Chapter 10

Monday morning, I was up and down at the gym by six. I cleaned up and ate by seven, before going downstairs to walk across the street at seven thirty. Street traffic was low, so I looked to see if there were any parked cars to worry about, and started out. My cane became stuck in one of those stupid open grates they have in the sidewalk. This caused me to begin to fall. As I was going down, there was something smacking the pavement and sidewalk near me with a whining sound. I finally realized that someone was shooting at me so I abandoned my cane and hopped back to the hotel door.

The hotel lobby Marshal saw what was happening and was immediately out of the hotel looking up toward the parking garage. He was on his radio and in just seconds, men were coming from the federal building running toward the garage. Just as they reached the garage, a white Ford Victoria roared out of the garage and down the street. Two of the Marshals kept running to the garage roaring out in one of the pursuit vehicles. Meanwhile, the hotel Marshal was making sure I wasn't hit before going out into the street to pull my cane free of the grate.

I said, "This is the first time I've ever been happy my cane got stuck in one of those grates. I wonder why the guy quit shooting. It looks like he fired only four rounds and quit." I went back across the street, this time with a man on each side of me, went through the metal detectors, and up to the office.

The first thing Sarah did was to interview me as to what had just occurred. She typed the interview up quickly and had me sign it. Next she wanted the list of all the videos I had watched. She filled out a Marshal training form and listed all of them and their grade value. She had another stack of videos that were required viewing by new Marshals. She said I might as well be gaining knowledge in the correct order.

Howard came in saying, "The shooter got away. There's no way to track a white Ford Victoria in a Florida city that probably has two or three thousand of them on the street at any one time. You were lucky out there, Johnson, I'll bet you look at rooftops from now on. Don't just look at street level, always check areas that would give a shooter a line of sight to a target. You'll learn."

He introduced me to another Marshal who was my shadow for the day. "Go to work, do what you are supposed to be doing. That will probably be as safe as anything else. You're predictable right now. You come here, you go home. You're only available to hit out on the street. I am surprised they did the deed out in the open like that. This is a pretty cocky guy."

The Marshal assigned to me said, "Want to go downstairs to the range? They have all the ammo you could ever use up. Come on, let's get you a little more proficient with your sidearm."

We both checked out ear protection and each pulled fifty rounds of reloads. I stripped my magazine and loaded up with the reloads. My first target was all hits but there was no grouping, plus several were on the edge. The next set was all in the large body circle, but not necessarily a close group. By the fifth set, I had a nice small grouping in the target's head.

The Marshal I was with was just slightly better with his Glock. He said that I was a hell of lot better shot than most of the guys in the Marshal's service. He said most of them had to slowly fire single rounds at a time. We had rapid fired ten rounds in each set.

We policed our brass to turn in and reloaded our magazines with our original rounds. I asked the range officer if he had a cleaning kit. He pulled out one made specifically for my weapon and one for a Glock. We stripped our pistols, cleaned them thoroughly, and put them back together. When we were both done, we thanked the range officer and left for my car. Instead of playing tag, we were going to take only one vehicle today.

At my office, I checked in with Ms. White who had already been informed of my close call this morning. She asked my watchdog if he thought I would attract any danger to the building. He didn't think so, but he said he would be watchful.

Ms. White said that a lady would be up to help me shortly. She told me that I could use the office next to mine for the new person and to make sure I gave good directions in order to help the people we were hired to help.

As soon as I entered my office, the phone was ringing. It was a response from the ad. I made the man an appointment for later this morning and began looking at several message slips. It took me until the time of my appointment to return the calls that had come in and to set up appointments.

The new lady came in, we quickly discussed what our goals were, and I asked her to interview our new client with me.

My first official client was not out of service yet, but wanted to look for work before deciding whether to re-enlist or not. We went over the pros and cons of military life. He was single and had just turned twenty-one. By the time the interview was over, he was convinced to re-enlist for both the bonus and the rank he had been offered. The recruiting office should give me a spiff.

