Chapter 13: Surprise!
Hal’s POV
On the way from Haywood to the Plum’s last night I got a call from Junior telling me that all the XOs from around the company had arrived at Haywood and were looking around for Tank. I told him to put them in Conference 3 and I would inform Tank. Tank said to call Junior back and tell all of them to go back to their hotels and return to Haywood by 0800 the next morning. I went home, got a good night’s sleep and prepared for the first day of the rest of my life.
At 0500 the email hit. The news of our promotions was now public, and by the time I arrived at 0650 I had 12 congratulations emails in my box from the overnight guys. This was going to be interesting. The news about Steph’s promotion wasn’t there yet so I assumed they intended to tell the XOs first then send out a company-wide email. This was going to be a fun day.
I hit the floor, and before I could say anything every man on the floor stood up and came to attention.
Junior: “Hal, on behalf of RangeMan Trenton, we want to be the first to congratulate you on your promotion to XO. Hip Hip—”
“Hooray!” The guys start cheering, chanting my name, and partying at their stations. I could get used to this. I smile and motion for everyone to return to their seats. Junior comes over, shakes my hand and slaps my back. Ouch.
“Seriously dude, congrats. How’s it been so far?”
“Junior, I swear, I will never question a thing Tank says ever again. How he does the work solo I’ll never understand. It took both me and Ram to do it last week. Believe me, Manny, Ram and I are ready to dig in, but we are going to make some changes. I will say though, you haven’t heard the last of the news.” I smile. “There’s bigger news coming.”
Junior lifts an eyebrow, smiles, and walks back to his seat. I know my partner. He’ll spend all morning making a list of likely possibilities.
“Hey, I may leave the floor for a minute, so if I’m not here when the other XOs arrive can you direct them back to Conference 3? And keep them out of Conference 2?”
“No problem. Mark’s a nosy bastard, isn’t he? He kept trying to poke around the office and was asking everyone questions about what was going on here last week.”
“Really? Thanks for telling me.” I mean that. Nosy git. This isn’t your branch, Mark. It’s now mine.
I walk to Tank’s office, which should now be mine except Steph and I are in disagreement about that. I want the XO’s office because it’s closer to the floor and because it’s Tank’s. Just pass the office from XO to XO. She just doesn’t want to take Ranger’s office, but that’s the appropriate place. She’s CO; that’s her office. Besides, it’s not like Ranger’s going to be using it for the next year. Ram and Manny are moving into Bobby’s and Lester’s offices so she’s gotta go somewhere.
And honestly. . . Ranger’s office intimidates me. I don’t want it. It signifies a bit too much authority.
I’m sitting behind Tank’s desk, enjoying his chair (No way am I giving this up to Bombshell. She can have the office if I can keep the chair) when the door is opened and someone walks inside. Tall, maybe 6’2”, sandy blonde hair, grey eyes. He reminds me of ‘Iceman’ from Top Gun so this must be Mark from Boston. I’ve seen his picture but I’m pretty sure he’s never met me. Time to set some boundaries.
“Hi, I’m Mark. You must be Hal. Nice to meet you, and welcome to the XOs club.” Really? Pretentious clown. We aren’t buddy-buddy. I just met you.
“Yes, I’m Hal. Take a seat.” I give him a moment to get comfortable before I hit him. “Is there something that you need, Mark? Any questions that I can answer for you?”
He smiles. He really thinks I’m going to talk to him. “Yeah. Trenton’s been the talk of the company for a week. What’s been going on down here? I meant it when I said you could call me if you had any questions or needed help.”
I just met him and I don’t like him. “Actually, that wasn’t what I meant, but I’ll address that first. Thank you for the offer of assistance. I may take you up on it later, but it was unnecessary. If I had questions or concerns, I had Tank one floor down to ask.” He’s still smiling but not as brightly as a moment ago. “As for what was going on, that was applicable to RangeMan Trenton. Your constant calls last week were more a hindrance to the efficient running of this office than they were a help to me. In future, if I need help, I will call. Otherwise, you may assume I have it under control.”
