Chapter 5: Summer 3 at Skeleton Lake

After hearing Dalisay's story, Reddy disappeared again. Hell, I thought, I am starting to adjust to having him around, if one can ever adjust to having an assassin living in one's basement while he builds a deadly weapon. At least I now know about his second family. I have a sister, Dalisay, and I know who Michaela is, I mean what.

A week later, Reddy materialized from the basement and asked, "Can each of you get the next six weeks off for some time at Skeleton Lake?"

"My boss at the lab is getting used to my frequent absences. I'll be ready to go in a week," I said. “Besides, it’s nearly summer and time to reunite the Bear family at the lake."

"Burton's Family Business," he mumbled, before disappearing into his subterranean workshop, adding, "I like the sound of that name."

 “Summer at the lake, Bear family, Burton family, rigorous sniper training -  sounds like fun," I said.

Dalisay shrugged. I imagined her thoughts were on setting up a new clinic in Oakland. The owner of the warehouse she had her eye on had okayed the lease, and she had already set up a dozen beds and hired most of her staff, including security and kitchen. This girl is a genuine entrepreneur.

Later that day, Sara-Clare called from Panama, "Tell Reddy I’m sorry but I won’t be able to join you all at Skeleton Lake this summer as that’s the only time available for me to finish work on part two of my child brides documentary. I'm looking forward to seeing Dalisay's new Oakland Clinic. See you all in Berkeley after I wrap up this documentary."

Two days later, Reddy reappeared. I told him Sara-Clare would not be joining us for a month at the lake. I could tell by the hang-dog look that remained on his face for the rest of the day that he was disappointed. I, the evil and selfish daughter, was delighted. I was already going to share Reddy with Dalisay. That was enough.

I found myself looking forward to our family bonding and to a private course in sniper skills, from shooting to disguises. By summer's end, my third summer of intensive training, I should be able to hit the bottle targets at 1,000 yards with Reddy's sniper-scoped 762mm rifle. I had graduated from the 223 which Dalisay now trained on. Michaela was still being tweaked. Reddy said she wasn't ready for real targets until the potential for collateral damage was eliminated. He also said something about the battery not being tiny enough.

Burton’s Family Business is taking shape; Dalisay is making preliminary preparations to start up a clinic for abused girls on the waterfront in Oakland near the old Navy yards. She has already set up temporary quarters for a dozen young women. One day she asked: "Guess who signed in as my third resident at the clinic?"

Reddy replied, “Penelope, the girl Critter Purcell kidnapped and enslaved, and plans on making her his child bride."

"You’re no fun at all," Dalisay responded with a sour look on her face.

"I’ve been tracking Critter ever since he escaped from the cabin at Skeleton Lake last summer. I sent Penelope to New Orleans for a few months. When I called her about her situation with Critter recently, she said she’d like to come back to the Bay Area. I suggested your new clinic."

“Having found the right people and an affordable waterfront location for the clinic, I can afford to spend two months at the lake while they settle in; besides, I want to get to know you both," Dalisay said. "We can make my Clinic for Girls a Burton’s Family Business subsidiary. I’m all in!"

"You must get the poker channel down in Saba," I said.

While Dalisay was busy getting things started at her clinic, Reddy returned home for who knows how long this time. Then I remembered that we have three one-way tickets on NW Air to St. Louis and arrangements for two dogs. That means he’s here for the remaining two days before we depart.

Reddy caught me in the kitchen with only my shorts on after my morning run with Shy and Comet. Angie was off somewhere with her new beau Clemson Rapier. “Put a shirt on, I have a job for you, a key role in Burton’s Family Business. You did such a great job on the encryption of my savings accounts that I want to appoint you as keeper of the BFB financial records. When can you get started?"

Reddy didn’t keep a diary or anything that might incriminate him if he were ever interrogated by the CIA or anyone else. He had always entrusted every important detail to his eidetic memory. Ultimately, I discovered he had nearly 3 million Euros stashed in the Caymans and another 2.5 million Euros in Swiss bank accounts under five separate names and disguises listed as partners from various nations. My first thought when I tallied up his net assets was a simple wow! Then I did the math. At €300,000 per target, Reddy had eleven hits. That's frightening.

While I was doing the books, Reddy reappeared like a ghost from the basement and I asked, "Want an espresso?"

"Please!"

 Okay, so he may have eleven hits. I didn't really know all the details of Reddy's background and life before or during his military years. There were gaps I couldn’t account for with these records. The same was true of the twelve years since he rescued me and stashed me at the Bush School and RVU and UC-Berkeley. But what I was coming to accept was that he was my father. I only recently came to this conclusion, after a great deal of soul searching in the years following the day I first met him when he ripped me away from Cheju-do Island. From that day forward my life had been about two things. First, finding out all I could about this lethal but gentle and soft spoken man. Second, finding out that I had a capacity for some of the same things Reddy did. I wanted to understand where I was going with these skills and abilities. I told Matte that sometimes I am euphoric and other times I am frightened by what I may yet do.

