Victory Tour (Part 224) (Patreon)

The rest of the afternoon was pretty quiet, at least compared to what the last hour or so had been like.

I got the laptop hooked up to Arlene's house wifi and called up those sites I'd been using for Western Civ. I was pretty sure Mrs. Edwards would get most of the questions for our six-weeks test from them.

The phone was plugged into the laptop with a USB cord, allowing me to keep it charged. I think the phone's battery was going out on me. I'd have to get Lanny's advice before I did anything, though. The idea of getting a satellite phone instead of cellular intrigued me.

I was going over some of the key points of the Reconquista when the phone rang. It was Jed.

"Dude, I don't think we're gonna get over there to watch football today," he croaked when I answered. "All of us who went to the volleyball game yesterday got that stomach bug that's goin' ’round. Been blowin' chunks all mornin.'"

"I feel your pain," I grunted, glad I wouldn't have to explain Lupita just yet. "It hit me yesterday morning while we were out at my farm. We made it back to town before it got really bad, but I didn't get much sleep last night because of it."

"About that," my buddy said, "what's got my dad all excited? I heard ’im tellin' Mom they need to adopt a daughter."

"Mr. Patterson had some good news about an investment," I hedged. "I think your dad's gonna be able to start his own firm if he wants."

"More like buy the one he's at," Jed said. "He's been wantin' to do that ever since he made junior partner."

"You gonna be able to go this week?" I asked.

"I oughta," he said. "Might have to miss tomorrow's practice, but it's not like Wes can't handle things against these guys."

"If it doesn't get him, too," I said. "And we'll need 10 others with him."

"May as well call up the entire JV," Jed snorted. "That'd be enough talent to win. I better go."

The last part was said quickly as the call disconnected abruptly. I think the next wave just hit my friend.

The mention of Mr. Richards got me thinking. I'd need some kind of corporate counsel sooner or later. Maybe he knew some young go-getter who could handle it. The first task would be getting The 320 Foundation off the ground. I'd like to offer scholarships this spring without anyone suspecting my involvement.

And thinking of legal matters reminded me that I still needed to touch base with Meredith Metzger about establishing some kind of support agreement for any female I may impregnate. I figured a $1 million trust fund on my part would be a starting point. It wasn't like I was going to father 30,000 kids. I probably couldn't produce that much sperm even if it was all done by IVF. My dick would fall off if I tried to do it the traditional way. I don't think I knew that many females, anyway.

But that would have to wait. I needed to get through six-weeks tests first.

I switched over to English for a bit since that test was Tuesday and went over the Shakespeare plays we'd studied. Aunt Karen's websites were again put to use. And I was again interrupted by my phone ringing.

"This is Gary," I said.

"Good afternoon, young man," George Patterson said a little more cheerfully than I would have expected. "My daughter will be glad to hear you survived the night. The way she was whining, I don't think she wanted to."

"I'm sorry to hear that, sir," I said. "Maybe she should try a dose of Mrs. Johnson's home remedy."

"We all did last night just as soon as Carla got a batch whipped up," he chuckled. "The fear of tasting that again should be enough to scare everyone into staying healthy. Listen, the reason for my call is to advise you to check your news feeds. There are a couple of items on the state wire that you may find interesting."

"I'll do that, sir," I said. "Any keywords to look for?"

"Alejandro de la Vega would be a good start," he snorted. "Although it's all speculation at this point."

"Understood," I said, making a mental note to do so. "Any update on what's going on out there?"

"According to Black Tom, multiple federal agencies were still poking around today," Staci's dad informed me. "Removal of the weapons cache began overnight while the feds were sleeping and may be done by now. It seems Tom cut a deal to share the wealth, as it were, to get Chinooks in there by midnight.

"The security people were supposed to redo the cement patch over the hatch as soon as the last crate was removed. The gold will stay where it is until we can get a road built and bring in the heavy haulers."

"That was fast," I said in surprise. "I thought that was going to require special equipment."

"Or some very strong men," Mr. Patterson laughed. "Scuttlebutt is every Tri-Star operative who could get there did so once word got out about the chance to obtain new toys. For as discrete as they have to be, those security types sure are a gossipy bunch within their own circle."

I could easily understand that. This was simply too juicy to keep quiet about.

