Word finally arrived from my people who had been detailed to protect James. Of the six that were there at the time, two were okay and four were dead from whatever it was that was in those little darts the perps had been shooting.

Hi Everyone...

Anesidora

After breakfast we made our way to the office again. Today I didn't have ice skating as I ceased making reservations for lessons for the time being; at least until we had some resolution of this problem with James security. Just when that would come about was still the sixty-four dollar question.

I left the communications/ control room with my mind searching for answers just as much as it had been when I had entered. Projectiles which were not made of lead and were like “needles”? Why target James and his VP’s? What was so important in his software business that someone was trying not only to kill him but all his higher associates and his/ their families? I would have thought that the software developers would have been more the targets. That thought brought me up short.

I continued to think about the staffing of our new coastal offices. Most of the newbies who would be going with the old hands weren’t ready to take their exams so they would still need more training before they could be certified. That was another thing which was in our favor - certifications. The Society had only been around just under twenty years now but they were recognized even in Europe. The name was a little strange since a lot of what they were doing was far from simply Industrial Security but they knew well what it was they spoke about. Most members simply referred to them as ASIS and I thought their certifications were something worth some consideration; especially if we wanted more government jobs. We still had twenty-four people who needed to complete their studies to gain further certification. I made a note to leave for Nicci so she would check to see how many of our agents would need to recertify soon and to make up a list for the deadlines for each of them. I didn’t want anyone to lose certification because they forgot to study the most recent materials.

Upon checking with the agents I learned the cooks had only just finished bringing everything over to begin organizing for tomorrow. Once again I went out to check the heaters, wind generators and battery charges which were still pretty low. Okay, four generators and only half heat for the walks and driveway. We would need plenty of juice for the cooks tomorrow.
We opted for simple for the evening matching Cathy’s chanting. Piling into the limo again we drove to a local pizza joint one chase car in tow. There the limo caused a bit of a stir for a minute before no one recognized us and the commotion died a hurried death.

Upon reaching the Mall we pulled into the parking lot to discover the typical early pre-Christmas zoo which generally began around late November. Most of these were people who usually decided to begin just after Thanksgiving so they wouldn’t miss out on anything but this year came out two weeks earlier. I was thankful I hadn’t participated, at least until today.

Chapter 26

We were quiet as the soup was served and remained that way as we began to eat. A few minutes later more coffee was poured.

“The soup is excellent,” James offered to our waiter.

Once again time seemed to be displaced. I don’t know why we stopped our kissing but if I was complete right now I would be ready to lead him upstairs and get down to business. I didn’t want to go home. When we finished kissing we again stood there forehead to forehead quietly holding each other. My eyes were closed and my thoughts were going through thermal meltdown. Part of me was wondering why I had never felt like this when I kissed a girl and another part was saying, “Who cares?”

In response to his question I cautiously offered,“You ... Are improving.”

“The way you say that, I’m not certain if it was a good thing or not.”

“Don’t push your luck, James.”

“Perhaps we had best find our places. The banquet should begin soon.”

We broke up to head for the rest rooms and the cars. I availed myself of the Ladies room discovering I had it all to myself. I did my duty then washed my hands and checked my makeup, lipstick and clothing. I took a couple of minutes to quickly brush out my hair again before I pulled out a scrunchie to put it up into a ponytail. I was beginning to love my rabbit fur jacket, it had been a good purchase, dressy but casual, not to mention - warm, even if I was out in the wintery cold. My ponytail hung down just enough to help the jacket keep the back of my neck warm but when indoors I would be cooler than if my hair hung down covering my neck and upper back. Ten of us piled into two of the rentals then headed for the airport while the other four guys George specified took the third rental car back to the Lodge to acquire our Armored limo before following us to the airport.

The next morning a light snow was coming down as I made my early way to the office, this time I was dressed in a nice pant-suit with a paisley print blouse in darker colours and a pair of black, hopefully antiskid, low heeled pumps, very businesslike.

I called James’ office first thing even though it was still slightly before eight there. Surprise, surprise, I actually reached a live person, or at least they or it could interact with me verbally, “ I wish to leave a message for Mr. Thompson. This is Lynnette Stevens and I’m afraid that I shall be unavailable to accompany his entourage while in Vail.”

