Mob Princess - Tess DiRosa's Story
Copyright© 2025 by Argon
Chapter 6: Probie
The three friends, Tess, Lisa and Rachel, kept together in an informal study group for the next 18 weeks, each bringing in their individual talents. Outside of that, the instructors saw to it that they often partnered with other trainees, mostly men. That was sound thinking, since those would be their future colleagues, and the more of their fellow candidates they interacted with, the better were their chances of being good team players.
Contrary to the public image, the training was heavy on the financial side of the service’s duties, mostly because that would be their lot in the early years on the job, and after a while, Tess appreciated the range of knowledge she acquired.
She also made good use of the closeness to Baltimore, to see Joey and Deirdre, both now close to finishing their doctorates, Joey in Molecular Microbiology and Deirdre in Bioinformatics. Both had already accumulated a few of the ever-important author- and coauthor-ships on papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals and were only steps away from writing their dissertations. Every other weekend, they all met in Philadelphia, to see Carla, Joey and Maureen’s now six-year-old daughter, but also Maureen and Numi. The whole patchwork family also visited Tess’s great uncle Vincent in his mansion, who was showing his age a little more but still controlling his growing business interests.
Tess had an argument with SAC Villinger, the agent running the training center, about seeing Vincent DiRosa and whether Tess was required to pre-register those visits with an alleged crime boss. Tess refused, challenging Villinger to present anything but rumors to link Vincent DiRosa to criminal activities, and the SAC backed down grumblingly. By now, Tess was certain that her first posting would be outside the 48 contiguous states. Hawaii was too beautiful, so it would be Alaska most likely. There was no field office in Anchorage, but she would not put it beyond the brass to create one to bury her.
Thanks to her study group, she sailed through the course and the tests while comfortably in the upper half of the rankings. She improved to the Nº 3 spot in firearms training, held second place in judicial instruction and easily maintained the Nº1 spot in unarmed combat and restriction techniques. She landed barely in the top half in forensic accounting, but was better in the digital investigation classes.
Finals came in week 17, but after some serious cramming with Lisa and Rachel, they all passed with flying colors. From a class of 47 trainees, 41 graduated and had their small graduation ceremony at the end of week 18. When they were handed their certificates and special citations, they also received badges, IDs and their first postings. As expected, Rachel would stay in DC at headquarters. Lisa’s first posting was the Brooklyn, N.Y. field office, and she pumped her fist with delight over landing a plum assignment.
Tess opened her orders with a wry smile, expecting the worst and was not disappointed. It was not Alaska, nor Guam, another likely posting she had expected. It was Spokane, serving eastern Washington State, Idaho and Montana, and smack-dab in the middle of a lot of empty space.
“The system gets even with you,” she grinned at her friends, showing them her destination.
“Jeezus H. Christ, Tess, you were right,” Rachel commented with a shake of her head.
“They’ve got beaver pelt counterfeiters galore up there,” Lisa giggled before giving her a sympathetic hug. “You’ve got to see the positive side: you get the first shit posting out of the way.”
“Yeah, in three years, you’ll be eligible for parole,” Rachel chimed in.
“I’ll survive. Maybe I can learn skiing or something,” Tess shrugged.
“Yeah, or maybe trout fishing. Next time we’ll see you, you’ll wear a Davy Crockett raccoon skin hat and pay the bar tab with nuggets,” Lisa added helpfully.
“Hrhm!” they heard a voice and turned. It was Assistant Secretary Willard. “First, my congratulations, Special Agents! I heard only good things from the instructors about you all. May I have a word with you, Agent DiRosa?”
“Certainly, Sir,” Tess answered nicely, and they stepped to the side. Willard grinned at her.
