Depression by cmsix

Chapter 27

"What about it Big Boy, do you know anything about any of this?" I thought.

"Yes, and it seems that Ethel was closer to the mark than you might think. The banker intended to pay them twenty thousand to forget about the entire deal and he had a straw man set to buy the property from the bank. He and that individual would have then sold the land," he said.

"In other words, he was getting ready to wind up in jail?"

"Probably, and the additional illegal dealings would have probably been a death knell for the bank."

"I have a hard time believing he was so stupid," I said.

"He seems to have acquired some of those attitudes from the last president. Many people from the northern states of your country have little respect for those that live in the southern states," Big Boy said.

"Ain't that a fact?"

"Yes, it is. Of course he had no way to know that we wouldn't allow something like that to go unnoticed. What do you have in mind regarding the timber?" he asked.

"I'm wondering if you could provide a few trees to sell. Would that be a bother?" I asked.

"Not in the slightest. We wouldn't even need to make the house take "a trip" as you sometimes call it," he said.

"If I left the trucks and trailers parked outside could you just have them loaded when morning came around?" I asked.

"Of course, and that would probably be easiest, though we are not sure which trees would be best for you," he said.

"Can't you just look around in my head and find out?" I asked.

"If you allow it we can," he said.

That was reassuring. I had no doubt that They could do it whether I allowed it or not. What the hell, if they kept up this attitude I might eventually trust them.

"Go ahead, have someone take a look and get the information they need," I said.

"Very well. It's done, and I assure you that is all they explored. I have also forbidden any other access without your explicit approval," he said.

"That is even better. I don't want to be unreasonable, but I don't want to be manipulated unreasonably," I said.

"There has been what you might call a "change in management" on our end. I have responsibility for this project now, and I have made a few changes. Actually, I have removed a few changes that had been made," Big Boy said.

"Oh," I said, not elaborating but hoping he'd get the hint and do a little of that on his own.

"In my opinion the "fog" as you sometimes call it was being over used. You may notice that others no longer get along so smoothly as they did before," he said.

"I believe I might already have seen some of that," I said.

"I'm sure you have," he said, and then I could almost feel him leaving.

With my company gone, I lay down and took a nap.

The front door opening woke me. Well the one coming through it first woke me. Tutsie jumped right up onto my chest and barked, wagging his tail and looking for all the world like he was laughing about it. Meka was right behind him.

"Daddy tired?" she asked.

"No, not a bit. I was just resting my eyes," I said.

"Eyes tired?" she asked.

"No, not really. Daddy is just lazy and he was having a nap," I said, being honest finally.

"Good, get up lazy Daddy. Come show Ethel," Meka said, grinning.

"Show Ethel what?" I asked.

"Show me everything you were bragging about at dinner time," Ethel said.

I noticed that they were all inside and I wondered how long they'd been watching me sleep before Tutsie woke me.

Getting to my feet, I led the way to my bedroom first. As soon as we walked in I wished I hadn't but it was too late.

It hadn't dawned on me how this would look or what someone might think of it. In fact I was afraid that Ethel and Wanda might get the right idea.

"Well, I can see that someone has made our friends happy. Looks to me like that bed is just about big enough for all of you, with plenty of room left over for fun and games," Ethel said, trying to sound stern but grinning in spite of herself.

Even more interesting was Wanda. She had a little grin too, but a blush was also climbing up from her breasts. I had an inkling that she was not at all shocked by what she was seeing.

"I like it this way. This big room looks a lot better than the two separate rooms did and it will be handier," Ethel said, getting just a hint of flush herself.

"They didn't do anything to the bed that was here, I'm pretty sure it's down in the storage now. They did tell me this one was a handmade antique too," I said, trying to get everyone's mind off the facts of life.

"Wonder how they do that? Maybe I don't want to know though. The bed looks perfect, just like the other one did, just wider," Wanda said.

"See Meka flusher now," Meka said then, making me want to kiss her, and buy her another whistle or two to boot.

We trudged to her bathroom where she gave us several demonstrations of how well her new potty flushed. I was impressed, but it didn't take us long to look at a bathroom.

Out to the pool was next, with Meka and Tutsie leading the way. About half way to the water I saw evidence of the shopping trip. Meka had been shedding clothes as we went and finally she was down to her brand new thong. She broke into a run then and headed right for the diving tree.

"This is beautiful," Ethel said.

"It is a first class job," I said.

