DP jumped out of his seat and gave me a hug. He was about four inches shorter than my six foot two frame. He’d stayed in good shape and had an easy smile that still put me in a good mood. He was sturdy and looked ten years younger than his forty years. He now had the kind of shaved head that only buff black guys can carry off well.

“What’s with the clean head look?”

He ran his hand across the bare skin. “There was a lot of gray coming into my tight ’fro. My kids suggested the look. Definitely a lot easier here.”

As I sat down, I noticed his Kindle. “That replace the fifteen books you carried everywhere?”

“I still usually have a few books around, but I’ve got a ton on this baby.” He patted the Kindle.

DP went through some of the possible assignments with me. Most were pretty basic. Standing a post, riding on patrol, or a little executive protection. I wasn’t worried about any of the assignments. I was worried about finding Rick Jackson and the Deep River contingent.

I casually asked about other contractors. I didn’t mention Deep River by name.

DP gave me a quick rundown of all the non-security contractors. Then he said, “There are five major security contractors. You’ll see their guys around. There’s no real rivalry. In fact, there’s more work than we can all handle. We trade people back and forth all the time.”

“You mean I could end up working for another contractor?”

“It’s not like you’d have a different job. We all do similar stuff. But yeah, it’s possible. And we all bill each other so everyone’s making money.”

I had to sign a pile of new forms and show off my marksmanship on the range so I could be issued a Beretta 9-millimeter.

When I came back to the office later, DP looked like a proud father of a newborn. He said, “Looks like you’re ready to go. I can probably get you a cushy job on the interior of the base.”

I was staring at a map on the wall of the giant base. I pointed to a set of buildings far off from anything else. “What’s that?”

“Nothing we have to worry about. It’s a detention center where they sort out who’s going where. Deep River handles that entire contract. The closest we get is patrolling the road in front of it.”

“I wouldn’t mind doing that. Just driving patrol around the perimeter. Sounds like it’s just what I need.”

DP shrugged. “Shifts are long and boring out there. You’ll be lucky if you talk to two people a shift.”

“You got anyone else asking to do it?”