really didn’t want to run, but I really didn’t want to spend a weekend in jail either.
It took me a few minutes to become accustomed to handling the boat, but I was motoring due west in short order. As soon as I was about five miles out, I began checking the GPS to get an idea of where I might go. I thought, ‘Might as well go to Key West. I’ll bet John will have a fit over what is going on.’
After turning to head south, I angled back toward the coast so I could pick up better cell reception. Hopefully these cheap cell phones would work. Most of what I bought were older model reconditioned Motorola flip phones. Those always seem to work well. While just cruising at about twenty knots, I was looking through all of the manuals in the compartment next to the wheel controls.
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Chuck I was on my way to Cut Bank, Montana. Way up in northern Montana. My Aunt Etta-Mae had called saying she was in trouble. Lisa had just asked me to tell her what was really happening. The cabin satellite phone was ringing. Julie went to answer it and looked up at me. I told her I could transfer the call to my headset. "Johnson." "Is this Charles Johnson?" I told the voice, "It is. Most call me Chuck." "Chuck, you have an aunt named Etta-Mae Johnson, right?" Being wary I...
Steve Mercy was shaking me, "Steve, Steve, wake up. Chuck may need you. I think Maria's in trouble." I sat straight up trying to think why Maria would be in trouble. Oh yeah, she's about to hatch. "What kind of trouble, Mercy, what is it?" Mercy just shook her head, "I don't know, but she just woke Chuck up. He may need us. Let's get over there to make sure they are alright." I began putting some clothes on. Sue, Kathy, Mickey, and Juanita woke, seeing Mercy and me dressing,...
Chuck Waking up in a strange bed, or in this case, on a strange couch is disconcerting. I had to look around to find my leg before going to the bathroom. As I traversed to the toilet, I thought I smelled coffee brewing. When I left the bathroom, I went straight to the kitchen and found Julie and Missy sitting at the big kitchen table with fresh cups in front of them. In a chair across from them was a steaming cup of coffee. Julie smiled, pointed to it, and said, "Good morning,...
Chuck The last baby had been fed her middle of the night feeding, and I was really deep asleep. Lisa was shaking me. When I came out of my fog, I heard her say, "Your cell phone is ringing. Hope that isn't a problem." I got up from bed and hopped into my closet/dressing area to retrieve my phone from the tray I put pocket junk in. "Johnson," "You son of a gun, we did just like you've been doing and let it ride, all of it, we kept letting it ride. Brother Chuck, Tiny and I have hit...
Steve Amazing, one night the little ones don't wake you up, and the next they wake up a couple of times. It wasn't bad either time, as Mickey and Giovanna were quickly up to take care of them. I can't imagine what Chuck is doing with ten of them in his big suite. Chuck has made some very nice plans for us, considering I thought the resort was sold out to other customers. Chuck is sneaky that way. He'll have had this planned for months now, and was able to coordinate holding the Costa...
Steve As soon as I stepped out on the patio, Tiny came in the back door, waving some papers while grinning his conspiratorial grin. I asked, "What are up to, Tiny? What's got you wound up so early?" "I've just heard from another Saudi sheik who is buying a new 737. The man heard we were buyers and called our office. The night customer service people transferred the call to me and we will get the new or rather new/used bird today. The Sheik's agent said we would like the price. I...
Steve On Monday and Tuesday, Sue and I went through our local plants, visiting with the managers and workers, assuring them of what a great job they were doing. A highlight of the visits was my time spent in the recently expanded R&D building. The new guy, Sandy Flowers, had become an integral part of the team there. After setting up software to track testing and modifications, Sandy had begun helping Gerry on one of her quests to create a special polymer composite that would resist...
Chuck When we woke up the next morning, I went up to the galley and made coffee. Up in the main salon, I opened the sliding door to a cacophony of birds in the nearby trees. I watched a turtle run down a log into the water, and even saw a set of eyes back in the mangroves looking for something to eat. Lisa brought me a mug of coffee and we sat out on the deck, looking around at the peaceful setting. A boat would come down or go up the river, but we were fairly obscured and someone would...
Steve I was awake around three in the morning, thinking about Chuck and Lisa. I watched them go through some really deep emotions yesterday. Every person who has gone through combat has experienced it. You hold it in and hold it in, experiencing the flashbacks and reliving the fear and adrenaline boost all over again, time and time again, whether in dreams at night or when something triggers it. Anyone who has every experienced it would have recognized that Chuck and Lisa were sitting on...
