B.B.U.S.A. (Buying Back the United States of America) (10 page)

Sam was a heck of nice guy and obviously a very devoted father putting his children’s needs before his own. Sam openly and honestly told him the value placed on the car by the car dealers-only two thousand five hundred-but, Sam knew the high Blue Book value was still at nearly five thousand for that particular make and model, with low miles and the powerful 6 cylinder 1.8 liter engine. Sam felt that the four thousand five hundred listed in the paper was a fair price; besides the money would only cover the tuition for one semester of his daughter’s college.

Leo told Sam that he was very interested in the Mazda, but he had already obligated himself to seeing another vehicle first. He assured Sam that he would not make a decision till seeing Sam’s daughter’s vehicle. Sam gave him his address and assured him that the Mazda was well worth the asking price, and felt that he would be pleasantly surprised and excited when he saw the vehicle in person. Sam relayed that he would be home all afternoon and would be eagerly looking forward to meeting him. Leo told Sam that he would go by the bank prior to coming over to see the car and would have cash in hand should he decide to buy it. Sam said he had the title in his possession and his daughter had already signed it and written out a bill of sale. They agreed to meet at Sam’s house in about two hours.

Leo ended the call and placed his phone and the advertisements back in their respective pockets. He admired Sam’s dedication towards his daughters. He stood up and slowly wandered down the block towards the big Best Western sign. Although it had only been three days since he last saw his family, he still missed Sarah and the boys desperately. Leo could not remember being away from Sarah and the kids for more than a couple of days since he gave up firefighting.

“Wow, look over there,” Traykie said to Chris. “I see Wahooz and Roaring Springs Water Park.”

Both young men loved to fly. Traykie continued to point out different attractions. “Look, there’s Edwards Theaters, and over there is True Paintball Adventure Park! Wow Chris, check out how small Bronco Stadium looks from the air. What a difference, huh? ‘Cause down in the stadium at a football game it is huge!” Chris was still despondent that he hadn’t gotten the window seat and barely nodded at his brother.

Sarah was not as excited about flying as the boys were. She loved the amusement park rides that went round and round, not up and down like roller coasters or airplanes. She hated that jittery feeling you got in your stomach at takeoff and landings. At least the boys were enjoying it. Watching them, she couldn’t help making an appraisal of her sons.

Chris, at age twelve, still had the slim figure of a boy and possessed that boyish charm, with a tremendous smile that always won over the heart of each of his teachers. Chris was lean, genuinely cute, with big blue eyes, deep dimples like his mother, and of course that award winning, yet mischievous smile.

Traykie, the big brother at fifteen, seemed much older. He now looked his dad square in the eyes. At five foot eleven and one hundred sixty pounds of lean muscle he was very athletic and well-built for his age. Sarah had once sold an upscale home to a client in the Boise foot hills who was enamored by his charm, sincere personality, charisma, spirituality, and rugged good looks.

Sarah’s client had convinced her and Leo to allow Traykie to do a photo shoot with her. As it turned out, Sarah’s client had moved to the Treasure Valley to manage the new Grand Central store in Meridian and had a passion for photography. Traykie quickly became one of her favorite male teenage models and he often attended photo shoots for Grand Central’s clothing advertisements on weekends for special sales promotions. The job did not pay a great deal, but provided him with running money, some savings, and the beginnings of a modeling career should he wish to pursue it. Secretly, he loved all of the attention.

Sarah was thankful that Chris did not envy his brother’s modeling job, and was delighted that Traykie spent a fair amount of his earnings on Chris. He took the big brother role to heart, and always stood up for the underdog. Traykie, raised as a Baha’i youth, was exceptional with younger children. Many parents went out of their way to have their children spend time with him and Chris, as they felt Traykie in particular was a good role model and influence.

Although Traykie looked more like an adult now, he was still a child at heart. Since Leo was by most standards overly protective of his family, he was relieved that his eldest son still chose to go paintballing with his family instead of hanging out with friends on a Friday night.

