The last two weeks of February went off without much of a hitch. They spent most of their days in the trucks hunting packs and herds of green tags. By the first week of March they were clearing out the last of the dinos and helping to fix the infrastructure. The only dino left on the main island was a huge Mosasurus in the big lake in the middle of the island. Harry put up a ten foot wall ten feet from the water's edge all the way around the lake to keep the workers from getting swallowed up by the creature from the deep. For a few days Neville wanted to try to fish it out of the lake but Harry put his foot down when they saw it beach itself on land and grab a huge Brachiosaurus and take it under the water. That was the day Harry built the wall.
Even though Harry was off the islands and back at work didn't mean his life was any easier. He was working with his sister in the lab on his secret project as well as charging up power stones everyday to build up a good stockpile. on top of that companies from all over the world wanted to talk to them about jobs they needed SSI to take care of. After all, the team that cleaned up Jurassic Park could handle anything. Each one of these meeting required Harry to be there so he could listen to the proposals and tell Marcus if it was doable. He heard pitches on everything from a dam building project in a war torn border country in the middle east, to a dig for a lost city of gold in Egypt, to a deep sea retrieval of a Spanish war ship full of gold and jewels, and even a hunt for Nundus for research in Africa. By the end of the week Harry started categorizing the meetings into three categories. Find this lost gold, help protect this thing from the locals, or help us kill this impossibly dangerous thing for sport or research. For the most part Harry said yes to the jobs. He would then lay out a point by point plan to accomplish the job, and if he ever needed technical know how he called his sister. after that he worked with Sam and Neville to task teams of agents and tactical teams to the missions.
a week of these meeting made Harry a master of contract negotiation and quick to call out jobs that were too hard or dangerous. case in point was his last meeting on Friday morning. Harry was sitting in Marcus's office for one of the 'Help me capture a dangerous creature' pitches. This time it was for a company that made high end silk wizard robes and they wanted a nest of Acromantulas. Harry listened to the pitch before saying flat out no, but Marcus was getting greedy and pulled Harry aside.
"Harry, this man said we could charge him anything we want. Do you have any idea how many zeros we could add to his bill?" Marcus asked.
"Marcus, do you know what he's asking for? Do you know what an Acromantula is?" Harry asked pouring a very small glass with Johnnie Walker Blue Label.
"It's some kind of spider?" Marcus said shrugging.
"Yes it's a spider, it's a spider that can get up to thirty foot tall and have hundreds of babies a year. Babies the size of dogs and I'm not talking toy poodles, I'm talking about Max. They have venom that could kill a T-Rex. They move like the wind and the only thing they fear is a snake big enough to swallow a man whole and has the power to kill by looking at you. I have first hand knowledge of both of these beasts. I've killed them both and let me tell you this now, it was not fucking easy and I almost died on both occasions. I have scars from both fights. I am not hunting down a whole nest of these things, I'm not letting a team not headed by me do it either, and I sure as hell am not handing that man over in your office a nest of man eating spiders. God only knows where he'll try to house them and when they eat his whole company full of workers he'll be calling us to kill the things. Again, I'm not doing it." Harry said.
"Is it really that bad Harry?" Marcus asked looking shocked.
"You know me, have I ever overstated the danger of anything to you?" Harry asked.
"Still this man's company would be a good client, he knows a lot of people in the fashion industry…" Marcus said.
"Marcus, I have never in all the time I've known you, ever thought you would put your people in danger for money. Don't make me change my opinion of you now. You take this job and send out a team to capture a nest of these spiders and half of them will come back empty handed, the other half will never be seen again." Harry said making Marcus look shocked.
"Harry do you think I would…" He started but Harry held up his hand.
"You almost did just now. I told you no. You asked me to clarify and I did. You then tried to sway my opinion. Now stop thinking about the money and start thinking about your people. We've said yes to a lot this week, we're going to be double and triple booked around the world for the next six months. One fat contract is not worth the loss of good staff. Not to mention me. I work for you because I respect you. The moment I think you're the type of man to damn the people under your command for money is the day I quit. Now get your head back in the game. I'll go see if we can work something else out with our new client." Harry said looking Marcus in the eyes to make sure he understood his point of view.
