The Recruiter

This is the first chapter of a multi chapter story. there isn’t any sex in this first chapter, rather it sets a story in motion. if you are looking for a quick bang this one isn’t it.

*

Although it had been a while I knew this territory well. Recruiting an asset for Grey wasn’t something I thought I would do again. But I felt obligated. They had provided me with a good career. And while I was thankful for the years I had with them, I really was enjoying my early retirement life owning a small brewery and really wasn’t looking to jump back into this kind of work.

Never the less there I was on a pseudo vacation away from my life in the Pacific North West and the life I had made after my career with them as an intelligence agent. The business of being a security contractor is lucrative, and Grey did work for all branches of military as well as for various government agencies at home and abroad. They were always looking for talent and occasionally looked to me to help with that.

It wasn’t as hard as they made it out to be. Find someone that had skills that could transfer into what they needed. In this case a woman that could do what I did as an intelligence agent. My method was a little different than most I suppose. The majority of the female agents were recruited from law enforcement or military and a few were college athletes.

I liked to find a young woman that had some grit. And that sometimes took me through rural America. I had been successful recruiting from small colleges that had a scholastic rodeo program before. My thought was if I could find a girl with a high gpa and she could rope and ride, there was a good chance she already knew how to shoot and could handle herself In stressful situations.

I had a few prospects in law enforcement as well as some that were recommended from the Army that I had interviewed and they were ok. But that was the problem. They were just ok. They needed to be great. The ops they would be sent on were sometimes dangerous. Often it was in high stress situations that required them to think quick and keep a cool head. They also need to be smart, able to analyze and process information quickly.

This side of Texas is flat and desolate and it’s easy to find yourself going too fast. The next thing I knew I hit a cow. I came around a corner and there it was right in the middle of the road and in no hurry to not be. And that’s what brought me to this little service station.

“Excuse me, is there a mechanic on duty?” I ask the grey haired woman at the register.

“There is. I’m not sure who is working today but there is someone over there who can help you.” The woman looked at me over the top of her glasses and smiled as she pointed next door.

Walking out the door of the little convenience market I glanced over at my truck assessing the damage. Right head light, bumper and grill and radiator judging from the steam and the trail of green antifreeze winding its way down the pavement.

I walked into the mechanics shop through the bay door and there were sparks scattering on the floor and the electrical sound of an arc welder. A hooded leather clad figure was hunched over welding what looked like an exhaust pipe clamped to the bench in the back of the dimly lit little building. “I’ll be right with you.” A woman’s voice said from behind the welders hood.

“No problem, take your time.” I learned a long time ago that in these circumstances it didn’t pay to get in a hurry and try to rush people. My problem wasn’t the only one this person was going to have to deal with today. I turned around so I wasn’t looking at the arc flash that intermittently lit up a small area around the bench. I took the moment to size up this little town since it seemed I was going to have to find a place a place to stay the night.

I heard the welder stop and turned back around to see a leather gloved hand reach up and take off the tinted welders hood. A surprisingly pretty young lady stood up and looked past the grease smudge on her cheek while shaking off her bulky leather gloves and looked at me.

“Thanks for waiting, what can I do for you?” She had long dirty dishwater blonde hair that was mostly being held up on top of her head with a rubber band. It was a hot day and the ceiling fan doing it’s slow rotations wasn’t doing a lot to cool down the little metal building. The heat from the welder had caused a small stream of sweat to run off her neck and disappear between her breasts.

“Well I had a little problem with a cow in the road and well you can see my truck didn’t fair well.”

“Kill the cow?” She squinted as she looked out into the bright sun light to see my truck.

“It did. I’m going to need to settle up with the owner. If you know who that might be?

“That would be JD Perkins. He owns all the cattle around here. I’ll give you his number, he would appreciate a call.”

“Thank you. Now about my truck, is that something you can fix?”

She paused and looked like she was trying to determine if I was questioning her ability or her schedule. So she answered both. “It is, I can fit it in…there isn’t anything in here that can’t wait. I’m going to have to get parts but I should be able to get them tomorrow providing they have them.”

