Freddy Anderson’s Home: Book 1 (8 page)

Chapter 10
Friends

I
awoke early the next morning and went outside. The navy woman was out there, hidden but extremely alert. She didn’t bat an eye when I walked right up to her hiding place. She stood up, waiting for me to speak.

“Good morning, miss.”

“Good morning, Dr. Anderson.” She didn’t offer a name.

“Did you sleep okay?” I asked.

“I slept yesterday, Dr. Anderson. That was a smooth move, letting the boys beat you up. The town is on your side now.” She smiled.

“I’m glad you appreciated it. It hurt a lot more than I thought it would.”

“Still, it showed a lot of guts.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry, but I had to allude to your team being my watchdog. I’m afraid the townspeople got the idea that you have orders to kill me if I try to leave.” This did not seem to bring out any emotions and helped to confirm that I was correct in my guess. “I do have a concern—I would like to know exactly what your orders are.”

“Why, Dr. Anderson?”

“I need to know that the people in the house where I’m staying are safe from possible harm.”

“If harm comes to them, it will not be from us, sir, unless someone attacks you again. New orders are that anyone attacking you is fair game. If you want us to take care of the four who did this”—she motioned to my head—“we’d be more than happy to do so.”

“No, just tell me what your full orders are, please.”

“Watch and protect. Give you any assistance you need, whether you want it or not, and ensure that you stay put. The admiral is not willing to report to the president that we let the townspeople beat you to death and did nothing. He was very upset.”

“Interesting. Very well, thank you. Is my appointment still on?”

“Yes, sir. A car will come for you at 9:45 a.m. Are you going to call the general?”

“Everyone’s been talking, haven’t they?”

“Yes, sir.”

“No, I won’t call him, now that I know that could cause harm to the people inside the house.”

“Good. The general would chew this town up and spit it out, just for fun. No one wants that. We like this town and the Crain family. They are good people.”

“I don’t want it either. I’ll see you for the ride into base then?”

“Next watch will be here, sir.”

I turned and headed back inside, where Mrs. Crain and Carroll were waiting for me.

“May I ask what that was all about?” said Mrs. Crain.

“I couldn’t sleep last night, worrying about what their orders were,” I said. “I was worried that they were less than friendly toward the townspeople and, therefore, this household. I had to find out.”

Mrs. Crain said, “That was very brave of you. Let’s get you something to eat. The other kids will be up soon.”

As I sat at the table and watched her fix breakfast, Carroll asked, “What did she tell you?”

I explained what the navy woman had told me and then added, “She was real concerned about the town.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Yes. She did not want me calling the general, as she said it would hurt the town. Apparently, her team likes you guys. She also likes your family and promised that her team would never harm you. She really is very nice; she just has a bad job.”

Mrs. Crain asked, “She’s not here to kill you?”

“Not if I don’t try to leave, and I’m not going to try.” I could see Mrs. Crain was thinking hard on this information, and then a light seemed to go off in her head. Her face scrunched up in determination, but there was a little fear deep in her eyes.

“Carroll, please set another place at the table,” Mrs. Crain said and then went outside. I listened with my mind as she walked up to the woman who was sitting on the bench. “Hello,” said Mrs. Crain.

“Hello. How can I help you, ma’am?”

“You’re here to watch over my guest and protect him?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you think you could do a better job if you were inside?”

“Yes.”

“Then please join us for breakfast.”

“I’d be delighted, but that would be against orders.”

After talking with her for a while, Mrs. Crain returned to the house alone.

When the younger kids came down for breakfast, everyone seemed highly excited, so I asked them why.

Becky said, “Daddy comes home today!”

“I’m sorry; I don’t even know what you father does.”

“He’s a fisherman,” said Carroll. “I hope he had a good catch.”

Annabelle said, “If he did, maybe he’ll stay home a little longer this time.”

Mrs. Crain said, “Don’t count on it, dears. It’s spring, and the salmon are running. He’ll be out most of the time, I expect.”

Becky said, pouting, “If Daddy had been here when you came, he’d have put a stop to this town nonsense right from the start. He doesn’t put up with nonsense. He’d tell that navy lady where to go too.”

Mrs. Crain winked, letting me know not to worry. I’d hate to think Captain Crain would try to straighten everything out and cause my babysitter to have to hurt him.

