32. Thirty-Two

Chase

I’m sitting in my office daydreaming about Val and that damn Brazilian-style swimsuit. I was hard or semi-hard all day. I should be used to that by now, living with Val.

I couldn’t wait for her to take off her beach coverup and then when she did, she made too tempting of a view in that suit.

By three o’clock, I was ready to call it a day.

We loaded the truck and headed home. Val helped me unload the truck, and then we decided to cook out in the backyard. I grilled some hotdogs while Val made some potato salad and baked beans.

After we finished, Val took off her black skirt. I took one look at her perfect ass and had to have her. I felt most of the day was foreplay, anyway. When she cleaned up the leftovers on the table outside and took them inside the house, I followed her.

As soon as she set the food on the counter, I bent her over the nearest piece of furniture and took her from behind. While I was pounding into her, I gave her another sharp pat on her sweet ass. As my hand made contact, she climaxed in my arms. Hard.

It pushed me over the edge, and I followed her release with a loud shout of my own.

“You okay, Val? Was I too rough?”

“No, it was perfect. Couldn’t you tell?”

“Yeah, I liked it too, and I fucking love that Brazilian suit on you.”

My desk phone rings, bringing me back to the present. It’s Jaxson.

“Hi, Jaxson. Were you able to find out any more information since the last update?”

“Yes, you’ll want to get Carson on the phone for this one. I also don’t mind swinging by if you’d rather I deliver the news in person.”

“Let me see if Carson is available now. If he isn’t, we’ll have you swing by when he’s free if that works.”

“I’ve got the whole day open,”

“Okay, let me put you on hold for a minute,” I buzz Suzanne, “Hey Suzanne, is Carson available? I have someone holding on the other line, so if he’s busy, I’ll need to know when he’ll be free.”

“He’s in a meeting right now. Let me check your brother’s schedule. Chase, Carson has eleven o’clock available, and if you run longer than an hour, I can order in lunch. Does that work?”

“Yes, and Suzanne, could you go ahead and order lunch for three— no, make that four? Have it delivered around eleven thirty?”

“Sure, Chase anything in particular you want?”

“Nah, I’m fine with anything, whatever Carson likes. Thanks.”

I get back on the line with Jaxson, who confirms he’ll be here by eleven. I make another phone call to my uncle, “Sam, if you aren’t busy could you swing by the office? I think this is something you’d be interested in; you’ll get a free lunch out of the deal... Great. See you then.”

My brother’s meeting is running late so I wait in the reception area for Jaxson and Sam to arrive.

“Hey, Jaxson. Thanks for coming over. I’m anxious to hear what you and your team have discovered. Carson was still in a meeting, but he should be done by now. Sam’s going to join us, too. He should be right behind you.”

Jaxson and I both turn as Sam comes through the lobby, “Hi, Sam. You remember Jaxson. Let’s go on up.”

“Carson, your brother, uncle, and Jaxson Gibson are here. I’ve ordered lunch for all four of you. Do you want it here in your office or in the conference room?”

“Show them to the conference room, if you don’t mind. That table is bigger. I’ll join them in a few minutes. There’s no need for you to attend the meeting, but I would appreciate you bringing our lunch in when it arrives.”

She turns to us, and I let her know, “We heard Carson; we know the way. Thanks, Suzanne.”

Jaxson opens the door to the conference room and we all three take a seat.

“Sorry about the wait, everyone.” Carson sits down. “What do you have for us, Jaxson?”

“The company, Pro-tech, who provided the vests, has been having some financial problems. It appears that the owner’s son, who took over the company last year after his father passed away, has a gambling problem. He’s in debt, heavy debt, a couple of million dollars of debt.”

Carson and I just nod for Jaxson to go on, and Sam just sits there, taking everything in.

“It looks like Junior, that’s his actual name, was trying to cover it up by manufacturing lower quality vests and ciphering off the extra money. His father, the original owner, had been looking at some of the new tech. He was hoping to begin manufacturing a lighter-weight vest with better ballistic resistance. The company did some preliminary testing last year, which are the specs that were sent to you. Unfortunately, that isn’t what the company is manufacturing.”

Jaxson opens the file he brought with him and hands each of us a copy.

“Here is the ballistic resistance of the vests their company is manufacturing and shipping to their customers.”

We look down at the stats. “Shit! This isn’t what we paid for. It’s a violation of our contract. This isn’t adequate protection for our guards or anybody.”

“Here’s the thing. The substance inside the protective pouches that are inside the vests starts out with the correct ballistic resistance. However, after a while, the chemical that offers the protection becomes less effective. Over time, the vests lose their resistance entirely. In order for the lower resistance to remain undetected, the workforce was asked to start layering the products by date. Older batches we packed on the bottom of the shipment, and newer batches went on top.”

“Junior, the son, had to know that sooner or later, he would get caught. He was risking people’s lives. This is criminal.”

“Yes, my team believes that as soon as Junior had enough money collected to pay off his gambling debts, he planned on leaving the country. We found evidence that he was trying to purchase property outside the United States under a fictitious name. The people he owes money to were probably threatening his life or bodily harm. Two million is a lot of money to owe a loan shark. He probably used the company as collateral.”

“Do you have the proof we need to take this to the authorities?”

“Yes, one of my men got hired on at the company. It took a few weeks for him to locate the proof we needed. Namely, the true ballistic resistance after the chemical started to break down, and the projected timeline of when the vest loses all resistance.”

“Damn, good work, Jaxson. We appreciate this.”

“We’d like you there when we take this to the police and our attorney.”

“Of course, I or someone on my team familiar with the details will always be available.”

Carson turns to our uncle, “Sam, you obviously figured out why we wanted you here as well. Sorry to just spring this on you. We didn’t know until this meeting what Jaxson would find.”

“Understood.”

We hear a knock and then Suzanne comes in with our lunch.

“What did you get for us today?”

“it’s Mexican food. This is from A?ejo Cocina in Riverside. I also have iced tea for your drinks. Unless anyone would prefer a soda?”

We all shake our heads. “Tea is fine, Suzanne. Thank you.”

When she leaves the room, we all start to eat.

“How is Sanders doing? Did he regain full use of his arm?” Jaxson asks.

“Yes, the doctors waited forty-eight hours after he got out of surgery before they ran more tests. He can move his entire arm, hand, and fingers. His shoulder is still giving him trouble. It’s stiff, so they sent him to therapy twice a week. You know, it could have been a lot worse. He was lucky.”

Jaxson states, “My guy, who was on the inside, got a list of the companies the vendor was selling to. You realize that reporting this to the authorities will save numerous lives and injuries?”

“Yes, and after what happened to Sanders, we have no time to lose. Sam, what do you think is the best way for us to report this?”

“I’ve been thinking about that. Let me make a couple of phone calls to get the ball rolling. Law enforcement knows the importance of protective armor, so this will hit close to home. The press will be all over this once they get wind of it. I want the local authorities to keep it under wraps until the companies involved have pulled the defective vests. Who cares if it’s a shit show after that?”

Sam raises his iced tea and looks at Carson, me, and Jaxson. “I’m proud of all three of you. You’d have all made fine officers.”

We raise our glasses and drink.