by Jack July
That comment made him laugh. “Good to know.”
Amy’s face turned serious. “Tatiana ratted me out, didn’t she?”
Doc was surprised by the sudden change of subject. “What? What are you talking about?”
“Tatiana told Adele I was having a hard time.”
Doc gave a little head tilt, turned and kept walking. After a few minutes he said, “Tatiana said I could share her struggles with you if need be. I spoke to her about you, at length. She loves you, you know.”
“I know. That’s why I’m not upset.”
“Yes, she said you needed help.”
They crested the top of the hill to another gorgeous view. Amy turned to the Doc. “Okay, well, I already miss my man and my boy, so let’s get busy.”
“All right, when we get back to the cabin, we’ll start. I want you to think hard about what happened in Romania. We need every detail up to the point you don’t remember.”
“I can do that. I do have a question: why did Tatiana come to see you?”
“You have a hard time turning Fenian off. She had a hard time turning T on. Seems she met this free spirited woman in Afghanistan who made her believe she could want a life. She needed to know it was okay to shut it all down and leave the company.”
“She left because of me?”
“No. After some soul searching, we found the truth. She left because she was tired. You gave her the excuse to try.”
Amy smiled. “I feel good about that.”
Dr. Earle nodded. “You should. You probably saved her life.”
Chapter 13
Parker looked out the window as Mr. Chambers’ pick-up truck parked in his space. He shook his head and thought Here we go.
Mr. Chambers walked in the front door. “Parker, where in the hell is my truck?”
Parker put his head down and pointed to Joe’s office.
“It’s in Joe’s office?”
“Talk to her.”
Brian Chambers stood 5 feet 11 inches tall and was thick-built at 220 pounds. His full, youthful face was topped with grey hair cut short like a veteran. He did not seem at all intimidating, at least until he was angry; then he seemed to grow a foot in every direction.
Carla Jo looked up as the door swung open quickly. “Carla Jo?”
“Brian?”
“Why are you here?”
“Looking after mine and Joseph’s investments. How can I help you?”
“Where’s my truck?”
“You mean the company’s truck? It’s where you should be: on the road, making money.”
Brian’s face began to change colors. “Ma’am, as a good Christian and friend of your husband, I’m not going to express what’s on my mind. Before this mess gets out of hand, you tell Parker to call whoever is in my truck and get it back here.”
When it came to management style, Carla Jo was not a tyrant. Her specialty was relationship building and corporate strategy. She hired good people to manage good people. It had been a long time since she had been on the front lines of Henderson Medical. Even then, the business was made up of white-collar professionals. What Carla Jo didn’t understand was that truck drivers are a completely different animal.
Although trucking is the lifeblood of American commerce, as 99% of all consumer goods will eventually travel by truck, it is a thankless and disrespected profession. Some of this is brought on by the drivers due to lack of professionalism, poor driving and safety habits. The truth is, an unknowing general public thinks it’s easy: you sit in the seat and drive. But not only do you have to control a truck that’s pushed to the weight limit by companies trying to save the cost of an extra load, that truck is often poorly maintained to save a buck. Brakes don’t work as well as they should and the motor isn’t as powerful as it once was. The toughest thing is that the men and women in the cab have to drive for those around them. Trucks do not stop, accelerate, or turn like a car; it’s a matter of physics, not understood by many automobile drivers.
The man or woman in the cab is alone, often far from home and with no friends other than fellow truckers. The average day is a nerve-wracking series of near misses, tricky narrow roads and intersections built with no thought or planning that an 80-foot-long 40-ton vehicle would use them. Maybe the driver enjoys an occasional self-satisfied smile and a new story to tell when instinct and skill avert tragedy. This is why it is critical that drivers have great training, wise mentors and a support network. Brian Chambers was all of that and more for Braxton Trucking, which was something Carla Jo did not understand.
Carla Jo pointed out the window at a recently returned truck. “Mr. Chambers, I suggest you get in that truck and get busy. We have things to do. ‘Your’ truck will be back later.”
