Albert Kloughn received an email for participation in a hiring spree. He had to check in at 611 Hamilton to write a competency exam on January 5th at 9 am. Albert googled the address to double-check the location. It was an office building a block away from Vincent Plum Bonds. He checked to see where he could park his car on that day. "What are you looking at?" Valerie asked her husband.

He turned the monitor for Valerie to look at the screen. "I was reading an email. It seems too good to be true," Albert replied. "Give me some time to research the company." Valerie kissed Albert's balding head before going into the kitchen to cook dinner. Albert googled Pimento Grove Assimilations Inc. He worked through the company profile, then smiled. Before accepting the offer, he called Stephanie.

"Yo, Val," Stephanie answered. "I'm working at Rangeman today."

"Oh. It's Al," he replied. Stephanie looked at her phone. "I was researching Pimento Grove Assimilations Inc. and came across the name of Wascally Wabbit as the CEO. It sounds like something Lester would do. Could you check with Lester to see if Pimento Grove is a legitimate company?"

Stephanie laughed for a few minutes. Albert patiently waited for Stephanie to reply. "Did you discover anything else?" she asked.

Albert hovered over the email address. He sighed, then said, "Never mind. I've got my answer. Lester's pulling my leg again."

"What makes you think that?" Stephanie wasn't aware of any prank Lester was pulling, but he emailed some potential hires to write an examination for Rangeman's law team.

"The embedded email address is sexysantos at gmail dot com. I almost fell for his trap," Albert replied.

Stephanie waved at Lester. She wanted to know if the email was legitimate. "Forward the email to me, and I'll check it out. I'll call you in a few minutes." Albert agreed to wait for Stephanie to check with Lester.

"What's up?" Lester asked when he appeared at Stephanie's desk. She pointed to the email and described her conversation with Albert Kloughn. Stephanie waited for Lester to explain himself. "Ah. I see Albert Kloughn is checking his facts. He passed the first test. Tell him to arrive at 611 Haywood on January 5th to write the competency exam."

"Your email has Hamilton," Stephanie said. She narrowed her eyes at Lester. "Are you going to see how many suckers show up?"

"Yup. We want the men or women who follow the breadcrumbs to me," Lester explained without shame. "It appears Albert Kloughn is smarter than I thought." Lester waited while Stephanie called Albert with the news.

"So the email was a joke?" Albert asked.

"Not exactly. Lester wanted the potential applicants to follow the clues to obtain the true location. It was a test you passed. But I'm afraid you do have to write the competency test," Stephanie explained. "The correct location is on Haywood, not Hamilton, but the street number is the same."

"That's not a problem, Steph. I may come across as a blundering buffoon, but I went to law school. It wasn't at a prestigious college. I passed the bar exam for New Jersey," Albert defensively said. "Some people thought I got it from a cereal box."

"You can't tell anyone where you're writing the test or its affiliation with Rangeman," Stephanie warned. Albert agreed to the terms.

Valerie gave Albert a glass of iced tea. "Was the email legitimate?"

"It was a test," Albert replied.

"Did you pass?" Valerie asked, smiling.

"Yes, sweetheart. I passed."

"That's my cuddly umpkins," she replied. Albert grimaced at the nickname. He didn't know how to tell her he didn't like that name. Valerie caught his expression. "Al? I thought you liked that pet name."

"No, Val. I don't. I never liked it, but I didn't want to upset you," Albert confessed.

"Darling, you should have said something sooner." Valerie sat beside her husband. "I don't want to embarrass you." She wrapped her arms around Albert. He rubbed her stomach and felt his son kick his hand. "Bert should be our last child," Valerie said.

"I agree. We're giving your father the grandson he wanted. I'm barely making enough to pay our bills." He knew Stephanie was supplementing his income, but he didn't want to tell Valerie he was aware. Albert wanted to support his family without assistance from anyone.

He had applied to every law firm in Trenton and surrounding areas, but nobody wanted to hire a minnow to work in an ocean of sharks. Albert had to grow a thicker skin. It wouldn't happen overnight, but he was willing to give it a shot. "Dinner will be ready in an hour," Valerie said as she stood.

Albert went to the den to grab his law books. He flipped open a page to read. A soft knock interrupted his perusal of contract law. "Al, could Angie and I help you study?" Mary Alice timidly asked.

"Sure. Some of the words might be difficult to pronounce," he replied.

Mary Alice grinned. "That's what the speech app is for." She held up the iPad she got from Stephanie for her birthday. "Aunt Stephie's friend, Hector, loaded my iPad with cool apps."

