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“That’s disgusting, Gizzy.” He reached down and scooped the sweet girl into his arms. “But thanks for the offer. It’s a great dead carcass.” She meowed, and I saw a faint smile crease his lips. Daniel had always liked being surrounded by animals, and I was glad there was still a part of him that had never let the love go.
“I, ah, ran into Billy from the hardware store yesterday.” I didn’t look at him.
“Yeah?”
“He mentioned some girls were curious if you were back in town.”
“I’m not interested in girls right now.” He set Gizzy on her feet, and, her job done, she ran under the truck.
“Never said you were, but I think you’ve got some admirers.”
“I don’t have admirers, Dad. They’re just wondering if I’m going to pull a Jimmy or not.”
I swallowed back the instant fear and discomfort that brought me. I hated to admit it, but he was right. I was scared about that, too. People always gossiped and knew he and Jimmy had been tight. They would talk.
We went up the steps to the top of the loft, and I pointed for him to stand on the other side of the big table.
“Well, you and Jimmy got me thinking.” I started, and he shifted uncomfortably. “Have you heard about what’s been happening down in Mexico?”
“No.”
“There’s this group called the Cartel. They’re deep into the drug trade and are making a ton of money. They’re ruthless and becoming more and more powerful. Their own government can’t seem to stop them. Now they’ve started to kidnap high profile people, demanding money in exchange for their return. The papers are predicting that the whole situation is about to explode in the next few years, and we want to get ahead of it.”
“I’m listening.”
“I think we should do something about it.”
“We?” He took a moment to digest what I said and ran a hand through his hair as he thought.
“We don’t need to make any decisions today, but you wanted to do more, and I think this is just the thing. Look at war and how it ends for the soldiers returning home. You touch down on home soil, and you’re expected to go back to a normal life. There is no normal after what we experienced over there.”
“Agreed, but I’m not following you.”
“Think about it, Daniel. When you boys went to Vietnam, you were basically thrown into a highly charged, dangerous environment where you could have lost your life at any time. You manage to survive. Then when you come home, there’s no help for you. You’ve lost your unit, your whole support system. Then you’re stripped of your uniform and told to go back to live in society, get a job, and go on like before. War changes you, changes how you think, how you live.”
I stopped for a moment to make sure he was following me. When I saw he was listening, I continued. “Same goes for these people who’re being taken. From what I’ve read, they’re stripped of their lives, taken from everything they know, and dropped into a terrifying situation. They’re kept in rooms, tunnels, God knows where, and if they ever do get back home, they’re dropped back into their lives and have to function like before. It's not realistic. They can’t function. So, let’s see if we can help.”
“How do you think we can help? You want to offer them psych help or something?” He cocked his head and frowned at me.
“Yes, but much more than that, but I’ll need that smart head of yours to do it.” I leaned back and pulled a paper tube from the back bookcase and rolled it out over top of everything. “Take that end.” I pointed to the edge, and then I used a bottle of soda to hold down one side.
“Wow.” He admired the drawing of a massive building I’d sketched. “Did you draw this?”
“I did.” I laughed at my chicken scratches.
“So, this is like a rescue house or something?”
I leaned back to sit on a stool and crossed my arms. “It will be where our teams will live, train, work, and return from missions with the subjects they’ve extracted. It will be a safehouse where they can stay until they’re ready to go home.”
“Or safe for them to go home, too.”
“Exactly.”
I watched as he thought about it. His finger tapped the table, and his mouth twisted. Then he looked over at me.
“That sounds pretty amazing, Dad.”
“I think so.” I warmed him up to the subject and tried to contain my own excitement as I went on. “We’ll have two teams, yours and mine. I’m getting older, and this is going to be your show, so my team will assist yours.” He nodded. “All right, so, I’m thinking three to four floors, sleeping corridors as the team will have to live there, some kind of bunker, and a kitchen.”
