I am not responsible for your men

They headed to the café opposite the building and sat talking for half an hour before heading back. Ed, Frank and Shadow insisted on following him back. They were all curious about Ben’s certainty. Ed was certain, but he wasn’t sure if she would take the bait in half hour. Common sense would demand that you wait until you have a bigger window of opportunity but Ben argued that she would not wait.

“Afternoon CEO, Major General, General, Mr Weldon” Lisa stood up and greeted them as they walked past. Everyone except Ed nodded their heads in acknowledgement before entering Ben’s office.

Shadow locked the door as he was at the tail.

“She’s good” Ed acknowledged.

Ben raised his eyebrows while the other two stared plainly.

“The folder hasn’t visibly moved from its spot. I had intentionally placed it at the corner of this table to form an empty space of an acute triangle between the folder and table” Ed explained pointing at the angle the folder rested on the table.

Ben came back with the ninhydrin bottle and iron “Is this diluted?”

“Ready to use” Ed sat down on his customary sofa and waited.

“Anything I can do” Frank felt his fingers were itchy for action. They hadn’t done anything like this in years.

“Just watch for now” Ben handed the iron and a pair of gloves to shadow. He wore a pair of gloves and took out a paint brush from his pen stand. He dipped it in the ninhydrin bottle and carefully painted over the sheets of paper before passing it to Shadow for ironing. Frank watched from the background.

“Ah! Clear as daylight” Frank exclaimed as he watched the purple stained fingerprints emerge after Shadow ironed the sheets.

“Can you get me certified authority for the owner of these prints?” Ben looked towards Ed

“Em” Ed nodded disinterested in these childish games and added in an unhurried tone “You might want to add the clippings of the video surveillance from the last half hour”

After testing each sheet for visible print, Ben packed the contents in the folder and handed them to Ed.

“I’ll send these off to your personal mailbox. I won’t be here for a month”

“Anything exciting or boring diplomatic stuff?” Frank asked alertly.

“Nothing major”

“Who’s on the team?” Ben asked in a concerned voice

“4 from the unit other than me and Archer”

“I’ll send a few in the dark” Ben added in a non-negotiable tone.

“No. This is strictly military business” Ed refused.

“Pretend you don’t know. What you don’t know can’t hurt! As always, you won’t know they’re there unless you desperately need them.”

“I’ll have to agree with Ben on this.” Frank added without hesitation.

There were some things he knew he couldn’t force his mates on, so Ed decided to turn a blind eye “I am not responsible for your men”.

“How can you be responsible for someone you don’t know about?” Ben raised his eyebrows.

Ben returned to the pile of documents on his table while the others went away to catch up with their day.

Ben leaned back in his chair 4 hours later, he felt tired and empty. Something he hadn’t felt in years. As he closed his eyes in contemplation, Dana’s smile from the information sheet flashed in his mind’s eye. On the spur of the moment, he decided he wanted to see what she was doing. He looked at his watch ‘4:30 pm perfect!’

“Shadow”

A figure flashed in from the window.

“Let’s go!” Ben walked out of the office in large strides.

“Where to?” Shadow asked as he rushed to keep up.

“CEO!” Lisa caught up with them just as the Elevator doors opened.

“What?”

“The meeting at 5pm?”

“Cancel” Ben stepped into the elevator and added “Please rearrange my work appointments, I won’t be accepting any meetings on Fridays after 4pm”

“CEO!” Lisa could only call helplessly as she watched the doors close. ‘How can he be so willful? The schedule for the past few days have already been messed up. What’s going on?’ Lisa thought as she walked to her desk to make the necessary arrangements.

Ben sat in the car and closed his eyes leaning against the back rest. Shadow turned the ignition on and asked carefully “Where to?” His Boss looked worn out, he had never seen his Boss like this before.

“Isn’t it Friday?”

“Um”

“Let’s head to the supermarket at West end” Ben answered without opening his eyes.

Half an hour later Shadow parked the car and hesitated looking through the rear view mirror

“Let’s just wait here. There’s still 15 mins”

Shadow was used to his Boss responding without even being asked. He knew the purpose of this visit so he just kept staring at the entrance keeping lookout for Dana’s car.

