101 A Pain In The Ass

I rented the unit to Cheryl under her own name. I was assured that the payments would be coming from an account she controlled. Johnathan Hunter also assured me that he would not be staying in the unit more than 72 hours at any one time, ever. If that did come to pass, he would allow me to add his name to the lease. He also understood that if I was ever questioned by the police, I would explain the circumstances of the rental. I was still up in the air about the daughter being with him to help pick out a place for his mistress, if that was indeed her part in the little play.

I fell asleep Sunday night trying to juggle all the new people in my life. A teenage girl, one woman a few years older than me, another woman a few years younger, and her boyfriend Gunny's age more or less. Toss into that mix the younger Kate and Martin, then my life was filled with more people than I might ever be able to keep straight.

Monday morning when I woke at 8AM, I had a definite place to be at 10AM. Sleeping until 8AM was a little unusual for me. It was 9:30 by the time I found Helen and her breakfast wagon. I bought my bag, then climbed into the front seat to eat it.

"Helen, have you and Jack ever thought about opening a restaurant?" I asked while chewing her breakfast bagel sandwich.

"We have talked about it, but the overhead would kill us. At least until we got it going," she suggested.

"What if it was just an extension of the food truck?" I asked.

"You mean, the food truck at a fixed location?" Helen suggested.

"Let's say a place where you could drop off the same items you now have inside the bags. A place where they could be reheated in a microwave, and then served. A place where nothing needed to be cooked. You could avoid most of the start up cost that way, as well as the health department hassles," I suggested.

"What got you thinking about this?" she asked.

"Drive over to the Hardee's any morning and take a look at their dining room. It's a social club as much as a restaurant. I think your concept would work even better." I suggested.

"If I ever find another Mosby, I want to add stops like the senior towers to the list." She paused then looked at me and said, "I'm sorry Max I forgot."

It isn't your fault Mosby was a ringer. I was Marty's fault. He knows better than to come within a hundred miles of me." I laughed.

"I hope he knows how much damage I can do with a boning knife," Helen said with a chuckle.

"It would probably be a good idea, if he kept his business empire in New York City. He is still up there I think." I suggested.

"That's what Jen said," Helen agreed. "She also said that he would be pitching another bunch of Computer spots to you."

"Oh, I hadn't heard that," I admitted.

"Well then, you didn't hear it from me." Helen said it with a motherly smile. She paused a long minute then added, "Keep an eye out for a place like you mentioned. Jack and I need to grow a little, but without putting too much of our money into it."

"Fair enough," I replied. "Have you heard anything from Julie?"

"Jen has her transfer worked out, I think. All Julie has to do is keep out of trouble for a few more weeks."

"She can do that I'm sure," I replied. "Well I have to go to police headquarters, after a stop at the court house."

"You are going to freeze to death on that bicycle." She seemed to be genuinely worried.

"Actually, if I get cold, I just lift the motor and pedal a bit. That makes me toasty warm," I informed her. Since I had promised myself to be at the courthouse at 10AM, I left the breakfast wagon and headed to court.

"Good Morning, I'm Maxine Stone. I need to pick up an evidence release form or something like that. Its to have a pistol returned that was seized by the police as evidence, but not needed for court after all." I said it smiling. "I called last week."

"Yes, you spoke to me. It is going to take about fifteen minutes." she informed me.

"That's fine, is there somewhere I can get us a cup of coffee?" I asked as I smiled.

"There are some machines down the hall, but the coffee is awful. Is Helen's breakfast wagon outside this morning?" she asked.

"No, I left her a few minutes ago at the Aster Furniture Plant #2," I informed the clerk.

"Then you really should just hold off on the coffee. I don't need anymore to be honest."

"Okay, I guess I'll just wander around." I said. I took a seat outside her office instead. I spent about fifteen minutes day dreaming. I also racked my brain for a suitable spot for Helen. One where she could open an old guy breakfast and lunch house.

"Here you go," the clerk said after almost fifteen minutes exactly.

"So, I just take this to the police property room?" I asked.

"Yes, it is just down the street." she informed me.

"It's not in the station. It's across the street isn't it?" I asked to be more precise.

"Yes it's locked up tight. They will make you wait in a little room. Then bring the item to you." The item was my .38 concealed hammer wheel gun.

"Got it, thanks." I replied.

"You are quite welcome.Ms Stone. And do be careful, you are getting quite a reputation around these parts."

"It's all a myth," I said.

"Sure it is. I read all the police reports for the indictment filings hon. Don't try to lie to me." She gave me a bright smile.

"Well all the rest is BS. It was made up for that stupid computer show," I admitted.

"Ah you mean the walk on water parts, yeah we know that." She smiled again.

Fifteen minute later a policeman nearing retirement handed me a brown paper envelope with my pistol inside. "It ain't loaded," he said.

"Trust me, it was when I gave it to the officers." I said.

"Then they will be loose in the envelop. If they ain't, you can put in a claim." he suggested.

"Don't worry, I brought some extra ones." I said that with a smile.

I left the police parking lot with the fully loaded .38 concealed in a flounder style holster in the small of my back. No matter what kind of holster I wore it in, inside that nylon parka, it was more or less useless, if it was needed it in a hurry. Still I felt better with it than either of my other pistols. I just never trusted a semi automatic pistols as much as I did the old fashioned wheel gun.

When I got back at the apartment building, it was in time to watch men enter Lois's apartment with full boxes and then leave with the empty ones. It lasted only a short time. Possibly because the apartment was so small. The furniture itself took even less time than the boxes. The movers were completely finished with Lois's place in no more than two hours.

She came knocking on my door shortly after the move was complete. "Maxine, the cable man can come this afternoon to hook up my computer and cable services. He won't give me an exact time, and I need to go to the house to empty my refrigerator. I will probably run by the store as well. Could I just tell him to call you?"

"At the moment I plan to be here, but I can't guarantee something won't come up." I said.

"Okay, if you have to leave, they can just come back when I will be home. I'm going to tell them to come on over." Lois said.

"Sounds good," I replied.

"Hey Maxine, I want to make spaghetti tonight. There is no way I can make just a little, how about you come to dinner?" she asked.

"How about we invite Sarah Beth as well. She might be working but if not, it would be a nice gesture for us all to know each other at least a little." I suggested.

"What a great idea. How about the people in the other apartments?" she asked.

"I have two still empty and I have no idea when they are going to move into the other one." I admitted.

"Well we can do it again, when everyone has moved in. Maybe a cook out, even if it is winter?" Lois suggested.

She was standing at my door, when the sound of Mag 7 rang out. "Got a call," I said and turned away from the door. "Hello," I said into the phone.

"Maxine, it's Kate, guess who called me this morning?" she asked.

"We really only have one person in common, so my guess is Irish Martin," I said.

"He is the one. He said he wanted to take me to dinner after he has a talk with you. Are you going to sleep with him again?" she asked.

"You need to ask him that, I am not going to ask him. That is all I can promise." I replied.

"Then how about I am there for your meeting?" she asked.

"That is up to Irish Martin, I have no objections." I said it smiling into the cell phone, because I knew what his response would be. Irish Martin was going to try to recruit me again. This time he had a proposal I was sure. One which would not include operating a safe house for Swamp Thing.

"He will be calling you tonight, I am going to get back with him before he does. I am going to ask about the three of us meeting for coffee before dinner." she informed me.

"Kate, considering our history, I would make sure he understood that it was coffee, nothing kinky," I suggested with a laugh.

Kate did not find it amusing, She was absolutely somber when she said simply, "Right." Then without warning at all, she changed the subject. "How is the apartment renting going?"

"I have two left to rent, but I expect them to go soon. I have shown them a few times, so who knows."

"My EMT friend asked me to check. He and his wife are getting a divorce and he needs a place. The ex and his kids will get the house he is sure."

"If he wants to come look it's fine. You know the price and the deal with the heat, so the contract shouldn't be any surprise to him."

"I will have him call to set up an appointment. You won't screw him as well, will you?" Kate asked.

"If you ask me not to, then I won't. I don't see why you would though. I mean, if you are going to screw Martin after dinner, what's the big deal?" I commented.

"Never mind, just don't screw Eddie," she demanded.

"Don't screw Eddie the EMT, Jesus you can really pick them," I commented. "He is married on top of everything else."

"He is getting a divorce," Kate snapped.

"Okay, but we will see. Honey they are all going to get a divorce until the time comes, then about 10% of them really do it." I suggested.

"I know you that don't want me to date him or Martin. You want them all for yourself," she said.

"Sweetie, I don't care who you date. Just be honest with yourself. Odds are this is just a fling for Eddie the EMT. Enjoy it for what it is, but don't build castles in the clouds."

"So you will rent him the apartment?" she asked.

"If he checks out, and puts up the deposit money, sure why not?" I asked.

"Good I will have him call as soon as I talk to him again.," she insisted. It was obvious that she was trying to prove me wrong. I suppose that I hoped she was right. That is, if she really wanted to be miserable one day. Eddie the EMT was going to be like my ER intern. He just wanted me to do what he wanted. The intern just didn't have to promise to marry me to get his prick up my ass.

EMT Eddie called a half hour later. He listened to the story, then said he needed to think about it some more. I was glad that he didn't waste my time. It was less than an hour later when the Cable guy called.

"I am supposed to install cable to one of your apartments, and the lady doesn't answer her phone," The cable guy explained.

"I know come on in. I'll get you started." I tripped the electric lock, but only after I checked him out with my on line camera. Since there was just one of him, I pushed the button.

When he made it to the long row of apartments I got my first really good look at him. He was somewhere over 20 and under 30. It was as close a guess as I could make for his age. The fact that looked pretty clean cut, and the .38 under my sweat shirt made me feel fairly comfortable to be around him.

"She is in apartment number four?' He asked.

"That's right, but you want to go around to the alley behind the building first. I will meet you back there and you can make the connection to her block there. Then you can come back around and check her reception. I have the pass key. You might want to call the office? I have two more new rentals ready. I'm sure that they have orders, or will be ordering cable soon."

"When they place their order, someone will come back. We don't install without an order in hand." he said.

"And I'm just trying to help," I said.

"If you just let me into her apartment that will be help enough," he said shortly.

"Okay, show me your Identification and then give me the phone number of your supervisor,. After that we can work something out maybe."

"I don't need this shit," he said and turned to leave.

"Before you go, I want to see that ID card," I said quietly. He turned angrily back to me to make some comment or maybe get physcial. Instead he found himself looking down the barrel of my ugly .38.

"What the fuck?" he said.

"I asked you very nicely to show me your ID and give me the phone number of your boss. You copped an attitude that concerns me a lot. This is a high security apartment building, you knew that when you buzzed my gate, now you are going to stand right there until a patrol car shows up." I punched 911 on my cell phone.

"I'm just a cable guy, you are crazy," he demanded tensing for fight or flight.

"All the more reason for you to shut the fuck up and wait. If you do anything foolish, you will not be the first person I have shot this year." While we waited, I rehashed it in my mind. I could not believe that things had gone south so quickly.

The officer who came was a female. First she took my pistol, then she forced the cable guy to do what I had asked earlier. Turns out the cable guy didn't have an ID, which is why he wanted to scramble away. The only thing out of sink was simply that he was working off the books. Not for the cable company but their installation sub contractor's company. There was a scam going on to divert funds under some kind of subcontractor fraud thing. It was not all that unusual a scam, and since the victim was the cable company not me, I didn't give a fuck.

The jerk should have just gone along, rather than get on his high horse with the middle aged bitch of an apartment manager. I was sure that is how the installation manager would describe me later.

"So now what?" I asked the patrolman.

"That's up to you," she said. "We can do a trespass thing, if you want to spend the time in court."

I looked at his face and was about to say. "Sure I got nothing better to do." Then he spoke to me again. "Ma'am, I'm sorry I acted like a jerk. I know I'm going to lose this job, but I can't spend time in court."

"Can you make a call to the cable company manager or president whatever it is?" I asked the cop.

"Count on it," she said. "Matter of fact watch." She made the call standing in my living room. She explained the situation to the owner of the local franchise who got me on the phone and apologized. He assured me that one of his people from the service department would be in immediately to do the installation.

"Then I'm going to leave this to you to clean up. But let me tell you something, I have been contacted by Direct TV to put a dish on the apartment for everyone to share. Don't give me a reason to go that way. I do not fuck around with people." I hung up the cop's phone as if it were my own.

"I'm sorry," I said handing it to her. "Where you finished?"

"I think you ended it better than I could have," she said smiling. After she cut the installer loose, she gave me my pistol back.

"Would you like some coffee?' I asked.

"Sure," she said. "You don't recognize me do you. I guess you wouldn't I have only met you once."

"I'm sorry I have old lady memory cells," I replied pouring her coffee. I didn't even ask if she wanted cream or sugar.

"I interviewed you at the hospital after you were stabbed in that parking lot thing." she reminded me.

"Ah okay, sorry all beautiful cops look alike to me," I said smiling.

"You were flirting with me even then," she said smiling. "I am married with two kids though."

"Do we have to invite them?" I asked with a smile.

"Yes," she laughed.

"All the good ones are married," I said.

She finished her coffee and left, so I was alone again when the real cable man came. He showed me his ID and called back to find the other orders. He also wired all the boxes, so that they could be turned on with a phone call.

"Ms Stone, the boss wanted you to call when I had finished." He gave me the number.

"Hello this is Maxine Stone," I said to the man who answered the phone.

"Ms Stone I want you to know that we are investigating the subcontractor who does our installations. If we find any other problems he is history."

"Sir, that is none of my business. My business is the security of my tenants. If you ever send me another installer, or repairman who has no ID and has not be vetted, I will make a formal complaint to the utility commission. You don't know me, but if you did, you would know I do not make idle threats."

"Actually Ms Stone I know off you, and you are 100% correct to be upset. This will never happen again I assure you."

"It will never happen more than once more, I assure you." I said angrily.

"Yes Ma'am. even once more is one too many. I'm sorry for the problems," he said. We didn't part buddies, but he did know exactly where he stood.

Lois came home during the last service man's visit, so I had to fill her in. When the final call ended she said, "This really is a secure apartment. Most places with this kind of security are thousands of dollars a month rent and are in big cities."

"Well, if it gets to be too much, I will understand," I said.

"Are you kidding, I love it." she said, then added. "I am going to go start the Spaghetti. I spoke to Sarah Beth, she will be home at six so dinner is at seven no excuses." Lois said as she left.

I nodded. I needed to get inside and calm down. First I went to the rear of the building to check the wiring. I am no genius, but I hope I could find anything obviously out of place. Nothing seemed to be. I sat down with a cup of coffee to relax for the two hours before dinner.

I knew he was going to call since Kate made an issue of it, but I wasn't ready for his call anyway. "Hello," I said into the phone to stop the trumpets.

"Well hello there Max, it's me Martin."

"Yes Irish Martin, What can I do for you Red?"

"You can open the gate for me. We need to talk."

"Your timing sucks, the cops left not half an hour ago. I'm not in the mood for playful chat or sex." I suggested.

"Ah do you have a headache," he said with a laugh. "This time it's strictly business."

"Well hell, that's no fun." I pushed the buzzer anyway.

"Hello again," he said when I opened my front door to him.

"Hello Red, so what's the pitch?" I asked.

"My you are all business. Can't we at least catch up first?"

"What's there to catch up about. You came to screw Kate, and I plan to say no to any rental offers from Swamp Thing. Is there any other business on the table?"

"I expected you to decide not to rent to us. You aren't the employee of the year type." He said.

"Got that right," I replied.

"As for Kate, I didn't realize she was the kiss and tell type. That changes things a bit I think."

"That's none of my business," I said smiling.

"Okay, so why were the cops here?" he asked.

"That's none of your business," I suggested.

"You know I can find out with a few phone calls," he suggested.

"Then do it. It is not my job to make your life easier," I suggested.

"What do you think about surveillance?" he asked.

"Do you mean the high tech shit, or the bad coffee and food shit?" I asked.

"A mixture of both actually," he added.

"Necessary, but boring as hell." I admitted.

"And industrial UC jobs?"
"Again necessary, but boring." I replied.

"But would you be willing to do it?" he asked.

"I would be willing to consider it on a job by job basis." I admitted.

"The problem with that Max is we need to make a plan based on our assets. An I'll consider it doesn't help us make a plan."

"I know and it's the best I can do. I didn't expect you to accept it. What I expect is that you will say, Fair enough, then never call." I smiled and then added. "Kind of like a first date."

"You really are a skeptic," he said with a laugh.

"I prefer to be called a realist," I suggested.

"Perhaps a little of both. A skeptical view of the real world." he said.

"Well get to it Red, I have a dinner in a few minutes," I suggested.

"Okay look, I don't have a specific offer to give you now but would you be willing to work those kinds of jobs for us, even if they took you away from the apartments."

"Once in a while, if the job is worth doing. In other words I want to know that I'm not saving the world for some new deodorant or keeping some rock star from being photographed nude."

"Okay, I will tell the boss, but they don't like giving that kind of veto to an operative," Martin admitted.

"That's fine I have a perfectly good life right here. I don't need your money or the adrenaline rush." I lied.

"Maybe not the money, but not the rush? bullshit. You are a junkie, just like the rest of us." Martin said.

"I seem to find the rush just fine all by myself," I answered.

"Okay, I'll tell the boss." he smiled then changed the subject. "How about I stop back after I have dinner with Kate?"

"You mean after yo u screw her?" I asked.

"That too," he suggested.

"Kate would not like that at all," I said.

"I hadn't planned to ask her permission," he said.

"Call first," I said smiling.

It was over an hour after Martin left before Lois called me to dinner. When I entered her apartment, I just knew that dinner was going to be wonderful. The place smelled like the best Italian restaurant I was even inside.

Since I was the first to arrive, Lois asked, "Would you like a glass of wine while we await Sarah Beth's arrival?"

"Sure, I have been known to drink almost anything with alcohol as the main ingredient." I replied After looking around her living room I added, "It looks as though everything is in place. Does your Cable work?"

"Yes it does and I wanted to say thank you again for your help," Lois said.

"Well, I let it get out of hand, but at least it got installed. The up side is that everybody else can get cable just by calling the office. It was supposed to have been that way from the get go," I informed her.

The knock on her door was Sarah Beth. "Wow something really smells good in here." she said.

"Thank you," Lois replied. "Are you allowed to drink wine?"

"I have had wine, but I would prefer a soda," she informed us both.

"Good for you," I said with a big smile. "And you are right the place smells like an Italian restaurant. I just hope I will be able to sleep tonight with that wonderful smell in the air."

The conversation was good, and the food was excellent. "God I wish I could cook like that," I said.

"It isn't worth the effort," Lois informed me. "That sauce is an all day affair. Then I will have to throw away half of it."

"Like hell, give it to me and I'll freeze is. That left over sauce and a cheap mac and cheese box dinner will make a couple of excellent meals for a old chick who can't cook for shit." I said to her.

"It really is the best sauce, I have ever eaten," Sarah Beth agreed.

"Just to change the subject, before I gain even more weight, Sarah what are you planning to take in school?"

"I just don't know. I'm torn between a couple of things." She said with what was likely her standard well rehearsed answer designed to put most people off quickly.

"Oh really, what are your thoughts at the moment?" Yes I was pressuring her. I wanted to know that she wasn't some kind of pervert living next door. One pervert in the complex was enough. I wanted to know as much about her as possible.

"Something in medicine I'm pretty sure. There are several tech courses taught at the community college." she suggested.

"Do you like desk work?" I asked.

"No, but it isn't all desk work," she informed me.

"No of course not," I admitted. "Tell you what, one night I'll take you to the Cop Out Club. There are lots of nurses, med techs, and EMT types, who come in there. You can get a chance to talk to a bunch of different technicians. Maybe we can even work out an on the job visit for you."

"Wow that would be great." She paused then said, "Well I have to get to bed early, I am opening the store tomorrow. I do hate to eat and run, especially as good as that dinner was.

After she had gone Lois said, "She is a cute little thing, damn it. I used to be cute like that once." Then she laughed.

"I never was cute like that, sad to say," I said it with a laugh.

"Okay, I was never that cute, but I was cute damn it." Lois said.

Lois and I finished the bottle of wine and got right chummy. I had promised myself that I would not hit on any of the tenants, so the slightly overweight Lois was safe. I would never hit on her. However, if she got me drunk and hit on me, all bets were off. That being the case, I left early as well.

As I walked just the few feet to my own door, I discovered that it was really cold outside. I was happy that the boiler worked as well as it did. The thermostat was in my apartment, but it heated the units all to the same temperature I had been told. It did as long as I had the valves set right. The valve for my place was set at number 8 on the open scale. I planned to set the others the same. I could lower or raise the number depending on the desire of the tenant. That was about all the control they had over it. If it got too hot, crack a window, if you had a cold spot try an electric ceramic heater. I bought one of those for each unit. I had them stored in the utility room. They were for those folks who wanted a cool apartment but a warm bathroom for showers. That was actually my preference.

I watched cable TV, while I awaited Irish Martin's call. I also gave some thought to my two tenants. I had promised myself not to get involved in their lives and I planned to stick to that, well as much as possible. Still there was the question of Lois and her tomato sauce. She did promise to give me the excess.

I actually planned to pass at least some of it along to Helen. I knew that Lois needed some time to just do nothing. I had needed that, but I didn't take it. What I did was to start a business which gave me lots of time off. I worked my way into a new life slowly. Lois would have to find her own new life, but if it happened that she could help Helen in the process, so much the better.

I still had to find Helen a building. Truth is once I put the bug in her ear, I am sure she and Jack were out looking for a place. Still, if I came across something, I planned to pass it along.

The black box on the end table roared out Mag7 and I lurched for it. How much was to shut it up and how much was anticipation, I didn't know. "Hello," I said into the phone.

"Hello," I was surprised that the voice was Kate's. "How would you feel about Martin and I coming over for a visit?" she asked.

"That depend on how you feel about it?" I commented.

"To be honest I'm not sure. Yesterday I would have said no way,. Today, I'm asking aren't I?"

"Yes you are asking, but is it what you want or what you think you have to do?"

"I'm confused, but I'm not being forced," she said.

"Then bring some Coca Cola to mix with Canadian Club. Oh yeah and the Canadian Club as well. I am pretty sure we are all going to need a drink." I said.

"Right," she said in agreement. "I'll call again from the gate."

