Chapter 5
Cally had heard about this group from Moe.
They were tenacious and continued to attack until enough of their people were taken out that they could no longer find more.
Alaska had been hard for them to find people to work with.
It was not an easy place to live, with a lack of housing in the areas where Tyne operated.
While they still occasionally had trouble, the attacks had slowed down greatly.
Instead, they had moved on to other areas where they could cause trouble.
It was hard to figure out exactly what they wanted.
Now she could see how they got so many people and where the money came from.
This was being financed by large businesses, and the people came from job cutbacks in those businesses, or at least some of them did.
They would get little else from Jerry because he had collapsed, and all he could do was cry.
Anger would come later, but he couldn’t do anything to those who had done so much to him.
If she had been in his position, she would have been fighting mad, too.
It was possible that she could help him, and it depended on what his work record had looked like before they had started to mess with him.
She knew people who had businesses that needed computer specialists and might hire him.
“You’re going to try to help him, aren’t you?” Carlos asked.
“I’ll try. Helping others makes the world a better place.”
“Only if those others deserve it.”
“You don't think he does?” Cally asked.
“I don't know. I'm going to watch and see.”
If only she could take the time to watch, see, and know for sure before she did anything.
The problem was that it wouldn't work. She needed to try to help, then see if it worked.
Cally had been human most of her life, and now she wasn't. She'd always known that there were humans who were terrible, evil even.
Since she'd become paranormal, she could see that there were paranormals like that as well. That saying about all types being present and none missing hit home the more she saw in life. All she could do was test the water and see who made it and who didn’t.
This guy seemed okay but easily misled. She could put him on the right track, but there was no way of knowing if he would stay on it.
All she could do was hope that he would.
The council prison was not the right place for most of these guys.
It needed to be changed, or no one would ever be redeemed there.
She would give it a try for better or worse.
It was late when they turned in and early when they woke.
Work needed to be done, and they could rest later.
They got dressed and headed to the dining room to eat, then left for work.
Their list was waiting for them. Cally was glad that the other teams had been left alone, and they were averaging four locations a day.
She and Carlos were still in first place, averaging five.
If they were left alone, they might manage six or more.
Today was a good day, and they got six locations and were now headed home.
Skipping lunch had become a habit, but a bad one.
Her stomach rumbled, and she could hardly wait to eat.
Carlos’ phone rang as they sat at the dining room table. “It’s Tyne.”
“What’s happening now?”
“Cally questioned a prisoner, and he told us some things.” He went on to explain what Jerry had said.
“We’ve had some similar information,” Tyne admitted.
“What do we do?”
“Keep doing what you’re doing. In Alaska, we outwaited them. It may take some time.”
“That may be dangerous,” Carlos observed.
“It will be dangerous, but I know you can handle it.”
What that meant was that Tyne wanted Carlos to handle it.
Cally knew one reason Tyne was taking on all these partners was that he didn't want to handle the day-to-day issues himself. What he did want was some time with his family and for other people to handle the problems at their local security office. He’d done a lot of that as far as the Alaska office went, but he had stepped in when it got bad enough.
Carlos looked frustrated by the time he hung up. “What just happened?”
“You’ve been given permission to deal with the problem yourself.”
“Is that what happened? I had hoped for some help.” Carlos explained.
“I don't think you're getting any unless things get much worse.”
He sighed heavily. “I don't think I am either. We have no choice but to follow his advice and just be careful.”
“As long as they are only targeting us, the other teams shouldn't have any issues,” Cally observed.
“Is that likely to change?”
“Hard to say, but right now they don't seem to understand why they aren't able to take us out, so they're going to keep trying.”
“I prefer they come after us, but I worry that it could change,” Carlos observed.
“It's even possible that they might go after the office. Maybe you should add a security guard but let them do work in the office and take some of the office staff and spread them out over the Saturday and Sunday off days that we usually have.”
“I could see the value in that. We get a lot of calls on Saturday, especially, and many do not leave messages. I think they are annoyed that we quit at noon on Saturdays. On Sunday, most calls are from people with issues. A guard present all week sounds like a good thing.”
Cally thought so too because she thought that the office might be the next target.
They might believe that there would be money available in the office that they could take.
There were also females in the office, and some of these guys were criminals who attacked females and children.
That could make the office a target even better than the field personnel.
They discussed the plan and the schedule.
Carlos had several men who would do a good job in the office, and he would need to use all of them so they could cover every shift and every day.
It would not pay to leave anyone unprotected.
The secretaries would also be split up, covering different shifts and different days.
Cally thought some of them might like it, and some might not.
It was a shame that they had appointments in the office, and people would come in, only to find out, after doing something dangerous, that they weren't regular appointments.
She could only hope that whoever was there on sentry duty would know what to do and how to do it.
If anyone got hurt, she wouldn't be able to stand it.
There was little they could do right now, so they ate a big meal and talked.
Carlos had some ideas too, and he also worried that they might come out to the pack house and try to do something, but she was pretty sure that they were too cowardly to even attempt that.
They had finished eating, and they had only gotten a limited amount of sleep last night, so they got ready and went to bed.
The extra sleep would do them a world of good.
Cally put her mind to the issues at hand and hoped that some solutions would come to her while she slept.
It was once again a warning, and she hopped up and into the shower, hoping it would wake her up.
When she was dressed, she hurried to the dining room where he was waiting for her, and they ate breakfast.
“I never realized starting a new business could be so much trouble,” Cally admitted.
She didn't think it usually was, but in this case, everything had been made difficult.
They should be growing closer in their relationship, but instead, it seemed to be keeping them apart.
Other than the work they did every day, all they seemed to have time for was sleeping and eating.
This was not what she had expected when they had mated.
Maybe when they got through this, they would manage some kind of honeymoon, and things would be the way that they should have been now.
“Let’s go, Sweetheart,” Carlos said.
She followed him out to his truck, and he drove them to work.
As she went to the truck to supply it, she couldn't deny that she was nervous and looking for shadows.
No one seemed to be hiding out there, so it looked like, at this point, things were going okay.
Carlos got the list, and they headed to their first location.
It was aggravating because they wasted a lot of time double-checking, looking in the mirror, and wondering what might be out there looking for them.
They still managed to get five locations taken care of.
Signups were off the charts and would be very difficult to deal with without working some weekends.
Carlos would probably come to the same observation soon.
It wasn't her favorite way to spend a weekend, but it needed to be done, and they needed to catch up.
Cally scrolled through her cell phone as he drove them to their second location.
Tyne had found two more teams, and they had both been put to work.
That might help them catch up, but every team would have to do the best that they could.
The job that the big boss was doing was incredible, considering that he had added several more partnerships at the same time.