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CHAPTER 55
“Well?” asked Lydia Cantu.
“Seems entirely normal in their household. Good living conditions, Cindy’s well being is being taken care of and the environment is conducive to her continued growth,” said the child services member from Utah. The group of five social workers had been brought in from Utah, Texas, Arizona, South Dakota and Ohio. They were a diverse group, but knew how important this was since it had been in the news recently. And the originating agency wasn’t letting the story fall behind as they kept it fully in the press. The social workers had also brought in another doctor for a full and complete physical to be performed at a neutral location as well as a psychologist. Both had pronounced Cindy in good health, both mentally and physically.
“I’m not entirely comfortable with the home schooling aspect, but she is taking the mandatory curriculum from Tennessee,” said the woman from South Dakota.
“And excelling at it as well, straight A’s across the board,” said the man from Ohio. “Plus, she recently took the SAT and ACT tests. The foster home is doing exactly what they should be doing.”
“What’s the story behind the different last names of the foster parents?” asked the woman from Arizona.
“I asked about that as well,” said Lydia. “Apparently the folks in this town recognize a name more often. And they are comfortable dealing with Doctor Erica Chase. If she was to change her name, they might not realize it and move to another doctor.”
“Sounds silly,” said the woman from South Dakota.
“I didn’t question it and their paperwork is all in order,” said Lydia. “We checked that aspect out.”
“We have some further interviews to conduct, but for the moment, I can’t see any significant problems with where she is staying,” said the social worker from Texas. “As a matter of fact, I think it’s probably one of the better ones I’ve seen in my twenty years.”
“And as a reminder, the non-disclosure agreements you all signed are legally binding,” said the Tennessee Attorney General.
“Why did you have us do that again?” asked the member from Utah.
“Let’s just say we don’t trust the angle the Federal Government is taking in this regard. And frankly, the State of Tennessee has far too much invested in seeing this through to conclusion to have the FBI sweep in and remove her from our State’s custody,” said the Attorney General.
“Do you honestly think they would do something like that?” asked the woman from Arizona.
“How can you ask something like that after what your own State has been through with the Federal Government?” asked the man from Texas.
“Very true,” she replied thoughtfully. “Did you invite New York?”
“We did and they declined. Actually, never got back with us and refused to commit,” said the Attorney General.
“Doesn’t sound right,” said the man from Ohio.
“I can provide you the e-mail documentation between New York and my office as well as the transcripts of the phone conversations and recordings if you would like,” said the Attorney General.
“I don’t think it is necessary,” said the woman from Arizona. “But again, I doubt we would see the Federal Government snatching her away from a perfectly good environment.”
“I’d rather not give them that chance,” said the Attorney General as his cell phone rang. “Hello?”
“David, the government has finally contacted us,” said the Governor.
“Okay,” said the Attorney General. “And?”
“They want to meet with all parties in Washington in three days. Will the out of state social workers be finished by then?” asked the Governor.
“Will your report be finalized in three days?” asked the Attorney General to the group at large.
“The preliminary report can be finished tonight. Why?” asked the man from Texas, the unofficial “leader” of the group.
“The Feds want to meet with us in Washington and I’d like to have the report to take with me,” said the Attorney General.
“We’ll continue our interviews tomorrow,” said the Texan. “We can probably have everything wrapped up by tomorrow afternoon.”
“The folks on the ground here say they can have everything wrapped up by tomorrow afternoon,” said the Attorney General.
“You planning on taking it with you?” asked the Governor.
“I have no idea what the game is right now so I’m bringing all my equipment,” said the Attorney General.
“Wise,” said the Governor. “When are you due back?”
“Probably tomorrow night,” said the Attorney General.
“Okay, if anything changes, let me know,” said the Governor.
“Where’s the meeting going to be held at?” asked the Attorney General.
“At the FBI and the Director of the Civil Rights Division will be mediating,” said the Governor.
“Why not the U.S. Attorney General?” asked the Attorney General.
“Apparently the Justice Department thinks this should be handled by the FBI for some reason,” said the Governor.
“The Director’s buddies with the New York Attorney General,” said the Attorney General.
“I have full and complete faith in you,” said the Governor as he clicked off and let the Attorney General plan out his own defensive strategy.
The group said their goodbyes and headed away from the Gray Farm back to Johnson City where they had hotel rooms. They would get together and compare notes once again that night, but none had discovered anything even remotely out of the ordinary about the current residence of one Cynthia Alice Grant. Two of the group wanted to make the house a model for their own training programs as they saw it far exceeded the standards of both Tennessee and their own States. However, with the secrecy behind the investigation, they would have to try and remember what they had seen and attempt to recreate the home environment in their own programs.
As Charlie watched them leave his home, Erica came by and gave him a warm smile before heading back into the kitchen. She had taken the day off work to make sure there were no questions from the investigators. He smiled back, but was interrupted in his thoughts by the telephone.
“Hello?” he asked, not recognizing the number.
