Dangerous Plans
By JSRobertson
The men had been watching the couple for a week now using the pictures they
were given. The Crane’s didn’t go out too often. But when they did, it was for
dinner, shopping or even just for a drive. They were always together. The men
had to get Mrs. Crane alone. The opportunity happened by accident.
One night as they followed
them into a small cafe where they had dinner, they sat down next to their table
and heard them talking.
“When we get home, let’s go
for a walk. It’s a beautiful night and I
feel like a walk on the beach,” she told him.
“Fine with me,” he answered
giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
They left the restaurant and
drove home. They followed them as far as
they could. Their only problem was the
whole institute was fenced in. On the
south end was land but no way to access it as the water came up to the fence
but they were close enough to the beach to see if they walked there. The north end bordered on some government
land. They would watch that end first.
((()))
Wanda, Angie, and Janet were
getting ready to leave for the day. Lee,
Chip and the admiral were in a meeting that would take another couple of hours.
They were meeting about the number of proposals NIMR had received. He wanted Lee and Chip to help him decide
which ones they should take or reject.
Lee noticed the time and knew Janet would have no way home.
Since they were still in a
meeting Angie made them a fresh pot of coffee and left it in the admiral’s
office before she left for the day.
“Chip, are you going right
home after the meeting today?” Lee asked during a short break pouring another
cup of coffee.
“No sorry Lee. I have a ton of errands to run including
picking up our cleaning.” Lee and
Chip took turns dropping off and picking up the cleaning which was mostly their
uniforms.
“Sorry Lee I can’t take you
either,” the admiral volunteered, “I have an appointment as soon as this
meeting is over.”
“Okay. I’ll let Janet take
the car and walk home. Just let me tell her,” he told them as he left the
admiral’s office.
He walked to her office just
as she was getting ready to leave. She
turned off her computer and got up when she saw her husband come in. She
checked to see if anyone was looking, pulled on his tie so his lips met hers
and gave him a long deep kiss.
“What can I do for you?” she
asked seductively not realizing he was still in the meeting.
“Well, what I would like to
do and can do are not possible right now,” he replied softly after returning
her kiss. “I’m still going to be here
for a couple of hours. So take the car and I will walk home,” he told her as
they walked out of her office.
“Oops. Didn’t know you were
still in the meeting. I can walk,” she told him, “If I walk now I won’t have to
do it later.”
Angie heard them discussing
how Janet was going to get home.
“Janet, I’ll take you
home. I have nothing planned for this
evening and it’s not like you live that far from here.”
“Thanks, Angie,” Lee said as
he went back to the admiral’s office.
“Did Janet get a ride home,”
the admiral asked as Lee closed the door.
“Yes, Angie is going to take
her home.”
Angie and Janet went down the
elevator and out to Angie’s car. She
drove Janet to her house which was a couple of miles from the office; she and
Lee lived in a house on institute property.
“It looks like it might
rain,” Angie said noticing how dark and cloudy the sky looked.
“Thanks Angie, I really
appreciate the ride. I might be able to
get my walk in before it starts to rain.
See you tomorrow”
“Be careful on your walk,”
Angie told her as she drove away.
((()))
Lee drove home from his
meeting which took longer than he expected.
He unlocked the door and put his cover and coat in the closet. He took off his tie, opened his shirt and pulled
it out of his pants before he went upstairs to change into a pair of shorts and
a t-shirt. He didn’t see Janet
downstairs so he figured she was upstairs.
“Janet,” he called as he
walked to the kitchen to see if there was any dinner cooking.
He saw a note on the counter.
Honey, went for a
walk. Will be back in thirty
minutes. Will make dinner when I get
home. Love, Janet.
He smiled as he read the
note, she always wrote the time on anything she gave him. He had trained her well. He noticed the note was written at 1830 it
was now 1930. She had been gone an hour.
He was worried that she hadn’t returned from her walk. It had starting raining on his way
home. He saw a blinding bolt of
lightening, heard the large clap of thunder that followed and it was now
pouring rain. He knew she would never
walk out in a storm.
He opened the patio door and
took a quick look outside, he didn’t see her. He went outside walking past Chip’s
house but he wasn’t home yet from his errands so she wouldn’t be there with
him.
He walked down to the walkover bridge that
leads to the beach, crossed it and went down to the beach. Looking in both
directions he still didn’t see her. The
ocean was rough and the waves were hitting the beach with great force.
“Janet, Janet,” he called
getting more worried by the minute as he ran along the route she always walked
when she was alone.
He ran the entire route which
took him to the end of NIMR on the north near the admiral’s house and didn’t
see her. There was no place to stop for
cover along the route. She wouldn’t stop
at the admiral’s house as there was no way to get up the bluff his house sat
on.
“Where is she,” he thought. He
ran back to the walkover bridge and went back on the other side. The sea oats were blowing all around the wind
was so strong. He looked down the dunes
but didn’t see anyone. His shirt was
still open, he was drenched to the skin; his hair was a mass of curls and a
frantic look was etched on his face. She had to be here somewhere
“Janet,” he called again.
He started walking on the
dunes side and had walked about one hundred yards when he saw her lying between
the rocks, long grass and sea oats.
“Sweetie,” he said as he got
close to her but got no answer. Kneeling
down next to her, he could see she had some bruises on her face, a large bump
on the side of her head and she was unconscious.
He picked her up and carried
her as far as Chip’s house. He saw a
light on and knocked on the door.
Opening the door, Chip saw a
drenched Lee holding equally drenched Janet standing at his door.
“Lee what the hell happened?”
he asked as he helped Lee put her on the couch then ran to the bathroom to get
a couple of towels.
Lee carefully dried Janet off and then
himself.
“All I know is she went for a
walk and wasn’t back when I got home. I went looking for her and found her on
the dune side of the beach. She never
walks there.”
“Janet,” Lee said again as he
could see she was coming around.
“Lee,” she replied groggily,
“What happen?”
She closed her eyes and
passed out again.
“Chip, help me get her to
“Sure,” he answered grabbing
his car keys and helped Lee put her in the back seat.
Chip hopped in the front seat
while Lee sat in the back seat with Janet.
She still hadn’t come around.
Chip helped Lee get Janet out
of the car and he carried her into
Turning on the light in the
first examination room Jamie asked, “What happen?”
Lee gently laid her on the
gurney as Jamie started to examine her.
“I don’t know,” Lee replied
out of breath. “I found her on the dunes
unconscious. I took her to Chip’s
house. She came to for about a minute
and hasn’t woken up since.”
“What was she doing out on a
night like this?”
“She left a note earlier
saying she was going for a walk. By the
time I got home she had been gone an hour.
She never walks that long so I went to look for her.”
While Jamie was examining
Janet, she woke up.
“Jamie...What
happened...Where’s Lee?” she asked looking very frightened.
“You’re in
“Sweetie, I’m right here,”
Lee said going over to her, and gently stroked her forehead.
Janet tried to sit up but
realized that was a mistake as she was dizzy, nauseated and had a headache.
“I’m going to be sick,” she
told them.
Jamie grabbed the wastebasket
as Janet vomited into it. Lee grabbed a
tissue from the box and gently wiped off her mouth as she laid back down on the
gurney and closed her eyes.
“Please stop the room from
spinning,” she said quietly.
“Looks like she might have a
concussion but I’ll take a CT scan to make sure.”
“Before we do anything, why
don’t you help her get out of her wet clothes?” Jamie suggested as he went to
the cabinet and gave him a pair of scrubs for her as he could see she was
starting to shiver.
Jamie and Chip left the room
while Lee helped Janet change very slowly.
He had to stop a couple of times because she was afraid she was going to
get sick again.
While Lee help Janet change
into the scrubs, Chip called security.
“Security,” Hank Rivers, the
head of security, answered.
“Hi Hank, its Chip
Morton. Janet Crane was attacked while
on a walk on the beach tonight. Could
you check and find out where they got in and let me know?”
“I’m sorry to hear that
Chip. I’ll get crews out and check the
whole perimeter right now.”
“Thanks Hank.”
After hanging up with Hank,
Chip called the admiral but got no answer. His cell phone went right to voice
mail and he didn’t want to leave him a message. He would try again later.
“Okay Jamie, Chip you can
come back in,” Lee told them as Janet laid on the gurney with her eyes closed.
“Let’s get the CT scan. Then
I’ll check the bruises on her face and see if she has anymore,” Jamie told Lee.
“Chip will you stay with her
while I talk to Lee?” Jamie continued while he motioned Lee to follow him out
to the hall.
“No problem,” he replied as
he went over to Janet and gave her hand a squeeze. She opened one eye and smiled at him afraid if
she opened both of them the room would start spinning again.
Chip looked at Jamie and
didn’t like the concerned look on his face.
Something else was bothering him.
Out in the hall Lee looked at
Jamie and he too didn’t like to the look on his face.
“Jamie what’s wrong?”
“Lee,” Jamie said quietly, “I
should check to see if she was assaulted.”
“Shit,” Lee replied running
his hand through his hair, “that thought never occurred to me. Can we ask her
first?”
“Okay but if she was knocked
out; she might not know.”
Jamie and Lee walked back
into the examination room. Lee went over
to Janet and took her hand in his and gave her a kiss.
“Sweetie I need to ask you a
question,” Lee said tenderly. “Were you
assaulted?”
“No, Lee no,” she cried tears
forming in her eyes.
“You were unconscious when I
found you. It could have happened while
you were out.”
“After he hit me, I was
walking back to our house. He had
already left. It was raining so hard I
couldn’t see and tripped over some roots I didn’t see in the sand, fell and hit
my head.”
“Sweetheart, you better start
at the beginning. Who hit you?”
“Before we get into finding
out what happen, let me get a CT scan and take care of her bruises. Then she
can tell us what happened.”
“Okay, Jamie,” Lee said as
Jamie took Janet for the CT scan.
As he left the room, he
opened the cabinet again and handed Lee a pair of scrubs.
“Please put these on before
you catch pneumonia.”
“Yes, Jamie,” Lee replied as
he went into the bathroom to change. He
took their wet clothes and put them in a plastic bag he found in a cabinet.
“We better call security and
tell them to check around the perimeter to see where whoever hit Janet got in,”
Lee told Chip as he came out of the bathroom.
“I’ve already called
them. They are going to check
tonight. It’s stopped raining and still
light so they can look around.”
“Thanks Chip.”
With worried looks on their
faces, Chip sat down while Lee paced back and forth waiting for Janet to come
back.
((()))
The admiral had just gotten
home and was in his living room when he saw flashing lights outside. He knew it was security by the amber colored
lights. He headed out to check and see
what the problem was. He went over to
the men by the fence. He recognized one
of them as Adam Edwards.
“Mr. Edwards what seems to be
the problem?”
“Good evening admiral,
someone got on the institute grounds and attacked Mrs. Crane earlier this
evening. We’re trying to locate where they got in.”
“Do you know where Mrs. Crane
is now,” the admiral asked worriedly.
“I believe she’s in
“Please let me know as soon
as you find the breach.”
“Yes sir.”
The admiral hurried back to
his house and called Lee’s phone.
“Crane,” Lee answered not
looking at who was calling.
“Lee I just found out Janet
was attacked tonight. How is she...what
happened...who did it?”
“I don’t have the answer to
any of those questions right now. Jamie
is doing a CT scan. When I found her she
was unconscious.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Yes sir.”
As the admiral was pulling
out of his driveway, Edwards motioned him to stop and walked over to his car.
“Admiral we found the
breach. It’s on the north side not to
far from your house. That’s the most
difficult side to patrol due to the fact there’s government land on the other
side. They cut a hole in the fence large
enough for someone to crawl through. They somehow worked their way to the
bottom of the bluff and onto the beach.
We’ve fixed the hole but we’re going to need to do something
better. This is the third time we’ve had
a breach in that section.
“Thanks Adam. I’ll get with Hank tomorrow and see if we can
come up with a solution.”
“Good night sir.”
Edwards walked back to the
truck as the admiral left for
((()))
Jamie brought Janet back to
the room after the CT scan and checked out the bruises on her face. He went to
the supply cabinet, grabbed an ice pack, broke the cool component inside and
gave it to her to hold on her eye and face.
“She has a slight concussion.
The bruises are from being slapped around and she will probably have a black
eye.”
As Jamie was telling them
about Janet’s injuries the admiral walked in and went over to Janet.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes sir I’m fine.” This got her a serious look from the admiral.
“Lee, what happened?”
“Admiral, I don’t know I was
just going to ask her. Sweetie, can you
tell us what happened?”
