CC: Chapter 1 - Comfort Place

[Mort]

One police car and two SUVs exited the freeway and headed toward downtown Atlanta. Donnie Barnes turned away from where she was staring out the passenger window of the lead SUV and looked down at her watch. Right on time. It was half past six, a time specifically chosen by Ms. Barnes to avoid traffic and hopefully some protesters. Of course, it also meant that many of the inhabitants of the Tower at Comfort Place would be home from work. Ms. Barnes hasn't considered that. She wasn't entirely sure that any of poverty-stricken inhabitants of the Tower actually worked. Why would anyone with a job live in such a place?

The Tower at Comfort Place had served for three decades as low-rent housing for the working (and non-working) poor in downtown Atlanta. But now, since the city council had decided to renovate much of the downtown with the inflow of federal stimulus money, the building was being sold to a developer, a big time developer named Donnie Barnes. She stood to make a killing if she could convince her investors that the property was actually a money maker, either renovated or completely demolished. That determination required final inspections, inspections she had to sign off on . . . and soon. So Barnes had put together a small team to go inspect the building from top to bottom. Details of the sale had leaked to the news outlets just this week. Needless to say the neighborhood wasn't exactly thrilled they they'd likely be getting evicted from their homes in just a few months.

The SUV was driven by a security guard from Barnes' office building, a burned-out cop. Barnes didn't know his name, but she figured having him as the driver couldn't hurt, even if they were getting a police escort. As far as Barnes was concerned, poor people were dangerous. In the back of the SUV sat the current bane of Barnes' existence, a local bleeding-heart politician named Steers. Barnes told her investors that she was bringing Steers along as a show of good faith, to pacify the conspiracy nuts that everything concerning the sale of the property above board. Truth was, a few members of the city council had demanded that Steers be allowed to accompany them on the inspection. It was a battle Barnes didn't want to fight, so she capitulated without a fuss. It wasn't like Steers could do anything to stop the sale now anyway.

[Mort]

Barnes looked at her watch again. They were getting close. She was about to say something when her phone rang. She answered:

"This is Barnes."

"You're kidding me."

"Damn it," she mumbled into the phone.

"I'll tell them."

Barnes hung up the call and immediately began dialing again. She reached out and touched Jim on the arm to get his attention. She looked at him as she spoke into the phone.

"The police just called. Apparently there are dozen protesters in front of Comfort. They are blocking the street and the entrance to the building." She was silent for a moment. "Dozens . . . maybe a hundred." Silence again. "It's pretty ugly, yes. The cop says they are going to try to clear them out. We are going to circle the neighborhood until we get the all clear. Tell your driver to follow us." She hung up the phone and turned to Jim. "You get that? Follow that car," she said, pointing with her phone at the cop car.

___________________

The second SUV also had a rent-a-cop as its driver. This one came with the car. He was young and handsome but didn't look the least bit dangerous. He wore a name tag, but no one bothered to read it. Seated next to him was a pretty young woman. Gina Miller was her name, and she was the very loyal, highly paid, and often abused assistant to Donnie Barnes. Seated behind them were three more members of the inspection team. The first was a maintenance man of sorts name Todd Rothbury. He was there to do a visual inspection of the electrical system. His cursory report would probably tell them all the needed to know about whether or not a renovation was even possible. The second was a young journalist named Caulder. Miller didn't know anything about him or his politics, but Barnes had approved his coming along. That was enough for Miller. The third man, an enormously fat man named Newman, sat in the very back of the SUV. He was an engineer who specialized in downtown demolitions. He was there to give the building's structure a one-over and also to work up a pre-plan for the demolition if the firm decided to go that way.

The ride so far had been quiet. The silence was interrupted by Miller's phone. She looked at the screen and then answered in a very respectful tone:

"Yes ma'am?"

"How many?" Miller sounded uncomfortable.

"Is it bad? What will we do?" Even more uncomfortable.

"Yes ma'am."

Miller turned to her driver. "There a bit of a riot at our destination. We are going to wait for the police to settle things down before we arrive. Just stay with the other cars. They'll show us where to go. It will be fine." She turned in her seat to address those behind her. "It'll be fine," she repeated, but she didn't sound convinced.

