1,278Hi everyone. I know it has been a while. Sorry, but my muse took a vacation! I would sit down and nada. No inspiration. Eventually I managed to get this chapter written. Don't know if it's the best, but at least it's something! :)
Harden Up
I decided to drive by a local deli to get a coffee and a sandwich. The incident at the Bonds office had unnerved me, and the deli around the corner did an amazing Rueben sandwich. I took a quiet booth in the deli and tried to calm down. The sandwich was as delicious as always and the coffee helped to settle my nerves. I hadn't realised how much the ear protection at the gun range made a difference, but the sound of the shot in close quarters had been deafening. I remembered the last movie that Carlos and I had watched and the multiple people shooting all kinds of weapons at each other in close quarters. Just showed that Hollywood was a crock; anyone in that environment would be deaf! I hoped I would never need to actually shoot at someone in real life.
I left the deli and decided to drive through Comstock Street on my way back to the office. I just wanted to check it out, and identify the building Lula had mentioned, so I could let the guys know where to do surveillance. Comstock Street was very like Stark Street; gang tags on most buildings, run-down bleak blocks of apartments, young boys in baggy pants smoking on stoops, and ratty businesses run by shady owners. I noted the blue building Lula had mentioned, obvious with the pawn shop sign hanging crooked and faded in front.
I was definitely not going to stop. It was clear that my red Mazda stood out like a sore thumb on this street. Probably if I parked and left the car, I would not have a car when I came back. From the black and Latino people on the street, it was likely I would stick out just as much walking around. I paused at an intersection and was startled to see the very criminal I was looking for strolling down the street! As Lula had said, he was carrying a large file box with a lid. I watched in my rear-view mirror as he went into the blue building, just as Lula had predicted. I was amazed that he had proven so simple to find.
I turned into a side street and drove two blocks up to find a business with a customer carpark beside their store. I drove into the carpark and turned off my car, checking to make sure my doors were all locked. I was going to call the guys but did not want to risk a carjacking while I was distracted. I wondered who to call? Carlos was not due back until tomorrow morning. I could call Bobby or Manny, but I wasn't sure if they would be able to plan the takedown. I decided my best bet was to call Hector. I just hoped I could communicate well enough in Spanish.
" Hola, Estephania," came the reply to my ring.
"Hola, Hector," I responded. I hesitated, trying to think and translate at the same time. "Connie me dio un hombre para encontrar. Lo encontré en Comstock Street. No puedo recogerlo. ¿Puedes ayudarme?" I had no idea how to say I had a skip or a file, so I had just told him I had a man to find. I hoped he would understand and come to help me.
"¿Si donde estas ahora?" I looked around, trying to find where I was. I saw a street sign and gave Hector directions. Fortunately, he seemed to understand how to find me.
"¿Puedes traer a alguien?" I hoped he could bring someone with him. Both for translation and to help him with the pickup.
"Manny y Bobby están de guardia," I was relieved to hear that he would bring Manny and Bobby.
I hung up and waited anxiously for about twenty minutes before seeing Hector's car slide into the space beside me. I got out and moved over into his back seat beside Bobby. I quickly explained what had happened, with Manny translating to Hector in rapid Spanish. I handed over the file, showing the skip's mug shots, and explained how I had tracked him down, leaving out the details of Lula's gun play. I told them about driving through Comstock and seeing the skip, Antonio Amuro, go into the same building.
They conversed for a few minutes in Spanish to plan, until Bobby said, "Hector and I are going to park and watch the building. Manny is going to wait out of sight and will follow Amuro when we signal him that Amuro comes out of the building. If you leave the paperwork with us, we'll take him straight in when we pick him up."
"Are you going to pick him up on the street?" I was worried, even though I knew these men could look after themselves. "Please be careful. The other people might not like it," I fretted.
Bobby smiled and Hector reached back to squeeze my hand, "We be ok, Chica," he said haltingly, in his broken English. I smiled back at him. I said my goodbyes and climbed back into my own car to head back to the office.
