Manny Needs a Nanny - 5. Ending the Trial Period, and Ivan's Associates Appear

Friday

Gloria Callahan came by at noon to check how things were going. Bass led Rocky, Gloria, and Manny to the study, asking if she wanted something to drink while passing the kitchen. She declined the offer.

She began immediately, "So, Rocky, how has your time with Mr. Talbot been?"

"It's been cool. He still sucks at tennis and Karate, but hopefully, he'll get better and be more of a challenge."

"Then you would not be against him being your permanent guardian?"

"Nope. We've gotten along pretty well. He even arranged to have my tennis lessons moved to an evening when he wasn't working. So, we'll be doing that together on Mondays now."

"Mr. Talbot, are you comfortable with the arrangement?"

"Yes, I'm still learning, um, how to be a parent, but I think, things are progressing nicely."

"Mr. Blank, have you observed anything that would give you any concerns about continuing the arrangement?"

"Not at all. Manny has been a perfect gentleman around Rocky. He has let his hair down a few times with me, but nothing to be overly concerned with."

"Can you give me an example?"

"Sure. Rocky made a rude comment the first time he needed a little discipline after Manny arrived. I gave Rocky a time-out. He indicated; it wasn't fair. Manny told him, the time-out could be rescinded the next day, rather than a few minutes. When we were alone, he confided in me that he considered posing the threat that the time-out could last weeks or months. Had he shared that with Rocky, he probably would have, 'gone off the deep end,' as it were. Appropriate, as the time-out was about going in the pool."

"That doesn't sound so bad. But holding back to avoid making the situation worse, showed restraint that sometimes is necessary with teenagers. Nothing else?"

"Nothing worth mentioning."

Bass could have relayed an anecdote from the shooting range when Manny asked Rocky if he ever pretended the targets were his parents' killer or killers. Rocky's unpunished response of 'Yeah, I wish, I could blow their mother-fucking heads off,' might have been a little much for Ms. Callahan to take.

After a few more minutes, and mostly innocuous questions, she indicated she would bless making the arrangement permanent, and pass that on to Mr. James, so the necessary paperwork could be filed.

Sunday

Unbeknownst to Manny, when he drove through the gate early Sunday morning after work, he was followed by a pair of intruders. One intruder quickly climbed a tree and got high enough to be able to see the front door. The night-vision scope, the intruder used, was sufficient to see the panel as Manny pressed the digits, but not quite strong enough to detect the subtle pressing of the number two button twice.

Shortly thereafter, just a few minutes after Manny lay down, a screech came through the alarm panel near his head. Then it started talking.

"Intruder detected at kitchen door."

That message and its accompanying screech repeated over and over. Manny threw on a pair of pants and ran out into the hallway. When he got to the top of the stairs, he saw Bass turning toward the kitchen, having reacted quicker.

When Manny reached the kitchen, the rest of the staff, minus Patrick, were standing at its entry. Apparently, Patrick went to check on Rocky as had previously been decided before Manny arrived. Bass would have to reconsider that, perhaps Manny would be a better choice for that. Bass had apparently told them to stay back. Not knowing what to do, Manny waited with them. Bass tapped the panel a few times. The alarm quieted, and after a few more taps, its screen displayed what looked like a man lying down on the back porch.

Manny queried, "Who is it?"

"No idea. Come here Manny."

Manny went into the kitchen and got a closer look at the panel.

"Someone was trying to break in. He apparently got the code somehow, but thankfully got it wrong."

"I just came home a little while ago. Could he have shoulder surfed me when I entered the code?"

"It's possible. We won't know until we ask him. You tap the code, and I'll open the door, and immediately yank him in. As soon as I close the door, tap the code again to re-arm it. I want to be fast in case he has partners."

"Got it."

They went through the process. After Bass dragged the man in, who was obviously stunned from the shock the panel gave him, Bass pulled his arms around his back and cuffed him. Bass then pulled over a chair from the kitchen table, lifted, and sat the man on it. Noticing the man had a holster holding a small gun, Bass unsnapped it and put the gun on the counter. Then he got another chair, pulled a Glock 17 out of his own waistband, and sat down, pointing the gun at the man's head.

"Get behind him, Manny, so he doesn't see you right away and you can shove him back down if he tries to stand."

Manny was scared half out of his mind but did what Bass asked. 'Bass better not shoot this asshole, he'll get me too.' A couple moments later, the man started coming back to his senses. He saw Bass in front of him and started to stand up. Manny shoved down hard on his shoulders to keep him seated. Then, apparently, he saw the gun pointing at his face. Moments later, the distinct odor of urine filled the air.

Linda noticed from the doorway, "Oh, great. I gotta clean up his piss? That chair better not be ruined, asshole. That gun will be the least of your worries after I get done with you."

Manny chuckled, wondering what exactly Linda would or could do. Turned out, she wouldn't be able to do anything, except clean up a larger mess.

Just as Patrick and Rocky appeared at the doorway into the kitchen, there was a loud bang. A glass panel on the outside door shattered, and the intruder fell over sideways, gray matter flying out the side of his head opposite the door. The women screamed. Manny screamed. Rocky said, "Cool." Fortunately, none of them were in the path of the bullet, which also shattered the window on an oven door.

Bass shouted, "Everybody get down."

Those at the doorway dispersed, except Rocky, who crouched down. Manny hid behind a counter. Bass did likewise.

