PARADOX - Chapter 4

April 24, 2012 – New Jersey, USA





“Ain’t gonna happen!” Barbara threw her hands up and shook them like a bird doing a weird exotic mating dance. “You haven’t worked with Captain Stiehl in eleven years, and now he wants you to follow him half way across the damn world? Ain’t gonna happen!”

Chester took a sip from the bourbon and water and looked at her casually over the rim of the glass. His wife Barbara always threw a flying fit about things until she remembered that he didn’t really give a damn about her tirades. Once he had made up his mind to do something, by God he did it.

“Point one, it’s a Team thing and point two, it’s Stiehl.” Chester casually took a sip of his drink.

Barbara knew she couldn’t deal with the ‘Team’ thing. The Team always stuck together in thick and thin while on active duty, and now that most of them were retired, they still stuck together like glue. If any member of the Team needed something, the others busted their butts to help. As for Stiehl, she knew that Chester would lay down his life for the man, just as Monday had almost done for him on several missions. But she had to get her swing in, otherwise it was un-American.

“You’re retired Chester,” she shot back. “You stopped humping the boonies a year ago.” She couldn’t say he was out of shape because twenty years of rigorous physical workouts was hard to give up and he kept himself in great shape.”

“We could use the money. According to Monday there could be a considerable amount of money involved, like in triple digit figures.”

“Light Bird retirement pay is pretty good,” Barbara mused. “And if you go off and get your ass blown away we won’t even have that.”

Chester looked at her with a certain look that she had become very accustomed to over the years.

“Yeah,” she blurted, fixing herself a surrender drink. “It’s a ‘Team’ thing.”

She walked over and removed his cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open. “Who’s first?” “Weps or the Geek?”

“Make it Bones.” Chester pulled her down into his lap. “In about a half an hour or so.”