After breakfast the kids went out to do their chores. I was going to help Becky, but Betty came over to ask if I’d please come over to her diner. Some people wanted to talk with me. It was only eight fifteen, so I said, “Okay, as long as I’m back by nine forty-five. I have an appointment with the admiral at ten o’clock.”

We walked to Betty’s Diner, and everyone we saw said hello to me and welcomed me to the town. The store owners came out to tell me that I could have anything I needed. Guy Thompson came out and said he had a couple of people who would love to take me camping and to explore my new home. He offered to loan us a couple of horses for our explorations.

When we reached the diner, the whole place was full. I pulled back, but Betty reassured me that it would be all right and that no one would harm me. Nancy came over to me with a big glass of cold milk and said, “They all want to talk to you.” I spent the next hour or so answering questions about my mother and father, my genealogy, my life, and being in Washington, DC. At one point, the four boys and the ex-mayor came in and apologized. I shook hands with each one, forgave them, and said I would like to be their friend.

When it was time to go back to the inn, I felt very much at home.

Green pulled out the tentacle. Everything went blank. “That’s strange.”

“What’s strange?” asked Gray.

“There is a feeling at this point. A small feeling, but something I’ve never seen in any species besides ours.”

“Hatred? Determination? Spite?”

“No, master. Love.”

“Love? Oh, for goodness sake. Pay no attention to any of that trash, and continue.”

“Yes, master.”

Chapter 11
Admiral Bates

N
ancy walked me to the inn, where the car was waiting. I went to my room to get something and then came back downstairs and got in the car. The kids and half the town were watching. The driver was one of the navy SEALs. I asked her if any of them had gotten into trouble for what happened to me yesterday.

She looked at me in the rearview mirror and said, “We can handle it. Not to worry.” She showed no emotion, but I could feel her feelings—she liked me. Of course, liking me and not killing me were two different things.

The ride to the base was short but breathtaking. The road wound around a mountain and from some vistas, I could see the ocean. The base was nestled in a little valley that was nearly filled with buildings. There was a short runway and several planes on the ground. There had to be at least twenty helicopters. The driver told me that the base was a watch for weather and a radar-tracking station. I didn’t interrupt her, but I had already done research on the base and knew exactly why it was located here. The planes were reconnaissance and could spot submarine activity miles away. The helicopters were for everything from rescue to assault. Normally, a captain or some lower-ranking officer ran the base, but this was the admiral’s retirement tour; he had only two years to go until retirement, after a fifty-year career. When we pulled up to the gates, a guard motioned for us to stop. “So this is your babysitting job?” he said to the driver. “Change his diapers yet?”

I quickly got out of the car and started walking back toward the town. The guard laughed, but the driver got out and came after me.

“Where do you think you’re going, Dr. Anderson?” she asked in a panic.

“I’m going back to town,” I said loudly. “Please tell the admiral that the first person I met on the base insulted me, and I no longer wish to see him.” I winked at her, knowing the guard couldn’t see it.

She smiled and then put on a worried face. “He’s going to be extremely pissed off at someone,” she said in a loud voice.

“I hope so. I hope he busts that marine down a few notches. You just tell him that his guards don’t care if the president of the United States wants me to see him, so I don’t care either. I was doing this as a favor to the president. I don’t have to check in with anyone.”

“This could ruin the admiral’s career. Please don’t go.”

“Look, I don’t know the admiral. As far as I know, this is the way everyone here is going to treat me, including the admiral. I won’t put up with it.” I looked over and could plainly see the guard was getting very worried, so I poured it on. I whispered, “Quick, ask me a favor.”

She looked back over her shoulder. “Please, Dr. Anderson. I’ll get into trouble too. Please don’t do this.”

“Well, I don’t want you to get into trouble so
 
… well, okay.” She looked at me strangely, as if to say, “That’s it?” I winked at her again. We walked back to the car slowly. Just before getting back into the car, I said, “I think you’re right. It’s much better to tell off the admiral to his face and then go back to town.” I took my time getting in the car and buckling my seat belt. When we pulled away, the guard was almost white with fear.

As soon as we drove around the corner, she pulled the car over long enough to have a good laugh. She said, “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen that sergeant tremble, much less turn white!”

I smiled but said, “I wasn’t joking.”

“I don’t understand. He’ll be in fear for days. You don’t really need to tell the admiral.”

