Taking Texas By Storm
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 31 

The Sting Operation

I sent all of my staff who were married, home, with the exception of Rob Sheraton, and I had Joe get in touch with Todd Withem, so we would have a legal person present for what we planned to do.

We went to the foyer and were in Myrabelle’s office, watching the people leave for the day.  Carlos leaned over to me, “President Waller, that’s the slob, Mr. Gilbert, who is being processed out, now.”

I looked at the man, “He sure is a big man.”

Carlos took a deep breath, “In more ways than you’ll ever know, sir.”

I started to ask Carlos what he meant by that comment, but was stopped when Myrabelle came into the room, “Gilbert is gone, so let’s go secure the receiving area.  I’ve notified the police department about what we think is going to happen, tonight.  They will have two cruisers in the area.  The department is sending a Captain Silvers, so he can oversee what happens during the heist.”

Myrabelle and Carlos took us to make sure the receiving area and the warehouse area were secure.  Having never been in the area before, the other people and I were amazed by what we saw.  Rob asked, “Why do we need all of these things?  Who’s going to use them?”

Todd grinned, “After tonight, President Waller, I’m guessing that you will have enough information to sue people, right and left.”

After we made sure the receiving area was secure, Grant and Joe decided to go get some sandwiches.  Oz left, saying he would be right back.

At six thirty, an officer arrived, “Good evening, I’m John Silvers.  I’m here to conduct the sting operation that I understand is about to happen, tonight.”

I went and shook the gentleman’s hand, “Captain Silvers, thanks for coming.  I’m the President of Shell Oil, Ed Waller.”

Captain Silvers backed away, “Myrabelle, is this man really the President of Shell Oil?  He looks as if he’s still wet behind the ears.”

Myrabelle laughed, “Johnny, my boy, Mr. Waller is indeed the president, and I would suggest you not cross him.  How do you want to proceed?”

The Captain laughed, “I assume that you have secured the suspected crime scene, to be.”

Myrabelle nodded and Captain turned to me, “It’s obvious that the people shouldn’t see me until the appropriate time.  President Waller, I suggest that you, and anyone whom the people who are about to invade the confines of One Shell Place might recognize, become invisible.”

“Where do you suggest we go?  The only other person whom they might recognize is Carlos.”

Captain Silver looked at Myrabelle, “Who’s going to be manning the security check point here when someone from the warehouse department arrives?”

Oz had appeared in his security uniform.  “Mr. Thompson will be on duty, and will alert you when the unwanted guests arrive.  I have a digital camera and a video camera so you can take pictures and record what is happening.  My people and I will be standing by to provide backup, should you need us.  Oz is wired so that President Waller will be able to hear what is happening at the check-in station.  Mr. Waller, put in this ear piece.”

Carlos looked at me, “President Waller, I’m petrified.  What if something goes wrong?  My ass is going to be grass.  The goons will make me pay big time.”

I was about to respond when we walked into the receiving area and heard someone or something hitting the door to receiving bay two.  Captain Silvers put his finger to his lips signifying that we should be quiet.

We heard a voice yelling, “I know that I left this fucking door unlocked.  Those meddling security people must have locked it.  I’ll have to go around to the main entrance to get in. Shit, I forgot to bring my security pass with me.  They won’t let me in without it.  Does anyone have their security badge with them?”

We heard a voice saying, “I have mine with me, in my van.  What do you want me to do?”

“Numb Nuts, I want you to go the security check point and tell them that you need to get some paperwork that you forgot to take home, then get in, and open this damn door.”

It was about ten minutes later I heard, “Mr. Cutler, what brings you here, this time of night?”

“The boss told me to do something and I totally spaced it off.  If I don’t get it done tonight, I can kiss my job goodbye.  I should only be in the receiving area a minute or two.”

We watched as the man came into the area and opened the lock to the sliding overhead door.  When the door was opened, he looked at Mr. Gilbert, “You asshole, the door was locked and the safety catch was on.”

“Saul, you’re going to pay for talking to me like that.  Everyone knows that the Spic kid has been dicking you, because you can’t take a real man.  Here, take this folder and go out through the security check point so they don’t suspect that something is happening, down here.  These people here at Shell are idiots.”

As soon as Mr. Cutler had exited the building, Oz appeared in the area where we were concealed.  Joe was taking pictures and Grant was making the video.

We watched as seven men methodically loaded a van about the size of UPS truck until it couldn’t hold anymore.  Mr. Gilbert looked around, “We might as well fill our personal vehicles with some of these computers.  There are also a couple big screen televisions that we might as well sell and make some money to supplement the meager wages we make here at this rinky dink company.”

