Monday March 19th  Wes Crockett settled behind his desk. Inhaling and exhaling, he tried to relax. Even the four- mile run followed by a two-mile swim did nothing for his rumbling gut. Today, the Chase Center for Training was expanding its programs with the addition of new staff he knew only by resumé and interview notes.   His fingers held the message handed him by his secretary. It was only seven in the morning. He took a sip of coffee, ate some of his egg-white omelet, and dialed Mike Johnson’s number. The Deputy CEO of Chase Security International was doing double duty while the CEO, Martin Bailey, was on paternity leave. Why was he calling so early?    “Good morning?” Wes asked tentatively when Mike answered.  “Morning,” Mike’s voice was light. Too light.  Wes cringed. “What’s going on?”  “Are you alone?”  “Yeah, hold on, I’ll close my door. Okay, we’re private.” His stomach tightened around his breakfast.  “I need to discuss something with you.”   “Discuss,” Wes sighed, stood and began to pace.  “Pat Hedges called me. Troy is plateauing in his treatment. His February surgery is paying dividends, and he’s gaining movement and strength in his legs.” Troy Bremen, former co-leader of the rapid response Bravo team and current Assistant Executive Director of the flagship San Diego branch was gravely injured during an undercover operation in August.  “That’s great. Why didn’t he tell any of us?” His lips turned up into a brilliant smile.  “It is. He wanted to be sure the improvements were real. Now, he’s begging to come back to work. His vision has improved to 20/30; his upper body strength is growing, and with the improvement from the surgery, he is able to drive.”  “God help us. He couldn’t drive before.” Wes teased. “Can we get him a Humvee?”  Mike laughed and turned serious. “Hedges is worried about him emotionally. He and the company leadership, plus Julian, discussed the situation. We were thinking with your new program, we could send him to you. We figure you could let him help you here and there.” Julian was the chief executive at the San Diego branch.  Wes’s shoulders rose. “Absolutely not. If you send him to me, he comes on as a full assist, an equal. As far as the program goes, if Hedges thinks it’s the right thing for him, we offer it to him. I won’t play games with Troy and jeopardize our friendship and his recovery,” Wes advised, his blood rustling through his ears.    “Jule knew you’d say that. What if he encounters difficulty?” Mike sighed.  “Same thing we do for any of us. We work through it. Period, end of sentence.” His muscles tensed.  Mike chuckled, “I’m signing off on Troy’s new assignment now. I’ll have his file sent to your new medical director.”  “Good. I promise I’ll take care of him. You won’t regret this decision.” Wes smiled.  “Good luck with the orientation today. Are you ready?”  “And if I said no, what would you say?” Wes asked flatly.  “I’d tell you to suck it up, buttercup. Call me if you need anything.”  “Thanks, Crockett out.”   Wes opened his desk drawer and popped two antacids, then tossed his coffee into the trash and opened up his schedule on his computer. At 0900, new staff would begin arriving to usher in a new beginning for the training center with the addition of three new programs and a satellite medical clinic. He ticked off his day’s agenda. “Staff meeting. Trip to building department to drop off underwriter’s certificates, individual division head meetings, check on arrival of new animals for equine-assisted therapy, canine program and children’s programming.”   Yvonne, his secretary, knocked on his door. “Hey, Wes. Can I come in?” she asked with a teasing yet maternal tone. At Wes’s direction, she walked inside. “TJ and Kenny called; they’re running late, stuck in traffic. Are you ready for the big day?”  “If I’m not, I’m destined to be a gate guard.” He chuckled a little too long, then looked over at two files. At least he knew them. TJ “Cuda” Poole and Kenny “Jockey” Clarke would be joining his staff as his new first deputy directors. Both from the Eagle’s Talon Bravo team, they had recently completed leadership training at George Washington University.   “Knock, knock.” Christian Paulsen, his executive officer, joined him, sipping a green concoction from a clear plastic cup.   “Blech, I draw the line there.” Wes’s face contorted when he saw the drink. “Morning.”   “Morning. Well, how was the ceremony?” Christian asked.  Wes smiled. Zach Wentworth, head of the domestic law enforcement training division, and a dominant, surprised Saoirse Kennedy, head of New York’s legal department and his submissive, with a commitment ceremony. “It was beautiful, and he surprised us all by proposing to her. I got in late last night. Anything I need to know about?”  Christian looked down. “Friday, Cabe Baldwin came to speak with me.”  “About?” Wes crossed his arms.  “I asked him to wait to speak with you. His daughter’s best friend was found murdered last week. She was identified Thursday night. He left this for you.” Christian passed him a file.  “Yvonne?” Wes called.  “You do have an intercom. What do you need?” Yvonne walked in.   “Call Cabe Baldwin and fit him into my schedule.”   “Sure. “   Wes turned back to Christian. “I gotta tell you, I’m nervous. I’ve been back and forth to New York so many times in the last two months, I can’t keep track of my days.” Wes tapped a pencil on his keyboard.  “It’s Monday,” Christian deadpanned.  “You’re no help. No offense, but with the exception of Kenny and TJ, I only know the new hires by their resumés and the interview notes.” Wes chewed his lip.  “Look, everybody is a temp for thirty days. You have time to make final decisions.” Christian shrugged.  “The person I am most concerned about is Eleanor West, our new head of equine- assisted therapy and hippotherapy programs. She’s younger than most of the other therapists. Tell me about her.”  “Eleanor West prefers to be called Ellie. She has glowing recommendations. Her vision for the program is to start small and grow it with time, her therapy staff’s and client’s experiences. She wants to make sure every participant receives the best care to reach their goals. What I really liked about her is her belief in an intense body-mind connection. Besides her degrees in equine therapy and counseling, she also is a certified physical therapy assistant. She wants to develop a good working relationship with our medical team too. All of that combined overrode Kieran’s concerns.” Kieran was the younger Chase brother and co-owner of the company.  “What concerns?” Wes searched his drawer and pulled out her file.   “She was very uncomfortable talking about herself. Kieran noted her accomplishments, and she seemed embarrassed by the praise. She also seemed uncomfortable with us when we discussed anything other than the program. I dismissed it as anxiety. Kieran asked Yvonne to sit in. With her there she was more relaxed.”  “You sure she’s the best candidate?” Wes asked.  “Her behavior seemed incongruous to her resumé. I watched her do a lesson at Coventry School. She is perfect for the program. Kieran called me the next morning. He signed off on the hire.”   They discussed a few other issues, and Christian headed out. Yvonne returned with a fresh cup of coffee and a roll. “This will take the edge off the sour stomach. Cabe is still on the grounds. He will be here in fifteen minutes.”  “Thanks, Yvonne, for everything.” Wes took a sip of coffee and nibbled some of his roll.   *** Wes took a minute to read through the file Cabe Baldwin left. “Shit.” The file was filled with news clippings and copies of public police records of missing young women from the Leesburg area going back one year. His daughter’s friend disappeared a month earlier. Her body was found partially incinerated one week ago on the grounds of an old church.   “Mr. Crockett, no one was outside?” Cabe Baldwin knocked on the door jamb and approached.  “Cabe, close the door and come sit. Christian gave me the file you left. Tell me what’s going on.”  “I spoke with Mr. Paulsen on Friday, but more has happened since. The other supervisors and I had dinner together Sunday. We have some concerns about the level of security for the center.”  He fidgeted.  “How so?” Wes felt his throat go dry.  “The new hires. Sunday, Mr. Cooper brought them in for the final license verifications and asked us to show them around. There was a lot of fooling around and not listening. The group I saw was all level-twos. I’m concerned if something does happen, especially with the expansion and more personnel…” He adjusted his jacket.  “Hmm. What does this have to do with your daughter’s missing friend?” The hair stood up on the back of Wes’s neck.   “Thursday, Sheriff Jeffries confirmed the partially burned body of a woman found near Graydon Manor Church last week was my daughter’s friend. Headley Sanders went missing a month ago. At the time, the Sheriff classified her as a runaway. This girl spent time in my home. I know her folks. She wasn’t a runaway. Now the family is waiting for the autopsy result.”  “I’m sorry. But again, what about her death has you rattled for our facility’s safety?”  “As you can see, I started to dig. In Leesburg and the surrounding counties, I found listings of fourteen missing women and five others dead, all between ages seventeen and twenty-five. From the newspaper accounts, three were found in the same condition as Headley. The other two were burned to ash. We are adding thirty-eight women, non-security personnel, to our staff, ranging from ages twenty-three to thirty-five.”   There went the roll he’d eaten. Wes nodded as his stomach loudly gurgled. “I’m going to make a couple of calls. I wish your instincts weren’t right on, but they are. If you hear anything else about Headley, let me know. I’ll look into it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Cabe.”  The older man stood. “Thank you, sir.”   “As far as our new security staffing, I’ll investigate your concerns. I might need to adjust some attitudes.”   “Have a good rest of your day, Mr. Crockett.”   “Thanks, Cabe.”  *** The conference room was filled with the current training staff supervisors. “I’ve heard about our new security hires being a little…”  “Gen Z,” one of the trainers filled in.   “If that means loose about some rules or not committed, then yes. Companywide, we are adding a yearly qualification exam for all level-one and -two security personnel, and for those on staff here, I’d like to add a fitness program for them.” After some groans, Wes went on with the plan.   As they hashed out things, TJ and Kenny joined the group. “Sorry, Boss, we got caught behind a trailer convoy. We finally managed to get around them two clicks back,” Kenny said.  “They’re likely ours. Welcome.” Wes introduced his two deputy directors.   After the meeting concluded, he escorted TJ and Kenny into his office. “Guys, Christian will set you up in your new space. We configured two separate offices with a common center sliding door. If you need privacy, just close it. The space has noise reduction too. I know your desks were stocked, and there are new laptops and phones waiting. If you need anything, ask Yvonne. I put in a company-wide job announcement for two executive secretaries a week ago. The posting closes today. We will take a look and hire.  “I need to head to town to drop off documents to close out the permits so we can let arriving staff into their new living space. If I have a problem, we will need to take over one hundred hotel rooms in the area. I’ll be back.” Wes grabbed his jacket and left.