The Richard Jackson Saga: Book 13 : Regicide

by Ed Nelson

  “I’ll listen and give you my thoughts for what they are worth.”

  “Frist, I think we need an outside company or companies to handle the software just like we are hunting for companies to build the mechanical components.”

  Craig replied, “My first thought is that you should do that but do it under an umbrella. Have one company in charge of the whole project, then other companies who specialize develop the individual programs, such as a math group, a word processing group, etc. Then task the umbrella company with ensuring that the same keys achieve the same results no matter the program.”

  “For example, the same keystrokes or icon to copy or paste something. That way consumers would only have to learn one basic set of commands for all the programs. Of course, each program would have some commands unique to them but if you used that program regularly, they would be easy to learn.”

  It would be a healthy bonus.

  “I understand and would have never thought of it like that, thank you. Now the next one is out there.”

  “If this becomes as big as a deal as I think it will, we will become extremely large. The entire operation: software, computer assembly, chip manufacturing would allow the government to come after us as a monopoly.”

  “I think these operations should be spun off as different companies. This way I’m a significant investor but not the sole owner. That way they are separate companies and couldn’t be accused of being a monopoly.”

  “I can’t even comment on that, I do not know that area of the law.”

  Not afraid to admit he does know everything. A significant bonus. Maybe part ownership of the new companies.

  “Craig have you ever thought about retiring young?”

  “I have and I will work until you put me out to pasture. I love what I’m doing, this job has me and my family in a good place, why would I quit?”

  “Just checking.”

  I didn’t want to throw so much money at him he could walk away.

  Not wanting to let all these thoughts get away I drove back to the main office with Bobby Riddel blaring on the radio. Since I had the T-Bird top-down everyone nearby could hear. The old folks would glare at me, you could tell they couldn’t understand why I like that noise and had to play it so loud.

  When I got to the office Jim was in one of his meetings. He seemed to be in a meeting all the time these days. Better him than me. I let his secretary know I was here but to let him finish his meeting first. I would be in my office.

  This was the office that I spent about an hour in before my business meetings. It was a wonder it wasn’t covered in dust, but they kept it clean.

  I spent the next hour and a half signing congratulatory cards and writing notes to my employees. It was getting harder to keep up with all the time, but I felt like it had to be done.

  I love the Eagle Scout notices; I could sign them from one Eagle to another. I got a kick out of that. Now that JE was manufacturing in other countries, I could sign it with the Eagle equivalent from that country.

  I had honorary Eagles from almost every country in Scouting. I had to keep a list of the award title for each country. I could remember the UK’s St. George Award, sometimes the South African Springbok Award, but had to look up Portugal’s Cavaleiro da Pátria every time.

  Jim rescued me after an hour of this misery. The misery was my hand starting to cramp. I wondered if I could file a workmen's comp claim on that basis.

  He had to reschedule a meeting to spend time with me. There are some perks to being the boss.

  I explained to him my conversation with Craig Miller. In his methodical way, he had a yellow pad out and was drawing organization charts. He appreciated the umbrella concept with the software. He started calling it an Office Suite. That was good but not catchy. It would have to change or be shortened to Office. I would leave that to marketing.

  When I got into the monopoly concerns, he brought in several staff lawyers. They were experts in corporate law, but not necessarily that involving monopoly. They did agree that my approach would derail that possibility. It would also give tax advantages. This was within their expertise.

  From that information, I told Jim to proceed on that basis. Keep me posted on the progress, but have management handle it, I had done my part.

  Jim did take me aside and asked if I planned a bonus for Craig. When I told him that I thought a bonus plus small ownership in the new operations would be appropriate he agreed especially after he learned that Craig had no desire for early retirement. That had become a real problem for us as we were making our management rich.

  Jim sighed when he realized what all I had dumped on his plate. I told him to do what I had just done, find someone to dump it on, or hire more staff.

  He brightened up a bit at that.

  “Rick, that brings up another subject; we are bursting at the seams. We need more office space. What we really need is a campus.”

  “Okay, do it.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Do we have the need and the cash flow?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then do it.”

  “Yes, boss.”

  He said that as though he meant it. The boss part I mean. I went to my car thinking I had put in a good day’s work. Maybe I would play a round of golf.

  Chapter 27

  The next day I had a message to call General Booth in England. He wanted to give me an update on where they were at. The biggest news was that the old Soviets had a rocket ready to come off the design board. They called it the Proton.

  The Russians needed the capital to finish it and were willing to give launch rights to whoever came up with the cash. If successful, the rocket would solve all the lift issues.

  I told him I was interested and would come up with the cash if his people reviewed and approved the design. Imagine getting a rocket to go to outer space for a little under five million dollars! Such a deal?

  There were no other near-miraculous breakthroughs on the horizon.

  I wondered how the Chinese integration of Siberia was coming along. A call to Empress Ping’s Chief of Staff brought me up to date.

