Chapter 19

Chuck

I awoke when the clock clicked over to five thirty. My internal clock was working as always. As I moved from between Lisa and Tina, Tina raised her head, "Do you have to get up so early? I don't have to go in until nine this morning."

Lisa also woke up and told her, "The man is flying to his islands this morning with all of the investors and architects. I'm sure he's strung pretty tight this morning."

Tina grinned at me and patted the bed, "Lie down here, Lover, and let me relax you this morning. It'll give you something to think about all day."

I leaned over to kiss Tina and said, "You are a definite temptation, but I promised to be ready early this morning."

Lisa told Tina, "Come on, let's get up with the stodgy old man and help him get going."

I should have known there was an ulterior motive for wanting to help me get ready. Julie and Brandy must have heard the conversation and volunteered to help get me ready too. The shower took an exceptionally long time and had four of my loves walking bow legged by the time we were drying off. We dressed, kissed the babies, grabbed my luggage that Julie had prepared, and headed to Steve's.

Several people were up having an early breakfast, including Dewey's aircrew, who said they wanted to get out to the airpark early to prepare their aircraft.

Dewey, Steve, the Amsterdam investors, and the architects were already into the Bloody Marys this morning. How could Julie, Lisa, and I resist? Marty was the only one to abstain. None of us had to pilot anything, so breakfast was both solid and liquid. We all headed to the airpark by six-fifteen and found the 737 out on the tarmac with the right engine already spooled up and the hostess standing by the stairs. Lisa nudged me in the side, "How's this for first class treatment, Boss? I like it."

The trip down was filled with a re-examination of the prints and suggestions I had, along with a lot of coffee. When we set down on the island, the investors and architects were astounded that we already had a functional airport on the main island, with obvious signs of construction of two more hangars, and what looked like a hotel being started on the hillside. I explained the hillside construction was a hotel for future aircrews of the rich and famous. The crews would have access to the other islands for some recreation, but would be limited to pool, beach areas, and one golf course. They would even be encouraged to eat at their hotel. For the price we intended to be charging, you have to keep the haves and have-nots separated.

The friendly customs man was there to meet us. He was happy to come out to the island to help us, and was happy that Julie was visiting. I told him to wait and someone would fly him back to Limon or he could go back on one of the boats later. He said he would wait up at the house for a later flight. The man knew there were good food and friendly people here.

Miguel had carts take us up to the house on the hill so we could once again map out how we were going to view the properties. I suggested the architects first get an aircraft ride around the islands so they could get a better feel of the arrangement. Mark's son, Gene, was chosen to be the guide using the float plane.

While they were gone, Dewey, Steve, and the investors were given an additional review of what infrastructure yet needed to be completed. Mark gave the narrative while showing some professional slides created on Gene's and Sandy's laptop. Mark pointed out the status of construction of the three sewage plants on overhead photos. He said the one on the home island was complete, but all of the piping to the plant was not done yet. So far, the cooking of the sewage into powder had not caused any bad smells, and there was no significant heavy metal contamination from the piping, so he was encouraged that the idea was still viable.

Mark next showed the location of the water and gas wells and how they would feed the resorts, workers quarters, and facilities. Dewey noticed one of the well sites was much larger and looked more congested.

Mark smiled, "You need to be patient about that. I will give you some good news in a few minutes."

Mark showed the current, up to the minute, status of all the golf courses and fencing for future stock and gardening. He said that we had buyers working on supplying the islands with stock, and that workers were already preparing the soil for the big gardens. He told us that as the fertilizer powder was available, it was being plowed and mixed into the soil prior to planting, similar to the way farmers spread cow manure in the U.S.

Steve was looking confused and asked, "Just how many people do you have working here right now?"

Mark scratched his head and said, "I think we have about four hundred right this minute. We don't have enough equipment to do everything we need to do yet but it is coming along."

I was even stunned, "How are you housing that many people, Mark?"

He grinned and said, "About a hundred or so are day workers from Limon and get here and go home mostly by all the fishing boats in the area. Since we're paying for the rides right now, it will give us an idea of what it will be like when we have to transport a majority of the resort staff for three shifts a day. We do have about a hundred of those FEMA trailers set up that are being shared by three or four workers at the same time, but that is temporary during construction. The workers from this island are busy with the hotel, hangars, and our tower."

I asked, "Where's the tower? I didn't see one."

