Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction. If you are
offended by graphic descriptions of homosexual acts, go
somewhere else.
Copyright c 2000 by Orrin C. Rush. All rights reserved.
Neither this story nor any parts of it may be distributed
electronically or in any other manner without the express,
written consent of the author.
This is a work of fiction, any resemblance of the characters
to anyone living or dead is pure coincidence and not
intended. They are all products of the author's imagination.
The security chief stood at the end of the table. "I have an
announcement to make," he started. "Due to developments at
home, we're going on full alert. I assure you that this is
serious, and every precaution will be taken. I must ask all
of you to remain indoors at least until morning, and then, if
you decide to go out, you'll be escorted by one of us. I'm
sorry about this, but it's necessary and we'll appreciate
your cooperation."
The other guards rose from the table and followed him to the
loft. Two of them quickly came back down, this time carrying
automatic rifles.
THE LIFEGUARD
Chapter 28
We watched them in stunned silence.
"What in the hell is going on?" Annie demanded.
"I'll let Eric tell you," I said.
The security chief and another guard were back, standing,
listening.
"Remember the U-Haul truck that made a call on us last
night?" Eric started. "The police impounded it as evidence,
and about an hour ago, it blew up."
There was a gasp, and he continued. "Not only did it blow
up, it took out most of a city block downtown. So far,
eleven people are known to be dead, and they're afraid that
there might be a lot more.
"The bomb in that truck was meant for us. Luckily it didn't
go off when it was supposed to. If it had, we sure as hell
wouldn't be sitting here. The police's best guess is that
the timing device failed, and it went off today instead of
last night.
"Information is still kind of sketchy, but they do know that
it was a very sophisticated device, and they are almost
certain that Georgia didn't have anything to do with it.
"Whoever drove the truck into the house got away without a
trace, and that leaves the big question. Who did it?
Whoever did is sure no amateur, so, until they catch whoever
it is, everybody in the family, and that includes you, Kevin,
will have 24 hour protection.
"They don't think that they'll try anything else soon, but we
have to take every precaution possible.
"We're going to need everyone's help. To make sure we're
relatively safe here, we need to know if anybody's made any
phone calls, and who to. Most important, we need to know WHO
knows where we are."
"Better get all the cell phones charged," Joe said, getting
up from the table.
Everyone else just looked at one another in silence.
Appetites gone, we moved into the great room and settled in
front of the fireplace.
"Man, you must've REALLY pissed somebody off, boss," Ron said,
eliciting a nervous laugh from everyone.
"I'm the obvious target," I said, "and I've pissed a lot of
people off lately."
"Several come to mind right off," Eric added, laughing too.
"Dave," Ron said seriously. "You'd better hire some more
pilots because I'm stickin' to you like a second skin until
this is over."
"And, you're all mine, Eric," Jason added.
"In your dreams," Eric shot back, which got everybody
laughing.
"What do you think?" I asked the girls.
"I'm damned sure it wasn't Mom," Tina said. "She doesn't
even know how to follow a recipe, much less build a bomb!"
The phone buzzed again. Eric took it, and we all watched him
silently.
"Not much new," Eric said after he'd clicked off. "They've
found three more bodies, and they think it was plastic
explosive like the terrorists use. Nothing else could've
done that much damage. The police want to talk to us, but
agreed to do it tomorrow by phone. In the meantime, they
want all of us to make up a list of anyone we think may hate
us enough to try to kill us and give it to them tomorrow.
"They also think that Georgia was 'set up', and her purse
really was stolen."
That statement got me thinking. Somebody had to know a LOT
about our family to have set Georgia up.
By now the group had gotten over their initial shock. Drinks
were being poured and speculation was rampant. It was a good
time to pull Eric aside and run my ideas by him.
I gently elbowed him and nodded toward the bedroom. I got
up, and he soon followed.
"What's up?" he asked, sprawling on the bed beside me.
"Your last tidbit got me thinking, and I want you to help me
with the logic," I told him.
"I'll try," he said. "Shoot."
"Right off the top of my head, there are several people who
could have done this, the Miltons, Gunter, that Southern
slime that ran York Hotels, the Las Vegas mob, or even those
dumbshits in New Hampshire. Any of them could have done it.
I don't think anybody could ever pin anything on any of them,
unless..."
"Unless what?" He was humoring me.
"It hinges on setting up Georgia. Either somebody went to a
lot of trouble to dig into my life to find out about her,
then tapped her phone so they'd know she was coming to visit,
or we have a leak somewhere. How else could they know WHEN
to set this thing up?"
I had his attention now.
"It took a lot of planning," he added. "They had to have
advance notice so they could set it up."
"That's my point," I said. "First, it had to be someone who
knows about Georgia, that she acts kind of strange and hates
my guts. Then, they had to know that she was coming. That,
I think, narrows it down considerably."