“I got home from work and I
knew you were going to be late so I decided to go for a walk. It looked like rain but I figured I could get
back before it started. I walked all the
way to the admiral’s house and was almost home when someone grabbed me from
behind and dragged me to the dunes area away from the beach. I tried to push
myself away, I was hitting him and struggling to get away but he was too strong
for me. He slapped me across the face
and said maybe this will change the admiral’s mind regarding the reactor plans
as he hit me in the face. I tried to run
away but he grabbed my arm and hit me again.
He shoved me down in the sand dune and ran towards to the admiral’s
house. By this time it was pouring rain
and I was having a hard time seeing where I was going and didn’t see the roots. I tripped and fell hitting the side of my
head on a rock. I must have been knocked
out.”
“Sweetie did you see who the
man was?”
“He had a mask on but Lee, he
was huge. I tried to use SING* the
self-defense course taught us, but when I tried to jam him in the chest I got
his stomach, I stepped on his foot but the sand cushioned the stomp, I tried to
hit him in the face but he was too tall for me to reach and when I tried to
knee him in the groin I miss judged where it was. He was at least fifty pounds heavier than
you. ”
“It’s alright,” he comforted
her as she started to cry.
“We better call the SBPD and
make a report,” the admiral said as he dialed the police department and asked
for Aaron Thompson.
“Thompson. “
“Hi Aaron, its Admiral
Nelson. There’s been an attack on Janet
Crane, can you come over?
“I’ll be there as soon as I
can. Where are you?”
“In Med Bay. Thanks Aaron.”
“He’ll be here in a few
minutes,” the admiral told them.
((()))
After listening to Janet’s
story Lee had a few questions of his own.
“How did who ever attacked
Janet know she would be out there walking at that time. She doesn’t walk at the same time every
day. Sometimes she doesn’t even walk at
all or goes the other direction. Also,
Admiral what did he mean maybe by hitting Janet it would change your mind on
the reactor plans?”
“I received a letter via
courier a week ago. A small country on the
“Admiral, why didn’t you tell
us about this?” Lee asked tersely. “Has
ONI gotten back to you?”
Sighing deeply and knowing
Lee was furious he continued, “I didn’t think anything would come of it. ONI never said anything more so I figured
they had taken care of it but after what happened tonight, I will call Admiral
Johnson first thing tomorrow morning. I
don’t have any clue as to how they found out Janet would be out walking today
and at that time. Maybe they just got
lucky when they cut a hole in the fence and saw her walking there.”
There was knock on the door
and Aaron Thompson walked in with another detective.
“Good evening gentlemen and
Janet. This is Detective Julie
Bates. She’ll be working with me on this
case.”
“Julie, this is Admiral
Nelson, Commander Lee Crane, Lt. Commander Chip Morton, Janet Crane, Lee’s wife
and Dr Jamieson,” Aaron said pointing to them as he introduced them.
Shaking hands with them and
noticing how handsome Lee and Chip were she replied, “Nice to meet all of you.”
Wonder what the hiring requirements are here. They sure are gorgeous. Too bad the dark haired one is married but
the blond isn’t too bad, she thought.
“Admiral you said Janet was
attacked,” Aaron asked.
“Yes, but she better explain
to you what happened.”
“You sure got slapped around,”
Julie remarked noticing the bruises on Janet’s face as she took out her
notepad, “Please tell us what happened.”
She repeated what she told
Lee to the detectives.
“Did he say anything to you?”
Aaron asked.
Looking at Lee and the
admiral Janet replied as vaguely as possible, “Just that he was looking for
something from the admiral.”
“Admiral, do you have any
idea what he was looking for?” Aaron asked him after he saw Janet look over to
Lee and the admiral.
Yes, I probably do but Aaron
I can’t tell you. It has to do with
national security.”
“National security?” Julie
questioned.
“Don’t worry about it for
now, Julie,” Aaron told her. She just
looked at Aaron and said nothing more.
Janet, can you describe the man?”
“Aaron, as I told Lee he was
huge. I want to say at least six foot
five inches tall and must have weighed two hundred and thirty pounds. I couldn’t see his face as he had a mask on.”
“How did he get on the
beach? This place is fenced in on three
sides and has security guards patrolling the perimeter.”
“One of the security guards
found a breach on the north side by my house.
That side borders on some government land so it can’t be cleared. Someone could hide in there and never be
seen. They fixed the breach already but
I’m going to meet tomorrow with Hank to see if we can come up with a better
solution.
Julie asked the next
question, “How did he know you would be walking that way tonight?”
“Detective Bates, I have no
idea. If you go south you can see if
someone is walking on the beach but can’t access it because the water goes up
to the fence but to the north the beach is wide open. I usually walk that way when I’m alone as there
are fewer obstacles.”
“Please call me Julie and
have you noticed anyone following you recently?”
“No. I don’t leave the
complex too much just to go shopping or for dinner. Usually Lee is with me when I go out.”
“Lee have you noticed anyone
following you?” Aaron asked, still suspicious of Lee and what else he does for
a living. He knows how to escape from
danger too easily.
“No I haven’t but then we
haven’t left the complex for a few days as we just got back from a mission.”
“Okay, we don’t have much to
go on but the man’s size is something to check out. There can’t be too many men that size in
“Janet if you think of any
more details, please give me or Julie a call.”
“Thanks Aaron. It was a pleasure to meet you Detective
Bates,” the admiral said to them as Chip showed them out the door.
“Sorry admiral, I didn’t mean
to put you on the spot but I didn’t know how much you wanted me to tell them,”
Janet told him yawning.
“It’s alright. I’m glad you didn’t say anything. I’ll talk to Aaron.”
“Lee you better take Janet
home,” Jamie told him. “She needs to
rest.”
As Lee, Chip and Janet left
“Those two can sure find
trouble anywhere,” Jamie remarked to the admiral.
“You know Jamie I was just
thinking the same thing. It seems to
follow them everywhere. I’ll see you
tomorrow,” the admiral replied as they walked out together.
((()))
Aaron and Julie got into
Aaron’s car. She sat there for a few
moments thinking about what Janet had said.
“Aaron, what’s the scoop on
the ‘national security’ comment Admiral Nelson made.”
“NIMR is not only a research
center it is also called upon to help the government on issues that come up
regarding national security. So whatever
the man was looking for, the admiral is not a liberty to discuss right now.”
“Aaron, whatever they want
must be pretty important to break into the institute and beat up Janet Crane.”
“Yes but I have a feeling we
haven’t seen or heard the last of who ever did this,” he said as he put the car
in drive and headed back to the station.
((()))
In a hotel room a few miles
from NIMR, two men were going over what had taken place that night on the
beach.
“You managed to get to her?”
“Yes, I cut a hole in the
fence on the far north end. The
government land provided a great cover.
It’s pretty overgrown and the institute can’t do anything about it. Lucky for us she chose to walk that way
today.”
“You didn’t hurt her too bad
did you?”
“No just roughed her up a
bit. She tried to fight me off but I was
far too big for her to hurt me.”
“We’re not done yet. It’ll teach them not to mess around with
us. The boss should be happy. I’m going to give him a call and tell him
what occurred.”
((()))
By the time Lee and Janet got
home from
“Sweetie, let me make you
something to eat,” Lee told her after he made sure she was comfortable on the
couch.
“Not really hungry. I still have a headache and I’m very
nauseous. If you’re hungry make
something for yourself and I’ll just go to bed.”
“No, I’m not hungry
either. Come on we’ll go to bed,” he
said helping her upstairs.
She managed to get ready for
bed with no help but it took her awhile. She stopped a few times so she
wouldn’t vomit again. She finally
climbed in bed as Lee set the alarm so he could wake her up every thirty
minutes not that he would need one. He
wouldn’t sleep tonight. He climbed in
next to her and put his arm around her.
She snuggled close to him and fell asleep. He laid there thinking about what the admiral
had told him about the plans regarding the reactor and ONI.
After thirty minutes he woke
Janet up, “Wake up sweetie.”
“Lee please just let me
sleep. My head hurts only a little and
I’m still a little nauseous but I’m just very tired.”
“Okay,” he told her giving
her a kiss. He would make sure she was
alright by rubbing her cheek. She always
moved when he did that.
He finally fell asleep about
0100 but woke up at 0500. He got out of
bed trying not to wake her. She could
sleep for a few more minutes but the minute he was out of bed she woke up.
“How are you feeling this
morning?” Lee asked tenderly.
“Better. I still have a
slight headache, not nauseous so far and I’m actually a little hungry,” she
told him giving him a kiss.
She got up, went to the bathroom
and looked in the mirror. She had a very
nice black eye.
Sighing, “How am I going to
cover this up?”
“Sweetheart, don’t worry
about it. No one will notice,” he told
her with a wry grin.
“Very funny,” she answered
back as she turned on the shower.
They took a shower together
but today it lasted just a little longer than normal. When they were finally done, Lee and Janet
got dressed for work. Janet did the best
she could to hide her eye with make up but you could still see it.
She went downstairs where Lee
had already made coffee and toast for breakfast.
“Thank you for making
breakfast this morning,” Janet told Lee giving him a kiss and hugging him a
little longer than usual.
“You’re welcome,” he replied
kissing and hugging her as he ran his hand down her back and continued to hold
her close.
They ate breakfast, cleaned
up and left for work.
((()))
The admiral and Chip were
just getting to the office when Lee and Janet pulled up. They waited for them so they could check on
Janet.
“Nice eye,” Chip teased.
“Thanks. Lee, I thought you said no one would notice,”
Janet smiled weakly.
“Are you alright?” the
admiral asked seriously.
“Yes sir just a slight
headache.”
“I’ll call Jamie and have him
check you out.”
“I’m fine sir.”
“Where have I heard that
before,” he finally smiled at her.
They walked in the building and
took the elevator up to their offices.
Angie and Wanda came in a little while later.
“Janet what happened to you?”
Angie asked as Wanda came in the office and they were surprised to see her
sporting a black eye.
“I was attacked while I was
walking on the beach last night.”
“What!!!”
“Why did you come into work
today?”
”Too much work to do. I might leave
early today but I’ll see how I feel.
Jamie’s going to check on me this morning. Let’s just get to work so I can forget about
it.”
“Well if you need help, just
let us know,” Wanda told her giving her a hug.
“Thanks.”
The three of them went to
their offices as it would be a busy day for all of them. Being the end of the month and a Friday,
there were a lot of reports and files to finish up.
((()))
Jamie came over at 0900 to
check Janet out. He wasn’t happy she was
at work today. She needed to be home
resting.
“I have a slight headache,”
she told him before he could ask.
“You can take some
acetaminophen but if that doesn’t help and your headache gets worse or you feel
sick, please call me,” Jamie told her sternly.
“Please take it easy.”
“Yes Jamie,” she promised.
She stayed the whole day and
got everything done before leaving for the weekend.
((()))
While Jamie was checking out
Janet, the admiral called Admiral Johnson at ONI to find out what was going on
with the reactor plans.
“Johnson. What can I do for you Harry?”
“Gerald did you ever find
anything out about that country and why do they really want the plans for the
nuclear reactor?”
“I’ve got two agents over
there searching for information. As soon
as I have anything I will let you know.”
“Well it better be soon. Janet Crane was attacked last night here at
the institute because they haven’t gotten a response from me regarding the
plans.”
“I’m sorry to hear that
Harry. The agents are having a hard time
getting into the inner circle there.”
“I assume they asked me for
the plans because no other country including the People’s Republic would sell
them theirs?”
“Harry I can’t even answer
that. I’ll get back to you soon,”
Johnson sighed.
((()))
Lee and Janet came home from
work on Friday and sat down on the couch.
It had been a very long and tiring week. Janet still wasn’t feeling that
great after what had taken place on Thursday night.
“Can we just stay home this
weekend and do nothing,” she asked as she rested her head on his shoulder.
Flashing her that sunshine
smile he said, “Yes we can. You’re going
to rest all weekend while I wait on you hand and foot. Your wish is my command.”
“Really? How about I command you to take me upstairs
and we make....” she whispered in his ear the rest of it.
He grabbed her hand and led
her upstairs to carry out her command.
They came down for dinner a couple of hours later. He made her sit on the deck while he
barbecued some chicken and made a salad.
They enjoyed their dinner and he even cleaned up when they were done.
“I’m going to have to come up
with some more commands for the rest of weekend,” Janet told him with a wicked
grin.
“I’m sure you’ll come up with
a few good ones,” he replied taking her hand as they went into the house and up
to bed.
((()))
The weekend flew by and
everyone was back at work first thing Monday morning. Since it was Angie’s birthday, they were
going to Giovanni’s for lunch. Lee,
Janet, Angie and the admiral went in Lee’s car while Chip drove Wanda and
Jamie.
