It all started - 1993
Two men were charged with the task of developing new methods for use in clandestine operations. These new methods were to provide the skills to accomplish assignments without anyone knowing an agent was there - like ghosts. Their research included movies, books, college thesis, field agent interviews, situation reports, retired agent interviews, and comic books. Their two year project report was submitted to their risk-adverse section chief who was under intense scrutiny for two failed field operations within the past year. Their 47 page report was strategically mis-filed in an archived, retired agent's personnel file and the document scrubbed from the computer system.
The two report authors, believed to have been idling for the project's duration, were reduced in grade and transferred to basement jobs. Their careers were poisoned by a section chief who is the illustration next to the definition of the Peter Principle.
Daryl Alexander and Peter Stone left the CIA after 12 years of service, two of which were lost (much like their 47 page report). Daryl went to work for an uncle as an insurance agent. Peter used an inheritance from a favorite aunt to buy the first of seventeen businesses over the next six years.
It was 2005, over dinner with a close friend, Undersecretary of State Albert Hollier, when Peter learned that a surprising 1.3% of small businesses supplying the government, are suspected of illegal sales or service to "the enemy". The GSA, short on resources, has enough staff to inspect only the big businesses.
In 2006 Peter founded Zeta Consulting Group. Daryl was Zeta's first employee. Daryl arrived at Peter's home with their 47 page report.
Peter's 17 small businesses, ranging from $12M to $142M annually, provide the funding for the private clandestine operation that is known only to its employees. The nine employees of Peter, Daryl, Anna, three investigators, and three "disrupters" make up the Zeta family.
Initially Peter did investigating to find the criminal companies. Daryl accepted and excelled at finding the specific individual(s) responsible for the anti-American activities then disrupting their lives without leaving a trace of their involvement. Daryl's communication, analytical, and people skills made him the logical choice for employee recruiting.
They quickly discover the need for a well educated specialist in computers, science, and all things forensic. Anna was found when she was the only applicant to respond to their classified ad:
Wanted, a computer know-it-all. On-call
24-7. Top 1% of class. Enjoys complex
problem solving with critical time
restrictions. Reports to demanding boss.
Anna's application contained an essay, with attachments, on how she hacked:
- the classified ads database to discover who placed and paid for the ad
- her college's computer to acquire copies of her transcripts
- the databases of all Peter's companies to determine how much he paid himself
- Peter's home computer just to show it could be done
She also sent a copy of her 207 page doctoral thesis "Artificial Intelligence - Green Thinking - Natural Living" which according to the synopsis is the " ... application of artificial intelligence and research to discover the natural plants and organisms which ease, reverse, or cure chronic diseases."
The last piece of her application was a photograph of Anna in a wheel chair labelled -"Paraplegic. Skiing accident 37 months ago." Taped on the back was the hometown newspaper article describing her courage to "move on" with a picture receiving her doctorate degrees in computer sciences, and organic chemistry.
As their skills at finding the target companies and executing disruptions improved, additional investigators and disrupters were hired.
One of Peter's companies, Arc Systems, having problems with fast growth, and wanting to provide assistance for a recently promoted President, hired a business analysis firm to help it through the difficult times. Biz Planners LLC sent their most capable Analyst / Consultant ... Jon Hersey. Jon's unique style, quick and clever adaptation to new data, accelerated the recovery. Peter was very pleased ... and impressed. Jon's name was forwarded to Daryl ...
Today
Four months after his resignation dinner with Paul, Jon is still on-the-job for Biz Planners - 32 days past their agreed resignation date. The physical drain of flying was complicated by fitting all the demanding schedules together of Zeta Consulting Group, Biz Planners LLC, and Cincinnati Studious Schooling.
Four Zeta disruptions in Philadelphia, Toledo, Oakland, and Seattle were spaced out to accommodate travel for Biz Planners. Peter Stone was now starting to hint it was time to move-on.
Paul Tyler, owner of Biz Planners LLC, was taking advantage of Jon's good nature and friendship. Paul was demanding Jon's attendance on visits to customers, and every interaction with Fly Fishing Wholesale Group. It appeared Paul was dragging his feet finding Jon's replacement. Jon, needing to help Michelle with Cincinnati Studious Schooling, gave Paul a new final last day - three Fridays out.
