by D. R. Mather
The next half hour ended up as a Q&A session and when the impromptu meeting had finished, everyone agreed to Kevin’s terms. It also ended cleaning for the evening, so everyone went to the showers.
“Oh, Judy, come with me.” Kevin headed downstairs, all the way down to the basement.
“So, what do you think?” He stood with the door open to reveal where the storage was now.
“Oh baby, this is beautiful, Will and Barb are going to love it.”
He closed the door and they walked over to the other side of the basement. In front of Judy was a newly walled off section with a few tables and a small lunch-style bar. Kevin walked over to a door on the left; “This will be employee access to the operations side of the health bar.” They went into the door and Judy saw everything a worker might need for producing health drinks and light snacks. She walked down towards the front, where the counter sat, and leaned on it; she could see the whole basement.
“This is really nice; I’d use this in a heartbeat hun.”
“Good, I modeled it after your type of person: runner, exercising all the time, eating all the time.” That one almost got past her… almost!
“Oh you brute, you beast, you, you….” Kevin grabbed her and kissed her hard. “Hum, I forgot what I was calling you.”
“I believe it was genius, master of everything he conveys, etc.”
“Oh you wish mister man, you wish,” she giggled. He wrapped his arms around her and they stood quietly looking out at Kevin’s dream.
The next day, two tractor trailers showed up. Inside of them was every type of commercial exercise equipment Kevin could think of. Well, think of with the help of Judy and the equipment’s salesman anyway. Now Judy shined; she was a regular ‘pit boss’ as Kevin called her, barking out orders like a pro. It took three days to have the entire basement set up and running. The lighting complemented each and every piece of equipment down there. It was, in Judy’s words, “Perfect”. They even discovered that there was room for five more tables and chairs, so Kevin ordered more. The last day in the basement had the plumbers pouring concrete in the three foot hole that they’d had to cut out in the prep area of the health bar. It was for all of the plumbing upgrades that had to be joined to the existing system. After the plumbers had left, Kevin called the entire group to that spot. He had a framing nail in his hand. He bent down to where the wet concrete was and put his name, they all follow behind.
Then Kevin bent back down and wrote, Will, Barbara, Timothy, Anne.
That spot stayed there for as long as the mansion stood. In fact, because of Tim and Anne, it became a national landmark and eventually had a plastic box over it that was lit with a small mood light, as well as a solid gold plaque with an engraved explanation. But that’s a story for another time. Suffice to say, the plaque began with:
“In this home is where it all began…”
Chapter thirty-Two
Stan liked Vince; they seemed to have hit it off quite well according to him. Vince could relate to him in a lot of ways. Vince had been through a lot of the same shit that Stan had done as a kid. Benny had picked up a new member, Mick, but Stan didn’t have much in common with him. No, Vince was his man. Stan seemed to have acquired the same ability that Benny had, he could create exploding fireballs out of thin air. He discovered it when he was throwing a sickle he had found in the barn. When the sickle flew from his hand, so did a small ball of fire. Since he showed Vince this neat little trick, Vince followed him everywhere.
“Hey Stan, shoot at that. Hey Stan, shoot at this,” Vince said endlessly. He just couldn’t see it enough. To Stan it was as if he’d gotten a new puppy.
They were both out near the edge of a clearing now, Benny could tell this because of the small blats he could hear as well as the small puff of smoke that rose in the air after each sound. Mick stood to the side of him.
“That prick better not fuck this up or I’m going to be serving his balls to him on a platter.”
“I’m sure he’ll be okay when you need him Benny, he’s just learning how to use it.”
“Yeah? Well he learned how to use his dick too and we can see how far that got him. Come on, let’s go inside before he sends one of those at us, the fucking moron.”
Mick was the type of man who could get things. He was thirty-eight and had left the military after ten years in special ops. He didn’t like authority and had many disciplinary actions taken against him whilst serving. The only reason they let most of it slide was because Mick was good at his job. Almost anyone would say ‘too good’, but the military didn’t think anyone was ‘too good’ at anything. Mick also had connections, some with foreign high ranking military personal who just happened to owe Mick their lives for some of what he’d done in the past. Yes, Mick could get things and Benny knew it.
Benny led Mick to the living room and offered him a seat. “So, Mick, I need some things, some ‘specialized’ things. I’m hoping you can help me.”
“I sure can boss, you name it, there’s a way to get it.”
“Funny you should say it that way. What I need is hand grenades, RPG launchers, weapons – mostly automatic if that’s possible – as well as matching ammo for whatever shows up. Oh, and I need two buses.”
“You want two buses Benny?”
“Yip, gotta have transportation, right?”
Mick thought it all over.
“Well, the buses I could have here inside a week. The rest, I can get it, but it’s going to cost something, and it’s going to take a month or more to move it all here.”
“How much are we talking for cost?”
“Well, these guys I know, they don’t live the same lifestyle we do. You’d be amazed what fifty grand will get you – most likely everything you just asked for. They would be coming mostly from Guatemala and it’s like a freaking third world country there, what we blow in a day takes them a year to make. Yeah Benny, I can make it happen, no sweat.”
