Chapter 27

DAYS TWENTY to TWENTY - EIGHT

STAR –Day 20 - The Valley

After getting back to the mansion last night, following our really nice supper at the country club that I now own, I sat down in my bedroom and went through the rest of the folders Jack McCrum had given me.

I find that sleeping on a problem always helps, and I've got a clearer idea of what needs doing this morning. Leaving Jeff's Home Consumer Store on one side, because I can't do anything about that problem until Monday, I think I need to go out and visit the Retail Park over in Danville tonight. Why don't I ask Fritz to come with me? If we went this afternoon, we could visit each of properties there while they were still open, and I'd get a much better idea of each one. That's what I'll do.

But how am I going to get to know everything about my inheritance while I'm working 24/7 for CS&S here in The Valley?

On the spur of the moment, I called Chuck's cell and managed to speak to him right away. After I'd told him about my good fortune (but Willie had apparently mentioned to Chuck what he was intending to do) he reminded me that I hadn't taken any vacation for months, and suggested that since I'd put such a capable team together here in The Valley, I should only work half days for a couple of weeks. If I found I needed more time, I only had to let him know. What a wonderful boss Chuck is to work for.

So I called Fritz and arranged to meet him at 1400.

Just as I was ending that call, Pete Williams the shuttle expert from The Junction walked in. I called Bill and Jennie into my office, and when we all had coffees, he began.

"I was at a meeting yesterday with Chuck, Steve, Burton Bishop, who is the FAA Assistant Director in charge of West Coast operations, and two of his colleagues. Among various other matters, there were two which are important to you here in The Valley.

"First, they warned us that one of the California feeder airlines that competes with Halcyon, is in danger of having its leasing companies pull the rug out from under it because of all the endless quarreling between the management. He said that if this happened, they expected Chuck and Steve to step in and rescue it as they did so successfully at Halcyon."

"Wow, do you think it's SallyAir?" Jennie asked.

"Yes, that was my thought too," Pete replied.

"We already have good relations with Mrs. Hamersley and her son, Hugo, the SallyAir VP of Operations," I told him and then went on to tell him about our arrangements regarding the transfer of Mrs. Hamersley's Denver routes to CS&S.

"By the way," Bill contributed to the discussion, "I got a call last night to tell me that we've got the other two Bombardier CR 705s. So I called Mrs. Hamersley as we promised, and she was very pleased. One of the Denver to LA flights this week apparently had to be canceled because of engine trouble, and there were a lot of complaints since there wasn't a replacement aircraft available. She said to tell you that she was canceling the present operator's contract, and asked that we be ready to take over in two months time."

"That's interesting," Pete remarked. "Halcyon is restarting operations on the LA to Phoenix, Albuquerque, and Salt Lake City routes next week, so this is all meshing together really well.

"But this isn't why I'm here. Out of the blue, Mr. Bishop told us that he had heard that we were interested in starting a rotary shuttle operation between San Francisco and Reno, and then he told us that if we applied for the licenses, the FAA would approve them."

He was beaming as he told us this, and while Bill and I were both smiling, Jennie got really excited.

"You don't know it yet, but I've been approached by the marketing people from three of the Reno resorts, all talking about getting a shuttle service started straight to their own resorts," she told us. "The smallest of the three only has a helipad in the corner of one of their parking lots, but maybe we could provide an alternating hourly service to the other two resorts' rooftop pads? One of them is the one which already hosts your service in Vegas."

"Now that IS interesting." Pete thoughtfully replied. "When I saw the resort VP last week, he suggested that they would be open to suggestions on extending the service."

"There are three ex-military S-70s just starting a luxury overhaul and rebuild at Lutz," Bill told us. "Chuck and I picked them up from the Federal Auction website earlier this week, and we've got them earmarked for this very operation."

Pete was rubbing his hands together at this news, and announced that if we could find him a table to work on, he would rough out some ideas before starting to canvas the Reno resort operators.