[Sir Harry Flashman]

"You get that? Follow that car," she said, pointing with her phone at the cop car.

Jim nods, "Yes ma'am - I got it," he says, now focusing on the cop car infront of them. A part of him wished that he were in one of those cruisers still - but those were thoughts for another time and place. Now he had to be professional. Despite her often brusque manner, Jim enjoyed working for Miss Barnes' company - it was steady work, and hey - it paid those bills Amanda was always going on about.

[Usdrothek]

"Sure thing." answers Todd with the barest hint of sarcasm.

He turns to Caulder and cracks a grin and rolls his eyes.

"......Bit... of a riot."

Todd wasn't really that worried. No way the city was going to send them into a riot, not with all these big wigs around. Surely not.

I don't blame them. If someone was going to knock my place down or kick me out, I'd be pissed off too. he thinks. Sucks that I'm going to have a hand in it.

[philjun]

Robert Steers

Leans forward with a genuinely worried look on his face. "Mrs. Barnes... You must understand that those people are only worried for their future, which does not look too fabulous in the first place. In my honest opinion, having the cops clear them out is a truly bad idea and would only prove a temporary solution to the problem. Do you intend to have the cops hanging around during this whole project? How do you think that kinda press would look to the investors? You cannot make people's worries go away just like that. Maybe if you had been more informative from the outset... You need to speak to those people, promise them, that they will be taken into account as well. Don't you see? If you go by force this whole project will be dead already from the outset - which I wouldn't mind all that much but I'd hate to see people getting hurt in the process." Robert tries to catch Mrs. Barnes' eyes with an insistent stare.

[Mort]

Barnes intentionally did not meet Steers' gaze. Instead she waved her hand dismissively. "If the police think that dispersing the crowd is the best thing to do, who am I to argue? I understand that the residents of Comfort are upset, but please try to remember that I am not the one that evicted them. The city council did that. You did that. What would I have to say to them? I am merely buying the building that the city council is about to make vacant." Her voice was cold and casual. "I do not believe that the police intend to accompany us on the tour of the building, though perhaps officer Seagrove will." Officer Seagrove was the large black cop driving the police car ahead of them. "But we have our own security, and the inspection shouldn't take long." She paused a second for effect. "But protest or no protest, this inspection has to take place this evening. The investors won't wait. This building is being sold. These people have to move. Delaying the sale and costing the city--and me--money by delaying won't change any of that."

___________________

Newman leaned forward in his seat to speak. He was so big, he could barely move back there. "Ms. Miller?  MS. MILLER?" he yelled.

The young woman turned in her seat again and pushed her long red hair out of her face so she could see him.

"Ms. Miller . . . Gina, when you say, 'riot,' what exactly do you mean? And if you do mean what any normal person might mean by 'riot,' then why aren't we turning around? I don't get paid hazard pay for this."

Miller blanched at being called Gina, and her concern about their situation was immediately eclipsed by her irritation. "Mr. Newman, I'm sure we won't be going in until the police have everything under control. And once the Atlanta PD have done their job, we will all need to be ready to do ours." Miller spun back around in her seat, closed her eyes, and tried to channel her boss' nerves of steel.

[Sir Harry Flashman]

"But we have our own security, and the inspection shouldn't take long." She paused a second for effect.

Upon hearing this, Jim smiles - almost imperceptively. Well, that at least shows she values us rent-a-cops, he thinks - his hands rigidly resting on the steering wheel.

[Usdrothek]

Todd twists around in order to talk to Newman in the seat behind him.

"The cops are gonna take ages to shift a whole housing block of angry people. Hell, I'm happy to sit in the car for a few hours. I'm getting paid either way, man."

Todd shrugs as he says his last sentence. He  continues looking a Newman, seeing what kind of a response the man had.


Todd really hoped they could all sit in the car while the cops took their time figuring out how to disperse the unruly mob he was hearing about. With any luck, they would just sit here, waste some time and get paid for it and then when it all got too hard, call it a day.

