Chapter 63: The Noose is Fitted
(AKA I commend my soul. . . )
Ram’s POV—Friday Afternoon
Hal’s going to be out of the office over the next week. I’m happy for him, but I hate acting as XO. I’m in my office, trying to catch up on paperwork and schedul ing men before I take point on the bridge. I’m hoping for a quiet day.
Steph cannot poach from our office anymore. Hal and Manny looked at the figures, but until we pick up a few more contracts, we can’t hire, plus we have to keep in mind we have men in San Antonio. We have to keep their positions open. Thank god for Hal and his calendars. At least this duty doesn’t take as long as it used to.
Phone rings. “Yo!”
“Yo.” Woody. “Look at the CO’s cameras.”
“No live monitoring.” I’m switching to the correct feed.
“I’m recording everything. You’ll thank me.”
I switch over and I immediately understand.
The XO from Boston has arrived and he’s snooping. I watch, stunned, as this asshole attempts to break into Steph’s laptop. She’s locked it and it looks as if he’s trying to force the password. I start a time and incident log to record his activities. After five unsuccessful attempts, it will lock her laptop for 24 hours and wipe the hard drive unless Hector overrides. This is a problem. He’s on the road to Newark. Unavailable until further notice. He was firm about that. I call anyway.
“Hector. We have a big problem.”
“Go on.”
“The XO from Boston is attempting to force the CO’s password.”
Silence. “Not funny.”
“Not joking.”
Silence. “I’m still offline. It’s vitally important that my phone not ring unless Stephanie is dead or dying, Ram. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“Call Nate. Have him reset her laptop lockout after the fourth failed attempt. Record everything that happens until Hal arrives. Call Hal and tell him everything. Advise that I said to treat this like a security breach and he takes point. His orders overrule the CO’s wishes. And do not tell the CO about this incident until Hal arrives. She doesn’t need to hate Mark on sight.”
Steph’s gonna be pissed. “10-4.” Click.
I call Nate and give him the barest outline. He’s speechless but he’ll reset the hard drive encryption count after that fourth attempt. He’ll reset the laptop lockout when I call back but Mark won’t be able to try a fifth time because it locks all attempts for an hour. Good. I don’t want to reset it until Steph’s in the house again. I call Hal; he’s in Philly picking up Armando and Danny from the airport. He’s speechless when I give him the update.
“Not funny, Ram.”
“Not joking, Hal.”
Hal is silent for a few minutes. “OK, this is what I want. Record everything in the house until I arrive. Once I arrive, switch all audio monitoring over to my phone. I’ll call and update you on when to disable it.”
“10-4.”
“And Ram?” I wait. “Thanks. Tell Woody I said thanks.”
“Our Bombshell.” Click.
Mark finally leaves the laptop alone. I switch to a different camera and note that he can’t try again for an hour. Increasing timeout whenever the password is entered incorrectly and he’s done it four times. I call Nate; he’s already reset the encryption. Mark finally moves upstairs and stashes his things in a bedroom, takes a shower, and changes into shorts and a T-shirt. ‘Fresh and clean’, as Hector would say, then starts snooping again. He enters the master and I can see his eyes widen. He makes a beeline for Steph’s briefcase and starts reading through Steph’s paperwork. I turn on the sound.
“Shit. This is all RangeWorld nonsense.” He flips through more papers from Steph’s briefcase. “Monitoring, client services, hmm ….” He starts reading. I can read lips and I see that he must be reading the stuff from the strategists’ week.
There’s a knock at the door and I lean forward, waiting to see who it is .
“Me, dummy.” I look up and it’s Junior walking into my office. He looks furious. “We are going to stop this shit, right?”
“Nope. We’re going to record and watch. He’s locked out of her laptop. All he can access is her written notes. Call NYC and find out how long it will be before Javier arrives.”
Junior stares at me but I’m watching the screens again. Mark’s picked up one of Steph’s legal pads.