We left him to do this, and when I stuck my head in Georgie's door, she told me that Mrs. Hamersley had called to tell us to expect a visitor.

"Did she promise to get us some more business?" Georgie inquired. "A friend of hers - somebody she called 'The Man in Hollywood' - is apparently sending an agent to talk to us about taking over and managing his aircraft. Anyway, this person, a woman, is the partner of the present operator, and 'The Man' had to order her to come and talk to us. Mrs. Hamersley wanted you to be warned about this."

Half an hour later, Georgie came in to tell me that our visitor, a woman called Girda Slitz, had just arrived unannounced. Would I see her, or should she blow her off?

I was intrigued, and asked Georgie to show her in.

I studied my guest as she accepted Georgie's offer of iced tea. She was a very well preserved woman in her fifties. Well dressed and beautifully turned out, she had two of the hardest black eyes I've ever seen. When I was young and worked in the Tampa Titty Bar, we girls were regularly pestered by the city's pimps and madams who wanted to recruit us, and here was an obvious example of the Hollywood variety.

I smiled sweetly, and waited for her to speak. She clearly didn't like this, but in the end she had to begin.

"I don't want to be here; I don't like my errand; and I don't like you," she started. "But I've been told by 'The Man' that you are expecting me, and I have no choice.

"'The Man' operates a service for his Hollywood friends using three Gulfstream G550s and a BD 700 Global Express. He wants you to take the aircrafts' management over and provide a weekly service to Hawaii, and regular runs to Tahiti, the East Coast, the Windward Islands, and to Europe. Those are the main destinations, but during the winter, the aircraft fly frequently to Aspen, CO and St. Moritz, Switzerland.

"You will be required to supply the pilots, but I will be providing the cabin crews."

I just bet you will, I thought. I just raised an eyebrow, forcing her to continue.

"The Global Express is getting old and expensive to run. It has been suggested to 'The Man' that it should be replaced by one of the new Boeing Business Jets. You will be expected to advise him on the best choice of replacement.

"Well, will you do this?"

She was practically spitting, as if trying hard to make me refuse.

"We'll need to check the planes out and consider the financial arrangements," I told her with my best honeyed smile. "But I don't see any problems otherwise. We would require assurances, of course, that your girls would keep their hands off the pilots."

"Rest assured, the flight deck door is ALWAYS locked during the flights," she just managed to spit out, very red-faced.

Yes, I bet it is, I thought.

"Fine, then I'll wait for further details," I told her, ending the conversation. She made no reply as she stumped out of the room.

Score one for me, I thought. I enjoyed this since it was the first time I've had the opportunity to really put one across someone of her type.

The rest of the morning quickly passed, and it was soon time to go and pick Fritz up. I thought that it would be good to get to know him better. I have to tell him about Charlie Donnelly too. They need to get along as they would be working closely together.

I haven't visited Danville before, so I was interested in everything Fritz told me on the drive over. He suggested that we returned via our La Gavroche restaurant in Moraga, as he said I would enjoy the drive up Crow Canyon, then north on Redwood Road.

I don't own any businesses in the small retail park on the north side of Danville, but I have to come over again on Monday to talk to Jeff about Willie's solution to his business problems. I asked Fritz to accompany me then too, but we looked in the windows and I immediately realized what he had meant about it really only being an old-fashioned appliance store.

After this, I stood back and looked around. The rest of the businesses around the park looked quite busy, and easily capable of paying their rents as Fritz had told me.

The San Jose Super Stores group had a large establishment at the end with a continuous stream of shoppers going in and out. It provided a good draw for the other outlets around. There was a furniture and fabric store with a carpet warehouse opposite it. A men's and women's outfitter was next to a large household and garden store, while a fast food outlet by the entrance was obviously doing good business.

We walked around looking at the various businesses, and Fritz proudly introduced me to a number of the owners and managers who we met on our tour.

It was a very useful visit, and afterwards, I enjoyed our scenic drive over to Moraga to visit my fine-dining 'experience', as the sign over the door of what was surely a rather ordinary, though up-market, French eatery, told us.

