“Catherine? Who’s Catherine?”

“Beats me. He didn’t say. Maybe she’s his wife. If I were you, I’d go.”

“He didn’t kiss like he was married.” I pointed out. “Great. Okay. Okay. I’ll need to borrow Nicci again today. I need to try on the two gowns at Macy’s and I’ll need her to help me with the ski stuff. You can reach me on my mobile if anything Earth shaking happens. I checked it last night and I’ll leave it on while I’m away from the car. If you call and I don’t answer then at least I’ll know to give you a call back. While we’re out, I’m also going to get Nicci a company mobile phone. She’ll probably hate me for it, both for the additional workload and for the size of the thing, but she needs to be more in the loop.”

“About time. Oh. Lynn?”

“Yes?”

“Glad to have you here. It’s about time you finally made up your mind. I was beginning to think I was going to need to find some way to push you.”

That little revelation started my tears flowing again, just when I thought I was getting them under control. He beat a hasty retreat to the door then sent in Nicci, as I stumbled into my washroom to take care of my face.
Nicci came in while I was still bawling and washing. She mothered me until I was cried out then allowed me to wash my face again before I put on some more makeup. We collected my weapons then charged out to head over to Macy’s so I could try on my new gown as well as the one which should have finished it’s alterations by now.

The emerald green gown was wonderful, the clutch and shoes matched perfectly. My armory tucked away nicely for travel. Now the trials began for the Burgundy gown which fit a bit differently since the cut was different. By three things were finally under control and I changed back to my skirt suit. Now we were off to the ski shop much to the joy of the salesman when I asked for him by name. There we obtained everything under the sun which I might need when and if I went Skiing. Nicci pushed a pair of goggles at me so I could protect my eyes from both crisp wind and snow glare as she explained something else.

“I know he recommended those skis but, trust me Lynn, these will be much better for you and once you begin to understand what’s going on, you’ll thank me for having you get these even though they cost a bit more.”

“You’re certain, Nicci? He said the ones he picked were for beginners and I’m certainly a beginner.”

“Yes. These will work well for you while you’re just starting out but will continue to be usable once you get thirty or forty hours under your belt. Those others, once you get past the absolute beginner’s stage wouldn’t help you continue to learn. These will probably work for your first year or two, say two seasons. Those, it would all be over in less than one and you’d be switching to these anyway.”

“Okay. If you say so.”

“I intend to have you doing well enough in a few days that those others would have just slowed you down, Lynn. Trust me. I know what I’m talking about, I’ve been there and done that; went through three pairs of skis my first winter. Of course I was on the slopes eight hours a day for nearly two months.”

I couldn’t envision having that much time that I could spend two months just skiing. Wow. “How did you spend eight hours a day for two months skiing?”

“I was eight years old, remember?”

“Oh. Oh my gosh, look at the time, Nicci. We’ve got to get back to the office.”

We returned to work so Nicci could retrieve her car. Just before she left I reminded her to charge her new mobile. Well, I can’t help it if that’s what they call them, they can be picked up and moved with one hand so I suppose that means they’re mobile. At least her’s looks attractive, a bit like a large briefcase and, like mine, it has five channels; I was almost always able to find a channel to use. We weren’t supposed to do it but sometimes I would pause on a channel which was in service and would listen to the conversations I accidentally found as I searched for an empty channel. As Nicci drove off I was looking for that elusive empty channel. Damn, there’s got to be an empty channel here somewhere. Ahh, finally.

I called Ralph rather than walking through the cold to talk to him. He told me he notified James that I would be in Vail Saturday and that nothing else was shaking so I might as well head on home. I took him at his word and did just that stopping at the grocery on the way. There I picked up two evenings worth of Swansons since I didn’t feel like cooking tonight and wanted something simple for tomorrow night. I also called the agent we used to schedule our flights and arranged for a flight to Vail early Saturday morning. He called me back telling me I was due to depart at 5:00 Am — just great. Well, the alternative was 11:35 Am and that wouldn’t work out.

Changing clothes after I made my reservations left me in my jeans and a working blouse, I went up to the attic to drag down two suit cases. Packing my warm things in one, and my ski stuff in the other I placed the cases in the hall near the garage door before adding my new skis and poles up against the wall next to the suit cases. Then I rushed off to my weapons travel case bringing it back to place there with the other stuff. Now the green gown’s travel case was hung in the closet next to the suitcases. After my TV dinner, some news and a movie, I prepared for bed as I began to plan out my Friday. I didn’t know where the week had gone, it just seemed like I was busy every day.