Since the ice machine from the motel days still worked, I had it moved to the storage room. I had access to it, but no one else did. I went out my back door and into the storage room. I put several scoops of the cubed ice into a clean grocery bag salvaged from a previous Wal-mart trip.

The next thing I did was go to the web site hosting my cameras. I set the surveillance camera covering my apartment's living room to save. I didn't have one in the bedroom and that was fine. I didn't want any problems later as far as who did what to who. Since I had the only password to change the setting, I didn't have to worry about anyone downloading the file. Someone might stumble on it, but they couldn't keep it. Odds of even that happening were a million to one.

When her call came, I looked at the online image of her standing at the gate. Martin was there as well but with his face turned away from the camera, of course. I opened it for them and they walked through. I took a good look to be sure the gate was closed. The locking circuit also verified that the gate was closed.

"Come on in," I said to Kate who was the one at the door. Since I hadn't seen Martin's face at the gate, I kept the .38 handy until I was sure that it was indeed him at my door.

As he passed me he saw the pistol and smiled. I knew that he had expected no less from me. We began drinking the CC and Coke almost immediately. Kate filled me in on her day.

I noticed that she did not talk about EMT Eddie, so I didn't mention his call. She was still pretending there was something more than sex between her and Martin. So she thought that she was juggling two men. It was probably a new sensation for the only slightly chubby, but ordinary looking Kate. She just needed time to come to grips with who she really was.

Martin on the other hand knew exactly who he was, and what he was doing. He wasn't just getting it off with us, he was checking me out. He and Swamp Thing wanted to know how far I would go, and how much did I really care what a relationship was based on. Was truth, justice, and the American way, really all that important to me. People always say one thing, but are almost always willing to compromise, when the shit hits the fan.

I understood that it was best for Swamp Thing to know, if I had an understanding of real life, or not. With women, sexual encounters are a good way to find out how much is facade and how much is real.

I talked at being morally liberated and willing to do anything to further the cause, but was I really willing to go the distance. That was what the evening was all about, and nothing more. I knew that, but I wondered if Martin knew, that I knew.

The plan was to see if I would help get Kate drunk and then help take advantage of it. I had a problem. How far was I really willing to go? It was a question only I could answer. Was I willing to change her life forever, in order to prove a point to people I might never work for anyway.

Then again, I wasn't the one who brought her here. She came willingly. When she came to my door, she was not drunk, or drugged to my knowledge. So where was my moral liability? I asked myself.

While I was thinking about all that, Kate was quietly drinking her drinks. She had three which she made herself. "Show her the way," Martin demanded quietly. Even though he was younger, it was clear that he was going to be in charge. I could have asked for a clarification, but why bother. I already knew.

I walked to stand in front of Kate. I took her hands and lifted her to her feet. She was about an inch taller than me, but it was close enough so that I could easily kiss her, so I did. I kissed her tenderly at first, but even that was with tongue. While I kissed her I felt her chest begin to rise and fall faster.

Then I felt Martin turn us both slowly so that he could stand behind Kate. He wrapped us both in his arms, but it was Kate who could feel his large, thick, hard cock pushing against the tight fabric of her jeans. I could feel her hips moving against his cock. Even as she kissed me even harder.

I knew my part in the play but even if I hadn't, I would have done exactly the same thing. I slipped my hand between us. I used it to open her jeans. I could feel the waist band of her panties stretch as my hand moved over her smooth mound. Kate had shaved for Martin my mind noted happily. It made what was about to happen a little less shameful.

When my finger found the folds of her clitoral hood, she went a little crazy kissing me. She pulled me so close I thought she might bruise our lips. I stopped short of giving her an orgasm. Instead I opened my own jeans and worked her hand inside. She knew what to do. It took her a second to accept it, but she did. I felt her hand rubbing my clit in circles and I loved it. I kissed her hard as she worked me toward an orgasm. She didn't know enough to stop. I came with a gush of lubricant.

Kate was drunk not only on the booze but also on the sexual arousal. Martin pulled away and then led her to my bedroom. I tagged along like a puppy. When we got into the large bedroom, he sat in the one comfortable chair in the room. "Strip," he demanded of us both.

I slowly began to unbutton my top. I would ordinarly have kept my eyes on his, but I wanted to see Kate's reaction. She stood almost frozen like a deer in headlights. "Do it Kate," I said softly. That push was all she needed. She began to unbutton her tops.

My faded blue work shirt was already open, when Kate finished her buttons. I shrugged my shit to the floor and waited for Kate to do the same. I opened the clasp on my front hook bra while I watched to see Kate struggle with her rear set of hook and eye clasps. When my bra slipped to the floor there was very little that changed. When Kate's bra fell open, her very large and soft looking breasts fell out and downward. She had sag from pure volume, not age.

I couldn't help myself I moved to her and lifted one of them to my lips. I sucked on her nipple and heard her moan. The moan was not so loud as much as it was strong. She wasn't being shy about expressing her approval. I would have dropped to my knees and buried my face in those gorgeously chubby boobs, if I hadn't remembered the purpose of the evening.

I backed off and allowed her to finish undressing. Her hips were softer and pudgier than mine. Her butt was more full and she had an even larger belly, but she was still young and beautiful to me and Martin as well, I think.

I had known all along that Kate was the star, and I was the bit player in that night's drama. I didn't like it, but I knew my part. It was made even more clear, when Martin said to Kate, "Come here and suck my dick. Do it good, we want Maxine to see what a wonderful cock sucker you are."

I looked to see Kate's reaction. I could tell the words stung her, but she moved to lower herself between Martins legs. I watched as she worked to free his cock and begin to lick it up and down. "That's right girl make love to daddy's cock." I could see her shiver at the sound of his words.

Martin motioned me forward, then made a gesture for me to finger fuck Kate as she sucked him. I knew how crazy that made me, and expected it to do the same to her. When I ran my finger over the Kate's Vulva, I found it wet and slippery. I knew that slipping my fingers inside her would be easy. I quickly drove three fingers deep inside her body. I found it hot, wet and slippery inside. She was still, young woman, tight but also open to it. I drove my fingers deep inside her as Martin's eyes rolled back and his hips began to move.

"Don't swallow it Kate," he said in a strained voice. "Give it to Max." Kate worked up and down on his cock even faster. Martin held her head and drove his hips into her as well. He let out a loud groan and I knew what he had just done. I moved around so that I could kiss Kate. When I did, I felt his warm thick sticky cum push it's way into my mouth. If it was Kate's first time, she knew exactly what she was supposed to do with it.

As soon as I had it all and swallowed it, I fell on his cock trying to squeeze more from it. He withered in my mouth. I backed off and hugged Kate, since he was going to be useless for a while.

Kate responded as I expected her to do to my kisses and hands moving over her body. She didn't want to be turned on, but she couldn't help it. I had my fingers inside her body, then in her mouth, as I lowered myself to her pussy. I licked and sucked on her vulva and clit until she came so hard that I thought she might break my teeth. She actually did bite down on my fingers in her mouth.

Since I needed to cum, I turned to her and pulled her face to my pussy. She knew what to do. Every woman does, first time or not. She licked and sucked my clit until I was on the edge then she rammed her fingers inside me. She was trying to get as much of her inside me as she could. So much that it actually was painful. Even though it was painful I didn't stop her. I just flooded the carpet under us.

I was shocked when Martin came back to life before Kate or I. I heard him whisper in my ear. "I'm going to take her ass cherry, and you are going to help me."

I wanted to say, "As long as it is consensual," but I also knew that I no longer cared, so I just nodded.

"Get her up and find something to get her ready," he demanded.

The something was KY. Of course I had it in my medicine cabinet. I got, the mentally out of it, Kate to her hands and knees. Martin and I held her in place while I lubricated her rectum. I was careful to use plenty of the goo. I also used it on Martin's thick cock. It should have been a smaller cock the first time, I thought. She rocked back against my fingers while I worked it inside her. She also made grunting noises. They were mixed signals, as far as I could tell. I wasn't sure, if Martin was getting a cherry or not.

Whatever else she was, she was tight there. When Martin penetrated her sphincter she let out what was almost a scream. I had been expecting it and muffled it with a kiss. It came out more as a loud grown. My walls were eight inch concrete block and insulated inside to dampen noise. Also my bedroom wall was Lois's living room wall. I hoped that those two things would keep the noise of Kate's ass being fucked from spreading outside my apartment.

At first I felt her trying to resist. "Relax Kate, it will hurt less," I informed her. I am not sure she ever relaxed. I think she went from, God this hurts, to God this is so nasty, to God this feels so good. I tried to get my hand to her clit, when it was at the God this so nasty stage. I rubbed her clit and sucked on her sagging tit while Martin plowed her ass. She was cumming long before he managed to shoot a second load.

When he pulled out, he collapsed, and Kate fell forward almost smothering me with boobs. I managed to work my way out. I was the only one more or less coherent. I managed to get to the kitchen to make another drink to wash the funky taste from my mouth.

The two of them had made it to my bed, so I joined them. The only space available was beside Kate. When she turned her back to me, I fitted my body around hers and fell asleep.

It is almost impossible for me to sleep in the bed with someone else. If I have had a lot to drink, and find myself sexually beat down, I can manage a few hours. That being the case, I was not at all surprised to find myself instantly awake, when Martin left the bed in the middle of the night.

I played dead to see what he would do. The first thing he did was try to toss the apartment. No doubt looking for information. In his business information is power. That much I had learned about the black bag boys over the years. The had to have a constant stream of information or they went mad. It was like their drug of choice.

"That would go much easier with coffee. Give me a minute to pee and I'll make some. I might even be able to tell you where to look to save you some time." I didn't move a muscle when I said it. I might as well still be asleep as far as anyone looking would think.
"You aren't spy grade material, but you are damn good for what you are," Martin said.

"All that just because I will do a threesome with you and your new girlfriend?" I asked. "Or is it because I offered you coffee while you toss my place."

"It is because you are a world class trouble shooter. Whether it is calling the cops at the right time, or shooting a Russian in the face, you know what is the most efficient thing to do." Martin said it as I slipped from the bed.

I expected that I would wake Kate, when I went to rummage through the stack of cardboard boxes for a long tee shirt to slip into. I was using the boxes in place of a dresser at that moment. Kate was obviously much better at sleeping in strange beds, than I was having strangers sleep in mine. I didn't shower before I put the coffee on, but I did brush my teeth. I had really bad breath and a terrible taste in my mouth. I even took time to run a brush through my thin stringy hair. Without a butt load of moose, it just lay like paint on my scalp.

"So did you find anything interesting?" I asked when I returned from the shower.

"I found that you own this place outright and that you don't need money. I even know a couple of things you don't?"

"Oh and what might that be?" I asked

"I know where your friend Mosby is." he said.

"That, my friend, is information of no value whatsoever." I replied.

"But, I also know what she is going to be up to next." Martin was smug, thinking I would care no doubt.

"Not interested," I replied.

"Are you sure, it involves you," he said with a huge grin.

"If it involves me hon, I will find out eventually." I said.

"Why wait?" he asked.

"Oh alright, what does the little nymph have in store for me next?" I asked.

"She is part of the group trying to sell their little show to a cable TV network." he said.

"That is going to be a problem, since i am not about to sign on for that," I replied.

"Swamp Thing, as you call it, would like for you to do the show," he said.

"What makes you think I care what Swamp Thing wants?" I asked.

"Come on Max, your life is like about people and situations like us. You go along being an average citizen for a couple of months, then you find shit to get into." he demanded

"Come on that's crap," I said "I'm one of those people to whom things just happen."

" Max, listen to me and try to be objective, okay?" he asked. We were sitting at the old registration desk drinking coffee as he tried to give me, his take on me.

"Sure, but let me see how you explain the kid trying to hold up the convenience store. How was that me looking for trouble?" I asked.

"Sure, first of all you had a pistol. I know it wasn't for that exact occasion, and I know that it's legal, but nobody else in this town would have strapped on a pistol to go out for pizza. You were more than just in the right place at the right time. You were prepared for something like that because you wanted it to happen."

"What crap," I said, but there was something in what he said.

"Even with the pistol, you could have just let it happen. Then gone home to your pizza or whatever it was. But no, not you, you have to take the thug down." Martin explained.

"I explained that to the cops," I replied.

"And they knew it was bullshit as well. The after action bullshit, to justify the action." Martin actually laughed quietly. "You aren't talking to the plumber on the grand jury here Maxine."

"Everything you do that gets you into trouble, you could have walked away from and still had a nice life. No sweetie you need your terror fix, just like the rest of us."

"Even if that is true, what's in the TV show for Swamp Thing?" I asked.

"The same as for Marty, the bike peddler, positive exposure. The kinds of people we want to work for might not watch Maxine the super hero, but their wives and girlfriends might."

"Okay, I think it is bullshit, but even so, why should I do it?" I asked.

"You wanted the option to turn down jobs. The ones you thought weren't worthy of your ideals, well this is it. The kinds of jobs you want to do, are the kinds that will clean up the company's image. It's a true win/win. We give you the chance to run around playing a real life Charlie's angel, In exchange you say good things about us, plus you get paid twice for it. What more could an out of work operative want?" he asked laughing.

"I will think about it, if they come calling." I replied.

"Try to see it honestly, not through your rose colored glasses," Martin suggested. He stood to leave, since those appeared to be his final words on the subject. "One more thing, you helped turn Kate because it was a rush pure and simple. You don't really need more of a reason that that."

He turned to the door and I was glad to see him go. He was hitting a little too close to home. "I'll call," was his parting shot.

I did give it some thought as he walked to the gate. I couldn't help but see the humor possible in the show. We could call it the gun thug slut, I thought. Once I was sure the gate was closed and locked behind Martin, I went back to bed. The sun hadn't even risen yet, I thought.

I slept better with the extra room in the bed. It also didn't hurt that Kate was harmless compared to Martin. She did snore a bit, but I could deal with that. I only dozed in bits and pieces, but it was something.

"I wish you weren't so damn small," Kate voice cut through my bit of sleep.

"Huh?" I replied.

"I said, I wish you weren't so small. I sure would like a shower and some clean clothes." Kate said not at all friendly.

"Sorry, you could always leave some clean panties here," I said with a smile, because I knew it would start a firestorm.

"What the hell makes you think I will ever be back here?" she asked.

"Oh, it was just a suggestion. If not that, then put a pair of panties in your purse. Wrap them in a little plastic bag, if you don't want people to know you what you are." What I didn't say was, "Honey, if you are going to be a slut, get used to it, or be inventive."

"Will you give me a ride home?" she asked being a little nicer, but it was very little.

"Since I have clean clothes, you are going to have to wait until I take a shower and dress. After that sure, I will take you anywhere you want to go."

That's exactly how it went down. After my shower I filled the Delta coffee cup, and off I went to take the fallen princess home. She did not say anther word to me, not even thank you for the ride. Kate, I decided at the moment the cruiser's door slammed, was not going to be a lifelong friend.

I would have taken Kate to breakfast with me, if she had been about half pleasant. Since she wasn't, I rode to the Hardee's for my breakfast alone. At almost 10AM it was a different crowd, but still they seemed to know each other. It was a bit of a shock for me to see that.

I had thought that it was one group, at one time of day, but it seemed as though the whole breakfast meal had its regulars. I knew that it had to do with price for the older ones, and I supposed that it was true for the young families as well. The children at 10AM were all younger than school age. A couple of hash-browns and a bit of egg off mom's biscuit was enough for them, I supposed. I was still trying to figure it all out, when I finished my meal and left.

Since I had the Swamp Thing's offer, after breakfast I went by Ed's office to pick up my tools. Ed was at his desk as he usually was around lunchtime. "Hey big guy," I said to him. "How are things working out with the forced labor?"

"You mean Lucas? He threw himself into the work once that Gwen person left."

"She has gone already?" I asked.

"Yes, but Lucas said she would be back soon. She and Mike have kind of deal cooking."

"Ah, lots of people have things cooking these days. I came to pick up my tools," I suggested.

"This doesn't mean you are going to stop coming to see me does it?" he asked.

"Of course not," I replied. "It does mean, I need to go buy a gun safe though. I guess for now, I'll put them under the bed." Might as well spread a little disinformation, I thought.

"There is no hurry, you can leave them here," Ed suggested.

"I know, but I feel better with them within reach," I admitted.

"Yes, with your lifestyle, I can see that," he agreed.

I loaded up the guns, ammunition, and vests rather quickly. It was going to make for a big pile at the apartment. Fortunately I had a lot of empty space, since the rooms were large and I hadn't filled them with furniture as of yet.

At the apartment I made several trips from the cruiser to the apartment just to get all the equipment inside. Once I got it inside and on the bed, I realized that when I got it organized, it wouldn't be so much. I had two trench length shotguns, an assault rifle made in china, a .22 magnum sniper rifle, and several pistols of various caliber. Lots of ammunition, two stun-guns, two vests. One of them was the replacement for the one damaged in the Russian shootout. All in all, it was not that much.

I had the plan in the back of my mind from the first day that I bought the apartment building. It came as no shock to me that I was ready. First of all you have to remember that my bedroom had once been an old style motel room. As such it was wider than a normal bedroom, and it was much longer. The length was for the bathroom at the rear.

The bathroom was small with only a tiny tub and shower along with a toilet of course. Just outside the small bathroom was an open area. That little dressing area was about four feet by ten feet. The wall nearest to the bathroom had a vanity with sink and mirror for dressing and makeup. There was counter space that took up about four of those ten feet to the common wall shared with my living room and kitchen area, The original use of the space, from the end of the counter to the wall, was for a clothes bar and other storage for the guest.

In the final plans the space got turned into a much larger closet. The vanity became part of the bathroom, but the concrete block wall at the end of the vanity remained. To make a long story short there was a tiny space two feet wide and four feet long at the rear of the new, but less sturdy, closet. I had the Laboring Few turn it into dead space simply by placing the clothes bar two and a half feet from the rear wall. A lightweight false wall made it my hidden compartment to store the tools of my trade. It would require a lot of work to gain access to the space, but that was the idea.

Once everything was inside the hidden storage space, I settled in for a day of pure relaxation. I began it with a nap.

Most of the weekdays passed easily. I had not realized how much I needed to build up my reserve energy. After three days of doing nothing more than showing the two vacant apartments, I felt as good as I had in years. Not better, but I was back at my highest level of energy. In those three days I had also established a routine that I enjoyed.

Every one of those three mornings, I dressed like an Eskimo, started Gus's bike, then rode to breakfast at the local Hardee's. On the morning after Kate and Martin left my apartment I picked up aTryon paper there. In it I found a story about middle aged and older, men and women who walked at the two malls in Tryon. After that I began a new part of my morning routine. I rode the bike five miles out to the mall located between Aster and Tryon. It wasn't a large mall, but it did have two enclosed stories which made it ideal for walking.

I wasn't sure how far I wanted to walk, but I did my math calculations before I left the restaurant. If I walked 3 miles an hour, which Google informed me was the average idle walking speed for an adult woman my age, then every twenty minutes I walked one mile. That very morning I stopped by the Wa- Mart store which, wasn't too far out of the way, there I bought a cheap digital watch.

Once I arrived at the lower level of the mall, I stripped off most of my clothes. It was not at all sexy I can assure you. Then I looked at my watch and began to walk. I tried to walk normally as I began the first lap of the bottom floor. I walked by stores mostly filled with boutique type businesses. I did find two large department store chains represented. I had no idea that they were in the mall. Obviously I am not much of a shopper.

There were also three empty stores on the bottom level of the mall. Christmas had come and gone with no more than a turkey dinner at Jen's house for me. Followed by passing out of a few boxes of very expensive cookies. It looked as though for at least three retail shop it hadn't had a better Christmas than it had for me. All the stores in the mall seemed to have suffered to some extent during the season of giving. In the present economy I was told that it was typical.

I walked steady for the complete lap and then checked the watch. I had walked eight minutes. I did a rough calculation and figured that I needed to do two and a half laps of the down stairs area for a mile. So five laps was two miles. That seemed about right, so off I went for four more laps. I rode the escalator up to the top floor after one more lap of the bottom floor. I timed upper floor lat as well and found that it was pretty close to the same.

Right or wrong, I set five laps as my baseline. I began to walk and my mind began to drift. As I walked I began to notice the people that I passed. I realized that I had instinctively turned right off the escalator which set me to walking clockwise while everyone else walked counter clockwise. There had to be something significant in it. The herd going in the same direction and me going backwards, I mean.

The direction I chose to walk had me confronting each of them every lap. I guess I might claim it kept people from walking up behind me, so maybe there was a reason after all. I mean other than me being out of step with everyone else in the whole world.

I was pleasantly surprised to find how friendly the mall walkers were. They were mostly older retired folks. Yes most even older than my forty something years. They seemed to be a reasonably fit bunch as well. Some were couples obviously husband and wife types, some were couples, like women who came to walked together regularly, and some couples looked to be mall pickup couples. Probably one walk stands, I thought.

There was also a very few singles like me walking as well. All that I noticed before I walked into the food court. In the food court I found another twenty or so people. Some looked as though they might be walkers on a scheduled break and some looked as though they might be mall employees waiting to start work. The workers being only marginally better dressed.

For the first time since I left the sandbox, I had a routine at least part of the day. For must of a week, I had walked at the mall after breakfast at Hardee's. I knew that if I was in a high risk environment, any routine would have been totally stupid. Since I really wasn't in an imminent threat situation, it was only mildly stupid. The morning walk gave me a little exercise, and it gave me a little structure. I decided that I needed both.

The final reinforcement for the continuation of the walk was at the food bar. No I would never eat there, but there was a cookie shop. I tried to avoid sugar like the plague, because for me it was. I would have tried to pretend that the cookie shop didn't exit, except that all the people, waiting for the stores to open, had coffee cups with their logo. Since I love coffee, I bought a cup on my last lap. I was only half a lap from finishing, so I waited until I reached the bike to try it. The coffee was delicious. It was just a little stronger than what most restaurants served, and just a little weaker than my own. Not only that, the girl behind the counter was gorgeous and sweet as well. I was hooked.

Before I left for breakfast that morning, I realized that Friday had slipped up on me again. At the Hardee's I realized that I had finally been around long enough to recognize the people there. I could wave at most of them, and they would wave back. Since over the years, I had learned the art of eavesdropping without being obvious about it, I knew enough about most of them to speak. It was a skill that came from working undercover investigating thefts from military installations.

I was into my socializing mode, when the phone rang. It was embarrassing to hear Mag7 come from my purse. I had to remember to stop by the phone store and have that changed, thought yet again.

