I really appreciate the help that I received in writing Atalanta and to y'all for reading it. The pic is a one off I wanted to show a older version with a hint of bad girl thrown in and this is the best I could find.

A plan doesn't go as expected and Atalanta receives support for her meeting with Mrs. Carson.

Chapter 11

True to her word, the key that Audhilde gave me did fit the outside door to the Owl’s Nest and I quietly opened, closed, and re-locked the outside door. The stairs, hugging the brick foundation wound upward drawing tighter and tighter until it opened onto the Owl’s Nest Reading Room.

The view from the top of the Owl’s Nest was magnificent taking in the town square; its lights and the surrounding countryside. With all the windows enclosing the room and at this height I felt almost like I could fly.

Heavy drapery framed the windows held in place by ties to let in the light, but was easily removed for privacy. At one wall facing north, and looking out on the forest, rested a white board day bed with a row of drawers. In front of it was a rectangular flat cedar trunk decorated with brass hinges and latch.

Inside I found blankets, sheets, and pillows to make the bed ready to sleep in. Closing the curtains I undressed, and donned the flannel nightshirt, placing my duffel bag in one of the drawers built into the daybed. I then turned on the reading light beside the chaise lounge.

Picking up my cell phone I saw the time was 9:45, and later than when Manny had been calling. Even allowing for an hour difference between here and Nebraska, he should have already called with news of the sting. I was debating whether to call when my phone chirped.

“Manny,” I greeted him hastily.

“No,” the voice responded, “it’s Nick, Nick O’Reily.”

“Mr. O’Reilly, any news?”

“Yes,” he replied slowly, “but its bad news I’m afraid. We don’t know if he had a tail on his guys or a sixth sense, but we walked into a trap and he got away, if he was even there.”

“He was,” I stated emphatically, “he wanted to see his handiwork.”

“You seem sure.”
“I am, I don’t know how I know, but he was there.”

“I’m of the same opinion, too.”

“What happened, did anyone get hurt?”

“Yes, those three guys were all killed in the explosion.”

I immediately felt a sinking sensation in my stomach, although I wasn’t sure why. Had I sent them to their deaths? Was I responsible? No, that wasn’t the source of my conflict. They were mercenaries and chose it despite knowing the risks. The pit in my belly grew larger demanding my attention. Suddenly images began forming, first was the desert, the campfire, the gangsters, and the children. Next I saw the sheriff’s posse and me hunkered around the fire in the snow, followed in quick succession by the train figures, the appearance of the MCO in the hotel lobby, and the attack on the safe house. Then it hit me, none of those adventures and confrontations resulted in anything but injuries.
This however was permanent and the gravity of my status sunk in.

I had been silent long enough for Nick to ask, “Atalanta, are you all right?”

“Uh, oh yeah,” I replied distracted, adding, “I’m all right, I was just thinking.”

Nick O’Reilly had dealt with men in all types of situations during his years in government, and he had some idea of their responses under different conditions. But Atalanta was not a man, or an adult, and he had only his daughter Nikki for comparison.

“Nothing you could do about it,” he assured me.

“What is the plan for tomorrow,” I asked sensing his discomfort.

“As far as Mrs. Carson knows you are with Mark and his team. They’re driving up in the morning to pick you up, and then take you to school as if you’ve been with them all along. Where should they pick you up?”

“Why not meet at the train depot?”

“Okay, I’ll tell them.”

Manny called soon after we had hung up and we basically went over the conversation I had with Mr. O’Reilly, with Mom calling soon after I finished talking to Manny.

My conversation with Mom, or should I say her conversation with me, followed a similar path as the two previous calls. She flexed her parental and maternal muscles throughout the call despite my assurances that I was fine. But unlike those calls I could tell that she was becoming agitated or suspicious that we were holding back information from her. I tap danced around answering direct questions, quickly changing the subject whenever I felt she was getting close to the real truth. After 30 minutes of verbally sparing I was tiring under the strain of not revealing too much information.

“Mom, I’m really tired and I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. Can we talk then?”

“Of course dear, I keep forgetting that it was you in danger and that you could have been hurt.”

“Mom, it has been hard on both of us.” She agreed, and after we traded I love you’s, we hung up.