"As long as they don't take the gold," I said. "I've got plans for that. Will you be available to discuss matters any time soon? I'd like to lay the groundwork for some things."

"Let's wait until everything's been accounted for," he said. "I'll let you take me to lunch at the steakhouse after I get back from Zurich. Get ready to have a numbered Swiss bank account."

"May I impose on you to bring back some Swiss chocolate for Staci?" I asked. "I should do something for her after having to break our date last night."

"I'll even let you pay for a box that I can give Carole," he laughed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were tying to seduce my daughter. But we all know you accomplished that back in June when you 'rescued' her from Aaron Jenson."

Having yanked my chain once more, the rich and powerful man let me get on with my day. He was still laughing heartily when the call disconnected.

Since the laptop was already connected to the Internet, I opened a new browser tab and called up one of the news sites I occasionally visited. The third headline under the State News heading definitely caught my attention.

"Suspected Drug Kingpin Possibly Dead," the headline read.

The story stated that a vehicle listed as belonging to business magnate Juan Antonio Alejandro de la Vega had been found on a rural road several hundred miles from the border (and roughly three hours southwest of here) with five dead bodies at the scene.

Investigators stated that it appeared to be a one-vehicle accident with the one vehicle having rolled over multiple times before catching fire. Four bodies inside were charred beyond recognition and DNA testing would be required to determine their identities.

The accident was judged to have occurred some time between midnight and 2 a.m., but wasn't reported until after sunrise this morning when a local rancher came upon it on his way to check on a pasture containing some of his cattle. Officials said the fact that the fire had somehow not spread into said pasture was pure providence. That whole country could have gone up in flames before anyone knew what was happening.

It was the fifth body found nearby with multiple gunshot wounds — tentatively identified as one Tomás Trujillo of Oaxaca state — that got agencies like DEA excited. If it really was "El Cazador," and the tattoos were a good indication, that pointed to a possible hit by the Oaxaca cartel against the man rumored to be the power behind the Matamoros cartel.

An unnamed source connected with law enforcement theorized that someone in the vehicle remained alive and capable of getting off a few rounds when Trujillo drew close enough to check his work. Forensics would determine the range and angle from which the fatal shots were fired, but it would take some time to make all the pieces fit.

The rest of the article provided a short bio of de la Vega and his business endeavors. In addition to his suspected cartel activities, he held controlling interests in several companies, many of them officially located offshore. Among the holdings was a media conglomerate that included such outlets as the Hollywood Enquirer and KDLV-TV, an independent station broadcasting from the Rio Grande Valley.

At the bottom was a link to KDLV-TV's website. I think the only reason I clicked on it was the thumbnail was a shot of a smokin' hot Latina news anchor showing some very interesting cleavage.

The link took me to a video posted almost a year ago lauding de la Vega's philanthropic efforts in the Lower Valley. His patronage of La Escuela Secundaria de Nuestra Señora del Rio and the Blessed Sisters of Perpetual Chastity received significant coverage. Some of the footage used looked awfully familiar. As in the same used for the video Lanny had showed us yesterday at the treasure barn.

There were occasional cutaways to the anchor, always framed to include her cleavage. She was identified as Maria Teresa Villaseñor. I got the feeling she may have been an alumna of La Escuela based the way she gushed about El Patron's generosity. Couldn't have been more than 22 or 23. She certainly knew how to work for the camera, though. Very telegenic.

I think KDLV-TV just joined the list of de la Vega holdings I wanted to acquire, along with the Manhattan apartment and the luxury yacht. I'd kinda like to meet Señorita Villaseñor.

My daydreaming about voluptuous Latinas was interrupted by another phone call. Elise, this time. Better get ready to grovel.

"We missed you yesterday," my tall girlfriend said when I answered.

"And I'm very sorry about that," I said, "but it was pretty much unavoidable."

"Morgan said something happened out at your farm," Elise started.

"The house caught fire," I cut in before she could ask about federal agents. "It's a total loss. We haven't heard what caused it."

Only a slight lie there, but Elise didn't need to know the whole story yet.

"Oh, dear," she said. "Was anyone hurt?"

