“I have already begun taking extra precautions Thomas, thank you.”
“No problem. You know where to reach us anytime if you get into any trouble. We will solve it for you.” Connor led the way out with Nate close behind.
When they were in the Lincoln and on their way to the Mall, Nate looked over at Connor and began laughing. Connor looked at him puzzled. “I forgot to tell you the first thing the news people came up with in regard to the unfortunate violent demise of the man at the restaurant last night.”
“Gun control,” Connor sighed leaning back against the seat with his head back.
“You got it. How the hell did you figure that out?”
“What else?” Connor asked. “Never mind I did not kill him with a gun. Forget the fact neither he nor anyone else would have pulled that stunt if D.C. had conceal carry laws in effect. Forget about him being the only one with a gun, and he could be the NRA poster child for the fact if you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns.”
“You have summed it up pretty well Captain. Perhaps we should make our next target of opportunity all of our Congressional Representatives seeking to abolish the Second Amendment,” Nate offered, only half joking.
“I bet we could find a bunch of them on the Red Chinese drugs, or information payroll,” Connor chuckled. “If you can moralize taking weapons of defense from the common citizenry, why not the weapons of defense from your own Nation? Do you remember when our Secretary of Defense Madeline Albright stated we should not be the only country with weapons of mass destruction, and then shortly there after the transfer of the keys to the kingdom began in earnest?”
“We have a long road ahead of us Captain. It will feel good to bring a judgment down on some of these sanctimonious, limousine liberals,” Nate added.
“I think it would only be fair play. After all, under the Clinton Administration, they managed to use over nine hundred private FBI files to blackmail everyone who spoke out against them. We may be able to undo a little of the damage they caused.”
Chapter 17 Details
Nate nodded and pointed. “Look who’s all ready to go Thomas. Man, those boys look sharp.”
Connor saw a group of uniformed young men in the parking lot of the mall as Nate turned the Lincoln to enter. “I don’t even recognize them Nate. Things look brighter already to me. We will finally be able to put in a day’s work outside the spy business, and do some good without having to eliminate or torture anyone.”
Nate laughed as he parked the Lincoln. “Right you are Mutie. Don’t forget to put your hex on my Lincoln before we go to breakfast here.”
“Of course my friend, I will not allow any ill to be done to your chariot.”
“Damn right.” Nate led the way over to where their employees stood waiting like fish out of water. Nate shook hands with each of them, as Connor followed suit.
“Relax boys,” Nate said. “This dress up stuff takes some getting used to. You all look like young working professionals.”
“Nate’s right guys, you all look first rate. Any problems to report?”
“No Sir,” the youngest boy named Jeffrey Turbin answered. “We heard what you and Mr. Johnson did for Sammy Mr. Connor.”
“Forget all that. We have put it behind us now. Did you guys have any trouble getting over here dressed like you are?”
They all laughed a little, glancing at one another. Sammy said, “the only people who would have given us any trouble do not get up this early. Besides, the word has gotten out about you and Mr. Johnson. Those two guys you helped us with in the parking lot the other day have everyone looking at us in a different way.”
“Different how,” Nate asked curiously.
“They don’t like us, but they do not go near us either,” the young man Henry replied. “We will be untouchable with what went down yesterday.”
“That works for Thomas and I. If anything changes, or you see any sign of anything else, you have to let us know right away,” Nate instructed.
Connor looked at them seriously. “We will handle any problems for you young men. Your days of street warfare are over. As you all will see, being a man has very little to do with fighting. Being a man means living with honor and keeping your word, working hard and attaining a first class education, attaining property you have worked honestly for, and raising a family with the same values you believe in.”
“That, young bloods, represents what a man can be measured by,” Nate finished. “Thomas and I will teach you how to defend yourselves and your property, but we will do so with the goal of you never having to. The information gathering we will eventually be doing will require you all to be able to listen and spot trouble before it happens. Now let’s take this inside and get something to eat.”
As soon as the waitress saw the group come through the door, she hurried over and led them into the back at the same table they had before. Two other waitresses swept in with menus, table settings, and water. Fresh orange juice appeared before each of them, and a pitcher with more was placed at each end of the table. The coffee was poured all around before they were left to decide their choice of breakfast.
“I am beginning to see what you and Mr. Johnson have been talking about concerning money and respect,” Sammy said.
“Well, the fact of life remains: there is only one color of discrimination: green. We receive service like this now because of our manner and our money. Perhaps if we get to know the people who serve us, and they see we respect their service, we will receive a mutual respect from them. Wealth cannot buy respect. We have to earn respect by our manner, and our actions. If you treat those who provide service for you with arrogance, no amount of money will bring respect to the eyes of the people you do business with. I say this because we will all be in the business of providing excellent service, and in return we will be well compensated. Contrary to what Wal-Mart and K-Mart say; the customer will never always be right in our business. We are not going into business to be doormats.”
