Samantha's Talent (37 page)

"Okay, but truthfully, how seriously do you think this is?"

The big man shrugged. "I'll be able to tell you more tomorrow. In the meantime, keep your gun handy." He thought for a moment. "Is that .38 revolver the only gun in the house?"

"For now. I was planning on getting Sammie a light rifle for target shooting on her birthday, but maybe I should get another hand gun so Elaine and I both have one."

"I've got a spare, same type, in my car. I'll leave it with you."

"Thanks."

"You're more than welcome. I'll talk to you again tomorrow."

***

Gene and Jennie both were waiting on the family the next evening when Samantha and Ronald arrived home just a few minutes in front of Elaine. Gene was seated on the porch in a padded lawn chair with Fussy ensconced in his lap. Jennie was on a chair next to him with Caw-Caw perched on her shoulder.

They each parked their cars then came in the garage door and through the house to the front porch with Shufus padding along very near Samantha. She knew he must sense the tension they were under for he had stayed very close to her all day. As soon as she appeared, Fussy and Caw-Caw abandoned the guests to gather around her. She sat sideways on the porch with her feet resting on the top step so that she could see everyone while she spoke to her animal and avian friends. Her parents took the two remaining chairs.

Gene began talking immediately, not even waiting until everyone was comfortably settled. "I'll make this quick. Your house is bugged. Since whoever planted them will be expecting the usual talk about supper and work and so forth, please just carry on as you usually do. There are voice-activated recorders all over your house. Land-line phone, den, kitchen, your office and all three bedrooms. I'd advise you to carry on your usual activities so that whoever did this won't suspect anything until we decide what to do. I can't promise to find out who the culprits are but from the equipment they used, I suspect they're our own people. If so, I wouldn't expect them to hurt any of you... no, I can't guarantee that. Since they've bugged you, they intend to take you all into custody sooner or later." His face bore a troubled expression.

"Our own people, you said," Ronald retorted. "Which ones do you suspect?"

"Probably Homeland Security or one of its agencies, rather. Most likely the NSA. Now don't say anything about knowing the bugs are there or that I'll be keeping an extra close watch on you from this day forward. Just go on about your activities inside like you usually do."

"Wait a minute!" Elaine said forcefully. "We can't live like this, Gene. Can't you report them and make them leave us alone?"

"First I'd have to know which little segment of the NSA is responsible. I'd give odds it's a rogue element but it really doesn't matter. They'll be set up to deny having anything to do with it."

"Damn it to hell, Gene!" Ronald exclaimed. "Elaine is right. We can't live like this and I damn sure don't want us taken into their so-called custody. We're going to have to move again, quick."

"It wouldn't matter. They'd find you wherever you went. If it will set your mind at ease, Jennie is leaving as soon as we finish up here. She'll be talking to the director of her agency. She wants to take you all to its headquarters as a safety precaution and fully expects to obtain approval for doing so. She hasn't told me who she works for, by the way. You can--"

Jennie interrupted by placing a hand on his arm. "If I may, sweetheart?"

"Oh. Sure, go ahead."

"I can't tell you who I report to, but I can tell you that I trust my superior implicitly. If you'll allow me to take you to my agency, I promise you'll be allowed complete freedom of action after they interview all three of you. If you want to leave after that, you'll be allowed to, subject to signing non-disclosure documents and having someone watching out for your safety from then on. I strongly recommend that you go with me just as soon as I get approval and listen to what they have to say."

"Got it, I guess, but damn it all, are we never going to have any peace again?" Elaine said angrily.

"Yes. You will, I promise," Gene said. "In fact, Sammie, why don't you go back inside and move around some, make some noise so no one will suspect we're out here talking. Will you do that, please?"

"Okay, just tell me later what you talked about."

"We will."

Samantha cocked her head in a good imitation of how Shufus did when he was questioning something. She said nothing else, though, and went on inside.