“I was hoping I wouldn’t need to. I agree with you that telling the admiral is a little much, but I don’t want people thinking that I’m all bark and no bite. That’s a reputation I can’t afford. We took our time getting back into the car so that he’d have plenty of time to apologize, and he didn’t. He’s left me with no choice. I have to carry through with what I said. Are all marines that dumb?”

“No, most are very intelligent. He’s an exception to the rule, what we call a ‘Cat 4.’ A category 4 is a person who had to get a waiver to join, due to scoring low on the entrance test. All four branches of the military feel a pinch for recruits sometimes and lower their requirements.”

“I’m very glad to hear he was a bad example and not the norm.”

“Tell you what; you need to save face, and I’d love to have the sergeant owe me,” she said. “You don’t tell the admiral, and I’ll tell the sergeant that I pulled a favor and he owes me big time.”

“Works for me.”

We drove across the base and pulled up in front of a large white building with flags and banners and big brass ornaments. There must have been thirty or more sailors and marines in dress uniform standing at attention—sailors on one side of the walkway and marines on the other. Another marine in dress uniform opened the car door. When we climbed out, the admiral was heading toward the car. He shook my hand and welcomed me.

“Nice base, sir—very clean and neat,” I said.

“Thank you, Dr. Anderson—or may I call you Freddy?”

I remembered what my father told me about seeing government officials: “
Don’t introduce yourself as Freddy. Use your last name and make them do the same. Keep it professional. If you allow them to call you by your first name, and you still have to call them by their title, it gives them advantage over
you.”

“I apologize if this seems a little unfriendly, Admiral Bates, but at this point, I would prefer to keep it on a professional level. I have not yet determined why I was asked to see you, other than as a courtesy to the president, and I seriously doubt that you want me to call you Jeffrey in front of your men. So unless we find a mutually agreeable relationship somewhere down the road, I would prefer that you call me Dr. Anderson.”

He was very quiet as we walked into the building and went up the two flights of stairs to his office. When we entered his office, he immediately went to his chair and sat down behind a desk that had dragons carved into it. He said, “Please have a seat, Dr. Anderson.”

I sat down, and a marine offered me coffee or milk. I asked for water and quickly received a glass. There was one other person in the room, leaning against the wall in the back. I almost didn’t notice her. Her relaxed stance and total lack of emotions screamed deadly. On her blouse was a name tag: Lt. Susan James. The insignia on her collar told me she was a SEAL and an officer. I assumed she was in charge of the team that was watching me.

I put my hand out and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

She smiled and said, “I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s nice to actually meet you in person.”

“What? The pictures your team took didn’t do me justice?”

She frowned.

I turned to the admiral and said, “Thank you for your concern and for providing me with twenty-four-hour security, but I assure you it’s not necessary. Please have it stopped immediately.”

The admiral’s eyes opened ever so slightly. “Do you know why you’re here, Dr. Anderson?”

“If you mean in this room, it’s because I decided to allow your person to drive me here. After all, I did promise to drop in and let you know that President Kabe says hello.”

“So you met the president, then?”

“No sir, we talked over the phone for a little bit. She seemed very pleasant, but it’s hard to tell what’s on the mind of a politician. I had the distinct feeling she wants me watched, so that she knows I’m not going to blow up Oregon and northern California.”

“After reading your stats and meeting you in person, I can see why she might feel that way, Dr. Anderson. The reason she asked you to see me is simple. She wants me to keep an eye on you and protect you. I think you can figure out the reasoning behind this, sir, considering the reaction of the town yesterday and the fact that you’ve been all over the media, gaining your emancipation. You are a target for child predators and kidnappers. You’re inventing things that could make people rich, and just being a kid who’s alone raises a lot of concerns. The president knows you are extremely intelligent, and she does not want you falling into enemy hands. She is putting her career on the line by sending what the media would see as a poor helpless child into the wilderness. If anything were to happen to that child, and the media found out, it could be very damaging, politically speaking.”

I smiled and said, “Admiral, I’m not going to fall into anyone’s hands unless I want to, nor am I likely to die anytime soon. The president wants me watched closely. Not because I may be kidnapped, but because I invent things that the government wants first shot at or can claim national security rights to. Please don’t get me wrong; I know she’s worried and has pressure from Congress and the Supreme Court to keep me from harm and watch me closely, yet at the same time, leave me alone. It’ll be a good trick. I expect a satellite will watch me at times. What do you plan to do to carry out her orders?”

