Prologue

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."R. Frost

Mike Faber, that's me. Aged to a prime of 61 years. Look like I'm 40. Tall, lanky, cantankerous, full of myself, hard hitting cowboy. Don't drink, don't smoke. Really unusual. Not quite what you'd expect. Nevertheless (learned, too) what you see is what you get.

Leading an idyllic life on the "prairie" of West Texas, my spread covers 108,961 acres, to you city folks, that's 140 square miles. It's on the El Paso side on Monahans, past the sand dunes a bit. I acquired it in a game of poker. That caused me to give up gambling for fear I might win something else. Not married any more. Elissa died 4 years ago. Trucking company's insurance took a big bite on that one when we proved the equipment was defective, overdue for inspection and the driver was drunk and driving on a suspended ticket to boot and they knew it. Let's just say I don't care if the ranch makes money or not.

Did I mention that Exxon-Mobil leased a small part of the ranch, sank a well and is giving me royalties on 11,000 barrels a day? You could see my grin a mile away when that baby gushered!!! Course I kind of figured it was there. My foreman Sam has a son in law John who worked for them in the GPS mapping section. I asked him to take a look at the Sat IR and let me know what he thought. Well, he thought I should do some sonic tests. Me and Billy Mitchell went down to the co-op, got us some supplies and tested it for ourselves. Then I contacted Exxon. Told them they might want to check out my land before BP. Said there was one heck of a response to a sonic test I had done, that they should come check it out. They took their time but sent a team about 6 weeks later.

Boom. Test one. Boom. Test two. Boom Boom Boom. Even before the dust settled, the head geologist was on the phone to Houston. One week later we had a sit down. I thought the IHOP on I-10 would be a good place. They didn't. They sent a limo to take me to Ft. Stockton, a Learjet to take me to Houston International, and a Bell Jet Ranger to ferry me from IAH to Exxon tower. I was in the board room about 20 minutes after arriving in Houston. I was seated on one side of a long table. I was given a glass of water and the diminutive red head with the dynamite figure asked me if I wanted anything else.

"Yes, but I don't think it's on the menu" I replied with my best Groucho Marx eyebrow lift impression. She blushed and I could see goose bumps on her arms. She smiled and left the room. I would have to explore that avenue after the meeting.

Several minutes later it started. In streamed a multitude of suits, male and female, young and old. They seated themselves on the opposite side of the table. This must be the first team for Exxon, I thought. Billy and I were right. I got a bonanza! Well if they think they are gonna bamboozle me, just let them try.

The man who sat at the head of the table stood and introduced himself. "Rex Tillerson" he said, "I'm the CEO here at Exxon and we thought we'd bring you here so I could meet you personally"

"Mike Faber", I said. "But then, you already know that. So let's get this shindig on the road. Tell me why you spent all that money to bring me here just so we can sign a lease."

"It's not just a lease, Mr. Faber, it's a contract that needs to be explained so you will be protected" interjected a snotty looking Harvard type 3 chairs over from Tillerson.

"And you are?" I asked.

"Marc Calvert, Lead Council and COO for Exxon Explorations, the company actually wanting to acquire your land"

"I see", I replied. "Just what do you have to offer me?"

Mr. Calvert had his secretary, a tall, busty blonde, pass out a prospectus that was easily 3 inches thick. She made sure everyone got a copy and then she came around to my side of the table. She placed the prospectus on the table in front of me and "accidentally" rubbed her Texas size breast against my back. Junior liked that. And she smelled divine.

"Ciara, by Charles Revson, isn't it?" I inquired.

Taken aback, a broad grin came across her face as she nodded and moved away to the other side of the table, taking a seat herself behind the row of bigwigs.