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Rick was sitting in the Board Room fuming. Somehow Neman had gotten wind of the expedition to Braxis and was trying to put a stop to it.
“We can’t just go into the Falcon Corporation’s borders and take what we want,” said Neman. “What are we the Nash administration?”
That was it. Rick had enough. While he wanted to punch Neman in the face he had to keep his composure. “Mr. CEO, It seems that this is a highly charged subject and issue. I suggest that we take a break and let things cool down. I make a motion that we adjourn for the day and reconvene in the morning.”
“I second that motion,” said Hobbs. “Any opposed?” It was no surprise that Neman and his group opposed the motion by raising their hands. “All in favor,” Most of the table agreed with Rick that this matter should be taken up tomorrow. There was only one of the Board that didn’t vote. “The vote is seven to four with one abstention. Motion carries. We will reconvene at 10:00 in the morning. Meeting adjourned.”
Rick remained sitting. Neman stood and scowled at him. He and the rest of the Board filed out of the room. It was clear that Neman wanted the vote taken now with the statement that he just made he was sure that the tension would have the vote in his favor. But what was his angle? Why did he want to stop the Braxis expedition?
Rick was too lost in thought to noticed that Hobbs was still sitting there. Hobbs cleared his throat and that brought Rick’s attention to him. “I wanted to thank you for that,” said Hobbs. “That gives me a chance to find out where everyone stands and if necessary make some deals.”
“Do you think you will be able to swing the vote?”
“Well,” said Hobbs. “I know I’ll have four votes without fail, All I really need is two more. If the Board is split six to six then I have the deciding vote.”
“Good while you do that, I think I’m going to have a talk with Neman.”
“Rick?” The way Hobbs said this was like asking the question, what are you doing?
“Don’t worry I’m just trying to make him see the light.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen, but you can try. I must make some calls and see how many votes I can get.”
“I honestly don’t think I can change Neman’s mind, but I can at least find out why he wants to stop this issue.”
“Go ahead and try,” said Hobbs as he got up and left.
Rick got up and headed to his car. Once inside he said, “Access Director Neman’s public schedule. I need the next available appointment.”
“The next available appointment is at three o’clock this afternoon.”
“Perfect I’ll take it. Go to the Legal building.”
As the car took off Rick looked at the time. It was 11:12 that gave him just under four hours to get everything ready. He had the file in his office. Once he had the club, what he needed to do was figure out how to swing it to maximum effect. At this point Rick felt that Neman should be the only target. He didn’t want to show his whole hand all at one time. He was sure that once Neman was in line that he would bring the others in line for his own safety.
Rick got to his office and passed by Tim as he went in. Tim followed him in and said, “How did the meeting go?”
Rick didn’t question Tim’s right to come into his office or question him. He was the in-fact head of the Legal department so as far as Rick was concerned he had every right to know what was going on. “About as well as could be expected.” Rick then reached into the cabinet and pulled out the Neman file.
Tim saw what he had done and said, “I guess it didn’t go that well after all?”
“I was hoping he would be reasonable,” Rick held up the folder so Tim could see who he was talking about. “It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Do you have a briefcase?”
“Yes I do.” Tim turned to go get it.
Rick sat down at his desk and went over the list of crimes. The one that stood out the most was the extortion of the CEO of McTech to have him build the defense platforms for Nash. He put all the papers together and closed the folder as Tim came back into the room with the briefcase. Rick put the folder inside the case and stood with case in hand. “How do I look?”
Tim smiled and said, “Like a Director.”
“Tim, I know this is a gamble. I need you to understand that I don’t bluff. If this goes badly I going to need the best investigator we have on the Neman Case.”
Tim smiled, “Well that would be you. But I understand.”
“Thank you for that. Wish me luck.”
“No,” said Tim. “I don’t have to wish you luck. You’re the kind of man that makes things happen. Luck had nothing to do with it.”
