Commandeered (Mercury Black Authority Book 2) Page 2

  Over the past two years all of these funds were converted to legal investments through Lynn’s efforts which turned Adam into a legitimate investor. Adam had met Terri here. She was now the love of his life also the primary reason for his going straight. He changed his name from Noah Body to Adam Furst for his legal activities. He had used the names Rich Buck, Tom Baker, and Noah Body in the past. Now that he was settling down he would use the name Adam Furst.

  “I think that I would like to see Lynn set up a fund for our employees out of that money. Leave a million in the operating fund and put a million in a benefit fund.”

  “Do what?” Susan was caught off guard by Adam’s suggestion. Every person working at the Inn was handpicked by Susan, and she had a personal bond with all of them. The idea was always in the back of her mind but she dared not even suggest it to Adam. Now out of the blue he put the issue on the table without even discussing it. With the greatest of efforts Susan managed to keep a bland expression on her face remaining totally British. The loyalty between the people at the Inn was fierce due to the fact that this was an adoptive family more than a place of employment. Susan cleared her throat and blandly said, “Why would you do that?”

  “We are more like family than coworkers. Lynn has done very well by me and you all know where the money came from. I would like to take care of my family.”

  “Lynn what do you think? Do you want to tackle a fund like this?” Susan always made it a point to ask first. Nobody ever turned her down besides she knew that Lynn was already mentally making plans in her head for the task as soon as Adam opened his mouth.

  “I can do a fund without much of a problem. By leaving a million in the operating fund the move will not hurt the Inn.” Susan called for a vote from the board which was unanimously in favor of the issue.

  “I will make the necessary financial transfers,” Lynn said. “After completing the necessary moves I will poll everybody to see what kind of benefits will do the most good? I am sure that with small outlays at first we could make the fund self-sustaining. Let’s call everybody in and brief them on our discussions.”

  The board called the kitchen and ordered morning tea for the staff allowing about twenty minutes for the staff to assemble. Mark, Brent, Tom and Ryan found a table with Frank and Suki. The four men served in the SAS with Frank. He had brought them in for extra security a few years back and they never left. Susan and Lynn both loved the ‘old men’ as they affectionately called them and let them use the cottages on the equestrian property as part of their salary. With their military pensions the ‘old men’s’ situation was quite comfortable and the gun club in the sub-basement of the garage was perfect for them to play in. Martin, the horse master found a table with Beth and Arleen. Beth was a master seamstress and set up a shop next to the service building. Arleen specialized in lingerie and shared the shop with Beth with both women sharing an apartment over the shop. John supervised the monitor room and had a comfortable apartment in the service building with Suki supplying him with an amazing array of electronic gadgets keeping him extremely happy. Alan had been the chef for a general and was also retired military. He also maintained an apartment in the service building loving the fact that Susan put no restrictions on him and he was constantly working on his culinary skill. Susan put no limits on the equipment that he could buy for the kitchen and the news that he could set up a second kitchen set him to planning right away. Martin the horse master was formerly with the Queens mounted guard and Susan let him keep his personal horses in the stable. Susan was in the planning stages for building a larger thirty horse stable to accommodate the horses of the customers giving Martin a free hand with the design. Susan also used the living quarters as part of the security by having qualified security people living on the grounds. The rest of the staff was retired military and occasionally filled in the roster as required. With the exception of Suki, none of the full service help were living there. Susan started out the meeting.

  “We do have an important piece of news it seems that the board has decided to set up an employee benefit fund. We will need your ideas to see how it will be used. Adam and Lynn will accept your ideas, and we will work from there.” Everybody’s head turned in the direction of Adam and Lynn as Susan walked off holding back her laughter. “Enjoy your tea.” Adam knew he had been set up. He was instantly surrounded. Adam held up his arms to slow the onslaught of enthusiastic people stampeding toward him and Lynn.