Mark pointed at the overhead photo of the R&D building where there obviously was an addition being added, "We're expanding the R&D building for part of it to become operations with a small tower and control center."

Mark pointed to a photo of some boats congregating near the shore of this island and the big island. He said, "Gene already made arrangements for the fiber optic cable from Limon. The Costa Rican government is, or has just finished, installing a huge bandwidth gateway to North America, connecting all of the South American countries. We will be able to feed from that in less than two months. We are putting connections here and on the big island, with connections between each to the middle island so we can create a circle all the way to Limon. What Gene calls an OC48. That way, if a connection goes bad at one location, it can still be fed from the other side. This is also going to be our voice connection by using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) back to Limon, where we will interface with the local services. If necessary, we can use bandwidth for voice, right through to the states. We want to support the local exchanges financially, so we will use them as our first priority."

One of the investors asked, "What do you need us for if you've already done so much?"

Dewey told them, "First, you have helped us out with the Amsterdam location. You have worked with us in Hawaii and now you are instrumental in supplying known good resort architects and golf course designers. The golf course people told us that if we gave them the people and supplies, they would have four courses built and operating in three months. We originally were going to have only one on the middle island, but there is room for another. Chuck has made sure they are getting everything they need. Now all we need to do is finalize the plans for a couple of luxurious resort buildings."

Mark was still standing in front of us grinning, "Now, Folks, some really good news." He pointed to the big photo of the gas well drilling area that was larger than the others. "Note this area is in a remote part of the island and will not interfere with our future guests. We will have to work to keep it as unobtrusive as possible. Chuck indicated his interest to go ahead when we first found gas, so some additional drilling was started then. We had to bring in some bigger equipment to do the job and began slant drilling toward the structure the geologist said would be most favorable. I think one of the geologists is going to be a part of our organization for a long while."

Mark shuffled around before saying, "We couldn't get immediate permits to drill out in the sea nearer to the coast as it comes under Costa Rica's protected area. However, we found out we only needed a resource contract permit to do some slant drilling for exploration. Well, we have a problem. It took us all of nine days of continuous drilling to hit a very large oil deposit. I've already had Diego apply for a production contract. He says it isn't difficult to obtain. It's going to be a while before we will know how big it is, and it will be even longer until we figure out how to get oil from here to refineries either in Limon, Panama, Mexico, or even the States. The oil is under pressure so the well is currently capped. If oil stays above eighty dollars a barrel, I think we can ship it all back to the States and pay for this resort the first year. If Costa Rica wants some or all of it, we can hold them up to get permits to drill off the coast. The geologist says he feels that the biggest deposits are closer to here than to Limon, but we need to do some offshore drilling for efficiency."

Dewey said, "Son of a gun. Chuck, you are one of the luckiest men alive."

All I could think of was, "What the hell am I going to do with more money?"

I motioned Mark over and quietly asked, "You haven't been back here long enough to have that drilling completed so fast."

Mark said, "I knew you would agree to it, so I authorized it when we hit gas the first time. I figured if you got pissed and nothing was hit, I'd pay for it myself. Those royalties I'm getting from S&S are still building. Gene and Sandy won't take them, so what am I going to do with all that money?"

I actually hugged Mark. The man may be older than what my own father would be, but you had to love the guy.

Dewey and Steve were huddled with the Amsterdam guys. My two friends were probably trying to get a better deal for me. I didn't need it.

Steve turned to me and waved me to the meeting. He pointed out the drilling site and asked, "What do you think? How about building a large fence around this whole area? We can build a barge dock for supplies that travel to and from the island, as well as a wellhead to load barges. If we find out a pipeline to Limon is feasible, we can do that, but meanwhile, let's get some of this oil to market. I'll call Ben, tell him the good news, and have him negotiate with the oil companies to test and buy our crude. He'll find the best deal for us, whether near here or back home. The important thing to do right now is to begin building a pier for the oil barges and/or tankers."

I asked Steve, "Limon has a refinery. How about expanding that and shipping refined product from Limon? If I'm thinking right, we could employ a few hundred more people and help Limon become an even larger contributor to the Costa Rican economy."

Steve said, "Call Diego and have him come out. We need to talk to him anyway, and this will give him more to do. I want to call Ben, though, as he's become very knowledgeable about the world oil market."

