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, "We like to work out with Chuck, here or in bed. Both are fun."
That made me blush and John laugh. Lisa said, "Chuck will usually form Tae Chi in the morning. Now almost the whole house is out there doing it with him."
John asked, "Do you still take lessons, Chuck?"
"I only go to the dojo to spar now. Not as often as I should, but at least once a month. I sometimes join in a class for some discipline reinforcement."
John said, "I didn't keep up with the martial arts. Probably should have, but I'm lazy."
I said, "Not hardly, John. You may not practice martial arts, but you still exercise and go to the range. Along with your very stressful days, you definitely are not lazy."
"Hey everyone," Tina hollered, "it's almost six thirty, let's head to the park for Sunday breakfast and the fashion show.
The rest of the household was up, and already in their 'almost not there' gowns. When John saw Kenisha in the gown the girls gave her, he almost dragged her back to their room. The girls all brought along some clothes for later, but loaded up in cars as they were dressed.
Out at the park, John was once again totally mesmerized by even more women wearing teasing, visually treating, gowns. It was a voyeur's paradise.
Steve walked over as Jan and I were talking together and asked, "Is this private or can I ask you two a couple of things?"
Jan said, "Anything we have to say about the Alcam group, you might as well hear. I was telling Chuck that the team leader from the DC front line group wants to do something tomorrow morning. The intel has more hired help coming to town, and the strike force feels it's getting closer to them making a move."
I said, "Sarge says the observation teams have reported at least a dozen men have come to town. They drove in, so that means they brought their own tools."
"The Miami Bureau, along with the Marshal's staff are ready to move in down there at the same time we move up here," Jan said. "They have cause to go in after them, so we might be able to clean out all the nests of rats at the same time."
Steve asked, "What can I do? My security people are all ex-military and well trained."
"Steve," I said, "You need to concentrate on your home area and your businesses. Your exposed areas would be the yacht area and the airpark. You've proven you can protect the airpark fairly well, so do the same at the marina, and make sure you're protected here and in the business park. We don't know how much they know about you, so anything can happen. If they can hurt your business, then the business value wouldn't be worth as much. If they can intimidate you into just giving it to them, they would be real money ahead."
"Do you think we're safe during the daylight hours?" Steve asked. "They wouldn't do anything during the day, would they?"
Jan said, "Probably not, but it would be good to stay vigilant. Since this is Sunday, they may think our guard is down, so keep your family close and keep your friends close as well."
Steve said, "I don't like being threatened or being afraid to just be normal. Let's get Hap and make sure we have all the help he needs."
Hap was having breakfast when the three of us sat down and Steve asked him. "Hap, Chuck and Jan say we need to be careful today as some bad guys may think we would be relaxed around here on Sunday. Do you have enough help to watch here, the airpark, the shops, and the marina?"
Hap was nodding, "We have some Sheriff's deputies helping out part-time at the shop and now out at the airpark. We have some Pinellas county deputies at the Marina. We should be fine there. I have men all over the business park and we're protected pretty well here. We put two men over at the sports complex to make sure the people there are protected. I'm spending lots of your money, Steve, but we should be good."
I said, "Sounds like you've put resources where you need, Hap. We just need to make sure all the units watch for any strange vehicles or something out of place."
Hap said, "That is part of their marching orders. I've briefed all of the part-time deputies and they know this could be serious. I'm not saying we're impenetrable, but we should be damn near there."
"Thanks," Steve said, "all of you. Hire as many as you think you need, Hap. This scares the shit out of me. If it were just me, no sweat, I can defend myself, but all these folks out here, the marina, and the airpark, are what I worry about."
Everyone was eating breakfast when Steve stood up and said, "Listen, everyone, Mercy wants to go out on the big sail boat today. Tiny and Kevin are taking a couple of the big boats out too. How about all of us get ready and head over to the marina and enjoy a day on the water?"
Heads were bobbing up and down, and even my bunch was all for it. I gathered the women from my household and told them that they were going sailing as there might be a problem around the park or even at home. They reluctantly agreed, only because they would get a chance to go out one of the sailboats they keep hearing about.
Shortly after that, John received a call, and I noticed Jan receiving a call too. They both motioned me over to them, along with Hap. Jan said, "The strike team in Orlando said a group of eight SUVs just left there. Our people are following them in the direction of I-4 right now."
Steve had joined us and said, "Damn, they were supposed to wait until tomorrow."