As I reviewed and then encrypted Reddy's financial records, I noticed that his bank accounts were an interesting look into his priorities. I noticed how carefully he recorded my university expenses and how little he spent on himself. Hell, he didn’t even own a car, and I won’t reveal what I think about his wardrobe. When he last needed a car, he leased it. One big exception was the Pilatus PC12; however, I know how much he loves flying and he is constantly on the move. However, a two million dollar aircraft?

Summer three would not be entirely a vacation and Bear family reunion. Reddy used  the freelance contract applications that came by e-mail to his michaela.com account to teach Dalisay and me about the business, and he illustrated Reddy's Rules as he taught us how to select and reject applicants. My rescue, capturing Critter, locating the Greys’ secret lab, assisting with the taenite for Project MagNet, locating Dalisay Burton, and several cases he rejected were also highlighted in his lessons.

Skeleton Lake (July- August, 2013): Craft and Matte were off to Europe together for most of the summer, leaving the Burtons and of course the Bear family with the Skeleton Lake cabin all to ourselves. Rhyly Raincrow headed up the archaeological dig in Moosonee for a second year, and Laz joined her. They planned to drop by the lake at summer’s end, on their flight back to River View.

Reddy, Dalisay, Shy and Comet, and I flew commercial to St. Louis-Lambert Field where Sarge met us with the now pontoon equipped Pilatus PC12. On our way home to Berkeley Sarge would uninstall the pontoons as we wouldn’t need them for the coming year. We intended to fly the PC12 back to Oakland at summer's end. Professor Craft left the key to his home on the river with Ms. Clemmie at the Track, so we could stay there for a few days to give the Bear family a chance to get reacquainted before flying to Skeleton Lake.

       Once we got to the Lake, we practiced sniper skills every morning, after our run around the lake with the dogs. During our first week, we spent a lot of time getting the dogs back home. They found so many animal trails and scents to follow that they scattered and went quite a distance. The neighbors seemed to get a real kick out of my whistle. I thought it worked pretty well for recalling them; however, most times mother KC found them and nipped at their heels as they made their way back to the cabin after being gone for less than an hour. By summer’s end I almost stopped worrying.

We still needed a mission and clients to start-up our family business. We practiced on and discussed a number of Reddy's recent cases since he went off the reservation, with an emphasis on learning Reddy's rules. Almost every evening as the sun set over the lake, we discussed then accepted or rejected a case as it either met or violated Reddy's rules on who deserved killing, revenge as a motive, proximity of the target to home, getting paid and risk, and no partners.

While Reddy told us about these cases and use of his rules, he tested our skills at keeping confidentiality and client selection. For example, Rule #4-get paid up front. This meant, do a thorough check on clients, including trustworthiness, risk assessment, and likelihood of payment.

"Talk about your risk factors," Reddy said. "Rule # 4 can also be alternatively worded: Never do business with or for anyone who can be traced back to you."

It turned out that Dalisay had superior vision like all Burtons, and she quickly mastered Reddy's 223 sniper rifle. Family genetics could be useful,  I thought. I had to admit that at twenty, she was way ahead of where I was at the same age when it came to survival skills and instincts. However, I was the better shooter. She still had much to learn about stealth and tracking, but her life experience had given her a fantastic sense of positive paranoia. She always looked up and down as well as 360 degrees when trekking through the forest or the streets. Reddy called this six direction recon, awareness training.

"Whether driving, walking, or just hanging around," Reddy instructed, "in this business, you always need to have your head and mind on a swivel. Not one that only does a 360 degree circle, but one that tilts up and down. Big brother is watching all the time, satellites in the heavens, and cameras at intersections and at ATM's, and more business and home security systems than you can count. You only have to look up from time to time to know that someone is watching you.

"North, south, east, west, zenith and nadir are the six directions. Native Americans, Celts, and many civilizations practiced oneness with the heavens and with the core of earth as well as the four winds. My experience has taught me that most creatures, whether hunter or pursued, do a pretty good job of looking to both sides, and glancing to the side and rear. However, humans rarely look up to see if a hawk is diving down on them," Reddy stated.

"I know what you mean," I said. "Whenever I watch a Spenser TV show or a scary movie, I always expect Hawk to shout at the heroine to look up or look behind for the villain."

Reddy replied, "I have always thought that in those instances, the writers are merely using the heroine's narrow vision as a writer's tool for creating anxiety in the reader's mind."

"You're so right. It does seem a bit phony; however, I really enjoy the late Robert Parker's protagonist, Spenser and his sidekick Hawk as well as his loyalty to his main squeeze Susan, and who can forget Pearl."