"Not that I've heard. No one was living there," I said, adding another slight lie. "The good thing about it is I don't have to make the decision on whether to tear it down. There's not much left. My grandmother already has some ideas on what to build. If I'm lucky, there might be something worth living in before graduation."

"Not mine," she moped. "I'm graduating in December. Stanford wants me to enroll for the spring so I can go through their offseason program. Daddy's already approved the paperwork. I think he wants to get me away from you so I can focus on school and volleyball."

That stunned me. How was I going to get through Chemistry without having her tits rubbed on me? And why was Dr. Stirling suddenly worried about me? I wasn't just going to hop in the sack with his daughter. But I couldn't swear that she wouldn't try to climb in with me if the opportunity ever presented itself.

"I'll miss you," I said automatically.

"At least I'll be around through Christmas and New Year's," she sighed. "Maybe you could graduate early, too. You still have a week to apply. I know several kids have. Most of them are football players like Marshawn Taylor, but a few regular students get out while they can if they qualify."

"I'll have to look into that," I said, remembering Arlene suggesting that for me when we were out in Malibu.

"What you'd better do is be at the library Wednesday morning," Elise said. "I'm signing my letter of intent at 7:45. That'll help make up for you missing yesterday."

"I'll put it on my to-do list," I promised.

"You do that," she said. "And make reservations for three at Morton's. Riley wants to go there if she ever feels like eating again."

"What's wrong with Riley?" I asked.

"That stomach flu hit her on the way home yesterday," Elise said. "I just hope I can avoid it. One of our backups didn't suit up yesterday because of it. She probably shouldn't have made the trip. Probably a good thing we didn't win. I'd hate to have to withdraw from the state tournament because everyone was sick."

"Maybe Morgan will let you tag along next weekend," I said. "Although I don't know what her situation is now. I know at least one of those girls got sick on the way home. And Staci Patterson said it's hit the cheerleaders."

"God, are we even going to have enough toilets at school to handle it all?" my lab partner giggled.

"Maybe the really sick ones will just stay home," I said. "Or maybe your dad can cancel classes for a couple of days so it can run its course."

"Not with it being a test week," Elise said. "I'd better tell him to have every plumber in town on standby."

"More like every one within 20 miles," I snorted.

"We need to get together Tuesday night to study for the Chemistry test," she said. "Maybe have dinner. I could meet you at your apartment after you get done with football practice."

"Uh, I don't know if the apartment's going to be available," I said. "Mrs. Jenson's using it for a guest who showed up unexpectedly. Maybe we can go over everything in study hall after practice. We could invite your dad. He could see I'm not going to try anything."

"Not on your life," my lab partner said. "At least not about inviting Daddy. But we could at least get something to eat. You can take me to Jason's or something."

"We could get a little bit done Monday if you're available," I said. "I've also got Economics on Wednesday and will need to go over that with Chuck Edwards for a bit."

"That might work, but I have English IV on Tuesday," Elise said. "Daddy might say something if we go out to eat two nights in a row, though."

"We can go over English together, too," I suggested. "I doubt Karen will go to the trouble of making different tests for each class. She might have a couple of different questions here and there, but it'll all be from the same plays."

"Karen?"

"Dr. Robinson," I corrected myself with a grin. "But she was my aunt long before she was my English teacher."

"I wish I could take her to Stanford with me," Elise sighed. "I like the way she teaches. Plus, she knows all the good stories about you."

That's all I need, I groaned internally. My aunt dishing the dirt to my girlfriends. I'd better start looking for a new place to hide.

We came to a tentative agreement to meet after practice the next two evenings to study before Elise let me go. Dinner plans could be finalized after that. While Elise's season was over, I still had the 10 p.m. curfew to deal with.

Before I could get too far into my studying, the Johnsons pulled into the driveway in separate vehicles, one of which was my Beemer.

"We brought you your car, young man," Miss Carla said as they entered the kitchen. "That is a fun little ride. I may have to get something like that for myself before I get too old to have fun."

"So, in the next 50 years, then," I snorted, earning me a scowl from Marv for flirting with his wife. "Not a lot of room for a baby seat, though."

"Better get one now while baby seats aren't a concern," Miss Carla shot back. "Here's the key I got from our sister and the one for the apartment. I need to check with Mrs. Jenson and then commandeer your apartment kitchen again. Coach Tucker heard about my granny's cure-all and wants enough for the whole team if necessary. That'll be about 20 gallons."

