American Mutant (17 page)

“Connor.”

“Agent Connor, this is Genowitz. The girls are fine, and are with their parents at the hospital. We have the man responsible. The address you gave us could have been a part of Dante’s Inferno. These two girls were not the only ones. He resisted arrest, and fired at us. He was wounded in the exchange.”

“You and Stallworth are okay though?”

“Yes, but we should have killed him. For some reason, both Stallworth and I fired a bit low,” she explained.

Connor laughed in spite of the gravity of the situation. “I take it his dick did not survive the encounter Agent Genowitz?”

“You are correct in your assessment.”

Connor could detect the satisfaction in her voice. “If he does not cooperate fully, please call me. I am sure I could persuade him to help.”

“No need, we had trouble getting him medical help until after he had an epiphany, and wrote down a good deal of what he knew. Unfortunately, he survived the blood loss. There will be other parents who will finally have closure. Stallworth and I will let you know if he manages to get out on some technicality.”

“Thank you Agent Genowitz, you have made my evening. I hope to work with you in the future.”

“Count on it Agent Connor. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Connor put the phone back into his jacket pocket. Life is good, he thought smiling, Nate will love hearing about this one.

Connor came awake suddenly, and looked at the clock in his room. It read 6:00 AM, but he felt someone nearing his door. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He smiled at the ease with which he could now see the hallway in front of his door. Quenton was approaching. Connor opened his door remotely, and got up. As he put on a robe, he called out for Quenton to have a seat. He came out and sat down facing his erstwhile boss.

“Would you like some coffee Derek?”

“No thanks, I just came in early to congratulate you on the missing girls’ case. I received a full report when I walked in this morning. You should have called me.”

“You do not spend enough time at home as it is. I hope no one disturbed you last night about it,” Connor said.

“I knew nothing until the report,” Quenton answered, “a very pleasant greeting for a change. It even had an update fax with some of the later details concerning the arrest of the suspect. Those two FBI agents, it seems, have been spending too much time around you. They got into a lot of trouble over their arrest procedure.”

“I will have to take a hand in their defense then my friend,” Connor said in all seriousness.

“Already taken care of Thomas. With the help of your confiscated tapes, I contacted several people who immediately extinguished any feigned outrage by their department, or anyone else for that matter. They will be decorated for their part in this instead, and receive an advancement.”

“Now that’s what I call government by and for the people,” Connor acknowledged. “Great work Derek, you have again justified my faith in our little department.”

“If you are ready for them, I have also wrangled the computers you had on your wish list. It seems most of the appropriations committee had found their way into those tapes in one manner or another. When they found out we would pay for them ourselves, the whole deal went through smoothly.”

“You are the man Derek. Nate and I will look for a good place on our premises to set them up, and then we will get to work. Although I find blackmail to be repugnant, I am beginning to see a whole new avenue of democracy in action here. These folks all want to do what’s right. They just need a little nudge in the right direction.”

“My sentiments exactly Thomas. You can be my check and balance, and I will set Nate and Karen on you if you get out of line. The Lord knows no one else has a chance of correcting you. If you continue to pull off side work like those two little girls, nothing will be able to stop us,” Quenton added.

“I plan on it. I wish we did not need an extortion ring to obtain justice, but the day might come when we will no longer find it necessary,” Connor remarked.

Derek nodded and stood up. “I guess you will be in contact if you need anything else. Let me know when you want your computers delivered, and I will have them brought over and set up for you. Say hello to Nate for me.”

“I will Derek. You have my number if anything comes up. Karen gave me the licenses you had made up. These kids are naturals. You will have to let me have one of them bring a stretch over, and pick up you and your family for a dinner on the town.”

Derek laughed. “I will think about it Thomas. Try to keep the body count down today if possible, okay?”

“Nag, nag, nag,” Connor smiled as he walked Quenton to the door, and watched him leave.

Chapter 19 Back To Business
 

Connor showered and dressed in a new suit. He made coffee, and poured a cup. Sipping his brew, Connor went over the plan for the day’s business activity, and training sessions on the computer. He sensed Nate approaching and opened the door. Nate immediately walked in, stormed around the room, and into the bedroom. When he came back into the main room, he poured himself some coffee, and sat down on Connor’s sofa.

“Good morning Nate. I am almost afraid to ask what you were looking for.”

“Good morning Mutie. I was just checking to make sure you did not regress, and have Karen trussed up, or handcuffed in a corner somewhere. I.” Nate lost it, and began a most irritating session of his braying laughter, as Connor cringed involuntarily.

After Nate had quieted down, Connor told him about the kidnapped girls, and the eventual capture of the man responsible. He explained how Quenton had smoothed things over for the agents involved with their recently acquired information.

“Oh man, I wish I had been in on that,” Nate said wistfully.

“You would have insisted on going with the FBI, and then we would not have been able to keep a nice low profile on it for our department.”

“You got that right,” Nate acknowledged grimly. “By the time I got through with the guy, Derek would have had to blackmail half of Washington D.C.”