The next time I managed to revert even marginally to my senses we were in a different store. I presumed it was Macys but didn't recognize the area which I immediately presumed was Women's lingerie and more. I didn't shop for my things here, but I guessed that was going to change in the near future. Looking about I noticed a large number of small packages surrounding me presumably either some of which just having been or still awaiting purchase. Just then the strait jacket I was only beginning to realize was wrapped around me made it’s presence known by cinching a little tighter. I discovered upon inspection that it didn't reach all that much above the nipples of my breast forms. I also both noted the increased difficulty in breathing and the stark contrast of my old breast forms against my chest.

After the few guys who planned to remain in the Army said goodbye to the rest of us slackers, those of us who had been mustered out yesterday and who stuck around just to attend the party each went our own way after promising to continue contact. Per normal, I was the designated mule or point of contact since I had a relatively known and fixed address. Everyone could continually update me so if someone wanted to know where someone else was I could provide that information so long as everyone kept me updated. Most of them did which worked out pretty well in the long run.

When we arrived, a welcoming committee was there waiting for us. It was getting late in the evening so we were billeted for the night, fed and generally made as welcome as they could provide for. I think what they were doing was a little like what you would do if you suddenly had to live with a loose cobra for a day — give it everything it wants then stand back, hope it’s happy and that you don’t wake up in the morning sharing your bed with it.

I waited for her to drop more about this new team shit on me but she seemed to have decided to clam up for the moment. Her face suddenly changed which caused me to consider running for the door. The way my luck was going at the moment she probably had a harpoon in her desk and could haul me back in before I could reach the outer door.

“I’m going to have a set of orders cut. Do you have uniforms for a woman?”

“Unif... No Ma’am.” My weird-o-meter just jammed its pointer around the end stop a couple of times on it’s way to flying off the meter face entirely.

When our connecting flight from Bangkok finally arrived at ‘Tan’* we quietly made tracks. We managed to successfully return to our own area, while barely avoiding a work detail or two which Trank happened to note were forming up shortly after we arrived. Even at our own compound he was working point.

As my band of happy miscreants worked their way through the tunnels, point suddenly gave the hand signal to halt before indicating there were enemy ahead. When we stopped to think about what we were hearing we could tell there were muffled voices somewhere ahead. How he could have heard them surprised me until I heard a loud but brief grunt of pain rising above the low background noise. I tried to make out what the voices were saying but it was mostly just indistinguishable from the background. We continued to move in but more cautiously and as quietly as possible.

Sarge and Gunny had phoned their buddy over the weekend so he was primed and ready when we arrived. That battery of tests they told me about were administered to me but I wasn’t told the results, at least not right away. All I could get out of the three of them was, “you did good, kid.” Other than a physical we polished off all the paperwork including my enlistment options and the copy and filing of the four letters Gunny and Sarge had been holding for me. Their buddy didn’t say a word about them, he just smiled and gave Sarge a thumbs up.

I bristled a bit at being called ‘kid’, but when I thought about it for a second, I realized that to him, anyone my age was just a kid. So I answered politely and respectfully.

“No sir, I don’t. But I don’t think I’m going to get a choice. So I’ve been trying to get as fit as I can, and Sgt. Joyce has been teaching me all he can about weapons.”

Looking at Sgt. Joyce, Gunny said “Well, at least he’s sane Marv. He’s smart enough to know that going to Nam is not a good thing…. But since he looks like a frickin’ girl!, he’s gonna have a hard time at Basic and probably even afterward, and you and I both know it.”

I awakened... fully alert, although not certain exactly why. My brain was firing on twelve of its eight cylinders and the turbo boost was well engaged, as it attempted to make sense of the shadows which my semi-focused eyes were saying were dangerous unknowns looming all about me in our dark bedroom. My ears began straining to hear whatever it was that might have been that which had awakened me. It’s hard to believe how sinister a dark room seems when you can’t really focus on anything due to the near absence of light. You’d think that after sleeping for at least a few hours your eyes would be accustomed to the lack of light and you should be able to see, if not well then at least somewhat upon immediately opening them.

Hello everyone,

While hunting for more chapters for another story, I came across this short piece written by Teddi and concerning her AFS volume 01.

I found it to be of interest and hope you will also as it explains just a little of the strange thinking which sometimes goes on in strategic planning.

Renae

--------

Air Force Sweetheart — TacPzlSolGp

Addendum:

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

I was sitting here waiting for our next client to arrive on the first Saturday I’ve had available in nearly a month while I looked at the few pages of my diary which Tan recently filled in. I need to find a better place to hide and secure it. I don’t mind him writing in it but sometimes I put stuff in it that I would rather keep secret for a while.