“Jackpot!” He smirks and sits down to read. “Great, she has shit handwriting,” he mutters. “M needs help in Mia. Mando? Mando needs help in Miami? Shit, is she just figuring that out? Ant, ringleader, Maria, gang 5 . . . I hope she never gets work as a cryptologist. Antonio is the ringleader of the gang of five and something about Maria. Got it.” He starts flipping pages. “This is all Miami. Useless.” He replaces the legal pad and reaches for another.
Junior walks back in. “Javi is 30 minutes away. I advised he make it 15.”
I nod, eyes still glued to the screen. “Who’s watching?”
Junior snorts. “Good time for a burglary in Trenton.”
I finally look at him. My glare is ice-cold. “Unacceptable. Everyone back on duty. I’m watching him.”
Junior nods and leaves. Minutes later I hear the normal buzz of the floor but it’s much quieter. Sigh.
Until Hal is on-site, not a single man in RMTrenton is going to perform his duties at 100%.
Twenty minutes later, Mark looks thrilled, as if he’s hit the motherload.
“NYC . . . this can’t be right. . . . $75 million in work?” Mark looks astonished. He continues reading.
Javi pulls into the driveway. He vaults from the car and bursts into the house. “Hello!? Stephanie?” Javier is downstairs and panicked. He starts checking every room on the first floor.
Mark quickly shoves the legal pad back into the briefcase and moves into the hallway. Just in time. Javi’s head peeks over the landing and he stops short at finding Mark.
“Yo!”
“Yo! How are you, Javi?” They do the man hug and move back downstairs.
“Good. Exhausted. Where’s Stephanie?” Javi is still checking rooms and looking around. Mark looks confused.
“Dunno. Why?”
Javier looks confused. “I got a call from Junior that I needed to get here in 15 minutes. I panicked, thought something might have happened to her.”
“Odd.”
“Yeah. How long have you been here?” Javi’s back on the first floor, checking every room urgently but thoroughly.
Mark shrugs. “At least 40 minutes.”
“You haven’t seen her at all?” Javi’s eyes widen. He’s spotted the camera but he keeps moving and searching.
“Nah.”
Javier looks thoughtful. I can see him putting together the pieces. “I’m going to call Trenton. I’m sure they have monitoring on her.” He walks back outside and grabs his bags.
I smile. Javi’s no idiot. “Junior!” I yell. Junior appears moments later. “Patch that call straight through to me.” Junior nods, an evil grin on his face. I knew they were still watching. I would, so I can’t blame them. Sigh. As long as the work is being done, I’ll allow it. She’s our Bombshell.
Minutes later, the line rings. “Javier.”
Javi snorts. “Ram. What do I need to know?”
“Stick to him like white on rice.” Mark’s in the kitchen, looking through the contents.
“Snooping?”
“Yes.”
“Bastard.” Javi sounds furious.
“Agreed. Steph’s on the beach, happy as a clam. I’ve called Hector. Hal will take point. All decisions will be his and he’s already aware. Do your best to keep him and Mark separate. Hector does not want the CO informed about his snooping until the time is right.”
“Tall order.”
“That’s why you’re the XO. You’re the man who makes things happen.”
Javi snorts then laughs. “10-4.”
“By the way.” Javi is silent. “He’d just gotten to the CO’s handwritten notes on the NYC situation when you arrived. You can poke him about your $75 million in work, if you just want to mess with him.”
Javi laughs. “Thanks! I feel like being evil.” Click.
I sit back and watch. Junior pops in, refills my water bottle and sits. “What now?”
“Hal?”
“Silent.” Furious. I wonder which prayer he’s mentally chanting. “About 60 minutes away. I got a call from Chase.” I glance at Junior, who is grim. “Atlanta is prepared to deploy a full contingent to disappear his body.”
So Hal told Danny. The ‘bromance’ lives on.
Junior’s cell phone rings. “Yo!” Mark’s looking around cautiously. He finally spots the cameras and the color drains from his face. Javi went to take a shower. Junior extends the phone.
“Yo.”
“Jorge here. How many men you need?” Shit! Who doesn’t know? Mark moves from one side of the room to another. I wonder if I should fuck with him by moving the cameras to follow him.