Traykie also had a keen interest in martial arts and quickly became a worthy sparring opponent for Leo. He was quick, had excellent reflexes and an observant eye. Although Leo did not want to give him a big head, he confided to Sarah one night that he wasn’t sure there was much more he could teach him in martial arts. He may have lacked the experience of older fighters but had an innate sense of anticipation, almost knowing what was going to happen prior to an opponent making a move. Leo knew that he had inherited a part of Sarah’s gift, although it had manifested itself somewhat differently.

Sarah and Leo had first witnessed his gift when he was about ten months old. He had been playing with a plastic toy ambulance he had received the previous Christmas. Since the toy was a bit premature for Traykie’s young age, they never bothered to put batteries in it.

One Sunday afternoon when Joyce was visiting and Traykie was laying on the carpet in the living room, Leo stopped in mid-sentence when he heard siren sounds coming from the living room. He went to investigate. Traykie was playing with his toy ambulance and giggling. Leo noticed the emergency lights lighting up and continued to hear the toy siren. Intrigued, he flipped the toy over and noticed it had a small on/off switch that was turned on. Leo asked Sarah if she had put batteries in it but she said she hadn’t. As a matter of fact, she thought Leo must have done so, as it had been going off earlier in the day when Traykie played with it as well.

Leo lay down on the floor next to his son and played with him for a while, but noticed each time he picked up the ambulance and pressed the buttons, nothing happened. When he handed the toy back to his son it would again light up and the sirens would go off. Traykie now had the full attention of his mother, father, and grandmother. Leo decided to check the batteries and try to determine if it needed new ones. Leo was surprised when he realized that in order to open the battery compartment it required a small Phillips screwdriver. He jumped up and went to the Chinese hutch where he kept batteries and a couple of screwdrivers and quickly retrieved the right tool for the job. He returned and sat down on the floor next to his son and proceeded to unscrew the four tiny screws.

To everyone’s amazement, the battery compartment was completely devoid of any batteries. The three adults sat for a few seconds in utter shock and dismay. Leo finally put four double-A batteries in the compartment, replaced the screws and pushed the buttons. Just like before when his son had been playing with it, the lights came on and the siren went off.

Later, Traykie had made his grandmother very uncomfortable when he changed the TV channels with the wave of a hand, and his gift was neither developed nor encouraged. Besides Traykie mentioning moments of deja-vu, and once turning on a light from another room, that was the last known major manifestation of his gift.

Chris didn’t share this gift, but he was as smart as a whip. He was the one to analyze every statement, in so doing often driving his mother half crazy. He was the one that always wanted to know; why, or what if, how come, and why not? He teetered on wanting to be a Doctor, Lawyer, or Genetic Engineer. He started wearing dress clothes with polished shoes and ties at age eight. He would not be caught dead in an old pair of jeans. Levi’s, he assumed, were for the blue collar workers.

Sarah, involuntarily jumped when the seat belt light came back on, and the Captain announced the current weather conditions for Austin as well as the expected arrival time. Chris, awakened by his mother’s lunge, rubbed his eyes and asked to trade seats with his brother so he could look out the window. Traykie obliged his younger brother and then tried to distract his mother in conversation, knowing how uneasy she felt at takeoff and landings.

Sarah’s father, Alex, met them at the Austin Airport. He was excited to see his daughter and grandsons. It had been almost a year since he had last seen Sarah, and nearly two years since seeing the boys. Grandpa and his grandsons immediately started their usual horseplay, but this time grandpa seemed to have more of a disadvantage despite his taller size. Traykie had certainly grown up since Alex last saw him, but that alone should not have made the difference Sarah noticed. She finally intervened at the baggage claim and gave each boy, including her father, a suit case to manage. She feared that Traykie in particular would not hold back enough and accidently hurt her father, as he was used to sparring with Leo. Alex was a tall man at six foot three but fairly slender and seemed slightly off balance when the boys would grab him or push him. Although he was in his sixties, Sarah sensed something wasn’t quite right.