Steve It was already six thirty when I looked at the clock. Today was Saturday, but I could hear noises and people moving around in the kitchen. I did my bathroom stuff and walked out to find what looked like most of Chuck's household in the kitchen. Chuck and Lisa were peeling potatoes, some pregnant women were working with dough for some kind of treat, and Gina and Mesa were making some paper thin pancakes and wrapping them around cream cheese and fruit. I wanted to try one right then....
Chuck When I woke up between Nancy and Judy, I was surprised they were still sleeping next to me. The noise that woke me was building in volume. Two of the babies were awake and fussing because they wanted to be fed. As I was preparing to get up, both of the mothers got out of bed, changed the babies, looked around, and found me sitting on the edge of the bed. Nancy said, "We have to use the potty. Can you hold your daughters so we can go?" I just smiled and held the two tiny people in...
Chuck I awoke when the clock clicked over to five thirty. My internal clock was working as always. As I moved from between Lisa and Tina, Tina raised her head, "Do you have to get up so early? I don't have to go in until nine this morning." Lisa also woke up and told her, "The man is flying to his islands this morning with all of the investors and architects. I'm sure he's strung pretty tight this morning." Tina grinned at me and patted the bed, "Lie down here, Lover, and let me...
Chuck When I woke, it took me a second to get my bearings. We had been moving around so much lately it was difficult to remember where I was. The clock said it was only five fifteen, but I was wide awake and needed the bathroom. After the bathroom, I put my peg on and went into the kitchen to heat up some of yesterday's coffee in the microwave. With cup in hand, I walked out to the patio and it seemed as if the studio was calling me. I reached inside the patio door, took the studio keys,...
Chuck Oh my, I was really hurting this morning. I don't remember being hit that hard last night, but Jin must have gotten a couple blows through my defenses. I did use most of my body to counter his attack when I took Chin out of the spar. That's probably why I hurt. This isn't normal; this is the sign of old age or something. I was taught better than this and should be able to overcome simple bruises and minor sprains. As I moved from the bed, Lisa looked at me and smiled. I heard her...
Chuck The household went to the patio for breakfast. That morning, Lisa and I were taking off for the beginning of our tour of offices around the country. Our first stop was going to be in Seattle, an office that is both a regular U.S. Marshal's office, but also houses the Marshal for that area when he isn't in DC to fight for funding. After lots of hugs and kisses, and getting a big sack full of sandwiches from Julie, Lisa and I went home for our suitcases and weapons cases. We have...
Steve After thinking my aunt and cousin in Lakeland would enjoy watching Merlin at Sue's Blues, I went inside to get my cell phone to call the two. When my cousin answered, I happily greeted her, "Hey, Gail, how're you doing? This is Steve, your nearby cousin who never gets to see you." Gail was suspicious. "What did you call for? We don't talk but a couple of times a year. Do you need something?" I laughed. "Actually, I am calling to offer you something. A good friend of mine who...
Steve Breakfast had the usual menagerie of people. I did miss Tiny and Henry, along with Ruth and Nancy. There's something about having your family and close friends around in the morning to get your day started off good. When I spied Wanda and John, I went over to them, "Hey, Wanda, have you heard from Chuck?" Almost sadly, she said, "No, but I did hear that he had some kind of run in with some FBI guys but was instrumental in apprehending some homegrown U.S. terrorists and for...
Steve I went to check on Chuck and found him crashed back by the kids. Bonita had her head in his lap, snoozing too. Trixie and Dixie were sitting with him with their heads on his other thigh, so he was well taken care of for the time being. Back up front, Mercy and Lisa were trying to explain about the women at Chuck's condo and on the new boat down in Costa Rica. I had to ask, "Mercy, how do you know all this. Did Chuck tell you?" Lisa and Mercy looked at each other and said,...
Chuck As I came out of my fog this fine Monday morning, there was pressure on my hips and my ego was feeling pretty good. I lay there thinking Lisa, Julie, Taiying, Sing, or one of the boat or condo girls was getting some early morning pleasure from my now very firm, very excited pleasure injector. Lips touched mine, but I didn’t feel the hips shift forward for the horsey rider to be kissing me and I didn’t feel any breasts on my chest. As the kiss became more insistent I opened my eyes to...
Chuck Tuesday morning was the usual confusion, yet precision, of getting the little ones taken care of and ready to transport to the patio for breakfast. There, Lisa and I had coffee and spoke with everyone for a while. Steve and I gave Billy the go ahead on beginning our machine shop and school. Tiny said he would come up with an accountant to keep the new business on track. I thought my morning was going well until Mark came to me after breakfast and asked, "Can we get together for some...
