Winter Morning

Arriving early, I ran across the concrete back deck into the bar. I grabbed two pool cues and approached the only man inside. I explained to him that there were two gang members about to rape a young woman "Right. Out. There." He wasn't concerned. I turned to the two women at the other end.

"Not our business."

"What if they have guns?"

"We might get hurt."

I headed out the back, leaving one cue inside and the other clattering to the concrete when the fat one walked around the corner and pointed a snub-nosed revolver at me.

"Tienes cartera?"

"I don't speak Spanish," I lied.

"He wants your wallet, puto." The skinny one rounded the corner now, holding the girl by the hair.

"I left it in my truck," I lied again. My wallet was in my pocket, but I carry the bare minimum and had no cash to fill it out further. They didn't seem concerned, and the fat one waved me over to the open area beside the bar with the barrel of the revolver.

"You're not going too work today, homes, you're gonna be target practice. I'm doin' double-taps." Suddenly, he threw the small revolver past me to the frozen ground and pulled a much larger one from his coat. He pointed it at me, and I dived right. He fired twice from ten feet away, and as I was rolling to my feet he ran past me to the back corner of the bar, about 30 feet away. He fired twice more, and missed twice more. I picked up the small revolver. As I took aim, he missed two more times. I gave up aiming and charged. He was slow to react, but as I closed the distance he pointed the massive revolver at my chest and jerked the trigger again.

Click.

By then I was at contact distance and put two in his chest. Before he hit the ground I added two more and landed with a knee on his left arm and the other on his neck.

"Tienes mas munición?"

The surprise never had time to leave his eyes. As the dying gangster took his last breaths, he shakily reached into his pocket and handed me the rest of his ammo. I reloaded the huge revolver, a .44, and headed around to the back of the bar, where the girl was starting to scream.

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This was a dream I had this morning. There was more to it, but you know how dreams fade. I don't remember how I was involved, except that it had something to do with a note. Or a letter. I remember the small revolver was a .22 magnum, but that didn't fit into the flow as I wrote, so I left it out. I wish I had more. What do y'all think?

This could be handy:

Bangin'?

Our only open fugitive file at the moment, the one I mention below, is a possible gangmember in Inglewood. I say "possible" because he's definitely involved with them but may not actually be a member. His charges include assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder.

I'm just tired of thinking about this guy. I'm going to start spending more of my free time watching his parents' and girlfriend's houses waiting for him. I want to put him in jail and forget about him.

Frustration

Well, we sat on the house for about 5 hours and she never came out, so either she left early or she was sleeping in. Then this morning Miss M and I sat on the parents' house for another 5 hours, and got nothing but a parking ticket.

We'll get this guy, it's only a matter of time, but this is getting old.

The Boss and I had a very interesting meeting with... let us say "entertainment industry executive" so as to remain coy, and there may be some exciting news in the next few months. Or there may not. Depends on a lot of things.

Otherwise, I'm interviewing candidates for our team, and it's amazing how many resumes I get that have nothing but a couple years of unarmed contract security experience, or even less. Or a cover letter that looks like it was written by a dyslexic spider monkey, but nonetheless assures me the candidate possesses qualities such as "attention to detail" and "excellent communication skills."

Found one who'll be worth trying out, though, and several more I have yet to interview that look promising on paper.

Training Day, and then some

So we got a few of the local Guardian Angels crew for bad guys, and went to a local dojo and threw them around a bit, practicing handcuffing techniques and such. Then we headed over to a former client and current friend's house to practice entries and clearing.

Along were The Boss, Miss M, myself, and (hmmm, what shall I call him) "Master P," in addition to the Angels. We polished up some techniques and then headed over to a local curry house for dinner.

No sooner had we left the restaurant, still sweaty from the training, than a (filthy rich) protection client called with an update on his stalker situation that triggered a clause in the contract requiring a fast response time. So I, Master P, and The Boss headed over at top speed (top speed for Beverly Hills on Sunday evening anyway) and took care of his issue (and realized his home security system needs a full overhaul).