“Charlie Gray? Hugh Parkman from the High School. How are you doing?” asked the man on the other end of the telephone.
“Doing good, how can I help you?” asked Charlie.
“We need to talk about Cindy’s scores on her SAT and ACT tests she took a few weeks ago. They mailed both the sets of scores here and I opened them by mistake,” said Parkman.
“Okay, are they bad or something?” asked Charlie. “She was pretty nervous about the tests.”
“Quite the opposite actually…I know she did exceptionally well on the high school placement tests. Has she been picking up things since then?” asked Parkman.
“She seems to pick up things pretty quickly. Why?” asked Charlie.
“We’d like to have her retested next month,” said Parkman. “Just in case.”
“Just in case of what?” asked Charlie.
“Umm, she scored a 2240 on her SAT and a 34 on her ACT,” said the guidance counselor.
“I thought the max was 1600 on the SAT?” asked Charlie.
“It was until they revised the tests. It’s now 2400,” said Parkman.
“Okay, so I’m taking it 2240 is a good thing?” asked Charlie.
“That would probably get her an academic scholarship for just about any college in the country including Harvard, MIT and Yale,” said Parkman.
“Okay, that’s a good thing,” said Charlie. “What’s the breakdown?”
“Let’s see…on the SAT: 780 on the math, 740 on the critical reading and 720 on the writing,” said Parkman. “ACT scores are based on a composite, but with the addition of science. Want those as well?”
“No, too many numbers for me to remember,” said Charlie.
“Do you want to retest her?” asked Parkman.
“Why would we do that?” asked Charlie.
“Typically the test scores are either flukes or they go up. But I also see her grades are straight A’s across the board, so I doubt it’s a fluke,” said Parkman.
“So you are thinking the SAT and ACT scores might go down?” asked Charlie.
“Maybe a little, but not by much. She already shows the aptitude for higher learning and no matter what, the test scores from this time will remain in the system,” said Parkman.
“When’s the next test?” he asked.
“Three weeks at the school,” said Parkman.
“Okay, sign her up. I’ll swing by and pay the fees,” said Charlie, feeling fairly proud of her right then.
“Okay, she’s registered for the test,” said Parkman as he typed in the background. “Anything else I can help you with?”
“Probably not until next year and scholarship time,” said Charlie.
“Right now she could probably do an accelerated schedule over the summer and register for fall classes. You want to go that route?” he asked.
“I’ll have to talk to her about that,” said Charlie.
“Just an option to consider. She would still be considered in high school, but could do some college classes early,” said Parkman.
“I’ll certainly speak to her about that,” said Charlie. “Can you e-mail the results?”
“Certainly, what’s your e-mail?” asked Parkman. After Charlie spelled it out over the phone, he immediately saw a new message appear on the computer screen. “Anything else?”
“No, can’t think of anything,” said Charlie.
“Okay, take care now and continue doing whatever you have been doing,” said Parkman.
“Take care now,” said Charlie as he ended the call. He printed up the pages from the e-mail and took them in to Erica.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Cindy’s ACT and SAT scores,” said Charlie as he handed over the papers. Erica scanned through them and her eyes popped out just before her mouth dropped open.
“This isn’t a joke?” she asked.
“Not at all and I have her scheduled for the next test,” said Charlie.
“Now that she knows what’s on the test, she might score even higher,” observed Erica.
“I’m hoping for that,” said Charlie. “Time to start thinking of colleges.”
“She could get into any school she wants with these scores. They’ll be fighting over her,” said Erica.
“Let’s go surprise her,” said Charlie with a grin. They went to find Cindy busy working on her homework for the week in the study. “You think you are the smart one don’t you?”
“What?” asked Cindy as she popped an earphone out from the iPod.
“We got your test scores from the SAT and ACT,” said Charlie with a scowl.
“Gotta be bad with the way you are looking at me,” she said. “I don’t test well.”
“If that’s the case, I would love to see how well you would do if you weren’t nervous,” said Charlie as the scowl disappeared and was replaced with a grin.
“What? Are they good?” asked Cindy.
“Let’s put it this way, pick your colleges now and let them fight over you,” said Erica.
“So they are good?” she asked.
“Just about perfect. I thought you said you didn’t think you did well,” asked Charlie.
“I didn’t think I did well,” said Cindy. “What are the scores?”
“2240 on the SAT and 34 on the ACT,” said Charlie as he handed over the pages.
“And that’s good?” she asked, not understanding the gibberish numbers on the sheets.
“Out of 2400 and 36, yeah, I’d say that’s pretty good,” said Erica with a smile.
“Awesome!” exclaimed Cindy. “But you two are owed some credit.”
“How’s that?” he asked.
“Well, you helped me to understand some of it,” she said.
“But the test was all on you though,” said Charlie.
“Okay, but ya’ll still helped me learn the material,” said Cindy.
“Be proud of your own accomplishment. This is entirely you, future Yale graduate,” said Erica.
