Ashanti Tippin was pregnant and showing significantly. She also had a tranquil smile on her lips as she was enjoying her first child experience. It was a late pregnancy for the woman in her late thirties, but Ben had become a father in his forties, so he wouldn’t judge her. Catherine mentioned to Ben that Ashanti was only along to assist with the transition as she was leaving the charity to be a full-time mother.
Trish was there as well, as she’d been working with Catherine closely on their preliminary efforts to set up the foundations in each target country. When she saw Darcy’s cleavage display for Ben, she undid a few buttons on her top to add to the visual distraction.
“Sorry you weren’t able to come by yesterday. We had a little dog and pony show set up for you,” Catherine said to tease Ben.
He grinned at her. “You know I have every faith in you and your team. There’s no need for window dressing. Sorry you all had to come over here, but we had a little excitement yesterday, and we’re reviewing what went wrong with the security process.” He saw Evelyn’s smile wobble as she was still carrying guilt for that.
The ladies’ expressions became concerned. “What happened?” Trish asked.
Evelyn was about to answer when Ben held up a hand to stop her. “It doesn’t matter. It was handled, and people are investigating to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
The nervous looks didn’t disappear, and Cat’s and Trish’s eyes locked on Ben’s until he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. “Okay, fine. A hit team made an attempt on my life at the lab space we rented. They were caught, some were killed, and we’re having Army Intelligence and the CIA review how they got so close without us getting a warning.”
“Fuck!” Trish exclaimed as she looked at Evelyn.
Ben saw the Sergeant was becoming a little red-faced. She’d spoken to Ben after she arrived this morning, and he noted she was a little stiff in her behavior. She told him General Davis was livid with both her and the CIA. He was following up with Agent Russo as it was discovered that her team had knowledge of the Russian assassin but lost track of him and failed to notify the General.
“It’s done. Steps are being taken to increase security. We move forward. This isn’t what we’re here to talk about today so let’s hear the presentation. No dogs or ponies required,” he said with a smile.
They heard he wasn’t going to give them any further details, so Cat nodded to Ingrid, who handed out the report they’d compiled for the requirements they determined. For each section, there were subcategories for each country, outlining the unique needs of that region.
Ben smiled as he followed along, Catherine presenting with input from Trish and the others.
There were a few gotchas, and Ben was getting a clearer idea of just how expensive this plan would be. Darcy surprised him with a report on how they could recoup some of these expenses directly from the countries hosting the Foundations through existing local incentive programs.
They were heads down over the charts outlining the logistics of the supply chains for each country when there was a loud knocking at the front door. Ben frowned and looked over his shoulder out the living room picture window. Several police cars were arriving at Fourteen Ashburn, including Chanel’s sporty little coup.
Ben’s throat tightened as he glanced at Trish. She looked out the window and then headed for the door.
Ben looked at Catherine and her team. “This is awesome, and I want to continue, but we’ll need to take a break. Something’s happening over at the demolition of Beth’s house.”
He heard someone step up to the living room doorway and saw Jayden standing there with a grim look.
“We found something.”
-=-
Chanel was speaking with Hector on the driveway next to the home when Ben arrived with his entourage. The detective took one look at the group and shook her head. “We cannot have anyone else on the property until we’ve inspected the recent discovery.
Trish looked like she might run around Chanel, so Ben gently pulled her to his side. He looked to the home and saw they’d pulled the upper floors down and had been in the process of scooping the debris into trucks to be hauled away. The basement was exposed, but Ben couldn’t spot anything he’d consider a discovery. He looked curiously at Hector.
“The basement foundation extends out under the backyard. The excavator’s bucket struck the back foundation wall, and there was a thin layer of concrete over the cinder block. They broke and fell into a void behind the wall,” he told them.
“Shit! We checked the back wall in the basement, and all we saw was concrete,” Ben exclaimed.
Hector nodded. “Someone was very clever with how they disguised that entrance.”
Chanel raised her hand to stop Hector. “We’re bringing in the forensic team to do the inspection. We need the corner where the entrance was found to be cleared of debris safely. Then we need a ladder down to the basement floor from that side.”
“I’ll speak with Julius to get him to clear the area with the excavator. We also have a ladder we can secure to the floor,” Hector confirmed, then he moved off with a nod to Ben.
“Your project will have to be put on hold until the forensic team has released the site,” Chanel said to Ben.
“Understood,” he replied with a nod.
She looked at Trish. “We’ll keep you, and Ms. Spencer informed of our findings. For now, we need everyone to move back to let the teams work.”
Ben nodded and guided Trish and the others back to the sidewalk before the home.
