Jim Hunt’s boss, Fred Sandler, asked him if he would go talk to a new entering class.
“Tell them what to expect; tell them what we’re about. Don’t pull any punches. Tell it like it is,” Sandler said.
As ordered, Jim went and spoke to the rookies. He explained how the agency’s modus operandi was based on infiltration and surveillance.
“The best thing you can do is find people who want to cooperate. You bust Joe on Monday, he offers to help, the following Monday, you’re arresting two other guys. You can compare it to a spider’s web: it starts in the center and it goes around and around and around, and the wider it gets, the more people we bring down; the wider it gets, the more tentacles we have. The more tentacles we have, the more arrests. We are about major investigations and arrests. We are about bringing down the bad guys. We have one job and that’s arresting drug dealers!” Jim said.
There were a few questions and the meeting was over. As Jim was about to leave, one of the men approached him, and glancing up at the large smile on his face, Jim instantly recognized him. It was Tommy Geisel, a bouncer Jim had worked with years ago at Dizzy Duncan’s nightclub in New Jersey. Geisel was a large, strapping man, fast moving and nimble on his feet, muscular and strong as a Brahma bull. Like Jim Hunt, Geisel wanted to be a federal agent, wanted to help in the war on drugs. Together they had fought with patrons who drank too much, who wouldn’t listen to reason, who were intent upon being violent. When these patrons came up against Jim and Tom, they inevitably ended up being knocked out.
“Jim,” Tommy said, smiling. “Remember me?”
They shook hands and embraced. Jim wished Tom luck at the Academy, said that when he graduated, he’d recommend him to his group—Group 33—if he liked. Even Tommy, who wasn’t yet an agent, knew what Group 33 was about, knew he wanted to be a part of what they were—the action, the real deal.
When, after the four-month-long Academy program, Tommy Geisel was ready to be assigned, he reached out to Jim Hunt, reminded him of their conversation. Jim immediately went to his boss and told him about Geisel, told him that he thought he’d make a “very good agent.”
“The guy’s got it all,” Jim said. “Brains, balls, and brawn.”
“Trust him with your back?” Sandler asked.
“Absolutely.”
With that, Tommy Geisel was soon assigned to Group 33 and wound up as Jim Hunt’s partner—and like this, the Perfect Storm was formed.
In preparation to work the streets, work cases, both Tommy and Jim Hunt radically altered their appearances. They were all about blending in, getting bad guys to trust them. Jim grew his hair long and sported a funky, rust-colored Fu Manchu mustache. He wore jeans and cowboy boots and could pretty much blend in anywhere. Tommy, likewise, grew his hair long, with a scruffy beard. Like this, Jim and Tom went out into the world, its streets and avenues, and made arrests. They were soon the most successful team in Group 33.