Story - Plan B

[Icarry2]

OK folks,

I been working on this for a little while.

I have decided to not post any more updates to my other stories. They, along with this story, may end up in a compilation of shorts. Kind of like people surviving the same event from different perspectives. That is the idea anyway.

So here is a start to a new tale.. Working title is "Plan B" and please, let me know what you think. Honest feedback is appreciated.

 

[Icarry2]

Friday afternoon, mid August, 2015.

Terrance was on his way home. Took off a little after lunch. Something told him to stop by his storage between work and home and check things out. He pulled up to the gate, punched in his code and waited for the gate toopen. Once in he pulled his old Toyota Pickup past his storage door and got out. He always pulled through and waited, blocking the drive, until the gatewas shut. In the past he had other renters honk and get upset because he wouldn’t get out of their way. If thegate was closing he usually got out and approached with in ear shot and asked them to put in their code. If the gate started opening, meaning they were allowed in he would get back in his vehicle and move out of the way.

One time the aggravated renter followed him to his storage, got out and was yelling and screaming about how dare he slow down his day, he was important and had things to do, etc, etc only to shut up and get back intheir vehicle once Terrance got out and uncovered his EDC pistol on his waist. His reserve deputy badge clipped to his belt just in front of the pistol usually shut mouthy folks up.

The last guy had apologized and was back in his car backing away when Terrance walked up to his vehicle. He motioned for the guy to stop and roll down his window. The gentleman complied. Terrance informed him that it was in the contract you signed when you rented from the owner that if you were party to letting someone unauthorized into the barbed wire topped high fence that you forfeit your deposit and get issued a 30 day vacate letter. He explained that he didn’t really feel like moving his stuff. And thus by the letter of the agreement wouldn’t let him in until he entered his code and proved he was indeed allowed access to the area. He then in a rhetorical way asked the now semi frightened gentleman that he was sure he understood. The gentleman apologized profusely and acknowledged his point. Terrance could tell this guy was someone who never read the fine print but would complain about everything that didn’t go his way. We all know the type. Terrance had dealt with many over the years.

Terrance watched the guy back up, rolling his window up andpull away down another lane in the 400 unit storage facility. He then walked over to his unit, unlocked the original round tumbler lock and then removed his round padlock. Out of habit he closed the door behind him so no one could see what he was doing. Having draped old army blankets inside the door opening he was now standing in the dark. Having the blankets always provided a sense of privacy but still he pulled the roll up door down all the way out of habit making sure the door goes past the rain lip.

It was hot in the storage, being that it was a 85 degree day Terrance expected it to be a little warm but having just ridden in the comfort of air conditioning the 25 minute drive from work he immediately began to sweat.

Terrance reached down to his left pocket and pulled out a small LED flashlight, the one he always carried. Once the light was on and his eyes adjusted he went looking for the switch to the lights that he had rigged up in the space. His unit was like all others at this complex, without climate control or electricity, which made it much more affordable.

 

[Icarry2]

Terrance had asked the management company for permission to install his lighting kit and once they inspected it and they saw the ease of installation and the amount of light the kit provided were an easy pitch for him. Terrance offered them the “kit” to then rent to other renters for a small fee. Of course having a pre-packaged brochure and the fact that it was his own company who had developed and manufactured them helped them decide to become the first intown, actually the Midwest to offer them. It was one of Terrance’s little ideas that would blow up and make him a fortune if he was focused and committed to selling the idea. Many of these little inventions and ideas werenever pushed through to fruition and he would miss out on cornering the market only to have someone else realize the same idea months or years later.

Once his eyes completely adjusted Terrance reached over and flipped on a vent fan switch. He turned to his left and made sure an intake vent came open letting him know that his circulation fan had indeed come on and that the excess heat he felt would quickly be taken out of the space. Another one of his little inventions that he hadn’t ever shared with anyone which would probably make him a few bucks.

After flipping the switch he grabbed his clip board that was hanging on the magnetic hook by the door and with a quick glance at the log realized that it had been almost 5 months since he had last stopped by.

Most thought it was ridiculous how organized Terrance was. Most considered him anal. His lists, his logs, his explicit notes and overwhelming and constant printing of information and extremely complex method for organizing paperwork. His continuing rebuttal, that he was leaving legacy files for those who come after him.