Michelle is doing her job well: - nine new students, - applying for accreditation, - finding a second location, - developing tutor interview and testing programs, - and finishing the student reward systems. However, the newness is wearing off the new job, and her time is totally consumed by the coffee cart, tutoring, night classes, growing CSS, office manager responsibilities, ... and sleeping 4 to 5 hours per day.
Each of Jon's "families" are struggling because of Jon's ultra busy schedule: - Biz Planner wants more time to ease the transition to the future analyst / consultant, - Zeta is scheduling some of Jon's disruptions with other disrupters, - and Michelle is unfairly being taxed by the added responsibility of a business growing faster than expected.
Jon growing weary from the physically demanding schedule, and the mental gymnastics of keeping Zeta discussions from Paul and Michelle, needs a weekend to re-charge. Jon contacts Peter and Daryl, then Paul asking for a no-calls-mini-vacation this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. They all agree and thank Jon for his efforts. Now Jon begins to worry about the next call ... to Michelle. He could hear the strain in her voice the past 10 days, and it made him feel guilty for not being there. He was about to call when her email message found its way to his computer...
Partners
In four months, give or take, the business relationship between Michelle, Cincinnati Scintillating Sinnamon owner, and Jon, Cincinnati Studious Schooling owner, has become one of trust, integrity, and friendship. Michelle has proven she can handle any obstacle and solve any problem, except the need for two more hours each day. Michelle's day starts at 7 AM selling "Everything Sinnamon", - then at 2 PM she begins her five hours of tutoring, accounting, projects, and so on as the Office Manager for "everything studious", then night school for 2 to 3 hours, then late dinner and study until after midnight.
For three months the challenge of it all was energizing. Michelle measured her accomplishments and deposited the extra pay check. Now she is starting to have doubts about the tutoring part of her life. Does she really need the extra money? She did ok before, and was not so tired. And, Jon has promised to be available full-time after his resignation, which was just re-scheduled again.
Then the Cincinnati newspaper article in the Sunday Money section wrote about her, Michelle Silasa. The article, page two, half a page, focused on the unique teaching methods and style, the impending accreditation, clever study / reward system, growth from Saturdays only to four nights per week, the average 3x improvement in student performance at school, the development of student good study habits, and Michelle's crazy schedule starting with the coffee cart and ending with college homework. The last line of the article came from the tip bucket at the cart - Please generously give to a poor college student that needs to buy books, pay tuition, and eat. Tutoring i$ extra.
Jon proofread the article before publishing, insisted he not be mentioned, and advised the writer that Michelle's title was vice president of operations. The euphoria wore off a few weeks later, but her attachment to Cincinnati Studious Schooling was strong. [Can not leave now. So how do I solve the time crunch]. She had two days to think of a solution which she would propose to Jon at their random Saturday dinner meeting.
These dinner meetings were something to look forward to. Always at the best restaurants, Michelle and Jon dressed for business, and their "meeting" turned into good conversation, good food, and great company. On a couple occasions they walked out with the staff at closing time. Jon, always a gentleman, made sure Michelle was safe at home before returning to his hotel room.
Michelle's email message to Jon - "see you Saturday 7-ish PM. I have found a new restaurant which specializes in authentic Italian food, not the Americanized stuff. I need to discuss proposal for your consideration. My Best, Michelle."
Re: - "Michelle, I had planned to spend weekend in Empire, but am curious about your proposal and will rest in Cincinnati. Please arrange reservation at Riverside Business Apartments and Suites. Best regards, Jon."
Jon arrives in Cincinnati at 8:43 PM - drives to his reserved "business apartment" -walks over to White Castle for sliders - takes a hot shower, - and goes to sleep about midnight.
For the first time since Alissa's death, Jon has dreams of Alissa. Not just dreams ... Vivid dreams ... Dreams that startle the observer from a cold sweat and make them afraid to go back to sleep ... Alissa met Jon at "their" bluff - she was dressed in a white dress shirt and white jeans - perhaps an angel without wings - she glowed from some force behind her - Alissa whispered "it's time you take care of yourself" - the dream replayed over and over in his mind ... until the alarm went off. Jon's bed shirt was soaked.