Brian was taken aback by her dismissive attitude. And then he lost his cool. “Carla Jo, you get my God Damn truck back in this lot immediately! Joseph and I made a deal!”
Carla Jo snapped her head back and growled, “You swear at me again, and I will fire you.”
“Fire, me?” He let out a disbelieving laugh. “Just who in the hell do you think you are?”
“Really, Brian? I’m the one who gave Joseph almost a half-million dollars to buy this company. I’m the one who made up payroll shortfalls when it was struggling. All I’m asking you to do is your job. Now, please, go do your job.”
“You think you’re gonna dismiss me like some kind of damn rookie driver? After all I’ve done here?”
Carla Jo sighed. “I’m really busy. Please, just go.”
“Yeah? I’m gone. I quit.”
Carla Jo shrugged and pointed to the door, “Don’t let it hit ya where the good Lord split ya.”
Chambers marched out of the office then out the front door with Parker on his heals. “Brian? Brian, she doesn’t know any better. I’ll call Joseph, just cool down.”
Chambers said under his breath, “I don’t need this shit,” jumped into his pickup, and spewed gravel across the parking lot as he pulled out.
Amy wanted to sit on the glider on the back porch to talk about the mission but Dr. Earle had specific ways he liked to do things. There were far fewer distractions inside. He pointed at the chair. “Amy, if we could sit here, in the living room.”
She picked up the quilt Granny Patches had made her, wrapped it around her shoulders and shook her head. “I’d rather be on the back porch.”
“You do understand this is a medical situation. I am the doctor. You need to follow my instructions.”
Amy rolled her eyes just a little. “Yes, I realize that. Now, let’s go on the porch.”
Dr. Earle took off his glasses and went formal. “Mrs. Zielinski, that chair, now.”
“Why does it matter? I’m not comfortable inside; I’d rather be outside.”
Doc’s face went serious, but not angry. “Let me share my first observed truth with you. You are extremely gifted on many levels, but you are, for lack of a better term, a spoiled brat. When is the last time someone told you, no?’”
Amy looked away, feeling her face flush.
“That’s what I thought. Now sit down.”
Still not meeting his eyes, she sighed and sat in the chair. Dr. Earle continued, “Let’s be clear about something: we can be friendly, but I am not your friend. I’m going to tell you to do the hard things. Sitting where I ask is not a hard thing. You are going to follow my instructions or you can leave, understood?”
She nodded.
“What was that?”
“Yes, Doctor Earle.”
“Good. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about what happened in Romania.”
Amy unscrewed the top on a bottle of water, took a long drink, and began. “I was picked up at the airport by a Romanian operative. She drove me to her apartment.”
Dr. Earle interrupted, “She?”
“Yes.”
“Would you prefer to work with a man or a woman?”
“A woman.”
“Why?”
<
br /> “I don’t like sexual tension while I’m working.”
“Don’t you use sexuality as a tool?”
“Against an enemy, sure, but not someone I should trust.”
Dr. Earle scribbled a few notes. “So you trusted this woman?”
“Not at first. I don’t trust anyone while I work. She invited me to her home. I met her husband and son. That’s something operatives just don’t do. After that, I was reasonably sure she was solid.”
“Was she? Solid, that is?”
“From what I can remember, oh yeah, very.”
“Continue.”
“We armed up, got in a taxi, her taxi. Her cover was a taxi driver; mine, a doctor from Florida looking to adopt. Then we went hunting.”
“Did you find what you were looking for?”
“Yep, we found em…”
They drove down the same street that Mia and Cindy had walked a few weeks earlier. Sonda looked up in the rearview. “Odetta,” Sonda changed to Fenian’s cover name, “be aware; this is a dangerous place.”
Odetta nodded as she did a final check on her .380. The taxi stopped in front of their destination. Sonda got out and banged on the gate. Stephan Nistor walked to the gate and they had a rather lengthy conversation. It was a little too long, and made Odetta nervous. Sonda walked back and got in as Stephan opened the gate. “What was that about?”
