Dante's Prayer (Jerod's Third Tale - Part 4)

I rang the supplier and arranged a meeting for the next afternoon. He sounded slightly surprised when I said I was bringing someone to the meeting, but not put off by the idea.

Being free from obligations for the rest of the day, Tania and I spent it just wandering around.We drove past several vineyards and villas. We walked through the centre of town.

Exploring even a small town is more tiring than you might expect. Tania and I headed to the hostel around the time that dusk fell.

"Shrimp, where's the new laptop?"

I pulled it out of my bag and handed it to Tania. "What do you want it for?"

She quickly set it up on the tabletop. "I'm going to send an email to Ted. Let him know we're here and the meeting is tomorrow."


"That sounds like a fine idea. I'll go see about some food." I left Tania tapping away at the keyboard.

The kitchen wasn't going to win any design awards but it was functional and I set about preparing some Mac n Cheese. It was nearly done before Tania came to the kitchen to check on things.

"That was a long note, honey."

"Well, I started reading the history of the town. There is a lot online about the families and the buildings." As we sat down to our Mac n Cheese, Tania filled me in on the high points of the town.

After dinner we started looking at the bedrooms. We found that there was one room downstairs with several single beds but upstairs had a few rooms with just one double bed each. We managed to claim a double bed. Good thing no one tried the door cause things got a little frisky. There is something about the French air that makes love feel new again.

---

We had agree to explore the museum after breakfast the next day. I took one look at what Tania put on and shook my head.

"Tania, those are the wrong clothes. Go change."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Sweetheart, put on the new outfit. And the knives."

"But you said the meeting was this afternoon."

"It is but I think you should wear that outfit the entire time we are out. You need some practice at being badarse enough. And if anyone flirts with you, you are not doing the attitude right."

Tania looked for a moment like she was thinking about arguing and then disappeared again with a slam of the door.

When she reappeared, she had on the new gear but handed me the knives in their sheaths. "I have no clue about this."

I strapped one on her left arm, just far enough above the jacket sleeve to be invisible to the casual glance. The other was strapped to her leg, the handle just hidden by the top of the boot. "There, with any luck, someone might only find one of the two."

"Maybe you should frisk me, just to be sure." Tania's upper lip twitched with a suppressed grin. I decided she had a point and what guy would want to pass up an opportunity to grope his spouse? The knife up the sleeve was easy to find in a quick pat down. But the boots are a heavier leather and I didn't notice that knife when frisking Tania. Twice over, just to be sure.

After breakfast, Tania logged into email. Ted had sent a note, all was well at home. It would have been a bit surprising to hear anything else but Tania liked reading that all the same. He also requested details of the meeting when we had any to share.

----

On the way over to the museum, I gave Tania some more details about the part she would have to play. What you were supposed to look for, how you were expected to act. She didn't know that I'd had a brief stint in such positions before when I was working my way up in the Company.

The museum was, well, a museum. There was art work from around the globe, most of the exhibits were from China and Eqypt.

I couldn't decide if I liked the sphinx statue or not. It's a beautiful piece of art but reminds me of being left to die in the Great Pyramid. Not one of my more pleasant memories.

Tania was truly getting into her role as my protection. I was moving from exhibit to exhibit. She was positioning herself in places that let her keep an eye on everything in the room with barely a glance at a single thing on display. When we were in an empty room, I gave her a brief nod of approval. An eyebrow arched upward and one corner of her mouth moved were my only replies.

The museum didn't really take that long. It's too small a town to have much on display. I walked out with Tania still tailing along a few paces behind. We stayed silent until we finally got into our rental car to find some food.

"Well?"

"Darlin', you are a professional. If I didn't know better, I would have thought you'd been doing this job for a couple of years."

"Shrimp, seriously?"

"Seriously. This is not the kind of thing I'd ever lie to you about because the difference between doing it right and doing it wrong could be fatal for both of us. I'm stunned by how fast you are learning."

"So how do I handle lunch?"

I laughed. "We just eat. Everyone has to eat. Even the most dedicated protection has to have some food."

We went back to the Bistro and ordered some food. I tried the shrimp cocktail. It was trés bon.

After lunch, it was finally time for the meeting. Tania was following our directions while I drove us toward our destination. The meeting was at the guy's home, his business not being entirely on the up and up.

The directions I had worked well, we arrived for the meeting at only a few minutes before 2. Jean Luc Beaumont meet us at the door.

"Hi, I'm Jerod. Thank you for agreeing to having a little chat."

"I will not say it's my pleasure but I can understand why your people are a bit concerned. Please come in." He suddenly spied Tania behind me. "Perhaps, it is my pleasure after all. You did not tell me your protection was so beautiful."

"It's not wise to say that. She scuffed her boots kicking the last man who said that. She gets really cross when her boots are scuffed." I paused then smiled wickedly. "I think he got off the floor, eventually." I glanced at Tania who was calmly standing behind me. Her smile definitely left no doubt that she'd love to kick someone else too as she idly looked at one boot.

Damn I love that woman.

Jean Luc smiled hesitantly this time. "Please sit. Let us chat." Tania ignored the offer of a chair and stalked off to a corner with a clear view of the door and our host. I sat in the proffered chair. A quick look around suggested that Jean Luc's home was comfortable. However, it wasn't where the money from the recent increases was going. Bank fund? Retirement account? Gambling debt? Something else?

"Do you know why I asked to meet with you?"

"I think, perhaps Monsieur, that you are here to demand a reduction in price in the goods I supply."

"No, no." I motioned with my hands. "Not demand. I should hope that demands are completely unnecessary. But I must insist on knowing, why are the prices of goods going up? What can I do to help?"

Jean Luc looked like he wanted to run out of the room. I relaxed back into the chair, I could afford to be patient. Tania was nearly as still as the wall behind her. The tension radiating from Jean Luc kept building.

"Please, Jean Luc, talk to me. We want to keep supplies flowing. While we could look for a new source, the first priority is to see if this can work again. And my people were very clear, there can be no more increases in price. A substantial reduction is required."

Jean Luc nearly jumped to his feet. "A reduction? A cut? Oh Monsieur, if only I could but."

"Monsieur," I said very gently, "I repeat, what is wrong and what can I do to help?"

"Help? Help? There is no help for me, Monsieur. Two years ago, a man who had many years of service in a government agency moved here. He has decided that his retirement funds were inadequate and when he found out about my little business. Well, he is, how do you say it?"

"Blackmail, perhaps, Monsieur Beaumont? He demands money from you?"

"Oui, exactement. This man demands money from me and he keeps expecting more."

"So, if these demands for money were eliminated, you could sell us the goods for?"

"The costs involved have gone up. Perhaps 300 a crate?"

Ah well, trying a bit of price bartering shouldn't hurt. "Maybe 260 a crate?"

"Monsieur, surely not. I might be able to sell for 290."

"Mon ami, let us agree on 280 and say no more on the matter. And that's only if I can remove those blackmail demands. Is that agreeable to you, Monsieur Beaumont?"

"Oui, that is agreeable."

"I will need to know his name and any details about him you can tell me." Over the next 15 minutes, we went over the details Jean Luc could tell me. There wasn't a great deal beyond his name is Francois Lambert and he moved to town with his wife about 2 years ago and their address.

"What will you do to stop him?"

"There are two reasons I won't answer that, Jean Luc. The first is that you are better off not knowing. And the second is I don't actually know yet. That is my problem, not yours." I stood up, shook Jean Luc's hand and headed for the door. Tania followed, her boots tapping loudly across the wooden floor.

When we were well away, Tania asked, "Well, what's next?"

"Next is know thy enemy. We find out more about dear Francois."