Some Days Are Diamonds; Some Aren't
By Beth Green
Part Three ***** As they still had a couple of hours of daylight left, Bobby suggested that they visit the original investigator, a guy by the name of Fred Friendly. Bobby's first impression on meeting the man was that never had someone had a name that was less appropriate. The guy was built like a sumo wrestler and tried to intimidate them with his towering size. After Bobby introduced himself and his partner, Friendly made a face like he'd just bitten into something sour.
"I'm Bobby Hobbes and this is my partner, Darien Fawkes. We're looking into the allegations that Calco Oil is having some quality control problems. I understand that you were responsible for the original investigation."
The man snarled, "Of course I'm responsible. When the big money men didn't like what I'd found, they set the dogs out." He looked at them with a superior sneer. "I guess that would be you."
Bobby wiped his hand over his face, the gesture giving him a moment to consider his words instead of doing what he wanted to do, which was smack the guy upside his head.
They spent the better part of an hour with Friendly, and came away with nothing more then a sense of frustration as he stonewalled them at every turn. It didn't help Bobby's mood any when Darien decided to put on a little show for him on the way back to the car. He went into some kind of hip hop dance shuffle thing, chanting, "Who let the dogs out? Uh, uh. Who let the dogs out?"
Bobby managed to resist the impulse to smack his partner upside his head. He suddenly realized the time. "Oh, crap! It's quarter to five. I've gotta call my mechanic, see if he'll leave the tires out where I can pick 'em up and let me pay him later."
By the time he hung up the phone, he was angry enough to want to hurt someone. Instead, he let loose with a string of curses, some of which Darien hadn't heard before. When he seemed calmer, Darien risked a comment. "So, I take it your tires aren't ready?"
Bobby angrily echoed his comment. "No, the tires aren't ready. You know what this means?"
Darien hazarded a guess. "You can't drive your van?"
This time, Bobby did swat him. "No! Yes! I mean, it means that I have to try to do a stakeout in your crappy car."
Not appreciating being the target for his partner's bad mood, Darien swatted him back. "It's not a crappy car. Besides, who says you're doing a stakeout in it?"
Bobby crossed his arms, as he reminded his partner of their plans for this evening. "Well, while you're out at the Plaza, enjoying an evening with Blondie, where do you think I'm gonna be? It'll look kind of funny, if you bring me along on your date. Besides, the way I'm dressed, I'd never make it past the doorman."
Darien countered, "I'm not going on a date. At least, I don't think I am." Nevertheless, he headed to his apartment and changed into something a little more formal for his evening appointment. Bobby assisted him with concealing a wire under his turtleneck shirt.
They arrived early for the meet. Bobby had Darien cruise the area around the hotel, looking for a concealed parking space. Unfortunately, it was pretty open. He ended up on a side street, hoping that the parked car with its lone occupant wouldn't be too obvious. Bobby slumped in his seat, listening in on his partner's date.
Darien spotted Blondie the minute he walked into the lobby. She was sitting in one of the overstuffed lounge chairs, nervously smoking a cigarette. She stubbed it out as he approached. Shaking his hand formally, she said, "Thank you for coming. I wasn't sure you would." She paced nervously. "This is such a mess. I don't know how I let things go this far." Her speech was frequently interrupted, as she startled every time someone came near them. There was a fair amount of pedestrian traffic in the lobby. While there was safety in numbers, there was also no privacy. Finally, she said, "Can we go somewhere a bit more private? Maybe in your car? I'm not sure, but I might have been followed."
With a quick nod of agreement, Darien led the way.
Somewhere in the middle of Blondie's speech, Bobby realized that he'd been spotted. He pulled his weapon when he recognized the approaching figure. It was Friendly, and he looked pissed. Keeping the weapon out of sight, he locked the doors, yelling at the man through the glass. Friendly must have had a hearing problem, as he kept going, "What? Huh?" to everything that Bobby said. Bobby was majorly pissed off. Darien and Blondie were on their way, and the woman would probably split when she saw Friendly.