Once they left the institute,
a car started to follow them but they didn’t notice. There were two men in the car.
“Wonder where they’re going?”
the larger man asked.
“Don’t know but we’ll follow
them and see where they end up. Maybe
they’re going out for lunch. We can have
lunch and find out more about them. We
need to show the admiral we mean business.
We don’t want to rough up Mrs. Crane again so maybe we can find another
victim at lunch.”
The group from the institute
were met by Giovanni and shown to a table in the back where they always
sat. The two men waited a few minutes
before going into the restaurant. The
place was quite busy and they had to sit toward the front of the restaurant
rather than in the back near the group from the institute.
“Welcome gentlemen,” Giovanni
said as he seated them, “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you here before.”
“No this is our first
visit. We’re from
“Enjoy your meal,” Giovanni
told them as he went to seat some more patrons.
After Janet sat down she
looked up and saw Giovanni seating two men.
She grabbed Lee’s hand and squeezed it as hard as she could. She caught him by surprise.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong? You almost broke my hand,” he told her
shaking it.
“Sorry,” she said as she
rubbed his hand, “see the man Giovanni is seating? He’s huge and about the size of the man who
attacked me.”
Lee looked at the man and had
to agree with her he was huge, looking at her he replied, “Sweetie every huge
man isn’t your attacker. I’ll check with
Giovanni and see if he knows them before we leave. Okay?
Please relax and enjoy your lunch.”
“Yes Lee,” she answered back
looking at the man again.
Before they ordered lunch
Wanda gave Angie her birthday present from them. It was a designer purse she had admired when
the girls went shopping a few weeks ago.
She thanked them for the present and they ordered lunch. Janet kept
looking at the man seated at the table in front of the restaurant. After enjoying their lunch, the admiral paid
the bill and they headed to their cars.
Before Lee left he went over to Giovanni.
“Was everything alright
Commander?” Giovanni asked noticing a worried look on Lee’s face.
“Yes delicious as usual. Do
you know those two gentlemen sitting over there?” Lee pointed discreetly to the
two men he seated earlier.
“No they’re just passing
through on their way to
“No please don’t worry about
it,” Lee told him patting his arm.
Lee went out to the car as
the admiral, Angie and Janet waited for him to return. Chip, Wanda and Jamie had already left for
the institute.
“Problem Lee?” the admiral
inquired.
“No, just checking on
something for Janet.”
Janet could tell by the look
on Lee’s face that she worried for nothing.
The two men left a little
while after the group from the institute.
The smaller man noticed Janet’s black eye as she walked by them.
“Nice job,
“Thanks Bert. It wasn’t too hard to hurt her even though
she did try pretty hard to stop me. She
kept looking at me during lunch. She
might have recognized me.”
“How could she? You had a mask on. It’s your size. She knows a huge man attacked her. So every big man is going to be the one.”
Bert reassured him.
((()))
After lunch everyone still
had plenty of work do to before they left for the day. Bert and
Slapping her in the face,
Bert snarled, “Tell Nelson we mean business regarding the reactor plans.”
He pushed Angie out of the
car and she fell to the pavement. As she lay there, she saw
“Happy Birthday, Angie!!”
They got in their car and
drove away leaving her on the pavement with her smashed cake. There was no one in the bakery or on the
street to see what had happened to her.
((()))
Shaking as she stood up next
to her car, she took her phone out of her purse and called the admiral.
“Nelson,” he answered on the
first ring.
“Admiral, please help me,”
Angie cried, “I’m at the bakery downtown.
I’ve been attacked.”
“Angie, stay right where you
are. We’ll be there shortly,” the
admiral told her already getting out of his chair.
Lee and Chip were in his
office when he received the call.
“Angie’s been attacked
downtown. Let’s go.”
The three men ran out of the
office but before leaving Lee spotted Janet at her desk working on the computer. He rushed into her office.
“Janet,” he said tensely,
“please stay here. Do not leave
your office and lock the door as soon as I shut it.”
“Yes Lee,” Janet answered
with a frightened look on her face and locked the door as soon as he closed it.
Wanda had already left for
the day so hopefully she was safe at home.
As Lee drove them to the
bakery, Chip called the police department.
“Is Aaron Thompson there?”
“No I’m sorry he’s not here
today,” the desk sergeant replied.
“How about Detective Bates?”
“Yes, she’s here let me get
her.”
“Bates.”
“Detective Bates, this is
Chip Morton from the Nelson Institute.
Another one of our secretaries has been attacked. She’s downtown at the bakery, could you
please met us there?”
“Yes, Mr. Morton. I’ll also get in touch with Aaron.”
“Thanks Detective.”
“Aaron is not there right now
but Detective Bates is going to get in touch with him and have him meet us
there,” Chip reported.
They pulled up to the bakery
just as Detective Bates arrived in a squad car.
Lee, Chip and the admiral ran
over to Angie as stood by her car. Detective Bates and another police officer
joined them at the car.
“Oh admiral,” she cried as he
gathered the young woman in his arms, “I was so frightened.”
“It’s alright,” the admiral
comforted her.
“Angie, this is Detective
Bates,” Chip told her, “She’s working with Aaron Thompson.”
“Hello Angie. Please call me Julie. Can you tell me what happened?”
“I went into the bakery to
get a cake I ordered. I’m having friends over and I wanted to have some dessert
for them. When I came out this man came towards me and another one behind
me. One of them grabbed me and pushed me
into his car and slapped me across face.”
“Did they say anything you?”
She looked at the admiral who
still had his arm wrapped around her shoulder before replying, “Just to tell
Nelson we mean business.”
“Can you describe the men?”
“Yes one was very large. He was taller than Chip and Lee and about
thirty pounds heavier. He stayed outside while the smaller one pushed me into
the car. He was smaller than Chip or Lee
but weighed about the same,” she said with tears in her eyes.
As she was answering the
question, another car pulled up and Aaron got out of the car with Wanda.
“Oh Angie,” Wanda said
running over to her and giving her a hug, “Are you alright?”
“Yes.” She had a large red welt on her cheek from
the slap and a scratch mark from a ring.
Aaron went over to where
Julie, Lee and Chip were standing.
“The one guy sounds like the
one who attacked Janet,” Julie said as Aaron looked at Wanda thankful he was
with her tonight.
“Yes he does,” Lee replied
running his hand through his hair.
“Lee I know whatever these
guys are looking for has something to do with national security but I think
you’re going to have to tell us so we know where to start looking before
someone else gets hurt,” Aaron said seriously.
“Aaron, give me another forty
eight hours before I tell you,” Lee asked quietly.
“Okay Lee, I will do that but
no longer,” Aaron replied shaking his head not happy at Lee’s answer.
“Angie, do you need to go to
the hospital. I can have an ambulance
here in a few minutes,” Julie asked softly.
“No thanks. I just want to go home,” Angie answered tears
running down her cheeks. “Aaron, could
we please cancel our plans? I can’t meet
anyone tonight.”
“Yes Angie,” Aaron answered
patting her arm. “We’ll make it another
time.”
“We’ll see that she is
checked out by Dr. Jamieson and I will see her home,” the admiral told Julie
and Aaron.
“Okay.” Aaron said, “And Lee
I’m holding you to the forty eight hours.
I will be knocking on your door if I don’t hear from you.”
“I know Aaron,” Lee replied,
“Hopefully I will have an answer for you.”
The admiral drove Angie to
Aaron took Wanda back home,
called Cale and cancelled the plans they had for the evening. Worried about
Wanda being the next victim, he stayed with her that night. Julie and the police officer checked out the
area and talked with several bystanders but no one saw anything. She went back to the station and filled out
the paperwork.
As they were driving back
Chip asked, “Lee, what are you going to tell them.”
“Chip, to be honest with you
I don’t know how much we can tell. The
admiral’s going to have to check with Admiral Johnson.”
((()))
The admiral drove Angie
directly to
“Nothing looks broken. You will probably have a bruise there for a
couple of days,” he told her handing her an ice pack. Whoever attacked you must have had a ring on. You have a nice scratch from it.”
He cleaned up the scratch and
put a bandage on it.
“Thanks, Jamie,” she answered
her eyes welling up with tears.
The admiral had put his arm
around her to comfort her. The admiral
was very protective of her ever since she started working for him many years
ago. Her family was out of state and she
had no one here to take care of her.
((()))
Lee and Chip arrived at the
institute offices and went upstairs to get Janet.
“Janet, you can open the
door,” Lee told her as he heard the door unlock.
“Lee what happened...why did
I have to stay here...please tell me, “Janet asked frantically.
“Sweetie, Angie was attacked
at the bakery downtown a little while ago.
She went to get a cake and they pushed her into a car and slapped her
around.”
“Lee was it the same man?”
Janet shuddered.
“He was there but didn’t do
it, there was another man.”
“Is she okay...can I see
her...where is she?
“She’s at
Lee grabbed Janet’s hand as
the three of them left the office and headed for
“Angie, why don’t you stay
with Lee and me tonight? This way if you
have a problem, someone will be with you.”
“No I want to go home. I’ll be alright. But I don’t want to drive there by
myself. Would you drive me home and pick
me up tomorrow?”
Chip quickly answered, “I’ll
take you home and pick you up tomorrow for work.”
“Thanks Chip.”
He took her hand and led her
out to his car. Lee and the admiral
watched them drive away.
“Admiral we’re going to have
to talk about his tomorrow. Aaron might
need to know what’s going on.”
Sighing he answered, “I have
to check with Johnson first.”
“I told Aaron I would have an
answer for him in forty eight hours. If
he starts digging around it could cause more trouble.”
“I know Lee.”
Lee and Janet walked out of
((()))
Chip took Angie home and
could tell she was still pretty upset so he decided to stay the night. He would sleep on her couch and drive her to
work the next morning.
“Thanks for staying,” Angie
told him as she got him a blanket and pillow.
“It’s no problem,” he told
her rubbing her hand. He and Angie had
dated a couple of times but they knew it wouldn’t work out between them. He
still cared for her and was worried about her.
Angie went to her room and
got ready for bed. He heard her
crying. He wanted to go to her room but
decided to stay where he was. He didn’t
want to complicate matters.
((()))
Lee and Janet went home
too. Janet was very upset at what had
happened to Angie. Her eye was still a
little black and blue from her attack.
“Lee what are we going to do
about this?” Janet asked as she paced in their living room. Can’t we give them
what they want? Everyone must have
nuclear reactors.”
“Sweetheart you know we can’t
give the plans away to just anyone,” he told her grimly. “The government wants to know why this
country needs to build submarines now.”
“I know I’m just afraid.”
He took her by the waist,
pulled her close and gave her a kiss.
She laid her head on his chest and they stood there together for a few
minutes before they went upstairs.
((()))
Chip woke up the next morning
and made some coffee and breakfast for Angie.
She came out of her room and looked very tired. Her face had a nice purple blue bruise on it
and the scratch was very red.
“Hurt much?” Chip asked with
concern. “Didn’t get much sleep did
you?”
“Not too much to both questions. Thanks for making breakfast.”
“No problem.”
They ate breakfast and as
Chip cleaned up Angie finished getting ready for work. They left a few minutes later. Neither one said anything on the drive to the
institute.
((()))
Lee and Janet were also up
and getting ready for work. Lee made the
coffee and breakfast as Janet finished getting ready. They left for work and were parking the car
when Chip and Angie drove in and they waited for them at the door. Janet could see that Angie looked very tired.
“You okay?” Janet asked
softly.
“Yes, I’ll be fine,” she
answered with a slight grin after she said it.
“Lee, I’m going home to
shower and change. I should be back in
thirty minutes,” Chip told him.
“Take your time.”
Chip drove back to his house
while Lee escorted Janet and Angie into the institute.
The admiral was already there
and had made coffee. Wanda walked in a
few minutes later.
“Lee can I see you in my
office?” the admiral requested. “Where’s
Chip?”
“He went home to shower and
change. He ended up staying with Angie
last night. He should be here in thirty
minutes.”
“When he comes in, I want to
see both of you.”
“Yes sir.”
Lee went to his office after
getting a mug of coffee. He sat at his
desk wondering what the admiral wanted to talk to them about. A bigger pressing problem was how to protect
Janet, Angie and Wanda.
((()))
While the admiral waited for
Lee and Chip to come into his office, he called Hank Rivers in security.
“Hank any ideas on how to
stop intruders from getting in on the north side of the institute.”
“Well Admiral, if we
electrify the fence it might deter anyone from trying to cut a hole in the
fence. I can’t think of anything else
that would work. We patrol there more
often than anywhere else. But with the
overgrowth on the government land, we could go by there and five minutes later
they could get in because we can’t see them.”