"I'm sorry Mr. Osaka, but it's still going to be a no for us. What we can offer you is any number of other magical and non-magical materials including, Dragonhide, Dinosaur hides, fine wools, and even other types of spider silks. As you know we have worked extensively with InGen and I'm sure we could work with their lab techs to come up with a good if not better alternative to Acromantula. I'm sure with a good conversation between our Lab and their lab we can make you a whole room full of silk producing spiders that are not venomous, and don't grow to the size of a house." Harry said.
"Yes but will it produce silk as fine?" He asked.
"I'm sure it will. Mr. Osaka, you look like a level headed man, I'm going to ask you a question and I don't want you to take offence to it. Have you really thought about the cost of housing a whole nest of huge man eating spiders? Because if your answer is: that's what you were going to pay us to do then you're very much out of luck. The price we would ask would be too high for you. I know this because I would be the one setting the price and you don't have enough money to pay me to get me anywhere near an acromantula again." Harry said.
"But you worked with dinosaurs?" The short Japanese man said.
"Yes, and the first thing we did was kill all the ones with big teeth and claws. Now I own a small stake in InGen because of the work we did and the relationship i have with the owner and I can personally guarantee you that they could make you something better then the most deadly spider in the world. If you don't like the offer I'm making then good luck with your hunt for spider silk." Harry said.
"Better than Acromantula?" He asked looking pensive.
"Better. You sign a trial based contract with us and I'll make the call tonight. If you don't like what our two labs can come up with then you can walk away without paying a thing. On the other hand, if you like what we come up then you sign a full contract with us and you tell your friends about the service we provided for you. the best advertising we get is by word of mouth after all." Harry said holding out his hand.
"You have a deal." The man who set the trend for wizard fashion said as he shook Harry's hand.
They filled out the paperwork and Harry even let Mr. Osaka stay for the conversation he set up over the phone with Hermione and the head lab tech at InGen. When the call ended it was getting close to noon which was closing time for Harry. He had to be in Miami for the start of the Ferrari Challenge series. The first race was at Homestead-Miami raceway and the end of practice was three o'clock. Normally Harry would skip practice for the Challenge series but this was the first time he was every going to race there and he wanted to turn a few laps. Either way Harry had to set up the master portkey to the track for the rest of the group. Marcus, Neville, and Sam where Challenge drivers too after all and they needed all the track time they could get.
"Marcus, I have to get going, I have to head to Miami." Harry said looking at his watch.
"Well, wait a few minutes I want to talk to you real quick." Marcus said leading Mr. Osaka out of his office. When he came back in a minute later he took a seat behind his desk and looked at Harry.
"You said you wanted to talk, that means you start." Harry said with a smirk.
"Right, I just wanted to ask you if you would really quit if I would have took his contract." Marcus asked.
"Yes, because it means I put my trust and faith in a man I look up to and I was wrong. Look Marcus, growing up, I was burned by a lot of people that were older than me. People I looked to for advice and guidance. That will never happen again. I work for you and this company because I trust you. I trust you to make decisions based on facts and information regarding safety before you even look at the price of the job. I expect you to do that because that's the man you showed me you are. Now over the next month or so more and more people like him are going to come into this office and wave huge sums of cash in front of your face. If I tell you the job is too dangerous then the job is too dangerous. You have to trust me like I trust you. I will always push the boundaries of what's safe to make this company money because we're a family, and family looks out for each other. But if it's something too dangerous I'll say no. If you overrule me then I'm out. I don't need to work for a man that puts profits over safety." Harry said.
"And if I think you can do it? If I think you're not seeing something I see, what then?" Marcus asked.
"Then lay out your information. But chances are I know what I'm talking about. If you come to me because you need my advice then take the advice I'm giving you. We took on all of those other jobs, this was the job too far. I said no but before I could offer up alternatives you pulled me aside to tell me about money. I know what each client is worth, I know the price of the jobs. I'm the one that's going to help you invoice all this shit remember? So trust me next time. Now if that's it I have to go. I need to head to Miami and set up the track portkey so you guys can get there on time for practice. We have to get in a race car in a half hour remember?" Harry said standing up.
"No that's not it. I have to tell you I'm sorry for acting like that." Marcus said standing up too.
"Hey, look I knew the money involved in scoring Osaka, so I know what you were looking at. His contract brings in a huge Japanese market and expands the company to the far East. I'm not dumb, i know i'm going to be Sam's right Hand in a dozen or so years. Second in command at this place is better than almost any place in the world. But don't let it happen again. Trust me like I trust you. Now bring it in." Harry said hugging his uncle.