10 mins later a wine red Audi with plate number BN 0543 entered.

“Boss, she’s here”

Ben opened his eyes and spotted Dana who was getting off her car a few spots away. She walked forward chatting with a tall blonde woman.

“I am going for a walk. Are you sitting here?” Ben got off his and walked forward not wanting to miss Dana in the crowd.

“I’ll follow you stalking Ms Williams” Shadow replied impolitely and followed.

Ben gave him a sinister look before walking forward, he couldn’t be bothered with Shadow. Actually he didn’t have anything to refute what Shadow had said. He saw Dana laughing heartily as she chatted and walked. Ben walked quietly behind as he watched the interactions between the two women ahead. His gaze never leaving Dana. The blonde woman said something, Dana playfully smacked the back of her head. The blonde woman giggled and shamelessly hugged Dana. Shadow felt the temperature besides him drop by a few degrees and couldn’t help but say “That’s Ms. Burton, Ms. Williams best friend.” Although this bought the temperature back to normal, Ben still had a dark face as he followed behind. He was shocked at the amount of stuff in their trolleys.

“Is this what you call panic buying” Ben looked at Shadow

“How would I know?” Shadow shrugged. They followed till Dana got in her car and left the premises.

“Let’s head to Skylight” Ben said as he leaned back.

“Are the others coming?”

“No, I just want to think quietly”

‘Isn’t home the best place to think?’ Shadow thought sourly but still followed orders.

The next 3 weeks were pretty ordinary, Frank was busy with kid drama. Ed was out of station and Shadow accompanied Ben in becoming a certified stalker.

Ben had never felt so helpless. He yearned for her presence day and night, trying to catch a glimpse of her to quell the anxiety in heart, while she looked like she was without a care.

Sitting back in his car, watching Dana unload the trolley into her car, Ben asked in an uncertain tone “Do you think she remembers our encounter? Thinks of me?”

Although he felt sorry for his Boss, their conversations were always open and honest “My observations say otherwise”

Ben looked at Shadow wanting him to explain further.

“Last week, we passed Ms Williams at the Café, although she looked towards us, she didn’t even show any reactions of recognition. Either she is very good an acting or she has simply forgotten. Reading through her file, I am inclined to belief the latter as she is not a scheming person and does not have many twists to her personality”

Ben turned even gloomier as heard this and continued watching Dana. ‘How could she be so carefree after disturbing him so much?’ He hasn’t been able to function normally for weeks now. Watching her from far was no longer enough, he wanted to integrate himself into the core of her life, into every cell of her being; Ben's lips curled up as the thought flashed through his mind. He decided to make his existence known. He was not going to sit and agonize himself; Remembering Ed’s warning, he thought ‘I might as well take action and agonize myself’

Shadow watched his boss silently. He could not understand why the man who had almost every woman pinning for his attention would have to silently watch the woman who grabbed his attention from afar.

After Dana and Lara left the supermarket, Shadow started the car. He had gotten used to this routine since last 3 weeks. He didn’t know if this was what classified as a stalker. His boss would diligently appear in the coffee shop car park every day at 7am, park in a spot where he could see Dana sitting in her usual spot enjoying her coffee. He wouldn’t do anything, just watch... then silently leave after Dana leaves. Friday after work Dana does a huge shopping at the supermarket and his boss would follow quietly behind her and then head to Skylight. It was the same for the last 2 weeks. However, this time-

“Shadow, follow them”

“Boss?”

“That’s a lot of stuff for two single woman who do weekly shopping.... don’t you think?” Ben asked as he kept staring at the car ahead.

Shadow followed silently “Boss, this isn’t the way to either addresses we have for Ms Williams on file”

“Um… keep following” Ben nodded; He had noticed this earlier.

Dana’s car entered the gates of a huge mansion with a sign board Appleton Estate.  Shadow looked at Ben with an enquiring gaze to see if they should follow. Ben did not answer, but got off the car.

“Scout ahead and report” Ben leaned on the car while he picked a cigarette to smoke. However, he threw it out without lighting on second thought. Dana’s file did state that she disliked the smell of cigarettes. ‘Heh!’ he had a self-derogatory smile as he looked at the fallen cigarette.