“Thomas and I will handle all customer complaints. You gentlemen will act within strict guidelines,” Nate instructed. “If a matter comes before us, it will be because you have gone as far as you could go with the utmost dignity, and have failed to achieve a solution. You then bring the customer to Thomas or me. We are the complaint department. We hope by the time we get you trained, when you have to bring a customer to us, we will know they are in the wrong.”
“Sammy here did exactly the right thing the other day,” Connor continued. “Anyone can be made to tell anything. Anyone who wishes to see us, bring them. If they wish for us to go see them, Nate and I will go see them. We do not want anything to happen to any of you or any of your families. You all have cell phones, which also act as direct links to each other. Stay in touch with us at all times. Let’s eat and continue this afterwards.”
After they had all eaten their breakfasts, and were again sipping coffee, Nate broke what had been a pleasant silence. “I know some of you must have some comments or questions, so feel free to lay them on us.”
“Will we be armed Sir,” Luke asked.
“Let’s see, you are one of the Melius brothers, Luke is it not, and your brother’s name is Joseph,” Connor asked.
“Everyone calls him Joe Mr. Connor. I am Luke.”
Connor nodded. “Yes, eventually all of you will be armed. After rigorous training and education, and if you continue in our employ, we will provide you with credentials and permits. You will not be armed so you may get into gun battles, but as an extra option in a situation where all other options have failed. I want all of you to concentrate on learning the limousine business. The prior owners had the foresight to install GPS navigation systems in every vehicle. Nate and I will teach you how to drive, keep the books, and handle every aspect of invoicing from the time the customer calls or walks through our doors to the time they leave our care. You will know inventory and tracking inventory, tax law pertaining to our business, and of course the best way to skirt it. I wi
ll take you slowly through diagnosis and maintenance of the vehicles. Nate will help each of you in the office. I want us to be a working outfit in one month’s time. This will require long hours and weekends. You will be well compensated. Once we get you trained, we will maintain regular business hours, and hire more employees as we grow. You six will remain the core of our operation. No one after you guys will know anything more than the limousine service. They will become trusted employees, and versed in all aspects of the business, but they will not be in on the more complex aspects of the information gathering part.”
“Won’t they have to be let in on the information gathering, if they drive,” Jeffrey asked. “You plan to gather the information from the people who use our service, right?”
“Very good Mr. Turbin,” Nate smiled. “In answer to your question, we plan to have the inside of the vehicles monitored and recorded for sound and sight. You young men will maintain the equipment, recordings, and information gathering databases. We will maintain constant vigilance, not only for your protection, but to also see who goes where.”
“Are you guys ready to go take a look at our place,” Connor asked.
There were nods all around as Connor stood up and counted out five hundred dollars. He walked up to the waitress who had led them into the room, and gave her the money. “A most excellent meal, accompanied by exquisite service. Please thank everyone for me on the staff.”
“Please come in at anytime Sir. Your meeting room will be waiting even if we have to empty it for you.”
Connor laughed. “Thank you, but that will not be necessary. Goodbye now, we will be back.” Connor put out his hand and the waitress shook it. “My name is Thomas Connor. Please call me Thomas. If any of these young men need to entertain anyone, please take my card, and I will settle up for their bill later.”
The waitress took the business card Connor had made up. “We will take care of them Thomas, and you may call me Carol.”
“Thank you Carol, good day.”
Outside of the restaurant Nate took Connor off to the side. “Thomas, Henry saw a black guy in his mid thirties out hanging around by his house, and his friends told him he was asking about what Henry was up to. It may not mean anything, but maybe we should check it out.”
“These guys are naturals,” Connor said. “Hell yea, we will most definitely check this guy out. Did you get the specifics, or does Henry want to point him out for us?”
“He said the guy has been walking around the streets on a pretty regular basis, so he said he could point him out to us later.”
“Good Nate, we’ll have Henry drive us in one of the limos with the darkened windows, and he can point him out. We’ll drive on past, and I will hop on out and introduce myself.”
“Simple, but effective. Now listen Mutie, don’t go wasting any innocents.”
“I haven’t yet, otherwise you’d be dead already.”
“I knew you were there all the time,” Nate said indignantly. “I could smell you a mile off.”
Connor laughed. “Yea, okay, anyways I will not hurt anyone needlessly. Now, let’s go show the kids our new home away from home.”
By one o’clock in the afternoon, the group had gotten a tour of the limousine service garage, office, and looked over the vehicles. Nate had gone over every aspect of driving professionally with one group, while Connor took the other group through procedures for surveillance, and spotting a tail. The young men, for their part, listened attentively in silence.
They picked out two of the limousines, and took their respective groups out to an open industrial parking lot, which was empty of vehicles. Each youth went through a series of basic maneuvers, with theoretic problems thrown at them in relation to what they would be doing. By five o’clock, Connor and Nate decided they had accomplished enough for the first day.
They left the Lincoln in one of the service bays, and took one of the smaller limousines out with Sammy driving. After all the boys but Henry had been dropped off, Connor had Henry direct Sammy around his neighborhood in hopes of spotting the man who had been asking questions.