"I'm pretty sure I didn't mention it to anybody. Why would
I?"
"I know I didn't," I said. "That leaves Annie and Tina, and
whoever they might have told. Let's ask them. I'll go get
'em."
I asked the girls to come into the bedroom, which they did
with bewildered looks on their faces. They found a couple of
chairs and pulled them around so we could talk.
"I've got a brainstorm," I told them, then outlined my train
of thought.
"Makes sense," Annie said. "Makes a LOT of sense. I told
Kevin, of course, but he's the only one I mentioned it to."
"I didn't say anything to anybody," Tina said. "I certainly
wouldn't mention it to Rick. I don't even want him to know
she exists!"
"Kevin's out of it," I observed. "The only one left is
Georgia. Who did she tell about her trip."
"She doesn't have any friends that she talks to," Tina
offered, "so I doubt it came from her."
"Somebody knew about it," I said.
"Maybe the house is bugged," Annie suggested.
"That's an idea," Eric said, sitting up. "We talked about
Georgia around the house, someone could have heard us."
"Not Mary," I said.
"There's more than Mary around these days," Eric continued.
"We've got several new people around."
"The new yard boy is out," I said. "I don't think he's ever
been in the house. That leaves the two new maids... and
Barbara. I wonder if Mary had security checks run on them?"
"How about that new maid Gabriella?" Annie asked. "She's been
serving dinner, and I know we've discussed Mom."
"Remember, Annie," Tina spoke up. "You and I discussed the
letter Mom sent one morning in the kitchen before we told Dad
about it. I distinctly remember that Barbara was there."
"Gabriella barely speaks English," I said, "or, at least
that's what she'd like us to believe. I think my money's on
Barbara, and shit, she's right here with us for chrissakes!"
"I'd like to know how she managed that," Eric said. "Maybe
Mary could shed some light on that."
"I'll call her," I said. Eric handed me the phone.
I tried the house first, and when I got the machine, I tried
her at home.
First, Mary wanted to know if we were all OK. When I'd
assured her that we were all fine, I asked her about Barbara.
"That's something I want to talk to you about as soon as you
get back," she said. "I don't think she's going to work out."
"Why?" I asked.
"She's been acting kind of strange lately, moody, quiet and
not doing her job, in my opinion. Why, just last night, she
walked out before your dinner was completely served, then she
showed up a couple of hours later.
"She saw me packing up your food, and wanted to know what was
going on. I told her that you guys had unexpectedly taken
off. She wanted to know where, and if you had someone to
cook for you. When I told her 'no' she insisted on going."
"Two more questions, Mary," I said. "First, did Barbara come
back to the house before or after the truck had been moved
from the front door, and second, did she know where we were
before she left?"
"It had to be after the truck was towed away," she said. "I
was out in front when the tow truck pulled it loose and drug
it off, and Barbara didn't return until I was back in the
kitchen.
"I don't even know myself where the 'Lake House' is, only
that it's up North. That's all I could have told her.
"Tell me, Dave, is there a problem?"
"Nothing to worry about," I told her. "We'll be home in a
few days, everything's OK."
"Barbara's our leak," I said as I clicked off the phone.
"She's a plant. Either she knew we were about to be blown
up, or it's a helluva coincidence that she left just before
it happened and didn't come back until the truck had been
moved. Somebody went to a lot of effort to set this whole
thing up. Georgia's pending arrival gave them an
opportunity."
"I wonder if she's still feeding them information?" Eric said.
"I think we'd better assume that she is," I said.
"What can we do?" Annie asked. "Can we arrest her?"
"I don't think so," I said.
"If she's gotten the word out," Eric said, "we're sitting
ducks here!"
"I know." I said.
"I've got an idea," Eric said. "I know you guys can keep
your cool. Let Kevin know something's up, and all of you
guys go along with anything we suggest, no questions, OK?"
"We can do that," Tina assured us. "What're you going to do?"
Eric quickly explained his plan, and gave them their
assignments. It was brilliant, but risky. The girls agreed
enthusiastically. They'd also keep an eye on Barbara and
sound the alarm if she did anything suspicious while we were
putting our plan into action.
They got up and, in turn gave both of us big hugs. On their
way out, Annie had a parting shot. "Ya know, Dad, you're
awfully capable, but with Eric, you two are an unbeatable
team."
"I agree," I said, smiling broadly
It was time to put the plan into action. We went out into
the main room, Eric walked toward the kitchen saying,
"Anybody else need a drink?"
Annie and Tina looked at me for direction. I barely nooded
my head toward the kitchen. They got up, dragging Kevin
along. I followed. The pilots wanted a refill too.
With everybody crowded around the bar, I conversationally
said "We want to talk to everybody," then turned to Barbara
who was sitting on a stool by the counter. "Ladies first.
C'mon, Barbara." She hesitated, then stood. The tote bag
that she never seemed to be without was propped up against
the counter at her feet. When she reached for it, I said
"C'mon, you don't need that," with a big smile.