“I wanted to pull the car inside. He said no. I said you insisted that I stay with you to interpret the language. He said no. I told him that I needed the money to feed my children and that you are a demanding bitch and you would leave. He’s opening the gate.”
Odetta cracked a little smile. “Works for me. How many are inside?”
“I have been watching them for over a week. I’ve only seen two.”
Sonda put the car in park. Odetta grabbed her purse and said, “Follow my lead and watch my back.”
“Okay.” Sonda reached for the door handle. “Odetta?”
“Yeah?”
“Are we letting them walk out?”
“Probably not.”
Sonda cracked her own little smile. “Good.”
Chapter 14
Parker called Joseph to fill him in on the goings on at Braxton Trucking. “She did what? WHAT THE FUCK, PARKER, WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HER!?”
“Jesus, Joseph, I’m not arguing with her. She owns the company. What the hell was I supposed to do?”
Joseph mumbled under his breath, “Oh shit, oh shit, okay, um… Okay, Parker, here’s what you do. Get that truck back in the yard. Tell Josh to take it to Nick’s Customs and have it detailed. Mr. Chambers will like that. I’ll be right there.”
Just then Kelly’s finger poked him in the chest, “The HELL if you are. The doctor said you don’t leave this couch for another three days.”
“Kelly, I—”
“Don’t. Don’t even think about it.”
“Okay. Parker, transfer me to my Aunt. Get that truck back, now”
“You got it.”
Carla Jo picked up. “Hi, Joe, how ya feelin’?”
“Not good. What happened this morning?”
“Nothing really. One of our drivers overestimated his value.”
“No ma’am, actually, he didn’t.”
“He was yelling and swearing. I don’t tolerate that.”
“I’m sure he was. Aunt Carla Jo, I am so grateful for everything you have given me, every opportunity. I know you understand business better than anyone, but you don’t understand truck drivers.”
“Well, then, explain it.”
“Okay, well, that’s his truck, I gave it to him. He doesn’t even let the lease company work on it. He does everything himself. Another man getting in his truck is akin to another man screwing his girlfriend. It’s personal. Do you know why our insurance rates have dropped by a third?”
Carla Jo laughed. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m dead serious.”
“You’re right about one thing; our costs have dropped.”
“That’s because Mr. Chambers, Mr. Randolph, Mr. Spearman and Mr. Peterson hired and trained the drivers. They don’t tear stuff up. Notice our lease costs going down?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s because the drivers treat our stuff like they own it.”
“I didn’t know this.”
“Do you like those quarterly two hundred thousand dollar checks? I know I do. That’s because of Mr. Chambers. Please call him and get him back.”
Carla Jo sighed. “Parker told me to call you. I should have listened. I’m sorry. I’ll have Jack talk to him; they’re friends. I’ll fix it. You just get better, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am. Um, how would you feel about letting Parker run things? I trust him.”
“Are you firing me?”
“In the nicest way I can.”
“Wow, I have never been fired before.” She leaned back in her chair and smiled. She knew he was doing the right things for the right reasons. Then she joked, “Hey, I can collect unemployment insurance.”
“You’re not mad at me?’
“No, I’m proud of ya. Get some rest. You need anything from Lewistown?”
“Rabbit’s barbeque.”
“You, your sister and that dump. All right, I’ll see you in a while. Love you, kid.”
Carla Jo collected her things. Before she left, she called Jack and told him what happened. Jack seemed surprised. “He was yelling and swearing at you?”
“Yeah, he was pretty upset.”
“Oh yeah, I’ll talk to him.”
Carla Jo hung up, sure everything was going to be fine. She strolled out into the main area where Parker sat, talking on the radio, barking trailer numbers and destinations. He stopped what he was doing. “Ma’am?”
“Joseph fired me. He said you’re in charge.”