“Yeah, I have no doubt that you can Mick. Only problem is, we gotta come up with fifty grand somehow.”
“You afraid to deal a little coke Benny?”
“Not to date, no. I’ve done it enough, why?”
“Give me your phone and leave me alone for a few minutes, I think I can solve our money problem as well.”
Benny handed Mick his cell and headed out to the kitchen to wait. Ten minutes later, Mick walked into the kitchen.
“In about two months, a shipment is going to be coming up from Columbia; a good chunk of it will be ours to collect. My man there trusts me to send him his cut from the profits, the rest is ours.” He handed Benny back his phone.
“What are we talking here?”
“If we move it slow, maybe three hundred thousand after his cut; if we move it fast and hard, maybe one, one twenty five.”
“Oh fucking icy man!” Benny clapped his hands together. “We’ll have to go to Birmingham to move that much though, I’ll have to find some connections there.”
“I got that covered my man. I have connections there right now, big enough to take the entire shipment in one buy.”
“OH SHIT, YES!” Benny was about ready to shit his pants now. “Thanks a ton Mick, go have a beer, take a break, you earned it man.”
Mick went and got a cold one from the Carter’s fridge. Benny left the room to be alone. He had to start putting the plan together; he needed grunts, about thirty of them should do.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Kevin stood outside on this second day of March. He was waiting for a shipment: an important shipment. The rig called an hour ago telling him it was on its way from town. Steve was standing to the side of him, making chit-chat about the upcoming spring work.
“Kevin, do you think you could get Billy here to clear out all of the snow behind the garage as well as the far side of the trailer? I know it would mean resetting markers but if we get that ground exposed now, it could advance us a full month for the spring schedule.”
“That much St
eve?”
“Oh hell yeah, we aren’t digging behind the garage anymore, it’s only waiting for a thaw so we can do a slab. We only need the first foot of ground thawed. As for the side of the trailer, we’re only going to be scraping the surface ground anyway, so the same thing goes. If we have the snow off early, the ground thaws early.”
“Nice Steve, good thought. I’ll call Bill after this rig shows up. He’ll do it, no problem there.”
“You know, you’re one lucky bastard Kevin, there should be five times the amount of snow here right now. The storms have for some reason or other moved to our north or south for most of the winter. You must have a great guardian angel pal.”
Kevin only smiled and snorted a bit, then said, “So if it was cleared by tomorrow morning, what’s a good guess?”
Steve looked around, “I figure we could have the slab in for the first of April.”
“That would be nice, really nice.” They waited and talked over the work being done. Fifteen minutes later, they heard a big rig shifting out on the main road.
“This should be it Steve, want to go get the guys?”
“On it boss.”
Soon there was a forklift picking up packages from the side of an open flatbed trailer. On the right side of the entry area was a whole pile of long, stretch wrapped bundles. Kevin walked to the end of them and cut the stretch wrap away from the edge of a bundle; Steve and Kevin checked the items out.
“Holy shit Kevin, is that 3/16 inch steel?”
“Yeah, high carbon steel to be exact.”
“For window shutters?”
“I wanted them storm proof.”
“Storm proof? Those babies should be tank proof.”
Kevin chuckled and inspected them closer; they looked just like wood, even to the point that they had a wood grain pattern pressed into the steel. He’d had them all painted black, just like the old ones.
“We’re gonna need the lift for those buddy, the guys aren’t going to be able to hold them up while they get mounted.”
“Actually me and the designer came up with a mounting system, they are more than likely in those smaller boxes at the nose of the bed. Set the mounts where you want them and these should drop right over a locking pin. Once in place, they lock and can’t be removed unless you remove the mounts. If your guys line them up properly, they should drop right in.”
“Well no shit.” Steve walked over to the nose and asked the truck driver for one of the small boxes. He opened it and checked them out, “Huh, son of a bitch, this should be sweet.”
That Tuesday, water was pouring off of the roof because the temperature had now reached the mid-fifties. The snow on the roof was melting fast; the entire driveway was clear, as well as the main entrance to the Inn. There was bare grass where Bill had cleared it all; to the back of the garages, there was bare gravel. Kevin called in the masons to start the stone setting on both sides of the new grand entrance; the original stone pathway was fifteen feet wide so there was plenty of room. All they really had to deal with was the six marble seats, and that was only to align them with the new covered entrance from the drop-off area to the main doors. The stone walls would come up to about chest height except for where columns of stone went up to the roof line. The marble seats would be re-set under the new roof line and in front of the stone walls. Judy said it was going to be beautiful, Kevin had no doubt.
The training area had been moved to garage bay number one because Kevin just couldn’t delay the basement any more. He found Beth, April, Alex and Judy there in the late afternoon. The crews had gone home by then.
“Hi honey pie!” Judy ran to Kevin and slipped her arm under his.
“Hi Judy pitudy.”
She giggled and kissed Kevin, “See, we’re still practicing honey.”
“Yes, I can see that. Alex, if I may interrupt your festivities?”
“Sure thing Kevin, what’s up?”
All the girls stopped to listen.
