Chapter 36: Release the GRΣΣKS!!!
Steph’s POV (The next evening)
Manny has returned from NYC for a half week in Trenton. Although he’s barely showing it, Hal is beyond happy. I can tell he’s desperate to put me on monitor duty again for sending Manny away. With Manny’s return, the entire Trenton Core Team is in house for the first time in a month, and Hal’s the happiest he’s been in at least three weeks. A Boston Cream was left for me along with my yellow roses. No need to ask; I grinned and enjoyed my doughnut.
Last night, after Manny arrived, he told me he needed to speak to me about the NYC situation, so I told him to meet me after lunch. If it’s bad, I need time to think of how I’m going to break it to Les.
Manny arrives in my office and we shut the door. I grab some water and curl up on the couch while Manny pulls his notes. It’s a thick wad of notes. Holy shit, but that’s good. He’s been thorough. I need to know what I’m about to walk into. I grab a legal pad; his notes suggest I might need it.
“Alright, I’ll start top to bottom,” he says and I nod. “Javier is actually a good leader. He’s forceful, he backs up his men, he has loyalty and is willing to fight for them. He relies on his Core to help him make the decisions for the branch and he doesn’t allow anyone to question their choices. He’s dedicated to moving as a group, as Leadership, in front.”
I blink. “That’s surprising. All the information I received on Javier was the exact opposite.”
Manny smiles. “And I can tell you why. Although Javier was loyal to his Core, they were not loyal to him. Shane and Liam spent vast amounts of time defaming him to the staff and clients behind his back. Their favorite phrase for him was ‘dumbass’.”
I’m stunned. Nowhere else in the company would that ever be allowed.
“Liam is actually the biggest leak in RM-NYC. He tells everything. Javier talks to his fellow XOs, looking for advice and opinions, so it’s another point in his favor. Javier is pretty circumspect in his dealings. He doesn’t mind asking his colleagues for their opinions, and it takes a strong individual to do that in this company. Of course, it’s contributed to the idea that he tells everything, but it’s not true. His Core and his XOcolleagues. That’s it.”
I agree. Everyone spends so much time trying to cover their asses and/or keep Mark out of their business that they fail to see that they should rely on each other. They all have important skills and abilities to share. My opinion of Javier has improved on that piece of intel alone. It shows real strength to open up to others and ask for opinions.
“Where Javier fails is in three places. One: he takes forever to make a decision. And I do mean forever. The man is obsessed with weighing decisions out point by point. He’s obsessed with getting all the information he can and checking and rechecking. Sometimes it takes him so long to make a decision that by the time he has to make it, he only has one choice left. However, I can see he has good reasons for that.”
“Which are?”
“He’s a numbers man. He likes facts, figures, numbers and research. Proof. Assumptions won’t fly with him. You can’t give him guess work. So it drives the men crazy because they’ll give him an idea, he’ll look at it and demand more proof. More evidence.”
“And this is bad because …?” I don’t see how this is bad.
“Because at some point you have to make a decision. Like I said, checking and rechecking. You have to realize that sometimes you won’t have all the information you want and you have to make a decision on whether or not to move based on what you have.”
I nod. OK, he’s slow.
“Two, he’s not creative. He’s an administrator and he’s damn good at it, but it’s the reason he relies so heavily on his strategist. He needs his ideas person to be strong and willing to get out there and fight. He’ll back him to the hilt, but he can’t be the one coming up with the ideas, and that’s what Shane did to him.”
Manny takes a sip of water and smiles. “Not being creative is not necessarily a bad thing. Hal’s not that creative, but he is a good processes person, like Javi. Hal is committed to ensuring that Ram and I have everything we need in order to do our jobs. So we don’t need Hal to be as creative as the position might assume. It’s the reason we thought he would be the best XO. Hal is detail oriented. So is Javi.”
OK. He needs a good, innovative strategist. I really want to fire Shane and Liam at this point. They left my XO out there to die then made it seem like his fault.
“Three, he’s shit on the mats.”
“Ok, wait. You’re going to have to explain that one.”
Manny nods. “I know that it seems strange, the idea that being able to physically stomp your employees is encouraged, but at RangeMan it’s essential. First, it’s a ‘put your money where your mouth is’ mentality. Don’t say shit you can’t back up. Second, it’s more effective than PIPs and touchy-feely HR talks that every man in this company would run screaming from.” Manny takes a long drink of water and looks me dead in the eye. “We’re men; don’t talk us to death. Hand me my ass and let’s be done with it. The physical pain I’m going to feel is a more effective reminder of what’s expected than any piece of paper you can hand me.”