Came home late and had to write a Craigslist ad to try to find a couple more people. Not sure I got all the requirements in there, but I did pretty well off the top of my head. I'll probably have to do twice as many interviews as I really need to, but I'll learn just what else needs to be mentioned for next time.

Tomorrow (actually, later today, in 5 hours), one of the Angels is going to pick me up and we're heading down to Inglewood to watch a fugitive's girlfriend. I can't do it by myself because (a) she's seen me before when we hit her apartment looking for him, and (b) I'm too white to be inconspicuous in that area. The Angel can't do it by himself because he doesn't know what she or the fugitive look like.

If she leads us to him (I put it at 75% probability) and he's by himself, we're going to take him. If his homies are around, we'll call The Boss, Miss M, and Master P and wait for them to arrive before we try anything.

Wish me luck!

Gear, Part 2 (Surveillance)

I've created for myself a little surveillance kit. Just threw everything in a backpack. It contains:

- A video camera (natch), with charging cable, USB cable, and remote.
- Extra microSD cards for same.
- "Gorillapod" that works for phone and camera. This allows me to mount my phone on the steering wheel and keep my eyes up while waiting for something to happen, or mount the video camera on the steering wheel for long video.
- A keychain video camera that looks like a car alarm keyfob, and charging cable. Also takes microSD cards.
- Two pairs of binoculars, one more powerful and one pocket-sized.
- A spare battery/case for my iPhone.
- A cheap IWB holster and a Belly Band, just in case.
- An extra shirt for a minor change in appearance.
- A bottle of water.
- A package of beef jerky.
- A Starbucks Frappucino bottle, because it has a wide mouth for relieving oneself in the car.

Gear, Part 1 (Fugitive Recovery)

We wear body armor, just in case. We wear "tactical" vests, too. Mine has a couple pistol magazine pouches, a shotgun ammo pouch, flashlight, handcuffs, knife, a radio pouch, radio earpiece, a blow-out kit, and some GP pouches. One carries my phone and keys, two are for miscellany like gloves and watch cap, (expandable baton fits well in this one) and one is my "transport kit," containing: a web belt, knotted at one end, to secure feet together and against the car door, a leather belt to put around the waist and cuff the hands to, and some flex cuffs. I may add some leg shackles.

Then, of course, there's the 1911 in a thigh holster, and the Mossberg 500 on a three-point sling.

Also on the vest is a badge. It's kind of a generic badge with an eagle emblem and the words "Fugitive Recovery Agent." Legally, it doesn't mean a damn thing, but it sometimes encourages people to comply.

Update: http://modernmikehammer.blogspot.com/2011/11/gear-updated.html

Drama

One of our personal protection clients (really just friends at the moment, clients when the money starts rolling in) is a group of three girls and their mom, who (how can I say this without giving away who they are?) had a bit of success last year in the entertainment industry and are now looking for other opportunities. They have a lot of things in the works, but these girls are their own worst enemies. At the moment one of them's in jail and another really should be in rehab. More than protection from crazies, what they need is a babysitter. Sheesh.

Luckily, The Boss and Miss M are taking care of them at the moment. The Boss has a history with them, and Miss M has a pretty good rapport with them and can provide the female role model they need (if they pay attention).

Freeway Flyers

The call came in at 1645: Mom came home and found a note from her loving son saying he was taking a bus to Tijuana. Mom called the bondsman and the bondsmen called us. Fifteen minutes later The Boss and I were flying down the 405 from the West Side, and the lovely Miss M down the 5 from her pad up near Glendale. WAIT - ummm... did I say flying? Check that time again. Yeah, the thick of Los Angeles' rush hour. So The Boss and I were crawling down the 405 from the West Side, and the lovely Miss M down the 5 from her pad up near Glendale. Seems the bus had left Santa Ana about the same time we left L.A. and was scheduled to arrive at San Ysidro at 1900, then continue on to Tijuana and points south.