"Well, I guess, we're not getting any information out of him." Bass said, sadly, knowing there’d be nothing more he could do once the cops arrived.

At that moment, a voice came through the alarm panel, "This is the Lula police. Will someone open the gate?"

The police were automatically contacted in certain circumstances, intruders being one of them. Fortunately, Bass was still basically in front of the panel. He cautiously stood and tapped it a couple times. The screen showed a police car outside the gate. After another set of taps, he crouched down again.

"Come right up to the house, officer. But be aware, a gunshot killed one of the intruders. I don't know how many others there may be. Patrick, make your way to the front door carefully, avoid the windows, and let the officer in. Re-arm the system as fast as you can."

"Sure, Bass."

By this time, the second intruder had made his way back to the gate. He hid in the bushes until the cop went past, then attempted to squeeze through the gate as it closed. The gate closed with most of the man on the outside. One foot was trapped between the gate's support posts. It was a tight squeeze, and he screamed. The officer had traveled far enough to not hear the scream clearly, since he was confirming his location with the dispatcher. Intruder number two was trapped there until backup arrived, moaning loudly.

Bass and Manny carefully made their way out of the kitchen, to await the officer just outside its doorway. The cop arrived, was shown to the dining room where the rest were gathered.

After looking into the kitchen, he asked, "Which one of you shot that guy?"

Bass replied, "None of us. The shot came through the door."

Patrick interrupted, "Um, guys?"

Bass turned toward him, "Yes?"

"I brought up the camera while the officer was coming through the gate. Someone tried to escape, but got his foot caught. He looks to be in a lot of pain." Sarcastically, “Awww, that’s too bad.”

Bass brought up the gate view on the dining room's panel, a scoped rifle lay near the man. "There's your shooter, officer."

The officer called for backup, CSU, detectives, and the coroner, warning dispatch about other potential intruders.

"Everybody stay away from the windows and doors until we can determine if there are any more perpetrators."

Bass told the officer, "The fences are configured with motion sensors. Anybody trying to climb over them will set off an alarm and be lit up like a Christmas tree. I don't think there is anybody else."

"That's good to know, but I don't need anyone getting shot on my watch, so stay away. Okay, which one of you is the owner?"

Rocky thought, it would be a good time to be a wise guy, "I am."

"Thanks, kid, but how about you let the adults talk, okay?"

Manny spoke up, "Technically, he's right. His parents were killed a few weeks ago, but I'm his guardian, Manny Talbot. I suppose I'm in charge. Bass Blank, here, is the family's bodyguard and may be your best resource."

"Fine. Someone tell me what happened."

Bass recounted the activities from when the alarm sounded until the intruder was shot just before the officer arrived. Manny indicated, he had just come home from work, and it was likely, the intruders followed him through the gate.

"It doesn't sound to me like a typical break-in. Why would ankle-man out by the gate shoot his partner if they were just intending to rob the place."

"I agree. Mr. Tanner was connected to some shady characters through his father's business."

"Tanner? Ivan Tanenov, a.k.a. Ivan Tanner?"

"Yes, that was the owner, Boris' father."

"Okay. That sheds a whole new light on this whole thing. I'm just guessing, but this appears to be a botched kidnapping attempt. Ankle-man didn't want any details being shared, so he killed his partner. Fortunately for us, he got caught in the gate; but I doubt he'll talk if this does have anything to do with Ivan's business."

Another voice came through the panel, "We have the man out here by the gate restrained, will someone open the gate to free his foot and let us in?"

Bass looked at the screen, which still showed the front gate, confirmed it was the police, and opened the gate. A couple minutes later, they were all told to remain in the living room while the scene was processed. Before long, there were four patrol officers, two detectives, six members of the Crime Scene Unit, and the coroner present. Sandy wanted to put on coffee for them but was not allowed into the kitchen. While she had a small coffee pot in her room, it surely wouldn't be useful in this case with nearly twenty people.

Rocky had fallen asleep on a sofa, so Manny brought him back up to his bedroom, then returned to continue answering the endless questions. Since Sandy, Linda, and Patrick had no pertinent information to add, the police let them go back to bed as well.

It was after seven AM before the "house guests" had all left. The police arranged for their clean-up contractor to come by later to deal with the mess in the kitchen. Linda was thrilled when she heard that. She was not looking forward to doing that herself. Bass took Manny into the study. They went to the gun safe, which Bass opened. Bass handed Manny a Glock 26, a huge spare magazine, and a box of nine mm rounds.

"There's a small safe in the closet in your room, like they use in hotels. Program a code and keep this in there. If anything like tonight happens in the future, grab the gun and spare magazine before leaving your room."

"How many rounds are in the spare?"

"The max. Thirty-three. Ideally, you'll never have to use it, but it's better to have too many than not enough."

Manny had already learned that the G26 has ten in the standard mag, plus one in the chamber. The extra magazine boosted the round count to 44.

"Yikes, I sure hope not. 44 bullets could do a lot of damage."

Monday

The detectives returned to provide Bass and Manny with an update. The man, who got caught in the gate, had been charged with murder, possession of an illegal firearm, attempted kidnapping, and criminal trespass. He sang like a canary to avoid the death penalty. Eight more people in what used to be Ivan's organization were also arrested on numerous charges. Those nine, plus the deceased intruder, were all that was left of that organization. Rocky should have no more concerns about being kidnapped by that gang. He was, however, faced with another scary activity in a matter of a few weeks; school.

Next up - "More Getting Acclimated, and Then Some"