"You and Dalisay need to watch less TV and pay attention to the dogs when you all are running on the trails around the lake and in the woods each morning and you will see that they watch out for things from above as well as behind."

The dogs also sniff the ground and stick their noses in just about any hole or pile of poop they can find.

"You can use the poop if you want to; however, as a sniper, I have often used camouflage and even dug a trench or a hole a few times, so that I can come up from under or behind a target," Reddy said. "Practicing is the only way to hone your instincts for this. It does not come by merely knowing about it."

"Okay, six directions instincts are critical," I said. Dalisay nodded agreement.

Most evenings we sat on the dock watching Mother Nature work her marvels on a sunset that would challenge any artist’s pallet, slowly changing into a black canopy to reveal millions of lights. The Bear family formed a protective collar of brown, black, and white fur around us, their ears perking up at the mournful howls of the wolves as night enveloped us and the moon made its ever changing appearance.

Reddy shared his philosophy and guiding principles for selecting clients. "Before you take on an assignment, you need to know the details of the case and they need to come from a reliable source," Reddy said. He was sitting on the dock, sipping an espresso and using his laptop to check his e-mail. He typed in the security codes and clicked on the encryption software that Chip Moriga had developed for him.

Chip was born in Kericho, in the tea region of western Kenya near Lake Victoria. He was a rail thin long distance runner who once finished 4th in the Chicago Marathon. He was educated at Cambridge before moving to Boston and MIT for graduate studies in hi-tech communications. He became a US citizen five years ago and was hired by the CIA.

"The dude is incredible when it comes to encryption and decoding. By constantly changing the codes and the encryption language, he has created a virtually unbreakable set up for me to make contact with his potential clients," Reddy told us. He is family in Reddy's eyes, and he soon becomes a candidate for employment by Burton's family business. Reddy trusts Chip to the point that Chip served as the first filter in selection of clients. If the candidate didn’t get past Chip, Reddy never heard about them. Chip does a deep security check on each potential client before passing a coded message to Reddy on michaela.com.

Reddy dismissed two other messages on his e-mail as "garbage," deleted the spam, deleted the cache, and opened the item marked "A twofer." Chip's sense of humor got his attention. A twofer could only mean a double target. Even though this went against Reddy's rule #5-no partners, he was intrigued and read on.

“Sometimes a twofer assignment comes along," Reddy said. “The Glacier Montana case recently came in on michaela.com with Chip's evaluation. There are two assignments, one in Montana and the other in New York City. If Rule # 1 is met for both targets, that is, if they both deserve killing, then a second shooter is called for. Hmmm. I have two daughters who can shoot the eye out of a squirrel at 200 yards without a scope."

"That assumes that the squirrel deserves killing," Dalisay noted.

"Good point," Reddy replied.

"Okay, but squirrels or people, count me out of that part of the family business. I’m in the business of saving lives."

We took a short walk with the dogs then got back to work.

"Let's start with a look at the details Chip provided for the Montana case," Reddy said.

Chip’s details on the first target read as follows: (7/23/13) Target 1 (T1)  is female, raven black hair, cool blue eyes, 29, 6' in stilettos which she always wears, striking, fashion model, all legs, constant companion a coal black standard poodle named Rex. They run together every Tuesday morning, starting at 6:15 am EST., walking to the central park- West 52nd Street entrance at the Natural History Museum. She stops and stretches on the stairs and railing at precisely 6:25am. Next, they run a circular route through the park, exactly 4 miles on Tuesdays- ending at the same park entrance, and walk back to a coffee house on the underground/first floor of the Armory Park Hotel on the corner of Avenue B and 54th Street. Her apartment is # 775 on the 7th floor. She varies her routine slightly on other days when she is modeling in Paris or Brussels or London or L.A. Photos attached.

Reddy opened the attachment and scrutinized the photo of the target in all black running gear, her long black locks tied in a pony-tail. She looked like a serious runner. Good exercise for a fashion model, good muscle tone and healthy skin, all a must for her kind of work. The poodle at her side was big and impressive. Satellite tracking photo with longitude and latitude of Central Park were attached. The other photos, a cosmetics commercial and another shot of her naked with a huge black snake coiled around her, were stunning but irrelevant as regards the hit set for her next Tuesday run.