  They were proceeding with their plans to complete the trans-Siberian railway with a single gage, double track its entire length. There would also be a roadway following the right-of-way. The emphasis would be on the railway. There would be spurs built for every modest-sized village.

  I couldn’t believe the schedule they were predicting. When you have an on-site labor force of over a million men and more on the way, you can get a lot done.

  The only hold-up was the steel rail. Plants in China were running full out and not able to keep up with the demand. They were importing it from South Korea, Japan, and the United States.

  There was no shortage of sleepers as the gulags were still chopping down trees. I would have to look into that, I wasn’t in favor of slave labor.

  There was gravel galore in Siberia from all the glaciers grinding the place down. The right of way was being cleared at a rapid pace. The four thousand miles that they controlled were being cleared at a rate of ten miles a day. This meant in a little over a year they should have the right-of-way clear.

  Before they cleared the right-of-way it had to be surveyed for the proper grade. Too steep and the locomotive couldn’t move the cars. Since there were already tracks in place most of the way that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

  The same with drainage, though more would have to be added for the second track. The same held for the bottom ballast of medium-sized sand. The sleepers and rails would go down fast at that point.

  The top ballast of medium size stone is dumped from special gondola cars and would be as quick. Eighteen months was the timeline for double track of the same gauge the entire length.

  Once that project was done the Chinese would hold all of Siberia. Russia would never be able to take it back.

  The Chief of Staff also told me they were using old records for guidance but had exploratory teams o
ut hunting for minerals and the various commercial ores.

  Coal and iron were high on their list. Strangely enough, gold wasn’t. I asked why and he told me there would be plenty of independent prospectors out there and they would cover more ground than the empire's crews ever could.

  There was still no sign of Haoran.

  While I was making phone calls I checked in with my office in Hong Kong. All was on track there. The local improvements in quality were beginning to gain international attention. Dr. Deming in the meantime had finished there and moved to my operation in Pittsburgh.

  A quick call to Don Pearson let me know that it was early days with Dr. Deming but that he had already made believers of the staff and that they were investigating processes full speed ahead to optimize them. In one case they found a step that could be eliminated.

  I was burning up the phone lines. It was early in the day now in Germany, so I called my new office there. They told me that the land for our new plant had been purchased and the surveyors were laying the campus out. The Germans were holding up their end of our bargain and were putting railway sidings to our site.

  England was not so good. There were already labor problems at the manufacturing site being constructed. They claimed we were unfair in our wages. They wanted double and the workday reduced from eight hours to six. I saw the fine hand of the communists at work here.

  I called the Prime Minister's office, and he didn’t want to take my call. Since the Labor party was currently in power, I wasn’t surprised.

  After thinking about it I decided to let the situation go and see where it went. If they were so darned stupid, let them cut their own throats.

  I got tired of making calls, so I hung up with the idea of cadging a snack in the kitchen. The phone rang and it was for me. The one person I hadn’t thought to call was the President of the United States. Now, why would I forget him? Everyone must call him daily.

  After the normal short wait, JFK came on the line.

  “Rick, I understand that you are buying a lot of steel for railroad tracks, so much it has caused a ripple in the marketplace.”

  “Not me, Sir, it is the Chinese.”

  “I know that I consider you the Chinese banker and the force behind all that is happening over there.”

  “You are giving me too much credit, especially in this case. The Chinese had asked me what I would do in Siberia. I told them control of Siberia is determined by the rail system. I suggested they lay a consistent gauge double-track its entire length with many sidings and spurs to outlying towns.”

  “What are they doing?”

  “Laying a double-tracked…I get what you are saying. It hadn’t occurred to me that I would be considered the planner of that project. Anyway, I’m not funding any part of it. The Chinese are doing it on their own through their central bank.”

  “Where did the central bank get the funds?”

  “Borrowed, based on their gold reserves.”

  “Who helped put them into a hard currency based on gold?”

  “Criminently, I did.”

  “And you wonder why I consider you the father of modern China.”

  “I never looked at it that way. The Empress has asked me to help in a few areas and give my opinion. Other than my initial gift I thought my contributions have been very small.”

  “Who has she trusted with the life of her granddaughter and heir?”

  “Me and a mechanized division of the Chinese army. They have bigger guns and can call in airstrikes.”

  “Point taken, but she still calls you when May-ling is threatened.”

  “That is because China has yet to buy or build a fleet of planes that can cross the Pacific. Why don’t you contact Boeing and have them try to enter a partnership with China? I could ask the Emperess to put her imprint on it.”

  I don’t know why JFK broke into laughter, I thought it was a good idea.

  “I will do that, Rick, please give the Empress a heads up. It will take a while, but Boeing will call. Who should they contact?”

  “Try the Empress's Chief of Staff. I will call him back; I have talked to him once today.”

