The Werewolves of Manhattan 07 - Wolf's Whistle
Table of Contents
Wolf Whistle
Blurb
Copyright Acknowledgement
Trademarks Acknowledgment
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
About the Author
MLR Press
Wolf Whistle
Werewolves of Manhattan
A.C. Katt
www.mlrpress.com
Blurb
Richard Kerrigan is on the verge of losing hope. Fired from his job for blowing the whistle on a defect that would harm service members if used as designed, he is now blacklisted in the Chicago area. A local Serbian mobster wants Richard and won’t take no for an answer.
Garou Industries, the loup garou privately owned company, has been searching for Richard to offer him a position in the company as they value having someone with his integrity on staff. Richard relocates to Manhattan to begin his new job and stays with Julien Bellaire, his mentor, who is also Richard’s Mate.
Before they can settle in, the Serbian mobster turns up dead and a corrupt cop who secretly works for the Serbians comes to New York with trumped up charges to pin the murder on Julio. With over eighty witnesses to Julio being on an airplane at the time of the murder, the cop abandons trying to frame Julio and instead plots to murder Richard. The loup garou request assistance from the Italian mob to protect Richard which comes with some interesting consequences.
Copyright Acknowledgement
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2017 by A.C. Katt
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Published by
MLR Press, LLC
3052 Gaines Waterport Rd.
Albion, NY 14411
Visit ManLoveRomance Press, LLC on the Internet:
www.mlrpress.com
Cover Art by Winterheart Design
Editing by Kris Jacen
Print format: ISBN# 978-1-944770-44-0
eBook format available
Issued 2017
This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher.
Trademarks Acknowledgment
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Amazon: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
American Express: American Express Marketing & Development Corp.
American Girl: American Girl
Babylon 5: Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P.
Barney’s: Barneys New York
Best Buy: Best Buy
Bic: BIC Group
Blu-ray: Blu-ray Disc Association
Chicago Tribune: The Tribune Company
Coke/Diet Coke: The Coca-Cola Company
Columbia: Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
Cornell: Cornell University
Cubs: Chicago National League Ball Club, Inc.
Culinary Institute: The Culinary Institute of America
Game of Thrones: Home Box Office, Inc.
GQ: Advance Magazine Publishers Inc.
GRE: College Board
Harvard: The President and Fellows of Harvard University
Howdy Doody: Howdy Doody Ventures LLC
Jacques Torres: Jacques Torres
John Lobb: for bespoke leather goods: John Lobb Ltd
Juilliard: The Juilliard School
Keurig: Keurig/k-cups: Keurig Green Mountain, Inc.
Kindle: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
Kinko’s: Fedex
L.L. Bean: L.L.Bean, Inc
Lincoln Navigator: Ford Motor Company
Marshalls: Marshalls
MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
NYU: New York University
Samsung Note: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Shark Tank: Sony Pictures Television, Inc.
The Godfather: Paramount Pictures
Times: The New York Times Company
Tomb Raider: Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd
Wharton: Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania
Yankees: New York Yankees Partnership
Prologue
Chicago
Switched Power Designs - Power Supply Group
Eighteen Months Ago
Richard Kerrigan stood nervously in front of the director of his division’s desk for thirty minutes shifting his weight from one foot to the other while Ronald Kitteridge spoke on the phone and read an article in the Chicago Tribune, his desk littered with empty paper coffee cups and piles of newspapers. He did not ask him to sit down in one of the two black vinyl and chrome chairs in front of his desk. Kitteridge largely ignored him.
Finally, Richard, tired of being ignored, spoke up in a gruff voice. “Mr. Kitteridge, I’m sorry to disturb you, but there is something wrong with the power supply for the new Cougar II troop transport.”
“And how does this concern you?” Kitteridge didn’t raise his eyes from his newspaper to meet Richard’s.
Richard, shaking but determined, continued. “My original design contained components from Minster because they are our preferred vendor.”
Kitteridge looked at him over the top edge of the newspaper. “So…?”
“When we tested my design, the Minster parts caused the power supply unit to overheat, and it started a fire.” Kitteridge’s face grew hard. Richard felt his face mottle with anger. He knew what he was up against. “I changed the components to ones supplied by Charter because they had much higher heat tolerance specs and the design held. But production is using the Minster component despite the fact Charter was specified.”
“We use Minster parts for most of our products. Why should this be any different?” Kitteridge barked.
Richard was treading on thin ice, but he was determined to do the right thing. He peered down at his blurry reflection staring up at him from the highly polished floor. The floor and the slick modern office contrasted directly with the unholy mess on Kitteridge’s desk.
