The Investigators, Inc. The Destruction Case. Chapter 8. This and That.

We had to make some precise plans for attacking Medina so that hopefully we don’t lose any more of our team members. We also don’t want to lose Medina. If we mess up with this attack she will go into hiding only to attack us again in the future when we are not expecting it. That is how Toledo operated and I am sure that Medina learned a lot from him. But we do have to try and stop her somehow because another devastating attack from her right now could finish us.

I am hoping that our team can stay together, but it’s possible that this devastation could cause more of our team members to give up and leave. I wouldn’t blame them for that, it has been incredibly hard on all of us, some more than others. Some of our girls went through rough times before joining us, so they know what it’s like, but for others, this was the first time for something so bad. And it hit them hard. It hit some of our guys hard too since most of their Knight Riders team were killed, including the leader.

Aari is taking over the men’s team and we will change the name and I’m leaving it up to the guys to pick their new name. I had thought that Bridgette was our only nurse left, but I forgot that Carolyn is also a nurse, plus being one of our experts on drugs, along with Melissa. I may not send Melissa along with the Bad Girls, even though she is on their team. Her amazing knowledge of drugs is very important for our team plus her and Carolyn work well together.

Hannah also knows a lot about drugs, so the three of them together are an important team. I was just thinking, I could take Melissa off the Bad Girls team and replace her with Delphine. She would fit in nicely with the Bad Girls. Cristy told us that Medina owns several companies in Canada and the US. Plus she owns a large detective agency in Canada, 3 in the US and has just opened one in Paris with a smaller office in Berlin.

Hmm, another reason to get rid of us I suppose, less competition that way. But we can stop her ambitions here in Europe and that will be Aari’s first assignment as the new leader of the men’s team. Medina’s net worth is around 2 billion dollars. “Wow, that’s a lot of money!” said Katresa. “Not really,” said Cristy, “it would be a nice amount for a lot of people, but not for someone like Medina. She’s just getting started.” Cristy was quiet and just kind of shrugged her shoulders as she said that.

The other girls around her at the time just stared at her. But Cristy kept her eyes glued to her computer monitor. Then Mandar called me and asked how things were going. We talked for a while. “You obey Amerie, Steve,” he said, “don’t go to Canada, the girls can take care of things. Like Amerie said, it’s their territory, not Medina’s.” “I have one important question to ask you Mandar,” I said, “it concerns Misty and Cristy…”

That was as far as I got when Mandar interrupted as he always does. “Of course, my good man, of course,” he said, “they are yours. Without Annelie you will need them, I had that planned already. I knew that some day you might need them, but you didn’t before which is why I kept saying no. And I have a couple of others already trained to take their place. I knew that one day you would wrestle the twins away from me. (he laughed heartily when he said that) Now, what about Baldwin?”

I filled him in on what has happened to Baldwin. “Yes, yes, that is the right way to handle it,” he said, “you must keep it quiet for as long as possible or it could destroy the Baldwin Corp. My oh my, everything happens when I go away, but I will be coming home early and finish my trip at a later time.” He then had to cut the call and get back to an important meeting. I went and told the twins what Mandar had said about letting them join our team and they were suddenly jumping around with excitement, hugging Jennifer and I and all the girls present in the room.

Beryan entered the room just then and I asked if she could give me a massage. That was all I remember saying until I woke up in bed and Dawn was sitting in a chair beside the bed holding my hand. “What happened?” I asked her. “You began shaking again and then you fainted,” she said, “you really need to take it easy for a while dear Steve.” “What did Samantha say?” I asked. “Well, dear Steve, she said you need to take it easy for a while,” she replied, and giggled.

“You should be careful saying “dear Steve”, I told her, “what if Jennifer came in just as you said that? What do you think she would say?” “Nothing at all, my dearest husband,” said Jennifer from behind me. I turned my head and she was lying on the bed beside me. Apparently she had fallen asleep until our talking had awakened her. “I know what Dawn did for you when you two first met,” said Jennifer, “how she protected you and nursed you back to health, even though she could have been beaten or raped by your kidnappers.

There is kind of a special bond between you two because of that. So I told her she is allowed to call you dear Steve whenever she wants. Don’t you remember how Sky allowed me to call you ‘my dear Steve, or even my dearest Steve’?” “Um, yes, I do remember that,” I said. “Unless you don’t want me too,” said Dawn. “It’s fine with me,” I said, “since Jennifer doesn’t mind. By the way, have the girls left for Canada yet?” “Yes, they left shortly after finding out you were okay,” said Dawn.

“How come you are not on that plane with them?” I asked, “You are one of the Bad Girls.” “She asked for permission to stay so she could help look after you,” said Jennifer, “so both Sky and I said it would be okay, providing Nakedra was willing to take her place. And she was very willing to go along on this one. However, Dawn may regret her decision, since I made her your nurse, which means she looks after you totally so I can relax for a while.”

“Where did you come up with this idea of a special bond?” I asked. “That is what Galyna called it,” replied Jennifer, “now, how about some quiet so I can go back to sleep, it’s late.” Right then Samantha came in with some medication for me. “Good, glad to see everyone is awake,” she said cheerfully. “How can you be so cheerful in the middle of the night?” asked Jennifer.

“It’s 6am, time to get up and enjoy the day,” she answered. “Is the sun shining?” asked Jennifer. “It’s dark and it’s raining,” replied Samantha, “and Steve, you stay in bed.” “In that case, I stay in bed too,” said Jennifer, “I need to keep the patient warm, it’s cold in here.” Meanwhile, our jet was just landing in Montreal…

To Be Continued.

©2025 Steve McLeod.