Steve I was having coffee in my room at the resort. I had the patio doors open, looking out from the ninth floor toward the beautiful lagoon or small harbor in front of the hotel. It was still too early for beach people, but there were workers cleaning the beach. Two tractors were dragging the sand, smoothing it out to make it more appealing to the tourists. In the harbor and at the dock were several large yachts and sailboats. None, however, rivaled the Have Mercy, the Mercy Mercy, or...
Steve I had been told first by Mercy, then by Sue, that all of the women wanted to talk to me. That usually is almost instant death, or maybe it was going to be an execution, mine. At least they had waited for me to finish eating breakfast before the hanging. It was with great apprehension that I was following Sue, Kathy, and Mickey up the stairs, or more appropriately, the broad curved ladder that goes up to the salon. Mercy was at the helm, with Juanita sitting beside her . Juanita...
Steve I was up early, as usual, sitting in the parlor on one of the fixed stools at the bar in the suite. You know how it is; waiting for coffee to brew can seem like an eternity when you don't want to sit there and wait. There was no place else to go and nothing else to do. If I went out to the patio, I would just have to come back in. If I went back into the room, I would probably disturb someone. Wonder why I can never sleep late? Only on rare occasions can I sleep until seven or eight....
Chuck When Sue and Don relieved me at midnight, I went down to the office to check the rings I was going to hand out later that night. I separated eight of the rings, along with the special one I had made up for Lisa. The only difference between the special one and the others was that it had two brilliant blue diamonds on each side of the big diamond while the other rings had two bright red rubies on each side of a big diamond. The bands were wide, much wider than what a normal engagement or...
Chuck I woke up in a sweat. Remembering the night before didn't help with the PTS, with maybe a D on the end. That was close. I wonder why the bomb detonated, did it have a timer? Was there another person with a remote detonator? I doubt I'll ever know. I do know I was grateful to have carried Lisa out of the way. A heavy-breasted person was at my back and it wasn't Frieda as the belly wasn't bulging. That's when I remembered Gina. My, oh my, what do I do after hearing Giovanni's...
Steve Chuck had come out for breakfast this morning to talk to me about something. When we had our coffee and were sitting at the bar away from people, Chuck said, "There's a bunch of things coming together all at once. Magellan called to say the boat's ready to be picked up. I've transferred funds and paid them, so we can bring it up any time." He took a sip of coffee and said, "You want to go to Hawaii for a few days, which at a minimum is a day going and a day returning. I can get...
Chuck It seemed like just a few minutes ago I was totaled, dead tired, completely exhausted. So what the heck, what's the matter? I never have trouble sleeping. I can even sleep soundly on the hot sand snuggled up against a track, like an APC or an Abrams tank. The shade is always good unless it's too close to mid-day. What's in my head now that I'm having trouble sleeping? I looked at the clock to see it was only two o'clock, and I was wide awake, tired but definitely wide awake. Oh...
Steve We had eaten a great supper and were all relaxing on the patio when Wanda came to get me. She asked if we could go somewhere to talk. Not knowing what was up, I took her to Sue's offices in the other end of the trailer from the bedrooms. Wanda and I sat down and she said, "Steve, I don't know what to do. I talked to Chuck this morning and he's been shot. Lisa, Nightfox, and him, were all shot. He says they're not too serious, but I'm not sure about that. When I called our base...
Steve I had just kissed Sue goodbye when she left the airpark to go to work and Chuck was inside the hangar going over evidence. This was going to be a busy day. Turning back to the charter office, I found a new person at the desk. "Hi, Charlotte, I thought Star was working this morning." "No Sir, Star is right seat on the G5 out there leaving in a few minutes. If you need to talk to her, she's probably on the aircraft now." "That's okay, I'm sure she's fine. Do we have the other...
Steve, Sunday mornings are always fun around home. Chuck showed up with his crew, dressed to stimulate as much as my ladies did. As breakfast was eaten, Chuck said, "I want play with the new boat. What do you think, Steve, could we take it out for a while?" People heard Chuck's request and were speaking up, "Yeah, take us out on the new boat." "Let's see if Chuck can captain his new boat." "Come on Steve and Mercy; let's help Chuck check out his boat." Sue rolled her eyes and...
Steve Now that Chuck was back from hiding out in the Gulf, life around home seemed to be getting back to normal. He was busy with a bunch of federal people and his prisoners were all transported to DC where they would be held or given an option to be bailed out. I told Chuck that I didn't care what happened, as long as they left me and my company alone. Tiny told me that a major military supplier was negotiating to have us produce bodies for their equipment. That is what we wanted in the...