I was up with the crack before dawn as usual. I hadn’t been able to successfully sleep past reveille for years. Whenever I tried, I just lay there thinking so I finally would decide I might just as well get up. I fixed some breakfast, ate, then washed the dishes. Next order of business was cleaning up the kitchen and putting the house in order. I didn’t want to come home from Vail to a messy house. I decided I’d eat breakfast in Vail with the guys Saturday morning. After dressing casual warm, I began assembling my various bottles of perfume, lotions, hairbrushes, combs and other things I needed to care for my hair or properly cleanse my face and body. These all went into my cosmetics case, which I had forgotten to bring down from the attic the day before resulting in another trip up there today.

A scrunchie held my hair up in a ponytail and I looked around for anything I might have missed, finish reading a few reports, before calling to see if the store was open so I could pick up my new breast forms if they had, hopefully, made it in. They were just opening their doors for the day and yes, my forms had arrived late yesterday. Pulling my fur jacket out of the hall closet then grabbing my purse along with one of the 9s, I checked for my ID and permits then was off immediately after setting the house alarm. Twenty minutes and two slip and slides later, I was parked in the store’s lot before carefully walking into the store.

While there, I looked through the nightgowns, picking up two more, as well as some more thin socks to go with my winter booties and sneaks. I purchased thick socks at the ski store when I purchased those boots. I gave Nicci a call from the car right after the saleslady/ fitter and I did our thing with the new breast forms. The old ones were removed, cleaned and placed into the box while the new ones were affixed to my chest with careful applications of the adhesive around the edges to help them to look to be a part of my chest. These were a little heavier than the others and I was glad to have the bra redistributing much of the weight off of my chest and onto my shoulders.

“Hi Nicci. What do you have scheduled for today?”

“Right now, nothing. I charged my mobile last night and when I came in this morning, Ralph was already here. Oh, by the way, thanks for my raise and for the expense account.”

Ralph had blabbed, pretty much like I figured he would, but she waited until today to thank me. I should have known better than to expect him to keep the secret.

“How would you like to be paid to go Skiing?”

“Are you kidding?” was her response.

“No. I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t mind giving me a few lessons before I go to Vail tomorrow so I won’t fall completely flat on my face in front of James.”

“When and where, girl?”

“Meet me at my place in an hour and I’ll drive us out to wherever you feel is a good place for me to start learning. Just go easy on me, I know Skiing from nothing.”

“You got it, Lynn. But after a couple of hours you’re going to be sore.”

“Nothing ever comes easy does it?”

“Not the good things, Babe. See you at your place in an hour. And if you’re still out on the town you had best pick up some liniment for your future aches and pains.”

We hung up and I made tracks for home with the one detour for liniment. It never hurts, you know. If I don’t need it then it can sit on the shelf. Once home, I shed my jacket and examined my choices for my snow bunny outfit ... Ravishing Red, Pretty Pink and Yummy Yellow. I didn’t feel like calling attention to myself quite as much as the Red would do so I decided on Pretty Pink then started preparing. A little later I noticed Nicci pulling up, so I opened the garage door remotely to allow her to park her car inside. She began transferring her skis and poles to the rack on my car. I brought my own things out after pulling up the top of my outfit and when everything was secure went back for my purse. I was warm and toasty. Nicci went back to her car bringing out her purse and some goggles similar to mine after locking her car.

“Your head is going to be cold, Lynn.”

I pulled up the built in fur lined hood which looked like trim when it was down, “will this be enough?”

“Maybe. If not, there’s a ski shop up there and we can pick up something while up there. Ready?”

“No. But, let’s not let that stop us.”

We were off, while talking like two girl friends who hadn’t seen each other for weeks. After a couple of hours on the slopes the most important thing I learned was how to sit down so I wouldn’t crash badly. The second most important thing was how to get up again. The third was - all women are sisters. Seriously, I had a lot of fun; between screams of terror and delight. Nicci skied rings around me but she’d been doing it since she was eight or nine. I still had fun and she went slow, so I could enjoy it too. I learned a lot about control and I learned that I needed to learn a lot more. We spent four fast and furious hours on the beginner’s slope, a mild and on a totally clear slight downhill which had no dangerous obstacles on it ... almost.