“Make it happen, Hank. There are quite a few institute personnel
that walk that beach besides Lee, Janet and Chip and we can’t have them being
attacked because of some overgrown land.”
“It will take a couple of
weeks since we have to wire the fence and get some power out there. I will keep on it, sir.”
“Thanks Hank.”
The next call the admiral
made was to Admiral Johnson.
“Johnson.”
“Gerald any word from the
agents? Angie was attacked last night
because of those damn reactor plans. The
police are not happy we can’t give them any information.”
“Harry, the police are
involved?”
“Gerald, I had to report
it. I don’t want any more of my
personnel attacked because of this.
Neither Janet or Angie revealed why they were attacked but the police
are very suspicious and I need to give them something to satisfy them before
they started digging into this.”
“Harry, I need a little more
time. They were finally able to get into
the inner circle but haven’t been able to report back what they found out.”
“Gerald, you’ve got another
twenty four hours before the police start poking around.”
Sighing Johnson replied,
“Okay let me get back to you.”
The admiral disconnected the
call to Johnson. He was not happy at
what Johnson told him.
((()))
Chip came in a little while
later. Lee went to his office.
“Chip, the admiral wants to
talk to us.”
“Do you know why?”
“No, but I need to talk to
him too. We’re going to have to figure
out a way to watch over the girls.”
“That’s for sure. We can’t have them getting beat up.”
Chip got a cup of coffee
before he and Lee went into the admiral’s office and knocked on the door.
“Come.”
“Hi Chip. Thanks for staying with Angie last night.”
“It was no problem. She was still pretty upset when she got
home. I don’t think she got much sleep.”
“I’ll check on her
later. I don’t have too much going on
today so I’ll let her leave early. But I’ve got two items I need to tell you
about. I talked to Hank and his solution
to the breach on the north side is to electrify the fence. I probably should have done that when I first
got the property but it will take a couple of weeks to get it finished but
hopefully it will stop the intruders.
Next I called Admiral Johnson regarding the reactor plans. I told him the police were involved and he
wasn’t too happy.”
Lee just rolled his eyes
saying sharply, “What did he expect us to do, pretend it didn’t happen?”
The admiral continued, “Calm
down Lee. I gave him twenty four hours
before we go to Aaron. We can him give a
small amount of information just enough to keep him satisfied.”
“Admiral you know Aaron well
enough to know he going to figure out we’re stalling,” Chip remarked.
“I realized that Chip but
maybe it’ll convince him to hold off needing to know why and concentrate on
finding these men.”
Lee sat there for a couple of
minutes before commenting, “Admiral what are we going to do about protecting
Angie, Wanda and Janet for now. We
obviously can’t ban them from going out but we can’t have them getting attacked
either.”
“I can have security assign
bodyguards to them when they aren’t on institute property but Lee you know they
will not like losing their freedom.’
“No they’re definitely not
going to like that,” Lee admitted. “Got
any other ideas?”
Both of them shook their
heads.
“Alright bodyguards it
is. Don’t worry about Janet. I will make sure when she leaves the grounds
that I’m with her if I’m not busy.
Maybe Kowalski, Patterson and Riley would like to pick up some extra
money being bodyguards. I think the girls would be more comfortable with men
they know rather than a stranger,” Lee suggested.
“Good idea,” Chip said, “I’ll
call Sharkey and see if he knows where they are. I’ll have him tell them to contact you.”
“Sounds good,” Lee replied.
“That’s all I have for now,”
the admiral said, “Do either of you have anything else?”
“No sir,” the replied as they
got up and left his office.
((()))
Lee and Chip went to Chip’s
office where he called Chief Sharkey.
Lee stood in the doorway as Chip made the call. He could see Janet sitting at her desk
working on the computer. He dreaded
telling her she couldn’t go out without a bodyguard if he wasn’t available. Not
that Angie or Wanda would like it either but Janet was a lot more stubborn than
they were. He turned his attention back
to Chip when Chief Sharkey answered.
“Sharkey.”
“Hi Chief.”
“Hello Mr. Morton. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, do you know if
Kowalski, Patterson and Riley are around? We need their help with something.”
“Yes Mr. Morton, they’re in
town. Starting next week they will be
doing guard duty on Seaview.”
“Could you please have them
call the skipper? He has a project from
them.”
“No problem, Mr. Morton. I’ll get right on it.”
“Thanks chief.”
“Thanks Chip. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
Lee left Chip’s office and
went back to his after getting a cup of coffee.
He sat down at his desk and looked at his in basket. It was overflowing with work. He had better get started so he could keep
Janet busy. She wouldn’t be able to go out if she had a lot of work to do.
He had been working for a
couple of hours when Janet buzzed his phone.
“Lee, Kowalski is on the
phone.”
“Thanks, Sweetie.”
“Hi Ski. We need a favor from you. We were wondering if you would mind being a
bodyguard for Mrs. Crane, Miss Angie and Miss Wanda. If you can do it, I would like to talk to you
in person.”
“Sure skipper whatever you
need.”
“Good why don’t you come here
around 1400 hours? Do you know if Pat
and Riley are available?”
“Skipper they’re right here
with me. Chief called and told me to
call you and asked about them. So I’m calling for them too. Let me tell them about the meeting and see if
they want to help.”
“Thanks, Ski.”
Kowalski told the other two
men what the skipper wanted and they agreed to help too. Chief Sharkey walked in the diner where they
were having lunch.
“Ski, did you call the
skipper?”
“Yes Sharkey. Just got off the phone. He wants us to be bodyguards for Mrs. Crane,
Miss Angie and Miss Wanda.”
“Bodyguards why?”
“Don’t know we’re meeting him
at 1400 hours. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind
an extra man,” Kowalski told him as he drank his coffee.
“I’m in.” He sat down with the rest of them and ordered
lunch.
((()))
Lee, Chip and Janet went to
the cafeteria for lunch. Today’s special
was meat loaf. Chip ordered the special
while Lee and Janet had salads.
“Lee, why did Kowalski call
earlier? According to the schedule he’s
not on duty until next week. I thought
he went on vacation.”
Chip sat there eating his
meatloaf watching Lee squirm out of telling her why he called.
“I need to talk him about a
special project. I didn’t get a chance
to tell you before we left for lunch but he’ll be at my office for a meeting at
1400 hours along with Patterson and Riley. Please let me know as soon as they
arrive, okay sweetie.”
“Okay,” Janet replied as she
got up to get some more ice tea, “would either of you like some more coffee?”
“Yes, I would like more,”
Chip answered as Janet picked up his cup.
“Sure I could use some too,”
Lee told her handing her his cup.
As she walked away, Chip
said, “Good job of getting out of telling her why Kowalski’s really
coming. But you know she’s going to be
pissed when you tell her the real reason.”
Sighing Lee replied, “Yes I
know but what can I do?”
Janet came back with their
coffees, her tea and sat down.
“What did I miss? You two look like the cat that swallowed the
canary.”
“Nothing sweetie. We better get back to work. I’ve got a lot of reports and letters to give
you.”
They went back to the
office. Janet went to Lee’s office so
she could get the work he had for her.
He handed her several folders bulging with work.
He wasn’t kidding when he
said he had a lot of work to give me, Janet
thought. She went to Chip’s office and
he too had a lot of work to be done.
I think I like it better
when they’re on Seaview checking out the boat, she thought looking at everything they gave her.
((()))
At 1400 hours, Kowalski,
Patterson, Riley and Chief Sharkey reported to Lee’s office for the meeting.
“Hello, gentlemen,” Janet
greeted them. “I’ll tell the skipper
you’re here.”
“Nice eye, Mrs. C.” Riley
told her.
Grinning she replied, “You
should’ve seen it last week.” By now her
eye was a nice shade of green and yellow.
They stood in the waiting
area while she went into Lee’s office.
“Lee, the men are here. Chief Sharkey’s with them too.”
“Thanks, Sweetie,” he said
with a smile knowing Sharkey would help out also. “Tell Chip they’re here. I want him on the meeting too.”
“Yes, Lee,” she answered and
went to Chip’s office.
”Chip, the men are here and Lee would like you in on the meeting.”
“Thanks, Janet.” He got up from his desk and went to the
waiting area and brought the men into Lee’s office and shut the door.
Janet was very curious as to
what the meeting was about as Lee never did tell her.
((()))
Lee and Chip leaned against
the edge of his desk while Kowalski, Patterson and Riley sat on the couch. Sharkey stood by the door.
“As I told Ski on the phone,
we would like you to be bodyguards for Janet, Angie and Wanda. Janet was attacked last week as she walked on
the beach. That’s how she got the black
eye.”
“Sorry skipper, I thought
maybe she ran into something,” Riley said solemnly.
“No harm,” Lee said
continuing, “Angie was attacked last night in downtown
“Why were they attacked,”
Patterson inquired.
Lee knew he could tell these
men the reason they were attacked. These
men are the most trusted ones on the boat and have rescued and aided him on ONI
missions many times.
“A small country on the
“Are the police involved?”
Sharkey wanted to know
“Yes they are but we haven’t
told them why they were attacked. We’re
waiting for Admiral Johnson to get some information from the agents he’s sent
there. They haven’t been able to contact
him as to who’s in charge of these men.
But the police are getting antsy for some information and we don’t know
how much longer we can stall them,” Chip told them.
Lee continued, “We would like
you to accompany Angie and Wanda when they leave the institute. Take them home, make sure no one is in their
houses and go on the errands with them.”
“What about Mrs. Crane?”
Kowalski asked.
“I will make sure I’m with
her as much as I can but there may be times when I might need one of you to
accompany her.”
“Cheech skipper,” Riley said,
“Do they know this?”
Sighing he replied, “No not
yet. They’re not going to be happy but
we can’t have them attacked again. We
didn’t say anything to them until we knew you would take on this task.”
“Well I’m in,” Kowalski
said.
The rest of the men nodded
their heads in agreement.
“I know you’re going on guard
duty next week but between the four of you, Mr. Morton and I will make sure one
of you is available to leave if needed.
Thanks men,” Lee told them gratefully.
“Skipper, I don’t want to be
in your shoes when you tell them,” Riley stated.
With a small grin Lee nodded,
“I’m not sure I want to be in them either.”
The men left Lee’s
office. Janet was just coming out of
Chip’s office after putting some paperwork on his desk.
“Good bye Mrs. Crane,” they
said to her.
“Good bye guys. Have a good afternoon,” Janet replied
back. They had very somber looks on
their faces.
((()))
After the men left, Lee and
Chip went to the Admiral’s office.
“Hi, Angie. How are you this
afternoon?” Chip asked.
“Better thanks. I really appreciated your staying with me
last night.”
”I’m glad I could help. Can we see the
admiral?”
“Yes, he’s in there working
on a new project.”
Chip knocked on the door and
waited for the admiral to answer.
”Come in.”
Lee and Chip went into the
admiral’s office and sat down on the chairs in front of his desk. He looked up
from what he was doing as they sat down.
“The men have agreed to help
us out. Chief Sharkey is helping
also. Now the only problem is telling the
girls,” Lee told the admiral.
“Who’s going to do it?” Chip
asked as both he and Lee looked at the admiral.
“Well with the two of you
looking at me like that, I guess I’m the one.
Please call them in here.”
Lee left the office and went
to Angie’s desk.
“Angie could you please go in
the admiral’s office we need to talk to you about something.”
“Sure Lee,” she replied and
went to the office.
Lee asked Wanda to go to the
admiral’s office and then went to get Janet.
“Janet I need you to come
with me to the admiral’s office.”
“Okay.” She got up from her desk and followed her
husband to the admiral’s office.
When all three of them were
in the admiral’s office, they sat down on one set of couches while the admiral,
Lee and Chip sat down across from them on the other set.
The admiral told Wanda why
Janet and Angie were attacked. After he
finished he added, “I know you are dating Aaron but he can’t know why they were
attacked just yet.”
“Yes admiral I
understand. Aaron and I never discuss
what goes on at work. He knows I can’t
tell him what takes place here and I don’t ask him about his work.”
“Thanks Wanda. Because of the attacks on Angie and Janet we
have to make some changes around here to insure that all of you are safe. So
from now on you will have a bodyguard when you leave the institute to go home
or on an errand. They will check your house before you go in to make sure no
one is there. Kowalski, Patterson,
Riley and Chief Sharkey have agreed to accompany you where ever you go. I know it’s not the best solution but we
don’t want anything to happen to any of you.”
“Once we find out who is
behind the attacks and the police have them in custody, we’ll remove the
bodyguards,” Lee told them looking at Janet.
The three women looked at the
three men who sat across from them and could see the worry and concern on their
faces.