“Nah, I couldn’t imagine myself going to Yale,” said Cindy with her cheesy grin. “I’m a Harvard chick at heart.”
“You just decide which school you want and go from there,” said Erica. “Trust me, they all will be fighting over you.”
“And you need to start thinking of what you want to do with your life,” said Charlie.
“I have no idea,” said Cindy, not thinking past the next day or so as she typically did in this environment.
“With the way you learn, just about anything you want is within your grasp,” said Charlie. He had been accused of helping her one time only to have the teacher eat his own words when she aced a test under his direct supervision. It was the first and last time any teacher made a comment about her knowledge base. And since then, she seemed to be picking up the knowledge of the study material faster. A little positive reinforcement from Charlie and Erica was all that was needed to get her on the fast track to learning.
“So do I get a reward?” asked Cindy with a grin.
“I think that could be in order,” said Charlie.
“Dinner of my choice?” asked Cindy.
“Absolutely,” said Erica. “Where at?”
“The Roadhouse,” said Cindy.
“Okay, we’ll do it Friday,” said Charlie.
“We have the ball game Friday, remember?” said Cindy. “We’re watching Toby play.”
“There is such a thing as an early dinner,” said Charlie. “And besides, aren’t you going to Portia’s afterwards? You could meet her at the ball game.”
“Yeah, didn’t think of that,” said Cindy. “And one more thing?”
“Okay,” said Charlie.
“Can we go shooting?” asked Cindy.
“Sure, go get your clothes changed,” said Charlie.
Cindy bounded out of the room in a flash, heading upstairs to change her clothing. Charlie chuckled at the display of raw energy and turned to find Erica looking at him. “Yes ma’am?”
“I’m taking you up on your offer as well,” she said. “Bring enough guns for me too.”
“I believe we can accommodate that,” he said. “But with beginning shooters, there is always a lot of hands on instruction.”
“Oh really?” she asked. “And since I haven’t shot a gun in a long time?”
“Lots of hands on instruction,” he grinned.
“I think you’re using it as an excuse to paw at me Mister Gray,” she said with her nose in the air and turned away from him.
“Didn’t know I needed an excuse,” he said and grabbed her around the waist.
“Watch the hands mister, young impressionable female in the house,” she said with a slight groan at his touch.
“And Cindy too,” he laughed as he gave her a kiss on the side of the neck. He released his grasp as Cindy was heard clomping down the stairs.
“I’m ready!” she announced. “And why aren’t you?”
“Hang on, let me get the stuff,” said Charlie with a wink at Erica. She also left to change her clothing and get into something she didn’t mind getting dirtied up. Charlie collected the weapons and ammo before stuffing it into a bag and heading out the door. Erica would be along momentarily, but wouldn’t need directions as she would follow the gunfire.
“Patience, squeeze the trigger and watch the front sight,” he said as he watched the trigger coming back slowly. After the rifle fired, he knew it was the last round and watched as the rifle was cleared and set on the table.
“Your shooting is improving each day brother,” said Abdul Ali as he observed the target that Mohammed Hassan as just fired at through the spotting scope. While two hundred yards wasn’t a great distance, the civilian AKMs they were using were far from precision rifles. However, Mohammed Hassan had all the rounds on the target and most near the center of the man shaped silhouette.
“Thank you, but it will never be to the level of yours,” said Hassan with a polite bow of his head.
“Practice and time,” said Ali as he grabbed new targets to hang. They headed downrange towards the area where the targets were hung. “Now we will work on your transition drills.”
“The ones from rifle to pistol right?” asked Hassan.
“Yes,” said Ali.
“And those are for again?” asked Hassan.
“In case your rifle goes empty at the worst time, you still have a pistol available to use if you need it,” explained Ali.
“Do you think it will come to that?” asked Hassan.
“I believe we will eventually have to become soldiers of Allah and Mohammed his prophet. And in knowing such, we will find use of our martial skills,” said Ali.
“Why do you think it will come to that?” asked Hassan.
“Because Americans hate what we are and the message we bring. The unbeliever will kill us when and if they get the chance. And I’d much rather be quicker on the shot than them as I can continue to spread the glorious words of Allah,” said Ali.
“So more practice is needed?” asked Hassan.
“It makes perfect,” said Ali. “Now, remember the top of the rifle will be hot as you bring it down to your side…”
Hassan listened and continued working on the muscle memory he had started learning at this remote camp in Maine. His tactical skills were improving since he first arrived and he had a goal in mind. And with that goal, he knew he had to practice. So he patiently went through the instruction of Ali and continued performing the tactics, faster and faster each and every time. He continued thinking of the end result of everything and why he was doing it.
And the end result was his honor being restored to his family by killing the man who had corrupted his daughter. And his daughter as well since she was obviously impure by now.
“Ease the trigger, don’t be afraid of the pistol,” said Charlie as he watched Erica pull the single action once again.