(7/23/13) Target 2 (T2) is male, full head of short cropped grey hair, grey eyes, age 53, 5' 7", steel rimmed glasses, physically fit- once a college wrestler- now prefers mountain biking and hiking. Wears hiking boots with two inch lifts to compensate for his short stature when with T1. T2 is presently staying at Montana's Glacier National Park Lodge suite 14. Tuesdays schedule: 5am in lodge's fitness center, 15 minutes of stretching and warm ups. 5:20 am checks in with Park Rangers and heads for mountain trails on the east side of the park. Trek mountain bike. 5:25 am starts his 2 hour trail ride. He returns to same starting point. Likes to bike alone- calls it his thinking time. No fear of bears. Once in the heavily wooded area of tall pines, the trail runs west along a creek for 2 miles then turns north with an up-hill climb of 10 degrees for three miles to a small icy lake. There is a cabin near the end of this trail, maintained by the rangers and stocked with some survival gear, food and water, no electricity. The trail map is attached. Photos attached. Satellite tracking map and longitude and latitude of cabin attached.

The photos of T2 in full biking regalia showed a strong face and athletic build.

Chip included more from the client's own e-mail:

T1 and T2 are a couple, both are otherwise married, he has 3 children ages 20-27, she has no children and is facing a messy divorce. They are blackmailing my family. A member of my immediate family has a drug problem and is sexually over active and recently had an affair with a politically powerful man, T2. Yes, my family member is also a fashion model, "close friend" of T1. T1 is the brains of the two. T1 and T2 are reported to be partners both in the business of blackmail and in the sack, have been for years. Video provided if needed. I will provide a list of their clients as needed and if you take my case.

Chip's report continued: Verifying reliability of this is not a problem as these two are very arrogant and deem themselves bullet-proof. They select their victims for their weaknesses and their high profiles which tells me that publicity can ruin them; all part of the blackmail. No police have ever been involved. In fact there are no official records of the activities of these two con-artists.

"So where did Chip get all these details?" I asked.

Reddy replied, "Good question. A family member sent us this entire package via secure e-mail at michaela.com. Then Chip did a thorough background check on all parties, both targets, and the family requesting our services."

Chip concluded his report with a note from the family saying that T2 is affiliated with Russo/Grey Oil and suggesting a sense of urgency and revenge: 

My family member has attempted suicide twice and is presently institutionalized. T1 is under contract to the Harmony Group Modeling agency of New York. The client says that T1 works for the same agency as my family member, their targeted victim. One more thing, I cannot support this, but I believe that these two have been the source of her drug addiction. She is only 27 years old with a very bleak future. Eliminating this threat may give her some hope.

"Wait a minute,” I said. "They are connected to the Greys, that seems a bit too coincidental.” Reddy shrugged.

Chip concluded his report by noting that by doing the assignments separately we did not risk an association as much. However, they were only separated for this week at their present Montana and New York locations, granting only short windows of opportunity.

"Okay, so much for the details of the case. Other than the twofer aspect, it is a perfect fit," Dalisay said, "almost as if the clients know more about our process than we do."

Now came our evaluation of the Twofer Case in terms of Reddy's Rule #1- never target someone who doesn't deserve it.

"Dalisay and Shannon!" Reddy said out loud, scratching his ear as he is wont to do when making a decision he was vexed over making. "Accept or reject this case. It's your call.”

As I watched Reddy scratch his ear, I thought to myself, Reddy has a tell. My slight hesitation gave Dalisay an opening, and she said, " Both targets meet Rule #1; however, I think Chip is suggesting that the case is too perfect, so I vote no deal.” I was startled by her eagerness to be involved in these cases; she seemed so indifferent to the sniper training up to this time, and being a professional healer, she wasn't about to shoot someone, whether they deserved it or not.

"I agree with Chip and Dalisay,” I replied.

I know how to take orders. I know that Reddy, the family patriarch, will make the final decision on this case; however, I couldn't resist saying with incredulity in my voice, "I don't believe this. You're actually going to take this case."

Then Reddy threw a curve at us, as befits an ex-minor league baseball player. He replied coolly, "Dalisay is correct, Chip says the information is almost too perfect. He thinks it's a trap, a classic CIA set-up to grab Michaela and me." I hadn't even calculated Michaela into the equation.

Dalisay asked, "Who's Michaela?" Reddy replied, "When we get back to Berkeley, I'll give you a tour of my basement  lab at Shannon's and introduce you to Michaela."

I noticed that he didn't call my place home.

Later, on a cloudy moonless night, as pitch black as any I have seen, Reddy said, "It’s easy to get too wrapped up in Rule # 1: Don't target anyone who doesn't deserve it."

I said, "I get it. That Twofer couple deserved it; however, what about risk and reward?"

"Exactly!" Reddy said. "On the other hand, if we take this Montana case, at least I'll know where to find the client if things go wrong. And, while the CIA keeps an eye on me, I will be keeping an eye on them."

When Reddy says things like that I really get worried, because it illustrates the real dangers and risks of this business. "So we should decline the Montana case. No one can keep an eye on the CIA," I said.

"I agree," came the surprise reply, followed by a hearty laugh. "However, we’ll need to practice some serious six direction skills until we find out if it’s the CIA that is setting us up."