“Ok, well it looks like I’m going to need to get a room. I’m going to be here for…a couple of days?”

“Or more, I’m going to need to put your truck on the rack and see exactly what it needs. I’ll get on that this afternoon. And I’ll get parts coming tomorrow. I’m Cindy by the way.”

She held out her hand as she introduced her self with an easy smile.

I took her hand and said “I’m Jim, any recommendations on a place to stay Cindy?” As I shook her hand I couldn’t help but notice that while dirty it was surprisingly soft. I guess I expected rough and calloused given the kind of work she did.

“There’s a Motel 6 about a mile and a half down the road. If you want better than that you have your choice of a Holliday Inn, and a Ramada in the next town, but thats about twenty miles.

Or if a B&B is more your style the Olson’s ranch runs one and that’s really close, about a mile.”

“You know, the Olson’s ranch sounds like it’s a good option. It’s close to here, and with as much time as I have spent in hotels I’ll avoid them if I can. If you have their number I’ll see if they have a vacancy.”

“I can do better than that, give me a second.” Cindy pulled her cell phone out of the front pocket of her overalls and found the number in her contacts. As she held the phone to her ear she looked at me as if sizing me up or at least with some curiosity. “Joan, it’s Cindy. Hey do you have a room? I have a customer who’s going to be in town for a couple of days while I fix his truck and he needs a place to stay. Ok great I’ll drop him off. Thank you, bye.”

I was trying to to figure out if her making to call for me was a way to test the waters to see how budget conscious I was or if she was just being nice.

As it turned out she was being nice. We jumped into her truck and she dropped me off at the BB after a little small talk while we drove.

*******

The room at the ranch was surprisingly nice. A big suite and a very nice great room with a huge fireplace on the end of it. The couches were covered in brown and white cow hide and the rustic hardwood floors tied in with the massive beams in the ceiling.

The swimming pool outside with the adjoining jacuzzi would likely get more use on these hot summer days than the large fireplace. It never the less provided a nice ambiance.

I spent the afternoon tracking down the rancher who owned the cow I hit. He was surprisingly gracious and thanked me for contacting him. Supper was served in the dining room adjacent to the great room. There were a couple of other guests at dinner, a couple about my age who were dressed to the nines, suit and tie and and a party dress with all the pretentiousness you could fit into a dinner time conversation. The other couple were younger and seemed to be a little more my speed. He was a data analyst and her a stay at home mom. They were on a weekend getaway, I got the feeling it was a let’s give mom a break from the kids’ kind of weekend for them. They didn’t seem too impressed with the other couple either but went out of their way to be polite.

I excused myself before dessert saying I needed to finish some business. What I really wanted was to call Karen my wife. We both traveled apart from each other on occasion but it was getting to be less and less frequent. She wasn’t crazy about this trip being for Grey. My life as an operator seemed like a long time ago, but not all the memories of it are good ones. She would be happy to just let those memories fade away.

***

“…so this new prospect, is she cute?” Karen was fishing, she knew she could trust me. But she also knew I had a type I typically recruited.

“She is, and she has some grit. She doesn’t know what I do. I want to be able to check her out a little more before I go to the next phase. And honestly I’m not sure I want to.”

“Do you not think she can handle it?” Karen knew me well we had been married long enough for her to be able to read me.

“It’s not that, it’s getting harder and harder to put these girls into this job knowing what it can do to them. Knowing what they have to give up, and have to do. This one is a sweet girl.”

“It also can provide a great opportunity. If they manage their carrier right they’ll be set up with some money in the bank. It’s not like they’ll be making those sacrifices for ever.” And if they have to sleep with an occasional agent or a mark to make that happen…well it’s not the worst thing that can happen. I’ve slept with a few losers and didn’t get paid for it.” Karen laughed.

“It’s one thing to make a choice to sleep with someone who turns out to be a looser. But it’s a different dynamic to have to because you are trying to sell a cover or convince a mark your someone your not. A lot of women can’t separate it from who they really are.” I was questioning if I really wanted to do this again. Several years ago I was on a mission with a young woman and we were posing as a married couple and it became apparent we were under surveillance and needed to be convincing. We had a lot of sex over the course of a few weeks and afterwards it became hard to separate reality from acting for her. After the op she turned hard. Not just towards me, it seemed the job took something from her. It wasn’t fun to watch.

