#73
Evie was not happy when Brett told her there was no waiting, the plane was on the way. The old lady had her dander up, displeased that all of them had been summoned to Portland. "And who may I ask is going to tend to the place and Ev's?" she snapped tartly. "The children have to go with us, there is no one to care for them."
"I can," Lainey volunteered timidly. "take care of the place, that is. The children, I dunno; what do you think?"
Evie stopped packing clothes into a set of old ratty backpacks and looked at the soft, hand still in a cast woman, and shook her head no. "I like you to much to wish that on you, Honey. The place yes, these live wires, no."
Secretly, Lainey was totally relieved that she wouldn't be in charge of the two kids. They were exhausting, never still, or quiet, or out of mischief.
"I promise I'll do a good job with the chores. If you find you need anything, tell Will, I can stay in touch with him."
Evie nodded, her mind going at a thousand miles an hour concerning what items they would need, to be gone from home at least overnight.
The copter didn't have to wait long, but it did have to wait. Mark Linderman wondered how important this family could be. The Guard had never been pulled off relief work to handle flights such as this. So that meant the orders had come from pretty high up.
This time, a whole family came on board. From a Grandma on down to young kids. Mark had a panic moment when he thought that some of the children might belong to that statuesque woman from the first flight, but eventually he got it sorted out.
As the family was escorted through the front doors, the metal detectors went nuts. Sirens were ringing, metal gates dropped with a clanking finality and Evie drew back; hugging the two small children to her fiercely.
Running feet had agents surrounding the entry foyer with drawn guns, shouting orders through the tinny sounding speaker holes.
"What the hell," Brett spit out as he stared at the black shields held in front of live people. "What kind of crazy place is this?"
Sandy squeezed close to Evie, putting Brett between her and the Plexiglas shield.
"You in the cage," a disembodied voice commanded, "Throw your weapons down."
"Not until I know I can have it back," Evie argued, standing straight as a ramrod. Surrounded by weapons of every description, Brett was proud of Grandma for her spunk. "No special treatment, no deal." the voice returned.
The diminutive old woman with her white hair falling out of it's bun, had her teeth clenched and her chin jutted out. Eyes flashing with anger, she stood her ground. "Then you get whomever we are supposed to see, and get them down here. We'll stay right here." The voluminous denim skirt with it's amazing pocket held not only her .38, but a knife, hair barrettes, a whistle, and the pencil and notebook she was never without.
Sandy had about the same assortment in the pocket of her multi gored skirt. The Hanson women didn't think anything strange about carrying guns and knives. They lived in the forest with wild animals, hay strings and and slivers. Brett in his uniform had the usual police issue items. Evie thought of her family as common every day garden variety people just trying to get by in the world.
The floor commander didn't think they were harmless or as innocent as the little old lady was trying to pull off.
Henry Wright came flapping out of the elevator, followed by Clora and Benny close on his heels. As she went backward through the secondary detector, Clora set more alarms off. Her skirt pocket had the usual items she normally carried, hey, Grandma had taught her well. Instantly she was spun around and pushed against the wall separating her from the rest of her family.
"What in God's name do you have on you," Linderman tried powering his way into the mêlée, but failed as the shields stopped his progress.
Henry Wright was a senior agent with enough credentials to weight several pounds. "Agent Browers," he bellowed loud enough to crumble grout in the marble floor, "was this woman frisked?"
Lisa Browers stood open mouthed and rooted to the floor. They had come in the basement entrance, and she hadn't checked her subject. A rookie mistake. Dumbly, she shook her head no.
"Miss Hanson, are you armed?" Agent Wright bellowed louder, to be heard over the commotion of the moment.
"Of course," Clora stood calmly as five guns pointed at her from less than 12 inches away. 'We all carry, don't you."
There was dead silence where there had been loud voices and movement. There was one tiny snicker, but whomever had dared to let the inappropriate noise escape, didn't repeat that mistake. Not and keep his job, anyway.
"You have had a gun with you all the time you have been in this building?" the coldly furious voice of the man in charge practically splintered the bullet proof lexan protecting the building entryway.
"Inexcusable," Wright's bellowing started first year agents quaking in their shoes. Another reverberation sent second year officers wondering if they had chosen the correct profession. By the time he was finished, Henry Wright had peeled the paint from the walls.
He directed the guard to raise the gates and escort the family to the elevator. "Not you," he pointed his finger at the former agent Browers. "You report to my office."
Evie, when she was allowed to greet her family, walked passed Wright and said in a very clear voice, "You Sir, have deplorable manners."
Linderman about swallowed the tiny bit of chew he has stashed in his cheek. In his time in the bar, and the dealings he had with Henry Wright, no one had ever reprimanded the agent.
The Hanson family reunited in the conference room, hugging and gaining strength from being together. Borg watched with an emotion he just absolutely would not classify as envy.
Two day's later the 48 hour rushed DNA expedited process was rushed to Wright as he called the family to order. "In short, you are all related, but not to the man you thought was Pete."
"Of course," Evie acted puzzled that he would think anything else. "They all have the birthmark from Hap."
"Birthmark, what birthmark?" Henry repeated in his cold as ice tone. "Why wasn't I told about the birthmark.?"
"You are so busy being a pompous ass, you forgot to ask," Evie said just as icily.