Albert grinned at his stepdaughters. They were remarkable girls. Angie and Mary Alice asked Albert questions from the book. Both girls were amazed at how much Albert knew about the law. Angie hoped studying would help Albert get a steady job. She missed her dance classes.

On January 5th Albert Kloughn went to 611 Haywood to write the competency exam. Albert saw only one other man inside the room. He smiled at the second applicant, then took a seat at the back of the room. Lester Santos and another Rangeman employee entered the room.

"Welcome to Rangeman recruiting. My name is Chester Fowler. You are here to write a competency and LSAT-type examination for the opportunity to work at Rangeman." Chester paused to pass the two men the first test. "You have one hour to answer the questions. Time starts now."

Albert smiled as he whipped through the test. Every question involved contracts. He read the text added on the final page and underlined several lines. Albert spent more time on the three practical questions. In answer to the question of what he would change in the provided text, Albert wrote, "Too many loopholes. I would specify the terms instead of generalizing them. Otherwise, it leaves too much for interpretation and manipulation."

"What do you like/hate about writing contracts?" was the final question. Albert smiled as he wrote his reply. He said the process was tedious, though it depended on negotiations. A well-written contract with loopholes to protect the company's interest was standard. The lawyer representing the employee should look for those loopholes to plug. If done well, the employee and employer mutually agree to all the terms within the contract. Albert specifically mentioned the text in the excerpt for the following question as an example to describe that he would advise his client to decline the terms, then negotiate an amicable contract.

"Time," Chester Fowler called. Albert smiled as he passed his test to Lester. "You have two hours to answer the LSAT questions. To receive an interview, you must get at least 48 out of 50 answers correct. Time starts now."

Albert read the first question: He had to select the best answer for each question.

French divers recently found a large cave along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The cave is accessible only through an underwater tunnel. The interior of the cave is completely filled with seawater and contains numerous large stalagmites, which are stony pillars that form when drops of water fall repeatedly on a single spot on a cave floor, leaving behind mineral depths that accumulate over time.

The information above most strongly supports which one of the following?

The Mediterranean Sea was at a higher level in the past than it is now.

The water level within the cave is higher now than it once was.

The French divers were the first people who knew that the tunnel leading to the cave existed.

There was once an entrance to the cave besides the underwater tunnel.

Seawater in the Mediterranean has a lower mineral content now than it had when the stalagmites were being formed.

After a few seconds of thought, Albert circled B. He continued through the test and smiled as he circled each answer. Unlike the LSAT exam, Albert was able to review the entire test before Chester called the time.

"Chester and I will review the scores and contact the applicants with the required grades. Thank you for your time. Have a great day, men," Lester said, dismissing them.

Albert waved at Lester before leaving the room. "Man, that was brutal. I don't recall the LSATs being that hard," the other man told Albert.

"What do you mean? I found them easy," Albert said, shrugging. "We know what that means."

"Yup. You either smoked or bombed the test," the other man replied. "Good luck."

"You too." Albert resisted the urge to skip to the car. He felt confident.

"Holy shit," Lester said as he scored the second test. "Raymond Stiles only scored fifty percent while Albert Kloughn scored one hundred. I thought Albert got his degree from a cereal box."

"Albert scored high on the competency test too. I say we forgo the interview and hire the man," Chester said.

"But Albert waffles. He doesn't know how to argue his case," Lester replied. "Albert isn't the man you want defending you in court."

"Ah. Did Albert get his degree at Rutgers College?" Chester asked. Lester read the background education files he compiled for the two men, then nodded. "Did he have Dietrich Potter?" Once again, Lester nodded. "Professor Potter advocated criminal law. He said the only way to make money was through defending criminals. I bet Albert saw the dollar signs instead of practicing the law, where he excelled."

"I wonder if we could let him review my government contract to see if there are any loopholes my lawyer missed," Lester said. Lester wanted the Rangeman lawyers to review the document, but they were too busy writing and negotiating client contracts. Chester agreed with Lester. He wanted to see if Albert could find the same issues he detected in the contract. Lester decided to call Albert for an interview. "Hello, Albert. It's Lester Santos calling. Are you able to drop by Rangeman in an hour?"

Albert was shocked. He didn't expect to get an interview that soon. "Yes. Where do I park?"

"Pull up to the gate off Haywood. I'll tell Binkie to let you in," Lester said.

"Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Santos," Albert replied. He promised to be there in an hour for the interview. Albert got home within a few minutes. Valerie rushed to the kitchen to grab lunch when Albert entered the house.

"Well?" Valerie asked.

"I got an interview," Albert replied. "They were impressed with my test results."