  “I know that everybody needs something. Take a little time to figure out your needs and we will take everybody’s needs under consideration during the next few days. In the meantime if there are any emergencies please let us know.” Adam was confident that there were no emergencies because Lynn was taking care of them unofficially. She had a big heart and never let anybody suffer due to lack of assistance. Adam stood up and left while Lynn calmly talked to the one person that approached the table. Lynn knew that Adam was not good at these things, but he did provide the money for the fund which was now official and that was enough. Susan was the drive behind the Inn but Lynn was the heart. Adam grabbed Terri by the arm and beat a hasty retreat out of the service center toward the knoll. Terri circled her arm around his as they walked up the hill.

  “I have an appointment in town. I will be back by one for Ryan’s class in the gym. I am proud of you, but I wish you would discuss these things with me before you announce them.”

  “Terri, you know how I act in the moment. Was that something you would have objected to?”

  “No, you know how I feel about everyone here. I just wish you would have a least whispered something in my ear.” He stopped and leaned close.

  “I am sorry my dear. I love you.” He said whispering in her ear and kissing her softly.

  Terri was back from the doctor’s office by half of twelve. She brought back several orders of fish and chips from the shop which Adam favored. Terri then called Frank and Suki to come up for lunch and followed with a call to Susan and Lynn with the same invitation. Terri was putting out lunch as Susan burst in the room.

  “What is the emergency?”

  “I am pregnant,” Terri said in a matter of fact way without any prelude. The four ladies started jumping up and down and screaming. They collected in a group away from Frank and Adam taking turns hugging Terri offering their sincere congratulations in excited bursts.

  “I didn’t know you had it in you.” Frank shook Adam hand.

  “I must have gotten it out,” he laughed. Adam pulled Terri to him. “You could have whispered in my ear,” as he started laughing. Lunch was a round of hearty congratulations with a promise of a celebration later in the evening after the classes. After everybody left Adam and Terri alone, she sat on his lap and used her best little girl voice to ask.

  “Are you really happy?” Terri wanted to be sure that he was ok with her news. Adam picked her up and swung her around kissing her passionately.

  “It is the best news that I’ve heard since you said you would marry me.” He picked her up and started walking out of the kitchen.

  “Where are we going?”

  Adam kicked the bedroom door open. “We’re going to recreate the moment.”

  Adam and Terri were in the gym waiting for the others. Ryan’s class was one of Terri’s favorites. When Ryan retired from the SAS, he was a close combat instructor and Brent was also a close combat instructor with the SAS before he retired. Mark, Frank, Tom, Ryan, and Brent formed a group that was affectionately known as the ‘Old Men’. Terri was determined to be able to stand on her own being adamant not to be rescued by Adam again. Believing in fitness and awareness Ryan did not set up an easy program. Terri pushed as hard as she could in each class not asking for any slack or giving any. She liked to partner up with Suki who would cut Terri no slack what so ever. Suki always went full out and was not above a surprise attack to keep Terri sharp. Ryan started with some moderate exercise and reviewed some basic moves as a form of warm up. He paired the class up and took Terri for h
is partner to maintain control of her activities. On the first throw Ryan started, but then pulled back deliberately expressing his concern for Terri’s condition. “There will be no full contact for pregnant women.”

  Suki let a quiet laugh escape and Terri went after Suki chasing her twice around Frank and once around Adam. Adam stuck out his arm circling her from behind. Ryan walked up to her and laid down the rules.

  “We need to be clear on this point. There will be no full contact for pregnant women.”

  “Are you sure you’re glad that you are pregnant?” Adam whispered in her ear. She looked over her shoulder kicking down on his arch and with a quick move Terri flipped him over her shoulder sitting down on his chest.

  “Yes, I am glad. If I can’t do full contact how am I going to burn off all of this energy.” Adam knew that she was pregnant and wouldn’t throw her. Terri was unhappy for the rest of the workout. Every time that she got close to working up a sweat somebody would spoil it by holding back.

