Author's Notes:
'A Shepherd's Crook' is a new tale in the Chronicles of Ben Shepherd. The chronological order of the stories is:
The Shepherd of Ashburn Court -- Parts 1 - 5
A Shepherd in France -- Parts 1 & 2
A Shepherd Afield -- Parts 1 - 5
The Shepherd's Crook -- Part 1
Minimal effort is made in this tale to explain the backstory, so please read the other stories first.
All characters engaging in sexual relationships or activities are 18 years old or older.
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A Shepherd's Crook -- Part 1
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Chapter 1
Ben stretched out on his back on the living room carpet, baby Gretchen asleep on his chest. Sam was wiggling on his blanket at his side, Ben's big arm protectively encircling the infant. The only child missing from this picture was Christopher who'd opted to go to daycare to play with his friends.
He heard footsteps and glanced up to see Tina and Lucy approaching with big smiles on their faces.
"Who's a proud papa? Who's a proud papa? You are! Yes, you are!" Lucy teased in a voice she used on her daughter.
Ben chuckled because he couldn't argue with the beauty. He
was
proud! Thrilled as well. He'd never expected to have children of his own much less three! He smiled lovingly at the two ladies, and they knelt next to him and gave him kisses before they scooped up their babies.
Ben made a slight noise of protest, but Tina gave him a raised eyebrow.
"You know Captain Kendricks will be here shortly. Don't you need to prepare?" she asked.
Ben sat up and pouted at them but nodded. He leaned forward and kissed the heads of the babies and got another kiss from their mothers before he stood and walked downstairs to his office. A prototype of his latest design was resting atop his drafting table. The original was in the glass cabinet lining the wall of his workshop. It didn't seem very impressive at first glance, but then most of the devices he designed hid their cleverness beneath a simple façade. He gathered the design spec sheets and stuffed them in the docket with a memory stick containing all the digital files. Picking up the docket and the prototype he went back upstairs just in time to hear the muted tones of the doorbell.
Tina and Lucy had insisted he come up with a quieter way to announce the many visitors he received these days now that he was working with the US military and other departments of the government. The new doorbell didn't wake the babies.
Smiling, Ben opened the door for Captain David Kendricks who was right on time. A big personnel carrier was waiting at the end of the driveway. Ben grinned as he recalled the night he'd met Kendricks and his predecessor's shock and awe tactics.
"David! Good morning!"
"Ben! Good morning to you!" He looked to the dossier Ben was carrying. "Is that it?"
Ben smiled and nodded. "Yes, let's go take a look."
David kicked his shoes off and followed Ben to the dining room as this had become their pattern. Ben placed the docket on the table and opened it, and they took chairs side by side. He walked the Captain through the reports he'd made, and they inspected the physical prototype.
David grinned at Ben. "We had a bet going back at headquarters on methods you might use to alleviate the air turbulence the device would produce. Corporal Killcade bet we'd all be wrong and suggested you'd find a solution that adapted dynamically to the increase in friction. While she didn't supply the solution you devised, she did identify the basis of your design. She won the bet again!"
Ben grinned at the man then tried to recall someone named Killcade. "Have I met her?"
David shook his head. "No, she's new. Been working in the think tank for maybe... six months? Absolutely brilliant but incredibly awkward socially. I understand she's one hell of a soldier, but she couldn't integrate with the others on her squad. If she wasn't so damn smart, they might have released her from the army. Instead, she came to work for us. I immediately put her on reviewing your work." A sly grin began to appear on the Captain's face. "I think she might have a little crush on you."
Ben stared at him nervously.
David laughed and patted Ben on the arm. "Not to worry, it's just a little innocent infatuation with someone she believes may be as smart as she is."
Ben frowned. "I'm not particularly smart. Just ask the ladies I live with. My mind just likes puzzles."
David gave him a skeptical look. "Riiiiight." Then his expression showed a little embarrassment.
"What's wrong?" Ben asked.
"Nothing! It's silly really... but I promised I'd ask," David shifted a little in his chair. Ben just waited until the Captain finally managed to spill. "That wager we made over your air turbulence solution? As her reward for always being right, Corporal Killcade asked if she might be permitted to join me on my next visit."
"Oh! Well, if you vouch for her, then I suppose it'd be fine," Ben responded with a small shrug. David's relieved smile and brisk nod were good enough for him.
"Did you bring me the file for the new project?" Ben asked eagerly.
With an indulgent smile, David reached into his briefcase and pulled out a dossier stuffed with crinkled papers.
Ben's eyebrows rose as he looked at the old notes. "How ancient is this request?"
"Pretty old. Pre-dates my tenure and then some. The memory stick includes all of the attempted solutions people have come up with over the years to solve it. You're welcome to try."
Ben nodded and smiled as he flipped through the pages.
David smiled as he knew he'd lost Ben's attention. The man's voracious mind was eager to begin. David was starting to worry at the lull in challenges for him. Admittedly there were plenty of top-secret projects that would have loved to have a mind like his on the team, but Ben had made it clear he wasn't interested in designing weapons. Aside from this, there were still people in Kendricks' chain of command who were seriously uncomfortable about having a 'celebrity' working for them. He kept that little fact from Ben. He moved the prototype and the dossier into his briefcase.
"I'm going to leave you to it then. Thanks again for this!"
Ben turned his attention back to his guest with a guilty smile. "Sorry. Thanks for the new puzzle!" He walked the Captain to the door and shook his hand before the man left.
Ben immediately walked down to his office and took a seat at his desk. He pulled the sheets out and got to work, a little smile on his face.
Three hours later he trudged up the stairs, a little frown had replaced his earlier smile.
Lucy was approaching the stairs with her daughter in her arms and saw the frustrated look. "Oh oh. That doesn't look like a 'Eureka' expression.
He gave her a weary smile. "Actually, in this case, it is. My latest puzzle turned out to be something I solved a while ago. Well, something I invented a few years ago can be adapted to solve this." He closed his eyes and shook his head to shake off his grumpiness. "It doesn't matter. They'll have a solution."
Lucy smiled at Ben. "You've saved me the effort of calling you up for lunch. Come join us in the kitchen."
They walked into the room where Tina was placing their lunch on the table. The delicious scent of the meal brought a smile back to his face.