Gene continued, "Neither Jennie nor I can tell you anything else for the moment for fear you'd let it slip accidentally, not that I know much anyway. Just hang in there and Jennie and I will do our best to take care of you and get you out of here as soon as possible."

"Suppose you can't, though?" Ronald said.

Gene smiled mirthlessly. "Jennie isn't the only one who has enough influence to get you to safety. I have a few contacts of my own, independent security specialists, like myself. I've already put in a call to three of them who owe me a favor and they should be arriving within a couple of days. One way or another the NSA isn't going to get its hands on you. You'd never see the light of day again if they did." His aura of disgust resembled that of a card player who had just lost a full house to a straight flush--or worse. Ronald's wasn't much better. Elaine looked scared and angry at the same time.

Samantha came back outside in time to hear Gene's last statement. She knew about the NSA but had no idea of how far it could reach or how ruthless it could be when it decided to perform certain actions.

"You and Jennie won't let them get us, will you, Gene?"

"Only over my dead body, Sammy," he said grimly.

"It would be over Shufus and Fussy's body, too. Anyone who tries to hurt any of us will have to deal with them. And Caw-Caw, too!"

Ronald looked closely at Gene's expression and approved, but it didn't completely satisfy him. "Gene... Jennie, Elaine and I realize, and have for some time that there's more going on than we know about. Our prime goal is protecting Sammie, though. Should we let her keep seeing Ray or stay home all the time? Or should we just get out of the house right now before those people come for her?"

"If she sees Ray, have him come here. I'll follow you whenever you have to go shopping or there's some other errand you have to run. I'd suggest that Sammie not attend any classes and that you and Elaine take her to work with you until I get some more help here or Jennie gets approval to bring you in.

Just a minute, Gene," Elaine said. "Not so fast. We need to think about this some more. I believe we need to know where we'd be going and what agency would be taking us in before we do anything. I don't want us jumping from the frying pan into the fire, so to speak."

"I wish I could tell you, but I can't," Jennie said. "In fact, I don't even know why my boss thinks Sammie is so important, although I hope to find out eventually. Right now it's above my pay grade, though. All I can tell you is that I trust him and believe he wants only the best for Sammie and for you two as well. I'm leaving here in a few minutes and if at all possible I hope to be back by tomorrow evening but it may be the day after. I'll have to talk to my boss in person. The NSA claims they've quit listening to our phone conversations but I don't trust them, not even with two way encryption of conversations."

"Give us until tomorrow evening," Ronald said. "We'll talk about it at work and have an answer for you by then. Is that okay with you, hon?" he looked to his wife.

She nodded but said nothing else for the moment.

Gene stood up to go, as did Jennie. Gene said, "As is, I believe we have some time before they'll do anything. All of you stay together, but go ahead with your normal activities. Either me, or my friends when they arrive, will be watching even though you probably won't see us. In the meantime, the sheriff told me he'd assign deputies to keep an eye on the house 24/7 despite me not being able to tell him why it's necessary. Anyway, go ahead and talk about it but we both strongly advise you to leave with us."

"We'll do that, but we want to know more, and the sooner the better."

"You will. I promise."

***

Samantha's "romance" with Ray had continued, but hadn't progressed much further. However, they had come to be thought of as a couple. That, in turn, precluded becoming involved with any of the other boys or young men from her classes, or those she had met in church on the infrequent occasions the family attended services. She knew that neither of her parents were particularly religious, but they felt that she should continue to be exposed to the more common religions as a bulwark against the hate-mongers like the ones who had yelled and cursed in front of their home in Lufkin. Even if she did want to break it off with Ray and pursue one of the others who she thought would be glad to step into his place, she didn't want to become involved with anyone else. Not when she knew they would be moving again soon.

She thought they were probably going to leave in the very near future. At night she could hardly sleep for wondering who Jennie worked for and where they would be going and what they would do when they got there. If nothing else, she thought, it kept her from worrying about the NSA minions who had bugged their home, including her own bedroom.

