Freddy Anderson’s Home: Book 1 (23 page)

Chapter 39
I Still Think Plowing Through Was a Better Idea

F
irst thing the next morning, the master chief called us to come to the flight office. The lieutenant got there just in front of me. “Report, Master Chief.”

“Look at the scanners.” The scanners showed at least twenty aircraft traveling along the borders between government land and public property. We had to cross that area to get out over the ocean. “Can they see us yet Freddy?” Master Chief asked.

“Yes, and they do, ma’am—they’re all converging on the area we’ll be crossing shortly.”

“The crossing between this site and the last one before the ocean is about one hundred miles, Lieutenant.”

“That’s two hours out in the open. Do you think they’ll try to block our passage, Master Chief?” Lt. James asked.

“I believe that’s their plan, ma’am.”

I thought for a second. “Lieutenant, what’s the maximum altitude capability of those aircraft?”

“Why, Freddy?”

“Just a thought, Lieutenant.”

“The helicopters have a hover ceiling of 10,200 feet. The small planes can hit up to 27,000 feet, and that larger plane is rated up to 51,000 and higher, if necessary—and the pilot has guts.”

I smiled. “Great. Let’s go up, Master Chief.” I started adjusting the shields.

“What are you planning, Freddy?”

“We go over them. I’ll turn the shields on low and at maximum distance, and then keep them at that distance. Now, the pressure outside will decrease, but I can maintain pressure inside by regulating the size of the shield. We will have plenty of air, as I can use another ability to ensure that our interior air stays fresh. This is a well-insulated house, and we can turn on the heat, so that’s not a problem. Lieutenant, if we wanted to, I could fly this house to the moon, except we’d run out of food and water and possibly air and fuel by then.”

“Okay, Freddy, I trust you,” said Lt. James. “Master Chief, take her up, but keep us going forward too. I want to hit 80,000 feet at about the same time we hit the border.”

The master chief looked at me skeptically but then answered, “Yes, ma’am.”

“I understand your concerns, Master Chief, but don’t worry. I can do this easily,” I said.

We started climbing, and Colleen turned up the thermostat. The shield was in place and was holding the interior pressure and maintaining air quality. When we were getting close, several helicopters dropped out of the chase. Even closer, the other helicopters and several small planes dropped out, and just before we hit the border, the rest of the planes dropped out. Most of the other SEALs were climbing into the office. “Hey, we’re a long ways up!” someone said.

Colleen took them out and explained it to them. I could hear several cuss words, and then Katie said, “We should be doing our job, not complaining. Watch the windows.” They scattered. We drifted for several hours, with the armada right behind us. When we reached government land again, they turned around and left.

“Master Chief, get us down quickly,” I said.

“Sure thing, Freddy.”

We came down softly but very quickly. The gravity was almost free-fall but not quite. When we hit one thousand feet, she stopped our descent and asked, “How’s that?”

“Great!” I took the shields off and looked at the lights that told the readings of the power disks. All were one down from full. “Good job, Master Chief. Nice even burn.”

She smiled and said, “Thanks, Freddy.”

The lieutenant gave orders to watch for a possible return of our pursuers and to do a complete check of the house, top to bottom. I watched the scanners and soon saw that our escort was back. I let the lieutenant know that they were the same pilots.

“We should be getting a call any time now for violating FAA regulations regarding exceeding the altitude stated in our flight plan,” Lt. James said.

“Really? How are they going to call us?”

“Good point.” The lieutenant’s SEAL phone rang. We all stared at it as the lieutenant picked it up. “Lt. James here.”

“Hello, Lieutenant. This is Captain Curran. Nice piece of flying. Is everyone all right?”

“Yes, Captain. we’re doing fine. It was pretty scary, but it worked out well.”

“It’s amazing that you didn’t die from lack of oxygen. You can sure hold your breath a long time!”

“Practice, Captain—that’s all it takes.”

I could hear him laughing. “What are you going to do once you get out over the ocean? We can’t attack civilians out there—no jurisdiction. We can’t even threaten them.”

“I expect that I’ll have no choice but to plow my way through. I’ll give them plenty of warning, but you may want to have the coast guard ready for search and rescue.”

“Will your shields hold up for that?”

She held her breath. He knew. I looked at her with concern. She said, “Captain, I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of shields.”

