Freddy Anderson’s Home: Book 1 (15 page)

The general turned white.

The admiral said, “Now you see why I’m approving all testing first?”

The general stood up and said, “The invitation is withdrawn.” Pointing at me, he said, “Admiral, this child is a disaster just waiting to happen. I’m leaving. Good luck, and I hope this base is still here the next time I visit.”

I looked at the general with a pout. “Does that mean I can’t play on your base? The admiral and the lieutenant are way too restrictive.”

He turned around and stormed out saying, “No way!”

As soon as he was out of sight, I started laughing. The lieutenant smiled, but the admiral was not amused. “Admiral, I’m not stupid enough to develop or even write down my theory on thermonuclear detonation,” I told him. “I wouldn’t want someone like the general to get his hands on it.”

The admiral asked, “Then it was a joke, meant to cause the general discomfort?”

“Yes, of course. He dumped a lot of contaminated stuff on my property, and I owed him for it.”

The admiral smiled.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but I may have just made your job a little harder. The general is not happy with having me around.”

“Don’t worry about that, Dr. Anderson. I’ll point out to him that I’ll take all the responsibility and share some of the ‘gifts’ with him—maybe a little testing too—but only on things that are already patented. He’ll let me do the work if he thinks he’s getting some of the benefit.”

“Admiral, I like you. Please call me Freddy.”

He smiled and said, “Okay, and you can call me Jeff.”

“Thank you, Jeff. Susan and I have a lot to do before I get back. I understand you want to talk to me about some of my toys.”

“Yes, the navy is very interested in them. I’m sorry, but I do have to report what I see, and you did use the disks here on base—the scanner too.”

“I was hoping to talk to you about the scanner and disks, as well as a few more items, but I didn’t plan for it on this trip. I will be going back home in just a couple of days, but I will be coming out in another week or so. I will set aside some time to sit with you over lunch and discuss our mutual needs. Is that all right?”

“That’ll be fine, Freddy. I’ll report to the president that things are working out between us. I’m sure she’ll be happy about that.”

“Tell her I said hello.”

“Will do.” We all stood up, and I shook his hand. We walked back outside, and he got into his car and left.

I asked the lieutenant, “Did I handle that okay?”

“I think so, Freddy. It’s hard to tell at this time. Be careful about giving the admiral too much information at one time. Take it slow.”

“One more thing, Freddy,” said the master chief, “don’t ever use your eyes to give away our positions. The army people with the general were Green Berets, and they’re not stupid.”

I looked at the ground, where there was a little fresh blood. “Did any of the SEALs get hurt?” I was sad, thinking that they might have been wounded because of me.

The master chief could see I was upset. She put her arm around me, sat down on the bumper of the jeep, and said, “No, the Green Berets are good, but we’re better. Petty Officer Henderson came back from picking up supplies at the exchange, and she was dressed in her Class A uniform. It’s a nice outfit that we’ll have to show you some time. When she bent over to unload the jeep, she showed a little too much leg, which caused several wolf whistles. Petty Officer Henderson took exception to it and broke the nose of the closest man. She’s very quick and did it so fast that you would have been hard-pressed to see it. In addition, three knives stuck deep into the metal of their jeep from directions they were not expecting. They were very quiet after that.”

“I’m glad that none of your team was harmed. They get very touchy about things like that, don’t they?”

“Most women do, Freddy. No one likes to be picked on because of his or her sex. It’s just not the right thing to do. The problem with doing it to this group is that they don’t have to put up with it.”

“Please, Master Chief, if I’m making that kind of mistake, point it out to me, and I’ll stop. You don’t need to hurt me.”

“Don’t worry, Freddy. We look at you like our little brother. No one here will hurt you. They may get angry and chew you out if you do something stupid, but they’d never hurt you.”