Bobby rolled down the window, deciding that he was going to have to shoot the son of a bitch. No sooner was the window lowered then Friendly's huge hand shot out, wrapping itself around Bobby's neck. Bobby's fingers tightened on his gun as he managed to fire off a few rounds. They didn't faze Friendly. "Bastard must be wearing a vest," was Bobby's last thought before Friendly bashed his head against the frame of the car.
When Darien and Blondie arrived at the car, Darien was confused at the absence of his partner. He'd explained to Blondie that his partner was along to provide backup. So, where the hell was he? The figure that stepped out of the darkness behind them was way too big to be Bobby Hobbes. Despite being built like a tank, the guy had moved quickly and quietly and now held a gun to Blondie's head.
Friendly stated, "We're going for a little ride." Before Darien could ask, the man added, "Your partner decided to ride in the trunk."
Darien reflected that this was definitely an "Oh, crap," moment. The smart thing to do would be to just go invisible and get the hell out of Dodge. Visible or not, there was no way he was going to be able to physically overpower Goliath, there. Unfortunately, Darien was now one of the good guys, and that meant that you didn't leave your partner at the mercy of a 300 pound gorilla. With a sigh, he let himself be forced into the front seat where Friendly handcuffed him to the door.
Blondie was escorted to the driver's seat, while Friendly sat behind her with his weapon. During the drive out of town, Friendly and Blondie carried on a tense conversation. To hear Friendly tell it, he and Blondie had been having an affair. (Now, there was an idea that really turned Darien's stomach.) She was pissed at Mathers and, with Friendly's help, they'd set him up. For some reason, Blondie regretted that decision and decided to figuratively stab Friendly in the back. Friendly was understandably not a happy man. To Darien's relief, Friendly eventually declared that he was not a murderer. Darien's relief was short-lived, when the man added, "But there's a first time for everything." ***** continued in part 4
Part Three ***** As they still had a couple of hours of daylight left, Bobby suggested that they visit the original investigator, a guy by the name of Fred Friendly. Bobby's first impression on meeting the man was that never had someone had a name that was less appropriate. The guy was built like a sumo wrestler and tried to intimidate them with his towering size. After Bobby introduced himself and his partner, Friendly made a face like he'd just bitten into something sour.
"I'm Bobby Hobbes and this is my partner, Darien Fawkes. We're looking into the allegations that Calco Oil is having some quality control problems. I understand that you were responsible for the original investigation."
The man snarled, "Of course I'm responsible. When the big money men didn't like what I'd found, they set the dogs out." He looked at them with a superior sneer. "I guess that would be you."
Bobby wiped his hand over his face, the gesture giving him a moment to consider his words instead of doing what he wanted to do, which was smack the guy upside his head.
They spent the better part of an hour with Friendly, and came away with nothing more then a sense of frustration as he stonewalled them at every turn. It didn't help Bobby's mood any when Darien decided to put on a little show for him on the way back to the car. He went into some kind of hip hop dance shuffle thing, chanting, "Who let the dogs out? Uh, uh. Who let the dogs out?"
Bobby managed to resist the impulse to smack his partner upside his head. He suddenly realized the time. "Oh, crap! It's quarter to five. I've gotta call my mechanic, see if he'll leave the tires out where I can pick 'em up and let me pay him later."
By the time he hung up the phone, he was angry enough to want to hurt someone. Instead, he let loose with a string of curses, some of which Darien hadn't heard before. When he seemed calmer, Darien risked a comment. "So, I take it your tires aren't ready?"
Bobby angrily echoed his comment. "No, the tires aren't ready. You know what this means?"
Darien hazarded a guess. "You can't drive your van?"
This time, Bobby did swat him. "No! Yes! I mean, it means that I have to try to do a stakeout in your crappy car."