"Hello Jen, what the hell are you doing awake this time of the morning"

"It almost 9AM of course I'm awake. Where the hell are you?"

"Hardee's of course, so what's the emergency this time?" I asked.

"I'm not real sure, guess who called me at home?" she demanded.

"If you want me to guess, I can and I can even get it right, but wouldn't you rather just tell me what he said?" I asked.

"Okay wise ass, Marty wants a meeting again. But he insist you be patted down for weapons first." Jen said with a chuckle.

"I don't blame him, I might well want to pop his ass for the Mosby thing." I said.

"He knows that, but he still has an offer to put on the table," Jen replied.

"Actually, I know what his offer is already. I have been giving it some thought." I admitted. "These bacon, egg and cheese biscuits aren't free you know."

"You are kidding me. They almost got you killed with that damn online shit. Surely you aren't really considering a new gig?"

"I thought you wanted me to do it. To make your life a little more exciting?" I asked.

"I don't want you to get yourself killed for my entertainment," Jen said seriously.

"Don't worry, neither do I," I admitted. "But I'll listen to the offer. When do they want to talk."

"Monday morning at 10AM."

"Okay Jen, Monday at 10 it is," I agreed.

"Bye the way if you have an apartment left, save it till after the meeting." she suggested.

"Fair enough," I replied. I hadn't rushed to rent the last two apartments because of Irish Martin's visit. I had a feeling someone would want at least one of them. That is, if I decided to do it again. I still hadn't made a final decision.

I left hardee's with my delta coffee cup full. I had a lid for it, so that I could ride with it in the handlebar basket without sloshing it around. I took it into the mall with me. I began my walk at the downstairs entrance away from the food court. I walked two laps on the bottom floor and sipped my coffee as I went. It was actually quite pleasant. The coffee had cooled off significantly before I rode the escalator upstairs. I walked one more lap including in and out of the food court before I felt the coffee had cooled enough to need help.

I stopped at Cookie land for a cop of their coffee. I poured it from their cup into my cup, then tasted it. It was still a little cooler than I liked to start. I noticed that they had a microwave oven.

"Miss, could I get you to put this in the microwave for a minute. I would really appreciate it." I said.

"Sure I have time. I don't have any customers this early." she said.

She stood in front of me while the coffee nuked. "So you come here often?" I asked.

"I work here," she said seriously. "Oh, that was a joke?"

"I guess it wasn't much of one. Just my poor attempt at humor and conversation." I said. "Since I will probably be seeing you a lot, I thought I would try to make friends."

"Oh do you work in the mall?" she asked.

"No, but I have started walking with the other old guys," I said.

"Oh you aren't near as old as the others," she said it, not realizing how it sounded.

"Oh good," I said as the buzzer on the microwave went off. It was a good thing, since I had decided that the chick was as dumb as a post. Too bad because she was young and gorgeous, just my type. Okay, I liked to pretend that her type, was my type.
I finished my walk then rode the bike home. I had nothing to do until Monday so I drove the cruiser out to buy enough comfort food to last until Monday morning. Then I settled in with it in front of the computer and the TV.

I had been settled in about two hours when the first interruption of my Veg out time came. "Hello," the voice came after I answered my phone." I was reminded by the music that I still hadn't gotten around to fixing it.

""Hello, what can I do for you?" I asked.

"It's Johnathan Hunter, The movers should be there in a few minutes to move Cheryl's things in."

"That's fine," I said. "Will one of you be with them?"

"No, I was hoping you could let them do their job without us." he said.

"Mr. Hunter this might come as a shock to you, but I'm not the door man. I am the owner/manager of the apartments. Once I delivered the keys, it became your responsibility from that point on. You are asking me to be responsible for people I know nothing about."

"You are there, I don't see the problem," he said way too calm. The man had to be on mood altering drugs."

"The problem is I'm getting ready to leave and that means they would be here alone. The other tenants expect security in this building, and this is a breach of it. So, no I will not let your movers in. You need to either meet them here, or reschedule the move for a time you can be here. I'm sorry, but that is the way it has to be."

"Very well, I guess I should have arranged it with you earlier," he admitted still way too calm.

"I guess so." Alright I did enjoy telling him no Still, I would have done the same thing for anyone else. The tenant was responsible for the people they allowed into the common area. That was very clearly stated in the lease agreement. Johnathan Hunter was trying my patience and he wasn't even the tenant.

After that episode things went smoothly the rest of the weekend. I stuck to my routine, otherwise I played absolutely dead until Monday morning.
106 Who is afraid of TV... me

My play dead weekend got interrupted by only one thing, I rented one of the last two units. It went to an EMT, but not EMT Eddie. He never had any intention of doing anything but leading Kate along the path of deception. The EMT who rented it was a young man fresh out of the community college and new to Aster.

His name was Roy Rogers, no relation, he was quick to point out. Roy was more than willing to play along though. He told me, when discussing how he would be moving in, that he and his friends from the base would be moving furniture in his Ford pickup named trigger. I just shook my head and took his check. Part of the appeal of my place for him was the need for only a few pieces of furniture.

I watched Roy and two of his friends as they moved in his full size, but still somehow small bed. then came a dresser which had been painted black and matched nothing. Followed by lots of cardboard boxes, which reminded me of my place. Then finally a truck arrived two hours after everything else had been moved in. The big ass box, which the two large black delivery men carried into the forth apartment read, 'Flat Screen TV'. They also took in a sofa, chair, table and lamps. I decided that he had bought the Combo package, I saw advertised all the time on TV. You know "Buy the room, get the TV." Roy had sprung for the entertainment unit with his new found credit. It was a bit of a mystery how he could rent the apartment in the morning and get it all delivered that same afternoon. Who knows how desperate they were to sell that crap.

I stayed in the game until it was apparent that Roy had finished with the strangers running in and out. When it seemed that things were back to more or less normal. I took a late afternoon nap. I knew that my security awareness had slipped some. I also knew that unless I bought into some really heavy duty crap, I didn't need more security than I had built into the apartments. It was way more than the street thugs and gang bangers would expect. Even the Russians would most likely get swept up in it. The Swamp Thing's black bag guys would laugh at it, but then why would they be coming for me.

All security systems are based on the level of threat. They guard nuclear secrets with more security than the president gets when he travels. It's all about how sophisticated you think the threat will be, that determines the level of security. I didn't think I needed as much protection as either a nuclear warhead or the president. Since that was the case, falling asleep late Saturday afternoon was easy.

Sunday my walk at the mall was pretty much alone. It appeared that most people had a family to spend the morning with. It didn't matter. I walked for the exercise not the camaraderie. When I finished my two miles, I rode the bike back to the apartment. The bike went into the utility room, and I went inside my apartment.

You had to love computers. Even though it was Sunday morning, I was able to cancel my ads for the apartment rental.

By Monday I was not only fully rested, I was pacing the floors. My mind had switched gears yet again. Nothing but trouble could come from my new frame of mind. I knew it, so forewarned should be forearmed. I had breakfast still not sure what decision I would make, but knowing I was about to make yet another change in my life. I wanted to throw my hand up and yell "Why me God". Since god had never answered me, I didn't bother.

Instead I went to the Mall to walk. I was going to be late arriving at Jen's office, but I didn't really care. Let them all get together and have their guns locked and loaded. At least then it would be a fair fight. I was more than ready for them. During the walk I worked out what I wanted to say, even if I didn't have a decision yet. I really did appreciate Irish Martin's heads up.

When I left the mall, the bike ran out of gasoline. In the excitement I had forgotten to fill it up. Since the bike required oil and gasoline to be mixed, I couldn't just push it to the service station. That explains why I had a high impact plastic, pancake style canteen filled with gas strapped into the handlebar basket. It would also make a nice fire if I needed one in a hurry.

The little delay made me a few minute later than I had expected to be. "So how late am I?" I asked the receptionist upon my arrival.

"Twenty minutes by the clock but only five minutes later than one of the others," she said.

"If I knew who all was in the room, I could tell you which one it was." I said smiling. I just walked on back to the conference room. "Sorry guys," I said upon entering. "I had trouble with one of Marty's piece of shit bikes." No, I didn't tell them that I let it run out of gas.

"Come on in we have been waiting," Jen said smiling at me. She wasn't a bit upset. That should have scared the hell out of me. "I think you know almost everyone. Marty of course," he nodded. "Martin from Executive Security ," he gave me a big smile. "Last but not least, Thurman Slope from Real TV Network."

"Ah the cable network which is home to all the crap housewives love to hate," I suggested.

"And damn proud of it," Slope said smiling.

"You are much younger than I expected. Are you head of programing or even farther down?" I asked smiling.

"Head of new product development. I'm the one who decides what crap we put on for the horny housewives."

"Tell me Mr. Slope, does your boss know what kind of snakes he is getting into bed with?" I turned to Marty the bike peddler and Irish Martin, the washed up Mercenary, as I spoke.

"Actually we do. This is one of those symbiotic relationships. We don't come in with the cleanest of hands. As you said we program crap and we know it. They want to produce crap that we get really cheap. In exchange they get the product placement which amounts to an infomercial. Marty's Internet infomercials were a big hit. We would just like to do the same thing on real TV. It would be revolutionary, if it works. Of course you will be a TV star in the process."

"You can't sell me, so save the grease for someone who needs it. This ain't my first ass fuckin' cowboy. I must be stupid as hell to even be here listening. Marty there has lied to me, set me up, and used me shamelessly, but here I am again."

Martin started to speak. He should have sat quietly. "And then there is Swamp Thing, represented by Irish Martin. You knew they had to change their name a half dozen times. Once for each time a country kicked them out. Marty will use you, try to cheat you, and generally double cross you at every turn, but Swamp Thing, they just might kill your ass. Now, did you know all that Slope?"

"This isn't our first dance either Ms. Stone," he said. "We come in with our eyes wide open."

"Then lets talk about this crap show," I suggested.

Marty stood up, since he was the obvious pitchman. "I'm going to be the producer of the same kind of thing we did for the Internet only expand on it. We plan to make one hour TV shows from it."

"Do you have any idea the size of the turd you are biting into?" I asked. "There is no way you can get that much film of me and my sad little life."

"Your life is not all that sad," Slope commented. "But you are right it is a lot of film. I'm interested in hearing the answer to that as well."

"Obviously we need more characters. The beauty of Maxine's life is that she surrounds herself with characters worthy of any romantic tragedy novel ever written." Marty replied.

"And if I don't, you interject them into the plot to spice it up." I said bitterly.

"Okay, I tossed Mosby into the mix. I should not have done that, but I can't undo it." Marty said.

I interrupted by turning to Slope. "I'm gonna give you the advice my dad gave me. When he found out I was dating a married man, he said, 'If that prick will cheat with you, he will cheat on you.' My dad was usually right." I turned to Marty and said, "I should kill you."

"Can we move on please?" Marty said. I just nodded. "So just like before we film you with a lot of small hand held digital cameras. We either get releases, or fuzz the faces. With people who are likely to be major characters, we pay a fee. I'll take care of all that."

"So Jen will be trouble shooting it again," I asked.

"And this time she is going to be a major character in the show. Her life isn't as cool, but she will be a good counter balance for you."

"Did you know about this," I asked.

"I was made an offer this morning and I agreed, but only if you do." Jen said.

"Well they found your price, fifteen minutes of fame," I said it with a laugh. Jen just smiled she knew that it wasn't malicious. "I understand that I am supposed to be an employee, part time at least, of Swamp Thing's domestic army. They get mentioned every episode I suppose, but what are you getting out of it, Marty?" I asked.

"You ride my bike around town all the time. I get free advertising since my people will be producing it." He caught my look at Slope. "They already knew that Maxine, you are not shocking anyone here." Marty said.

"Now for the big question, what do I get." I asked seriously.

"Well aside from the intangibles brought to the table by Executive Security Service, you get paid in several ways. First of all we rent the last apartment from you. We set it up as a TV Studio. If that upsets any of your present tenants, we will pay to move them, or otherwise buy them off. All your tenants will be regulars, so they will be offered contracts as casual actors."

"Everyone gets a flat fee for the release, then a bonus for every minute of screen time we give them. The more interesting they are, the more money they will make. " Marty explained.

"We are covering the actor's fees," Slope admitted. "The two Martin's are paying the production costs."

"You get paid our standard job fee for anything you do for Executive Security," Irish Martin said.

"Plus you get paid for the apartment by me," Marty the pedaler said.

"And we foot the bill for your on air time. The release fee is paid by Marty, so feel free to stick it to him." Slope said.

"You aren't going to make what Angelina Jolie makes, but you won't do too badly," Jen said.

"This is after all low budget, crap TV as you pointed out earlier," Slope said. "That ends my part of the sales pitch. I just wanted to be here to be sure these two gentlemen didn't commit my network to more than we bargained for. As your daddy said, 'If they will do it for you, they will do it to you."

Irish Martin said, "I have a job coming up in less than two weeks. Marty assures me that he can be ready by then." Irish Martin said.

"You know the drill, your apartment gets wired. and hidden cameras everywhere. Hardwire for the apartment this time. We don't want the images pirated onto the internet. It seems there was quite a cottage industry in that, when you were at the cabin."

"My security system has a living room camera already. It stays, I need to know that the house is empty before I come home," I demanded.

"That's okay we can do an interference thing on that camera when you are in the house. Just screw the one camera up." Marty said as if he knew what he was talking about. I did know that the wireless cameras could be jammed, so I figured Mike could work it out.

"What's the signing fee and the on time fees?" I asked.

"Your blanket release fee is set at 25K for 120 days. After that we renegotiate. The on air time is set so you should make between 5 and 8k per show. We are planning a buy of ten shows the first season." Slope commented.

At 50 to 100 k total for six months work it was by far my largest payday ever. The Swamp Thing money would be the bonus. "Okay promise me Mosby isn't part of the mix and show me where I sign," I demanded.

"She is part of the mix," Marty said.

"Then the deal is off," I said standing to leave. I knew they had a lot of time and therefore money in the project. If it came to Mosby or me, I expected it to be Mosby out the door."

"Be reasonable Maxine. Mosby is a professional actress. She knows how to guide the amateurs to say and do the right thing."

"She is still a ringer and not part of my life. So I won't play with her sorry," I said.

"Okay she won't interact with you in anyway at any time. We will figure out something she can do without being part of your life circle." Marty said it angrily. He was screwing her, I could tell.

"I'm going to have a lot more to say about who does what in this little soap opera, than I did before." I said it as a warning.

"So now you are a diva?" Marty asked maliciously.

"I prefer to say I'm not letting you screw me over again. If you want to play this time you pay big boy." I said smiling. Then the meeting was just over before it sank even lower.

107

The meeting ended with Marty's promise that Mike would be calling me to arrange the camera work. I presumed that Mike would also be occupying the last of my apartments. Jen worked out an arrangement so that the rent payment and the release fee went directly to my bank account. I trusted her to take care of those kinds of details.

Since all my tenants had moved into their apartments, activity around Casa Del Aster was minimal at best. I could have returned home and just slept all day, but I chose not to do so. What I did choose to do, was to go looking for Helen's food truck.

The purpose of the search was to introduce Lois to Helen's food, and to see if any sparks flew between them. I figured Helen needed help and Lois was going to be bored pretty soon, so maybe it would be a match made in Maxine's heaven. Alas, it was not to be love at first sight.

Lois loved the food, but we caught Helen in a bit of a lunch rush. She was slinging brown bags as fast as she could. At the rate she was going she would be out of food pretty quickly, but I could tell Lois wasn't interested in hanging around to meet the owner. Since no one knew that I was playing matchmaker, it was a no harm, no foul kind of thing. I didn't write it off completely, but I did move it to a back burner.

When Lois was tucked safely back into her apartment just after noon, I switched the cruiser for the bike and my Eskimo look. I really just wanted to get out of the apartment. I had been playing dead so long I was getting cabin fever. The bike was the perfect cure for it. I had finding Helen a spot in mind as I rode all over the downtown.

Helen had explained to me a couple of months before, that she and Jack had to invest in a commercial kitchen. Partly it was because they needed to produce a lot of food in a short amount of time, but mostly it was the county health department. She had just gotten too big to work from her home kitchen without some serious renovations. The food truck business had been so good to them, that they chose to renovate Jacks house to convert the home kitchen to meet commercial standards rather than invest in a restaurant.

Helen's corner of the food industry was catering and she loved it. I was probably the only one pushing for an indoor location. I wanted to sit down to breakfast like I did at Hardee's but I wanted Helen's food. In other words, I wanted what I wanted, and when I wanted it. Typical female you say, and I ask, "So what? We control half the worlds resources, and we control all the world's pussy, I think you guys better learn to live with our little idiosyncrasies.

The bike ride proved futile. There just didn't seem to be the perfect spot for Helen's Place, as I already begun to think of it. I tried to stay busy. I took the cruiser out to a flea market looking for a chest of drawers. I knew that I didn't need to do my shopping at the flea market, but I enjoyed it. Unfortunately I couldn't find a thing.

On the way home I passed a salvage store, so just for the hell of it I stopped. He had three matching very old wooden filing cabinets from a business that went belly up when the owner finally died. I saw no reason why they wouldn't work for clothes. The drawers would be a bit deep, but what the heck. I bought all three for 50 bucks. It's a lot more than I want to pay, I thought. Then again, I knw that it could be a lot worse.

Getting them into the cruiser was a trick but the salesman and I managed. Getting the file cabinets from the cruiser, and then to the apartment took some doing as well. Even without help I managed it.

I suppose the desire to finish furnishing my place came from watching everyone else work on their apartments. By far the person with the newest and nicest furniture over all was Cheryl. Her furniture all came from one store and their delivery people set it up. Johnathan Hunter wasn't messing around when it came to his mistress, if that was indeed the relationship. Only time would tell unless someone asked, and I had no intention of being the someone. As long as they didn't cause me any trouble, I just didn't care.

Speak of the devil, I thought as I looked out my spy hole in the door. "Why hello Cheryl, what can I do for you?" I asked.

"I was wondering could lower the heat in my apartment just a little?" she asked.

"Tell you what I can give it a try. If it gets too cool let me know and we will try another setting. I start everyone one out at full heating, but I can lower it quite a bit. We should do it a little at a time. though. You can always open a window, if it gets too warm. If it gets too chilly over all, we will be back resetting the heat over and over. All that said, lets see what I can do."

She followed me out the rear door and into the utility room. She stood by while I cut the flow of hot water to her radiators by 10%. "Now that should make a difference." I said.

"So you are the one with the motorbike? I hear it every mornings lately?" she informed me.

"Guilty as charged," I replied.

"I bet that is fun," She looked whimsical as she said it.
"It's got plenty of gas, would you like to try it?" I asked.

"Could yo u wait while I get a heavier coat?" she asked.

"Sure, just come back when you are ready. Dress warm." I advised her. It was almost 5PM, so it was still a little warm, but starting to cool down. She was still likely to find it too cold for more than a minute.

A half hour later I stood in the alley and watched her return from her first ride on my bike. "I love it. I want one right now." She said it laughing.

"If you are serious, I can get you one right now," I said with a grin.

"How much are they?" She asked

"Anywhere from $300 to about $600." I said. "That's a lot for a toy."

"Not really, can I keep it in the store room and have it be just be our secret." She was serious. She didn't want Johnathan to know. I wasn't sure what that meant. I agreed to the secret toy probably because I didn't care for Johnathan Hunter.

I even put Cheryl into the cruiser with the bike rack on the rear and drove her to the Laboring Few's bike shop. The drive took about five minutes since it was on the opposite side of the little town. Everything the ministry did was within walking distance of their storefront church/ The old motel I bought was not within walking distance of the other ministry entities, so it was sold off. That was my take on it anyway.

"Cheryl This is Bob. Bob is the manager of the Laboring Few Bike Shop. Bob, Cheryl is interested in a motor bike." I explained.

"Then Cheryl, you should just look around and find the right bike first. Then we can talk about the right motor combination for it," Bob informed her.

Bob went back to working on bikes in the rear while Cheryl and I looked over the stock. Cheryl picked out a cruiser, which had no doubt previously been owned by a teenage girl. It appeared to have been stored in he basement, since there was almost on sign of wear or rust anywhere.

"I really like t his one and it's only $75," Cheryl said.

"Well there is going to be an addition charge for the motor. Let's get Bob back out here and do the rest of it." I said to Cheryl. She agreed, so I went to the back and brought Bob out with me.

"So how much do you know about motor bikes?" he asked her.

"Just that I rode Maxine's and I really did enjoy it." she said.

"Max has a motor set up she designed for us. It is a quick release model. Do you need that?" he asked.

"Do I Maxine," she asked me.

"Well with the quick release you could store the bike inside your apartment, if you were to move somewhere else. Otherwise no, you don't really need that."

"Then no, I don't think I need it." she said.

"Did you like pedaling the bike now and then?" Bob asked.

"You mean like helping it up the hills and starting off?" Cheryl asked. "I didn't mind that part at all. It made me feel like I was getting some exercise."

"I can put you onto a centrifugal clutch setup like Maxine's. It would have just a little more power, since you don't need to take it off the bike. That set up would run you $250, since Maxine brought you in. Add the price of the bike and its $325 plus tax." Bob stated flatly.

"Would it be $300, if she wasn't a friend of mine?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Nah, we give all your friends a discount. Its a $400 dollar set up for Joe off the street," Bob said. The question was really helping him sell it, and he knew it.

"Then I'll take it," Cheryl said. "Is there anything I need to know?"

"Yeah, I'm going to send along a booklet. Maxine can fill you in as well." He admitted.

"I have a gallon of premix, so you can use that to start out. When we need more, I'll show you how to mix it." I informed her.

"So when can you have it ready?" she asked bob.

"In about fifteen minutes. That's the beauty of these things." Bob said rolling her bike through the rear doors. Bob was as good as his word. We were back home and getting her bike ready for it's maiden voyage a half hour later.

With her blond hair flying under the bike helmet, Cheryl was going to be quite a traffic stopper. She might be close to my age but she was a much more attractive woman. Even if she was sneaking into middle age. We rode the bikes around the downtown then back home. I was getting cold, and it was getting dark, when I caught up with her at a stop sign.

"God girl, I'm freezing we need to go home," I said.

"I know, I'm cold as hell but I'm having so much fun." she said.

"Well, if you wake up in time, you can come along on my morning outing tomorrow." I suggested.

"You tell me what time, and I'll be there." Cheryl said still grinning ear to ear.