Reluctantly, she followed me into the bedroom. Eric was
right behind her. I didn't look back.
Eric closed the door behind us. I sat on the bed, Barbara on
one chair, and Eric took the other, facing her at an angle.
She was obviously nervous, and fear showed in her eyes.
"You've only been with us for a short while," I told her.
"And, I certainly wouldn't have asked you to get involved in
a potentially dangerous situation. Hell, if I'd have known
what might happen, I probably wouldn't have come myself," I
chuckled. "But, we really do appreciate all the help you've
been."
"I volunteered," she said. "I'm not worried. I don't think
anything's going to happen."
"We don't either," I told her. "We've got the best
protection in the world, and we're so damned far away from
anything that I don't think anybody could find us anyway."
"I'm OK, really," she said, starting to rise.
"I have a couple more things to discuss," I told her, waving
her back to her seat.
At that moment, Eric's cell phone buzzed. Barbara jumped
like she'd been shot.
"Relax," I told her. "Maybe it's some good news for a change."
Eric answered the phone, "Oh, hi Karl," then listened. That
was my signal. It was really Jason or Ron in the next room.
"Good news, I hope?" I asked when he switched off. He nodded
vigorously. It was time for another test.
"Eric and I are going to sleep in the loft tonight," I told
her. "We'd like you to use this bedroom."
"Oh, I couldn't," she said.
"Why not?" I asked. "You'd have a little privacy and get a
good night's sleep. You've been working hard and you deserve
it."
"Thank you, no," she said. "I'm fine right where I am."
Eric was grinning. I continued "What if I insist?"
"The answer's still no." Her eyes definitely showed fear.
"What if I ordered you to?" I asked, pushing.
"You can't do that!" she said, panicking. "I ain't sleepin'
in no faggot's bed." With that slip, she turned bright red,
and started to rise.
"Sit!" Eric barked. "Who do you work for, Barbara?" he
asked, softly.
"Why, you people, of course," she answered, her head hanging,
looking at her hands twisting in her lap.
"Why did you take the job?" he asked. "You were told that
we're gay men up front."
"I had to."
"Why?"
"You bankrupted my church."
"You helped set this whole thing up?"
"I didn't mean for all those innocent God fearing people to
get killed," she moaned, sobbing.
"Who else is involved in this?" Eric asked.
"You'll never find out!" she spat out defiantly.
"Would it help your memory if we tied you to this bed for the
night?" I asked innocently.
"You wouldn't do that!" she screamed, terror stricken.
"Try me," I said, getting up and going to the door.
"Bring me the rope," I said to noone in particular.
"I'll get it," Annie said, loud enough for Barbara to hear.
Jason and Ron, standing just outside the door, came in and
positioned themselves behind Barbara's chair. She was
small, but I'd bet she could be a real wildcat.
"You're not really going to go through with this, are you?"
she begged, looking up at me in abject fear.
"I keep my promises," I assured her.
Annie came in with a water ski tow line.
"Get on the bed," I ordered, taking the rope from Annie.
She tried to jump and run, but Ron and Jason had her pinned
to her chair before she could escape. She struggled
helplessly and started crying.
"What are you afraid of?" Eric asked her.
She refused to answer.
"OK boys," I said. "Tie her up good, spread-eagled on the
bed. That way, they'll have a nice target."
Barbara screamed when Ron and Jason hoisted her to her feet
and propelled her toward the bed. "You'll never get away
with this!" she screamed.
"Are they coming tonight?" Eric asked calmly.
"Yes," she spat out, "and they'll get every one of you!"
"Are you ready to die, too?" he asked.
She didn't answer, so Ron and Jason threw her on the bed,
never letting go of her arms, and avoiding her kicking feet
which Eric soon had under control.
"Dave, can you hold her arm while I tie her down?" Ron
asked. I took his place and he began securely tying her arms
and legs to the bed frame.
When she was secured, screaming and sobbing, we left her,
closing the door behind us.
"Looks like we can expect visitors tonight," I announced,
lightly.
"What's going on?" the security chief wanted to know.
"That little lady works for whoever set up the bomb, and her
buddies will be paying us a visit sometime tonight. What did
you find in her bag?" I asked.
"A cell phone, a two-way radio and a pistol with a silencer,"
Kevin reported.
"Then, she's been in touch with them," Eric said to
security. "No doubt they know the position you've staked
out, so you'd better change your plans."
"I have a strong feeling that they'll be targeting me," I
told him, "so they'll focus on our bedroom. You might want
to consider that."
"It's time to 'hit the mattresses'," I told everybody.
"Let's get the lounge pads out of the store room and put them
down on the kitchen floor. That's where we'll be sleeping.
It won't be very comfortable, but it'll be relatively safe."
Ron took off with the pilots to get them, the security guys
headed outside. Everybody sprang into action.
