Chapter 10

Morty was busy, working on one of the new machines. Frenchy watched him for a moment, then realized there was a problem. The old man looked positively gray, not only his hair but his face as well. How many hours was he working? Frenchy realized it didn’t really matter. They needed Morty alive, and healthy. Someone else might do as well, but again, they might not. He made a phone call, then called Morty off to the side. “Morty, I’m going to take some of the load off your shoulders. You’ll continue with the design and overall supervision, but I want Jim Sperry to take over production.”

“Production, Frenchy?”

“Right, seeing to setup of the machines for now, but eventually overseeing production. You’re trying to do too much, it’s bad for your health and it’s slowing things down. Jim can do the task-scheduling of people and machines and keep the work flowing, and I’ll also assign a clerk to make sure that supplies are available. You tell him what you want, he’ll see you get it on time.

“Jim will do the same job when we begin assembly. You’ll remain head of design, making sure it fits your vision, but he’ll handle the management part. Think you can work with him?”

“I don’t see why not,” said Morty. “He’s a good man. So sure, let him deal with scheduling. I’ve got all I can handle working with the engineering team! You want to talk to him, or do you want me to tell him what you have in mind?”

“I’ll take care of it, Morty. You give us a design we can put into production, other people can take it from there.”

During the following months, the improved system produced several new models of impeller. Some went on the old Bedstead, but there were also three larger models, similar in design but with more robust components. Four of the intermediate-duty version were set aside; the engineers had decided the old platform had served its purpose. A newer, much upgraded platform would be built when there was time. And if the only time available was after normal working hours, so be it.

Neither Chuck nor Morty knew of what they had in mind, not uncommon. Engineers, given time, always have an idea how things could be done better. Some of the time, the ideas actually work.

Chuck now spent roughly half of his time working with a small team of programmers, rewriting the codes needed to operate the impellers. The new team had decided the instrumentation needed upgrading as well, especially instrumentation for the more-powerful impellers. In the afternoon, Chuck, and occasionally Morty, overhauled the basic Bedstead. The original parts of that relatively-crude device were soon replaced by redesigned and purpose-built components.

The latest iteration consisted of a stainless steel box frame, double-decked. Between the decks and taking up the rear half of the space were mounting slots for rechargeable batteries. The forward space housed two flight-control computers.

A pilot’s seat was mounted near the front to balance the weight of the battery packs, and a panel-mounted joystick to the pilot’s front controlled the computers. The machines worked in tandem for the most part, but having two computers provided redundancy making flying the craft safer.

The original Bedstead’s diesel generator had been removed; each new battery pack now provided enough power for an hour-long test flight, and the generator could be reinstalled later on if it was needed.

A perk of working in the production department was getting to fly the Bedstead. Simply put, it was fun to fly, and the people who discovered something that needed improving could immediately pass the information on to the people responsible for designing the fix. A signup sheet in the break room listed which engineer would fly it next and the flight profile he was to follow. Flights had, in fact, become so common that workers on the machines barely noticed when the nearly-silent Bedstead drifted overhead, flying a course around the warehouse.

Adventurous engineers sometimes flew the course backwards.

“Good morning, Richard. I don’t understand why you want a personal meeting. I’ve done business with you folks for years and Gene has always handled my account before, so what has changed?”

“I know, Will, but to be honest, the government has tightened up on the kinds of loans we can issue.” Will decided there was something evasive about Richard, although he couldn’t think of what caused it. “It’s a question of collateral, you see, and it’s felt that Gene didn’t have enough information when your proposal came before the committee.”

“I don’t understand,” Will protested. “I’m putting up some of my other investments as security for the loan. You’re surely familiar with them, they’re traded on the Big Board. Most of them, anyway, and the shares in foreign companies are also doing well. So what’s the problem?”

Richard steepled his fingers and leaned back, chair squeaking. “We’re interested in knowing why you need the money, Will. You’re asking us to underwrite a letter of credit that’s considerably larger than anything you’ve needed before. It’s possible that we might also want to invest in the same venture, which might reduce your exposure. While you have a knack of finding investments, they don’t always pay off. I won’t call you a plunger, Will, but some of your investments haven’t been prudent.”

“I’ve always paid off every dime I borrowed from you people!”

“You’re not asking for dimes, Will! You’re asking for millions of dollars, and you’re not giving us much information!”

“And I’m not going to! You stand to make money from interest on the loans, and that’s as far as I’m willing to go.”

“I ... see.” Richard leaned back and crossed his hands in his lap. “I rather thought that would be your answer, Will, but I confess that I’m disappointed. You’ve been a good customer and I’m sorry to see you go. I’m sorry to inform you that we don’t consider this proposal to be an acceptable risk,” Richard said briskly, “especially considering the volatility of stock markets worldwide. We believe that a correction is overdue, and when it happens, the stock you’re putting up for collateral won’t be enough to cover potential losses. The last correction was quite severe, as you’ll remember.”

Will nodded. He’d lost millions in the decline.

“The committee authorized me to approach you as I have, but since our meeting has not been productive I have no choice but to refuse the loan. The bank will not be funding your investment.”

“Then I’ll go somewhere else, and I’ll be taking my accounts with me!”

“As I said, we’re sorry to see you go, Will, but this is business. I doubt you’ll find anyone else who’ll be willing to underwrite your venture, whatever it is. Have you checked your credit rating recently?”