Jon decided he should do different activities to get the rest he needed. He started the day with breakfast in the cafe across the parking lot, spent the morning enjoying two art museums, had lunch at a sports bar showing the local hockey team on the 21 televisions, and the afternoon was spent photographing interesting architecture in downtown Cincinnati.
Jon returned to the "apartment" to dress for his meeting with Michelle. He drove to Michelle's apartment, went to her door to escort her to the car, opened the car door on the passenger side, then drove to the authentic Italian restaurant.
The business discussions go well - everything is working out - Michelle is struggling with the time commitments - might need to hire another tutor and rent another space - cash flow is good - margins are better than expected ... The food is very good. Michelle continues to impress and entertain Jon with her grasp of the business. The business portion of the evening ends and is replaced by tales of old boyfriends, old girl friends, life in high school, favorite professors, fly fishing ...
At 11:30, the restaurant owner delivers two coffees to their table and informs them the restaurant is closing, but he is happy to stay as long as they want. They casually finish the coffee, leave a large tip, and receive hugs from the owner .... Walking back to the car, Jon asks what was it Michelle wanted to talk about?
- "oh, I forgot. I was enjoying the evening so much ... I am thinking about selling the cart. My time is being consumed by the cart, tutoring, running CSS, and school. I've max'd out the carts potential and see a better future at Studious Schooling. I want to invest the money from the cart sale into Studious Schooling and be a partner."
- "interesting proposal. What do you think the market is for Sinnamon? We will have to establish a value for Studious."
- "Daryl was in again on Wednesday. Third time in four weeks. Stopped by to say hello. He commented on my tired appearance, and suggested I give up something. I am trying to get the best situation for me and Studious. Studious could use a full time manager, I can make more money expanding Studious, I will have less stress, and we could use the money to expand into another area ... I think I can sell the cart for $27,000."
- "your time setting up the company and dealing with the growth has value also."
- "what are you saying?"
- "partner ... tell me what your cart plus labor equity is worth. Let's value Studious together."
Michelle had been prepared for a longer debate / spin / sales job. She was elated by Jon's quick favorable response. She hugged him ... And kissed him ... "thank you!" Jon caught off guard, had a sense of guilty pleasure - enjoyable, but wondered what Alissa would think?" Michelle caught up in the moment, grabs Jon's upper arm and holds on as they walk to the car.
After dropping Michelle at her apartment, Jon in an attempt to avoid another vivid dream, drove around Cincinnati for a while ....
Synthetic Plague
Closed chemical process plants are man's answer to controlling creation. Every, every, detail is scrutinized and crafted. The maze of pipes, valves, vessels, and motors are designed to turn natural gas into something else: - polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, ... Qentex7. Redundant motors, long radius pipe bends to reduce back pressure and wear, special welding wire to match the composition of the pipe steel, every weld is x-rayed to insure it is free of voids, and every weld is honed to match the pipe's inside diameter. Oil field veterans tell of high pressure ... steel ... pipelines splitting open for miles from improperly welded joints. A well tuned system can account for every milligram of material. It's a thing of beauty when it functions properly ... It's a cantankerous dragon when the parameters are upset.
Qentex7 is a new light-weight military grade explosive that is extremely stable. It will not explode when struck by bullets, cannon shells, tank weapons, or missiles. Special coiled caps attached to timers, or remote devices, are needed to set-it-off. A single ounce creates a crater twenty feet deep by forty feet in diameter. It makes a big boom when it is detonated. Qentex7 is the latest invention of Chem-Productx.
Military branches are purchasing Qentex7 in five pound cases of ten half pound cakes. Base warehousing is receiving the cases by count - 200 cases per pallet.
Chem-Productx employees are required to wear Tyvek jumpsuits, safety goggles, and respirators. Respirator cartridges are changed every-week. During processing, exposure to precursor chemicals can create a condition called "synthetic plague" where lungs are scarred. Three hours after exposure the patient needs oxygen. Four weeks after exposure, the patient is dead. There is no known cure, or antidote, for Synthetic Plague. Normal Qentex7 processing is within a safe closed system of pipes and vessels; however, without a respirator, the tiniest flange leak can lead to four weeks of hell.