That cheered me up a little. Most of the SEALs were standing around us now. I said, “I can take a chewing-out, and I learn quickly, so I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

The lieutenant said, “We know, Freddy. That’s why we like you. You never try to hurt anyone, and you’re kind to a fault, except maybe to the general. Please don’t take offense, but you’re almost the opposite of us and of most men. Normally, we are the opposite of what most men think a woman should be. We are all aggressive, while you are passive, and that works for us. Every woman here knows you need her help, and they all want to protect you, mostly because you are not like other men. You look at the women with respect for their abilities and intelligence, and you treat them as if you care about them. They return that respect and care.”

“So they treat me nicely because I treat them nicely, and I treat them nicely because they treat me nicely?”

They all laughed. “That’s about right,” said the lieutenant.

The master chief stood up and said in a commanding voice, “You didn’t come out here for this mushy stuff, so what can we do for you, Freddy?”

I smiled at her and then gave her a big hug. She patted my back gently. When I let her go, I told her that I had reserved two rooms in the inn for two days. “I plan on talking to some of the store owners today, but mostly I plan on relaxing. Tomorrow morning, I need to come back to the base and inventory the stuff in the trucks and check the generators, and then I’m going back to the inn to rest, because I leave for home the following day.”

The lieutenant asked, “What about that trip you spoke about?”

“Oh, I’m coming out in a week or two. I need to fly to South Carolina to check on the house I’m having built. It needs to match some very exact measurements, and I need to ensure that everything is going well.”

“Freddy, we have to come with you on that trip.”

“Really?” I looked down at the ground. “I suppose your orders would include that, wouldn’t they? And I did say you could watch me when I’m not at home.”

“Yes, they do, and yes, you did.”

“I’ll be out there for seven or eight days, most of which will be sitting around. How many people will you have to send with me?”

“I have business here, so it will be the master chief and three others.”

“Okay, I’ll set up the hotel, car rental, and flights. Can you get us to the airport and back?”

“You bet,” she agreed. Then she looked over at one of the SEALs. “Freddy, would you mind doing a little sightseeing on that trip?”

“Why?”

“One of the girls has family next door in North Carolina. She’d love to see her children again.”

“How old are they?”

Marian Smith walked up. “I have two girls, ages three and five. I haven’t seen them for almost a year.”

“Why? Don’t you get vacation?”

“We each get thirty days leave a year, and I have over sixty days on the books, but things are not always that simple.”

“If it’s a money problem, I can buy you a ticket.”

“No, dear, but thanks. It’s very nice of you to offer. The problem is that their father died, and I had no choice but to leave them with my mom and dad. Dad’s a tobacco farmer and doesn’t approve of my being in the navy. He thinks I should be at home, helping on the farm. He makes things very hard for me when I’m there.”

“I’m sorry about your husband, and I don’t mean to meddle, but I don’t understand. Why not bring the kids out here?”

The lieutenant answered that one. “She’d love to, but we never know if we’re moving or being sent somewhere. This is a quick-response unit, and she can’t take the time to find a babysitter at the last minute.”

I put my hands on my hips, as I’d seen my mother do, and said, “Well, that sucks! You must miss them a lot.”

“I do, and if I can combine work with a chance to visit my children, I’d be very grateful.”

“Sounds good. Can I meet them too?”

She looked at the lieutenant for confirmation as she said, “I don’t see why you can’t, as long as everyone goes with you. We still have a job to do.”

“What’s the name of the town where they live?”

“Goldsboro.”

“I’ll set it up. This actually may help me, too. I wasn’t looking forward to being stuck in South Carolina for eight days, doing nothing, so I was trying to think up fun things I could do there. The plan was to check out my house, make a list of things to correct right away and things that need fixing before shipment, and then fool around for six days until I can inspect the corrections they made. The only change I’ll have to make in my plan is that I’ll be vacationing in North Carolina instead of South Carolina. I found out that there are lots of things to do in South Carolina. Are there things to do that the master chief can take me to see while we’re in North Carolina?”

“Yeah, bunches of stuff.”

“Great! This will work out much better than I thought. Thanks, Marian.”

She hugged me and thanked me.

“Time to head to the inn,” said the ensign.

I glanced at the Sergeant. “One more thing, Lieutenant,” I said. “Can we talk in private?”

