Chapter 4: I smell change in the air
Ram’s POV
I’ve been at RangeMan Trenton for 2.5 years and I can honestly say that the core team doesn’t usually pull surprises on the rest of us unless Bombshell is involved. So to get a call at 0115 to report to Tank’s apartment had me assuming Bombshell was in trouble. I was there in 15 minutes with full gear and my sniper rifle.
You never know.
On the way up the stairs I see Hal and Manny double timing it, armed to the teeth, so I assume they’re in on it. No one says a word as we walk through Tank’s door.
“Sir?”
“Stand down. Take a seat. Drink?” WTH? Is this a social call? Water is passed around and we sit. Bobby and Lester are examining a piece of paper and haven’t looked up yet.
“Ram, Hal, Manny, for the next 72 hours I need the three of you to run the Trenton Office. All assignments, scheduling, and appointments are your responsibility. Assignment could run longer as needed. Can you handle the assignment?”
“Sir, yes Sir,” Hal replies, “but is there a problem with Bombshell?”
“No problem, but we’re going to modify routine in the office over the next two weeks. Questions?”
“Bombshell orders?”
“In progress. We intend to relocate her here for mandatory bed rest on 7. Ella will have point. Run all requests for visual through her. Bomber will have a laptop and cell phone and can run searches from her bed,” Bobby says. Mandatory bed rest?
“Ranger?”
“I’ll handle,” Tank says.
“Client facings?” Manny asks.
“Three for security, one for personal services. You’ll be with me on all those,” Lester replies. “We need to beat the bushes too. There are two takedowns scheduled. One required a distraction, but Beautiful’s out of commission for 12 weeks, so adjust accordingly.” Aw, that sucks. Gotta review intel.
Hal. “Internals?”
“One XO meeting I will handle. Internal status meetings are yours to decide, company status and strategy meeting also. I want a detailed report EOD. Get a schedule amongst yourselves, one XO, one liaison, one strategy, and update the internal site so the other offices know who’s lead,” Tank says. “Take Conference 2 as a joint office for the next few days.”
“Morelli? Current intel says off.”
“Assumed true. Standard orders apply. You’ll take over at 0900, so get some sleep.”
With that, I’ve run out of questions. I’ve been called on to run the office for limited durations before so I know the setup and procedure. We leave and walk to Conference 2. This is Hal’s first time doing this so Manny and I get him up to date quickly on setup. We decide to allow Hal to take point as XO, mostly because it keeps him running things internally since he has the least experience with the other offices and clients and because he has the greatest attention to detail. Manny takes strategy and I take liaison and update the internal company site with our positions and schedule. We also remind Hal to bring 3 changes of clothes and 2 suits to the office and allow Ella to press his suits.
The first external liaison call takes place at 0600. It’s a pulse check that happens every three hours during the day and lasts 5 minutes normally. I call in from home and everything is normal. I’m on edge. Normally we would have some idea of the threat or problem. Core gave us nothing.
I’m on 5 in Conference 2 by 0730. I’m hoping for additional information but Lester has that look that says his blade hand feels slippery. I look for Manny and find him in his cubicle with Hal.
“Anything?”
“Not a word.”
Day 1 speeds by. The email from Tank detailing the assignment (short on detail) goes out at 0800, so I get numerous Nosy Nellies stopping by C2 for intel. I got nothing so I give nothing. The external XO pulse check at 0830 is attended by Tank, who informs each XO that we will be running Trenton for the next 72 hours and the assignment might be extended. Each XO promises us all assistance if and when needed. Afterwards, Mark from Boston and Javier in NYC call to reiterate that, as they’re the closest, not to hesitate regardless of request or question, especially to Hal, who is taking over as XO. I advise Hal to ask me first, as Javier and Mark are nosy bastards and anything said to them will be over RangeMan before he hangs up the phone.