“DEFCON4. Remain on standby.”
“Will do. Mack’s ready to serve time. It’s that serious here.”
I grin. Get in line, Mack. “You understood him?” Zip can’t. He looks bemused after every call.
“I’ve learned to ignore the words ‘major’, ‘motherfucker’, and ‘homie’. Some other words too. He’s fingering a shank. Like, a real shank, man. He’s just waiting for the call.”
“Stand by.”
“Seriously, Ram. Don’t cut us out.” Click.
Manny walks into the office, hair still wet. It was the first decent sleep he’d gotten in weeks and we woke him from it. “I was told I needed to be here an hour ago.” Junior and I smirk. I slide my eyes toward Junior and he nods and leaves. I slide the time/incident log to Manny. After a few minutes, I look over. Shit! Manny is pale and furious. His mouth is a thin white line.
“Hector?”
“Updated. Hal will take point. He’s been updated.” I cover Hal’s orders. “In the past 10 minutes, I’ve gotten a call from Jorge. NYC is ready to ride with a full contingent. Mack’s ready to shank him, according to Jorge. Junior reports that Atlanta is ready to ride with a full contingent too. Everyone’s on standby.”
My phone rings.
“Yo!”
“Yo.” Junior. “Thomas is on the line.” The line clicks over.
“Yo.”
“Leave us a piece of his ass. Seriously. Diego and I are ready to ride. We can be there in 15 hours.”
If this wasn’t so serious, I’d laugh my ass off. Mark is glancing at the CO’s computer again. I can tell his fingers are itchy but he keeps glancing at the cameras.
“DEFCON4. Stand by .”
“We mean it. Mack’s told us. Don’t cut me and Diego out. We want a piece of his ass.”
“10-4.” Click.
I look at my phone and shake my head. Everyone except Boston is in the loop. Men at three separate branches are ready to ride. Leadership at four branches ready to kill.
Mark’s still staring at the CO’s computer.
You sad little fuck. Your days are numbered.
Hal’s POV
Danny and Mando stopped talking at me 20 minutes ago. Good. I need time to calm myself.
It’s my first day all over again. Mark’s snooping around someone else’s area, trying to read information he shouldn’t have access to. I’ve been reciting Psalm 37 in my head but it’s not helping. I switch to Psalm 109. I don’t use Psalm 109 very often. I don’t like praying to God to smite my enemies, but I need something to calm me.
I need Mark to pay for his transgressions.
I want to plant my fist in his face.
My sister should not have to lock her bedroom in her own home. She should not be made to feel uncomfortable. She should not be forced to feel her XOs, her subordinates, are untrustworthy. And this asshole is doing that same shit all over again.
My jaw clenches. Two curse words. Back to Psalm 37.
Danny is driving. He demanded the keys the moment we started getting updates from his office. I’m fully informed of the number of men ready to ride to kill Mark. Junior’s updating me on the office. Ram’s watching and has a time/incident log going. Woody’s recording and they woke Manny. The entire office was watching until Ram demanded everyone get back to work but I know my men. They’re waiting on the orders and someone is still watching, probably Junior. And Manny.
Armando’s phone rings and we listen quietly. Diego and Thomas are ready to ride. They’ve packed ready packs and overnight bags. The normal trip is 20 hours but with a cop radar and Red Bull, they’re confident they can make it in 15, possibly less. They’re checking flight schedules to see if they can get a flight into Atlantic City if we move faster than they can get here by car.
Danny calls his office. Chase reports that Atlanta and Charlotte are ready. Same situation. Duffle bags packed, Red Bull being hoarded, flight schedules being checked. Nate is prepared to pull network access for Mark and half of Boston. Atlanta is furious.
I’m finally calming down. My little sister inspires men to lose their minds and commit murder on her behalf and she has absolutely no idea. I don’t want to tell her this over the phone. This is an in-person discussion. I consider options.
“Yo!”
“Yo.” Ram.
“Ride. I need your skills.”
“Done. Manny’s here. He’ll coordinate.”
“10-4.” Click.