[philjun]

Robert Steers

"I am well aware of my responsibilities, madam," Robert says restraining himself to keep his voice down, "but I doubt you could say the same? I known it wasn't your decision to make the building vacant, trust me, it wasn't what I wished for either. But now that the decision has been made we, you and I, have been presented with an opportunity to give something back to the community that we are evicting. You cannot undo the decision of the city council but you can promise these people relocation - either here or elsewhere." Robert once again tries to catch the eyes of Barnes.

[Mort]

"You cannot undo the decision of the city council but you can promise these people relocation - either here or elsewhere." Robert once again tries to catch the eyes of Barnes.

Barnes turned in her seat and looked right at him. "And where should I promise them they can relocate to?"

__________________

"The cops are gonna take ages to shift a whole housing block of angry people. Hell, I'm happy to sit in the car for a few hours. I'm getting paid either way, man."

Newman looked slightly relieved, but only slightly. "They need to clear out the whole building," he said quietly. "Those people are not going to be happy with us . . . at all."

__________________

The small convoy of cars circled the block for nearly ten minutes while, presumably, the police went to work. The police car that led the way came close to the block several times. The survey team could see the flash of red and blue lights from down the street, and they could see a small crowd of people that were still there. Finally, Barnes got the call. "The protesters are mostly dispersed and completely out of the way," she said. "We are going in. Let's get this done."

Barnes called Miller, and Miller relayed the message verbatim to her team.

[Usdrothek]

"Mostly dispersed!?" Todd asks rather loudly. He looks at Ms Miller and then turns to again to Newman and Caulder.

"This is going to be real fun." he says more quietly.

There went Todd's chance of sitting around and earning some easy money. Not only that, but it sounded like this job could very well become seriously dangerous in a short space of time. All it would take is one pissed off guy with a gun to turn this job into a nightmare.

If things go to Hell, at least I can run faster than Newman. he thinks

[Sir Harry Flashman]

Jim has to fight not to volunteer to shift aid the dispersing of the protesters, knowing that Miss Barnes would not approve.

"We are going in. Let's get this done."

At this, Jim nods, and starts up the car. 'Here we go...' He thinks to himself.

[philjun]

Robert Steers

"You could rehouse them in whatever project you're planning on developing here. Or, if that is not possible, I am sure that you have other projects around town. You seem to be an industrious woman."

[Mort]

"You could rehouse them in whatever project you're planning on developing here. Or, if that is not possible, I am sure that you have other projects around town. You seem to be an industrious woman."

Barnes looked momentarily shocked, and then she smiled a wicked little grin. "They didn't tell you? I don't develop residential real estate . . . anywhere in the city. My firm is commercial real estate only. This building is going to be turned into a deluxe office complex. We chose it specifically because it was originally built with an underground parking garage. If you didn't know that, your 'friends' on the city council have really let you down. " Barnes turned back around to face forward, smile still firmly plastered across her face.

Steers, of course, did not know that. He had been assured right from the beginning by his colleagues on the city council that the renovation project was to create "affordable" but "much improved" residential spaces downtown. This was all news to him.  All bad news.

__________________

As the small convoy pulled up in front of Comfort Place those inside the SUVs could see the controlled mayhem in front of the building. The police had put up a few orange temporary barricades around the front of the building, and more than fifty people were crammed behind them, held at bay by the police. The protesters yelled at the police and then at the newly arrived cars. These disgruntled citizens held signs that read, "Don't Steal Our Homes," "Slumlords Go Home," etc., and the slogans they yelled were far less polite and far less grammatically correct.

"Let's not waste any time getting into the building," Barnes said to Jim, as he stopped the car in front of the building. "The cop is going in with us, but keep your eyes open." And with that Barnes prepared to exit the car, but waited just long enough to give Jim a chance to exit first.

__________________

The second SUV came to stop right behind the first. As soon as he saw the people beginning to exit the cars, the young, handsome rent-a-cop driving the second SUV sprang into action. He jumped out of the car, ran around to open the passenger side door for Ms. Miller, and then pressed his back against the SUV like he was taking cover. His actions were so exaggerated, the young security guard looked like something out of a late-night skit spoofing a cop drama.