Angie spoke up, “I’m not
thrilled about it but I will do whatever you want me to do. I don’t want to be attacked again.”
Wanda nodded her head in
agreement.
Janet looking at Lee said,
“I’ll agree too.”
He could tell she was not
happy by the look on her face. He knew
when he got home he would probably get an earful.
The admiral looked at his
watch, “Let’s call it a day. We’re all
going home right now. We’ll work out the details with the men and coordinate
with you what your schedules are.”
They all left the admiral’s
office as he started packing up his briefcase.
The rest of them went to their offices and got ready to leave.
Chip stopped at Lee’s office
before going to his, “I don’t envy you tonight.
She’s not happy. Good luck.”
“Just keep your windows
closed if you don’t want to hear us,” Lee said with a slight grin.
Chip walked Angie and Wanda
to their cars and would drive out of the institute with them to make sure no
one was following them. The admiral had
a dinner meeting with the mayor so he would also watch as they drove out. Lee and Janet would go straight home.
((()))
Lee held the car door for
Janet as she got in. He started the car
and grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.
She squeezed it back but said
nothing on the way home.
As soon as they got in the
house and before she could say anything, he pulled her close and gave her a
deep long kiss. She returned his kiss
and started to say something but he beat her to it.
“Before you yell at me hear
me out,” he pleaded, “I know you’re pissed that you need a bodyguard. I’ll be
your bodyguard unless I’m not available and then I’ll make sure Kowalski is
with you but I just want you to be safe.”
“Lee,” she said softly, “I’m
not happy about this but I saw the worry on your faces in the admiral’s
office. I’ll do whatever you want. I don’t want you to worry anymore than the
three of you already are.”
Stunned at what she said with
no argument, he replied, “Thank you, sweetheart.”
Giving her another kiss, he
took her hand and they went upstairs to change before making dinner. They never made it back down stairs. They went to bed for some intimate exercise
and stayed there for the rest of the night.
((()))
Admiral Johnson had finally
gotten word from the agents. They sent
him pictures of the gentlemen who were here in
Lee and the admiral went to
the police station to talk to Aaron and Detective Bates. Admiral Johnson had given them permission to
explain to the police what they wanted and give them copies of the pictures so
they could try and find Bert and
“Are Detectives Thompson and
Bates available,” Lee asked the desk sergeant.
“Tell him Admiral Nelson and Commander Crane would like to see them.”
“Yes sir. Let me tell them you’re here.”
The admiral and Lee stood in
the reception area looking at all the wanted posters when Aaron came out to get
them.
“Good morning Admiral,
Lee. What can I do for you?”
“Do you have a minute to
talk? We have information for you
regarding the attacks on Janet and Angie,” Lee told him.
“Let’s go to the conference
room. I’ll get Julie so she can hear
what you’re going to tell me.”
He led the admiral and Lee
down a long corridor and into a small conference room.
“Help yourself to some
coffee. Not as strong as yours but it’s
still good.”
Lee poured a cup for the
admiral and himself. He was right not as
strong but still good. Julie and Aaron
returned a short while later to the conference room.
“Good morning,” they told her
and she nodded back.
The admiral started by
showing them the pictures of Bert and
“Do you have any idea where
these guys staying or hiding?” Julie asked as she looked at the pictures.
“No, we don’t have any
information other than the pictures,” Lee responded.
“Why are they here and what
do they want?” Aaron asked looking at both men.
“Aaron, Julie what I tell you
now must stay in this room. As I told
you before our national security depends on it,” the admiral stressed.
“Whatever you tell us will
not leave this room,” Aaron assured them.
The admiral explained to
Aaron and Julie why Angie and Janet were attacked and even though they were
trying to intimidate him, he would not sell them the plans. “You just need to
find these men,” he told them.
“Thank you admiral for giving
us this information,” Aaron replied, “I’ll make sure that all patrol officers
are given these pictures so they can be on the lookout for them.”
“One more thing,” Lee added,
“Angie, Wanda and Janet will have bodyguards with them whenever they leave the
institute. Institute personnel will be
with them when they go home, they will check out their houses and go with them
on errands.”
Smiling Aaron said, “Thanks
for taking care of that.” He felt better
knowing Wanda would be safe if he wasn’t able to be with her.
The admiral and Lee got up
and shook the detective’s hands before leaving.
“Thanks for your help too,”
Lee told them. “Please keep us informed
if you find them.”
“Of course,” Julie replied.
Aaron went back to his office
and made copies of the pictures to be distributed to all the patrol cars. They were already on the lookout for a black
car and a large man.
((()))
A week had gone by and the
girls had gotten used to have someone with them at all times. No other attempts had been made on any of
them so far. But Lee and the admiral
weren’t taking any chances until the two men were caught the girls would keep
the bodyguards. Janet only needed to
have Kowalski with her a couple of times as Lee was either at a meeting or busy
on Seaview.
It was late on Wednesday
afternoon when Janet needed to go to the cleaners and grocery store. She couldn’t stall any longer. They had nothing in the house to eat and Lee
and Chip were down to their last uniforms.
Lee was unavailable to go with her so she called down to Seaview
to have one of the men come up and go with her.
The only man available was
Kowalski. He came right up from the sub
pen and met her in her office.
“I’m sorry Ski,” Janet told
him. “I can go to the store and cleaners
by myself. I’m sure you were in the
middle of doing something more important than babysitting me.”
“Don’t worry about it Mrs. C.
and if you went out by yourself I would be without a job and you would be in
big trouble with the skipper. We never
want to make him mad,” he replied with a wry grin.
Sighing she replied, “You’re
right. He’s been a little cranky today
anyway. Is there a problem with Seaview?”
“Yes, the reactor is acting
up and they can’t figure out what the problem is.”
“Let’s go so you can get back
and help them solve the problem.”
They climbed her SUV with
Kowalski at the wheel. She couldn’t even
drive her own car. Lee wanted one of the
men at the wheel in case there was a problem because they could handle the
vehicle better than her.
They arrived in downtown
Kowalski parked the car right
in front of the cleaners. The black sedan with darken windows parked next to
them on the driver’s side of the car. They went in and picked up the
cleaning. There was quite a bit of it
since Janet, Lee or Chip hadn’t been there in a while. Kowalski carried the
cleaning to the car and Janet opened the back driver side door so he could put
it in. He closed the door and as they were going to the other side of the car,
the door on the passenger side of the black sedan opened up suddenly and
knocked Kowalski to the ground. He hit
the front of his head on the curb knocking him out. The back door on the passenger side opened up
and grabbed Janet pushing her into the back seat. The car drove away leaving
Kowalski lying on the curb.
Mr. Winch the owner of the
cleaners saw what happened and ran out to help Kowalski who was getting up from
the street.
“Where’s Mrs. Crane,” he
asked Mr. Winch as he rubbed his forehead and found blood on his hand.
“A man in the black car put
her in the back seat,” he told Kowalski.
“Shit.” He would have to call the skipper and tell
him his wife was taken.
((()))
Lee was in the control room
getting ready to leave Seaview to go the institute office when his phone
rang. Chip was in the observation nose
after coming out of the flying sub.
“What is it Kowalski?” Lee
asked recognizing the phone number.
“Sorry sir, they got her,”
Kowalski told him softly.
“What do you mean...who got
her...where are you?” Lee asked frantically as Chip ran over to him.
“I’m at the cleaners in
downtown
“Don’t move. I’ll be right there.”
“They got Janet,” Lee told
Chip, “You have to drive I don’t have a car.”
Chip called the admiral as
they ran to the parking lot to get Chip’s car.
He met them in front of the office. They got in Chip’s car and drove
downtown. The admiral was calling Aaron
as they drove.
“Aaron Thompson or Detective
Bates please,” the admiral asked the person who answered the phone.
“Neither one of them is
available right now I can put in your Detective Thompson’s voice mail.”
“This is an emergency. Please find him and tell him Admiral Nelson
is on the phone and that Janet Crane has been kidnapped.”
The admiral waited on the
phone tapping his foot on the floor of the car.
“Admiral,” Aaron answered out
of breath. “Sorry I was at the shooting
range. Janet’s been kidnapped. I thought she had a bodyguard with her.”
“I don’t have all the
details. She was at the cleaners in
downtown.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
When Lee, Chip and the
admiral arrived at the cleaners, Kowalski was sitting on the curb holding a
cloth on his head that was covered in blood.
Mr. Winch had given him one when he saw he was bleeding. Also near the
curb was Janet’s purse. Lee checked
inside hoping she had her cell phone with her but he found it in the
purse. Shit, he thought.
“Sorry skipper,” Kowalski
said guiltily trying to stand up. “They
knocked me down with the car door. I hit
my head on the curb and was knocked out momentarily.
“Are you alright Ski?’ Lee
asked not only concerned about his wife but him as well. He had quite a nasty looking gash and bump on
his head. “Sit down Ski. Do you need an
ambulance?”
“No skipper. I’ll just go to
Lee noticed Mr. Winch
standing there watching and went over to him.
“Mr. Winch did you see who
took Mrs. Crane?”
“Yes sir. A large man opened the door into the man in
the red suit. A smaller man grabbed Mrs.
Crane as she tried to help him. He threw
her in the back of a black car.”
“Did you get the license
plate number?”
“No sorry sir.”
“Thanks Mr. Winch,” Lee said
patting him on the shoulder as he could see he was very upset at what happened
outside his store.
Aaron and Julie drove up a
few minutes later and rushed over to Lee, Chip and the admiral.
“Lee what happened...I
thought she had a bodyguard...who took her,” Aaron asked urgently.
“According to Mr. Winch, it
was the same two men from before. They
knocked out her bodyguard,” he told them motioning over to Kowalski sitting on
the curb.
“Does he need an
ambulance? He looks pretty bad,” Julie
asked as she went to look at him.
“No, we’ll make sure he gets
to
Aaron went over to Mr. Winch
and asked him some questions. He could
offer no more information than what he told Lee.
“Lee we’ll get an alert out
right away but there are a lot of black cars and with no plate number it will
be difficult to find them. All the patrol cars also have pictures of the two
men so hopefully they will spot something. But they probably have already
ditched the car.”
“Do what you can. I’m sure they’ll be calling looking for the
plans,” Lee sighed deeply.
“Call us if they do. Lee you will call us?”
“Yes, Aaron I will call if
and when I hear from them.”
Lee helped Kowalski get into
his SUV and took him to
As they drove back to the
institute Kowalski started, “Skipper...”
Lee didn’t let him finish.
“Ski I don’t blame you. Please don’t worry about it. We’ll get her back.”
As they were driving Lee
called
Jamie met them at the door
and helped Lee bring Kowalski into an examination room. After examining him, he knew he had a
concussion. He stitched up his forehead
and would have to stay overnight in
“Doc, let me out. I need to help them find Mrs. Crane,”
Kowalski told Jamie as he got up off the gurney. Luckily Lee was standing there or he would
have fallen on the floor. Lee helped him
get back on the gurney.
“Ski, you’ll stay
here...that’s an order...I’ll let you know when we find her,” Lee told him as
he laid back down.
“Yes sir.”
“Lee I’ll make sure he
stays. Let me know if you need my help,”
Jamie said putting his hand on Lee’s shoulder, “You’ll find her.”
“Thanks Jamie,” Lee said as
he walked to his car and drove back to the office.
He walked to the elevators
and took them upstairs. Wanda and Angie
were waiting for him by the door. They could tell the news wasn’t good by the
look on his face and let him walk to his office. He sat there in the dark knowing what they
would want. He knew he could not give it
to them and it might cost his wife her life.
Chip and the admiral came
back a few minutes later and told the girls what had happened.
“Where’s Lee,” Chip asked
concerned about his ‘brother’.
“In his office,” Angie told
him.
He knocked on the door but
when he got no answer went in anyway. He
was surprised to find Lee sitting in the dark.
“We’ll find her,” he
reassured him.
“Chip, you and I both know
what their going to want and we can’t give it them.”
“Lee, we’ll figure out a way
to get her back and not give them the plans,” Chip told him patting him on the
shoulder.
((()))
Janet shut the car door after
Kowalski put the cleaning in but before she could walk around to the other side
the car parked next to them opened up the door quickly and hit Kowalski from
behind knocking him down and he hit his head on the curb. Janet ran to help him but was grabbed from
behind and thrown in the back seat of the black car.
“Get the hell out of here,”
the man yelled as he shut the car door.
Janet felt the car back up
and speed away.
“Who are you?” Janet screamed
squirming trying to away from the man.
“He’s hurt...let me help him...you can’t leave him.”