"I'm pretty sure they'll wait until we all turn in before
they show up, so we have time to get good and prepared," I
told Eric. "I'm going to call Bob and let him know what's
going on so he can get the cops started rounding up the
others."
"Good idea," he said.
I found a phone and called. He listened to the whole story,
never interrupting. When I finished, he asked if I could get
the number of her cell phone. Kevin brought it to me, and I
read it off.
"We'll know everybody she's ever called by morning. I'm
going to go directly to the Chief of Police with this. He's
under a lot of pressure over the bombing, and I know he'll
jump at this. I'll leave out how you got her to talk, and
I'll ask him to keep our part of it as quiet as possible.
He'll want to do that, anyway, until he can nail the rest of
them. Damn, Dave, I wish I was there to help, but you've
already got my best men. Call me every hour, all night, if
you can."
"I'll try, Bob, but we may be duckin' lead shortly."
The snow was starting to let up. It hadn't stopped all day
and now there was more than three feet of it piled up.
For the first time that I could remember, the drapes were
pulled closed across the windows in the great room. They
only covered the bottom half, but at least we weren't clear
targets.
The kitchen was wall-to-wall pads with blankets everywhere.
In the bedrooms, pillows had been arranged to look like
bodies in the beds.
Eric and I surveyed the situation. "Guess we won't be
gettin' any tonight," he chuckled.
"This is enough excitement for me!" I told him.
"How long are we going to leave Barbara in there?" he asked.
I looked at my watch, it was 10:30. "About another hour, I
think, then we'll move her to the storeroom and gag her. Did
you get some handcuffs from security?"
"Got three pairs," he said. "No keys, but we'll worry about
that later."
"I'm ready for a drink," I said to everybody. "Anybody else?"
Everybody but Tina accepted my offer. I noticed that they
were being poured a little stronger than usual, and we took
them over to the sofas around the fireplace.
"Everybody better use the bathroom before we lie down," I
said. "If you have to 'go' later, you'll have to crawl, and
NO flushing!"
"Ugh!" Annie said, making a face.
"What did you mean by 'Hit the mattresses', earlier, Dad?"
Tina asked.
"That's an old gangster term from the Prohibition days," I
explained. "Before my time, but I've read about it. When
there was a gang war about to start, the hoods'd hole up in a
hotel or an apartment. They'd sleep on the floor on
mattresses."
We talked for a while longer, about everything but what was
foremost on our minds.
"I think it's time we moved Barbara," I said. "She'll be a
dead duck if we leave her there."
The four of us went into the bedroom. Barbara was sobbing.
"I don't want to die," she begged. "I'll tell you anything
you want if you'll let me out of here."
"We're listening," Eric said softly.
In just a few minutes, she blurted out the whole sorry
story. Names, places, dates, everything, including the plans
for the attack later that night. I had been right. They
were targeting me, but they didn't intend to leave behind any
live witnesses. It made me shiver.
We untied her, and snapped on the handcuffs. She was led
into the storeroom and again tied down and gagged so she
couldn't make any noise.
The rest were settling down on the pads in the kitchen, and
we joined them. Eric had an automatic pistol and all the
pilots and Kevin were armed. I didn't want one.
One last contact was made with the security forces outside,
giving them the latest that Barbara had told us.
Arrangements were made so none of us would open fire on the
other.
We settled down on the pads to wait. A soft glow emanated
from the fireplace, and looking above the curtains I could
see that it was beginning to clear up. That would be an
advantage to our army outside. Falling snow muffled sound
and, of course, limited visibility. They'd have a much better
chance of intercepting the intruders now.
"Have you found out who's behind all this, Dad?" Annie asked.
"The York Hotel people, directly or indirectly," I told her.
"Barbara told us just about everything."
"The good, God fearing Christians," she snorted. "I'm not
surprised. They can't stand it when everyone doesn't see
things their way. They preach love, then pull this."
"A bit hypocritical," I observed dryly.
Stories about run-ins with the religions right got started.
Even Joe and Rich had had some interesting experiences which
they shared.
The conversation died down. Eric was behind me, his arms
around me. Tina was directly in front of me, snuggled up.
Kevin and Annie looked glued together as did Ron and Jason.
Rich and Joe were pretty close, too. I actually dozed a
little, on and off.
The first sound I heard was the tinkling of breaking glass
coming from our bedroom. Eric gripped me to him like a vise,
and I pulled Tina as close as I could get her.
Instantly, it sounded like war erupted. The stutter of
automatic rifles came from all directions. I heard a muffled
scream, then another, then silence. I'm sure we were all
holding our breath.
A single shot rang out and there was a thud on the front deck.
Again silence.
The silence lasted for what seemed like hours, then a final
burst of gunfire that sounded like everybody was firing at
the same time.
We all stayed still, noone moving a muscle.