Newman saw it and put his head in his hands. "I hope to God they gave Barney Fife more than one bullet." Newman waved his hands at the others. "Go on. Get out. It's going to take me a minute and all the space I can manage to get my fat 'arse' out of this back seat."

One by one everyone exited the SUVs.

[Usdrothek]

"Great." says Todd. Its more a resolute statement than anything else.

Todd grabs his tool belt and gets out the car, hurriedly strapping it on as he looks nervously over the massed crowd.

"Here we go. Lets get in there fast"

He'll follow the hired muscle into the building. Todd doesn't want to make eye contact with the protesters, but he wants to watch out for thrown bricks or bottles.

[Sir Harry Flashman]

"Let's not waste any time getting into the building," Barnes said to Jim, as he stopped the car in front of the building. "The cop is going in with us, but keep your eyes open." And with that Barnes prepared to exit the car, but waited just long enough to give Jim a chance to exit first.

Jim nods, "Yes Ma'am, I will" he says, before getting out of the SUV, he then strides round to Miss Barnes' door and opens it for her - eyes always on the crowd, looking amongst the hate-filled faces for anyone looking unusually calm and collected.

He affords himself a wry smile upon seeing the young guy act like a cartoon character. Boy is he new.... He shakes his head briefly, before resuming his duties.

[philjun]

Robert Steers

Those leeching bastards sold you out again, Robert thinks to himself but then immediately pushes the thought away and leans forward again.


"It is impressive how you are able to find joy amongst other people's misery," Robert says his voice thick with sarcasm, "that's a real gift." He leans back and tries to think of another angle from where to approach the situation but before he can think of anything, the car comes to a halt and people start leaving the cars. Robert gets out of the car as well and looks at the crowd with a compassionate look on his face. He tries to meet people's eyes and get a feel of the emotional state of the people standing there.

[Mort]

The crowd was rowdy but generally well behaved all things considered. They hurled slogans and the occasional profanity at the inspection team, but no bricks or rocks.

"It is impressive how you are able to find joy amongst other people's misery," Robert says his voice thick with sarcasm, "that's a real gift."

As Barnes strode behind the security to the door she passed Steers and said, "The misery of these people is just not my concern. Your misery . . . yeah, that does being me a little joy."

Jim nods, "Yes Ma'am, I will" he says, before getting out of the SUV, he then strides round to Miss Barnes' door and opens it for her - eyes always on the crowd, looking amongst the hate-filled faces for anyone looking unusually calm and collected.

No one looked suspicious our out of place. The crowd looked poor, urban, and angry. No one looked either calm or collected.

He tries to meet people's eyes and get a feel of the emotional state of the people standing there.

Their emotional state was obvious. They were pissed. A few of the people in the crowd recognized Steers and began chanting his name. He was well known and considered by many to be a hero of the people, white or black. But those voice were quickly drowned out by the yelling of the others.

The team walked quickly into the lobby of the tower, following behind the massive black police man who had led the convoy of SUVs. The lobby was large, and the wide open space was only interrupted by two rows of support columns. At the back of the lobby was a bank of elevators. Massive fire doors stood at the back right and back left of the lobby, presumably leading to the east and west wings of the buildings. The lobby was occupied by by a pair of winos in the corner under some newspapers. Across from them stood a bi-racial young woman, very scantily clad for such cold weather.

The handsome young security guard exploded. "You were supposed to have cleared the lobby," he bellowed at the cop. The police man didn't finch. He rubbed his bald head and turned to stare down the security guard. "They don't have coats," he said calmly. "I'm not sending them out into the cold. They're harmless enough."

[Usdrothek]

"Jeez. This just gets better and better." mutters Todd.

He wasn't worried about the winos or the young woman, but the police obviously missed people. Where there was one, there was bound to be more.

[philjun]

Robert Steers

Puts his hand on the shoulder of the black police man. "You did the right thing," Robert says reassuringly. He then waits for the others to take initiative as to where to go next.