The smile is gone; the blank face is in place. Good. Now for the coup de grâce. “This morning I received a report that you were asking the men what was going on and attempting to enter unauthorized spaces. I do not appreciate that. It was an insult to me and to Tank for you to attempt to go poking around this office without my knowledge or approval, unless you had his?” Silence. Yeah, I thought not. “And in future, you can address your questions about this branch to management. We will be the only ones authorized to answer them, and the men here are not accustomed to divulging information without authorization. Ram is the official liaison, so if I’m unable or unavailable to answer you can address your questions to him. We clear?”
I’ve pissed him off, but I don’t care. I wouldn’t dare go up to Boston and act the way he did here and he better never do it again. I decide, in the interest of not alienating my new colleague, to throw him a bone. I smile. “So, let’s hit the break room and grab a muffin, and you can tell me what I should expect in my first week as XO. That’s information I can’t get from Tank.”
Mark’s made it clear he doesn’t like me but the other XOs are reserving opinion. Danny from Atlanta pulled me to the side to congratulate me and said that they’d all gone through that with Mark. Evidently he believes he should be in Leadership Core because of the number of times they’ve called him in to run other offices and take charge when they’re away. He’s a good guy but too nosy and thinks he should be involved in everything.
Man, Steph’s elevation is gonna give him a heart attack.
Javier from NYC and Armando from Miami don’t say much. They just watch everyone very quietly. By the time Leadership Core walks in with Steph, the tension in the room is high. Clearly Mark expects to be told that he’s taking over as head again and, judging from the body language, Javier and Armando are not looking forward to that.
Ranger is in control of this meeting. “Gentleman, sit please. First, I would like to introduce Hal, who is the new XO of Trenton. Take time to congratulate him and offer him the benefit of your experience. Hal, there’s over 20 years experience in this room so use it wisely.” I nod. I intend to. Mark sparingly. “Second, let me introduce Stephanie Plum. Gentleman, Ms. Plum will be taking over as CO for the next year.”
Javier and Armando drop their pens. Danny looks completely shocked. Mark has gone completely red. I’m smiling like a loon. Steph is at the front of the room with Ranger, in SWAT black, her leg propped up on a chair. She looks calm but nervous. Tank, Bobby and Lester are spaced equally around the table, smiling.
“Let me be clear. Ms. Plum is not an ‘Acting CO’. She is the CO. She has my complete confidence and is invested with my authority. The decision to elevate her was a unanimous decision of the Leadership Core team. I expect that you will give her every assistance in carrying out her duties. Her decisions and her judgments are the same as if I had given you the order. If you have a problem with this, tell me now.”
Mark’s POV
I’m too shocked to say shit. We have a SMACK (Soldier Minus Ability, Coordination, and Knowledge) in charge of the company. Ranger’s rumored personal piece of snatch is now my fucking boss. This shit is unreal. I’m hoping this is a joke. I’m certain in a moment, he’ll laugh, say it was a joke, and elevate me to run the other branches while the Core Leadership team go effects a coup in some fucking ‘Stan.
Under normal circumstances, I might like a man like Hal. He basically told me to piss off in his branch. Not many men have that kind of guts on the first day. But there’s something else going on at this branch and I’m going to find out what it is. The financials will probably give me the best idea because I’ve looked everywhere else. I have my money ready and I’m prepared to buy a partnership in this company. I just need to know that the investment I’m making is sound.
Come on Ranger, laugh. Tell me I’m in charge. Don’t do this insanely stupid shit. . .
Javier’s POV
Well, this answers a lot of questions. They were interviewing their replacements. I guessed this; I just didn’t guess the girlfriend taking over the company part. Well, it can’t be any worse than having Mark in charge. Nosy bastard. If he comes to my office again trying to take over, I’ll give him a new meaning for “fly boy.”
It’ll be interesting working with her. I heard she’s good, just sloppy. And she ain’t that bad to look at. Heard she’s good at ‘distractions’ and judging by what I can see, it makes sense. . . hmm. . . I could use her in NYC every night of the week with those looks. . . then again, with the way Ranger is looking at me right now, maybe not.
Armando’s POV
That answered a lot of questions. They were interviewing replacements in advance of opening a new office. The procedure for doing it was new but it made complete sense. Diego guessed this; we just didn’t guess the girlfriend taking over the company part. I can’t wait to call and tell him. Well, it can’t be any worse than having Mark in charge. Nosy bastard.