  When Ryan finished his class Tom took over. Tom was a weapons instructor when he retired and reviewed the new equipment as it entered the market place. After the gym was cleaned up Tom moved everybody to the windows that overlooked the Inn opening up one of the window boxes. Inside were three long ungainly looking rifles, just under fifty four inches long.

  “These are Dragunov Rifles and they shoot 7.62 Russian loads. The reason that I picked these is that they have softer recoil. They are longer but they are easier to hold on the target with repeat firing. That way you can fire several rounds in succession and stay on the target.” Tom opened the other window box and produced three more Dragunov rifles. Some of you will have to double up. Tom went through the break down and maintenance of the rifles. Brent and Mark went down to clear the range and work the targets. There was a telephone set up for positive communications plus they also brought a radio with them. Susan and Lynn preferred the weapons training to the close combat. They were both good shots as was Suki. When it was Terri’s turn she fired two rounds at five hundred yards that were three inches apart. She asked Tom if she could fire at multiple targets and received permission. There were twelve rounds left in the magazine. She fired four rounds at each target in quick succession. When they were marked she hit a six inch group on each target at six hundred meters. Tom was definitely impressed.

  Next, Tom brought the latest toy which was a Taser. The Taser was the law military version having a range of thirty feet instead of fifteen feet that the civilian version had. It also had a stronger electrical charge. They were slightly bulkier than a pistol. He did not plan on firing them, but he did do a familiarization. Tom assured them that they would incapacitate even the largest assailant for several minutes. Just before three they ended the session everybody calling it a day except for Martin who left because he needed to get back to care for the horses. He was a Sergeant in the queen’s guard before he retired. His specialty was the mounted guard. Susan let him have a cottage next to the stables and she also let him select all of the furnishings for the stable without restriction allowing Martin to lay out the steeple chase course. It was his talent that kept the Stables in the black. There was a high demand for his services. Susan rewarded him by giving him absolute free range in equipping the stables along with the promise of building a thirty horse facility to Martin’s specifications. The new stable was ready to break ground as soon as Lynn let out the contracts. This was a good compromise because Martin had the advanced ideas but not the money to carry them out and Susan wanted to expand the equestrian area because it was also her favorite hobby. Martin wanted four veterinary stalls with the most up to date equipment available to cover any eventuality.

  Terri helped break down the guns and clean them. Tom was an expert gun smith and kept a machine shop in Terri’s side of the studio until the sub-basement was outfitted. Susan had just obtained a formal license with the help of MI, so that Tom could legally buy, sell, import or export any weapons that he wanted to deal with. Susan’s high end customers spent heavily for Tom’s expertise and with an official license he had access to the merchandise that they were willing to spend on heavily. Terri was more than happy to share with him because he taught her how to use the machinery. He was delighted to teach her the little tricks that she sought out. The forty foot rise of the Knoll made an ideal end for the outdoor firing range. Tom wanted to see how much he could reduce the noise on the Dragunov, without sacrificing accuracy. He showed Terri and Adam the secret for the day. It was a starlight scope that he fit to the Dragunov. The starlight scope was prohibitively expensive and somewhat restricted. Adam had done very well in his investments making it a point to keep a variety of special toys on hand in order to keep the security boys happy.

  The 'Old Men' were all instructors in hostage rescue. All of them had served together at one point or another although they served at different times. The core security was all retired SAS qualified instructors. This was an ideal set up for them. They could still practice their trade and maintain a very comfortable retirement. Frank handpicked the cream of the crop for the Inn. He had a plan in mind. When he came over with Susan, she promised that he would be able to set up his own business as things progressed. The Old Men also provided labor for the Inn according to their interests. Martin tended the stables, Brent and Ryan acted as grounds keepers, Mark and Frank acted as drivers. Tom was a first class mechanic as well as a gun smith. Tom and Martin did a fair amount of outside work for clients and were very comfortable financially. With few exceptions their time was their own. The ‘Old Men’ had free reign and an unlimited supply of toys. In return they provided twenty four hour security for the Inn’s high profile guests while remaining almost invisible. The level of loyalty among the employees at the Inn was high beyond reason especially with the ‘Old Men’ claiming Susan, Lynn, Suki and Terri as daughters. Adam was heavily invested in the Inn but had nothing in his name. On paper he owned nothing and only had a few thousand pounds in his personal bank account. If any of his misdeeds caught up with him there would be nothing to confiscate. The Inn’s charter had him down as an advisory member of the board with no ownership stake formally receiving residence at the Inn as compensation for his services. The only things that he did not officially lease were his clothes. Lynn kept his investments through numbered Swiss accounts in good order through dummy corporations with Adam never accessing the accounts directly, so he had no idea of what he was actually worth.