We went in and were welcomed by Felix, the chef, who immediately annoyed me by his very condescending attitude and assumption that I obviously knew nothing about anything.

I decided this had to be stomped on right away, so I turned to Fritz.

"I presume this man is only an employee, so he is not indispensable," I remarked, ignoring Felix completely. "It would be very easy to replace him with one of the sous-chefs from Chuck's Magic Island Resort down in Costa Rica if we need a replacement. In fact, an ultra up-market establishment would surely do very well here, being as close to the city as it is..."

It was immediately evident that Felix had read some of the entirely speculative stories and articles about Magic Island that various travel writers have dreamed up. They were causing a lot of mirth among those of us who had actually been there. His arrogant attitude immediately evaporated, and the obsequious way he always treated me from then on was almost embarrassing.

After we left the restaurant, Fritz pointed out the building where one of my other local business, Valley Realtors, operated. I remembered that I needed to visit them soon as well, because there had been another question mark in Jack McCrum's note about the manager there.

We finally drove past the only hotel I owned, which was located outside the small town of Canyon, where it did well from the visitors to the popular Sibley and Huckleberry region, and its strategic location at the southern end of the East Bay Skyline trail. We didn't stop as it was getting late and I wanted to know how Pete Williams had done in Reno.

He made a very promising start, as it turned out, and had received verbal assurances that two of the biggest resorts were ready to proceed with the shuttle as soon as we had the helicopters and other infrastructure in place.

As I lay in bed that night, I wondered about what I was going to do. I didn't want to be replaced as general manager here in The Valley. Maybe I should appoint a manager to run the businesses I'd inherited from Willie.

Hmm, Pete Harris might be the man for the job...

CHUCK – Day 20 - Lutz

As I sat at a table on the patio once more, contentedly eating my breakfast sandwich and sipping a really large mug of coffee, Steve came up and joined me as I reflected on our busy week,.

"Thinking about all that's been happening?" He asked. I had to nod because my mouth was full. "Before Lisa comes over here, you need to know what I just heard from Capt. John. The Lisa J is now available if you want to buy it. The owner skipped out, leaving a lot of unpaid debts everywhere and old man Pickett has seized her to settle the unpaid accounts for boat repairs and slip fees that have accrued. He's offered it to us at a ridiculous price if we pay for the repairs to the stern and get it removed from the slip so that he can start on with his other work. Brandy told him to go ahead, and she's ready for us to go get her."

Before I could reply, Lisa came over with her coffee, pointing to the far side near the entrance as she did so.

"Look at June and Louisa over there," she said, as she sat down close to me. "They are getting quite friendly with Donny and Geraldine. But then they're all chemists, of course; do you think the girls might fit into Steve's R&D setup too?"

Steve looked up at this remark.

"That's interesting," he said, "I think I'll have a word with Dennis, but I'm told that they are making themselves really useful at Lutz, so we might leave things as they are for now. I'm also told that they are quite friendly with Jackie, your scary lady security leader here. It seems that people prefer not to directly communicate with her.

"You know I've been pleasantly surprised at how Kurt has developed since you put him in charge at The Junction. He already had a quietly competent air about him, but he now has a commanding manner as well."

We were joined shortly after by Buster and Colin, who were very pleased at how well the presentation for the Vice President had gone yesterday. Among other things, Colin thought that it had been good for morale, as well as a neat bonding exercise.

They wanted my approval for changes in the Guard Force senior ranks.

"You tell it," Buster told Colin, "It's your idea."

"First, I have interesting news about the Marines who were sent over from McDill last Saturday," Colin began. "We've got some really good men there, by the way. But anyway, it appears that they all received "graveyard" promotions when they mustered out. Staff Sergeant Jones is now an E-7 Gunnery Sgt, his numbers two and three are now a Staff Sergeant and a Sergeant respectively, while all the others have been promoted to Corporals.