He tried again. “You can’t risk a fire in one of those vehicles, sir. For this application, Minster sells substandard parts. They don’t meet the specifications the government gave us. We have to stop production.” Richard Kerrigan’s hands clenched and sweat beaded on his brow and upper lip. Junior engineers didn’t go up against Kitteridge and keep their jobs.
“The failure rate is a little more than five percent which is perfectly acceptable.” Kitteridge took a sip from the one cup that still held coffee. The director had a Keurig machine behind his desk. Of course, he didn’t drink the sludge the junior engineers were given. Kitteridge stuck another cup under the brewer, lifted the lid and put in packet.
r /> Despite Kitteridge’s annoyance Richard continued. “These parts go into a military vehicle. We have a moral obligation to the troops to make sure that they get the best possible equipment. They’re in enough danger as it is, they shouldn’t be at risk from substandard parts. Five percent is five out of every hundred vehicles. That can’t be acceptable.”
Richard clenched his fists. Damn his red hair and light complexion. When he was angry, his face turned beet red. How he wished he didn’t give his feelings away so easily. His fingers tightened and released until his nails almost pierced his skin. He grabbed the back of the chair and held on so tight his nails made half-moons in the vinyl in his futile effort to keep his temper in check.
Kitteridge put down his newspaper. “This decision was made by management. It’s not your call, Kerrigan.” His tone was frosty. He stared at Richard as if he were a bothersome mosquito.
But Richard didn’t want to accept responsibility for substandard parts in his design that could cause vehicle fires and possibly take the lives of the soldiers driving those vehicles. Relentlessly, he pushed forward. “In this application, Mr. Kitteridge, any chance of fire is unacceptable.”
“It’s a risk that Switched Power Designs is willing to take. The parts from Minster saved the company millions. That’s all I want to hear from you on this subject. Go back out and do your job and leave the executive decisions to the people who are paid to make them.” Kitteridge turned away from Richard, dismissing him. He started to enter data into his computer.
Richard refused to leave. He raised his voice. “Mr. Kitteridge, I don’t think you understand what I’m telling you. People could die if we use the Minster parts.” He took a deep, calming breath. “It would be dishonest. The military tested units with the Charter parts.”
“Richard, you’re an excellent engineer, but you get too involved in production. That isn’t your responsibility. Let this go. If you don’t, things will go badly for you.” Kitteridge sent him a threatening scowl.
I can’t let this go. People could die. Richard left the office, but he determined to persist in his quest to do right by the troops. This would cost him his job, but he wouldn’t be responsible for one soldier losing his life because the company wanted to save twenty-five dollars per component in an eighteen-thousand-dollar power supply.
He began by going over Kitteridge’s head to the Vice President of Engineering where he got the same answer. The president of Switched Power refused to give him an appointment. After he exhausted all channels there, he finally called his congressman in desperation. He was called to testify at closed-door hearings, and new tests were performed on the power supply with the Minister parts. The part was deemed unacceptable. As a result, production ceased, and all of the Cougar II vehicles had to be retrofitted.
However, Richard was out of a job. As a whistleblower, Switched Power Designs shouldn’t have been able to fire him, but they accused him of insubordination and not being a team player. He didn’t have the money to hire a lawyer to fight his termination. They said he was fired with cause, and he received no letter of reference or severance.
§ § §
Present Day
Switched Power blacklisted Richard in Chicago, and he didn’t have the money to start somewhere new. Earlier that year he used his savings to put his mother in a hospice to make sure she was cared for properly while she was dying from breast cancer. Now, Mom was gone, he had no job, and unemployment had run out. Stuck in a life of unrelenting poverty, he lost his apartment. Richard got a job as a check-out clerk in a local grocery and at night he worked as a bartender managing to barely make the rent for a furnished studio in a not-so-nice neighborhood. He sold his furniture and his car. All the money he had to spare went toward his college loans. He had protein bars for breakfast and ate a burger at the bar for dinner. The only things he kept from his old life were his computer and cell phone. He used the service at Kinko’s to print out his resumes.
He hadn’t given up; it wasn’t in his personality, so he still spent money applying for technical positions in the Chicago area. But the specter of his actions at Switched Power Designs followed him everywhere, and it all seemed hopeless.
Then there was Davilor Kasun, his own personal nemesis, who was a tough in the Serbian mob and wanted his ass. So far, Kasun hadn’t been able to find out where Richard lived, but it was only a matter of time. He should move out of Chicago if he wanted to stay healthy but he didn’t have the funds. He had nothing and soon he might not even have his life if he refused Kasun’s advances again. If Kasun found out where he lived, he’d rape him and be done with it.
Chapter One
Red Oaks
Present Day
Wednesday, Second Week in June
It was Richard’s night off from the bar. He had taken his computer to Kinko’s to print out additional resumes. He got off the bus at his stop and walked the two blocks to his studio. A well-dressed man stepped out of a limousine and spoke to him as he began to enter the building. “Are you Richard Kerrigan?”