"Thank you, ma'am," I said, sticking the keys in a pocket, reminding myself to put the one to the apartment back on my keyring. "I'd better let you get on with your business. Sounds like it'll take a while to brew up that much."

While Miss Carla went to check in with Arlene, Marv took the seat across from me, giving me an enigmatic look as I resumed studying.

"How serious were you about that offer you made the general yesterday?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Serious enough to make it," I said. "I haven't done the math, but that should easily cover my relatives and the girls for years to come."

"Easily," he grunted. "What I'm interested in is the part about goin' after the cartels."

"I wasn't talking about all cartels, just any that might target me because of de la Vega," I said. "I wouldn't try taking on the Sinaloa cartel just for fun. Even the minor cartels would require a lot of intelligence gathering first. I seriously doubt anyone could just go in guns blazing and make it out without massive casualties. That's why I said I don't want him using Tri-Str people. I don't want to be responsible for losing one of you on the off chance of finding another stash of money."

"Yeah, you'd need a very good plan to even have a chance," the bodyguard sighed. "And I wouldn't even think of joinin' in. Carla would kill me first. But some of the guys got to talkin' and it made me think. We all know folks who'd be willin' to take that kinda risk."

"Well, I won't be involved if Gen. Rackham doesn't accept my offer," I said. "Even if I am involved, I'll leave military decisions to those with military knowledge and experience. This isn't like some video game where you can start over if things don't go your way."

"At least you're smart enough to understand that," Marv snorted. "But don't be surprised if all that gold doesn't reach Zurich. Havin' the money to do what others can't is pretty temptin.'"

Miss Carla and Arlene came in to make sure us menfolk were staying out of trouble. Mrs. Johnson handed Mr. Johnson a sheet of paper — it turned out to be another shopping list for what she'd need to brew up some more of the home remedy — and sent him on his way.

The two ladies poured themselves cups of coffee, then took seats on either side of me. Based on their expressions, they were up to something.

"So, what are you going to do with those girls?" Miss Carla asked after taking a sip.

"Girls?" I replied. "As in more than one?"

"See, I told you he'd catch that," Arlene smirked before taking her own sip.

"The team in Matamoros evacuated 16 girls ages 14 to 18 from that school early this morning," Miss Carla said. "Four from each high school grade. They're supposed to be on de la Vega's yacht by now, preparing to sail up the coast. Gen. Rackham is sending another team down to meet them at some small coastal town and bring them up here. They've all got the same kind of documentation as Lupita, except for the ones under 16. They don't have passports, but they have everything else."

"They're all U.S. citizens?" I asked.

"It appears so," Miss Carla said. "The general suggested trying to enroll them at his granddaughter's school in Virginia, but that'll take time to arrange. We need somewhere now. I think there's a large enough Hispanic community here that we can mix them in, maybe even find someone to help house them so they don't have to go into the foster-care system."

"Is there any way to contact their parents?" I asked.

"We'd have to find them first," Miss Carla said. "From what the girls told the team, most are basically orphans. Parents are either known dead or missing, having disappeared under mysterious circumstances. A few flat out abandoned their daughters. Some may have even been sold to the slavery ring."

"How about right next door here?" Arlene suggested. "Gladys Osborne is ready to accept Gary's offer on her house. She already has a cruise picked out that will leave it vacant through the end of the year. I bet we can get the deal done by the time the girls get here. It'll be a little tight, but 17 girls in five bedrooms should work."

"Seventeen?" I asked in confusion. "I thought it was 16."

"Sixteen plus Lupita," Miss Carla said. "We think it'd be best if she was with them, since most of them have known her for a few years from school."

"And I've talked to Jimena Benavidez about taking them on part-time at the restaurant," Arlene said. "That'd keep them busy until we can get them in school somewhere."

"They can't just stay there by themselves, though," I pointed out. "They'd need a legal adult there to deal with CPS issues, at least."

"Chanda Ramakrishnan," Miss Carla said. "After seeing her with Lupita last night, I suspect they'd all benefit from talking to her."

"And Karen Robinson," Arlene said. "She's been looking for a place in the area. I'm sure Gary wouldn't mind providing a place for his dear aunt."