Meanwhile, Armando has Javi on the line.
“I’m having fun already,” Javi says.
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah. Right, Mark?”
“Yeah. Huh?”
Danny snickers. “I was telling the guys that I was looking forward to seeing the security setup there. Apparently it’s Hal’s design. Secure enough for even Hector to feel comfortable leaving the CO on her own.” Silence on the other end of the line. Danny smirks. “Javi, how’s your office?”
“They’re looking forward to picking up a new job this weekend. A bit of redecorating.”
Nice job, Javi. A small smile breaks out on my face, the first one since Ram called me.
“Part of that 500% increase I heard about?”
“Oh no, this is a new, specialty job. Mack’s pulling out the specialty equipment for this one, Danny.”
Mark snorts. “You need specialty equipment for a ‘Redecorating’ job?”
Silence, then, “For this one? Absolutely necessary.”
Danny puts the phone on mute so we can laugh.
“What’s the contract amount?”
“Priceless.” Absolutely correct. We’re nodding in the car. “We’ll do this one for free.”
“Good way to lose money,” Mark says.
“This fucker is really clueless, isn’t he?” Mando whispers. Danny and I nod.
“We’re counting this one as a public service,” Javi says. Danny and I fist-bump. Javi is on it today.
“Great. Your office can lose money if you want,” Mark says.
“Believe me, it won’t be counted as a loss,” Javi answers. I’m finally grinning. Javi’s backbone is steel. So are his balls. NYC is definitely back, in attitude especially. “Anyway, I’m thinking we need to go find the CO. Make sure she’s OK.”
“You go. I’m cool.”
“Fine. Then you start some dinner. By the time Mando, Hal and Danny get here, they’ll be starved. No idea what the CO’s plans are, but I know that she usually starts Friday night with a group dinner and a discussion in the living room helped by liquor.” We hear some shuffling. “Running out of tequila and vodka. Danny, can you guys make a pit stop?”
“Will do,” Danny replies. I text Ram to bring tequila and vodka. I want to get there as soon as possible and we’re now 45 minutes away. We listen as Javi leaves the house and slides into his car.
“OK, I’m alone. Update me.”
“There’s about 150 men ready to ride to kill him.”
“That include my office?”
“We’re guesstimating 50 from your office.”
Javi snorts. “Believe me, that’s on the low side for my office.”
“Mine too,” Danny says, “but we have to play nice with his carcass.” I laugh. “Hal’s men are going to want first crack and Mando’s have the farthest to travel.”
“Shit! Who’s not riding?”
“Boston. They have no clue.”
“Well, let’s keep it that way. Don’t want them affecting a rescue too soon.”
“Agreed.” Danny looks at me. “Hector says Hal has point on Steph’s security. Hal’s not said ten words since we left Philly. We’re about 40 minutes from you.”
“Cool. Yo, Ram told me to keep Mark and Hal separate, so I’m going to need help. Both of those bastards are big and built.”
I laugh. My colleagues are great men. I’m finally calming down.
It’ll take Ram 60-70 minutes to get there. That’s enough time to calm down, find Sis, and get some dinner going. I’ll figure out how to dispose of Mark’s body later.
It’s what Tank would do.
We arrive and find Javi at the stove making dinner. He’s shelling shrimp and prepping to make real Alfredo sauce to go with the linguine I see. Yum. Mark’s in the kitchen sipping a glass of wine. He smiles and nods as we walk in.
“Yo! Great to see you guys.” We get the man hug. It takes everything I have not to crush his throat.
We walk upstairs and settle into our bedrooms. Danny and Armando are going to go find Steph on the beach. I remind them not to breathe a word of what’s happened. I need Ram for this. Silver Tongue is earning that reprieve.
I called the second largest bedroom because Candy will be joining us Sunday. I’m hoping she can stay overnight before she heads back to Trenton. She’s moving into my apartment this weekend and Junior’s helping. She looked disappointed that I wasn’t going to be there and I have to make that up to her.
I take a quick shower and lie back on the bed in a towel.
“Hey.”