“My hands are just about too small,” she said and adjusted slightly on the grip.
“Find your comfortable spot and go with it,” he said and saw he might have to remove the thicker aftermarket grips on the Hi-Power pistol since Erica was having issues gripping it right. She gently squeezed the trigger once again and fired another round.
“Good shot,” said Charlie as it was the last round in the magazine. She cleared it out as she had been instructed as Cindy continued firing from her “new” 20 gauge shotgun. Instead of firing at the clay pigeons she had been doing recently, Charlie had moved her into the silhouette style targets as well since the riot style barrel didn’t lend itself to skeet shooting that well. However, after finishing her string, Charlie noticed something unusual.
“Cindy? Any reason you decided to shred the groin area of that poor target?” asked Charlie as he looked over her target.
“Yep, I did it in case anyone from New York shows up with any bad thoughts on their mind,” she said with a straight face.
“And you specifically aimed for that part?” asked Charlie.
“Sure did,” said Cindy, matter of factly.
Charlie looked at the target again and had a quick pain in his groin himself at the thought of a shotgun blast to his nether regions. But he found her point of aim was just fine as long as that’s where she happened to be aiming. “Good job.”
“I’m a regular Annie Oakley I’ll tell you,” she grinned.
“Annie Oakley used a rifle,” said Charlie with a roll of his eyes.
“Well, guess I’ll have to practice more with that as well,” she grinned.
“You’re impossible,” said Charlie with a laugh.
“Hey! You got me hooked Mister Gray!” objected Cindy with another grin.
“I supposed you could be that squeamish teenage girl who worries about her nails,” admitted Charlie.
“Yeah, guess I could. But I figure you wouldn’t care for that as much. You like the fact I get my hands dirty,” said Cindy.
“I wouldn’t care if you were different,” said Charlie.
“No, I think this is what makes me unique and why we have a bond,” said Cindy. Erica took note of the terminology used and started listening more intently.
“We have a bond?” asked Charlie.
“I tend to think we do,” she said.
“I suppose so,” said Charlie.
“You don’t think so?” she asked.
“I suppose we do,” said Charlie.
“Not a father daughter bond, but close enough I think,” she said.
“Okay, true enough,” said Charlie.
“Now if I could only play football, you’d probably try to adopt me,” she grinned.
“No, I’d be worried sick,” said Charlie.
“That’s sweet,” she said with a smile.
“No, not for you, for the whuppin you’d probably put on the other team,” he grinned.
“Yeah, I’d probably start crying to make them feel sorry for me then wham, hit them as hard as I could,” she said with a straight face.
“God help the man who marries you someday,” he laughed.
Not finding a retort, she shot back her grin at him and reloaded her smaller shotgun for another string. She was getting better at the moving targets when shooting at the clay pigeons, hitting at least half of them on the first try. Charlie had figured she was ready to move up to a larger, more effective caliber and decided he had a 20 gauge that would fit her nicely. It was a large step moving up from the mild .410 caliber, but she had quickly adapted and moved upwards in caliber without a hitch.
But the other motive, one he left unsaid, was in moving her upwards from the rim fire rifle, small bore shotgun and the smaller .32 pistol he was also increasing her defensive capacity. With larger, more effective calibers, she was able to protect herself better in attackers ever came. And it made Charlie a little more comfortable in case that ever happened. He would never be entirely comfortable with her in a harmful situation, but more from her safety rather than her ability to protect herself. And like billions of parents before him, he worried himself sick over the fact he wouldn’t always be there to protect her. Not that he was her father, but as he told Mitch once, he had a vested interest in her and wanted to see her safe.
But he knew she was growing fast and was far more able to protect herself than most girls her age. She was continuing her Tai Kwon Do classes in Johnson City and advancing rapidly at the martial art from what her instructors had said. She had been enrolled before the camping trip and was quickly learning from the ground up. And more importantly, she was getting far more self confident each and every day. And from that self confidence came inner strength. And in strength came the ability to face her own challenges. She was matured far more than any girl her age and Charlie was proud of the woman she was becoming.
He set up another series of the clay pigeons and started tossing them downrange as she fired once again after reloading the target loads in the shotgun. Erica looked on and how natural the three of them seemed to be around each other. It was almost as if it was a storybook family and she appreciated the fact they all three seemed to get along perfectly. Erica watched as Cindy was a little quicker on her shots than she had been when they started, hitting the target after applying the proper lead. Charlie tossed more off the thrower and saw she hit seven out of the eight times. While it wasn’t as much fun as shooting himself, he had pride in watching the smile on her face as she hit the targets with little effort.
Eventually Erica gave her hand a try at it and Charlie was surprised she hit two out of the five targets on the first try. Erica explained she had done it when she was younger with her father and it was just remembering how much lead to put into the shotgun. Charlie felt a kind of inner peace that both the women in his life were better able to protect themselves now. With increased practice, they would be just fine, but Charlie wondered if they had enough time to get up to speed before anything bad happened.