“Leave it to you, Lynn, to find the only rock lining the slope,” she kidded me as we headed back home.

“It wasn’t a rock, it was a boulder and it was well inside the edge of the course.”

“Uh, huh ... ”

“Other than that I think I did pretty well for a first day.”

“When you weren’t screaming. All jokes aside, Lynn. Yes, you actually did fairly well. You still need to be able to recognize the difference between powder and pack ice. You ski on powder, you crash on ice.”

“Minor details.”

“You won’t think so when you wake up in a hospital, in traction. By the way, did you run into that rock because you were ogling those two hunks who were showing off for us or because you just weren’t watching where you were going?”

“What two hunks? and that blasted rock had snow backed up against it and I couldn’t tell it was a rock. Everything looks the same through the goggles.”

“What two hunks? Miss fashion model didn’t see those two who all but threw themselves at us? And you just aren’t used to looking at a mountainside covered in snow. It looks worse with your naked eyes. After twenty or thirty more hours you’ll be able to recognize things a bit better. You did pretty well for your first day, other than not noticing those two. How could you miss that one who nearly ran you down? By the way, take a nice, long, hot bath; or tomorrow you won’t be able to move.”

“Gee, thanks. And I was too busy trying to remain upright and on my skis to notice anything else. Half the time I didn’t even know where we were so how would I have noticed anyone else? Oh boy, I’m starting to feel this. You know, Nicci, this is probably the only way you can get paid to beat up on the boss.”

“Any time,” she started laughing and soon I joined in. It was fun being one of the girls.

Nicci transferred her stuff to her car and we hugged goodbye then she headed for home. I closed the garage door then wiped down my skis and poles, the car rack as well, before placing my ski stuff in the house with my luggage for tomorrow’s trip to the airport. There should be some sort of carrier for that stuff to travel in when it goes on an airplane. Ohh ... I’m beginning to feel my muscles. I probably wouldn’t have noticed until tomorrow morning but going up the stairs to the bedrooms made it a bit obvious.
I drew a nice hot bath and soaked for a while, promising myself to do it again before bed. Heating my TV dinner I ate, watch some TV then did my clean up. Now I decided to take a shower with the jets pulsing rather than another bath. After the shower I felt a lot better, pulled on a nightgown, snapped the switch on my electric blanket and laid down to sleep after setting the alarm for three. It felt like my head had just touched the pillow when the alarm went off. Looking at the clock told me it was three. I frowned and willed the clock back to midnight but it ignored me so I got up and dressed warmly. Casual again, with my fur jacket to help me keep warm. The pink outfit came out of the dryer where it had fluffed on low heat for nearly an hour and a half before the dryer shut down. It went into the suitcase that had my other outfits.

I packed my guns and spare ammo in the secure case, then called for a cab immediately after my visit to the garage where I turned the heat for the driveway on high as well as for the walk plus two of the wind generators to compensate for the power usage. The timer for the heat was set to a half hour while the generators heat was set for five. Next I took several minutes to carry everything from the back hallway up to the front door to give me something to do while I waited for the cab.

I discovered I was sore, but at least I was able to move. I hated to think how it would have been if I hadn’t bathed and showered away most of my aches and pains. I needed to remember to get Nicci a thank-you gift for spending the time to teach me and for telling me how to minimize my impending traumas.

The taxi arrived just before four and he gave me an estimate of thirty minutes to the airport terminal ... I would be cutting it very fine. I asked if we could somehow make it safely in only twenty-five? We did it in twenty-two and I gave him a twenty dollar tip. A porter took my stuff inside to the lone agent where I went through check in. The plane was a tad late, figures. - I rushed to make a half hour arrival and the plane was late. Not bad, I learned; we would be taking off at about 5:10 instead of 5:00, that gave me enough time for a coffee before boarding. I figured I could hold it for the roughly hour flight from here to Vail.

Deciding to wait until I arrived there before I called the guys as that would save me a little money if they had our portable radio packages in place and running. I had my Motorola with me. If not, then I could always fall back on a phone call to the lodge. Once I was there I’d learn when James and his family were due. If it was close to my arrival time then we could ride in together when the guys came to pick them up, otherwise I’d grab a cab to the lodge. I finished my coffee as the plane began boarding ... Just twenty of us. My weapons case stayed with me since I used my ID and permits. I hoped my skis made it on board.