There was a rap on the door. The pattern identified it as
one of our own guys. Ron jumped up to open it for him.
"We got four of them," he said. "I think that's all, but
we're looking around to make sure. Better stay where you are
for a little while longer." Then he was gone again.
The adrenaline was still pumping. I turned a little so I
could give Eric a peck on the cheek. He pulled me around and
we locked lips passionately, silently.
Another rap on the door, and all four guards came in. "We
found four kayaks up the beach. Now I'm sure we got 'em
all. You can relax now."
"Are all of you OK?" I asked.
"Not a scratch on any of us," he said.
"Thank God!"
Reactions to the easing of tension were different. Kevin and
Annie just held each other silently. Rich and Joe just sat
and looked at each other. Ron and Jason sat in front of the
fire staring at the embers.
Eric took Tina in his arms for a long hug, then I did the
same. Eventually, all three of us held each other.
"I've never felt closer to you in my life, Dad," Tina
commented.
"Hell, you've never BEEN closer to me in your life," I teased,
laughing. "Let's see how bad they tore up the place."
The windows were gone in our bedroom, and the bed had at
least 40 holes in it. Barbara had given them good
instructions. Other than that, the room wasn't that bad.
Tina and Annie's bedroom was about the same, but a few wild
shots had shattered quite a few things around the room. The
rest of the house, particularly the great room and the loft
were untouched. It could've been worse.
Oh shit, I hadn't called Bob in over four hours. When he
answered, I said "The war's over and the good guys won!"
"Is everybody OK?" he asked.
"Nobody got a scratch," I said, and I could hear him relaying
the news, then a shout.
"We've got kind of a cheering squad sitting around, a pretty
nervous one for the past few hours. They all want to talk to
you. Have my men call me as soon as they can. Here's Bill."
"I'm so damned glad to hear that everybody's OK," he said.
"It was kind of exciting for a while," I told him. "Bob'll
fill you in on all the details. I don't know when we'll be
home, so hold down the fort for us."
The phone was passed around and I heard the good wishes and
relief from the people who I worked with, and who were damned
good friends to boot.
When I finally clicked off, the security chief was waiting.
"Call your boss when you can," I told him. "He's anxious to
hear all the details."
"I will," he answered. "Maybe we should call the local
police and have them clean up the mess outside. I'll handle
it if you want."
"I'd appreciate that," I told him. "Maybe they can take
Barbara off our hands too."
"There'll be a lot of questions," he warned.
"We're ready," I assured him.
The fire was roaring again. With fresh drinks, Eric and I
sat in front of it. "The local police will be here in the
morning," I told him. "What're we going to do about Barbara?"
"Her 'confession' isn't worth a damn, particularly after the
way we got it. We're talking duress big time if not outright
torture."
"I know, but it probably saved our lives," I said. "We can't
just turn her loose, though."
"Maybe Bob'll have some ideas. If he doesn't, I could always
call Dad."
"Call Bob first," I suggested. "Leave your dad as a last
resort. We get him involved in too much of our shit as it
is."
"He loves it, believe me!"
While Eric called, I wandered out to the kitchen. Annie was
standing by the stove watching Rich turn out omelettes.
Seeing me watching them, Annie put her arm around Rich's
waist. "This guy can cook. Think I'll marry him!"
Reddening, quiet Rich admitted that he'd had a little
experience.
"Now, all I have to do is con him into helping me until we
can get out of here."
"Watch out, Rich," I warned him. "She's persistent."
When I got back to the couch, Eric was smiling. "I like the
way Bob thinks. Fuck the rules!"
"What'd he suggest?" I chuckled.
"He's already got our asses covered. The Chief of Police at
home already has men on the way up here to pick her up. The
local sheriff'll hold her for them. We don't have to say
anything."
"We probably will, though, eventually."
"She could try to sue our asses off," Eric observed. "It's
her word against ours, and we have Ron and Jason too, so I
wouldn't worry too much."
"I don't care. If it costs us, so what? We're safe. What
else counts? Anybody checking on her?"
"Ron and Jason have been taking care of her. Everything's
OK."
We were finally winding down, and most were looking for a
bed. Kevin gave his room, which was untouched, to the girls,
and went up to the loft. Eric and I grabbed blankets and hit
the couches.
I awoke to sunlight streaming in the windows, and a loud
pounding on the door.
Eric awoke with a start too, and we both pulled on clothes.
It was late, but we hadn't gotten to sleep until rather late.
The pounding was insistent. I knew it had to be the local
police.
The local Sheriff looked rather irritated. I understood why
when I saw two of our guards standing behind him, weapons
drawn.
"Sorry about that," I told him. "After what happened last
night, our boys are being very careful."
I introduced him to Eric, and we sat at the table.
"What the hell happened?" he asked.
"I wasn't outside, so I didn't see it firsthand," I told
him. "Four men attacked us, and our men took care of them."