“Well?” asked Lydia Cantu.
“Seems entirely normal in their household. Good living conditions, Cindy’s well being is being taken care of and the environment is conducive to her continued growth,” said the child services member from Utah. The group of five social workers had been brought in from Utah, Texas, Arizona, South Dakota and Ohio. They were a diverse group, but knew how important this was since it had been in the news recently. And the originating agency wasn’t letting the story fall behind as they kept it fully in the press. The social workers had also brought in another doctor for a full and complete physical to be performed at a neutral location as well as a psychologist. Both had pronounced Cindy in good health, both mentally and physically.
“I’m not entirely comfortable with the home schooling aspect, but she is taking the mandatory curriculum from Tennessee,” said the woman from South Dakota.
“And excelling at it as well, straight A’s across the board,” said the man from Ohio. “Plus, she recently took the SAT and ACT tests. The foster home is doing exactly what they should be doing.”
“What’s the story behind the different last names of the foster parents?” asked the woman from Arizona.
“I asked about that as well,” said Lydia. “Apparently the folks in this town recognize a name more often. And they are comfortable dealing with Doctor Erica Chase. If she was to change her name, they might not realize it and move to another doctor.”
“Sounds silly,” said the woman from South Dakota.
“I didn’t question it and their paperwork is all in order,” said Lydia. “We checked that aspect out.”
“We have some further interviews to conduct, but for the moment, I can’t see any significant problems with where she is staying,” said the social worker from Texas. “As a matter of fact, I think it’s probably one of the better ones I’ve seen in my twenty years.”
“And as a reminder, the non-disclosure agreements you all signed are legally binding,” said the Tennessee Attorney General.
“Why did you have us do that again?” asked the member from Utah.
“Let’s just say we don’t trust the angle the Federal Government is taking in this regard. And frankly, the State of Tennessee has far too much invested in seeing this through to conclusion to have the FBI sweep in and remove her from our State’s custody,” said the Attorney General.
“Do you honestly think they would do something like that?” asked the woman from Arizona.
“How can you ask something like that after what your own State has been through with the Federal Government?” asked the man from Texas.
“Very true,” she replied thoughtfully. “Did you invite New York?”
“We did and they declined. Actually, never got back with us and refused to commit,” said the Attorney General.
“Doesn’t sound right,” said the man from Ohio.
“I can provide you the e-mail documentation between New York and my office as well as the transcripts of the phone conversations and recordings if you would like,” said the Attorney General.
“I don’t think it is necessary,” said the woman from Arizona. “But again, I doubt we would see the Federal Government snatching her away from a perfectly good environment.”
“I’d rather not give them that chance,” said the Attorney General as his cell phone rang. “Hello?”
“David, the government has finally contacted us,” said the Governor.
“Okay,” said the Attorney General. “And?”
“They want to meet with all parties in Washington in three days. Will the out of state social workers be finished by then?” asked the Governor.
“Will your report be finalized in three days?” asked the Attorney General to the group at large.
“The preliminary report can be finished tonight. Why?” asked the man from Texas, the unofficial “leader” of the group.
“The Feds want to meet with us in Washington and I’d like to have the report to take with me,” said the Attorney General.
“We’ll continue our interviews tomorrow,” said the Texan. “We can probably have everything wrapped up by tomorrow afternoon.”
“The folks on the ground here say they can have everything wrapped up by tomorrow afternoon,” said the Attorney General.
“You planning on taking it with you?” asked the Governor.
“I have no idea what the game is right now so I’m bringing all my equipment,” said the Attorney General.
“Wise,” said the Governor. “When are you due back?”
“Probably tomorrow night,” said the Attorney General.
“Okay, if anything changes, let me know,” said the Governor.
“Where’s the meeting going to be held at?” asked the Attorney General.
“At the FBI and the Director of the Civil Rights Division will be mediating,” said the Governor.
“Why not the U.S. Attorney General?” asked the Attorney General.
“Apparently the Justice Department thinks this should be handled by the FBI for some reason,” said the Governor.
“The Director’s buddies with the New York Attorney General,” said the Attorney General.
“I have full and complete faith in you,” said the Governor as he clicked off and let the Attorney General plan out his own defensive strategy.
The group said their goodbyes and headed away from the Gray Farm back to Johnson City where they had hotel rooms. They would get together and compare notes once again that night, but none had discovered anything even remotely out of the ordinary about the current residence of one Cynthia Alice Grant. Two of the group wanted to make the house a model for their own training programs as they saw it far exceeded the standards of both Tennessee and their own States. However, with the secrecy behind the investigation, they would have to try and remember what they had seen and attempt to recreate the home environment in their own programs.
As Charlie watched them leave his home, Erica came by and gave him a warm smile before heading back into the kitchen. She had taken the day off work to make sure there were no questions from the investigators. He smiled back, but was interrupted in his thoughts by the telephone.
“Hello?” he asked, not recognizing the number.
