Not all Eyes are Private 02

"Not tonight," was my reply.

"So you're not going to tell me the tale of the lady of the lake?" She inquired.

I just turned away from her and pulled my jacket around me as a blanket.

It was 8:30 a.m. when Beck woke up. I had already been up for almost two hours

policing the area, and discussing the best way to fly into the family property with Ralph.

"I want to thank you for the fruit you left me for breakfast," she smiled at me.

"You're welcome," I nodded.

Beck returned about fifteen minutes later, just as Ralph and I finished.

"Are we ready to see your family's farm?" she asked.

"No," was my reply.

"Why not? Is there something wrong?" Her concerns showing in her voice.

"Well, I still need to double-check our route, bypassing the town and approaching the property as quietly as possible while giving us a place to hide 'Scrappy' for as long as needed." I gave her the look the instructors gave me, "It seems to me the most profitable use of your time is packing up the tent from last night."

Her pep lost a step, "Oh, OK," and took a step backward before she turned to get the tent.

I knew we both had developed feelings for each other, having to live close like this, running from those who would be happy to kill us both, it seems. But this was neither the time nor the place for that talk. We had to focus on what needed

to be done, and hopefully, we both came out alright. Ralph had already let me know pictures of Scrappy were at all the small airports and fuel stations, 'Lost or Found $25K.'

And there it is again, no mention of any person of interest, just Scrappy. My mind was running through scenarios so fast that I was only conscious of thoughts coming and going... Until something caught my mind's Attention, and it slowed down. Then it froze like two fingers playing in super glue! Scrappy was the prize cake, and Beck was the icing for that cake. I was the 'odd man out,' so why were they shooting at me?

My mind said if we're going to do an episode of 'The Outer Limits,' go all the way!

I thought what was happening to me probably came from something Grandpa or Dad stumbled across on a job, and somebody finally took offense. 'Yeah, I had to chuckle at that one too.'

With the radio in my ear, I was already in my seat, "Remo... Remo, are you there?"

"I'm hearing you, Ralph. What's up?"

"The price for Scrappy jumped to $75K or $100K with passenger, but three minutes ago, the price went to zero! You know what that means...?"

"Yeah, it means they already know where he is. I was worried about things going that way." I wondered what fate was going to throw at me next. "Let's keep each other posted if any more changes happen."

We were four days away from the farm, having to fly mostly by night to stay out of sight. Ralph and I had been giving each other a turn flying Scrappy-Do so he could become better acquainted with flying remotely. During one of those times at night, I noticed Beck would sit there with her head resting in her palm with a finger in her ear like it was natural, but what drew my attention was that her other hand was taping the side of her laptop. I could see a small flashing red light reflected in the window.

"Hey Ralph"

"Yeah, Remo? What's up?"

"Is there any duct tape onboard, Ralph?"

"Nope, There's a roll of gorilla tape in the toolbox, though. You got a kinky side or something, Remo?"

"I just might, Ralph, I just might."

"Well, I practice safe sex, so keep it on your side of the radio," Ralph busted up laughing.

I rolled my eyes. It's going to be a long four days. I found a safe place to land and then began making camp. Beck went looking for some firewood, and I had a good look at the engine on Scrappy while I got the gorilla tape from the toolbox. By the time Beck came back with her load of wood, she turned right around to get another. So when she came back with a touch more than an armful, I had the area cleared, the tent was up, and I had a small fire going in the pit.

"The fire should be fine til I get back, so if you want to bathe in the lake, you'll have plenty of privacy. I will go check on something, and I'll be back shortly." I smiled, "I might even have a surprise for you."

"You give me enough time to wash body and hair properly, and I'll call it even!" She laughed, "If I had known I would be running for my life after I left my apartment that day, I would have packed more clothes."

As soon as I was out of sight, I pulled out the phone and dialed, "Hey George, how's it going? Do you still live out by Cornell's Crossing? I need a favor. I want you to pick up your brother Dorian and bring him along. Tell him he can bring his laptop because I have an engine question he can't answer, but if he can, he'll get $200, and you'll pay for his lunch."