I drove back to the office and organised my papers for the phone meeting, trying to distract myself from worrying about the guys on Comstock Street. It was silly, I knew; these guys could handle themselves. Hector probably ruled Comstock! So, I concentrated on the business at hand.
The contractors were working with me to schedule the subcontractors for electrical wiring and plumbing. I had suggested to Carlos and Marco that we try to future-proof the building, with twice as many electrical and phone outlets as originally planned. The internet was a tidal wave, according to Bill Gates*, and I could already see how it might impact businesses. I wanted to make sure we would have the building set up so we would not need to do major retrofitting work for at least a few years. So, lots of outlets seemed necessary.
The phone meeting with the contractors went well, and they were set to schedule the subcontractors over the next few weeks. I typed up some progress notes and, feeling cheeky, I went into Carlos' office to connect to the internet and send the notes via email to Carlos, Marco, and Tank. Ten minutes later, I got an email reply from Carlos with a single word, Babe.
Ninety minutes later, my phone rang, and I answered to hear Bobby. I breathed a hefty sigh of relief when he told me they had found Amuro and were taking him to the police station now. They had waited an hour for Amuro but he hadn't left the building. Then they had decided to go door to door in the apartment building trying to find him. Of course, they checked the basement apartments last and that's where he was holed up, hiding. Still, they had captured him without any issues, and would bring the capture receipt back to the office after dropping him off at the station. These pickups seemed to be getting a little easier, although I guessed it would not always be so straightforward. After all, I could not expect every FTA to be spotted by Lula!
Four days later, when Carlos had returned from Miami, we met with the contractors on site to confirm the external building work completed and to approve the commencement of internal work. The wiring, plumbing, and framing would hopefully be completed by the holidays, and then the site would shut down until the second of January. It would then recommence to complete the internal fittings and construction. The new elevator was being delivered by the end of the year as well, and the installation would commence for that in the new year as well.
Carlos had agreed with me to employ an interior designer. I was surprised when he told me that his sister, Celia, had completed her degree at the beginning of the year in interior design, and had commenced working with a firm in Jersey City. He was going to contact her and hoped to contract to her firm, with the proviso that Celia was a lead in the project for the firm. I was excited to work with Carlos' sister and hoped it would give her career a boost.
I had spoken with Carlos about my chance meeting with Raoul Rodriguez and his situation. Carlos told me he had intended to see how he could help Rodriguez, so had immediately called Silvio to talk to him about Rodriguez, only to find that his cousin had already contacted Silvio to ask about the firm and opportunities. Silvio was thrilled that his cousin may work for the Trenton branch and encouraged Raoul to think about it. Carlos had subsequently contacted Rodriguez this morning about potentially consulting with us on the fire systems and safety for the building, and the planning for security that still complied with the regulations and laws I had identified. Rodriguez had been shocked, but excited to be involved, and to utilize his fire department training in this way. He was coming down to Trenton next week for an initial meeting and walkthrough of the building.
Carlos had told me that fire safety and compliance was a critical part of security planning and installations that was often overlooked in some security firms. Two of the biggest commercial accounts they had in Miami had switched to Rangeman because the previous firms had installed systems that were not compliant with the Florida Fire Prevention Code and had been fined for safety violations. But currently, even Miami Rangeman did not have a resident expert in fire safety. They tended to rely on their own research and occasional consultations with the City of Miami Fire Prevention Bureau or Miami Dade County Fire Rescue. But they had to be constantly aware of issues with automatic doors and access control systems, fire-resistant materials, and placement of surveillance cameras. I felt my excitement growing as I thought this could just be the niche that Raoul Rodriguez could fill for Rangeman, making use of his previous training in a similar way we were planning to use Bobby's training. It could be a new future for him too.
On the way back to the office, I decided to broach something that had been playing on my mind recently. "Carlos," I asked tentatively, "can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course, Babe. Anything. What's on your mind?"