“Hi, baby. Everything OK?” Just the sound of her voice is making everything better.
“No.”
“Oh no.” I hear rustling in the background and Junior’s voice. “Junior says hi. He’s leaving. You need to talk to him before he leaves?”
“No. I need to talk to you for a while.”
“OK.” I hear Junior say goodnight and the door shut. “OK, Hal, I’m listening.”
I sigh. “I really can’t talk about what’s going on here, except to say we’ll talk about it when I have a little more privacy, so tell me about your day. Do I need to move anything for you to have space?”
She snorts. “There’s nothing here.” I chuckle. Most of my wardrobe and half my possessions live at RangeMan. “Junior says you need a gun cabinet.” I cringe. I meant to get those stored away before she arrived. “Baby, how many guns do you have?”
“A lot.”
“That’s not a number.”
Sigh. “15.”
Silence. “Will you teach me to shoot?”
And that’s why I love my girlfriend.
Steph’s POV
I’m sitting back on the beach watching the seagulls dive for dinner. I have no idea why I find this so interesting, but I do.
This is going to be a delicate week. I already know what I need to do. Mark’s first. I need to get to the bottom of his issue and I think I’ve figured it out. Problem is, I’m going to have a massive problem on my hands if I fire him. Firing him creates problems. Keeping him creates problems. I lean back and blow out a breath. Mark is just a problem and it’s a problem I have to solve in order to continue as CO.
Armando should be easier. His issues are personal and easy for me to help him fix, but they will be hard for him to fix. The only question is, like Mark, does firing him create more problems than it solves? Keeping him is a good solution if he’s prepared to be an XO. I need to know more and I can’t wait to see what he has to say.
The structure for this week will be different. I have three XOs who trust and depend on each other: Danny, Hal and Javi. Armando and Mark are still out there; Mark because he’s a pain in the ass and Armando . . . well, that’s an interesting one. I can’t tell why he’s not really in the loop. Is it because the Miami office is considered sexist? Ella told me that Armando is a bit sexist but nowhere near as bad as his office. He thinks of woman as precious creatures to be protected and coddled. That’s one of his problems. She said that he wasn’t really as bad as that description but, at the heart of it, he didn’t like upsetting people. He has a difficult time being the hard ass, a description I found hilarious coming from Ella’s mouth.
So, if I’m reading between the lines, Armando is the kind of man who won’t tell me things he thinks will upset or anger me, ala Ranger not telling me that Hector thought he might be shot. I’m still pissed about that. Armando will make the decision to keep information from me to avoid annoying or upsetting me. Yeah, doing that would annoy me and I need to make sure he knows it.
Ella also said that he’s the kind of man who governs by consensus. It doesn’t work in Miami because the men don’t respect that. If he were at any other branch it might be respected, but not in Miami. Miami needs an XO willing to make and enforce orders without feeling a need to ensure everyone understands why. They respect Diego and Thomas because they don’t explain. They give the order and ignore everything else.
That’s backwards. They should be encouraging Armando to keep his mouth shut and they should do the explaining. So, no one in management in Miami is doing the right job. Mando is the liaison, Diego is the XO/strategist, and Thomas is a combination liaison/strategist. Interesting. If Armando intends to keep his position in Miami, he’ll need to put his lieutenants back in check too. They’re good men who are doing Armando’s job to try to help him, but it’s not helping him. It’s killed the men’s confidence in his leadership at that branch.
In any case, I intend to hold interviews with each one each morning and get to the heart of their issues and see what I can do to help. Mark will be first. I’m not ripping him a new asshole. I’m kicking the chair from under his feet and letting him dangle. What he tells me will decide if I save him or let him hang.
Armando is second. I need to know why he’s not in the gang of three. Danny third so I can learn more about Atlanta and Charlotte and see if he needs anything. Javier will be fourth because I want an update on the status of the NYC rebuild. Hal last. I know the issues of the Trenton office, but I want to know what Hal thinks. Hal may know about things I don’t yet.
