by Ricky Sides
Observing the lieutenant hand the sergeant a child’s skull, Namid watched the man wipe his eyes and kneel on the ground. With his bare hands, the man scooped out a shallow hole in the earth. The sergeant then placed the unknown child’s skull in the hole and filled in the depression. Bowing his head, the man said a prayer for the child. Namid prayed for the child as well.
***
A short time later, they were flying across the Michigan state line. Michigan seemed to have fared better. The stalled vehicles on the highway weren’t as prevalent in that state, and they could see crops growing in fields here and there.
Patricia said, “Captain, I am beginning to pick up radio traffic from Detroit.”
“See what you can learn by listening in a bit,” Jim instructed.
As they continued to fly northeast, Patricia monitored several conversations and soon she gave her report. The major cities of Lansing and Detroit were operating as a sort of city-state, and the city of Saginaw seemed to be corporate controlled. Both California and Texas had some cities controlled by a corporation, so this was nothing new to the peacekeepers.
“See if you can get the names of the people in charge of Saginaw,” Jim instructed. “If you can raise them on the radio I’d like to speak to them.”
A short time later Patricia reported that she had managed to contact Saginaw and an aide was getting the leader of the corporation that controlled the city. “His name is Bob Reager. He is the president and owner of Reager Manufacturing.”
Minutes later a voice came over the radio saying, “Hello. This is Bob Reager. I understand someone wanted to talk to me.”
“Hello, Mr. Reager. This is Captain Jim Wilison. I am the captain of the Peacekeeper,” Jim said.
“Good afternoon, Captain. I’ve heard of the peacekeepers. Most of what I’ve heard has been good. You people are stabilizing the south and west, and more importantly from my perspective you do not interfere in cities unless gross human rights violations are occurring,” the man stated revealing that he was indeed quite well informed.
“That’s true Mr. Reager. Our goal is to keep the peace and let others rebuild America as best they can,” Jim explained.
“My aide tells me that you are en route to our city, Captain. You are welcome here of course, but we have our own police force who handles difficult situations so I feel compelled to ask you, what is the nature of your business in our city?”
“We are seeking the foundry where a special alloy was created,” Jim said being honest with the man. “We need to obtain as much of this alloy as possible for further development of our organization.”
“Well now, Captain, I’ll be honest with you. The city government has annexed all abandoned factories within Saginaw. The assets those facilities contain belong to the city and the people of Saginaw now. Of course, from what I’ve heard, you could just take the materials from us. There’s not much we could do to stop you and I won’t throw away the lives of the men of this city in a futile attempt to do so.”
Jim responded, “Come now, Mr. Reager. If you’ve heard so much about us, then surely you know that we don’t move into cities and take assets when the cities are occupied and the assets are claimed by others who are operating to restore order.”
“Please call me Bob,” the man on the other end said and then he laughed and added, “Yes I had heard that, but these days half of what you hear tends to be unreliable. Come on into Saginaw, Captain. If you give me the address I’ll meet you there and we can examine the facility and come to a mutual agreement of some kind.”
Jim looked at both Pete and Tim to get their opinions. Pete nodded and Tim grinned and said, “Why not? We aren’t Marauders. This either works out or it doesn’t.”
Jim gave the man the portion of the address that they had discovered. “Brentworth Steel? Are you certain of that information, Jim?” asked Bob.
“Yes that’s the address we have from a reliable source, though we do not know for certain that the material we seek is located there. Why? Is there something wrong?”
“Oh no, Jim, quite the contrary. You see, Brentworth Steel on Johnston Street is a subsidiary company owned by Reager Industries. Technically you might say I own the place,” Bob said laughing. “Well this will simplify negotiations. You won’t have to deal with the city council, the board of directors and me, as well. I assure you this is strictly legitimate. Reager Industries has owned Brentworth Steel for thirteen years. We just let the company keep their trademark name for the sake of name recognition with their customer base. It’s a pretty standard business operating procedure I assure you.”
Chapter 2
When they arrived at the Brentworth Steel facility, they found a group of men waiting to meet them. There were three men dressed in police uniforms, three men were dressed in casual clothing, and all of them armed with side arms. Seeing the rifles in the hands of the police officers, Jim was now glad that Pete had insisted that the party going out for first contact wear full armor. Anyone can wear a uniform. Looking like a police officer didn’t mean that they were actually policemen. He stepped toward the side door with Lieutenant Wilcox and two of his men. A guard closed the door as they left and stood ready to defend the door.
Launched and hovering nearby was one of the small drones. The group from the city was staring up in awe at the battleship above the parked Peacekeeper. One of the men shifted his attention to Jim and the peacekeepers behind him. He walked forward with his hand extended to shake Jim’s hand. “You must be, Jim. I am Bob. I must say that I am impressed by what I see,” Bob said smiling.