“Charlie Gray? Hugh Parkman from the High School. How are you doing?” asked the man on the other end of the telephone.
“Doing good, how can I help you?” asked Charlie.
“We need to talk about Cindy’s scores on her SAT and ACT tests she took a few weeks ago. They mailed both the sets of scores here and I opened them by mistake,” said Parkman.
“Okay, are they bad or something?” asked Charlie. “She was pretty nervous about the tests.”
“Quite the opposite actually…I know she did exceptionally well on the high school placement tests. Has she been picking up things since then?” asked Parkman.
“She seems to pick up things pretty quickly. Why?” asked Charlie.
“We’d like to have her retested next month,” said Parkman. “Just in case.”
“Just in case of what?” asked Charlie.
“Umm, she scored a 2240 on her SAT and a 34 on her ACT,” said the guidance counselor.
“I thought the max was 1600 on the SAT?” asked Charlie.
“It was until they revised the tests. It’s now 2400,” said Parkman.
“Okay, so I’m taking it 2240 is a good thing?” asked Charlie.
“That would probably get her an academic scholarship for just about any college in the country including Harvard, MIT and Yale,” said Parkman.
“Okay, that’s a good thing,” said Charlie. “What’s the breakdown?”
“Let’s see…on the SAT: 780 on the math, 740 on the critical reading and 720 on the writing,” said Parkman. “ACT scores are based on a composite, but with the addition of science. Want those as well?”
“No, too many numbers for me to remember,” said Charlie.
“Do you want to retest her?” asked Parkman.
“Why would we do that?” asked Charlie.
“Typically the test scores are either flukes or they go up. But I also see her grades are straight A’s across the board, so I doubt it’s a fluke,” said Parkman.
“So you are thinking the SAT and ACT scores might go down?” asked Charlie.
“Maybe a little, but not by much. She already shows the aptitude for higher learning and no matter what, the test scores from this time will remain in the system,” said Parkman.
“When’s the next test?” he asked.
“Three weeks at the school,” said Parkman.
“Okay, sign her up. I’ll swing by and pay the fees,” said Charlie, feeling fairly proud of her right then.
“Okay, she’s registered for the test,” said Parkman as he typed in the background. “Anything else I can help you with?”
“Probably not until next year and scholarship time,” said Charlie.
“Right now she could probably do an accelerated schedule over the summer and register for fall classes. You want to go that route?” he asked.
“I’ll have to talk to her about that,” said Charlie.
“Just an option to consider. She would still be considered in high school, but could do some college classes early,” said Parkman.
“I’ll certainly speak to her about that,” said Charlie. “Can you e-mail the results?”
“Certainly, what’s your e-mail?” asked Parkman. After Charlie spelled it out over the phone, he immediately saw a new message appear on the computer screen. “Anything else?”
“No, can’t think of anything,” said Charlie.
“Okay, take care now and continue doing whatever you have been doing,” said Parkman.
“Take care now,” said Charlie as he ended the call. He printed up the pages from the e-mail and took them in to Erica.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Cindy’s ACT and SAT scores,” said Charlie as he handed over the papers. Erica scanned through them and her eyes popped out just before her mouth dropped open.
“This isn’t a joke?” she asked.
“Not at all and I have her scheduled for the next test,” said Charlie.
“Now that she knows what’s on the test, she might score even higher,” observed Erica.
“I’m hoping for that,” said Charlie. “Time to start thinking of colleges.”
“She could get into any school she wants with these scores. They’ll be fighting over her,” said Erica.
“Let’s go surprise her,” said Charlie with a grin. They went to find Cindy busy working on her homework for the week in the study. “You think you are the smart one don’t you?”
“What?” asked Cindy as she popped an earphone out from the iPod.
“We got your test scores from the SAT and ACT,” said Charlie with a scowl.
“Gotta be bad with the way you are looking at me,” she said. “I don’t test well.”
“If that’s the case, I would love to see how well you would do if you weren’t nervous,” said Charlie as the scowl disappeared and was replaced with a grin.
“What? Are they good?” asked Cindy.
“Let’s put it this way, pick your colleges now and let them fight over you,” said Erica.
“So they are good?” she asked.
“Just about perfect. I thought you said you didn’t think you did well,” asked Charlie.
“I didn’t think I did well,” said Cindy. “What are the scores?”
“2240 on the SAT and 34 on the ACT,” said Charlie as he handed over the pages.
“And that’s good?” she asked, not understanding the gibberish numbers on the sheets.
“Out of 2400 and 36, yeah, I’d say that’s pretty good,” said Erica with a smile.
“Awesome!” exclaimed Cindy. “But you two are owed some credit.”
“How’s that?” he asked.
“Well, you helped me to understand some of it,” she said.
“But the test was all on you though,” said Charlie.
“Okay, but ya’ll still helped me learn the material,” said Cindy.
“Be proud of your own accomplishment. This is entirely you, future Yale graduate,” said Erica.
