Next Door Neighbor

out, we'll lay here and snuggle for a while.'

She nodded her agreement, and pulled my hand over so she could have a sip of my beer before she headed for the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she came out and crawled into bed with me, tucking herself into my side and pulling my arm around her. We lay there like that until the movie finished; as the credits were scrolling, I looked down to see that she'd fallen asleep. Carefully, so as not to disturb her, I called down to leave a wakeup call at the front desk. I also spoke to Agent Gallery, to let him know that Amy would be staying with us for a while – possibly until morning. I heard the smile in his voice as he told me 'Good. She's a damn fine agent, but she doesn't have enough*friends*. She needs to unwind a little.' I knew that HE knew something was happening – and cared only that she was being properly treated, and taken care of.

'You sound like an understanding man, Agent Gallery.'

'Please, call me Tom. Maybe I am, I don't know. I just know that we're a tight bunch of people. We have to be, of course. While the rest of us talk about our home lives with each other, it seems like Amy never talks about the people she knows AWAY from work. She's a damn good looking woman, but we never see HER come in looking like the rest of us do when WE'VE gotten plenty of 'bed rest', as we call it. She's due for it. She deserves it.'

'You're certainly a thoughtful man, Tom. Well, we won't be going out tonight, so you can make your arrangements accordingly. I seriously doubt that any of us will be awake before, oh, eight o'clock, at the earliest.'

'Thanks. Take good care of her, Dan.'

'We will, Tom. Good night.'

That done, I hung up the phone, and rolled onto my side so I could hold Sandra close to me as I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning before my wakeup call; I went ahead and called down to let them know they could cancel it. Sandra looked like she was pretty well out of it, so I went ahead and got some coffee started before heading into the bathroom.

Clean and shaven, I saw that the coffeemaker was done, and poured myself a cup – Sandra was still well and truly out of it.

When I'd finished my coffee, I called down to the front desk, and was quickly put in touch with the duty agent – Agent Hendricks. I told him that everyone else was sleeping in, but that I'd be down for some breakfast in about ten minutes, if that was okay. He assured me that the caf in the hotel was quite slow, and that they'd be waiting for me. He also told me that I had a message from Jules Francone – Agent Gallery had had the front desk hold the call so that we wouldn't be disturbed so soon after the 'incident', as he put it. I thanked him, and hung up before pouring myself a second cup of coffee.

As I was going through the second cup, I got dressed; when I saw Amy's purse with her weapon in it, I decided that I should probably take it to the other room, where she could see that it was safe. I carefully opened the door, and saw the three of them snuggling together on the bed; Amy was wrapped up by Lucy and Robyn. All three had happy, satiated smiles on their faces, so I knew they'd had a good time. I put Amy's purse on a dresser, well away from anything else, so that she could see it from the bed. I couldn't help stopping by the bed to give all three of them a kiss, not at all surprised that each of them smelled strongly of the other two. Again, I couldn't resist the temptation to grab my digital camera and take a few photos, a mix of close-ups of each of them, and a few of them as a group.

That done, I went back into Lucy's room, closing the door behind me, and put on my holstered pistol before heading for the door. I quietly undid all the locks, then opened it a crack to peer into the hallway.

There were two different agents out there; again, one at each end of the hallway. Both nodded in greeting, and I went on out, making sure the door was locked behind me. Down in the lobby, I saw that Agent Hendricks wasn't in any mood to fool around – there were a couple of people in suits that all but screamed 'FBI'. I stopped by the desk and picked up the message they had for me before heading for the caf. I was only a couple of feet from the desk when a man walked toward me – Agent Hendricks, I expected. He introduced himself, and thanked me for letting them know what my plans were. I assured him it was okay, and inquired about the men in suits who were making no pretense of not watching out for me. He told me 'I know that you don't think anyone from the Francone family will be bothering you, but it seemed prudent to make sure that anyone else out there knows we're here, too.' I thanked him, and asked if I could buy him a cup of coffee. He hesitated, and I told him 'I expect that I'm going to be paying some people a visit- probably today, but maybe tomorrow.

I'd like to work with you on the logistics of it.' When he heard that, he agreed, and the two of us continued to the caf. After we got some coffee, I ordered, and we talked over what I thought was going to happen while I waited for my meal.

When I'd finished breakfast, Agent Hendricks and I shook hands before I headed back for the room. Once there, I went into the room that the girls hadn't used in a couple of days, and made my call to Jules. He answered quickly, and let me know that he'd made arrangements for 'the interested party' and I to meet sometime that day.

I asked when would be a good time, and he told me 'Pretty much any time – just make it at least a couple hours from now so they can make arrangements, okay?'

'How about one o'clock, then?' I asked.

'Beautiful. You know you're going into the lions den, don't you?'

I gave a small laugh, and said 'Yeah – same old tune.'

He laughed then, too, and said 'I guess it's nothing new to you, is it?'

'Not really.'

'Well, I'll be there, too, kind of as a go-between. I know my uncle, and I know you – maybe we can settle this before it goes too far.'

'I hope so, Guido. Stuff like this doesn't do*anybody* any good.'

'I hear that. Okay, I'll see you later, okay?'

'See you then.'

That conversation over, I called down to speak with Agent Hendricks.

When I told him what Jules and I had set up, he said 'His uncle, huh?

Must be Benito Francone, a.k.a. Benny. He and Jules' daddy were in business when Jules' dad kinda got blown up. Benny had the entire operation then, and we heard that he personally took care of the people that killed his brother. No bodies were ever found; it was like they dropped off the face of the earth. He's a mean old bird, and hard as they come. Watch yourself.'

'Oh, I will. He's not the first hard-ass I've had to deal with.'

Hendricks laughed, and said 'Yeah, I guess not. I'll bet he's gonna be some surprised at you, though!'

I verified the arrangements I'd made with him over breakfast before ending the conversation.

With a few hours to fill before my meeting, I went back into 'my' room to collect my new laptop. Once in there, I saw that Amy was mostly awake. When she saw me, she woke up completely, and gave me a radiant smile of greeting before gesturing that she wanted me to come over to the bed. I sat on the edge, careful not to wake up Lucy or Robyn, and Amy reached out to take my hand. Holding it to her mouth, she softly kissed my palm before holding it to her face as she whispered 'Thank you. Last night was the best time I've had in my life. I never felt so loved, so accepted, by*anyone*, not even my own family.'

I smiled at her, and took her hand in mine in return, telling her 'It was my pleasure – OUR pleasure. Know that we love you, and when you get the chance, pass it along.'

She nodded solemnly, and I leaned over to give her a kiss – and getting a taste of Lucy and Robyn in the process. I smacked my lips in appreciation, and she blushed slightly when I told her 'Hmmmm.

Robyn, with a little Lucy tossed in for variety…'

I grinned when I saw the blush, and told her 'I'll be in the other room, working a little bit. You're welcome to stay as long as you want – just remember, if you leave before they all get to give you a proper goodbye, you'll be in some*serious* trouble.'

She grinned back at me, and said 'I wouldn't dream of it – I owe them, and you, too much.'

'Amy, you owe us nothing. We did it because we love you. No more, no less.'

She gave my palm another soft kiss, then released it so I could stand up and collect my things before heading back into the girls room.