"Where did Meka go, it looked like she just disappeared at the tree?" Wanda asked.

"They did a bang up job on the diving board too. The tree is hollow inside and has a spiral staircase up to the diving limb," I said, proud of it even though I hadn't known about it before it got here.

Just then Meka came running out onto the limb and gave us an excellent cannonball. Ethel laughed and when we got to the tree they all took a look inside.

The beach was next and when we got there Meka was treading water out about twenty feet from it. Tutsie couldn't stand it and he took off for her, doing his dogpaddle til he was right there with her.

"Isn't the water too cold for her?" Ethel asked, switching to mother hen mode.

"Nope, it's all heated and perfect for swimming. In case you were wondering, no creatures can live in the water either. It looks like a normal small lake, but really it's cleaner than a pool," I said.

"I can hardly believe it, it's so perfect. I think we should have a party tomorrow afternoon. A swimming party, with plenty of food too," Ethel said.

"The swimming sounds like fun but the food sounds even better. One thing I forgot to ask for was some picnic tables though," I said.

"We've got some up at the house, I'll have 'em brought down. In fact, Wanda and I need to get on back to the house. Some people up there need to be reminded of exactly how the cow eats the cabbage," Ethel said, and Wanda laughed.

"Maybe we should just see about fixing our own supper down here tonight," I said, trying not to make a big thing of it.

"You know, that may not be a bad idea. We always love for you to eat with us, but it might not be so pleasant tonight," Ethel said.

With everything settled, Ethel pulled out her cell phone and called Jake. He came for she and Wanda in a Silverado. I thought that Jaycee would make an excellent cook tonight so I parked the limo and let her deal with the wet naked Meka and the three French Floozies. She seemed happy to do it.

Jaycee did a whale of a job too. We had brisket sandwiches and "Ranch Style Beans" and it was great. Meka had been right about the girls and Cokes too. They all wanted a Coke with their supper; they couldn't get over how much they liked them.

I was wondering if bedtime would ever get here. The girls seemed more lively with just our little family group and the silky looking gym shorts and tank tops that Ethel had brought them home in were making me nervous, especially one centrally located part of me. It was practically trembling.

Wouldn't you know it? We'd all helped cleaning up after supper and the dishes had just been put in the washer when thunder rumbled. I could have passed it off as a normal afternoon or early evening storm, but it wasn't and I knew it.

"Come Daddy, Tutsie need walk," Meka said, and I could tell she knew we wouldn't be getting up in the middle of the night to relieve him.

Meka and I headed out the front door and I left Jaycee to try to explain to the girls.

As if even he knew that there'd be no late night walk, Tutsie made up for it by taking his time now. He sniffed plenty and did some extended showboating after he finished his business.

Back in the house, the mood was a little somber for our new arrivals. Finally Cécile spit it out.

"We're sorry if we've offended you. Please don't take us back to the Indians," she said, lower lip trembling.

"This has nothing to do with that, Cécile. Your company has been delightful and we wouldn't let you get away now if you wanted to. I didn't know about this trip any more than you did, and I have no idea what it is for. We'll all find out at the same time, tomorrow morning when we wake," I said.

It must have been a relief for the three of them, since they rushed me, all of them trying to hug me and kiss me at once. It's nice to know you're appreciated.

Even though I knew nothing was going to have time to happen in bed, it was also nice to see the naked group that joined me. Thankfully, Meka at least kept her new thong on.

None of the others had a stitch on though, and they made sure to give me several friendly pats and kisses as we settled under the covers. For a few minutes I almost forgot what was about to happen. I was reminded as soon as I was asleep.

"I apologize for this unexpected event, John. We are not sure how you will decide but if you don't want to do anything that is your choice," Big Boy's distinctive tone thought.

"I live to serve. Is Jahedo in more trouble?" I asked.

"No. This concerns Cécile's mother. The Catholic church of her time has decided that Alphonse will not be returning. Actually they merely hope he will not be returning. They intend to confiscate all his wealth. So that there will be no embarrassing loose ends, they are going to put Cécile's mother to the extreme question, beginning tomorrow night."

If anyone should have known I should have. When there is money to be had you can always depend on some type of religion to make a grab for it. So, it was the Inquisition for Cécile's mother was it. Not on my fucking watch.

"I assume that you think I can do something to stop it."

"We are sure you can if you decide to. We will be able to put your house within three miles of the facility where Fawne is being held," he said.