“Nah, I couldn’t imagine myself going to Yale,” said Cindy with her cheesy grin. “I’m a Harvard chick at heart.”
“You just decide which school you want and go from there,” said Erica. “Trust me, they all will be fighting over you.”
“And you need to start thinking of what you want to do with your life,” said Charlie.
“I have no idea,” said Cindy, not thinking past the next day or so as she typically did in this environment.
“With the way you learn, just about anything you want is within your grasp,” said Charlie. He had been accused of helping her one time only to have the teacher eat his own words when she aced a test under his direct supervision. It was the first and last time any teacher made a comment about her knowledge base. And since then, she seemed to be picking up the knowledge of the study material faster. A little positive reinforcement from Charlie and Erica was all that was needed to get her on the fast track to learning.
“So do I get a reward?” asked Cindy with a grin.
“I think that could be in order,” said Charlie.
“Dinner of my choice?” asked Cindy.
“Absolutely,” said Erica. “Where at?”
“The Roadhouse,” said Cindy.
“Okay, we’ll do it Friday,” said Charlie.
“We have the ball game Friday, remember?” said Cindy. “We’re watching Toby play.”
“There is such a thing as an early dinner,” said Charlie. “And besides, aren’t you going to Portia’s afterwards? You could meet her at the ball game.”
“Yeah, didn’t think of that,” said Cindy. “And one more thing?”
“Okay,” said Charlie.
“Can we go shooting?” asked Cindy.
“Sure, go get your clothes changed,” said Charlie.
Cindy bounded out of the room in a flash, heading upstairs to change her clothing. Charlie chuckled at the display of raw energy and turned to find Erica looking at him. “Yes ma’am?”
“I’m taking you up on your offer as well,” she said. “Bring enough guns for me too.”
“I believe we can accommodate that,” he said. “But with beginning shooters, there is always a lot of hands on instruction.”
“Oh really?” she asked. “And since I haven’t shot a gun in a long time?”
“Lots of hands on instruction,” he grinned.
“I think you’re using it as an excuse to paw at me Mister Gray,” she said with her nose in the air and turned away from him.
“Didn’t know I needed an excuse,” he said and grabbed her around the waist.
“Watch the hands mister, young impressionable female in the house,” she said with a slight groan at his touch.
“And Cindy too,” he laughed as he gave her a kiss on the side of the neck. He released his grasp as Cindy was heard clomping down the stairs.
“I’m ready!” she announced. “And why aren’t you?”
“Hang on, let me get the stuff,” said Charlie with a wink at Erica. She also left to change her clothing and get into something she didn’t mind getting dirtied up. Charlie collected the weapons and ammo before stuffing it into a bag and heading out the door. Erica would be along momentarily, but wouldn’t need directions as she would follow the gunfire.
********************
“Patience, squeeze the trigger and watch the front sight,” he said as he watched the trigger coming back slowly. After the rifle fired, he knew it was the last round and watched as the rifle was cleared and set on the table.
“Your shooting is improving each day brother,” said Abdul Ali as he observed the target that Mohammed Hassan as just fired at through the spotting scope. While two hundred yards wasn’t a great distance, the civilian AKMs they were using were far from precision rifles. However, Mohammed Hassan had all the rounds on the target and most near the center of the man shaped silhouette.
“Thank you, but it will never be to the level of yours,” said Hassan with a polite bow of his head.
“Practice and time,” said Ali as he grabbed new targets to hang. They headed downrange towards the area where the targets were hung. “Now we will work on your transition drills.”
“The ones from rifle to pistol right?” asked Hassan.
“Yes,” said Ali.
“And those are for again?” asked Hassan.
“In case your rifle goes empty at the worst time, you still have a pistol available to use if you need it,” explained Ali.
“Do you think it will come to that?” asked Hassan.
“I believe we will eventually have to become soldiers of Allah and Mohammed his prophet. And in knowing such, we will find use of our martial skills,” said Ali.
“Why do you think it will come to that?” asked Hassan.
“Because Americans hate what we are and the message we bring. The unbeliever will kill us when and if they get the chance. And I’d much rather be quicker on the shot than them as I can continue to spread the glorious words of Allah,” said Ali.
“So more practice is needed?” asked Hassan.
“It makes perfect,” said Ali. “Now, remember the top of the rifle will be hot as you bring it down to your side…”
Hassan listened and continued working on the muscle memory he had started learning at this remote camp in Maine. His tactical skills were improving since he first arrived and he had a goal in mind. And with that goal, he knew he had to practice. So he patiently went through the instruction of Ali and continued performing the tactics, faster and faster each and every time. He continued thinking of the end result of everything and why he was doing it.
And the end result was his honor being restored to his family by killing the man who had corrupted his daughter. And his daughter as well since she was obviously impure by now.
********************
“Ease the trigger, don’t be afraid of the pistol,” said Charlie as he watched Erica pull the single action once again.
“My hands are just about too small,” she said and adjusted slightly on the grip.