Finally cleared traffic in Orange County, took the 73 toll road and floored it. My little truck doesn't have a lot of cojones, but it got a good workout. Ninety em-pee-aitch all the way to San Ysidro (that's just on the nice side of the border), except for a few idiots doing things like 65 in the carpool lane.

The Boss and I arrived at the border at 1925 and he went to speak to the Border Patrol. They hadn't seen the guy, but we gave them a picture and they promised to look out for him and call us if they detained him.

While we were trying to get confirmation of the whereabouts of the bus, a San Diego cop pulled up behind where I'd parked in a bus zone, and was in the process of running my plate when I walked over to him. Kept my hands tucked in the top of my vest (read: well away from my weapon) out of courtesy, explained what we were doing, and he was starstruck! Asked tons of questions on everything from equipment to pay to employment. Apparently, like many other jobs it seems a lot cooler from outside.

Just before Miss M arrived, we got confirmation the bus had crossed the border at 1930. You do the math: we'd come 150 miles and missed the guy by less than 5 minutes.

But hey, I got a nice steak dinner out of it!

Range Day

Spent most of the day on the range yesterday with The Boss and Miss M. Lots of quick-reaction shooting, shooting and moving, multiple targets, etc. Handguns and rifles. It's been quite a few years since I handled an M-16, so when we got to the rifle (AR-15, but who's counting) I was feeling quite proud of myself for doing so well. Then I looked over at Miss M's target and her group was half the size of mine.

For my ego's sake, I'm calling it as her much more recent experience, and the fact that she's shot with optics before. I never had.

Anyway, a great time was had by all, including Miss M's room-mate, who did some training of her own. I miss long range days, and if I could afford the ammo I'd go every week.

Another One Down

Got another one a couple nights ago, and when we got to IRC it took more than 4 hours to turn him in. They had a shift change. Apparently when it's time for a shift change at IRC, the offgoing crew simply drops everything and leaves, and then the oncoming crew tries to pick up the pieces.

Then, the new crew lost the paperwork and we had to dash over to the bondsmen to get another Authorization to Surrender.

Finally finished and headed home. Going out tonight for another.

Road Warriors

So, we went out Saturday night to get a guy with seven warrants out of Tennessee. We'd been checking some areas where his rental car had been located, but didn't see it anywhere. We had an insider at the hospital where his wife had just had a premature baby, who was now in intensive care.

The guy called us at 2305 and said the guy was there, so we headed out and got there at 2325. Pretty good time.We checked the parking garage and surrounding streets for the car our intel said he was supposedly driving. It wasn't there, so we waited outside the hospital, because we didn't want to rattle too many cages by going in and causing a ruckus right in the preemie ward.

Eventually a couple came out and the man looked kinda like the photo we had of our fugitive. Couldn't tell for certain, but we followed the truck anyway and he was going towards one of the areas we had checked previously. Finally, he stopped at a gas station and got out, and sure enough, it was our guy. So we took him there at the window (this was about 0100 Sunday morning) and transported him to IRC (Inmate Reception Center) at the L.A. County Jail in downtown.

A brief interjection about IRC. They have a lot of policies and procedures in place for bond surrenders. Forms to fill out, things to sign, mysterious bureaucratic back-room things to be done, and you even have to call someone and get permission to surrender the prisoner. The fastest I've seen all this happen was an hour and a half, and I was ecstatic to be done that fast. Normal is at least 2 and a half hours, and can be as much as 4. Here's the kicker: they're so confused over there about what to do with the whole situation that every time I turn someone in, the procedures are different. EVERY TIME.

Well, back to our new friend. This time, the difference was that they now told us they couldn't accept a surrender for an out-of-state warrant. Never mind that the warrant specified that Tennessee would extradite. Never mind that we surrendered a guy on an out-of-state warrant just two weeks ago. They wouldn't take him. This was now 0200.So now our choice was to let him go or take him to Tennessee.