"That will be good. I believe Jaycee and I can take it from there," I said, and then I was back to normal sleep.

Unusually, I was the first one awake the next morning. I had already bled my lizard and come back into the bedroom to dress before the others started stirring.

"We're in France," I said, without preamble.

"Cécile's mother is scheduled for a date with the Inquisition tonight," I said.

Cécile burst into tears and I knew she was getting ready to really wail.

"Cécile, don't worry. We are here to take her back with us," I said.

She looked at me like she couldn't believe it and she probably couldn't. Jaycee didn't give her time to get going again though.

"All right girls. Out of bed and into the bathroom. No doubt our man is hungry and we need to wash up a little before we start breakfast," she said, and she was obeyed.

Meka and I were left to take care of Tutsie. We dressed quickly, just enough to go outside for a few minutes, and then we did it. As always I grabbed the Marlin on the way out the door.

The first thing I noticed about France was that it wasn't impressive. Not the part we'd come down in anyway. We were in a little valley, if you could call those things around us hills, and everything was very peaceful. If there'd been some yellow pines I could have convinced myself we were still in East Texas.

Tutsie must not have though things were so peaceful. At any rate he didn't tarry, he did his thing and headed back for the door. Meka gave me a look and then we followed.

Wonder of wonders, the girls were all dressed and breakfast was cooking when we got back inside. Meka, Tutsie, and I sat at the table and there was coffee for Meka and I. Tutsie didn't like coffee anyway, and besides, his high stool wasn't down here. He was having to make do in Meka's lap.

After we'd eaten I took a stab at getting things set up. The truth of the matter was I didn't know shit about France. I didn't know where Cécile's mother was being held and I didn't know how many people we'd have to deal with to get her out.

I wasn't completely ignorant about the Inquisition at least. Well, I was mostly ignorant about it, but I had the notion that it was run by a bunch of assholes, at best. I didn't think our chances of talking her out of their hands were good.

What I did know was there wasn't a way in hell anyone in this day and age could stand off Jaycee and I in armed combat. Even if they were in a fortress, one of the mortars would open a door for us, fast. I hoped it wouldn't come to that though.

Deciding that everyone would stay in the house except Jaycee, Cécile, and me, I was surprised when I didn't get any arguments. Apparently Delphine and Adèle had no desire to go home.

Delphine had a good reason for not wanting to. If the Church intended to kill Fawne to get Alphonse's wealth they wouldn't hesitate to do the same for Delphine later. Adèle told me quickly that there was nothing here for her, so that was that.

Meka acted like she wanted to give me some grief but then settled down and agreed to stay.

"Are we going in the Hum-V?" Jaycee asked.

"Yes, we'll have to. We can t be fooling around on horseback. I know it will get us some attention we don't really need, but it can't be helped. I just wish we had a Bradley," I said.

"You and me both," Jaycee said.

Our first problem was that we didn't know where we were. Big Boy had said they'd put us down close, but that didn't mean I knew where we were. Cécile said she could show us the way if she could see something she knew.

"I will recognize something, surely," she said.

What the hell, it wasn't like we had many options.

Jaycee, Cécile, and I went to the armory. We found fatigues for Cécile and we all took a vest. Jaycee and I put two Glocks each on our web belts and we both got a 270. At least we had plenty of ammunition. I though about packing a mortar but decided against it. We didn't have time for a siege.

I also thought about trying to quickly teach Cécile how to use a Glock, but crossed that off my list almost at once. Chances were that she'd end up shooting one of us, or herself.

I felt like asking Big Boy for some help but decided against it. They'd already provided what should be more than enough to handle the job. I had to be worth something to earn my lifestyle.

We were in the Hummer, armed and dangerous, and ready to go before seven AM. I warned Meka, Delphine, and Adèle not to open the doors for anyone. If we got back in good shape we could let ourselves in. If we didn't, I assumed the house would go back without us.

"But Daddy. Tutsie need walk maybe," Meka said.

"He'll have to do it on the floor if he gets in bad shape. We can clean it up later," I said, and we left.

The worst dirt road I'd ever been on before beat hell out of the cart path we found when we left our little valley. It was rough as hell and not intended for a vehicle as wide as the Hum-V. No matter, the Hum-V was designed for travel over roads if you had them or over whatever else you could make do with.

