Justin

The buzz of the vibrating phone woke him. He had turned off the ringer but lying on the nightstand it still woke him. The screensaver on the computer across the room clicked over to 0432 as he watched. He planned on being up at 0600 anyway so it might as well be now. He slid off the low bed and hit the floor in the position. A hundred pushups later he stood and walked over to the dresser and looked at the reflection in the big mirror.

Justin Barrett, Mantis agent C-5, one each. Male caucasian aged fifty-six, looks forty-something. Five-eight, one-forty. Dark blonde not yet receding, dark green eyes.

Still pretty keyed-up. Might as well get to it.

He filled the Kuerig tank and inserted a K-cup of Folgers Black Silk and pressed the button. The silence was broken by the trickle of coffee. Tania and Sarah were probably stil asleep in the upstairs suite.

Not the time for emotional entanglements. The physical kind anyway. And who thinks about sex at a time like this?

We all do dammit. So stop already.

He poured a cup of coffee and debated putting a pair of Pop-Tarts into the toaster. Decided it was a good idea. Hated it when the stores were out of frosted cherry but that hadn't been the case in a while. He considered the call he hadn't yet bothered to check.

Who's calling me at this time? Someone that has the number obviously and that narrows it a good bit. If that's the case they know what fucking time it is here. This is close to being... what does Trevor say... tiring. Yeah. Tiring.

He checked the phone. Harry Nelson. What the fuck can he want? It's gotta be bad if they go outside and Mantis is about as outside as can be.

Might as well get it over with. Or started anyway.

The Pop-Tarts had popped and he put them on a paper plate and carried them and the coffee to the small table. A few minutes later the pastries were gone and the coffee about halfway there.

Need a smoke. Goldie this early?

Nope. Caffeine enough for now. Regular is good though.

The pack of custom smokes was in the bedroom. Carrying the coffee he retrieved them and went out on the patio. Lit a smoke and looked at the rising sun.

How long to let Harry wait? How about 0600 when he'd expect me to get up? Yeah. He sipped coffee and enjoyed the cigarette. He smoked at most three a day and sometimes as few as none. He had put on his Rolex Explorer when he went to get the smokes and it was still just 0518. Got another forty minutes.

He sensed a presence back inside and turned to look. Tania. With the girls here he should have put in a regular coffee-maker.

He went back inside for find her preparing another cup. In pajamas and barefoot with her tousled hair she was still startlingly beautiful.

"Sarah will be down in a bit," she said. "Been up long?"

"Not long," he replied. "Harry woke me up about four-thirty."

Her expression became serious.

"What does he want?"

"Dunno. Haven't called him yet."

"When are you going to?"

"About six. That's when he should expect me to be up."

"It might be important."

Justin grinned.

"It probably is."

"Don't you take anything seriously?"

"Important things."

"Would Harry call you if it wasn't important?"

"That's what worries me."

"Justin... you never seem to let anything get to you. I wish I had your nerves."

"Stay in this business long enough and you'll get them."

"I'm not in the business and don't want to be."

"Sorry, we get a little case-hardened. And I hope you don't have to deal with stuff like this much longer. For for now this is the safest place for you and Sarah. Even if I'm not here. Even if someone finds out where you are they can't get to you. You won't see much of the security here - most of the time you won't see any of it - but it's there.

"You're going away."

"Probably. As you said, Harry doesn't call unless it's important."

"Harry?" Sarah asked as she entered the room.

Still in pajamas but she had brushed her hair and probably washed her face, not that she needed to. She was as beautiful as Tania but in her own way. Tania's dusky skin and silky black hair contrasted with Sarah's fair-skinned strawberry blonde tomboyish girl-next-door good looks. Both were seriously good-looking women. And unprepared for the situation they found themselves in.

"Yeah, Harry. Woke me up."

"That wasn't nice," Sarah said with a mischiveous smile but quickly became serious.

"Whenever Harry calls you're usually gone for a while," she said.

"Usually."

"Dammit Justin, isn't there anyone else he can call?"

"Couple of guys maybe. Depending on what he needs."

"Don't go," Sarah said. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Justin grinned. "I have a bad feeling every time. It'll be all right. Whatever it is I'll make it quick."

"The last time you made it quick it was three weeks," she said. "And another two weeks to heal."

"Stuff happens," Justin replied. "Look, things like that are anomalies. That was the first really bad one I've had...."

"The most recent bad one was three months ago," said Sarah.

"That wasn't bad," he said. "Not good but not bad."

"You came back looking like something no self-respecting cat would bother to drag in," Sarah said.

Tania watched the exchange with a mixture of amusement and concern. She wasn't quite sure how to take Sarah's relaitionship with Justin.

"Don't mind us," Justin said. "You should see us when one or the other gets really mad. I have to leave for a while. Probably not for long but you never know. Sarah is capable of taking care of you and she has resources available it there's a serious problem. Even now there is a ring of security around this place and in my absence Sarah is in charge. The force commander is a man I trust as much as any and more than most. But when duty calls I must go."

Tania looked moderately relieved. Sarah put a hand on Tania's and smiled.