Armed security walks the fenced plant location. Video surveillance covers every square inch of the facility, except the employee locker rooms.
Donald Seastrim, recently appointed company president, discovered the amount of material input into the system is more than the material shipped plus waste by just under 0.55%. Donald knows the criminal consequences of not accounting for every ounce of military explosive material. His first instinct is to call his former Arlington, Virginia neighbor ... Daryl Alexander.
- "Daryl, Donald Seastrim here."
- "Donald, how's the family?"
- "Don junior got a basketball scholarship to Xavier, and Amy graduated with a degree in architecture. Helen went back to work and is loving it."
- "its been too long. I miss our neighborhood bar-be-ques, and those chrome tipped boots of yours - you still an Aggie's fan?"
- "Maroon and white, all the way! ... Say, I have just been appointed president of Chem-Productx and I think I have discovered a problem that requires a professional investigator. I recall you were involved in law enforcement and hoped you could recommend someone."
... Daryl has been working this disruption in Columbus, Ohio the past six days. Daryl's disruption objective is to uncover how the thief is stealing one tenth ounce per cake on average ... And where it is going.
Daryl, Chem-Productx' new Director of Quality Assurance and Compliance, spent his first day filling out paperwork and attending safety classes. Day two was job training, some in-plant safety exercises, and schematics of the quality system measurement devices. Day three, he started earning his pay. Left to himself to monitor the monitoring system. Daryl, looking official with the clipboard and safety uniform, begins planning which cameras he will tap and when is the best time to install the coil transmitters. On the outside, the transmitters are marked as "Video Noise Reduction Transformer", but on the inside they are state-of-the-art electronic wonders - low power, twenty day, high output, induction bugging devices that filter out noise then transmit it's collected data to a receiver up to 0.9 mile.
From his after hours tours of the area, Daryl has determined he will need to plant a signal booster / repeater. The nearest available living space is 2.2 miles from the dragon's location. The boosted signal can now be received at his new un-humble abode at 43761 Hope Lane. His temporary home has a room without windows where he sets-up the three large monitors that will each display up to six camera feeds, and the large storage server to hold the camera feeds for viewing later. ... The coil transmitters will be installed tomorrow.
When Daryl enters the control room, both operators point to the door that is access to the "stove pipe" - the narrow area without air-conditioning behind the control room where all the wires, hoses, tubes, circuit boards, RF receivers, and video cables are pinched together and producing heat. Daryl is happy the wire, tubes, and cables are well marked. Installing the transmitters takes eight minutes. As he leaves the stovepipe, one operators says, "you lasted longer in there then the last guy. Welcome to Chem-Productx."
Daryl's evenings and nights are take-home food and fast forwarding through the footage of eighteen cameras looking for the slightest deviation from procedure. Two nights of nothing so far. The weekend starts tomorrow.
At 3:12 PM, the motor service technician arrives at the entrance gate for weekly maintenance. After the security check, he parks in the space provided for vendors, lifts his large metal tool box out of the back of the van, presses the intercom button, then enters the building before the buzzer stops. Daryl watches the whole gate-to-buzzer episode go from camera to camera - because quite frankly - it's more entertaining than the other stuff. Daryl quickly realizes that the receiving area has no video surveillance.
The properly dressed technician shows up on mini-screen marked 12A six minutes later. Something is different, but Daryl can not quite resolve his concern. The tech pulls a gas sensor out of the plastic toolbox, waives the sensor near the motor flanges. He completes the maintenance procedure on the idle motor, flips the start button on the redundant motor, then presses the red stop button so he can service the other motor. It is during the maintenance on motor set #2 that Daryl realizes the tool box is different.