“No, I’ve had no need to! I have excellent credit, plenty of assets, no bankruptcies or foreclosures. Why would my credit rating be less than it was before?”

“I can’t answer that, Will. Perhaps the rating companies can, but in the meantime your credit rating is such that we’ll need a lot more collateral than what you’re offering before we provide you with the letter of credit you’re seeking.”

Will was seething when he left the bank. During the course of the day he approached two other banks, and both refused to extend credit. He was much more thoughtful late that evening when he telephoned Frenchy.

Frenchy called for a ten o’clock meeting of the Board on Monday. “Will?”

“Move we dispense reading of the minutes and approve the minutes of the previous meeting.”

“All in favor? Passed, then. On to new business. Will?”

“It’s about finance, people. Something is going on, something none of us counted on, so I’m having trouble getting a loan. I counted on that to provide the funds I agreed to put in immediately. So far, the only finance offers I’ve gotten are from people I’m suspicious of.”

“I’ve had problems too, Will,” Frenchy said. “Who are you getting those offers from?”

“They’re not from banks, I can tell you that! And I won’t accept them because of the interest rate they offered.”

“Too high, Will?”

“Too high, and for too short a time, Frenchy. I’m pretty sure organized crime is behind it. I refused, of course, and now I’m wondering how they knew I needed money.”

“Will, they almost certainly have someone at the banks where you applied for loans. They’re crooks, but they’re not stupid! They need banks too, and that means they pay off someone working at the bank. They may even control some of the bank’s executives, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find they are part owners of the banks.”

“I’ve never had this kind of trouble, Frenchy! I have to say, I didn’t expect this.”

“None of us did, Will, and as I said I’m having trouble too. Not so much from raising money, I had funds immediately available from sales of some of my stocks, but I haven’t been able to find an acceptable site for the factory. The current shop, the one downstairs, is sufficient for design work and light production, but it’s not big enough to modify aircraft or build a space-capable ship. Another concern, located where we are means that we can’t keep snoopers away. All they’ll need to do is park on the street and watch who comes and goes. That may be what’s going on now or maybe there’s something more sophisticated involved, but in any case security is a concern we’ve got to address.

“I expected to buy or lease a site, but every time I found one, someone else had been there before me, and whoever they were they had taken out an option on the building. There’s just not that much current demand for factory space in Amarillo or Lubbock, or wasn’t, and since the backers doing this only took out options, it’s no stretch to assume they won’t be taking them up when it’s time to renew. Cheap solution, considering. When you put it all together it convinces me that someone is working against us.

“I’m thinking now that we need to consider building our own plant, probably on the New Mexico side of the state line, and on land I already own. The property extends across the state line, but since I’ve been getting opposition in Texas anything we do there is likely to tip off whoever’s working against us. Maybe the thing for me to do is act like I’ve given up looking for a site, so if there is some sort of organized effort against us in Texas, whoever’s doing it will back off. Paranoia, possibly, but if there is someone in Texas trying to put a spoke in our wheel, he might not be paying attention to what happens in New Mexico. It’s worth a try, I think, and anyway, that old ranch of mine barely makes enough to pay the taxes. It’s not much good for ranching, but that’s been the only use for it up to now so using it as a site for our factory makes sense.

“One drawback, we don’t get a lot of rainfall up there. The only water comes from wells, and that source is going to play out eventually because the fresh water is underlain by salt. As fast as we pump out the fresh water, the salt water migrates in. I talked to a hydrologist a couple of years ago, and he predicted that within twenty years even cattle ranching would be gone because whatever water is left will be brackish at best, meaning that the best use of that land is for our factory. There will be problems, I’m sure of that, but I don’t see we have a choice. I’ll work on getting a manufacturing and assembly building up as soon as possible, before any opposition can get organized on the New Mexico side. I’m not sure how long construction will take, but I’ll start looking for a contractor tomorrow and have my lawyer see about permits.”

“What about the finance problems, Frenchy?” asked Morty.

“They’re still there, and I don’t know what I’ll be doing about those just yet. One idea that Jim and I have talked about is to start a marine operation by mounting those heavier impellers on a ship. I’m still thinking it over, but if we had a working unit to show people we might be able to generate some cash flow. That would certainly help.

“Another possibility, I might spin the marine operation off and make it a separate company. The current company would then begin operating as a holding company, with the marine operation a separate company. As we develop other applications, they might be better as separate companies too, all under the corporate umbrella”

“Table the discussion for now, Frenchy?”

“All in favor? So moved. Will, I’d like you and Chuck to remain behind. The rest of you, thanks for attending.”

“Vote to adjourn?”

“All in favor? So moved.” French rapped on the table with his knuckles, and the other board members filed out.

“Let’s walk down to the machine shop,” Frenchy said, “I’ve got something to show you.”

Chuck looked at him quizzically, but Frenchy’s expression was bland.

The machine shop was noisy, and most of the men wore earmuff-style sound suppressors. Frenchy pulled Will and Chuck in close and spoke where no one else could hear what was said. “We’ve got a spy, maybe one of the employees, or it might be that someone is listening to what we discuss. That’s the only explanation that makes sense. I don’t think any of the engineers are doing it, but I’m having Panit’s staff and your programmers checked out again, Chuck. We didn’t do a real in-depth investigation before; we figured that if they’d been working for Panit that was good enough, but maybe it wasn’t.”