"I take it you were expecting trouble?"
"You heard about the bomb attempt down South, I'm sure," I
told him. "We were prepared for any contingencies. You're
welcome to talk to our security team if you like."
Eric had made coffee and brought us all cups, then joined us
at the table.
"Did anyone get hurt?" the Sheriff asked.
"Only the intruders," I said. "They're all dead."
"Did you find any identification?" he asked.
"I don't have those answers for you. You'd better talk to
our Chief of Security."
Men were coming down the stairs from the loft. I motioned
the chief over. The others went about getting the fire in
the fireplace going and making more coffee. I noticed that
Rich was taking charge of the kitchen.
"Are these all security people?" the Sheriff asked.
"No. Four, including the two outside are security, and the
other four are our pilots. As you probably know, we've got
two planes snowed in at the airport. That guy," I indicated
Kevin, smiling, "is family."
The Sheriff turned to the Chief and asked for a rundown on
what'd happened. The response he got was short. The
intruders had shown up, started firing into the house, and
our team had responded. They had verified that all four were
dead, but otherwise hadn't touched the bodies which were
still outside where they fell.
The Sheriff thanked him for not disturbing the bodies, and
said that he had more men on the way along with a sled and
body bags.
Then came the tricky question. "I also hear that you have a
prisoner?"
"Yes we do," the chief said. No more.
The Sheriff was obviously giving some thought to how far he
could go with that line of questioning. Finally, he broke
the silence by saying "I'm supposed to hold her for the
Police down South. They're on their way to get her. We'll
take her back with us."
I glanced at Eric and could see that he too had let out a
sigh of relief.
"I'd like to see what we have to deal with," the Sheriff
said, rising.
I wasn't particularly anxious to see the carnage, but felt
I'd better know more. By thinking about how those men had
been trying to kill us, I was able to be more detached. I
found boots and Eric did too, and we followed the others out.
The body outside our bedroom window lay face down in the
snow. His white jumpsuit was riddled with holes and there
was blood on the snow everywhere. His weapon stuck out of
the snow a few feet away.
We walked around him and around the front to the deck. That
body was face up with a gaping hole in his upper torso. He
looked to be about 40 years old. I shivered and glanced away.
The third, outside the girls' bedroom was shot up pretty
bad. He was on his side, still gripping his automatic.
The last body was particularly gruesome. It was down the
path toward the boathouse, and had been literally cut in two
by the combined firepower of our men.
I'd seen enough. Eric and I went back to the house, avoiding
the bodies that seemed to be everywhere.
"I don't want to see any of that out there," Jason
announced. "I'm a real sissie when it comes to blood. I
don't think I'd have made it in the Air Force even if I'd
been straight."
"It's not a pretty sight," Eric assured him.
By now, everybody was up. Annie and Rich were cooking
breakfast, Tina watching.
With more coffee, Eric and I sat in front of the fire. Ron
joined us.
"I called the airport," he said. "There's about three feet
of snow on the runway. No new storms are expected, so
they've started clearing it, but with the limited equipment
they have, it's going to take a couple of days. Then, for a
price, they'll help us dig out the planes. About the
earliest we can get out of here is Friday.
"I want to go over both of those planes myself," he
continued. "No telling what those nutcases might have done."
"The Sheriff told me that they won't have the roads plowed
until then either," I added. "Then we have to dig our way
out of here."
"You got shovels?" Ron asked. "We could get started today.
A little exercise wouldn't hurt any of us."
Annie announced breakfast. Sitting around the table, we
discussed the perdicament we were in. Annie took the lead.
"We'll get the turkey thawing for tomorrow. All we have to
do is put together the stuffing, Mary prepared everything
else and all we have to do is warm it up. The danger's over,
so as soon as they get the mess cleaned up outside, let's get
back to normal and have some fun!"
"I'll second that motion!" Eric said, and the rest nodded
enthusiastically.
The sheriff came in to let us know that the bodies had been
removed and that they'd collected all the evidence they could
find. All that was left was Barbara.
Ron and Jason took care of that. I didn't even see them take
her out.
"Time to open the drapes," Eric said, and got up to do it.
"Music!" Tina hollered and, with Kevin in tow, headed for the
CD's.
The lake was spectacular, the first time we'd been able to
see it clearly since we'd arrived. With the snow-covered
trees, it looked like a Christmas card, peaceful and serene.
Everybody went to work. Annie and Rich took over the kitchen
with Tina and Kevin helping. Eric and the rest of the men
went to look for shovels to start on the driveway. He left
me his phone, and I decided to check in with the outside
world before joining them.
I called Bob first. He filled me in on developments. Using
Barbara's phone records, they were building cases against the
people who they though had masterminded the attack, and
arrests were expected soon.
He agreed that without Barbara's information, and our massive
reaction to the attack the night before, nothing further was
likely to happen. "But," he said, "that doesn't mean we're
going to get sloppy."