The last was accompanied by a look that reminded me the redhead was aware of my intention to keep and support Karen after they returned from Europe next spring.

"That's 19 females in one house," I pointed out. "There aren't enough bathrooms."

"They can come over here in a pinch," Arlene mused. "At least until the remodeling starts. That still gives you two months to find something bigger, if not better."

Me? Why was this suddenly my responsibility? Yeah, I was the one with the big money, but that should mean I could hire someone to handle the details.

"We can also ask Erin Aguilar for help," Arlene continued. "She can at least be a big-sister type for them. And her folks will know others within the community who'll help."

"Why not just call Holy Trinity Catholic Church?" I asked. "It sounds like these girls are all Catholic, or at least familiar with the way things are done, if they were at a school run by nuns."

"Except that we're trying to keep them off the radar if we can," Miss Carla pointed out. "And we're pretty sure the Blessed Sisters of Perpetual Chastity were not an authentic order. I wouldn't be surprised to learn none of them ever took holy vows or was even qualified to teach."

I still thought contacting the local church was a good idea. If nothing else, one of the priests could probably point us in the right direction.

"How's Lupita doing?" I asked in an effort to avoid more talk of me taking care of 16 Catholic schoolgirls.

"She's resting as comfortably as she can," Miss Carla said. "I made her take a dose of the remedy this morning as a precaution. She doesn't need to catch that bug if we can avoid it. Between IVs and water, she took on nearly two gallons of fluid last night before she had to go to the bathroom."

I didn't even want to think of consuming that much liquid. Just three or four glasses of tea at supper usually had me hitting the head at least that many times the rest of the evening.

"You should at least talk to her for a minute," the security lady said. "She asks where you are every time one of us checks on her."

"Don't worry," Arlene smirked. "I'll go with to provide protection."

"For her or him?" Miss Carla snorted.

Our discussion was ended when Marv returned from his shopping excursion. The fact he parked in the alley near the apartment should have tipped me off as to the size of his haul. And I shouldn't have been surprised when Arlene volunteered me to help him take the things into the apartment. It was like my parents were here or something. "Why, yes, Gary will be glad to help."

I got everything loaded in the backpack and put it in the trunk of the Beemer before attending to the task. Marv had at least eight of those plastic shopping bags in hand with as many more still sitting in the cargo space of the black SUV. At least they were light enough to carry in one trip. The hard part was getting them all organized to do that.

Arlene held the door for me as Miss Carla and Marv started unloading his sacks. I was barely through the door before I was beset by another female.

"¡Patron!" Lupita squealed excitedly, wrapping me in a fierce hug and babbling too fast for me to catch a word.

"Hola, Lupita. ¿Cómo está?" I asked, unable to return the hug as I held the bags out of her way.

Her response was in rapid-fire Spanish that rivaled Abuela Jimena's. They should get along famously.

The girl finally stopped and looked up at me expectantly. I took it she'd asked a question and was awaiting my answer.

"No comprende," I said apologetically, staring into those shimmering brown eyes. "Mi español no es muy bueno."

"I speak ingles," she said haltingly. "Are joo gonna be hyere ... esta noche?"

"No," I said, causing her to pout oh so sexily. "I will go to my home."

"I go, too," she asserted as Arlene took the sacks from my right hand while Miss Carla came up to claim the ones in my left.

"You need to stay here, young lady," Miss Carla stated authoritatively, turning Lupita's pout into a frown. "We've got to get you to the clinic in the morning and then go buy you some clothes. Understand?"

"Si, Madama Carla," the girl relented, reluctantly releasing her grip on me.

The mention of clothes made realize Lupita was still clad in what we'd arranged for her yesterday. The one addition to her ensemble was one of my T-shirts worn under my fleece, making me wonder just how much of my wardrobe I had remaining. At least she couldn't wear any of my pants.

"Besides," Miss Carla said as she took the sacks back to the kitchen, "I need you to help me brew up a big batch this evening. I wish we had access to the cafeteria kitchen at school. That's got enough equipment to cook up that much all at once. It's going to take us four times as long out here."

I took that to mean she could make five gallons at a time on the little stove that Marie used for cooking breakfast.

"You boys get on out of here," Miss Carla commanded. "I do not need y'all spoiling a batch."