“I thought so,” Connor said. “Shall we meet up with our charges and get to it. We have to pick a place for our new computer dynamos.”

“Quenton coerced those too?” Nate asked admiringly.

“Yep.”

“How did he do it so fast?”

“The same way he quieted the anger over the missing girls’ case,” Connor replied. “It seems we will be in the blackmail business for a while. We will have to adopt the credo of ‘The Means Do Indeed Justify The Ends’ for the time being.”

“Works for me,” Nate said. “Let’s eat, unless you have to stop and bulldog Karen into a quickie before we leave.”

“You prick.”

Nate was still chuckling when they reached the Lincoln.

The young men were waiting for them when they arrived outside of the building. They were grouped around a guy, wearing an all black outfit, with a black stocking cap on. As Nate and Connor exited the Lincoln and walked over, Connor could see the man curled up in a tight fetal position.

Sammy stepped over to meet them. “We found him like this Mr. Connor. He won’t snap out of it. Should we call 911?”

“No Sammy, I left a little surprise for the unwary criminal element. I’ll get him up.” Connor went over to the man and touched his head. The man jerked up, and looked around in terror at the faces around him. He leaped to his feet and tried to run, but Connor grabbed him easily with one hand, and held him still.

“Well, Mr. Burglar,” Connor remarked. “It seems you decided to break in to the wrong establishment. Are you alone in this very dangerous operation, or did some other fool put you up to it?”

The man looked into Connor’s eyes, and winced as he recognized the originator of his torturous night. “I.I figured the alarms would be down since the business got sold.”

Sammy came over and took the man’s stocking cap off. “I know this guy Mr. Connor. He worked as a driver here. I saw him when we were looking over the place.”

“Nicely done Sammy,” Connor acknowledged, and turned back to the man. “Hand me the keys you have genius. Lucky thing I do not believe in just locks.”

The man handed over a set of keys to Connor with a shaking hand. Connor took them and handed them to Sammy.

“Go unlock the doors Sammy and you all wait in the office for Nate and me.”

Sammy nodded, and led the way inside, only briefly pausing to look back and shake his head.

“Well now,” Connor said, “we normally have a one mistake death sentence in effect on trespassers, but I am going to let you go this time, because I am in a good mood this morning. Tell your friends and acquaintances to never come here again. Pray you never see me again.”

Connor released him. He ran full tilt into Nate, and bounced off, landing again on the cement. He sprang up again, and disappeared down the block as the two partners watched.

Nate whistled. “That boy don’t need to rob places. He needs to try out for the Olympic Team. Think he was telling the truth Thomas?”

“Indeed he was,” Connor agreed. “I always like a morning opening everyone survives. Let’s go get the coffee pot going. How about we do a two team deal today, with you taking half the guys out for driving lessons, while I begin the task of teaching vehicular maintenance?”

“You plan on rolling around in the grease with that suit on Mutie, and the boys all dressed up?”

“No, just some of the basics,” Connor answered. “I have a guy from an on-line vehicle repair information service coming in with his equipment, including computers for the shop and office. I want to introduce them to repair outside of the chop shop mentality. We want our fleet, and eventually the private sector stuff we service to be safe.”

“Good deal,” Nate said, “just so I do not have to work on them. I will take half the guys for today, and we can reverse it for tomorrow. When will the guy get in with your equipment?”

“Not until nine, but I want to cover a bunch of shop procedures and safety issues before we even see the info on the new computers. I hope all this attention to the mundane does not bore you Nate.”

Nate laughed. “After the last few days, I could work the business for the next five years without a side trip into the superhero gig. Let’s go in and split the group up, and you can pass out the licenses Quenton gave you.”

With their work crew seated around them, Nate and Connor began explaining the day’s objectives. Their eyes lit up as Connor passed out their chauffer licenses. Connor kept Sammy, Henry, and Jeffrey with him for shop instruction. Nate headed out for driving lessons with the Melius brothers and Jeremiah. The on-line service company arrived with their equipment. The morning operations went smoothly, and with the help of the boys, Connor set up computer workstations in the shop at each toolbox, and a main server station in the office.

All were coordinated to work with each other, and be on-line in network form. He signed each young man in as a tech sponsor, and the business as a business sponsor to an on-line automotive tech network called iATN, short for International Automotive Technicians Network. Connor went over with each one how to use the tech network to research business principals and troubleshooting techniques inside the forums of the over thirty thousand strong network. The young men could not believe how easy any problem, they could think up on any model of car, could be researched in the on-line archives of past troubles already handled by the many members.

Connor let the representative for the automotive manuals on DVD show his charges how to coordinate repair procedures, parts needed, and estimating guides to arrive at a figure. They learned how the figure would automatically be separated into cost of goods sold, materials and supplies, labor used, and profit margin on the job. The part would then be deducted from inventory, and a warning would issue on screen when the stock on hand dropped below preset figures.

