War Dog

Chapter 33

Ghost pulls up to the house that I'd pretty much purchased, all that was needed was my signature on the documents approving it all. As we'd entered the neighbourhood Ghost and Soap had gotten quieter until we pulled up in front of the building that had been termed a "town house." The town house was in fact a two story building that had a beautiful slate grey render on the outside. The driveway led to an open garage that already had the real estate agents car pulled into it. 

"Lass, are ye sure we are at the right place?" Soap sounded a little gobsmacked. 

"If Ghost can follow directions that the GPS is giving him, then yeah we're at the right place." I retorted and slipped out of the car, closing the door firmly behind me. 

I pull up my mask, covering my lower face up to my eyes and pull the hood of Ghosts jumper on over my head hiding everything except my eyes. Without waiting for the two men I stride up to the front door already pushed open waiting for me to arrive. I step into the house and have a look around the open hallway. 

"Hello? It's Ceri, I'm here for the inspection?" I call out, my growling voice echoing through the empty house sounding more ominous than I usually do. My ears twitch under the hood picking up a slight gasp of sound and thr speeding of a heartbeat before a feminine voice calls out. 

"Ceri, come on in I'm just in the kitchen." 

"Just so you know, I have a couple of people with me," I said trying to give the woman I had been liaising with ample warning. Not that any warning would prepare a civilian for Ghost. Hell, between the two of us covered head to toe we'd give anyone a heart attack. 

Ms. Henderson stepped out from the kitchen, "That's not a prob-" she froze as she saw me standing in the hallway, mask and hood up. 

"Sorry for the alarm, Ms. Henderson. As mentioned over the phone, I am military and my role requires me to keep my features covered. I have another co-worker with me who is the same." I try to explain as softly and non-threatingly as possible, but I can feel her fear sky rocket as Ghost steps into the building. She glances between the two of us trying to figure out if we were a threat. Soap steps in behind Ghost and when she see's Soap unmasked, she relaxes slightly and gives a small nod. 

A little breathlessly, "OK. Not a problem." She cleared her throat, eyeing the three of us. "So, this is the house we've been discussing the last month. The first floor has a guest bathroom, living room, kitchen, dining area and a theatre room, or alternatively a spare bedroom." She began leading us through the relevant spaces. Ghost and Soap automatically begin inspecting the areas, running their keen eyes over every aspect of each room. I glanced at them as they looked through the house wondering how the hellthey thought their military expertise would relate to inspecting the house. I ignored them and continued along with Ms. Henderson as she did her best to ignore the two hulking men strutting through the place like they were determined to find a bomb. 

"And upstairs," she continued as she led me upstairs, " We have the master room and ensuite, two spare rooms, a bathroom and a study." She showed me through the spacious rooms. 

"Now, the inspector came through last week, were there any concerns on the report he gave you?"

"Uh, yes, actually. He mentioned that the ensuite bathroom and the downstairs bathroom have both been recently painted. Can you please explain why? Especially as he said he can see clear water damage around the skirting."

Ms. Henderson froze for a second, clearly not having expected the question. "Also, he said that there are several structural integrity concerns with the building supports. How old is this building?" Ms. Henderson gaped at me like a fish out of water and I nodded my head satisfied that I had caught her off guard. Likely she was used to dealing with rich assholes who didn't pay attention to the report.