* * * * * * *It was a peaceful and uneventful, much shorter than expected, ride inthe special agency limo to the location Mrs. Duncan had requested fo...rtheir meeting. All three of them seemed surprised that Al's interviewwould be held within the spacious grounds of an estate presided overby a huge, almost palatial, four-story manor.At least this place is near the center of the grounds. And it seemsto be as far away from the nearby populace as possible, thought Rita.And Alf, not unexpectedly,. That gave her immediate relief from the nausea. When she looked up she found bhasu standing beside her. She offered no resistance as he took her in his arms and gently ran his fingers through her hair to comfort her. “are you comfortable now?” he whispered. She nodded yes. Bhasu helped her to clean up before leading her back to the living room. He helped her onto one of the sofas and then sat opposite her. “take it easy. ” soon they were engrossed in the television. “okay its time. ” his words. I saw some of those presents you got for them. They’re going to enjoy showing those to you later, if I don’t miss my guess.” He shook his head, then held his glass up to me. “Cheers, and Merry Christmas to the son I never had.” He nodded his head at me.“Thank you, Harry. I appreciate that. Cheers.” I touched his glass with mine, then took a sip. “Wow! That’s got some taste to it!”He’d taken a sip as well. “Ah, yes. Some people have to acquire the taste, some come by it naturally, and some just. While they were waiting, Sam noticed someone she knew and excused herself because she wanted to talk to him.“Syd, I’ll be right back. That guy over there is the pilot I was telling you about last month. We had flirted the whole flight but didn't get a chance to seal the deal. I wanna see if it’s not too late," Sam explained.I made my way back to Sydnee and told her we could board in about fifteen minutes. I asked where Sam was, and she pointed to the corner of the hangar. After a few.