Long Blonde Hair, Sky Blue Eyes Pt. 10

She then chuckled. "We won't need to market this, but we'll need a way to allocate. Will your former partners have a say?"

"No, but my current partners will, in accordance with our legal agreement. They aren't greedy, though, so the process won't be as onerous as it would have been. We're going to spread the wealth, with the trucking company that started all this being at the head of the line. They understand trials and aren't afraid to pilot, so we'll get them up and running along with our partners down here, and then, if I get the ironclad agreements I'm demanding from them, we'll expand to a few government or military trials and see where we go from there."

"And you trust your former partners to go along with this?"

"They have no choice. On paper, the Commonwealth of Australia seems to have some proprietary rights, and if something happens to me, all rights revert to them. From what I've learned, they don't want to get bent over the barrel any more than the Aussies did.

"I think I've made the case to at least a few segments of the government that I'm resistant to pressure and highly allergic to betrayal, but there are a lot of segments as well as leadership changes to deal with. I've seen the executive order saying to leave us the fuck alone or perish, so there's not much more I can do."

"So... when are you returning?"

"That's still up in the air. Speaking of up in the air, the drones haven't shown any work being done at Annika's site. Just the survey stakes and cleared brush."

"As I said, she's on a self-improvement sabbatical," Cassie replied with a shrug. "I doubt she knows when that will end, but I know her dad and her business team don't.

"Haven't you been talking at all? I know she messed up, but sheesh, Erik - don't abandon her completely!"

Karli was nodding in agreement. Sean and Roddie were bumfuzzled by the conversation. Finally, Roddie was compelled to ask, "We know that you are, or were, engaged to that beautiful Nordic model, but it sounds like something happened between you. We'd like to know, but that's up to you, Erik."

Apparently, not everything that happens in Los Angeles, California, is big news in Queensland, Australia. Erik shook his head: "Maybe another time - it doesn't impact us or our work here.

"Changing the subject yet again, did I tell you I bought this place and a beach house just north of Port? I like it down here, and these are going to be my getaways. That's assuming my government doesn't mess with me; if they do, I'll be applying for citizenship."

****

Roddie and Sean accompanied Karli back to Minnesota, via South America. KJ and Cassie flew back to Hawaii and spent four days, then flew to Houston. Erik flew to Houston as directly as possible, where he was picked up and taken to the compound. After receiving a security tour of the business facility by a member of the team that de-bugged it, he met Cavo at the house.

Cavo's wife and sister were keeping the house and other buildings clean, and his brother was taking care of the grounds. "I had big plans for this place from the minute I saw it, and I thought I saw the potential it offered. This, however, is better than my imagination allowed! You guys do amazing work!"

"To be honest, Miss Annika and her designer deserve credit too. Every idea they offered improved the final product. I heard you guys have had problems, but she's a special lady."

"Yes, she is."

Erik remained, but he didn't choose the master suite; he chose a second-floor bedroom that shared a large bath with another bedroom. He was under the auspices of Bill's security team now, but the green dot remained; they had adopted the Aussie's security communication system.

There was a lot to do tomorrow, and a lot to think about tonight. Andi and Rhonda were encamped with Annika, and Andi had one of Bill's secure satellite phones. He called just before ten and asked for an update, which she provided. He then made a series of proposals that Andi was to answer to the best of her ability; she did, but said she needed to consult with Doctor Alderson before responding to three.

Coffee, kolaches (fruit-filled Czech pastry), and klobasneks (kolache with sausage instead of fruit) were waiting when he came down, courtesy of his new driver, Eddie Dvorak, a LaGrange native whose grandparents immigrated from what is now the Czech Republic.

Eddie was serious about his job, but more gregarious than other members of the security team had been. That might be because he and Erik were alone in the house, then the workshop, and then the tunnel to the river. The electric doors had been installed, so they walked down the tunnel, opened the door and exited, and then walked along a river pathway that seemed to be favored by wildlife. When they could see the roof of the massive Colo-Vista clubhouse, they turned back and explored the other direction, toward Bastrop.

They came upon deer drinking from the river, and spooked a couple of does with their yearlings. There were rabbits in the undergrowth, coons digging for freshwater muscles along the bank, and a plethora of songbirds along the river. It was peaceful and calm, yet the river was alive with fish, raptors were hunting, and they could hear differing avian calls from up and down the river.

The green dot remained, but Erik caught a flash from high above, meaning a friendly drone was on guard. It bothered him not at all; this was his life now, and there was little chance it would change anytime soon.

Marcus brought barbeque from City Meat Market in Giddings, and six of them ate on the picnic table under the pines. At 1:30, Erik was in the house holding his Sat phone. Andi's call was one minute late, but it seemed longer. Doctor Alderson offered no objections, and Andi encouraged Erik to take the step.

She planted herself in the study where Annika was completing a lesson, and began looking at her phone. They ignored each other for several minutes, and then her Sat phone buzzed. Annika looked up hopefully and waited. Andi answered and told the caller to hold for a moment.

"Got time to talk to Erik?" Andi asked with the receiver covered by her hand. Annika flew out of her chair and grabbed the phone, then flipped the bird to the grinning Andi, who laughed and left the room.

When she and Rhonda were summoned back to the study they found Annika walking on air. "Yes, Mam!" they replied in unison and hustled to their rooms to grab the suitcases they had packed earlier. Andi didn't know Erik that well, and this new iteration of the man was scary, but she knew him well enough to know where the proposals were taking them: back to Texas!