  For some reason, the President started to laugh again. When he settled down for the second time, he asked me if I had any idea how much steel the Chinese intended to buy, as it would help keep the US marketplace on an even keel. I told him I would make inquiries.

  “Who should my Chinese contact talk to?”

  “Have them place a call to the Secretary of State Dean Rusk, I will alert them that a call will be incoming. Have your contact tell them that they are calling on your behalf.”

  “I can do that.”

  He then wished me a good day and hung up. Darn, I wanted to hang up on him again. What bragging rights.

  I did call the Chief of Staff back and shared my conversation with the President about a partnership with Boeing. He told me they had been trying to contact Boeing but never could get to the right person. He would inform the Empress that I had helped them once more.

  He would have to find out what the foreign steel purchasing plans were and would have a call placed to Dean Rusk’s office.

  The Chief of Staff asked, “Rick, who is working for whom here?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We are making calls to high-level officials on your behalf. Are you now running China.?”

  “No!”

  “At times it seems like it. On another subject entirely. What do you think we need to do to jump-start the Chinese economy, especially in the outer provinces?”

  “Eisenhower did it with the US Interstate System. Take a look at that.”

  “Yes, boss.”

  “What?!”

  I never knew that Chinese men could giggle, and he then hung up on me.

  Chapter 28

  At dinner, as everyone related their day, I shared my telephone calls. Denny asked a good question.

  “Do you keep a log of all your calls and what was discussed?”

  “No, why should I?”

  “I had an assignment in my Political Science class to report on Congressional investigations, how they were conducted and what evidence was acceptable. Phone logs were high on the list.”

  “Do you think I will be investigated?”

  “Yes, it might not be you, but you could be called to testify what who you talked to, when, and the subject matter.”

  “That is a good thought, Denny, I will start doing that.”

  “Besides, knowing you, you will get yourself into trouble one of these days.”

  “Mum, Denny is picking on me.”

  “And a good job of that, keep up the good work Denny.”

  “Dad, now Mum is picking on me.”

  Dad refused to answer. Mary asked if she could have a turn.

  “Sure, shortcakes, go for it, everyone else is doing it.”

  “Before you go to jail will you do some modeling for my company? They wanted me to ask, but I didn’t know you were going to get locked up so soon, I thought it would take at least a year.”

  “Mrs. Hernandez, they are all picking on me.”

  “No hablo inglés.”

  “Eddie you are my only hope.”

  “Who, me, Kemo Sabe?”

  That did it, we all roared with laughter. I did tell Denny that a phone log was a good idea, it would also be a good historical record as I was considered to be the father of the Chinese Empire.

  We won’t go into the grief that statement got me.

  The next morning after my workout and breakfast I dressed up to go to the studio. I hadn’t been there for a while, and I was curious as to what if anything was going on.

  The sticker on my car was still good so I was allowed to drive onto the lot. Walking to the stunt area I saw a few people I knew and waved at them.

  At the stunt area, most of the crew was there. There wasn’t much activity on the sets today requiring their presence.

  There was a Coke machine handy, so I paid a dime
and opened a bottle. I was saying hello to all the guys and shaking hands when Mr. Monroe pulled up in his golf cart. It was distinctive. It had a front end that looked like a Rolls Royce front end. That had to cost a pretty penny, or farthing, or whatever.

  “Rick, this is my lucky day. We need your help with some archery work.”

  “Rod Bell has quit here; he has moved to the east coast and is working full-time for some outfit called the Central Institute for Archery.”

  I had just taken a swig of Coke, so it came back all over the place as I gave a huge laugh.”

  “Rods working for the Central Institute for Archery, otherwise called the CIA?”

  “Yes, oh, I never put it together. I know he went with you when their training people wanted to talk about your escape.”

  “They were very interested in his skillset; it seems he could contribute a lot in field skills.”

  “My problem is that we now have no one that can shoot a longbow. We can’t even fake it properly. Can you help?”

  “Since I’m invested in the movie I certainly will.”

  After a stop at makeup and costuming we went over to the outdoor set where they were filming the scene where I set the Black Maria transportation center on fire.”

  The director wanted a continuous scene where I pulled and shot, then they kept me in the scene while the arrow flew to its target. It would be a wide-angle shot and be effective. At least I thought so.

  They had the twerp that was playing me on the set. He would be shown in the close-up, drawing the bow. I would take the actual shot.

  A thought occurred to me, not that I cared but there was someone I wanted to tweak a little.

  “He will have to stand on a box. Since the scene will shift quickly from him to me, our height difference will stand out.”

  The Director agreed with me. Twerp was just under six feet, not short, but I wanted to send stills to a young lady in Spain.

  There is always a still photographer on set, so I approached him and told him what I wanted. These weren’t for distribution so I would pay separately.

  “These will be free, that guy is a pain in the rump to work with.”