Having an eidetic memory, or as he explained it, a non-selective photographic memory, made his life both better and worse. Many times things would flash through his brain which confused his train of thought. Having been the object of a brain mapping study in college he discovered that he utilized both sides of his brain simultaneously which may have allowed a unique vision and superb troubleshooting abilities.

As he got to the bottom of the list he realized that he needed to be checking some items more often. Its just that the extra 15 minute detour slightly out of the way on his drive home from the office. It was always something that would get cut from his schedule and he had fallen behind.

There had only been 3 people he had let in this storage unit. Terrance, his daughter Alia and his buddy Allen. Allen had came into town once to drop off some cashe items and hang out with his old Marine buddy.

Terrance finished up his checks, made a list of items that were nearing their rotation dates. Items that would need to be swapped out during his next visit. Items that he would only leave in storage for 6 months.

As he put the clip board back he decided to leave the vent running but switched it to automatic. This would let the vent run when the temperature in the unit got to it’s preset temperature, in this case 80 degreesF. It helped to keep the items from getting too hot and effecting their viability. Terrance kicked himself for not coming by and turning it on before the heat of summer. He was sure some of the contents didn’t like the heat, he could only imagine how hot it had gotten in the unit in the past few months even with his insulation upgrades.

 

[Icarry2]

As he shut the door and put the locks back he noticed the irate guy in the car was pulling out, from where he was standing Terrance could see the gate and the guy had stopped in front of the gate to wait for it to shut. No doubt his talk with the gentleman had sunken in.

Back on the road headed home he decided he would take the time to stop and get the items he could on his list. A couple stops later the back seat and nearly all of the passenger seat of his pick up was full with fresh supplies to be rotated out on his next visit to the storage.

After what seemed like an eternity Terrance rolled down the chip sealed county road his property was on. As he rounded the bend east of his property he could see the gate at theend of his drive was open, not the way he left it.

He hadn’t gotten a text from the alarm system. The gate like every door and window on the property was wired into his security system. Terrance contemplated driving past and coming in the back gate to investigate but he hadn’t gotten a text from the security system so maybe in his hurried leaving this morning he forgot to shut it and arm the system. He honestly couldn’t remember. A by-product of his overly complex brain.. He remembered being focused on a project at work and it’s deadline of 11AM when he left this morning. He could have left it open.

He swung into the drive and stopped. He got out and walked around to the front of the truck. He looked down at the little sandy washout area just inside the gates perimeter, a product of run off and as light edge to the ditch that ran along side the drive always pushed rain water run off across the drive at an angle following the path of least resistance and gravity to the drainage ditch that bordered is county road frontage.

He figured that last nights drizzle had washed all but his tracks from this morning away so he would check to see if there was indeed an intruder on his property. His “compound”as Alia called it..
Much to his surprise there were a second set of tracks. Just once set, so someone was trespassing and more than likely still there. The hair on the back of Terrance’s neck stood up. He got a sudden rush that warmed him up adding to the already warm and muggy atmosphere which broke him into a sweat.

He paused, knelt down to investigate the tracks. Small, narrow, light weight, it wasn’t alarge truck or other vehicle. Who couldit be he thought as he walked back to the truck, looking around he noticed a horse and buggy coming down the road. The only traffic any more past his house were his neighbors and two ofthem were Amish. Seems that the county had ran out of funds and the failing bridge over the creek had stopped all passers buy. Only residents and visitors now came this far down the newly dead ended road.

He waved as the buggy approached his eastern edge of his property, the young boy, maybe 16 waved eagerly back. He shut the gate and latched it before getting back into his truck.
He reached back like he was going to pull out his carbine that he kept in the truck but realized that it would take getting out and half unloading the truck to dig it out. He thought quickly that if only he had put the topper back on the truck the supplies would be out of the way in the back but he had taken it off to haul the woods mower to his buddy Mark’s lake front property so he could borrow it. They were getting ready for hunting season and wanted to cut some trails in the grass and meadows.

Terrance reached down and uncovered his Ruger on his hip and clicked the safety off as he rounded the slight curve in the long drive. At the halfway point the angle of the drive leveled out and he could see part of the barn to the east of the house and garage.

The barn was all shut up and looked relatively normal, nothing disturbed, his old Ford Utility was backed into the lean-to on the side of the barn, nothing looked to have been disturbed.
As he rounded the slight left hand twist that the drive took crossing the culvert that he had replaced last year the truck bounced a little. In his effort to keep it from being a low spot and leaving a little extra rock on top as it hadn’t quite settled yet and some of the supplies in the passenger seat dislodged from their carefully placed position and fell over onto the small console between the seats distracting Terrance just long enough for him not to look at the house and garage. He has a split second panic and quickly refocused forward to see Alia’s car in front of the garage with the trunk and back drivers side door open.

