Allen Stinson is very simple man with strong family ties. He has 3 sisters and one brother who he stays in constant contact with. They had a traumatic childhood but came thru it alright. He joined the military at 18 and stayed in for 6 years. Most of his job was classified.
When he got out he started a security and information company. Nobody asked where he got his startup money. He believed in using the latest technology as well as using information he got from people who a lot of people would consider invisible: maids, janitors and airhead office assistants. (At least airheads to their employers.)
He provided both personal security (body guards) and security guards for local businesses. His main business was gathering information for various clients. If manufacturer A wanted information on manufacturer B, he would hire Allen to get that information. He would advise either client whether he was hired by the other, but not reveal what he reported to the other. He had informants everywhere. He treated everybody with respect and with discretion.
Every six months he would be gone for 2 weeks. He was paid $ 75,000 to go and was paid 500 a day. If he went to the Middle East, he was paid 5000. A day. After 5 years, the pay went up to 100,000 and 1000 per day. 10,000 for the Middle East. This was done twice a year. These trips ended 2 years before the mall incident. The first year he paid cash for a 4-bedroom house. He wired the house for video and audio. As technology got better he utilized the latest and the best. He had at least 2 systems, on obvious one, the other less obvious.
One day as he was talking to Personnel, a guard assigned to the local mall called in and reported a family emergency and asked and received emergency leave. A member of Personnel started to call in a replacement. Allen said he would take his shift. He called Alice and told her he had to work late. During his shift at the mall, he saw most of his friends and family. Forever after, he was referred to as the Mall Guard in a negative and demeaning way.
He met and married Alice Johnson after he got out of the military. She knew he was military, but not what he did. They had 3 Children: Alice Mae, Allen Jr and Lila. He decided he would be the best father and husband he could be. Except for the 4 weeks a year he traveled, he was always home by 6PM. He got involved with the kid's activities. He let them choose what they wanted to do and supported them. Every month the family would go somewhere for the weekend. Every year they would take a weeks' vacation. He and his wife would go out to lunch or dinner at least once a week.
His wife worked as an RN in the emergency room at the hospital. She had progressed to emergency room nurse supervisor. Things seemed to be good on the home front for 15 years. The last 2 years (after the mall duty), the kids seemed to be withdrawing from him, and going closer to their mother, who had never been involved much with their activities. He also noticed they were dropping their lifelong friends for newer and more rebellious friends, it seems with their mother's support. He was losing his family and was not sure what to do.
At least once a month, one parent would take the kids on an outing while the other would have "me" time. On this day Alice was home alone thinking about her current lover, a new doctor at the hospital they worked at. She thought about her lovers over the years. She was not sure how she felt about her husband, she knew she did not respect him. He was a good father and husband but was only an average lover. That is why she had affairs. They were all younger and better hung than her husband. The sex was amazing. She had been able to turn the kids against him. That was not easy. She was even considering divorcing and taking him to the cleaners. She knew things were coming to a head soon.
Alice and the kids met him when he got home. They were all in the living room.
Alice said, "Sit down we want to talk to you."
Allen "What is this about"
She replied. "You are smothering us, we want you to back off from us and let us live our lives without you. We are tired of being ridiculed for being the family of a MALL GUARD. You let people walk all over you, including us, you never stand up to anybody. I have been having an affair for 6 months and others before him and you never noticed. I am ashamed now to be seen with you. I want you to move into the garage apartment. We will be leaving for the night and will return tomorrow night."
He replied, "Do you all feel this way?"
They all said yes and then got up and left.
As soon as they got out the door. He got on the phone to his company and asked for a dozen volunteers to come to his house. He also requested a mother of teenage girls to come over. When they all got there, he told them to go thru the house and to remove every TV except the one in the bedroom. Every piece of electronic device was removed from the kid's room. The mother was assigned the task of going thru the girls closet and removing all the designer clothes and replacing them with off the rack from Walmart. He then got on line and transferred all the money from his paycheck into an account in his name only. He left in the account money deposited from his wife's check, which was a nice sum.
When the family got back, their first reaction was they had been robbed. Allen told them to sit down. They started to ignore him and go to bed.
Allen said. "SIT TOUR ASSES DOWN NOW. My turn to talk. I listened to you earlier and let you have your say, give me the same courtesy. I have removed every computer in the house, cut off all cell phones, removed every piece of electronics from your rooms except the house phones, all joint credit cards are cancelled, my paycheck will no longer be going into a joint account, all extra-curricular activities will stop, no parties. If you want more get it from your mother. I have tried to be a good and devoted father and get you what you wanted. I was not trying to buy your love, but just trying to be a good provider. Alice, you forgot what I do for a living. I have known about your affairs and hookups from the beginning. I was hoping you would come back to me. I will still be around if you need me, but not as often. You have hurt me, but I am still your husband and father. The door is always open. Alice, you will be moving into the garage apartment." With that Allen was gone. Alice and the kids were shocked, he had never talked to them like that. Alice recovered first. "We do not need him, we can do better without him." The kids were not so sure.
Allen's family did not notice he was not home every night anymore. He had decided he was going to leave the door open for his family to return but was preparing if they did not.
A couple of months after the confrontation. Allen was at a bar with some of his employees, though he did not drink, he did not mind if his employees did as long it was in moderation and after work hours. He had just stopped by to say hello and was on his way out when he noticed 2 guys harassing this woman. They did not know the meaning of the word no. He walked up and said.
"I believe the woman said she was not interested" Both guys had 4 inches and 40 pounds on him. They decided to be macho and go after him. Within seconds they were incapacitated.
"Are you ok" he asked the woman. He then noticed she is a very good-looking woman about 35-40.
"Allen"
"Lynn, thank you, they would not leave me alone. That was amazing, where did you learn that.?" He ignored the question. He turned to the table he had just left.
"Nancy (his PA) will you assist me in getting her to the office and call the on-duty medic to meet me in my office to check her out."
A couple of hours later she went home refreshed and relaxed.
Over the next couple of months several events happened that made the family see him in a different light.
Event One:
Allen was in a staff meeting when his PA Nancy interrupted. "Your son's school is on the phone and request a parent to come pick him up. They could not reach your wife." she whispered in his ear.
He told his staff a family emergency had come up and had to leave. They returned to their offices.
