S.C.O.U.T. of the Border: Chapter IV
Home Ward Bound
(3,500 words)
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It’s Wednesday morning, and her routine beyond the kitchen is completed. She grabs a large
pot and fills it halfway with water, then places it on the stove and sets it to medium heat. She
removes all the vegetables from the refrigerator, then she chops some up and tosses them in the
simmering pot. Then she slices the rest and puts most of them in a medium bowl, and covers it
with Handiwrap, tightening it around its rim before placing it in the refrigerator. Then, she
placed the remaining sliced vegetables in a smaller bowl, pouring some French dressing from the
fridge over them. She then grabbed a fork and carried it, along with the small bowl, to the
breakfast nook table.
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Then she returned to the fridge and opened the freezer for a package of frozen beef stew meat.
She tossed it in the microwave, set the timer, and turned it on. She returns to the table to eat her
prepped salad, her anticipation for the upcoming journey growing with each step. As she eats,
she can’t help but think about the adventures that await her, the new places she will see, and the
people she will meet. Her excitement is palpable, and it adds a layer of anticipation to her
otherwise ordinary morning routine. Then she returns with an empty bowl and fork to the
kitchen sink with the rubber tub, puts them in, and fills it with tepid water. After a short while,
she turned off the water faucet.
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Kelly grabs the potholder and removes the package of beef stew, then tears open the package
and drops the defrosted beef stew into the still simmering large pot. She grabs a can of tomato
sauce and a can of tomato paste, opens each of them, then pours in the sauce while spooning it
out. Then the same with the tomato paste while spooning it out, as well. She gives the large pot
a good stir with a ladle, then sets it on the porcelain holder on the stove. She takes the time to
wash, rinse, and then wipe dry the bowl and fork, before putting them away. She then stirs the
pot until it’s nicely mixed, turns the stove off, cleans the ladle and porcelain holder, and puts
them away. She cleans the rubber tub and sets it to dry, then covers the pot and prepares rice in
her rice cooker before leaving the kitchen.
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Kelly goes to her bedroom and props up the luggage holder stand. Then, she places a large
suitcase with strollers attached, and she lays it open on its top. She goes to the office for the
binders and returns to the bedroom, then lays the binders flat, side-by-side, inside the large
suitcase. Then she places an assortment of shoes and slip-ons on the bottom side of the large
suitcase while placing an array of folded dress pants with matching suits on the opposite side.
Her meticulous packing, ensuring everything is in its place and easily accessible, reflects her
organizational skills and readiness for the journey. This trait has always set her apart and
prepared her for any situation.
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For Kelly, packing is not just a task, but a reflection of her preparedness and ability to handle
any situation. She rolls up her wrinkle-free blouses and slip-on pajamas, putting them in the
middle, between the dresswear and the shoes. She then lays down a raincoat and an overcoat on
top of the clothes and shoes. Kelly closes the large suitcase and snaps it shut, and exchanges it
on the stand with a smaller luggage piece, filling it with undergarments, hair blower, hand mirror,
brushes, combs, and other miscellaneous items she might need. Then she takes the tote bag to
the vanity room and sets it open on top of the vanity bureau.
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She notes that it’s past noon, and she goes to the kitchen to reheat the stew pot. She grabs a
bowl, also a spoon, and then removes the rice ladle attached to the rice cooker side and begins to
scoop out some rice and put it in the bowl. Then she placed the bowl on the stove and went to
the sink to turn on the water into the rubber tub, and soon thereafter, she turned it off. Kelly
grasped the ladle placed on a porcelain holder on the stove top and stirred the beef stew, then
scooped some into the bowl before she turned the stove off, covering the pot while putting the
ladle and the porcelain holder in the rubber tub.
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She takes the bowl of food and spoon to the breakfast nook table and enjoys her meal while
she mulls over the upcoming trip, her anticipation growing with each bite. After the meal, she
cleans up the table and the things in the sink, washing, rinsing, wiping them dry, storing them,
then cleans the rest of the kitchen before exiting the kitchen for the time being. Kelly began to
dust up all the rooms, then washed all the interior windows, making sure not to open them, or it
would set off the alarm. She empties the bucket, then stores it and the squeegee in the bathroom
closet. She relaxes in the living room, kicked back in a lounge chair, where she drifts off to
sleep.