Steve Three weeks later Wes was sitting on an overturned bucket, staring at the right wing of the parts that Jeff's team had molded before he had been hired. He had been determined to have this bunch of parts flying within a week or two. No such luck. He kept finding flaws in how the pieces fit together. He kept checking the blueprints that were downloaded from the internet with the finished product, and found the pre-made parts to be exact to the print. The problem was they didn't fit,...
Chuck This party is an amazing testament to all of the girls' ability to organize, plan, and carry through to their objective. There were many people who showed up that I would not have expected. John, the Marshal, and their families came followed shortly by Dewey and his family. I was honored to have him here, as that man has some "cool." I had to ask John and the Marshal, "I thought you two were staying down in Costa Rica?" John answered, "I wanted to surprise you. You know we had...
Steve Last night had been strange. Chuck was in a fight, no that wasn't right. He really didn't have a fight. That monster guy attacked him, and Chuck just tossed him. He did whack the guy in the nose, but it could have been the heel of the hand into the nose, a killing blow. We all learned that one. That wrist thing Chuck did was so quick that it was just something that happened as the big guy went over the top of him. I was sitting drinking that first cup of coffee contemplating what...
As soon as we all made it back to Mac's after the kidnapping, Sue, Mercy, and Kathy cornered me. Sue said, "You shouldn't have been involved in that. You are the father to a bunch of kids with another on the way. What in the world were you thinking?" Before I could answer, Mercy said, "I know you felt you had to help Chuck, and we all love him, but you have to be careful, Steve. We need you, we don't need you hurt." Kathy actually defended me, "Steve is a man. He has to defend his...
Steve I woke up several times during the night, hearing things that were normal sounds. Sure wish Chuck had stayed, I would have felt a lot more secure. Funny how a guy like that can make you feel safe. He's just a guy, a one- legged guy with a crooked smile, who is as friendly as a kitten. He can be vicious when he's on the job though. Drinking coffee at 5:55 in the morning is a good way to enjoy the day. I called down to the gate guard to see how everything was going and he said that...
Steve (Tuesday) Mercy and I were in the restaurant early, having coffee, when a couple of salt and pepper guys came in. I stood and both came toward me with their hands stuck out to shake. They sat with us and were brought coffee. Bud Anderson, said, "I've been working on this case for a year and thought we had most of it put to bed. There must be more to it, as you've turned up a significant group here in Nevada." Jim said, "Chuck split me off as his backup a while back to work with...
Chuck Lisa and I landed in Key West for customs and immigration inspection on the way home. Julie asked about shopping the beach stores, but Lisa said we should pass on that and get home. Giovanni and Mesa didn't care one way or the other as they had never experienced the wild frenzy of Key West shops. Upon arriving in the airpark traffic pattern, I thought it was unusual for no one to be manning the radios. The ILS was up, but I was a little concerned that no one responded to my...
Chuck A few days later, we were passing Gibraltar. Everyone on board was out on deck to view the sight that was so familiar from the kids' geography books, the thick yellow National Geographic magazine pictorials, and advertising. The iconic view we all remember from the Prudential Insurance ads, though, is visible only from one angle, on the Mediterranean side of the Rock. Fortunately, our course kept that view in sight for quite a while. Gibraltar looks unrecognizably different from...
Steve As I passed through the galley, I was confronted by Glenda, still in her robe. I asked, "Are you going to stay in today?" Glenda said, "I think Martin and I have been overdoing it. The scooter thing we did yesterday helped, but we were both so tired last night that we thought we should stay home and rest a little. I can spend the day doing some dusting, and I need to wash some clothes for my man. The two of us could use the rest. I thought I might give home a call this afternoon to...
Chuck I woke being hugged between Julie and Brandy. The two were really hanging on, but I needed to offload pretty soon. Sliding from the grasp of the two women, I saw that Lisa was sleeping with her head on Gina's cushions. I was going to go back to bed after using the head, but saw it was five fifty already and we were going to shove off early this morning. Instead of going back to bed, I hopped back to the head, showered, shaved, and quickly dressed to go see if anyone else was up. The...
Chuck Life was settling down all around. I was just doing the usual office work with no flying everywhere on an almost daily basis for a change. John Scott seemed to have settled down in DC and was enjoying his job again. I had the flying lessons and was checked out in the new Citation X but had no reason to go anywhere. The charter company used it once for a quick trip to San Diego and back, but Lisa took that one. She said it was great to have an aircraft that could fly that far, that...