Her fifteenth birthday was a couple of months in the past and her body had continued its development. She was looking more like a young woman than a teen. She knew she attracted attention from males without even intending to. It gave her more confidence in herself but had done nothing to break the cycle she'd been in. The real high points of her life the last months were when Whit called on her to assist him, and her correspondence with Jennie, Betty and other friends on the internet.

She liked Jennie and had followed some of her advice concerning her studies, along with that of Dr. Summers and Whit. She had already moved beyond the local home-schooling environment and was taking first and second year college courses at accredited universities through the internet. Everything was going to change now. She could hardly wait.

***

"Mr. McAllister, you really need to get that family away from where they are now, and I mean soon," Jennie said firmly. "Whoever bugged their home is bound to notice that they aren't acting quite normally before long and decide to move in. In fact, they'll probably come for them soon regardless, now that they've bugged them. You know they won't be able to act normally, no matter how hard they try." She sat in an intimate corner of his office, across a coffee table from him. Her expression was grim enough to show how worried she was.

"I realize that, Jennie. In fact, the moment you told me their home was bugged I was convinced it was time. I really did want to wait until she was sixteen, at least, but I see now that it's not possible. In fact, there's someone here who's been after me to have her brought in." He smiled as if hiding a guilty secret. He was but it wouldn't be for long. As soon as Jennie was on her way he intended to call Juan in and tell him to get ready to meet the subject of his project. His most important project, that is. Samantha wasn't the only subject his attention was devoted to.

"Oh? Who might that be? And as far as that goes, can't you give me just a hint of something that might be useful in convincing them to come with Gene and I?"

He didn't know what to tell her. So far he hadn't allowed anyone who worked outside the confines of his little hidden part of the agency to see the videos and still didn't intend to. He knew he had to tell Jennie something, though. She deserved some specific reassurance, no matter if she couldn't be told the whole truth yet.

"The security of the nation comes before all else, Jennie, so you're going to have to stay curious a little longer. That's how important this is. Certainly Samantha is very important, but she isn't the only player in this project."

"So what do I tell them?"

He began rolling a pencil between his palms while he stared at a point somewhere above her head, giving Jennie some hope. When he looked down, he said, "You realize that you and your husband are going to be as much at risk as Samantha and her parents until you all arrive safely here? Oh and congratulations, too. I'm happy for both of you."

"Thank you. Still, can you give me something to convince them? They were still undecided when I left. So why not make your happiness for us extend to making room for the family here? Quarters and all the amenities as well as jobs for Ron and Elaine. And... "

"Yes?"

"Could Gene and I possibly come in out of the cold and work here with Sammie? We both think the world of her, and her parents, too, for that matter."

He had to chuckle at her anxiety despite how serious she was. "Alright, Jennie, you win. You and Gene bundle them up with enough of their possessions to carry them for a month or two, then get yourselves and them on their way here. Use a contractor to put the rest of their goods in storage and we can arrange for them to be recovered later."

"You mean it?"

"I do. You've convinced me."

"Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." She got up when he did and then left a very surprised Anton McAllister standing bemused in his office and rubbing his cheek where she had kissed him. It made him wish he could afford a dozen more agents like her. Black funds were limited, though. Draw on them too heavily and it would also draw attention to him, as sure as a larger magnet would attract more iron filings.

***

Ronald and Elaine were having one of their rare drinks while sitting on their front porch after supper. It was a comparatively balmy, pleasant day for the season, belying the serious nature of Samantha's future. It was the same evening that Jennie was speaking with her boss and Gene was parked near the Douglas home and talking by phone to the three security specialists he had induced to help him. He was asking when he might expect them and they were discussing itineraries, hoping to arrive the next day but making no promises because an early gulf storm had grounded air traffic in their area. Samantha had gone to her room with Shufus and Fussy while Caw-Caw was outside in a tree and enjoying the weather, too.