At lunchtime, my shadow and I had to order from the sandwich shop. I had a nice time talking to the five girls and several of the other folks in the lunch room. Brandy said she would call me later as she had something to ask me.

The appointments in the afternoon were okay, nothing special, except that I did have a man from Wells Fargo security come to give me parameters of the type of people they looked for. He had regular security jobs open, as well as transport or armored car positions. I thanked the man for being my first official employer.

I wrote up my ad results report, describing the eleven calls that were a result of the ads. There might be more during the rest of the week as the Sunday paper tends to hang around a while.

The new lady had a list of people she wanted to begin calling to see if jobs might be available.

Brandy called me from her counter position and asked, "Are you allowed to go out or are you stuck in the hotel?"

"Pretty much stuck," I answered.

"How about a few of us come up to your room and play cards or games tonight. It might be fun and definitely better than being by yourself."

"I'd love that, Brandy, if you guys want, whoever's coming should come early and have dinner with me. I also eat with the guy who is upstairs watching out for me. He'll join us."

"I'll talk to the others to see who all will come. If I'm the only one, you're in for a treat. I'll bring my nightie and we'll have a slumber party."

"Oh my, be still my heart. I'm not going to want a crowd then. Listen when you guys get to the hotel, you have to ask at the desk to go up to my room. That way the downstairs people can tell the upstairs guy you're coming."

"Got it, I'll definitely see you later, especially for the free food."

By five, all five girls had called saying they were coming. They were going to bring some chips, games, and a couple decks of cards.

My shadow and I went back to the garage and walked to the hotel. He said, "You've had an interesting day. It was enjoyable to be with you. Maybe I'll get to do it again tomorrow."

I told the downstairs guy at the hotel that some girls were coming in a little while. He surprised me by saying the elevator car had been replaced and was working fine. I told the upstairs guy about the visitors and he was excited, looking forward to see some cuties. After quickly changing out of my dress clothes, I called to see what this evening's special was. They were having Veal Scaloppini tonight. That sounded good, but it would still need to be warm.

Right at six, five girls came in. They were typical women and had to explore the penthouse; looking outside on the terrace patio and all around. They were impressed with the sliding wall that exposed the bar. I fixed each of them a drink and asked if they all liked Veal Scaloppini. I got yes' all around, so I called down and ordered seven veal dinners with the appropriate wine, veggies, and dessert.

We were soon dining with the Marshal. We had salad, and veal over rice with thick sauce over all of it. The meal was accompanied with some asparagus, some great mild wine, and capped with some sherbet, a really great meal.

All of us were full after the meal and decided to play some cards while listening to jazz from the cable. Nancy had brought a bag of pretzel sticks, so we divided them up and played poker. Frieda was the poker player and soon had most of everyone's pretzels. Tiani's went the fastest, as she was nibbling on them while also using them to bet with. Judy was doing pretty well too, and I was probably in third place.

We played cards till almost ten when the girls said it was time to go home. All but Brandy left after each giving me a kiss. Brandy gave me a very warm kiss saying, "I told you I was staying. Is that okay?"

"That is wonderful, Brandy, do you want a drink or can I get you something else?"

"Just you, let's shower and get in bed. I think we'll figure out something to do."

The phone rang. It was the downstairs guy saying he was missing one of the girls that had gone up. I told him she was staying over and he laughed, obviously holding the other four there until he knew what was going on. He said goodnight and hung up.

The night was very nice. Our playtime was energetic enough that we had to take another shower about midnight. Brandy said that she should be fine if we woke at six, so we snuggled up and enjoyed a satisfying night's sleep.

I got Brandy off for home to change for work and went to the gym for an hour. After breakfast, I checked in at the Marshal's office and with my same shadow, went to work. I had another excellent day, lining up another employer and actually referring two retired men to Wells Fargo. My bank even gave me a formal request that we were able to complete via fax.