Terrance took a deep breath and realized his daughter was the one who left the tracks, and that she had maybe been the one to leave the gate open, something he had reminded her numerous times not to do. He took a deep breath and mentally relaxed, clicked the safety back on and covered his Ruger up as he pulled up in front of the garage.

 

[spencer rifle]

"circulation fan had indeed come on"
"cache items"
"lean-to"
"side of"
New sentence start after "truck bounced a little"

 

[7.62]

Sub'ed

 

[Icarry2]

"circulation fan had indeed come on"
"cache items"
"lean-to"
"side of"
New sentence start after "truck bounced a little"

Thanks, fixed the issues you mentioned, wasn't sure about the "cashe items", but I re-wrote that so let me know.

 

[Icarry2]

The garage door opening drew Terrance’s attention, almost startling him. With his heart still pumping and his adrenalin still up he almost flinched. As he turned to walk towards the now opening door he realized he had already pulled his shirt up and had a hand on his pistol… Old habits die hard he thought to himself as he put his shirt back and walked over to greet his daughter.

Alia was standing there waiting on the door to open high enough for her to walk under it with a tote in her hands carrying it to her car. Hi Daddy she exclaimed. I didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow. Terrance informed her he had finished his project and decided to take the afternoon off. Alia replied, well you are the boss as she laughed she sat the tote in the truck of the little Toyota Corolla.

Terrance stood there with his heart finally slowing and waited to give his baby girl a hug. She turned and went to hug him explaining she was probably all sweaty and stinky. Terrance assured her he didn’t care if she had been wallowing in pig crap he would still hug his little girl. Alia laughed, hugged him back and stated that she didn’t feel the same in reverse that that would be gross as she stepped back around the car and shut the back door.

That’s it she said. I have all my stuff. A moment that hit Terrance like a cheap gut shot. He was so proud of Alia basically having no female role model it wasn’t a shock that she is was sort of tomboyish. Her life experiences steered her towards her goal of becoming a Child Psychologist and help children learn to cope and deal with the stresses in their lives.

Now a Junior in college, she was used to packing up at the end of summer and cramming into a small dorm room usually shared with at least one other person. She had become good at existing with a minimalist approach. Basically everything she needed was packed in her little car.

Terrance asked her, if she left the gate open, she replied no, it had been left open when she arrived. Forget it again Dad she asked. Terrance looked at the ground and nodded yes. Stay for dinner he asked to try and divert the conversation. Wish I could daddy, I want to get my stuff moved in today and hang out with some friends that I haven’t seen since May. It was another hit in the gut. He saw her less and less these days. Work, social life, school, she was a busy girl, or young lady he thought. Again the feeling of pride swelled in him.

Alia walked to the drivers side door and said she loved him as she got in the car. She started it and rolled down the window. Terrance reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He peeled off a couple one hundred dollar bills and folded them to keep her from seeing how many were there and leaned down and handed them to Alia. Dad she said, I have money, I worked hard all summer. He insisted, she rolled her eyes and took the money. I love you Daddy, I will text you when I get there.

One thing she always had been good about was letting her father know where she was. If she was going out on the town with friends she gave him a run down and if plans changed she would text him updates. Usually he just replied thank you or ok. She passed along her class schedule so he knew when not to text her. Some of her friends gave her crap about it like he was an over bearing father, she usually replied, he worries if he doesn’t know.

Most people didn’t know that they were so close. Since her mother died the day she was born they were all each other had. Terrance didn’t even entertain the idea of dating until Alia had started college. He was 100% devoted to her. He had tried to date a few times over the past couple years but even after her death and all this time he was still in love with Alia’s mother. He fell hard and fast for her, jumping into marriage because she had became pregnant. Most thought it was a shotgun wedding but to them it was the next logical step, moving at 100 MPH was how they met and lived.

Can you shut the gate for me? He asked her. Not going out? She replied. He rolled his eyes and grinned shaking his head in a circle. She laughed as she understood this to mean he didn’t know. But she replied I’ll shut it. Come see me Tuesday afternoon she mentioned as she pulled away telling her father she loved him and down the drive she went. Terrance stood there feeling happy, sad and proud. He waited to hear her pull out onto the road and drive east and off to school.