With a laugh, he said, “Then you’d better check your television, as the shield around his canyon is making big news.”

She asked, “How long do we enjoy the protection, Captain?”

“Until you’re three miles out. Anything more takes presidential authority.”

It was now the lieutenant’s turn to smile. “Check code alpha, gamma, niner, niner, five, one, four.”

“Hold on.”

A few seconds later, I heard a whistle. “Looks like we’re all yours until you’re home, Lieutenant. In fact, the boss is scrambling up several Scorpions to break up your welcoming committee. He’s impressed, and that’s hard to do!”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“My pleasure, Lt. Commander James. Over and out.”

I looked at her with a questioning look. She said, “As a presidential detachment, we’ve been given the highest priorities, Freddy.”

“Interesting.”

Blue asked, “Why did he not expect this?”

Everything went black.

Green said, “The Greens of their species do not work with government much. They study and let something called ‘managers’ and ‘directors’ do the interface with politicians.”

“Do you know why?”

“Yes, sire. Too many politicians and not enough scientists, so the Greens have created another class so they can continue to work without the interference.”

“For some reason, I think you have that wrong. Continue.”

Chapter 40
Media Dilemma

“W
e need to contact the ensign to see how she’s doing, Freddy,” said Lt. James. “You keep her steady while the master chief gets some breakfast.” Lt. James dialed, and Ensign Morgan answered right away.”

“I thought you’d be calling, Lieutenant,” the ensign said. “We have company.”

“Have they breached the shields?”

“No. We plugged those possibilities, but they’re right outside the shield.”

I put a hand on the lieutenant’s arm. “May I make a suggestion, Lieutenant?”

“Go ahead.” She handed me the phone.

“Ensign, what style of transportation do you have, and what do they have?” I asked.

“We flew in and parachuted down into the forest south of here, so we have no transportation. They packed in on horseback, but the scanner shows they have cars and trucks only three miles from here.”

“Great, that means they’re on my land, and I can use the parts. Ensign, I saw several busses on the base. The master chief told me that they were used to bring drunken military personnel back from the town. I think she called them ‘cattle cars’—am I right?”

“Yes.”

“If the lieutenant approves of my plan, we will contact the admiral and have them waiting for you at the location where their transportation is waiting. Can you possibly arrest every one of them, or will that be too difficult for the personnel you currently have with you?”

“Are you kidding? We may have to get nasty, but it would be a cinch. Parks has that broken leg, but that leaves four others, including me.”

“Ensign, this may be a diversionary tactic, so keep back Petty Officer Parks and one other. I don’t want that base compromised,” ordered the lieutenant.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“This is what I want you to do,” I said. “Arrest every one of them. Walk them to their vehicles. When they get there, have them placed into the cattle cars and driven into town. I’m confiscating all their equipment. It’s on my land and therefore belongs to me. I’ll contact my lawyers so they know what’s going on and can handle any problems that may arise as a result of my decision. Do not purposely harm anyone, but if anyone tries anything, make an example of them. I want it known that I don’t accept visitors and will prosecute all trespassers to the max. Call the local police station, and let them know that you’re bringing them in. Is this plan okay with you, Lieutenant?”

She smiled. “If you think you can get it to stand up in court, Freddy, it’s okay by me.”

“Not a problem, as long as we don’t cause any physical harm to anyone unless absolutely needed.”

“Got that last part, Ensign?” asked Lt. James.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Then carry out your orders.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Ensign, are you on live broadcast?” I asked.

“I think so, Freddy.”

“Good. Make sure that you are seen arresting every one of them. Be nice and apologetic about it while you’re on TV. I want them treated nicely, but I also don’t want them coming back. Let them know that I will be suing every one of them for trespass and invasion of privacy. And the government is prosecuting for breaking national security. If anyone attacks you, please defend yourselves.”

The next call was to the admiral. There would be no problems there. We then called the sheriff. He said he could handle the increase in cellmates, that it would be nice to have the jail full. Finally, I called my lawyers. I warned them about what I was going to do, so they could be prepared. They were ecstatic about suing the media and jumped on the case immediately. They also told me that legally, I might not want to do anything with the equipment until after the judge awarded me damages. Then I could seize their equipment to satisfy my judgment against them.