“Pleased to meet you, Bob,” Jim said smiling easily. He considered himself a good judge of men and he felt immediately that he could trust Bob not to attempt an attack. He also felt that the man was a shrewd businessman and would negotiate diligently to see to it that his company came out in a good position on any deal that he made with the peacekeepers. That was fine with Jim. He was a firm believer in capitalism and considered it the American way to conduct business. He planned to do the same for the peacekeepers.
“Bob, this is, Lieutenant Wilcox, the leader of our security team and strike force leader. The men behind him are members of Strike Force One,” Jim said introducing his men.
Bob shook hands with the lieutenant and then he introduced the two men with him as the surviving members of the board of directors, and the police officers were three of Saginaw’s finest who had continued to serve as police officers, even after they stopped being paid.
“First, I suppose that we need to tour the facility in order to see if it is even possible to fill your order,” Bob said still smiling. “Do you have everyone with you that you will need to negotiate?” he asked.
“No. I wanted to meet you face to face before bringing in the others,” Jim said smiling ruefully.
“That’s fine. I brought the police officers for the same reason. Hopefully, after today, we will have built a bridge of trust and such precautions won’t be necessary,” Bob said. Jim sent one of the men to get Pol, Pete, Tim, and Patricia. He didn’t use the hat radio because he didn’t want to give that secret away until he knew these people better.
When the others arrived, they made the introductions and then they all went inside the factory. It was huge. Jim estimated that it covered several square blocks. It was readily apparent to the peacekeepers that the factory had been closed for a considerable length of time. Nevertheless, the power was still working, as was evidenced by the lights that were on when they entered. Pol gave Bob a computer printout of the material that they were seeking and Bob looked over the list. “Yes, there is a quantity of this alloy in the storage area. Sorry, I can’t say how much, but I remember this alloy. Our company got a sweet contract from the government in the years prior to the quakes. I actually had extra manufactured after a shipping accident.” Looking up from the paper he added, “Would you believe the chains broke through the wooden crate and ruined a million dollars worth of the product? The government did
n’t even blink. They just ordered it replaced, and offered a hefty bonus if we could have it ready for them to pick up in an impossibly short amount of time. We had to authorize overtime to meet that deadline. After that incident I had several more batches of the product run, speculating on reorders and time bonuses that never came.”
“Do you have the capacity to manufacture more of the alloy?” asked Pol.
“Actually yes we can. Some of the facilities annexed by the city after the quakes and their subsequent abandonment were suppliers of some of the raw materials we needed to manufacture the alloy. But newly manufactured alloy would involve the city in the negotiation process since that is city property,” Bob said wanting to make it clear that there would be no backroom deals made with city property.
“That’s fine, we can understand that,” Jim said appreciating the fact that the man was dealing fairly with the city. That was a good indication that the man was a man of integrity.
“Alright, now I know what it is that you gentlemen want. The question arises as to what you intend to trade or pay for the materials,” Bob said reasonably.
“Sir, before I can answer that question, I must have the answer to one of my own. How much of the alloy can you produce?” Pol asked.
“Is there a reason for asking that question, Pol?” asked Bob.
“There is a very good reason, Bob. We need to know if you can produce the material in sufficient quantity to be worth what we are willing to pay. The payment involves a technology that will require certain chemicals and the alloy on the list I gave you. We need to know if it is worth giving you the technology for the amount of alloy you can supply. If you cannot fill our needs, it might be best for us to seek another source,” Pol stated. Jim was amazed at Pol’s negotiating shrewdness, until he remembered that Pol had once negotiated with an Admiral on a secret contract that would have made all of the development team members rich beyond their wildest dreams.
“That is indeed a very good reason, Pol,” Bob said and turned to the board members near him. “Under the circumstances, the request for the information is reasonable is it not gentlemen?” he asked.
Both of the board members agreed that they should determine the amount that they could produce. Turning back to Pol, Bob said, “Quantity will be affected by the gauge of the material. Can I presume that you want the same gauge?”
“Yes, sir. The same gauge is fine but there may be size differences,” Pol stipulated.
“That’s not an issue, Pol. We can provide the material in a wide range of sizes. Actually, the more sizes the better. That puts more men to work,” Bob noted and then he said, “You mentioned that you plan to barter plans for some sort of technology. I do hope that you are prepared to prove that the technology works.”
“By all means, my friend. We don’t wish to cheat you, and the technology that we will be trading is the process for making automobiles that fly. However, they should be restricted to twenty feet in altitude, with the police going to thirty for safety and control reasons. Your heavy transport models can go thirty as well to prevent congestion,” Pol pointed out reasonably.
“Are you kidding me? You hold the key to such information?” asked Bob.
“You saw what we arrived in when we came here, Bob. How can you ask me that question?” asked Pol perplexed.
“That’s a very good point,” Bob said and laughed. “I guess I just didn’t think that it could be applied to automobiles.”
“Oh it can indeed, sir. However, it may not be practical. I understand that the alloy is extremely expensive to manufacture,” Pol observed.
“Who told you that?” Bob asked curiously.
“The government procurement officer in charge,” Pol replied.