"Thanks Harry." Marcus said.
"It's what I do. Now remember practice ends at three. I'll set up the portkey but you need to get ready to go soon." Harry said with a smile as he headed for the door.
Harry grabbed his race bag and his F360 team car and headed to his Miami house by portkey with Abby. They blasted the forty miles to the track, set up the portkey a mile from the track on a side access road, and the rest of the group popped over at half past noon. By the time they parked and got to the pit lane Harry and the team were right on time for the last practice session. He slipped on his race suit and helmet and headed out on to the 2.5 mile long track. By the time practice was over at three Harry was turning consistent 1:28s. Not bad but not his best. The rest of the team was spread out over the 1:32 to 1:36 range with the slowest being Marcus at 1:36.912 but Harry was chalking that up to the fact that they both had a stressful day. Still the whole team was out in front of the pack who were all hanging around the 1:37 to 1:45 range.
That night after dinner Harry and his friends met up with Brian and Tej. They hung out in Harry's newly opened Miami club. This club was smaller than the first Club Nitro in L.A. but it was big enough to house the Miami street racing crowd. Harry offered up one of the small warehouses to Tej. He wanted to have a garage close by and if he could scoop up another mechanic in the process then it was all the better. They hammered out a deal in the VIP room and by time the party really got started at nine they were signing paperwork. Tej was now on Harry's payroll and they would move his shop to the warehouse the next day. In exchange for that Tej got to run the second Club Nitro for a small cut of the profits. Which was better for Harry because Tej knew everyone in the city and he had incentive to keep the club running smooth. As the relationship was fostered over time Tej would become a friend and the trust would flow better. Until then Harry knew how to play to his wants and needs.
They were having a good time and they even set up a street race around eleven. A punk in a red RX-7 ran with Brian in his skyline, Suki in her pink S2000, and Harry ran it in his white NSX. The race was fun, a little street circuit around the warehouse district. Harry took an early lead and was winning by a lot when everything went pear shaped. The cops came out of nowhere with rocket launchers that fired little grappling hooks into the racer's cars that fried the car's electric. Harry managed to skid to a halt but the rest of the racers ended up crashing. The red RX-7 hit a building trying to cut down a side street. Suki hit a parking meter. Brian's brakes locked up and his hit a lamp post. Harry was pissed about his car but he was even more pissed about the way that almost got the drivers killed. When the cops got out of their cars and and started waving U.S. Customs badges Harry was really starting to lose his cool.
"What the fuck are U.S. Customs agents doing breaking up a street race?!" Harry asked grabbing the agent closest to him and slamming him over the hood of his cop car. The other agents pointed their guns at Harry but his group all pulled out their SSI badges.
"Harry they're arresting Brian!" Abby called out from the back of the group she was being protected by Amelia and Erika and the rest of the family.
"What!?" Harry said letting go of the terrified agent and turning around to see Brian being cuffed and put into a cop car. Harry grabbed the agent putting Brain into the car. "What the fuck are you doing with my client? Why is he being arrested?" He asked flash his badge.
"This man is wanted by the FBI. He's coming down town and he's being handed off to the FBI."
"Then I'm coming with him, he's under my protection." Harry said.
"I don't think so. You want to follow us then we can't stop you but as of right now Brian O'Conner is in Federal custody." The agents said.
"We'll see about that." Harry said coldly before turning to Brian in the back seat. "Listen Brian, I'll be right behind you. Don't say a fucking thing, I'll get you out." Harry said looking ready to kill everyone as they took Brian's Skyline R34 away on a tow truck.
Harry shrank his now fryed street racing car and expanded his black Ferrari F355 after casting some notice me not spells. He sent Abby and the rest of the group back to the house and followed the cop cars to the U.S. Customs office. Even though he showed up at almost the same time as Brian they separated them and made Harry sit in the lobby as they took Brian into the interrogation room.
Harry knew he could make one phone call to his uncle and get whatever he wanted but he let them play the game. Something didn't add up with all of this and he wanted to know what the fuck was going on. It took three hours for him to finally see Brian. He walked into the interrogation room and saw Brian sitting cuffed to the table. But more importantly, he saw FBI Agent Bilkins sitting at the table drinking a soda sitting next to the U.S. Customs agent.
