Long Blonde Hair, Sky Blue Eyes Pt. 07

The more immediate, admittedly first-world problem he faced, was that these potential clients were too large and demanding for Greenlight in its current iteration. It would be like a farmer who developed the perfect tomato on his 25-acre farm, and Walmart came calling, wanting millions for its stores.

The last thing he wanted was to move production overseas, but building a plant of sufficient size with sufficient production capability was beyond the scope of their financing at this time.

None the less, he agreed to talk to representatives, but asked for at least sixty days to get things sorted out and prepared before meeting, to which they agreed. He was given contact information for the government/ military point men, and Erik promised to contact them before the new year began.

Annika's countenance had slowly morphed as her informal counseling session with Milly continued. She appeared less tense and anxious, her posture was better, and her mouth and eyes looked more relaxed in profile. A little more than two hours remained before the press opportunity, but she had done nothing to prepare. Maybe she had forgotten, maybe she didn't see it as a problem, or maybe she and Milly had a plan. In any case, he wasn't going to intervene in whatever they had going.

At his table the planning was well underway, and included Annika's publicist, Amanda, and her manager, Cal, via teleconference. But they were present only in Carl's earbud. Consensus was moving toward Annika describing the trucks and vans pinning them in, and turning it over to the police spokesperson, who would gloss over Andi and Annika's roles in the shootings. Simpson would then state that the government had determined Koslov was not now and never had been a diplomat, and the Russian Federation had withdrawn its request for diplomatic status.

Fernandez would inform the press that the Hollywood PD and FBI had uncovered evidence that Koslov was behind the kidnapping attempt in Minnesota as well as the events on Hollywood Boulevard. Whether that was another attempted kidnapping or attempted murder was uncertain, but they were making progress toward a determination and should have an announcement within a few days. Meanwhile, Koslov had been transferred to a secure federal facility and was being held without bail.

Annika and Milly rejoined the group at 3:28pm, and Annika asked to be briefed on the plans. She listened, and then her questions began "Why are we not telling the truth? It's going to come out anyway, including that Andi and I shot the bad guys. There are too many witnesses and too much security tape the media can get through open records requests. Why don't we get in front of this and tell the full story? My actions may end my career, but they were trying to end my life! I have no guilt, and I feel no need to lie to cover up what I did.

"And if she is able, I want Andi beside me. She's the reason I'm alive and free, rather than dead or enslaved in Russia!"

The lawyers and law enforcement officials entered into a hot discussion about the many ramifications of telling the whole story, or not telling the whole story. Annika laid her head on Erik's shoulder, wrapped her hands around his arm, and listened; neither spoke. Bill Hammer was also silent, until the others had talked themselves down a bit.

"If I were still a Ranger and this was Texas, I'd put the two young ladies up there and let them tell the story. There may be some legal issues that get raised about firearms, and there will be some editorials, but those are going to occur whenever the story gets told. But the editorials won't include charges of 'coverups and lack of transparency' like they will a few weeks from now if we don't let them tell their story.

"Just my two cents, and that's what it's worth. I won't have to face the heat either way."

Milly then spoke up. "Annika is traumatized, but telling the story won't make it worse. Citizens of this country deserve to know what happened and who was behind it, and no one can tell the story like she and Andi can. Everything else you have planned still makes sense, in my opinion, but obfuscation and half-truths serve no one in this case."

Andi, strapped into a special wheelchair, did join them forty minutes before the media conference began. She and Annika went over their respective outlines, and then she was introduced to the ones she didn't know and greeted those she did.

She was on just enough pain medication to be verbally fluent, but perhaps without some of the filters she might otherwise employ in such a situation. She wanted to tell the story, let Annika fill in or add as she saw fit, and then summarize and close. No one disagreed, but Erik smiled; he had heard her version, and it was vivid. He could see the movie script being written as she spoke.

Sitting in her wheelchair, covered by a light blanket, with Annika sitting in a chair beside her, Andi told the story to the horde of media just as she told it to Erik and Carl: with vivid imagery and with a smidgen of black humor as she described bullets spraying the limo, breaking windows, and whining past their heads as they fired back to save themselves.

She pointed out that Annika spotted the truck and vans hemming them in, that she took the handgun she had been trained to use on Bill Hammer's course in Texas, and that she fired with unerring accuracy - but only after their driver had been shot, their door blasted open, and guns extended into the back seat toward them. She credited Annika with saving them and called her the bravest person she knew and a modern American hero.