A Police SUV rolled up and turned into the driveway. Ben’s group watched Chanel approach it to begin speaking with the CSI techs stepping out. The excavator was gingerly scraping up and moving all the busted lumber, drywall, pipes, and wiring away from the now exposed entrance. Jayden was standing by with another worker. They had a ladder, a short piece of two-by-four, and tools to affix the board to the basement floor to brace the ladder’s feet against.
“It could be a long time before they announce their findings. Let’s go back to my place and finish,” Ben suggested.
They went back to Ben’s and tried to return to the presentation. It didn’t take long for them to realize how futile it was trying to concentrate on the plan when there was such a distracting event taking place just a few doors down.
“Ben, we’ve reviewed the most significant sections, so why don’t you and Evelyn read over the remaining pages of the report. If you have questions, let us know, and we’ll return to answer them,” Catherine suggested.
He sighed and rested back in his chair. “Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. Thank you so much for all of your efforts to date. This is excellent work! I feel much better knowing you have such an excellent grasp of the requirements for the project moving forward.”
Everyone stood, and Ben gave Cat and her staff hugs. Darcy’s hands were a little low for a friendly hug, but he let that slide as she grinned at him. Before they stepped out the door, Catherine slipped back up to him and took a hot kiss before pushing her ladies outside.
Trish wouldn’t be outdone, so she squeezed herself against Ben’s chest and tasted his mouth with a deep kiss before pulling back with a grin and skipping down the steps from his door. She waved at Cat as she jogged back to her place, watching the activity before Beth’s old house.
Ben and Evelyn watched Catherine’s team climb into her car and drive away.
Next, their eyes went to Fourteen Ashburn Court, where the techs were swarming over the scene. The ladder was in place, and Jayden could be seen back behind police tape on the sidewalk with the other members of the team.
The gourmet food truck Ben had arranged was pulling into the court, but the police stopped them from moving into the circle. They backed up and parked at the curb in front of Trish’s place. Ben locked up, and Evelyn followed him across the park to the truck where the construction crew was already lining up. Ben joined Hector at the back of the line.
“What’s the word from the police?” Ben asked the man.
“This might be a good time to start on your second project. We could begin the salvage on it. Which home was it?” Hector asked.
Ben gestured over his shoulder to the home next to Trish’s.
Hector’s eyebrows rose. “Jayden’s place?”
The man in question heard his name and moved back in the line to join them. “Yeah, mom sold it to him. I’m living with Karen now.”
Hector gave Jayden a false scowl. “Here I thought we were friends, and you’re keeping secrets from me!”
“It just happened! Besides, I don’t need to pass every detail about my life past you for approval!” Jayden exclaimed, fighting back his grin.
“Putting that aside, yes, you can get started on the salvage job for Six Ashburn Court. Might as well get the guys on that after lunch.” Ben pulled a key off his keychain and handed it to Hector, who added it to his. He nodded to Ben.
Then the foreman pointed at his eyes, then Jayden’s, indicating he was watching him. Jayden couldn’t keep from cracking up at the intensity of Hector’s expression. Both men broke into chuckles.
Ben just shook his head as he shared a look with Evelyn. “Kids.”
He looked behind himself and noticed the line included a few SEAL Team sailors, several police officers, and at least one CSI agent. He glanced back at the number of people still on the site. He stepped out of the line to move to the truck to speak to the owner.
“Felipe! How’s it going?”
The man grinned at Ben through the window as he prepared the next meal. “Ben! Business is great!”
“Did you want to bring in your second truck? There’s a larger than usual group today,” Ben asked.
“Are they part of your deal, too?” the man asked.
“Yes, I’ll cover their orders,” Ben agreed, and the man’s smile widened. He nodded to Ben as his wife, Camila, lifted her cell to her ear to call in their second truck. She waved to Ben and blew him a kiss. Ben grinned at Filipe’s playful cry of protest, then walked back to Evelyn.
One of Hector’s crew made noises to protest Ben’s not moving to the back since he left the line. Ben looked at the grinning man. He raised his voice to be heard all the way to the end of the line. “I just arranged a second truck to serve you back-of-the-line-folks. No more comments from you, Larry!” That cracked up his buddies.
He caught the eye of the officers. “These trucks are no charge. Please pass this along to the others.”
Ben saw grins pop up on faces.
Ten minutes later, he was almost to the window when a second truck rolled up to the curb directly behind the first and quickly opened for business. Hector was there to indicate the line for that truck started with one of the police officers. Then he returned to stand behind Ben.
“I gotta say, Ben, this is the best perk of working with you!” Hector said.
“What? It isn’t my charming personality?” Ben asked in outrage.
Hector laughed, as did Jayden.
“Hey! Disrespectful youth!” he grumbled with false ire. Evelyn smiled at him as she patted his thick arm consolingly. That brought a smile to his face.
Then they were up. Lunch time!