that afternoon. I counted out the price of the car to him, and he handed me the keys before we shook hands. I thanked them again, and the lady came forward to give me a hug, then another to the agent with me – both embarrassing and pleasing him.
Back at the hotel, I found that Lucy and the girls were both down in the pool – accompanied by a number of agents, some of whom were even in the pool with them. I took the opportunity to call around before getting the car insured, paying the first six months premium with my credit card. That done, I made a call to the phone company, and got basic phone service started, again paying the deposit with my credit card.
With nothing left but to get Mark to Jules' office that afternoon, I headed down to watch Lucy and the youngsters in the pool. When I got there, I found that they'd gotten a couple of guys and a girl to join them, and had a rousing game of water volleyball going, FBI versus Civilians. I watched as the game drew to a close – neither side was cutting the other*any* slack, and it stayed close until the FBI people finally managed to put one into the corner before Robyn could get to it. The agents actually looked relieved to take a rest when my three climbed out of the pool to sit at the table with me. All three dried off carefully before hugging me, and giving me a kiss – Sandra and Robyn on the cheek, Lucy full on the lips. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the agents around us smiling.
I quickly filled them in on how things had gone, and all three thought it was nice of the couple to pay the title fees as a way of helping Mark. Lucy in particular thought it was good of me to take care of getting Mark set up with a phone, and paying the insurance on the car. As she put it 'I've been there. When you're just starting out like he is, everything is more expensive, because you're just starting out. You can't afford it, really, but you really don't have any choice. Now he's got a chance to get going properly.'
When Robyn's stomach growled, we all laughed with the realization that it was about lunch time. The hotel staff was kind enough to let us order from the caf, and bring the food out to us by the pool.
Only the agents that had been in the pool accepted my offer to buy them something to eat, too – even then, they ate lightly. I tried to tip the young man that brought us our meal, but he wasn't having any, either. He did hold still for Lucy, then Sandra and Robyn, to kiss him on the cheek before he beat a hasty – if blushing – retreat.
We'd finished our lunch and were just sitting there watching the world go by when Agent Gallery approached. I saw him stop a little distance away, and waved for him to come on and join us. When he got close, I invited him to sit down. He did, and after greeting the ladies, told me 'Clara's finally gotten enough confirmation to believe that old Benny is going to leave you alone. Vinnie's brother made some noise about coming after you, but Charlie talked him, and he decided he didn't want any of YOUR kind of trouble. Tomorrow morning, we're going to reduce your detail by about half. We'll still have some people with you, but they'll be there more as a courtesy to make sure people don't bother you, than with any expectation of trouble. They'll also be a lot more flexible, so you can pretty much do what you want without having to worry about them.'
The four of us thanked him, and he paused a few moments before looking at me to tell all of us 'I wanted to take this chance to thank you. Not just for brining us in this case, but for how helpful and patient you've been about the situation. I know that it couldn't have been fun having all of us around all the time, and all four of you accepted it with grace and tolerance that not many of our protectees show. You've also done a helluva lot to bring up the morale of the protective details that have been with you. Dan, you're a living example of what all of us want to be like; and seeing you in action gives all of us a goal to work toward. And all three of these young ladies are living reasons for why we do what we do. As much as we have to watch out for people that we'd just as soon not have to, watching the four of you gives us all the proof we need to know that what we're doing is right, and gives us all the reason we need to come in to work.'
All three of the girls were more than a little misty-eyed at what he'd said; even I felt a little lump in my throat at the sincerity he'd expressed. When he stood up, the three of them quickly stood up too, each giving him a solid hug and kiss. I stood up with them, and when they'd finished, solemnly shook hands with him, telling him 'Tom, I felt better knowing that you and the others were there; it helped put my mind at ease, and let me concentrate on what*I* needed to do. Make sure your people know that I respect them, and appreciate their time and efforts on my behalf.'
