Chapter 77

I got the camper parked on the concrete pad and it looked pretty straight to me. I was right in the middle of straightening it up even more, when two men came out to look. On was in his sixties and one was about forty-five or so. Naturally I thought the younger one was some kind of supervisor, and the older one would be my new partner.

I was satisfied with the way the camper was sitting, when I climbed down from the truck cab. "Mission, I think that is pretty straight," I said giving her the chance to make the introductions.

"Captain Smith is the supervisor of all fish and game officers for the south eastern district," Mission said. I was surprised when the older man nodded and put out his hand.

"I understand you have quite a bit of law enforcement experience. We are glad to have you." He turned his attention to the younger man. "What do you say Hugo?"

"Yes, it's a good thing that you aren't a complete rookie. This is a demanding area," the younger man said.

"Well I hope you will help me get control of it," I said. I can't learn all you know between now and the first of the year, but maybe I can learn enough to stay out of trouble."

"Well if anyone can teach you to stay out of trouble, it would be Hugo. He runs a tight area. It's large, but he keeps it under control. Hugo is also part of the enforcement strike force," the captain said.

"Don't make it sound like such a big deal, almost all the Game Wardens are on the strike force. I will try to teach you about the job in the time I have left," Hugo said.

"Well I thank you," I said. "So what do we do first?"

"First thing," Captain Smith said. "We go inside and get you outfitted. I got your sizes from the SBI office and we have the uniforms. Mostly we have switched to utilities all the time. You can come down to the Wilmington office and get the dress uniform, whenever you have a chance. You might want to have it tailored some of the ladies do that," Smith said.

I almost choked at the thought of a tailored uniform, but I held back because I knew he meant well. So I went inside. I signed for a Glock 36 pistol complete with two .45 cal magazines. I also signed for a Mossberg pump shotgun. Then of course the ill fitting uniforms that I was to wear in the field. It could be worse I thought. I would bet that the park game wardens had to wear that upscale uniform.

"One more thing, I agreed to give you one week of office duty, to let you study the game laws. So Hugo she is to answer the phones here and keep track of you for the next week. After that she is to be on light duty for two more weeks. In other words she stays in the truck. You got it?" He asked.

"Sure I got it," Hugo said.

I was sure he had heard it before. Smith was just saying it for me and Mission to hear that time. I smiled politely and Mission turned to me and asked, "You need me to help you settle into the new place."

"I can make do," I said. I figured I was going to have to beg a blanket from Hugo or sleep on the floor inside. Hugo was a lot closer to my age than I had expected, but I was in no mood to make a deal to sleep in a warm bed.

"Then I'm going to leave. It is a long drive back to Raleigh. Come on out and get the other boxes in my trunk," Mission said.

To my surprise the two boxes in her trunk held sheets, blankets, and towels. There were two boxes of those and two more boxes of clothes. It wasn't everything I needed, but it was a lot more than I had expected.

It was about an hour before dark when I found myself alone with Hugo. "Do you know how to set up that trailer?" he asked.

"Well I know I plug it in to that post with the circuit breaker hanging on it. At least that is my thinking." I said.

"Yeah that will get you power, but water and sewer is a different thing. You aren't supposed to know how to do it. The maintenance worker from the campground it New Holt is coming up tomorrow to set the trailer up for you. In the meantime you can use anything you need to in the office. There is a bathroom in there with running water of course. There is no shower but you can wash in the sink I guess." Hugo said.

"Not to worry I can make do. So you can plug it up, so I can get some heat and power?" I asked.

"I'll go out now and see what the heat is like," he said. "It still gets a little chilly here. You will only have to live like a gypsy till I retire. Then the apartment behind the office goes with the job."

"Hugo," I said while he checked out the little electric furnace in the trailer. "You either have to best genes I have ever seen, or you are retiring really early so which is it. You can tell me it's none of my business."

"It is none of your business, but I'm 47 and I'm taking my half pension while I can get it. That was one of the reasons I took this job with the state. That pension is going to help me live, while my brother and I get our dad business back on it's feet."

"Very good, they don't offer that kind of pension any more," I said.

"I know that's why I'm going out now," he said.

"Makes sense to me," I agreed. "So what are you going to do."

"My brother and I are taking over my dad architectural salvage yard," he said. I looked a little lost. "When someone has an old building that needs to be demolished, we tear it down ang sell it for scrap." he said.