The rest of the day I’m swamped with work. I get the schedule updated and posted, which has to be the most hated job in RangeMan management. Nobody ever likes their shift and I receive no less than 4 emails requesting shift changes. I send them all the finger. Bombshell is brought in around 1330 and set up on 7. We’re reminded to call Ella before calling her directly. The remaining pulse checks are normal but everyone wants to know what’s going on at RM Trenton. I mentally send them all the finger.
At 1930 Bobby walks into C2 with Hal and Manny and shuts the door. “Things may get…weird over the next few days but there is one thing you absolutely must accomplish.” We hold our breath and wait. “Bomber must call her mother at least once a day, 10AM or 2PM. Once the call is complete, she will send an email to core and to you. Failure will see Mrs. Plum and Mrs. Mazur here in person.” OH HOLY HELL! “Failure to comply will see you on the mats with Tank at 0500 and Lester at 1700. Understood?”
“Sir Yes Sir!” We will make absolutely certain Bombshell calls her mother. I can handle anything except Granny Mazur’s bony fingers.
Day 2 is mostly a repeat of Day 1. Manny has his suit on and looks every inch of a former feeb. I tell him and receive the finger for my troubles. I’m reviewing the intel for the distraction jobs in C2 when Hal walks in around 1030. Poor guy looks beat already.
“I’ve got 6 requests for change of schedule and Mark from Boston keeps calling wanting to know what’s going on here. What the heck is going on, Ram? I feel like I’m out the loop.”
“They’re testing you. I’ve denied 4 requests, so hand those over. The other offices are going to call all day. Not only are they nosy but they know as much as we do and it’s probably driving ’em bonkers. Ignore.”
“Fine.” Hal is silent for a moment then says, “Can we cut feed in here?”
“Yeah.” Quick key press and we’re all alone.
“Look, I appreciate you and Manny making me XO, but I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I need help here.” It’s testament to how frustrated Hal is that he actually cursed. Hal knows curse words? Wow…
“Alright, grab a sheet, take notes. Here goes. Your job as XO is to ensure all accounts are running normally, apprehensions are scheduled, client meetings are not overbooked and customers are happy. Manny and I made you XO because of your attention to detail, so while Manny is out there with Lester, shaking the bushes for business and shoring up our clients satisfaction ratings, you and I get the grunt work. So, who’s running point in the monitoring station? Don’t know? Check the schedule, then schedule a pulse check with that person every three hours. They should be calling you anyway.”
“OK, that’s Junior. He’s been calling.”
“Good. Now, I’m reviewing intel for the apprehensions we currently have, but you want to call Vinnie, John, and Douglas and give them an ETA for your arrival in their offices if they have files for you. Then grid the jobs out, matching the schedule I’ve created with the information in the file so we have coverage. Manny’s job is to determine the best take-down procedures. Check with Ella to see if Bombshell is up to running searches. If so, send the info up. We’ve got the best at our disposal so let’s use her. Contact Rodriguez to see if he has anything to add. Review his intel and pass any possible new client work to Manny.
At 1300, you, me and Manny need to meet for about 90 minutes. We’ll review the grid, whatever you’ve got at that point so don’t stress it, and Manny will add the information he picked up during the day. With me?” Hal looks dazed and I can’t say I blame him. I never realized exactly how much the core team did during the day until the first time I had to run point. I’ve never given them shit since. “1600 is staff meeting. You take point there and you’re basically looking for everyone to update status. When it goes well, we’re in and out in 30 minutes.”
“Got it.” I see Hal making the connections in all the crap that’s been flung at him in the past 24. He stands to leave and I can’t resist messing with him.
“Hal?”
“Yeah?”
“Once you feel you’ve got that down, I’ll give you the rest of the XOs job.” I smile as Hal goes even paler. I wish I was just messing with him, but I’m not. I’ve given him about 75% of the XOs job. The other 25% I’ll handle until he has that under his belt. He walks out, a bit unsteady.
“Welcome to the big leagues, Hal.”