"Ian... Ian, slow the fuck down, man. What's got you all 'hard-charging' all of a sudden?" George was good with meeting up with his friend, but Ian was never one to sound as rattled as he did, "Where the hell are you even at, my friend?"

"Just coming up to the top Nuggent Ridge, I'm on foot, so I can..."

"Ian, when you get to the top of the ridge, get into the waiting car, Asshole. A few things have changed around the neighborhood. You have been living looking at the stars. You missed some things on the ground here." before he ended the call, I could hear him laughing til he started coughing.

=======

She thought he would never leave her alone long enough to let her relax. She got everything ready and then hand-washed her panties and her top. She did her best with her cargo shorts and leggings, but when it came to her bra, she just smiled and threw it in the clothes bag in the helo. She arranged her clothes on sticks to dry around the fire, and then, with a happy smile, she ran headlong and dove into the lake.

It felt like swimming wasn't doing anything for her body, so she just floated around for a while, watching the clouds and the birds. Her mind wondered as she drifted along. Her hand came to rest on her pussy about the same time her thoughts came to rest on Ian. She felt he was an acceptable match... her fingers entered her cunt as her memories were replaying the sight and feel of his cock on the rock that day... Well, it's more acceptable in certain areas!

Her orgasm went from her toes up through her body and then connected with her mind and exploded out of her mouth! A few of Mother Nature's creatures roared with her, understanding the passion in her screams. As she twisted her body to begin the swim back to the campsite, her entire back from tailbone to the base of her skull cracked, sounding like you were breaking in a new deck of cards. I guess you have to find the right one, and the rest follow along like a mother duck and her ducklings.

The towel was dry and warm as she dried herself and checked her clothes. Twenty-five minutes later, she was clean and presentable as she pulled up a website that allowed her to send her superiors a complete detailed report about when to expect the delivery of Scrappy, as well as her request to turn Ian into an ally. She was informed to stand by while they reviewed everything and that they would be back in touch in two hours.

=======

I stood on top of Nuggent Ridge. I was thinking of seeing our group's high school hook-up spot, but what I was really looking at now was like, 'If the Vegas Strip and the Indianapolis 500 had a kid, what would it look like' kind of vibe.

"I thought you Astronauts were in better shape. Ain't you supposed to move mountains and tote that bale kind of shit?" a voice said.

"And a happy 'fuck you!' to you too, Phil." We hugged each other,

"Hop in, and I'll give you a ride. George is going to love this!"

Five minutes later, we pulled into an engine company that will happily build you the engine of your dreams, just as long as your checks don't bounce!

George was the oldest of our group at 42 and the most solid friend one could ask for. He stood six foot seven inches and was as wide as a doorway. I once saw him do a rebuild on one of his engines during high school. The guy picked up the top half of the engine and put it on the workbench.

"Ian, my man! How the hell have you been?" His hug realigned my spine.

"I was doing good til recently, actually," I replied, "So, who was dumb enough to hire you to work here?"

"That would be me, you smart ass!" He chuckled, "When you went back to become an astronaut, I hit that little red ball and had to split it with a ticket bought in Tennessee, So I had half of the $97 million pot. Real estate was a sound investment, so I bought Winslow's farm and Old Man Nuggent's. Then I moved out of Mom's house because that Church of the enlightened Asshole hooked into her head bad." His face had a sad look.

"I found an old bag of dirty clothes in the mix, and as I went to wash it all, I checked the pockets like I always do and found a lottery ticket, and when I checked it out, it was the other winning ticket! But what I found funny was I remembered that day. Do you remember Dolly Madison? The girl's Mom said she would never be a positive influence. Yeah, well, she got pregnant, and everyone thought it might be mine. She called me that night asking me to take her, saying it was her father's kid, and her grandmother told her to get her ass to Tennessee and she could live with her."

"She didn't have much money, and I had just been paid with some mega-overtime. I told her she could buy me a ticket when we got to where we were going. That way, I could say it's an imported ticket." We both laughed about that, and I came home."

"So all of this is yours? The engine shop, the Harley dealership, the leather works, and knowing you, both restaurants, am I close?" I shook my head.

"Almost. Did you notice the two truck stops at the edge of town? You got BP on the east and EXXON on the west."

