Chapter 3: The Beginning of the Considerations?

(Friday Late Morning, the 31^st day of January 2020)

With the quiet ‘snick’ of the door as it latches closed, Jean-Henri grabs some tissue and a wipe from his side desk, cleans himself, disposes of the tissue and wipe, adjusts himself and his clothes, then goes around and sits behind his desk. Tilting up the top of his desk, which is an oversized touchscreen, he calls up the ‘Case 1918’ files and reviews them.

As he scans the documents, he ruminates: Fortunately, since the first SARS outbreak, my side of the company - the operations in: Indochina, the Pacific Rim, & Oceania - is the most prepared.

According to these notes, we already have options to purchase a clinic. Let’s see, privatize service, expand the pharmacy; no probably it would be better to purchase a local pharmacy & medical supply house so that it can have satellite locations in the clinic, long beach port, port of los angles, and my isolation compound. With the clinic we can set up infirmaries with isolation wards at the ports and a critical care station for the compound.

My office staff will work from home, we’ll issue secured video conference ready computers for everybody and let them expense a high-speed internet connection. For our warehouse, dock, and port workers: medical grade masks & gloves will be mandatory with protective eye wear optional, do we provide? Yes, we do, good. All point of contact contractors and business partners are going to have to meet the same standard at their cost; very good.

He briefly searches for something specific in the docs: Don’t see it here but we’ll probably need to set up fixed and mobile paperwork signing & transfer stations. Another thing I don’t see, if this goes on long and/or gets really bad, well will probably need transient workers isolation quarters at the ports and at our warehouse/transshipment hubs. I’ll get Nanette to looking in to what pre-existing facilities we could use for right now; if it looks like the emergency is going to last more than six months, I’ll look in to build and/or buy options. I’ve got to remember to discuss my ideas with Nanette and make sure one of us pass them on after they’re worked up.

With regards to family, he thinks: Granddad Alfred & Mormor Mia will most likely move out of Chicago and isolate either up somewhere in the Michigan peninsula for familiarity or down in the Texas/Louisiana area to be close to the major ports as Granddad is responsible for operations in the Americas. With all of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the ‘Stans, and India as their operational territory, Abuelo Tio Arthur and Abuela Tia Marisol were based in England; but, because of Brit-Ex, they’ve relocated to the Metro New York area. Now with this, I don’t think they’ll isolate in New York; Delaware is most likely, if I understand how he thinks.

Jean-Henri types in some comments then taps the ‘approve button’. A window pops up: ‘execute Case 1918 ↵ yes/no/cancel’; Jean-Henri ‘yeses’ it away with a tap of his finger.

With that Jean-Henri looks up from the files but it is clear his ruminating continues unabated: That leaves me & mine, Abuelo Tio is absolutely right I need to finalize who, where, and when we isolate. It’s a given that I isolate with my ladies but with Abuelo Tio’s over-the-top message it looks like I’m going to have to accommodate Danielle with Nanette; in addition, if I have to be the stud horse that everyone expects, I want my existing daughter under the same roof with me; which means Tia Isabel and my father too ... boy talk about complications. That’s nine people already for just family; before the camp followers and not including the live-in domestic, medical, and security staff.

Now for the where, given those numbers for who and an asap when, I hope Chelsea has not sold or broken up her parent’s estate; it’s the best where I can think of; but involving Chelsea will involve Tiffany and Chad, and if they’re in then trouble making twins Bobby and Bobbie will somehow stick their noses in it ... Damn it, even with the additions, Chelsea’s parent’s estate is the best bet.