"It's OK. I know this is new to you."

"Almost six," Justin said. "Let me see what Harry wants."

He went back into the bedroom. 0535. Ought to call him late just because but it could actually be important. If it is I'll never hear the last of it. He picked up the phone.

"Get here fast," Harry said. "Don't worry about packing - if you need anything we'll get it. Just bring yourself."

Harry rarely talked like that. He put the phone down. Into the bathroom for a quick tooth-brushing and a shower. Into a jeans and a medium-weight khaki twill shirt. Favorite pair of Timberland boat shoes. What else?

He put the usual items into his pockets - a Swiss Army Hiker and a Bic lighter on the right side and a set of keys in the left. They keys would open several doors if he got locked out.

The Beretta 96A1 in a vertical shoulder holster and a pair of mags in a belt pouch. There were extras in the bag. He preferred the 10mm but if you need ammo in a pinch .40 was more likely to be available. A pistol belt went on next, holding a pair of Boling .45 Colt double-action derringers and a Cold Steel kobun. The double-action Bolings were heavy and had six inch barrels but still felt like the kick would break your wrist.

OK, what am I forgetting? Harry said don't worry about it and that means worry.

The bag had everything he might normally need. He thought about for a while.

OK, fuck it. Let's go.

He picked up the bag and went back into the kitchen were Tania and Sarah were sitting at the table talking quietly.

"OK girls, gotta go."

"It's serious, isn't it?" Sarah said.

"It's always serious," Justin replied. "Probably something spooked Harry. The show is so close to being over it's unlikely to be anything really bad."

"I wish I had your confidence. Be careful."

"When am I not?" Justin asked. "Don't answer that. Just keep the panic box close. Andy and his guys can take care of any problems. If there are any you'll probably never know they happened. You probably shouldn't leave the compound though, at least not before you hear from me."

He kissed Tania on the cheek and Sarah lightly on the lips.

This might get complicated. All I need... nah, Sarah has a cool head.

Alright. Got the bag, armed up. It's a two hour drive to where Harry is. Shouldn't be any problems.

Until I get there.

The vehicle he wanted was in the four-car garage and several cars were parked on the overflow pad. One was Tania's Toyota Camry and another was Sarah's vintage Catalina. His Jeep blocked one door and his grey Chrysler minivan was in blocking the fourth.

Hell, might as well take the ghost.

The ghost was the minivan. A 2008 but they looked so much alike most people wouldn't guess the year unless they were near experts. He and most of those he dealt with drove older vehicles - some of them much older. The Grey Ghost was probably the better choice anyway and Harry had said come as you are.

I am are in the Ghost.

The Ghost looked new and was always clean. A minivan looked about as harmless as any vehicle could and a clean undamaged one was about as unsuspicious as anything could. And this ghost had some special features.

The keys were inside the garage. He retrieved them and unlocked the Ghost. Opened the side door and tossed his bag inside and got in.

The house was at the end of a quarter-mile driveway. There was no guard shack but the two small groves on either side concealed a squad of gate guards. He stopped at the gate and lowered the window. Several men emerged, clad in woodland camo. Three carried M4s and the other had only a sidearm. He approached.

"Up early," he said. Harry Deason was a fifty-something retired army, still trim and fit. A custom AMC longslide 10mm was in a hip holster with a Marine Corps bowie on a sheath on the other side. Justin knew there was a least one and probably more concealed blades and most likely a small firearm.

"Yeah. The dragon master called and it seemed urgent. No idea what it is or how long. Take care of the girls."

"Will do. You be safe."

"Not sure if that's still authorized but I'll give it a try."

They both laughed. Harry had only joined a couple of years back but they had almost instantly liked each other. Harry could be easy-going and no-nononsense at the same time and the men liked that.

"I might be gone for a while," Justin said. "Andy and his guys can handle things but be alert in case they need something."

"Will do."

Exiting the driveway onto County Road 396 he activated the Commpad mounted on the dash. It took a few seconds to wake up and waited for the beep as he drive. CR 396 was a decent pea-gravel-and-tar road and better than most since the county judge was a member of the Brass Bull freehold. The freehold supplied the funds and the judge made sure they were used for the projects the freehold wanted. Justin was important to them and they paved the road to his place.

Six miles later he turned onto state 193, a nice asphalt road recently resurfaced. Normally the truck traffic would make it a mess in a couple of years but truck traffic was way down for several years now. The Commpad beeped - a long and three shorts followed by a long-short-long.

Somebody wants me. Probably Harry wanting to know where I am.

DFC-1108? Who's that.

He leaned over to tap the answer button as he slowed and stopped on the shoulder.

"Speak," he said.

"Hey Juss. Just getting connected."

Marti. What's she doing....

"The yellow dot," Marti said. "I'm your guardian angel for a while."

He looked at the Commpad screen. The yellow dot was an aircraft about four thousand feet above him.

"Thanks for letting me know this is not gonna be good," he said. "How about I turn around and go home?"

"Harry needs you ASAP," Marti replied. "Go ahead... I was just letting you know I'm here."

He resumed his trip. Marti was a Dragonfly, flying an A-6. The