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When she wakes up, she sees a semi-dark room and realizes it’s late in the afternoon, so she
decides on an early dinner and shower before heading to bed for an early night’s sleep. It’s
Thursday morning, and she showered before tidying her bedroom. She completed all the
eggs and bacon, discarding the empties in the trash receptacle, and then she removed the wax
paper covering the rice in the rice cooker; living in a cooler climatic region, it staves off spoiling.
She adds some to the plate, grabs some utensils, and heads to the breakfast nook table, then
returns and prepares a glass of orange juice, emptying the carton before tossing it in the trash.
After breakfast, she clears the table, organizes the kitchen, then retrieves a vacuum cleaner from
the hallway closet and vacuums the house.
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She then emptied the vacuum cleaner bag into the kitchen trash container and returned the
vacuum cleaner to the hallway closet. She scrubs the shower and then the bathroom, paying
attention to every corner and surface, before putting away the cleaning supplies in the bathroom
closet. Her thorough cleaning routine ensures that every part of her home is spotless before she
leaves, from the dust-free rooms to the sparkling bathroom. Kelly’s cleaning routine is not just
about maintaining a clean house, but about ensuring that every part of her living space is
comfortable and inviting. She arranged to have airport transportation pick her up tomorrow
morning at four o’clock a.m. so that she can make it before her six o’clock a.m. flight.
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She finishes up the bread and sandwich meats for lunch, with the remaining salad in the
fridge, and the French dressing. Afterwards, she tidies the kitchen and heads to the office, where
she catches up on her email messages and reports, which takes up the remaining part of the day.
She unplugs her laptop and charger, then goes to the bedroom and puts them on the bed. She
then unsnapped the large suitcase on the stand and laid the laptop and charger on top of the coats.
She collapsed a retractable laundry hamper, placed it on top, snapped it shut, and set it on the
floor.
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She finishes the beef stew and rice and cleans up the kitchen for the last time before her
lengthy time away from home. She takes hold of the vanity/bathroom trash bags from their
receptacles, then turns off the house alarm and opens the kitchen/garage door, taking the kitchen
trash and the other two bags out to the trash compactor. She drops them inside and starts it until
it chimes. Then, she presses the garage door opener on the side wall, removes the compactor box
inside, slides a handrail under it, and rolls it down the driveway so that the garbage collector will
pick it up. She closed the garage door, then gave the place and the car a last look over before
closing the garage/kitchen door and rearming the home alarm system.
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After she cleaned up the kitchen, she gave the kitchen the once-over before turning off the
lights. Then, she walks around the rest of the house, leaving each room satisfied after turning the
lights on and off in each room before retiring to the bedroom. She looks at her ensemble for the
flight, then grabs some undergarments and heads for the shower. Afterwards, with her
undergarments on, she set the alarm clock for two forty-five a.m. for tomorrow before falling
asleep. It was early Friday morning as she turned off the alarm clock at two forty-six. She
makes her way to the shower room and begins using liquid soap while showering. Afterwards,
she towels herself down, then dries the shower with the towel before hanging it on the towel bar.
After she used the vanity, she placed most of the items in the tote bag that was sitting there, then
closed it.
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She takes it and the hair blower to the bedroom, then places the tote bag on the bed, and the
hair blower in the smaller luggage. She reaches for her hairbrush and hand mirror, giving her
hair a quick touch-up, and then places them back in the small luggage, snapping it shut. She
takes out from the closet a retractable handheld luggage cart with strollers and props it up. She
sets the small luggage on it first, and then the tote bag on top of that, and then she wraps a
stretchable luggage strap with hooks at each end, around the two baggage securely to the
handcart stroller. The collapsible stroller conveniently fits in her large handbag, as it weighs as
much as her laptop. She pulls out the hidden handle on the top left side, used for pulling the
large suitcase, which is opposite the wheels on the right side.