Cécile knew where we were witching two minutes. She told us the name of the nearest village and also the name of the monastery, nunnery, dungeon, or whatever it was. It was supposed to have been some type of care facility but apparently it wasn't all she'd been led to believe.

It dammed sure didn't look like a hospital to me, it looked like a fortress. At least it didn't have a damned moat.

It did have an entrance with a sort of gate and a guard watching over things. Since all he had was a sword I wasn't too worried.

The gate wasn't really a gate. It was a small stripped log lying horizontally and held up by post on either end. To let horses and wagons pass, the bar had to be raised on one end, teeter-totter style. Foot traffic went through past the end.

We caused quite a commotion when we arrived, but at least it was still early and only one guard and no other people were around. I let Cécile do the talking but even before she translated for me I could tell I wasn't going to like what the guard had to say.

"He says we must wait here for one of the Fathers to approve our entry. He said someone would be out in a few hours," she said.

"Good thing he's wrong, about us waiting," I said.

I put the Hum-V in gear and pushed the gate down on the way through. The guard cam running behind us, but even on the rough ground his fat ass couldn't keep up.

I liked breaking in so much that I did it again when we came to the big entrance doors. Why not? They were wide enough and I didn't blast through them. I eased the bumper against them and gently ran them down.

It surprised me that no one rushed up from inside to see what was happening. There was a long hallway and doors leading off it in several places but I didn't even see anyone peeking around them. Hell, there was room so I kept driving.

We didn't have to go more than fifty feet before a woman in what even I could tell was a Nun suit stepped out into our way. I guess it was time to get out and talk things over some more.

After we were out and just as we were about to approach the woman in our path, the fat guard caught up to us. He was out of breath and panting but he had his sword out and was waving it around. I shot him in the chest with the Glock and he quit the swordplay. In fact I think he quit everything.

I could tell the difference in the Nun's attitude right away. She didn't look so peaceful and caring as you might think. She looked scared shitless to put it gently.

"Cécile, tell the lady that we want to see someone about getting Fawne our of here, quickly. If I lose my patience I will start shooting people even if they don't wave a sword at me," I said.

Cécile started in on the message and damned if two other guard looking guys didn't come running in the door that we'd left open, or destroyed I guess. It was easy to see that they had been pressed into service without a good briefing, because they didn't even have all their clothes on yet. Mostly just pants and boots and what looked like undershirts. They did have their swords though and I could just tell they intended to start waving them any second.

I was about to suggest to Cécile that she tell the woman to have them stop, but the Nun beat me to it and started yelling something to the men. I knew in my heart she wasn't telling them to stop.

It was a moot point though and really a damned shame what can happen when people rush into things without enough information. Jaycee gave both of them a three round burst and it made them loose interest in whatever the Nun had been yelling.

"Tell her that she will be the next person I shoot," I said, to Cécile.

She did it and the Nun said something back to her. I didn't like the sound of it at all.

"What's she say," I asked Cécile.

"She said that you do not frighten her. She is saved by her Lord and there is a place in heaven waiting for her," Cécile said.

I pointed the Glock at the Nun's face.

"Ask her which eye she'd prefer to be shot in?" I said.

I guess the woman wasn't so sure about her salvation as she'd led us to believe. She fainted when Cécile ask her that.

It was another fine mess I'd gotten us into I guess. We didn't have anyone else to ask questions. I walked up to the closest door and knocked. No answer, but I didn't really expect one.

I gave the door a good kick and whatever had been holding it closed gave up right away. No luck though. The room looked like an office of some type, but it was empty. I went to the next one.

It was empty too, but I could see I was making progress. This office had much nicer furnishing and I figured I was headed in the right direction.

I might have been headed the right way, but the trip took longer than I expected. I had to kick in eight doors before I found someone. I was afraid poor Cécile was going to be worn out before we were done. She'd been dragging the unconscious Nun with us as we went. I didn't want to leave her to get into mischief and Jaycee and I needed to keep our hands free.

I knew that we'd done some good this time though. There was an older man, probably in his early forties, sitting behind a desk. When I kicked in the door he jumped up and started yelling something I didn't understand. I could tell he was angry. I shot him too, but only in the arm.

When Cécile dragged the Nun to the door I had her ask the guy where her mother was and tell him we wanted her, quickly.

I'll give it to the guy; he sucked it up and held it good. He told Cécile that we were not to interfere with the Church's business and that she couldn't even see her mother, much less take her.