My shadow and I were on our way back to the garage, the office, and the hotel. I noticed a white Ford Victoria riding close to my back bumper, trying to find space in the traffic to get in the lane beside us. Since the car was acting strange, I told the Marshal with me. He pulled his weapon and chambered a round. I was amazed that he didn't have a chambered round already. He was smart though, as he didn't turn to look, but made sure I was keeping track of them.

We were coming up to a cross street that didn't have any houses on it. The Marshal called in to tell control of our location and our situation. I changed to the right lane, with the car following us changing lanes as well. I signaled the turn while watching the car. He didn't signal and dropped back just a little.

My Marshal told me to go most of the way down the block, pull over, and get down in the seat. He would exit his side and be ready to fire immediately. When I turned the corner, it almost looked like the car following us wasn't going to turn, but did follow us at the last second. I had sped up and was able to slide to a stop with the Marshal getting out immediately while the car was coming up behind us. As it slid to a stop, I could hear rounds going off from behind hitting the Mustang and shattering the rear glass. I could hear the Marshal just outside the car firing.

I slid across the seat, over the console, keeping low and went out the door, going around to the front of the car. When I looked at the Ford, the guy in the passenger seat was hanging out the window, obviously out of the fight. The driver was kneeling beside the car behind the open front door concentrating on the Marshal. When he rose up to fire, I quickly put two rounds in his head, causing him to fall backward. The Marshal hollered that he was going to approach the car. He checked the guy hanging out the window looking for a pulse in his neck before he checked the guy I had shot on the other side of car.

He lowered his automatic and holstered it. I did the same, finally standing. The Marshal said, "You shouldn't have gotten out of the car. You are my responsibility. You did good though; you waited until you had a clean shot and took the guy out. I gotta call in and get the bureau out here."

I could hear sirens coming as he called in the attempt and the result. He was told to keep any locals away as the FBI would want to roll on this. Their crime scene team would want to run the show.

A Tampa squad car came sliding up with a cop jumping out grabbing for his weapon. The Marshal and I held up our badges with our other arm raised. The cop approached and checked our ID before approached the dead guys.

My babysitter Deputy said, "Don't touch. The FBI is on their way and will want the scene to be clean. Let's let them move anything that's to be moved. If you have markers, you might want to get them out and mark shell casings for them as well as us."

Another two Tampa cars and an unmarked car came sliding to a stop. The Marshal went through his speech about the FBI and asked them to stay clear of the scene. They were not happy, but that's the way it had to be. The unmarked car was a detective who brought out a camera and began taking pictures from every angle he could get.

Two unmarked cars arrived. One had Howard and the Assistant Marshal in charge in it, and the other had four FBI agents. A second later an FBI CSI team arrived. They were instantly taking pictures and began going through the two dead guys clothes, laying out the various things from their pockets.

When they popped the trunk, they hollered to call an ambulance. In the trunk was an older guy that looked dehydrated. He was tied up with duct tape over his mouth. One of the detectives said, "That's Jennings from out in the county. They put out a missing person's report on him and his vehicle. Check these tags to see who they belong to. This is a county sheriff's car.

The men there slowly lifted the man from the trunk and were pouring water over his mouth after they had removed the duct tape. An ambulance showed up to take care of the county officer and soon left for the hospital. Everyone at the scene was hoping for his recovery.

Meanwhile two of the FBI guys, accompanied by the Tampa detectives, had me and my shadow separated, giving them our individual versions of what had happened. The interviews took about fifteen minutes. We were just finishing when a news van pulled up with people piling out.

Howard began yelling for the uniforms to get those people out of here as this was a sensitive crime scene that was not for public consumption. There was a lot of yelling that they had the right to cover a shooting or any public crime. The cops just told them that if they ever wanted access to something that wasn't sensitive, they better get out of there. They reluctantly loaded up and left. My Marshal and I kept down in the seat of the car so we weren't visible to the camera while they had been out.

Howard came over and said to me, "You aren't going to be popular with the guys. You let those bad guys shoot up the Mustang. This is the most popular car in the fleet. I've already called the pool so they can fix this thing tonight. It'll be good as new by morning. This is the third time the car has been shot. It's not very lucky."