By the time I slipped between the covers the time was after 11pm. It had been a long day with Harvard rousing me before dawn, spending time with the Donners, hitching a ride to town, negotiating the sale, and waiting until dark to slip in here. My head had barely kissed the pillow before sleep claimed me.

Chapter 12

I awoke before dawn wondering momentarily where I was before reality pushed aside my confusion. Quickly dressing, I opened the door and was surprised to see the lights on. Audhilde in a white dressing gown was resting on the chaise lounge.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“You didn’t,” she assured me rising effortlessly and greeting me with a warm hug. “Come breakfast is ready,” she continued holding onto my hand and leading me into a cozy breakfast nook carved from one wall. The centerpiece was a round mahogany table surrounded by curved padded bench seats and a row of windows in the background.

She sat on one end of the bench and I sat at the other end facing her across the table.
“Did you sleep well,” she asked.

“Like a baby; wow do I feel good. Thank you for a place to rest my head.”

“You’re welcome. Anytime you’re in town, or need space, or just want to visit, the door is always open to you.”

A door opened to admit a waitress carrying a tray of food and a pitcher filled with juice. She placed the tray down on the tabletop and set a plate of food in front of me and a bowl of fruit.
“Milady, will there be anything else?”

“Thank you Melissa, yes, please send in Jeeves.” Nodding she backed away from the table to leave the room.

Audhilde filled two glasses with the aromatic cloudy liquid from the pitcher, “My special mixture; nectar of the goddess.”
Hesitatingly I grasped the glass, eyeing its content suspiciously while slowly bringing it to my lips and sniffing the aroma. Experimentally pressing my lips together I sipped a small amount. Whatever ingredients were in the drink combined to make me feel instantly refreshed. That was my immediate reaction as the liquid swished in my mouth to trickle down my throat. Surprised that the concoction tasted so good, I took a longer gulp and looked up at Audhilde.

She was smiling at me amused at my precautions, “Afraid I whipped up a witch’s brew?”

“Not at all,” I giggled, “I didn’t know if we had similar tastes but apparently we do.”

“I think we probably do.”

I nodded as I used my fork to stab some food from my plate. As I was finishing the meal an inner door opened to admit a black haired man in his middle 30’s, wearing black trousers, a white starched shirt, bowtie, and black coat. He was broad shouldered with a flat stomach and narrow hips, gliding silently across the floor.

The set of his jaw, his carriage, and the clear blue color of his eyes belied a servant.

“Milady you called for my services?”

“Yes, Jeeves I did. I want you to retrieve Atalanta’s luggage from her locker and bring it here. Atalanta be a dear and give him your key.”

I automatically reached in my pocket and retrieved the key handing it over to Jeeves, “It’s in the …”

“The locker at the outfitters,” Jeeves supplied taking the key from my fingers and walking away.

“Dear,” Audhilde began, “you need to look your best this morning when you meet Mrs. Carson. I had Melissa draw you a bath and I’ve taken the liberty of laying out a school uniform for you to wear.”

Using a linen napkin to dab at my lips and to mask my confusion, “It’s not that I don’t appreciate it.”

“…But why am I doing it,” Audhilde finished still with an enigmatic smile on her face.

“Yes,” I returned narrowing my gaze.

“First, I want to assure you I have your best interest at heart and you are under no obligation to follow my suggestions. To answer some questions you might have, I saw which way you left here Friday in the cab, and later I noticed you going out in the truck and horse trailer. Whateley’s uniforms are in their brochures, and on their website, so it was easy to sew up a set. You need to take the lead when you see Mrs. Carson. Looking fresh and made up with school colors gives you a head start. It’ll keep her off balance. Now go get cleaned up.”

An hour and half later I walked back into the room where Audhilde was waiting. Melissa had used hot air, combs, and pins to hold up my hair in a modified upswept hairdo that highlighted my slender curved neck drawing attention to the delicate earrings dangling from each ear.

My eyes and mouth were suitably enhanced to draw attention towards my youth and innocence but with subtle hints of sophistication.

A white ruffled blouse peeked from under a blue blazer, a school emblem on one lapel. Black trousers over patent leather ankle boot lets with 2.5 inch heels completed the look of a prep school student.