Sarge called me and asked, "Where do you think they are going?"
"I don't know, Sarge, the only thing I can think of would be the airpark, but they already know there is going to be security there. I'm not sure what they think they would gain if they went there en masse."
Sarge said, "I agree with you, but for some reason I think they may want to cause some grief where Steve lives, or out at his business park. They don't know what security he has there, so it may seem like an easy target."
I had an idea, "Sarge, I'm going to get hold of the County Sheriff's office and ask if they could just detail a bunch of cars to sit in front of the access points of the business park and the trailer park. I'm sure if the people coming see a show of force, they will pass it by and go on out to the airpark. We can be ready for them out there. Have you got a helicopter in the air yet, or is Orlando handling that?"
"The Bureau just put a bird in the air and Orlando is following them but off to the south of the highway, staying out of direct sight," Sarge said. "Our bird is going to do the same from the other side."
Thinking of what would be the best way to handle eight vehicles of at least six per vehicle, I said, "Detail a team to get out to the airpark and close it down. Lock up everything and get any of the workers either out of there or where they can't get hurt. Make the techs shut all of the hangar doors so there is no easy access. I think we should have some men already waiting there and for another group to follow them in. If we can get enough men, we can have people at both ends of the runway so there is nowhere to run."
Sarge said, "Let me get that started with the Bureau. We have enough time to get it ready. You call the County Sheriff and get that started."
I found Mickey and asked her to help me get a contingent of patrol cars parked all along the business park entrance and the trailer park entrance. She said she would make sure there were at least three cars at every access point. She said, "Glad I'll be here instead of out at the airpark. That wild cowboy stuff scares the 'you know what' out of me."
Steve's folks had packed up and were quickly out of the park. That still left several hundred people and families there, but the show of force in front should convince intruders it wouldn't be a good idea to come on in. I directed Hap to be in charge of his security people at the park, and to arrange them so that if cars did turn into the park, they could stop them at any entrance or access point.
Jan asked me what John and I were going to do. I said, "We're going to get ready, and when the group passes here, we are going to follow them and be part of the closing group that follows them into the airpark."
Jan said, "The Bureau is going to have a couple of dozen men out there with some of the deputies. There should be both deputies and agents at each end of the runway with the security men. There are security men in each building and Sarge said he would put at least one man with each security man. That should keep them out of buildings."
Jan brought her portable up to her mouth and said, "Go ahead."
The handheld broadcast, "We're passing Plant City now, so we're about forty minutes out at the pace they're going. We can't see into the vehicles, but they appear to be heavily loaded. We're guessing six to eight men in each vehicle."
Jan said, "Ten four, we're setting up now. Tell me if they turn off toward seventy-five or come to two seventy-five."
John came up to me and said, "I just got a call from the Director. He said that they are going to hit all of the Alcam offices and operations as soon as the first contact here is made. He said even the Marshal was getting nervous about this one."
He turned and looked around and asked, "Show me what you're carrying in your trunk again. Hope there is at least one more vest around here."
Jan heard him and said, "Come with me, John, I have a vest you can use. It says FBI all over it, but it'll keep you safe."
John came back wearing the FBI vest as did Jan and Wanda. I asked Wanda, "What are you doing? You should have gone with Steve."
"Not a chance. Marie and I are in on this one. It's in our backyard and we're part of the service. We'll stay here and make sure the place is secure, but we're not going away from where we might be needed."
I told them, "Good, stay here with Hap's security people, Mickey, and the county people. If by chance these guys turn in here, find cover first then use your skills. Don't waste ammo on shots that are too long. Wait for them to get up close, just like the decision course. You know the drill."
The two girls smiled at me then gave me a hug. That's a strange way to get ready to do business.
Jan said, "I'll ride with you guys out to the airpark if you follow them. I've already told the chief what I was doing. He's so nervous; he's going to have another heart attack if he doesn't settle down."
Jan's radio crackled, "They turned up I-75 and look like they're turning toward the trailer park. They are going to come from the south on Fletcher. It'll be a little bit before they get there."
This waiting was making me nervous. I was always the aggressor, always pushing ahead to stop an attack. I went to them, not waiting for them to come to me.
A few minutes later Jan's radio broadcast, "The group is approaching from the south. They are about two minutes away."
I had John and Jan get into the car and drove toward the gate. If these guys turned in here, the three of us couldn't hold them but we would be a hell of a bump in the road.