It took till almost seven-thirty before they hauled the dead guys away and loaded up the Victoria and hauled it off. The boss, Howard, said, "Drive this thing back to the garage, but park it downstairs by the shop. They are expecting you. Doug and I are going home."

On the way back to the garage, I commented to my Deputy Marshal, "This is the third time they've shot at me. I'm starting to get pissed. Too bad both of those guys are dead. I would love to hang one out the window to find out who hired him. I wonder if they have anything else from the original goons we had up in the office."

"Let me check on them and see where they are." He used his radio and asked for the 10-20 of the suspects that had been in our office when the attack went down last week. Who ever was manning the radio said they were being held in federal private custody in the lockup there.

I asked my Marshal, "Are you married?"

He shook his head no so I asked, "Want to go to Reggie's for supper?"

He answered, "I'll have to ask if that's all right. Let me call in."

When he called, Howard answered back right away and said it was fine, but to be watchful. He told us to call the restaurant before we went though, as they were really busy since Poppa's was closed.

We turned in the Mustang and checked out a surveillance car, an ugly green Malibu. I called Reggie's and asked for Reggie, saying I was a fed. Reggie came on the phone and asked, "What do you want, Howard?"

When I told him it was me, he said, "Come on over. Metarie is here. You can eat with us." I told him I had someone attached to my hip, he told me to bring him too. "Park in the back, I'll tell security, whatcha drivin'."

We parked in the back of the restaurant and went in the back door, through the kitchen. We went to Reggie's office and knocked. We heard, "Just a second."

Reggie opened the door with his shirt partially unbuttoned and no tie. He had a shit-eating grin on his face as he greeted us. Ms. White was still straightening her clothes too, blushing a little.

"We were catching up on some home life. Business has been too good in this restaurant lately. This place is the star right now."

We had a great shrimp scampi dinner, along with drinks and wine. We chatted about several things, but never touching on my activities. Ms. White asked my Marshal, "Are you guys going to steal my new agent?"

"If we can, Ma'am. He's already proven himself in a couple of hairy situations. I'd love to have him as a partner. The service needs men like him. Even the FBI inquired about him."

Ms. White said to me, "I guess I'll have to up your salary to compete with these other agencies. I'll fight for you, Chuck, we really need some young male blood in the agency. Especially some that's honest."

After eating, I let the Marshal drive us back, as I had had several drinks. Once we parked, we checked the street thoroughly before he accompanied me to the hotel. We said goodbye and I checked in with the downstairs man and went upstairs.

The hall guy was someone I didn't know, so I got acquainted with him and went inside to get ready for bed. It was nice to get off my stump tonight. It was a little sore from standing so much earlier. I had twisted the mount around and that bruised me a little, so I would be tender for a couple of days.

I stretched out in bed and was quickly asleep.

At six, I was on my way to the gym, followed by breakfast and a guarded walk to the office. My shadow was there waiting, and I asked him if we could go down to the range. I wanted to clean my weapon and I was two rounds short.

While down there, I asked for the combat series on the range and loaded three additional magazines they loaned me. The range positions were automated and were pulled back and multiple obstacles were positioned. The range officer walked me through their combat series first and did it again to explain the best angles to fire. He said the first series wouldn't give me any decisions, all targets.

Forty rounds later, I felt pretty good that I had scored a ninety. That was good in my way of thinking for a first run. I loaded my magazines while my partner did the series and next it was my turn for the decision series. This you had to be a lot more accurate and you were not ever as fast.

I had forty rounds and a hundred twenty seconds. Top scores were about ninety percent hits in seventy-five to ninety seconds. The decision series seemed easier than the target series. I was done in eighty seven seconds with five rounds left, scoring a ninety-four."

My partner said, "Holy shit, that's got to be damn near top score at the range."

The range officer said, "You'll have to meet Jan. She's an FBI babe that is really good. She's going to some competitions this summer. You two might want to team up. Don't get doe-eyed over her though, I think she hunts in the other forest, if you know what I mean."