Not appreciating being the target for his partner's bad mood, Darien swatted him back. "It's not a crappy car. Besides, who says you're doing a stakeout in it?"
Bobby crossed his arms, as he reminded his partner of their plans for this evening. "Well, while you're out at the Plaza, enjoying an evening with Blondie, where do you think I'm gonna be? It'll look kind of funny, if you bring me along on your date. Besides, the way I'm dressed, I'd never make it past the doorman."
Darien countered, "I'm not going on a date. At least, I don't think I am." Nevertheless, he headed to his apartment and changed into something a little more formal for his evening appointment. Bobby assisted him with concealing a wire under his turtleneck shirt.
They arrived early for the meet. Bobby had Darien cruise the area around the hotel, looking for a concealed parking space. Unfortunately, it was pretty open. He ended up on a side street, hoping that the parked car with its lone occupant wouldn't be too obvious. Bobby slumped in his seat, listening in on his partner's date.
Darien spotted Blondie the minute he walked into the lobby. She was sitting in one of the overstuffed lounge chairs, nervously smoking a cigarette. She stubbed it out as he approached. Shaking his hand formally, she said, "Thank you for coming. I wasn't sure you would." She paced nervously. "This is such a mess. I don't know how I let things go this far." Her speech was frequently interrupted, as she startled every time someone came near them. There was a fair amount of pedestrian traffic in the lobby. While there was safety in numbers, there was also no privacy. Finally, she said, "Can we go somewhere a bit more private? Maybe in your car? I'm not sure, but I might have been followed."
With a quick nod of agreement, Darien led the way.
Somewhere in the middle of Blondie's speech, Bobby realized that he'd been spotted. He pulled his weapon when he recognized the approaching figure. It was Friendly, and he looked pissed. Keeping the weapon out of sight, he locked the doors, yelling at the man through the glass. Friendly must have had a hearing problem, as he kept going, "What? Huh?" to everything that Bobby said. Bobby was majorly pissed off. Darien and Blondie were on their way, and the woman would probably split when she saw Friendly.
Bobby rolled down the window, deciding that he was going to have to shoot the son of a bitch. No sooner was the window lowered then Friendly's huge hand shot out, wrapping itself around Bobby's neck. Bobby's fingers tightened on his gun as he managed to fire off a few rounds. They didn't faze Friendly. "Bastard must be wearing a vest," was Bobby's last thought before Friendly bashed his head against the frame of the car.
When Darien and Blondie arrived at the car, Darien was confused at the absence of his partner. He'd explained to Blondie that his partner was along to provide backup. So, where the hell was he? The figure that stepped out of the darkness behind them was way too big to be Bobby Hobbes. Despite being built like a tank, the guy had moved quickly and quietly and now held a gun to Blondie's head.
Friendly stated, "We're going for a little ride." Before Darien could ask, the man added, "Your partner decided to ride in the trunk."
Darien reflected that this was definitely an "Oh, crap," moment. The smart thing to do would be to just go invisible and get the hell out of Dodge. Visible or not, there was no way he was going to be able to physically overpower Goliath, there. Unfortunately, Darien was now one of the good guys, and that meant that you didn't leave your partner at the mercy of a 300 pound gorilla. With a sigh, he let himself be forced into the front seat where Friendly handcuffed him to the door.
Blondie was escorted to the driver's seat, while Friendly sat behind her with his weapon. During the drive out of town, Friendly and Blondie carried on a tense conversation. To hear Friendly tell it, he and Blondie had been having an affair. (Now, there was an idea that really turned Darien's stomach.) She was pissed at Mathers and, with Friendly's help, they'd set him up. For some reason, Blondie regretted that decision and decided to figuratively stab Friendly in the back. Friendly was understandably not a happy man. To Darien's relief, Friendly eventually declared that he was not a murderer. Darien's relief was short-lived, when the man added, "But there's a first time for everything." ***** continued in part 4