We parked beside the security shack where I noted the guard had what looked like an M-16. Hap was buying decent stuff. There were two County Sheriff's cars parked at the entrance, so it was doubtful the convoy would turn in here.
The first car had slowed in front of the trailer park but then accelerated down the road with seven more big Chevrolet Suburbans following. As soon as they were nearly out of sight, I pulled out to follow them. We had just begun to follow the convoy, when I noticed that what looked like half the Sheriff's cars were coming with me.
Jan said, "I can see two helicopters watching them, so the airpark people will know the time frame. It's only ten minutes out to there.
I followed them right to the front of the airpark where the lead car didn't even stop. It drove straight through the closed gate, knocking it down, then drove across the runway. When that car got near the hangar, he stopped and all the other cars stopped in a row next to it. I had pulled up behind the operations building and the Sheriff's cars followed me.
We were watching as more and more men climbed out of the SUVs. Only half of them had rifles, but a bunch had what looked like machine pistols, Mac10s and Uzi's. Those things sprayed rounds.
I asked a county deputy if he had a bullhorn. He nodded and got one out of his trunk. Going to the side of the building, but not out of cover, I turned the horn on, "This is federal law enforcement. You are surrounded."
About sixty men began shooting in my direction. Thank goodness everyone was behind the building. Rounds were hitting everywhere, skipping off the pavement, ricocheting off metal rails and poles, and the concrete block of the building.
I tried again, "You are outnumbered, put down your weapons, you are surrounded."
More rounds were fired toward where they thought I was. Behind me, I heard a short scream then a lot of cussing. It sounded like Jan, but if she was cussing, I didn't have to worry about her. I kept focused on the men now standing and looking toward the operations building.
From the other side of the hangars, another bullhorn broadcast, "You are surrounded, put down your weapons."
The group as a whole turned and fired toward the rear of the hangars. John came up beside me as I was raising my rifle. We both fired at the same time knocking down the first two men. We kept firing, knocking down at least ten before some men turned back around toward us and began firing. Of course, we were already down behind a concrete wall.
One of the deputies said, "Some of them are getting in their truck. They're heading toward the end of the runway. Look, there are Sheriff's cars down there."
About that time, I saw a car heading the other way on the runway, knowing that a reception committee was waiting in that direction as well. I peeked over the low wall to see several of the men who had been shooting at us run toward the hangars. They were splitting up. With so many men still trying to fight, this was going to take a while.
I turned to the deputies and said, "Stay here. If any of you are good with a rifle, snipe them. Make sure of your target before you fire. There are a lot of law enforcement agencies out here. Whoever is best with a rifle, do the deed. John, you and I are going to get closer in, using the car as cover.
Looking around, I could see Jan with her shirt torn off her arm. She had the sleeve wrapped around it and wasn't looking happy. She said, "I want to go with you. Don't you object. It isn't going to hurt me to help you out. Three of us can look in three different directions. Now, let's go."
I headed to my car, with John and Jan following. I said, "I'm going to pull to about the end of the hangar and turn sideways. All of us get out on the driver's side. John, you and Jan ride in the back seat."
We drove across the tarmac, but went to the outer hangar where there would be less places to hide. I pulled the car out in the open from the hangar and stopped. We all got out of the car as it was hit multiple times with rounds fired from men trying to hide in the small space where the doors and wall meet.
I slid to the front of the car and found a target. I downed that one and found the next. John was firing steadily, the same way as I was.
Jan yelled, "The car that went to the north end of the runway is coming back. We're exposed."
I told John and Jan, "Fire at the tires, slow it down. I'll fire at the windshield; you can bet they don't have bulletproof glass."
Jan was firing immediately, saying, "Yeah, they don't have protected cars, do they?"
The car ground to a stop and four men jumped out. Jan, John, and I put them all down in a second. Who knows who shot which one? It would take the CSI and coroner teams to figure that out, if they wanted to.
One of the Sheriff's cars had come across the runway and had parked where we were, but on the far side of Steve's hangars. They were firing a lot and I could hear fire coming from between the hangars to the side of us. Jan was watching in that direction when two men came running back toward the cars still parked there. They didn't look armed at that point, so they must have dropped their empty weapons. The car they climbed into spun around and headed out of the airpark. A volley of Sheriff's rifles stopped the car dead.
Jan's radio began to chatter. The ends of the runway were reporting in. There wasn't any more firing, but we needed to be careful as someone could be hiding anywhere. I said to John, "Let's check the five vehicles first, then join in sweeping the place."