“You look absolutely delectable,” Audhilde began her voice lowering, “you’re going to knock them dead.”

I did look good, but was uncomfortable with the attention that went into the effect and that it was sure to draw later. I was reminded of the time Mom had dressed me in revealing layers of clothing for the Saturday cookout which seemed eons past. That also proved to be a turning point because after that guy had tried to grope me at the dance, was when Manny began training me in self defense. I wondered if this would prove to be another departure point.

“Thank you,” I simply replied shifting my weight from leg to leg, my eyes darting around the room.

Audhilde simply smiled, “Your clothes and gear are packed and in the SUV. Jeeves is going to drive you to school.”

“Uh, there might be a little problem; Mark and his team are set up to drive me.”

After calling Mark and coordinating with Audhilde, we settled on meeting the guys at the train station depot and following them to the school. Just before 11am I followed Audhilde and Jeeves out to the back of the store to my transportation; a white Cadillac Escalade limousine that was equipped with running boards that raised and lowered.

“Your carriage waits,” Audhilde announced amused at my expression at the amenities and Jeeves standing nearby ready to assist me into the vehicle.

Turning to Audhilde I gave her a gentle hug careful not to disturb my hair or makeup, “I really appreciate this, but I don’t understand why you are going to all this trouble.”

“You’re welcome my dear and in time you will understand.”

Chapter 13

Jeeves and I had just parked when Mark and his team consisting of two black Chevy Suburbans stopped on either side of our vehicle. We were parked at the train depot lot ready for the trip to Whateley.

“Whoa girl, what happened after we parted Saturday? Guys!” Mark called his team who all came over and crowded around my rolled down window.

“Look at you,” one of the guys remarked, “our little tomboy is a real live princess.”

Mark leaned his head in the window, “Nope,” he declared, “no glass slippers.”

“Hey,” I exchanged jauntily, “I have to keep you guys on your toes or else you’d be taking me for granted.”

“Not a chance of that happening.”

Jeeves clearing his throat,throat reminded us that we needed to be moving. Mark, giving Jeeves a quick once over, a second glance my way, then at his crew,; quickly huddled with his team.

“Just a second,” he called as a flurry of activity began among the guys adding, “I’ll be right back,” then disappearing behind one SUV. Items were being pulled from opened hatches, and in less than five minutes Mark had transformed his team and vehicles from nondescript, to uniforms with a company name engraved on their sports coats, to the reinforcing image of magnetic signs on the vehicle doors.

“Short Executive Services,” I read aloud from his jacket as Mark opened the door sliding into the rear seat beside me.
“We’re using our company image to present a congruent appearance to back up our story, especially fitting seeing how you two are dressed.” Turning to Jeeves he continued, “You don’t mind if I ride in this car and direct traffic as if this was a planned operation.”

An almost imperceptible twitched pulled at the corner of Jeeves’ mouth, “I don’t mind,” he replied laconically.

“Okay guys,” he spoke into his radio, “we pull out together and maintain 20 second intervals and check in with me at 10 minute intervals, sooner if you see anything out the ordinary.”

The procession pulled onto the blacktop in the ordered form and maintained an even and steady interval at 40mph.
As we rode Mark told me to follow his lead when we got there. “It was my idea to hide you away for a couple of days and not yours,” he explained.

“Why, why can’t I tell them what aroused my suspicion? You guys get a kick in the rear while I get a pat on the head.”

“You, Manny, and Mr. O’Reilly came up with this plan, and unless you have a better idea we need to see it through. Besides,” Mark looked around at the plush interior; his trained eye noticed the thick glass and stiff suspension, “you seemed to have gained a friend, chauffeur, and bodyguard since Saturday and this fits in nicely.”

Mark was fishing for information about my benefactor leaving me in a difficult situation. Audhilde had said nothing about keeping her identity secret but I didn’t want to alienate either set of friends. Neither did I want to broadcast that alliance. “Knock it off Mark,” I growled, “if you’re half as competent as I think you are, you have already run the plates.” He had the good graces to duck his head.

Jeeves spoke cryptically from the front seat, “its all right milady. Audhilde owns the Owl’s Nest bookstore in Dunwich and I think she and Atalanta share a common bond with owls. She has the means and the inclination to help. It is as simple as that.”