Terrance thought if only the bridge was still sound and the road still open she would save at least 20 minutes if she was just able to drive west to the highway. But then he reminded himself that he kind of liked the limited access, it had slowed down the pass through traffic from one side of the county to the other as his road used to be the shortest route.

 

[Icarry2]

Terrance looked around for Knotty, his two and a half year old German Shepard. A gift from Alia when she went to away to college. As he called her name her heard a single bark. She was in the house. Alia had probably locked her in there to keep her from getting under foot. He shook his head thinking that daughter of mine is safer than anyone I know.

Terrance grabbed a bunch of the supplies and carried them into the garage and sat them on a table that was used to sort and prep gear. After moving all of the supplies from the truck to the table he grabbed his day bag and headed in the house pausing for a second to tap the door opener switch near the door. Terrance waited until the door was low enough that Knotty couldn’t get out before he opened the inside door and was greeted by the loving beast of a dog.

Hi girl, Terrance greeted his loving partner, did sissy lock you up, Knotty barked once sitting patiently as she had been taught for a pet and rub behind her ears. Good girl, Terrance voiced while scratching her head and rubbing her as he asked did you miss me to which Knotty barked.. People who had met the two of them swore the dog and him actually communicated.

Terrance found himself talking to the dog most all of the time, people knew he treated her like family. Knotty brought him her leash, she wanted to take a walk. Usually Terrance only used the leash if there were a true need, if at home they walked as friends untethered.

You want to go for a walk girl, Terrance asked. Knotty snorted and shook her head. OK girl, lets go see if we can pick us off a tree rat, it was after all squirrel season. Usually they would pick off a daily limit of 5 rats in about an hour.

Knotty was trained and quiet and could take direction, she would work a squirrel around a tree to the side that Terrance was on and he was a dead shot with is suppressed Ruger 10-22. The now legal, suppressed hunting made it really easy to pick off these little bastards and not disturb others.

Terrance also was smart not to harvest too many squirrels from one tree or one area. He was a responsible hunter. Terrance also kept tabs on which trees had nests and how many each area had in them so he didn’t over harvest. He fed them well too to keep their numbers up.

As Terrance walked down the hall towards his gun room he was followed closely behind by his faithful hunting, TV watching, fishing, truck riding companion. Once he got to the door he punched the 4 digit code into the hardened lock and turned the handle.

The gun room was one of the first changes or rather improvements Terrance made once he bought the place some 18 years ago. He had known the original owners having been long time friends of his and his family. He had grown up hunting the woods behind the house, playing in the creek and many nights in the tree house as it was the childhood home of his best friend Markus.

After the lights came on Terrance walked over to the large Johnson Safe Company Safe that he had custom build. It was a double doored unit that took up the entire east wall of the room which was not as deep as a standard safe of this size. As the doors swung open the interior led lights came on and Terrance reached in to where his favorite squirrel hunting rifle was. Terrance knew exactly where each rifle, shotgun and pistol was, part of his crazy brain issue. He reached in and pulled out a nothing fancy Ruger 10-22, it’s classic blued and wooden finish showed signs of wear and use. The black suppressor kept it from making much noise even when using standard velocity ammo.

After closing the safe he took the rifle over to the benchand then walked over to a small metal locker on the opposite side of the room, he opened it and scanned for a magazine, selecting one with an orange wrap of tape indicating hunting rounds. He put the magazine with the with the rifle. Looking back into the cabinet he found a favorite padded hunting sling and closed and locked the cabinet. After checking the rifle, cycling the action and attaching the sling he walked out of the gun room shutting off the lights off as he went through the door. Knotty knew what was going on, she was eager to go. One more stop on the back porch for a hunting pouch and after he set the alarm they walked out the back door.

 

[easy]

Subbed, again.

 

[Icarry2]

As he and his favorite four legged fur ball as he called her made it to the edge of the grass and into the woods he realized he hadn’t heard from Alia yet. He stopped and looked a this watch, it had only been 30 minutes since she left. He wouldn’t expect her to check in for at least another 15 minutes. But she may get wrapped up in unloading her car and settling in so he wouldn’t worry for at least an hour.

The walk to his favorite squirrel hunting spot took only a few minutes. A big rock on the edge of a slight bend in the creek was always a good spot to sit and watch for the speedy tree rats. Knotty jumped up onto the rock and plopped down as if she had walked all day. Sitting there, listening to the breeze pushing through the trees he contemplated what it would be like if Alia’smother was still alive.