Annika added to the story from her perspective, and credited Andi for their survival, both for training her and for Andi's cool courage and leadership while under fire. There was a firestorm of questions after they finished, but the police spokesperson said they would take no questions today and introduced the HPD investigators to provide more information.

The rest of the show went as scripted, although Simpson and Fernandez went out of their ways to acknowledge the courage and heroism of the young women with whom they were honored to share the stage, and rather dramatically spelled out the efforts of their respective agencies to further protect Annika.

She smiled wanly throughout, letting her fatigue and anxiety show while keeping a still upper lip, like British royalty. Had it been a publicity stunt it would have won awards, but it was a true story, and it dominated the airwaves and internet for days upon end. The California governor and the President vied to give them the greater praise and more prestigious proclamations, and the Texas governor named them honorary Texans.

Amanda and Cal had to rearrange and reorganize Annika's schedule, and sort through scores of offers for appearances and speeches as well as commercials, photo shoots, and endorsements. Annika, however, disappeared from the national stage. Rumors had her in various places in Texas, including Hondo, Canyon Lake, Austin, San Marcos, San Antonio, and even Dallas.

They weren't all wrong. She was near Canyon Lake, staying with Bill and Milly, and she was in Hondo, with Erik, his family, and her family. She was also at the Lost Pines Resort, with Erik in the woods east of Bastrop, at Honey's Pizza and Amy's Ice Cream in Smithville, and at a Family Crisis Center benefit dance at the Knights of Columbus Hall in LaGrange.

But, more than anything, she spent her time in counseling and therapy with Milly and Sally, a specialist in post-traumatic stress whom Milly had brought in to help. Erik was in Minneapolis, he was all over Texas, and he was holed up on Canyon Lake with two members of the development team working on the comprehensive version of the green module while Annika and Andi were with Milly and Sally.

October flew by. Erik got premium tickets to Longhorns' home football games on two Saturdays, and Annika experienced the feeling of 103,000 screaming fans rabidly supporting their football team. She also met 'the Minister of Culture' himself and was impressed that an Oscar-winning actor loved teaching and football as much as his craft.

Matthew McConaughy was impressed that someone could look that good in a burnt orange minidress and boots, and told Erik he was a lucky SOB, to which he agreed. Matthew and Camila wrangled them an invitation to an exclusive after-game party, where they met Sark and the other coaches, and many the wealthiest and most powerful people in Texas.

Knowing the names, Erik was impressed; they, however, were impressed by his "beautiful and courageous" fiancée, who heard over and over from the men that her appearances on TV and social media caused them to contact their respective elected officials in protest of her treatment. The women focused on her ill-treatment and bravery, exclaiming that they could not even imagine being kidnapped and then being involved in a gunfight!

For once, Erik understood the value of seeing and being seen, and of meeting and having conversations with women and men of great means. He also was known to a few, mostly those in the transportation or tech sectors, and by several investors. They left exhilarated, without benefit of alcohol or drugs.

They dressed in Halloween costumes to go trick or treating with Erik and Johnny's siblings in Hondo, another new experience for Annika. She enjoyed trick or treating but loved handing out treats at the Lone Star Transportation offices more. She was giddy on sugar and new experiences when Halloween came to an end, but Erik removing her black wig and witch costume and eating her like candy brought a much stronger sugar rush.

Soon it was Thanksgiving, and the Lundells and Swahns joined the Olssons in Minnesota to celebrate their first snowy Turkey Day. Loyalties were divided that afternoon when the Vikings played the Cowboys, but it was all in fun. There were the side bets that Annika and Hanna happily paid off that night, before receiving as good as they gave.

Erik was certain the only thing better than his beautiful fiancée on her knees looking up at him with his cock in her mouth was her luscious blondness lying spread-eagle on his dark sheets, looking down at him with hooded eyes as he kissed, bit, and sucked his way up her lovely legs. Johnny thought the same as his eyes locked with Hanna's while she swallowed his substantial cock, and when she locked those muscular legs around his head and cried out in ecstasy, he knew his heart was forever lost to her.

On Monday, Annika flew back to Texas with the Lundells and Swahns to resume her counseling and recovery; Hanna went back to teaching; Erik and Johnny went about reorganizing Greenlight, LLC to address their evolving situation. That began by selecting from among a group of over-qualified MBAs with too much successful experience to be taking the job they offered, but the word was out, and young lions wanted to be a part of what was to come.