Steve Oh, what a night! My lovely ladies must have thought I needed the attention as they were absolutely on fire. I think they were trying to help me set a record as they all had some of my loving and started over again. The surprise among the players was a sneaky person, as all of a sudden, when Mercy fell to the side, two large bazooms were in my face and they did not belong to Sue. Sue's mother was sitting on my pride and joy, smiling down at me. She said, "Oh, Steve, this feels so...
Chuck How can that be? My cell phone is ringing. I don't remember leaving it on. Jesus, who could be calling at, I lifted my head to see it was six thirty? I was on the outside of the pile of female flesh, so I was able to get up and hop to the table where my pocket stuff and cell phone was. "Hello." A sort of familiar voice said, "Hey, Chuck, how're you and that sweet Lisa doing?" Trying to figure out who this was I said, "We're all fine, ah, who is this?" "Hey man, this is...
Chuck Sunday mornings are fun out at the park. The women wear near nothing, driving us men crazy. I anticipated a good time. When I woke and began my exercises, John joined me on a treadmill, followed by some weights. He said, "It sure would be nice to have you close by. We could workout together. It's a lot more fun to do this stuff when you have a buddy." About that time, Lisa, Brandy, and Tiani came in and began using the other treadmill and the stationary bikes. Little Tiani said,...
Chuck Sunday Waking up in a strange place is always weird, but this is too much. I'm hugging someone different, my hand is around a soft full breast, and if what I feel is real, I'm balls deep in a very juicy unfamiliar pussy that is sliding slowly back and forth. I can feel breath on my shoulder and hear Lisa breathing. She has a little catch to her breathing when she is sleeping and when she's excited. But her hand is holding and squeezing my balls so she is probably not...
Steve We picked up a nice wind the first day out. There was a low pressure area stalled to the northeast of us, providing us with an almost direct stiff wind from the south-southeast. If we can keep this up, we'll be home in four days easy. Chuck had the helm this morning and seemed to be contemplative about going home. I went up and handed him a fresh mug of coffee. "What's on your mind, Guy, anything to worry about?" Chuck smiled and said, "I love being out on the water, but I...
Steve It was after seven when I woke up to an empty bed. I was still sleepy, but got up to at least start the day with everyone. When I sat down and joined the regulars with a cup of coffee, Sue came over and kissed me good morning, "Morning, Sleepyhead. I know you didn't get back until after four, but it's unusual for you to sleep late." "If there was not so much to do today, I would just go back to sleep for a while," I said, looking around while hugging my wonderful wife. "I see...
Steve Perhaps things are getting back to normal, or for what may pass as normal lately, and that has been near chaos. Everyone at the shop that had some activity to report visited with me, until Ruth looked in on me and said, "Its lunch time, and Sue has called to make sure you come home. DeDe said you are scheduled for a flying lesson this afternoon too. What's that about? I thought you could fly already." "I can, Ruth, but I need to be checked out in the new aircraft, and I have to...
Steve I feel as if everything is going faster. Time was rushing by the closer it comes to the time for us to sail. When I woke up Monday morning, I felt a sense of urgency to get up, do something, prepare for something, to take care of last minute anything. Mercy hugged me and whispered, "Relax, everything is taken care of. You have wonderful people who will take care of everything while you're gone. They can call you anytime, and can even e-mail you with pictures or other information, if...
Steve I had slipped out of bed while the girls were all sleeping soundly. Sue raised her head, smiled at me, looked at the clock, and lay her head back down. While I was taking a quick shower, Kathy joined me and was very amorous this morning. It wasn't long before the shower degenerated into doing her while she leaned against the wall. When we both successfully and enjoyably completed our coupling, we clung to each other as the water rained on us. Kathy said, "This is nice. Sometimes I...
Steve Monday mornings are always fun. Everyone is getting started on a new week, with new energy, new ideas, and new motivation. My first task was to return a stack of non-urgent calls that had come in the previous Friday. The first was that the St. Louis cart plant was concerned their production was not keeping up with orders. The easy solution was to ship the extra production from Florida since the local plant was working at less than sixty percent capacity. I think the St. Louis plant...
Chuck For me to not sleep well means there is a crisis. I guess there were many crises going on. It was just after five, but I was wide awake, so I slipped from bed, used the bathroom, mounted my peg and went outside to relax by forming for a few minutes. I was concerned about getting the cash and gold down to Ben in Costa Rica. If I could get out of here with all of it, I could leave here and fly direct. I might have to pull some tricks in Costa Rica to get the stuff to a bank, but I...