She would be probably just be getting home from work. She had just started her new job as a Kindergarten teacher when they met and had taught all the way up to the day oft he Alia was born. Her last day on this earth. Knotty could sense the sadness and moved herself around to rest her head on Terrance’s leg. He instinctively reached down petting her, rubbing her behind her ears and wiped a tear from his cheek. He missed her every day and would never stop loving her.

Neither Knotty or Terrance had even been paying attention to the tree rats running around the grove of hardwood trees in front of them. He snapped out of the cloud of memories and sadness and shook it off. He came to the reality of hunting and started scanning the area for signs of tree rats.

Once he had decided which tree he would harvest from he made a “sick sick” noise and Knotty jumped up and looked at where he was motioning. She took off and made circles around the tree stopping when Terrance made a kiss sound. She had positioned herself to make a squirrel hide from her on Terrance’s side of the tree.

Slowly pulling the rifle to his shoulder and finding the eyerelief distance he zeroed in the cross hairs on the head of the now agitated squirrel, as he pushed the safety off and slid his finger onto the trigger he had tweaked he was careful not to move the cross hairs off the squirrel, it barked at Knotty and slid down the tree about a foot. He readjusted as he took the slight creep out of the trigger and once the sight fell on the squirrels head snap went the rifle. The action made about as much noise as the round being fired. Terrance looked around the scope and watched the rat thud into the ground.

Knotty perked up and came around the tree and stopped in front of the squirrel and looked up at Her master, best friend and hunting partner. Terrance simply nodded and she grabbed the squirrel by its tail and brought it over to him, placing it at the base of the rock. Good girl Knotty he whispered and moved his head off into the direction of the next tree.

It took them about 35 minutes to get 5 squirrels, not even having to move. Pretty lazy hunting Terrance thought to himself as he picked up the squirrels and took them to the wet table by the skinning tree behind the house. The table had seen it’s share of game and fish. Positioned by a natural run off of gravel and sand the table and skinning tree had been used for deer, rabbits, racoons, opossums, squirrels, geese, ducks and any number of different kinds of fish and turtles.

Markus and his Dad were more into fishing but had done plenty of hunting over the years. They had always carried buckets of water from the barn hydrant over to the table. Terrance had borrowed a buddies trencher and put in a hydrant right next to the table saving the effort.

As the got to the table Terrance reached under the table and picked up one of the large stainless steel bowls that resided upside down on the shelf under the table. Pulling the handle on the hydrant and waiting for the water was routine, as the water ran for a little bit until it was good and cool signaling that the line had been flushed of any stagnant water he rinsed out the bowl and left a little water in the bowl. Terrance then pushed the handle down to cut the water back to a trickle and sat the bowl on top of the table.

Knotty sniffed and all but sneezed signaling that she wanted to go investigate whatever it was she had caught a wiff of. Terrance made a “chk chk” noise and motioned with his head towards the barn and she took off.

 

[SSGSAD]

Thanks, fixed the issues you mentioned, wasn't sure about the "cashe items", but I re-wrote that so let me know.

I am NOT an English Teacher, or anything ..... I just like to read .....

Keep up the GOOD work .....

When I read your stories, I become your main Character, in my mind .....

Esp., Marine .....

 

[Icarry2]

After dressing the squirrels Terrance walked the hundred and fifty yards to the back edge of the grass yard near a big oak tree where he threw the skins and guts into the “gut pile” he called it. It had become an infamous coyote baiting spot. Many nights Terrance and a few select friends would sit in chairs by the fire pit behind the house and picked off would be scavengers who had came to the pile for a meal. Usually leaving them lay right where they dropped to bring in more the next night.

His faithful companion Knotty knew never to mess around the area or eat any of the rotting discard that was laying around. Odd the piles smell never made it towards the house. And as he looked around Terrance noticed a few bones and remnants of a few skulls.

Just as he turned and walked back towards the wet table to get the squirrel meat his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked it thinking it would be a text from Alia. To his surprise it wasn’t her but his friend Thomas. Up for beers and wings tonight? The message read. Terrance put the phone back away and decided he would consider the invite once he had finished up what he had started.

Walking up to the house Terrance whistled and left the door cracked as he walked into the screened in back porch. As he made it to the summer sink at the west end of the back porch Knotty came running in panting like she had been running since the time she left Terrance.