The eagerness, which the young men showed during the presentations, and the questions they asked surprised even Connor. He could tell they could not wait to get their hands on something they could work with. After lunch, Connor took them again out to the shop. He showed them the maintenance procedures and check lists for each of their vehicles, based both on a mileage and a time figure. Connor looked up the vehicle quickly off of the DVD loaded database, and then printed the maintenance form out on the printer at the workstation.

“I want these maintenance procedures carried out religiously guys,” Connor instructed. “I also want every vehicle checked for obvious everyday faults such as fluid levels, tire condition and pressure, belts, hoses, lights, cleanliness of interior, and brake operation. The regular safety checklist must be checked off before any one of these beasts hit the road.”

Connor paused and then smiled. “Each of you has an e-mail box on-line, and unrestricted internet access. Do I need to tell you what will happen if any porno sites get accessed here?”

There were a chorus of laughing no Sirs, before Connor went on. “Remember men, this business can be fun, but there will be no fooling around here. You may use the computers for schoolwork, research and study, and to receive personal e-mail from friends and family. Do not abuse your privileges. You may use the on-line network to research any vehicle you wish. You may also use the shop to fix any personal vehicles you acquire on your own time. If you do work on other people’s cars on your own time away from the shop, I will not object. I only caution you against this, because we want to build a business of paying customers, who make us a profit. If you do side work, you undermine our objectives, not to mention everyone you know will be at your door wanting their vehicles worked on for nothing. Once you work on a customer’s vehicle for free, you ruin them as customers.”

“What about family Mr. Connor?” Henry asked.

“Immediate family such as Mom and Dad, sisters and brothers, will be your decision,” Connor smiled. “You will find in most cases they will take more advantage of you than a stranger, but I know you will have to find some of this out on your own. You may use me, or the business, as an excuse to get out of any freebie you wish. I will back your play.”

“How soon will we be working on customer’s vehicles?” Jeffrey asked.

“I figure about six months of practicing on our own vehicles, and the automotive classes I plan on either hosting here, or sending you to, will get you ready to get our feet wet in the private sector. One other thing: no brake job, fuel line repair, or any other safety factor job gets released without one other guy signing off on it, and my final quick check. Each of you will be issued a sheet with all OSHA regulations, which you will study and observe. I do not want anyone hurt here, or anyone hurt because of our work here. We have state of the art diagnostic machines and scanners here already. You may practice with them to your heart’s content. Make sure you use your manuals. In the future, I will be putting problems into one of our vehicles for you to find and test your skills.”

Connor next took them all into the office, and began the process of showing them how to work up an invoice, generated from the shop, for the repair of a vehicle. He showed them how to estimate a job and figure the profit margin. He warned them about guessing, and showed them how researching a job on the Automotive Network first could save them from losing their shirt on a job, where the labor rate turns out to be wrong. With himself as the prospective customer, Connor helped them to understand the problems in communication and diagnosing troubles.

The rest of the day flew by with a short intermission for changing all the locks on the building. Connor issued all of them a set of keys. He laid out sets for Nate and his charges before returning to the teaching of customer relations.

“Mr. Connor,” Henry broke in. “What do you need with keys and locks anyway? With your voodoo, you could leave the doors all open.”

“Well, my young friend,” Connor replied. “That would call attention to our place here. We have to try to attract as little attention as possible, even though I have not done a real great job of it lately.”

“We know not to ask a lot of questions Mr. Connor,” Sammy added. “It would be abnormal for us all not to be curious about how you do the things you do.”

“I know Sammy, but the answers would not do any of you any good. It would probably be better if you all thought of me like Nate does: a mutant freak.”

All three broke up at Connor’s deadpan response. Connor smiled finally. “Ready to do some more customer relations work? I thought we would do a little work on how to handle customers when you are their driver. It will not be the easiest of jobs on most days, but with the right attitude and expertise, you guys will make a lot of money.”

They practiced meeting and taking customers out, always with the subject of safety at the forefront.

“Remember,” Connor continued. “Whether the job has to do with escorting a customer into the limo, or returning a vehicle you have done a brake job on, we will be responsible for their safety. When you look under the hood of one of the limos or a customer’s private vehicle, keep your eyes open for the items you will memorize from the checklist. There will always be customers who will blame us for something we either had no control over, or that we had already warned them about. I am the complaint department for the repair garage part of this operation. You all do your jobs and I will back you one hundred percent. I do not however want you to miss something because you were not thorough.

One of the more objectionable things about hiring out a limousine for the driver usually centers around the on-board liquor bar. Constant communication will head off problems with people who decide to take advantage of our first class service by getting drunk and disorderly. They will sign an agreement, after being read their responsibilities, in front of our office camera. If things get out of hand on a job, I will meet your limo at a pre-arranged spot after being informed, and I will escort the unruly party home, and refund part of their payment. As you guys become more practiced, I will probably never have to come out on a job. You will learn to spot the signs, and use some initiative to avoid my having to come out.”