Mob Princess - Tess DiRosa's Story
Copyright© 2025 by Argon
Chapter 19: Adjusting
On the way back to her apartment, Tess’s phone went off, and caller ID told her who it was.
“Hi, Lisa. Listen, I’m in the middle of driving home. Can I call you back in maybe fifteen?”
“Yeah, sure,” came Lisa’s answer. “Drive safely!”
The connection broke, leaving Tess puzzled, but she shrugged it off. She had not heard from Lisa since her own last phone call, two months back, and then, Lisa had ended the call after a token three minutes of meaningless talk. There was a real temptation to just forget about calling back, but once up in her apartment, Tess decided to be reasonable. They had been friends before they became lovers, and perhaps the friendship was salvageable.
Lisa picked up on the first call sign.
“Hey, thanks for calling back. I was afraid that you’d have it with me after I brushed you off last time.”
“We were friends before we tried to make more of it. I don’t have too many friends.”
“Same here. Look Tess, you can say no, and I’ll understand, but would you be my best woman?”
“Your ... wow! Somebody I know?”
“No. Her name is Lorna, Lorna Forester. She’s a ranger at Mount Spokane Park.”
“A park ranger named Forester? How’d you ever meet her?”
Tess could hear Lisa blushing. “She ... she busted me for sunning in the buff along a trail.”
“Please, is this some lesbian porn trope?”
“Yeah, you’d think that. She read me the riot act about being all alone in the park and showing my tits and ass to any lowlife that might come along. Then when I showed my badge and my weekend piece, she laughed so hard she almost peed herself. I ... I spent the night in her duty cabin with her. The rest is history, I guess.”
“Tell me about her.”
“She’s late twenties, has a degree in forestry — don’t say it! —, long dark hair in a braid, a good face, and she’s taller than me.”
“Duh! Everybody past eighth grade is taller than you!”
“Okay, yeah, I’m small. Ha-ha!” Then a giggle came through. “I missed that, Tess, our banter I mean. I’m really sorry that I couldn’t handle you and your XXL personality. I need somebody my size — and no, I don’t mean body size, you brat!”
“Okay, I’ll bite. When is your shindig planned?”
“First of March, here in Spokane. Lydia is moving to the West Coast for a paralegal job, and she lets us rent the house. By the way, she says ‘Hi!’”
“Give her my regards. Will I see her at the wedding?”
“Absolutely. She’s organizing everything. Oh, her ex dropped by some three weeks ago and tried to raise a stink. He was crying when I was done with him. Thanks for teaching me the nasty stuff.”
“Hell, looks like it was for a good cause,” Tess laughed. “Look, I still have the same email address. Send me the details, dates and such, and I’ll file for leave. If they balk, I’ll fake a PTSD episode and come anyway.”
“Seriously, Tess, that’s great. Why PTSD?”
“I made my bones last week,” Tess said very matter of factly.
“You ... oh shit, I didn’t know. I’m sorry. How are you?”
“I guess I’m all right. The guy I shot, he fired a shot gun point blank at my partner. We only wanted to talk to the mutt, and he went Rambo on us. A trooper we had for backup blasted him with his riot gun, but the guy was wearing Kevlar, so I had to give him a double-tap to the head. Then his nutty aunt attacked me, and I busted her nose for her. It was a cluster fuck. My partner is still in the hospital depleting their Advil supplies with that monster bruise on his chest.”
“Will you be cleared?”
“I was already. It just takes another day or two for the pencil pushers to fill out all the forms before I’ll get my badge back. It’s okay. I can use a bit of a break.”
“Damn! You still can’t help being the heroine, can you?”
“Give me a break! It was supposed to be a routine interview before it went to shit. The guy had been a nuisance, not a threat, but he somehow gave Gordy the heebie-jeebies. That’s why we wore tactical vests, thank God!”
“Jeezus! And I arrested a guy who used an old flatbed scanner and an ink printer to make Franklins.”
“Wanna swap? I liked it fine in Spokane.”
“I’ll gladly wait my turn. Once Lorna has an in with the National Park Service, we may be able to stay together even if they put me on a protection detail. I figure, by then, you’ll already be my SSA.”
“Yeah, right. One more agent-involved shooting, and they’ll plant me in front of a desk for the rest of my born days.”
“Not likely. Listen, Tess: Thank you for being, you know, cool about Lorna and me. I’ve been missing you as a friend.”
“Same here. Let’s stay in touch from now on and send me the wedding date. What’s the dress code?”