Jan said, "The first group that took off to the south end of the runway was neutralized. Maybe we can find a couple people still alive and question them."
John joked, "Then you better get Chuck to put his rifle down. I think he's pissed that someone would mess with his airplanes."
"They're not all mine, John," I said, glaring a little. "Most of them are Steve's."
As the Sheriff's deputies came across the runway, I directed them to slowly go around this hangar, then come down between the two main hangars. I could see the Bureau and deputy contingent sweeping the far hangars.
John stood up and said, "That was a long fire fight. They were about to put up a hell of a fight. Glad they ran out of ammo. Those little machine pistols are scary, but not a very good fighting tool when the only thing those guys know is full auto."
As I stood up, Jan pointed to my right shoe. The whole front of the shoe on my prosthetic foot was blown off. "Didn't you feel that?" Jan asked.
"Too busy worrying about what was in front of me, Jan. You okay, you know you're going to have an adrenaline rush like you won't believe. I see a paramedic truck, go get that looked at."
Jan's radio crackled then, "Steve Sharp's boat is under some kind of attack out in the gulf. We got a call from the Coast Guard as they are aware of our posture here right now because of the marina. I'll let you know what's going on as soon as I hear."
Damn, I sent the women out on the boat to be safe and someone is messing with them out there. Steve and his girls are tough and a formidable force when they need to be.
John asked, "Kenisha's there with them, can Steve handle this?"
"They should be all right, John. I saw them hold off and totally annihilate some pirates on the sailing trip I took with them. You read the reports from the Coast Guard."
John was shaking his head, "But Kenisha doesn't know how to fight."
"I'm sure Steve has her and the kids all below deck. That big sailboat is strong and rifle rounds won't go through the steel hull. Tiny and Kevin were taking two other boats out there, so it isn't like they are alone."
I said this knowing Kevin and Tiny had no training, and probably only had a couple of rifles between them. Steve's group was savvy and he had taught them how to fight off boarding pirates. I hope they had enough firepower on board.
John said, "I need to find out what happened out there."
"Follow Jan, she has a radio to the Bureau and should be able to find out what's going on."
John asked, "You're not worried?"
"Not with Steve and his ladies. Like I said, they are a formidable force."
John just shook his head and ran after Jan.
I began directing men to check downed men for anyone needing medical attention. The important thing was to separate the downed men from their weapons. Several of the agents and Deputy Marshals had some prisoners walking up between the hangars. We put them out, laying face down on the tarmac, until we could get them searched and cuffed.
Medical people were going between each group of downed people, confirming dead or wounded as they moved from person to person. Two helicopters landed on the runway on each side of where the action had taken place. There were three more helicopters flying around, but all had television station markings on them.
It took most of an hour to get a count and condition inventory of the group that came. A total of sixty-three had come. Eleven were now walking prisoners, thirteen were wounded and going to be transported to hospitals, leaving forty that were going to be pushing up daisies. That was a bunch of dead.
The old Major from the Sheriff's Department came up to me and said, "Thank you for keeping my men out of the line of fire. They said you and that other guy were knocking them down left and right."
"I don't know about that, but we did pretty well. You know we're not supposed to be shooting all the time. We need to capture the bad guys."
The Major said, "We have it all on tape and video. You guys were doing a straightforward bust. The group that came started firing, and from the looks of the building over there, they shot the hell out of it. Good thing there aren't any windows in that area."
"That's the little equipment room. There are windows everywhere else. I heard some glass break, but not a lot. Your men did a good job. I'm proud to have worked with them. Their presence at the trailer park kept these guys moving out to here where we could control the situation. You need to go door to door out here to make sure there weren't any stray rounds that hurt anyone."
"We're already doing that. Mickey is working with your CSI crews to help get this cleaned up. It's going to take a while though," the Major said, as he turned to direct his people.
Sarge and the Bureau Chief showed up. They both looked haggard from the strain. Sarge said, "You know this shit isn't supposed to happen around home, but I'm sure glad you and John were around."
Sarge said, "We just heard your boat people are all okay and had held off a couple of boats that wanted to board their sailboat. The Coast Guard is on the scene and everyone is okay."
The Bureau Chief said, "How come you let my assistant get wounded? Wasn't she staying back where she was supposed to be?"
"There was so much lead flying for a while, that it was probably a ricochet. I'm surprised that's our only casualty."