"Bilkins, why am I not surprised? In fact I now know why my zoning permit hasn't gone through. A legal race track means you can't do this bullshit. How long have you been in Miami setting this all up before moving on Brian? And in the same weekend I'm here for a race?" Harry asked taking a seat next to Brian.
"A few weeks. It's good to see you again Agent Steel." He said with a big smile.
"Right. I see what's going on here. Let's get this over with. Brian, sign this." Harry said pulling out a stapled packet of papers and a pen from his briefcase. Brian signed it and Harry handed it to Bilkins. "This contract states that Brian O'Conner is under SSI protection. You will release him into my custody immediately, and then you will call my assistant and make an appointment like a normal person if you want my help. You will also hand over my client's car." Harry said coldly.
"And why would I do all that?" Bilkins asked with a smile.
"Because you don't want me to call in my team of high priced lawyers. You don't want the spectacle of a trial I'd happily pay for just to make you look like a fool. I'll burn your name and salt the fucking earth when I'm done." Harry said.
"Me look the fool? You're defending a cop turned crook." Bilkins said.
"No, I'm defending a kid you pulled out of the academy and put in an undercover operation you knew would be compromising. Lets give this a dry run. Brian did you have a record as a kid? And what was it for?" Harry asked in a formal tone like this was a courtroom.
"Boosting cars, joy riding, and speeding." Brian said with a smile.
You took a kid with a record, that was fresh from the academy, and put him undercover with a street racing gang? A young impressionable kid like that in that situation? Did you tell him to commit any crimes in an attempt to gain favor with Dominic Toretto? When my client was shot at by Triads gang members during a bust you did nothing but turn your back on him and burn him with the LAPD forcing my client to go into hiding to stay alive. Brian what have you been doing since the FBI burned you and put a warrant on you head?" Harry asked.
"I've been laying low, and hiding from the Triads sir. I just wanted to be a good cop. A good soldier but FBI Agent Bilkins turned the LAPD against me and I had no where to go." Brian said in a hurt voice as his grin got bigger.
"You're fucked Agent Bilkins, and it get's worse when we stick your ass on the stand. FBI Agent Bilkins, How long did you know my client was in Miami? Why is it that this is the first time you've picked him up for street racing? Why did you hold my client without letting him speak to his counsel when his counsel showed up with him? Did you knowingly violate my client's rights by questioning him without his counsel present? Did you knowingly put my client in danger by shooting a device at his car that caused a massive systems failure at high speed and caused him to crash into a telephone poll? After that crash did you have a doctor look him over to make sure he didn't have any life threatening injuries caused by the car crash you caused? I can go on but you see where this is going. Now we can sit here and play games or you can release my client into my custody and let us go." Harry said looking every bit the powerful man that he was.
"And what if I don't feel like letting him go? What if I put him in lock up? What if I put him in general population lock up and let the other inmates know he's a cop?" Bilkins asked looking backed into a corner.
"I see, you really want to play games with me. Fine let's play games. Let's see, what you were cooking up." Harry said locking eyes with Bilkins and the Customs agent and pulling the information out of their head. "You're in Miami to capture a man named Carter Verone. Mr. Verone is a drug kingpin. He's living with an undercover customs agent. A cute one. How about I go to Mr. Verone and tell him his girlfriend is a customs agent? How would that play out for your agent? How about I offer up SSI's protection and courier service after he puts a bullet in her pretty little head? I can have Verone out of the country in ten minutes with all of his drug money. You'll never be able to touch him. You'll have a dead customs agent and no Verone to show for it. He'll be sitting on a beach in South America sipping drinks out of a coconut and you'll be standing here in Miami with your dick in your hand." Harry said coldly.
"You wouldn't dare. It's too far even for you Steel." Bilkins said with a smirk.
"You think I'm bluffing? Try me. You've fucked with me enough for one night. I'd hand over your agent without blinking. You think I give a shit about your operation after you fucked me around for three hours? I'll bury your ass! You think your little FBI badge means something to me? I'm SSI you dumb fuck! A Steel no less. I have the fucking president on speed dial. I could put a bullet in your ass right here in this room and I wouldn't even see the inside of a courtroom." Harry said pulling his gun from his shoulder rig and shoving it in Bilkin's face causing the customs agent in the room to jump out of his seat and Bilkins to piss himself.