At that moment Mark’s radio crackled with a message from the lead car, “I see the turnoff ahead.”

“Okay, go as far as you can down the turnoff, and still be seen easily from the road, and wait for us. Jeeves slow down and give them time to get in place.”

“What’s going on?” I queried.

“Ray is a decoy to flush out anyone that might be waiting, thinking you are in that car. When we get to the turnoff, I’ll radio him for the all clear. If it’s clear, we turn off and proceed the rest of the way in a tight formation. If it’s not clear, we drive on.”

“You’d leave them like that?”

“It’s part of the risks,” Mark returned cheerfully.

Up ahead a barely visible sign indicated the Whateley turnoff, a narrow one lane road with the occasional wide turnoffs to let oncoming traffic pass. We got the all clear signal from Ray, with Mark calling school security.

Soon we were traveling in a tight formation until we reached the gates that signaled the school campus. On either side of the entrance, stone walls rose with a pair of gargoyles watching silently as we stopped for security.

After exchanging pleasantries we were invited to follow the school’s security van to Schuster Hall where Mrs. Carson waited. We arrived as class was being dismissed for lunch with students crowding into Crystal Hall, which was adjacent to the administration building.

Jeeves got out and opened my door, helping me out with an assist from the elevating running boards on the SUV that gently lowered me to earth. Dozens of pairs of eyes locked on the spectacle that we had become as students grouped at the entrance to the cafeteria, or at the benches that lined the walk. Other students remembered at the last minute pressing business at the library. Schuster and Crystal hall was the natural hub of the campus and even more so now.

With Jeeves on my left and Mark joining in step on my right from the front of the Cadillac we walked up the steps to the administration building. On point and leading the way was a member of school security as we pushed past the double doors that marked the entrance.

The hall was teeming with students jammed into self forming knots that blocked the flow of other students. To my left a sign read: ‘Mrs. Elizabeth Carson’ and under it an entrance to an inner alcove. The four of us filed past the threshold and into the reception area where the receptionist greeted us, “Go on in, she’s expecting you.”

Feeling both like a prisoner, and like a dignitary, I wordlessly complied feeling it would soon sort itself out. Seated beside the Headmistress were two more members of security; F. Delarose and G. Bardue. Mrs. Carson dismissed our security escort with a wave of her hand. With that same hand she indicated we should take a seat in the chairs provided.

She made the introductions of her staff, “…you are of course Atalanta Reid and these gentlemen are.”

Mark reached into his breast pocket handing her a business card, “Mark Short; Short Executive Services, at your service,” he replied.

“Mr. Jeeves in the service of Milady Audhilde,” added Jeeves in his monotone voice and who also handed her a business card with the bookstore’s name and address printed on it.

“Mr. Short I know your involvement in this, but I don’t know why.”

“That, I’m afraid, is confidential information.”

Mrs. Carson returned stiffly, “I assume this fulfills your contract.”

“It does,” Mark agreed.

“I thank you for intervening on one of our student’s behalf,” she stated her lips thinning, “but now I have to ask you to leave.”

“Of course,” Mark replied, and rising turned to me adding, “Atalanta you know how to get a hold of me if you need me.”
Rising too I wrapped my arms around him, “Thank you Mark, and thank the guys for me,” I whispered.

“Knock them dead, kiddo,” he whispered in my ear.

“You know I will,” I returned louder grinning at him and felt some of the tension leave his body. He smiled back at me and turned smartly on his heel and marched to the door, opened it, and closed it softly behind him.

I reclaimed my seat as Mrs. Carson was asking Mr. Jeeves his responsibility.

“Miss Audhilde gave me explicit instructions to deliver Miss Atalanta’s luggage to her room.”

The Headmistress nodded and spoke into her intercom and a few minutes later a knock on the door admitted another member of security.

“You will escort Mr. Jeeves to Poe cottage and off campus after he delivers Miss Reid’s luggage to her room.”

I arose as Jeeves did and extended my hand, “Thank you Jeeves, and thank Miss Audhilde for me.”

Instead of gripping my hand in the classic grip he gently took my fingers in his and bowing slightly lightly brushed his lips against the back of my hand, “Milady.”

He gently released my fingers turned on his heel and glided noiseless from the room.