Sarge
Chapter 4

Copyright© 2018 by MysteryWriter

We managed to make it two more weeks with nothing more serious than a couple drunk camera men ending up in jail. It was much worse than it sounds though. They were involved with a teenager’s drunken sex party. The two were caught with an ounce of pot. The undercover officer saw them giving pot to a fourteen year old girl and then having oral sex with her.

They had a defense, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to move the circus on to the next town. The local cops insisted that we stay. The production company wanted to use the incident for publicity.

“Any publicity is good publicity,” the road manger said.

I forged a deal with the cops. We would move the concert schedule forward, but we would not post bail for the cameramen. If they could raise their own bail, we would take them with us, so that the cops knew how to find them. The production company insisted on hiring them a lawyer. It was just a deal to let the local cops save face. The lawyer planned to contest anything that prevented us from completing the tour. It was a publicity stunt all the way around. Except for the drug users who traded a blow job for an ounce of pot. That is what the cops claimed anyway. I had no idea, and didn’t care. I cared only about how it affected the mission.

We had to go, so I moved the crew to Mobile Alabama for the weekend show at a park near the beach. It was a well hyped local summer festival. The boys in the band had picked up a ‘hanger on’ in Tupelo Mississippi during our stay there. The road manager cleared her to stay, so I had no choice but go along with it. I expected that her job was to take delivery of drugs, since Leroy refused to do it.

Leroy wasn’t as stupid as folks thought. He saw how the production company handled the cameraman incident. He realized that if he got caught with the band’s drug stash, he would go down for it. I admit that I might have been involved slightly in his decision.

The girl was nicknamed Chesty by the band. She was named that for obvious reasons. I was skeptical of her motives, but it wasn’t my call. I just advised our people to keep a close eye on her. We agreed to let her spend time in the bedrooms alone with the band members. Of course my team members on duty would place cameras in the motel rooms before the band members arrived. They were monitored on the team member’s smart phones. That was strictly hush hush, I will divulge this one bit of information. It is not true that all, or even most. black men have huge tools.

The Mobile gig was peaceful. The fans were of course loud, and obnoxious, but we had come to expect that. We did earn our pay at that show. We searched a backpack and found the pieces for an AR15. It was carried by a kid with mental health issues. At the time we didn’t know that, we thought he was just an asshole. Frankly it was all we needed to know. There were likely to be some questions about our interrogation techniques. We needed to know if he was alone. We found out he was. Our methods were unorthodox, but effective.

I knew he might have grounds for a lawsuit. Might hell, he did. Of course Lucy2 and I planned to deny everything. Since she and I were combat vets, I figured she was my best bet to keep her mouth shut. When we were satisfied, we delivered him to the cops. I admit he was a little worse for wear.

Even with that distraction, the show went on and everyone seemed to have a good time. Well everyone but the security team, we were all under a great deal of stress. The tour moved into Florida for our final two shows.

Our first stop was Tallahassee in the edge of the panhandle. It was another one of those tours sponsored by some local ‘so called’ arts counsel. Like the production manager, I didn’t care where the money came from. After a couple of days for a break, the show went on as scheduled. The band members were given free time, but they were still forced to have one of us with them at all times. We usually stayed in the car, but kept them in sight. Even during the downtime we all worked, since we didn’t have days off.

The last two shows were in Sarasota. The audience for the Saturday afternoon show was rather older, and they were mostly ethnic of one flavor or another. The ethnic crowds were true at all the free concerts, which were usually part of a festival of some kind.

The evening show a few hours later was mostly young people. There was a small admission fee for the later one. I knew all their songs by heart. Of course I didn’t sing them. I wasn’t capable of singing even songs from my generation, let alone the songs of a different generation.

The final show featured a fireworks display during the final number. It was very attractive as it went off behind the stage. Shockingly enough, it went off without a hitch. The paramedic standing by outside the arena got paid for doing absolutely nothing.

Marty spent a little time before the show talking to a slightly chubby paramedic named Marsha something or other. They also spent some time talking after the show while the sound and camera crews loaded their gear. We all loaded the band into the taxi, and the Buick for a return ride to there motel for the last time.

We stopped the caravan in front of a family steak restaurant where we all ate and gave the bill to the production company’s road manager. After dinner we dropped the band at their motel where they boarded their bus for the trip home. A couple of the band members hugged Lucy2 and shook my hand. Leroy even looked as though he was going to cry.

We drove the taxi and Buick to our motel where we planned to spend one last night before the long drive to DC the following day. Once there I found that we had a guest. Marty’s friend Marsha was standing in my room. Marty had a private room when Lucy2 and I were on band bodyguard duty.

“Sorry Marty, but you are not going to use our room to Entertain,” I said.

“How about if you stay with Rex and Dominic, and we use this room?” he asked. During all the conversation Marsha waited outside. “Hell, I’ll stay with Lucy2 and Nita, if it’s okay with them?” I said.

“Hey, I’m looking for a place to sleep tonight, Marty and Marsha ‘the M&M crew’ have taken over my room. You have enough space on the floor, and you both have a baton, so you can chaperon each other,” I said.

Lucy2 looked at Nita, but said to me, “You can stay, but since we don’t work for you any longer, you don’t have to sleep on the floor.”

Nita nodded her head and smiled. “I think I’ll go try Rex and Dom; I think it will be safer,” I said.

“Hell come on in. We promise we won’t force you to do anything,”

I forced Marty to buy the three of us, plus Marsha breakfast. I explained it was the least he could do. He agreed so we all went to Waffle House for their all star breakfast, since Marty was paying. As I passed to get to the Van I said, “I hope she was worth it,”

“She was,” he replied.

