Well, there we are, finally settled down again after my little mishap. I asked Jennifer to stay close to me, that way she would hear me more easily if I am getting restless. Sigh. Perhaps I am a little too stubborn. ”Much too stubborn,” said Jennifer. ”I agree,” said Aasta, “you need to be more careful, and look after yourself better. 

After all, your wellbeing is the wellbeing of the whole team. Let us help! That is one of the reasons we are here.” ”Very good Aasta,” said Jennifer, “now we just need to get that into Steve’s stubborn brain. And that means cooperation from you Steve.” She was looking at me rather sternly now. ”Okay, when we get out of here, I will talk things over with Sky,” I told them, “then we will talk with everyone. 

Changes do need to be made, for the good of all the team.” ”I will hold you to that Steve,” said Jennifer. Meanwhile upstairs in the house. Rock turned on the emergency lighting, he figured with all the shooting, someone may have been shot and they needed to find out quickly. Sure enough, Astrid, Penny, Annelie, Cassie and Kari had been shot and wounded. 

Fortunately none were serious, but 5 wounded was still a lot. Only one attacker was killed and one captured. Both were ones that our guys had seen at the restaurant. The one captured said his brothers would be back, and next time things would be different. He did not give any other information, but he did have his driver’s license in his wallet which gave us his full name and that he lived in NYC. 

We let Cheryl take a look at him, from a safe location, and she confirmed he had been out to the cabin once and was Shark’s brother. She had never seen the other man. But a little searching and we discovered the dead man was Shark’s cousin. One of the two men that escaped would be the third brother and perhaps the last man was a cousin also, or maybe just a friend. 

Interesting that just 4 men were brave enough to attack us when we have nearly 30 to fight. Though if they did their homework they would know that 4 were away and the 5 guys were not staying here, plus 3 are still in the clinic. That cuts 12 off our list, which is a lot really. We still had a large team to fight with though, so perhaps these guys did not know how large our team is at present. 

Or they were just crazy. Or stupid. Or perhaps both. Rock brought us up from our hideaway room the next morning. After breakfast Beryan began my morning massage and she told Sky about last night. Sky just looked at me, I could tell what she was thinking. ”Yes, I know,” I said, “time for a talk perhaps?” ”Long overdue, I would say,” she replied. 

So we talked, and talked, and some new rules were made, by Sky. I let her name the new rules, then I knew they would be the right rules. Anyway, next came the much harder talk with the rest of the team. I already had several bodyguards, the reason there were so many is for taking turns, plus it allows them to go on cases at times as well. 

Two more bodyguards were added to the list. My bodyguards were trained a little differently to look after me in the best way. Jennifer, Dawn and Aasta were tasked with the most difficult duties. At least one of them had to be with me at all times whenever Sky was not around. That is, plus my regular bodyguards which were always nearby. 

Penny has now completed her training as a counselor so she can help Galyna. Our team has grown considerably since we hired Galyna and I did not want her overworked. Well, our case with the missing relative is over now, though we have not caught Christopher or figured out why he went into hiding in the first place. 

Baldwin then inherited everything since he was related, though a bit distantly, however, he was next in line. It was good that he got it all and I am sure it made Christopher quite angry. He will likely surface again in the future. It seems like a case not complete, but I guess we cannot win all of them. Perhaps now we can take some time and get our whole team back on their feet again. 

Charly, who had been shot at the cabin, is doing well now. Kristina, who had been captured early at the cabin, chained and beaten, is also doing well again. Crystal, who had that beam fall on her back at the cabin is up and walking around, but she is still moving slowly yet. 

However, it is sure nice to see her getting back to normal again. A couple of the girls have asked me if they can have a cat. I said no more cats right now. Jennifer and Aasta looked at me. Sigh. So, we will be heading to our favorite cat shelter in the city to see what we can find. I wonder what our next case will be? 

The End. A new story will be starting very soon.

©2024 Steve McLeod.