“Men in Black for us, Lincoln Green for the tree huggers, and pinstripe suits for the rich uncles.”
“What’s Lincoln Green?”
“Robin Hood style.”
“Is she as crazy as you?”
“At least. It’ll be a hoot.”
“Okay, I’ll look for a black pantsuit and dark shades. Let me heat some chow now; better yet, let me see if Denise is up to cooking dinner. I’ll prepare some choice stories of you for my speech.”
“You do that. Oh, and wear your medal!”
“Smart ass! I’ll be hearing from you and you from me. So long!”
Ending the call, Tess shook her head. Undeniably, she and Lisa still connected on the buddy level. The wedding also promised to be fun. A park ranger! Then again, Lisa had been a bit outdoorsy. Maybe they were a match.
Thankfully, Denise was in her apartment, but not in a mood to cook dinner after a stressful day. The two friends found a quiet eatery instead, commiserating with each other before they turned in early at 10 pm.
She used the next morning to putter around her apartment, rearranging some cookwares in the kitchenette, but at 10 am, she received a call from HQ.
“Agent DiRosa?”
“Yes, Ma’am?” Tess answered, only recognizing the voice as being female.
“My name is Barbara Whiting. I am the administrative assistant of SAC Chang.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Chang was in charge of the presidential protection details.
“Your administrative leave is over, Agent. SAC Chang asks you to see him here at Headquarters at one-thirty pm. Would that be feasible?”
“Yes, Ma’am, I’ll be there. Is there anything special I should know or bring along?”
“No, just show up to get your badge and sidearm back.”
“Understood. Thank you for calling.”
“My pleasure, Agent!”
That was interesting, Tess decided. She had not met the big man so far, being stashed away in Mackinson’s advance team, but the senior agents had told her only good things about Chang. Maybe, he just wanted to see her and give her some fatherly advice about not shooting any more citizens.
She arrived at HQ at twelve, of course, and checked in with Mackinson.
“I’m due to see the big man at one. You know what that’s about, Sir?”
“He wants to meet you. You’ll be GS-13 next year, and you’re clearly a prospect for the close-in protection work. He’s an okay guy, so don’t worry. He’ll want to hear the beef about the Wilder girl, too. Be tactful, but be adamant. I spoke to Jefferson, and he concurs that she has at least a little hero worship going.”
“Should I perhaps write to her and wish her good-bye?”
“No. Jefferson explained that you are needed in our team. Hopefully, she’ll get over it.”
“Okay. Have we any assignment yet?”
“No, not for a while. Gojcic is still out and will be off the job for at least another week, pending psych exam, physical and range work, but Denham is loaning us McNeill. She needs to lower her stress levels, and advance team is obviously considered vacation time. Will you two get along?”
“I guess. She’s not so bad; just had a bad hair day. I think we’re cool.”
“Good. Gather all your gear and make a potty break before you see Chang, will you!”
“Will do, Sir. I’ll be back later.”
Tess dutifully grabbed a bite at the cafeteria and visited the ladies’ room before she assembled her full gear and went upstairs to call at Chang’s office. Whiting was there to receive her and told her to take a seat since Chang was not yet back from the White House.
Amazingly, he arrived on the dot at one-thirty pm and just waved at her to follow him into his office.
“Have a seat, Agent!”
“Thank you, Sir.” Tess answered neutrally.
He sat behind his desk and gave Tess a once-over, smiling lightly.
“It’s good to finally meet you, DiRosa. I usually try to see the new people soonest, but first I was on leave, then traveling, and then they loaned you back to Denham. Anyway, welcome to the teams! How’d you like your work so far? You’re, what — a GS-12?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You have top-notch evaluations so far. You were good in investigations in Spokane, vigilant and unobtrusive at Penn, reliable driving the Wilder girl, but you also have what it takes when things get ugly. I already spoke to upstairs, and you’ll be advanced to GS-13 early, to clear you for the full scope of our tasks.”
“Thank you, Sir. I appreciate the recognition.”
“That’s how it’s meant. I read that you are not depending on your pay that much, but we want the option to use you in any capacity. Your partner is recovering?”
“Yes, Sir. He has a huge bruise where the vest stopped the shotgun blast, but he was in good spirits when I saw him yesterday.”
“You wrote that it was his idea to don the tac vests?”
“He’d interviewed the man before, and he had a bad feeling about him. A good thing, too.”