“He did what?”
She smiled at him. “I’m really not the Dragon Lady you all think I am.”
“Well, we don’t—”
“Yeah, ya do.”
Parker tilted his head back and forth. “Okay, maybe a little.”
“Call me if you need anything.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As Carla Jo headed out the door, she saw a three by five card lying face down. She bent down, turned it over and read it: Teamsters Local 612, Card Check Ballot. She was still staring at the card when she said, “Parker.”
“Ma’am?”
“Remember when I said I wasn’t the Dragon Lady?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“I lied.”
Jack saw Brian’s truck outside the Bluebird Café and pulled in. Carla Jo forgot one thing about the traditions of a southern gentleman; there are some things you just don’t do. Brian was sitting at the counter, reading the paper and sipping coffee. Jack sat down next to him. “Brian?”
“Jack.”
Jack leaned in close and in a voice just above a whisper said, “Understand you had words with my wife today?”
Brian turned to look at him. That was a tone of voice and a stare he had never been on the other end of. He knew who and what Jack was. It unnerved him.
“Well, yeah, I—”
Jack cut him off. “Brian Chambers, you ever raise your voice to my wife again, I will bury you in a fucking hole. Do you understand me?”
Brian was more ashamed than frightened. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. That’s not who I am.”
“I know that. That’s why we’re still talkin’.”
“I’ll apologize to her.”
“Good idea. Now what in the hell is your problem?”
“I’m not gonna be disrespected.”
“Shit happens. You know damn well Joseph has taken care of you. He has given you everything you have ever asked for, more than anyone else would. I suggest you get your shit together, get back over there and help him out. He’s down right now, he’s hurt and he needs your help.”
“Yeah, I reckon sometimes I can be stubborn.�
��
“No shit.” Then Jack mumbled under his breath, “asshole.”
Brian laughed. They sat quietly for a few minutes. Brian got up and tossed a couple dollars on the counter. He looked over at Jack, “We good?”
“Yep.”
After Brian walked out the front door, Jack hollered toward the kitchen, “Dorothy!”
An older woman with a Virginia Slims Menthol hanging out of her mouth shouted back, “What in the hell do you want?”
“Hey, doll face. I’ll have my usual.”
“Jack Brown, you handsome devil. When you gonna take me away from all this?”
“When Carla Jo gets tired of me.”
“I’m holding ya to it.”
Jack gave her a little wink.
Dr. Earle and Amy returned from a break. They had taken a short hike, this time down a different path. A small waterfall appeared, cascading out of the rocks and down the side of the mountain. Amy looked over the vista then at Dr. Earle, “John Denver was right: ‘Almost heaven, West Virginia’.”
Dr. Earle smiled and nodded. They made their way back to the cabin and sat down. Doc picked up his notes. “So, where were we? Ah, yes. You just entered the compound. So tell me, was there anything different or unusual about how you felt or what was going on?”
“No. If anything I felt confident. These were not exactly tough men. It felt like I was going to buy a butchered pig. Still, my antenna was up.”
“Your antenna was up? What does that mean?”
“When I work, everything slows down. Colors become brighter, smells stronger, sounds louder and I feel, well, more like an animal than a person.”
“Do you remember anything that stood out?”
“Yeah, while I was walking across the yard, I could hear dogs everywhere. They were barking and snarling through the fence on each side of us. In the distance I could hear the echo of other dogs. Must be cheap security.”
“Okay, then what?”
“We were invited into the house…”
Odetta and Sonda followed Stefan through the front door. What should have been a living room was an office. A large wooden desk sat in the center of the room. The floor was covered in what were the remnants of broken tiles. To her left, Odetta noticed a smeared dark stain on the floor, like someone did a half-ass job of wiping something up. Just above it were dark spots on the wall. Blood? she wondered. Ilie stood and invited Odetta in with a friendly smile. “Doctor Dietz, it is a pleasure to meet you. Please, please, take a seat.”