Assuming what I’ve heard about her is true, if she comes to Miami with her current level of skills, I’m going to have a problem. My men are all machismo. Women have a certain place and bounty hunting damn sure isn’t it. She can’t come to Miami and be a disaster like we’ve heard she is up here. An amusing disaster but a disaster nonetheless. Now, how do I tell Ranger that without pissing him off?
At least she ain’t bad to look at. I wonder if I can get her to tell me about the Boxster and the garbage truck. . . and the stolen BMW. That’s still classic back home.
Danny’s POV
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Mark looks ready to piss himself! This is great. They can put the girlfriend in charge more often, just for the joy of watching Mark have an aneurysm. Fucker came down here thinking they were going to put him in charge and not only did they not put him in charge, they elevated the Bombshell Bounty Hunter, all SMACK, to lead the company. This is great. Oh God, thank you. This makes up for the shitty flight from Atlanta.
Now, who’s going to be advising her? I would guess the Trenton guys; she’ll trust them from the start and the rest of us will have to get into her good books. Well, hopefully I made a decent start with Hal, the new XO here, but I won’t leave without making sure she knows she can call on me at any time. Perhaps I should ask her to come visit the Atlanta office first so she gets a feel for how things are run elsewhere. . . yeah, that’s a good plan. I’ll do that.
She may be a SMACK now, but there has to be some reason they elevated her. No chick’s that good in the sack that you just hand over a multi-million dollar company to her without her having some skills. . . maybe she’s a so-so bounty hunter but a better business woman? Whatever the reason, the entire Leadership Core is backing this move so there’s something about Ms. Plum we don’t know yet. I intend to find out what it is.
Hal’s POV
I really want to see if any of the men will be so stupid as to open their mouths, but no one is. That’s not to say that they’re pleased. Every man in this company has heard “Bombshell tales” and I’m certain they have those going through their heads right now. The prospect of the most accident prone bounty hunter on the East Coast running the company must be a nightmare.
However, I’ve worked with Steph for two years and I know those Bombshell tales only tell part of the story. They don’t cover her bravery, her loyalty, her willingness to put herself in danger for us. They don’t cover the fact that she treats every man in this building as if he’s an honorable person and a worthwhile member of society. So I don’t see any man at RM Trenton having a problem with Steph’s elevation. She’s got infallible instincts. I trust her with my life, just not my stun gun. The Core Team trusts her. Every man in this building trusts her; we’ve just learned to expect the unexpected now.
Ranger trusts her. That’s all I need to know.
“Congratulations, Steph! I still want Tank’s office, and I claim the chair.”
Steph laughs, a wonderful sound any day of the week. Down, boy. “Office is still under negotiation, Hal. You can have the chair.”
Ranger raises an eyebrow, but he looks somewhat amused. “Hearing no questions, next week, Bobby, Tank, and Lester are headed to San Antonio to open a new office. You will receive a list of men they would prefer to take with them. Each man has the option of going, and if we cannot get all the men needed, we will open the posting up for volunteers. As they fill the positions in Texas, your men will be rotated back in. Think of some contract workers you might want to bring in on a short-term basis to fill their roles. Any questions?”
Nope. That was pretty clear. The other XOs are still in shock over Bombshell.
“Finally, I need to discuss my assignment with you. Hal, tell the bridge to stop monitoring this room and have Manny and Hector join us.”
“They haven’t been taping, sir. I told them to stop all monitoring at 0800.” I assumed that whatever it was he had to tell us, he’d prefer kept private. I get a very small smile and a nod. Good. I’m starting off right. I call Junior and ask that he pull Manny and Hector in here ASAP. They arrive 90 seconds later.
Over the next hour, Ranger details his mission, with Lester translating for Steph. It sounds like a SNAFU to me-this ain’t gonna be pretty. More importantly, he’ll need our help covertly and it has to be kept from the men. Yikes! This is edging towards FUBAR. Surprisingly, Steph is completely calm, albeit pale, hearing the details. Starting with me, she looks around the table and as she catches the eyes of those she’s known the longest, she starts to regain some color in her cheeks. By the time she reaches Tank, she looks almost normal again.
“Any questions?” No. What can we ask? Our job is to support you quietly. 10-4.