Hal’s POV
Welcome to the big leagues? Is Ram kidding? I look down at my notes, still feeling a little overwhelmed and decide to start with the easiest thing first. Bombshell. We didn’t get a 10AM email.
“Hello Ella?”
“Hello, Hal dear! I understand you’re the XO for the week. Any orders for me?” she replies.
Orders for Ella? I never want Tank’s job. “Just for clarification, what kind of orders do you normally receive, Ella?”
“Oh, it depends on the situation. I send a weekly status report with the current household information, like food levels and building maintenance information. I coordinate with Bobby on food modification plans if any RangeMan is sick or needs a specialized diet. With Tank and Ranger I usually update them if I need time to get carpets cleaned or filters changed, that sort of household info. Special orders would include a different lunch for a special occasion, specialized ordering you need for shirts, gun holsters, pants, boots, that sort of thing, any changes to décor or setup you want me to make, etc. Basically, if you need to make a change in the household or building or you need something for the men, you call me.”
Wow, I never realized that Ella was the person who ordered gun holsters…I just thought they were there although that explains why mine fits perfectly and I can’t buy one commercially. She has everyone’s measurements on file.
“Oh. Well, in that case, I have nothing to request from you at this time, but I do need to know if Bombshell called her mother this morning. Is she awake?”
“Yes, she’s awake. I know she spoke to her grandmother around 10AM, but I don’t know if she actually spoke to her mother. Let me go get her.” Hmm…Bobby’s orders were to ensure Bombshell spoke to her mother. That’s clear and explicit, so I’m going to go with that.
“Hey Hal! Please come rescue me!” Down Boy! You know she doesn’t mean it like that.
“Hey Bombshell! How do you feel?”
“I’m ok but I’m bored out my skull.”
“Well, I’d love to rescue you, but we were told you were on total bed rest. How do you feel? Need something to do?”
“Hal, I’m so bored even searches sound good right now. As far as pain, I’m fine. Ella’s taking great care of me.”
“Glad to hear it. By the way, did you call your mother this morning?”
I can hear quiet laughter. “Yes, I spoke to my mother and my grandmother this morning. You can tell everyone they can breathe easy for the next 24 hours.”
My butt muscles unclench. Thank you, Lord. “You didn’t send an email.”
“I don’t have a laptop.” Oh duh.
“I’ll get one up to you ASAP. I’ve got to make a stop at the Bond’s Office soon. Any message you want me to take?” Please say no, please say no.
“Nope. I’m good. Tell Lula and Connie I’ll call them.”
I hang up, call Hector and ask him to deliver a laptop and cell phone to Steph ASAP. I then email core team, Ram, and Manny and advise that the 10AM phone call was made and confirmation will come once Steph is logged onto her laptop. I receive 5 grateful replies in 45 seconds. I walk back to the bridge and sit. I have 2 hours until I have to meet with Ram and Manny and about an hour before all the pulse checks start, so I review the info Ram gave me and get started with the grid.
By noon, I’m in a zone. I took all the disparate information that’s flung all over the place and created a bunch of stacking calendars. One calendar has vacation and sick requests, another apprehensions and takedowns, so forth and so on. Once I’ve got that complete, I start scheduling in the coverage. I mean, Microsoft Outlook has all this information anyway, so why not just combine it? Plus, instead of having to post a schedule, I can simply update the calendar. Requests for modifications can come directly from the men and I only have to press one button to approve it. It eliminates a lot of work. I finish the pulse checks then grab some lunch from the break room at 1230. By 1300 I’m just starting to schedule the men on the calendar when core team arrives. Each of them stops and gapes at the projection. I’m proud of it, although it is as multicolored as Joseph’s dream coat.
“What the fuck am I looking at?” Tank asks. Ok….maybe I’m not so proud of it. Maybe I wish I hadn’t done it.
“Sir, this is the grid of the current status of RangeMan Trenton, sir!” Bobby and Lester look amused. “Stand down, Hal. This looks…” Tank still looks a little confused.
