"Get Off My Lawn!"

A Small New England Coastal Town

I don't think our neighbors will ever look at us the same way. The first responders, like in every small town,  responded in hordes. It was a few hours from shift change, so the day cops joined the overnight cops in my driveway; I love them, and my heart is true blue, but damn if I didn't see a town Selectman show up with coffee and donuts for everyone. Guess where those came from?

This crime scene in my house and the neighbor's yard is a local cop dream, and everyone wanted some piece of the investigation, especially when they saw what looked like dead Middle Eastern Terrorists, which is what they were.

The local chief had to pull out a playbook. It told him how he had to respond to a suspected act of terrorism. I'm sure after he made all the right calls to the correct Local, State, and Federal task forces, he had enough of a blister on his thumb to declare himself wounded in action and go out on disability.

The town Selectman, thinking ahead, started taking selfies that would make him look like a man of action. A red nose with polished shoes equals clown, but he had coffee for the responders.

This is the first wave,  

The state road in front of my house was coned off for multiple helicopter landings. The Staties and the Feds started arriving and then the Medical Examiner. The wounded terrorist was scooped up by paramedics and three armed men and put into the back of an ambulance, and I'm not sure where they went.

My cell phone beeped once as the ground around the house looked like a night under the big top. It was Chief Strier.

"Allston, what the fuck?" 

The all points BOLO (Be On The Lookout) had entered Strier's jurisdiction as everyone tried to determine if the threat was over or more widespread.

"Ron, is Sophie okay?" I asked

"She's fine; she's in the house looking at TikTok Videos about assault rifles."

I laughed at this and wondered what kind of watch list she would end up on.

The first helicopter came over the house, and it was impossible to speak to Strier anymore. Things were about to get serious for Eve and me.

By now, the locals have figured out I am an ex-cop, ex-military, and soon-to-be ex-good guy if they didn't let Eve use the bathroom in the house. She has to pee.

One local figured out the protocols for this and returned, telling her that her home and the crime scene were sealed while it was analyzed. They approached a neighbor and agreed Eve could pee in their house without escort.

While in the neighbor's bathroom, Eve opened the window a crack and dropped a thumb drive that contained the contents of Mr. Tanner's computer onto the ground in some bushes. 

I only turned Tanner's computer on once the whole time I had it, assuming that it could be rendered useless from afar like the others at Tanner's firm. I put all of the contents of that computer on the thumb drive that Eve had just hidden.

I'm loving me some Tennesee Woman right now. Did you know I owe her three margaritas?

I had to understand what this was about, and the interrogations were about to start. 

Eve looked at me and said, "Mission Accomplished. That margarita count just went up by two more."

Since Tequila makes Eve's clothes come off, Trust me, I'll pay up.

We sat and waited, and I guessed correctly when I told Eve The Feds would have at us first.

It's going to be a long day.