"Let me guess, both yours as well? I said.

"Ian, they're a global corporation, and you can't buy a piece of a corporation that makes them enough money that they'll never sell it." George lowered his voice, "I created four LLCs and hired another lawyer to represent them. I have the truck stops on a lease that renews every ten years from one LLC, while the secure sleeper lots across from the truck stops renew every four years from another LLC."

"You're standing tall now, my man! Just don't fuck it up and get married!" I cautioned him. "Everyone knows you can't keep it in your pants, and soon you'll be known as 'poor George' right after she catches you with another and takes over half in the divorce!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," He sighed, "Guess I'll stick with the 'catch and release' method... Anyway, what did you want Dorian for? Last I remember, you wanted to show him what the word 'homicide' meant. What makes now any different?"

"That has long since been over and done with! Why doesn't anyone believe me?" I threw my hands up.

"I believe you. I just needed to hear you tell me." George told me, "I don't want to lose my Dept. Head in charge of research."

"You gave him a job here? Isn't that like leaving a $500 rock of crack with a crackhead, then telling him you'll be gone for two weeks and expect it to be there still when you get back?" I tried to give him my sidewise stare, but the fucker was just too damn tall!

"I'm hurt that you would feel I would tempt him away from his support group! I am not that kind of person, and I'll have you know! I even went with him to verify how well he was doing so he could get his five-year coin. You have wounded my heart deeply, my friend!" His acting needed work...

"I would have you know that there are six people that share the same affliction that poor Dorian does, and it was quite by accident that I stumbled, telling them I had an engine shop and that if they could recommend anyone to me that could help me blow a couple of million getting the new toys and then show me how to run them, then I dropped the bomb... I had plenty of space to test out any theory I could possibly have and not have to worry about anyone getting hurt."

"Go ahead and tell me, just get it over with!" as I rubbed my forehead.

"It only took thirteen minutes, and not only did I have seven numbers in my pocket, But I also had the waiter's number. It seems he was a certified chemist going for his Master's, but something bad must have happened because the school just kicked him out and wouldn't talk about it. I got curious and hired everyone. Been the best move I could have done!"

"Of course you did. After all, you do know how they created rocket fuel, right? You should google it," What else could I say?

"Hey guys, I'll see all of you in conference rm. " George spoke into his phone, "All right, set it off and come on!" George told me he had to build them a concrete 'office building' as the first two 'were not as advertised.' I had to wonder what that meant when George pointed out the window.

What I saw looked like a round ball about 50 feet in diameter covered in a tarp trailing approximately. Seven-lit ropes made it look like fuses were burning up toward the ball above. The music from speakers in the ceiling stopped playing, and a calm, mature female voice said, "Attention, everyone. We have incoming. Please make sure all windows and doors are closed as needed!"

George handed me a dark pair of safety glasses. I put them on and looked back out the window. Just as I did, I saw the last of the 'wicks' reach the tarp, and it exploded into a multi-colored fireball that sparkled as it burned. You could still feel the blast's force through the building's thick windows. Now I had an idea of why the first two buildings never survived. "Imagine how messed up you'd be seeing this shit while as blown away as we used to get! That would be some messed up shit!" George laughed. "Come on, we have a meeting, my friend."

We walked into the conference room, and Dorian and I hugged each other, and I felt the tension in the room evaporate. "So tell me about this $200 you're about to give me," Dorian asked. I told them what had happened so far, what I knew had happened until now, and what I wanted to do. I handed Dorian and his team the phone with the photos already pulled up, "What's this shit...?"

"Pictures of the engine I want you to look at, why?" I told him. He put the phone on the table, turned around, and left the room.

George whispered, "It's cool. He'll be back. If he weren't, the other gremlins would have left with him."

Dorian returned in about five minutes with a small open box and something about the size of an old cassette player. He plugged it into the wall outlet, then plugged my phone into the box on the table and pointed it to the wall. Then, from the small box, he handed his group what looked like two-inch silver tubes. He then shut down the lights on their side of the room and sat beside my phone on the table. Within ten seconds, the pictures from the phone were showing on the wall. Two seconds later, I saw eight different colored laser pointer dots swarming the first picture and the second.

