“Why don’t you call it the Shepherd’s Crook Foundation?” Trish exclaimed with a huge grin and the group burst into laughter. As it tapered off, she could tell they were enjoying the pun in the name as their smiles remained.
Ben shook his head at the wide grin on Trish’s face then turned to the others. “Thank you again for your patience and understanding. I believe dinner has arrived if you want to join me at the curb.”
Dominic’s face lit up. “You called the gourmet food trucks?” At Ben’s nod, the big man cheered.
They made their way to the side of the park where a selection of food trucks waited to serve them. Everyone had a favorite, but the mobile kitchens were going to be there for hours, so seconds and thirds were allowed.
When the DJ showed up after dinner, it became their best block party yet.
Ben dropped his weary bones in the lawn chair in his driveway and closed his eyes. He just needed a few minutes to rest and regroup. Kids had so much energy!
The sun felt good on his face as he listened to the sounds of the kids squealing and laughing in the park across the street. The laughter and happy conversations from the adults were equally sweet to his ears. He took some deep, soothing breaths and opened his eyes. Before him was Ashburn Court, in all its beauty. He felt it right down to the atomic level that this was his home and these happy people were his family. He realized how far he’d come from that young boy who’d lost his parents so long ago. He couldn’t begin to understand how he’d become so fortunate.
He saw the sleek black limo pull slowly around the circular court and stop at his driveway. The rear door opened and General Davis stepped out with a smile on his face. Ben heaved himself up to his feet and shook the man’s hand once the General walked up the driveway. Ben gestured to a second lawn chair, and they sat to gaze at the party happening in the park.
“This an annual event?” the General asked, and Ben nodded.
“How do the soldiers fit in? Any issues with your neighbors?” he asked.
Ben and Dominic had spent the winter designing, building, and outfitting 1 Ashburn Court to house two squads of soldiers. From the outside, it just looked like another of the lovely mansions found in the neighborhood if a bit larger than the others.
The inside was another story. The building had three stories plus a huge extended basement. The top floor was dedicated to the military’s surveillance and communications equipment. The soundproofed mid-floor was for the sleep quarters for twenty-four, bathrooms for twelve with multi-jet showers, and the library lounge for quiet relaxation. The ground floor had offices, a top of the line kitchen with all the best equipment, washrooms for ten, and a dining room which seated thirty. The lower level contained a huge recreation room with state-of-the-art electronic entertainment and a gym. Commercial grade washers and dryers were in the next room. The basement extended out to the back yard with the armory and munitions storage there. There was also a ramp that led to a secret surface exit for rapid deployment.
The utility room, also in the basement, was another marvel of science and Ben had drawn on Dan Bishop’s knowledge extensively for that.
The garage was large enough to house two armored personnel carriers to mobilize the squads if required. It also had an extensive workshop for maintaining their equipment. Upstairs were bunks for ten and another well appointed bathroom for six. The garage had a tunnel connecting it to the basement of the main house.
Because of the home’s proximity to the main road, they were able to easily access all utilities from electrical, telecom, water and drains. The building required commercial connections which took some special zoning and permissions. General Davis assisted with that.
The squads moved in just a few months earlier and from what Ben heard they were very pleased. They’d dubbed the house The Spa.
True to their word, the soldiers were never seen bearing arms or wearing combat gear when they were out for a walk or jog around the neighborhood. Their nightly patrols were invisible for all intents and purposes.
“No one has complained at all. The squads are very well behaved!” Ben said with a smile.
Davis laughed and nodded. “They know better than to rock the boat. I get a report they misbehave here, the entire squad never gets invited back. They’re self-policing. Every unit in the army and the navy wants an assignment at the Spa.”
Ben chuckled. “So the name made it to your ears.”
The General nodded. “Those pesky SEAL teams are applying pressure to get a chance to do training here too. I’m going to have to give in as I owe General Harris a favor.” He looked a little peeved.
Ben nodded. “If the SEALs are as effective at capturing paparazzi as your teams are, I have no issues with them visiting.”
The only threat that’d surfaced in the neighborhood since Ben received permission from his neighbors to bring in the army were three unscrupulous photographers hoping to get a picture of Ben in the nude. That brass monstrosity Ben met in New York was inspiring all kinds of silliness in the media. He pushed that unpleasant thought from his mind.
Davis just smiled as he knew the CIA was currently tracking the beginnings of a real threat to his favorite engineering genius. He kept that news and his opinion of Ben to himself.
“Is that why you’re here or did you just want to join our Block Barbeque party?” Ben asked curiously.
“Both!” he grinned. “And I wanted to thank you personally for resolving the overheating issue with the automatic rifles! That was an ingenious solution that’s going to save lives!”