"I was wondering… What do you see my role as being when we open the business? Is it going to be the same, or something different?"
Carlos looked taken aback, "Pretty much the same?" he paused. "Why do you ask, Babe?"
"Well… my duties are pretty loose. Don't get me wrong," I hastened to add, "I like it. I like that I have lots of variety and that I get to use lots of different skills. It's just, I wondered if I would be in the office full-time when the business opens up, or if I would still get to do some of what I do now?" This was the crux of the matter; I didn't really want to be trapped behind a desk full-time. "I like being involved in the FTA side too, researching and investigating. I like going out in the field. I think I would feel stifled if I had to wear pantyhose to work every day and only got paperwork to do." I finished in almost a whisper.
Carlos smiled slightly, "I know, Babe. I see it in you," he thought for a minute. "I won't lie to you. There will be a lot of administrative work that will come when the office opens. If you want to try and split your time you could, but we would need either another office manager or perhaps the role could be shared between you and Tank. That would open up opportunities for Tank to be out in the field a bit too, which I know he would like." Carlos looked at me thoughtfully, "Babe, if you really want to do fieldwork, you will have to qualify. It's required for all our people in the field."
"Qualify? How do you mean?" I was puzzled. I hadn't heard this mentioned before.
"Physical fitness, weapons qualifications, defensive driving. I haven't asked it of you up to now, because you have been focussing mostly on the research and investigation side, and not doing a lot of active fieldwork. Strictly speaking, I shouldn't be taking you out on pickups without doing the qualifications. Even surveillance and tracking are against the regulations we use in Miami without qualifying. I know you like the excitement, but you may want to think about it if you want to get into full fieldwork, even part-time. Once we open properly, I wouldn't be able to continue to overlook it. You might want to talk to Tank and Lester about what exactly is required and if you want to do it. You'd have to maintain them too. Annual refresh and testing."
"What about the contract workers? Bobby and Hector and Manny? Have they qualified?" I challenged.
Carlos looked at me sombrely, "Not yet, but I have spoken with them about it, and they know it's coming. It's one of the reasons I was pleased to employ Brown. He will be able to do the fitness evals and I'm certified to do the weapons and driving evals. So is Marco. Besides, aside from Brown, the other contractors here are ex-military or people I've known for years, so I know their training and background. Hector will fly through, and Manny and Zip are ex-military. I didn't have any qualms about Brown's fitness or driving, because I know the requirements for paramedics are similar to ours. He'll have to do the weapons quals, but I've observed him, and he won't have any issues. You're not yet up to standards for weapons or fitness, Steph. You could do it, but you'd need to be committed and have regular gym time and range time."
I blinked at that and thought about it seriously. I still hated the gun range and, despite running three times a week with Carlos now, I hadn't done any other kind of fitness training since high school. I loved working with the guys, but did I want to go down that track? Maybe I should just stick with the research and investigations?
"There are other areas within the business that aren't strictly administrative that you could get into as well," Carlos offered. "Client relations and sales, or even security systems planning and installations. Neither of those needs field qualifications, although you might need other training."
Hmm. I hadn't considered any of that. I had only really been involved in the FTA side. Would that be enough excitement for me? "I… I'll think about it." I eventually said, and Carlos let the matter drop.
Translations from Google
"Connie me dio un hombre para encontrar. Lo encontré en Comstock Street. No puedo recogerlo. ¿Puedes ayudarme?" Connie gave me a man to find. I found him on Comstock Street. I cannot pick him up. Can you help?
"¿Si donde estas ahora?"
Yes. Where are you now?
"¿Puedes traer a alguien?"
Can you bring someone?
"Manny y Bobby están de guardia,"
Manny and Bobby are on call.
Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed since my last chapter. I love to see the reviews and love it when new readers come on board and catch up on the story. Please review if you can – my muse needs all the help it can get atm!