As our summer of skills and case selection training at Skeleton Lake came to an end, Dalisay and I started to put together a list of Reddy's Rules, sort of an SOP Manual.

"You had better hope Reddy never discovers that we have written down his rules," she whispered to me as Reddy headed for a walk around the lake with the dogs following him like he was the pied piper. ”My bet is that he has a pocketful of treats."

Knowing how good Reddy is at investigating, we rethought our decision and burned the two copies of Reddy’s Rules in the cabin’s pot bellied stove. Then we laced up our running shoes and took off at a run to join Reddy and the Bear family.

"Better safe than sorry," I said.

"Hell, we know his rules backwards and forwards. We don't need to write them down, just react to them when needed, and try not to forget Michaela when analyzing future cases."

At that moment I realized that like Reddy and I, she too had an eidetic memory. For me, all doubt that she is a Burton was erased.

 "It's as if Michaela's a member of the family," I managed to say with a straight face.

Reddy and the Bear clan were running along the south trail headed east into the glow of the morning sun. When we caught up with them, Dalisay asked, "Can we call them Guiding Principles instead of Reddy's Rules?"

I added, "GP's does sound more business-like."

"Call them what you wish, but follow them, especially when selecting clients," Reddy replied.

Later in our run, I asked Reddy, "How are we doing with the six directions?"

"East and west are pretty good, North and south need more practice, and I do believe you are both sufficiently paranoid about things coming up from behind and out of the ground. However, I once had a habu snake drop from the limb of a tree on my head in Okinawa. On another occasion, a habu dropped on our dog and bit him, damn near killed him. Very toxic poison." From that day forward I found myself wondering if Reddy might drop a snake on me at any time.

The first question Dalisay asked Reddy when the topic of clients next came up was, "Where do your Rules come from?" I was expecting him to say, from my life experiences.

"Where do you suppose I got my rule Number 1? I train with Hamish at the same martial arts dojang every June when I return to Cheju-do. The Silla monk Won Gwang teaches the directives as spiritual guidance to all his students of the martial arts." Reddy grinned and we got back to our GP lessons.

"Reddy's Rule Number 1 and the 5th directive are very similar," Dalisay said.

I agreed. "Directive #5: Never take a life without a just cause. You’re right; it does have a ring of familiarity." However, Reddy taught us that rules are guidelines, not laws. They needed to be flexible and at times it was necessary to bend them.

By summer’s end, I almost always rejected cases as too close to home, following Rule #4. I was beginning to wonder if there were sufficient clientele to meet Reddy's General Practices criteria and sustain our new family business. Twofers were way too risky. I thought back on the eleven kills I had estimated, based on Reddy's bank deposits total. At €300k a contract plus expenses, we neither wanted nor needed to do a volume business. But we still needed a mission statement.

Reddy and I were in synch. Our mission was assassinations, namely, targets that met the criteria established in Reddy's Rules. Okay, call it contract killing. However, Dalisay had a different mission, assisting young women who were the victims of abuse.

Later that night, after Dalisay headed into the cabin, Reddy and I sat on the dock dangling our feet in the cool lake water. "You're ready, Shannon, and we’ll talk assignment when the opportunity arises." I damn near hugged him. Call it pride, but I was both scared and overjoyed and happy to be headed home all at the same time.

Back home in Berkeley I researched starting-up a family business. This led me to a lot of websites that provided only general information on capitalization and finances, taxes, health insurance for employees, location-location-location, and of course some were focused on the security industry, others on sporting goods retailers and gun stores, nothing really close to Burton's Family Business.

Then, I stumbled across an advertisement on the Internet for a seminar that caught my attention:

Professor Marshall Hunt, author of 'Start-up: A Family Business' will be presenting a two day seminar Friday and Saturday (from 8am-4pm) [3-4 April 2013] at the Seattle Resort & Conference Center. The seminar is limited to 50 participants so be sure to register early. Call 1-800-222-2345 or click on the registration button on this page and complete the application. All major credit cards accepted. Fee $300.00. A bank of rooms has been reserved at The Skydome Hotel- contact them directly or make your own accommodation arrangements. Click here for details of the program.

Reddy paid the fees and registered us all for the seminar.

The professor, a grey-haired, bearded, bespectacled six footer, wearing jeans, a black t-shirt and a forest green corduroy jacket, asked the attendees an opening question: "What is the first ingredient one needs to start-up a family business?"

A preppy looking twenty-eight year old wearing a carefully tailored dark blue blazer with a family crest and gold buttons, grey slacks and tasseled loafers, raised his hand and responded, "First you need a product or service that someone wants or needs." 

The Prof smiled and said, "That is a factor, but what else might be first?"

Three or four more answers came from an eager audience. Then, Dalisay raised a hand and said, "A familia."

