Down to Earth by Mackey Chandler

Author:Mackey Chandler [Chandler, Mackey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B007RGBIVK
Goodreads: 13601572
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Published: 2012-04-02T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Adzusa's family home was down one of those scrapped dirt roads she had told April about. The noticeable thing about their driveway in fact, was that it was nicer than the road. She pulled up the drive and parked, in a small area near the house, with a couple sedans and a four wheel drive truck with a pickup bed. It was even higher, but not prettier than the Mercedes.

April noticed there was no perimeter or fence around the property and there were lots of trees and gardens around the house and its associated buildings, but Margaret had given her enough tactical instruction she also noticed the trees all had bare trunks near the ground, with no pine trees or other trees with low masking foliage. The driveway was also meandering, with a couple rock gardens in the loops, where it would have been easy to make it straight. Even with her Mercedes, April didn't think she could take a shortcut across the rocks. They looked more like tank traps than decoration. And beyond the cluster of greenery around the house, there was a band of bare grass at least a hundred meters wide before the trees started again. She'd sure hate to have to cross that, if somebody at the house had a decent rifle.

She also noted the house had no real out buildings. The sheds and garage were all attached in a cluster and there were plenty of windows overlooking every approach. She approved of it from a security viewpoint. It was a real bonus that it was on a rise, that lifted it from the surrounding woods at least three meters. She wasn't sure that was natural or graded.

When they got out a young man came out of the garage and approached them. He looked hard at the aikuchi in April's belt and the laser gun worn cross draw, before he nodded very gravely to them. She had been studying Japanese for months now, but the most she could understand was he asked Adzusa something-something about the service of April's sword. Adzusa replied that April was not her servant. With a start, April understood the man was a family servant. The first she had ever seen that wasn't in a historic video or old movie. April thought she understood the conversation enough she felt compelled to comment.

"I don't trust my Japanese enough to use it, but I want your man to understand, I'm not a hired gun, but if there was trouble while I was your guest I wouldn't stand back and ignore it, I'd support the household that was extending hospitality to me."

"You understood enough," Adzusa told her. "How long have you been working on that?"

"I've been mostly studying with Jeff when we are together for other things. He just about has me to the point where I can order in a restaurant and the help can make it to the kitchen to laugh, instead of bursting out with it right at the table."

"Then we shall help you along," she promised.

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