At the end of this week, I’ll need to decide who gets the next review, Boston or Miami. I don’t think the guys have really noticed, but I’ve only really completed one review, Atlanta’s. NYC got my attention because I went for a visit. I’m behind doing reviews and I need to get back into the swing of things again.
I stand up and dust the sand off. I turn around and find Danny and Armando standing next to me, smiling.
“We didn’t want to interrupt what appeared to be some very deep thinking,” Armando says, smiling.
“It was. Trying to determine how I want to structure this week.”
Danny grins. “Well, we’ve heard that Friday night is dinner and drinks and the overview so we’re ready.”
I laugh and hug both men. “Yeah, that’s going to stay the same. Everyone here?”
“Yeah. Javi’s cooking dinner. We heard about the dining situation.” Armando chuckles. “We haven’t divvied up KP duty yet, but we know our job is to cook and your job to eat.”
“Great!” I beam. “Glad to see the important information is being passed along.”
We laugh and head back to the house. I step in and I’m surprised that Hal’s not immediately checking me over. I raise an eyebrow at Javi, who smiles and shakes his head.
“Nope.” Darn. “He’s upstairs. I know he was talking to Candy at one point.”
“Excellent!” I’ve wanted to talk to Hal about her ever since he mentioned she had an HR degree. I have questions. I pop up the stairs and knock on the door. Hal’s spread out on his bed in a towel and he blushes deep red when I pop my head in.
“Sorry.” I pop my head out and, moments later, the door opens. Hal’s thrown on sweats. “Sorry, Hal.”
“No problem.” He moves back and we stretch out on the bed like two mummies.
“Quick question. You think Candy could join us this weekend? I want to talk to her. Does she have a job yet?”
“Yes, she can join us and no, no job yet.” I nod. Great. I want to meet her. I want to see the woman who’s captured my ‘big brother’s’ heart.
“Good. Next question. Did he snoop around?”
Hal goes pale and looks at me. I grin. “I fully expected it. That’s why I told Woody to watch. How much did he see and what did he do?”
“How?” Hal asks, astonished. “How did you know?”
“Oh please, Hal. He was going to be the first to arrive to give himself time to snoop. I suspect he arrived in town this afternoon and just waited for Hector and Nikki to clear off. He would have been here the moment I left for the beach if he’d known exactly what time Hector cleared out.”
Hal looks at me in astonishment, then laughs. Danny pops his head in.
“Everything OK?”
“She knew,” Hal whispered. “She expected it.”
Danny looks at me in shock, then grins and shakes his head. “I have to quit underestimating the CO.” He walks in and shuts the door behind him.
“When do you underestimate me?”
Danny thinks about it and shakes his head. “Actually I don’t. I try not to anticipate your moves. Less embarrassment that way.”
I smile. Danny stretches out at the foot of the bed and we stare at the ceiling.
“How long until Ram arrives?”
Hal and Danny laugh.
Ram arrives 30 minutes later, looking grim. I grin. “Ram!” I run at him and he catches me in a hug. While he’s hugging me I whisper, “I already know. I expected it. Look cheerful.” Ram grins (gotta check the physical attributes section of the contract) and sets me down.
“For some reason, these guys decided I should come back and make pasta salads for you all weekend. Please relieve me of duty. Please tell me I can go home.”
The guys laugh and I smile. “They were good salads. All carbs, no lettuce. So what brings you out here?”
Ram sobers. “Situation back home I need to speak to both you and Hal about personally.”
“Is it critical or can it wait until after dinner?”
“I’m not opposed to being fed first.” Ram grins. “Then you can feel free to kick me out.”
Javi calls dinner and the guys invite Ram to stay and relax. Mark looks concerned about Ram’s appearance, but we all kick back and enjoy dinner. Afterwards, Ram and Hal follow me to my bedroom.
“She knew,” Hal tells Ram. Ram looks at me in shock.
“Mark is completely predictable,” I tell them, getting comfortable on the bed. The guys pile on the bed with me. “So, what did he do?”
Ram outlines the extent of Mark’s snooping and gives me a DVD that Woody burned showing everything from the moment he stepped into the house to the moment Javi arrived. I’m impressed. Mark didn’t do too badly. About what I would have done in his position, if I were a skip he needed information on.