Prof Hunt grinned and said, "I do believe we have something to work with. First, you need a familia of loyal employees, willing to live on a low income basis while you get started. Next, you need to assess what skills your family team has. Third, you need to determine what business, service or product, you intend to focus on and what are your market and your mission. Notice that this is not the first thing you do. Then, return to what skills need to be developed. Finally, you need financing. Most start-ups fail and fail quickly because they do not have sufficient funds to meet payroll, start-up expenses, inventory, etcetera, for at least eighteen months. Six months is not sufficient nor is a month to month approach.

“Those are some of the basic tenants we’ll discuss during the seminar. I have invited several entrepreneurs to share their successes and failures with us as we progress. Let's begin."

The final topic was presented by one of the entrepreneurs, Jill Cotton, who started an on-line consulting firm based on the slogan “Plans are for suckers." Professor Hunt had made the point that plans aren’t worth spit if you can’t implement them. Her story was about a disastrous case where unfinished business lingered for months, eating up revenues and time that should have been spent on growth and development. Everyone in her firm literally stopped whatever they were doing to close one unprofitable case. Cotton concluded, "Take care of unfinished business quickly and stop thinking like a start-up."

When I checked the class roster in my program materials, the preppy young man turned out to be Courtney Blaine Grey, of Highland Park, Illinois, VP of the Grey Oil Corporation. I guessed he was Edvard Grey's cousin.

After the seminar, people gathered in the foyer for snacks and beverages as they chatted in small noisy groups about family business. Courtney glided over to Dalisay, her twelve year old companion Penelope, and me with a big smile on his face.

"What business are you considering, ladies?" he said, as he made direct eye contact with Penelope. It was not Dalisay nor I but Penelope that Courtney was hitting on. He perceived her to be a virgin. My knowledge of his cousin Edvard's propensity for droit du seigneur obviously biased my thoughts.

Penelope was Critter's child slave, groomed to be his child bride. She attended the Hunt Seminar with us mostly because we wanted to keep an eye on her while Critter was still at large. She was one of the first of three girls to become a resident at Dalisay's Oakland Clinic for abused girls. Penelope had several talks with me when I was helping out at the clinic, counseling battered wives and children. We had known each other for some weeks now since she relocated from New Orleans. Reddy was the one who suggested she move into the dorm at the clinic.

She still thought Critter was an okay guy, but she didn't really understand the Stockholm syndrome. After all, she had been raised by Critter since she was kidnapped at six and had only dim memories of a drunken, abusive stepfather and a heroin - addicted mother who mostly left her to watch TV and fend for herself before abandoning her in a flea infested motel south of San Jose.

Reddy sent me stream video taken by Chip Moriga and attached to his investigative research notes on Courtney Blaine Grey. He was a slick greasy looking dude with crazy eyes. His left eye was green and the right one brown. The eyes were a genetic thing with many of the Grey family males since the time of their English ancestors according to Chip. Ruthless and ambitious, he was well down the Grey family tree but climbing.

At the end of the seminar, Reddy drove us back to the airport to catch our return flight to Oakland. I was not surprised when Penelope leaned over the front seat, smiled and asked us, "What did you think of Courtney Grey?"

I knew better than to tell a twelve year old girl to steer clear of the bastard. Matte once told me the story of Edvard Grey after a rape case became a matter of public record and got splashed all across the River Views news. Edvard had openly stated that it was his birthright to practice droit du seigneur. Using her best psychiatric terminology, she called him "one sick bastard.” Recalling that incident was what made me suspect that Courtney Grey, second cousin to Edvard, was hitting on Penelope because she was a virgin. I simply replied, "Not my type, too smarmy."

Penelope asked, "Smarmy?"

"Creepy, slick, greased back hair, fast talker, ladies man or should I say cradle robber."

"Okay, I get the idea," Penelope said. "But, I am not a child; I'll be thirteen next month."

We dropped Penelope off at the Oakland Clinic and Dalisay checked to ensure everything went okay during our absence. A fourth girl, age fourteen going on thirty judging by her make-up, her physique and clothes, had been admitted this morning. Dalisay talked with her for fifteen minutes; then, we drove home.

When we got back to my place in Berkeley, the four things that stayed with us from the seminar were: first, was Courtney Grey going to be a problem?; second, redefining our mission; third, we needed to do an inventory of "familia" members' willingness and skills; fourth, I needed to determine if we had adequate capital and working funds for at least eighteen months. We had previously figured on a strategy based on ninety days of funds, and then our plan was to use the revenues to keep going. Professor Hunt's seminar firmly put the kibosh on that feeble plan.

"Too bad we couldn't tell the Prof what our real business is."

"You know girl, I think he knew we were hiding something," I replied.