“I need you to try something for me.”
“Okay, what?”
Kevin took them all outside, “I want you to protect this garage stall.”
“Wow, really?”
“Really.”
“Well, I’ll try.” Alex put his arms down along the sides of his legs and turned his palms forward.
“That’s new, isn’t it Alex?”
“Yeah, I find I can control it better than putting my arms up, and my arms don’t get tired this way either.”
“Hey, whatever floats your boat man,” Judy giggled.
Alex concentrated and everyone could see it.
“Okay. Now what?”
“Are you ready Beth?”
“Ready for what Kevin?”
“Shoot the garage.”
“Oh, oh, yeah, of course.” She put her arms up, palms out and sent a blue bolt at the garage. It spidered off just like it always did when Alex was protecting something.
“Anywhere Beth, get creative, fool Alex.”
Beth began blasting everywhere she could think of: the roof, the windows, at the base. Nothing was working.
“Good Alex, keep it up, Beth, try stall two.”
She got the same results.
“Stall three.”
She hit the side wall and a puff of smoke rose up, leaving a black spot.
“Alex, she just hit your garage, you gonna take that shit?”
Alex re-set himself and stared again.
“Beth, bay four if you would.”
“Seven.”
“Nine.”
“Twelve.”
“Two.”
All of them spidered; no matter where she tried.
“Okay Alex, drop the shield and go up to the attic, next to a shed dormer where I can see you.”
He ran off and they waited. A few minutes later, Kevin saw Alex wave.
Kevin yelled out, “ALEX, THE WHOLE INN.”
The window was open to let fumes out from the newly painted walls. They all heard, “Shit, really?”
“YES ALEX, REALLY. TELL ME WHEN YOU’RE READY FOR THE TEST!”
A few seconds later and Alex yelled down that he was ready.
“Beth, if you would?”
She didn’t hold any tricks back. Beth was hitting anywhere as fast as her mind could pick spots out. She just about covered every inch of the place before Kevin stopped her. Every hit ‘spidered’ out, with no impact to the Inn.
“OKAY ALEX, COME ON DOWN!”
When Alex returned, Kevin got them in a circle, “Alex and Beth that is your practice from now on, protecting the Inn.”
“Right, got it, protect the Inn,” Beth replied.
“Okay, now, April, come with me.”
She did. However, he might just as well have said ‘Everyone follow me’, because they all did.
“No, no, you guys get under the new entry roof and wait, less chance of getting hurt. Now April, see this stone from the building here? It weighs around two tons. I want you to throw it, straight up in the air.”
“You’re kidding right?” April snorted.
“Not at all. Do it, only pay close attention to it once it leaves the ground, follow it up and back down. I don’t want ‘April pancakes’ for breakfast.” Kevin went back with the group and called out, “Whenever you’re ready.”
April stared at the massive stone that stood about ten feet away. There was a sudden thump and within a few seconds the stone was only a dot in the sky.
Kevin reminded her, “Watch it April, watch it close.”
April watched it. It took nearly a minute to come back down to earth and it landed in the exact spot she had launched it from with a full velocity BOOM! It shook the ground around April. Kevin and the group came over; Kevin was sprinting and clapping.
“Nice work honey, really nice. Two lessons: one, always know where it’s coming back and two, doing what you just did in one fast motion is going to remove an enemy forever. You sent that block up to about two thousand feet at least.
Do that to a man, he will not survive the trip back to earth. If you waste your time throwing him against a tree, it may not kill him. This, I promise you, will.”
April looked at everyone. “Nice.”
They all headed back inside.
“I want you to practice it every chance you get,” said Kevin. “I need you really good at it.”
Kevin regretted that statement the next day, when he opened the main door to the Inn with a tray of six coffees for the guys in the trailer. He saw Beth standing out at the drop-off area.
“Oh, hi Beth,” he said, before walking smack into a wall of solid nothing. Coffee cups flew everywhere. Kevin was now standing there, soaked from chest to feet with coffee. He was still holding the empty tray, as well as sporting a shocked look on his face. Beth was sitting on the ground, laughing her ass off to the point of crying.
“OH ha, ha, very funny. Go on, laugh it up chuckles.” Kevin turned and went back inside, leaving the now broken cups on the door.
“What’s so funny down there?” Alex yelled out the attic window to Beth.
That question caused Beth to ‘tinkle’ a little. She could barely catch her breath as the scene of Kevin walking into Alex’s shield replayed over and over in her head.
Kevin walked into the dining room; Judy was sitting at a table, drinking coffee.
“What’s all the noise out there?” she asked.
Kevin didn’t answer; he just mumbled to himself something about, “Should have had him practice on the garage.”
Judy shrugged her shoulders and returned to reading the newspaper. His next trip outside was much more cautious.
Kevin suddenly stood up, spun to Judy and said he had to go. He was out of the living room and running up the stairs before Judy could even react.
“Honey, what is it, what’s wrong?”
He never answered as he disappeared out of sight on the second floor. In no time he was back in sight; his back pack in his hand. He ran down two and three steps at a time to a waiting Judy who stood at the bottom.