"From now on," he continued, "I'm taking personal charge of
security for you and your family. You may be the boss, but
I'm in charge where your safety is concerned. No arguments,
OK?"
"I think it's a good idea," I said.
"We've talked to Mary at the house, and we're running checks
on all the new employees that're going to be more thorough
than the government does for Top Secret clearance. We'll do
that with everyone who will be close to any of you from now
on. By the way, it wouldn't be a bad idea to call Mary.
She's distraught over what happened, blaming herself."
"I'll call her," I assured him.
"Before you get home, we're going over the house from top to
bottom. We want to make sure Barbara didn't leave any
surprises behind. Then, we're going to check out all your
cars, including the ones at the airport. That's another
thing I want to talk to you about. Those planes may be
locked up, but that isn't enough. We have to do something
about that.
"Security around the office is going to be tightened, too.
Not noticeably, but we'll be better prepared for anything.
If I think you need personal protection, you're gonna get
that too."
"Is that all?" I asked, chuckling.
"Dammit, Dave, this isn't a laughing matter. Look what
happened last night! We'll be as unobtrusive as possible,
and won't interfere with your life, but we'll be there,
someplace."
"I read your report," I told him, changing the subject.
"Eric read it too, so now you can feel free to work with him
too. It's all pretty bland stuff except one item."
"What's that?"
"Edward had lunch with some guy, Tony something, and I'd like
to know more about him."
"We'll get right on it."
"No rush," I told him.
"Take care, boss, we want you home in one piece."
I called Bill next. He didn't want to talk business, saying
everything was under control and for me not to worry. He did
mention that the new computers were starting to sell like
crazy. That was good news.
I wasn't looking forward to talking to Mary, but it had to be
done. It wasn't any easier than I'd expected. She wanted to
quit, saying that she'd let us down, and that it was all her
fault for not having Barbara checked out. I tried to reason
with her, telling her that she had no reason to be
suspicious. She was adamant, but agreed to talk about it
when we got home.
I sat for a while, looking out at the lake and adjusting my
attitude. It was time to lighten up and have a few laughs.
The snow shoveling crew was hard at it. The weather had
warmed up considerably, and those manning the shovels had
stripped to the waist. The "scenery" was awesome, all those
muscles flexing!
"We're going to need some serious backrubs tonight," Jason
commented. "I'll do Eric."
"Fat chance!" I shot back. "Give it up, Jason."
"I keep hoping for that moment of weakness," Jason answered.
The jibes continued, the gay theme not hidden in the
slightest. I noticed the big smile on the young guard who
was helping. Was he one of "us" too?
"If they didn't shoot it up, you can all use the hot tub," I
suggested.
"I'll never, never, ever, forget the last time we were in
there," Jason said.
"Drop it," Ron told him.
They were making excellent progress. At their current rate,
they'd make it all the way to the road that afternoon. I
watched, joined in the conversation and brought cold drinks.
"We made it to the road," Eric announced when he came in.
"I'm hungry, thirsty and smell like hell."
"Hop in the shower," I suggested, "I'll bring you a drink."
"Wait'll I get out," he said, going into our bedroom.
He came right back out, wearing only a towel. "Can't use
that one, it's full of broken glass. They must've shot out
the door."
"Use ours," Tina suggested. "It works."
"I'll make it fast so there's enough hot water to go around,"
he said.
Thinking about all the sore bodies, I went out to see if the
hot tub was working. It'd escaped damage and was at 104
degrees.
During cocktails, Jason pulled me aside. "Did you notice
Ricky, the guard that helped us today?"
"Of course," I admitted.
"He's so damned cute, and that basket he's got gives me a
hardon just thinking about it. We'll get him in the hot tub
tonight and check him out."
"Be careful," I warned.
"Aw, relax, boss. You know me. I talk a lot but actually
never do anything. Ron's a helluva lot more'n I can handle.
Just a little horseplay, and if he comes out hard like the
rest of us, we'll know. Joe's been eyeballing him a lot,
too."
"I think Joe's been more than 'eyeballing' Rich," I observed.
"Danger's kind of a turn-on, I think, and hell, there's no
privacy to do anything about it."
"I know!" I told him.
"What're you guys up to?" Eric asked, walking up and putting
his arm around me.
"Just the usual," I said, laughing. "Jason's plotting how to
get into everybody's pants."
"Ricky's, I'll bet," he laughed.
"You noticed, too, I see," Jason observed.
The dinner that Rich and Annie cooked was marvelous.
Afterward, Kevin organized a poker game. There were too many
players, so Eric and I snuggled in front of the fire.
"I'm so fucking horny I'm afraid to get in the hot tub," he
muttered into my ear.
"I don't think you're the only one," I told him. "I'll bet
that there are boners everywhere."
"How about you?"
"See for yourself," I told him.