“I think that was better than wishing me luck. Thanks Tim.” With that said Rick headed for his car.
He got into his car and said, “Admin building.” On his way back to the Admin building Rick was thinking of the best way to handle Neman. Then he had a thought. He’s a criminal why not treat him like one. While it may not be proper to treat a Director like that, it would save a lot of problems.
Rick started thinking of how he would treat a suspect of...? He realized that was the problem. He had never truly had a suspect like a Director before. Okay what was it he wanted from Neman. Cooperation. It seemed that the closest thing he could think of was turning a suspect on their bosses. To get their cooperation.
After landing at the Admin building Rick sat in the parking lot going over how he could adapt that investigation method to his current situation. He went over it in his mind going back and forth working out all the difficulties.
At 2:50 Rick got out of his car and went in. Right at 3:00 he went into the reception area, and told the receptionist, “I’m here for my Three o’clock appointment with Director Neman.”
“And You are?”
“Director Thompson.”
There was a flash of surprise on her face. She regained her composure and hit a button off to her left. “Sir we have a Director Thompson here for your Three o’clock.”
Rick could hear the intercom. “Tell him to have a seat I’ll be with him in a moment.”
Before she could say anything Rick said, “Yes I heard that.” He went to sit on one of the plush couches.
Rick sat there for close to an hour waiting for Neman to come out. Rick knew he was trying to be insulting. However, he was used to this kind of treatment from people that thought they were better than he was.
Neman Finally came out of his office. “Please forgive me it was unforgivable for me to make you to wait so long.” He came up and shook Rick’s hand. “Come in and have a seat.” Neman led Rick into his office and closed the door behind him.
“That’s alright Director. I totally understand.” That it was an insult, came to Rick’s mind. Rick sat in the chair across the desk from Neman.
“Now what Can I do for you?”
Rick understood that this was another insult, going straight to business, but in this case Rick took no offence. If the truth be told he was glad for it. Rick still had the briefcase in hand. He set it on his lap and as he opened it up he said, “Well Sir, it seems like we have a serious legal issue with someone in your department.”
“That does sound serious. Who would that be?” Neman seemed to be all nice and polite.
As Neman was saying this Rick pulled the folder out of the case closed it and set it on the ground. “You.” He sat the folder on the desk and shoved it at Neman. Some of the papers spilled out but never left the desk. “You need to look at that before our conversation can continue.”
“I don’t...” started Neman.
Rick cut him off before he could get far. “LOOK!” Rick shouted. He could see on Neman’s face that he had never been treated like this before.
Neman gathered up the papers and started reading through the folder. He got about a third of the way through when he closed the folder and said, “Okay, what’s this all about?’ all pretense of politeness was gone.
“Good, not that I have your attention I’m going to tell you something about me.”
Neman had the look of anger on his face. “What would that be?”
“My first and foremost concern is the safety and security of this corporation. YOU ARE TRYING TO MESS THAT UP!” Rick yelled at him so he would get the point. Neman flinched as Rick yelled it. Then he returned to a pleasant voice. “So, this is what you are going to do. You are going into that meeting tomorrow and you are going to keep your mouth shut and when it comes to the vote you are going to vote with Hobbs. If anyone asks you can tell them you had a change of heart. Or you can tell them the truth, but then you would have to explain your list of crimes. I especially like the one where you blackmailed the CEO of McTech to help Nash get the missiles to bomb Pacifica. Oh, that will go over well on the news feeds.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” said Neman. There was nothing but hate in his eyes.
“Really? That’s what both Harris and Nash said. And we both know what happened to them.” If looks could kill Rick would be dead. “The only reason I have not indicted you yet is for the good of the corporation. To bring another change right now would cause upset in the corporation. Understand that if you cause more problems by being here I will put you in the ground. So, vote with Hobbs and keep your mouth shut and you get to stay a Director.”
“Anything else?” said Neman in a snide rude way.
