Chapter One

Henry really hated these meetings. Although he could understand and rationalize the need for them, he still hated them.

Perhaps it was a deep seated trait in the pool of his life; or the fact that until now he had never ever worked with a woman. Now he was teamed up with two of them and three other men. Regardless of his hatred he did have to admit that their jobs had indeed been successful and rather bountiful. It just stuck in his craw that it was a woman in charge, even though she was definitely smart and a good team leader. No one was left behind nor deprived of what was their equal share.

The meeting was about to start, so after a long swig of his black coffee, he raised his cup and asked, "Anyone want some while I am pouring?" There were no takers.

Annabelle was only twenty-three but wise beyond her years. For the past two of them, she had set up the work load. She accepted the responsibility of screening for safety, the tools needed and the various assignments. Her ideas were indeed original and very well organized. And she was seven to fifteen years younger than the rest of the team.

William or Billy was as skinny as a rack pole but had strength that was phenomenal for a man his size. He was six foot two inches and could when needed move like greased lightning. He was seven years Annabelle's senior.

Fred who preferred to be called Freddie was shorter in stature at five foot eight inches and weighed in at 190 pounds. He was physically fit and like Paul and Sally was nine years Annabelle's senior.

Paul was of Italian decent, a volume of dark hair was his trade mark and a hint of an accent. He was similar in size to Freddie.

Sally was a dainty little thing like Annabelle was. Both were only five foot three inches and neither carried any extra fat cells. Sally was a mousy brown with brown eyes and Annabelle was jet black with the most intriguing deep green eyes. It was said that she had Irish background.

And then there was Henry, the senior citizen of the team at thirty-eight. If any of the team could be considered a rebel it would be Henry.

The meetings were structured but not in a fashion that was found in a corporate office, just good old fashioned round table talking.

Annabelle, whom everyone called Abby was the only one who documented. Her sense of anything was in a short hand technique that only she understood and could decipher. This was a safety stipulation.

It should be noted that both Paul and Freddie were married. Freddie even had a young daughter of four. Neither of their wives interfered with their jobs, nor in fact knew what their jobs entailed. Sally had recently started dating Billy. Everyone was content with their lives. Henry was a widower, his wife had died from cancer about five years before.

The meeting was called and they all sat around the table. Anxious to learn about the new job. It had been three weeks since they last worked together.