He groped me and smiled. "Think you can hold out until
everybody goes to bed?"
"Do I have any choice?" I laughed.
"You were real quiet the other night, think you can keep it
down again?"
"I'll try, but I'm pretty sure there'll be some action up in
the loft too."
In a little while, Ron and Jason joined us. "I'm about to
fucking explode," Jason said quietly.
"So are we," Eric answered.
"How about a 'coolie'?" I suggested.
"What's that?" Ron asked.
"A quickie in the snow."
That got groans, as expected. "I'd even settle for that,"
Jason said laughing. "Let's hit the hot tub."
"No wiseass remarks," Eric cautioned him.
"I'll be good," Jason said, "very, very good."
"All shovelers to the hot tub," Jason yelled. "C'mon, Joe,
Ricky. We'll get the slackers to give us a massage
afterward."
"I'll find the beach towels for you," I volunteered.
They trooped out to the deck, Ricky a bit reluctantly, but he
went along with the rest.
It took me a few minutes to find the towels, and I collected
a big pile. When I got out to the deck, they were all in the
water, only their heads sticking out. The air was downright
freezing.
"Come on Dave, get in here with us. There's plenty of room,"
Ron invited.
"Don't think I'd dare," I laughed.
"Don't worry about THAT," Jason said. "If you're worried
about 'wood', I think there's more of it in here than in the
forest out there."
"Thanks, but I'll pass," I said and went back into the house.
The poker game had broken up, and the brats had evidently
gone to bed, Kevin, too. That left Rich, me, and one of the
other guards, the "slackers". They helped me move the coffee
table back so there'd be room on the rug in front of the fire
to give rubdowns. This could get very interesting!
Rich and I went out to get their clothes, then sat and
waited. I hadn't paid too much attention to the guards. Out
of uniform, the one waiting for Ricky was another cute young
one. I wondered... Ron and Jason were very open about their
sexuality, and so were Eric and I. Neither Joe nor Rich had
shown any open affection to each other or anyone else. The
guards were unknowns.
The five came screeching in, toweling themselves as fast as
they could. They dropped their towels and pulled off their
wet shorts, hard dicks standing at attention. Nobody seemed
the slightest embarassed.
We arranged them on the rug face down, and straddled them to
work on upper bodies. Ron sat on Jason's legs, not bothering
to cover his raging boner with a towel.
We went to work. Soons groans of pleasure could be heard all
around. Kneading the wonderful muscles of Eric's back plus
sitting on his hard buns soon had me so hard I had to stop
and adjust myself. The roaring fire was putting out a lot of
heat, and the masseurs were soon shedding clothing too, me
included.
Shirts came off first, then undershirts, then pants until we
were all down to our underwear, all with obvious erections.
Jason was the first to roll over onto his back. Now the two
of them were dick to dick, both dripping precum. Others
followed, and four pairs of dicks were nearing the bursting
point.
"I think we'd better go upstairs," Rich said quietly to Joe.
"Good idea," the others chorused, and they rose to leave. I
got a good chance to check them out. Ricky was big, at least
eight thick inches, and his "partner" looked pretty hefty
too, but still had on shorts.
Joe was a nice sixer, and Rich looked a little bigger.
When they'd gone, I didn't waste any time. I took Eric in my
mouth to the bottom and started a slow suck, reveling at the
feeling of him going all the way down my throat. "Let's 69,"
Eric whispered. "Not all the way, though."
I ripped off my Jockeys and scooted around. We both needed
this, bad!
We took our time, working up to the brink and back down.
Along the way, we heard noises signaling orgasms coming from
the loft.
"Go for it," Eric whispered. I pulled back until only the
head of his cock was in my mouth, and allowed my
concentration to focus on what he was doing to me. Up to the
edge and over, into oblivion. When I came to, I realized
that my mouth was full of cum and I was involuntarily
swallowing as fast as I could.
"That's one way to keep the noise down," Eric chuckled.
Everyone got up with a smile on their face. Even Annie who
is usually a total bitch in the morning.
If Kevin hadn't slept through it all, he didn't let on.
It was another beautiful day. After breakfast, the pilots
took off on the snomobiles to check out the planes. Two of
the guards were sleeping, Ricky and his partner were on
duty. Kevin and the girls were busy doing something and
tending the Thanksgiving turkey, so Eric and I decided to
take a walk ourselves.
The snow had blown back from the water's edge, so we followed
the shoreline of the lake. The trees were still laden with
snow, and there wasn't a sign of life anywhere.
We brushed the snow off a fallen tree and sat, contemplating,
our arms around each other. The lake was smooth as glass,
not a ripple. The far shore was beyond the horizon, seeming
endless.
"We're two very, very lucky people," Eric said softly.
"I know," I replied softly, not wanting to break the spell.
"We have each other."
"For which I'm eternally thankful."
To be continued.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I appreciate hearing your comments on the
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