“Yes, I’m Richard Kerrigan, but I want nothing to do with Mr. Kasun, so please leave me alone.”
The man blew out a breath. “I don’t know a Mr. Kasun. I represent Mr. Etienne Daurensbourg, who has recently married Mr. Julio Reyes. I am Gilbert Renaud. My employer asked me to find you as a wedding present for his husband.”
“Julio? I haven’t heard his name in ten years. Is he okay?” Astonished, Richard’s jaw dropped open.
“Mr. Reyes will only be in town until tomorrow morning. If you come with me, you can see him for yourself. I will arrange for your transportation home after the visit.”
“I thought you worked for Davilor Kasun, but Kasun wouldn’t know about Julio.”
Gilbert opened the door of the limousine. Richard hesitated, but after a few minutes got into the backseat. He missed Julio, even after all these years. He was the only friend Richard ever had that didn’t have an agenda.
After thirty minutes, the limo rounded the circular driveway of a house that had to be over thirty thousand square feet. Gilbert stopped the limo at the entrance. There were cars parked everywhere.
“Eh…Gilbert, where are we?”
“This is Mr. Daurensbourg’s home in Highland Park. I am one of his assistants. If you follow me, I’ll bring Julio to you.” Gilbert brought Richard to what seemed like a breakfast room and asked him to sit and wait. Richard scanned the room. Strangely, he smelled peaches. There must be a bowl of the ripe fruit on the kitchen counter.
§ § §
Gilbert signaled Etienne. What are those two up to? Julio wondered.
Etienne nodded and turned to Julio. “I have another wedding present for you.” He wore a secretive, pleased smile.
Julio scolded, “You shouldn’t have bought me anything else. I have everything I need, right here.” He hugged his husband. Etienne motioned Gilbert forward.
Gilbert approached him smiling. “Alpha Mate, we found Richard Kerrigan. He’s waiting for you in the breakfast room.”
Julio broke out into a huge smile. “Thank you Etienne, Gilbert, I can’t believe you did this for me! Come with me and I’ll introduce you to Richard. Besides, I couldn’t find my way in this barn anyway.”
Etienne laughed and put his arm around Julio’s shoulders, and they made their way to the breakfast room.
Julio gasped. Richard’s head was visible from the entrance to the room. His red hair had turned to a darker auburn. It called him like a beacon. Julio stopped and frowned. He knew that posture from when they were kids. Something was very wrong in Richard’s world. He sent a message to his Mate: Richard is in some kind of trouble. I recognize those lines on his forehead.
Maybe we can help, Etienne offered.
Julio flashed his Mate a brilliant smile. Maybe we can. He held out his hand.
“Richard, by the gods, I thought I’d never see you again,” Julio greeted his old friend.
Richard stood, ran to Julio and gave him a
hug. Etienne emitted a low growl, and Julio sent him a terse message over the Mate link. Don’t be stupid. I told you we were childhood friends. It would be like screwing my brother.
Etienne backed down gracefully by holding his hand out to Richard. “I’m Etienne Daurensbourg, Julio’s husband.”
Richard glanced around the room then back at Etienne, smiling. “Julio, with your determination, I always knew you’d do well.”
He cocked his head. “Until recently, not as well as you think, but tell me about you. Why are you still in Chicago? I would have thought that Silicon Valley called your name years ago. Sit down with us so we can talk. Gilbert, do we have any Coke?”
“Most certainly. I’ll bring you two cold cans right away. Etienne, would you like a beer?”
“I’m sorry, Richard. Would you like a beer instead?” Julio asked.
“No, I still don’t like the taste. Remember that day when we were thirteen, and we stole the six-pack from your father’s garage refrigerator and proceeded to get wasted? I was so sick. I haven’t touched a beer since.” Richard grinned then became earnest. “It’s so good to see you. My parents called Social Services and tried to find you, but they wouldn’t tell us where you were because we weren’t relatives. Mom and Dad offered to foster you, but the state said they weren’t qualified, and they couldn’t have you anyway since we were moving out of state. I must have sent you more than two dozen letters the first two years, but when you didn’t reply, I thought you didn’t want to hear from me.”
“I wanted to see you. Social Services wouldn’t let me contact anyone since I was a minor and a ward of the state. They put me in a group home because I was gay and then promptly forgot about me.” Julio sniffed.
“We wouldn’t have abandoned you. We couldn’t find you.” Richard’s brow furrowed. “What happened to you?” he asked.
“Nothing good. That’s a long story better left for another time. It’s nice to know that your family attempted to help. What about you? Did you ever get into MIT?”