“Just be up front with her if it gets to the point where you think your going to want to move forward with her it will be her choice what she is willing to do, and how to handle it. She might need a little coaching and some direction. You’re good at that.”

“You’re right. It won’t be hard to spend a little more time with her in the next couple of days and hopefully I can wrap this up soon after and I’ll be home. Thanks babe, I love you.”

Karen has always had a good perspective on life. She being a business savvy woman who had been around the block a few times I relied on her to give me a wise woman’s point of view.

***

Walking into the little shop I could see Cindy was sitting at the little cluttered desk that was against the wall just a few feet inside the front door. A different day a different outfit for her. The worn Carhardt work pants she wore had tears above both knees exposing her tan legs and if they weren’t greasy I suppose girls her age would think they were stylish. She had tan arms and an ample chest that heaved as she exhaled as if she was trying to muster some patience for whoever she was on the phone with. She hung up the phone trying to not look exasperated by the conversation.

“Ok, there are parts waiting for me that I need to go pick up…” she said as she hung up the phone.

“Hey Baby Doll.” A dark haired young guy that looked to be about Cindy’s age walked in with way too much swagger for my taste, not to mention his assumption that we both were just waiting on him to come in and break the silence.

“I told you last week Ronnie, leave me alone. I’m not going out with you again, I don’t want to see you, and I don’t have time…”

Ronnie’s expression suddenly changed and you could see the anger instantly appear in his face as he quickened his step to catch up to a walking away Cindy. His dark eyes took on a steely focused look and he grabbed her by the arm and spun her around.

I was just pushing myself away from the wall I was leaning against to intervene when Cindy had her spring blade knife out of her pocket open and up to Donnie’s chin in an instant.

“Let go of my arm before I cut your fucking throat Ronnie.” Her words were spoken slow but deliberate. “I’m not going to say it again.” She pushed the point of the knife just enough into a spot under his chin to draw just a drop of blood as he recoiled.

“God Damn Cindy! What the fuck?!” Donnie instantly let go of Cindy and recoiled wiping the blood from his chin as he looked first at it on the back of his hand then at Cindy.

“You touch me again, I’ll finish the job and cut your balls off. Now leave.”

“I was just trying to get your attention was all… I didn’t mean…”

“GO!” Cindy raised the knife and started in his direction.”

Donnie looked at me acknowledging I was there for the first time as if I was going to come to his defense.

“I think I would just go Ronnie.” I told him. I leaned back against the wall, it seemed Cindy had the situation well in hand.

He hurried out of the shop and got in his old dirty pick up and made a fast retreat spinning the wheels without so much of even a glance our way.

Cindy gave me an embarrassed glance took in a breath and slowly exhaled before she looked at me more directly.

“I’m very sorry, as I was saying…there are parts waiting for me that I need to go pick up. So I’m going to be on my way. Do you need anything while I’m in town?”

“Actually I do, if there is a pharmacy I need to get a prescription filled. I’m hoping I can tag along. You can drop me off at the pharmacy and then pick me up after you have your parts. I mean if it’s not too much trouble?”

“Don’t be silly, It’s no trouble. And after that visit from Ronnie it’ll be nice to have someone to talk to so I don’t have to think about that asshole.”

We talked on the ride into town. She told me the story of how she got involved with Ronnie and how he became controlling and verbally abusive. It seemed things changed when they started having sex. She was surprisingly matter of fact about it. She said she wasn’t willing to have a man treat her that way and he wasn’t wanting to back off.

***

“Did you get them? Your prescriptions?”. Cindy pulled up and a cloud of dust kept moving past the truck when she stopped next to where I was standing in front of the pharmacy.

“Prescription, and yes I did. Thanks for letting me tag along.” I did my best to not notice the neckline of her tank top drop exposing a pair of very nice breasts that were being held up in her black bra when she leaned toward the passenger window to talk to me.