“I’ll say. We’ll move him up from advance once he’s back, too. Now, I assume you came to get your badge and sidearm back.” He opened a drawer and produced Tess’s shield. “Sorry, but your gun was withheld. We’ll soon be switching to Glock 19s as you probably heard, and you’ll get to field-test one from the first batch. See the armorer and make sure to drive out to Laurel and spend an hour or two on the range, to get a feel for it. What’s your private piece?”
“I have a P229 SIG and a slim 9 mil Walther,” Tess answered with a wry shrug. “Guess I’ll replace the SIG.”
“Sensible. Well, thanks for coming by. Find the armorer and rejoin your team!”
“Yes, Sir! I’ll do that. Have a good day.”
The armorer — surprise! — had his shop on Level -01, and he had time for her. He even spent a half hour with Tess teaching her the mechanism, disassembly and cleaning of her new sidearm, but he also fiddled with the trigger until it was right for Tess’s finger strength. There was a small shooting gallery down there, and Tess was given the chance to empty two magazines of 15 rounds into the targets. All in all, the smaller gun fit her hands better than the SIG, but it would take more time getting used to it.
She reported back to Mackinson after that, and of course, she had to show her new service weapon to her fellow agents on the team. Mackinson insisted she drive to Laurel in the next morning, to qualify with her new sidearm, before he would let her join the team again, but at least she was allowed to hang with her team mates, who brought her up to speed on their current operations.
Team 2 deployed on the following Sunday at 2 pm, to prepare for a visit of the First Lady — FLOTUS — to New York. They would be supported by the Brooklyn Field Office. She was slated for a keynote address at a $10,000-a-plate charity dinner and would fly into LaGuardia Tuesday afternoon. She would stay the night in the same hotel where the dinner was held and fly back in the next morning. Team 2 would stay and do perimeter control during her actual stay.
Tess was assigned as McNeill’s partner, and on the surface, both cooperated smoothly. Yet, Tess sensed that the woman was wound up like a watch spring during the entire assignment. She controlled her temper, to be sure, but she was on a hair trigger. Tess had no interest in exacerbating her senior’s problems and did her best to perform her tasks as ordered and when ordered, drawing no attention to herself. It worked for the most part. On the flight back to DC, McNeill even made a point of sitting with Tess.
“Thanks for the great cooperation, Partner,” she offered. “And thanks for being so cool about ... well, my attitude.”
“De nada. I could tell that you were stressed, and I know how nice you are if not.”
“Wow! I don’t think anybody ever called me nice.”
“Likewise. Cool is not how people think of me.”
“Yes, we are quite an act, Bitch and Broad.”
This self-depreciating remark came so surprising that Tess’s eyes went wide, but then she grinned.
“If the label fits...”
“Sorry, did I offend you?”
“My older brother has been calling me a brat for as long as I can think, and broad is a step up.”
“Okay. I’ll try to be less...”
“Anal?” Tess giggled.
“I guess, yeah, that’s how I come over.”
“Not always, not even most of the time. That coordinator job on Denham’s team, was it that stressful?”
“No, I guess I made it stressful all by myself. The first time I was given some sort of supervising job, and I wanted it all to be perfect. Of course, it never was and never will be,” she sighed. “How can anything be perfect in DC traffic? With Wilder, it’s easy. They simply block the streets where he’s driving, and it’s all planned ahead. It’s Missus Wilder, the younger Wilders, and the elder Missus Wilder. They want to go shopping or for a tea with friends, and it has to be right away.”
“I took Jennifer Wilder to be a good kid and not overly demanding,” Tess threw in.
“I’m sure she is. I’m the problem. I was never good in juggling things, thinking on my feet, you know. I’m good at plugging away at a case, methodically, you know? This advance team business is much better for me, but I’m still stressed.”
“I hear you. I sometimes miss tracking dumbass hate mailers and forgers.”
“Amen! You and me both! But then, there’s my parents. They’re old-school Republicans, conservative, with a firm belief in the government. For them, I’ll be a failure if I wash out of the protective details. To protect the president, any president, is to them like I’m appointed to the Pope’s Swiss Guard.”
“You won’t believe it, but my great-uncle is of the same mindset. America made our family rich and important, and he always wanted to be a respected citizen. I’m living his dream for him.”
“Umh, Tess, can you give me a nudge now and then when I’m getting too intense?”
“What do you have in mind? Some signal or a kick in the shins.”
“How about addressing me as Ma’am when I get on your nerves and Sondra when I’m closer to normal?”
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