Sarge said, "One of our deputies got a round in the thigh down on the end of the runway, and I think that's all of our damage."
"Good deal, hopefully all the other take downs are going well," I said, feeling relieved. "This was nuts. I'm interested to know where all these guys came from. I didn't think there were that many idiots that lived in this neck of the woods."
"You guys direct your men and let's get this place cleaned up so people can go flying."
Sarge told me, "This place is closed today, all day. There will be no flights in or out of here except the law birds. They can open in the morning."
When I found Jan, she was cursing again because they had to put a few stitches in her arm. I told her it gave her character. She snorted and said, "That and a scar. Don's going to have a fit."
"It's your job, Jan. This will probably be the most action you'll ever see, at least I hope so. This will also be good for your résumé. You might even get a station out of this."
Jan gave me a crooked grin, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm waiting for the new house first. Don wants to get our own place, but I keep telling him that we're better off living with you all."
"Don't lose the guy, Jan," I said. "He's a good guy. He really cares for you and the two of you are a good match."
"He's just blowing smoke," Jan waved me off. "He thinks its nuts that I carry a gun, while he teaches hand to hand. I told him that it was all good and he loves my wakeup in the morning." Jan gave me a wink, knowing I would understand.
About six, I told John, "Unless we're supposed to supervise someone, let's get out of here. I think a beer or drink would be in order. We'll do our reports when we get to the house. You're not going anywhere this week anyway, so let's go party."
We said goodbye to everyone and checked with everyone to make sure they were taken care of. I found Jan and told her to come with us. She was undecided until her boss said for her to get.
Back at the trailer park, there were still some Sheriff's units near the entrances, so I asked the gate guard if there was a problem. He said, "Hap wants these rental deputies and his extra men here all night, until he's sure the park is going to be safe. I like having the deputies out here, they make my life very pleasant."
The folks were already back from sailing, so we were immediately hit with questions as to what happened. The first thing I said was, "You tell me what all happened, then we'll tell you. I want something to drink though, and I'm hungry. I want some of those calzones I see on the table."
I had a big Beefeaters, while John had a scotch. We drank our drinks while hearing about the attack on the sailboat. When they were done, John said, "Chuck said I didn't need to worry about you all. He said that Steve and his ladies were a deadly formidable force. I guess you are."
Kenisha told him, "I didn't even know what was going on. We were downstairs with all the kids watching a movie, and then Mercy came down and told us we could come back out. I thought the movie was part of the trip."
Then Tiny handed me a beer and asked, "Now, tell us what happened out at the airpark."
That's when John said, "Give us time to soak up a little more beer and some more to eat. I want more of that pizza, and at least one of those famous calzones first."
When everyone was sitting back, more relaxed, someone again asked what happened. John said, "I'll let Chuck tell you then I'll tell the real story."
I gave John a mean look then began, "We were told about this convoy of eight vehicles heading our way by helicopters that were watching them. You may not have seen them, but the Sheriff sent a bunch of cruisers to park all up and down the road, blocking access to the business park and here. We watched the group of Suburbans pass here then followed them out to the airpark, with a bunch of the Sheriff's cruisers following us."
"The bad guys drove right through the gate and across the runway. While they were parking in a row between the hangars, we parked behind the operations building. I don't think they realized they had been followed."
"When I made an announcement on a bullhorn, they all turned and began firing at where they thought I was. It was during that time Jan was hit by a ricochet or something that chipped off somewhere. Another agent, also using a bullhorn, announced from the back of the hangars, so the bad guys began shooting at them."
I took a drink of my beer. "John and I began shooting and knocked down a couple. I think Jan was shooting too. They figured out that they were being shot at from multiple directions and scattered. Some got into a couple of the Suburbans and drove toward the ends of the runway."
"John, Jan, and I ended up driving across the tarmac and parking so we could use the car for cover. We picked up a lot of fire, but that didn't bother us too much as the car hid us pretty well. From there on it was pretty cut and dried. The rest of the bunch pretty much gave up."
Jan was looking at me like I had two heads. John was just shaking his head. Tiny caught John and said, "Okay, John, your turn, or should we ask Jan first."
John said, "Go ahead, Jan, add what you want."
Jan laughed and said, "For the most part, the events happened about in that order, but Chuck didn't say that when we began shooting back the first time, I wasn't any help because I only had a pistol at over fifty yards. I was watching and John forgot to chamber a round in the MP5 and by the time he had a round chambered, the safety off, and had made sure he was on single fire, the bad guys were already taking off. I might have hit one of them, but I don't think John fired a shot. Chuck just mowed 'em down. He was doing it like target practice, going from left to right hitting each of those men until they scattered."
