time into the hole in the waistband
of his jeans. Towards the end of this process he had to push quite
hard to get them in. He counted 162 assorted tablets, many of
indeterminate origin.
The offices of Kruger Investigations were situated on the
seventeenth floor of an office block in downtown Miami. This was
the fourth relocation of the business which had begun its existence
in a one-roomed grot-office above a rent-a-car place in Wynwood,
north Miami. Each move had been to a larger premises, but never
quite large enough to house the ever-expanding business. Finally
Kruger had decided on impulse to take the whole floor of the
current premises some two years earlier. It had proved to be a good
move but once again, business had boomed to fit the available
space. Another move was imminent, something in the business plan
for the next year. He hoped to be able to take some space in the
floor above as the company installed at present looked as though
they were going bust. The only drawback to the place was the lack
of spaces available in the underground parking facility, which was
presently hogged by the finance company on the first two
floors.
At midday Steve Kruger walked nonchalantly around the various
offices, chatting to staff and laughing whilst munching a baguette
packed with beef and sipping a Diet Coke.
He was pleased to see there were only a couple of people
sitting around in the department which conducted what he termed
‘real investigations’. This meant they were busy on the streets,
following adulterers, compiling reports for insurance companies,
and doing all the stuff connected to real detective work. The
department dealing with the recapture of bail jumpers was also
sparsely populated too, indicating that a few unfortunates would be
in the custody of the courts that night.
The offices which were busy were the ones dealing with the
sales of specialist security equipment. Kruger sold anything
connected with bomb disposal and search equipment, any sort of kit
- excluding firearms - for police and special forces, surveillance
and counter-surveillance, communications, personal and property
protection.
On being invalided out of the cops, Kruger had originally
intended to set up a one-man operation. Having been introduced at
an early stage to the scope and potential profits associated with
security and surveillance (albeit illegal) he decided to move
forwards in two directions - the private investigations side and
the security side.
Although the detective side was moderately profitable, its
drawback was it was manpower intensive. The sales side, however,
only needed a bank of phones, faxes, e-mail facilities and a
nucleus of highly trained sales executives to bring in millions for
very little effort. It was also fairly safe, whereas there was
always some danger associated with being a detective.
Having been a cop, Steve loved that side of the business
because it was in his blood and he would never downsize it. Besides
anything else, it enhanced the reputation of the firm and kept him
in good with the local cops and Feds.
He finished his Coke and sandwich, ditching the bottle and
wrapper in a trash can. He nipped into a restroom, freshened up.
Then he made his way to the conference room where three people
waited for him. Not impatiently, just talking quietly to
themselves.
Kruger entered and seated himself at the circular
table.
They shut up.
‘ Mario Bussola,’ he announced, instantly getting their full
attention.
Trent queued up for his evening meal, plastic tray in one
hand, plastic cutlery in the other. Coysh was serving. He paid
Trent no more heed than any other inmate, slopping the watery food
onto his plate and handing it across the hatch with no more than
the merest of nods.
Trent collected his chocolate pudding and mug of tea, then
wandered to a dining table where some others were eating. He wanted
to be in a crowd. He slid the plate off the tray, placed it on the
table and
of his jeans. Towards the end of this process he had to push quite
hard to get them in. He counted 162 assorted tablets, many of
indeterminate origin.
The offices of Kruger Investigations were situated on the
seventeenth floor of an office block in downtown Miami. This was
the fourth relocation of the business which had begun its existence
in a one-roomed grot-office above a rent-a-car place in Wynwood,
north Miami. Each move had been to a larger premises, but never
quite large enough to house the ever-expanding business. Finally
Kruger had decided on impulse to take the whole floor of the
current premises some two years earlier. It had proved to be a good
move but once again, business had boomed to fit the available
space. Another move was imminent, something in the business plan
for the next year. He hoped to be able to take some space in the
floor above as the company installed at present looked as though
they were going bust. The only drawback to the place was the lack
of spaces available in the underground parking facility, which was
presently hogged by the finance company on the first two
floors.
At midday Steve Kruger walked nonchalantly around the various
offices, chatting to staff and laughing whilst munching a baguette
packed with beef and sipping a Diet Coke.
He was pleased to see there were only a couple of people
sitting around in the department which conducted what he termed
‘real investigations’. This meant they were busy on the streets,
following adulterers, compiling reports for insurance companies,
and doing all the stuff connected to real detective work. The
department dealing with the recapture of bail jumpers was also
sparsely populated too, indicating that a few unfortunates would be
in the custody of the courts that night.
The offices which were busy were the ones dealing with the
sales of specialist security equipment. Kruger sold anything
connected with bomb disposal and search equipment, any sort of kit
- excluding firearms - for police and special forces, surveillance
and counter-surveillance, communications, personal and property
protection.
On being invalided out of the cops, Kruger had originally
intended to set up a one-man operation. Having been introduced at
an early stage to the scope and potential profits associated with
security and surveillance (albeit illegal) he decided to move
forwards in two directions - the private investigations side and
the security side.
Although the detective side was moderately profitable, its
drawback was it was manpower intensive. The sales side, however,
only needed a bank of phones, faxes, e-mail facilities and a
nucleus of highly trained sales executives to bring in millions for
very little effort. It was also fairly safe, whereas there was
always some danger associated with being a detective.
Having been a cop, Steve loved that side of the business
because it was in his blood and he would never downsize it. Besides
anything else, it enhanced the reputation of the firm and kept him
in good with the local cops and Feds.
He finished his Coke and sandwich, ditching the bottle and
wrapper in a trash can. He nipped into a restroom, freshened up.
Then he made his way to the conference room where three people
waited for him. Not impatiently, just talking quietly to
themselves.
Kruger entered and seated himself at the circular
table.
They shut up.
‘ Mario Bussola,’ he announced, instantly getting their full
attention.
Trent queued up for his evening meal, plastic tray in one
hand, plastic cutlery in the other. Coysh was serving. He paid
Trent no more heed than any other inmate, slopping the watery food
onto his plate and handing it across the hatch with no more than
the merest of nods.
Trent collected his chocolate pudding and mug of tea, then
wandered to a dining table where some others were eating. He wanted
to be in a crowd. He slid the plate off the tray, placed it on the
table and
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