Undercover Crisis

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER FOUR

"You know what, Graham? I'm going to do it," said Clancy as he stretched out in the space of his first-class seat on Air Canada. The seats were actually business class; wide armchairs covered in real leather and as comfortable as clouds. They had been greeted with glasses of champagne and a selection of canapes. They had ordered dinner from a leather-bound menu. Clancy choose the filet mignon and felt guilty. Suddenly, a wide grin broke out.

"What?" Carde grinned and turned to Clancy. "Deciding on creme brule for dessert?"

"No. What you said. If you weren't kidding, I'll take the job as head of security if you're sure I can handle it."

Carde held out his hand. Clancy shook the offered hand but Carde held on. "You have to be sure, Clancy. This is no joke and it could get rough fast. So, are you positive you want to be one of the first employees in a brand-new company?"

"I am as sure as I have ever been of anything," Clancy answered. Carde released his hand. "Do I get paid or is it just first-class flights and free food?"

They laughed and it felt good after the stress both had felt for days. "You get paid and it will be about double what you're getting as a cop."

"I don't know about that, Carde. Cops aren't underpaid in Toronto. I'm looking at well over a hundred grand with some overtime and pay duty."

Carde kept his grin. "You really want to stand around construction sites playing traffic warden? We'll start you with two and a half plus.

"Two hundred and fifty a week?" Clancy was looking at him "Uh..."

"Two hundred and fifty thousand a year with a bonus of maybe twice that, depending," said Carde.

Clancy stated at Carde. "You're kidding with a man who was looking at life in a jail cell, Graham. That's not nice. And 'depending' on what?"

"Depending on whether we're still in business," Carde said. "But I wouldn't worry about that too much; we've got JPI and Jackson solidly behind us. By the way," Carde paused and patted Clancy on his arm, "Jackson thinks you'll be a superb VP of security.

"You told him already?"

"Ha. He's the one who suggested you. It took me about five seconds to say yes. And Marion endorsed you for the job right after that. You've got friends in high places, my bud."

Clancy was shaking his head. "This is a dream, Graham. A couple of hours ago, I was thinking of putting a bullet in my head - no joke. Now, we're sitting in first class talking about making me a rich and happy ex-cop."

"Speaking of which, here comes our supper," Carde told Clancy while beaming up at the approaching flight attendant.

The plane landed right on time and the two men took a limo to Barrie, about an hour away. Clancy had not wanted to go back to his small, lonely, rental apartment. Carde had a rental house in the small city with a spare bedroom that Clancy could use. He told Clancy he could get right to work the next day looking into the fire at the company's headquarters site. Then Clancy could go the rest of the way back to the big city to hand in his resignation at his division.

Clancy had trouble getting to sleep. His head was full of memories of his recent ordeal conflicting with the opportunities ahead. Despite what lay before him, Clancy couldn't stop feeling betrayed and devalued by the charge brought against him by the B.C. Crown Attorney. He also was bitter about his experience with the Toronto Police Department. He had been accepted back into the force from his undercover work but he felt suspicion from some of his superior officers. They seemed unsure that Clancy had not been affected by rubbing shoulders with criminals for ten years. When he was charged with murder in B.C., that suspicion grew and spread even to others in the ranks with whom Clancy had been working. His father also had felt the animosity among the cops. He told Clancy he was angered by some of the comments he heard among his colleagues and was thinking about taking retirement himself. He was due.