From Chp 1  "A Late Phone call" 

It is 3am and my phone rings. I kept it next to my bed because of the nature of my job, the General Manager of a booming company that stretched from coast to coast. At this hour, I know the call is one of two scenarios: spam, or one of our California crews. They wouldn’t call at this hour unless there was an emergency, so I picked up as soon as I saw the area code. Yup it’s one of ours. Wiping the sleep from my eyes and answer with a groggy, “Hello, Mikel here. What’s up?”

         There is no immediate answer. But it’s not silent on the other end of the phone either. My ear is trained to listen for what most folks don’t hear and immediately there were some glaring noises in the background that stood out. 

The sound of an industrial A/C unit, more than one kicking on and off, I could hear the rain, and a grown man sobbing. Having not programmed all our guys' numbers in my phone yet, I didn’t know who it was, but was keenly aware this person was in distress and for whatever reason, decided to call me.

Treading lightly, “Hello? Hey buddy. It’s gonna be ok. I’m not going anywhere, and I don’t care about the time. I’m here for you. What’s going on? Talk to me.”

         A tearful voice on the other end replies and I must take care to lean into the phone and strive to hear the quiet tones. “I can’t do this anymore.” More sobbing. “I can’t do this, I’m going to kill myself, I have a pistol and I’m gonna shoot myself, Mike. If you call 911, and I see the cops I’ll shoot myself right away. You’re not talking me out of it and that’s not why I called. I’m where no one can find me, and you are about the only person I could think of in this World that actually loves and cares about me. I wanted to say goodbye.”

In that moment, that single moment, whatever I said next would mean life or death for someone who was in desperate need. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, whatever I choose to say would be received by someone at the end of their rope. He had to know it was the absolute truth. If I bullshitted this guy for even a moment, it was over, and I had a front row seat.

         Before I tell you the rest of the story, let me set the stage for you on what brought us to this fateful moment at 3am, fighting for a good man’s life.