bug.”
Julie laughed
and said, “It’s another kind of pest,” and grabbed Matt lightly in a headlock
and started grinding her knuckles into the top of his head.
He tucked and
turned his head, slipped out of her arm and tackled her at the legs. Next
thing he knew he was pinned by all five of her friends who were tickling him
mercilessly. He was in teenage boy heaven.
After a couple
of minutes, Julie said, “Okay, pip squeak. That’s enough attention for one
day. You go play with the boys before we put a dress on you.”
“No, not
that.” He was up and out of there like a shot.
As soon as he
was around the corner, Pia said, “He seemed awfully happy to see us.”
They all laughed.
Julie said,
“Don’t encourage him. I don’t want to be looking at my little brother pitching
a tent every time any of you are around.”
“Oh he’s not that little,” said Samantha, and they all cracked up again.
Poor kid has
no idea the teasing he’s in for, thought Julie. She almost felt
sorry for him, but knew he would enjoy every minute of it.
The new girls
were sharing the fifth wheel and the motor home that Helen and Julie had bought
on the night of the lockdown and the youngest, Jamie, was staying with Julie
and Helen. So far it was working, but Julie had a feeling that having the
three in the fifth wheel wasn’t going to last. Too much togetherness wasn’t especially
comfortable. Even so, they would all have to watch out for each other. And
I’ll have to keep a close eye on all of them since I brought them in .
JANUARY 7 th
“Well, that
didn’t take long,” said Jim. The men were watching the security monitors where
a truck with a couple of hunters pulled up to the end of the road to the
ranch. The two hunters stopped to put on ghillie suits.
“You’ve got to
be kidding me,” Rob said. “These clowns are just asking for it. How about a
warning shot?”
Frank said,
“Good idea,” and Jim agreed as well.
Rob picked up
the radio and said, “Okay for a warning shot.”
Will’s voice
answered, “Copy that.”
A moment later,
a tree to the left of the hunters took a .50 caliber round into a branch about
8 feet up, shattering it. Both of the men dropped to the ground and turned
their rifles toward where they thought the shot came from. Both were still in
Will’s scope.
After a few
minutes they stood up, shouldered their rifles, and waved, before walking back
to the truck and driving off.
Will said over
the radio, “Not quite as stupid as they looked.”
Rob answered,
“Nice shooting, Will. See you at lunch.”
“Sounds good,
boss.”
The rest of the
men talked in headquarters. Jim said, “Those ghillie suits bother me. Those
are for people, not for hunting.”
“Yeah, but
those ass clowns didn’t even know that you don’t drop flat when someone’s
shooting from above,” added Frank. “That was amateur hour out there and they
just got pulled off stage with a big hook.”
“We need a
policy decision,” added Jim, “I would argue that the ghillie suits indicated
hostile intent, but I don’t want to tie the hands of the watch. If Will had
chosen to drop them, I would have been okay with that. In this case, I think
he made the right decision. If they come back armed, I’m more than okay with
removing them from the gene pool.” Rob nodded agreement.
“Look, you
folks are professionals at this sort of thing,” Jim said, “I trust your judgment.
I just don’t want the non-pros making that kind of decision without some kind
of guidelines. We need to train them to be able to handle situations like
this.
“We also need
to have the ability to talk to whoever is down there without exposing ourselves
to anything. Maybe stashing an intercom system? I don’t know. We can put up ' Lethal
Force Beyond this Point' signs. There were too many people involved in
putting up buildings and making deliveries to
Julie laughed
and said, “It’s another kind of pest,” and grabbed Matt lightly in a headlock
and started grinding her knuckles into the top of his head.
He tucked and
turned his head, slipped out of her arm and tackled her at the legs. Next
thing he knew he was pinned by all five of her friends who were tickling him
mercilessly. He was in teenage boy heaven.
After a couple
of minutes, Julie said, “Okay, pip squeak. That’s enough attention for one
day. You go play with the boys before we put a dress on you.”
“No, not
that.” He was up and out of there like a shot.
As soon as he
was around the corner, Pia said, “He seemed awfully happy to see us.”
They all laughed.
Julie said,
“Don’t encourage him. I don’t want to be looking at my little brother pitching
a tent every time any of you are around.”
“Oh he’s not that little,” said Samantha, and they all cracked up again.
Poor kid has
no idea the teasing he’s in for, thought Julie. She almost felt
sorry for him, but knew he would enjoy every minute of it.
The new girls
were sharing the fifth wheel and the motor home that Helen and Julie had bought
on the night of the lockdown and the youngest, Jamie, was staying with Julie
and Helen. So far it was working, but Julie had a feeling that having the
three in the fifth wheel wasn’t going to last. Too much togetherness wasn’t especially
comfortable. Even so, they would all have to watch out for each other. And
I’ll have to keep a close eye on all of them since I brought them in .
JANUARY 7 th
“Well, that
didn’t take long,” said Jim. The men were watching the security monitors where
a truck with a couple of hunters pulled up to the end of the road to the
ranch. The two hunters stopped to put on ghillie suits.
“You’ve got to
be kidding me,” Rob said. “These clowns are just asking for it. How about a
warning shot?”
Frank said,
“Good idea,” and Jim agreed as well.
Rob picked up
the radio and said, “Okay for a warning shot.”
Will’s voice
answered, “Copy that.”
A moment later,
a tree to the left of the hunters took a .50 caliber round into a branch about
8 feet up, shattering it. Both of the men dropped to the ground and turned
their rifles toward where they thought the shot came from. Both were still in
Will’s scope.
After a few
minutes they stood up, shouldered their rifles, and waved, before walking back
to the truck and driving off.
Will said over
the radio, “Not quite as stupid as they looked.”
Rob answered,
“Nice shooting, Will. See you at lunch.”
“Sounds good,
boss.”
The rest of the
men talked in headquarters. Jim said, “Those ghillie suits bother me. Those
are for people, not for hunting.”
“Yeah, but
those ass clowns didn’t even know that you don’t drop flat when someone’s
shooting from above,” added Frank. “That was amateur hour out there and they
just got pulled off stage with a big hook.”
“We need a
policy decision,” added Jim, “I would argue that the ghillie suits indicated
hostile intent, but I don’t want to tie the hands of the watch. If Will had
chosen to drop them, I would have been okay with that. In this case, I think
he made the right decision. If they come back armed, I’m more than okay with
removing them from the gene pool.” Rob nodded agreement.
“Look, you
folks are professionals at this sort of thing,” Jim said, “I trust your judgment.
I just don’t want the non-pros making that kind of decision without some kind
of guidelines. We need to train them to be able to handle situations like
this.
“We also need
to have the ability to talk to whoever is down there without exposing ourselves
to anything. Maybe stashing an intercom system? I don’t know. We can put up ' Lethal
Force Beyond this Point' signs. There were too many people involved in
putting up buildings and making deliveries to
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