"I'm proposing that we make Jones the Guard Force Commander here in Lutz, and transfer our present top rankers, Gunnery Sgt. Borman, and ex-Security Force E-6, Technical Sgt. Christie to the job of recruiting, then leading the men for your new LAWest augmented Guard Company. The two men work well together, and their experience of recruiting the company here will prove useful.

"Kurt has arranged for another Air Force Security Force E-6 Technical Sgt. to come in from McDill for an interview this morning. Apparently he fixed this up through his friend, Cal Noble, who is the Command Chief Master Sergeant for the USAF's Air Mobility Command. The man's name is Jenkins, and I'm hoping he can recommend another man to fill the vacancy at The Junction.

"I want to move one of our original NCOs, S/Sgt Narbonne, who is currently at The Junction to head up the Hawaii Company, which means that Mac has another vacancy for a senior ranker. As he has a number of ex-Army men there, I'd like the new man to have an Army background too, so I intend to try and recruit an ex-Ranger Sergeant for that vacancy."

Steve was nodding his agreement when I thanked the two men for their presentation and told them to go ahead.

"There's something I wanted to tell you," Steve said, when the three of us were alone. "Tiny just told me that he's received an approach from Forbes magazine. Their latest idea apparently is to choose and do write-ups on what they are calling the ten "Most Influential Businessmen who Nobody Knows". He says that they want me to agree to be interviewed by one of their senior writers for the series."

Lisa and I enthusiastically congratulated him, but he was obviously doubtful about the honor.

I turned to Lisa next.

"Steve says that we need to go down to Bill Pickett's boatyard in Naples this afternoon. Want to come?"

Since she was vehemently nodding, Steve took up the story.

"Bill apparently has decided that it is time for him to retire at last, and he wants to discuss an idea that Joe Magellan has proposed. I said that we would drop in to see him this afternoon. Oh. I forgot to order a chopper. Joy took us there last time; I hope that she's free."

He pulled his cell out and called Tank.

"We need to go over to the airpark anyway," he remarked, after making the call. "Bruce Rogerson and Jimmy are holding an introductory meeting for the first two groups of our new Federal Re-Training Initiative. They want us to say a few words of welcome to the 55 men and women who will be there."

"I haven't really been keeping up on things there," I confessed.

This was Lisa's cue.

"Bruce has managed to persuade DC to fund a re-training program for some of the ex-military pilots and mechanics," she told me. "There are 30 pilots and 25 mechanics in the first course. Some will stay with CS&S to be trained, while Bruce and Jimmy have twisted the arms of the various aircraft manufacturers to run special programs at their main factories. The only exception is the five pilots who are going up to Binghamton, NY where the Link simulator people are."

This was really good, and I wondered what I could do to add to our people's really promising plan. The fact that they had managed to set this up made me really proud.

We drove over to the airpark, then right up to the other end where a group of double-wides had been positioned to the left near the rear gate. Lisa said that these were for both classrooms and housing for the trainees.

We went into one that was configured as a lecture room, and were welcomed at the door by Jimmy, as Bruce had already started his introduction. We entered as quietly as we could, just as he was apologizing for the fact that it had not proven possible to send every one of the pilots to train on their first aircraft choice. However, he hoped that each one of them would be satisfied by the end of the program.

He then introduced Steve and I. Steve briefly welcomed them to Lutz, and urged anyone who had questions to ask any of us during the coffee break that was to follow.

I initially found myself talking to a group of four rotary mechanics, all from the Army. Two were senior, hard-bitten, immensely experienced women NCOs who immediately reminded me of Joy and Janey Halsey, her friend in Seattle. I made a mental note to speak to Tank about the pair, and to make sure we recruited the best of both groups for CS&S. I thought that the two women might easily fit in well as assistant supervisors for Jimmy's dad in Hawaii, and Mac and Jack Smith at The Junction.

I didn't manage to meet many others, but Lisa was bubbling over after meeting an ex-AV-8B pilot who had served in the same Marine Squadron she had.