"Let's talk about it at home, I am about to become maxie pop," I said.

It was dead dark when we stored the bikes and arranged a time to go to breakfast the next morning. Then she was gone. Mike finally called an hour or so later.

"I got a reservation for a flight on Wednesday. I'm going to be having equipment shipped in UPS, but it won't be there till Thursday." He said.

"Mike are you going to be sleeping in the apartment, or is it just a production space?"

"I'll be staying there, is that a problem?" he asked.

"How about Gwen?" I asked.

"I figured she and Lucas would be staying together. I know you two don't get along." Mike said.

"Sounds like a good plan," I agreed without commenting on my dislike of Gwen.

"You know she will still be following you around shooting imagine for the show. I will try to keep her out of the editing as much as I can. Having people. who don't like the actors. can make editing pretty scary."

"You know best about that. I just didn't want to have a knock down drag out fight in front of my other tenants."

Since Mike wouldn't be in until Wednesday, I had one more day of total boredom. Maybe I could find something to do, I thought. I do have a new playmate, it seemed. I will have to keep it just friendship. It is what I promised myself, when I bought the apartment building.

I was awake, showered and dressed at 7:30AM, when the knock came on my door. I hadn't really expected Cheryl to show. Sure, she was all excited the night before, but who knows what a soft party girl will really do in the harsh light of a cold morning.

"Good morning, you better bundle up Max. It is gold out there." Cheryl said. She had only been ten feet, as far as I knew, and she already felt the cold?" It is going to be an interesting morning, I thought.

"Oh, I'm sure it is," I replied. I picked up my final piece of riding gear, the slightly thermal nylon pullover parka with the hood. When we left the store room, the bikes were both running and I was covered, with only tiny patches of skin exposed. Cheryl had more exposed but looked gorgeous. Oh well, it wouldn't take long for us both to know how she handled it.

I led the way through town to the Hardee's fast food restaurant. It was no more than a ten minute ride, but it felt longer in the bitter cold morning. We parked the bikes in a spot on the front, by the road. Might as well attract some attention, I thought.

"So you okay?" I asked Cheryl.

"Hell, I'm better than okay. That's almost as much fun as sex," she said.

"It's more fun than some of the sex I have had," I replied.

"Come to think of it, you are right," she said as we walked toward the door of the restaurant.

I must admit that we got a lot more attention taking off our outer wear that morning. When it was just me, hardly anyone noticed.. I didn't mind sharing the attention, I even enjoyed the view myself. Cheryl was a knock out blond. She was just a very few pounds over weight, not enough for men to notice. The great things was that her body, both top and bottom, matched. Mine didn't match at all.

When Cheryl stripped down to the tight wool pants, and even tighter sweater, men began to drool. Even her tiny little belly fat was gorgeous. We left the outer wear in a booth and went to the counter to order. While I filled up my delta cup and ordered breakfast, Cheryl was very attentive. She mimicked me as much as she could. I figured she was just feeling a little lost and trying to fit in.

More people than usual nodded and said good morning. Cheryl was proving to be a real asset, sort of like a flashing sign. Frankly, I was enjoying watching her enjoy the attention. She seemed to light up under all the glances of obvious admiration.

"I have never had breakfast inside one of these. This is just so damn cool," she said. I suppose there were people who had never eaten inside a fast food restaurant, but I sure as hell didn't know any of them.

"Glad you are enjoying it. To be honest I'm enjoying the company. You do know that most of this attention we are getting is because of you?" I said.

"Bull, these are your friends," she said. Then a second later she added, "Aren't they?"

"Sweetie most of these people ignore me, when I'm here alone." I replied honestly. I waited for her to respond. When she just smiled, I changed the subject. "Are you a wanted criminal?" I asked.

"Lord no," she replied with a strange look.

"In witness protection or on the run from some dangerous drug cartel?" I asked smiling.

"You are kidding right?" she asked with one of those things that could have been a conspirator's smile.

"Yeah sort of," I admitted. "You know that I have a rather colorful past?"

"So I have been told," she admitted.

"Some idiots want to make a reality TV show about my real life. If you go along, you will be part of it. They will pay you of course. That is something their people will be talking to you about. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't be in any danger. I know the background of all the other tenants, and they should be okay with it. I wanted to be sure that you would be."

"Hell, I think it sounds like fun. The real sluts of Aster," she said with a laugh. "Only people just think I'm a slut. I'm not really."

"In spite of the evidence to the contrary, neither am I," I admitted laughing. "Good then we are cool?" I asked.

"We most definitely are cool," she replied smiling warmly.

"Good, then let's fill up my coffee cup and go take a walk." I suggested. We did just that. Cheryl was as big a hit at the mall as she had been at breakfast. More people smiled and spoke to us, while staring at her flopping boobs.

"If we are going to walk like this, I need a better bra," she informed me.

We got home at almost 10AM. Cheryl left for her apartment and I cleaned up after my ride. I didn't really need a shower, but I did need to scrub my hands. They had the smell of exhaust and gasoline on them.

Just before noon I had a call from Lois. "Maxine some woman just called me to set up an appointment. She wants to discuss a TV show. Is that some kind of con?" she asked. "She said you were involved."

"Can you come over and I'll tell you what I know. You can decide about seeing her. Was her name Jen?"

"No it was Gwen something or other?" Lois said.

"Ah come on over and I'll fill you in." It wasn't two minutes later that the knock came to my door. "So come on in. I have some coffee going."

"Okay, the coffee sounds good. I had no idea you were a TV star Max." she said laughing.

"Trust me I'm not. Here is what this is all about." I explained all that I knew to her. When I finished, I gave here the same option as Cheryl. "Tell them to go to hell or take the money and play along."

"Hell, I like money and being on TV will be fun. You promise you aren't going to bring anything dangerous home with you?" she asked.

"I am most definitely not going to be bringing anything home with me. All of the work I will be doing for the Redheaded Stranger will be out of town. I will also be using fake IDs, so it should be anywhere from very hard to impossible to trace me. If you are worried about your safety, the TV folks will pay to move you to a different apartment."

"Heck Max, I was hoping for a pistol that's all." she said.

"Now we can probably do that, but it's safer if you don't have a weapon. If anything out of the ordinary happens, call me and I will take care of it." I was beginning to wonder if I had done the right thing by agreeing to do the TV show.

"Well, I can tell you right now, I'm going to take the money. It sounds like a blast to me." Lois said.

"Lois you can't tell anyone until the first contract period is over. Not even your kids." I informed her.

"Oh this just gets better and better," Lois said laughing. "Now I'm in a James Bond movie."

Gwen had obviously made it into town ahead of Mike. She had probably decided to come back for a visit with Lucas regardless of my decision. It was as good an excuse as any to try to figure out a way to weasel out of the contract.

I expected to hear from the EMT cowboy and Sarah Beth before the day ended. I wasn't disappointed. Sarah Beth had already spoken to Gwen when she called me at 1PM. She wanted to know if they would really pay her. I told her that they damn will better or there would be hell to pay. She seemed to accept that.

"So is this a porn shoot?" the EMT Cowboy asked.

"No it isn't porn at all. It might be R rated now and then, but not XXX." I replied.

"Damn, I was hoping that it was. That Sarah Beth is a cute chick," he said with a leer I could feel over the phone.

"Down boy, I promised her grandparents that I would take care of her, and I take that kind of promise seriously." I advised him.

"What if my intentions are pure?" he asked.

"That might be a different thing, but they aren't. I can tell from your voice," I did laugh to make it easier for him to take.

A short time later, Mag7 blasted from on the top of the row of file cabinets in my bedroom. I found the phone and said "Hello."

"Max, it's Cheryl how about we take a ride? I need to buy some groceries and I would love the company."

"You've got it, I need to get away from this damn phone. How much are you planning to get at the store?" I asked.

"Not much that little basket on the handlebars won't hold much," she said.

"Ah but honey, I have a small aluminum trailer we can put on your bike. With it you can bring home not just the bacon, but the eggs and toast as well."

"Very cool, I swear Max you are the best," she said.

"Remember that when I have to scold you about something or other," I replied.

"Okay, I promise that I will." she said. "How about fifteen minutes?"

"Sure come on over, it's a little warmer now. I won't need all the Eskimo gear. "

We rode to the grocery store where she bought enough of everything for one or two people, no more. I walked the aisle with her just looking and talking. When we got home, I had messages from Gwen and the Redheaded stranger. Gwen wanted me to call and left a number. Martin said he would call back.

"Gwen, you don't start for a week what is all this talking to my tenants?" I said it as a challenge right up front.

"No Max, our agreement was that we start as soon as we find anything to shoot. You and Executive Security Service start in less than two weeks. We have that long to be ready to shoot but we can start anytime we want."

"It's not worth the effort to argue. So what do you want?" I asked.

"I want you to tell your tenants and other friends that it's okay to talk to me." she said.

"When you are going to talk to them, call and give me a heads up. I'll keep the phone with me, so that you can call me and just hand them the phone. I'll tell them then. It will be better that way." I said.

"Like you said, it ain't worth arguing." Gwen suggested.

Cheryl was the first to call.

"Max what should I tell this woman?" she asked.

"Cheryl, you can tell her anything about yourself that you want. Tell her only things about you that you wouldn't object to your mom knowing, because she just might after this. I expect that the more engaged you are with these people, the more you will be in the show, and the more money they will pay you. Of course you aren't going to get rich from them I'm sure,"

"I know, but at least it is money I made myself," she suggested.

"You can always talk to Johnathan before you sign anything hon," I suggested. "Once you sign that release, they can use anything you say to them and anything they shoot of you in a public. They are going to follow me around, and if you are with me, then you are fair game as well. That is if you sign the release.

"I understand all that, and Johnathan will just tell me to do what I want."

"Then as long as you understand, pick your poison." I suggested.

I gave everyone the same advice when they called. Gwen seemed to be satisfied with that. Martin the Irishman aka the Redheaded Stranger, never did call back.

109 The thing is...

On Wednesday morning I packed the cell phone along on my morning ride with Cheryl. It was probably not a good thing that I had begun to think of the morning ride and Cheryl as part and parcel of the same thing. But there she was knocking on my door at 7;30AM again. Breakfast was again filled with guys leering at her boobs, while I smiled inwardly. I have no idea why I found it so satisfying, I mean she wasn't really with me in a romantic sense. Even so. I felt almost like a proud parent.

The walk went off without any problems at all. We passed by a gas station on the way home. I noticed Gas prices were going up again. I made a note to fill up the cruiser and my gas can before they got any higher.

The motors on our bikes were about the size of a weed eater, but were of much better quality. They required a 50:1 mix of gas and oil. Fortunately they packaged oil in the right size bottle for one gallon cans of gas. I had a two and a half gallon tank and a one gallon tank. When I got down to less than half the big can, I transfered it into the smaller can. At that point, I put two gallons in the big can along with two of the little bottles of oil. It was a pain for about thirty seconds, then it was over for a month or more.

I got the gasoline ready for the next month before my phone rang around noon. Mike was at the airport in Tryon. The airport was actually between Aster and Tryon. It wasn't there because Aster was a big suppler of air traverlers, but because the land had been cheap, when they built it.

"So I suppose you want me to pick you up?" I asked.

"Actually no, I just wanted to give you a heads up. We should be there in about twenty minutes or so." Mike said.

"We who is we?" I asked. There was a too long pause.

"He said to tell you that it was Irish," Mike said. "Now I have to go. The bags are coming out." I knew that he really said it, so I wouldn't ask more questions.

I never had lunch before three, so I just made more coffee. Since I drank coffee all day long, the pot was always on. While I waited for the two new men in my life to show, I reran the security camera files. Nothing happened over night and that was a good thing.

My phone played the Mag7 theme again, but I caught it pretty quickly that time. "We are five minutes out. We just wanted to let you know."

"It's too cold to stand bye the gate, but I'll keep an eye out for you. What are you driving?" I asked,

"A black Cadillac SUV," Mike said.

"Of course you are, the ride of choice for thugs and cops," I said it with a laugh. I kept an eye on the parking lot camera until they arrived. Once the Caddy was in the parking lot, I walked to the gate. I carried Mike's card key and door key in hand. His unit was the one on the right hand corner of the building.

"Well hello strangers," I said as a greeting. "What bring you to my part of the world," I asked jokingly.

"I'm just a tourist," Irish said. "This one is going to be staying a while."

"Oh goody, he makes it a full house. Well, when you get settled in, come on down to number three. I have coffee on."

"I'm going with you, I don't do bellhop," Irish said.

"When you get your stuff in the first unit, number 6, come on down to unit three. We will be waiting." I said to Mike. I knew that he wouldn't have much in the way of luggage, but he would most likely want a few minutes to look around his new temporary home.
"God I missed you," Irish lied as he closed the door behind us.

"Bullshit," I said.

"Well, I did think about you once or twice," he corrected himself.

"That's more like it, but this is business," I said. "I never mix the two."

"Yeah, that's what the bosses like about you." Martin said.

"So you are going to be code name Irish?" I asked with a laugh.

"Yeah they like it at the office for some reason. It's all part of this new image shit that we are trying to achieve."

"I still don't understand that. How the hell are we going to fit into that black bag shit, if we are on TV."

"Executive Security Service is about protection, not black bag shit, as you call it." he said.

"Oh come now, You aren't going to try to tell me that your boss is suddenly above a little industrial espionage. Because if you do, I'm gonna laugh in your face." I said.

"Our operation isn't going to be doing anything like that. You and I are heading up the non profit operations. Heading up hell we are the feel good ops department. If we can figure out a way to make the bad guys pay the freight, then we will be heros. If not, Swamp Thing just writes it off as a cost of doing business. Of course we have an almost zero budget."

"Of course," I agreed.

"Look before Mike gets here, I need to tell you something," Irish said. "But first how much do you know about Johnathan Hunter and Cheryl?"

"Not much to be honest. I think she is his girl toy, but I don't see him around much. She and I have breakfast together these days, but that's about all I know."

"You didn't do a background check on them?" Irish asked.

"I did it on Johnathan. It started out that Johnathan was going to rent the apartment. Then it all got moved to her name. I figure that her last name wasn't really Hunter, but I didn't care. His credit check told me he had the money to keep a sweetie on the side, so it all seemed harmless. Just an old married goat with a lamb in the woods. Why?"

"First of all Cheryl is Johnathan's Daughter. He was working in a machine shop, when she was born. He came up with some gadget and it was about to pay off big, when she graduated high school. Just a week after she graduated, she got his shotgun from the closet.

Then she put it into her new, to her car, the one she got for a graduation present, and drove to the house of he senior prom date. There she proceeded to kill him and his father, then she calmly drove to the police station."

"Wow, my Cheryl did that I'm in shock," and I was too.

"Back then Johnathan wasn't rich, but he got her the best lawyer he could afford. Cheryl wouldn't cooperate, so it wouldn't have mattered who her shyster was. She got twenty five to life. She refused to allow her dad's lawyers to put her up for parole. Somewhere along the way she got that institutional mind set. She did eighteen years before they put her on the street. Since Cheryl's mother died while she was in the joint, she moved in with Johnathan and his new wife.

"Since she is here, I guess the step mommy's kiss was cold, like the saying goes?" I asked.

"I guess. Anyway he set her up with a trust, to get her started. It pays her living expenses for a few years. She also has stock in his company which pays dividends. She isn't wealthy but she doesn't have to work, if she doesn't want to. Of course this is going to be her lifestyle if she doesn't work."

"And what's wrong with this lifestyle?" I asked.

"No offense but it is only one small step above her old prison life. She feels right at home here, I'm sure." Irish said.

"So Cheryl killed two guys on graduation day. I have to admit, I'm impressed." I said.

"Not exactly graduation day, but almost," Irish said. "We need to keep in mind that she has done a lot of time, she is going to be a wild card."

"It sure as hell explains a lot of things. She loves the bike, because she doesn't have a driver's license, but she knows how to ride a bike from her childhood. She had never been inside a Hardee's, because they don't have them in prison. Well at least not yet." I said smiling.

"Just be careful the chick is a stone killer. It might have been years ago, but she will pull a trigger." Irish said.

"Oh yes and we certainly don't want someone around here who has killed people." I said it with a chuckle.

"Not unless they have been vetted, and are on the payroll anyway," he said lightly in agreement.

I instantly made the decision that the information would not effect my relationship with Cheryl. I had no room to judge. When you get right down to it, whats a couple of twenty year old murders among friends.

I was still working it out in my head when Mike came knocking. When we were all seated at the old reception desk with coffee Irish began, "Here is how this is going to work filming wise. Mike you can film anything you want, when we are not working. I have no say in that, and I don't want any. That is between you and Max."

"Same as before as far as I'm concerned. Careful with the microphones though, those are the most likely thing to get me killed." I said.

Mike nodded. "I have some new toys," he said.

"Now when we are working our decisions on shooting are final. If we think a wire is too dangerous, or a camera in place is, then there will be questions. I don't plan on either of us getting killed for TV coverage. You do understand?" Irish wanted to make sure there were no misunderstandings later. He probably thought Mike was wired. I was positive that he was.

"I understand," Mike said aloud. He knew that at least I didn't trust him, and he should know that Irish probably didn't either.

"The video has to be from hiding. If we know where the action is going to be, we will give you a heads up. If not, you will have to follow us and do the best you can from a distance. Now Mike, let me warn you. If some of these people spot you, Max and I might be able to talk our way out of it, but you are dead. I might have to shoot you myself to protect our cover. You do understand that you need to be very careful. If you aren't 100% sure it's safe, don't do it."

"I understand," he said again for the record. "Like I said before, I have some new toys that will help."

"Fortunately for us, most of these cases will be with very low tech opposition. We will have more technology at our disposal than they will. Our budget is very small, but the existing equipment in the company warehouse is available. We just can't spend any new money, unless we create it ourselves."

"If that is all, could one of you give me a lift to the car rental place here in town?" Mike asked.

"I can drop you there on my way out of town. I have to get back to the office, we are sifting through our files. We are looking for just the right case for our first little adventure," Irish informed us.

"After I get the car, I will be headed out to UPS. They are holding boxes of my equipment there. I should be ready to wire your place for video tomorrow," Mike suggested.

"Okay, so I have the rest of today off. After that I'm going to be on TV 24/7?" I asked to verify the plan.

"Oh yes and in every room in your apartment except the bathroom. I will start monitoring you for sound as well." Mike admitted.

"Mike, my neighbor Cheryl and I ride to breakfast every morning on our bikes. You might need to figure out something for that. You can meet us at the restaurant and then at the mall where we walk if you like, or we can get you a bike if you have the budget for it."

"Since that is a non security item, I can film it piece meal. Just set up and let you ride by a couple of places then get you arriving at the restaurant. Just a few shots of the two of you inside should be fine."

"You haven't seen Cheryl in her riding outfit yet," I said smiling.

110 Last day of freedom..

By the end of the day Mike would have my apartment, and me wired for pictures and sound. I needed to explain everything to Cheryl. Hopefully, Lois and the others would have nothing compromising to say to me, or me to them. Cheryl on the other hand might get outed by accident. If that happened, it would be difficult for me to cover.

Since I had Cheryl on my mind the night before, I hadn't slept well at all. When she arrived I tried to find the right time to explain. I waited until the bikes were parked outside, and we were seated at at table inside of Hardee's before I began my explanation. It was hard for me to concentrate with her wearing that very tight thermal top and tight jeans. In just three days she had gone from a well fitting soft knit tee shirt, to a tight thermal top like mine. I had nothing to put in my top compared to Cheryl, whose top runeth over.

She was showing off her body and who could blame her. The top was so full that no one took their eyes off her. She obviously enjoyed the attention any woman would have. If I had her body, I would be doing the exact same thing or much worse.

"You have obviously been shopping," I observed.

"Yes I have. Do you like my outfit? We sorta match," she said.

"Honey there is no way we are ever going to match. You could wear a flour bag and be gorgeous and I could wear a Paris gown and look like a pig. But yes I love the outfit on you. Mine is pure function, but on you it just glam as hell."

"Why thank you Maxine, Even if I did have to force the compliment from you, I appreciate it." Cheryl said.

"You should be able to tell how I feel about you from the way I look at you, You should also be able to tell from the smile I wear, when men look at you the way they do. I think you are beautiful and I'm proud to be in your company." The little speech would help her self image, I hoped.

"I know, I just needed to hear you say it one time." she smiled at me and I almost melted. I was going to have a problem, but we needed to work things out quickly.

"Cheryl, starting sometime today they are going to have me and my apartment wired for sound and pictures. People will be following me, and maybe even you, with a camera and listening to all our conversations. They are going to be looking for things to make a good TV show. Those are things you might want to keep off TV. So be careful what you say and when you say it. Always think before you speak, or do anything you might regret seeing on TV. Trust me you have to be very aware. I went through all this a few months back." I said it then waited to see if she would tell me anything,

"When I signed the release I read it very carefully. I even had Johnathan's lawyer read it. He was very careful to explain it all to me. I am pretty good at keeping secrets." she informed me.

After eighteen years inside, she would be damn good at keeping secrets. "Okay, I just wanted you to know this would be your last chance to speak freely. After this morning just be aware." I said.

She got very serious and a hardness came into her eyes as she said, "Maxine, I am always aware."

After she made that announcement she returned to having her breakfast with a smile. The smile was for her audience. The group of men who were fascinated by her long blond hair and her big boobs. I couldn't say that I blamed them a bit.

"Now, I want to have easier access to my bike. How are we going to manage that?" It was the most assertive thing I had heard her say.

"I will have to give it some thought," I answered. I could not give her any control at all. I knew that for sure.

"Right now Johnathan's driver comes over from Tryon twice a week to drive me around. I would like to change that to an on call status. So it's important that I arrange my own transportation. I don't really want the hassle of a car, so I need access to the bike all the time."

"I have a rule about things stored outside the apartment, but maybe I can figure something out."

"Maybe I should go back and get the bike with the removable engine?" she asked.

"You don't want to store that engine inside your apartment. They smell of gasoline. Actually all you guys need storage, I should have thought of that when I converted the place. Let me do some research and I'll figure out something. In the meantime get your self a good lock and a bike cover. You can store it on the side of your apartment. Park all the way back by the fence in the rear corner. You can get a little protection from the winds back there. We can get you a small sealed container to keep a quart or so of premix gasoline under the cover as well."

"Very cool, so are you ready to go walk?" she asked smiling. She obviously felt that she had won a round. I could tell I needed to be careful not to let her take control. It was another good reason not to become her lover.