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Then, she lifts the handheld luggage cart and the large suitcase, rolling both to the front door
in the family room and putting them down. Then she disarms the alarm, goes back to the
bedroom, and drops the packet containing the itinerary and airline ticket into her handbag. Then
she goes to the bedside end table, pulls out the cell phone from its charger, and unplugs the
charger. She puts her cellphone in the handbag’s side pocket, then unplugs the bed lamp and
alarm clock from the bedside table. She takes the handbag to the front door and sets it down
with the luggages.
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She turned the outside porch light on, then she unplugged the wall clock, the massager/lounge
chair, the lamp stand by the lounge chair, the office flat screen, and the printer, and disarmed the
alarm. She unlocks the front door and the grilled gate, props it a bit open, then goes to the
kitchen and grabs the keys off the wall, rearms the house alarm, and turns off the kitchen light.
Kelly opened the door and gate and took both the large suitcase and the luggage cart outside.
She sees a van pull up to her driveway. She grabs her handbag, turns off the porch light, double
locks her front door and the grilled gate, then drops the keys inside. The van driver had
already taken her large luggage, as well as her luggage cart, to the van, so she boarded the van as
the driver closed the door, got in himself, and drove away.
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Traffic-free, they arrived at the airport early. She pulled her handbag up her right arm,
shouldered it, then pulled the large luggage with her left hand, and her hand cart with her right
hand. At the first-class ticket counter, she presents her ticket and her hand purse and shows her
ID. Then, she checks in the large luggage, unstraps the luggage cart, opens the small luggage,
puts the strap inside it, closes it, and checks it in. She takes her handbag, collapses the hand cart,
and puts it in, then she carries her tote bag and the handbag until she reaches the screen detector
machine. She then places them both on the conveyor and goes to pick them up on the other side.
She goes to the gate of her flight and sits in the waiting area as she sees a line forming by the
airline agent counter, by a closed ramp door.
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She notices a plane sitting on the tarmac as she begins flipping through magazines, until she
glimpses a magazine she had partially read in the waiting room at the director’s office. She turns
to the story about the young woman CEO and tries to finish it before boarding. She smiles,
having completed the interesting article, and abruptly, the last call makes her stand behind the
last three people in line waiting to board. After she walked down the ramp, she showed the flight
attendant at the plane’s door her airline boarding pass, who then smiled and pointed in the
direction opposite her, saying, “Your seat is on the right side of the plane.”
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She then extended her arm and hand, saying, “Just go through those curtains, and the
immediate row on the right, where you’ll have the window seat; also, the seat next to you has
been listed as unoccupied.” Kelly proceeds and takes her seat, before putting the tote bag above
her in the overhead compartment, and her handbag under the seat in front of her. As the plane
door closes, the jets rev up, the plane reverses, rolls down the runway, and positions for takeoff.
The plane surges forward, then lifts at a steep angle for a while, then levels off, presumably
westward and somewhat south.
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After meals, well into the flight, she had her second tequila sunrise, which is her absolute
limit per day, if there’s any alcohol consumed. After some time, the ‘fasten seat belt’ sign lights
up, then an announcement is heard; all lap trays need to be up, and all seats are to remain in their
upright position and prepare for landing. After the plane parked and the door opened, first-class
passengers were the first to deplane. She exited the plane and later found herself in the baggage
claim area, setting her handbag down. She took her handcart from her handbag and removed the
strap from the small luggage, snapping it shut. Then, she placed it on the cart, along with the
tote bag, and strapped them securely.
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She shouldered her handbag and took the luggage handcart and the large suitcase. She headed
outdoors after presenting her baggage claim tickets and clearing airport security. According to
her itinerary, she’ll meet up with two Homeland Security agents from the El Paso Homeland
Security office, who’ll provide her with a car. Kelly leaves El Paso Airport’s baggage claim and
heads to the drive-through with her luggage. Two men exited from two parked cars, where the
lead car’s front door had markings that said, ‘U.S. Government,’ on it, as they approached her.
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One of the men speaks, “Welcome to El Paso, Texas, Ms. Knudsen. We recognized you from
our records division. We’re with Homeland Security, West Texas field office, here in El Paso.
My name is Zachery Stone,” as he presents her with his government ID. The other man also
presented his government ID, saying, “And my name is Marc Brennan. Here are the keys to
your red unmarked vehicle parked over there. It’s an automatic mini sports wagon, fully loaded,
installed with a GPS device, its engine has been thoroughly inspected, as well as gassed up and
ready to go.