Though seemingly not the best choice on paper, or the most well connected, Cassandra (Cassie) Saunders was the ultimate choice. She had already helped shepherd one emerging tech company into prominence, and she had a JD specializing in Business/Corporate Law from the University of Chicago atop an MBA from McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas. What separated her from the others was that she was a human dynamo - insightful, brilliantly intelligent, irrepressible in conversation, and an instinctual and effective leader of other brilliant young minds.

That she was from Katy, just west of Houston, and that her family had generational success in manufacturing certainly didn't hurt. And to top it all off, she was as gorgeous as you would expect a former Texas Pom captain to be.

They knew Annika and Hanna would be worried when they saw her, but they also knew that being introduced to her NFL all-star quarterback husband would resolve that rather quickly. As hunky as they were, neither Erik nor Johnny was on his level of hunkiness - or wealth!

Cassie accepted the contract on December 1, and her duties as COO began January 31, after serving her notice. At that point, Johnny would become the head of the Engineering and Maintenance sector of Greenlight and Erik would be head of Research and Development. As envisioned, all would operate in the Olsson building until construction in Texas allowed R&D to transition down there, where the manufacturing would likely take place.

They had to acquire space for an executive suite and office from Carl for Cassie and her four-person staff, all of whom came with her, but that was easily accomplished; Carl wanted them there as long as possible!

With Annika's consent, Amanda, Cal, and Carl had cancelled, delayed, or rescheduled all contracted appearances until the new year, giving her time to heal and rehabilitate. She did, however, make periodic appearances, usually with Andi, to talk about why a woman should be trained in self-defense, be ready and able to meet challenges and danger, and develop the mental toughness to stand up for herself in any situation - including family or relationship violence.

Even with minimal advance notice, these were SRO events and YouTube sensations. Annika's stand against a powerful criminal and those who would abet him, and then her actions for self-preservation when attacked, made her a 'cover girl' of a very different type - the "Empowered Woman" movement.

When she and Andi learned the Halloween costume most favored by high school and college girls this year was the "Dynamic Duo," they were embarrassed. Erik laughed. "So, Andi's costume was Casper the Friendly Ghost, and Annika was dressed in a pointed hat with black wig, a ground length witch's dress, and black booties, when you could have been strutting around in your mini-skirts and fishnet hose with high heels, carrying water pistols, and been a whole lot cooler! You girls are out of touch with pop culture and getting old!"

They talked it over and decided to continue the 'empowerment talks' but focus more on education, cultural and gender issues, and acceptance of differences, while holding true to the 'stop abuse in its tracks' theme they had developed.

Admittedly, their new status appealed to the ego, but Annika had extensive experience in the effects of egocentric decisions and lifestyles; she kept them grounded.

There was a downside, however: as has become true throughout American society, the "Zero Sum" notion that empowerment of one group results in the demeaning of another reared its ugly head. Suddenly, there were protestors at their events, and they began receiving threatening mail, emails, and social media posts.

It was a motley opposition composed of 'religious leaders' seeking notice by quoting obscure biblical text from an era when women were chattel, to 'moms in opposition to the use of violence,' to men carrying Nazi flags and chanting filth about a woman's proper place. They were badly outnumbered, booed, and widely reviled, but 'they' posed a new physical danger that their security teams and the FBI took seriously.

Annika and Erik took a break beginning in mid-December to be a part of family Christmas and New Year celebrations, which again included spending time in south Texas and Minnesota. Annika let Erik know that she wanted only one Christmas present: a date for their wedding! He gave her two: the first was her choice of June dates and locations, with notice that she had no scheduled appearances during the entire month! She was ecstatic and gave him memorable gift after gift from Christmas Eve through the New Year celebrations.

The second involved a brief trip to see the progress on development of their land in Bastrop County, and a right turn as they pulled out the gate to leave. Erik followed a freshly topped, winding road among the trees until he arrived at a three-story house with an observation tower and a 'widow's walk.' The house was surrounded by scaffolding, workers, and equipment, with supplies and lumber stored in the four-car garage just behind the monstrosity.

"What... where are we?" she asked. He climbed out, held the door for her, took her hand, and walked toward the imposing house. "Where are we? We're at our first home! Yes, it needs some work, but it will be everything you want it to be by July! But before we do any more, we need your guidance."

I decided shorter chapters were in everyone's best interest as this part of their tale winds down. There is just too much going on in my life as the holidays approach to keep churning out forty-fifty pages and making you wait. Thanks for being patient.