Mr. Gilbert announced, “I think we need to get out of here for tonight. This should give us enough to keep us going for a while.  I’ll close up and come out the self locking door.”

Captain Silver had notified his people to move in and sirens and flashing lights were everywhere. “Not, so fast Mr. Gilbert, you’re all under arrest, for theft.  Your people will be bringing the things that are in your vehicles, and we’ll be making an inventory of them.  It is obvious to me that, from what I have seen, you all will be spending a nice amount of time in the slammer.”

Gilbert wheeled around, “We’re not unloading nothing.  We weren’t doing anything illegal.  These people paid for this junk.”

Captain Silver pointed his finger, “People, read these thieves their rights.  We’ll be there to file formal charges, as soon as we can do an accurate inventory of what they were attempting to steal.  It would be wise to have prints made of the photos and video, because there isn’t a respectable lawyer who would want to represent these people, after what we witnessed tonight.”

After the seven men were led away, I looked at Carlos, “You’re the only person who knows what goes on in this department.  What do we do now, to make an inventory of what they were trying to steal?”

 

Carlos looked at me, “Sir, there are people who log the incoming merchandise in on the computer.  I’m not very proficient on the computer.  Does anyone know how to operate the computer, because it would make it a lot easier than doing the inventory by hand?”

I pointed to Joe and Grant, “These guys are computer whizzes.  Show us what to do.”

That took two of our unloaders, and Oz declared, “This sucks, we need some more help, or we’ll be here all night.  I’ll be right back.”

I was starting to agree with what Oz had said.  I didn’t realize how out of shape I was.  I think Todd and Rob were feeling the same way.  Fortunately, Oz returned with ten young guys from the cleaning crew who made short work of unloading the vehicles.  Oz sniffed, “Look, you people, if you need something done right, call the hotelman.  By the way, boss, I promised these guys two hours of overtime pay to do the work that you wimps couldn’t handle.  Rob, we need to be going.  Your son is driving the Wakefields bananas.”

Joe and Grant made two listings of what the thieves had tried to take.  They gave one to Captain Silvers and the other to Todd Withem.  Todd frowned, “It would be so much better, if we were to have what these items actually cost”

Carlos grinned, “I can get that information for you.”

I nodded, “Todd, give your list to Carlos and he’ll be able to take care of getting the information for you, tomorrow.”

 

After we made sure the receiving area was secure, we went to the lobby and I had Joe and Grant flag the people who worked in the receiving and warehouse department, to indicate that they would be placed on furlough, without pay, until further notice.

I suddenly realized that I was exhausted.  I went to the security person and asked, “Would you please call the Motor Pool and inform them that I’m ready to go home?”

The young man on the security desk made the call, “President Waller, your ride will be at the side door, shortly.”

“Carlos, do you need a ride home?”

Carlos shook his head no, “I can always walk home.  There aren’t many buses going to be running at this time of day.”

“Come on, we’ll drop you off.  It can’t be too far if you were going to walk.”

When Carlos and I exited the side door, a handsome young man was waiting for us, “Would you please inform President Waller that his ride is here.  I know the Spic isn’t the president and you’re two young and good looking to be a grouchy president, and besides you‘re not even wearing a tie or a jacket.”

Carlos laughed, “Fredrico, you’d better be careful, or you’ll get your ass canned.”

Fredrico smirked, “Better canned than jammed like your’s probably was today.  Why are you palling around with the president, at this time of night, anyway?  Don’t tell me you’re servicing him, too?”

Carlos opened the door to the back seat for me, “Don’t pay any attention to Mafia Boy, Mr. Waller.  I’ll ride in front to make sure he keeps his mind on the road.”

After I had given Fredrico the directions to where I lived, I asked, “Carlos, where do you want us to drop you.”

Fredrico chuckled, “Don’t worry, signore, I’m make sure that Carlos is safe and sound.  If we drop him off early, I wouldn’t know what to expect when I got home.”

I started to laugh, “I gather you two must be much more than friends.  You act like an old married couple.”

Carlos turned around, “President Waller, we both worked in the Receiving and Warehouse department, up until about six months ago until Freddie was able to get transferred to the Motor Pool Department.  If you would demote him and put him back into the receiving area, we could have the information that Mr. Withem wants, in no time.   With a little help, we could have a complete inventory, on line, of what’s available in the warehouse, so we wouldn’t have so much inventory that isn‘t being used or that people have no idea we have.  Fredrico is a master on the computer and I understand the stock numbers and storage system.”