As they passed Henry’s building, Henry looked back through the tinted glass.
“He’s right in the alleyway next to my building Mr. Connor,” Henry pointed out. The man, for his part looked up at the tinted glass limousine as it passed, and Connor heard Nate groan.
“Man, I do not believe this,” Nate said as he combed his hands back over his head, and then leaned against the seat.
“I take that to mean you know our mystery man Nate. Are you going to share?”
“Thomas, we need to talk together, and to this guy privately.”
“Sammy, circle the block, and then let us out about three blocks before we get to Henry’s street. Stop before you round the corner, and then shut off the car, and wait for Nate and I to come back. We will not be long. I will leave something for anyone other than us who approaches the car. Stay inside no matter who comes over to it. Are we clear?”
“Yes Sir,” Sammy said as he finished the second turn to head back in the direction they had come, only parallel to it. He came to a stop near the corner of the street Henry lived on.
Connor quickly exited the car, with Nate jogging around from his side to join him. “It’s Greg Haynes, Thomas. He’s company, or at least he was until a couple of years ago. They recruited him shortly after you left. We are two cold-blooded human beings. Greg reached psychopath within months of working for the company. He disappeared on an assignment, and they wrote him off.”
“The company never writes anyone off without confirmation.”
“There was a corroborating witness to an exploding car he started. They looked into it and then shelved it,” Nate said.
“Sounds more like someone needed a freelance with old Greg’s particular talents,” Connor replied.
“Leave it to you to come up with that Mutie. How do you want to play this?”
“When we get on the other side of Henry’s building, I am going to phase through it to come out just behind him. You shoot up in the front of him and get his attention.”
“What if he gives me more than his attention?”
Connor smiled. “He ain’t that good Nate. He will of course not survive. If you can take him alive, fine. If not, we will just have to guess. I will be on him quick, so be careful.”
Nate nodded. As they came up to the building, Connor phased directly into the wall as Nate walked on slowly, shaking his head in disbelief. Nate kept his hands in plain sight as he walked near the edge on the other side of the building. He turned to face the figure in the alleyway beside the building. The man named Greg straightened next to the wall, as he had been looking for Nate to pass by. He reached for his gun, as he felt something brush him. The gun was gone from his holster, and now he saw it was Nate Johnson walking towards him smiling. Haynes jumped as a voice right next to him spoke.
“Hello Greg, Mr. Johnson and I were told you wished to speak to us about something. At least you have been inquiring into our business,” Connor said quietly.
Haynes knew trouble when he saw it. No one in his lifetime had ever gotten the drop on him in any way. Haynes stood six foot four inches tall, and heavily built. Although slightly shorter than Nate, Haynes carried at least sixty pounds more, all of it muscle. He could fit in anywhere. Having grown up in Bel Air, California, the only son of two doctors, He had graduated near the head of his class in law. As a black student on the Cornell campus, he became very popular. Haynes spoke like a Rhodes Scholar when he wished, but could blend in with anyone. He spoke Spanish and French like a native of either country. His Chinese was progressing well. Having joined the FBI after graduation, he made good impressions with everyone he worked under.
The CIA recruited him after two stellar years with the Bureau. In their training program and evaluations, the CIA recognized a darker capability in Haynes. He simply did not feel anything. He could pretend better than any Oscar winning actor, but not well enough to fool h
is evaluators in the CIA. They managed to convince him his ploy would no longer be necessary, and he could begin to cultivate himself in another field of endeavor other than intelligence gathering. In the subsequent years in Nate’s department, Haynes excelled. There were of course others who were born with similar traits, along with men like Nate who were committed to their country. Haynes took a better offer when it came up and disappeared.
“Where you been keeping yourself Greg?” Nate asked smiling.
“Oh, you know Nate, here and there.”
“No Greg, I do not know. Why not tell us what this recon has to do with
us.”
“Might as well kill me then Nate, because I am not talking.”
Nate laughed. “You been around long enough to know better than that. My partner here specializes in interrogation. Why not save us some time and you some pain. We just have to make sure whoever sent you does not send anyone else.”
Haynes turned toward Connor. “I recognize you Connor. You disappeared, and supposedly got yourself killed in prison. I came into the Company a couple of years after you left.”
“Nate told me. You want to tell us what you had in mind?”
“Sure, I.” Haynes shot his right hand up with the intention of driving Nate’s nose bone into his brain. Nate stepped expertly to the side, caught Hayne’s wrist in his hand, and using Hayne’s forward motion, Nate had him slammed into the building wall with his arm up painfully behind his back.
“Geez Nate, you don’t even get any respect from the guys who used to work with you,” Connor commented. “No wonder you wanted a transfer.”
Nate nodded his head in amused agreement. “It is really pathetic Thomas. I have unfortunately spent years in a field where they think experience just pops into your mind one day. I find this highly insulting.”
“No offence meant.Nate,” Greg wheezed through the side of his mouth. “I just see nothing but bad here for me, and I had to take a shot.”
American Mutant Page 17