"I'm proud of you, Al. I can't wait to tell mother," Valerie said. Albert made her promise to keep the news to herself. He wanted to get through the interview without Helen interfering. Albert knew Helen would order Stephanie to get involved. He had to get the job based on his own merits, not because his sister-in-law pulled strings to get the job.

Albert ate the grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. Valerie made a simple lunch, but he thoroughly enjoyed it. He knew Rangeman had a rigorous fitness and health protocol he would be expected to follow. "Baby steps," he thought. Albert would do anything to provide a steady income for his family.

Nearly a half hour later, Albert pulled onto the ramp at Rangeman. He rolled down the window for the man monitoring the gate to see his face. The metal gate moved sideways against the wall, opening wide enough for him to pass through. Albert parked in the first visitor spot on the right. He exited his car and stood in front of the elevator. The doors opened. Albert stepped into the cart. It automatically moved to the second floor. He was greeted by Lester and Chester when the door opened.

"Thank you for coming," Lester said, extending his hand. Albert wiped his sweaty palm on his dress pants before shaking Lester's hand. He shook Chester's hand, then followed them into an interview room. "I have one more document for you to review." Albert knew it was the final test. He hoped he would pass. Working at Rangeman would provide him with enough money to support his wife and children. Maybe he could adopt Angie and Mary Alice since Steve relinquished his parental rights.

Albert sat in a chair to review the contract. "It's a copy. Feel free to mark it up," Chester said, passing Albert a red pen. Lester knew his contract stipulated he could get recalled into service up to ten years after undercover recon missions. His contract ended a year before, but his first undercover mission was only four years earlier. Meaning, Lester could get asked, by the army, to resume a previous cover at any time during the next six years.

Shaking his head, Albert underlined a sentence. He wrote, "Failure to comply would involve repayment of all monies and compensation received for the undercover mission." It wasn't specifically spelled out in those words, but the meaning was no less the same. Lester raised an eyebrow. Albert smiled when he read another paragraph. "Loophole - you can exploit this to override the compensation reversal previously stipulated. Find a suitable replacement, and they can't force your participation."

Albert read the following page and noted, "Do not sign a new contract. It's a trap. They want you to sign on for another term. Revoking compensation is a tactic used to force your hand." He wrote a few more notes on the contract before flipping to the final page. "Whoever told you to sign this contract either did not read the details or did not have your best interests in mind. I would have renegotiated the compensation reversals, resuming previous covers and signing a new contract stipulation to void this one."

He passed the contract to Chester. After reading Albert's notes, Chester told Lester, "Albert found a loophole. I wonder if the other men have a similar statement in their government contracts."

"I don't know, but we should find out." Lester got on the phone to call Ranger. Speaking in Spanish, Lester told Ranger everything Albert discovered in the government contract. He waited a few minutes for Ranger, Tank and Bobby to arrive in the interview room.

"Welcome to Rangeman," Ranger told Albert.

"I got the job?" Albert asked, surprised.

"Yes. I want you to start work tomorrow," Ranger replied. Tank set documents on the table for Albert to sign. He carefully read them before saying he wanted to negotiate some of the terms. Ranger tipped his head back and laughed.

"What do you want to change?" Chester asked.

"My wife is due in twelve weeks. When she delivers our son, I want two weeks off to help Valerie with the girls. It's only until our son gets on a schedule she could manage without my assistance. I would like the two oldest girls, Angie and Mary Alice, to come to Rangeman after school, on occasion, to work on their homework to give Valerie a break," Albert replied.

"We could have the Rangeman on patrol pick them up from school to bring them here," Ranger said. "The girls could come to Rangeman on school holidays or you could use them as vacation days to stay home." Ranger nodded at Chester to change the document. Chester left after a few minutes, then returned with a new contract.

Albert was surprised they raised the salary by 10000 per year. He initialed in the margin next to the compensation. Albert agreed to exercise four hours per week and spend three hours per week in the gun range. He agreed to work the odd monitor shift and weekends to cover vacations. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but why did you increase the salary?" Albert asked after signing the documents. Ranger and Tank signed the copies, then passed a copy to Albert.

"You caught loopholes that our top lawyers missed," Ranger said. "We need your attention to detail to close loopholes in our client contracts and detect them in our government ones. You need to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Anything you learn within the walls of this building or Rangeman business operations is confidential." Albert signed the documents.

"I know not to say anything to Valerie," Albert replied. "She only knew about my cases because the Burg grapevine worked its magic." He understood the importance of confidentiality. Now that Stephanie was free from supplementing his income, Albert had to work on growing thicker skin. He was certain the men at Rangeman would help him.