"When we drove the car over to the building, he was picking off stragglers every chance he had, and when the car came back from the end of the runway, he told John and I to shoot at the tires while he blasted away at the interior of the car. Nope, he didn't leave anyone walking or moving."
"He was directing people where to go, how to pinch the stragglers in, and how to get them to give up. Chuck was really commanding out there. Let John tell you."
John took a drink of his beer and said, "I've seen Chuck under fire and know how focused he is, so it didn't surprise me that he took over and told Jan and I when to fire. Like Jan said, by the time I figured out how to shoot the MP5, Chuck had done the damage. Each time there was a confrontation, he was the first to react, but kept telling us to keep our heads down and when to fire. The county guys think Chuck is some sort of one man war machine. The Major out there, Mickey's dad, thinks Chuck and Steve walk on water. That's the way it was, except Chuck forgot to tell you a round trashed the shoe on his prosthesis. He doesn't know when it happened, but I can tell you that it happened when we confronted the first stragglers over by the hangar. I saw his foot fly back, but he didn't even flinch, He kept right on firing at the moving targets. Now that's focused."
My women were crowded around me and were pointing at my trashed shoe. Tiani said, "And I liked those shoes. You'll have to go out and get yourself some new kicks. We'll all go help you pick them out."
Nancy leaned forward and said to the people crowded around, "If you don't know, in the hood kicks are what they call shoes."
That brought a lot of belly laughs.
I asked Steve about his encounter, and he said, "Kind of like yours. Some incompetent pirates tried to take a big boat from a group that knows how to fight. It wasn't as tough as the time with you down in the Caribbean. One of the crew didn't wait and began firing quickly, so the rest of us finished the job fast. By the time the Coast Guard got there, maybe one or two of the pirates were still alive. None of them got close enough to even attempt to throw a grappling hook over the side."
Steve looked at Sue, Kathy, Juanita, and Mercy and asked, "What did you think?"
Juanita said, "I only had a shotgun and no one got close enough."
"I shot once at the cabin where the helm should be, but I don't know if I hit anything or not," Kathy said. "The boat did stop going forward though."
Mercy said, "I had a shotgun too, so I didn't get to shoot at all. I was near Juanita on the rear deck where the ladder is. But no one came over the side."
Everyone looked at Sue, "So I shot a couple of times, but there was only one good target for me to shoot at from up on the bow. The crewman and Steve shot everyone else that even looked like a potential pirate."
Tiny said, "From where I was, it didn't look like the pirates had much of a chance. They motored up on us, declaring over the radio they were going to take the sailboat. I don't think so, not with the whole Sharp household on board."
I asked Jan, "Find out how the Bureau did in Orlando and Miami."
Jan went over behind the bar and made a few calls on her cell phone. She came back and said, "They are still cleaning up out at the airpark and over in Orlando. Apparently, the Alcam guys were going to try to bust up the other air charter company over there, but our guys were on it. Up in Daytona, a group attempted to intimidate the boat charter people there, but the owners and the local police were able to maim and capture all the attackers. Now, down in Miami, they only picked up fourteen of the men they were after. There are four to six that they missed. They said the ones they didn't get are very dangerous and could be seeking revenge."
Hap was standing there and said, "We'll just keep the extra talent around here and out at the marina and airpark. That should help us sleep. All the men know that if anything at all looks suspicious, they are to call me and backup immediately."
I said, "Too bad the house you girls are considering isn't built yet. It would be good to be out here while this is going on."
Steve said, "You know, we have all the room needed for all of you to stay over tonight. Jan and Don, John and Wanda, Marie and Dennis, all of you can stay here tonight if you want."
I said, "We'll go home. Everyone has to go to work tomorrow, so we need to start out from home. Clothes and all you know. I'm only fifteen minutes max from here if anything happens. Hap, you have my number, so just call if anything at all happens. I'll be here in a flash."
John said, "You know, I'm letting down now and am really tired. How about let's mount up and get back to your place. I could use the bed."
John turned to Jan and asked, "How about you, Jan, how are you doing? You should have had a pretty good letdown by now."
Jan said, "I'm still wired. I want to shoot more of those bastards that shot at me."
