Lucy looked at me, and asked "How do you know all that? How did you see it?
What if ONE of them isn't FBI?"
"I know all it because of what I did before, remember? I saw it for the same reasons. If one of them wasn't FBI, at least of the FBI people would be watching him or her. But none of them is paying any attention to any of the others. The guys should at LEAST be looking over at the babe in the swimsuit", and earning myself a short jab from her elbow before she realized I was teasing her.
About that time, the girls saw us, and popped out of the pool to come over and sit with us. As they were walking toward us, I whispered to Lucy to see if any of the FBI guys eyeballed the girls. She discretely looked, and whispered back "Not a one. What are they, eunuchs?"
I whispered back "Nope. That's just how dedicated they are to making sure nobody gets hurt." – making her realize just how serious these folks were about protecting her and the girls.
The four of us chatted for a few minutes before I suggested that we head up to the rooms and figure out what to do for the evening. The girls quickly agreed, and collected their stuff so the four of us could head to the rooms. On the way out, I stopped by the guy reading the paper by the door, and knelt down to tie my shoes. From there, I softly told him "We'll be up in the rooms for at least a half hour before going out – probably to the mall." The guy played his part, and pretended to ignore me – but gave me a look when I added "Bill will tell you the rest."
After that, I stood up again, and quickly caught up with the rest of them. Lucy fell back to whisper to me "What were you DOING?"
I answered her by telling her that I'd let the protection people know how long they had before we'd be back out. When she asked why, I simply asked her "How long can you hold YOUR bladder?" – and got a grin in return.
Back in the rooms, the girls quickly skinned out of their suits, and came over to give me a hug – and noticed the vest I was wearing. They looked up at me in curiosity, and Lucy and I told them to have a seat, we needed to have a talk.
Both quickly planted their cute fannies on chairs, looking at us with some trepidation.
Lucy and looked at each other, and I spoke first, telling them "You know that your mom and I have been trying to catch some people that have been stealing from her client's company, right?"
They nodded, and I went on "Well, I've got evidence that proves what they did – I mean, not just that there was money stolen, but WHO stole it, and how, and when. Because they put some of the money in banks in other states, that means that what they did is a federal offense – which means that it involves the FBI."
They nodded again before I went on "Lucy and I were at the FBI office today, where I showed them the evidence that I have. They were very happy to see us because the people that have been doing the stealing have been doing other stuff, too – and the FBI has been trying to find something to charge them with for a while. So when Lucy and I showed them what we had, they were very happy.
They also told us that there are some really big criminals involved, and that these criminals probably wouldn't like having their friends go to jail, or like losing all the money that was stolen."
Again, nods, and I continued "These criminals are pretty mean, and they might want to try to do something to keep me and Lucy from doing anything to help the FBI. Maybe even try to do something to hurt YOU. So the FBI has some people watching out for us. You probably didn't notice, but there were even some of them down at the pool."
Here, Sandra chirped up, saying "I was wondering about a couple of the guys. I mean, Robyn and I were running around in our wet suits, and they wouldn't even LOOK at us!" – and making me and Lucy both laugh.
I told them "Well, that's why – not because you aren't cute and sexy, but because they were watching to make sure no bad guys could do anything. So if you see anybody watching you, there's no need to be worried, or afraid. Just let me or Lucy know, so we know who they are – that way, we can ask them for help if we need it. Okay?"
Both of them voiced their agreement before Robyn asked "But what about you and Mom?"
"Me and your mom are a special case. The FBI people are watching us, too, to make sure we stay safe, but because your mom and I will be moving around a lot, it's harder for them to take care of us. That, and because I did some special stuff in the Army, they're letting me be the one that does most of the protecting of Lucy."
Robyn grinned, and asked "But who's gonna protect her from YOU? Or you from her?" – and getting laughs from all of us before I continued "That's our problem – if it's a problem at all. Do YOU want to be protected from ME?"
She grinned again, and said "Nope! Not a chance!"
I smiled back at her and said "Well, because I'm the one watching out for your mom, I'm wearing a bulletproof vest" – both of them sobered at that – "but ONLY because it makes the FBI and your mom feel better. NONE of us expects there to be any trouble; we're just doing all this as a precaution. Kind of like getting an IUD, so you don't get pregnant."
That seemed to reassure her, and I went on to say "One of the other things the FBI asked me to do was to carry a gun." Immediately, both girls got serious again, before I could tell them "Not that they expect me to need it, but just so I'd have it if there WAS any trouble. Again, it's like carrying a snakebite kit if you go hiking – you probably won't need it, but it's a good idea to have it, if you do. Okay?"
Both of them expressed doubt at that idea, but I went on to tell them "Look at it this way – if the bad guys know I have a gun, they won't want to make trouble, right?"
That seemed to calm them down again – it didn't occur to them that if I was armed, the bad guys would just come better equipped.
With Sandra and Robyn filled in, and reasonably accepting of the situation, the only thing left was to decide what to do about supper, and the rest of the evening. We haggled over that one until I had an idea. I went to my room, and called down to the desk, asking the operator to put me in touch with one of the FBI people. In just a couple of seconds, I heard a male voice that identified itself as Agent Gallery.
"Agent Gallery, I've got a proposition for you."
"What's that, sir?"
"The ladies and I were going to go to do a little shopping this evening, and I thought you might like to work with us on it – try and make both our lives easier. What do you say?"
"That would be very nice, sir. What did you have in mind, sir?"
"Well, first thing is supper. I don't think you folks would look forward to trying to watch out for us in a regular restaurant. So what I'd propose is that one of you contact Muddy Waters – I served with him, and trust him – at Caf, Triomphe, and see if he's got a small room we can use. If he does, we'll eat there. Otherwise, if you can recommend a decent place to eat, we'll go there – so you can have some time to get it covered."
"Yes, sir, we're aware of your friendship with Mr. Waters. I think we can reach him" the agent told me.
"I figured. The other thing is, as Agent Hawkes suggested, I plan to buy a weapon this evening. Perhaps you or one of your colleagues would be able to recommend a, shall we say, friendly place? Seeing as how I'm from out of town?"
"I think we can come up with something along those lines, sir."
"Great. Last thing, the ladies would like to do some shopping. Clothes, jewelry, that sort of thing. Me, I'd like to have a look at some electronics and computer stuff. Something like a mall, perhaps. Again, I'll ask your recommendation, so that you and your people can cover it. Whatever size mall or shopping center you think would be best. Like I said, we're willing to work with you."
"We appreciate that, sir. Actually, in a case like this, the best bet is to be as public as possible, so any one of the malls would be fine. The Galaxy mall is the biggest, with an excellent selection of stores."