“Yes, sir?” the computerized assistant responded.
“I need immediate summer and full-year residency at Poly Canyon student housing on the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo campus for Bradley McLanahan,” he said. “I also need a nationwide concealed-carry permit for Bradley, including authorization to carry on college campuses. Notify headquarters and ‘Policeman’ of this request—he may need to assist you to overcome any bureaucratic or political obstacles.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m still not totally comfortable with this, Brad,” Patrick said after signing off from his electronic assistant, “but if we can get you into Poly Canyon and the sergeant major can get you trained up, I’ll feel better. I’m hoping the Russians won’t bother you or your aunts after encountering Sergeant Major Wohl, but we’ll assume they’ll come back and try again after they regroup and track you down, so we’ll do everything we can to keep you safe and staying in school. I’m sure Gryzlov will send more teams after you as soon as you resurface, so we have just a short time to get you trained, and Chris and his team won’t always be available to watch over you, so it’s important to get trained up as soon as possible.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Brad said. He walked over to the CID and gave it a hug—thinking of the big robot as his father was becoming easier every minute. “That would be great. I’ll work really hard at it, I promise. One of my team leaders lives in Poly Canyon, and if I didn’t already have Sondra back home, I’d definitely like to be with her.”
“Just remember to keep your eyes and ears open and listen to that little voice in the back of your head, the one that was telling you that your father was watching you,” Patrick said. “It will warn you of danger.”
“I will, Dad.”
“Good. Go talk to the sergeant major and arrange with him to take you to a hotel in town until we can get your room set up on campus. You probably also need to get your story straight and talk with the police about what happened back at the rancherito. I’ll be heading back to St. George tonight.”
“Back into storage?”
“Back where I can check on my targets and get caught up again,” Patrick said. “I’ll be in touch, Brad. I love you, son.”
“I love you too, Dad,” Brad said. He gave the CID another hug, then went to the conference room and found Chris Wohl. “Thanks for doing that report so quickly, Sergeant Major,” he said. “I didn’t realize the campus was so safe.”
“It’s not,” Wohl said, “at least not for you against Russian hit men.”
Brad’s smile disappeared. “Say what?” he asked with a stunned expression.
“Think about it, McLanahan: nineteen thousand students, probably five thousand more faculty and staff, crammed into an area less than three square miles,” Wohl said. “Anyone can come and go around the clock anywhere on campus they please. There is just one sworn campus police officer per shift for every one thousand students, and they have no heavy weapons and no SWAT training. You’re done with all of your freshman-year courses, so your class sizes will be smaller from now on, but you’ll still be in classes and labs with dozens of kids.”
“Then why did you recommend I go back?”
“Because I believe your father is being too protective—he would be very happy to just lock you away, stand you in a nice safe secure box like him, and have the world fed to you through the Internet,” Wohl said. “He wouldn’t care how miserable you’d be, because in his mind you’d be safe from the dangerous world he’s lived and fought in almost all his life.”
“So what do you care about what my father wants to do about me, Sergeant Major?” Brad asked. “I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. You said you’re not a friend of my father. Why do you care?”
Wohl ignored the question. “The information I gave was accurate: it’s a relatively safe campus and city,” he said instead. “With some training, the danger can be managed, maybe even minimized.” He gave Brad a big smile, which still looked pretty malevolent, and added, “Besides, now my men and I have you, and we got the go-ahead to build a training program to get your ass in shape and learn the proper way to look at the world. Every day, one hour a day.”