We were about half way through our first lap, when she asked, "Where did you get your trailer, I want one of those."

"The preacher's bike shop can make you one for about a hundred bucks," I suggested.

"Very good, I will give him a call when we get back. I bet he can find me the right kind of bike cover as well." she said.

"He most likely has one in stock." I agreed.

We were sitting on a bench sharing the last of the coffee before we started the ride for home, when she asked, "When did you find out?"

I looked at her and wanted to ask, find out what, but I knew better. I wouldn't want her to play games with me. "One of my friends told me yesterday. Not all of it by any means, just the cold on paper facts."

"Anything you need to ask?" she suggested.

"Not really, but if you need to talk feel free." I replied.

"I don't need to talk about any of it," she replied convincingly.

"Then don't," I advised her. "Just remember we are going to be wired after today. Try to be careful these TV guys are not idiots. Even if that Gwen chick might act like a moron."

"I get the impression she feels the same about you," Cheryl said with a chuckle.

When I got back to the apartments, Mike was ready to start work. The first things he wanted to do was to explain how everything worked.

"Mike I don't give a crap how it works. Just tell me what I need to do to be safe." I explained.

"Okay just a quick over view. I tapped into your security feed for the outside shots of the place, if I need them. I am going to install a couple of wireless cameras in your apartment. Be sure to close your bathroom door when you need privacy. I can't see the shower, but if you walk around, there might be some reflections or something." he admitted.

"So, do you have a good shot of my bed, in case I get lucky sometime during the next six months?" I asked.

"Yes, but we promised no x rated video. I will fade to black somewhere along the line. Of course I will see it, but I promise I will destroy the footage."

"I have more than your word for it. If that footage shows up anywhere, I'm gonna have your ass, and you know it." I said.

"Yeah I know it," he replied grinning.

"If these cameras are wireless, how do I know they won't get picked up by some hacker?" I asked.

"They will only transmit 50 feet. The hacker would have to have my encryption codes and be parked inside that area to do it. That's way too sophisticated for a random hack and if he tried we would notice him parked that close. Of course, nothing compromising goes on line. It's a direct camera feed to my control room in the apartment over there." He said it waving toward unit six where he was staying.

"I'm going to trust you here, but like I said before, you better be right."

"This is for you as well," he said handing me not so small plastic capsule. It was a little bigger even than those red caps they use to stuff worm medicine down large dog's throats.

"And what do I do with that?" I asked.

"Its a microphone and transmitter," he said. "It will transmit about 100 feet. It is encrypted as well. Not much chance anyone can find the frequency, then figure out the encryption software, and be parked within a hundred feet without us knowing it."

"So where do I carry it?" I asked.

"That's the beauty of it. You can carry it anywhere you like. Anywhere it will fit that is." He saw the look I gave him, then added. "In your purse, in a pocket, it's a little big for your ear and you probably won't be able to swallow it easily, but any other orifice would work."

"You mean shove it up my ass?" I asked.

"It would depend on how much chance you felt there might be of a search," he suggested.

"Well, I have had bigger things up my ass and other places as well." I said.

"I was pretty sure of that," Mike said with a smile.

"Just get to it, and for now I'll carry it in my the pocket of my jeans." I said sliding the over sized capsule in my front pocket along with my keys.

Mike installed the cameras in just over an hour. Since everyone was supposed to know that they were on TV, he made only a token attempt to hide them. Well, those in the heat of passion might not know. If they wouldn't sign the release, Mike would just scramble their pixels for them. He also added a cutoff for the surveillance camera inside the apartment. It would somehow know when I was home and go to fuzz. Then go back to broadcasting, when I left. I had no idea how that worked, nor did I care. I assumed that it had something to do with the capsule, but I didn't ask.

He and Gwen couldn't film me 24 hours a day, but they could be there often enough to be pests. Even worse, they needed to be entertained. I couldn't be just my usual stay at home old lady self, I had to actually go out and do things, even when I wasn't working for Swamp Thing.

"By the way," Mike said as he was ready to leave my apartment. "We have hired two more camera people for this gig. They won't be working the whole time but they will drop in now and then to shoot the secondary characters for a day or two at a time.

"So their lives will be in turmoil as well as mine?' Mike nodded. "Good," I said with a grin. No free lunches, I thought.

Everything was done and I was on the air by three in the afternoon. Then things went back to more or less normal. At least as normal as possible with a 500 pound gorilla in the room.

Cheryl came over after she was sure Mike had gone. "Maxine, I need the bike. I am going to the bike shop for a trailer and cover." she said smiling at me. Since she was dressed to ride, her assets were hidden from view for at least a while longer.

"Sure come on back and I'll let you in the storeroom." I suggested as I led the way to the back of door of my apartment. Once we were in the storage room, I leaned very close and whispered in her ear. We are on the air audio, but so far no cam in the storeroom."

She nodded. Ten minutes later the bike roared into life and she was gone.

111

Since I had to entertain the TV clowns, I decided that we needed a trip to The Cop Out. I had no idea which of the two clowns was on duty that evening, but I was pretty sure I would know soon enough.

"Hi," I said into the phone. "This is Maxine."

"Yes, I recognized your voice. So what can I do for you?" Cheryl asked.

"I thought I would go to the Cop Out club for a drink after dinner tonight. Would you like to come along and meet some local public servants."

"Cops," You are kidding?" she asked.

"Cops, Emts, firemen, and a nurse or two," I suggested. "And this isn't a date or anything. You just seem like you could use a little time out." I knew for a fact that Mike or Gwen was listening so they had been informed of my intentions as well.

"So, it isn't a date, but we are going together?" she asked.

"Exactly," I replied.

"So what about dinner?" she asked.

"Well sometimes I stop by the pizza and pasta pit for take out. I usually get enough to treat the place. I try to stay on the good side of everyone there. I never know when I will need one of them. I also never know which of them I will need."

"You really are serious aren't you?" she asked.

"Oh yes, so are you interested?" I asked.
"No strings attached?" she asked.

"No strings and if you are uncomfortable, we will split immediately," I suggested.

"Alright what time?"

"8PM is usually the best time to get there. Say we leave around 7PM to get the pizza first." I said.

"That's two hours from now, so sure why not. I have time to take a shower and get all pretty for the cops," she said in an extremely sarcastic tone.

"Good, I'm sure they will appreciate it," I replied.

"So how should I dress?" she asked.

"Dress as if what you wear, will determine the outcome of the evening," I said it with a giggle.

"You really are evil Maxine," she said. Then she laughed and the phone went dead.

I called Mike next. "Hey dude, did you hear that call?"

"Yeah, I got it. I'm going to send Gwen with you." he said.

"Send Gwen, so you are the one in charge?" I asked.

"Pretty much, since Gwen got involved with Lucas, Marty and I aren't sure where her head is. Marty put me in charge of getting it done no matter what."

"Fair enough, will she be bring Luke along?" I asked.

"No, she will not be bringing Lucas along. Marty had a talk with her about priorities." he admitted.

"Then tell her I will be leaving here a little after seven in the cruiser." I suggested.

"Right," he said.

After the call ended, I reheated a cup of coffee in the microwave and tried to decide why I had invited Cheryl. I guess I was bored and wanted to shake things up at the Cop Out. Cheryl, with that body, would do that for sure. It should also be good for her ego as well. Plus it would just be good TV, I expected.

Cheryl showed up on time and we picked up the pizza before driving downtown to the club. "You are kidding, this club isn't on main street, for real?" Cheryl asked.

"Oh yes, right in the center of downtown Aster," I said with a laugh.

"Okay, but I promise you, if one of these jerks touches me, I'm going to break his finger," Cheryl said.

"You can do that?" I asked.

"You aren't the only bad ass bitch around," she said smiling. I put my finger to my lips to remind her of the microphone. Cheryl nodded

"So let's go dance with a civil servant," I suggested.

"Why not?" Cheryl asked.

Once Cheryl removed the old navy pea coat, she was an instant hit. She had boobs as far as the eye could see, and cleavage a man or woman could get lost in. She saw me staring then asked, "Are you sure that we are just going to be friends?"

It was damn hard but I answer, "I'm sure."

"You are an idiot," she said with a hardy laugh.

"I know," I replied. I had spread the pizza out on a table. Everyone knew that it was a sign for them to take whatever they wanted. From the pizza assortment, not from Cheryl.

Before I knew it Cheryl was dancing with cops I recognized and men I didn't. Those were mostly medical people of some kind, I felt sure. I danced a few times with men and even a woman or two before Blevins showed up.

"Well detective Blevins, it is good to see you again," I said light heartedly.

"Good to see you too max, is the blond with you?" he asked.

"Not the way you mean, she is a tenant," I replied. "I thought I would show her around."

"How nice of you. Usually when you do that. someone I know steps in a pile of shit."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Jerry and Mosby is what I'm talking about. He went into a tail spin after she left town. You get one girlfriend of his killed and run off another. You aren't good luck for that officer," Blevins said.

"Bullshit Blevins, he got the best sex of his life because of me." I said.

"I will have to ask him to verify that," he said.

"Tell him I said, he has my permission to kiss and tell this one time." I smiled.

"To me this one is prettier. Mosby was too young for my taste, this one is perfect," he admitted.

"Well give it your best shot," I suggested.

"I think I will leave that to the younger guys," he said.

"Don't forget the girls," I suggested.

"Oh does she bat left handed?" He asked.

"I don't have any idea, but I don't rule anything out." I suggested. I had no idea how long Gwen had been in the club, but when I looked up she was sitting in the corner filming. Her camera was pointed alternately at Cheryl and then at me.

Before I knew it, my cheap digital watch read midnight. I left the table I shared with Blevins and went to the dark corner where Cheryl sat with a much younger woman. "Hey Cinderella your driver is about to turn into a Mouse and your coach into a pumpkin. Are you about ready to leave?"

"Max this is Lucille. Lucille is a paramedic for the county. Isn't that fascinating? Cheryl asked.

"Yes it certainly is fascinating. So you want to leave with me, or catch a ride with Lucille?" I asked.

"Lucille honey, I have to go home now, but you have my number," Cheryl said.

"Sure, I'll call and we can do something one day," she said smiling.

"Time to go," I said as the two of them looked longingly into each other's eyes.

Once we were in the cruiser and headed home I asked, "Well did you have fun?"

"I had a wonderful time. I want to thank you for taking me, even if it wasn't a date."

"You are welcome." I barely got the words out before I felt Cheryl move closer and rub her index finer under my nose. The smell on it was unmistakable. "I am going to make a wild guess, Lucille?"

"You are so smart," she said.

"So now I know," I admitted.

"Now you know," Cheryl said. "No strings attached." She paused a few seconds then said, "I have her number, if you would like to try her."

"I don't think so, is that what you want?" I asked.

"No I only want you. Well I only want you right now, but I'm not looking for a commitment, just someone to keep me warm tonight."

"I can do that," I said softly. "But keep you warm is all that I can do."

"It's a start," she said.

"So your place or mine?" I asked.

"Yours," she said with a wink. The wink told me that she remembered the camera and didn't care.

Neither of us had enough to drink to blame anything on the alcohol. I pretty much decided that nothing would happen but cuddling. Anything more would have to be spur of the moment, and that would almost surely be the case.

Once inside the warm apartment clothes started to fall off us as if by magic. First it was the coats which was the normal thing when coming in from the cold. The coats were followed by my heavy sweater. It had been worn to stay comfortable while sitting in a drafty bar.

After her coat anything else Cheryl removed would have been less than modest. She wore only a low cut lightweight sweater and jeans over her foundation garments. I was sorely tempted to kiss her, but resisted the urge long enough to start a pot of coffee.

"Are you doing okay?" I asked.

"Better than you it would seem," Cheryl said. "I'm not having an identity crisis." She waited a few seconds then went on, "I jumped on this apartment because of your reputation with the ladies, as much as anything else." Cheryl was being brutally honest with me.

"I honestly didn't know," I admitted. "Like everyone else I thought, you and Johnathan were lovers."

"I'm sure you did. I wanted you to think that. You would never have rented to me, if I came on to you. I knew that," she said.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"Once we visited, Johnathan had you investigated. I guess it was more research than anything else. He was, and probably still is, concerned about your lifestyle. Not just the men and women but the other stuff as well."

She paused to stare at me a moment then went on. "We discussed it. He asked if I could take care of myself around you. I assured him that I could."

"Ah well, I am glad you took the apartment. The only other person I ever rode the bikes with. and I are in different orbits these days."

"Mosby?" she asked.

"You do know a lot, but not Mosby. My former parter Lucas." I said

"Ah the boy wonder, too bad about him and the moron," she said.

"Damn Johnathan really did do a number on me."

"He has way too much money, and nothing to spend it on these days." Cheryl said.

"Too bad he and I aren't lover's, I could help him out with that?" I said.

"No you wouldn't," Cheryl suggested.

"You are right, I wouldn't. So, as the saying goes, are there boys on the side?" I asked.

"Now and then, but they are like a dieting woman's desert." Cheryl replied. "Something for a very special occasion."

"With me it's more a cake and ice cream thing. I like both equally," I said.

"I won't hold that against you," Cheryl said.

"Damn, I was hoping you would hold things against me." I smiled at her even though I knew it was the wrong thing to do. Cheryl left her stool at the registration desk and walked into the tiny kitchen. She walked right up to me and then she kissed me. It was a warm friendly kiss at first.

The key phrase there is at first. As kisses often do, it took on a life of it's own. First it was deep breathing and then lots of tongue movement. That was followed by grinding from both of us.

Cheryl might not have had a penis to rub into me, but she did have a prominent pubic bone which was more than a little stimulating. In other words kissing Cheryl was just as stimulating physically as kissing any man. The pressure from her hips was more exciting than any women and equal to most men.

The coffee got ignored. We moved quickly to the bedroom where exploring each other would be much easier. I killed the lights even though I knew that it would make no difference to the new low light digital cameras.

I quickly managed to undress Cheryl. It was more difficult for me to undress her, than it was for her to undress me. My clothes just fell off me, but hers were molded to her body. Everything she wore seemed to want to stay in place to protect her.

I took some doing but I finally had her breasts free. It took only milliseconds for me to find her nipple in my mouth. I sucked on it gently at first, then harder and harder until I was savaging it. Cheryl moaned in pleasure.

Her hands ran through my still growing hair. It was at least two inches long by that time. Almost enough for her to grip. Certainly enough for her to clasp between her spread finger to help with her hand hold. It was an amazing feeling to be be suffocated in her soft fatty breasts. She gripped tight and pulled me harder against her breast tissue. I hoped that I was bruising her. I wanted her breasts to feel me even after I was finished with them.

I had to use both hands to hold her boob to my mouth. Maybe I didn't really need to hold it up, but I loved the feel of her breast in my hand as well as my mouth. I was becoming fixated on them.

She was actually the one who moved my hand from her breast to her pubic mount. I was surprised to find it naked. My finger glided easily over the steep mound of her pubic bone and slipped between the folds of the hood guarding her clitoris. Her hips actually left the mattress when I touched her clit. The tension and grinding of her hips against my hand told me she was having an orgasm. It is always an amazing feeling to be connected to a woman when that happens. It was even more amazing with Cheryl.

Since she had hardly been touched when she came, there was a extra thrill about it all . It told me that she was going to be an amazing lover. I let my fingers slip from her clit to her vulva. I slipped two fingers inside her. I felt her body trying to grip and pull them in deeper as her muscles spasmed uncontrollably. I pumped at her body until she seemed to calm down almost instantly. When she was calm I began to nurse on her again. She cradled me until her breathing returned to normal.

"Thank you," she whispered into my ear. "It was all I hoped it would be."

I thought I had been dismissed and that would have been fine as well. Instead she rolled me over onto my back and she began to run her hands over my body. It was an amazing feeling. Her hands were rough. I suppose at some point she must have done hard work with those hands. She rubbed me almost raw with her rough hands, then she kissed it all better with her soft lips.

She roughly massaged my nipples until there was pain, then she kissed and sucked on them until they were on fire. My hips were moving long before she slipped her finger onto my clitoris. When she did, she rotated it in small tight circles. First clockwise then counterclockwise. Without warning I exploded into an orgasm just as she had done. Even while I was in the midst of the screaming sensation, she forced her four fingers hard into my wet pussy.

I was stretched to the point of burning, but I still tried to suck them in deeper. I fought with my hips trying to drive her fingers deeper inside me. All the while my mind was in a different place. I had no control over what my body was doing. It was on erotic auto pilot and it was a good thing. Otherwise I would have just shut down.

Unlike Cheryl my body didn't shut down, it demanded more. I pulled her down to me for a deep kiss then totally out of character for me, I pushed down hard on her shoulders forcing her head between my spread legs.

I began to climb toward another orgasm as I felt her rough tongue snake along my pussy lips. The almost electric sensations her mouth was creating drove me mad. I was way out of body, when I came again. I came so hard I might have broken her nose, if she had been in the right position. I was unable to do anything but lay in one place and feel my body twist and silently beg for more sensations.

I was still shaking when my mind rejoined my body. I felt not at all tired or satisfied. I wanted still more. I pulled Cheryl up from between my legs kissed her deeply then rolled her onto her back.

Without any preliminary I went down on her. I kissed her clit and licked it up and down until she was moving her hips in a steady motion, then I changed the direction. I began to manipulate her clit in a side to side motion. She lost it at that point. She pulled at me and tried to force my face inside her. I worked hard to please her. When she finally calmed down again, we held each other trying to regain control of our bodies.

She actually spoke first, "You know this doesn't make us a couple. I'm not sure what it makes us, but definitely not a couple."

"I don't care what it makes us, but there is one thing for sure." I said.

"What is that?" she asked.

"We are not going to be able to sleep in this bed tonight. It is soaking wet and cold." I observed.

"Then it's a good thing that I live next door." she replied. 112

Even though it was late when we went to bed and I was exhausted, I still awoke at 7AM. It was a fancy bedroom where I woke up. It certainly wasn't my usual bedroom. Mine with the industrial decor was a lot more dismal. It took me a minute to realize that I was in Cheryl's bed. It took me a minute because Cheryl was nowhere to be found . So there were no clues and that morning I needed clues.

The first thing I did was go to the bathroom and drink a glass of water to dilute the funky taste in my mouth. Cheryl's body tasted a hundred times better than any man, but it still left a stale taste in my mouth. I decided, my best move would be to put on whatever clothes I had worn over, then get my ass home. I wanted to brush my teeth first, then I wanted a shower.

As I passed through the kitchen, I found Cheryl sitting at her small glass topped iron table with matching chairs. Very chic, I would have told her had she not spoken first.

"You better hurry, if you plan to be ready for breakfast by 7:30," she said it then turned away. Cheryl might be all about routine. It wouldn't be unusual for institutionalized people to be heavily regimented.

That was it. No good mornings, thanks for eating me out so good. It was just hurry up or you will be late. "Right," I said as I walked out the door in jeans and a sweatshirt no underwear at all.

The untouched coffee from the night before made it into the microwave, then into me. I carried a cup of it into the bathroom with me, while I brushed my teeth and showered. I managed to get into my bra, panties, thermal suit, jeans and a funky sweater before Cheryl knocked on the door. But I only beat her by a couple of minutes."

"You about ready?" she asked.

"Just need to put on my parka and hood. I'll get my bike started and meet you in the front parking lot." I said it very much aware that Cheryl acted exactly like she had the morning before we had slept together. She had been serious when she said, it was about her biological needs. not any emotional ones. Okay I said it using different words, but that's obviously what she had meant.

"Are you okay with last night?" I asked.

"Sure,what's not to be okay with?" she asked genuinely surprised that I would need to ask. I knew then that I would never fully understand how Cheryl thought. Her experience base was just too different from my own. I would need some time to work that out, but I had always managed to understand people. It's why I was successful at problem solving. It was about knowing which button to push and then hitting it with a big ass hammer.

It was a bit of a twist, instead of the tenant being upset that the relationship wasn't all she wanted, it just might be the landlady who was upset. I obviously didn't know how it would end, but I was pretty sure Cheryl had been correct, when she told her dad that she would manage.

The bike started right up so I was in the parking lot before Cheryl, who had to roll hers out. It was a little about being considerate of the other tenants, but a lot more about having to work the bike through the walk gate.

It was cold and the bikes were noisy, so we didn't speak again until we arrived at the Hardee's parking lot. "It's kinda cold this morning," I said.

"Yes, it is still in the low thirties," Cheryl replied. She knew that I hadn't meant just the temperature. Since she chose to play it that way, I was determined to go along.

"Did you see that red Ford that we passed on the square?" I asked.

"You mean the one parked on the street, across from the statue of the confederate soldier?" Cheryl turned the answer into another question.

"Yeah that was Mike, I'm pretty sure. The car is right for the rental he got."

"Then he will show up here," Cheryl suggested.

"I would bet on it," I replied.

Sure enough his car drove in right after the words made it out of my mouth. I watched him park before I opened the first of the doors into the restaurant's air lock for Cheryl. "He will probably want to film us going inside," I advised her.

Since Mike hustled, he obviously was trying to beat us in. Even though I was cold, I gave him first shot at the second set of doors leading into the heated dining room. He took a seat with a view of the door, then pointed a tiny video camera at us as we entered.

Since our favorite booth was available, we went for it. Mike had to move to get a clear camera view. Then he pointed the camera at Cheryl as she removed her Navy Pea Coat. When that coat was gone, she was down to a tight fitting thermal top. With her over sized boobs it was a sight the TV audience was going to love. My guess is after last night and this morning Cheryl would be one of the real stars of the show. She might even outshine me, which would be just fine, I thought.

"So what are your plans for today?" Cheryl asked me.

"I don't have any plans to be honest. I think I might play around on the computer today. Maybe find an old TV show I missed. How about you what are your plans?"

"I'm going to look for a job, I think." Cheryl said.

"Oh do you know where yet?" I asked.

"No, I worked in the kitchen at my last gig. I could probably find something in food services. I also have a K9 trainers certificate from the cell block dog program." she suggested.
So there it was, she had let the dog out of the bag. Nothing I could no about it now. Mike would have her complete story by sundown. I knew she wasn't stupid so she had decided that she just didn't give a shit.

I was tempted to suggest Helen, but it all rang too close to the Mosby thing. "Well good luck. I am sure you will find something."

"Oh I'll be fine. I mostly don't like being bored," she admitted.