“I don’t care about him. I suggest you stop squirming or you’ll be
sorry.”
“Go to hell,” Janet told him
grabbing the car door handle trying to open it even though the car was moving.
The man in the back slapped
her across he face and then pressed a cloth saturated with chloroform to her
face. That was the last thing she
remembered. They drove to the mall,
parking the car as far away from the entrance as they could. Parked right along
the black car was a small silver car.
After making sure no one was around, Bert opened the door on the silver
car while
((()))
When Janet woke up she was
alone in a small bedroom room handcuffed to a headboard with wooden slats. The handcuffs didn’t move very well on the
wooden slats but she managed to sit up and look at her watch. She had been out
for over two hours. Looking around the room she noticed it had a bathroom but
couldn’t tell if it had any windows. The
main room had windows but they were close to the ceiling and covered with
curtains. If she managed to get free of
the handcuffs there was nothing for her to stand on but a small table next to
the bed. Even if she stood on the table
she wouldn’t be able to reach the windows, they were too high for her to climb
out of. She tried get loose from the handcuffs but she couldn’t undo them. She
had no idea where she was. She could
hear traffic outside and assumed she was near a highway. She was also worried about Kowalski and how
badly he was hurt. She tried to open the drawer on the table but quickly shut
it when she heard someone at the door.
In walked the huge man she saw at the restaurant.
“I see you’re finally awake,”
he said coming over to her and rubbing her cheek where she was slapped. “Bert wouldn’t have had to hit you if just
listened to him.”
Pulling away from him she
asked, “Who are you...what do you want from me.”
“Now Mrs. Crane we’ve met
before. I’m sure you remember the beach,” he laughed. “I do. I enjoyed watching you try and get
away from me.”
“Please let me go. I don’t have anything for you.”
“You don’t but the admiral
does and we will use you to get it.”
“He’ll never give it to you,”
she hissed.
“Maybe he won’t but what
about your husband. I’m sure he would
like you back in one piece.”
“He won’t either.”
“We’ll see.”
Bert came in as
“
“It looks like Mrs. Crane
will be our guest for the night. Would
you like some dinner?”
Janet just looked at them and
said nothing.
“Suit yourself,”
Damn, she thought.
She laid back down with tears in her eyes. She knew Lee would move heaven and earth to
find her but she also knew he or the admiral wouldn’t give those reactor plans
to them. She fell asleep hoping Lee
would have a plan to get her out.
((()))
The admiral, Lee and Chip
were meeting in the admiral’s office trying to figure out a way to find
Janet. The admiral’s phone rang
interrupting their discussion.
“Nelson,” the admiral
answered tersely.
“Harry, Gerald here,” Johnson
continued before the admiral could stop him, “I have some more information for
you. The agents found out that the
people trying to get the plans for the reactor are a rogue group. They imprisoned the prime minister and his
cabinet so they could take over the country.
They managed to round up all the members of the group except the two in
“Gerald, you’re about three
hours to late with this information.
Janet Crane was kidnapped by them this afternoon. We haven’t heard from them yet but you can
bet they’re going to want the plans for the reactor and use her to get them.”
“Harry you know you can’t
give them the plans no matter what. Even
if we have his members in custody, he could sell them to any country willing to
pay for them. The People’s Republic is
looking to built new more powerful submarines.”
“I’m well aware of that
Johnson,” the admiral said harshly. “And
it could cost Janet Crane her life.”
“Harry, I’m really sorry,”
Johnson replied softly, “please keep me informed.”
The admiral slammed down the
phone. He couldn’t face Lee or Chip, but
they both were well aware of what Johnson had told him. They had done enough government work to know
he couldn’t give them the plans.
((()))
Lee and Chip left the
admiral’s office late that night. Before
leaving they called Aaron to see if he had any leads on the car. He had nothing new to report.
Before leaving for the night
they went to
“How’s he doing Jamie?’ Lee
asked.
“He should be able to leave
tomorrow but he won’t be able to return to work for a couple of days.”
“Doc, I can’t stay home. I need to help the skipper find Mrs. C. It’s my fault she was kidnapped.”
“Ski, do what the Dr.
Jamieson says. I don’t want to make it an order but right now we have no
information so there’s nothing you can do,” Lee told him.
“Yes sir. But if you do, please let me know.”
“Okay Ski. Good night.”
Chip and Lee walked back to
their cars. Lee hesitated before
unlocking the door; maybe he would stay at the office tonight instead of going
home.
“Lee, want me to stay with
you?” Chip asked quietly.
“No Chip. I was thinking of staying at the office
tonight but I guess I’ll go home. Thanks bro.”
“We’ll figure out something
Lee,”
“I know,” Lee replied
dejectedly.
((()))
Lee got in his car and drove
home alone to his dark house. He
unlocked the door but didn’t bother to turn on the lights. He sat on the couch in the dark. He missed her already.
What if he never got her
back...what if something happened to her...what would he do without her, he thought.
He stretched out on the couch
not wanting to go to their bedroom without her.
He laid awake until 0300 trying to think up a plan to get her back
before he finally fell asleep.
((()))
Lee woke up the next morning
to knocking on his patio door. He got up
and saw Chip standing there in a t-shirt and shorts.
“What’s wrong,” Lee asked
still half asleep.
Chip noticed he hadn’t
showered, shaved or dressed and it was 0700 hours. He was always up at 0500
even on weekends.
“Nothing is wrong. I just need to get my uniforms out of your
car and noticed they were in the back seat of your car. I don’t have one to wear to work today. You okay?
You look like something the cat dragged in.”
“I didn’t fall asleep until
early this morning.”
Chip knew he slept on the
couch. The throw that was always neatly
folded on the back was lying in a heap on the floor.
Lee and Chip went to the
garage and got their uniforms out of the back seat.
“Want me to drive you to work
today?” Chip offered.
“No but thanks. I’ll be there in a little while,” Lee yawned.
Before walking out the door
Chip turned around saying, “Lee you know they won’t hurt her...they need her.”
“I know.”
Chip went out the patio door
but looked back at Lee and knew he was very worried. He sighed knowing there was nothing he could
do for him and continued on to his house to get ready for work.
Lee made a pot of coffee
before taking a shower. He really didn’t
want to go upstairs and take one. They
always took one together every morning.
He went upstairs got his shaving gear, underwear and showered in the
bathroom in his office. Taking a uniform from the pile he had just taken from
the car he dressed in his office. After he dressed he went to the kitchen and
made some toast while drinking a cup of coffee.
He hoped they would call today and let him know when and where he could
get his wife back. He cleaned up and
left for work.
((()))
When Janet woke the next
morning, she sat up on the bed; she needed to use the facilities very
badly. Her arm had fallen asleep and she
wanted the handcuffs off. She only knew
the name of the huge man. Before she
could call him,
“Good morning, Mrs. Crane,”
“Could you undo the
handcuff? I need to use the bathroom.”
“Sure but don’t try anything
or you’ll be sorry,” he told her as he undid the handcuff and watched her go to
the bathroom.
“Yes sir.” Janet rubbed her wrist and arm trying to get
her circulation back.
She walked into the bathroom
hoping there was a window in it but no luck.
After using the facilities she splashed some water on her face and came
out as
“Thank you.”
Bert came into the room with
some coffee and cereal for her.
“I thought you might be
hungry since you didn’t have any dinner last night,” Bert told her as he set
the tray on the bed.
“Yes I’m hungry. Thank you
for the food,” Janet told them as she ate the cereal and took a sip of the
coffee.
Janet figured if she was nice
to them maybe they would let her go.
“Please let me go,” she
pleaded, “I’ll personally see that you get the plans.”
“Mrs. Crane we can’t let you
go. But don’t worry you might be able to
leave today. It all depends on Admiral
Nelson and when he brings us the plans.”
Janet knew the admiral would
never give them the plans. She had to
figure a way out on her own. She managed
to get the drawer open on the small table next to the bed. She was looking for something she could use
to open the handcuffs. The only item in
the drawer was a telephone book but they must have taken out the phone because
she didn’t see one anywhere.
While she sat there trying to
figure out what her next move was she heard a new voice in the other room.
“Hello Mr. Shale,” she heard
Bert say.
“Where’s Mrs. Crane?”
“In the other room,”
In walked a very handsome and
finely dressed man about Lee’s height and weight and the bluest eyes she’s ever
seen. Even bluer than Chip’s.
“Mrs. Crane, I’m Reno
Shale. Sorry we have to meet under such
circumstances but I need those plans and you’re going to help me get them,” he
said as he shut the door. He gave her
the chills as he looked her over from top to bottom undressing her with his
eyes.
“Mr. Shale, Admiral Nelson
will not give you the plans.”
“Well you better hope he does
or you will pay the price. I have no
problem torturing you or even killing you to get them,” he sneered.
Maybe we can make a deal,” he
told her as he took off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt.
He undid the handcuff on her
hand and sat down along side of her. He rubbed his hand against her cheek, then
down her arms. Cringing as he touched
her, she knew this was her only chance to try and get away so when he started
to open the buttons on her dress; catching him totally off guard she punched him
in the face as hard as she could.
Damn that hurt, she thought as she got up and ran for the door.
“Stop her,” he yelled as he
got up from the bed rubbing his jaw.
Janet managed to open the
door but there stood
“You will pay for that,”
Shale hissed as he slapped her across the face and handcuffed her back to the
bed. “No one gets the better of me.”
He buttoned up his shirt,
grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the room.
She rubbed her cheek still stinging from the slap, looked at her hand
which was starting to swell, laid down on the bed and cried. She was afraid she blew her only chance for
escape.
((()))
Lee arrived at the institute
and went to his office. He checked with
Wanda when he came in. The admiral, Lee and Chip decided that Wanda and Angie
will have some one with them at all times so Patterson picked up Wanda today
from her house and drove her to work. He
would also take her home at the end of the day. Riley was picking up Angie and they hadn’t
arrived yet.
“Wanda did any calls come in
for the Admiral?”
“No sir. None so far.
Any word on Janet?” she asked somberly.
“Nothing yet. I’ll be in the admiral’s office,” he told
her, “Please put any calls through right away.”
“Yes Lee.”
As he went into the Admiral’s
office Angie and Riley came in. Angie
could see how upset he was. He already
looked very tired and worried.
Grabbing his hand, “They’ll
find her,” she told him giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
“I know. Thanks Angie,” he replied squeezing her hand
back.
Chip came out of his office
and saw Lee talking to Angie.
“Any word?” They both shook their heads.
The admiral saw Lee and Chip
in Angie’s office and called them into his.
They sat down in front of his desk.
Before the admiral could start talking the phone rang.
Lee picked it up before the
admiral had a chance, “Crane,” he said quickly.
“Lee, its Aaron. We found the black sedan in the parking lot
at the mall. There was no sign of Janet
or the two men. We did find a cloth with
chloroform on it. It looks like they may
have knocked her out when they took her.”
“Damn,” Lee snapped, “That
means she has no way of knowing where she’s at.”
“Sorry Lee. It’s all we got right now. Have you heard anything?”
“Nothing yet. I’ll let you know if we do,” he sighed.
Lee told the admiral and Chip
what Aaron had said to him about the car.
“Lee if they want the plans
they’ll contact us,” Chip said softly.
Lee got up from his seat and
started pacing. He knew Chip was
right. They would have to contact them
for the plans.
Lee and Chip went back to
their office to try do some work. They
heard the phone ring in the admiral’s office and ran to his office.
“Nelson.”
“Admiral Nelson, this Reno
Shale and I have something you want and you have something I want.”
“Go on.”
“Bring me the plans for Seaview’s
reactor. When I have them and check them
over I will release Mrs. Crane.”
“Mr. Shale, I will give you
the plans but you will bring Mrs. Crane with you. I’m not giving you anything until she is safe
with me.”
“Admiral you’re hardly in a
position to make demands.”
“That’s my deal. Take it or
leave it,” Nelson said boldly.
Shale figured the admiral
wouldn’t give up the plans without Janet being there but he had to try. He didn’t trust him so he checked around for
a public place to meet so the admiral wouldn’t be tempted to try something that
would endanger Janet or other people.
“Meet me at
“What time?”
“Be there at
“I’ll be there with the plans
and you better have Mrs. Crane there also.”
The admiral hung up the phone
and repeated to Lee and Chip what Shale’s demands were.
“Admiral, you can’t give him
the plans. The government will have your
head,” Lee told him.
“Lee, I have the old plans
from the first reactor I put in Seaview.
They’re workable but I will keep out the most important parts of the
reactor. They won’t find out until they
start building it that there are components missing.”
“Admiral what if they know
what they’re looking at and notice that there are missing important
components.”