Lisa was tugging at me and said, "Call Diego and tell him to go out to the airport. I'll take the King Air to get him. He'll probably want to bring Deni, and maybe his Dad, to meet you, Steve, and Dewey."

After thanking Lisa for the suggestion, I went to the side of the porch away from our gathering and called Diego. After a short conversation, I went back to Lisa to tell her that they would meet her in an hour. I had told him to prepare to possibly stay the night. Lisa said, "I'll find the customs guy and take him back. I think he's in the kitchen with Miguel."

I brought my yellow pad back to the group and said, "Let's plan the order we want all of this to be done in and potential suspense dates for review and completion. When Diego gets here, we can work on the hospital and the refinery idea further, but before he gets here, let's begin working on the schedules for the infrastructure, the golf courses, and the resorts, in that order."

While we were working on the schedule, we found out the harbor and yacht club area were about fifty percent completed, and now we would need another barge area with road access where the oil wellhead area was. One of the Amsterdam guys asked if the oil well smell would upset guests. Dewey laughed, "If they do smell oil, remember these are all rich guys, and all they'll smell is money." That got a laugh from all of us.

Gene came back with the architects and had the two Amsterdam men and Dewey go with him for a view from the air. Mark hardly gave the architects a chance to get a cup of coffee before he was showing them a list of amenities we wanted to offer. They were writing as fast as they could and agreeing to everything Mark had thought up. The two men make some good suggestions and kept on writing. By the time Gene was back with the second group that toured the island, Mark had the architects sketching some buildings and doing some rough drawings of what they thought.

Lisa came up from the hangars with a lady and six men. Diego was leading the others. He began introducing everyone, "This is my fiancée Deni, and my father, Victor, who has worked in the construction industry for thirty years. These other men are associates who have also worked in the industry for a long time. One of the men was involved in the original construction of the hospital and wants to be a part of building a first quality medical facility without cutting corners this time. I believe we should let him begin handling that."

Diego's father, Victor, a tall trim man in his late fifties, agreed with his son, "Enrique is an extremely conscientious builder. I can tell you how upset he was when he had to use inferior quality materials to build the hospital that would serve our community. Now that Mr. Johnson has said he wants the new hospital to be first quality, Enrique is begging to lead the construction."

Diego said, "These other men will be my choices for supervisors. All are bilingual, and all are experienced in building resorts and vacation structures. One of these men even built your condominium in Limon, Mr. Johnson. You need to interview these men to make sure my choices are your choices."

Lisa nudged me and whispered in my ear, "You need to just hire them. All were exceptionally courteous and gentlemanly. Much different than many of the Latin men we've met."

I smiled at Lisa for her input and really didn't get much of a chance to do much interviewing, as Steve, Dewey, Mark, the Amsterdam duo, and the architects were all busy interviewing the men. I sat off to the side and let the pros ask the questions. My only question was 'could they finish next week.' I had to laugh at my own thoughts, as I knew I was pushing this project very hard. I heard Lisa in my head, «Be patient my love, this will come together very fast for you. Just be patient.»

Lisa was smiling at me from across the porch.

One thing I heard from the three men who were going to be supervisors for the resort construction was that they had good-sized crews who could be supplied, unless we wanted to hire them directly. That's when Marty stepped in. He addressed all of the men at the table, "It will be easiest to set up payroll for all of the workers at the same time. So that we can get a handle on how to do all of this, I've contracted a local accounting firm that will handle the wages in the manner it is handled here. They will give us weekly reports. For you supervisors and you, Enrique, I will need you to feed me receipts for everything, so I can pay the bills and keep track of our costs. I still have to compile what Chuck and Mark have already spent, but that shouldn't be too hard." Marty passed out some 3x5 index cards, before them telling all, "The top name, phone number, and address are for the accounting firm we will use. Next are the telephone numbers where I can be reached, along with our office fax machine, my e-mail address, and office address. Give all of your receipts to the local accounting firm and they will forward them to me. You will have to send me a list of the receipts you give the accounting firm. This is going to be easy, and we'll keep track of everything."

I sat back, hearing Tiny and Henry in Marty, as Tiny would have been the one to direct Marty to get the local accounting firm. I'll have to thank Tiny for that.

It was long past lunch and I told everyone, "I think Mina has had lunch ready for us. I know she has fed everyone else, so sit back, take a breather, and we'll have lunch."

