'Simple. If you can't be trusted, you'll screw this up before I get too much time or money invested in it. If you see it all the way through, then you'll know what it means, and you'll do it for the next guy, or girl.'
He looked me over, and when he looked into my eyes, was satisfied that I was serious about it. He told me 'Mister, if you're serious, I'd be happy to give it a try. I've worked hard all my life, and ain't afraid to do it some more. And if what you're saying gets me back on my feet, I'll be happy to help someone else out, just like you helped me.'
I nodded, and told him 'Let me make a couple calls, and get things started. Where can I find you tomorrow?'
'It might be anyplace this side of the water, but I'll make sure and be here tomorrow afternoon.'
'Deal. What do you need to get you through till tomorrow?'
He thought that over, and said 'A meal would be good. Haven't had anything to eat since yesterday. The water fountains take care of the thirst.'
I reached into my pocket, and handed him twenty dollars, saying 'Get yourself something to eat. If you can, get yourself a room so you can clean up proper. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll be going to visit somebody.'
He looked at the money, then at me, before saying 'Mister, I don't know who you are, but I thank you. You left that chicken behind on purpose yesterday, didn't you?'
'Yup. Told the lady that you didn't look like a loafer, and that I figured you might like a decent meal. Figured if I offered it to you straight, you'd have told me to go to hell, so I kinda left it behind.'
He grinned at me, and said 'Yeah, if you'd offered, I'd have told you just that.'
I nodded to him, and when he realized that I was getting ready to leave, managed to struggle to his feet – I could see that he'd have trouble moving around much on the leg that had been broken. He stuck a hand out to me, and when I took it, I found his grip strong and solid. He thanked me, and I told him I'd see him the next day.
Back at the hotel, I told Lucy what I'd done, and she positively beamed at me before giving me a hug and kiss. Then I went into my room, only to find Sandra and Robyn sprawled across my bed, a pile of magazines between them. I went on to their room, and sat down to make a couple of phone calls. The first was to Jules Francone.
I asked him if he needed any help, and he said that he needed about anybody he could find. I told him about Mark Sellers, and asked if he'd be willing to give the guy a job if I chipped in. Jules told me to go to hell, if the guy was willing to work and learn, paying him wasn't a problem. I told him I'd have Mark there the next afternoon, Jules told me to stop by any time. My next call was to a local community college, where I checked the requirements for admission, tuition prices, and what courses they offered. When they realized that I was serious, they were quite helpful.
Following that, I got a local paper, and started looking for someplace Mark could stay that was reasonably convenient to both Jules offices, and the college. When I realized that I didn't have much to go on, I collared one of the FBI people to come up and help me – with the additional help, it didn't take long to find several possible places. With a number of selections, the next thing was to go and check them out. The first couple were overpriced; the third was a dump, but the fourth turned out to be just the thing: a large garage that had been turned into a sparsely furnished one-bedroom apartment. The rent was reasonable, according to the FBI agent. There was parking for a vehicle, and the older couple that owned it was renting it out more as a way of keeping someone handy if they had any kind of emergency, than anything else. I told them that I was renting it for a friend of mine who was starting a new job in town, and paid the deposit and first month's rent. They paid the utilities, so that wasn't a problem. The only thing left was telephone, and I could take care of that the next day.
I got back to the hotel in time to join Lucy for our call to her boss. We told him what all had happened at our end – including the protection from the FBI, which surprised him until Lucy told him about the Mob involvement. In turn, Lucy gasped when I told him how much money the FBI credited me with recovering, and how much they were expecting to seize. Her boss went speechless for a full minute before giving me his congratulations. Their client was on the phone with us, too, and they both thanked and congratulated me, saying they'd be happy to take the FBI figure as 'final'. They went on to promise that they'd have a certified check for my eight percent – twenty five million plus change – ready when I got home. I thanked them, and then left, so that they and Lucy could talk business.
When she was done, Lucy came in to where I was laying on the bed, reading a book. She sat down next to me and gave me a fierce hug and big kiss before telling me that her boss and their client were both extremely pleased with her work, and highly impressed with the job I'd done. Her boss told her that she'd already been promoted again, and moved to a department at the same level as him – and congratulated her on both. Her boss also said that she'd be getting a nice bonus for how she handled the situation, and that he expected that their company would be showing ME their appreciation, as well.
With that out of the way, Lucy and I joined the girls as the evening news came on. The top story was the FBI raid on TechnDynamics. We saw Clara Hawkes giving a press conference, telling the public how much money they expected to recover, along with all the other gory details – including mentioning that it had been me that had helped make the case. When they heard that, Lucy and the girls all cheered and gave me a hug and kiss.
A while later, the four of us headed down for some supper; the hotel staff seemed to have caught the news, too – every one of them stared at me as I went by. Even our waitress recognized me, and congratulated me.
When we finished eating, the waitress refused a tip, telling me that anybody that helped the FBI catch 'thugs' didn't need to tip her. I tried to insist, but she got downright adamant about it, so I finally had to let it go. We hadn't been in my room for more than a few minutes when there was a knock on the door – when I opened it, I saw that it was Amy. I invited her in, and when the door closed behind her, she plastered herself against me to give me a BIG kiss and hug.
Yup, Sandra was right – Amy was some kisser.
When she was done with me, Lucy was next, followed by Robyn, then Sandra. Only when her kiss with Sandra ended did Amy say anything to us.
'Wow! A girl might get the idea you're all glad to see her, you keep kissing like that!'
Lucy laughed, telling her 'I could say the same thing – you did a pretty fair job of letting me know how you felt, yourself!'
Amy blushed slightly, and said 'I just wanted to let all of you know how happy and good the other night made me feel. ALL of you were so kind and patient with me, and I love you for it. The whole time I was home, I had to keep pinching myself to make sure that it all wasn't just a dream; and then I come in here and you let me know that it wasn't. I haven't felt this good, and this happy, in a long, long time – and I have all of you to thank for it. I only wish that I had some kind of memento to keep as a reminder of how happy you made me, and how much all of you mean to me.'
I remembered the digital photos I'd taken, and said 'Um, when I saw all of you in bed the next morning, I couldn't resist taking a couple photos with my digital camera. If you've got the time, we can have a look at them, and I'll be glad to make copies of them to a floppy disk you can take with you.'
Amy looked surprised, then delighted, and said 'I'd*love* to. I've got as much time as I want, so let's go!'
The lot of us trooped into the other room, where I quickly got my laptop fired up, then connected the camera to the USB port. In nothing flat, the images I'd taken were being thumbnailed to the screen. All of them were fascinated – and delighted – by the shots I'd taken. With Amy sitting on my lap, she and I went through them, making copies of the ones she wanted. To my surprise, she didn't just want the ones with her, but of nearly all of them. I had to do a little compression on the images, but finally managed to get all of them onto a few floppy disks for her to take home.
She thanked me for them, and gave me another kiss, much to Lucy's amusement. She followed that by kissing each of the others again, too – leaving Robyn and Sandra panting. I told her that Clara had okayed us heading home in a couple of days, and Amy saddened slightly at the news. When I asked her what was wrong she told us – the promptly brightened up again when she realized that it was after her next extended 'off' period. Lucy spoke for all of us when she asked Amy if she wanted to pay us another visit before we left – something that Amy quickly agreed to.
Claiming that she had to 'go play FBI agent', Amy stood up, letting me stand as well. After a round of hugs, and some serious fondling and groping, she left to take charge of the other agents – with me patting her cute ass as she headed out the door.