“Well I don’t know why he told you that, but he was lying. It doesn’t cost a bit more to make that alloy than any other top grade steel. It’s expensive yes, but no more so than any other good steel product,” Bob revealed.
“But you said that the government paid one million dollars for the shipment that was ruined,” Pol said confused. “Surely normal steel isn’t that expensive.”
“It is expensive if it’s a specific alloy outside standard steel that we stock and the customer wants it made to specific size on a holiday. We had to pay double overtime rates for that shipment to be manufactured and work half the facility to meet their timetable, with very little notice,” Bob explained.
“And the components that make up the alloy? They are rare?” Pol asked.
“Two are yes, but both are mined in the UP,” Bob answered.
“I’m sorry, what is the UP?” Pol asked.
“The Upper Peninsula,” Bob replied. “That’s what we call the upper portion of Michigan. It is separated from the lower peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, the five mile wide channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan.”
“Is that ore currently being mined?” asked Pol.
“I’ll have to get back to you on that. We maintain radio contact with the people up there. Even if they aren’t currently mining the ore, I’m sure that something can be arranged,” Bob said, with the assurance of a confident businessman accustomed to occasional problems of that nature.
“Then I suppose this concludes this meeting. We will be waiting in our ships. Is there anywhere specific that you’d rather us stay?” Jim asked.
“Do you have any special needs?” Bob asked.
“We could use a water source. Anything that can service standard recreational vehicles would work fine,” Jim stated.
“You’ll need to land the big ship for the night as well?” Bob asked.
“Yes we do,” Jim stated.
Bob gave them the address of a place where they could park for the night and hook up to a water supply. He promised to contact them early the next day. Patricia gave him a special frequency to use for that contact.
***
Back in the ship, the members of the crew who had met with Bob and his companions had another meeting, just as Jim suspected Bob and his board members were doing. Jim opened the meeting by asking Pol, “Pol, are you sure you know what you’re doing? I mean can we really produce a car that will perform as he expects?”
“Yes I know what I’m doing my friend. Don’t worry. I know I can’t produce a working automobile fully loaded with all of the goodies, but I can produce a crude model that will work. He will be aware that all he needs do is send alloy to Detroit and he can manufacture the latest versions that they have the machinery set up to make, or even go with futuristic designs. The thing to prove is that the battery system, engine, and alloy body will produce lift and forward momentum from solar energy. The rest is a matter of utilizing existing technology.”
“What I don’t get is why he’d be interested in the technology from a marketing standpoint,” Tim said. “I mean who is going to buy them and how will they pay?”
“I confess that this point has also caused me some concern. But since Mr. Reager did not point that out I assume that he has some ideas in that area,” Pol said.
“Alright, let’s get organized,” Jim said. “What will you need to prove that you can deliver the flying car?”
“I hope you understand that this is much more than just a flying car,” Pol said.
“I’m sorry, Pol. I oversimplified for the sake of expediency. Yes, I understand that you are referring to a technology that can be applied to many different vehicle types. Actually most vehicle types,” Jim said.
“Yes, most four wheeled or even track style vehicles. Motorcycles wouldn’t really have sufficient surface area to make them practical. You could build them and they would work, but due to the small surface area they’d run low on power very quickly,” Pol clarified.
“Are you going to answer his question, or lecture us on energy efficiency?” Pete asked grinning to take the sting out of his question.
“I’m sorry, my friend, I do tend to ramble on at times,” Pol apologized and then he said, “I will compile an official list, bu
t basically I need alloy, a welder, aluminum channel beams, some wiring, a computer to act as a simplified operating system, chemicals for a battery, and a motor and emitter assembly. The chemicals and a motor assembly I brought with us on the trip as well as a battery sub assembly. We even have some of our remaining scrap alloy stored aboard the battleship. What I’d really like to do is build the car tonight and drive it to the meeting tomorrow with the other ships escorting of course,” Pol clarified.
“You mean you have everything aboard the ships that you need to make the prototype?” Tim asked.
“With the single exception of a seat, yes that is correct,” Pol said.
“Well why didn’t you just say so?” Tim asked laughing.
Pol smiled good-naturedly and replied, “I thought Jim was expressing intellectual curiosity. I like to encourage that sort of thing. I really hope to persuade you to give it a try one day.”
Pete roared with laughter and Tim smiled and said, “Hey, I think sometimes. It just gives me a headache.”
“So you need a seat?” Pete asked.
“Yes preferably a bucket seat. I’ll make the prototype small because of the available material limitations,” Pol explained.
“Alright, that leaves just one question we need to work out. How much of the alloy are we going to ask for?” Jim asked.
“With sufficient alloy available we could do many things. We could increase our fighters and drones of course, but we could also build additional ships similar to the Peacekeeper but larger with sufficient cabin space for the entire crew to sleep in a civilized fashion. Some of my roommates snore,” said Pol, rolling his eyes, causing every crewmember present to roar with laughter because they all knew that Pol’s snoring drove his roommates to distraction.
When the laughter in the room died down Jim again asked, “So how much of the alloy do we ask for in this trade agreement?”