Daryl gathers his employee badge and keys as he leaves the monitors to get a closer look at this technician. The drive, security check, and safety clothing takes 22 minutes. With the clipboard prop, Daryl estimates the technician is on motor set #4. He turns right when exiting the locker room and nearly runs into the technician getting a drink of water. Daryl spends twenty minutes "doing his Chem-Productx job" before determining the tech's position. Again, he almost collides into the technician working on the separator vessel motors. [could I have worse luck!!!]. Daryl moves ahead to motor set #7 to watch the technician from behind the the pipe rack. Nothing worthwhile appears to be happening. Daryl decides to check motor sets #6 and #5 on his way back to the locker room. At motor set #6, there is a surging noise and the temperature readout on the precursor tower is 12 degrees higher than normal. As taught in the safety class, Daryl jiggles his respirator to insure it is tight around his nose, chin, and cheeks. Looking down at the motor's discharge flange, Daryl can see a misty stream of precursor exiting the flange gasket. Within seconds he notices a sweet paint thinner aroma has filled his respirator. Recalling his safety training ... THIS IS BAD!!!! ... He pulls the alarm then races to the safety showers. After ten minutes in the neutralizing solution, Daryl inspects his respirator to find a faux cartridge made from a home heater filter.
Per company policy, everyone exposed to chemicals at the plant must spend 24 hours under a doctor's care. Three hours after his room assignment his labored breathing is noticed by the nurse. After placing the breathing tube, the nurse leaves to find the doctor. Daryl calls Peter Stone ...
Family
Jon's schedule is starting to slow down. He arranges an over-night layover in Cincinnati to surprise Michelle. At 6:30 AM, he leaves the hotel to walk over for a large-Sinnamon-Italian-mocha-coffee. As he enters the lobby, he meets Mark Dayton.
- "Jon how is the tutoring business? Nice article in the paper about three weeks ago."
- "what a surprise! Best marketing money we never spent. How's the family?"
- "kids can bounce back from nearly anything. We took them to a specialist who said it would take a year to ease their minds. Three weeks later they were playing little league, chasing girls, and back at school. Karen got involved with the ladies at church and is quilting her way to healing. The person I am concerned about is Sally Walters. She has taken this pretty hard. I hired an extra person so she is not alone in the store. She is refusing help from a specialist."
- "hope Sally can move-on soon. Good to hear everyone else is ok."
- "say, I have two tickets to the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Fundraising Extravaganza. We can not go. It is fun, good food, a nice evening, it's this Saturday night, and for you -it's free. Take Michelle, she needs a break from that schedule."
- "good idea. Glad I ran into you."
As he approaches the cart he can see Michelle's engaging smile and his usual coffee drink.
- "what a surprise!! I am happy to see you. Why didn't you call?"
- "I found a couple spare moments in my schedule and thought I would stop by to see if I can help."
- "oh, when are you leaving?"
- "tonight at 7:43. But... I'll be back on Saturday. How about something different this Saturday?"
- "what did you have in mind?"
- "I have two tickets to the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Extravaganza. It's a black tie fundraiser event. I hear it's the place to be this Saturday."
- "I feel like Cinderella - dinner, dancing, formals, handsome escort - I'm in. Oh ... and it's my birthday."
Jon spends his morning going over the books to develop a fair method for valuing the company. After a long lunch, the afternoon is spent with Michelle going over projects and where Jon can help out. The clock chimes four times, Jon has to catch his flight for a one day training class with two new business analysts at Biz Planners, ... and Michelle has a student.
Saturday mid-morning - Michelle has tried on two business suits and three dresses. She is still wrestling with what she wants to say with her clothes - is she a successful business woman, or is she going to impress with her fashion sense? What she really wants is the black pant-dress with the flowing legs and waist length jacket that is wonderfully displayed on the mannequin. After 10 minutes of bartering to remove the clothes from the mannequin, Michelle will be the successful business woman with fashion sense.
Jon arrives at Michelle's apartment, dressed in full black tie tuxedo with two exceptions: - the lapels of the jacket are an explosion of tropical flowers, - and Alissa's Angel pin on the right lapel. Michelle opens the door in her new black pant-dress, jacket, and Angel pin on the left lapel. As Jon extends his elbow, "you look wonderful!". As Michelle places her arm through the elbow, "you look pretty good too!"
They checkout the silent auction items for some office decor. Place a few bids, then monitor the bid sheets. Michelle manages to take another trip by the jewelry table to admire a necklace made by a local glass artist. The heart shaped piece purposely contained bubbles which reflect light like a prism. The outer edge was a thin pure crimson color, the rest of the piece was clear with the exception of the small crimson heart just slightly off-center. There are five names on the bid sheet: - Michelle Silasa at minimum bid of $250, - Erin Blackman at $275, - Margie Colman at $315, - Erin Blackman at $335, - Hon Jersey at $500. [Hon must really want this to jump the bid that far. Oh well.]
