The vehicles slowed as they got to the house and then parked. There were more than a dozen. Men and a couple women exited the trucks, twisting and stretching from a long ride.

A man and a lady from the SUV that had led the procession walked over, “Hi, I’m Thomas Hammond, everybody calls me Tony. This is Katelyn Black and she likes Kathy; we are the chief engineers from Jones & Jones.”

“You’re BJ – I recognize you from your pictures we have in the office – I am so pleased to finally meet you. Jake was so proud of you – his office still has paper clippings and pictures of you all over the walls. We hope that he will get finished soon and return from Japan.”

Tony introduced all of the men with him and also the other lady as Janet Ashworthy – the Jones and Jones EPA approved ground water run off design engineer for site management and compliance.

“Bob said that you are interested in a runway and needed some guidance. We can help you with that; we have downloaded all the earth data charts for the area and have the test pattern ready to go,” he replied. He turned around, “Mark each bore with the GPS numbers on the charts you have. Let’s get started.”

“Bob implied that you have an office close by that we might be able to use to correlate the data,” Kathy added. “Are there any motels close by where we can spend the night? That would save six hours of traveling each day.”

Marcy called Holiday East to book the rooms on our corporate account. The horsey house was full up from the security training. She then gave Kathy the directions to the gym, told her that it was open 24/7, and there would be an access card at the desk for them to get into the office area.

Then she extended an invitation to Kathy and Janet to stay in the upstairs guest rooms instead of the motel if they liked and asked how many pool cars they would like to have for the men to use tonight; they could leave the trucks in the lot at the gym for security.

Jason left to file the papers with the County deeds and records department and then to attend a meeting at the office. We wanted them certified and registered immediately and the ownership changed today.

I needed to get back to the gym; the Tuesday night agency people would be back in a little while. I was sure Ching Lee and Vicky were ready to rumble. The only nights I was going to have off for the next four weeks were Saturday, Sunday and Monday and even then I still had classes Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Another cloud of dust was coming down the lane. Just before the two trucks came to a stop in front of the house Crash muttered, “No good nephews – what do they want now? Bruce is the one in the front, the other one is Samuel.”

“Hello old man – what is all this going on here?” Bruce said with a tone in his voice.

“Having my runway repaired and thinking about putting in a irrigation well, it’s not really any of your business anyhow,” Crash said.

“You just as well stop right now. We think that wheat followed by soybeans go together as one crop – sort of a customary tandem crop,” Samuel said.

“You planted the wheat as a cover crop and you were paid to do that from the states Clean the Bay fund. By rule you were not to allow it to go to seed but you did because it looked so good,” Roger said and then added, “A phone call to bring the county Ag agent down here will settle that.”

“You are not going to scare us. All we have to do is refund the state payment and then we are going to plant beans,” Bruce said.

“You seem to be forgetting that you were served with legal notice that last year’s cover crop was the last crop you were to plant and a copy of that letter is on file with the county Ag department as negotiated by the Ag magistrate,” Roger said.

“Dad is going to appeal that ruling; we think the magistrate was in error,” Bruce replied. “You can save yourself legal fees and court costs by just letting us plant beans with the same agreement as last year.”

“Crash has made other deals and the contracts have been signed and recorded. If you show up with any equipment we will have it impounded. For the record you are now trespassing; if you step foot on the property again you will be arrested,” Roger said.

“This is not over, old man!” Samuel said as they drove away.

Jenny and I listened to the conversation. After they had left Jenny said, “They are full of it and the stink is going get all over them if they continue.”

“Jason just sent me a text that the property change has been recorded and the fees paid. The temporary new deed with the county stamp will be put on Jenny’s desk. The official deed will be sent in two weeks. He is on his way to the office,” I said

We shook hands and left. As we drove down the lane the ten bore machines were already drilling test holes. I wish I had the time to go and watch the process from beginning to end. Oh well, maybe another time.

I had just entered my office and was standing by the conference table getting an update from Cindy and Mark when my cell rang with a blocked number.

This time the conversation started off in Arabic, “You were right, Miles is a workman’s comp case. He came in at two all hobbled up and wanting to go to the hospital. The people he rode back with last night said he was fine; all joking and carrying on. Even I could tell he was faking,” Rodney said.

“I could tell that last night he would not be back. He did not like not being able to live up to his mouth. Then he started trying to short-cut to make up for it and got himself hurt,” I said.

“Is there still time to put someone in his place?” Rodney asked.

“He should be here tonight and tomorrow night and needs to be a fast learner. That way he would only be one class behind and we can make up for that,” I replied.

“Albert Hawkins will be there in an hour. Don’t be afraid to put him through the wringer, if he washes out he washes out. Stay strong and be free,” with that the phone went dead.

Edit by Alfmeister