"I have that same problem," I admitted. "Oh hell, I'll tell yo u what, if you really want to work just to pass the time, I have a friend who might still have an opening."

"Yeah I know, Helen," she said. "Remember, Daddy likes to know everything about everybody."

"Yes it seems that he does at that. So, is that who you planned to go see?"

'Yes, I think I will see if she needs any help. Unlike your last girlfriend, I am actually a cook. I'm not just a pretty face."

"Although you are that too," I admitted.

"Thanks," Cheryl said unenthusiastically.

"Well, good luck with Helen she is a real sweetheart," I said.

"So are we going to walk after this?" she asked.

"I am, and I hoped you would come along," I said honestly.

"I'm glad that you don't need clingy," she admitted. "I don't want to lose the friendship we have."

"It works for me, but you have to know, it's either an exclusive relationship or it's not relationship at all," I said honestly.

"I know that, and I don't want an exclusive relationship. I couldn't function that way, and neither could you. At least for more than a couple of weeks. In your heart you know that it is true." Cheryl said.

I didn't speak for a few long seconds, while I thought about what she said, "So what has this all been about?" I asked.

"It's about, me wanting to be you. You can handle anything, and you can do it being in the big world. I can handle anything in a small world. I think we are alike, so I want to learn to be you in the big world."

"I'm not sure I understand and I doubt that I need to understand. I will be here for you as much as I can, and still be me. That's about all the open relationship that I can handle," I said.

"That's all I can ask," Cheryl said.

"Then let's go walk. There are some old men who need their morning booby fix." I said.

"And I need the ego boost," she admitted.

We gave Mike a chance to get ahead of us, so it was a few minutes before we actually left the warm restaurant. It was a slightly longer ride in the cold to the mall. Since I sensed that things between Cheryl and I had been defined, I enjoyed the ride. Unlike Cheryl I didn't need a structured life, but I did need to know where I stood. Cheryl was going to need serious structure till she learned how to roll with the punches, in a world filled with chaos.

Just as I expected, the old men at the mall beamed when Cheryl passed them in that tight thermal top. I knew just how they felt, since I was also in awe of her body.

Once I got home from breakfast and our walk, I fell sound asleep in the more or less dry bed. I had a hangover, but I doubted that it had anything to do with the three beers I had the night before. I had a feeling the hangover was more from lack of sleep and too much sex.

Even though I had to taken the nap to feel close to normal for the rest of the day, it had been more than worth it. Cheryl was an experience not to be missed. Even better. we were still friends the next day. That was a novel experience for me. It seems that my life is filled with good friends, lovers, people who hate me, and total strangers. I think most people's lives are like that.

I felt like my mind was in a heavy fog for the first hour after I awoke. The thing that snapped me out of it was a call from my Redheaded friend. "Hello Maxine, they have the job for us," his voice over the phone informed me.

"So when am I going to find out?" I asked.

"I will be leaving here in a few minutes and it's a six hour drive. That's going to make it a couple of hours before midnight. I think I will spend the night with a friend and meet with you tomorrow." he suggested.

"Oh, do I know the friend?" I asked with a laugh.

"I think so," he replied with a laugh of his own

I settled in for the evening with a frozen spaghetti dinner and a glass of diet coke. I couldn't really concentrate on the computer even though I tried. There was no point in trying to guess what might be in Red's black bag, so I tried not to speculate. The unfortunate thing is that knowing I shouldn't do it, did nothing to prevent me from speculating anyway.

It got dark early so I was a little concerned when I heard the beep of the gate lock around 7PM. I ran the security tape back and saw the young emt from the Cop Out pass through the gate. I checked the parking lot camera, which had a view of her walking past my door and down to Cheryl's apartment.

Yes, I was jealous. But it wasn't so much, so that I was destroyed by it. Cheryl made it clear from the beginning that it wasn't a relationship, it was just sex. For one of the few times in my life, someone had turned the tables on me. It didn't thrill me, but I could live with it.

I half expected them both to be at my door any minute. I had no such luck. I was debating heading back to the cop out, when the phone played Mag 7. I was sure that the caller would be Cheryl. "Hello," I said.

"Max this is Kate, Martin asked me to call. He wanted to know if you wantedd to have a midnight supper with us?" she asked.

"And what do you want?" I asked.

"I want what Martin wants," she said.

"You know that could go either way. You want to make Martin happy, or you really want this to happen. So which is it?"

"You are really going to put me on the spot?" she asked.

"Of course I am," I replied.

"It is just to keep Martin happy." she said.

"Then tell him I had to stay home to wash my hair," I replied.

"Are you sure?" she asked with relief in her voice.

"Of course I'm sure. I don't want to part of your power plays. not yours and not his either. So count me out. But if you ever want to do it, just to do it, give me a call."

"If I ever do, you are the one I would call," she admitted.

"Good, I promise I will play nice." I was laughing at her and she knew it. It was the story of my life, a little fun for a little while, then watch everyone else having a lot of fun for ten times as long. Like my daddy said, "You win some... you lose some... some get rained out... but the best ones you don't even dress for..." 113 Not what I wanted

"Red what in the hell is going on. We made this agreement less than a week ago and here you are with an assignment." I said angrily. It was real anger, not acting for the cameras, which were recording us as we spoke. The agreement was that the TV people could film, but Swamp Rat got to approve or reedit the files. Even so I didn't plan to be too honest in the meeting.

"Might as well get started. You are finished with this place, and I'm not going back into the field for a long time, if ever." Martin said.

"Poor baby, is this their idea of sending you to your room without supper?" I asked.

"Something like that I'm sure." He paused to give me a serious look, then continued. "So, are you finally ready to hear about the job?"

"Sure hit me with your best shot," I said as a joke.

"You smart off again at me Missy, and I just might do that," he said seriously.

"Sure you will, when you find out you are terminally ill and want a quick way out." I said it with a smile. "Nonetheless continue and I'll be good."

"Okay, there is a small town in rural Georgia. The place is too small for more than one cop and he tries to do as little as possible." Martin said.

"Ah oh, that must make for some interesting residents," I suggested.

"You know it.They are our targets," he said tossing a couple enlarged Mug shots onto the old registration desk..

"Handsome devils," I said sarcastically.

"Yes and even with those good looks, they are still forced to resort to violence."

"Rape?" I asked.

"Rape, extortion, probably a murder or two," Martin said as he looked at the file.

"Who the hell is there to extort from in a town that small?" I asked seriously.

"It looks like everyone, but mostly they are just bullies." Martin said. I looked at him and smiled but didn't say a word. He shook his head no, but he also smiled. He knew I was thinking the easiest thing would be to just to set them up and then kill them. To plan that on TV moved it from self defense, justifiable homicide to stone cold murder. I was not ready for that kind of weight.

"What if one or both of them commits a crime and we can prove it."

"Nobody will testify," Martin said.

"How about if he commits a crime and we can prove it, then I testify." I suggested.

"That might just work. What kind of crime?" Martin asked.

"Well you said he liked the girls, how about he rapes me. I'll be careful. so maybe it will be an easy take down."

"Well it almost beats dropping in from a chopper and just killing the son of a bitch." Martin said.

"Oh, you are always joking like that," I said trying to cover for him,

Martin was no idiot, he realized what he said, but it needed saying. I was not playing with retired cops or bad boy bounty hunters, I was working with an assassin. Martin would have been happy to make him disappear, of course without the TV show's involvement, I might have helped him myself. I had no problem playing judge and jury. I could even be the executioner, if need be.

This one was going to require dotted Is and crossed Ts, or we might be looking at some serious time. Hell maybe they still had Cheryl's old bed available.

"So you are thinking just drop in, heat the good old boys up, and just say no, When he brings it out to play, we call in the cops. Then when his brother tries to intimidate you, we have his ass arrested as well."

"Sounds like a plan to me." I said.

"No, it sounds like an idea, it isn't really a plan."

"For more planning, we need more information." I agreed.

"In that case pack your bags. They tell me Georgia is beautiful this time of year. The crisp air keeps the smell down. Martin suggested.

"Very funny, but I would hold those kinds of jokes to a minimum," I replied. "You know this is likely to end poorly?" I said to Martin. It was true, and it would also make good TV Drama to have a little doubt.

"Mike, you need to pack your shit, if you are going with us," Martin said.

While Mike was on his way back to his apartment, Martin flipped to the last page of the file laying on the reception desk in my living room. The page read in big letters, I'm going to Jam the audio feed, look as though you are packing while we talk.

I watched closely while he held up what looked like a Bic lighter. He twisted the top part of the case then said. "Go on with your packing while we talk. First of all, I hope we can find a way to get some law enforcement people to take these guys down. However. if we can't get anyone interested, we need to find a way to end this problem creatively."

"We are talking permanently end it," I suggested

"About as permanent as it gets," he said.

"Why is the boss interested? I asked it as I continued to put things in a half duffel bag."

"The older brother raped the wrong girl. He has intimidated her and the other witnesses. So he got out of it, as he always has in the past."

"So who was she?" I asked.

"Her Grandfather received the CMH on D Day in 1942. Swamp Thing, as you like to call us, never forgets, and we never forgive. So this is a freebee, but it still gets done right."

"Then it is something you would prefer to do yourself?" I asked.

"Don't matter who does the deed, just so long as it gets done. Remember me telling you that there was no money for our operations. On this one, forget what I said. We get whatever it takes, anything from a kilo of smack, to a hellfire missile."

"First let's see what I can do," I suggested. "Turn that thing off we might want this on the record."

I pressed the menu and speed dialed the number I found in my contract list. "Anya, this is Maxine in Aster. Give me a call, we might be able to help each other." I closed down the phone then turned to Martin. "So Red, let's go meet Thomas and Blain Atwood."

"And let them know hell has come to Georgia," he suggested.

"Nothing like it since Sherman," I said with a giggle. Might as well go along with the macho bullshit, I thought. I made a second call. That one was to Lois.

"Lois it's me Max. Honey I have to go out of town for a few days. I'm not sure how long I'll be. It is about this TV thing. So if anything comes up call Jennifer. I'll text you the number."

"Sure Maxine, do you need me to do anything else?" Lois asked.

"No just call Jennifer, if you need anything or anything out of the ordinary happens. I'm going to put a note on my door to tell the other tenants." I said just before we rang off.

I speed dialed another number. "Cheryl honey, I have to take a road trip for a few days. It's really nothing. We are just going to look at some property out of town. The Irishman and I will be back in a couple of weeks at the latest."

"Can't I come along?" she asked.

"Maybe next time. This one is going to be a bore," I informed her.

"I don't know, he is kinda cute. I saw him when he came in after lunch." she said.

"You aren't celebrating anything are you?" I asked.

Cheryl laughed and said, "No, but all of us in one bed might be an experience worth trying once."

"Don't tell me Johnathan knows about that too?" I said with a laugh.

"No, but you just told me it's true. There was gossip about you and multiple partners."

"It's all lies," I looked up to see Martin tapping his watch. "Look hon, I have to go. Lois is taking care of the place while I'm gone. I would have asked you, but you need to talk to Helen."

"I understand, don't worry no harm no foul," she said.

"I have to go now, hugs and kisses," I said. Then I closed the phone down.

"Let's get moving. It's a long drive to Hayseed Georgia," Martin said.

"The name is Haymarket, but Hayseed will do," I replied. I wanted to take a few of my own things, so we made three trips from the apartment to his car. "So, where are we going to stay, I can't imagine a motel in Haymarket?"

"Tonight. in a Motel a few miles away out on the interstate. Tomorrow we have to find a place in Haymarket to live and open our church,"

"You are serious about that stupid cover?" I asked.

"Don't matter what we use, I doubt that they will buy it." Martin said.

"Well Red, we better be ready to do some fancy tap dancing." I suggested.

"Dance or die pilgrim," he said in a John Wayne imitation. It actually wasn't too bad,

"Pretty much," I agreed.

The drive was long and boring. Mike was somewhere behind us, but out of range of the mic so we talked openly.

"For the TV we keep pretending that we are going to go to the cops and to court, but what we really do is look for a way to do the deed and make it look legit," Martin suggested.

"I have a call in to a friend at the FBI. They might have something we can use,"

"Good, having friends always helps," he said.

"I would be surprised, if my friend knows any more than yours," I suggested.

"What we really need is a local connection. Try to work out one of those with your friend."

Right, we spent most of the time with bad country music and conversation about other things. There just wasn't much we could do until we got there and got a read on the place, We needed to know the lay of the land, and where the bodies were buried,

We stopped somewhere in South Carolina for dinner that night before we pushed on into Georgia. Haymarket was fifty or so miles southeast of Atlanta but it might as well have been a thousand miles and a hundred years away. Even though we weren't staying, and the town was dark, Martin insisted on driving though it. The town was even smaller than Aster, by at least half. I couldn't see it, but I knew that it would be depressingly dirty in the daylight.

"Well we are going to make big news just by showing up," I suggested.

"Too bad it's so late, or we could just start now," Martin suggested.

"Martin, we get the info from my FBI contact, then we scout this out. This is not Baghdad," I informed him,

"Hell Max, even Baghdad wasn't Baghdad," he said with a mysterious look.

The phone played the mag 7 theme before I could dig it out of my purse. Martin was laughing his ass off. "I did not do that," I explained.

"Hello Anya," I said into the phone. "How you like DC?" I asked.

"If I ever finish this training, it might be okay. So what you got for me?" she asked.

"Thomas and Blain Atwood, I need to know what you can find out, If they are not on your radar, then get me the name in some Georgia lawdog. I'm gonna shake their tree," I admitted.

"Okay, but you be careful till I get back with you. You got lucky with the Russians, that kind of luck only comes around once."

"You know me, I'm the poster child for careful. Never met a condom I didn't like," I said.

"I'll get back to you tomorrow," Anya said and then cut the connection.

"So lets go meet up with Mike and pretend we are just going to play games with the terrible two," I suggested. "You are going to have to manage this story to keep us out of jail," I suggested.

114

The more I thought about the cover story, the more I liked it. It would be a cover story that was so obviously bullshit, that it would cause the bad guys to sit up and take notice. In the mean time we could work on gathering enough information to form a second more believable cover story. Something that would get the brothers grim, to take a run at us. Since we had Mike recording everything, we just had to be careful what we said. The flip side was that we would have the brothers grim dead bang when we got them.

I had done it before, but Red was most likely going to be a problem. He was a little too macho to let the scene play out to its necessary ending. He would want to just kill the brothers the very first time they took a run at us. I was going to have to watch him closely.

Everything remained up in the air at that time. At that moment I was ready for bed and sleep, not sex. The motel was one of those things with cracker boxes stacked on top of each other. Little more than a glorified version of a flop house. It didn't matter at all to me. the bed was all I had in mind.

The bed was a king sized behemoth, so there was plenty of room for an orgy, if one was so inclined. Too bad I wasn't in the mood. I had the brother's grim on my mind, nothing more. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Martin was the same.

It was all about the job for both of us it seemed. The woman in me was just a little disappointed. Sure I was hurt that he couldn't at least make an attempt, so that I could refuse him. Oh well, there was always the first night after the danger began. Nothing could beat 'glad to be alive' sex.

I wasn't surprised when Mike called our room at 7AM. "Hey Maxine, is the Irishman available?" he asked.

"Sure," I said then turned away as I handed the phone to Martin.

""Hello," he said then he listened. "Okay but this might be the last time we can be seen together." After he hung up he said to me. "Breakfast with the TV man," he said it with obvious displeasure in his voice.

"Okay, we will need to work him into the cover story anyway. This is one small town. Three strangers are going to be linked, whether it is what we want or not." I said seriously.

"Yeah, I suppose so, but how are we going to explain this little troupe falling out of the sky." Martin asked.

"I thought about this last night. Then I guess I thought some more in my sleep. It seems to me that we need two cover stories. One for the police and mayor types,, and a second one for the brothers grim. We can use Mike in both of them. Mike can be our bit player, so to speak."
"The two cover stories I can understand." Martin agreed. "You got any idea on the back end one?" .

"I think we need more information, and to wait for Anya to call before we work on that. My guess is that it is going to have to be some criminal enterprise to get the brothers all worked up."

"Yeah let's see if your buddy with the fibbies can point us in the right direction. In the meantime we can play the front cover story for a while and see what develops," Martin suggested.

"My thinking too. So now lets go meet with Mike and figure out his part in the cover story." I liked the plan better as it developed. There was lots of wiggle room. I still had my papers thanks to the Russian's insistence that I file for a church of the missionary position ordainment. It came from one of those advertisements in the back of the rolling stones magazine. I also had my papers from the state of my residence, entitling me to ask questions. So we should be okay, if we got a casual look see.

"So where do I fit into your plans?" Mike asked.

"We are still working on that. It is going to have to be something that allows you to come and go, because you can never be seen filming. That would be a death sentence for all of us." Martin said.

"How about front man for the ministry. That would get him out and about, so he could slip in and out of town." I suggested.

"That should work. Mike can make up some posters and other shit. While we hit the town for the first time, he can have them printed up. He can leave with town anytime he wants, just tell people he is going to put the posters in a neighboring town."

"Then on the back cover story, he can be a runner or courier." I suggested.

"Good that would fit in with both covers. I like it," Martin said. Then he added, "They were right down in the Swamp. You are quite the little problem solver,"

"Well let's not start patting people on the back, we have a lot of crap to work through. First of all, we need to forget about you and me going into town today. Mike needs to go in and lay his own cover. Get the poster's printed and posted. Then we come in with some of the cover already down."

"Okay, I'll take one of your images and make a quick poster. Since you are the one with the ordainment, you should be the headliner." Mike suggested.

"Works for me," I said. "In the meantime Irish and I can go in quietly and look for a place to rent. If we have to say anything, we will go with the cover story about the ministry."

"Give me a couple of hours and I'll have the posters and be on the ground in Haymarket," Mike said.

"While you do that, we need to find a place to rent," Martin said. "And do it quietly."

"Since we don't know what the back cover will be yet, let's get a place out of town. Something in the country and quiet." I could see his mind working, a place like that would be hard to defend, but great bait for an ambush.

"Now we are moving from an idea to a plan. We can do our riding around while Mike is working on the posters. If we don't find a place today, tomorrow we go into town and make some noise." he suggested.

"Then pay the bill and let's all get moving," I suggested.

"You know I'm going to be in deep shit, for getting involved in this," Mike suggested.

"Yeah, but ain't it just so cool?' I asked.

"Yeah, never a dull moment around you Maxine," he said.

"Do you have a piece?" Martin asked.

"Hell no, I'm a TV producer, not a gangster," Mike said.

"Shit, I don't have an extra," Martin said.

"Oh hell, you want a 9mm or a 10mm," I asked. Both men just smiled. "Listen it's a collector's piece don't lose it."

We walked to Martin's car where I recovered the 9mm Glock from the trunk. "I'm serious, it came from the sell off of cop guns in LA. Their was some information that it was part of that bank shoot out in the streets out there. Don't you lose this thing."

"How many weapons do you have salted away in my trunk?" Martin asked.

"Enough, I hope." I said seriously.

Mike left us to return to his room and work on the posters. Martin and I checked out of the motel. Then we drove toward Haymarket. Ten miles out we began driving down the side roads looking for a house that appeared to be for rent.

We circled Haymarket a couple of times before lunch with no good results. For lunch we drove back to the interstate and found a chrome and glass chain restaurant that specialized in travelers. Martin even called Mike to join us. Mike had been at the printers, so we waited for him before we ordered.

The poster Mike tossed on the table was actually quite good. Especially considering it was conceived and laid out in an hour. "Nice job," I said to mike. "Damn I look old, but it's still a nice job."

"Well I could have made you look younger, but I thought you looked more conservative as an old lady," he said with a laugh.

"Gee thanks, I sure as hell don't look threatening that is for sure." I admitted.

"So did you two find us a place yet?" he asked.

"Not yet, but I think we need to do something else while we are out and about. I need to pick up some burn phones." Martin suggested. Some that can't be traced back to our real lives. This could get rather messy as Maxine said earlier."

"In that case I need to send our raw data files out every night." Mike said.

"Send them by US Mail, not over the net. We don't need them back home fast, but we do need them back home securely." I demanded.

"Fair enough," Mike said.

"So, I'll get the burn phones after lunch and we will keep looking. If you run across anything while you are putting up the posters let us know. Keep your room at the motel and we will meet there after the day's search is over."

"It gets dark early, so I'll be expecting you about six and we can all go to dinner." Mike suggested.

After lunch Martin bought the phones in a convenience store. We decided to wait until we got back to the motel to activate them. My handbag played the theme from The Magnificent Seven again. Martin laughed his ass off again. I shook my head as I pushed the button and said, "Hello Anya what do you have for me."

"Maxine we got nothing on your bothers, but I made a call to the Georgia field office, and they gave me a name for you. Marshall Hall at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation can help you. If he doesn't have what you want now. he will have it tomorrow. Our man in Atlanta gave him the heads up."

"Good deal Anya, I'll give Hall a call." I said.

"Be careful Maxine, these country boys can play rough," she said. Then she read off a phone number for me.

"I will, I promise I won't piss them off," I said.

"Now, I'm really worried. You are either lying to me, or you are delusional." she said. "Now I have to go, but seriously be careful."

"I will, bye." That's how I left it with Anya.

We headed back out into the countryside looking for a house to rent. At mid afternoon we saw a small sign nailed to a tree beside a dirt driveway. It simply said 'house for rent', and gave a phone number.

"Should we drive down that dirt drive?" I asked.

"I have no idea whether the house is down there, but the road looks in pretty good shape," Martin suggested.

"Okay, if it turns bad, you can always back out," I said. I was concerned about getting stuck in the afternoon and having to spend the night in a cold car. I didn't say anything but I was worried.

As my concerns usually do, those proved to be unfounded. It was a long driveway, but well maintained. At the end of the drive sat a small house. It most likely had only four rooms. My guess was that it was some kind of starter home for a young farm family. I dialed the number of the owner, while we sat in the front yard.

"Sir, I'm calling about the small house you have for rent?" It was a question more than an comment.

"Yes that was my son's house. He and his wife built a new house. They have a new baby on the way."

"So you are going to be a grandpa?" I asked trying to be nice.

"Yes, but it won't be our first."

"So cool, so how much is the house rent?" I asked.

"$500 a month with a five hundred dollar deposit," he informed me.

"I would really like to see the inside," I admitted.

"If you are there now, I'll come right down. I only live about a mile away." he said.

"That would be great. We will wait here for you." I suggested.