“I am certain that you are less than enthusiastic about your first posting, Agent, but let me assure you that I had no hand whatsoever in that decision. We simply need a new agent in Spokane, a female for balance. The SAC up there is a very experienced agent who’ll be an excellent tutor for you. You have a lot of potential and we don’t intend on wasting it with you pushing paper in a big city field office. The area served by Spokane is huge, and you’ll be out on the road a lot, interacting with local law enforcement. It’s a small office, too, and you’ll have to assist other federal agencies in a pinch.”
“That sounds exciting, Sir, and I appreciate the opportunity,” Tess answered, even meaning it. He noticed.
“That’s the spirit. There’s also a good chance that you’ll have to help out in Seattle. Next year is election year, and Seattle is an important campaign location. You may get some PPD experience early in your career.”
Tess allowed herself a smile. “Thank you, Sir, but I am sold on the posting already.”
“Okay, we have an understanding, Agent. I’m sure you’ll make a good agent!”
“Thank you again, Sir. Did ... did your son find something?”
“He’s starting out in a real estate office owned by my wife’s cousin, so it’ll have to be she who has to apologize for him in the future. I’m afraid that we failed raising him.”
“I’m sorry, Sir, for the troubles you’ve had.”
He shrugged. “Not your responsibility, Agent. Have a good trip up there!”
He even offered his hand and Tess shook it before he left.
Tess had two weeks to report to Spokane, and she spent the first of them in Philly, organizing things. She visited Uncle Vincent first thing after arriving, and the old man showed pride when Tess showed him her badge and ID.
“You and Joseph make me proud, he becoming a good scientist and you now a federal officer. We have arrived in the middle of America.”
“Yes, and you made it happen when you allowed Dad to split away from the family.”
“Never from the family, only from the family business, Teresa,” the old man corrected her. “Don’t forget your family, Teresa!”
“How could I? I’ll always be proud of you all, of how you are and of what you achieved.”
“There are a few things I had to do that don’t make me proud at all.”
“Eggs and omelettes, Uncle Vince. Hey, I’ll be the closest thing to a button man soon. I’ll probably have to break a few eggs, too, in my job.”
“Just be careful, Teresa. We love you and don’t want to lose you.”
Tess also traded in her mother’s now venerable Mini against a two-year-old BMW X3, reasoning that a 4X4 vehicle would make sense for her. Her uncle, Rico DiRosa, made her a good deal, with brand new all-seasons tires thrown in, and the car would be better suited for driving around Washington State, Idaho and Montana.
Also, and for the first time, Tess went and purchased a handgun, a P229 SIG, with which she had trained. As a LEO, she was cleared for concealed carrying, but it was a big change for her to walk around carrying heat. Felix’s operatives had advised her to get used to it, to lose the awkwardness that newbies often showed, such as checking the seat of the holster every few seconds.
Then, eight days after graduating, and after a nice dinner with Joey and Deirdre, followed by an evening in their basement spa, Tess loaded the X3 to the gills and took to the road. She had 40 hours of driving ahead, and she planned to fit those into four days, with two days as reserve. Starting out on a Saturday morning, she made good time on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Near Youngstown, she gassed up and hit a sandwich shop, before continuing on the Ohio Turnpike. She made it to South Bend before finding a motel for the night. At a greasy spoon nearby, she treated herself to junk food before turning in for the night.
Waking early, she went for a brief run before having a large breakfast and saddling up. She made it to Sioux Falls on that Sunday, setting the cruise control to within the tolerance limits of the Staties, but she was beat when she arrived. At the motel she found that only the bridal suite was available. It had a whirlpool — freshly cleaned she was assured — and she took it without much thinking. Soaking in the warm, bubbly water, she almost fell asleep, but she made it out in time and dropped on the reassuringly clean bed, eschewing dinner in favor of sleep.
Again waking early, and after a run, she picked some stuff at the breakfast buffet and then took her overnight kit and looked for her car. Near the car, two men were loitering around, pinging Tess’s spidey sense awfully bad. She was not out to have trouble, so she put her Secret Service badge in plain sight and hooked her jacket behind the hip holster to make her point.
