Happy Dog

On The Coast In New England

As soon as the deck door opened, Tango rushed for it.  Was it the pattern of Allston's steps or something the pooch heard or smelled? The dog had no doubt Thomas Allston was coming through the door.

Tango was all over Allston, and it was apparent that they were happy to see each other.

The Two Apostles followed Thomas into the door, surveyed the crowd, and introduced themselves to Wally, Lisa Tanaka, Natalie Leuze, and teary Eve Crowder.

Allston wrestled a bit with Tango, got up, and danced. He stepped Eve into the living room and held her tight while looking into her eyes. He kissed her tears, smiled, and laughed, and Eve said, "Where the hell have you been, and why all this drama?"

"We will go over it later, Evie." 

Allston walked over to his desk in the corner and turned on the lamp.  He reached under the desk and pulled something taped to the underside.

He walked over to Eve, handed her the box, got down on one knee, and said, "I have not talked with your Dad yet, but Evelyn, will you marry me?" 

Eve said "yes" five times and didn't open the box.

When they went from the living room back into the kitchen, Eve and Thomas were glowing and engaged. She had what can only be described as an extraordinary ring on her left hand.

Eve, never a show-offie girl, was embarrassed to hold it up for inspection, but she did because everyone wanted to see it.

Natalie sprung into action, looking for cups, champagne, beer, and whatever for a toast.

The Apostles realized they were in a room with "Natalie Freaking Leuze," and they started talking about "The Poster" with each other.  Each man had the poster in their room when they were young.

At this moment, Tanaka was missing Ben, who was in London for yet another conference about Artificial Intelligence.

Wally stood up and was the tallest person in the room. He gripped Allston's hand and said,

"Congratulations, great, great work." "Should we step out on the deck or talk tomorrow?"

"Let's step out after the toast." "I'm sure the Company Men have to get rolling." "There's an Air National Guard Driver ready to take them back to Portsmouth." They have been stuck to me since... Thomas looked around before he whispered, "Barcelona."

Wally laughed and said, "You don't have to go all Biden on me, but use discretion when you fill Eve in."

"Eve came over to Tanaka and put her arm around her. "He'll be home soon, and you are welcome to stay with us up here tonight." "A little cramped, I know, but we'll work it out." 

Tanaka hugged Eve and said, "She would be driving back with Wally, but she might come up this weekend?" 

Eve said, "I'm kicking you all out this weekend to rearrange the sheets with my man."

Tanaka laughed and said "Congrats Eve!"

Then, the natural showman stepped up while the Apostles poured the hodgepodge liquids for the gathering. Natalie said with an honest heart and tears, "Thomas Allston and Eve Crowder are making things official, and she was happy to see her two friends, who are in love, move on to the next level. Let us all raise our glasses and let them feel some love."

When Natalie said "love," she and Wally glanced at each other and caught each other glancing.

Allston and Eve saw it, but neither could vouch for the other people in the room.

With his arm around his love's waist, Allston whispered into her ear, "As The World Turns." "You saw it too?" Eve asked. "Please recall I am a Detective." "Yes, you are a Detective, and you are home where you belong."  "There will be more trips I'll have to make, so think about what you are getting into." "That's old news, lover. I already know." "I missed you so much, and I'm glad you are home now."

"Tango, too."

Wally, The two CIA Apostles, and Allston excused themselves. Once outside, they all chatted and said their goodbyes to the Company Men. Allston thanked them and asked them to thank the station chief in the Embassy.

Wally turned to Allston and said, "The M.S.S. in China had you on their facial recognition system, and they are now sharing data with the Russians. We had a CI in New York who did the right thing and tipped us when she saw what was about to happen." 

"Holy Moly"

Wally said, "Let's get back to the party; I can't stop looking at Natalie's legs and ass."

Allston said, "She's got it all. Wait until you see how down-to-earth, smart, and funny she is."

"Does she have a boyfriend yet?"

" I think you're on deck but don't know it yet."

"Why would you say that?"

"I'm a detective, remember?"

Chicago

Belyakov had no problem finding the Deep Dish Pizza he craved.  He sat in his hotel and studied all the information China had supplied. He decided he would get things right where the Chinese had failed.

He was surprised at how complete the summaries were, given this Chinese operation had failed. Would the FSB be so open with the Chinese? 

Was Allston so good he could defeat three trained professionals, or were the hired men sloppy?

Two of the three-man assault team were dead, and one was alive but missing the lower half of a leg.

He looked at the layout of where the house was and how it bordered the ocean on one side.

He started visualizing using the supplied photos. The entry team used a textbook, American Style, "0430 door kick," and somehow, Allston was ready for them.

Belyakov thought about Manolo/Allston. When I met him in Barcelona, the guy had confidence, maybe a dash of charisma. There was intelligence there, but more so a surety.  He could manage anything thrown at him.

Was this a Massachusetts thing you see in the movies? A combination of confidence with more than a sprinkle of arrogance.

Belyakov noted Allston goes to That Donut Chain every morning. He read more about the dog and Allston's girlfriend.

Tomorrow will be busy.

On The Coast In New England

Eve called her bakery assistant and asked if she could run the show the next day. Wally, Tanaka, and Natalie Leuze all had the good sense to leave the engaged lovebirds alone. Allston was tired from the long trip but not so tired to miss out on a night of passion. The three were together, and they could relax and catch up tomorrow. 

Allston had quite a story to tell Eve, and it would make for an interesting day.

Eve predicted before they fell asleep: "Tomorrow, you will pay me back a few of the margaritas you owe me for saving your life."

Thomas thought about this and how Eve had saved his life twice.

He was lucky to have her.