George nodded his head towards the door. Once outside, he told me they'd be there for a couple of hours, studdering around. I gave him a confused look, so he explained, "The more you get them involved in an engine, their minds are thinking so fast that their mouths can't explain their ideas fast enough, so they studder until they get their idea out."

We walked over to the restaurant and had lunch. "If that is what I think it is, there's no way we can do what you want in the given time frame, my friend."

"George, I'd sell my soul to the devil to make this work! That's how far I'm into this now. It's far beyond countries, governments, or even going into outer space to play amongst the stars. I have feelings for her, George, and as you know, I'm not much into the 'catch and release' type of guy." I looked over at him.

He held my look for a minute and said, "Are you done?"

"No, I don't think I am," I replied.

"With your lunch, dumb-ass!" Letting out a loud laugh.

I looked at the table. He had eaten a steak dinner with the sides, and I had barely eaten half of a bacon cheeseburger with a side of onion rings. "Yeah, it looks like I am. What's up?"

"Follow me, loverboy," And George got up.

We walked around to the back of the engine shop and got into what reminded me of a golf cart on steroids. Big knobby off-road tires, the whole shebang!

"I don't like walking back here after dark or if I need a break and want to get lost for a bit. But this evening holds, 'A Diamond in the Ruff.' Suddenly, there before us sat Scrappy-Do-Two! Two models newer, but they have the same color scheme and dimensions. There must be improvements to the engine that rated its own model series. "Last year, after I got my pilot's license, I had a wild hair of stepping out of my door, then helo to the airport where I could go anywhere I wanted. Then I got wiser and have been trying to sell it ever since. I saw the fourth picture you took and came up with my plan.

"Would you mind if I..." I started to ask.

"That's what I brought you out here for once everyone's inside, now get your ass in there and tell me what you think," He smiled.

I got in and noticed the clean smell... Yep! That's got to go! I grinned as I checked everything inside and out.

"I have a guy who comes out and flies it around a few local towns toting a for sale sign behind it. He was here twelve days ago." George informed me.

"Can I take her up and see how she handles it?" I asked.

"That's why the keys are in the ignition, Kee-mo-sabe!" as he got out.

I took her up and put her through her paces, and she took it like she was made to. I approached the building in a sharp, speeding turn and noticed a woman standing beside George. He used a flashlight to show me where to put it down. After I ensured everything was shut down, I walked over to introduce myself, but as I got closer, I realized I already knew her. "Gwen, long time/no see, what have you been up to?"

"Unjustly fired from the hospital, found someone with video footage showing it wasn't me. Now, the hospital is begging me not to sue, and I just doubled the amount I'm asking to open my own visiting nurses' company for those who can't make it in for appointments, for starters, and go from there. I won't take charity; it has to be for services rendered, so it's hand-to-mouth. How's it hanging with you, Ian?"

"I have a job for you, just for tonight til morning tomorrow, but it's also for the government, and it pays $10K

"Nothing illegal...?" she asked.

"Nothing at all, Gwen, I can assure you!"

"This isn't a trap because you need another stripper or something because I don't dance in public anymore."

"Nothing even close, but it does involve you, your nursing skills, and your tools of the trade." I smiled at her. "But you have to be ready to go in one hour."

"Are we going to be close to anything medical during this time?" she asked.

"Hardly, we can be if needed," I replied.

"I'll get my trauma kit and see you in 45 minutes at the engine shop."

"Gwen, pack for things like date rape, drugs, and such. It's what's going to happen. But for the first time, nobody is taking their clothes off. Sort of ironic, don't you think?" I grinned.

She walked over to the cart and got in, "When we get back, I have something to check on, and I'll meet back up in the conference room, cool?"

"Not a problem. If anyone gives you any shit, have them call me. We're on a timeline with this now!" George had his old smile back, "GOD, I've forgotten how much fun it can be getting your hands dirty again!"

I turned away and walked like I was going to the leather shop, but when I saw the elevator doors close, taking George up, I ran across the street and into the restaurant. I looked around til I saw George's little brother, Joey, walking into a door marked for employees. Before the door could close, I pushed it back open, surprising him with his baggy in his hand.