Ok, that makes sense. There aren’t a lot of disciplinary problems at RangeMan because the men live in fear of being called to the mats. One of the weak points of my leadership as CO is the fact that everyone knows I can’t call the men to the mats. No one lives in fear of me, but the threat of Hector is enough to stop all problems. “What’s the fix for that?”
“He doesn’t have a physical specialty. He needs lessons in boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, martial arts, whatever he can excel in.” Manny walks to the door and passes the pitcher of water out for a refill. “Krav Maga, I really don’t give a damn, but he needs to enroll now. Yesterday. At some point in the distant past. Diego and I have been handing out mat time and the men are stunned. Mat time at RangeMan NYC used to be a joke. Now the men understand that it’s deadly serious and we will take correction out on your ass. Liam got the point the first time I broke his nose that fucking with me on the mats was a very bad idea.”
Whoa. There’s some anger in Manny’s tone, and I’ll bet this will answer the question about why Javier never called me. “What happened?”
“Let’s just say the first time I gave him mat time for insubordination was the last time he decided to call me a ‘dumbass’, in front of the men or not.”
I clap. Good. Don’t mess with my favorite strategist. I knew that if Manny took Liam to the mats, there had to be a very good reason. Manny looks surprised then he smiles.
“OK, Liam or Diego next. I don’t care which.”
Manny shifts his notes. “OK, Liam. Recommendation: Fire him.”
“Wow, that’s to the point, Manny.” And I already agree. Liam’s gone. Ram returns with the pitcher and we wait for him to leave before continuing.
Manny refills the glasses. “How much have you heard about my presence in NYC, Steph?”
“Oh god, I get updates almost daily from Hal and Danny. Les and Bobby get constant updates and then we sit and try to sift through what we were hearing.”
Manny raises his head in stunned disbelief. “Seriously? It was getting all the way out to Texas?” I nod. Manny shakes his head. “Makes sense. Diego and I set both of them up, just to see who would leak, where they leaked, and how much. We were stunned, because intel said Javier was the gossip but that’s false. Things we told him circulated around the XOs but no further. That surprised us, but when Diego checked with Mando and I checked with Hal, we could see that was the extent of it. I’m sure Danny and Hal told you, which is how it got out to Texas?” Manny raises an eyebrow and I nod, stunned.
Holy shit. That explains the two and three versions of one story that we would get.
“Liam? Liam leaked every fucking thing we said, every meeting, every decision, sometimes word for word. He leaked to the NYC men, telling them that Javi told him to disseminate that info, which is how it circulated within the company. I’d call Ram and get one version of the story, then call Caesar and get another version of the same story. I’m betting the versions we told him are what Bobby and Les got. He has to go. When you can’t trust your liaison to keep his mouth shut, you can’t go after contracts. You can’t make decisions. You can’t do a damn thing with confidence because you know he’ll blab.”
I nod. “Done.” I’ve never fired anyone before and I’m looking forward to it. This’ll be interesting. “Diego?”
“Well on his way to fixing NYC, if we can get Liam out of there. He has a set of ideas that will turn RangeMan NYC on its head. The traditional client services, you know, monitoring, bodyguards, armed guards, but he has a few other things up his sleeve. Security and threat assessments for homes, companies, and individuals. That’s actually one we can take company-wide if it works in NYC. Also, business and private investigations. We’re doing private investigations there, but probing into the backgrounds of other companies and potential business partners is an untapped market.”
Manny grins. I’m thinking about what he’s said. All of it would be great company-wide.
“The best idea is mine and I’m willing to let him have it, although Hal will definitely kill me. Wanna know?” I nod, excited. “Counter surveillance. Think about it. We have experience with it from Scrog. Every man in Trenton had to learn about our boss’s habits, his strengths and weaknesses, where he was apt to leave himself open and where you couldn’t catch him. That’s what Scrog did, which is how the final showdown ended up in your apartment. You were the wildcard, the only weakness Ranger still had. He shut down everything else.”
I can’t believe it. Some of the worst days of my life have become a business opportunity?
“Once I mentioned it, Diego thought it over and he also realized that it was a brilliant business opportunity.” Manny takes a swig of water and sits back. “When a threat has been made, one of the hardest things to do is to figure out where your weak points are and how to shut them down. If you can do that successfully, you force the threat to one of two decisions: either they have to back off because you’ve become a ‘hard target’ or they allow themselves to be herded into a carefully created opening, one you control. Combine counter-surveillance with a bodyguarding service and we can shut down threats faster than any other company on the east coast!”