Slapping up the water in her bowl Knotty was making a mess all over the wooden plank floor of the porch. Hey hey now Terrance barked and Knotty realized she was making a mess.. Her ears dropped and she slowed down. Terrance laughed at her and himself thinking that if any of his friends or people he worked with could be a fly on the wall they would be laughing at the two of them.

The water coming out of the sink faucet spit and sputtered and then became cool and clear as he rinsed off the meat once more. Turning to the cabinet that was against the back of the house he opened it up and pulled out 5 one gallon freezer bags. In each went a carcass and a couple dashes ofsalt and then he filled them half way up with water. Pushing out all of the air and swishing them around a little to distribute the salt he sat them on the counter.

After all of them were filled, burped and ready he walkedover to the corner and opened the fridge and put the bags one at a time on the racks being careful not to pop one of them open. He had done it before by lackadaisically throwing them in there.

Shutting the door Terrance realized he forgot to label thebags with the date and general area of the harvest. He walked over to the counter, pulled open ad rawer and rummaged around to find a sharpie. Then marked the bags so he knew what, when and where as he always asked people when needing details.

After washing the entire area and bowls he sat them in the stainless steel strainer to the side of the left sink and dried his hands off with a towel hanging on a towel rack. Knotty was patiently waiting by the inside door when he walked over and opened it. Once inside he sat at the hall tree by the door and took off his boots, looking at the soles to see if he had anything to clean off. Noticing nothing he placed them at the side of the antique piece of furniture and took the rifle to the gun room and sat it on the bench making sure it was unloaded and cleared.

Hungry girl he asked Knotty as he walked back into the kitchen. She was laying under the island stools letting the tile cool her off. She perked up at the sound of his voice but then put her head down signaling she was tired and not ready to eat yet.

After reaching into the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water Terrance sat down at one of the stools and realized that he hadn’t taken a bottle of water with them hunting. Not a good practice he thought to himself as he guzzled the whole 500ml bottle. Need to stay hydrated, his wife’s voice rang through his memory. She always took care to remind him to take care of himself.

Buzz, Terrance’s phone went off again. He pulled it out to find that Thomas had text again, Earth to TBONE, Beerthirty.. Terrance laughed, hardly anyone called him TBone anymore. Before he replied he looked at the clock onthe wall above the fridge, 5:05 PM.

As he replied to Thomas he stopped and thought, he bettercheck on Alia first before committing to beers and wings with his buddy. Terrance hated to switch or break plans on anyone but everyone in his life knew that Alia came first, no matter what. His “family first” motto ringing true in his mind.

Terrance backed out of the text he was writing to Thomas and opened up the conversation with Alia. With a deep breath he sighed and realized he had missed her text letting him know she was at school, unloaded and unpacking. He never did notice his phone vibrate when he was walking. He had been slightly worried for nothing and knew better than to let himself worry without checking.. Damn phone he thought to himself..

Thanks for letting me know sweetie, love you, let me know if you need anything, see you Tuesday at 1500, meet at the usual place. Just as he flipped back into the conversation with Thomas Alia replied 10-4 Daddy, luv you.

After getting another bottle of water Terrance replied to Thomas with one his short clear messages. Meet at 6:15. Thomas replied ok and Terrance went to the bedroom to get a shower.

 

[Beorn]

 

[chubbs]

Well you've set the hook and are starting to reel me in to this one.

 

[flagtag]

Great start! I'm hooked. ^_^

 

[Icarry2]

Glad you all like it.

 

[Icarry2]

After getting cleaned up Terrance went to the panty and filled Knotty’s food bowl with kibble. By now she had to be hungry he thought. As the sound of the kibble hit the stainless steel bowl he heard her come out of the living room sliding past the bowl as she still did sometimes and then making her way back to the bowl. She stopped, looked up at him as if to ask permission, go ahead girl, I'm going out for a little while. Before she ate she walked over and sat down in front of him. He scratched her behind the ears, pet her and the motioned his head towards the raised food and water bowl around the corner and she went to town on the kibble.

As if it were breathing Terrance checked his pockets, tapping each one making sure he felt all of the normal EDC stuff that he carried. He grabbed a jacket off the hook by the door to the garage and his keys and walked out the door saying hold down the fort girl to Knotty who hearing the keys had came to the door hoping that she got to go for a ride but being disappointed only to see him off. He apologized and told her they would take a ride tomorrow as he disarmed and reinitialized the alarm coding in a 10 minute bypass of the front exit as it was setup.