He nodded solemnly, and took his leave of us.
When he'd gone, the four of us sat around for a little while, thinking about what he'd said, before we started discussing going home. Robyn and Sandra both smiled broadly when Lucy said she'd make the arrangements for all four of us to fly back. Even I felt a little relief at the prospect of having something resembling a life again – though I knew that it wouldn't be completely normal until all of this had finally blown over.
Looking at my watch, I realized that I needed to get going to collect Mark and get him to Jules' offices. All three of them gave me another hug and kiss before I left. As I left the pool, I heard Robyn challenge the agents to a rematch; it made me want to stay around to see how things turned out.
At the park, I found Mark anxiously waiting on one of the benches near where we'd agreed to meet. When I got close, he saw me, and stood up, saying 'I was starting to worry that something had happened to you, or that you'd changed your mind or something.'
I smiled in reassurance, and told him 'No, just had something important come up.'
I could see that he'd done everything he could to make as good an impression as possible. He was clean and shaven; his pants and shirt were simple work clothes, but clean and pressed. His boots were worn, but he'd taken the time to clean them up thoroughly, and even tried to put a shine on them. Yeah, I figured, he wants this; he's going to turn out just fine.
He saw me looking him over, and started to get nervous. I reassured him, telling him 'It's okay, Mark. The guy I'm taking you to, he knows you've had some hard times – he's not expecting you to show up in a suit. Just be honest with him about what you know, and don't know, and everything will be fine.'
He nodded his understanding, and we talked as we headed for the car, then to Jules' offices. As I was parking the car, Mark looked at the sign for Jules' office, and said 'I've heard of that guy. Mob family, but word is, he's not in it, that he goes his own way. From what I've seen, he'd pretty damn good.'
We got out of the car, and when I headed for Jules' door, Mark suddenly got nervous, saying 'Here? You're gonna get me a job HERE? I don't know anything about this stuff!'
I laughed, and told him 'I'll bet you know more than you think.
Besides, that's what you're here for – to learn. Remember I told you you'd have to learn a new job, but that it would still involve construction? Well, this is it.'
He looked at me skeptically, but followed me in. When I introduced myself to the receptionist, she brightened considerably, and told us Jules would be right with us. Then she got on the phone and let him know we were there. In just a minute or so, Jules came out. He shook hands with me, then when I introduced Mark, shook with him, too. He led us back to his office, and when we'd sat down, asked if we wanted anything. I was ready for a cup of coffee, and Mark followed my lead.
Jules told one of his people to bring us three cups, then sat behind his desk. He looked Mark over, and finally said 'I understand you had a run of bad luck, and that you're looking for work. What did you do before?'
Hesitantly at first, Mark told him what he'd done up until his accident, and mentioned some of the people that he'd worked for.
Jules listened patiently, and asked Mark to elaborate on a few points. When Mark was done, Jules asked him what he'd done since the accident, and how he'd gotten by. Mark didn't hesitate to tell him after I gave him a nod of encouragement. Again, Jules listened patiently, nodding and asking a few more questions.
When he'd finished, Jules told him 'Sounds like you've had your share of bad luck, and then some. But you didn't give up like a lot would.
Tell me what you think about architects and builders – and remember, I know bullshit when I hear it. Tell me straight, okay?'
Mark looked at me again, I again nodded to him to go ahead. He took a deep breath, and started out 'Most builders are crooks. Not that they'll actually*cheat* anybody; they'll just do as little as they can get away with. Once something meets Code, they don't care if it would only cost a nickel to do the job better and make the place last five, ten years longer. Architects, they're pretty smart with book learning, but most of them have never actually built anything – not with their own hands and sweat, I mean. Usually, they give us these drawings for stuff and tell us to build something a certain way. Then they won't listen when somebody that actually does the work for living tries to tell them there's a cheaper, faster way of doing the same thing. They trust contractors and builders too much, and the worker bees not enough.'
