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Friday morning Matt knocked on the Knight's front door when it was time for them to leave. Sady popped out, ready to go. She reached up and felt his face. "I have to check. Yep, nice and smooth." With a smile she rubbed the side of her face against his jaw. "You've got something going here, Matt. Maybe you should stick with it, then I won't get a rash when you kiss me."
"No decisions until I get a comparison test." Matt spent the next few minutes comparing. She was grateful her back was to the house, but she wasn't sure the Knight's or their neighbors appreciated it. "What do you think?" Matt whispered in her ear.
"Oh, Justin, I always knew you were fast and now you're so smooth too," she replied with a mischievous grin.
"Did you just compare me to your car, Sady?" he asked as he pulled her to his truck.
"What makes you think I was talking about my car?" she teased, then laughed at the look on his face.
"That earns you a strike," he warned. Then he said, "Hey, I need to grab something from my apartment that I forgot this morning. You can run up with me, then we'll be on our way."
As they left the apartment building, Sady scolded him for coming back to the apartment for ear plugs. He grinned until the security guard yelled to them, "Hey, Mrs. Davis has been looking for you. I think she needs a babysitter for the weekend." Matt looked worried and rushed Sady to his truck.
"Keep your head down, and I'll drive fast," he hissed. "Maybe she won't see us leave."
Sady laughed with her head in her lap. "What's wrong, Matt? I thought you liked the Davis kids." He didn't answer, so she sat up and jabbed him. He refused to look her way, so she was relentless in her probing.
Finally he looked at her and said in a grouchy voice, "The last time I saw them Kristen threw the baby at me and he puked all over my shirt. Then, after I picked up Bea, Kristen accused me of causing Bea to relapse after she went in her pants." He looked disgusted. "She later apologized because Bea had diarrhea... like I hadn't already figured that out!"
Sady shook with amusement and she, "I hope Argus got in on the action. Did he offer you any boogers?"
"I'd rather not discuss the recent Argus incident," he was stupid enough to admit. That earned him more pestering from Sady, until he yelled, "All right! We were in the elevator and Argus asked his mother, 'What the hell?' She replied, 'What did you just say?' and Argus said, 'I think you heard me!' Guess who got the blame for that?" he asked sounding miffed.
"I'm sure she was right," Sady said.
"I'm sure he heard it from his father," Matt insisted.
"Is that from your man book? Because I bet Mr. Davis has the same book, only his version tells him that anything bad that comes out of his kids' mouths is the fault of his deviant neighbor."
"Stay out of the man book, and go back to your own," he suggested.
They met Arch and his team a short distance from the Chuck Wagon, so they could talk for a few minutes. "Everything's still on track. Sady, I'm sorry but your uncle insisted on flying in for a few hours. I couldn't stop him," Arch told them, while Sady smiled. "Amanda's setting up the food for today. We'll have three agents covering the food area. Here, put these in." He handed them remote ear pieces.
Turning to Sady, he continued. "If it doesn't feel right just walk away, Sady. Don't worry if you have to let him go, with or without the packs. Right now we've got the packs on the wagon, and an agent is posted to guard them until the sale. If someone grabs you before that, tell them you have the packs in a locker here at the park, and the key is in your purse in the wagon. We can get to you faster if you stay close to the wagon. If everything goes well with the buy, and you're sure it's safe, take your hair out of its ponytail. We won't move in until you do that. Do you have any questions?"
Sady shook her head, so they broke up the meeting and drove to the park. "Yuck," Sady said as they got ready to serve at 10:30. "I think the smell has saturated my pores. I hope I don't smell like a hot dog after my next shower."
Amanda turned to Matt, "See, Smoothie? Now imagine how you'd feel if you spent a full summer doing this. Wrecking the Wienie Wagon is cathartic and brings an esoteric inner peace and satisfaction."
"Did you stay up late reading your dictionary, Amanda?" Matt asked.
"Nope, just changing it up. I've decided if I have to call you 'Smoothie,' then I'll throw a few other seldom used words into my vocabulary as well. Here's your chapeau." She smacked him in the stomach with his puppy dog hat.
"I'm not considering it a compliment that your new nickname for me is also an item on your menu," Matt remarked. Then he mumbled, "And no one warned me you ran a military camp out of this place."
Amanda heard his remarks and confiscated his ear plugs as soon as she spotted them. With a grim look, she shouted orders and abused her authority as manager. Matt's face was red long before noon. "How come she gets off easy?" Matt complained, nodding at Sady taking a break in the trailer, while he worked the grill.
"Because she's not a real employee. She's working undercover, Smoothie. Now pay attention and watch those Vegans so they don't fall apart. It takes a chisel to remove them from the grill! I don't even want to know how they get through a digestive system."