"Yes, ma'am," two male voices responded.

I at least thought to grab a pair of slacks, a polo shirt and a windbreaker to wear tomorrow. I honestly had no idea of what clothes I had at home now. And what I had here was being commandeered by women.

"Lupita, I want you to be a good girl and do what Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Jenson ask of you," I said.

"Si, Patron," she said earnestly.

"I'll try to visit for a few minutes tomorrow evening after I get done with school," I added.

"¿Verdad?" she asked.

"Verdad," I said as sincerely as I could.

That got me another hug and two more dents before Marv dragged me out the door.

"You go straight home," he ordered. "I've got to check in with the general, then I'll swing by your house. Your dad's supposed to be there, but you mother and sister are still quarantined at the new house."

"Yes, sir," I said, turning toward my car.

Marie stepped out of the kitchen as I made my way up the walk. Rhonda, looking quite relaxed, busied herself with something at the sink and conspicuously avoided looking in our direction.

"Are you going home, Daddy?" the little waif asked with a bit of a pout.

"I really ought to," I said, putting my fresh clothes on top of the ragtop and pulling her into my arms. "I don't want to think how my mother will react if she thinks I'm shacking up with you during a test week. Did you get things worked out with Rhonda?"

"After we got a few things worked in," my pet cooed, giving me another pussy-flavored kiss. "I swear, that girl acts like she's never had an orgasm in her life. I can't wait for you to give her a big one."

"Did you not hear what we said to each other?" I asked incredulously after licking Rhonda's taste off my lips again. "She doesn't want anything to do with me and I've more than got enough to deal with right now. It's not going to happen."

"Ya never know," Marie smirked. "Stranger things have happened."

I just shook my head.

"I oughta put you over my knee for even thinking of it," I growled.

"Will you fuck me this time?" she grinned naughtily. "I'll be ovulating soon. Just think, Rhonda could watch you knock me up!"

"I've got to get through my tests first," I said. "No happy fun time until that's over with, then I've got a game to get ready for."

"So, next Friday night after the game," she mused. "That should be a good time."

"I've got to live that long first," I said. "I'd better go. You should take Rhonda home. I don't want her blaming me if she bombs a test because you wouldn't let her out of bed."

"Yes, Daddy," she said, giving me one last kiss. "Love you."

"Love you, too, baby," I said, giving her a little nudge toward the door.

The dashboard clock showed it was almost 7 p.m. as I drove home through the growing gloom. A glance at my phone showed it was almost 6. I needed to get a car that updated the time automatically like the phone did. That was just one thing I disliked about DST, but at least we weren't springing forward. It always took me most of a week to adjust every time it started or ended. Just pick a time, for cryin' out loud.

I pulled into my spot in the carport for the first time in nearly a week. Kacie's spot was empty, making me think she was still in possession of her Rover. I grabbed the backpack and change of clothes and headed into the house. Dad was laid out on the couch, the afghan draped over him, snoring up a storm as the last minutes of whatever game was on the TV ticked off silently.

I put my stuff in my room and checked the closet. There were enough clothes to get me through the week — even my blue team polo was there, meaning I was set for Friday — but I'd have to get a couple of days out of each pair of khakis to make it. I'd also probably have to do a load of sox and boxers before the weekend.

I headed to the kitchen in search of a snack. Not that I was all that hungry, I was just used to eating more than I had today. My stomach wasn't used to being so empty for so long. Time to get the digestive system back to work.

A look in the fridge showed nothing appetizing. There was plenty of meat for sandwiches, but I didn't want to risk getting something that was too seasoned. A bowl of cereal would be much safer. And easier to put together.

Dad straggled in as I was pouring milk.

"Don't use it all," he grunted. "That's all we've got for breakfast in the mornin.'"

"Yes, sir," I said, continuing to pour until I could see milk under the flakes.

"Have you talked to your mother today?" he asked as I put the half-full jug back in the fridge.

"Nope," I said, moving to the table. "Figured I'd better get my homework done. Wrote a paper for Economics and studied for a couple of the tests I've got coming up. She would've gotten on me for slacking off if she thought I was wasting my time."

"Ya know, you're gonna have to face her sooner or later," he said, scrounging in the fridge for sandwich fixings.