“Find your comfortable spot and go with it,” he said and saw he might have to remove the thicker aftermarket grips on the Hi-Power pistol since Erica was having issues gripping it right. She gently squeezed the trigger once again and fired another round.
“Good shot,” said Charlie as it was the last round in the magazine. She cleared it out as she had been instructed as Cindy continued firing from her “new” 20 gauge shotgun. Instead of firing at the clay pigeons she had been doing recently, Charlie had moved her into the silhouette style targets as well since the riot style barrel didn’t lend itself to skeet shooting that well. However, after finishing her string, Charlie noticed something unusual.
“Cindy? Any reason you decided to shred the groin area of that poor target?” asked Charlie as he looked over her target.
“Yep, I did it in case anyone from New York shows up with any bad thoughts on their mind,” she said with a straight face.
“And you specifically aimed for that part?” asked Charlie.
“Sure did,” said Cindy, matter of factly.
Charlie looked at the target again and had a quick pain in his groin himself at the thought of a shotgun blast to his nether regions. But he found her point of aim was just fine as long as that’s where she happened to be aiming. “Good job.”
“I’m a regular Annie Oakley I’ll tell you,” she grinned.
“Annie Oakley used a rifle,” said Charlie with a roll of his eyes.
“Well, guess I’ll have to practice more with that as well,” she grinned.
“You’re impossible,” said Charlie with a laugh.
“Hey! You got me hooked Mister Gray!” objected Cindy with another grin.
“I supposed you could be that squeamish teenage girl who worries about her nails,” admitted Charlie.
“Yeah, guess I could. But I figure you wouldn’t care for that as much. You like the fact I get my hands dirty,” said Cindy.
“I wouldn’t care if you were different,” said Charlie.
“No, I think this is what makes me unique and why we have a bond,” said Cindy. Erica took note of the terminology used and started listening more intently.
“We have a bond?” asked Charlie.
“I tend to think we do,” she said.
“I suppose so,” said Charlie.
“You don’t think so?” she asked.
“I suppose we do,” said Charlie.
“Not a father daughter bond, but close enough I think,” she said.
“Okay, true enough,” said Charlie.
“Now if I could only play football, you’d probably try to adopt me,” she grinned.
“No, I’d be worried sick,” said Charlie.
“That’s sweet,” she said with a smile.
“No, not for you, for the whuppin you’d probably put on the other team,” he grinned.
“Yeah, I’d probably start crying to make them feel sorry for me then wham, hit them as hard as I could,” she said with a straight face.
“God help the man who marries you someday,” he laughed.
Not finding a retort, she shot back her grin at him and reloaded her smaller shotgun for another string. She was getting better at the moving targets when shooting at the clay pigeons, hitting at least half of them on the first try. Charlie had figured she was ready to move up to a larger, more effective caliber and decided he had a 20 gauge that would fit her nicely. It was a large step moving up from the mild .410 caliber, but she had quickly adapted and moved upwards in caliber without a hitch.
But the other motive, one he left unsaid, was in moving her upwards from the rim fire rifle, small bore shotgun and the smaller .32 pistol he was also increasing her defensive capacity. With larger, more effective calibers, she was able to protect herself better in attackers ever came. And it made Charlie a little more comfortable in case that ever happened. He would never be entirely comfortable with her in a harmful situation, but more from her safety rather than her ability to protect herself. And like billions of parents before him, he worried himself sick over the fact he wouldn’t always be there to protect her. Not that he was her father, but as he told Mitch once, he had a vested interest in her and wanted to see her safe.
But he knew she was growing fast and was far more able to protect herself than most girls her age. She was continuing her Tai Kwon Do classes in Johnson City and advancing rapidly at the martial art from what her instructors had said. She had been enrolled before the camping trip and was quickly learning from the ground up. And more importantly, she was getting far more self confident each and every day. And from that self confidence came inner strength. And in strength came the ability to face her own challenges. She was matured far more than any girl her age and Charlie was proud of the woman she was becoming.
He set up another series of the clay pigeons and started tossing them downrange as she fired once again after reloading the target loads in the shotgun. Erica looked on and how natural the three of them seemed to be around each other. It was almost as if it was a storybook family and she appreciated the fact they all three seemed to get along perfectly. Erica watched as Cindy was a little quicker on her shots than she had been when they started, hitting the target after applying the proper lead. Charlie tossed more off the thrower and saw she hit seven out of the eight times. While it wasn’t as much fun as shooting himself, he had pride in watching the smile on her face as she hit the targets with little effort.
Eventually Erica gave her hand a try at it and Charlie was surprised she hit two out of the five targets on the first try. Erica explained she had done it when she was younger with her father and it was just remembering how much lead to put into the shotgun. Charlie felt a kind of inner peace that both the women in his life were better able to protect themselves now. With increased practice, they would be just fine, but Charlie wondered if they had enough time to get up to speed before anything bad happened.
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