Chapter 10 - A Turn of Events

SPOV - Trenton

"Hola Estephania!" Hector greeted me as I entered the equipment room. "I have everything you need on the first table. There's clipboards, drafting paper, and blueprints of the store."

"Thanks Hector! Wish me luck!"I was picking up supplies to take with me to a client site to map out a potential installation in addition I would be trying to finalize the sale after my review. It was my first time leading a drafting meeting and I was quite nervous. This was also the first time Ranger would be with me and actually playing the role of bossman. It was now part of my evaluations beyond my competency exams.

We had discussed everything the Monday after Valentine's day. Essentially the competency exams that Tank set up my training for were so that I could work in the field. These evaluations would be with the core team and test my grasp on the business. I was curious why the other recruits didn't have to do this training but Ranger explained that he wanted me to eventually take a position on the leadership team. I guess that made sense with Ram, Cal, Hal, and Hector joining the core team but I still wasn't sure what unit he wanted me to take over.

I gathered the materials and made my way to the garage. I put everything in the trunk of one of the fleet vehicles and then waited for Ranger. Not even 30 seconds later he made his way to get into the passenger seat. He leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek before I pulled out of the garage. I drove over the Mr. Miata's Magic Emporium. He had 4 stores in New Jersey and additional ones in some other states. We didn't have Rangeman locations in those states so we wouldn't be contracting those. I had an idea on how to fix that if it was going to be an issue but I hadn't proposed it to the core team yet so I would hold off mentioning it today.

The store didn't actually sell magic materials other than a kids magic toy set. The store was actually a general store that sold all kinds of things like home decor, clothing, toys, stationary, and lots of things for the kitchen. They also had a restaurant attached that sold baked goods, sandwiches, soups, and salads. I made a mental note to pick some of that up for lunch. The chicken dumpling soup and popover combo sounded amazing.

Mr. Miata had been giving the guys trouble with landing the account and I suspected it had a lot to do with the Merry Men's appearance. Normally Ranger or Lester would do sales calls with the tricker customers but Ranger has been on his mission and Lester was already fielding several sales a week so Binkie and Zero had been handling Mr. Miata's account.

I walked in with Ranger a few steps behind me. I asked the customer service desk to inform Mr. Miata I had arrived for our meeting. The store was packed with shelves of things everywhere. It seemed like once you started it was laid out in a way that you'd have to walk through the entire store before being able to leave. As I was observing potential locations for cameras an older asian man came around the corner.

"Hello Mr. Miata. I am Stephanie Plum and this is Ranger Manoso. We represent Rangeman and will be assisting you today. How are you today?" He looked at me timidly but shook both of our hands before leading us to his office. I took the seat closer to the back wall and Ranger took the seat closer to the door both across from Mr. Miata's desk.

"Thank you for stopping by. I have been reviewing the proposal your colleagues left last time and I still don't think it is right for my stores. We have a lot of items for sale on the floor, many small and the way the store is laid out it can be very easy for someone to slip something into their pockets. The men you sent before suggested having either security cameras in almost every corner of the building or installing scanners at the entrance and exit locations that could detect if something wasn't purchased, kinda like at a mall. I don't believe those are the right choices. This is a family store. I just want to keep my product secure but not scare all of my customers and employees by making them feel like I'm watching their every movement." He looked between me and Ranger with a blank face clearly trying to make sure we understood that if we didn't change our plans he wouldn't be signing any contracts.

"I understand your concerns Mr. Miata I too don't like the feeling of being constantly watched. If you give me an hour on the floor I hope to determine a solution for you that can appease your concerns. Is this your family?" There was a picture of an older woman and three kids who looked to be about my age.

"Yes. That is my wife Marlene. The other three are my kids Donald, Kayla, and Charlie. They run my other stores and I hope to be able to get them set up with security as well. Although Charlie runs our New York locations, Kayla our Chicago location, and Donald our Philadelphia location. I understand you don't have Rangeman locations in those places so that also adds to why I'm not sure Rangeman is our best option." I nodded acknowledging his concerns while I marked down the cities of his other locations on my notepad.