“It looks fucking brilliant, that’s what it looks like.” Lester says, grinning. “Explain it, Hal.”
I uncheck all the calendars for staff and start explaining, calendar by calendar. As we get to the appropriate calendar, more information is added or expanded upon until we are through the existing calendars.
“Hal, that was brilliant. Don’t know why we never thought of it. Makes it so much easier to actually see what the hell is going on. You need to add some calendars, though, and share them out with the people in charge of that division.” Bobby states.
The core team meeting lasts 2 hours but we’re productive. I’ve received go ahead to implement this as an ongoing tool at RangeMan Trenton. I’ve also been advised to write it up and prepare to send it to each RangeMan office for implementation in one month, depending on how it fares here. And I need to standardize the color schemes.
Now that I can actually see what is going on internally, I notice that there are gaps and over-scheduling in the staff. I take the requests for schedule modifications and determine that we can accommodate all of them. I run it by Ram first, who nods, then send out the approvals to each person.
At 1630, I’m shocked to see an email come from the Core team advising that Core 2 at RM Trenton will remain assigned for the next week. Two minutes later Manny and Ram walk into C2 and shut the door.
“OK, now we need to know what the hell is going on. This never happens unless we are in lockdown mode or Wifey’s in trouble. Does anyone have any idea what is going on?” Manny asks.
“Nope, not a single clue. Bombshell’s been upstairs all day, all the client accounts look good, I don’t have anything to set this off.” Ram replies.
“Well, something is going on. Unfortunately, Core isn’t sharing and we have our orders, so until they decide to tell us, we just continue on.”
Manny looks at us then asks a question I’d never thought of. “Do you think that we’re auditioning for new jobs?” The idea is so extreme, so ludicrous that Ram and I laugh immediately, but Manny doesn’t. “Well, you have a better idea? What could be going on that they elevate the three of us to be a Core 2? No other office has Core 2. B-Team, yes, Core 2, no. And usually when something big is going on, like all of Core off on assignment, they bring in staff from other offices to cover. So, if we aren’t auditioning for new jobs, what else could be going on?”
“I don’t know,” Ram says, “but I do know that I’m going to spend the rest of the night checking and rechecking all the intel we have to make sure we haven’t overlooked something. If I can’t make any connections, then we’ll talk about it in the morning.”
I sit back down and take a look at the calendars I have going. I notice that in the past 30 minutes, all assignments for Bobby, Tank, and Lester have disappeared from their calendars and been reassigned to…Core Team 2. Well, everything except financial meetings. Then I notice that the ability to view their calendars has been changed to free/busy.
Something big is going on. I don’t know what it is, I don’t know when it’s going down, but I’m going to keep my head down and run this place like Tank would.
Manny’s POV
I spent 10 years in the Bureau, from the time I graduated college to the day I couldn’t take the bullshit any longer and I developed really good instincts. Every single instinct I had was screaming that something big was going on at the highest levels and I needed to look sharp and pay attention. Ram and Hal, being former military, are accustomed to taking orders and forcing themselves not to question things but the entire point of the FBI is to stick our noses into every nook and cranny. It’s the reason I’m head of Apprehensions at RangeMan Trenton; I can never let go.
Right now, all intel says that Wifey is not in any trouble but I’ll double check the Bomber file later today. Lester handed off her open FTA files this morning, including Mr. Thomas Mann, the asshole whose actions currently have Wifey sidelined on 7. He’ll be my first apprehension this week. I stop into the offices and grab Binkie, Zip, & Zero. Hector walks by and I include him in the discussion. He’s not Apprehensions (we like to bring ’em in alive whenever possible) but if someone messes with Wifey and Hector isn’t informed, life can get difficult.
“Thomas Mann, assault and arson, $45,000.” I catch each man’s eye. “Guilty of shooting twice at Wifey, destroying her car, and causing bodily injury.” Nothing more needs to be said. I leave the files. I hear Zip translate for Hector.
