“I will be honest with you Steve,” said Mandar, “I was hoping you and Brenda would fight, and she would die in the fight, that way I would be rid of her and could not be blamed. And in a fair fight you also could not be blamed. However, I did not send her after you, that I would not do. And I have now changed my mind about you as well, so that you are no longer on my list of enemies to eliminate. You are a worthy opponent. I am sure we will meet again.”

Then he got up to leave. I let him out and thanked him for coming. He shook my hand but did not say a word. I watched as he drove away then went back to be with Kat. I really do not think she will live, her wounds are too bad. But Chung says she still has a chance, but it will be a long recovery. I was nearly asleep when Jenny arrived to take my place.

“Go home Steve, and sleep,” she said firmly, “we need you to be well and strong.” I guess she is right, so off I went. Sigurbjorn was waiting with the car out front. There were the usual two other cars with four men in each to go with us, one before and one after. What a way to live. We need to stop Brenda, and soon, so life can return to normal. At home I asked Sigurbjorn for a massage.

She came into the library and handed me a piece of paper, then she stood there looking at me. I read the note. She was resigning from the team because she neglected her duty to protect me when we were ambushed. “Did you have your gun with you?”, I asked her. “No, and I should have had it,” she said. “It was a picnic, not a case,” I said, “so you are not required to carry a gun, according to our rules,” I reminded her.

“But, but, I am supposed to be your bodyguard,” she said with her head down, “so I should always carry my gun.” “There is nothing in our rules about that Sigurbjorn,” I told her, “and even a bodyguard gets time off to relax. I cannot force you to stay, you are free to go if you want,” I said quietly, “but, please stay, we all need you, you are a very important part of this team. I need you too, especially right now. Please stay Sigurbjorn, please.”

She began to cry and sat down beside me on the sofa. “There is something else you should know,” she said sobbing. “I already know about that,” I said, “Kat told me. But I still want you to stay, please.” “Yes, I will stay,” she said producing a small smile. “Now, about my massage,” I said. “Coming right away,” she answered. I actually slept good that night, something I certainly needed.

When I came down for breakfast, I was surprised to see someone sitting at the table drinking coffee and eating pancakes. “John, what brings you here?”, I asked as I sat down. “I heard what happened and decided to come and see if I can help with anything,” he said, “and you could have told me about this a bit sooner.” “Sorry John,” I said, “but with all that happened, I just have not been thinking about much else.”

“Yes, that I can understand,” he said, “what are your plans right now?” “Well, I have not thought about it,” I said, “I have been waiting to see what will happen with Kat before making any plans.” Just then Sigurbjorn came running in. “The car is ready to go,” she said, “Chung wants you at the clinic.” “I will take him,” said Rock. “May I come along too?”, asked John. “Sure can,” I said.

Muffin and MC came as well, and just as we got into the car, Jenny came running out and jumped in too. I think we set a new record for getting to the clinic that morning. I already knew what had happened. Chung would not call if Kat was doing better, so either she is worse, or gone. We got to the room and Chung looked at us, shaking his head, then he left. Kat was gone. Next came the funeral.

I just could not believe she was gone. But she was. Afterward John came to me. “At one time Kat and I worked together to kill you,” he began, “then she changed and joined your team. Now I have changed Steve, and I want to join your team, and be your friend. That is, if you say it is okay.” “I am glad to hear that John, naturally it is okay, but first you have to pass a test,” I said, and I called the cats over.

“John wants to join our team, what do you say?”, I asked them. Meow,meow.=Me trust John, I say yes to join. Meow.=Me agree, I say yes to join. Meowr.=Me not know John much, but me agree too, say yes to join. “Well, you passed the cats test,” I said, “the rest should be easy.” He laughed and thanked the cats. “Now, I can help you with Brenda…”

To Be Continued.

©2022 Steve McLeod.