“You gents want to make a complaint about counterfeit money?” she asked them, peering at them over her sunglasses and smiling. The two men understood the situation quickly and retreated.
“N-no, ma’am. We’re just waiting for somebody.”
“A-huh! If you’re not guests of this fine establishment, I advise you to beat feet. This is a private property and you’re loitering. Don’t make me call the fuzz.”
“C-certainly, ma’am. I guess our friend won’t show.”
“I’m pretty sure of it.” She switched off the smile. “Beat it, now!”
Seconds later, she was alone in the lot and, after briefly checking her car for signs of damage, she climbed in and took off. Activating her hands-free system, she told it to call 911, and when an operator came on, she relayed her concerns.
“Sioux Falls PD, this is Special Agent Teresa DiRosa, US Secret Service, privately traveling to my new posting. I spent the night here at the Gold Star Inn, and when I entered the parking lot a few minutes ago, two men were loitering near my car. They saw my badge and sidearm and withdrew. Just to let you know.”
“Thank you, Special Agent. Can you give me a description?”
“Caucasian males, 22 to 25 years-old, one wearing black denim jeans and a camo jacket, the other blue jeans and a black ski anorak. Both wore Nike sneakers, white with black decals and knit caps, black I think.”
“Thank you, Agent. I’ll brief our patrols. May I record your mobile number?”
“Certainly. I’m on my way to Spokane and can be reached at the Secret Service field office there.”
“Thank you, Agent and have a safe trip!”
“De nada. I’m a rookie. Playing cops and robbers is new and still fun,” Tess laughed, ending the call and focussing on her driving again.
She was taking the slightly shorter route via Rapid City, but as she about to pass Mitchell, her phone started ringing, with caller ID telling her it was the Sioux Falls police.
“Hello, this is Probationary Agent DiRosa speaking.”
“Hi, Agent DiRosa. I’m D1 Parker, Sioux Falls PD. Are you still in the vicinity?”
“No, I’m near Mitchell, on I-90.”
“Damn! Think you might be able to return? We have a situation where we need your help.”
“Let me take the exit,” Tess asked, setting the blinker and leaving the interstate at the Burr Street exit. She put the car in park and spoke to the detective again. “Okay, I’m stationary now. What’s up?”
“You notified us about two individuals lurking near your car, right?”
“Yes, in the parking lot of the Gold Star Inn. What’s up?”
“We had a car jacking just one block down and fifteen minutes after your call. The driver, a young woman, was injured and can’t be questioned for now.”
“Uh-oh! You think my friends from the Gold Star did it?”
“It’s a pretty good guess, isn’t it?”
“That’s how I figured them, Detective. Of course, having no probable cause or jurisdiction...”
“Yeah, I understand. You’re not to blame at all. Only, if you could come and look for them in our mug shot collection, we might be able to nab them before the stolen car is gutted. We can pre-sort them according to the description you gave, and it wouldn’t take long.”
Tess sighed. She was a LEO now. “Okay, I’ll turn around. Where can I find you guys?”
The detective gave her a street address and then asked for her car make and model and license number, which Tess provided.
“I’ll have a cruiser pick you up at the Cliff Avenue Exit. Just drive down the ramp, and he’ll guide you to the precinct.”
Tess quickly programmed her Nav system. “Okay, ETA at the exit is 11:52. I’ll step on it.”
“Drive safely, Agent.”
The call ended and Tess cursed heartily. One of her reserve days already shot to hell. No good deed goes unpunished. Taking the overpass she joined the eastbound traffic on I-90. She felt a little hungry and decided to hit the next service station for a sandwich. She cursed again before setting the cruise control.
It was closer to 12 when she took the off ramp, and just as promised, a cruiser with flashing lights was waiting. Tess stopped behind it and a patrolman stepped out to talk to her.
“Special Agent DiRosa?”
Tess held up her badge. “Correct. You’re my good shepherd?”
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