Her guy, Don, said, "Shot at you and hit you. You need to get some long sleeve body armor, Honey. I want to keep you around."
All of the people from my place began gathering their stuff and taking it to the cars. We had brought three vehicles and filled them back up quickly. After hugs and kisses all around, we left for the house.
Once home, I turned on all of the perimeter alarms and made sure all of the video monitors were working. I walked across the street and out into the heavy grass near the woods then came back toward the house. Inside, John said that the alarm tripped as soon as I was walking toward the heavy grass and the video picked me up and he was able to zoom in on me. That's what I wanted.
The girls were talking about going home as they needed clothes, but I insisted they stay here. I said, "You know, I want you all where I can watch you. Knowing everyone here is safe is what I want."
John was talking to me about possibly staying at the house down on Key West. Little Tiani had big ears and asked, "What house in Key West?"
"It's just a place a guy had that I've got the keys for. We might go down, but it isn't big and the bed is too small for us. We would have to buy a bunch of blow up mattresses and put them together to sleep the way we do."
Brandy said, "Hey, we can sacrifice for a house in Key West. How long will you have the keys?"
"For a while, the guy kind of owes me, so we'll have to see. It's on a really busy street, but is just a couple blocks from the beach. We'll see."
Frieda said, "You know, the Key West sun would be good for us pregnant women. All of us need that special beach and sunshine they have down there."
I asked, "What about your jobs?"
Brandy said, "We'll have trouble keeping these three working after they have their babies. Now they're talking about being stay at home moms. If they do that, they'll just get fat and mean. They need to work so our kids know it's a good thing to work."
I was going to stay out of this fight any way I could.
Tina said, "You know, Lena and I would get lonely if you all left us here while you went down there."
"Spring break is coming," Tiani said, excitedly.
Lena smiled and said, "Yeah, spring break in the Keys. That would be a blast. Only the rich kids get to do that."
Brandy was smiling, "Stick with us, Honey, us girls are the rich kids, especially now that we have Chuck and Lisa."
Lisa laughed, "You guys are too much. How is it that I'm rich now?"
Brandy said, "Well, Chuck may not be rich, but he's doing pretty damn good. You're part of Chuck, so you're doing pretty damn good now too. Just hang with us, Lisa. The 'Fab Five' as Chuck calls us will take care of you."
Frieda was laughing and said, "I've heard that he calls us the 'Fickle Five' too, along with several other classic descriptive names."
Judy joined in, "Well, we do deserve most of the weird names you can come up with. We've put Chuck through a lot and he still wants us. That says something for the patience of the man. Come on everyone, my body says it's time for bed."
We all migrated to our sleeping quarters as I made one last round to make sure the house was secure. John was still up and asked, "You don't think they would come here do you? Are you even listed as a resident here yet?"
"There is the deed, but who knows. Better to be safe than just sure. Goodnight, John, you can sleep with both eyes shut."
"Goodnight, Chuck, thanks for having us. Perhaps you can take us down to Key West for a couple of days."
The girls were congregated in the big bed already. There was a space in the middle between Lisa and Brandy. All of them were smiling at me and when I moved up to lay down, all eight climbed on and were kissing me. They didn't stay long and moved to hug the back of the person facing me. Lisa and Brandy were each on a shoulder.
Brandy asked Lisa, "When you marry Chuck, can we all be bridesmaids? I'm so excited that you will be the one. We all love you so much."
Lisa answered softly, "Chuck hasn't asked me yet, but when he does, you bet. All of you will be there. If he could marry us all, I'd make him do it. Thank you all for thinking of me the way you do."
Tiani rolled on top of me and said, "See, Buster, you have to catch up with this. Take this girl somewhere and propose so we can all get married. We want to take you off the market."
I laughed, "Don't you guys think I'm off the market? My goodness, a man couldn't want anything more than what I have around me everyday. All of you are really an important part of my life."
In soft voice, Lena asked from the side of the bed, "Me too?"
"You too, Lena, you're important to me as well."
The long tall girl leaned way over and gave me a sloppy kiss and said, "Thanks, Chuck."
Tiani wiggled back across Brandy and snuggled behind her. I kissed Lisa on her now wet eyes and hugged her closer to me. She raised her face and kissed me so softly, we could have continued all night. Brandy was tugging at me and I kissed her too. Both girls were snuggled into my shoulders as I drifted off.
Primary editing by Pepere
Proofing by Sagacious
Last one through — Deenara2000