"So it's small, but that's a good thing," Martin said. "If Mike brought his bag of tricks, we can get a quick surveillance system installed."

"I expect it is the size of my old cabin but with a couple of bedroom on the side." I suggested.

"I never saw your cabin, but I heard about it, so maybe it is." Martin said.

The owner came, we saw the small clean house, and we paid the deposit and the first month's rent. We arranged to move in the next day. The house had propane heat and a cooking stoves which also used the liquid gas. It would be ready to go with just a quick call to the local dealer.

Martin managed to get the call in and arranged for a delivery the next day. Even with Martin's unlimited credit card, the best we could do was to get a morning commitment. I managed to get the power turned on based on my credit record from back home in Aster.

We would be good to go the next day. In the meantime it was back to the motel for one more night.

At breakfast the next morning Martin gave Mike directions to the house we had rented. " You might want to pick up a some food that you can eat room temperature," I suggested. "It wouldn't be a bad idea to dress warmly."

"Nice plan, but I'm not going to be the one who sits there. I am not part of this little band of Mercenaries. I'm the camera man, I don't get involved in the day to day operations." Mike said with a smile. He really was being nice about it.

"So, if you won't stay until they turn the power and heat on, then I will have to. Since the show is about me, you will have to stay there to film me doing nothing. Mike that makes no sense at all." I suggested.

"Yes, but whatever shit you are planning today, I won't miss filming it either," he replied still smiling. "Besides I can get some shots of you there being all domestic." he addded.

"Good luck with that. Alright, I'll do that, if after you drop me at the house, you go buy a Mr. Coffee and a pound of Columbian coffee?" I informed him.

"Done," he replied.

"Here," Martin said as he handed me the burn phone. Put your phones in the box and I'll mail them to Maxine's house."

I knew that I would have to make a trip to the post office to get the package, since there was nowhere for the mailman to leave it at the apartments. It didn't seem like anything worth mentioning to Martin, so I dropped my phone into the box. "Wait, I need to make a call first. I quickly called Cheryl. "When a package for me arrives, please put it in your apartment until I get home. That is if the mailman leaves it. He might or might not leave it." I said into her voice mail I did not give her my burn phone number. It would have been an operational security breech.

Martin dropped me at the house, while he went into the next largest town with a WalMart. There he shopped from a list we worked out the night before. Mostly it was stuff like blankets, those big thick airbeds, folding chairs and a card table finished the furniture options. There were cheap dishes and kitchen knives that kind of stuff as well.

"If we stay more than a week, this is going to be a miserable vacation honey," I said to Martin when he returned at almost noon. "What took you so long?" I asked.

"I asked a few questions the next town over. Hayseed has a really bad reputation around here. I told them I was thinking about opening a restaurant here and everybody I talked to said, "Don't."

"Wonder why they feel that way?" I asked. Of course I knew why. If the Atwood brothers were any indication of how the rest of the town worked, it was like Dodge City in the 1800's. It might be different crimes for different times, but it seemed to be wide open real estate.

"Beats me, I doubt we are going to make much of a difference, but it sure as hell can't Hurt," Martin said.

"Well we can try to put a couple of the outlaws in the poky for a while," I suggested. "Every little bit has to help some." I suggested.

"Not as much as we would like, but I grant you it would be an improvement," Martin replied.

"I had the house pretty much set up as much as it would be half an hour after Martin returned. The electric power was turned on by computer, so it was up and running first. I left Martin in the house while Mike and I went to the store for clothes for me to wear.

I bought two skirts and three sweaters from the same Walmart, where Martin had bought the household items. The skirts and sweaters were for when I needed to be Sister Maxine, the Lords Messenger. I didn't think I would need to be her too often so I bought just the small number of outfits.

I was surprised that I had not gained any weight since my road trip with 'Marty the bike pedaler'. I had been a 10/12 when I arrived in Aster but was down to a size 7/8 when I bought the skirts. My ass was still wide or I might have been even smaller. Of course my top was still small but even so the sweaters were a size 10 so that they wouldn't be sexpot tight.

There was no need to call Martin, since I had to go back to the house to change before we visiting Haymarket. With that in mind I drove straight home. We had time to get to Haymarket before the town shut down for the night. I didn't like that I felt a little shaky about calling Marshal Hall of the GBI. I can always call him later if we get stumped, I decided.

When I got to the house I found that the house was warm and Martin had the coffee made. Life appeared to be good. Since I tried on the skirt and sweater at the store, the outfit fit me as I wanted it to.

"Very conservative," Martin said. "You could pass for a lady, if I didn't know better." I was sure that Mike was eating up that kind of statement. It would make for good TV. Slightly more than a hint that I might not be just an upstanding crime fighter.

"While you were in Haymarket, did you notice a cafe?" I asked Mike.

"There is one just inside town. It looks like an old white house, but there is a big sign out front." Mike explained.

"Good we are going to need a place to eat tonight, and we need to find a place to start pumping the locals for information." I paused a moment. "I have no idea how you are going to film us without getting noticed." I added.

"I'll work out something. I have some new tricks, remember?" he asked.

"Whatever," Martin said with a look of pure contempt.

"Well I'm curious. How are you going to manage it." I asked.

"I'm going to try to plant a small digital high resolution camera in the restaurant when we go in. Then recover it when we leave. Not only is it good resolution, it is also time lapse. It should be a really cool effect."

"This, I am going to have to see to understand," I said.

The restaurant was just as Mike had described it. Mike left about half hour before Martin and I. His chore was to plant his camera. I had no idea how he did it, but he was beaming when Martin and I walked into the restaurant.

"From the look on your face I am going to assume you were successful at your little chore?" It was a question and he knew it.

"Oh yes, piece of cake. It's going to be quite interesting. Do you want to know how it works?" he asked.

At the same time I said, "Sure."

Martin said, "Hell no."

"Go ahead Mike, let's hear how your evil genius mind has worked it out."

"There is a small transmitting lens sticking on the outside of that window over there. Of course you have the audio microphone in your purse. The receiver for both is in my car. I have just that one small lens to recover on my way out. By the way the lens is inside a rubber lizard. It looks like one of those cute little Geico TV things."

"Very ingenious," I said.

"Well, I didn't invent any of it, but I do know how to use it creatively," he said. "The images are not the highest quality, but they will be compelling. They will make great TV, when things start happening." Just then he pulled out what looked like an I-Phone. A second later he handed it to me and I saw a shot of the dining room. It wasn't a closeup of our table, but we were in the shot.

"That is so cool," I handed the phone to Martin. He simply glanced at it, then handed it back.

"What can I get you folks," the waitress wearing a stained blouse and showing bad teeth when she smiled. asked.

"I think I'll have the beef stew with rice," I said.

"What sides? you get two sides?" she asked almost angrily. I put her age at about 19. She was old enough to know better than to treat her customers like that, but she obviously didn't.

"How about the corn and the banana pudding. Are you alright young lady, you seem to be upset," I suggested it as I handed her the menu.

"What?" she asked in a different tone.

"You seem upset is there anything I can do?" I was trying to get into my sister Maxine role.

"No, I'm just fine." She quickly turned to the others and took their orders.

A few minutes later an older lady well into middle age came to our table. "Is everything alright" she asked. Her question was open to all of us.

"Everything is just fine," I answered.

"Oh my, I just this second recognized you. You are the preacher lady. We have the poster that says you are coming. It is so nice to have you here. Most of the churches moved out of town over the last few years. I do hope you will be staying." She was talking so fast at the end I couldn't get a word in.

"Well we are hoping to stay a while at least. I am sister Maxine and these two gentlemen are my associates. Well Martin there is my husband, as well as my good right arm. The younger one is a nephew. It is sort of a family ministry as you can see."

"Where will you be opening your church?" the woman asked.

"We are now looking for a building as a temporary church home. I do hope we can find something soon. I would like to begin services on Sunday." I noticed how uncomfortable all of the conversation was making Martin. So Martin was a heathen, I almost laughed at the thought.

"If you look on main street there are several empty building that would make fine storefront churches," the woman said.

"Thank you Ms." I left it hanging.

"Oh my, where are my manners? I'm Mrs Williams. My husband and I own this restaurant." she said.

"Well Ms Williams, when we get the Lord's house open, I will be sure to let you know." The food came which saved me from an the necessity of slinging any more bullshit.

The food was actually very good. After we finished eating, I gave Mike the heads up and he left the restaurant ahead of us. How he managed to get the lizard cam, without making a scene, I had no idea. Martin paid the bill and we left.

Mike had his own car so we didn't even look for him. Instead Martin and I went looking for The Brothers Grim. There were two beer joints in town, so we began with the one closest to the restaurant. Mike was inside waiting for us. He sat alone in the corner. I was sure that something on his table was also a low light camera.

We looked around and there were no Atwoods to be seen. I had one drink and then left. The night was a bit of a bust except that we accomplished one of our smaller goals. To get into the rumor mill. The two waitresses would spread the word, not to mention the bartender at the beer joint. How often did you get a preacher lady go into a beer joint. Actually it sounded like a joke, a preacher lady, an assassin and a TV producer go into a bar. I just needed to make sure that I wasn't the punch line.

When we got back to the house, I sat drinking reheated coffee, while I waited for Mike to show up. When he did, it was with bad news. "Gwen will be in sometime tonight," he said.
"Oh really?" I asked.

"Max, I can't freeze her out. She has a stake in this as well as me." he said.

"Oh okay," I said calmly. I wondered it I could figure a way to toss her to the Atwood brothers.

116

Mike went out to lead Gwen back to the house. It was just like her to arrive after the place was warm and had had some small amount of comfort. I sure hoped that Mike had explained that we were living operational, not at all like we would have lived in a motel. Since it was such a small town, she couldn't just slip in and out unnoticed as she might have in Boston. She had to be worked into the cover story.

We had too large air beds on the floor. I had swept the cheap carpet in the bedrooms several times to be sure there was nothing sharp to puncture them. If they went south, it would be foam mats on the floor. Neither the air beds, nor the foam was even close to a real bed. That was a good thing. It was an even bigger incentive to finish this mess and get home quickly.

Martin slept in his underwear and I slept in a tee shirt and panties. It wasn't a perfect arrangement, but it had worked so far. Gwen was a new dynamic.

"I would prefer to sleep alone," Gwen said after the situation was explained to her. "But since that isn't an option, I guess my choice is Mike. At least I do know and trust him."

"You have no idea how relieved I feel," I whispered to Martin.

"Good morning," I whispered into Martin's ear. Let's get this show on the road."

"Not this morning please, I have a headache," he said with a grin.

"Good idea, but this is not the time. I'm going to start the coffee. You go shower." I demanded. "Try not to wake the TV crew."

"Good luck with that," Martin said. "You know I sing in the shower."

I don't know if he sang or not, but they woke up anyway. I had plenty of coffee ready. It took an hour to get everybody in and out of the shower. By that time I was hungry.

We took two cars, but we all had breakfast together. Me and Martin at one table in the interstate McDonalds, and Mike and Gwen at another with their cameras going. Who was in the show, and who wasn't, would depend on the editing. The TV show would have little to do with the reality of the work.

"So we are going to find a site for the church today?" Martin asked.

"No, we are going to look for a site today. We still don't have a bad guy cover yet. Somewhere along the line we are most likely going to need a criminal enterprise." I said.

"Well I can't help you there. I have never been a cop. All my experience is in field ops." he admitted.

"That's fine, just listen to me in these matters and I'll listen to you in those," I suggested.

"That's what the boss said to do," he replied.

"We need to get stated," I suggested after we quickly ate our breakfast. We had both been in situations where eating quickly was necessary, if we were to eat at all. We were finished and out the door while Mike and Gwen were trying to stuff food in their mouths so as not to lose us.

Since it was 9AM, I had no problem with using the burn phone to call the number on the windows of the empty stores. Haymarket had a high percentage of empty downtown storefronts, as does almost every downtown these days.

We called for a closer look at three of them. Since two were owned by the same person, it didn't take all that long. We did waste the time until noon with the project. We left it with both owners that we would make a decision soon, and left it at that.

I wondered which, if any, of the businesses in Haymarket were honestly what they seemed. It was hard to tell, all of them could be fronts for something else or they could all be honestly what they appeared to be. We couldn't ask the rape victim, since she had gone missing. Most likely she had moved away, I know I would have, but only after I killed the son of bitch who raped me. I had to stop thinking like that. This was hopefully going to end in the arrest of the brothers, not their murders. I wasn't ruling it out. I was just hoping it didn't go down that way.

Thanks to cards produced on Mike's mini Ink Jet printer, we were able to leave my burn phone number with each of the store owners. I expected to be hearing back from them soon. Any interest in those buildings would surely warrant a follow up call from the owner.

We drove Martin's SUV to the farmer exchange store. Those things always have a bulletin board with items for sale. We weren't looking for anything. I just wanted to be seen in each and every store in town. I was all part of our no plan, plan.

Somewhere we were going to bump heads with the Atwood brothers, or someone would call them. Either way a meeting with Thomas and Blain Atwood was bound to happen.

We found our talkative informant at the local daycare. I saw the sign and I stopped in to do a pastoral visitation. "Hello." I said to the grossly overweight woman who came to the door with a baby in her arms. "I'm Pastor Stone, how are you?"

"I'm busy as I can be right now," she said.

"Then maybe we can help." I said it opening her door. "It's cold why don't we come in and talk and I'll help out. Martin here might not be much good with kids, but I have had a little experience."

I pretty much forced my way inside. "The town looks like it is having some growth issues," I commented after all the usual small talk. It would be a natural question for someone thinking of settling in the town.

"Yes, we have a bunch of thugs here. They are scaring everyone off." she said.

"Oh my, maybe I can show them the true path," I suggested. "Maybe if we get them into church, they will become part of the community."

"I don't think so Reverend. These men are very, very bad." she said.

"The Lord can soften any heart, when the time is right," I suggested. "How bad can these men be?"

"I don't know what all they are into, but it's bad enough so that people won't walk in the woods anywhere near their place."

"I see, well thank you sister Evans," I said. I knew her name because it was on the small sign in her yard.

"So are they growing pot out there?" I asked Martin when we got back into the car. After having seen Mikes lizard cam, I was suspicious of everything. I was sure he was capable of wiring up Martin's SUV and probably already had done so.

"No idea, so what's next?" Martin asked.

"Next we keep making preacher type noises till dark. Sometime tonight you are going to go find out what they are doing out on the Atwood family farm." I suggested.

"So there is a place for a retired ops guy?" he asked.

"Of course there is. Just try not to kill anyone tonight." I didn't add, I wanted some of the fun.

We looked at more places during the afternoon, but I didn't want to commit to anything just yet. Just before dark I screwed up big time. I saw a man standing in front of what appeared to be a metal barn just outside the downtown area. "Stop the car Red, I think I want to talk to that guy."

"Come on Max, he is a nasty looking red neck," Martin said.

"Now Irish, stop the SUV or I'm going to shave your legs and show everybody what a pussy you are." Martin turned the SUV around and pulled up beside the building.

"Hello there friend," I said as I climbed down from the SUV.

"Howdy little lady," he replied. 'What can I do for you?"

"Well my name is Reverend Maxine Stone, and I'm looking for a place to hold church services. You have a big building here, I thought maybe it would do." I suggested.

"Well it's an auction building. We use it for auctioning off cattle and horses. If you can stand the smell, I expect I can let you use it for church services."

I looked in through the open door. He was right it smelled of disinfectant. Most likely that was used to cover the smell of animal feces. It was a wonderful space though. It had a set of bleachers on each side. Animals were walked in one end and led out the other.

"Why it looks like the perfect place to hold temporary services. How much would you charge to rent it for two hours on Sunday morning. Most likely there won't be many people so I can't really pay much." I admitted. Whatever he said was going to be too much. I had no desire to hold services anywhere.

"Well I'm a God fearing man, and the building is just empty on Sunday. Tell you what, you can use it no charge until the congregation grows some. Then I guess I'll just figure out what it costs to turn the lights on. There ain't no heat, I got a couple of Salamanders you can use those and just pay for the kerosene," he said.

That leads me to why it was a screw up. The problem he left me with was that if I didn's say yes, he would tell everyone I refused the offer. I would quickly be found out as as a liar and fraud. That, I would just as soon the people of Haymarket found out a little later. "Okay I'll accept your most generous offer. I can't get the word out in time for much of a congregation of any size for tomorrow, but I will be here next Sunday morning at 11AM and see who else shows up."

"Fine, check with me during the week and we can work out the details," the old man said.

It actually was going to prove to be a positive move. It gave us an excuse to talk to everyone in town. I could invite them to the Sunday service. It also gave us eight days to figure out how to nail the Brothers, before I had to make a fool of myself in the pulpit.

The four of us had dinner in the same restaurant where we ate the night before.

"Mrs Williams this is Mike's wife Gwen," I said reluctantly introducing Gwen to the owner. I also explained that we wouldn't be able to hold services the next day, but that we would be ready on Sunday a week away.

I pointed to Mike and Gwen then said, "These two are newly weds, I think they would prefer to eat alone. Do you mind, if they have a seperate table?" I asked as we stood waiting to be seated.

"Of course not, I can remember being a newly wed. Of course that was a very long time ago."

The explanation allowed them to film us without the Gecko cam. It also allowed me to eat in peace, away from Gwen.

We returned home shortly after dark. Martin slipped out of the house without telling anyone. There would be no question of the two camera people following. I would have to kick their collective asses if they tried. I would hate to cut Mike off and the knees, but I would not have had a problem cutting Gwen down to size. I felt that it was my duty not to get along with Gwen. "So what is the Irishman doing?' Mike asked.

"People who have things to hide, tend to be very careful, so it is hard to look around in the daylight hours. In the dead of a cold night, it is much easier to get an idea of what is going on. The Irishman is just looking around at the Atwood farm. We want to know what is going on out there. It will help us formulate a plan."

I drank a lot of coffee while Mike and Gwen took turns making me talk in bits and pieces. The bits and pieces would end up in the TV show. Since I knew that, I kept my cool.

Almost four hours later I heard the SUV, so I slipped out the back door. I crept around the house to be sure that it was Martin and that he was alone. When he reached the door, I stepped out. Since I had the capsule there was no advantage in standing in the cold to talk.

"Let's go have a beer," I said to my redheaded friend, before he could speak.

"Sure why not," he said turning back to the door. We walked out together. When we were in the car, he removed the small black cylinder from his pocket, then twisted the top.

"Will that make your car safe as well?" I asked looking around the interior.

"I certainly hope so," he said shaking his head. "So where to Missy?"

"Seriously, let's go have a beer," I said. There was still time to have a drink and maybe bump into our prey.

"Sounds good to me," Martin said in agreement.

"So what did you see?" I asked.

"The brother's have plenty of security around the place. There were dogs inside an 8' high fenced in area around an old building. When I tried to get close, I set the dogs to barking, but nobody came. The brothers are obviously out somewhere. After a while, when I was sure they weren't home, I poked around outside the fence. I found their trash dump. I have a bag full of trash in the back."

"Any idea what it is?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I have seen some of those labels before. They are making something toxic in there. It smells like rotten eggs coming from that garage or barn like thing inside the fence."

"Shit they are cooking Meth in their own backyard. These guys may be bullies, but they are stupid as well. We can drop a dime on them and they will go down for the Meth," I said. "There is one little problem with that."

"There always is, when it seems too simple," Martin said.

"They maybe smart enough to wiggle out of it. We have a lab near their house, but it might not be their property. We are gonna need to catch them cooking, since no one around here will testify."

"With those dogs, it is going to be difficult to watch the cooking shack," Martin said.

"Yes it is," I agreed.

'Oak Hill Tavern', was located inside what had once been a downtown drugstore. The owner of the tavern hadn't even bothered to change the old lunch counter. So the seats were padded round top stools, facing a low marble topped counter. The classy ice cream parlor tables and chairs were gone. They had been replaced by modern non matching booths and metal topped tables. The place was a mess, but it was a popular hangout for the locals. They didn't seem to be anything more than working stiffs out for a drink. However, I knew that looks could be deceiving.

Martin got us two beers while I found us an empty booth. The Jukebox was loud and the voices of the people had to be even more loud to be heard over it. There would be no nice quiet conversations inside the Oak Hill Tavern. Martin brought the beers, and we were each lost in our own thoughts for a few minutes.

We drank slowly since there was no way we could afford to have too many. We needed to be clear headed to deal with the Atwood boys and the TV twins. I had about decided that the thing to do was to approach the problem with a shotgun approach. We could get Mike to rig us a remote surveillance camera. Then Martin could plant it at the edge of the woods. It would be the first prong of our pitchfork.

Then we could continue with out plan to trap the Atwoods with our little scam. One of them might work, even if the other didn't. I was deep in thought about that, when I saw Martin turn serious. It is the only way I can describe the look on his face. I could tell that he was looking at something behind me. I just knew that what came next wasn't going to be much fun.

"Now what is the preacher lady doing in a beer joint?" the voice whispered in my ear. He wasn't really whispering but his face was close to my ear. It had to be unless he wanted everyone in the place to hear him.

I didn't care if they heard me, so I said in a loud voice, "Looking for souls to save. Would you like to be my first?" I pretended not to know who Thomas Atwood was.

"I don't think my soul needs saving, but I do need my dick sucked," he said.

"Well, for that I'm afraid you need someone else." I replied. I glanced over to see Martin trying hard to control his urge to just kill Thomas Atwood and move on.

"I don't think so. See you want to open a church in my town and for that you need my permission. My permission isn't free. The price of a church for a pretty preacher lady is a blowjob."

"Well that's a new kind of license fee." I smiled when I said it.

"But I think I will open my church, and I think I won't be giving you anything at all. So unless you are wanting to get hurt, you should move along." I made sure people around me heard.

"Do you have any idea what you are doing?" He asked.

"I have a pretty good idea, I'm refusing to give a stranger oral sex. Isn't that about right?" I asked it of Martin.

"That sounds like what I and everyone else in here heard you sayl," Martin agreed.

""Lady you are in for a world of pain," he said.

"You might try it. You won't be the first to try. If you succeed, you will be the second one to manage that." I said smiling sweetly.

"Oh who was the first?" Thomas asked. He couldn't just shut up and leave. Waiting for me outside would be so much better for him. But he wouldn't listen.

An illegal alien gang banger managed to do what you think you want to do," I said calmly.

"Was it good?" he asked.

I didn't think so. I never got the chance to ask him what he thought," I said.