Shadow returned 10 mins later “Boss, they are unloading the shopping at the back of the manor near the kitchen area. The lady of this place houses 10 orphans and also feeds the homeless in their dining hall every Saturday.”

“Um… Let’s wait”

Another half hour later Dana’s car left the premises and headed towards Preach blossom apartments.

“Is this the main place of residence?”

“Mostly on Friday and Saturdays as per the investigation report”

“Um… Get everything on Appleton Estate tomorrow morning first thing”

“Boss!” more than acquiescence, it was a tone of protest.

However, Ben conveniently ignored this and continued “Thank you”

The next morning Ben woke up with a notification alert on his phone. Shadow’s work was always prompt and efficient. The Appleton’s were a philanthropic couple who lost their children in a car accident 40 years ago and have since started caring for orphans. They originally took care of 2-3 kids, but over the last 5-6 years have cared for around 10 kids. Although the couple’s estate finances were in a steady state of decline, they carried on their philanthropic work through the support of like-minded individuals. The dinner provided on Saturday night was a huge burden and relied on volunteers to help as kitchen hands. Dana, Lara and a few others were regular supports in person and goods of these efforts. Casual help depended on who signed up from local community and church. Ben had no idea of the existence of the Appleton’s although he lived most of his life in Dorsen and he wondered how Dana knew them considering she had been in the country for less than a year! Shadow had also prepared a detailed report on the other regular members of this team.

Daniel- 30 years old, carpenter; Single with 1 child; separated 2 years ago- gives of a sloppy aura, rugged handsome appearance. Regularly helps as kitchen hand.

Jessica and Payne- 45 years old Married; 2 kids; Helps as kitchen hand

Cyril- 22 years, Female, Smart, Elegant and extremely beautiful; Marketing executive; single; regularly helps as Kitchen hand and donates goods

Alfred- 50 years; charismatic, Director at Somersby advertising, single, divorced, 4 kids; regularly helps as Kitchen hand and donates goods. Depending on the number of people who volunteer, Mrs Appleton messages the start time for Saturday evening to all the regulars.

Ben skimmed through the profiles and rang Shadow “Register 4 of us for tonight.”

Shadow half opened his eyes and scowled as he heard the voice at the other end and sleepily responded “Yes… good morning Boss. I am a bit sleepy but fine”

Ben “”

After venting, he sat up and looked at the clock, 5:30am. He felt like cursing out loud and slamming his phone but he endured and waited for Ben to explode.

On the contrary, Ben asked with a smile “Morning Shadow, would you like me to book you an appointment with the audiology department?”

This Ben was more sinister, he didn’t need assignments in Antarctica “No … no... Boss… what can I do?”

“You heard me…”

“Yes, but don’t you want to check with Frank?”

“He’s promised his services earlier” Ben smirked before hanging up.

‘I pity you’ Shadow said a prayer for Frank before dragging himself of the bed. He had just slept for half an hour after a whole night of investigation into the Appleton estate. ‘I will have to retire soon if my boss keeps his temperament’ Shadow sighed.

Ben hummed a tune while he sat for breakfast. It had been a few weeks since anyone had seen Ben in a good mood and the staff were pleasantly surprised.

Mrs Bentley, the housekeeper had been with Ben ever since he was born, first as his nanny and then as the help at the Adalase Manor and later when Ben moved to his own place, she moved with him as his housekeeper. “Young master is in a very good mood today” she whispered to Ms. Wakeley, who was the cook. The two of them were like sisters and would gossip non-stop. The only other staff here were their husbands, Mr Wakeley looked after the garden and pool. Mr Bentley managed the running of the estate.

“Do we have guests this evening?” Mrs Bentley asked cheerfully.

“Eh?” Ben looked up only to realize a few faces staring at him.

“Cough…cough” he cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment “No … I won’t be here in the evening. You can all take the afternoon off”

“Thank you” they chorused but didn’t leave.

“Anything else?” Ben raised his eyebrows.

“No… no…” Mrs Bentley waved her hands and ushered everyone else out of the dining area.

Ben’s lips curled up and he picked up his phone to send a message. “We are going to volunteer in the afternoon/ evening at the Appleton estate”