“Is there actually a need for this?”
Manny grins. “Like you wouldn’t believe. Especially in NYC and Miami.”
Well, put that way it does sound brilliant. “What does he need in order to move forward with these ideas?”
“Well, Liam has to go first. There’s no way we’ll even discuss them with Javier with him anywhere near us. Second, we’ll need some capital for the business investigations group. They should go up second because it’s easy money, but we’ll need the equipment and we’ll need to hire the right men. In the interim, if Hector can spare some men for this assignment that’ll ease hiring concerns.”
“So do you think I should leave Diego where he is?”
Manny nods. “I think he’s getting used to NYC. His biggest objection to moving there was the weather and the pay. Since you pushed through the differential, even though pay still isn’t at equity, it isn’t as shitty as it used to be. If you can get it at equity, he’ll consider staying. Although,” Manny grins at me, “I think he’s looking forward to a visit to Texas. Perhaps thinking about a move west?”
Damn. The perfect fit for NYC and he’s already mentally planning to leave. No matter. I’ll leave him in NYC until San Antonio comes up then the guys will make the decision. Since I promised him first crack, I’ll keep my word, but I hope he has NYC back in the black before then.
“Did he say he expected to be an XO?”
“No. He simply said that he intended to do his best, in case the CO had further need of him. He intended to show that he could handle anything she assigned him. Considering he’s already a strategist, there’s only one more move he could make.”
I’m getting familiar with RangeMan understatement. “Assume it’s true. Assume we move Diego to TX if he shows promise in NYC. Who do we put in his place?”
“In Miami or NYC?” Oh, hadn’t thought about that. Manny shrugs. “Hard to say. I mean, I know this office and I know who I would pull from here, but I think Hal would start screaming if we don’t stop poaching from this office.”
We both laugh. That’s true. Hal is getting nervous about my willingness to poach the guys here. I guess I need to start looking in Atlanta.
“I’d ask Diego, but that would set his XO status as fact in his head, so no. Ask Danny. He might be able to give you the best opinion. Or,” Manny sighs, “ask Mark. He knows a majority of the men in the company. His opinion might be skewed but he can at least give you possibilities. I’ll start looking around the company at up and comers, but it won’t be easy. We have to pair this person against Javier, which means we have to find someone really rash and bold, someone who can push Javier a bit beyond his safety zone.”
Shit. I really don’t want to ask Mark for anything, but now that I think about it, it’s a way to see if he’s willing to work with me. He’s been on his best behavior lately. Knowing that I came to him for an opinion instead of trying to figure out what I’m up to may make him feel important. I’ll try it and see what kind of response I get.
“OK, anything else I need to know?”
“That’s the biggest of it. The pipeline is fixable. The XO and strategist are OK. Theliaison should be fired. The men need a steady diet of thrashings on the mats to get the idea about the company standards. Pay still needs an increase, but once we get the pipeline fixed we should be good there. I estimate two quarters to fix everything, maybe three. It should definitely be fixed before Leadership Core returns.”
I smile. That’s great news. “How long do you think you’ll need to be there?”
“A quarter, but I’ll leave you to tell Hal.”
I grimace. Hal’s going to put me on monitor duty for this. “Diego?”
“He needs to see it through. Don’t move him until the branch is back in the black.”
“OK. Manny, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” Manny grins and hugs me. “Gotta go. Need some sleep and I can see Hal’s left lots of paperwork for me.”
“Have fun.” I walk Manny to the door and I look at my notes.
Manny’s given me a lot of really good advice and I’ve had a thought. I think it might be a good idea to move the strategists around once every year and make them spend a quarter in another branch. It would encourage innovation and new ideas. Plus, every XO is obsessed with keeping his strategist tied to his branch. The strategists need to get out and see what’s going on in other branches to avoid getting stale. That’s what happened to Shane; he only saw body-guarding and couldn’t see past it.
Well, that’s my Trojan Horse. Time to hear from the replacement.
“Diego! How are you?”
“I hate NYC. It’s hot, it’s muggy, it stinks, and the people are rude. Otherwise, I’m having a great time, Steph.”
I blink. OK. Well, a transfer to the Trenton branch is out of the question. “Um, should I take that positively or negatively?”