Ben shook his head. “I’m just fulfilling my part of the deal. You keep us safe, and I work on your puzzles. It wasn’t that much. The weapon has some seriously smart engineering behind it and did all of the other things it was designed for really well. It just had no means to deal with the excess heat it generated. I just found a way it could do that one last thing it needed to do.”
General Davis smiled at Ben because it was so refreshing to speak with someone who wasn’t trying to inflate his importance to impress him.
“Let me just say I’m grateful you did. I had to demonstrate your contribution to this weapon in front of a hostile audience of politicians who were angry with our involvement with the Brass God.”
Ben’s face fell. “The what?!?”
Davis winced. “So you haven’t heard the public’s name for that new full-sized statue of you? It’s become quite the meme.”
Ben rubbed his eyes in frustration. “No, I avoid that stuff. I no longer watch TV, and I don’t browse entertainment sites.”
The General smiled with satisfaction. “The good news is I was able to silence those blowhards with a simple demonstration. Two weapons, one standard issue M420 Assault Rifle all of our soldiers now carry and one with your modification, now called the M420B. Each was loaded with live rounds and fired at side by side targets. They were fired using the same rate of fire, and both were reloaded simultaneously when the clips were empty. By the sixth clip, the M420 locked up while the M420B went through four more clips before we ended the test. I had a Corporal, the sole survivor of his team due to weapons failure in a deadly firefight, explain the significance to those pencil pushers. You’re already proving your worth! It felt so good to make those idiots shut up!”
Ben nodded as he thought about that Corporal. If he’d taken Kendrick’s request to work on weapons earlier, he might have been able-
“Hey! Stop. I can tell what you’re thinking by your expression. We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it if we’re willing to listen,” Davis said kindly but firmly.
Ben looked into the man’s eyes then looked away and nodded. “I get that.”
They sat quietly for a moment, watching the party.
“Evelyn is happier than I’ve ever seen her,” the proud uncle said.
Ben’s smile returned. “She’s indispensable and completely brilliant in her own right. She has savant level organizational skills,” Ben gushed a little and caught the small knowing smile on the General’s lips. “We’re keeping things professional… except for moments when I forget myself and give her a hug… or a kiss- but that was only once! I mean since the first time.”
“She’s happy, and that smart brain of hers is occupied, so I’m happy!” His smile dimmed a little. “She has expressed some misgivings about the assassins moving into the neighborhood. Specifically Tatiana Pushkin.”
“Are they going to be allowed to move into 2 Ashburn Court any time soon? We’ve been waiting for almost a year!” Ben growled.
“That was out of my hands!” Davis responded. “The CIA had the women in a debriefing for months. Then it was training. Both of the ladies agreed to work for the spooks when they aren’t working for you. Aside from the CIA’s control over their time, remember it took weeks before Tatiana surfaced and she did it in the lobby of their Langley Headquarters. That’s when the mess with Tatiana’s activities in New York began surfacing. According to the FBI, they believe she went after the surviving members of the Mafia crime families. She allegedly went on a one-woman killing spree until there was no one left in that family tree who had authority to order a sandwich much less a hit on you or your family!”
“Allegedly.”
Davis saw the steely look in Ben’s eyes and sighed. “Yes. The assassin who pulled off those hits left absolutely no evidence behind. Not a shred. Like a true ghost. With no evidence, the FBI had to finally back off. Agent Russo will be their handler for the CIA. You may be seeing more of her from time to time.”
Ben nodded and sighed. “Rose misses her mom. The video calls are wonderful, but Rose needs her. She needs her Mom to hold her. To be real for her again.”
The General nodded. “I’ll check with Russo again once I get back to Washington.”
“Ben! Food’s ready! Come get your lunch!” Gabriella called out from the park. He waved to her.
“You going to join me for some delicious barbeque steak or chicken?” Ben asked with a smile.
Davis smiled. “I won’t turn down such a delightful offer.”
They walked down the drive, across the street, and joined the neighbors in the park.
Ben’s kids rushed up to grab his legs.
“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” gushed from several mouths.
Davis noted that Rose was one of the children clinging to Ben’s legs and his eyebrows went up in surprise. Ben caught this and leaned closer to the man. “She needs her Mom.” Then he bent down to give the kids hugs and kisses until they squealed happily and ran away to be scooped up by the mothers. Rose looked back at Ben who was looking across the circular park with surprise on his face. Three stunning women were walking side by side towards the party. A group of soldiers who’d been tossing a football back and forth in the field paused their game to smile at the women who smiled back at them.
Ben knelt next to Rose who was trembling. “Rose, honey, go hug your momma. She’s missed you so much.” He gently touched her back.
The spell freezing her in place broke suddenly, and the girl ran as fast as her little legs could carry her in a straight line to the tall blond who ran forward as well. Liliya scooped Rose up in her arms and kissed her face repeatedly as she cried. Rose was crying too.