"He liked our charity angle, diversifying with the clinic and all," Dalisay said, adding, "I reckon that will be my main duty."

Reddy pitched in, "I liked the old dude. He's had some interesting experiences and that makes him more legitimate than most t-shirt professors."

"What's a t-shirt professor?" Penelope asked.

Reddy replied, "A t-shirt professor has degrees and no real world experience."

"I get it," Penelope responded. "They have been there and have the t-shirts to show for it, but they have never done that."

"Exactly!" Reddy said.

As we settled in, back home in Berkeley, Dalisay and I started a family skills inventory as per seminar guidelines.

"As for our skills, I'm destined to be the bookkeeper and to keep an eye on finances and taxes," I said, thinking all the while of Reddy telling me I'm ready.

"And, when Reddy thinks you are ready, or the case fits, you will be a sniper. I will put my skills to work at the clinic," Dalisay said.

Eidetic memory does not mean psychic I thought.

"That makes Reddy the CEO, Trainer, Tracker, Target Designator, and Primary Sniper."

"So that makes my job title, Family Business Partner and Clinic Director," Dalisay said.

I said, "How about for me, Partner, Director, and Knight in training. Wow! What a business card!" I played Paladin’s theme song on my smart phone for all to hear.

"I like it. Can we all share your theme song?" Dalisay said when she stopped laughing.

Reddy came up from the basement, brewed an espresso, and sat silently during all this jocularity. Angie, Dalisay, and I nonchalantly continued our conversation as though we knew he was there all along. Actually he has been absent for nearly two weeks. Then he said, "So, we’re in the business of assassinations!"

"And we run a clinic and home for girls who need our help."

Reddy paused, then added, "What say we call ours a business of child rescue and protection?"

"That does have a more socially acceptable sound to it," I said. "Child rescue, aid to young women, and assassinations when justified?"

"Okay, if we all agree that the assassinations part will remain secret or at least not publicized," Reddy said. Dalisay and I nodded in the affirmative. We are nothing if not respectful of our leader. The notion of filial piety ran through my memory.

"Speaking of our business mission remaining a secret, what are we going to do about Courtney Blaine Grey?" I asked.

"Why was a member of the Grey family at the seminar?" Reddy asked. "Maybe Courtney was checking up on us. The Greys are partners with the Parks in their Clinics in South Korea. However, I am certain they don’t know I’m investigating the Home for Girls in Cheju-do on behalf of Princess Zubaida."

"Princess Zubaida?" Dalisay asked.

"Oh yeah! As soon as I can, I’ll tell you about another case I am working on," Reddy replied.

 

Back in Berkeley, after Professor Hunt's seminar, Dalisay became a regular running partner with Angie, the dogs, and me. Chip Moriga joined us a couple of mornings, and we all really liked him. He is one terrific runner and when it comes to encryption and decryption he's the best. Well maybe the second best. He’s also a gifted hacker.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are shooting practice days at the Oakland PD handgun firing range. Reddy insists that even our Clinic Director remain proficient with the Kahr 9mm pistols he prefers for self and home defense. On Saturdays we fly up to a cabin Reddy has near Lake Tahoe. That was where Reddy and I practiced sniper shooting. Dalisay and I were both becoming proficient at setting up a hide, tracking, and getting the hang of Reddy's six direction training. We also screened the emails on michaela.com when Reddy was unavailable. He showed us how the system worked to keep both client and now BFB secure. I wondered how Reddy planned on replacing Chip at the CIA, or whether Chip could continue his screening and background checks on potential clients from another location.

After I completed a check of the BFB finances, Reddy made signature arrangements with all of his banks so Dalisay and I could access funds. Then we gave some thought to non-family members - Angie, Penelope, Chip Moriga, and a lawyer we might need.

Reddy didn’t like the title 'employee,' and called it demeaning, so 'partner,' and 'contractor,' were considered. Not everyone would be full time; however, I insisted that medical and retirement benefits as well as life insurance be provided from day one for anyone who works for us full time, along with a share in the profits to be calculated at year's end. Professor Marshall Hunt's seminar gave me that last idea.

The clinic for abused girls was a legitimate front for Burton's Family Business. Reddy suggested this, claiming, "I learned the value of having a legitimate business as a front from the Parks. Their clinics fronted successfully for over a decade for their child bride business."

Reddy also insisted that we charter our business off-shore, for tax reasons and to keep government interference in our operations at a minimum. I was still researching this and had a call in to Professor Marshall Hunt Jr. for a consultation.