"Harry, you're going too far." Brian said sounding fearful.
"You're right. I am going too far. You know why I'm going this far? I have a race tomorrow morning and instead of sleeping I'm in this shit hole government building dealing with this. Now release him into my custody or I'll fucking paint the wall with your gray matter. You have one option here. You've fucked with me too much Bilkins. You've fucked with my business, you've fucked with my friends, you fucked up my car, and now you're fucking with my sleep. You want to play that tough guy bullshit? You play with someone weaker than you. You poke the dragon and you'll get burned fuck head." Harry said looking the FBI agent dead in the eyes.
"Release him. Cut him loose. We fucked up." Bilkins said in a voice just above a whisper.
"Good call dip shit." Harry said putting away his gun and waving at the cuffs, they vanished and Brian stood up. "His car?" Harry asked.
"It's in the impound lot. Right out front" The Customs agent said still looking like he was going to shit himself.
"This is my card. You want to talk about Verone then you make an appointment like a civil fucking human being. You ever talk to me with disrespect in your voice again and you'll end up in the fucking swamp. I'm a reasonable man. You fuck with me and you'll pay for it." Harry said slamming his business card on the table with enough force to crack the table. "Come on Brian." Harry said turning and walking out of the room. Harry walked out of the building and across the street. He flashed his badge at the guy working the gate and shrank the Skyline right in front of the shocked guard. He handed it to Brian who was standing by Harry's car.
"Kenji can fix that for you." Harry said as they got in his F355 and headed to the house at a breakneck pace.
"Harry, I don't know how to…" Brian tried to say but Harry waved him off.
"Don't worry about it. This wasn't just about you. He was using you to get to me. That shit I said about the drug dealer was real. I'll deal with that later but for now I need to get some sleep. I have to be in a race car in six hours." Harry said blasting across the bridge to Star Island and slamming on the breaks. He cruised around to his house at 20mph and found his three wives still up waiting for him.
"Harry, how did it go? Why were you so mad a half hour ago? We felt it over the bond." Abby asked pulling him into a hug.
"Agent Bilkins happened. He's been watching Brian for over a month. He's been biding his time until he could get us both in the same room. He's got a job he needs me to do for him but instead of calling like an adult he's playing games. So I explained to him who he was fucking with and he got the point." Harry said trying to calm them down.
"Harry shoved a gun in his face and told him he could blow his head off right there in the room and he could get away with it." Brian said still feeling shocked.
"He did what!?" Abby screeched.
"Thanks Brian, I don't regret getting you out of jail at all. Why don't you find a guest room and stop adding to the conversation." Harry said giving him a look that had Brian feeling very small.
"Right, sorry Harry." Brian said heading off down the hallway.
"You pulled a gun on an FBI agent?" Abby asked.
"Yes, look, I'm tired and pissed off, and I have to sleep. We will talk about this tomorrow. Right now I'm going to bed. So are all three of you. Now let's go." Harry said walking away from the group.
"Harry we need to talk about this." Abby said.
"Abby, if I don't sleep and I get in that car tomorrow I'm liable to crash and die. Do you want to push the matter any more tonight or would you like to have a civil conversation with me tomorrow after the race?" Harry asked feeling the crankiness that came with being overly tired.
"No, I think we'll talk tomorrow, but Harry this is no joke. We're going to have to make this right, you know that don't you." She said hugging him.
"I know, I regretted it the second I did it, but he pushed me. I had to push back and push hard enough to prove my point. Call him in the morning and invite him to the race. You talk to him and set it up. I know what he's working with but you should hear it too. Take Brian with you but don't let him fall for Bilkin's bullshit." Harry said dropping his clothes and getting into bed. "Fuck, it's fifteen after four. I have to be up in four and a half hours. Look I'm going to calming charm myself to sleep. See you in the morning." Harry said waving his hand in front of his face and passing out.
"It's creepy that he can do that to himself." Amelia said.
"I can't believe he shoved a gun in an FBI agent's face." Abby said shaking her head.
"Form what Harry said it sounded like he had it coming." Erika said.
"I think we will talk it over with the two of them in the morning. You know Harry can handle whatever they want. Now we all have to get up in a few hours, and we're sleeping for two. Now let's get back in bed." Amelia said as they got into the big bed around Harry.