"And I'd like to be able to do that without the risk of one of us puking on the other," I said after swallowing a spoonful. "Let's let this stomach thing run its course. She can't accuse me of taking advantage of her weakened condition if we wait another day or two."

We ate in silence, Dad standing over the sink to avoid dirtying more dishes. When I finished, I moved beside him to rinse my bowl and understood his reasoning — both basins were full of dirty dishes soaking in sudsy water. How many meals had he eaten here by himself? It wouldn't have been that much trouble to just put them in the dishwasher. It made me wonder how he'd survived as a bachelor.

"Better get these loaded up," I grumbled, grabbing the spray hose to give them all a quick spritz. "Just one more thing for Mom to hold against me."

As I rinsed and loaded, Marv let himself in to verify that I'd obeyed his orders. He carried a burger bag, reminding me Cookshack was closed on Sundays. Maybe Miss Carla wouldn't accuse me of enabling him to overeat this time.

"How'd things go with the general?" I asked, moving around Dad to load dishes as my bodyguard took a spot at the table and began his meal. "George Patterson said y'all might have those weapons out of there by now."

"When did you talk to George?" Dad asked around a mouthful, giving Marv time to take a bite of his burger.

"He called this afternoon to tell me to check the news," I said. "There was an article about a vehicle belonging to de la Vega being found with four bodies burned to a crisp. The state has ordered DNA testing to establish identities."

"It's all been moved and the floor repatched," Marv said before stuffing a handful of fries to follow the burger. "Buck said everyone who wasn't on assignment showed up to help. Several flew in from Virginia last night and hopped rides on the Chinooks."

"Bet that was a smooth ride," Dad snorted.

"They were able to get it done without the feds comin' to have a look," Marv continued. "The general said the first herkie took off a couple of hours ago. There's at least another planeload sittin' under guard at that airfield."

Dad finished his sandwich and Marv continued to devour his food as I loaded the last of the dishes into the washer.

"Carla tell ya about those girls?" Marv asked after swallowing another bite.

"What girls?" Dad asked suspiciously.

"The ones they found at that school," I said. "The Tri-Star team down there found 16 of them, all high-school aged, and are supposed to be bringing them up here. Arlene thought we could stash them at Gladys Osborne's house if we can get that deal done."

"When will they be here?" Dad asked.

"They were supposed to sail de la Vega's yacht up the coast a ways," Marv said. "If they got underway this afternoon, they should put in at whatever port some time tomorrow. I've heard Lavaca, Palacios and Matagorda. We've got people checkin' all three to see which'll be easiest to sneak in. That'll also be where they take the gold when that operation happens.

"Then they've got to drive up here. That'll probably take 12 hours minimum."

"More like 15 or 16 with that many teenage girls," Dad snorted. "I doubt they'll go more'n an hour before they have to make a potty stop. I'd better contact Gladys in the mornin' to get this rollin.' Then we'll have to get George to approve the payout."

"If Mrs. Osborne's bank or realtor or whatever approves, I was just going to use that credit card," I said. "I doubt Cayman National will charge much more than local banks would if we do it by wire transfer."

"You'd be surprised," Dad said, "but it would save us some time. Do you have the card with you?"

"It's in the top dresser drawer at the apartment," I said.

"I can get it when I go check in with Carla," Marv offered.

"Better take me with you," I said. "I still haven't signed it."

"Well, at least you haven't been out spending a thousand a pop," Dad said. "I may as well tag along. If we hurry, we can get back before the replay starts."

Marv thought that was doable, stuffing the last of his fries into his mouth. It reminded me of Jed, Chuck and the other offensive linemen.

"Let's roll," he grunted. "I'm parked out front."

I let Dad take the shotgun seat and climbed in behind him. We pulled into the alley behind Arlene's within 10 minutes and headed into the apartment.

"¡Patron!" Lupita squealed excitedly when she looked out of the kitchen.

"What are you boys doing here?" Miss Carla asked, following the latest damsel I'd rescued as Lupita raced to give me another hug.

"Just needed to pick somethin' up," Marv answered as Dad looked at me curiously.

"We won't be long," I said, peeling Lupita off me as Arlene, wearing an apron, followed Miss Carla. "Just a quick in-and-out."

