Senile Squad: Adventures of the Old Blues Read Online Free PDF Page A

politician,” Dan said. “Nothing will be required of them and they’ll get full PR in the media. What’s not to like?”
    “I’m sure they can’t wait to get their pictures taken at the ribbon cutting,” Pamela said.
    “Politics aside, Ben,” DeGoff said, “what do you need from me?”
    “Access to the same micro-electronic technology you give the military,” Ben said. “All of it constructed, delivered, and set up on the down low. No one—and I mean no one—can know about the real purpose of this place.”
    Steve gave a low whistle. “You got it.”
    “What I visualized is the same type of system to locate, track, and destroy targets—only we won’t be using drones,” Ben said.
    “Bud and Frieda,” he said, turning to the couple. “Can you guys get the building codes, especially for the covert renovations? If your company is willing to insure the facility, the building regulators will be happy to oblige everything else.”
    The Williamses exchanged a pointed glance to each other, nodded, and spoke together. “Will do.”
    “This is great,” DeGoff said. “A win-win proposition all the way around. At the least we’ve got a fantastic retirement home. At the best, we have a milestone in local law enforcement.”
    “How soon can we get started?” Bud asked.
    “How’s today sound?” Ben shrugged out of his navy suit coat and rolled up his sleeves.
    “Apparently,” Steve said, “you’ve thought of everything. Does that include a name?”
    “You bet.” A smile tickled the corners of Ben’s mouth. “The Ol’ Blues.”

    Frieda, Bud, and Ben, the senior member and driving force behind The Bureau, stepped out of their cars and into the summer sunshine in front of the old veterans’ home in northwest Omaha. “I cannot believe,” Frieda said, “how easily we were able to sneak those specialized renovations into the reconstruction of this place.”
    “Shh,” her husband said and elbowed her playfully. “Covert means we don’t talk about it outside the conference room.”
    “Yeah, yeah,” she said with a bright smile.
    They approached the front door slowly to allow a CNN reporter to finish her taping.
    “CNN?” Bud asked.
    Ben smiled and slipped his sunglasses on. “Good media attention is always a plus.”
    “…this facility, though not completed yet, will be outfitted with the latest technology and innovations,” the CNN reporter said. “Medical staff will meet the needs of the occupants and provide the officers with the best care available. The increased space will be available for the medical schools, nursing, social work, and psychological programs. Here—” she pointed at the south wing, “are the separate wings for each program including one for the Nebraska Health and Human Services office. You name it; they’ve thought of it,” she said into the camera with a bright smile.
    “Those offices required extensive electrical retrofitting, and don’t even get me started on the steam, air conditioning vents, and all the other conduits,” Bud said quietly.
    Ben led the group around the reporter and her photographer.
    “We were lucky this place was built with a Cold War mentality and its nearness to what was then the Strategic Air Command’s nuclear command post south of Omaha,” he continued, referencing the old days before new tech warfare.
    “Those walls are so thick, they’d stop an atomic bomb. Justifying all the changes was easy. Those old things gave us the opening we needed for any extra work,” Frieda said. “The state didn’t question a thing.”
    “The state and city inspectors seemed impressed with what they called ‘above and beyond code’ improvements,” Ben said. “Remember when the EPA gave Omaha an unfunded mandate for sewer and wastewater separation?”
    “Yeah,” Bud said. “Hundreds of miles of sewer pipes had to be fixed.”
    “Well,” Ben said, “Dan’s spearheading the specially designed sewer network—not one but four that have