“It’s going to be costly, Dr. Anderson, but we can easily win an injunction against them to make them stay away from your home entirely, for national security reasons especially.”

“I want the injunction to cover all their affiliates too. I prepared a package for you. Open it, but don’t release the information yet. I want to use it to let these media people know that I can afford to play the same games. If they want to ruin my privacy, then they should expect the same in return. Try to keep me out of this lawsuit as much as possible. The media will try to drag me into court to get more pictures and sensationalize this whole thing.”

“We’ll try to keep your participation down to a minimum, Dr. Anderson. The first thing we’ll ask for is closed hearings. One thing, though, as long as you’re going to fly houses around, you’ve got to realize that the media is going to be on your case every second.”

“I understand, and I’ll take care of that.” We covered other items, and then he hung up.

Lt. James sat back and said, “I have several questions about what you’re planning, Freddy. The first is just for my own curiosity. What’s in the package you left with your lawyers?”

I smiled and said, “It’s not hard to realize that I was going to be in the news again, so I did some investigation first. I hired several detective agencies, and they became close to the top people in the different media groups. They learned about their illegal dealings and where the supporting evidence might be, and then they stored the data away for when I might need it. I have enough information on all of them to put them in prison for years. I plan to let them know that if they make my life an open book, theirs will be too. Of course, the information was gathered anonymously and will be given out incognito to a member of the press we can trust. Due to freedom of the press laws, a reporter can report on anything from an anonymous source. It’s all perfectly legal, but I don’t want to use the information, because it would ruin their lives. However, I may need to make an example of a few of them.” My smile broadened. “I got just as nasty as they did, and I dogged their families too. You wouldn’t believe some of the things their kids have done.”

“You seem to have a plan about how to handle the media. Want to let me in on it?”

We talked for the better part of that day. Finally, I said, “It comes down to this: I’m going to jealously protect my home, the town, and the base. When I’m out in the open, I won’t say anything to provoke anyone, but if I get harassed, I’ll have my lawyers harass back. I will be good to the media as long as they are good to me. When I’m going to do something, like flying a house across country, I will let them know and may entertain the notion of having them join in the fun from time to time. I have lots of fun things planned. It’s inevitable that they will find out about a few of them, but most of the time, the media won’t even know about my activities unless I decide to tell them. It’ll be their choice—respect the townspeople’s privacy and mine and enjoy great coverage, or press the issue and have no coverage at all.”

“They can’t stop the little independent groups, like the sleaze magazines.”

“They own the sleaze magazines, Lieutenant. Don’t let them fool you. They need to start policing their own, and if they don’t, then I can’t trust them.”

“Where do you want to land to start this game?”

“This is not a game, Susan. I know you sometimes think of me as a kid, but if I don’t set limits with the press, then it will cause me problems for the rest of my life.”

“I understand, Freddy. It’s just that I don’t think the president will like this.”

“On the contrary, I had a talk with the president about this exact situation. In fact, she brought it up. She was the one who gave me the parameters that I need to set. She knows I’m going to do something like this, just not what or when. In fact, she told me the sooner, the better. I understand that this will make it even harder to guard my inventions, and I’m sorry about that, but there’s nothing else I can do.”

The master chief asked, “Freddy, you’re thinking about landing this house and talking to the media before going home, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir, I am.”

“Then I would like to have that favor I won from you.”

“I remember, Master Chief. What would you like?”

“That we don’t land until we get you home. Then you can go into town and hold a meeting with them later, after we can get some security set up first.”

“Done. You know you just wasted a favor.”

“How’s that?”

“You’re in charge of security under the lieutenant. If you feel that it’s too risky to make a surprise landing, then that’s your call, and we wouldn’t have done it.” The master chief and the lieutenant looked at each other, and I said, “What? Were you two worried that I wouldn’t listen to you?”

“Actually, yes, we were,” said the lieutenant.

“Look, Susan, my expertise is inventing and building, and I know very little about security matters. Your expertise is with people and security, and you know very little about inventing. I’ll leave the security to you, and you leave the inventing to me. Deal?”

“You got it, Freddy,” said the lieutenant. “Master Chief, the flight plan stands. Have the ensign set up a meeting in town on Friday.”

