Chapter 10

The man returned in seven days and was stunned to see Micheal, Miguel, Jose and Dan already there.

“When I got your offer, the first thing I did was consult my friends; after all, they have a lot more experience on these matters. The general consensus is that you may be right, but I like to hire local. So, thanks, but no thanks. Have a nice day, now.”

His confidence had returned, and he smiled. “It’s unfortunate that you refused our generous offer. But, I’m sure you think you know what is best for your families and company. I’ll be leaving now.”

He rose, but Dan surprised him. “Sit your ass back down, Slick. We got things to discuss. Your bosses run things based on returns. There’s not going to be any profit here. It would be very expensive to try and change the neighborhood.”

The man smiled. “May I?” he said, reaching into his briefcase and pulling out a folder. “Ah, here it is. Sgt. Dan Pettigrew. You live on Eighteenth Street, you have a lovely wife, she even looks like a librarian. A sexy librarian, if I may say so. You have a sixteen year old son, a whiz on the basketball court. College scouts are already looking at him. Oh, and a daughter in college. Vassar, I’m impressed. Even on a scholarship it must be tight. You know, college campuses have the highest incident of rape in the country. Some girls just disappear. And sports injuries are so common, anything could happen to end his college hopes. As for your wife, she... ‘

“You can stop right there,” I said, as Dan’s fingers were closing around his pistol grips, opening my own folder.

“Brian McCaulkey. A lawyer no less. Harvard, my turn to be impressed. You have a beautiful ex-wife and two daughters in Catholic school. Very attractive young women. You know how wild Catholic girls can get, especially when they’re exposed to minorities, their urge to walk on the wild side can be overwhelming at times. Drugs, sex, damage to reputations, no chance to get into the really good schools when they look at their records. All kinds of repercussions. I think we’ve both made our points here. Touching a family member would result in mutual destruction on both sides. I think we should agree to disagree and never cross paths again.”

He had gone from red to pale to red again. He rose, giving us a parting shot. “I’ll tell my employers it might be wise to wait a few years before they approach you again, but they are very determined people. I urge you one more time to accept my offer.”

Miguel exploded before anyone could stop him, jumping up and towering over the man. For the first time, I saw real fear on his face.

“Motherfucker, my grandma gets so much as a stumped toe, your daughters are going to get a shot of habanero sauce. Feel me motherfucker? As soon as me and my boys break them in I’ll send you the video of them and their mother as I ship them off to an exciting career south of the border. Then I’ll come after you. You’re small, cute, dress you right and I could get a pretty good sissy price out of you. And I’ll make sure your new Daddy is into discipline. Might want to start wearing a butt plug now, to get used to the idea.”