We drove the van back to the motel to make sure we had all the gear. When we were sure, I walked toward it with the keys. Lucy2 insisted on riding with me to keep me awake, since it would be midnight or after when we arrived in DC. Since there wouldn’t be anyone at the office to process our equipment and purchases, we planned to spend the night anywhere we wanted.

We were fifty miles out of DC at midnight, so I found a Red Roof Inn. I chose a family priced motel, so the rental price wouldn’t be questioned by some four eyed clerk with a calculator. Lucy2 had already told me we only needed one room with one bed.

It was noon when I stepped out of the shower to see the fit but solid looking Lucy2. She was standing at the sink brushing her teeth. She had balanced her self with one hand and one leg while she did it. I absolutely admired her, but I absolutely did not love her. She agreed the night before that we would walk away friends period. That was also before anything of a sexual nature happened. I could not say that the situation was the same the next after.

We pulled through a Taco Bell and kept moving. Lucy2 wrangled my coke. I managed the burrito while driving. We made an appearance at the office at 3PM. The LT debriefed us for three hours. After which he gave us a pitch for renewing the contracts.

“Lieutenant Martin, I’m flattered but I have things I need to do at home,” I said.

Lucy2 did sign on for another job and I wished her luck before I rode my bike to a small motel near Dulles Airport. I couldn’t get the bike on the plane of course, so I left it at the motel. I called Lucy2 and explained what I had done and where the bike could be picked up.

“I’ll get it and store it in the company warehouse, just in case you decide to come back,” she said.

“Or give it to someone who has kids,” I suggested.

The cab driver accepted the company credit car for my ride from the motel to the airport. The card should have been canceled, but the ten dollar fare to the airport wouldn’t bankrupt Force Protection Inc.

When my flight arrived at PTI airport, Lucy1 met me. It wasn’t mind reading. I had called her from DC the night before.

“So how is Siler City?” I asked outside the airport.

“It’s fine, nothing much changes there,” Lucy1 said. Then she fell silent again.

I just stared at the scenery passing. It was almost 3PM when I arrived at the locksmith shop building. There was a red sheet of paper on my door. I took time to read it before I went inside.

It informed me that the city had cut my small patch of grass, since I had neglected to do it. So I had been fined fifty dollars. It said I could appeal the fine, if I wished. Then gave me the phone number and office hours of the public works department.

The appeal sounded like a waste of time. Since the grass needed trimming again, I figured I would purchase a long extension cord and a weedeater the next day. Inside it was hot and smelled bad. I opened the window above the front door and the two windows in the back room. I at least needed a fan. I tried the air conditioner, just to be sure it hadn’t healed itself while I was gone. It was time to make a decision about it anyway.

The air conditioner’s fan worked, but it never got cold. Over a late lunch I decided to put in a service order with the first heating and air conditioning repair company listed on the table’s place mat. I was having lunch at the restaurant with the helpful waitress. Since she didn’t work in the afternoon, It was just a shot in the dark. The appointment was for the next morning. The trip wasn’t wasted since the diner had good hamburgers.

I rode my mountain bike from the diner to Walmart. I hadn’t planned to do it that night, but I needed to let the place air out. I arrived and quickly bought a small generic Weed Eater, an extension cord, and a twenty inch box fan. I had to tie the boxes onto my small utility trailer, but then it pulled it well enough. The ride back was only marginally more tiring, than the one out had been.

It was a good thing that it was full on summer, since it didn’t get dark on me. I was soaking wet with sweat though, as I sat up my small bed. I slept that night in my cut-off fatigue shorts. Sleep came easy because, I didn’t try to sleep until I was exhausted. To get exhausted I stayed up researching the renovations I wanted to do on the lock shop.

The box fan actually kept the air moving, so I got a little chilled at 4AM. I had to crawl under the sheet.

I awoke at 5:03 am. I dressed in the dark, since I didn’t have the huge plate glass window covered yet. I left immediately on the road bike. I wanted to try it even though it would be hammered by the lousy roads of Chatham county. I had to try it out on those roads sometime, I thought.

I had almost two months worth of fatty foods to work off. Yes, I watched what I ate. It was more from habit, than necessity at the moment. Twenty five miles on the bike every morning would take care of the heart and general heath issues. The quality of the calories I ate would also take care of my weight problems. I had to keep an eye on those two things, if I wanted to stay healthy and reasonably pain free.

I got home in time to take a shower and get to the diner before the place filled to capacity. Tonya came over to me and said, “I thought you had died or moved on,” she said.

“I took a temporary out of town job. I’m back now. So what do you know about Superior Heating and Air?” I asked.

“They do good work. Be careful some of their technicians work on commission. I hear that they try to sell you new equipment, even if you don’t really need it.” she informed me.

“They are coming by this morning to check my wall unit which is also a heating system,” I said.

“Before you make any purchases get a second opinion,” she suggested.

When I left, I dropped a five dollar bill on the table as a tip. She had also given me the card of another heating and air company. I rode the bike straight home to wait for Superior to arrive. Since they had a rather large advertisement for such a small town, I knew that meant something. I just didn’t know what it meant. That was why I went to see Tonya.

It was shortly before 10AM when the van with the Superior technician arrived. I stayed with him while he checked the unit out. He spent some time checking things I knew absolutely nothing about, but I did ask a lot of questions. I tried to sound knowledgeable.

“Mr Selfridge, you have a problem. All your Freon has leaked out. This building sat empty for a long time. There are some new federal regulations since this unit was made. We are not allowed to replace the Freon. This unit can not be converted to the new chemicals. The only reasonable thing to do is replace it with a new one.”

“Fine, I guess I’ll drive to Walmart and buy one,” I said.

“You are not going to find a heat pump there,” he said.

“Okay give me a price to replace the unit, and I’ll give it some thought,” I said. “By the way will the unit put out heat, if I chose to just not use air conditioning?”

 
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