“Sure, Freddy, but it’s not necessary. Everyone knows what I’m doing with our friendly spy. She has agreed to do our bidding, and the general will get only the reports that we want him to get and nothing else. If I turn her in, he’ll just replace her, and we’ll be back to square one.”

“Well, you’re the expert. Good luck. Let’s go. Who’s my bodyguard today?”

Everyone moved away, and most of them were very easy to read. The lieutenant answered, “PO2 Bunny Taylor.”

“Do you mean the spy, Sergeant Nettie Davies?”

“Yes, Freddy, but I would ask you not to call her that. She’s ‘Bunny’ or ‘Petty Officer Taylor.’” While staring at the lieutenant, I read Bunny’s mind. She was silently begging me to give her a chance. She really wanted to do this, and she was sincere about protecting me.

“Very well, Lieutenant. Like I said, you’re the expert, and I trust you. Time to wish me good luck, I think.”

We climbed into the car, and Janice drove. I was quiet. I had no idea what the lieutenant was trying to do, but I definitely hoped she did.

The big Gray said, “This I understand. I know exactly what she is doing. It’s something I would do myself.”

Everything went blurry.

The Green looked a little upset and said, “And I am sure you are very good at it, master.”

“You bet I am. Continue.”

Chapter 24
Ordering Supplies

W
hen we reached the inn, everyone ran out to greet me. I introduced everyone to Bunny. After hugs all around, we unloaded my laundry and took it inside. Carroll and Becky insisted on doing my laundry, saying I was here to rest, not to work. Who was I to argue?

I thanked Becky for the present, and I must have been blushing, as she touched my face and smiled. Johnny, Annabelle, and I skipped rope outside and played hopscotch until we were called in for lunch. Annabelle was surprisingly good at both games, but we laughed until our sides hurt when Johnny tried to skip rope.

The food was great, and I started thinking that staying at the inn more often would be nice, especially since I would get to see more of Becky. During lunch, they asked me many questions, and I answered all of them. I don’t think they believed me when I told them the entire pollution mess was cleaned up, but Bunny let them know about the bars I’d dropped off at the general’s house.

Becky squeezed my hand, asking, “Wasn’t that dangerous?”

“Honestly, Becky, I was never in any trouble.”

Bunny raised her eyebrows. Mrs. Crain saw her, and so did Carroll and Becky. Becky looked at me with fire in her eyes. “What you consider trouble and what everyone else considers trouble seem to be two different things. You be more careful. You hear me?”

“Yes, I’ll be good.”

“You’d better be or else!”

Mrs. Crain cleared her throat. “Young lady, I don’t think that’s a proper way to talk to our guest. Apologize right now.”

She bowed her head and said, “I’m sorry.”

I looked at her with a mischievous smile. That cheered her up and got a laugh from everyone else.

After lunch, I went to visit the shop owners and thank them for their help. They were glad to see me, and we went down to the courthouse to talk and split up most of the items I needed—specifically, sheets of stainless steel, titanium, copper, gold, and over a hundred other minerals in large quantities. I also asked for a restaurant-sized refrigerator/freezer that I could connect outside, something that could take the weather, had a light bulb inside, and was safe. I didn’t want to lock myself inside accidentally. I asked for several hundred heavy-duty electrical outlets in one size. I also wanted five hundred gallons of sulfuric acid.

Zoë Ledbetter, owner of the grocery store, asked, “Why sulfuric acid?”

“I need it for a little toy I’m working on.” No one asked anything after that. They assured me that they could get everything except the acid. For that, I would need to contract with someone outside, and they asked me to please not bring it through the town.

The rest of the day went smoothly, and the next day was very restful. I woke up very early and went back to the base. I placed my disks around the trucks and flew them out to my home site, and then I came back and took all eight generators home.

“What does he need the acid for?”

Everything went black.

“Master, I have no idea. He did not mention it, and it did not come directly to mind.”

“Can’t you dig a little deeper?”

“No, master. Not without destroying his mind entirely, and then we would not know how he destroyed our ship.”

“Yes, well. That is the most important information. Continue.”