As I’ve mentioned, Dalisay has located a warehouse near the Oakland Naval yard and made a six month lease agreement with option to buy from the retired Chief Petty Officer who owned the place. His name was Rusty O'Malley and everyone called him Chief. He agreed to provide some labor to help her with electrical and plumbing renovations. She put her medical studies on hold and went to work getting beds, building a showers area, a kitchen, and the necessary medical equipment and personnel who, with the residents, helped us design the examination and operating rooms, the rest of the workspace, and a visitor's area. Reddy pitched in and added a security system that rivaled Fort Knox. Every member and resident was to be issued a photo and fingerprint identity card that synched with the metal detectors that arched over each entrance and window. Reddy personally ran detailed background checks on every job candidate. I noticed that he also asked Chip Moriga to run a check on Courtney Blaine Grey.

"Speaking of unwanted guests," I said, "remember what I told you about how Penelope was approached by this Courtney Grey creep at the Seattle Seminar a few months ago?"

"Yes."

"Well, he came to Oakland to visit Penelope at Dalisay's Clinic," I said. "I have to give Penelope credit. For a girl her age, she has incredible instincts for identifying creeps. He suggested that she join him for a rock concert at the Oakland Center for the Performing Arts."

She darted him with, "Aren't you a bit old for rock concerts?"

"That little arrow stopped him in his ego."

Penelope was the one who told me about this encounter with Courtney. "He kept asking questions about my health and was I raped, was that why I was at the clinic. I told him it was attacked but not raped. I think it finally dawned on him that a rescue clinic for abused girls was not a source of virgins. The bastard is what I call a volume skirt chaser. He doesn't really care how many times he gets shot down; he just wants his virgin piece of ass as often as he can get it."

I knew about the Greys' penchant for droit du seigneur and their insatiable appetites for virgin girls. When I was at the Parks’ Home for Girls, I learned several Korean legends that place a high value on their women being virgins when they marry. However, so far we have not determined if Courtney was sent by the Greys to spy on us or if he is virgin shopping.

Matte remained suspicious of Courtney’s motives. She and Sara-Clare O'Callahan soon became frequent volunteers at Dalisay's Clinic. They had raised funds on their many speaking engagements, almost enough funds for Dalisay to meet her first year's payroll and rent. Reddy tossed in funds for her medical supplies, beds, and the construction of showers. He set up the security system pro-bono. Hell, I thought, it all came out of what were now family funds. However, as the keeper of the books, I felt responsible for spending money wisely.

Then Betty-Sue Curfew, matriarch of R.V. Curfew Incorporated, surprised Dalisay with the gift of a mobile Curfew van, fully equipped with first aid and communication gear as well as GPS and off road capability in case it was necessary to rescue or treat someone in a remote area. The van could also convert to being a twelve passenger personnel transport for such activities as visits to the redwoods on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge and frequent concerts and other activities for the shelter residents that the Clinic staff was already planning. As of the first of May, twelve girls became official residents. Penelope was one of them, as noted earlier, and Dalisay put her on the clinic payroll as a counselor on her thirteenth birthday.

We never debated or even discussed the issue of who was the boss at BFB. Reddy operated on instinct and experience and made decisions accordingly. Dalisay was like Reddy in that she trusted her instincts; however, I was certain that with time and a proper education she would learn to value the scientific method. I was a trained scientist so it came as no surprise that I made decisions based on observation and scientific enquiry.

Back at Skeleton Lake during summer three, I asked where our next client(s) might be coming from. While Reddy connected his computer and scanned through his email, I perused another set of documents he had just given to me to encrypt. As I finished encrypting the documents, I thought I had an answer to another mystery that had puzzled me for some time. The CIA agents had said during their visit two years ago that Reddy had listed me as his sole beneficiary for his government benefits. I felt uncomfortable with that bit of information then and now I knew why. He was already considering going 'off the reservation' and freelancing at the time of their visit.

So what if he freelanced! And if he has violated his own Rule #2 about revenge, well, I wasn’t about to open that can of worms until he was ready to share. Suffice it to say for now, I still shudder whenever an assassination appears on the news on the big screen at the Beastro.            

Berkeley Hills, Shy and Comet were curled up next to Dalisay and me on the cushions in front of the fire place, and we all glanced up when Reddy came in from the kitchen sipping a cup of hojicha and carrying two more cups on a tray. He was silent for several minutes, deep in thought. Then he broke the ice, saying "I think it is time to fully retire from government service. I thank you both for making this a legitimate family business, emphasis on family."

I can't really put into words what I am feeling at this moment. It is a mixture, make that a confusion of revenge, pride, fear, and once again, I am puzzling over whether I am becoming like my father. My emotions are a mess of thoughts about family and revenge.

I was getting used to the fact that Reddy'd tell me eventually, if he thought I needed to know something like who shot Dr. Evel Park, Sr.. Was this an expression of filial piety, respect, trust, or mere curiosity on my part? For now I was engrossed in thoughts about starting up Burton's Family Business.

"You’re ready Shannon" echoed in my head. Ready for what echoed back.