The silent auction closes with three high bids out of the six items. They find their seats with time to meet their table mates before dinner is served. After desert, the dance floor is cleared. Jon and Michelle continue talking at the table.
- "it must be nice to receive a birthday card from your mom."
- "it is. She has had a hard life, but she never burdens anyone with it. She just plugs along singing-a-happy-tune. She was a mom: - dedicated her life to raising me and an older brother, - school lunches, - helping us with homework and study habits, - making costumes for school plays, - fundraiser cookies, - kept us quiet in church, ... Made my 'father's' lunch each day, did his wash, ironed his clothes, put him through college with odd jobs, and he left her ... the day I left home for college. Now she struggles to make a living. No college ... She was busy being mom. Now she has nothing to fall back on. Mom is still madly in love with my 'father'; and, I think she is waiting for him to change."
- "do you have any contact with your father?"
- "if you don't count the one time he helped with my chemistry homework ... Eight years. My 'father' is an ok guy who is an ultra-focused, brilliant bio-chemist, searching for the formula that will add his name to the history books. Any deviation from him thinking about his work turns him into a raging madman whose tongue can cut a child deeply. His temper and focus make him a horrible people person. He can not keep staff. Consequently, he has to do his own books and reports. He is always out of money and late on his reports ... Whoa, enough about my parents, tell me about yours..."
- "they were soul-mates. Always winking to each other, holding hands, talking late at night on how to raise two sons, never a raised voice between them. My brother and I did manage to alter their volume occasionally. On weekends we did everything together: -swimming, yard work, camping, high school ball games, wash cars, skiing, indoor games on snow days. We planned and voted on summer vacation ... They struggled adjusting to the life without Matthew, after he was killed by a hit-and-run driver - but their love helped them deal with the loss. Then three years later they died in a tour bus with bad brakes."
- that's so sad. I am sorry."
- "thank you.... How did you get interested in business?"
- "my senior year I worked for Gorge Recreational Products in Lebanon, Ohio. Don was like a second father: - including me in his family's activities, giving me dating advise, paid for my senior ball gown. I was fascinated by their enthusiasm for quality and clever solutions to manufacturing problems. It was fun!"
- "Still see your brother?"
- "he was shot in an undercover investigation of a car theft ring. He died on the way to the hospital. He was my protector. He "interviewed" and threatened my dates. ... Is it ok to talk about Alissa?"
- "we met in high school. Fell in love in college. Married our junior year. We "click": - we can finish each other's sentences, - we have similar interests, - we are "orphans" in that we only have each other. She gave me the Angel pin when we learned her cancer had won." (Michelle notices Jon talks of Alissa as if she were alive).
- "mom gave me my Angel pin last Christmas. It came with an embossed card - I will always watch over you. My life changed when I pinned the Angel on my collar: - I bought the cart, started tutoring, met a nice guy named Jon, and soon I'll to be a business partner."
- "dance?" ...
The announcement to pick-up the silent auction items is given by the dance band. Jon pays for the three items bid on by Michelle and the glass necklace bid on by Hon Jersey. He hands the black velvet lined box to Michelle - "Happy Birthday!". She slowly opens the box, as if in a dream. She enjoys the moment, then kisses Jon on the cheek -"thank you, it's beautiful!!" Jon takes the necklace out of the velvet box and places it around Michelle's neck. Even the guys are enjoying this ....
Jon drives Michelle home. At her door she grasps both Jon's hands, then kisses him - "I had a wonderful time, best birthday so far. Thank you! You are a good man, Jon."
- "I had a great time. Good night!"
Michelle understood ... there IS a third person to consider ....
Jon is filled with a smorgasbord of emotions. He is happy but feels guilty as if breaking his marriage vows. He wants to spend more time in Cincinnati, but his home is in Colorado.
At his room, he falls asleep quickly. His dreams are of Alissa, at their bluff, in the same white dress shirt and white jeans. She is wearing a clear heart necklace w