He looked at me curiously, and said "Well, whatever it was, it worked. I, and all of her friends, appreciate it."
I shook his hand, and headed in to fill up the hole in my middle. A different waitress, but this one too recognized my name. Somewhat shyly, she asked for an autograph, which I gave her on one of the hotel menus. Then I pointed out Agent Gallery, and told her he was a member of the FBI. She was delighted to learn that, and promptly headed off to get his autograph, too, surprising him and pleasing him at the same time. When she'd left, he gave me a playful dirty look, then smiled and nodded his thanks.
My meal done, this waitress was reluctant to accept a tip until I found the right combination of cajolery and flattery to get her to take it. Only then was I free to head out for my morning 'mission'.
After visiting a few used car dealerships, I realized that I wasn't likely to find anything appropriate on a dealer's lot. I picked up a newspaper, and looked it over. I found a few ads that seemed reasonable, and with the help of one of the FBI agents navigating for me, starting going through the ads as I checked out the different vehicles. I had it down to a couple of possibilities when I pulled up to the address for the next-to-last ad. It was a middle-aged couple looking to sell their son's old car – a '57 Ford Fairlane. The boy had apparently lavished a lot of attention and care on it – the body work was in good condition, and the engine was positively flawless, purring like a kitten. Despite showing it's age in a few spots, it was certainly a bit of reliable transportation.
The couple and I haggled a little bit, and had almost stalemated when the FBI agent with me addressed me by name to ask to speak with me privately. A little ways away from the couple, he simply said that *he* thought the car was worth what the couple was asking, but that he'd called me away to see if a little time to think would help them come down some. I turned so my back was toward them, and smiled at him before thanking him for his thoughtfulness, and help. He solemnly nodded to me, and we went back to where the couple was standing.
The man hesitated a moment, then asked me if I was the Dan Andrews they'd heard about on the TV last night. I admitted that I was, and the woman asked how they could be sure of that. The agent with me stepped forward, and showed them his ID, then assured them that really was*that* Dan Andrews.
The two of them looked fairly impressed and pleased, before the man asked me why*I* was looking to buy their car. I told him about how I'd found Mark in the park, and briefly told them his story before adding that I was looking to help someone that just needed a chance to get their feet back under them. The two of them shared a look, and the man told me that he figured if I could spot crooks like the ones at TechnoDynamics, he figured I could spot a good prospect, too. He followed up by saying that they'd take my offer, and as their part to help Mark get started, they'd pay the title transfer costs. I told them I'd be happy to do it, but the woman spoke up, telling me "There's a lot of folks that will hear about somebody like him, and just say 'That's too bad'. Ain't many that'll do like you, and say 'Let me help'. We want to do our share, too."
There wasn't anything for me to do but thank them. Both waved it off, and the man asked me for Mark's name and address so he could get the title taken care of. I gave him both, using the address of the apartment I'd rented.
With that information, the man looked at me and said "Me and the Missus, we got some of our retirement money in those folks. Been losing value, these last few months. I was starting to think that maybe I needed to sell it, but didn't want to lose money on the deal."
I smiled, and told him "Way I figure it, you're not the only one. But with folks finding out that it was the head honchos stealing money from the company, and the company going to get it's money back, I wouldn't be surprised if it even went UP in value a little."
He got a thoughtful look at that, and thanked me – and I thanked him in return for his help with Mark. He just waved it off, saying "Everybody needs a hand sometime in their life. When I needed it, somebody gave it to me. Now I'm just passing it along, same as what you're asking him to do."
He went on to tell me that he'd get the title taken care of right away, so that Mark could pick up the car later that afternoon. I counted out the price of the car to him, and he handed me the keys before we shook hands. I thanked them again, and the lady came forward to give me a hug, then another to the agent with me – both embarrassing and pleasing him.
Back at the hotel, I found that Lucy and the girls were both down in the pool – accompanied by a number of agents, some of whom were even in the pool with them. I took the opportunity to call around before getting the car insured, paying the first six months premium with my credit card. That done, I made a call to the phone company, and got basic phone service started, again paying the deposit with my credit card.
With nothing left but to get Mark to Jules' office that afternoon, I headed down to watch Lucy and the youngsters in the pool. When I got there, I found that they'd gotten a couple of guys and a girl to join them, and had a rousing game of water volleyball going, FBI versus Civilians. I watched as the game drew to a close – neither side was cutting the other*any* slack, and it stayed close until the FBI people finally managed to put one into the corner before Robyn could get to it. The agents actually looked relieved to take a rest when my three climbed out of the pool to sit at the table with me. All three dried off carefully before hugging me, and giving me a kiss – Sandra and Robyn on the cheek, Lucy full on the lips. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the agents around us smiling.
I quickly filled them in on how things had gone, and all three thought it was nice of the couple to pay the title fees as a way of helping Mark. Lucy in particular thought it was good of me to take care of getting Mark set up with a phone, and paying the insurance on the car. As she put it "I've been there. When you're just starting out like he is, everything is more expensive, because you're just starting out. You can't afford it, really, but you really don't have any choice. Now he's got a chance to get going properly."
When Robyn's stomach growled, we all laughed with the realization that it was about lunch time. The hotel staff was kind enough to let us order from the caf, and bring the food out to us by the pool.
Only the agents that had been in the pool accepted my offer to buy them something to eat, too – even then, they ate lightly. I tried to tip the young man that brought us our meal, but he wasn't having any, either. He did hold still for Lucy, then Sandra and Robyn, to kiss him on the cheek before he beat a hasty – if blushing – retreat.
We'd finished our lunch and were just sitting there watching the world go by when Agent Gallery approached. I saw him stop a little distance away, and waved for him to come on and join us. When he got close, I invited him to sit down. He did, and after greeting the ladies, told me "Clara's finally gotten enough confirmation to believe that old Benny is going to leave you alone. Vinnie's brother made some noise about coming after you, but Charlie talked him, and he decided he didn't want any of YOUR kind of trouble. Tomorrow morning, we're going to reduce your detail by about half. We'll still have some people with you, but they'll be there more as a courtesy to make sure people don't bother you, than with any expectation of trouble. They'll also be a lot more flexible, so you can pretty much do what you want without having to worry about them."
The four of us thanked him, and he paused a few moments before looking at me to tell all of us "I wanted to take this chance to thank you. Not just for brining us in this case, but for how helpful and patient you've been about the situation. I know that it couldn't have been fun having all of us around all the time, and all four of you accepted it with grace and tolerance that not many of our protectees show. You've also done a helluva lot to bring up the morale of the protective details that have been with you. Dan, you're a living example of what all of us want to be like; and seeing you in action gives all of us a goal to work toward. And all three of these young ladies are living reasons for why we do what we do. As much as we have to watch out for people that we'd just as soon not have to, watching the four of you gives us all the proof we need to know that what we're doing is right, and gives us all the reason we need to come in to work."