"Sady's undercover? What the hell do you think I'm doing here?" Matt yelled.
Amanda poked him in the forehead and glared, "You're gonna do just what that hat says! And you'd better watch your step, Squirt. I'm giving you a verbal warning and reprimand for using uncouth language in front of a customer."
Matt looked at the counter. "There are no customers," he nearly screamed in frustration.
"Another verbal," Amanda scolded. "Disrespecting a fellow employee. Make that two verbals- you also disrespected your manager in front of another employee. That's bad for morale."
Matt ground his teeth. "You just said Sady wasn't an employee, so which is it, Top Dog? Hey, you're a female top dog so that makes you a b..." Sady hopped up and slapped her hand over his mouth.
"Challenging the authority of a manager without filing a written complaint- there's another." Amanda shook her head, "You just lost the title of 'Smoothie.' You're rocking this boat like we're on the high seas."
"That's because this trailer, and the grill area in particular, is like a steam boiler with a stuck valve. It's gonna blow!"
Matt gave Sady a dirty look when she laughed, and he used his finger to make a tally mark in the air. She grinned and turned to a new customer. "I'll take the special, extra hot sauce," he said. "I'll be sitting over there." He nodded to an empty table.
Show time! Sady tried to remove her apron and was interrupted. "Excuse me, I'll have the special, extra hot sauce," another voice said. Sady dropped her apron and stared. It wasn't the same guy. She looked to the table the first man had indicated. He was sitting, waiting for her. "I'll wait over there." The second customer pointed to a table opposite the first man.
She shook her head. "This isn't good." There were ten more men in line to order the special, with extra hot sauce. The last man held open a bag and showed her it contained packets of special sauce mix. "Put my packs in this bag and go to the first table."
She turned to Matt with a question in her eyes. There were more men ordering the special meal than there were packs of gems. "You're gonna have to run with it, Sady," he said. "I'll get with Arch. Stay safe."
She did as directed and sat down at the first table. The man said, "If you are wired or wearing an ear piece remove it now." Sady hesitated, and he continued, "That hesitation just told me you're hooked up. Now remove it and set it on the table." Sady pulled her ear piece. He picked up a rock and smashed it when she put it on the table. She winced, imagining the remarks of anyone connected to it.
"You will get paid at each table, as you move along. Now, take out six packs and set them on the table. Make sure only one pack has my merchandise. When you have done that, put the bag aside and lay your hands in the middle of the table, palms down." At the look on her face he said, "They are only a diversion so I can feel the packs." Sady did as he asked and he pretended to hold her hands.
He felt the packages, put them in his pocket, then he pushed an envelope across the table. Sady opened the end and looked inside to see the cash. "On to your next customer," he said. "In case you don't remember who that is, just start walking. Sit down at the table when you're invited, Spicy."
This was falling apart one pack at a time, she thought. If she pulled the plug now, they would only have one man to arrest, but if she waited until the end, then each previous buyer had longer to get away. By the time she reached the end, some of the buyers were bound to receive six packs of the real sauce, but she wouldn't know until she sat with each guy.
She hoped Arch had a backup plan ready for action. With a sigh, she got up from the table and tightened her ponytail as she moved through the food area. "Would you like to have a seat, Spicy?" Sady sat, and the man said, "Look just past my right ear. See the laser scope aimed at that kid's head?" For a few seconds a red spot appeared on a little boy's forehead.
Sady nodded, and he continued, "If you create a diversion, break from the plan, or do anything else to alert someone or disrupt this, then one of these kids will be shot. Now, take out six sauce packs and make sure they are only sauce. Do it the same way you did at the last table." Sady did as he said, and he pushed an envelope across the table. She looked inside- it contained play money. "Real money for the real thing, Spicy. Move along."
Sady stood and continued through the dining area. She nearly stopped in surprise when she saw Amanda serving food at tables... and so was Matt! She had to bite back a smile. He wore his hat and pasted a 'Joey' grin on his face as he handed out food.
"Hey, Spicy!" A man waved a hot dog at her and motioned her to the empty chair at his table. "Mmm! These are some good dogs," he said, to Sady's disbelief. "Six packets, all of them the real sauce." He felt them, pocketed them, and shoved an envelope her way. He didn't wait for her to look at the play money before getting up and leaving with his hot dog.
It was slipping away less than a minute at a time, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. And she had no choice, so she took a deep breath and walked. The next guy was eating too. He wanted the remaining five packs of gems and one sauce. The envelope was thicker and Sady was out of gems. He grabbed his food and left.
And so it went. The exchanges picked up speed, and she was less than one minute at each table. She could see Matt getting agitated that she hadn't signaled for the takedown. She finished giving the last guy his packs and still she hadn't loosened her ponytail. When the man left, Sady stood and shook her head violently, hoping she wasn't about to trigger a tragedy at the park. She watched the last man disappear into the crowd and she dropped into the seat with a sigh of relief, still shaken over the death threat to the children.