  Adam walked back down the hill to Beth’s shop, which was located by the service building. Beth was a master seamstress and Susan kept her busy with uniforms for the employees and clothes for herself. She made custom clothes for the female guests too. Beth had developed a consistent clientele with customer’s requests. Her work with high end clothing for the Inn’s clientele provided her with an exclusive audience and a lucrative business opportunity. Beth’s previous job was doing alterations at a local clothing shop which was a total waste of her talents. Arleen’s specialty was custom lingerie. She was an absolute genius at working with fine materials. Arlene made the fine frilly garments that the full service personnel wore. Beth and Arleen loved the set up because they could fully exercise their talents at their discretion. The shop was originally in the service building but with the growing business, and the need to store dress forms the expansion became mandatory. Susan had a separate building with living quarters on the second floor erected for them. Beth and Arleen brought in a fair amount of business to the Inn with a talent which was in demand. With Susan’s clientele their business quickly grew until the businesses fed each other. Adam and Terri were greeted by Beth as they walked in the door. Terri was their darling and ever since they opened their shop they made all of her clothes.

  Terri breezed in their apartment since the door was open. “Good afternoon, sorry to come down so late but it was an unusual day. I have some news for you.” The apology was not necessary Beth and Arleen had entertained Terri and Adam on many an occasion.

  “And wha
t news is that?” They had both heard the news already, but they did not want to ruin Terri’s moment.

  “I’m pregnant,” Terri burst out. “I just found out this afternoon.” Beth and Arleen hugged her warmly making a huge fuss over her. “Adam dragged me down the hill to talk about maternity clothes with you.” Beth rolled out Terri’s dress form. She did not have to look to find it since Terri was her favorite customer. Adam loved to spoil Terri and accounted for a goodly portion of their projects.

  “Let me see what we have here.” Beth’s hands roamed over Terri’s body. She felt her abdomen, hips and breasts with Arleen doing the same. They went over to the dress form doing the same to the form, making adjustments as they went. Terri still could not believe that they could make fine adjustments without measuring. “You won’t need anything for at least a month. It will give us time to create some designs. You don’t want to look like a tent with legs.” Beth ran her hands over Terri’s abdomen and stomach again. “You will get big. I suspect twins.”

  Terri was not showing, but she knew that she should never doubt Beth’s word. Beth had a way of being uncannily accurate in her predictions.

  “Of course we will do something for the baby too. Why don‘t you stay for dinner it is just meat pies, but Arleen does an exceptional job on them.” Adam tried to beg off, but Terri was their darling and they insisted. It did not take much convincing, since Arleen was an excellent cook and Beth kept a really fine Spanish Port. Adam was dying to unveil his last surprise of the night. When dinner was finished Beth poured the Port. Adam asked to use the phone holding his hand over the mouth piece of the phone. After the Port was finished, Adam and Terri thanked their hostesses walking out the front door.

  Frank was parked outside with the final surprise standing next to a Bentley Mulsanne. It was super charged and bullet proofed. They delivered the car while Terri was at the doctor. Needless to say, her news came first, but Adam could not wait for another minute to show her. Susan and Lynn came driving over in her cart to see who the visitor was. She was not expecting Frank. “Whose car is this?”