“Positively. It’s my standard complaint for anything north of Orlando.”
Ah. Completely understood. I smile. “OK, I get it. Well, I’m glad you’re having a great time. Have a moment?”
“Sure. I’m alone. You want an update?”
“Please.”
“OK. Where do you want me to start, pipeline or men?”
“Pipeline first, then men.”
“OK, pipeline is fixable.”
“Great! What’s your plan?”
“Manny and I have been working together on a series of new services we can sell here in NYC. The traditional stuff is always on the table, client services, etc. but we have some new things. The biggest is counter-surveillance.” Diego goes on to explain exactly what Manny did. Great. They’re working together.
“Anything else?”
“Not right now. I’m trying to figure out how to sell these services, how to price them, how to get the buzz going, which leads me to the other assignment, assessing leadership here.”
“OK, give me the scoop.”
Again, it’s the same information as Manny, but with a twist.
“I suspect Liam’s working with a competitor, preparing to be shown the door.”
OK, Manny didn’t say anything about that. “Why? What makes you say that?”
“Well, first thing to understand is that he doesn’t trust or like Manny. Manny broke his ass open on the mats in front of the men here for insubordination. It had never happened before, and since he had been the person in charge of mat time here, he was embarrassed as hell. He bears Manny a grudge for that.”
OK, so that’s confirmed. Liam passed all the information about Manny being disliked because he got his ass handed to him and was embarrassed. Another reason to fire him: I don’t care that you don’t like my strategist, but don’t you dare lie about him. I can’t wait to tell Les.
“Second, Manny’s FBI credentials preceded him here. He assumed that Manny was coming here as a spy instead of a strategist, and he refuses to have much to do with Manny. So, I started noticing that he was taking calls at odd hours, acting suspiciously when he took his calls, and generally refusing to discuss anything he was doing. Bit of eavesdropping led me to overhear a name, CombinedSecurities. Stupid name, but it’s a Jersey-based competitor. Pays less than us too. I told Manny, but I doubt he’ll say anything to you until he has it confirmed so I’m giving you the heads up.”
Wow. OK. “I have no idea what to say to that. I’m just . . . just . . .”
“Yeah. Technically, it’s corporate espionage or sabotage. Those are big offenses, which is why Manny will make sure he has proof before he presents it to you. SOPs call for arrest and prosecution at the fullest extent.”
Thank you for answering that question, Diego. I was not looking forward to digging through the SOPs. “OK, at the end of this call, I want you to call Hector and tell him everything you just told me. If he’s doing it with our property then I’m betting Hector will know how to get the goods.”
“Good point. OK, will do. Otherwise, Javier’s OK, just needs support. He’s really not a bad XO. He’s definitely a lot better than I expected. Manny’s a beast!” Diego laughs. “That man is scary on the mats and brilliant off them. I’m learning a lot from him and I hope I’m returning the favor. If I get sent to San Antonio, can I take him?”
“Can you take on Hal?”
Diego sobers. “Nevermind. I’ll find another strategist. I saw what happened to King. Last thing. Have you heard from Miami, Steph?”
“No, not yet. Why?”
“I have and it’s not good. The men are nervous about Shane’s ideas, mostly because they’re the antithesis of what Ranger has always wanted.”
Hmm . . . “Explain.”
“Well, as I understand it, Ranger has always said that we are an elite security company. We aren’t Rent-a-Cops. Shane wants to patrol retail establishments and malls in Miami. There’s money to be made there but it’s a status situation. Again, not Rent-a-Cops. If you sell those services to one establishment they all start asking for them. I’ll admit, I don’t know everything that he’s up to, but I suggest you take a look. If he’s going after couture houses then that’s the appropriate level. If he’s going after malls and shopping complexes, you need to run that by Leadership. See what they say.”
“OK. Well, this has been a great update. Thanks Diego!”
“No problem, Steph. If you need me, just call.”
We disconnect and I call Manny. “Hey, need you back up here.”
Manny appears minutes later and grabs two glasses before joining me. “What’s up?”
“Corporate sabotage.”
Manny exhales and whistles. “Diego?” I nod. “OK. It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you, Steph. I just don’t want to accuse the man without proof. I wasn’t the one to catch him, so I’m trying to verify that Diego is right before I ask you to move against him. It’s a big charge and it’s hard to prosecute without proof.”