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Also, there’s a packet for you that’s on the car’s dashboard. There’s a list of contact numbers
of our office here in El Paso, times of operation, maps of El Paso, and Western Texas. We’ll
assist with your luggages, Ms. Knudsen.” Kelly thanked them as they all headed to the car. She
unlocks the back gate for the guys to load her luggage, then gets into the driver’s seat and closes
the door. Two agents close the gate and head to a marked car, then drive away. Kelly set her
handbag on the front passenger seat and opened the packet, looking for the El Paso Street map.
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After she got it, she looked for the best route to the downtown area from the airport, noting
the major cross streets that reach the major thoroughfare that turns right down to the city center,
where she’ll stay throughout her time there. She sees downtown El Paso, not overly congested, a
decently spread-out city. She navigates through a combination of high-rise and low-rise
buildings, eventually locating the main boulevard that leads to the hotel where she will stay for
the next four months.
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She observes that it is late despite the presence of daylight as she enters the hotel driveway
and parks her vehicle in a space reserved exclusively for check-in guests. A bellman approaches
with a baggage cart as he tells her, “Do you have any luggage, ma’am?” Kelly tells him, “Yes,
they’re in the back. Please ensure the gate is closed upon completion, and here are the keys.
Kindly arrange with the valet parking for the vehicle. He tells her, “The front desk will be ahead
of you, just to your right, ma’am.” She thanks him and heads through the automated glass doors.
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At the front desk, she stands in a roped-off area as an elderly couple is called to the desk by
one of the two clerks. Shortly, a young woman raised her hands, inviting her to come to the front
desk, saying, “Welcome, ma’am, to the El Paso DoubleTree Hilton. My name is Linda. Are you
checking in?” She says, “Yes, I trust you are holding a reservation that was made for me, under
the name of Ms. Kelly Knudsen.” As she checks with the hotel computer, Linda smiles and
articulates, “Yes, Ms. Knudsen, we have reserved a Junior Suite for you, on our third floor, and
it’s for about a four-month stay, is that correct, Ms. Knudsen?”
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“Yes, Linda, you are correct, but it may be less than that. I’ll let you know ahead of time,”
Kelly retorts. Linda then asked, “We'll need your ID and a major credit card. We’ll also need
you to verify the information we have on our registration card, and if it appears correct, sign at
the bottom of the card. If there are any errors, make any corrections needed.” Kelly presents her
credit card and ID card, and a short while later, Linda hands Kelly her ID, credit card, and her
room key card packet, and expresses, “Thank you, Ms. Knudsen. I hope you enjoy your stay
with us at the El Paso DoubleTree Hilton. The bellman will assist you to your room.”
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“Hello again, ma’am. My name’s Rudy. Here’s your valet ticket. Could I please have your
room card key packet?” As he leads the way, “Right this way to the hallway where the elevators
are located just to our left.” At her hotel room door, Rudy slides the room key card into the key
slot above the doorknob, and the light turns red to green when removing the card. Rudy says,
“There you go, ma’am.” He opens the door as Kelly walks in, turning on the room’s light. Then,
he uses the bell cart to keep the door open and carefully places the luggages in the room closet.
However, he props the hotel luggage stand and sets the large suitcase on top of it.
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She gave Rudy a generous gratuity as he graciously thanked her, for what Kelly thought was
his independent efforts, propping the stand for her was considerate. She went to the hotel dining
room for a light meal, afterwards, returned to her room for a shower and change, then called it a
night. The unexpected are directionless, which came first, the giver or the receiver? Good,
better, best, and best better good. Everybody believes in a greater power; let the greater power
believe in you.
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It requires a resolute determination, a strong sense of willpower, to enforce and ensure that
the new entity manifests itself with those who’ll operate the mechanism for its long-term
assistant as an additional border patrol unit. Together as a basic unit, making its unique
properties available to patrolling agents along the U.S. borders. The introduction of its human
counterpart’s capacity for work, accompanied by an accordance of a clearly separate, inanimate
status seeking that persists after its initial shock phase’s over, will be a gratuitous, repetitive
phenomenon.
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