Austin was hot as usual. After finding Alex’s vehicle in the crowded parking lot, they headed home. The air conditioned vehicle felt good to Sarah, even though she was somewhat accustomed to the humid heat, having grown up there. Idaho’s dry heat felt far better than the wet sticky heat. She preferred heat over cold, and remembered wearing her snow suit frequently for the first winter in Boise. Friends had kidded her about wearing it continuously.

The city had grown substantially since she resided there in the early eighties. The city was so large and spread out now that familiar landmarks were few and far between. Alex’s house at least, was still familiar. His house and neighborhood had not changed much over the last two decades.

Alex turned to his grandsons and said, “You two unpack the vehicle, and then go change into your swim suits, for the pool is calling your names.” and added, “I had it professionally cleaned as soon as I heard you guys were coming my way.”

Chris and Traykie thought their grandpa was still pretty cool and hurried to unload the car.

Sarah visited with her father over a late lunch on the shaded patio overlooking the swimming pool. After catching up on family and local gossip, Alex took Sarah’s hand in his. “So, honey, what’s really going on? Are things not working out between you and Leo?”

“No, Dad! Everything is just fine with us. It’s hard to explain what’s really going on, and I’m not sure you would believe me if I told you.”

“Well Dear, I have as much time as it will take. By the way, I arranged for a couple of days off work. Since it is my own business it isn’t that hard to get time off, but I did have to convince my manager to cover for me.” He laughed. “Of course I always think the place will go to hell in a hand basket when I’m not there, but somehow they survive without me.”

“I know what you mean Dad. We’re lucky to have such a capable office manager too. Our only problem is that the last two times we left, our profits rose 5% while we were gone. Our replacement is apparently more efficient than we are.”

“You better watch out, Sarah; next she’ll want your business for herself.”

“Well Dad, that’s not all bad. Perhaps we will end up selling it to her someday anyway. At least we know she will be able to make a go of things.”

“Okay Dear, you have kept me in suspense long enough. What’s really up?” Alex asked with sincere concern.

“Dad, in a nutshell, we became involved with an agency that was sponsored by our government, or so it was presented anyway, and now we believe this agency was responsible for the murder of Tim, one of our close friends, and our former business partner. He was the one that introduced us to the agency in the first place. The day before he was murdered, he called Leo up and said that the agency had turned to strong-arming and murder, and he had proof of it. He claimed he had copies of data that would ‘knock our socks off’. He said he traced the trail all the way to the top. He claimed that he was afraid for his life and called to apologize to us for ever getting us involved with the B.B.U.S.A. Organization.”

Sarah glanced over her shoulder at the splashing sounds coming from the pool, and when she realized her sons were just fine she continued with her story. “He was asking Leo for forgiveness and trying to make it right by sending us a flash drive with all the proof on it. He said that he was afraid that his phone lines might be bugged, so he did not dare tell us what the encrypted password was to access the information on the flash drive, but said the password was very long and would only make sense to Leo and me. He said that the flash drive would be our only hope if something happened to him and they came after us as well. I’m still not completely convinced myself, but almost fear that the flash drive itself may have been the reason for Tim’s death. Tim said that he was mailing copies of the encrypted flash drive to the media as well, in order to protect himself from the B.B.U.S.A. Tim told Leo he would send him a second flash drive the next day with a hint to us about the encrypted password, but of course, it never arrived, as Tim died that night.”

Alex looked very concerned. He glanced over to the pool to ensure his grandsons were okay, then looked back at his daughter. “Where is Leo now?”

“He decided it would be best to distract the agency and draw them away from us so that we could escape unnoticed. He was supposed to meet with the leader last night in a public restaurant and see if they could work things out. Leo wanted to sell the properties that we bought in conjunction with the B.B.U.S.A. back to the agency with a considerable discount, and sign any affidavit necessary to insure our secrecy and simply sever all ties. We even discussed selling our real estate office to our manager Natasha, and moving elsewhere to ensure our safety.”