X-Ray Vision Ch. 07: Outreach

He protested, his face in the grass, despair in his voice.

"I'll talk! Gettoff! Ow! Ow!"

I looked at Dallas, got a nod, released him, stood.

He brought his arm down, didn't move for a beat, recovering. Rolled on his back, looked up at us, anguish on his face.

"You didn't have to bust my door! I was gonna appear! I gotta work, I can't go to jail!"

More shit like that, just driveling out his mouth, saying anything he thought we wanted to hear. Sad really, a guy over his head, wriggling like a rabbit trying to get out of a snare.

"Mr. Watson, I believe you. But we had an issue with your check, apparently some mistake at the bank? It didn't clear, so we came by. You clear this up, then we'll be on our way."

Said softly but somehow all the more dangerous for that. Dallas was good; got his attention, got him back on track.

"I gotta pay this guy, owed him for work on my place, wouldn't give me any slack! And they want to take my car!" The envelope on the dash had had a red stripe, a repossession notice likely.

"I can't work without my car!"

Dallas spoke again, quietly. "You can't work from a cell either, Mr. Watson. So let me tell you how this will go down.

"You will hand us the full amount of the bad check, in cash, now."

I pulled the check from my pocket, stamped by the bank, held it out to him. He took it without looking.

"I don't have that here!"

Dallas smiled. "So you have it in the bank? A savings account? Good, we can go there now, in my rig. You withdraw that much in cash, give it to my colleague here, and we'll call it a day."

"But my car!" He was more concerned about the car than jail. What people will do for their car.

...

So it went down like that. Mr. Watson in the back of Dallas' rig, a wire barrier between the back and the front, just like a big city cab or a cop car. I followed in the truck, parked at the bank, went in with them.

Mr. Watson tried something on with the bank teller, got a VP out to clear it up. Dallas didn't flinch, just produced some paper, the VP read it, nodded, went back to their office satisfied.

He folded then, I saw it in his posture, he was done. Told the cashier what he needed to, got cash counted out, Dallas scooped it up, said something polite, left him at the counter, despondent.

I fell in with her, we got to the sidewalk before saying anything else.

"Here's the money for the bond; count it, give me a receipt?"

I did that; it was right, and a receipt already in the bag, a pen too. Jillian knows her stuff, or the boss does anyway.

Taking her receipt Dallas handed me an invoice already filled out, I put in the bag too.

I wanted to say something more, but didn't. Intimidated I guess? Just watched her go to her rig, open the driver's door.

She paused, turned, looked back at me.

"Nick, is it? You did alright. Wouldn't mind working with you again."

I lit up like a kid at Christmas, unreasonably happy she knew my name. She thought I did alright! Didn't care I looked like a dweeb, just smiled and smiled.

Dallas laughed! got in, started that monster with a roar, drove off.

...

"She knows her business! All of it! Read the situation like a pro, flushed the perp, um, client, said what needed to be said.

"Drives a mean rig! Sounds menacing, I'm sure it's not a regular street engine, those SUVs go up to 600, 700 horsepower, one of those!"

Jillian was grinning, letting me get it all out, run down. She'd taken the bag to the boss, passed some words, come back smiling. And now I was babbling in her ear.

And hopping around, full of nervous energy, couldn't sit down. I made an effort to control that, but just succeeded in vibrating in place.

"Boss says to say Thanks! and Good job! Sounds like we won't have any more trouble there."

"You met Dallas? Then you know. She's a bad-ass bosslady, rigged for bear! That jacket! Those boots! She has an ankle holster! I saw it when I was kneeling on Mr. Watson, when he tried to flee, nothing in it today but jeeze!"

Jill raised her eyebrows at the 'kneeling on' part, smirked, imagining me as a bad-ass skip-trace I suppose.

"You're not gonna get much more done here today. And it's a slow day. Take a walk, burn that energy off. Maybe take the afternoon off, think about things, about what you want out of this.

"Boss says there could be more, if you're up to it! Cheaper to pay a regular employee for home visits than a contractor."

I nodded, not really hearing, just re-running the job through in my mind. Heard the 'take the afternoon off' part, grabbed my jacket, grinned at Kelly on the way out, she'd hear all about it tonight!

"She seemed to get along with that work ok! What do you think?" Kelly followed Nick out of the room with her eyes, something like pride in them.

Jill considered, sighed. "I'm thinking, I'm gonna have to fill three desks now."