Once the garage door had came up he walked out, fired up theToyota pickup and pulled it into the garage. Once outside he pushed the code on the outside keypad and the door shut. Flipping the keys in his pocket he grinned as he saw the key fob. His pride and joy was his weekender muscle machine, Ms Kitty..

Chirp Chirp came from the west end door on the barn. Terrance flipped through the keys and found the one he wanted, he reached and lifted the hidden cover over the sturdy roundlock to unlock it as he heard his baby fire up. Varoommmm rumble rumble rumble he heard bringing a smile to his face, a devious grin. As he slid open the barndoor he saw his baby sitting there, covered by a bland grey car cover.

Just as he went to pull the cover off he realized, he hadn’t checked his Ruger. He pulled it out of its holster, ejected the mag, checked it, put it back in and felt it lock, pointed the pistol in a safe direction, the ground away from the car, took the safety off and pulled the slide back a little to make sure there was a round in the chamber even though it had a loaded chamber indicator, not that anyone other than himself had touched the weapon since he last checked it, it was always habit. After putting the safety selector back to safe he holstered the pistol and pulled his light from his left pocket. Terrance reached down to pull the cover up over the front of the car, clicked on the light and walked to the back of the car. With a click of the fob the trunk popped up a little bit. He reached up and as he had done many times and rolled the cover up and placed it into the trunk in a semi-methodical way so that it would unfold easily.

Terrance then unhooked the battery tender cable that was connected to the trunk mounted battery and hooked it on a peg on the wall behind the car. He then scanned the contents of thetrunk, visually counting all of the important items he left in there that most people would freak out about. With a thud the trunk was shut and a click on the fob and the door was unlocked. Terrance got in the car, pulled it out of the barn, got out, closed the door and then took off down the drive with the biggest of smiles on his face. His baby always made him smile.

Once out the gate he situated his phone in the dock in theconsole and waited for the pairing tone to let him know it was ready. With a couple of taps to the large touch screen radio a favorite play list, driving, came on.. Just as the opening riff was ringing in his ears he stomped the skinny go peddle and was sat back into his seat.. Nothing like 700+ horsepower to make a man happy.. He gripped the wheel and took the little curve at well over it’s intended speed but Ms. Kitty loved to eat the road. Oh how Terrance loved his Hellcat Charger..

 

[Icarry2]

After pulling in he put her in neutral and pulled the ebrake to let her idle down and rest. Watching her RPM’s come down he checked his watch, 18:13, right on time.. Tap Tap Tap at the window startled him. Normally he didn’t let his guard down allowing anyone to sneak up on him but his mind was going 6 different ways.. Thoughts of Alia, her school, work, meeting Thomas, Knotty, all of the things he normally had running thoughhis mind.

Terrance reached up and pushed the button on the dash and the beast went silent. As he got out of the car Thomas was already yacking away, talking about his nickname for the car, ass magnet he called it..
This always brought a grin to Terrance’s face. After shaking hands and a half ass side guy hug they walked into the wing joint as Terrance called it. A chain restaurant that specialized in wings.

After sitting down and looking over the menu they both had no need to read they were taking bets on which one of the cute coeds where going to be waiting on them. Terrance was right about 60% of the time which amazed Thomas. This time neither was right.. After her scripted welcome Tiffany asked what they were drinking.. The usual she asked, both men nodded yes and she grinned and walked away.

So Thomas opened with, how is work? Terrance didn’t mind discussing work with Thomas because even though he no longer worked for him he was one of the first key employees he had hired that helped him take the company from a small 6 figure a year company into the 8 figure a year market. Work is work Terrance replied, whiney customers, pushing deadlines, change orders mid process.. Thomas laughed, the usual rat race, they both laughed as Tiffany returned with their golden nectar as Thomas called beer.

And what are the two most eligible bachelors in here tonight going to have for dinner or is it a liquid diet she asked. Tiffany had been the server that had taken care of Thomas and Terrance about half the times they had been in having always been when she worked. Even if they didn’t sit at one of her tables she would always stop and say hi.

Thomas’s normal response was if only he were 10 years younger, which he always followed with a wink, I think I will have a dozen wings, half honey BBQ, half spicy, like you darling.. As it wasn’t the first time she had heard it she acted oh so bashful and replied with a question. What, little ol me? And they laughed. For you Mr. Johns she asked. For some reason she always referred toTerrance in this way not calling him by his first name which he had insisted on many times. Terrance answered with his usual, an order of pretzel bites, cheddar cheese and 8 boneless honey BBQ wings with ranch Please. Right away Tiffany commented not even writing the order down..