“I am prepared to offer you some concessions in exchange for allowing me to keep a watch on you, and I am willing to help you in any way necessary, in exchange for your cooperation and permission to enter on your land as guards and a watch.”

I thought about this for a second, just to give the admiral the idea I might be interested in his proposal, and then I shook my head. “The answer is no, not at this time, Admiral, but thank you for your offer.”

“Dr. Anderson
 …
”

I held up my hand for him to stop. “Please wait and let me finish. I don’t wish to have the government watch what I do in my own home. I don’t think anyone does, do you?”

“Actually, no.”

“Honestly, I can do nothing about someone watching me while I’m outside my property, especially people as quiet and covert as the SEALs you’ve had watching me since I arrived. However, I do ask that you please don’t trespass on my property. I have reasons not to allow anyone near me while I’m building my home. I plan on using inventions that I have not yet patented to build it. After my home is finished, I have plans to invent things that I don’t want copied or looked at until I get them patented. I think you can understand this requirement. Watchful guards would report what satellites cannot see. It could cost me hundreds of millions of dollars if I allowed watchers, and information got out, so I’m politely asking you to leave me alone. Don’t get me wrong, Admiral. I would love the company and the benefits you’re alluding to, but at this time, I just can’t afford it.”

“This is the navy, sir, and we can keep a secret.”

“Really? Then please explain to me why only one hour after you received orders regarding me, the whole town knew I was coming? Were those orders not Top Secret?”

His face became quite red and a little mad. “How did you know that?” After a minute of quiet, he calmed down. and with a determined look on his face. he said, “Yes, they were Top Secret, and I’m looking into it.”

“Admiral, you have a security problem, and I can ill afford to have your problem transferred to me.”

“I understand, Dr. Anderson, but the offer still stands, even without our watching you while you’re at home. If you could simply let us know when you’re leaving your property and when you’re having visitors, I could still offer our help in return for your cooperation.”

I knew what he was doing—trying to get a foot in the door—but in truth, I needed his help. Dad always told me, usually after losing an argument to Mom, “The key is not winning or losing, son. The key is getting what you want while giving up as little as possible.”

I used this tactic now. “Admiral, I understand that you have a need to follow your superior’s orders, and I truly would like to help you, if for no other reason than to keep the channels of communication open and create a mutually beneficial friendship. I suppose that I could possibly check in with my
babysitters
under certain conditions,” I said with just a touch of disdain to let him know this did not sit well with me. I could tell from the emotions emitted that Lt. James didn’t like the idea any more than I did.

“What conditions would those be, Dr. Anderson?”

“First, I need some supplies that could be alarming to simple townsfolk. I suppose it would be helpful to have a place where the supplies could be delivered until I can pick them up. Second, I may need to test some inventions, and a naval base would be a good place to do such testing. Of course, this means that you will have first view of some of my new toys, and I will need some sort of security maintained. Last, I may need potentially dangerous materials that you can get from sources I simply do not have.”

His eyebrows rose on that final one, but I really did not need this; it was a bargaining chip.

“Storage space is not a problem, Dr. Anderson. I can easily find a place for some materials to be stored on occasion. I will even entertain testing your inventions, if I first understand what they’re to be used for. It may be interesting to actually see some of them in use. However, I do have a problem with ordering potentially dangerous, perhaps restricted, materials for you.”

“You will have veto power regarding anything I request, Admiral.”

“We’ll see, but I will not approve hazardous materials without knowing how and why they’re to be used, and I can assure you right now, I will never approve radioactive materials. I would like to extend base privileges to you—commissary and exchange, medical and dental, and living quarters, if you wish. It has already been approved, and I can give you an ID card that will allow you access to almost everything.”

“That’s very nice of you, sir. Any chance they come with a price tag?”

“No, they’re yours, but I would like a favor.”

“Go ahead.”

“You could stay on your land for extended periods of time, but I need to report monthly.”

I smiled. “You have a dilemma, then. I suppose it would look fairly bad if your report was, ‘Sorry, I haven’t seen him lately.’”

“Yes, it would.”

“You already have two opportunities to see me at home, Admiral. I don’t see why you need another excuse.”

“What two opportunities are you talking about, Dr. Anderson?”

“Don’t you need to do monthly maintenance on the radar station?”