We pulled out and got on the highway heading back toward the shop.

“So what do you do? What brings you to West Texas? Your plates on your truck are Washington.”

When she asked it seemed there was some curiosity not just idle conversation.

“I’m a consultant. I recruit for a security provider.”

“You mean like security guards?” She looked a little puzzled when she asked.

“No, security guards and a security provider are two very different things. Security contractors or providers provide…assets or I guess agents maybe is a better term. People that assist government agencies with expertise, intelligence gathering and security in some situations.”

I could see Cindy was processing what I just said, trying to make sense of it.

“No shit! You mean like James Bond kind of stuff?”

I laughed. “All that stuff is Hollywood, it’s glamorized, sensationalized. It’s not really like that.

It’s intelligence gathering, putting eyes and ears where they’re needed…”

“Do these assets kill people?” She was watching the road when she said it.

“Typically no, thats not what they are officially sent out for, no.” I knew she wouldn’t let that go.

“Officially?” She looked over the top of her sunglasses when she said it. It was a look that asked if I was for real.

“Only when necessary and it fits a larger objective that wasn’t part our primary involvement.” I took my wallet out and thumbed through it looking for a business card.

“So you only kill people when it’s convenient? I mean that sounded like a corporate response.” She was looking straight ahead again.

“More like extremely necessary. Basically in the rare circumstance that we find ourselves in a situation that demands it.” I found my card and was holding it.

“So you’ve killed people like an assassin?” She was looking straight ahead at the road seemingly trying to discern if what I was saying had credibility.

“I killed a guy two years ago that was holding a gun to my wife’s head in an airport. I don’t think that qualifies as assassin.” I was looking straight ahead now trying not to wade too far into this one. Even after two years the nerves were still a little raw.

Now she was looking directly at me and paused before she said anything and searched me with her eyes.

“That was you? I remember that one, it was on the news. It happened in Washington… no Oregon. Then your wife was kidnaped or something a few months later, and you got her back in Washington.”

“Like I said sometimes it’s necessary.” I was trying to not let the emotion of those circumstances creep in.

“Damn right. I would want to know my husband would do the same thing.”

We drove the rest of the way to the shop in silence. I could tell Cindy was processing everything I had just told her. She dropped me off at the bed and breakfast and I left my card on the dash board of the truck.

***

On the way to Cindy’s shop the next morning I stopped by and picked up coffee and donuts. I was hoping she had a chance to think about our conversation yesterday. I wanted her to recognize the good an organization like Grey does.

“Good morning Cindy.” She was under the hood of my truck and straightened up when she heard me.

“Good morning.” She said with a smile. “What? Coffee and donuts for me?”

“It’s the least I can do. After you gave me a ride into town yesterday and had to suffer through my stories.” I handed her a coffee and opened the box of donuts and took one for myself.

“So I looked at your card you left in my truck, and because curiosity got the best of me I looked online at Grey’s website. I have to say pretty impressive.” Cindy took a sip of the coffee I brought her. “And you recruit for them. But here? I mean we are in West Texas, not exactly a huge talent pool.” She sipped her coffee again and took a bite of a donut.

“Yep, West Texas. And I’ve had good success on the road less traveled. I mean it led me to you right?”

Cindy let out a laugh. “That’s rich, me?” She smiled and shook her head to one side and gave me a look of disbelief. She also had a hint of a tone of it was something she wanted to believe.

“You.” I took a long swig of my coffee and looked for a tell in her expression.

Her face was fading into a look of disbelief. “How do I know you aren’t just looking to get laid or…or are just on some sort of…I don’t even know what. I’m not qualified, I’m a mechanic in this little dusty town.”

“Well first off I’m older than your dad, and what I see is a student that pulls a 4.3 grade point average and puts herself through school by being a mechanic in this dusty little town. She also is quick on her feet and can handle herself in stressful circumstances. She isn’t easily rattled, she knows how to handle her self.

As for me? Call them, I expect nothing less. You need to have your questions answered. I can tell you about Grey, you will have to figure out on your own if and when I have credibility.”