“Lee we have to take that
chance if you want to get Janet back.”
“You’re not going alone. I’m
going with you,” Lee stated emphatically.
“Lee…”
“No, she’s my wife.”
“Alright,” the admiral
conceded.
((()))
Lee called Aaron to let him
know the kidnappers had made contact with them.
“Thompson.”
“Aaron, Crane here. We’re meeting a Mr. Shale at the dolphin
fountain on
“Maybe we could disguise them
as maintenance men. Lee, the fountain
and wharf could be crowded with tourists at that time. We may not be able to take a shot without
hurting civilians.”
Sighing Lee responded, “I
realize that Aaron and that’s probably why he choose that location but can we
try. Can we meet across the street from the
fountain about thirty minutes before 0800 to make sure everyone is in position?”
Lee continued, “I’ll have
Chip there as a tourist. Can you bring
Julie? Maybe they can pose as a couple
taking pictures by the fountain?”
“Lee that’s a good idea and
are you sure you don’t work for the FBI?
You think too much like an agent.”
“I’ll see you at 0730
tomorrow,” Lee said cutting him off before he could ask any more questions.
“Okay if you pose as a
tourist tomorrow with Julie?”
“No problem,” Chip responded.
They went back to their
office to finish up the day, before leaving Chip went to Lee’s office.
“How about getting some
dinner? You didn’t eat lunch and the
rules Janet has to follow go for you too.
Come on, we’ll order a pizza and eat it at my house. I’ll get Jamie on
your six if you tell me no.”
“Fine, I’ll have pizza. Thanks Chip.”
After eating dinner, Lee went
up this his house and unlocked the door, it would be another long and anxious
night for him He fell asleep on the
couch again. He couldn’t bring himself
to sleep in their bed alone. He now
realized how hard it is for Janet to sleep when he’s gone.
((()))
Janet sat up on the bed when
she heard to the door open.
Damn, she thought. She wouldn’t be able to get past
“Don’t get any ideas about
escaping. Bert is at the door with a gun
waiting for you to open the door. He
will shoot you.” he told her as he stood by the bathroom door as she closed it. She finished her dinner and
Sighing Janet told him,
“Thanks for dinner and the bathroom break.”
She sat on the bed trying to
figure out what she could do to escape.
A couple hours after dinner she was very thirsty. She needed something to drink.
About 2200 Shale came in the
room sporting a large bruise on his jaw that was a nice shade of purple.
“Admiral Nelson agreed to
bring the plans to me tomorrow morning,” he told her grinning.
Janet was shocked at what he
told her. The admiral would never turn over the plans for the reactor. There had to be a catch and knew they had
come up with a plan.
Before leaving he turned
around, “Do you need anything before I turn in for the night?”
“Yes, could I please have
something to drink? I’m very thirsty.”
“Sure, I’ll get you a glass
of ice tea. Would that be okay?”
“Thank you.”
Shale brought her a large
glass of ice tea which she drank up quickly.
He waited until she finished so he could take the glass back. He didn’t trust her with anything. He walked out of the room with a grin on his
face.
She was sitting up on the bed
when suddenly she was very dizzy, nauseated and was having difficulty moving
her arms and legs. He must have put
something in her tea. She fell back on
the bed, her eyes were open, but she couldn’t move. She blacked out. Shale went in to check on her to see if the
drug took effect. He could tell she had
blacked out and was tempted to finish what he started yesterday but it wouldn’t
be any fun if she didn’t fight back.
((()))
Shale went to Janet’s room at
0600 the next morning. He went over to
the bed and rubbed her cheek. She
stirred and opened her eyes. She was
very frightened when she saw him standing over her. She couldn’t remember anything at all from
last night.
“What did you give me,” she
asked groggily. She was barely able to
sit up and was confused as to where she was.
She felt like she was drunk.
“A drug to ‘relax’ you,” he
told her. “We’re going to meet the
admiral this morning and I don’t trust you.”
“I need to use the bathroom,”
she told him as she tried to get up but sat back down.
“Let me help you.”
He undid the handcuffs,
helped her get up off the bed and walked her to the bathroom. She managed to use the facilities and leaned
on the sink to wash up. He sat on the
bed waiting for her to finish with a huge smile on his face. He enjoyed watching her struggle.
He walked her back and
re-handcuffed her to the bed. He left her
to give Bert and
“I’m going to give you each a
syringe when we get to the wharf. If I
suspect trouble, I will signal you to inject Mrs. Crane with the syringe. You both will need to inject her at the same
time.”
“What’s in the syringe?” Bert
asked.
“Enough morphine to kill
her.”
((()))
Lee didn’t get much
sleep. He laid on the couch until 0200
and fell asleep for a couple of hours.
He hoped they would be able to get Janet away from the kidnappers. He got showered and dressed in his office
again. He made his coffee and breakfast,
he hated eating alone. It was only 0500
when he left for work.
He went to his office, made
some coffee, took a cup back to his office and sat in the dark. He was worried Janet would get hurt or
killed.
Chip came in an hour later
and saw that Lee’s car was in his parking place but he didn’t see him
anywhere. He called down to Seaview.
“Security, Dale speaking.”
“Dale, its Mr. Morton. Is Captain Crane aboard Seaview?”
“No sir, I haven’t seen him
and I’ve been here since last night.”
“Thanks. If he comes down there in the next few
minutes, please give me a call.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chip disconnected the call
and wondered where he was. He looked in
Janet’s office, he wasn’t in there and it was in the same condition it was when
she left. Taking a chance he was in his
office sitting in the dark, he knocked on the door.
“What,” he snapped.
“Lee, can I come in?”
“Sorry Chip. Come on in.”
“Why are you sitting in the
dark? Did you know Janet does the same
thing when you’re gone only she wraps your coat around her?”
“I don’t know why I’m sitting
in the dark. Only I don’t have anything
of hers to wrap around me,” he grinned slightly.
Chip went over to the light
switch and turned it on. He could see
his ‘bro’ was very tired and worried.
Hopefully it would be over today.
“Chip, you know what to do
when we’re at the fountain?” Lee asked.
“Yes Lee. I won’t take any chances on getting Janet
hurt.”
“Thanks for helping out.”
“Lee you know I would do
anything for you and her.”
Chip left Lee alone in his
office. He got a cup of coffee and went
to his. He was actually looking forward
to working with Julie.
The admiral, Wanda and Angie
came in thirty minutes later. Riley had picked up both Angie and Wanda today.
Kowalski stopped by a few
minutes later with Patterson. Jamie had
released him from
Kowalski went over the Lee
when he came out for another cup of coffee.
“Skipper, let me help you
today. I owe those guys big time.”
“Ski, not this time. The fewer people there the better besides that
they might recognize you.”
“Aye sir. But if you need me
I’ll be on Seaview today.”
“Does Doc know you’re on
duty?” Lee asked with a wry grin.
“No, I’m supposed to be at
home resting but I can’t stay away.”
“Alright Ski, I won’t tell
him,” Lee said squeezing his shoulder.
((()))
Lee, Chip and the admiral
left the institute 0700 for the thirty minute drive to the fountain at the
wharf. The admiral had the plans rolled
up in a tube. Lee and Chip each had
their guns in the jackets. They found a
parking space on the street facing the beach not too far from the entrance to
the wharf. They saw Aaron and Julie
across the street at a convenient store waiting for them.
“Admiral, Lee, everybody is
in place. I have a sharpshooter in the buildings on each side of the fountain
and several police officers dressed as maintenance men that will be in the
area. Unless we have a clear shot, we will not shoot. Right now the fountain area isn’t too busy
but who knows what will happen in the next few minutes. Good luck.”
“You too Aaron,” Lee answered
as he and the admiral walked to the fountain. The admiral dug in his pocket and
threw a quarter in the fountain. Lee
noticed what he had done.
“Why did you throw a quarter
in there?”
“For luck.”
Chip and Julie had walked
ahead of them and stopped at the front of the fountain where they were taking
pictures of the fountain and each other.
They seemed to be really enjoying themselves Lee noted as he watched
them.
((()))
Shale, Bert and
Shale got in the back seat
next to Janet while Bert got in the driver’s seat.
((()))
The men holding Janet found
the wharf and fountain and waited in the car until it was time to leave. Shale
could see the admiral was there along with Lee.
He was not happy to see Lee was there.
Shale handed Bert and
At precisely
“Admiral, something’s wrong
with Janet. She looks like she’s drunk,”
Lee said worriedly as they walked up to the fountain.
“Take it easy Lee,” the
admiral replied calmly.
“Admiral Nelson you were told
to come alone. What’s Commander Crane
doing here?”
“Mr. Shale you are holding
his wife. He just wanted to make sure
she was safe. What have you done to
her?”
“Admiral I don’t trust you or
her so she’s been given a drug to ‘relax’ her.
She’s quite feisty.”
The admiral and Lee both
noticed he had a nice purple bruise on his jaw.
Lee looked at Janet again; she could barely stand and looked
confused. He wanted to go over to her
but the admiral put his hand on his arm.
“Easy son,” he said softly,
“We’ll get her.”
“Yes Commander, take it
easy,” Shale taunted, “Bert and
“Yes Mr. Shale,” the admiral
replied handing him the tube with the plans in it.
Shale walked to a nearby
table, pulled the plans out of the tube and sat down going over all the
pages. There weren’t too many people
standing near the fountain. But there
were enough people around that the admiral and Lee knew there was no way they
would be able to take a shot at Shale or the other two men.
Janet was very confused as
Bert and
“Admiral, you’re not dealing
with an amateur as I can see there are a few important components missing from
these plans. I guess our deal is off.
Bert,
As Bert and
“What did you give her,” Lee
yelled as he pressed his gun deeper into his back.
“Rohypnol,” he sneered,
Lee paled when he heard
that. He was afraid of what he had done
to her.
Julie and Chip ran over to
Lee and Shale. Chip knowing Lee as well
as he did could see he was on the verge of losing it.
“Lee, let him go,” Chip
ordered grabbing him by the arm, “Lee now.”
Lee took his gun out of his
back. Julie slapped the handcuffs on
Shale as Aaron came up to them. Chip and
Lee went over to the admiral who still had his arms around Janet. Chip helped him up while Lee knelt along side
Janet as she laid on the ground.
“Sweetie, are you okay,” Lee
asked worriedly.
“I think so. I just don’t
remember too much. What happened?” she
replied confused and shakily sat up.
“Aaron, I’ve got to get Janet
to
“Okay Lee, I’ll check in with
you later. I’ll have Julie and police
officer go with you as an escort. Lee, you need to have Jamie do a rape kit on
her in case she was assaulted. We need
to have someone there to keep the evidence clean.”
“I know Aaron,” Lee replied
dejectedly knowing that Rohypnol was a date rape drug.
Lee carried Janet to the car
and put her in the back seat. She was still a little sleepy. The admiral and Chip jumped into the front
and followed police escort and Julie to the institute. The admiral called
“
“Betty, Nelson here. Where’s Dr. Jamieson?”
“He’s in his office. Hold on
sir.”
“Yes Harry.”
“Jamie we’re bringing Janet
in right now. We should be there in ten
minutes.”
“What’s wrong Harry?” he
asked as he could tell by the tone of his voice there was problem.
“He gave her Rohypnol.”
“Damn. We’ll be ready for her.”
((()))
They stopped in front of
“Please stay out here while
we examine her,” he told Lee.
“Jamie...I”
“No Lee, you need to stay
here and you know why I can’t let you in there.”
Betty, Julie and Jamie took
the gurney into the examination room.
Jamie got out the rape kit. He
kept one in stock just in case something would happen at the institute. He hoped he would never have to use it.
“Jamie, please tell me what’s
going on?” Janet asked wanting to know what was happening.
Jamie replied softly, “Shale
gave you a drug called Rohypnol. It’s a
date rape drug. I have to examine you to
see if you were assaulted.”
“Okay Jamie.”
Janet lay on the bed while
Jamie examined her and thought as tears ran down her cheeks, what if Lee
doesn’t want me anymore because of this. Betty saw her tears, took her hand, gave it a
gentle squeeze and didn’t let it go.
Julie took her other hand and held it until Jamie was done.
“Betty, take this to the lab
for Frank to analyze. I want the results
right away,” Jamie ordered as Julie followed Betty to the lab.
Jamie helped Janet sit up and
saw tears streaming down her face.
“I’m sorry but it had to be
done.”
“I know,” she replied. He put his arms around her as she cried. After a few minutes, she wiped away her tears
and looked at Jamie. “Sorry I didn’t mean to fall apart like that.”
“It’s okay. You’ve been through quite an ordeal. I would be worried if you didn’t ‘fall
apart’.”