“You know what makes this such a sad video for me?” Ram and Hal look curious. “He’s a security expert. How long did it take him to notice the cameras?”
The guys look back at the TV and laugh. Ram leaves 30 minutes later after we review the best parts of the film. It’s actually pretty funny, once I convince the guys to take note of the lapses. The failure to note the cameras. The failure to fully examine the house for possible inhabitants. The failure to determine where I was in relation to the house. The failure to lock all doors to prevent someone from sneaking up on him. Once I started pointing those things out, Ram and Hal had a field day watching the video. Hal moaned that it was a shame he couldn’t use this for training. We counted 23 separate lapses by an XO in establishing cover and ensuring secure premises for investigation.
Amazing.
I curl up on the couch, Hal and Danny on both sides. The guys have gotten comfortable and are looking sleepy.
“OK, so there are two objectives this week. One, I want to spend time with each of you separately. I want to have frank and open discussions about what you need, what you expect of and need from me, what my expectations are, and how we move forward. I’ve done that with each strategist and each liaison and now I’m doing it with the men I turn to and rely on most.”
Danny, Hal, and Javi raise their glasses and grin. Mando and Mark mimic them shortly after.
“Second, I realized that I really need to look out for each of you. If I don’t, you’ll run yourselves into the ground. Only Armando has taken a vacation since becoming XO but that was three years ago. The rest of you haven’t taken a vacation the entire time you’ve been an XO and Hal hasn’t since joining the company. You haven’t had any extended time out of the office. It’s not healthy and it can’t continue.”
Hal chuckles. This is the same point I made with him after my ‘breakdown’. They each look surprised and slowly start nodding. “As I told Hal, I’m just getting used to you. You can’t break down on me now!” Everyone laughs but they’re nodding at the same time.
“I thought about making this a family vacation week, but I just had my family here for a week. It was not restful.” More laughter. “So, this is a week for each of you to be out of the office and also away from family to just relax. Swim in the ocean, hit the local golf course, read, relax, have fun and call it a ‘leadership retreat’. I’ll leave Hal to show off his wonderfully over-the-top security setup”–Hal chuckles– “and remember: Your job is to feed me. Agreed?”
“HUA!”
Mark’s POV—Saturday Morning
In the past 18 hours, I’ve learned nothing of real use to show she’s incompetent. Instead, what little I’ve been able to find shows that she’s good at the job. I’m surprised and I’m not sure how to regard it. I still don’t understand why she’s been placed in charge but . . .
Luck? I’ve heard she’s lucky.
In any case, I realize I have a major problem. Hal’s security setup is superb and I may be on tape snooping around. Once I actually paid attention yesterday, I realized that there were cameras all over the place. Cameras at every point of egress and cameras covering every room, except bedrooms and bathrooms, with the exception of the CO’s bedroom, the master. That one had a small camera in a corner. Hal explained that the egress cameras roll 24-7, but the sound and video monitoring are attached to panic buttons that the CO has to initiate. So, perhaps I’m not on video, which is a relief. Ram’s random appearance last night made me wonder.
Stephanie said that she wanted to talk to us in order of seniority, so I’m up first this morning. I have my folio and my ideas, second-string this time, ready to discuss.
“Good morning, Mark!”
Just like last time she’s all sunny happy. Jesus, does anything get her down?
“Well, how was the trip down from Boston?”
I shrug. “Friday afternoon rush hour. Navigating outside NYC was the part that took longest.”
She nods. “Understood. So, I’d like to start by talking about the Boston branch and what I need from you.” All of a sudden, all expression drains from her face. I’m looking at Ranger, in spirit.
“I need to understand when you decided that you don’t like your job. I need to understand when you decided to completely destroy chain of command and respect for Leadership in your office. I need to understand why I should save you from the 150 men ready to ride at a moment’s notice to shank your ass. I need you to give me a very good reason not to call Bobby to conduct an “exit interview”.”
Gulp!