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a negotiation. It isn’t. I’ve clearly laid out what you need to do. You have a choice. Do it or not. You know the consequences of each action. Now it’s all up to you.”
Rick reached down and picked up the briefcase. “Oh, and one more thing. If for any reason I should have an untimely death. Copies of that report will be sent to the press, the Board and my replacement will have everything he or she needs to make sure that I don’t die alone. Have a good day Director.”
Rick walked out of the office and went up to his car. He was feeling so much better now that he had taken that smug look off of Neman’s face. Getting into his car Rick went back to his office.
He hadn’t been in the air more than ten minutes when he got a call from Matty, Hobbs secretary. “CEO Hobbs would like to see you at once.”
“Tell him I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.” With what Rick had just done it was hard not to think that Hobbs already knew about Neman. But how could he find out so quickly. No, this had to be about something else. For the third time today, he parked and went into the Admin building.
Rick went into the reception area. Matty said, “Go right in.” That is never a good sign.
Rick entered Hobbs office and said, “You wanted to see me Sir.”
“Good. Rick come in and sit down,” said Hobbs. “I have something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Somehow Rick has a sneaking suspicion that Hobbs knew what he had done. “And what would that be Sir?”
“Well, I don’t of any nice way to say this, so I’m going to just come out with it. Did you threaten Neman?”
“No Sir. I did not.”
“You didn’t threaten him in any way, because he said you did.”
“No Sir, I didn’t threaten him in any way, shape, or form. What I did do was blackmail him.” Hobbs bust out laughing. That was the last thing Rick expected to see. When the laughing subsided Hobbs said, “I made a good choice when I made you Director.” It was if he was patting himself on the back. “What did you want him to do?”
“In short,” said Rick. “Vote with you and keep his mouth shut.” Hobbs started laughing again.
When he stopped laughing Hobbs sighed and said, “Rick you can’t do that.”
“Sir, with no disrespect to you. Yes, I can. I have enough dirt on Neman to bury him. But I won’t. I have come to understand how this all works. Each Director has a political machine behind them that keeps the nation running. I learned that from Collier, and I learned it when I took over for you. With the loss of Nash, the Directors are starting to run wild. They need to understand that they are not free to cause chaos. Neman is the number one danger to the Wilson Corporation. It was time to put him on a leash.”
Hobbs looked concerned. “You are playing an awful dangerous game. At the end of that leash is a vicious wild animal.”
“Yes I am. But I want you to consider where I came from. To me this is no different that chasing junkies through backyards in the middle of the night.”
“Okay, I can see that, but what if he sends an assassin after you? I hate to say it, but he is that kind of man.”
“Well, I’ve already had that conversation with him. I told him that in the event of my death all the information would be released to the press and my replacement would have everything he needs to prosecute him. Then I told him you can deal with me or deal with prison.”
“How did he respond to that?” asked Hobbs.
“He said I wouldn’t dare. I told him to ask Nash if I wouldn’t. I think that he came to you because he is scared. He figures that you will real me in. Much like you tried to do. Because he can’t touch me.”
Hobbs was smiling as he was shaking his head. “Should I worry about my job?”
“Not a chance, right now nobody in their right mind would want your job. I don’t even want mine, but I’m going to do it to the best of my ability because you asked me to.”
Hobbs seemed like a proud father. “So how do you want me to play this?”
Rick found it strange that Hobbs was asking him about politics but then realized that Hobbs was showing support not indecision. “Go back to Neman and tell I’m out of control. That you were barely able to keep me on a leash. And that If you were him you do what I said. I think that would put more fear into him. In truth I don’t know how long it will last, but it will make your job easier in the short term.”
“Would you really prosecute him?”
“Not without coming to you first. But just in case, you might start thinking about a replacement for him. I’ll tell you this much if I do ever prosecute him you will never have a problem with the rest of the Board.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you will have a bulldog that will take out the opposition,” both men laughed.