Four hours later I receive confirmation that Thomas Mann is a resident of Clinton Avenue. Seems he had a broken arm, lots of road rash, and a concussion when he got there. Oh well. Things just seem to happen. The cops didn’t seem too concerned about it. I refuse to be overly concerned about it.
I spent yesterday and today with Lester doing client calls. The core team had been going around to each RangeMan Trenton client to assure them we were operating at capacity, the burglary spree they heard about was not an inside job, yada yada. Lester and I had the big money makers, who were pissed to discover that their meeting with the infamous Carlos Mañoso was instead attended by Lester Santos and Manuel Sanchez.
Five minutes in, I could see why this humongous fucking headache fell to Lester; the man could charm your Abuela out her panties with your Abuelo’s approval. Calls I assumed would take at least an hour Lester had complete in 20-25 minutes. He introduced me each time, making sure to slip the fact that I’m a former feeb into the conversation with each client. I felt slightly pimped and told him so after the 4th client call. He laughed.
“Welcome to client calls, Manny. When Ranger first started taking me along, he slipped my special forces background into each conversation and I blew up at him too, but the point is to make sure that each client, especially at this level, knows that we don’t have just anyone reviewing their accounts. You’re a former feeb and the head of Apprehensions at RangeMan Trenton. That makes them feel that if some shit happens, you’ll be the one holding their hand and calling the orders, even if it isn’t true.”
“True.” I sat back in my seat and thought. Then I asked the question I’ve been dying to ask since I joined 3 years ago. “Les, why don’t we have a true, dedicated sales team? I mean, aside from Ranger we don’t really have anyone dedicated to coordinating client requests and new client development?”
Lester frowned and looked at me. I got the feeling he was trying to determine if I should be told something that I probably really wanted to hear. Finally, he nodded and said, “We never had the following conversation. If I ever hear a word about this, I’ll drop you in a ‘Stan naked with a knife. Comprende?” I nodded and he entered a code in the dash to disable vehicle audio monitoring, then called it into 5. “Bobby, Tank, and I have plans for the company that we are implementing while Ranger’s gone. They aren’t plans that he isn’t aware of, but they’ve been longed delayed. One of those plans is for a Director of Sales & Client Relations and Head of Bonds Enforcement. Three guesses on who those positions will belong to.”
Ha! I knew something was up. I might not have spidey-sense but I’m not feeble. Wait, Head of Bonds Enforcement? Would that overlap with my job? WTF?!
“We aren’t sure yet if the two positions are going to be too much for one person to handle but we’ll see. At the moment, we are running some models with the RangeMan Trenton office, which is why we are stepping back and allowing others to do most of our duties. The longer this goes on the clearer it will be to you what we are up to.”
“Are we being auditioned for new jobs?” I won’t get a straight answer on this. I just want him to know that I’ve realized this is a possibility.
“Does it matter? We need you to do the jobs you are assigned. Can you do that?” Fuck. That was a hard-nosed answer.
“Yes, sir.” Les is younger than I am but there’s no question he’s the boss. I almost want to salute.
“Good.” We stop back at Haywood for lunch, which gives me time to review my office’s current status. I notice that 3 timesheets aren’t in, so I send out nasty-grams to the offenders. All status reports are in so we’re good there. A quick walk-through of the area reveals everything is hopping. We have 14 apprehensions currently scheduled with due dates ranging from tomorrow to three weeks from now. Over $1 million dollars in work. Excellent. I return to my cubicle and pull my red folder of big ideas, the folder I’ve kept since I started, with items I’d like to implement at RangeMan Trenton if I were ever in leadership. This is the closest I may ever get and given the response to Hal’s brilliant calendar project yesterday, I decide to start with the idea with the biggest bang and see if I can push it forward. If I’m auditioning for a job then I’m determined to keep it, I think.