"You know I don't like those," Arlene smirked as I stepped over to the dresser.

"Behave, young lady," I mock-commanded. "My father's here."

"Gary said you think Gladys is ready to deal," Dad said. "We're getting the financing taken care of."

Lupita stayed glued to my side with Dad and Arlene right behind as I opened the top drawer and the Johnsons headed back to the kitchen. I tried not to open the drawer too much, but it couldn't be avoided as I looked for the envelope with my Cayman National card.

"I never thought my son would be a crossdresser," Dad snarked as he caught a glimpse of the lacy unmentionables in my trophy collection. "Is that why you spend so much time here?"

"Just mementos of happy occasions," I shot back as Lupita's eyes widened at the drawer's contents. "I've never even thought of wearing them. Nothing's my size."

"I wondered where these went," Arlene said, fingering the white thong I'd purloined over the summer.

"I'll let ya have ’em back for the right price," I said with a leer.

"Behave, young man," the goddess retorted. "Your father's here."

"We'll talk about it later," Dad said, sounding a little jealous of my collection.

I grabbed the envelope and quickly shut the drawer, taking care not to slam any fingers in it.

"Let's go," I said, stuffing the envelope in a hip pocket. "I can sign it at home. Lupita, you be good. I'll try to swing by tomorrow evening."

"Si, Patron," she pouted, letting me go. "Ay te wacho."

It took a bit to get Marv away from his wife/superior, but we were soon on our way back to the house.

"So, when's Lupita going to add to your little collection of 'mementos?'" Dad asked as we pulled out of the neighborhood.

"Not soon," I said. "First off, she doesn't have anything to contribute. Miss Carla's supposed to take her shopping tomorrow. Second, and more important, is I don't want to give her the chance. She needs to come to terms with her situation first and I've got enough females to deal with. Don't want to get on their bad side just because a pretty girl feels obligated."

"I think you're already on your mother's bad side because of it," he said with a hint of a blush as Marv snickered. "I told her about what we found yesterday. I think the girl got her attention more than the money."

Fuckin' great. I needed to hurry up and turn 18 before my parents had me locked away somewhere. Maybe I could bribe ... er, have George Patterson authorize a contribution to the campaign fund of a judge to emancipate me.

We made it home, I found a pen to sign the back of the card and handed it over to Dad.

"Don't spend it all in one place," I said. "I know where you sleep."

"Just to make sure," he said, "how much are you offering?"

"$1.5 million," I said. "That includes whatever furnishings Mrs. Osborne and her children don't want."

"As long as it doesn't include any more teenage girls," he snorted as he put the card in his wallet.

While Dad and Marv settled in to watch the replay, I returned to my room. I'd get to watch it all during athletics tomorrow without having to put up with Tweedledumber and Tweedledumbest.

There was a small stack of mail on my desk that required my attention, anyway.

The first envelope was junk mail. The second was from Educational Testing Service. I wasted no time in opening that one. The rest could wait.

It took me a minute to navigate through the BS, but I eventually found the pertinent information — I made 1290 on the SAT, good enough to get me into just about any state school.

I fired up the desktop computer for the first time in forever — you just knew my folks would turn it off to save on the electric bill — and called up websites for three compass-point colleges within 150 miles of here. That just happened to include TSU, where several of my relatives had attended at least temporarily.

Commerce and TSU both accepted online applications. The third school on my list, which was actually the closest, did not. I think the list just shrank by one candidate.

I spent about an hour going over the forms, making notes on required information. Most I knew off the top of my head or could look up with little effort. A couple of things, like class standing, would require a visit to the main office at school.

After writing everything out on a sheet of notebook paper, I bookmarked the web pages and started packing things up. I was debating whether to do some more studying or go watch the rest of the replay when my brain decided it was time to shut down.

I blamed a combination of the stomach bug and the time change for messing with my body clock. The alarm clock said it was almost 10, which meant it was almost 9. Just to be safe, I set the alarm on my phone. I'd get around to setting the alarm clock one of these days.

I made it to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth before staggering to bed. I was facing another night without someone to snuggle up to — Arlene, Marie, Kacie or any of the rest.

Just as I was dozing off, a thought crept into my mind. Those girls sailing up from Matamoros better not be militant feminists.