The two friends sat and caught up with each other’s work,Thomas was now the head of a complete company as he called it which was actually a division of a large conglomerate. The upper management of his old company was surplused and he became the division manager, one level below the Vice President of Operations of the conglomerates buildings and property management arm.

His division serviced government buildings and kept track of all of the utilities. They employed everything from cleaners to building engineers, utilities engineers, technicians, infrastructure and IT people. Basically anything that pertained to the building, any wires, pipes or waste streams that were part of the structure.

He was over the entire lower 48 states and traveled most of the time, sometimes to oversee upgrades and major repair work. With a team of oversight brains as he called them who kept everything within codes, rules and regulations and on budget. All he did was directed them and solved timing issues usually. He had been working with the company since he left Terrance’s firm.

 

[Icarry2]

As the two men sat and talked they both realized how long it had been since they had gotten together for a beer and wings night. As the food arrived Thomas asked Tiffany if she remembered how long it had been since they graced her with their presence. She looked at the ceiling like she was calculating quantum physics and after a few seconds looked him in the eye and answered May. He was puzzled, how do you figure he asked. She said it was before the Indy 500. He shook his head giggled with a mouth full of chicken and winked. Anything else Mr. Johns she asked. No thank you Terrance replied.

After the meal and one more beer the two men discussed doing some shooting. Something Terrance had gotten Thomas into back when he started working for him so many years ago. Thomas had much more disposable income being that he was not married and didn’t have a 20 year old in college. He had surpassed Terrance in his collection of firearms and other assorted weaponry.

Thomas exclaimed that he had a new Barrett he wanted to zero and asked if Terrance still had access to the 1,000 yard private range that the state snipers practiced on. Thomas knew the answer, after all his company was responsible for the building that supported the private facility. Terrance just looked at his long time friend with one of those "Really??" looks.

They both laughed and worked out that they would get together a week from Saturday and pop off a few rounds. Terrance jokingly asked if he needed to make the call or would Thomas. Thomas grinned letting him know he would. Usually he scheduled an audit or an inspection at that time so he could write off the weekend as a business expense. It made for a great way to impress high profile select clientele.

Thomas knew that as long as the people he shared his time at the range with were cleared ahead of time it was never an issue. Most of the serious work or training was done during the week at the site. So 10 AM sound ok for you Thomas asked. Terrance smiled and sure, if I am up that early, I will be there a little before 10.

Since Terrance’s firm also did business with the federal government he had about the same level of clearance as Thomas if not a little higher given his military service. Terrance had been able to visit many government installations and worked often withThomas as they both provided a service to the government. Terrance’s firm built and serviced air plane hangars and Thomas company over saw their operation and up keep on most all of the publicized installations.

Terrance wasn’t about to let it slip that he and his company had been on more than a few black sites that Thomas didn’t have knowledge of. It was easy to hide the fact thatTerrance’s company had a specialized division, G-Group, that worked directly for the government with technicians, supervisors and managers all who were ex-military, held clearances and were bound by oath not to divulge any critical details of any installations whereabouts, comings and goings, etc.

The grin on Terrance’s face almost gave him away when Tiffany interrupted the conversation to ask if there was anything else they would like this evening. Thomas joked that he wished to which Tiffany smirked and pulled out the check asking who was picking up the tab. Thomas rudely snatched the bill as Terrance was taking the bill from her hand. Terrance apologized and said he would get the tip. Both of the men were good tippers having the means to reward for great service.

Tiffany expressed her gratitude when Terrance slid her a $20 bill. Thomas handed the bill back to her with his AMEX Platinum Card sitting prominently on top saying I’ll get this, it’s a business meeting.. Tiffany was not impressed by the card smiled and responded that she would be right back. Terrance mentioned the card to which Thomas replied, yeah they are talking about putting his division incharge of all of the facilities all over the world basically doubling it in size and he would have access to a private jet.

He joked with Terrance asking, you qualified on a Gulfstream, Terrance fired right back with Depends, which model, both men knowing Terrance was only qualified as a pilot for twin prop and rotary and not jets. Terrance joked I wouldn’t want to fly your ass around anyway, both men laughed as Thomas signed the bill and the men said their thank you’s and walked out of the restaurant.