We called the bondsman in Tennessee and got him to commit to more money, and by the time we got situated (had to get Miss M out of bed and meet her across L.A.) it was 0300. Then it was non-stop except for gas and food, all the way to Nashville. Thirty-five hours because we kept mostly to the speed limit. We got there and bought our boy a beer to calm him down. We'd heard his story along the way and, although scumbags get good at lying, I think he was telling the truth. He kinda got screwed.

No matter, though, because whatever the original offense was, what I'm enforcing is the contract he willingly signed with the bondsman. So we met the bondsman at his office right across the street from the jail, and his partner walked us over to show us where to surrender the guy.Now here's the perfect end to a hard trip: Remember how I said it's a pain in the neck to surrender a fugitive in L.A.? In Nashville it took one minute. Not a single form to fill out, paper to sign, or BS to deal with. We took him through the door, told the officer his name, and waited for him to (a) put his cuffs on the guy and give us ours back and (b) check the computer system to find the guy's warrants. That was it. One. Frickin'. Minute.

Now, remember where I said I left really quickly when I got the got the call our fugitive was at the hospital? Well, I had no idea I'd be spending four days in a car, so I didn't have anything with me. Same socks, same underwear, same T-shirt with body armor over it. After we surrendered the guy I could have bought something, but at that point why bother?

Anyway, we slept a bit on the way back, but still did it in two days. Too much to do.

Long day

Surveillance today on a possible (probable) worker's compensation fraud. He was working in a condo in a semi-closed complex and I couldn't get any video. What I did was go around the block to the TV studio and convince them to let me sit on their property and video the truck from across a drainage canal. Got solid video of him closing a truck tailgate with a hand he supposedly couldn't use.

SCORE!

Oh say can you NCIC?

Going out tonight to attempt to recover a fugitive from another state. He doesn't know anyone's looking for him here, and we have an address where he's reportedly living with his mother in a suburb of L.A.

The way this works, out-of-state warrants may or may not be entered into NCIC, the National Crime Information Center, making them visible to authorities in all 50 states. If the warrant is in NCIC, then jails in any state can accept custody of the fugitive. If not, they won't. When we arrest this guy (assuming he's where we think), we're going to take him to downtown L.A. to the Inmate Reception Center (IRC) and attempt to surrender him. See, we can't access NCIC to find out if the guy's warrant is there. If it isn't, we're gonna drive him to... let's say, "another city," (the chances he's reading this blog are less than minute, but OpSec is important) and turn him over to the bondsman, who will then take him back to the state where he's wanted and surrender him there.

On the one hand, since taking him to that other city involves the same pay plus expenses, I want to turn him in at IRC. On the other hand...

ROAD TRIP!

UPDATE: IRC took him.

Introduction

A bit about me and this blog:

I chose the name because, to me, Mike Hammer is the prototypical private detective. Mike Hammer cared passionately about each and every case, and always saw them through to a successful conclusion, whatever it took. Like Mike, I have a healthy respect for what's right and and an equally healthy contempt for the law when the two don't coincide. Unlike Mike, I rarely get physical. It's usually counterproductive in the real world, although it works to great effect for Mickey Spillane.

Stylistically, my instincts turn more to Philip Marlowe than Mike Hammer. Like Marlowe, I am a great appreciator of cheap whiskey, good coffee, and fedoras.

Me, I'm fairly new to the PI business. I've signed on with a more experienced PI in order to get my foot in the door and learn as much as I can as I move towards an eventual PI license and hanging up my own shingle.

We cover not only investigations, but personal protection and fugitive recovery as well. This fits with the plan I once conceived to open a truly full-service security firm. Actually, my plan was even more expansive: I wanted (and still do, eventually) to offer contract security, personal security, investigations, firearms and martial arts training, firearms sales, alarm systems and installation, locksmithing, IT security, and consulting for all of the above.

On this blog, you can expect a running commentary on my work and education in private investigations. I welcome comments and criticism.