"Ask him if he's ready to meet his maker," I told Cécile.

She asked him while I pointed the Glock at his face. Apparently he wasn't sure either. I knew he was hemming and hawing, stalling for time. When you have the advantage of complete surprise there is no sense in wasting it and giving the enemy time to think of stunts to pull. I was tired of this game already and I took a two handed hold and tried to take off part of his ear.

I took off a little more than I'd intended to, but nothing really serious. It did bleed a lot though and for a priest, the guy could really wail.

He was lying on the floor now, sobbing. I walked over to him and put the nose of the Glock against his fine French nose.

"Ask him if he's changed his mind about you seeing your mother," I told Cécile.

Lo and behold, he had.

With my size ten combat boot I urged the gentleman to stand up, cuffing his hands behind him when he did. The Nun had come around during the wait and Jaycee cuffed her too.

I frog marched the priest out the door and had Cécile warn him that my patience was wearing thin. I'm pretty sure that he was in a more helpful mood by now.

It didn't take us that long to find Fawne, but she was a pitiful sight when we did. She was tied to her bed, nearly naked and there were bruises all over her. She also looked like she hadn't eaten in days, and when I got her cut loose all she could ask for was water.

Even in this sad shape I could see that Fawne was a beautiful woman. I didn't want to stare at her exposed goodies, but the glimpse I got before I averted my eyes let me know that she was something else. I just thought I'd been mad earlier.

Cécile was helping her mother into what she had in the way of clothes. It wasn't much but she couldn't leave with those titties uncovered. Jaycee and I were watching the priest bleed and the Nun cry. Funny, neither one of them were praying for deliverance. Maybe they already knew their prayers wouldn't be well received.

We were almost ready to leave when what must have been the head man in charge came down the hall with six guards and three sorta rough looking Nuns. Petite wasn't a word you could apply to them.

These guards might have ended up being trouble, they were carrying muskets. I solved the problem by shooting the priest. It was a gut shot, on purpose. He went down hard and I'd just thought the first one I'd shot could cry.

With the guards distracted Jaycee and I took them out. She used three shot burst again but I knew I wasn't good enough for that. I nailed them with one each. We didn't hit any of the Nuns, not even close.

They were down on their knees trying to help the old guy, but I knew it was pointless. It's hard as hell in modern times to save someone that's gutshot. The old guy wasn't going to make it. I walked to them and finished him with one from the Glock to his forehead.

The Nuns were shocked again, but afraid to move. More important than that, they were afraid to talk. Jaycee and I stood over them until Cécile came out with Fawne and our other friends.

"Cécile, tell them if they don't bring every prisoner out to the front door I'm going to kill every Priest, Nun, and guard here. After that I'll let the prisoners go myself and then burn the whole place to the ground," I said.

They believed it even though I'd been lying. I didn't think I had time for all of that crap. It turns out that it was probably wasted effort too.

Fawne was the only female they had. I'm sure at least half of the men, the other prisoners, were not guilty of anything worth mentioning, but I hadn't done all this to save them. I don't guess it would hurt anything though.

When they were out front I had Cécile tell the men that if they wanted to take a few keepsakes to help defray the expense of their stay they had ten minutes to find them. After that, I'd let them get a half-hour head start; then I was leaving.

Jaycee and I kept an eye on things and Cécile and her mother whispered to each other, mostly Cécile trying to be reassuring, I thought.

"He raped mother. He claims to be a man of God but he raped mother," Cécile said, after a few minutes.

"That one?" I asked, pointing to the one-eared priest with my 270.

"Yes. The older one did the beatings but that one raped her, more than once?" Cécile said.

"Well, we can't fix it, but we can make sure he doesn't do it again. If Jaycee will help me that is," I said.

"We've got time, and I'm getting a little bored just standing here," Jaycee said.

I let her hold the priest while I did the honors, and I didn't go right to the part you're probably expecting. First I took my belt knife and cleaned off what was left of the ear I shot. It was easy, so I fixed the other one to match it.

I might have gotten carried away on the castrating part though. Oh, I remembered to pull a nylon tie tight around his scrotum to keep him from bleeding to death, but I made a mistake and got his dick in the loop too. As long as it was all tied off nice and neat I cut most of his dick off while I was at it. Fawne didn't want it for a souvenir so I let him hold it in his mouth so it wouldn't get dirty. Luckily there was a hungry looking stray dog nosing around so I had some place to get rid of his balls.