“Janet,” Jamie asked, “do you remember when he
gave you the drug or anything else?”
“It was around
“No Rohypnol is tasteless but
they have added dyes to the pills so you can see it in clear liquids but in ice
tea you never would have seen it. Are
you hurt anywhere else?”
“Just my hand, I punched Mr.
Shale in the face trying to escape.”
Jamie took her hand and
looked at it.
“I don’t think it’s broke,
but I’ll x-ray it to make sure. I think
you better have Lee show you how to throw a punch. This is the second time you’ve hurt your hand
punching someone,” he told her with a wry grin.
“Or maybe I just should stay
out of situations where I need to punch someone,” she replied with a slight
smile.
The phone rang and Janet
jumped about two feet off the bed. Jamie
walked over to the phone and answered it on the second ring.
“Thanks Frank,” Jamie said
and hung up the phone. He walked over to
Janet and took her hand in his. “You weren’t assaulted.”
“Thanks Jamie,” she told him
as tears welled up in her eyes. This
time they were tears of relief.
“I better tell Lee before he
wears a path in my floor,” Jamie said as he noticed him pacing in the hallway.
((()))
Lee paced outside the
examination room waiting for some word from Jamie. He saw Betty and Julie go to
the lab. Betty came back to the hallway
where Lee, Chip and the admiral were waiting. Julie had to stay in the lab
until Frank was done analyzing the test in case it showed Janet was
assaulted. If it did, she would need to
take it back to the station.
What seemed to be an
eternity, Jamie finally came out to talk to them. Lee ran over to him.
“She wasn’t assaulted and the
drug should be out of her system in a couple of hours or so. He gave it to her about 2000 hours last night
and it only stays in your system for twenty four hours. But I don’t know the
dosage so it might be longer.”
They all breathed a sigh of
relief. Julie called Aaron and told him
the results. She and the police officer
would return to the police station to help Aaron with the investigation. Shale
still could be charged with giving Janet the drug.
“Lee, she’ll be okay once the drug is out of
her system,” Jamie assured him.
“Can I see her,” Lee asked
running his hand through his hair.
“Yes, but then I need to
x-ray her hand.”
Lee went into the room and
saw Janet laying in the bed with her eyes closed.
“Sweetie,” he said softly.
She opened her eyes when he
came into the room. He went to her and
gave her a kiss and hug. She clung to
him tightly as she hugged him back.
“Are you okay?” he asked
while she clung to him. Jamie said you
need an x-ray on your hand.”
Lee picked up her hand saw
that is was swollen and black and blue.
“Is that why Shale’s jaw was
bruised? You hit him?”
“I punched as hard as I could
and tried to run away but
“Nice try anyway,” he told
her kissing her hand.
Jamie and Betty came back and
took her to have her hand x-rayed.
((()))
While Janet went to have her
hand x-rayed, Lee went back to the waiting room to talk to the admiral and
Chip.
“Thanks Chip for stopping me
back at the fountain. I almost shot him in the back. So much for my ONI training
but when he told me he gave Janet Rohypnol, I just lost it.”
“I knew you were on the edge,
so I figured I better intervene. That’s
what ‘brothers’ do,” Chip told him patting on the shoulder.
The admiral could see relief
in the face of his ‘son’. He also was
relieved that everything turned out for the good. Must have been the quarter he threw in the
fountain for luck, he thought.
“Since Janet’s going to be
gone for awhile, I could sure use a cup of Cookie’s coffee and I’m sure you
need
one too. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ll let Angie and Wanda know that Janet is
here.” Chip said.
“Thanks Chip. Since he doesn’t have anything stronger,
coffee will have to do. Could you also
let Kowalski know Janet is here? He’s
very upset and I told him I would let him when we got her. He should be on Seaview.”
“Yes, I’ll let him and the
rest of them know she’s in
Lee saw Betty bringing Janet
back from x-ray and held the door open for her as she pushed the gurney back
into the room Jamie followed behind looking at the x-ray of Janet’s hand while
he walked.
He saw Lee holding the door
so he went in followed by Lee and the admiral.
“No broken bones; but it is
badly bruised. I’ll have to wrap it up.”
“Will she be able to go home
today?”
“Lee, I would like her to
stay here tonight. Her blood pressure is
low plus she might be nauseated tomorrow. Both are side effects of the drug. Let me see how she is.”
((()))
Chip came back with coffee
for all of them and a sandwich for himself. He was hungry as usual. As they sat
there drinking the coffee, Aaron knocked on the door.
“Hi Aaron,” Lee said opening
the door.
“Okay to come in and talk to
you and Janet?”
Lee looked at Janet and she
shook her head that it was okay for him to come and talk to her.
“How are you doing?” Aaron
asked with concern.
“I’ve been better.”
“Alright if I ask you some
questions?”
“Yes, Aaron. I’ll tell you whatever I remember.”
“How did you get the drug?”
Janet recounted to Aaron what
she had told Jamie when he asked her what had happened.
“Aaron, isn’t Rohypnol
illegal in the
“Yes it is. But since he’s from the
“Thanks Janet. That’s all I
have for now. You will have to come to
the station for an official statement but it can wait until you feel
better. I’m glad everything worked out
okay.”
“Me too and I will be there
in a couple of days.”
“What about Bert and
“Yes, they were taken to the
hospital, patched up and then to jail.
Shale is in jail right now being held on kidnapping charges among others
yet to be determined. Bert told us where
they held Janet and we’ve checked out the rooms. The only items we found were the empty vials
of morphine.”
“Aaron, please thank the two
sharpshooters. They did a fantastic
job,” Lee commented. He’d been in
situations similar to this one and knew what a difficult shot they had to make.
“Thanks Lee, I’ll tell Connor. He’s the second best sharpshooter we have.”
“Who’s the first,” Lee asked.
“Me.”
Smiling Lee said, “Thanks
again for all your help.”
“No problem Lee. Can you please do me a favor...stay out of
trouble?” Aaron teased.
“We’ll try,” Lee replied with
a smile as he shook his hand and walked him out the door.
Aaron left the institute for
the police station to help Julie with the paperwork.
((()))
Lee went back to Janet’s room
and sat down next to the bed. Chip and
the admiral were still there. There was
a knock on the door and Angie and Wanda poked their heads in.
“Can we come in?” Wanda
asked.
“Sure,” Janet answered. “I’m glad to see you both.”
“We’re glad you’re okay,”
Angie told her. “Did they get them?”
“Yes they got all three of
them. You won’t need the bodyguards any
more,” the admiral said to them.
“I kind of liked being
chauffeured around,” Angie replied with a slight grin.
Janet started yawning so they
knew it was time to go. They left the
room just as Kowalski and the rest of the ‘bodyguards’ were coming in the door
to
“Come in,” Lee said.
Kowalski stuck his head in
the door, “Okay if I come in with the rest of the guys? We just want to make sure Mrs. Crane was
okay.”
“Come in Ski,” Janet told
him. “How are you...what happened to
your head...sorry you got hurt.”
“I’m fine Mrs. C. Just a few stitches. I’m sorry I let you get kidnapped. I never saw the guy open the car door.”
“Ski, it wasn’t your
fault. I didn’t see the door
either. Are you sure you’re
alright. That gash looks pretty bad.”
“I’ve had worse. I better go before Doc sees me. I’m supposed to be resting.”
“Glad you’re doing okay,”
Sharkey said while Patterson and Riley nodded in agreement.
“We’ll see you later,”
Kowalski said as they left.
“Resting?” Janet asked, “How
badly was he hurt?”
“He had a concussion and
should be at home resting but he was on Seaview working. He was waiting to hear how you were. I told him I wouldn’t let Jamie find out.”
“I wouldn’t find out what?”
Jamie wanted to know as he walked in the door.
“Nothing important,” Lee said
with a smile.
“Well, you all need to
leave. Janet needs to rest. I’m going to make her stay here tonight. If her blood pressure is back to normal, she’s
not nauseated or has any other side effects from the drug, I will let her go
home tomorrow. No work tomorrow and
maybe the next day too.”
“Jamie,” Janet started to
protest but he didn’t let her finish.
“I can make you stay tomorrow
too.” he threatened.
“Okay tonight,” she agreed
reluctantly. “Can Lee stay a little
longer?”
“Yes just a little while
more. Chip and Harry, you need to
leave.” Jamie ordered.
“Yes sir,” they smiled.
They each gave Janet a kiss
good bye.
“Thank you,” she told them after
she kissed each one of them back.
The admiral was going back to
his office to contact Admiral Johnson.
Chip was going home to make a phone call. He got Julie’s number and was going to ask
her out on a date.
((()))
The admiral called Johnson
the minute he walked in his office.
“Johnson.”
“Gerald, its Harry. Reno Shale and his two men Bert and
“Thanks for the update
Harry. We’ll figure out who’s got
jurisdiction on this but I’m pretty sure the government will take them into
their custody. Is Janet alright?”
“Yes, Shale drugged her with
a date rape drug Rohypnol and she has a bruised hand from punching him trying
to escape.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,”
Johnson sighed deeply, “Everything come out okay?”
“Yes. She’ll be home tomorrow. Bye Gerald.”
The admiral hung up the phone
before Johnson could respond. He hoped
he didn’t have to talk to him anytime soon.
The admiral made one more call before going home.
“Security, Rivers,”
“Hank, how’s the fence
project going?”
“Hi Harry, how’s Mrs. Crane.”
“She’s doing fine.”
“Glad to hear that. The fence has been taken care of. We didn’t make the current too strong so it
won’t hurt any animals but it’s strong enough to let someone know they won’t be
able to cut the fence. I know Mrs. Crane
will want to walk out there soon.”
“Thanks Hank for doing this
and yes, she’ll be out there walking soon if Lee lets her out of his sight.”
“Good night, Harry.”
The admiral hung up the phone
satisfied he has made his institute a little safer. He took his briefcase from his desk, turned
off the light in his office and left for home.
It had been a very long day.
((()))
Lee was sitting by his wife’s
bed holding her hand. He didn’t want to
leave her alone even though Jamie told him he had to go.
“I missed you,” he told her
as he rubbed her hand, “I never realized how hard it was to be home alone not
knowing if you would return. I now know
how you must feel when I’m gone on a mission.”
“It’s hard to be there alone
but I know you’ll be back.”
Lee looking at Janet saw
something else was bothering her and knew what it was without asking. It was
the only thing they hadn’t talked about.
“Lee, would you still have
wanted me if Shale had assaulted me?”
“Sweetheart, I would
never leave you. You had no
control over what happened. I love you and will always love you.”
“Thank you. I love you too,” she told him tears welling
up in her eyes.
He got up and gave her a long
kiss and hug. She returned his kiss and
hug not wanting to let him go. He yawned
as he sat down.
“Lee, why don’t you go
home? I can see you’re exhausted.”
“No, I’m staying here. I’ve
had a lot of experience sleeping in a chair,” he told her as he took her hand
in his.
“But Jamie’s going to send
you home.”
“No I have a plan,” he told
her as he whispered it in her ear.
Janet closed her eyes while
Lee sat in the chair ‘asleep’.
Jamie came in to check on
Janet before he left for the day and saw Lee sitting asleep in the chair. Shaking his head, he closed the door and went
down to the desk where John would be on duty tonight. Since Janet had to stay overnight someone
needed to be on duty just in case there was a problem.
“They’re asleep,” Jamie told
John with a grin. He knew Lee well
enough to know he wasn’t asleep but decided to let him stay anyway. After what they had been through today, they
needed to be together.
“They?”
“Yes, Captain Crane is still
with her. He’s sleeping so I’m going to
leave him there for the night. Don’t
worry about checking on her, she should be okay for the night. Her vitals were good the last time I
checked. You’re going to be pretty bored
here. Sorry you have to stay but its
regulations.”
“No problem. I see there’s
filing to do and there’s always late night television.” John laughed. “Good night Doc. You look like you need a
good’s night sleep too.”
“Yes, it’s been a long
day. See you in the morning.”
Jamie turned down the lights
in the hallway, smiling as he walked out the door.
((()))
Opening her eyes and looking
at her husband, Janet asked with a grin, “Is he gone?”
“He’s gone for the
night. I saw him turn down the lights in
the hallway.” Lee answered knowing the routine in
Lee got up and opened the
door slightly to see John sitting at the desk with his back to their room.
“John’s here but I’m sure he
won’t bother us.”
“Well, what are you waiting
for?”
Lee climbed into bed with
Janet, they won’t be able to fool around, but he wrapped his arm around her as
she snuggled up to him. Within in minutes
both were sound asleep.
The End.
*SING-solar
plexus-instep-nose-groin used in self-defense