Heavy Traffic Ch. 03

"I'll get right on it," said Pierre.

"We suspect that some wholesale personnel changes have been going on in Sean's absence and I must tell you Mr. Pierre, Sean and I are both disappointed that we had to make this call to you. Your firm was entrusted to represent the interests of Sean Wallace and it appears that you have failed miserably. Your actions now will determine what the future holds for your entire firm. As Jeremy told you, you had better take me serious when I tell you that I am going to be looking into your failures much more thoroughly."

Sean spoke up, "Mr. Pierre, you had better make certain that everyone in your firm, as well as everyone who works for me recognizes that Amanda Wallace speaks with the full authority of the owner. If I hear of anyone questioning her authority it will be the last thing they do as either an employee or representative of my companies. Understood?

"Yes sir. I'll make certain that Mrs. Wallace's role is clearly communicated to everyone."

"Do you have Sean's cell phone number Mr. Pierre?" asked Amanda.

"Yes, it is in our files and in my own contact list."

Amanda wanted to drive their point home one last time, "Then I strongly suggest that you learn how to use it Mr. Pierre. If another major decision is made concerning our companies without us hearing from you first your days of practicing any type of law will be over. Have I made myself clear?"

"Completely Mrs. Wallace."

Amanda ended the call only seconds before she broke into laughter. Sean was proud of her and wanted her to know it. "Amanda, you are the best thing to come into my life that I can ever remember. Thank you."

"I feel the same way Sean. I would do anything for you. I hope you know that."

Mickey had finished her call just as Amanda was making this statement and she looked between Sean and Amanda trying to see what had happened while she had been distracted. "Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Sean and I were just discussing how many children we each wanted to have," teased Amanda.

"I see," said Mickey as she started eating her sandwich. "Well, a bus is on its way south. Our challenge is finding someplace for the girls to be processed that doesn't add to their fear and confusion. None of the medical facilities in the metro Atlanta area have space for 25 young girls and our Immigration Detention Center would be a pretty brutal environment considering what these girls have been through. We're trying to find a hotel or other facility that we would be able to secure for a couple of days."

"Does Mrs. Wallace want to work some more of her magic?" Sean asked. Mickey raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"What do you have in mind?" Amanda asked.

"I need to leave my phone open for a few minutes to get the roadblock coordinated, but if you'll look through the contact list and write down the information for Keith Longo, maybe you can call him on Mickey's phone. He is, or at least was, vice president of my hospitality division. We have multiple hotel and motel properties in the Atlanta area, so see if he can find us twenty to thirty rooms at one location that we can use while processing the girls. Mickey, do you think that would be enough rooms for the girls and your personnel?"

As Sean was finishing Amanda found Keith Longo's information and was writing it down. "Got it," she told Sean.

After considering the situation, Mickey answered Sean's question as she handed her cell phone over the seat to Amanda, "If we double some of the girls up, putting a younger girl with an older one whenever possible, twenty to thirty rooms will be more than adequate."

As she was preparing to dial the number she had for Keith Longo, Sean's cell phone rang. She decided to wait to hear about the roadblock before getting distracted.

Sean answered his phone, "Wallace." After listening for a few minutes he said, "Text the cell phone numbers for each of the truck drivers to the following number." He provided his Uncle Kirby's cell phone number. "They need to get in position now, so I suggest that they stay close to 475 and wait for the target to approach. Make certain that they space themselves out so they don't appear to be together until we make our move. Right, thanks."

Without saying anything to Mickey or Amanda, Sean called his Uncle Kirby.

"We're ready to implement a rescue operation," Sean said once Kirby was on the phone. "I have contacted our truck stop off exit 155 on interstate 75. Assuming the target truck uses the bypass around Macon, in approximately forty-five minutes we will have three of our own trucks positioned to box in the target truck along interstate 475. I can probably handle the captors in the blue van by myself, but if you could get me some additional support I would appreciate it. The cell phone numbers for the trucks will be texted to you, so I'll need you to coordinate a conference call between all of them, my cell phone, and anyone else that we can get involved in the rescue operation. We're going to have to finish our communications prior to initiating the actual roadblock because we will need the cell towers turned off to prevent any of the traders or someone in the truck raising an alarm farther down the distribution channel."

"What about the girls in the truck?" asked Kirby.

"Mickey Anderson already has a bus heading south from Atlanta and my darling wife Amanda is going to make hotel reservations for everyone."

"Your darling wife?" chuckled Kirby.

"I'll explain it later," said Sean. "Are you on board with the plan?"

"How do you want to handle other vehicles on the interstate?" asked Kirby.

"475 northbound has three lanes in the area I'm targeting. Our activity will tie up at least the right two lanes for the duration of the roadblock and rescue, but once we have the situation secured, we should be able to get the entire roadway cleared and all vehicles off to the right shoulder. It might be safer if the local authorities could block the highway for the takedown and then just the right lane for a while, at least until we can get the girls loaded onto their bus."

"I think we can stage some local marked cruisers out of sight on a few on-ramps so they can support you from behind when the time is right," said Kirby.

"That's what I was hoping," agreed Sean. "Let's get to work."