I frowned, “You guys are evading my question.”

Fredrico answered, “Yes, we’re shacking up.  Does that answer your question?”

I sniffed, “Yes, but I have a bunch more questions.  They’ll have to wait until tomorrow.  I want the two of you in my office tomorrow morning at seven thirty, sharp.”

When we pulled in front of the house, the parents, Brahim, Allie and Dieter were sitting on the porch.”

Carlos asked, “President Waller, do you live with your parents?”

“Nope, my parents are visiting us.  They will be leaving in the morning.  The young man sitting on the porch with dark hair is my significant other.  The youngest boy is his brother, but he calls me Dad.  The teenager is visiting us from Connecticut.”

“I’ll talk to you in the morning at seven thirty, sharp.”

Carlos climbed out of the car and opened my door.  Fredrico had exited the car and was standing beside Carlos.  Both guys bowed as I exited the car.

I looked at the two guys, “Up yours.”

Fredrico answered, “Not in this lifetime, President Waller.”

When I arrived at the porch, the third degree started.  Dad began, “What was happening that was so important that you aren’t getting home until now.  Presidents of corporations don’t work this hard.  They make everyone else do all the work.”

I fell against Brahim, “Dad, all the eyes of Texas are going to be upon me after today.  Let me explain why I’m so late.”

After I explained what had happened, Allie lit into me, “Dad, there was absolutely no reason why you should have been there.  Why didn’t you let the people who work for you handle the situation?  Don’t you trust them?”

“Allie, they are very good people, but most of them have families that they need to take care of.  They’ve been working a lot of overtime to make things work when I‘ve been gone.”  

Allie sat up, “So are you saying that Brahim, me and your parents aren’t family, or are you saying your job is more important than us?”

Talk about taking the wind out of my sails.  Allie just did that while grinding a knife into my midsection.  Dad added salt to my wound, “Ed, Allie is right.  You need to find some good people you can trust to handle the day to day routine.  There is no way that you should have been involved with the heist tonight.”

I put up my hands in defeat, “Look, I’ve been the president for less than twelve hours and no one has explained what my responsibilities are.  We got wind of the heist this afternoon after everyone had departed.   What did you want me to do, bury my head in the sand?”

Allie came and put his arm around me, “Relax, Dad, we don’t need you developing high blood pressure.  Who were those two guys who brought you home, tonight?”

The young man who opened the door for me was the person who informed us about what was going to happen tonight.  His name is Carlos; I don’t think I was ever told what his last name was.  The other young man with the uniform on was Fredrico.  He works for Mr. Gomez in the Motor Pool area.  The two guys happen to live together, but that’s about all I know about them.  I’m going to be meeting with the two of them at seven thirty in the morning, to find out more about them.  They said some things today, and I would like to know what they meant by their comments.  I also need to decide what to do with the Receiving and Warehouse department, since the bosses are now in jail.”

Allie started to say something but the telephone began to ring.  ‘Why was the phone outside?’

“This is the Waller residence, Allie speaking. … Oh hi, Mr. Gump.  Dad’s right here.  You need to stop him from working all the time.”

Allie handed me the phone, “This is Ed.”

“Ed, it’s Grant.  The media got wind of what happened here tonight.  Just as Joe and I were leaving, a television crew arrived asking to speak to you.  I informed them that you had departed for the day and that we had no way to contact you.  Joe disappeared leaving me to face the music by myself.  I tried to answer the questions as best as I could.  You might want to watch the ten o’clock news.”

“Thanks for the heads up.  I’m sure you did just fine.”

I hung up, “That was Grant Gump.  He says that we need to watch the ten o’clock news.  It seems the media has gotten wind of what happened.” 

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:   We did get a few answers in this chapter, but there are still a lot of questions left hanging. 

Here is a little speculation, namely, I suspect that Carlos and Fredrico will be put in charge of receiving and warehouse, and I bet they receive bonuses and raises, as well, for being so helpful with the sting operation.

You can't really blame Ed for taking the opportunity to catch the crooks red handed. He really didn't have much chance to let anyone else In on the situation and let them take care of the problem.

Having said that, though, Allie is right, Ed needs to learn to delegate, and to trust his staff more.  He has a lot of really good people working for him, and with proper time management, I think things could be made to work a lot more efficiently. 

I hope we find out more, next time.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 06/11/10