Closing my eyes as soon as I was seated granted me a short nap, the touch down awakened me again. 6:20, okay. By the time I collected my luggage at the carousel, the skis and poles were just beginning to show up, intact by the way. It was now nearly 7:00. Pulling out my radio, I called to see if anyone was monitoring the command repeater channel, hoping they had some of the radio packages up and running. It turned out they did. I checked in to see how things were shaking.

“The limo arrived yesterday mid-afternoon, we’ve already checked out the slopes, lodge and around town. Nothing special to worry about, we did need two extra rooms. Yours, the Principal’s and a third room are available beginning today and going into Wednesday morning. His private jet is due to arrive at noon or a little before ... We figured on being there about 11:00, maybe 10:30.”
“That sounds great. I’ll take a taxi to the lodge and join you all for breakfast. Are you eating there or should I meet you somewhere else?”

“There’s a Denny’s close to the lifts. We’ve been eating there.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you there after I drop my stuff at the lodge.”

“We’ll wait for you, Lynn. If you’ll be here before 8:00 you can check in, then we’ll all go to breakfast together. We’re about fifteen to twenty minutes from the airport. It’s in Eagle, Vail is a bit East of there.”

“Wonderful. See you at the lodge.”

The taxi pulled up at the Lodge with plenty of time to spare. My stuff was taken inside by one of the newbies since I let my guys know I was here. I checked in and received a room key after I told the manager I didn’t need the room until after the noon hour. They told me they would place my things in my room as soon as it was available once housekeeping finished with it. They made it sound like it had been trashed but I knew that it was just terminology, I least I hoped so.

My guys begin trickling down a little after I checked in, “Hey Lynn, skiing’s great,” that comment came from our resident ski meister who lived and breathed to ski. If he could, he would be on the slopes year round. More greetings assaulted me and then we all walked out to the rental cars to go to breakfast. I saw the five newbies who were on the detail and poked George lightly in the ribs motioning with my head,

“How’re they doing?”

“Okay. Nothing big’s shaking. Until it does, it’s hard to tell. They’re good on the range and two of them ski - they do okay, nuthin’ to write home about yet. Like any newbie they feel a little out of place, give them six months to a year and we’ll know better.”

An accurate appraisal, it generally takes a year for the newness to wear off and for guys to learn the other team members quirks. We tended to move guys around so they don’t become complacent due to familiarity. It also helped if we needed to have members of more than one team on an assignment, we could mix and match as necessary. Each of the guys would be given a specific role for the mission and was expected to fill that role. Sometimes we assigned more than he could easily chew so it would also become a learning experience. Other times we gave him less but handed him a newbie to guide around.

That was the case during these two weeks, we had ten newbies on their first or second runs scattered through the four jobs we were handling just now and the old hands were still showing them the ropes. This was one of the easier jobs so we had more newbies around than normal. Hell, we hired more newbies than normal this year. Our sixty-two agents had jumped to eighty-six almost overnight and nearly twenty of the sixty-two had been newbies less than two months previously. By the end of December we would be losing thirty agents to the two other US cities. Ten old pros and four newbies each plus one female. Sink or swim, baby ... Sink or swim.

“How long has that chick been with the company?” one newbie asked. I pretended I didn’t hear him.

“About since you were in diapers.” one of the old hands replied.

I smiled and waited for the smart-alec response.

“How does she do? Can she hold her own weight?” Fairly professional, this one might just make it. Possibly just trying to get a feel for a team member.

As we were opening the car doors, “Don’t bet against her on the range, and if you don’t want your manhood handed to you on a platter don’t antagonize her.”

“You’re kidding?!”

“Try something like getting fresh with her and find out. Then when she finishes with you, we get to start. And to you, her name’s Lynnette.”

The newbie stopped cold, then continued to his ride. They had all been told about Lynnette and the two guys who’s clocks she cleaned after they took down her three man team a year or so back.

“The police scraped up what was left of the two bushwhackers and poured them into cells to await trial for murder after they spent several weeks in the hospital, touch and go. The taxpayers paid all that money to bring them back from death and to hold them for two years before convicting them to life without parole. They still don’t have full use of their hands and feet, but their mouths seem to work just fine. Lynnette should have started there.”

“Wow, she looks like she’s twenty.”