"Unfortunately you are correct we don't have Rangeman locations in those areas but if you give me a few days I may be able to find a solution for that by way of recommendations for security companies in those areas or an internal solution." I nodded at Ranger indicating that I already had an idea but would need to discuss it privately first.

"For now I would like to take a walk through your store so that I can best amend the plans for this store."

"Yes, very well that would probably make sense." He responded, slipping back into his stoic business persona.

Me and Ranger got up and went back downstairs. We entered the beginning of the aisles as indicated by the arrows on the floor. I started looking up and down and moving items around on the shelves to determine the best places to place cameras. I noticed that the ceiling was unfinished so it had a more industrial feel. I looked at the blueprints that Binkie had drafted. They showed hundreds of cameras on the shelves pointing in all different directions. It made sense considering there were items everywhere but didn't do much to appease the customers. I stood in the aisles and made notes of the sight lines all of the cameras would need to cover if it were placed above where I was standing. Ranger was following behind me writing notes on his clipboard but overall not saying anything. It took us almost an hour to make it through and I ended up picking out new aprons for my mom, Val, and Mary Lou as gifts for their upcoming birthdays.

After I finished I had replaced the over 100 single point no motion cameras with twenty 360 degree cameras that could be placed just below the pipes. I noted that they would need to be mounted on short sticks that are drilled into the ceiling. Additionally I noted that the shaded coverings should be used so they more easily blended into the ceiling. There were 4 areas that were closet sized rooms that a single point camera could be installed across the aisle to monitor and could be hidden near the light fixtures. Overall I thought Mr. Miata would be happy with the new plans. I showed Ranger who agreed that everything looked good so we made our way back to the office to present it.

Mr. Miata was much happier with the results of my draft but still wanted a solution for his other stores before signing a contract. So with the promise to get him the information by the end of the week we left the store but not before getting lunch to go.

"You did great Babe. He was much happier with your solution. I'll have to have Binkie and Zero work with Hector or Manny on the newer camera options we offer now. It's clear they haven't been reading the updates to the product catalog. I'll have to look into if there's any other potential business we lost because of that. I also noticed that you may have had an idea for Mr. Miata's other stores."

"Yes, I was thinking. You have contacts all over the United States, right?" He nodded. "Well how many of those men or women have wanted to join rangeman but couldn't because you didn't have an office near them and they didn't want to move?"

"Maybe 35 a year but could be more given we don't recruit for the areas we don't have offices."

"Well what if we were to create a program where the men and women act as regional liaisons for Rangeman. The onboarding could be one month here in Trenton with Hector and Manny could train them on installs and then could send them materials they need for the sales they make. Then we could offer remote monitoring from our current offices. We would have to expand our control room if we begin to monitor across the country though. We wouldn't be able to offer patrol services but it's possible if there are enough people interested in a certain area that we could rent out a small office space and consider it a satellite office. We could offer private personal security details and background checks. Like if a client goes on vacation and wants protection in the new city. I know it probably seems like a lot and we probably don't have the resources to pull it off at this time so I won't be bad if you think I should just give Mr. Miata recommends other companies he could get similar services for his other stores."

"Babe, that's a great idea. I think you should pitch it at the leadership team meeting on Wednesday. You're right it's gonna be a lot of work but between you and me I've been trying to come up with a way to feasibly open additional branches. We have requests from over 30 cities interested in our services but with our current structure it is hard to find the resources and people to fulfill all of those requests."

"I'll get working on putting a presentation right away!" I drove back to Rangeman so we could eat our lunch together and take Rosie for a walk which had been our routine this past week.

TPOV - Conference Room 3

I was sitting in the conference room waiting for the leadership meeting to begin. Everyone was back from vacation and government missions now so business was back to usual. We sat through the normal business updates from everyone. Ranger then called the open business session open. He brought in Stephanie who pitched her ideas for the expansion of the business by basically creating field agents all around the country. We all loved the idea and voted to begin the work to create the business plans immediately with Stephanie leading the efforts before she left the meeting again. Next, Bobby made a pitch for changing suppliers for our medical supplies our medics keep in house. We weren't sure about the proposal so we asked Bobby to pull together some additional data points for next week's meeting. Hector took us through a proposal for some new camera systems we could add to our product line which we agreed to put in additional items on the agenda to review next week. Finally with all of the proposals done the meeting was ready to be adjourned. Before Ranger made his closing statements though I asked all the men to remain in the room as I had a non business topic to discuss.