Matt reached her first. "I'm sorry," she started, then she repeated it when Morrow and Amanda appeared as well. She grabbed Morrow's arm. "I didn't know what else to do. They threatened to kill a child. The real gems were gone before I was halfway through the men. I might be able to identify some of them if I saw pictures." She bit her lip with worry.
"Well, what are you waiting for, Blue Eyes? Can't you tell she's upset? Get over there, pick her up, and hug her. Or, are you afraid of Uncle Sam here? Because, I can take care of him," Amanda offered. She reached for John, and he jumped out of the way, shoving Matt at Sady.
"There's-a-bonus-if-you're-quick," came out of John's mouth in one sentence. He gave Amanda a broad grin when Matt grabbed Sady.
Then his jaw dropped when Amanda yanked his tie to pull him close, "You're so easy Uncle Sam, I almost feel guilty about taking advantage of you. Do you think there's anyone here who wants to hug her like that in public?" John looked and didn't know whether to be embarrassed or upset.
The sounds of screaming interrupted them. Amanda smiled and said, "Yes, Stubbles, that's the sound of my devious and cunning plan realizing fruition."
Morrow gave Amanda a wondering look and Matt said, "Amanda's learning to read the dictionary."
Sady looked startled when screams came from another direction. Amanda said to Morrow, "I'm free for a department gratitude party next weekend, or a private dinner party if you'd prefer."
Matt snorted, "You're ready for a party anytime."
Sady raised her hand, feeling like she had missed a chapter in a book. Matt laughed when she did so. "It's not school, Sady," he teased.
"Shouldn't someone go check on the screaming?" she asked.
"It's already been handled," Morrow told her. "Arch is taking them down."
Amanda broke in, "Thanks to me."
Sady raised her hand again, and Matt said, "Amanda, stop interrupting, or we'll be here all night. You're busting at the seams, so why don't you tell Sady your famous plan?"
"I'll show her," she said, pulling Sady to the Chuck Wagon. Inside she showed Sady a package that read 'ALL NEW- WILLIE'S SMOKIN' HOT DOGGIE SAUCE. Guaranteed To Bite Long After The Bark.'
"The sauce is Pop's new sample. He had it formulated to go down smooth, then hit you later. It takes a couple minutes until the full effect sends your taste buds up in flames." She held up a syringe needle. "We keep the syringe needles to marinate dogs. I just gave each of your guys a sample of the new sauce, right in the center of the meat. The men all got dogs within a few minutes of each other, so the closer they were to the end of the line, the bigger the dog and the smaller the dose. They also got served in order, so the sauce wouldn't hit them too quickly and alert the others." She straightened her hat and said, "I managed to catch up by the time your first two left the park. Agents followed them, and the rest got a dose of hot sauce."
"How did you remember which guys ordered the special?" Sady asked.
"If you work in one of these long enough, then you learn to match faces with orders," she replied airily, with a wave of her hand. "It's the sign of a good manager." Matt elbowed her, and she continued, "Stubbles might have helped me remember one or two. So he passed out free dogs to everyone who was in the area, and I had the doped ones on my tray."
"How did you know they'd eat them?" was Sady's next question.
Morrow answered, "We didn't, so our agents watched Amanda pass out the food. The guys who didn't eat their dogs were tailed as they left and arrested just outside the park."
"No offense, Amanda, but what's up with the hot sauce? I haven't heard anyone scream like that since my pageant days," Sady continued. "One of the girls had hair removal cream slipped into her hair styling gel."
"Pops sent along a couple packs of his new sauce for me to try. Now, I know better than to give out anything Pops dreams up without sampling it first. And, when you put him and hot peppers together, you'd better only try a pin dot sample. I nearly tore off the Chuck Wagon roof when I did. Those peppers in there make jalapenos taste like water. I think it's safe to tell him the hot sauce has been declared a weapon, and he's forbidden to have any more produced," Amanda said. "In the interest of public health and safety."
Morrow stepped back before he said, "It was a good idea. Amanda. The guys who ate the hot dogs were easy to find and arrest."
"Uh, huh. I told you it would work. Am I going to get a medal of honor, or something?" Amanda asked Morrow.
Out loud, Matt said to Sady, "I'm going with 'or something'."
"No medals, Amanda. But I'm sure this case will be noted in agency books somewhere. Maybe you'll even make it into a training manual," Morrow said.
Amanda nudged Matt. "See there, I get a training manual. What do you get?"
"You need a training manual. See if they'll throw in some training pads for you as well. Oh, no- don't be smacking me around. I have witnesses this time. Besides, you asked what I got? I got the girl!" He smiled as he held Sady tight.