"Why is that?" Thomas asked.

"He died before I got the chance." I smiled again.

"So you aint no preacher lady?" he asked.

"Sure I am, it just isn't all that I am," I replied. For a country boy he was fast, I'll give him that. He bitch slapped me hard enough to split my lip and bruise my cheek. I was going to have a black eye for sure. I held my hand up to stop Martin from killing him. "I do hope you enjoyed that, because now all these people saw you assault me. Oh I know they won't testify now, but they will when you are dead." I made sure no one heard that.

"You stupid bitch I'm gonna kill you for that," he said and reached inside his jacket for a weapon. Whoever had used the booth before us was a smoker. Probably a heavy one judging from the number of cigarettes in the ashtray. The Oak Hill Tavern is never going to get a five star rating for service, since no one had emptied it before we sat down. I was just as glad, since I threw the ashtray ashes butts and all into Thomas's face. About all he was going to be doing for the next few minutes was trying to restore his eyesight. Oh yeah, and suffering.

"Stay put," I said to Martin. I swung my leg out of the booth and kicked Thomas's knee so that it tried to bend backwards. Of course instead of his knee bending, he just toppled over. While he was on the floor I said loud enough for everyone to hear me.

"I'm too light in the ass to bitch slap you like you did me, and do that kind of damage. So this will just have to do. With that I stomped on his face twice. If I had steel toed boots, I would have kicked him instead. The soft rubber soled wouldn't do a lot of damage. He managed to roll away from me before I could go for three. So I was expecting him to come up swinging or with a weapon.

A knife is more personal and I expected that he wanted to show the town he still had it, so I was expecting a knife. I love that men are so predictable. The blade on the hunting knife was about five inches long. It was also shiny even in the low light of the tavern. It seemed that it hadn't been used for skinning much.

"No Martin," I shouted to stop him from going for his weapon, which would put Thomas in the unenviable position of truly being that man with a knife in a gun fight. The other thing it did was to divert Thomas's attention to Martin. In the one second he looked away I emptied the pitcher of beer from the next table into his face. The cold beer froze him in place just a second longer. That second was long enough for me to try to fit his head into the empty, but thick glass pitcher.

There was a sound like a water mellon being thumped, then Thomas went to his knees. From there he toppled over onto the floor. The place was deadly silent.

"You are all invited to services at the cattle auction building at the end of town, one week from tomorrow and every Sunday there after. When this gentleman wakes up, tell him he is invited. You might want to call him an ambulance. If anyone cares, that is."

"What was that all about," Martin asked when we were in his SUV and pulling out of the parking space into the street.

"That was to motivate him even more. He is going to look like a pussy to his bad ass friends. He should be out to show me, who is really the boss."
"Yeah, knowing his M.O. I would say rape and murder most likely," Martin said.

"You are a regular Mary Sunshine," I commented. "Just the rape. He needs me to tearfully tell everyone what a bad ass he is."

"So how are we going to explain all this lying, when the cops get into it?" Martin asked.

"I don't have a clue do you?" I replied. After a pause I asked. "Is the CMH guy still alive?"

"No, he died last year," Martin said.

"We need to find that grand daughter," I suggested.

"Hell no we don't need to do that." I said gleefully after a few seconds to think clearly. "We are going to tell the cops that we are working for my friend Jen. She can find the girl's lawyer and cut him a deal of some kind. It will all be fine."

"That's pretty convoluted, Will it work?" Martin asked.

"I sure as hell hope so?" I replied.

"I need to get you home and get some ice on that eye," Martin suggested.

"Now Irish, is that the best reward I get for putting Thomas on his ass. Not to mention giving the whole town a good laugh."

"How do you feel about doing it with Gwen and Mike in the room?" he asked.

"If it bothers them, they can leave," I suggested. "Besides Mike has seen me naked more than once." I didn't explain about Cheryl or the cabins live feed.

"You know that the Atwoods are going to know where be are living by morning?" Martin asked.

"I certainly hope so. It would be a shame to only get one bite of that apple." I said.

"He is going to kill you," Martin suggested with a laugh.

"He is going to try for sure. I don't know how much luck he will have." I paused a moment then added, "After all, I have a world class body guard looking out for me."

Gwen had been at the tavern to watch me get bitch slapped. I'm sure that she approved. I'm not so sure she approved of what followed. Such is life I thought. If Mike had been monitoring the audio feed somehow, he should be working on the surveillance camera for the shack at the Atwood farm.

"You know," Martin said to me. "I know why you win, when you fight with guys. They are just shocked to see a woman fight back. You get in one blow while they are in shock, and then you stay after them like a bulldog while they are disoriented. You never give them a chance to regroup. It's an interesting way to do it."

"I don't have the beef for a knockout punch. I have to find something to even the odds. There is usually something around. Enough blows with a beer pitcher and even the biggest guy is going down," I suggested.

"Do you think he would have cut you?" Martin asked.

"He was embarrassed and was getting his ass kicked by a skinny old lady, I am sure of it." I said.

"Yeah me too," Martin agreed. "Then I would have had to kill him for sure."

"I never doubted it," I admitted. Yes it was foreplay.



A full shot of adrenaline makes me horny as hell. It must work that way for other people as well, because when we got home Red and I went into the bedroom. He even locked Mike and Gwen out. When I looked at him questioningly her said, "Unless they want to join in, fuck em." At that point he pulled me to him.

We both smelled of beer and cigarette smoke. Neither of us smoke, but it looked as though we were the only ones in Georgia who didn't. The smell was disgusting, but I didn't give a crap. My body was screaming to be filled and at that point I didn't much care who did it. Now and then my biological response system just takes over and ignores my better judgment. I think that it is similar to how men's biological response system works all the time. I knew what we were doing was stupid. We were still operational, but I just didn't care.

Red and I were holding each other and kissing. I was pressed so tight against him that I though I might just melt into him. My body was screaming, so I ignored my female instincts to be ladylike. Instead I began to tear at his clothes. He was pulling so hard at my sweater that it would never be the same shape again.

I managed to get his cock out before he got my bra open. I stopped to help him, just so he wouldn't get frustrated and cause me even more pain. The hard kissing with my split lip was causing me plenty without him adding more. I stripped naked just to make things easier and quicker.

"I want that blowjob Asshole Atwood ain't gonna get," Martin said loud enough for Mike and Gwen to hear.

"Geese Irish," I have a busted lip." I said.

"I don't care, suck my dick you slut," he said it again. That time in an even louder voice. One loud enough for everyone within a mile to hear.

I knew it was the heat of passion more than anything else that caused him to act that way. It made me even hotter. I couldn't wait to feel his cock in my mouth. I dropped to my knees. I kissed his cock, but I was just too out of it for subtleties. I stuffed his cock in my mouth and began to maul it with my tongue and upper pallet. I worked his velvet smooth cock hard against the roof of my mouth, then push hard on it. I know he had never had a pussy that tight and I know it must have been at least a little painful for him, but I just didn't care. At that moment I would have fucked him and any two other men, I was totally out of control.

Every time I forced his cock into my throat I felt him pull on my short hair and groan. I knew that he was close to shooting, but I didn't want to stop what I was doing. I drove his cock painfully into my throat. I had totally forgotten the pain in my mouth. I just wanted him to cum, so I could feel his body jerk and spasm for me. I wanted to know that I had control of him.

He had more strength than I would have given him credit for. He pushed me off his cock, took a deep breath, then turned and bent me. I went to my hands and knees willingly. I reached between my legs to guide him into my hot slippery body opening. I needed his cock and didn't want to waste even a second while he tried to find the opening.

I felt his cock slip through my lips and begin to move inside me. Every inch he went in raised my excitement level. I was riding giant waves of lust as my body worked its way toward orgasm. I felt Martin's body pressed as tightly against me as it was possible for him to do. He was trying to drive even more cock into me than he had. Then he quickly pulled back and drove painfully against me again. He was trying to torture me with his cock. I could feel my body fighting to respond as quickly as he pistoned into me, but it was hopeless. I could not process all the feelings. My body was lost in it's own sensory overload. It didn't matter who was doing what to me as long as it kept going. Then the world just went blank. I mean it was just gone for a second or so. When I returned to life, I no longer cared about the Atwoods or anything else. I just wanted to lay there in my sex induced coma and respond to my body's signals.

First it was convulsions, the it was hot flashes, then tremors, then cold wet sensations between my legs. I felt it all and reveled in each one of the feelings.

Before I fully recovered, Martin, who had his cock buried in me while I came and then came down, began to withdraw it. "Clean me," he whispered.

I turned still on my hands and knees to find his cock at my mouth's lever. I sucked it deep inside my mouth. I tasted his cum and also the stale taste of my own body. I loved the taste of both, so I was lost in my own world again. Martin knew me well enough to just let me suck and slobber over his cock until all the taste was gone.

"You do love that," he said smiling at me. "Nobody else I ever fucked loves the taste of cum and stale pussy like you do." he said continuing to smile at me. "You are the total slut in bed." he said more seriously.

Then he did the strangest thing yet, even for him. He walked to the door and asked, "Either of you want to fuck her. She is willing?" I lay on the air bed to see if anyone would show up, no one did.

It was hard for me to believe that it had only been 30 or so minutes since Martin and I arrived home. I staggered into the living room to find them all trying not to meet my eyes. Screw them all, and I probably would have ten minutes before, I thought.

"Mike, do we have a camera on the driveway entrance?" I asked my voice still quivering.

"Yes, I have been keeping an eye on it since Martin left the first time." he replied.

"Good we will have to take shifts monitoring it for a while. I think I poked the hornet's nest tonight." I said to them all.

"I'll say," Gwen agreed grudgingly. "You might just get us all killed."

"Most likely tonight nothing will happen, tomorrow you can leave. Actually you have a car here you can leave now, if you want to live forever," I suggested.

"Mike, can you get us a camera to monitor the Atwood farm. I can plant it tomorrow night if you can have one ready." Martin said.

"I can have a camera ready in a couple of hours, if you need it tonight," Mike replied.

"That would be great. If you get it ready, I can put it in place before sunup," Martin said.

"It's 1AM, I can have it ready by four or five,"

"It doesn't get light till six, but I would feel better at 3AM. Maybe tomorrow would be better."

I still wasn't completely steady on my feet as I returned to the bedroom. From the corner, I removed the shotgun which I had wrapped in a sheet when I loaded it into Martin's SUV. I had brought the new Mossberg pump short barrel shotgun, not the antique Winchester pump with the hammer. I bought the Winchester only becaause it was supposed to have been used in the prison on Alcatraz island. I have no idea, if that story was true or not. I came to like the style well enough to have paid for the shotgun regardless.

I loaded four shells into the magazine of the shotgun and racked one into the chamber then put another into the magazine. The shotgun would go beside the monitor from that time forward. It would always be loaded and always ready in a hurry.

"Are yo u okay?" Mike asked.

"I'm fine just a little hung over from too much sex," I replied.

"Yeah, I don't think I ever saw a woman so drugged looking, just from getting laid," he admitted.

"Well it's the endorphin overload. Between terror and orgasms, it is hard for the body to recover from it all." I said it not even caring whether he understood or not.

"I get it, I was once in a car crash. I wasn't hurt, but I was unbelievably horny for a week," Mike admitted.

"Yeah, that's how it works on me as well," I said in agreement.

"If no one objects, I'll take the first watch. I can't sleep anyway," I suggested. Unlike men, that much over load didn't knock me out, it just had me wired.

"Not at all," Mike replied. Since no one else objected. I watched the screen while Mike did whatever boy geniuses do. When my two h ours were over, I was supposed to wake Martin. He was supposed to be on line from 3AM till 5AM, then Gwen took over till 7AM when I came back on. Mike was building a camera, so he was exempt from the watch.

It was a boring night. Nothing happened, so Mike and I talked some. "So Mike do you have a girlfriend?" I asked.

"Sure, we aren't all that serious, but I guess she is my girlfriend. I mean we have sex whenever I'm in Boston. If she is doing it with anyone else, I don't know."

"Honey, if you don't know, then for you she isn't. You don't need to know anything else." He nodded and then went back to his camera.

After several minutes he asked, "Would you really have had sex with us all tonight?"

"I would really not have enjoyed it with Gwen, but honestly I probably would have. I was out of my mind for a while. The Irishman knew it to."

"Maybe I should have then," he said with a wicked smile.

"Too late now kid, and the offer may never come around again. But I bet it will make great TV." I laughed. Then a long second or so two later, Mike laughed as well.

When my shift ended I was happy to wake Martin. I wasn't sure how effective he would be, but it would be interesting to see. I wasn't sure her would make it out of bed at all. I was more than a little surprised when he was instantly awake and alert. I guessed that it was training and experience. My next concern was about Gwen. I was concerned but not enough to take her watch. It was my guess that Mike would keep her awake. They both knew to wake me and Martin, if anything happened on screen. I was very specific, in that I didn't care how small it seemed, wake me up.

Somehow we made it through the night. I drank coffee and looked at the screen for several minutes the next morning before the car turned into the drive. "Mike take a break from your camera and get the Irishman and Gwen.

Martin came with a M4A1 carbine in his hands. He looked at the screen then said, "No time for an ambush," he suggested.

"Go out the back door and into the woods before they get here. We can at least get two different firing angles on them." I suggested.

"You gonna be okay in here?" he asked.

"Go before it is too late," I said. I had no idea whether we would be okay or not. I did trust that Martin could finish anything I started.

"Geese Max, it's the cops," Mike said.

"It's not the real cops. It's the cop in Atwood's pocket. I can't go out with this," I said putting the shotgun down. "But you stay close to it. Video it all and if he shoots me, kill his ass, If he roughs me up, just get it on film and hide it."

"Got it," Mike said.

I walked onto the porch and spoke to the middle aged balding man who stepped from the Ford Crown Victoria with police written on the side. "Hello officer what can I do for you?" I asked politely.

"Would you mind, if I come in? It's kinda cold out here." he tried to make it sound harmless.

"Not at all, if you have a warrant to search, then search. Otherwise it's a nice enough day, let's just talk here on the porch. I should warn you though Mike is standing just inside the doorway armed with a loaded video recorder. You are on video complete with sound. I thought I should let you know."

"You don't trust the police?" he said amusement in his voice.

"Generally I do, but not all policemen and not all the time." I said it smiled sweetly. Then I asked. "So what brings you out so early on a Sunday morning. Service don't start until next weekend, then they will be in the livestock auction building."

"Actually I came to talk to you about last night. Did you know Thomas Atwood had to be taken to the emergency room after the beating you gave him?"

"Then I didn't kill him?" I asked without any further comment.

"Where you trying to kill him?" he asked.

"Obviously not," I replied.

"I talked to him about pressing charges, but he decided not to do that." The cop said.

"Probably for the best, since Mike filmed the whole thing."

"Oh really, and your version is what self defense?" the cop asked with a sneer.

"Actually, I was defending myself." I said.

"And you needed the beer pitcher to do that?" the chief asked.

"Well it was either that or let him gut me like a fish. It is all on the tape, I would be happy to show it to the county prosecutor, if you like. The other plan is to just call it even, and move on. That is unless Thomas decides he wants to go another round, then I will take it to the county prosecutor. You might want to tell Thomas that he can't intimidate the tape, or me."

"I see, but Miss, I'm the police chief not a messenger." he replied.

"From where I'm standing you look like a messenger boy, so take the boss this message. Tell him it's kinda like Hank Williams said in that song. You can't starve us out, and you can't make us run, country folks was raised on shotguns."

"So, you are making threats, I could run you in for that," he said.

"Chief, I hope you have damn good insurance. I have this conversation on film and one damn fine lawyer on call. False arrest is a nice civil action, I could probably be the one retiring on your pension." He turned about six shades of red, before he got into his car and left without another word.

"Shit he came out of that car like a lion, but he left in it like a lamb. You pulled his fucking teeth," Mike said.

"Mike, you of all people should know that trouble just seems to find me wherever I go. He was no lion and not much trouble either. What we have to worry about is Thomas Atwood and his brother Blain. That little threat might freeze the Cop in place, but it won't do much to stop them. They have to protect their rice bowl."

"You sure do think fast girl," Martin said with a smile. "Me I would have just killed him."

"That's probably why they sent you along, so that you could learn a new way to do things," I suggested.

"Or to teach you one," he said smiling.

"Mike is that camera ready?" I asked. "I want to know who is doing the cooking in that shack."

"You should know shortly after you guys place it." Mike said.

"Tonight after they are all asleep or gone for the night. I figure 3AM is optimum timing." Martin said.

"You should know best, but for god's sake be careful. I do not want to have to play Calvary." I said.

"That'll be the day, when you have to save my ass," he said. I just smiled knowingly. Of course I didn't know anything at all.

"So what do we do today?" Gwen asked.

"Well are you staying or going Gwen?" I asked.

"I'm staying, so what are we going to do?" She repeated.

"I'm going to take a shower and drink a gallon of coffee Then I'm going out to breakfast with one of you TV people. One of you has an expense account I'm sure. That is my total plan for the day, so far."

"Frankly Maxine you look like hell," Gwen said. I could tell that she enjoyed saying it way too much.

"Yeah I know, I didn't get near enough sleep last night," She started to say something then realized I was joking.

"You should have put ice on it, like I told you to do," Martin said.

"Ah now you are an Irish Doctor. You aren't known for your medical skills, are you?"

"No, but any idiot knows you put ice on an bruised cheek bone. You might ought to get it x-rayed." Martin said.

"Right, so they can put it in a splint," I actually laughed and so did he.

"So go take your shower, I'm Hungry," Mike said to break the tension.

"Then it's you and me first, then Martin and Gwen can go when we get back. We don't ever leave the house empty again until this is all over." I said to all of them.

"Right," Martin said in agreement. The shower was going to be busy and the hot water was going to be in short supply, so I took a GI shower. Wet down, turn off the water, soap up, turn on the water,. Rinse quickly and get out of the shower to save hot water for the next person.

"Short showers for everyone," I said as I entered the kitchen where they all sat. "We are going to be short of hot water. "Irish you go next, after that the kids. I'm sure they don't know how to manage the water, but do try guys."

It took about half hour longer before Mike was ready to leave. We looked pretty shabby in our suitcase wrinkled clothes. I also had oily hair, since I didn't waste hot water washing my hair. That would happen after breakfast, while we waited for Gwen and Martin to return.

We had breakfast back at the highway interchange area. It was far enough away from Haymarket, so that we didn't have to be constantly watching our backs. It was one of those pancake and waffle joints. I had scrambed eggs of course, just to be contrary.

It turned out that Mike had an expense account, so he picked up the check. Back at the house I stripped, then went back into the shower to wash my hair. I was interrupted by Mikes excited voice.

"Max you should come have a look," he suggested.

I left the shower in a towel. The car was almost in the yard by the time I realized what was going on. I picked up the shotgun before I walked onto the porch. A man, woman and teenage boy got out of the older car. I must have been a sight standing on the porch wrapped in a towel holding a pump shotgun at the ready.
"Hello, can I help you?" I asked.

"That shotgun is probably a good idea. I hear you kicked Thomas Atwood's sorry ass," the man said.

"I don't know about that, but we had a few words last night," I replied.

"They tell me, he had to driven to the hospital by his brother Blain, nobody else would touch him." The woman said it then paused a full minute. "You know they gonna be coming for you and your friends."

"I trust the Lord, and this 12 gauge, to take care of me." I said quietly.

"I'd say that you was in good company then," the man said. "The wife made pies last night and we had an extra one. I hope you and your friends like Apple." He said as he handed me the pie tin covered with a dishcloth.

"It smells delicious, the others might not get any," I said with a smile.

"I would say that you are going to have a packed house at your service next week." The woman said.

"Well it will be good to see friends in the house of worship. Son," I said turning my attention to the teenage boy. "You seem to be interested in my towel. I'm afraid I will never make it as a Hollywood star, but you are welcome to stare. God probably isn't pleased that I am vane, but we all h ave faults. I think it is a minor one."

"So do I," the boy said in agreement. "I can't imagine how upset Thomas Atwood is this morning. To have his ass kicked by a preacher is bad, but a woman preacher is just the ultimate in humiliation." We spoke a few more words, then they left.

Martin and Gwen returned shortly after they had gone. "Try to get cleaned up Mike we are going into town. I want to see and be seen today. I want you to film everything you can Mike. It is going to be the difference, if they make a run for us."

"You know they are going to want to stop that," Martin asked.

"Yes I know, I want you to be sure the camera people are safe. Try to do it without violence, at least not deadly force." I commented.

The town was so small that it was hard to find anything to do, other than eat. We went back to the same restaurant. Our greeting was a lot more cautious. The people didn't want to piss us off, since they had heard we were more than simple clergy. The seemed to have no love for the Atwoods either, so they were just trying to stay neutral. It was a hard, but clear cut decision. Stay with the known, or move over to the unknown. I didn't blame anyone for hedging their bets as best they could.

I saw Mike get that concerned look. The one people get when they think trouble might be headed their way. I figured someone was approaching me from behind. After the last time, I wished that it was Martin instead of Mike at the table with me. Mike was no wimp but he was also not Martin.

"Hi remember me?" the young man asked.

"Of course, your parents brought us the pie." I commented letting Mike know that it was okay.

"Tell your mom it was delicious," Mike commented.

"I'll tell her, she will be happy. She loves to make pies."

"Do that, it really was excellent," I agreed.

"Okay, I wanted to tell you that Blain Atwood says you two are criminals. He also said that he is going to take care of you. He said you weren't really preachers. No preacher could have done that to his brother." the kid said.

"Do you know the story of Samson and Delila?" I asked.

"Sure from Sunday School," he replied.

"Sampson's strength came from God, and so does mine. He directs my hand and he protects me, Blain would be foolish to attack God's messenger. So don't worry, I will be fine."

"I'm sure you will be, I also wanted to tell you I think you are beautiful. I know you said you didn't mind me staring and I wanted to thank you for that. I couldn't help it.

"Thank you, what's your name?"

"Melvin," he replied simply.

"Melvin my name is Maxine. I hope you come to services on Sunday,"

"I would like to see you before that. I mean see you alone," he said it shyly.

"Melvin, I'm more than twice your age hon. But I am truly flattered."

"You aren't upset that I asked," he said.

"No, and I hope you aren't upset that I had to said no." After he left I said, "Nice kid."

"Horny devil," Mike suggested.

"Well we need to get back, so the second shift can get out to eat," I suggested.