"Gentlemen, I asked you to say as I have some news to share but I also need your help. I have decided to ask Lula to marry me, for real this time." Everyone started congratulating me so I went around the room and accepted the manly version of hugs from everyone. Once I returned to the front of the room I continued. "However, I need your help with how to do it." They all took a moment to ponder the questions.

"You could take her to bakery and have ring put in a donut or you could put it at bottom of champagne glass." Hector said.

"Nah it's Lula you gotta put it in a bucket of chicken if you do that." Ram replied. We all laughed a little knowing it was true.

"You could get it done in skywriting and take her on a picnic." Cal added.

"Those aren't bad but she's not really an outdoors person even if it is just a picnic and while my Lula loves her food I hoped to give her something more special."

"You could propose while in bed less time to have to wait to have sex to celebrate" Lester suggested followed with a wiggling of his eyebrows.

"Mats 0500" I growled out. Ranger leaned over and smacked him upside the head too.

"Is there anything that means a low to both of you?" Bobby asked.

"Well there was the restaurant I took her to when we first rekindled our relationship."

"Well then how about you tell her that you will be out of town. Then get Stephanie and Connie to take her to dinner there then after they sit down you come over as their waiter and surprise her with the proposal." Ranger suggested. I pondered the idea, deciding that it was perfect. I thought about other ways I could make it more special and decided that I would get one of her favorite local lounge singers to be the live entertainment at the restaurant that night. After a little more banter including Lester suggesting that maybe it was still too simple and I should propose while skydiving we wrapped up the meeting and went our separate ways.

RPOV - 5th Floor Office

After the core team meeting I was working on some paperwork in my office when my cell phone began to ring. I took it out to see that Julie was calling. That's weird. Normally she only calls after school and on Mondays and Thursdays.

"Yo, What's going on Mija are you hurt? Do you need help? Where are your bodyguards?"

"DAD!" Julie practically screamed to get me to stop questioning. "I'm okay physically at least." Not helping to calm my nerves. "I had something I needed to talk to you about. I know it's probably weird for you that I'm calling right now so if this isn't a good time let me know and I can call back and"

I cut her off. "Mija now is perfect now please tell me why you called." The line was silent for a minute before she resumed.

She sighed then everything came out at once "I got sent home early from school today… I was angry and there was this boy who was being mean to me about my clothes so my anger took over and I pushed him down. The vice principal saw the incident and took me to the principal's office. They called Rachel to come pick me up without even asking me what happened. They said something about no tolerance for bullying and a three day suspension." She paused gathering her emotions, I could tell she was holding back tears. "I was angry this morning because my jeans no longer fit me and my shirts never got washed. Daddy, I want to come and live with you. Rachel and Ron are having another child and they don't take care of me anymore. Everything I do good is ignored and everything I do bad is punished. They told me that with the baby on the way and Olivia and Ron Jr. that they are too busy to worry about me and it's time I learned to take care of myself. Now with my suspension they told me I can no longer go on the cruise with them and I have to stay home alone. I'm scared and they don't love me anymore." She sighed indicating she was done speaking.

"Mija, First I love you always remember that. I am frustrated that they have been pushing you away. But I can't just come and take you. I gave up my rights as your Father and I would be kidnapping you if I just took you. I would like to come down and talk with Rachel and Ron. When is your spring break?"

"It's next week"

"Okay. Do you think you can hold out for 3 more days? I can fly down and we can spend some time together for your spring break and discuss what's been going on. Then when they return from the cruise me and you can discuss with them what's best for you and your living arrangements."

"Okay Daddy. Thank you."

"No problem Mija, call me everyday until I get there.