Miguel and Mina had been waiting for this, so the two of them, along with some other island women, began bringing out food. It was right about then that several women came up from the docks. The four condo girls and three boat girls descended on the porch, wanting to hug and kiss Lisa and me. They all gave Steve and Dewey hugs, remembering them from having met them before. Steve said, "I suppose I'm beginning to become a frequent visitor down here."

The blonde boat girl who seemed to be the leader took Lisa off to the side to talk to her. It must have been important, as Lisa kept looking up at me. I saw Lisa hug her, and the two came back to be a part of the gathering.

My stomach was doing flip flops. I tried to figure out what was up but only had that feeling of impending doom. Like a dream while awake that is full of an unknown terror that I didn't understand.

After everyone had lunch, I recommended that we take a couple of small boats to the big island to check out some of the progress there. I saw Mark get a small hand held radio device and give some directions. We were able to get Marty on a very large open boat and secure his wheelchair, along with Dewey, Steve, Gene, Mark, Lisa, the two architects, the Amsterdam investors, Diego, his dad, the other four men, and me. At the mid-eastern shore of the island was the construction of the man-made lagoon and yacht club. Built next to it was the temporary dock for barges and transport boats. There were two carts ready to take us around. Mark said to Marty, "I will get one of the new handicap carts down here so you can get around. I'll also look to see if I can get a boat you can use to go back and forth. I'd bet we can get a catamaran that is wheelchair accessible. You could just about be totally independent."

I could tell that what Mark said he would do made Marty enthusiastic about being down here. While we toured the island, Diego was deep in conversation with Marty. Victor, Diego's dad, was excited to see the amount of infrastructure in process. The men with him were introduced around to the various crews as supervisors for the completion of the resorts.

We were able to use the new road to drive north, all the way to the end of the island and inspect the causeway that was being built with the concrete box pilings like we were using at our man made lagoon. Back down near the harbor area, we went back into some trees and saw a huge concrete plant with mounds of sand, rock, and a metal silo that was full of cement. Forms latticed with rebar were being filled with the mixed concrete to create the huge boxes. There was a big crane that was picking up finished piling boxes to be used for either the harbor or causeway. We watched as the crane swung the large concrete box to a barge and set it down with several others already there. Mark explained that each manufactured box was constructed for the depth where it was going to be placed. Some areas had to have boxes stacked on top of another, as the depth was more than they could construct and move a box for. Mark further explained how pilings were put deep into the ground offshore, and then the boxes were lowered over the pilings to hold them in place for what could be forever.

All of the activity was making me smile. I was very happy to see the work in progress. As we went back to the home island, Lisa told me, "Betty, the blonde boat girl, just told me another of your women has been asked to marry. She wants you to give her your blessing. It seems a young man from the States met her when the boat was chartered for several days of fishing. Betty said that Katrina has gone out with the man several times, as he has been flying back and forth often. We need to check the guy out since he's not local, and we need to get with her to confirm this is real."

I smiled at Lisa, "How does it feel to be a mom to all of these women? They look to you and Julie more than they look to me. They want my blessing but they talk to you gals first."

Lisa said, "Julie is the mom around here and you, mon ami, are el padrón, the patron. I think this side of the country down here thinks that when you decree something, it will happen. I guess it has so far. I'll get with Julie so we can get all of the particulars on this guy. I'll call our Secret Service contact and have the guy checked out. Since we have that ability, we might as well use it."

As we were getting off the boat down by the end of the runway, Mark's LSA was landing. When it taxied back to the hangars and shut down, Sandy, Gene's wife, got out, made some notations in the logbook and pitched it onto the seat. Gene went over to help her refuel before putting the aircraft away. I asked Mark, "Is she using the aircraft for shopping trips to Limon?"

Mark laughed, "No, she's giving lessons to Costa Ricans in Limon. She wants to import a 172 with instrumentation so she can teach an instrument course, as well. Both Gene and Sandy are giving lessons. You know those kids aren't happy unless they're flying and teaching. I'll probably have to get at least a 172 and another LSA for lessons so mine won't be worn out so fast."

I should have known the two people who loved to fly and teach would find a way to continue their avocation. I made a mental note to get some aircraft down here for them. Knowing there is no time like the present; I stepped away from everyone and called my office. When I got through to Wanda, I asked her, "Can you go through what aircraft are available for sale on the confiscated sheets. I want a Cessna 172, preferably with an instrument package, and another light sport aircraft. It can be a two seater, something for beginners."