Ahhh . . . the cop in Manny is being cautious. I can appreciate that. “I understand, but even the accusation is something I think I better tell Tank, Lester, and Bobby. If it’s true then I don’t want them caught off guard. If it’s false, then it’s something we’ll keep in mind to watch for. What do you need to catch him? I asked Diego to call Hector and tell him everything he told me. If Liam is using our equipment, then I’m sure Hector can catch him.”
Manny nods. “True. I just finished talking to Hector about the same thing. I have it 80% verified but I need 95% to feel OK about stitchin’ him up. Don’t need anything from you right now but you’re right. Better tell the Leadership. In the meantime, there are SOPs for this situation and I’m following them.”
I bite my lip and consider the alternatives. There are none. I look up at Manny, who’s smiling.
“Pages 141-143, Steph.”
Thanks, Manny.
I pick up the phone and call the guys.
“Hey Tank!”
“Hey Little Girl! How’s Trenton?”
“Muggy. It’s nearly June.”
“Hey Beautiful!”
“Hey Bomber!”
“Hey guys. OK, I got the update from Manny and Diego. You ready?”
“Hit us Bomber. What’d he learn?”
I detail everything Manny told me, including the recommendation to fire Liam. It’s quiet on the line.
“I’ll hit NYC and confirm everything Manny told me, but if it’s true that Liam is the biggest leak, he’s fired.”
“Bomber, don’t fire Liam. Let me. Liaisons fall under me and I want to deliver his outgoing ass whooping. Liam was the reason we knew everything going on in NYC, but if the reason that NYC couldn’t keep anything to themselves was the fact that he blabbed everywhere, that’s a different standard. It’s one thing to tell me, another to be indiscriminate, so I wanna see how much he talks when I break his jaw. And since he’s proven himself to be a liar, I’ll make Manny’s mat session seem like child’s play.”
I wince. Bobby is clearly pissed. It’s one of the things I love most about Bobby; he’s either happy or pissed. Mostly happy. Then I consider what he said and smile. Great! I avoid having to fire anyone.
“No problem, Bobby. Just let me know when and where so I can attend. I don’t appreciate his lies either. For one horrible moment, I doubted Manny and I will never forgive myself for that.”
Then I tell them the additional information I got from Diego. There’s silence on the line.
“Guys?”
“Need a moment here, Steph,” Les replies quietly.
I wait a few minutes. “How’s Bobby holding up?”
“I’m sure we’re losing a punching bag as we speak, Beautiful.” I wince again. Bobby’s going to be pissed for a while.
“Should I call ahead to get Liam a bed for traction?”
“You should find his next of kin and declare him missing in action if Manny verifies he’s a mole.”
OK, that’s at an entirely different level. I start considering plausible deniability statements.
Les sighs. “Looks like spidey sense strikes again. You smelled a lie and cautioned me to hold off. I’m glad I did, Steph. Liam should be grateful he’s getting Bobby.”
I can hear Tank snort. “Grateful? I think not. Bobby knows the human body and you know when he’s pissed he uses that knowledge. I suspect every soft, vulnerable bit of Liam’s body will be the first areas hit.”
I cringe. That’s gonna be one hell of a mat session. “You guys want the rest of Diego’s report or should I wait?”
I can hear Tank sigh. “Nah, give it to us now. Wait! Let me go get Bobby.” A few minutes later Tank says, “OK, Steph. Finish us off.”
I tell the guys about Shane and his pipeline choices.
“Diego is absolutely right, Beautiful. We aren’t Rent-a-Cops. If Shane’s targeting couture houses, we’re OK with that. Malls, no matter how upscale, are a no. Same with boutiques. Set a baseline revenue standard. Anything above that he can go after. Otherwise, no.”
I tell the guys the other decisions I’ve made, including the idea about moving the strategists around.
“I’m in favor, Beautiful, but hold off on that one. It was one of my early ideas but Ranger was in favor of tying the strategists to the branch. You and me in favor of moving them around might change his mind.”
“OK, Les.”
“So, Little Girl, what you’re telling us is that Javier is a better manager than anticipated but he has fixableweaknesses?”
“I think so. I’m going to visit, not review, and I’ll see what else crops up. Bobby?”
“Yeah Bomber?” Bobby’s voice is quiet. He’s moved beyond pissed.
“Don’t break your knuckles. I may need your skills.” I get a quiet laugh for that.
“10-4 Bomber. Thank you.”
“You guys good?”
“Yeah,” Tank answers. “You know, it’s fucked up, but I’m starting to look forward to these calls.” Everyone laughs and we disconnect.