"Okay Goodbye Dad" I hung up the phone and put my head in my hands. I love my daughter but we have only just started to get to know each other and I wasn't sure if I was ready to take on the duties of fatherhood. I also just figured everything out with Stephanie what if she doesn't want to be a mom. Also maybe things weren't actually so bad with Rachel and Ron. I had a lot to think about. I don't know how long I sat there thinking but I heard a light knock on my door and knew Stephanie was here.

"Hey you. It's almost 7. How long do you plan on working? I thought you might wanna join me for dinner." She asked while closing the door behind her but not looking up at me yet. "Oh I'm sorry Carlos I can leave if you were in the middle of something." She said as she turned to look at me and then attempted to turn back to the door. I stood up and grabbed her hand and gently led her over to my couch.

"Babe. Don't leave, we can have dinner together but I need to talk about something with you first." She looked apprehensive but I continued. I told her about the call from Julie and her asking me to take over guardianship. I also told her about going down for spring break next week. I knew she had her competency exams so she wouldn't be able to join us at least not right away without the other guys blaming me for favoritism.

"That's awful. I understand that you will need to do what you have too and if that results in you taking on fatherhood I will be right there with you. I know we haven't really talked about this but just know that no matter what happens I love you and I will do everything in my power to support you and Julie. What makes you so worried about being her guardian?"

"How did you know I was worried about that?"

"It's in your eyes. Now answer the question."

"Well I've only recently gotten use to including someone else in my decisions and my life and that person was you and your an adult perfectly capable of taking care of yourself but Julie is just a young girl we have only recently started to figure out what we have in common it's like going from distant cousin to parent. I also know nothing about taking care of a child. Sure I have lots of nieces and nephews but I've never been the one to take care of them." I paused to take gather Steph into my arms and hold her in my lap. "Well I also want to have kids with you someday and I don't want Julie to ever think that we are replacing or would forget her just like Rachel and Ron. I was in the middle of my siblings and often felt like I was overlooked which is how I ended up in Miami so I understand Julie's fears and I want to do the right thing."

"Carlos, let me start by saying you should tell Julie all of this. It will help you grow closer and I even think you can find a way to bond over being the neglected child as sad as that sounds. Second, when we have children of our own I promise to make sure that all of our children including Julie are loved unconditionally until that day I die. I think all of your worries are valid and you have every right to feel them but I'm not going anywhere and your relationship with Julie can only get better. I would love to be able to join you and will plan to fly down immediately after the exams if you need me but I believe in you to do this by yourself too."

"Thanks Babe." At that moment Binkie knocked on the door and Rosie ran in to the office.

"Hey boss, sorry to interrupt but I'm heading home for the day and Rosie was itching to see you guys."

"Thanks Binkie. How's her training going?" Steph asked while scooping up Rosie to cuddle in her arms.

"Really good she's finally starting to understand potty training and she already understands sit and come."

"That's Great! Did she already go for her walk or should we do that before heading up to seven?"

"I walked her before bringing her back to you. Ella said she set up the grass and pads I suggested in your apartment so you shouldn't have to worry about accidents too much but she'll likely have to go at least once still."

I thanked Binkie for the update and dismissed him for the day. Then me, Steph, and Rosie went upstairs for dinner and a quiet evening in. Painting class was canceled tonight because the teacher was out of town for her daughter's wedding.

JPOV - Joe's House

I can't believe after everything Stephanie put me through with Manoso she had the audacity to tell me to stop screwing around and grow up. Maybe if she had just settled down and matured enough to marry me we would have made it work. Instead I was forced to find companionship elsewhere and then Steph had the audacity to dump me because of it. I'll find a way to get back with Stephanie. Maybe one of my old navy buddies can help me out. I just need Manoso out of the way for a few days and I know I can get her back. She will be mine again. I got off my couch and looked for my little black book in my office. I kept all my contacts in it including my romantic flings, navy contacts, and names of people I've used as sources for my cases. Some people may think taking bribes and making payments for information made me a dirty cop but at the end of the day when my cases were solved I was actually a great cop and no one knew any better.