“Good diet, working out, rigorous schedule. She’s about thirty but is more fit than most guys in their twenties. Something you would be wise to remember kid. You going to close that door so we can get the car warmed up and go to breakfast?”

We drove to Denny’s in the three rental cars. As we went in the waitresses were still making space for us having expected the group and seen us arrive in the lot. After two days they had become accustomed to the group arriving about this time of the morning. At breakfast we discussed the rules of engagement and George assigned people to vehicles.

“The principal will be in Arm-1 along with his family, Lynnette and Bill. Rental -1 will lead off, rental 2 and 3 will follow Arm-1. Luggage and gear will go into the rentals not the armored vehicle. We’ll make tracks straight to the Lodge — check everyone in and then the slope team will go out while the Principal preps for his skiing. We don’t know if his wife skis and last word I got was his daughter would be along. We don’t know how old she is or if she skis either; she was dropped on us at the last conference. We have six skiers so we’re okay there with two on each if necessary.

The two agents who are our ski meisters will accompany the Principal since we understand he is quite proficient. He might want to go on the advanced slopes. Jerry, we know you can ski but how good are you?” George pressed.

“I get along.”

“There’s a big difference between getting along and being an advanced skier.”

“Okay. I was paired into a Swiss mountain team for two years. Yeah, I can ski.”

“That’s not in your folder,” I immediately injected.

“I don’t like to advertise.”

“Any other things we should know about?” again George took charge.

“I qualified sharpshooter with the H & K on single shot at 50 klicks per hour.” Jerry answered as if it was an everyday event.

“Skiing?” I asked.

“Skiing.” he agreed.

“You’re part of the Principal’s primary as of now. Bill move back to Ren-2 and Casey to Ren-3,” I temporarily took command before remembering this was George’s show.

“Jerry, when we get back to the office, update your records with all of your information. It helps us to know all of the talents we have on tap,” George told him with what, for him, was a stern reprimand.

“You won’t like some of them.”

Again I piped up, “leave that to me to decide. If I need a killer, I need to know who to pick. The same goes if I need a babysitter. If you like kids and are good and patient with them, it needs to be in the records. Sometimes things come up which require us to draw on hidden talents.”

Jerry nodded his head, “Okay boss, will do.”

We finished breakfast and were into the third round of coffee carafes before we wrapped up.

“How’s airport security?” I inquired, wondering if we might have problems with turf.

“We’re doing pretty good there. Our snipers have access to the roofs of the two taller buildings and we can control the rest of the roof tops from those. The first day was fun, but it always is. We had to get The Feds involved to secure the cooperation of the Airport. After that they’ve been behaving. Our 800 pound gorilla outweighed their 200 pound gorilla. Their legal department tried to stop us and so the Feds got on them. The FBI threatened to have the airport closed for a season or two and suddenly the whole community was against the airport’s legal beagles. It helps to be in the FBI’s good graces, they said to tell you we owe them one now.”

“That isn’t a problem. They have owed us for so long that they are probably happy it’s going to be the other way around for a while.”

“Yeah. Now when we walk into the airport, the airport security guys want to know what flavor coffee to send for.”

“Don’t antagonize them. We may need to be friends in the future.”

“We already offered to provide some training and tips in exchange for cooperation. They seemed interested.”

“Really, George? Okay, Let them know three, one week sessions each about 3 months apart are authorised with two of our guys in attendance. Make one of them an overt/covert surveillance systems specialist. Everyone always needs pointers in that area, even us.”

“Great. Thanks, Lynn. They’ll be glad to hear it. I told them I’d check into it.”

“Not a problem, I’ll just play the costs against our profits on this job since it’s basically related. Tell them that if they want to send two of their guys to our training camp sometime after the new year, call us and we’ll arrange a date for the two week session on us but they pay for the room and board for their guys. We probably won’t do that until April or May though. Thoroughly explain the camp to them beforehand, I don’t want any misconceptions.”

“Thanks, Lynn. You’re feeling generous.”

“I have a feeling we may need to keep this particular airport very happy with us in the future. Just make certain they remember our company name so if we blow into town on a moments notice we don’t need to sic the Feds on them again to get cooperation.”

“Gotcha’, Lynn. Any one need stuff from their rooms? Snipers? No? Okay, Gary take our limo driver and Jim ... and ... Tony back for the armored then the four of you meet us with both cars at the airport. The rest of us will head on out to the airport after everyone takes whatever pit stops they need before we take off.”

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