Page 4 of Astrid
“Okay, what possibly could be confusing introducing the others to me?”
“They are two sets of triplets. The J’s and the A’s. Justin is the oldest of them all,” Joyce laughed when Justin lifted one hand off Ava’s shoulder, and waved his hand at Astrid. “The next in line is John, he’s the guy you helped sit on his ass, so he didn’t pass out at the sight of his own blood.”
“I didn’t almost pass out,” John scowled at the two of them.
Joyce and Astrid exchanged grins as they repeated to each other, “He almost passed out.” Astrid looked back at him and threw him a wink.
“Next is Josh, that’s it for the J’s. In the lineup of kids, the J’s are first, then there’s Morgan, then you have the A’s. There’s Alfred, but he prefers to be called Alfie, then there’s Alan, and finally, the guy who looks like he’s waving his hand, but is actually in bandages, is Alex.” Joyce turned to Astrid, and said in a serious voice, and a serious expression on her face. “He’s mine.”
“Okay,” Astrid didn’t know how else to answer that, then frowned at the last man standing there. “And you are?”
“Chuck.” He came forward and shook her hand. “I’ve been best friends with the J’s since kindergarten, and when they moved out here to build the house, I tagged along. I’m the job supervisor for John and Josh’s construction company.”
“What are you building now?” Astrid pointed behind them with a frown.
“Our new office,” Morgan said. “Okay, I heard what you said about not knowing if you’re going to stay, and I understand that. For now, why don’t you come into the house, we’re about to fix lunch. Join us for lunch, we’ll answer whatever questions you have, and let you decide whether you want to stay or not.”
Astrid frowned, but realized if she was going to get any answers that was the only way she’d get them. She looked down at the man named John, who still sat in the mud, and held her hand out to him. As she helped him up, she nodded to his hand. “You might want to get that bandaged.” Then, went back over to her Jeep, turned it off, pocketed the keys, and followed the women into the house.
Astrid stopped just inside the door and looked around in open-mouthed shock at the sheer size of the room she entered. “Holy mother of Pearl,” she whispered, and heard someone chuckle behind her. She looked up and grinned at John as he quirked a brow at her.
“Who’s turn is it to cook?” someone called out, and several people answered, “John.”
“NO!”Everyone yelled, and turned to look at him. “The way his day is going, he’ll probably burn the freaking house down. I’ll do it,” a man Astrid couldn’t quite remember his name said, and headed toward the kitchen. It turned out the four of the men started pulling things from the refrigerator, and cupboards. In twenty minutes, they were all sitting down to platters of meat, cheese, and fixings for sandwiches, along with several bags of potato chips, and at least three different salads. It amazed Astrid at how efficient everyone was.
No one said a word as everyone fixed a sandwich, filled their plate, and started eating. Halfway through the meal, Morgan began to speak, “Okay, Astrid, you told us you didn’t know whether you were going to be staying or not. If you don’t mind, may I ask why not?”
Astrid swallowed the drink she’d just taken, and looked directly at Morgan, as she answered, “One, because there wasn’t a lot of information as to what I would be doing. Two, I tried to research Boswell Two, and found nothing, and very little on a group named Boswell out of Buffalo, New York. Three, because your letter sounded too good to be true. In all honesty, I had no idea what to expect, and as I told Angel Carson over in Montana, if I don’t like what you have to say, then I’ll be going back there and begging Hank Patterson for a job with the Brotherhood Protection Agency.”
“Fair enough,” Morgan said as she sat back, and cradled her cup of coffee in her hands. “Okay, let me start at the beginning with some background. My name is Morgan Stuart, everyone here at this table, with the exception of you, know what Boswell Two is all about. As you met them earlier, the J’s and A’s are my blood brothers. We have the same parents.”
“You’re not a triplet?” Astrid asked, and frowned when all but one man groaned and hung their heads. One of them scowled at Morgan.
“Don’t say it.”
Morgan laughed as she sat forward with a grin. “I’ve always told Mom and Dad they had to have triplet boys, because one got the brains, one got the brawn, and one got the beauty. Where on the other hand, I being a single birth, got all three at once. I didn’t need to have any more born with me.” She grinned when Astrid choked on the mouthful of food she’d just taken, laughing so hard.
“Oh my god, that is priceless.” She grinned at the men’s scowls, and the first one she saw was John, and she blew him a kiss, and winked at him. Later she’d kick herself for doing that, but at the time, his expression warranted some cheering up. “Okay, continue.”
“As I said, the J’s, A’s, and Chuck know what Boswell Two is about. Our Uncle Chip, he really is our uncle. His wife is our mother’s sister. Anyway, Uncle Chip formed Boswell Group about ten years ago. I’m not sure exactly how it came about, but he was in DC, meeting with several members of congress for something, and overheard several members of the different bowls of alphabet soup wishing they had operatives to use on US soil, like the military. After several months of meetings, Boswell was formed. Uncle Chip hires only former honorably discharged military personnel to either do missions here in the states, or they do go overseas. However, it’s so hush, hush, that the people in government don’t know what’s going on until it’s done, and they get the reports, or see the end results.”
“I’m assuming by alphabet soup you’re talking DEA, ATF, FBI?”
“Yes, and Homeland Security, we’re currently working with someone from BCI.”
“I don’t know if I’ve heard of that one.”
“State level, Bureau of Criminal Investigation. If they need the Feds, they’re called in, but they usually handle it themselves.”
“Okay,” Astrid said as she pushed her plate away, and settled back in her seat to study Morgan and the others around the table. “What exactly would I be doing for Boswell Two?”
“First, you’d live here.” Morgan threw her hand out and grinned at Astrid’s shocked expression. “Upstairs there are eight rooms, each have their own bathroom. Ava and Joyce have their own that they currently share with Justin and Alex. You’ll get your pick of whichever one you want.”
“Where do the men stay?” Astrid pointed to them.
“When they came to North Dakota from home, which is New York State by the way, they lived in campers. When Ava arrived, the house was done enough that we could begin to furnish it. The boys now each have a bed downstairs in the basement, and they share a bathroom.” Morgan held up her hand when she anticipated Astrid’s response. “Don’t worry, it’s big enough. I’ll give you a tour after we’re done here.” Morgan sat forward, and placed her folded arms on the table. “What I want you to do for Boswell is to be our communications director. I want and need security cameras on the outside of the house, the boys are building our new office as we speak, and I’ll want them there too. Also, on the garage. I’d also like to have tracking devices put on all our work vehicles, and someone to monitor them.”
“Wow, that’s a lot.”