We currently have 40 men employed full-time at RangeMan Trenton, not counting the Core Team, Bomber, Ella and Luis. Add in the contract workers and we’re up to 70. Time sheets, status reports, all the paperwork that makes us tick, is kept on big servers running out of Atlanta. All of our information is essentially in a digital filing cabinet with no real structure, no ability to report, and bare minimum differentiation to keep the other offices from snooping. Drives me insane. The feds aren’t much better about paperwork but we’re a private company. We can afford to do better.
So, I’ve been playing with a trial version of SharePoint on my computer. The trial is about to run out, so I want to get this in front of the Core Team ASAP. I ask Hector to attend the Core Team meeting today so he can explain the technical requirements of SharePoint. If I sell this idea, I’ll be happy regardless of whether or not I get a promotion. I call Hal to my cubicle and spend 15 minutes showing him what I’ve had setup for months.
Turns out, Hal has heard of SharePoint and seen a little bit of it and likes what he sees of my virtual site. I call Hector into the cubicle to see if we can integrate the Outlook server into the SharePoint site so the Core Team can see how it would all operate. Hector gets excited by the idea, calls the guys in Atlanta and says it’ll be ready before the 1300 status meeting, which is in 45 minutes. He’ll have it setup and ready to demo.
Hal also brought all the files from the 3 Bonds offices we work with, so I start reviewing the files to get a general idea of what kind of skips we’re looking at. Why anyone allows accused murderers and rapists walk free on bond is beyond me but hey, the money is great. We also have some private investigation files, a new service we just started offering a few months ago, so I need to review and farm those out.
The 1300 Core Team meeting (I still can’t believe I’m any part of a ‘Core team’) starts and, just like yesterday, I have the SharePoint site up on the screen for review. Because Hector is here, today’s meeting is run entirely in Spanish.
“Estoy empezando a tener la sensación de que cada vez que camino por aquí voy a ser asaltado por una idea nueva maldito… ” (I’m starting to get the feeling that every time I walk in here I’m going to be assaulted by some new damn idea…)
OK, Tank is a fucking Luddite, so I’ll ignore him. I need Lester to be excited by this and, true to form, I see his mind already making the connections.
“¿Por favor, dime que me va a gustar esto tanto como me gusta lo calendario?” (Please tell me I’m going to like this as much as I like the calendar thing?) Lester grins.
Sold! Hal blushes and Ram looks pensive.
“Espero que sí (I hope so).”
Again, today’s status meeting runs over, this time 2.5 hours, but Lester, Tank and Bobby click on damn near every link in my virtual RangeMan world. I don’t have any confidential information anywhere, so it’s safe for them to play. When they discovered we could also run the RangeMan website from this, let the new client inquiries feed right into the database and workflow it out to everyone who needed to know, I had it sold. Then I dropped the bomb on how much it would cost.
“¿Se puede hacer de toda la empresa? ” (Can it be done for the entire company?) Tank asked.
“Sí, y es escalable. No tenemos que hacer todo lo que ves todo de una vez con el fin de poner en marcha. Podemos traer piezas poco a poco “. (Yes and it’s scalable. We don’t have to do everything you see all at once in order to get it up and running. We can bring pieces up bit by bit.) Hector said. Hector was ready to move on this 4 months ago, so he pulls out server and build estimates. Damn. Wish he told me he already had it but it’s great that he did.
I see Tank is having a small aneurysm over the cost and I’m concerned that it might not fly. Then he says something I never expected but really should have. He turns to Lester and Bobby and says, “Let’s run this by Little Girl. If she’s good, then I’ll sign off. We’ll fund it from the Enterprise account.”
I should have expected that. Wifey is the person Ranger trusts most. If she is OK with it, if it has her approval, then whenever he returns he’ll be OK with it because he knows that if she actually makes a decision that would affect his company it would only be because she thought it was right.
If this were an interview for my current position, I think I’ve just passed with flying colors.