“Lieutenant, you know my needs regarding the media. Are you willing to take care of setting up a meeting and carrying it out?” I asked.

“Yes, Freddy. I can do that.”

I gave her a big smile and said, “This may work out after all. I hate doing this kind of junk. Great, I can go back to my inventing! It’s all yours.” I went back into the living room.

The lieutenant looked at the master chief and said, “Something’s wrong. This is too easy.”

“I know what you mean,” the master chief agreed. “Something’s up, but keel haul me if I can tell what he’s planning. I’ll give it some thought, but you’re better at this than I am. I really don’t feel like I’m being used … more like I’m on trial.”

“That’s it, exactly.”

“What’s it?”

“The little rascal thinks he’s giving us just enough rope to hang ourselves. I bet all his bigger projects will be hidden.”

“And I bet he lets us have the run of everyplace else.”

The lieutenant smiled. “Warn the rest of the team. We’re taking on the care and feeding of Freddy, and he’s going to let us. Make sure they know he’s testing us.”

Petty Officer Smith came in a couple of hours later to ask the lieutenant to come into the living room. “You’re going to want to see this.”

On the satellite television was a news broadcast about the arrest of all media around Freddy’s property:

“Repeating our top story, all of the reporters at the Anderson shield have been captured at gunpoint. Their equipment has been destroyed. All reports are that they are being taken away at this moment. Some may be dead, but reports are that at least one is wounded, and there could be other injuries, but no medical help has been requested. Here is the last broadcast from the shield site …”

The image changed to a forest view with the canyon in the background. The ensign’s voice could be heard clearly as she came into view.

“My extreme apologies, but you have been warned several times to vacate these premises. You have been told that this is private land and that you are trespassing and breaking national security. I have asked you three times to leave, and each time you have told me that you have a right to be here. Well, you’re wrong about that. You are breaking the law, and I am arresting you in the name of the United States government and on behalf of the owner of this land, Dr. Freddy Anderson. You have the right to …” She read off their rights and asked if they understood them.

“We understand, young lady. Now you get this.” A male reporter was stabbing Ensign Morgan in the chest with his finger. “We have a right to be here, and there’s nothing you can do about it. If you want to remove me, then it’s going to have to be by force.”

“As you wish, sir.” She shot him in the arm. He looked shocked. “Do I need to use more force?” She was looking at the others when someone tried to jump her from behind. She moved so fast that it was hard to see. The outcome was plain to see. The man who attacked her was on the ground, and it was hard to tell if he was dead or alive.

“Denise, is he dead?” I asked.

“No, Freddy. She simply knocked him out. It’s a simple move that anyone with training would see.”

It looked like everyone else was cooperating fully, including the wounded man. The ensign reached up and turned off the camera and then ordered everyone to do the same. All complied except one jerk who left his on, so she shot the camera. That was the end of the report. I sat back and thought about the outcome. I saw nothing wrong with her actions, as she was under attack, but then again, I was not the expert. The lieutenant, however, was the expert, and she was smiling. “So what do you think, Susan?” I asked.

“I think that went very well. First, she tried to be polite, and she got it on TV that she had warned them three times. That’s a good job, as it made him agree that he’d been warned. She only shot him in self-defense and in the line of duty, because he was hitting her in the breast.”

I opened my mouth in shock, but she was right. Hitting a woman in the breast was not a good thing to do, especially if she was carrying a gun. Every woman in the world would be on her side in a court battle, so no problem there.

“Then she was physically attacked, and although some might think she killed him, they will soon learn that she only knocked him out. This is going to make the media look really bad. It will show that they will go to any lengths, even breaking the law and attacking people who are trying to do their duty, just to get a story. She could beat the crap out of every one of them from here on out, and no one will say a thing. She won’t, though, because her orders are to get them to the admiral and then to jail without harming anyone more than necessary.”

“It’s a long walk to the vehicles, Lieutenant, and she looked like she was running out of patience.”

“You have a point.” The lieutenant went into the flight office and called home base. They relayed a message to the ensign that she’d done really well and also to let her know that the lieutenant said not to harm anyone else. She replied in the affirmative.

Later that evening, the news showed all of the reporters as they came out of the cattle cars and went into the jail. They showed a doctor going into the jail to take care of the wounded. When the doctor emerged, they had her on live broadcast.